Final Fantasy previews have begun and fans of both the game series and Magic: the Gathering are finally getting their chance to see how the characters will be brought to life in our favorite card game! So far, the set is dripping with flavor.

As the first Universes Beyond set to breach the barrier into Standard-legal play, a lot of players are wondering if Final Fantasy will be over-powered to the point that it will take over Standard, or an Adventures in the Forgotten Realms style set that seems to focus on Commander, even though it is Standard legal. So far, to me, the power level looks about right, with some cards poised to inject new decks into the format without warping Standard to be solely about the new cards.

One such card previewed is Tifa Lockhart. As soon as I saw the card previewed, I knew I had to make a deck that takes advantage of her ability.

Tifa Landfall | FIN Standard | Travis Hall

• Creatures (23)
• 3 Bristly Bill, Spine Sower
• 4 Flourishing Bloom-Kin
• 4 Mossborn Hydra
• 4 Sazh's Chocobo
• 4 Tifa Lockhart
• 4 Traveling Chocobo

• Instants (8)
• 4 Archdruid's Charm
• 4 Tyvar's Stand

• Sorceries (2)
• 2 Awaken the Woods

• Enchantments (1)
• 1 Case of the Locked Hothouse

• Lands (26)
• 17 Forest
• 1 Fountainport
• 4 Escape Tunnel
• 4 Fabled Passage

Buy This Deck Export text Export Arena

Cards to Consider

I won't say the deck is built entirely around Rifa, as we're not running the Titanic Growths to go for a turn 3 win, but she is the straw that stirs the drink. I played Mossborn Hydra a bunch after it was released, and it felt like it was close, but just not enough to build a deck around. Gaining a second landfall creature that can kill out of nowhere in Tifa gives the deck a measure of consistency it didn't have before. Tifa looks like she could be Green's answer to Slickshot Show-Off, a two-drop that must be answered immediately.

Awaken the Woods

I'm not sure 2 is the correct number, it's quite possible it should be 4. This gives the deck a combo kill out of nowhere, where Mossborn Hydra or Tifa can go from threat to game ender in a single turn, as each token triggers their abilities. The tokens can also buy you some time, or draw you some cards in conjunction with Fountainport.

Traveling Chocobo

The other previewed card that immediately sent me down the landfall path. The power/toughness is fine, and the top of the library ability should help you make sure you never run out of lands (or even birds, when paired with the excellent one-drop Sazh's Chocobo), but we're really all about the Panharmonicon for lands effect. Doubling landfall triggers will very quickly make Tifa, Sazh's Chocobo, Bristly Bill, and Mossborn Hydra into cards capable of taking over the game. Chocobo may play out like Courser of Kruphix, in that you play it on turn 4 instead of turn 3 to maximize the chance that you get to use the top of the deck ability. And, don't get me started on what can happen if you pay this and follow it up with Awaken the Woods...

Flourishing Bloom-Kin

This was the last card added to the deck, and I'd be more than willing to replace it if another good landfall creature is spoiled (and I strongly considered Llanowar Elves in its place). As of now, this feels like a good failsafe card for the deck, letting you have a creature that "starts off" huge in the late game after a board wipe, or a creature that can get a land at instant speed to mess with combat (if you play it out in disguise). This plays well with the deck, even if it doesn't meet the central theme.

Archdruid's Charm

I've talked about this one before, but I truly believe this is one of the strongest cards in Standard. It's held back by its highly restrictive mana cost and the fact that Green is the weakest color in the format at the moment (a fact that hurts my little Green mage's heart to acknowledge). We should be able to maximize "all the parts of the buffalo" here, as each of the abilities plays well with the deck.

Tyvar's Stand

I originally had this slot filled with Snakeskin Veil (as it has long been my default protection spell), then realized this was still legal thanks to 3-year rotation and that it is also a combo kill card with Tifa. Late game, you can just pump her power with this and then drop a land (or a Fabled Passage) to double that power. It also gives you something to do with the land bump you get from Awaken the Woods.

Other cards that might be right for the deck include Llanowar Elves, Tyvar, the Pummeler, Nissa, Resurgent Animist, or even Tatyova, Benthic Druid and Iridescent Vinelasher if you want to branch out into another color.

In order to make a deck that focuses around a specific theme viable, you typically need at least 2-3 cards that share the effect, so that you get a certain amount of velocity that you can build your deck around. Tifa Lockhart feels like the card that can finally make Standard landfall decks viable.

You can find more of my Magic musings on Twitter/X @travishall456 and on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/anakinsdad.bsky.social