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Exploring Cloud, Midgar Mercenary in Magic: The Gathering
As one of the most iconic characters in the Final Fantasy series, Cloud Strife appears in various forms within the Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy set. Each version has its unique color identity and abilities, but there’s something special about focusing on a single color, especially with Cloud, Midgar Mercenary.
The mono-white version of Cloud emphasizes Equipment and allows you to activate both his and the equipment’s abilities more than once. This can lead to some impressive advantages and make Cloud a formidable force in the game. If you’re eager to go all out, this guide will show you how!
Sample Decklist
Commander
- Cloud, Midgar Mercenary
Creatures (16)
- Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist
- Brass Squire
- Codsworth, Handy Helper
- Crackdown Construct
- Danitha Capashen, Paragon
- Esper Sentinel
- Foundry Inspector
- Halvar, God of Battle // Sword of the Realms
- Knight of the White Orchid
- Leonin Shikari
- Lion Sash
- Puresteel Paladin
- Silent Arbiter
- Sram, Senior Artificer
- Stoneforge Mystic
- Stonehewer Giant
Sorceries (9)
- Brilliant Restoration
- Divine Reckoning
- Open the Armory
- Promise of Loyalty
- Sevinne’s Reclamation
- Single Combat
- Slash the Ranks
- Steelshaper’s Gift
- Unfinished Business
Instants (10)
- Clever Concealment
- Cloud’s Limit Break
- Dispatch
- Flawless Maneuver
- Generous Gift
- Path to Exile
- Rebuff the Wicked
- Sejiri Shelter // Sejiri Glacier
- Swords to Plowshares
- Teferi’s Protection
Artifacts (22)
- Arcane Signet
- Bloodforged Battle-Axe
- Brotherhood Regalia
- Buster Sword
- Extraplanar Lens
- Fireshrieker
- Hammer of Nazahn
- Leyline Axe
- Masterwork of Ingenuity
- Mox Opal
- Plate Armor
- Shadowspear
- Sol Ring
- Swiftfoot Boots
- Sword of Feast and Famine
- Sword of Fire and Ice
- Sword of Hearth and Home
- Sword of the Animist
- The Aetherspark
- The One Ring
- Thought Vessel
- Umezawa’s Jitte
Enchantments (6)
- Duelist’s Heritage
- Forge Anew
- Land Tax
- Mantle of the Ancient
- Sigarda’s Aid
- Smothering Tithe
Planeswalkers (1)
- Ugin, Eye of the Storms
Lands (35)
- Ancient Den
- Bonder’s Enclave
- Buried Ruin
- Castle Ardenvale
- Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
- Ishgard, the Holy See // Faith & Grief
- Monumental Henge
- Myriad Landscape
- Reliquary Tower
- Rogue’s Passage
- Snow-Covered Plains (23)
- The Mycosynth Gardens
- War Room
This deck is tailored for Bracket 3 (Optimized) and features an incidental infinite combo. Puresteel Paladin lets you equip for free if you possess three artifacts, and Crackdown Construct gains +1/+1 each time you activate an artifact’s ability.
While you need an Equipment and another artifact to set this up, it’s quite feasible once Crackdown Construct is on the board. Just be sure to communicate this strategy to your table, and be ready to swap out cards if players voice concerns.
The Commander
Cloud, Midgar Mercenary is a legendary Human Soldier Mercenary with a 2/1 power and toughness. He requires two white mana to summon and can search for an Equipment card upon entry. His ability to find and use Equipment quickly is superb, especially when you can easily attach it on the next turn.
His second ability is where he truly shines: as long as he’s equipped, both his abilities and those of his equipment trigger an additional time. This can lead to some rapid advantage accumulation, especially with items like the Sword of Fire and Ice.
When attached to Cloud, this sword allows you to deal damage to two targets and draw two cards each time he deals combat damage. Given the right conditions, this can make Cloud a serious threat.
Cloud’s ability isn’t limited to specific triggers, so even those activated by opponents’ actions, like ward, will also trigger twice. This flexibility makes Cloud a versatile solution for various challenges, whether you’re looking to remove threats or ramp up your resources.
Building the Deck
Focus on Equipment for Cloud’s deck, crafting a low-cost mono-white Voltron that allows for quick attachments. Since Cloud has low toughness, including ways to safeguard him is essential. Additional attackers can also help reduce dependence on your Commander.
Cloud’s low mana cost means you’ll have multiple Equipment options to fetch on turn two, giving you a significant edge in the early game.
The deck’s Equipment-heavy theme does limit creature space. Therefore, it includes several board wipes that leave players with only one creature, maximizing Cloud’s potential.
Despite the deck’s tight mana curve, ample ramp ensures that Cloud can return consistently and stay aggressive.
Ramp
The standard ramp options, like Sol Ring and Arcane Signet, blend well with Cloud’s effective Equipment options. The Sword of the Animist stands out, costing just two mana to cast and equip, letting you search for two basic lands every time Cloud attacks.
Similarly, Sword of Hearth and Home lets you search for lands whenever Cloud deals combat damage, especially if you can give him double strike, which can net you four lands in one attack.
The Aetherspark is also highly beneficial in Cloud’s hands, gaining loyalty counters as he inflicts damage. His ability lets it trigger twice, which can significantly amplify its effectiveness.
Additionally, Land Tax is a fantastic starter spell, ensuring you don’t miss land drops and allowing Cloud to search for Equipment instead. Knight of the White Orchid can also help establish early land advantages.
Draw
White has several solid draw options that align well with Cloud’s Equipment theme. Esper Sentinel is a great turn one card and increases your chances of drawing cards as you attach Equipment later.
Sram, Senior Edificer similarly allows card draws whenever you cast Equipment or Auras. With a good portion of the deck fulfilling these criteria, you’ll often get a card back when you want to play.
Puresteel Paladin also provides card draws, focusing on Equipment that comes into play, making it an excellent draw engine when paired with Bloodforged Battle-Axe.
The Bloodforged Battle-Axe can duplicate itself with each instance of combat damage, quickly leading to a scenario where you gain several new Equipment pieces.
One-On-One Combat
This deck excels in a one-on-one scenario, largely due to its Voltron theme. Partial board wipes can ensure that most players are left with only a single creature, allowing Cloud to shine.
Divine Reckoning lets you choose a single survivor among all creatures for just four mana, with flashback to use it later if needed.
Slash the Ranks wipes out everything except commanders, giving Cloud a potential advantage if opponents have multiple commanders out.
Single Combat is another powerful option, leaving each player with a single creature or planeswalker of their choice, while clearing everything else from the board.
Silent Arbiter can help manage the tempo of the game by limiting attacks to a few creatures, allowing you to control the narrative, especially if opponents see each other as bigger threats.
Overall, crafting a strategy around Cloud, Midgar Mercenary can lead to exciting and dynamic gameplay, giving you plenty of opportunities to engage and outmaneuver your opponents.
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