CardName – Final Fantasy
Date Reviewed: July 1, 2025
Ratings:
Constructed: 2.93
Casual: 4.43
Limited: 3.67
Multiplayer: 4.08
Commander [EDH]: 4.25
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Zodiark seems to be intended as an effective “kill shot” while stopping short of ending the game on the spot. A lot of decks will have serious trouble dealing with him when he’s in play, even with half their creatures surviving. The downside, of course, is that you’re either in mono-black or you’re getting him into play without casting him; the latter is not usually too hard for black decks, but depending on the context, it might be a little slow and his comeback mechanic can be somewhat less consistent than it reads. There are also reanimation targets with more universal impact than him in the bigger formats – think Atraxa or Archon of Cruelty. He’s certainly flashy and spectacular, and it’s going to be amusing to build a deck with him and a bunch of the black god cards from Theros sets.
Constructed: 3
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4 (the main issue is building a mono-black deck, but when you do, everyone else had better look out)
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4
there is no god
Zodiark may share his name with a creature from the Ivalice games, like the Esper from Final Fantasy XII, but Zodiark, Umbral God is a particular creation of XIV and meant to oppose all things of the light. I think. My knowledge of the game’s lore is spotty, but I do know Zodiark is sort of the looming dark threat.
Speaking of looming threat, Zodiark makes its presence known here, culling a board quickly and growing bigger…as well as continuing to grow as things are sacrificed, regardless of reason. Indestructible certainly helps make its presence known; while it can be blocked with impunity in most cases, as it lacks other key words, a large threat that demands special interaction to depose will always be interesting.
Zodiark, Umbral God does have one major issue of sorts, and it’s that casting cost. While black is no stranger to color-intensive costs, they rarely get as heavy as Zodiark demands, and quintuple black means ths is only going in a black deck (unless you’re really creative). I do think Zodiark is ultimately more “fun” than “functional” though…it does make a splash when it enters, to be sure, but it will never fully thin out a board, it does demand you keep it in mind (since you are also obligated to sacrifice), and lacking other keywords means it’s just a big body at the end of the day. Indestructible is nice, but there are always ways around it.
Constructed: 2.75 (too color heavy, and not nearly explosive enough to pay off that color intensity)
Casual: 4.75
Limited: 4.5 (there are kill spells that can off it, but it definitely can be a tricky threat to answer if you’re not ready)
Multiplayer: 4.25 (this can come in quite massive)
Commander [EDH]: 4.25 (probably hard to really make work, but I can see sacrifice payoffs that make this shine)
Thijs
Another powerful antagonist from the Final Fantasy universe, Zodiark appears several times and is always a tough one. The internet is filled with how-to’s and faq’s on how to kill him. Apparently, it’s quite the challenge.
Enter our indestructible character. For 5 mana (5 black mana, that is) you get a 5/5 God that immediately wipes half the non-God board (rounded down). On top of that it gets +1/+1 counters every time a player sacrifices a creature, so with a bit of luck you get a huge indestructible God on entering. Very powerful, very scary.
This is the first time in Magic’s history that we see a card that costs 5 black mana. We had the Doomsday Excruciator in Duskmourn (that cost 6 black) and we had the Big Furry Monster from Unglued (coming in at a whopping 15 black mana), but never before a spell costing 5.
And this is where it gets a little tricky, because 5 black mana for a single creature is a lot. If you have the mana base and the time to get this deity into play however, it will probably never disappoint.
I’ve seen people put Zodiark in a Tergrid, God of Fright deck and then it becomes a real engine, giving you a ton of creatures to put onto your own board.
Constructed: 3 (probably won’t see a lot of play)
Casual: 4
Limited: 2,5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4,5
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