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17 Days to Go: The Blissful Eternity Midnight Prerelease Is Coming!

We are officially 17 days away from the Blissful Eternity Midnight Prerelease! It’s time to stop wondering and start preparing. Are you ready to try your luck and chase that ultra-rare, Tetsuya Nomura-illustrated Sephiroth Gold Stamped Signature card?

Here is everything you need to know to join the Kardboard Korner crew for our favorite community tradition.

📍 Where Are We Meeting?

While we primarily operate as an online shop, we love bringing the local community together. We’ll be hosting after-hours at our usual haunt:

🏠 Mr. Gyros 📌 9229 S. Cicero Ave, Oak Lawn, IL 60453

⏰ When is the Kickoff?

🗓️ Friday, July 31st, 2026 The main tournament event starts exactly at Midnight, but the doors open early at 9:00 PM.

  • Early Birds: Come hang out for some casual play, trading, or just grabbing some food.

  • New Players: If you’ve never played FFTCG, show up early! We’ll be running demos and teaching the basics before the tournament officially kicks off.

🏆 How Do I Win?

We’ve been hosting these since Opus XIV, and we like to make sure everyone leaves happy:

  • The Grand Prize: Secure 1st place and you’ll walk away with an extra Blissful Eternity Prerelease Kit!

  • Top 4: We’ve got dedicated prize support locked in for our top finishers.

  • The “Everyone Wins” Rule: Even if the packs aren’t in your favor, everyone who participates walks away with at least one free booster pack.

💰 Entry & Kits

  • Tournament Entry: $50.00 (Includes your first Prerelease Kit containing 9 booster packs, an exclusive promo, and sleeves).

  • Additional Kits: $45.00 each for those looking to stock up on the night.

Why Attend?

Aside from being among the absolute first to crack open Blissful Eternity and hunt for those stunning new Noir cards like Cloud, it’s all about the atmosphere. There’s something genuinely special about grinding through a tournament until 3:00 AM with a group of people who love this game just as much as you do.

Are you planning on coming out? Drop a comment below so we can get an accurate head count, or let us know which card you’re hunting for most in this set!

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Blissful Fire

29-001R/26-003R – Ifrit (XVI)

Really?

We’re starting off with reprint?

I’ll just give you what we said back when Gunslinger in the Abyss came out.

“Priming is back, and it looks like it’s better than ever.

That’s not saying much as this is the second set that we have that has Priming.

Either way, Ifrit needs to be Primed into, by Clive.

First off, when Ifrit is blocked or if he is chosen by an ability, Ifrit deal your opponent 1 point of damage. That means that your opponent will need to find a way to get rid of Ifrit A.S.A.P.

We’re not done yet.

If Clive has primed into Ifrit, Ifrit is nearly untouchable. Because, all damage dealt to Ifrit that is less than Ifrit’s power becomes a big fat 0. Zero! Zero!

Can’t say I didn’t warn you.”

29-002R – Wol

How many Wols are there in this set?

I’ve seen a couple already, and I’m sure I’ll see at least another 3.

But, this one is good. Especially with Samurais. You can just throw him in that deck alongside Tenzen.

Wol comes in with Brave and a 9K body, ready to take down your opponent’s Forwards and also block their attacks.

Let’s not forget about Wol’s Crystal ability which allows you to play a Fire Forward that costs 4CP or less from your hand on to the field. And, you can use that once per turn as long as you have Crystals to pay for it.

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29-003R – Chimera

Decent Monster that becomes a Forward.

And, that means that even if Chimera never becomes a Forward, you’ll still get to use it’s ability thatdeals 7000 damage to a Forward.

Turning Chimera into a Forward is great, as it has an 8K body.

But, if you don’t have 5 Backups on the board, well then, Chimera will just hang out.

And, from the looks of it, we have plenty of Monsters that will become forwards at 5 Backups in this set.

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29-004C – Clive

Well it’s not the Clive we all know.

Clive let’s you draw a card when he or any other Final Fantasy XVI Forward enters the field. And, yes this includes Prime, or at least I would think so. And, once you see what you got, you will put a card from your hand at the bottom of your deck.

Hey, at least it’s not discard a card.

Other than that, Clive has 7000 power and costs 3CP.

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29-005L – Cloud

Beautiful card.

I think I already have this artwork on another card from some old Final Fantasy Art cards. I can’t remember from where, but it’s somewhere, unless we sold it already.

Anyways, on to the card.

When cloud enters the field you can remove 3 Fire or FFVII cards from your Break Zone, and you get to play a weakling. Yes, a weakling. Up to 2CP, and up to 5000 power. I’m sure their are great cards for this, especially since Cloud is a Warrior, and Warrior decks are all that and stuff.

But, we’re not here to talk about that.

We’re here to talk about Power Cleave/Spell Blade.

One ability.
2 Forwards.
Broken.

That sounded better in my head.

29-006C – Samurai

This isn’t bad at all.

4CP to grab a Fire Character from your Break Zone? Sure, this way you can grab Cloud, and use that S ability a couple more times.

But, if you don’t want to grab CLoud, you can always grab a Samurai, and that Samurai will deal one of your opponent’s Forward 3000 damage.

Yep, sounds good.

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29-007C-15-007C – Samurai

Another reprint, but we should have been expecting this one. This Samurai, alongside the other 5 Standard Units, all do the same thing. They give you a Crystal.

And, since we’ve been talking about this card since Crystal Dominion came out, I’ll just leave it at that.

I’m just trying to fill this up with words, so it looks like we have something important to say.

 

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29-008L – Zidane

How many cards, can you cast per turn? Zidane here, will deal 5000 damage for everycard that you cast that was removed from the game. Makes sence?

For 2CP you get a 5k body. And a great ability.

Zidane removes cards from the game. The top 2 cards of your deck to be exact, when he enters the field, and whenever Zidane attacks. You can then play those cards during your turn and deal 5K damage.

You can also pair this with a little Summon called Mind Flayer, which will help with removing your opponent’s cards from the game. And, you still will get the damage Zidane will deal when they come into the field.

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29-009H – Cid Highwind

Cid can Pilot your deck for you. Or at least he can start you off to where you want to go.

Cid comes in and you can play a Final Fantasy VII Forward that costs 4CP or less (*cough Cloud *cough cough) from your hand and play it to the field.

And, whenever another Final Fantasy VII Character enters the field you draw a card. So, 7CP – 4CP = 3CP + 2CP from the card you just drew, Cid’s total cost came down to 1CP. You’ll be positive CP once you play another Final Fantasy VII Forward.

And, a 9K body, Cid will stick around for a while.

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29-010C – Joshua

We already know that Joshua will Prime into Phoenix. But is he playable by himself?

Actually, yes.

For 2CP you can play Joshua and then you can discard a card. Then you get to deal 7000 damage to a Forward. Possible breaking it.

Once that is done, you can them Prime into Phoenix.

We’ll see what Phoenix does when we get to it.

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29-011H – Tifa

Cloud makes a lot more sense now.

Tifa comes in with Haste, and every time she attacks, you can deal a Forward 1000 damage for every Final Fantasy VII Character that is on your field.

Rise and Fall, deals a Forward 3000 damage, and you get to draw a card. You can use this ability up to 3 times this turn. For a total of 9000 damage. This will be used mostly for a bit of ping damage here and there.

But, you won’t be using that, you’ll be using Tifa for Cloud’s S ability.

Cid Highwind >> Cloud >> Tifa >> Cloud’s S ability

29-012H – Neon

Neon is trying to take the place of Amaterasu, and if this card comes in a Full Art as well, which I think it will, you’ll be seeing a big spike in that card.

Neon comes right in for 3CP, and if you have another Strangers of Paradise Character on the field, she will deal a Forward 9000 damage.

But, Amaterasu is a Summon.

Yes, you are correct, but take a look at Neon’s Signature ability.

It’s not cancelling an ability, it’s just changing the damage dealt to your Forward to 0. A big fat 0. Neon is trying but she isn’t taking Amaterasu’s place. And that just means that they can both work together, and Fire’s aggro will be unstoppable.

29-013H – Bahamut

This is a pretty decent Summon, although you can’t cast it as a counter attack, on one of your opponent’s attacks, you can still cause some damage here.

Bahamut deals one of your opponent’s Forwards 10,0000 damage. And, when that Forward is put into the Break Zone, during this turn. You’ll deal your opponent a point of damage as well. As long as they have 5 points of damage or less.

Now you might say that Bahamut costs 6CP and that, that might be a lot to pay, but look at what you’re getting.

Plus let’s not forget about Fang and Caius. Fang can reduce the cost to cast Bahamut by 2CP, and Caius will reduce the cost by 5CP. Caius also searches for Bahamut.

Just throwing that out there.

29-014R – Palom

We have the twins back doing what the twins do best. Twincast.

Well that’s the one option. If you have both Palom and Porom on the field, you can use Palom’s ability and deal one of your opponent’s Forwards 20,000 damage.

If not then you can just use Palom’s first ability and deal 5000, which is still good, depending on what you’re targeting.

Plus, you get a 2 cost Backup that will stick around until you need to use his abilities.

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29-015C – Faris

Oh, wow.

Look at that artwork! It looks like modern day Amano art.

Faris comes in and grabs a Fire or a Water Forward from your Break Zone and plays it straight to the field.

This is not bad at all, you can even throw Faris in your new Final Fantasy VII deck so she can grab Tifa, when your opponent breaks her.

And, after you grabbed that card from the Break Zone, Faris stays on the field as a 8K body. Attacking and Blocking until she is sent to the Break Zone.

You can then replay Faris.

29-016R/26-018H – Phoenix (XVI)

26-018H – Phoenix (XVI)\par

“Phoenix is ready to raise the dead … err the Knocked Out?

Of course your going to prime into Phoenix, cause if you don’t, well, there’s no point in playing this card.

Once Joshua primes into Phoenix, you’ll reveal the top 4 cards of your deck and add a couple of Fire cards or Final Fantasy XVI cards to your hand. Any cards, doesn’t have to be a Character, a Forward, a Summon, or a Monster or anything. just pick the two that you prefer.

Joshua and Phoenix will do well in any Mono-Fire deck. Or a FFXVI deck.

We still have Flames of Rebirth. Simply grab any Final Fantasy XVI Forward in your Break Zone and play it on to the field.

We’ll be seeing plenty of Phoenix.”

29-017C – Braska’s Final Aeon EX

I’m trying to see if it’s worth paying 9CP for Jecht … I mean Braska’s final Aeon.

When Jecht enters the field or leaves the field you will deal one of your opponent’s Forwards 8000 damage. That’s double dipping here.

I would say this is the Prime example of a Meat Shield. 9000 power, and when Braska’s Final Aeon is sent to the Break Zone, he’ll probably take another Forward with him.

If only Braska Could Prime into his Final Aeon.

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29-018C – Bomb

We got a new Bomb!

And this one is pretty Bombesque. If that makes any sense.

Bomb comes in and does nothing. For now.

Bomb is actually a ticking time bomb, waiting for the moment that you will trigger it. And when you do, Bomb will deal a Forward 4000 damage and it will also draw a card for you.

You can’t go wrong with this one.

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29-019C – Lann

I like this.

+1000 power to all the WoFF Forwards. You can’t go wrong with that.

Plus, Lann gives Reynn Haste.

If you’re playing WoFF, it’ll be a good idea to add Lann to your deck.

Hot Singles!

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Terra Luck, Cleat Fails, & Windows 11 Breakthroughs

What a week! I finally found a sliver of free time to actually play some Final Fantasy TCG instead of just sorting it. I packed up my Moogle Bounty Mayhem deck and headed over to Game Knight in Summit to check out the setup my buddy Leo has going on.

Most of the usual FFTCG crew was there, and honestly, it was an absolute blast. As for how I actually did? Let’s just say my Moogle Bounty Mayhem didn’t quite break the meta this time, and I walked away with a few losses. But hey, I’ve never claimed to be a world-champion player, and I don’t get to play nearly as much as I’d like to—so I’m strictly blaming it on rust!

The Golden Touch 🃏✨

The real highlight of the night came after the games. I grabbed my Journey of Discovery consolation pack and handed it right over to my daughter, who came along for the ride. She has notorious good luck, so I told Leo right then and there: “She’s pulling the Terra.”

Sure enough, she rips open the pack, and right there on top is Terra! It wasn’t the massive Gold Signature version, but pulling the clean Foil version right on cue gave us a great laugh. We jammed one more casual game and headed home happy.

🚨 Countdown to Midnight: Blissful Eternity Prerelease!

The countdown is officially on! We are just 25 days away from the Blissful Eternity Midnight Prerelease on Friday, July 31st.

We will be dropping a dedicated blog post with every single detail tomorrow, but here is the quick rundown of what you need to know:

  • 9:00 PM: Doors open for casual games, trading, or just hanging out.

  • Midnight (12:00 AM): Pre-release kits hit the tables and the tournament kicks off!

  • The Prizing: Winner takes home a full kit, and absolutely nobody walks away empty-handed.

Hanging Up the Cleats (That I Never Had) ⚽🤕

Outside of the card shop, soccer season is officially spinning up—and I’m coaching the little ones this year!

I took the kids down to the local field down the street for practice, and in a momentary lapse of reason, I decided to show off a bit. I tried to pull off a slick Rabona kick, completely miscalculated, kicked the heel of my own standing foot, and went down hard. Naturally, because I never learn my lesson, I got right back up to try it one more time and promptly tripped right over the ball.

I guess it’s finally time to admit I’m not young anymore and hang up my cleats… which is easy, considering I never actually owned soccer cleats in the first place. And, that means that I can’t hang them up. I’ll be still out there playing.

In Other News… 🖥️

I am slowly but surely making peace with Windows 11. There are definitely still some features that drive me crazy, but I’ve managed to find a few solid workarounds for my documents and layouts. If you’re struggling with the update too, hang in there—there is light at the end of the tunnel!

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What a weekend we just had!

While everyone else was out enjoying the 4th of July, we were dealing with a different kind of fireworks—tech problems. Once again, an SSL malfunction reared its ugly head, and we spent the holiday weekend trying to get it sorted out. From the looks of it, everything is finally back to normal and the site is stable. It is always incredibly frustrating when your website goes down out of the blue, especially when you are actively trying to prep the shop for a major set release.

Speaking of which, the Blissful Eternity Midnight Prerelease is right around the Korner! We are officially 25 days away from Friday, July 31st. We will be dropping more specific venue details later this week, but if you’ve already been to one of our midnight events, you already know what kind of hype is in store.

The Great Windows 11 Document Headache 🖥️

In other tech news, I finally got a new work computer, and I’ve gotta say: I am absolutely not liking Windows 11 right now.

The biggest issue? They completely stripped away native support for Rich Text Documents (.rtf). Since the vast majority of our operational files, lists, and templates were built using Rich Text, it’s created a massive headache. Now, I have to go through the painstaking process of converting all those old files into simple text documents or finding a workaround just to access our data. If you’ve got a smooth trick for handling this transition, my inbox is wide open.

Lorcana Flash Sale (And How We Got It) 🧚

If you’ve been keeping an eye on our TCGPlayer store over the last few days, you might have noticed some Disney Lorcana singles hitting the shelves. Well, blink and you missed them, because they have been absolutely flying out the door. We had one massive batch of listings that completely sold out before morning!

Does this mean Kardboard Korner is officially breaking into Lorcana? Probably not. We aren’t planning to stock it regularly, but I definitely won’t second-guess buying a collection next time someone brings one to the table. We actually almost turned this specific batch down entirely, but it was bundled into a much larger, high-value Final Fantasy TCG collection that we just couldn’t pass up. Our loss is your gain, and the local Lorcana community wasted no time clearing it out!

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Post-Storm Update: We Are Back & The Restock Quest Continues!

What a week we just had! Storm season finally caught up with us, and it did a real number on our operations. Usually, a blackout around here only lasts a couple of hours, but this storm was a completely different beast.

We were left entirely in the dark for a few days. To make things even more interesting, when the power finally did kick back on, only half of our electricity worked—which meant our internet was dead for another full day.

While my wife and kids managed to escape the outage and head out of town to a nice resort, I stayed behind to hold down the fort and keep things moving as best I could. Of course, the exact day we would have been leaving was the day the power finally clicked back on at the restaurant. That meant an immediate mountain of work: inspecting the inventory, throwing out what didn’t survive, and grinding hard to get everything prepped and ready to open the doors again.

Back on the Restock Quest 🃏

Before the weather decided to interfere, we were absolutely flying through our card inventory. We officially wrapped up Opus V and are sitting right at the finish line for Opus VI. We honestly would have been completely done with Opus VI by now, but that’s right when the storm struck and pulled the plug!

Shipping Update 📦

If you currently have a pending order with us, thank you so much for your patience. Now that our lights, internet, and computers are fully operational again, we are working around the clock to pack, tag, and ship every single order out A.S.A.P.