Playing an item early on means you might get to use it a few times, making it very valuable
As for the commanders in each deck, there was apparently a lot of discussion as to who to choose
DD: Our core approach to Final Fantasy VII was to capture the original PS1 games narrative, while using Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirths modern aesthetics to push the fidelity of each character design, story moment, and memorable location to the next level
There is a difference between wanting a card and needing it and most of the time, we don't need it, we truly want it
However, this investment in tie-in sets does come at a cost
Nothing is more important in Magic than reliably playing lands and guaranteeing you have enough mana to fuel the later stages of the game