FlyQuest to host Magic: The Gathering creator tournament featuring latest Final Fantasy cards

Esports organisation FlyQuest, with deckbuilding site Archidekt, has recently announced that it will host a Magic: The Gathering (MTG) creator tournament alongside the launch of the Final Fantasy crossover set.

The livestream will take place over two days, June 14th and 15th, on their official Twitch channel, and will be hosted by MTG personality Brian Kibler and esports reporter Travis Gafford.

Featuring many popular MTG and gaming creators, participants will team up with a partner and go head-to-head against other teams in a 2v2 format known as Two-Headed Giant.

Duel Land features 2v2 Magic: The Gathering tournament

Duel Land is the inaugural MTG competition for the American esports organisation.

The event will feature various MTG and gaming content creators teaming up or facing off for a cash prize, as well as a $5,000 (~£3,700) donation to the charity of their choice.

Eight teams of sixteen players will curate decks from their shared pool of cards, known as a Limited format.

Teams will work together with a shared life total of thirty to defeat the opposing team.

The first day will feature a group stage, where teams are split into groups of four.

The top two teams in each group will advance to a bracket stage, where they will compete to be crowned champions of Duel Land.

The full list of creators is yet to be announced; however, the competitors confirmed so far are:

  • Aimee ‘AimsTV’
  • Andrey ‘Reynad’ Yanyuk
  • Ashley ‘Voxy’
  • Billie-Rae ‘heybillierae’
  • Brandon ‘Atrioc’ Ewing
  • Brodin Plett
  • Crim ‘TheAsianAvenger’ Nguyen
  • Jason ‘Fobm4ster’ Jeon
  • Jimmy Wong
  • Joel Are Magic
  • Joi ‘Curiousjoi’
  • Nick ‘LS’ De Cesare
  • Olivia Gobert-Hicks
  • Rachel Weeks

Magic: The Gathering x Final Fantasy

The competition coincides with the latest crossover from MTG’s Universes Beyond series.

Previous collaborations include Marvel, Assassin’s Creed, The Walking Dead, Doctor Who, Dungeons & Dragons, The Lord of the Rings, and more.

Final Fantasy is the latest franchise to enter the world of MTG as part of Universes Beyond.

The cards will be playable in all formats, including the popular Standard and Commander formats.

Alongside the regular Final Fantasy set, MTG will also release bonus Through the Ages cards.

These special cards will feature Final Fantasy-themed designs for existing MTG cards.

Characters from each game in the Final Fantasy series will make an appearance, giving every fan a chase card to try to pull.

There are 64 of these Through the Ages cards in total, four for each Final Fantasy game.

Magic: The Gathering returns to the esports scene

Despite what FlyQuest’s announcement may suggest, this is not the first time MTG has engaged with the esports world.

After the launch of its most recent online iteration, Magic: The Gathering Arena, the game was quickly integrated into the existing tabletop competitive ecosystem.

This integration gave a significant boost to the competitive system, allowing players to qualify through both online and in-person events.

It also provided many with an easier entry point into competitive play, thanks to the streamlined deck-building process and match flow.

However, the scene eventually declined, with MTG fully discontinuing its esports ecosystem in favour of in-person tabletop events.

FlyQuest’s Duel Land attempts to revive MTG esports, though this too is an in-person event.

Therefore, it’s debatable whether this tournament could be classified as an esports event.