There are a lot of iconic elements of Final Fantasy 7, from Cloud's signature Buster Sword, to Aerith's tragic death at the hands of Sephiroth. One of these iconic elements that has divided fans of the game for years is the love triangle between Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa. Now, Magic: The Gathering's Final Fantasy crossover set has revealed its answer to Final Fantasy 7's romance question, and I think Wizards of the Coast found the perfect solution.

Last year, shortly after the release of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Aerith's voice actor Brianna White gave her opinion on who Cloud's true love interest should be. Instead of wading into the shipping wars, White chose to emphasize the importance of player choice in Final Fantasy 7, since it's a role-playing game. Magic: The Gathering designers seem to have been thinking along the same lines when considering the issue of Final Fantasy 7's romance options, as they too decided to honor that original choice through a special art treatment on one of the set's reprints.

MTG Recreates FF7's Skywheel Choice

Magic: The Gathering Has 4 Different Skywheel Options

Magic: The Gathering's PAX East Event previewed a lot of new Final Fantasy cards. Among them was a reprint of the card Secret Rendezvous with new art depicting Cloud on the Skywheel date from Final Fantasy 7. However, instead of one version of the card, Magic: The Gathering is giving us four different options to choose from with art featuring Cloud on the ride with Aerith, Tifa, Yuffie, or Barret. In each one, Cloud has the same pose and expression, so there's nothing to read into. This means players are free to choose which version they like best.

This seems like the right move to make for Magic: The Gathering. Not only do they get players hunting down their preferred version of the date by cracking more packs, they also don't have to take a firm stance in one of the most hotly contested love triangles in gaming. However, there is one tiny detail about the cards that may have some players claiming Magic's designers did somewhat tip their hand as to what choice they see as canon.

Looking at the collector's numbers for each version of Secret Rendezvous, Tifa's version of the card has a much higher number. This implies that the version featuring Tifa will be the one that comes standard with the Final Fantasy 7 Commander deck, while the rest will simply be available in Collector's Packs. This, coupled with the fact that Tifa is the FF7 deck's alternate commander to Cloud, does mean Tifa seems to be getting a bit more love than Aerith in the crossover, though there are still more cards to be revealed.

MTG Missed 2 Of The Funnier Date Options

2 Skywheel Dates From FF7 Rebirth Aren't Included In The MTG Set

I do have one minor complaint about how Magic: The Gathering handled FF7's Skywheel dates, and that's the fact that it left out two of the funnier options from Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Skywheel date. The first is the group date between Cloud, Cait Sith, Cid, and Vincent Valentine. In the game, Cait Sith is trying his hardest to entertain the rest of the group, seemingly unaware of how awkward this strange mix of characters feel together. Of course, it would have been hard to do this date and retain Cloud's consistent pose, so I get why it wasn't included.

That said, I'm not sure why Nanaki gets left out here. Magic: The Gathering is missing out on a chance to recreate the visual gag of Nanaki's happy panting when Cloud dryly compliments his ability to spin the ride. Nanaki's ride also isn't just for laughs, but provides some emotional moments and foreshadows Aerith's fate in the next section of the game. It's a shame not to see it here, though since the Final Fantasy set covers all 16 games, it makes sense that the number of cards dedicated to FF7 had to be limited.