Posted on Leave a comment

Dawn of Heroes – Spark in the Dark

20-085C – Assassin

1CP/3K body

Perfect if you want to swarm the board. Pay the additional cost and deal a Forward 3000 damage.

After that you can put Assassin into the Break Zone to break that same Forward.

But, then again, put into the Break Zone still confuses me, so I might be wrong on this.

 

20-086H – Alisaie

This card looks good so far, at least in my head. We still need to see it in action.

Alisaie comes in and you can play a 3 cost Scion from the Break Zone onto the field. Right away you get some value from her. Especially if you play her, and grab Alphinaud 20-106R from the Break Zone. You’ll technically only be paying 1CP for Alisaie, and Alphinaud.

And Alisaie’s second ability triggers when a Water Forward (Alphinaud) enters the field. That second ability says that when a Water Forward enters the field you can dull one of your opponents Forwards.

And when that Forward is Alphinaud, your opponents will select one of their dull Forwards and Break it.

Now if that Forward that you dulled is the only dull Forward, then you have chosen the Forward that will be Broken.

20-087R – Angeal

I always have trouble remembering what “Put into the Break Zone” means. And, during every Prerelease, I find myself asking the same question.

Must be old age.

Anyways, Angeal is a 3 cost Forward that likes to Break your opponents Forwards along with a couple of his SOLDIER buddies.

I’d think of Angeal more like a Summon that sticks around. Move over Odin, you ain’t got that strike like Angeal. Or something like that. Cause Angeal will stick around and block an attack or two before he gets sent t the Break Zone.
Angeal can also be put into the Break Zone and give one of your Forwards +3000 power.

20-088L – Estinien

Just looking at this card, you know it’s going to be good.

Warp Estinien in for 1CP. Then he comes in with Haste. And, until the end of the turn he has Brave, and can attack twice in the same turn. And, when he attacks he gains +10,000 power and First Strike.

That’s just … WOW!!!

You’ll want to play Estinien from the get go. Almost like Roche. If you don’t find Estinien in your opening hand, you should just Mulligan and hope to get him on your next draw.

This card will be heading straight to my Haste deck, with Haste.

20-089C – Kadaj

Kadaj is back.

4CP with an 8K body, and an ability that triggers when he enters the field, and enters the Break Zone. (That could be a song title “Enter the Break Zone” or album title.) Kadaj will make a Forward lose power, in other words Kadaj will cast Sap on a Forward.

Once he’s done with that he’ll stay on the field until he gets broken and cast Sap on another Forward. Well, technically it’s not Sap, but it’s close enough.

It’s decent.

20-090H – G’raha Tia

G’raha Tia is a great way to play a Scion onto the field, of an element that you are splashing.

Or any Scion that is not in your hand. As you’ll pay the cost of let’s say Alisaie, and if Alphinaud is already in the Break Zone, you’ll be able to play him as well.

G’raha Tia also gains 3000 power when there is a FFXIV Standard Unit Character on the field.

This is a card I’d like to see in action. And I’ll decide on if I like it or not afterwards. But, it’ll be too late for this article, as I only write my first impressions on each card, and at time of writing release is still a month away.

20-091C – Illusionist

2 cost Backup, that just buffs one of your Forwards attacks by 2000 power for one turn.

Can be used if your in a little pickle, attacking and being blocked by a Forward with a little more power than what you attacked with.

Would I use this card?

Probably not.

 

20-092R – The Emperor

The Emperor has new clothes.

And he’ll change them every time he is put into the Break Zone. He might even change into the same clothes, as you can search for The Emperor and play him onto the field dull. As long as The Emperor has 3CP or less.

With this one there are a total of 6 Emperors to choose from. One which allows you to search for an Emperor of cost 5 or less. Which is the highest CP for any Emperor.

I wonder if we can play The Emperor, the same way that we play Ultros. As the Emperor always seems like he has a way to come back to the field. I’m going to look into this some more at a later date.

We haven’t even mentioned The Emperor’s ability, That requires your opponent to pay 2CP more for their Character’s action abilities. Looks like an easy way to drain your opponent of CP.

I like.

20-093H – Shadow Dragon

You can either pay 3CP to cast Shadow Dragon, or you can use Shadow Dragon as part of the cost to play Golbez. After that you can pay just 1CP of any element and play Shadow Dragon onto the field, straight from the Break Zone.

And, when Shadow Dragon enters the field, you can pick a Forward of 3CP or less and Break it.

Once all is said and done, you can turn Shadow Dragon into a Forward by paying a whopping 0CP.

Sure, it only has 3000 power, but you’re not playing this card so you can have an extra Forward.

Just bring Shadow Dragon out to block, just so you can recast it later.

20-094R – Cor

Cor was a Captain? How come I don’t remember that?

4 cost Lightning Forward with 8000 power.

Nothing to write home about so far.

But, if a King is on the field, Cor gains +2000 power. making him a 10K body.

When Cor is finally sent to the Break Zone, you can remove the top 10 cards of your deck and play Cor back onto the field dull.

Is it worth it? Probably not. Maybe if Cor was a better card, we’d think about it.

20-095C – Weaver

I’m beginning to think that these Backups were solely made to be played in draft.

I don’t think anyone would use these.

But, we have one for every element.

So, I’m writing a bunch of sentences to make it seem like they’re worth writing about.

 

20-096C – Johnny

It was only a matter of time until Johnny showed up. And as you know it Tifa is in this set as well.

Johnny is a decent Backup that can grab a couple of cards from your Break Zone. Easy way to get a couple of Forwards back, or a Backup that was previously sent to the Break Zone.

After that, whenever you need another FFVII Character that was in the Break Zone, Johnny will happily head into the Break Zone to grab them.

Even though he doesn’t specifically search for Tifa, you know that that, that’s what’s really on his mind.

20-097C – Sephiroth

For 7CP you can cast Sephiroth.

Or you can just Warp Sephiroth in for 1CP.

Spoiler alert.

And he’ll Warp down from the sky, thrusting Masamune down one of your opponents Forwards just like he did to …

I stopped myself there, cause sometimes people don’t pay attention to Spoiler warnings.

If you know, you know.

And that’s not all, Zanshin, Special Ability that can be cast without dulling Sephiroth.

depending on how many Sephiroths you have in you hand, you can be breaking low cost Forwards left and right like there’s no tomorrow.

How is this a Common?

20-098R – Chadley

A simple 2 cost ability that will allow you to grab a Forward from the Break Zone.

But, you have to jump through so many hoops just to get to it. But you can eliminate half the process if you already have a Lightning Summon in your hand.

Lets see now.

1 – Play Chadley
2 – Discard a card
3 – Search for a Lightning Summon and add it to your hand.
4 – Next turn/ Dull Chadley
5 – Discard a Summon/
6 – Put Chadley into the Break Zone
7 – Choose a Forward in your Break Zone, add it to your hand.

Is it worth it? Aren’t there better ways of grabbing something from the Break Zone. Sure you can set it up before hand, and Chadley can be used for CP until you need him.

I guess it all depends on whatever you think.

20-099C/15-095C – Ninja

You’d think they’d at least try and get the serial numbers to match.

Would’ve looked a lot better reading 20-099C/15-099C.

Not that big of a deal but, at least you gain a Crystal when Ninja comes in.

After that you can send Ninja to the Break Zone, and deal a Forward 1000 damage.

*yawn

Maybe if it wasn’t a reprint I’d be more excited.

20-100R – Fusoya

Well one thing is for sure.

If you’re playing this card, you’ll have a whole bunch of 1CP and 2CP Summons in your deck. Just so you can spam them whenever you have Fusoya attack.

Isn’t there an Emissaries of Light Braska with an S ability that you can use a Summon instead of Braska?

*hint hint

I think these 2 will go well together.

20-101C – Behemoth

Common Monsters, that can do some damage. Behemoth here is a prime example.

Behemoth enters the field, and deals 7000 damage to one Forward.

Next turn, Behemoth can Break a damaged Forward.

Simple, effective, and probably won’t see much play, even though it is a decent card.

Prove me wrong.

20-102L – Mira

Well Maybe Behemoth will see some play, if it’s only to feed Mira’s ability.

1CP, 1 Monster, 1Miiiir-a

And say good-bye to that Forward that just entered the field. It’s even better if your opponent just spent a fortune on that Forward.

Mira is also able to bring herself back from the Break Zone, all you got to do is sacrifice a Monster, and she returns from the dead.

If you ever needed a reason to make a Monster deck, Mira is it.

20-103H – Ramuh

A 2 cost Summon that will give you 3 choices.

Best part, you can pick up to 2 of the 3 choices.

Which ones should you pick?

The choice is yours.

Dull a Forward, Deal 5000 damage to a Forward, or give Haste to a Forward.

It can also be any Forward that you can choose from.

Dull a Forward attacking, while dealing 5000 damage to another Forward, or even the same Forward.

Or maybe even, dull a Forward blocking and giving Haste to one of your Forwards to attack next.

The possibilities are there.

20-104R – Ramza

All you need is a Crystal in your possession. You don’t even nee to use it. If you don’t have a Crystal then you shouldn’t be playing Ramza. Play another Ramza

Ramza comes in with a Crystal (Maybe that Crystal is a Zodiac Stone.) Ramza gains Haste, and when he is sent to the Break Zone, you can break one of your opponent’s Forwards. Not limited to a certain CP either.

Bring Ramza in and attack right away. Don’t worry if he gets sent to the Break Zone, there’s more Ramzas where that came from.

You can probably find a way to grab him back from the Break Zone.

Ramza Army of One is a go.

As long as he can Shout.

20-105C – Reeve EX

It’s a 3 card trick.

Reeve comes in sets up his little table and shows you the 3 cards. One of which you can add to your deck, the others get sent to the bottom of your deck. Not seeing the light of day again, unless you shuffle your deck.

Ok, I know that’s not how it works.

4CP to grab a card from the top 3 of your deck At least you’ll know what you’ll be missing.

And, why did I always thought it was Reeves?

 

Posted on Leave a comment

From Nightmares – Thunderbolts and Lightning

19-069R – Emperor (FFL)

5 cost Forward with an S-ability that has a 50% chance to turn the tide in your favor. More than 50% depending on what cards you’re playing. But, if you’re not playing any Summons or Monsters it’s 100%.

Black Box, the abilities of abilities. Depending on what is the top card of your deck you can either deal 8000 damage to all the Forwards. Dull and Freeze all the Characters, or draw 4 cards.

Either of the first 2 will be very beneficial for you.

Add Glauca to the mix and he’s only a 4 cost Forward with a 9K body.

I’ll take 3 and throw them in any Lightning deck.

19-070C – Edge

It’s all about the Shuriken Counters.

Edge comes in with 3 Shuriken Counters, each one can be used to deal 5000 damage to a Forward. He does dull when he uses his ability, but after 3 turns, you can just block a Forward and recast Edge.

This way you can have Edge on the field for most of the game, just dealing 5000 damage a turn. A nice little way to keep your opponent at bay.

 

19-071C – Elgo EX

4 cost Backup that allows you to grab a Multi-Element Forward from your Break Zone.

After that Elgo just stays on the field and produces CP each turn, as any Backup would.

His enter the field ability also comes off as an EX Burst.

 

 

19-072C – Eald’narche

5CP/9K Forward that when she enters the field you can discard a card to Break a Forward.

Any Forward will do.

In total you will be paying 7CP to break the Forward, and then you’re left with a 9K body to deal damage or block attacks.

Almost like an Opus I Odin that will Break a Forward, but you get to keep this card on the field.

19-073C – Kain

Have we had a Kain as a Backup before?

Either way, this one isn’t half bad. Actually pretty useful with Back Attack.

If you have a Forward that is blocking another Forward, and your opponent buffs it to match the your Forwards power, you can play Kain and give your Forward First Strike. That way your attack will go through first. Breaking your opponents Forward.

Other than that, there really isn’t much use for it.

19-074C – Scholar

Cheap Backup to play, and is great when you have 3 points of damage.

When Scholar enters the field you can Break a Forward of cost 3 or less.

Not only that, but Scholar has an ability to deal 8000 damage to a damaged Forward. Most of the time this will break that Forward.

You get all this for 2CP.

 

19-075C – Chimera

If you don’t have a low cost Character on the field when you play Chimera, you don’t need to break it. This can also be a way to get rid of a Backup you don’t need on the field anymore to make way for a new one.

Chimera costs a measly 1CP, and it can also become a Forward.

This is a pretty decent Monster/Forward.

 

 

19-076R – Kuja EX

2CP Backup that Breaks a 2CP Forward or 1CP when he enters the field.

After that you can dull Kuja, chuck him to the Break Zone and dull a Forward.

 

 

 

 

19-077L – Golbez

Archfiends are back. If they weren’t a thing yet, they are now.

Golbez and the Warp Counters. Every time you remove one, you can play an Archfiend from your hand onto the field. They don’t even need to be a certain cost. Any Archfiend will do. And every time you do play an Archfiend, you can draw a card.
After that Golbez gives all the Archfiends +3000 power.

So many awesome cards so far, and so many decks I want to build. And so little time to do so.

19-078C – Jinnai

I don’t see it.

I mean you can pay the 4CP to activate Jinnai, to dull a Forward.

If the cost was a little cheaper, maybe 2CP it would have been better, but for 4CP to activate Jinnai, I believe there are better options to play.

But, Jinnai is only a Common, so that might be why the cost is high.

Other than that Jinnai is a 3CP/7K Forward.

19-079H – Moebius

Did I mention I like the Dream Stooges?

Well if I didn’t, now I did.

Moebius allows you to grab a Dream Stooge from the Break Zone. Which is a good thing.

If you have all the Dream Stooges on the field, they all gain +2000 power, making them a little more difficult to deal with.

I like it and I shall be making a Dream Stooge deck, just to have some fun. Add in Kefka and I can see something fun Happening.

19-080R – Vivi

Mono Lightning?

Might as well play Vivi, if only for the fact that all you’ll have in your hands is Lightning cards.

Simply play Vivi onto the field, reveal your hand and deal a Forward up to 14,000 damage.

It’s simple as that. He’s also a Forward so you can block an attack and then play another Vivi, and rinse and repeat.

Lots of value in this little play. It’s worth a try or 3.

19-081R – Behemoth

A second Behemoth in this set.

This one plays quite different then the Earth one.

When Behemoth enters the field, you can choose a Forward of 5CP or less and send it to the Break Zone.

After that during each of your Attack Phases, Behemoth will dull one of your opponents Forwards.

What you wanted to attack with that Forward? Sorry, he’s dull. Oh you wanted to block with that Forward, Sorry, he’s dull too.

If your opponent doesn’t have an answer for Behemoth, he’ll be playing with one less Forward. One he won’t be able to play again. Unless your dulling a Standard Unit, but why would you want to do that?

Did anyone notice the KO’d Onion Knight on the bottom?

19-082H – Lightning

This beautiful card comes in with Haste, And 9000 power.

It’s an interesting card if I say so myself. Because when she is sent to the Break Zone you can play a Category XIII Character from your hand onto the field.

And her other ability reads, discard Odin, and choose a Forward your opponent controls, break the Forward and Lightning.
Now, if you already have another Lightning in your hand, you can play her onto the field for free. It’ll be almost as she never left.

Who said Lightning doesn’t strike twice? Lightning can strike up to 3 times with this card.

19-083R – Ramuh

Lightning’s Free Forward is here, in the form of Ramuh.

Simply put, Ramuh deals 8000 damage to a 3 cost (or less) Forward.

That is usually more than enough to get rid of the low CP Forwards.

And, since it’s a free play, why not use it. I know I will.

 

 

19-084R – Ricard

Looks like Dragoons got a roll of the dice.

I like these types of cards, that let you reveal the top cards of your deck and hopefully finding what you’re looking for.
You won’t always get what you’re looking for, but there is always a chance.

And with most Dragoons being Lightning. I’m sure you’ll be able to find a Lightning card or two to choose from.

After the roll of the dice, Ricard has an ability that will give a Forward First Strike. You will send Ricard into the Break Zone, and that just means you get to play him again.

19-085C – Dragoon

Dragoon here comes in with Haste, and that is enough for me.

But if you’re playing with 3 different elements, and you paid the cost with 3, you can choose a Forward of cost 3 or less and Break it.

There are Dragoons in almost all of the Elements, which can make it somewhat easy to play.

Posted on Leave a comment

From Nightmares – Earth Monsters Under Your Bed

19-052C – Undead Princess

Undead Princess is a cheap Forward to play that can block any attack. Even though she only has 2000 power, she can still block an attack to save you from taking damage.

But, Undead Princess I don’t think Undead Princess is meant to be played as a Forward. You can put her into the Break Zone to give a Forward +4000 power until the end of the turn.

And, once she is in the Break Zone, you can remove her from the game and give an Earth Forward +2000 until the end of the turn.

Undead Princess rises from the grave once again to give you a Buff.

19-053C – Vanille

This is a decent card.

When Vanille comes in, you can go through your opponents Break Zone and remove a card from there. Doesn’t matter which one, just grab a card and remove it. This is good when your opponent has a way of grabbing cards from the Break Zone.
What I really like though, is her ability.

When your opponent casts a Summon, you can dull Vanille, and if they don’t pay 2CP you can cancel the Summon.
Either way, if your opponent pays and it goes through or it gets canceled it is a win for you.

19-054C – Vincent

It looks like we’ve been getting more Vincents in the last couple of sets.

Theatrhythm Vincent is a Backup that deals 5000 damage to a Forward when he enters the field.

And, when you reach 3 points of damage, you can put him in the Break Zone and deal 7000 damage to a Forward.

I always like Backups that have a way to send themselves to the Break Zone, that way you can play another Backup with an enter the field ability.

19-055R – Eiko

Eiko is a Coupon Code. Instead of paying the cost to cast a Summon, you can just dull 3 active Summoners and cast the Summon. You can choose any Summon up to a cost of 7CP. That’s almost all the Summons in the game except for 5.

This also means you can play Summons that are out of your elements. As long as you have Summoners on the field, you are good to go.

Plus, Eiko is only 2CP.

 

19-056C – Graff

Are you playing Mono-Earth?

Then you should be playing Graff.

When he enters the field you can Break a Forward. Any one you’d like.

This effect will only go off if you only paid with Earth CP.

Still a good way to get rid of a pesky Forward.

 

19-057L – Kefka

You heard about Free Summons, what about a Free Forward?

Kefka, the Dancing Mad Mage, is here and he can be played for F-R-E-E.

Just like that if your opponent has 3 or more Forwards on the field, Kefka will come in for Free.

That means you can splash Kefka into any deck without worrying about finding a way to pay the cost as he will be free. Free like a bird, he’s going to fly straight onto the field with a 9K body.

Not only that, but when Kefka is sent to the Break Zone, you can play a Summon from your Break Zone for free as well.
That’s double the free, with no Crystal Points down.

And, let’s not forget about that Amano art.

Yes, I’ll take 3 please.

19-058R – Jenova SYNTHESIS

Big Body, Big ability, and a last name full of capitol letters. I meant CAPITOL letters.

Jenova Synt … SYNTHESIS (you have to yell it out to get the full effect.) comes in and deals damage to all the Forwards your opponent controls, If you have 5 Backups, it’ll be 8000. Pair this with From Nightmares Matoya, and you might have a board wipe.

5CP 9000 power. Could be useful

 

19-059R – Aster Protoflorian

You should be ready to pay 7CP to play Aster Protoflorian. If you don’t you might as well play a different card. You need to get both of his abilities off when he enters the field cause after that all he’ll do is be a decoration on your field.

He’ll also count as a Category XIII Character for certain abilities in the Starter Set.

 

 

 

 

19-060C – Animist

Animist doesn’t do much till you have 3 points of Damage.

Animist does have an ability that lets you play a Monster of 2CP or less straight to the field. That way you can play a Monster without worrying about paying the cost.

And, at 3 points of Damage when Animist enters the field, you can search for a Monster of 4CP or less and add it to your hand.

 

 

 

19-061H – Doga

Looking at the card it took me a second to realize that it was drawn from the top.

Doga will fit good into an Fire/Earth or Earth/Lightning Deck. Or any Earth deck if you have a way to produce Fire or Lightning CP.

When he enters the field, Doga allows you to discard a Summon for to Crystals. You can use those Crystals to cast his abilities. One is to deal 7000 damage to all of your opponents Forwards, the other is to Break a Forward.

As long as Doga stays active, this is a good card to play.

When I first read this card I was thinking how can you fit this into a deck, but then I remembered that there are Backups that pay for different elements. Let’s take Tyro for instance and Class Tenth Moogle.

19-062R – Nacht EX

If you’re Warping, Nacht is a cheap play. If not, he costs 6CP.

Nacht is basically an Opus VI Titan with a body. Once he enters the field you pick 2 Forwards. One of yours and one of your opponent’s, and they deal damage to each other. This ability also comes off of an EX Burst.

 

 

 

 

19-063H – Barret

This Barret can be put in the AVALANCHE deck, but is it a better card than the Barret that is mostly used?

Probably not, but it does have some good things going for it.

If you’re playing a lot of Multi-Element cards it could be of use as when you cast a Multi-Element card you’ll deal 4000 damage to all the Forwards your opponent controls.

After that when he is put into the Break Zone, you can search for a Forward other than Barret and add it to your hand.

19-064R – Fenrir

Your Earth Free Summon.

Free is free. So, you might as well play this.Break a Multi-Element Forward or Break a Light or Dark Forward. The choice is your when Fenrir is cast.

There’s some use for it against some decks, but what about the decks that don’t have Multi-Element Forwards or Light/Dark Forwards?

 

 

 

19-065C – The Deathlord

The Deathlord will bring you closer to your death.

Or something like that.

I thought I found a good Combo, but then I realized it said Characters so you can’t cast Fenrir.

But, you can pull out a Kefka from the Break Zone, and play him straight to the field, if your opponent has more than 3 Forwards on the field. Now the other card can be anything you’d like, but I’m pretty sure there is something good here.

And, I’m sure someone already figured it out.

19-066C – Behemoth

Monsters, Plenty of Monsters.

We like this Monster, well I do at least.

When Behemoth enters the field you can Stop a Forward. They won’t be able to attack or block until the end of the next turn. But, they will be able to cast abilities.

Behemoth can also become a Forward once per turn, for the cost of 1 Earth CP. A 7K body for 1CP isn’t bad at all. Sure you’ll need to pay each turn, but you’ll usually have an extra CP laying around.

19-067C – Monk

Here’s a quick buff to all your Forwards. +2000 power can go a long way, add in Enna Kros from Opus I and you’ll have a 3K buff. Not only that but, you can play up to 3. That means that, technically you can have a 7K buff for all your Forwards.

Is there a way to pull it off? Paying 12 CP in one turn?

Let’s see. 5 Backups plus 7 cards in your hand, 3 are Monks so that leaves 4. Those 4 cards in your hand will pay for 2 of the Monks, while the 5 CP from your Backups will pay for the third. And you have one Backup left, which you’ll probably have no use for.

It can happen. Is it worth it? Probably not, but it would be fun when you pull it off.

Oh, and if you pay for the Monk with 3 different elements, you can choose a Forward, and Monk and the other Forward will deal damage to each other, possibly breaking a Forward.

19-068R – Rydia

A 5 cost Backup, that searches for a Job Summoner, and a Summon.

Both need to be of different elements.

Other than that, the art looks good, almost reminds you of Amano’s work. Sort of.