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Final Fantasy Artist Tetsuya Nomura Addresses Magic: The Gathering's Sephiroth Card Art

Celebrated Final Fantasy artist Tetsuya Nomura released a statement regarding his contribution to the forthcoming Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy collaboration set last Monday. Nomura said, “I actually drew [Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER and Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel] so that they would join up if placed one on top of the other, so if you manage to get two of the same card and line them up, you'll see how the original illustration looked.” The artist continued, “There is also a reason that the design for Safer Sephiroth is different from the original game, but I unfortunately can't share more about that.”

Nomura's comments come days after Wizards of the Coast, the producers of Magic: The Gathering, held its Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy Debut Showcase at PAX East on May 10. Although the artists comments regarding the card designs are cryptic, when looking at Nomura's drafts for the cards we see a small figure standing in front of the Final Fantasy VII antagonist in the art for Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER. And while blurry, we see a similar Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER in the same position on Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel.

While only speculation, one would assume the art depicts Sephiroth's growth throughout Final Fantasy VII. However, the difference in the design of Safer Sephiroth doesn't seem to be addressed in the card art.

Wizards of the Coast announced the MTG and Final Fantasy collaboration in October 2022. A teaser for the collaboration set was released two years later in October 2024 and featured the card art for “Lightning, Army of One,” “Emet-Selch, Unsundered,” and “Together Forever.” Following the October 2024 teaser, Wizards of the Coast remained relatively silent about the collaboration set. However, hours before the MTG x Final Fantasy February preview the company teased Yoshitaka Amano as a potential artist for the set. More cards were previewed in early May prior to the Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy Debut Showcase. The MTG x Final Fantasy set is slated to release on June 13, 2025.

Sources: Final Fantasy's English X/Twitter account (link 2), Siliconera