Let’s get one thing straight: I have never played a Final Fantasy game. Not one. Not even the one with the spiky-haired guy who looks like he’s perpetually questioning his life choices (so, relatable). And yet here we are, at the cusp of possibly the biggest crossover with Magic: the Gathering. The legendary Final Fantasy series has, apparently, shaped the childhoods of millions—while my own was tragically spent button-mashing through Super Mario and wondering why Cloud’s sword was bigger than his entire body.

My friends gasp in horror when I admit this. “You’ve never experienced FFVII?” they whisper, as if I’ve confessed to never seeing the sky. “You don’t know the pain of losing Aerith?” (Spoiler alert? Sorry, it’s been 27 years.)

So consider this article an unbiased review of the top cards coming out of the Magic: the Gathering X Final Fantasy crossover — no sappy attachments to the any of the characters. Compared to the last mega crossover (with Lord of the Rings), Wizards has upped the power level of the Final Fantasy cards. Buckle up, fans. This is the final countdown of most powerful cards for Commander.

Cloud, Midgar Mercenary

Admit it, almost everyone has spiky hair in Final Fantasy, but none more recognizable than Cloud. His reputation precedes, and is literally the only character (other than Tifa) who would attract a nod from non-Final Fantasy fans. Fittingly, one of the stronger cards in the set belongs to Cloud, Midgar Mercenary. This Equipment-focused, 2/1 creature comes with a built-in magnet, able to search for any Equipment and put it into your hand. No points for guessing which “sword” that would be 100% on point.

That alone is enough to justify the 2 mana cost, and it already brings back memories of Stoneforge Mystic and how it became an absolute menace in games. As strong as Stoneforge was, Cloud, Midgar Mercenary takes it to another level. Cloud adds an additional trigger to any Equipment wielded by him. Even without giving that bonus to any of your compatriot creatures, that’s one heck of an ability when you consider all the swords he’ll be swinging. Sword of the Animist, Sword of Feast and Famine, Sword of Light and Shadow, and any others in the venerable halls of swords would be a nightmare in the hands of Cloud. Move aside, [/c]Stoneforge Mystic[/c].

Jumbo Cactuar

Look at this: a silly cactus shooting its thorns. How good can it really be? This green plant with eyes is in fact the creature with the highest standalone power in the entire history of Magic (we kindly ignore the parody card Infinity Elemental. While there are combos that can make any or all creatures with ‘infinite’ power, Jumbo Cactuar has the distinct honor of being the only creature that can do it without help. By attacking, the Cactuar’s power jumps to 10,000! Is Jumbo Cactuar the strongest endgame boss in all of Final Fantasy? Talk about overkill.

There are so many ways to turn that 10,000 power into a win. The classic Fling settles the game, but there are also dozens of ways to give Jumbo Cactuar Trample to effectively ignore any blocker that the opponent puts in front of you. With Trample, Ram Through is a nice fallback to Fling. Cactuar’s 7 mana cost does keep it respectful, but in these days of fast mana and cheating creatures out, it’s not a stretch to imagine this card being a winning move out of nowhere. I suppose they had to live up to the crossover hype and give Final Fantasy a meme card that also has the most power.

Zenos Yae Galvus // Shinryu, Transcendent Rival

Zenos Yae Galvus may have the hardest name to pronounce, but that is not reason enough to exclude him (and his dragon half) from this list. A 4/4 creature for 5 mana is not going to turn heads. But giving every creature -2/-2 except an opponent’s creature of your choice can be pretty devastating. It’s a mini Massacre Wurm that has the ability to transform, and that’s the terrifying bit of this card.

Ideally, you’ll have a way to kill off the creature that you had chosen with Zenos Yae Galvus, triggering an immediate transformation into Shinryu, Transcendent Rival, a 8/8 flying dragon that has a win-condition on its own. When the chosen opponent loses, you win the game. This will be very useful in multiplayer Commander games where you can focus all your attacks on one player and let Shinryu do the rest. For 5 mana, imagine getting a sweeper for small creatures, and an 8/8 flying creature – now that is good value.

A Realm Reborn

This enchantment brings back memories. Not too long ago, there was a similar green enchantment that also costs 6 mana to give you lands the ability to tap and creature Treasure tokens. Bootleggers’ Stash arrived with a lot of potential (and a $30 price tag), since any spare lands could be tapped to creature a mana stash for the future. As it turned out, it’s now worth less than $1 because players realized it didn’t provide any immediate advantage if you had to tap all your lands to cast it. A Realm Reborn from Final Fantasy also has the ability to generate mana but in in a much more efficient way:

[a]A Realm Reborn[/c] also costs 6 mana, but empowers all your own permanents to tap for mana (and any color). That includes all your Creatures, Artifacts, Enchantments, Clue tokens, even Planeswalkers, and more. Your basic lands become City of Brass without the loss of life. Like money, when you have lesser concern for it, your options increase tenfold. While Enduring Vitality is a great card on its own for its low cost and reanimating ability, it grant only creature tokens the ability to tap for mana. A Realm Reborn affects all permanents and can be used in decks beyond a token theme.

Squall, SeeD Mercenary

Here’s another Final Fantasy card that bears so many similarities to a fan-favorite Magic card. Squall, SeeD Mercenary (that way of writing SeeD is so FF) is like an upgraded [c]Rafiq of the Many. Both give a solo attacking creature Double Strike (an amazing stat and not easily acquired), but Squall does one better in many departments. It’s a 3/4 instead of a 3/3 and has a 2-color requirement instead of Rafiq’s 3. However if you’re playing Commander, having a third color identity can be useful.

But here’s where Squall completely outshines Rafiq. Rafiq lends a +1/+1 buff to your solo attacking creature. It’s good because Rafiq doesn’t need to be the one attacking to receive +1/+1 and Double Strike. If Squall is your attacker, not only does he gain Double Strike, but each hit will return any permanent card with mana value 3 or less back from the Graveyard to the Battlefield. Two hits from Double Strike will mean 2 permanents returned this way. What’s amazing is that they don’t come back with Finality counters (those ensure a one-time use), so feel free to bring them back if an opponent destroys them.

As a Commander, Squall, SeeD Mercenary has scary implications as you can build it with high powered permanents or with beginner-friendly Artifacts and Enchantments that don’t break the game.

Jecht, Reluctant Guardian // Braska’s Final Aeon

We’re noticing quite a number of character cards are particularly strong – are they really that overpowered in the Final Fantasy games? Jecht, Reluctant Guardian is a simple 4/3 creature with Menace – not scary at all. However if he deals combat damage to any player, he’s turning in a 7/7 Saga Creature (Braska’s Final Aeon that will be incredibly backbreaking for your opponents.

For 2 chapters of the Saga, each opponents discards a card and you draw one. The last chapter makes each opponent (and not yourself) sacrifice 2 more creatures. Oh and you get a 7/7 to attack and block for 3 turns (before it dies at the end of chapter 3). Just imagining the lopsided value Jecht creates is enough to give anyone a headache. Jecht’s only ‘drawback’ is not having Haste, so that gives a window for someone to deal with him.

Having Menace means he’s not going to be easy to block, and the Final Aeon is more likely than not to happen. Our recommendation: Place Jecht in a red/back deck that grants Haste to your creatures (like the new The Fire Crystal, and see your opponent squirm in agony.

Kuja, Genome Sorcerer // Trance Kuja, Fate Defied

The last card on our list places an unusual twist to the red/black archetypes in Commander. Wizards are often associated with blue, but here Kula, Genome Sorcerer is screaming for you to buck the trend and build a black/red deck with wand-wielding mages in mind. As a reward, Kuja and her transformed side Trance Kuja, Fate Defied provide some really powerful abilities for you to exploit.

Naturally, you’re going to want to put a lot of non-creature spells to start pinging your opponent by a thousand cuts. If you build a deck around Wizards, there’s a good chance Kuja can transform on the same turn of casting, since Kuja also counts as one. Once transformed, the Wizard beatdown commences. Combined with the new Black Waltz No. 3, cast a string of non-creature spells can you’ll have your opponents eating life loss without the need for combat.

While a Kuja Commander deck may lie closer to the realm of “jank,” a transformed Trance Kuja, Fate Defied with a one-sided Furnace of Rath built in is not to be underestimated.