Magic: The Gathering is no stranger to crossovers. Its Universes Beyond sets have introduced many different third-party IPs, giving players more diversity in the cards they can use and incentivizing fans of the crossover series to try Magic: The Gathering out for the first time.
Recently, Magic: The Gathering collaborated with Final Fantasy to release four Commander decks based on the many games in the series. This isn’t the first time the TCG has crossed over with a video game franchise, but it is the first to be based on a JRPG. The launch of these sets has been a great benefit for Magic: The Gathering’s player count, making it a worthy addition to the game. However, there could be another JRPG series that would be equally fitting.
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Persona Deserves Its Own Magic: The Gathering Set
If Magic: The Gathering is ever looking for another popular JRPG franchise to collaborate with, Persona may be the best choice. The lore of the series is incredibly deep, and there are plenty of characters to draw upon for inspiration for cards. Now that the Persona series has become more mainstream, it has a lot of reach, helping to draw players in to try Magic: The Gathering as a newcomer. As new Persona games are continuing to release, now would be a good opportunity to introduce this crossover.
For the most part, the Persona games explore the concept of the self, but the game’s Personas, bosses, and enemy Shadows always tend to take inspiration from existing folklore and literature. The way Persona adapts mythological creatures into its design would fit well alongside other Magic: The Gathering cards, some of which are inspired by the same mythos.
The Persona series is already linked to cards. Many of the characters are linked to the major arcana Tarot cards, with swords, cups, wands, and coins being used in Persona 3 and Persona 4 Golden‘s Shuffle Time mechanic. They serve a thematic purpose throughout the series, correlating to the personalities of the Persona cast. Having Persona be used for a trading card game would not be out of the question, and may actually feel quite natural.
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Persona Would Work Best With Commander Decks
If a Persona set of Magic: The Gathering cards were to be released, it’s very possible that they would be released in four distinct Commander decks, much like the Final Fantasy cards, as well as other MTG Universe Beyond collabs like Fallout. The Persona games have plenty of recognizable characters, items, and abilities that could easily fill out four full Commander decks. Since Persona 3, 4, and 5 are the most popular games in the series, these would possibly receive a deck each, with the earlier games and spin-offs being represented in the fourth deck.
The recent Persona games have all had their own unique sense of style. Each sequel is visually distinct from the last, giving them an identity that is immediately recognizable to players. With four Commander decks, the art styles used in each would be able to stand out from each other, perfectly capturing the essence of the games they represent while still working well together in a player’s deck.
Persona 5 Deck
The Persona 5 deck would undoubtedly have a Joker Legendary Creature at the forefront, but the rest of the game’s party members would likely feature as well. Cards based on the Persona users would likely have abilities based on their main Persona, but as the Wild Card of Persona 5, it’s possible that Joker could be equipped with various other Persona cards. This deck also shouldn’t forget to include cards based on the other Persona 5 games, such as Persona 5 Tactica and the recently-released Persona 5: The Phantom X.
Persona 4 Deck
The main characters that players follow in Persona 4 are often referred to as the Investigation Team throughout the game. To fit in with this theme, many of the cards in this deck would likely contain the Investigate, Surveil, and Search keywords. Persona 4 Golden introduced Ultimate Personas for each of the game’s party members, so its Commander deck could make reference to this by adding a unique Transform condition for them.
Persona 3 Deck
Persona 3 has a unique summon mechanic, where the game’s characters use the Evoker to summon their Personas. Magic: The Gathering has an Evoke keyword, allowing players to pay an alternative cost to cast a creature spell before sacrificing them, usually with an enter ability being triggered first. A Persona 3 deck may be able to make use of this for summoning Persona cards, helping to differentiate it from the other decks.
Miscellaneous Persona Deck
The final deck would collect cards based on Revelations: Persona, Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment, as well as cards inspired by the series’ spin-offs such as the Persona Q and Persona 4 Arena subseries. Each of these games introduces new characters and ideas to the series, making them worthy of their own individual decks, but since they are not as popular as the main three, it’s more likely that these would be combined. This would be much like the Doctor Who Blast from the Past Commander deck, which includes all incarnations up to The Eighth Doctor, with the more recent versions being contained in the other decks.
The Final Fantasy and Magic: The Gathering crossover cards were a great fit for the TCG, and it could set up other JRPG series like Persona to follow. Atlus is owned by Sega, and since the Sonic the Hedgehog Secret Lair cards are set to release soon, this partnership doesn’t rule Persona out from receiving its own set of MTG cards. Final Fantasy has helped to make Magic: The Gathering more appealing to a wider audience, and with the increasing interest in the Persona franchise, combining the two could make for a great collab.
- Franchise
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Magic: The Gathering
- Original Release Date
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1993
- Age Recommendation
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13+