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The Scions Return: Heavensward Starter Set Incoming

We’ve got some massive news to tack onto the Memories of Life hype train—a brand-new Custom Starter Set is officially headed our way!

Starter sets are always the perfect entry point for new players, but veteran deckbuilders know they also pack some serious heat. The cards inside are built to synergize perfectly right out of the box. Given how dominant Final Fantasy XIV decks have been in past metas, this new release might be exactly what the Scions need to climb right back to the top of the competitive ladder.

Here is the breakdown for the upcoming FINAL FANTASY XIV – Heavensward Custom Starter Set, along with a first look at what these new cards can actually do.

Key Details & Release Date

Mark your calendars—this pre-constructed deck is themed around the critically acclaimed Heavensward expansion and is locked in for release later this autumn:

  • Release Date: October 9, 2026

  • Elements: Ice & Lightning

  • Format: Ready-to-play right out of the box, featuring an intuitive learning curve for beginners alongside high-level strategic options for seasoned competitive players.

What’s in the Box?

This deck isn’t just a standard 50-card pile; it comes fully equipped with a modern setup, including a dedicated Limit Break deck:

  • 58 Cards Total

  • 1 Main Deck (50 cards)

  • 1 LB Deck (8 cards)

  • 2 Quick Start Guides

Newly Illustrated Cards & Card Text Breakdown

The Heavensward set introduces 12 brand-new cards. Collectors take note: 5 of these cards feature exclusive, newly drawn artwork capturing iconic heroes and villains from the expansion.

Even better, we now have a look at how these new cards operate on the field, and the FFXIV tribal synergy is off the charts:

Newly Illustrated Cards (5 Total)

  • [30-121S] Haurchefant (Includes 1 Full Art Premium version!)

    • He breaks an opponent’s Forward if you control 5 FFXIV Characters. Plus, you can send Haurchefant to the Break Zone to completely reduce the next damage dealt to a Forward of your choice to 0. A true protector!

  • [30-127S] Tataru

    •  A pure value engine. If you have at least 4 FFXIV Characters on the field, she draws you a card.

  • [30-128S] Ysayle

    •  Magnificent as always. If you have a full board of Scions or any FFXIV Characters established, she’s highly likely to freeze your opponent’s entire board. Talk about a lockdown piece.

  • [30-129S] Alphinaud

    •  When he enters, he reveals the top 2 cards of your deck and lets you add one to your hand, provided it’s an FFXIV Character. Great consistency tool.

  • [30-130S] Estinien

    • Just Estinien being Estinien. If your opponent controls a Forward with over 9000 power, he gains Haste. Even crazier: every time he attacks, if you control at least 4 FFXIV Characters, he instantly breaks one of your opponent’s Forwards.

Additional New Cards (7 Total)

  • [30-119S] Yeti

  • [30-120S] Emmanellain

  • [30-122S] Nidhogg

  • [30-123S] Count Edmont de Fortemps

  • [30-124S] Dragon-King Thordan

  • [30-126S] Cid Garlond

  • [30-125S] Coeurlregina

The Verdict

Whether you’re a collector chasing that gorgeous Full Art Haurchefant, an FFXIV fan loyal to the Ishgard crew, or a competitor looking to break the Ice/Lightning meta wide open with Estinien and Ysayle, Square Enix is delivering on their promise. This set elevates both visual appeal and on-board power beyond any starter deck we’ve seen to date.

We can’t wait to get these into the shop and onto your tables this October!

What do you think of these card effects? Does Ysayle look like a mandatory inclusion for Ice/Lightning, or are you more excited about Estinien’s Limit Break utility? Let us know in the comments!

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Memories of Life

We’re jumping straight into the big news today—Opus XXX : Memories of Life has been officially revealed! This set is breaking tradition in a few ways and looks like a massive love letter to Final Fantasy IX.

Here is the breakdown of what we know so far:

Pack Art & Themes

For the first time in FFTCG history, we are getting three different pack designs in a single set! All three feature characters from Final Fantasy IX, confirming that this legendary title is the centerpiece of the set. Personally, I’m crossing my fingers that we finally get some Tantalus cards to round out the FFIX roster.

The Gold Signature: Shantotto

Our Gold Stamped Signature card for this set is the legendary Shantotto.

I’ll be honest—at first glance, I didn’t recognize her! I thought it was one of the Tarutarus from Opus XIX: From Nightmares, and I was genuinely confused why they’d give a Tarutaru the Full Art Signature treatment. But now that the dust has settled, I can say it is an absolutely gorgeous card.

The Return of Noir & Legacy Cards

The Noir collection continues to grow! This time, Sephiroth is getting the black-and-white treatment. Since both Noir cards so far are Final Fantasy VII characters, I’m starting to wonder if they are slowly reprinting the cards from the exclusive Noir art book.

We also have a killer lineup of Legacy cards:

  • Tifa (Dawn of Heroes)

  • Cyan (Beyond Destiny) — That Cyan card is definitely the standout for me.

  • Vegnagun (Tears of the Planet)

Multi-Element Comeback

Multi-Element cards (the non-Limit Break versions) are officially back! It’s been 11 Opuses since we last saw these in From Nightmares, so it’s about time they made a return to the meta.

 

Card Spotlight: Shantotto (30-080L)

Let’s look at the math on this new Shantotto, because it is potentially terrifying.

  • Cost/Power: 8 CP / 9000 Power

  • Element: Lightning

  • The “Free Play” Potential: Shantotto’s cost is reduced for each Lightning Character you control. If you’ve built your board right, she can effectively be a Free Play.

The Board Wipe: When she enters the field, she deals 1000 damage to all Forwards (excluding herself) for every Lightning Character you control.

The Math: If you have 8 characters out to make her free, she enters and deals 8000 damage + 1000 for herself = 9000 damage to the entire board.

The Value Engine: As if a board wipe wasn’t enough, every time she attacks, you reveal the top card of your deck. If it’s Lightning, it goes straight to your hand. She clears the path and then refills your resources.

Refia or Sephiroth?

Aside from Shantotto, the other card art revealed so far is top-tier. I’m currently torn between the new Sephiroth and Refia for my favorite art in the set—both look incredible.

What do you think of the new Shantotto? Is she a guaranteed inclusion in your Lightning decks, or is 8 CP too much of a gamble?

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From JRPGs to Quarter Boosters: Flea Market Finds

Back to Basics: Hidden Hope Restocks & Retro Finds

The hype from the latest release has finally settled, and while we love the midnight energy, it’s nice to get back to our regular programming. For us, that means one thing: The Restock.

We recently finished processing Beyond Destiny, and today we are officially moving on to Hidden Hope. We’ll be rolling these out across the website, TCGPlayer, and eBay throughout the day. If you’ve been looking for specific singles to polish off your latest deck, keep your eyes on our shop—they’ve been moving fast!

A Flea Market Score (and Some Sports-Game Skips)

I managed to hit the flea market today, and the retro gods were smiling. I found a nice little stack of original PlayStation (PSX) titles that I couldn’t pass up:

  • Star Ocean: The Second Story: A total JRPG classic.

  • Fighting Force: Perfect for anyone missing those old-school beat-’em-ups.

  • Resident Evil 2: Unfortunately, it’s just Disc 1, but for the right collector looking to complete a set, it’s a great find.

I did have to leave a pile of sports games behind—I probably could have grabbed them, but we all know the struggle of trying to move old Madden and FIFA titles!

The “Quarter-Pack” Gamble

I also found a few booster packs for just a quarter each. One was Kaijudo—which some of you might remember as Wizards of the Coast’s 2012 relaunch of the Duel Masters franchise. Even if it’s a “dead” game, seeing that Wizards logo for $0.25 makes it a mandatory buy.

I also snagged a Star Wars Rogue One booster. I was chasing an autograph, but I pulled a Shoretrooper Character Icon. It’s valued at about $2.00, so hey—I’ll take a 700% return on investment any day of the week!

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Dreamlike Limit Break

28-119R – Serah LB

Fire and Ice.

Serah comes on in and depending on how many Fire and Ice Characters you have on the field, will determine what she does.
IF you have 3 Fire Characters, Serah will deal a Forward 5000 damage.

If you have 3 Ice Characters, Serah will have your opponent discard a card.

And, if you have 3 and 3 then both of these abilities will go off.

Not bad, but I always feel like these Limit Breaks should be more like a Limit Break.

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28-120R – Ritz LB

How bad do you need that Crystal?

If you need it right away this is the Limit Break for you.

The cost for it is a bit high, when there are plenty of other cards that will get you a Crystal for much cheaper. The only difference is that Ritz is ready to go when you need her.

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28-121R – Gilgamesh LB

Gilgamesh is here.

Again. And, there’s nothing wrong with that, because we all like Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh is a your body ready to attack, ready to block, and he won’t take much damage for Gilgamesh has First Strike.

This is a usable Limit Break to have, just in case you need to throw in a big body.

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28-122R – Rufus LB

Rufus comes on in, and if you pay the extra cost of 1 Earth CP and 1 Lightning CP, you can play a Final Fantasy VII Forward from your Break Zone onto the field.

Yes, please and thank you.

Not much else to say. Sure, the cost is a bit high, 7CP total, but you also need to take into account that you can play Rufus, whenever you’d like. You don’t need to hope you’ll draw him during the turn that you need him, because he is sitting there in your Limit Break deck ready to go.

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28-123R – Ashe LB

Might as well just play Ashe from the very start.

You’ll pay 6CP up front, but after that, most of your MBM characters will cost 1CP, but only at the beginning of your Attack Phase.

Let’s not forget that Ashe will look at the top 5 cards of your deck when she enters the field, and then you will select a MBM Character and add it to your hand.

If all goes as planned, Ashe will have paid for herself in two turns.

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28-124R – Bahamut LB

I don’t know, 9CP is a lot.

And, what do you get in return, maybe a broken Forward and a Meat Shield.

Well you’ll get a body on the field, but other than that, I’d leave this one at home.

 

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Darklike Light?

28-115L – Lightning

We just talked about Mono-Mono-Lightning a few days back, and this Lightning is a perfect fit for it.

Why?

Well, because it’ll search for the other Lightning.

But, first things first, we’ll take a look at this card by itself.

2CP, for a 9K body. That’s it. That is cheap. People would be happy to pay that even if Lightning didn’t do anything else.

No enter the field abilities, just a couple of abilities for when she is removed from the game.

First, if Lightning is in your Break Zone you can remove her from the game and search for another Lightning that’s 6CP or less and play it onto the field.

And, when Lightning is removed from the game, you can pay 4CP and remove one of your opponent’s Forwards from the game.

Either way it’s a win.

Hoe much did that Lightning Lightning cost?

28-116H – Louise

From what it looks like, Louise will never see the field. She might if you need a body real quick.

Louise is the Crystal Generator for the Warriors of the Crystal.

Simply put, you discard her from your hand and put her into the Break Zone, and you will gain a Crystal.

After that you’ll play a Warrior of the Crystal, and when that Warrior of the Crystal enters the field, you’ll remove Louise from the Break Zone and gain one more Crystal.

2 Crystals, in one turn. All it cost you was Louise.

Sounds like an even trade.

28-117H – Vayne

2 cards per turn?

Talk about giving your opponent a restraining order. Especially if they’re trying to swarm the field.

Vayne will do good in decks that play high cost cards, as you won’t really be able to play too much of them. The faster you can get Vayne on the field the better your chances.

And when Vayne is sent to the Break Zone, your opponent won’t be able to play any cards this turn. That’s just a little cherry on top.

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28-118L – Golbez

Got Monsters?

Golbez will help you search and play. Any Monster with a cost of 3CP or less. Perfect for my Bombs. They’ll be getting an upgrade.

And as long as Golbez is on the field, whenever a Monster enters the field, you can either Dull or Activate a Character.

We shall rebuild the Bomb Squad! And, it will be better than ever!

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