Courtesy of Wizards of the Coast (WotC) and Final Fantasy, take a look at the first Final Fantasy VIII main character to be previewed from Magic: The Gathering – FINAL FANTASY — Zell Dincht!
In celebration of his in-universe birthday (March 17), Zell gets the distinction of being the first main character from Final Fantasy VIII to have their card from the upcoming Magic: The Gathering – FINAL FANTASY set revealed.
A lover of hot dogs and throwing hands, Zell Dinct’s Magic interpretation does a great job capturing his fiery, fighting spirit. A three-mana 0/3, Zell allows you to play an additional land on each of your turns and gets +1/+0 for each land you control, but also requires that you return a land you control its owner’s hand at the beginning of your end step.
Despite the red color identity, Zell’s abilities play well into green ramp decks and those with a landfall or “lands matter” theme. Being able to play multiple lands in a turn has always been powerful in Magic, and while Zell’s third ability keeps things fair in the early game, at some point, getting to bounce and replay your lands becomes much more of a benefit than a drawback.
As a legendary creature, Zell can technically be your commander, but a mono-red commander that cares about lands might prove to be a daunting (or exciting) deckbuilding challenge. With that in mind, I could see Zell easily finding a home in a Gruul or even Red/Green/x Commander deck that wants to play lots of lands that provide additional value beyond simply tapping for mana.
Magic: The Gathering – FINAL FANTASY is schedule to release on June 13. View our official preview gallery and preorder your sealed products here.
