The Final Fantasy XIV (FF14) community has creatively enhanced the flavor of the upcoming Magic: The Gathering (MTG) card, Rite of Replication, which prominently features Gaius van Baelsar. This character is particularly apt, given his unique ability to duplicate himself in battle during the Main Story Quest. However, fans have found the selected flavor text—”Eorzea is mine by right!”—to be somewhat lacking. Many believe that a more iconic line from his lengthy dialogue, such as “How very glib,” would have better captured the essence of this formidable foe.
A Reddit user, known as Sir5000, shared a humorous meme depicting their ideal version of the Rite of Replication card within the FF14 subreddit. This alteration highlights the creative intersection between the MTG and FF14 universes, as discussed in our recent interview with Gavin Verhey and Zakeel Gordon regarding the expanded MTG universe. Sir5000’s edit is a delightful representation of what Square Enix fans yearn for.
A Perfectly Crafted FF14 Fan Edit of MTG’s Rite of Replication
In a post humorously titled, “Honestly, I feel like this was too much flavor text for the MTG collab card…,”Redditor u/Sir5000 unveiled an impressive version of the Rite of Replication card. It creatively incorporates the entirety of Gaius van Baelsar’s memorable monologue—that he delivers before the battle in The Praetorium.
Honestly, I feel like this was too much flavor text for the MTG collab card… by u/Sir5000 in ffxiv
During the boss encounter, Gaius van Baelsar delivers a lengthy, albeit somewhat tiresome, monologue arguing his right to govern Eorzea. This epic soliloquy has been humorously condensed into the meme version of the card.
Although the speech is serious and compelling, its drawn-out delivery can seem absurd when players are left passively waiting for him to finish. Unlike Android 17 from Dragon Ball Super, who interrupts lengthy speeches during intense moments, players in FF14 have no choice but to endure Gaius’s monologue.
The edited card from Sir5000 retains the mechanical text of MTG’s Rite of Replication while including the full transcript of Gaius’s verbose speech. However, it is impractical for such extensive text to fit on a single card, even without the existing game text. While Wizards of the Coast could potentially break this monologue into several cards, it is unlikely to happen.
This fan-edited card brings to mind the Full Text basic lands released previously, though it focuses solely on flavor text. It would be fantastic to see tokens or variant cards that showcase parts of Gaius’s grand speech in the future.
If the MTG universe can feature numerous iterations of Cid, surely there is room for alternate representations of Gaius’s monologue as well. Regardless, Sir5000’s creation is sure to inspire a wave of card alterations—repaints or redesigns crafted by devoted fans—making waves in the MTG community.
As one of my all-time favorite cards, seeing Gaius van Baelsar represent Rite of Replication within the MTG Final Fantasy project makes it even more special. While it would have been preferable to hear him reminisce about his glib past, for now, we must settle for the chosen flavor text, “Eorzea is mine by right!”