<h6 style="text-align: right;">Image credit: Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix</h6>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>It's Monday, June 9th! As we enter the final week before the <em>Final Fantasy</em> <em>Magic</em> set officially releases, we have even more Count-Up articles for you! To refresh you, I've been listing the best and most flavorful cards for each game in the series, in order from <em>FFI</em> to <em>FFXVI</em>. Yesterday we covered <em>FFXII</em>; today, I'll be examining <em>Final Fantasy XIII</em>!</p>
<p>To reiterate, here is the criteria I'm looking at:</p>
<ul>
<li>Honorable Mention - These usually will be a cycle or group of cards that are great but don't quite measure up to the "best" in the categories we have chosen to cover. (Today's list will have two cards for this category.)</li>
<li>Best as a Commander - This category covers, as advertised, the best commander to lead a deck in Commander, but may also look briefly at other Command Zone-driven formats.</li>
<li>Best in the 99 - This section discusses my choice for the best card in a given 99 of a deck. It may be a ubiquitous card, but it might also just be a card with a fair amount of utility.</li>
<li>Most Flavorful - The most fun to play card in a storytelling context will be deemed Most Flavorful. For example, we covered <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Town Greeter" href="#" target="_blank">Town Greeter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in our <em>FFI</em> list for its fun lore synergies with Towns, especially those with specific <em>Final Fantasy</em> town names.</li>
<li>Best In Show - The very best of these cards in a balance of the above categories.</li>
</ul>
<p>Furthermore, cards from the Commander precons, <em>Through the Ages</em>, and promotional/<em>Secret Lair</em> cards are ineligible for consideration. We want to keep this strictly from the main set.</p>
<p>Let's waste no time and dive right in!</p>
<h2>Honorable Mentions</h2>
<p>For the past few days, pickings were sparse for the games covered. As a result, we couldn't look at any Honorable Mentions. Today, we have enough cards handy for not only one, but <em>two</em> Honorable Mentions! What are those cards? Well...</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vanille, Cheerful l&#039;Cie"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie" href="#" target="_blank">Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vanille, Cheerful l&#039;Cie" href="#" target="_blank">Vanille, Cheerful l&#039;Cie</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are a pair of melding legendary creatures. They're a remarkable duo of cards that work exceptionally well with graveyard-filling decks and create a creature together that is more than the sum of its parts. What is that melded creature?</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/fin-526b-ragnarok-divine-deliverance.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-155670" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/fin-526b-ragnarok-divine-deliverance.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/fin-526b-ragnarok-divine-deliverance.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/fin-526b-ragnarok-divine-deliverance-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a></p>
<p>Ragnarok, Divine Deliverance is a fearsome creature that has a ton going for it, if you can manage to meld Fang and Vanille together (and it's definitely not easy). So, while these two have to be Honorable Mentions in this article due to the nature of the cards, Fang and Vanille merited inclusion with absolutely no doubt.</p>
<h2>Best as a Commander</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards side-by-side"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Serah Farron"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link side-by-side"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Serah Farron" href="#" target="_blank">Serah Farron</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a strong white-green creature in a deck archetype that you don't often see for that color pair: legends matter. Yes, we've historically seen it before with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Captain Sisay" href="#" target="_blank">Captain Sisay</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Sisay players are probably <em>delighted</em> to see a card like Serah Farron in her 99, and vice-versa. As such, the card is a great commander if one can't necessarily afford to get Captain Sisay as a commander, financially speaking. It is a fantastic card, and while our Best In Show is even better in many categories, Serah deserves high marks as well.</p>
<h2>Best in the 99</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Magic Damper"></div></div>
<p>The card I'm choosing for my Best in the 99 category is extremely utilitarian by many metrics and can be quite useful. At instant speed, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Magic Damper" href="#" target="_blank">Magic Damper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> untaps a creature, provides it with a turn of protection and a buff, <em>and</em> only costs one blue mana. That's a lot for one mana, and it feels extremely pushed for a common. It is probably the best utility piece for the <em>Final</em> <em>Fantasy XIII</em> subset of cards.</p>
<h2>Most Flavorful</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thunder Magic"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thunder Magic" href="#" target="_blank">Thunder Magic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a fabulous example of a tiered spell from the game series. Thunder, Thundara, and Thundaga are all extremely powerful electric attacks in the games, and this card encapsulates the concept swimmingly. While Thundara is a little below rate compared to both Thunder and Thundaga here, the spells all do exactly what you'd expect a bolt of electricity to do to a creature: fry it!</p>
<p>With that, it's time to move on to our Best In Show for <em>Final Fantasy XIII</em>. Which card got there above the others?</p>
<h2><em>Final Fantasy XIII</em> Best In Show</h2>
<p>When there's Thunder Magic, often there's also...</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lightning, Army of One"></div></div>
<p><a href="https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Lightning_(Final_Fantasy_XIII)">Lightning</a>! Namely, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning, Army of One" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning, Army of One</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This card is an amazing Aggro powerhouse, capable of defeating opponents quite easily. For just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, you have a 3/2 that is capable of putting the hurt on opponents quickly and efficiently. She also facilitates even more damage with her ability to double the output of creatures that don't deal damage at the same time as, or before, Lightning. That's generally a lot faster than most creatures, so she's super reliable for this purpose.</p>
<p>It's also really neat that Lightning, Army of One synergizes nicely with Thunder Magic, a card she's depicted on. After hitting with Lightning, you can then cast Thunder Magic for any of its tiers. This can deal a heap of damage to something. It's amazingly strong!</p>
<p>With that, we conclude our entry on <em>Final Fantasy XIII</em>. Have you played this game before? How did you enjoy it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments! And while awaiting our coverage of <em>FFXIV</em>, feel free to peruse our other entries in the Count-Up series below!</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/final-fantasy-16-day-count-up-day-one-ffi?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Day 1: <em>FFI</em></a> | <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/final-fantasy-16-day-count-up-day-two-ffii?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Day 2: <em>FFII</em></a> | <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/final-fantasy-16-day-count-up-day-three-ffiii?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Day 3: <em>FFIII</em></a> | <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/final-fantasy-16-day-count-up-day-four-ffiv?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Day 4: <em>FFIV</em></a> | <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/final-fantasy-16-day-count-up-day-five-ffv?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Day 5: <em>FFV</em></a></strong></p>
<p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/final-fantasy-16-day-count-up-day-six-ffvi?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Day 6: <em>FFVI</em></strong></a><strong> | <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/final-fantasy-16-day-count-up-day-seven-ffvii?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Day 7: <em>FFVII</em></a> | <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/final-fantasy-16-day-count-up-day-eight-ffviii/?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Day 8: </a><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/final-fantasy-16-day-count-up-day-eight-ffviii/?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>FFVIII</em></a></strong><strong> | <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/final-fantasy-16-day-count-up-day-nine-ffix?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Day 9: <em>FFIX</em></a> | <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/final-fantasy-16-day-count-up-day-ten-ffx/?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Day 10: <em>FFX</em></a></strong></p>
<p><strong><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/final-fantasy-16-day-count-up-day-eleven-ffxi?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Day 11: <em>FFXI</em></a></strong><strong> | <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/final-fantasy-16-day-count-up-day-twelve-ffxii">Day 12: <em>FFXII</em></a></strong></p>


ffxiii

Final Fantasy 16-Day Count-Up, Day Thirteen: FFXIII

Picking Fights with Lightning, Army of One - Commander Deck