There’s A ‘Reason’ Why Sephiroth Has a Different Design in the Magic: The Gathering set — But Director Tetsuya Nomura ‘Can’t Share More,’ Sparking Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 Speculation

If you’ve checked out Magic: The Gathering’s new Final Fantasy series recently and spotted something a little different about Sephiroth, you’re not alone. But director Tetsuya Nomura “can’t share” why there’s been a change… yet.

The Magic: The Gathering x Final Fantasy crossover set has been designed by some of the talented artists behind the games, including Nomura himself, and cards include two designs of Final Fantasy 7’s infamous villain, Sephiroth.

“This time around, I drew Sephiroth on both the front and back sides of the card,” Nomura explained in a statement posted to social media. “I actually drew them so that they would join up if placed one on top of the other, so if you manage to get two of the same card and line them up, you’ll see how the original illustration looked.

“There is also a reason that the design for Safer Sephiroth is different from the original game, but I unfortunately can’t share more about that.”

Safer Sephiroth — which appears on the card “Fabled SOLDIER” — has both arms, while on the second card, called “One-Winged Angel,” he has one arm and a spectacular wing.

Unveiling a brand-new illustration reflecting Sephiroth’s journey in Final Fantasy VII, with comments from illustrator Tetsuya Nomura.

Magic: The Gathering — Final Fantasy launches June 13.#MTGxFinalFantasy pic.twitter.com/VCQWMQQu5e

— FINAL FANTASY VII (@finalfantasyvii) May 12, 2025

Almost immediately, fans got to work trying to decipher what the change may mean.

“Safer Sephiroth has two arms and what appears to be legs. Seems to be taking some cues from Dissidia NT Safer Sephiroth. I wonder what this could mean for the story in Part 3,” suggested one player, while another merely said: “We got a sneek-peek into Safer Sephiroth for Part 3, didn’t we?”

Magic: The Gathering‘s Final Fantasy set will be a fully draftable, Standard-legal set that will release alongside four preconstructed Commander decks, one themed after each of four Final Fantasy games: 6, 7, 10, and 14. Each deck consists of 100 cards, a mix of both new Final Fantasy cards, as well as existing cards with new Final Fantasy art. The set launches on June 13.

We’re now awaiting the third and final Final Fantasy 7 Remake edition — name unknown — after we received the first of the trilogy in 2020, and the second, Rebirth, last year in 2024. And just to complicate things further, an enhanced edition called Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade was released for PS5 and PC in 2021, with a version also on the way for Nintendo Switch 2.

In January, it emerged that Square Enix had completed the story of the third and final part of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy. Speaking to Famitsu and translated by Eurogamer, Final Fantasy series producer Yoshinori Kitase and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi said development on the highly anticipated conclusion was progressing smoothly.

“I’m very satisfied with [the story], so I’m sure fans will be satisfied with the final chapter,” Kitase said, adding that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth creative director Tetsuya Nomura gave him “homework” to ensure this was the case.

The story of Part 3 was required to have a respect for the original Final Fantasy 7 alongside a new level of satisfaction not felt in that game, Kitase said.

Square Enix announced its plans to release Final Fantasy 7 Remake as a trilogy in June 2022, following the launch of the first game which had fans questioning if the entire story would need a dozen parts to be told properly. This is because Final Fantasy Remake itself only adapted the opening few hours of the original game, up to the point where the party leaves Midgar.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth expanded the scope significantly, however, introducing the open world and thus covering myriad locations such as Costa del Sol, the Golden Saucer, and many more, including some new ones.

It brought the overall story up to the end of Disc 1 of the original Final Fantasy 7, which closes in both games with what’s arguably the most iconic moment in video game history.

Part 3 will pick up immediately after this, though very little is known about it so far. Development began in June 2022 but Square Enix hasn’t said when it will end, only vaguely noting it hopes to release Part 3 by 2027.

Something it has said, however, is that it “will not cheat” when it comes to the Highwind airship. This allowed the party to quickly move around the map in the original game but, now in the world of fast travel, many fans wondered how the iconic ship could be implemented.

“We will not cheat with the airship system [in Part 3] but take the challenge head on so it can freely fly all over the game map,” Hamaguchi said last November.

Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.