Piloting the Cloud Strife Boros starter deck
The Cloud, Planet’s Champion deck from the MTG × Final Fantasy Starter Kit is an equipment-based midrange Voltron deck that wins by suiting up creatures — especially Cloud himself — and crashing in for massive combat damage. The entire 60-card precon revolves around a single devastating loop: equip Cloud, give him double strike and indestructible on your turn, and swing for lethal. While straightforward in concept, sequencing your plays correctly separates dominant performances from clunky draws. Here’s everything you need to know to pilot it well.
Cloud turns one equipment into a wrecking ball
Cloud, Planet’s Champion (3RW, 4/4) is the deck’s engine and win condition rolled into one card. During your turn, as long as he’s equipped with anything, he gains double strike and indestructible — making even the cheapest sword a game-warping threat. His second ability reduces equip costs targeting him by {2}, which means cheap equipment often attaches for free or nearly free. A single Warrior’s Sword turns Cloud into an indestructible 7/6 double-striker dealing 14 combat damage per turn.
The supporting cast reinforces this gameplan. Beatrix, Loyal General (4WW, 4/4, vigilance) is arguably the deck’s second-best card — at the beginning of combat, she attaches all equipment you control to a target creature for free, eliminating the mana bottleneck of equipping multiple weapons. Adelbert Steiner (1W, 2/1) carries lifelink and gets +1/+1 for each equipment you control regardless of whether it’s attached to him, scaling passively as your artifact count grows. Freya Crescent (R, 1/1) pulls double duty as a turn-one mana dork that generates red mana specifically for equipment spells and equip costs, while also attacking with flying on your turn. Barret Wallace (3R, 4/4) punishes opponents directly, dealing damage equal to your number of equipped creatures whenever he attacks.
The deck runs 9 equipment cards, many featuring the Job Select mechanic — when they enter the battlefield, they create a 1/1 Hero token and automatically attach to it. This is critical because it solves the fundamental equipment problem of needing both a weapon and a creature. Samurai’s Katana, Warrior’s Sword, White Mage’s Staff, and Dragoon’s Lance all do this. The crown jewel is Ultima Weapon (7 mana): +7/+7, equip 7, and when the equipped creature attacks, it destroys a target opposing creature. On Cloud with his cost reduction, equip drops to {5}, creating an 11/11 indestructible double-striker that removes a blocker every attack — 22 damage per swing if unblocked.
Mulligan for creatures, lands, and a weapon
With 25 lands (13 Plains, 8 Mountains, 4 Rabanastre, Royal City), the deck needs 3–4 lands in its opening hand, including at least one source of each color. Rabanastre enters tapped, so count it as a half-land for curve purposes. The ideal opening hand contains three elements:
- A 2-drop creature — Dwarven Castle Guard, Item Shopkeep, Adelbert Steiner, or Coeurl give you a board presence early
- An equipment card with Job Select — Samurai’s Katana or Warrior’s Sword effectively function as creature-plus-equipment in one card
- 3–4 lands with both colors represented
Mulligan away hands with five or more lands, hands with only one color of mana, hands loaded with expensive cards like Ultima Weapon and The Crystal’s Chosen but no early plays, and hands with multiple equipment pieces but zero creatures. Cloud himself is excellent to see in an opening hand but not mandatory — you have only one copy, so don’t keep a bad hand just because he’s in it. A smooth curve with early creatures and equipment matters more than a clunky hand built around hoping to cast Cloud on turn five.
The three phases of winning with equipment
Turns 1–3 (Establish your board). Freya Crescent is the ideal turn-one play — she ramps you toward equipment while threatening evasive chip damage. Turn two, deploy any 2-drop: Dwarven Castle Guard provides a disposable body that leaves behind a 1/1 Hero token when it dies, Adelbert Steiner starts growing with your equipment count, and Item Shopkeep later grants menace to your equipped attackers. Turn three is often your first Job Select equipment, which drops a Hero token already wielding a weapon. Play Rabanastre tapped-lands during these early turns when the tempo loss matters least — never on turn five when you need to cast Cloud.
Turns 4–6 (Deploy Cloud and turn on the engine). Turn five is the pivotal moment. Cast Cloud, Planet’s Champion with access to both red and white mana, then immediately equip him with whatever’s available. Because he reduces equip costs by {2}, a Samurai’s Katana already on the battlefield equips to him cheaply, instantly granting double strike and indestructible. With Item Shopkeep on the field, your equipped Cloud also gains menace — forcing the opponent to throw at least two creatures in front of a double-striking, indestructible threat. Use White Auracite (which doubles as both exile-based removal and a mana source) to clear key blockers before swinging. Lightning, Security Sergeant provides card advantage through her impulsive draw on combat damage, and Rosa, Resolute White Mage drops +1/+1 counters plus lifelink each combat — devastating on a double-striker.
Turns 7+ (Close the game). If the game goes long, Beatrix arrives and dumps every piece of equipment onto Cloud simultaneously at no mana cost. Ultima Weapon becomes castable. The Crystal’s Chosen creates four Hero tokens with +1/+1 counters to rebuild after a board wipe. G’raha Tia draws cards when your creatures or artifacts die, keeping resources flowing. Judgment Bolt doubles as creature removal and direct player damage scaling with your equipment count — useful as a finisher when the opponent stabilizes at low life.
Five synergies that make or break your games
The most important interaction in the deck is Beatrix + Cloud + multiple equipment. Beatrix’s combat trigger attaches all your equipment to one creature for free, which means even Ultima Weapon’s prohibitive equip cost becomes irrelevant. A board with Beatrix, Cloud, and three equipment pieces transforms instantly into a lethal attack with zero additional mana investment.
Cloud + Dragoon’s Lance is subtly powerful. The Lance grants flying during your turn, and Cloud already has double strike and indestructible when equipped. A flying, indestructible, double-striking Cloud bypasses ground blockers entirely. Similarly, Item Shopkeep + any equipped attacker grants menace, which combined with Cloud’s indestructible means even the two required blockers die while Cloud survives.
Slash of Light scales with your total creature and equipment count. In the early game it might deal 3 damage; by the mid-game with multiple tokens and equipment on the field, it routinely deals 6–8 damage as an instant-speed removal spell. Time it for when your board is wide. Suplex deserves special mention against the Sephiroth deck specifically — its exile clause prevents graveyard recursion, which is exactly how the opposing Blue/Black deck generates value.
Finally, Freya Crescent’s mana ability feeding directly into equip costs creates explosive turns. Tap Freya for red, use it plus Cloud’s {2} reduction to equip for nearly nothing, then attack with your newly powered-up army. Don’t underestimate the tempo advantage of essentially free equip activations.
Mistakes that cost you games
Playing Cloud into open mana without equipment ready is the most common and most punishing error. A naked Cloud is just a 4/4 for five mana — mediocre. Worse, he lacks indestructible without equipment, so the opponent can kill him in response to your equip attempt. Ideally, have equipment already on the battlefield so you can equip immediately after Cloud resolves, or wait a turn until you have enough mana to cast and equip in the same turn.
Forgetting Cloud’s abilities are your-turn-only leads to nasty blowouts. Cloud is indestructible and has double strike only during your turn. On the opponent’s turn, he’s a regular 4/4 vulnerable to removal, damage-based effects, and unfavorable blocks. Don’t leave Cloud exposed as a blocker expecting him to survive — he won’t have indestructible when defending.
Dumping equipment with no creatures is a tempo trap. The deck has 9 equipment and 19 creatures, but sequencing matters. Prioritize Job Select equipment (which create their own bodies) over standalone equipment when you lack creatures. An unattached Warrior’s Sword does nothing on an empty board.
Overcommitting before Sephiroth’s ETB trigger is matchup-specific but critical. Sephiroth, Planet’s Heir gives all opposing creatures -2/-2 when he enters on turn six. Your 1/1 Hero tokens and Freya Crescent die instantly. Hold back some resources rather than flooding the board with small bodies into a potential wipe. Similarly, wasting removal on minor threats leaves you defenseless against real problems — save Fate of the Sun-Cryst (which costs {2} less targeting tapped creatures) and Judgment Bolt for threats that actually threaten to beat you.
Conclusion
The Cloud starter deck rewards proactive, aggressive play built around a simple but effective core: equip Cloud, protect Cloud, attack with Cloud. Your mulligan should prioritize a functional curve over any single card. Early turns build the board, the mid-game deploys and equips your commander, and the late game leverages Beatrix’s free equipment dumps and Ultima Weapon for overwhelming damage. The deck’s main vulnerabilities — variance from its many one-of cards, dependence on drawing Cloud alongside equipment, and weakness to board wipes hitting your small tokens — can be mitigated through disciplined sequencing, smart threat assessment, and knowing when to hold back versus when to commit. Against Sephiroth specifically, speed matters: establish board presence and deal damage before turn six, use Suplex to exile rather than just destroy, and never forget that Cloud’s invincibility expires the moment your turn ends.