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Resurgence of Power : Fire Thoughts

18-001C – Achuka

Achuka almost sounds like the beginning to Kokomo.

First card in the set, Achuka might be a decent backup, but doesn’t look like something that I would use. Then again, I can’t always see how good cards are from the beginning. Sometimes I do, but not always.

Achuka here deals damage when he enters, and then you can dull him and deal some more damage. The damage increases if you have 3 points of Damage.

Achuka, Jamaica, yeah I wanna take ya to a Chocobo.

18-002C – False Stalwart

Simple, comes in with Brave. 2 cost with a 5K body, which can turn into a 7K body, with the help of another Manikin.

Not much to write about, but it’s cheap cost might make it worth it.

Wasn’t there a card that was good with Manikins? Exdeath? Opus 2? I believe it was.

 

 

18-003C – Machinist

Discard Machinist draw a card. And, that’s about it.

Cheap Backup to play.

 

 

 

18-004R – Cleome

A Symphonian Musician? That’s a first. She does have Bard skills and with those Melody Counters she does Buff your Forwards and deals damage to your opponents Forwards.

She is also a Forward herself.

Not a bad card for 2CP.

 

18-005C – Salamander

Simple Fire Summon that delivers 5000 damage to all of your opponents Forwards.

Remove 10 Fire cards from the Break Zone to make it 7000 points of damage.

Now if this card would have been an EX Burst, it would have been amazing.

 

 

18-006C – Zell

Coming in with Haste, Zell can attack right away and if you buff him up to over 10k Power, every time he attacks he deals 8000 damage to one of your opponents Forwards.

Don’t have anyway to buff up Zell?

He comes with an ability that if you discard 2 cards, Zell’s power goes up by 3k.

Self-sufficient.

 

18-007C – Selphie EX

Selphie actually costs 2CP as you’ll be getting back a Fire Forward when she is played onto the field. So, if that Fire Forward was just a card you chucked to help get her on the field then, you have just played like I would if you didn’t know what else to do.

Other than that she is a Backup, with the ability to give a Fire Forward you control +3K Power.

You can also get that Fire Forward of off an EX Burst.

 

18-008H – Two-Headed Dragon

Two heads are better then one.

Every time a Fire Forward attacks choose a Forward your opponent controls and deal it 400 Damage. Straight to the point. Especially of you are playing Mono-Fire. Everyone attacks and you slowly start to chip away at your Opponents front lines.

Attack to bring them down. I’m sure you’ll be able to turn things around if the Two-Headed Dragon is on the field.

18-009H – Tidus

Other than the Kingdom Hearts attire, I don’t see why this card is a Hero. For the cost of Tidus I’m pretty sure you can find a better card to play to deal 8000 damage to one Forward.

Not a big fan of this one.

 

 

18-010C – Berserker

Staying true to the Berserker Job. Berserker must attack. As that is the only thing Berserker can do. He goes Berserk.
He also comes with First Strike. Allowing him to deal damage to your opponents Forwards before they get a chance to.
Also when he comes in you can pay a Fire CP and choose a Forward that must block.

Who’s ready for a Berserker deck? I wonder if there’s enough Bereserkers to get this going?

18-011R – Paine EX

Do to the cost I would say that this card is to be solely used for it’s EX Burst. AM I right or Am I wrong?

I mean 6CP for a 9K body is a lot, but this is just a Rare card.

Unless you’re just counting on removing Forwards from the game instead of sending them to the Break Zone, But that’s what Yuna is for.

 

18-012L – Faris

This card is interesting to say the least. Your opponent will be thinking twice before they attack. As when Faris or a Warrior of Light is dealt damage, you get to choose a Forward your opponent controls and deal it 3000 damage.

Imagine what would happen if they use a Summon or ability that deals damage to all your Forwards. You might be getting rid of a couple of their Forwards to say the least.

I wonder what other Warrior of Light cards will be in this set.

 

18-013R – Fang

Fang looks like she is always just a Rare. I’m waiting for the day where they’ll give her her own Legend card. But today is not that day.

Fang will buff all your XIII Forwards by 2. Including herself. She is basically a 2CP/7K because you will probably be playing a XIII focused deck. Why, you ask? It’s simple really, every turn Fang -can reduce the cost of casting a XIII Forward by 2.

But, why is she a thief? My, guess is because of Lightning Returns. But, it still doesn’t make sense. She should be a Commando or a Dragoon. But, what do I know?

18-014R – Meeth

We already knew that we’ll have Multi-element cards this set, and Meeth here is a card that can make use of it.

He’s a 2 cost Backup that will allow you to search for any card other than a Backup if you discard a Multi element card.
I can see use of this one.

 

18-015R – Ramza

See, this is how good cards come along. Especially with the Warp mechanic. Ramza can be easily cast for 2CP, if you want to wait a couple of turns until he enters the field.

And, when he does, you get to bring in another Knight from the Break Zone and play it onto the field. Just like that you can play 2 Knights with the combined cost of up to 12CP for a measly 2CP. Even if they counter Ramza coming in it’s only 2CP that you lost. You can try again.

And we haven’t even gotten to his ability. Dull 4 active Knights and Break one of your opponents Forwards, and deal them 1 point of Damage. What else could you ask for? This should have been the Hero, and Tidus should’ve just been a Rare.

18-016C – Lulu

2 cost Backup. Most will skip this card. Including me. There are better Lulu’s out there although they aren’t Fire.

But, if you like this card you can dull and discard a card to deal 3000 Damage to a Forward. 5000 if it’s a Multi-Element.

 

 

18-017R -Rain

“Here comes the Rain again.”

He’s ready to come in on turn 2 for 3 CP.

And when he you have 3 points of Damage, Rain gets a 1k Buff, and he deals a Forward 5k damage.

Not bad for a card that you can play for 3CP. Even 5CP is worth it for this card.

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Resurgence of Power – Starter Thoughts

18-131S – Iedolas

6CP to play a 4CP Fire Forward from the Break Zone. Iedolas will technically cost you 2CP to play. I’m sure you can find plenty 4 cost Fire Forwards with on entry abilities to make Iedolas a great card to play.

After that you can have Iedolas as a Backup until you want to use his ability to deal 7000 damage to a Forward.

 

 

18-132S – Ravus

Captain! Captain?

Ravus here might be a good choice to use with Iedolas, if there are already a couple of Captains in your Break Zone. Deal a Forward 10K Damage and hopefully you’ll break it.

If not, Ravus does gain +1000 Power at 3 points of Damage. Add Opus I Lebraeu and he’ll be a 10K Forward.

 

18-133S – Ignis

Ignis is here to give Noctis and Co. protection from your opponent’s abilities. And technically give them Brave. As all the Characters are activated every time Ignis or Noctis attacks.

You’ll have plenty of CP available to you for Main Phase 2 and your opponents turn as all your Backups will be active.

So, play plenty of Backups.

 

18-134S – Prompto

This is a nice card. If you have the whole party out, Prompto is a 2CP/8K with Haste, and every time he attacks you get to draw 2 cards.

Along with Ignis’ protection from abilities, you can probably add Opus I Maria and your opponent will have a hard time getting rid of Prompto.

 

 

18-135S – Gladiolus

Gladiolus might not have Cyclone, but he can attack for up to 12K just from having Noctis on the field. And if you do, Gladiolus will only cost you 2CP.

At 3 points of Damage Gladiolus gains Brave.

Good blocker to have on hand.

 

 

18-136S – Titan

Hmm?

Well, you cast Titan remove a card a Forward from the Break Zone and deal damage to one of your opponents Forwards for the power of the removed Forward.

I might be missing something here, but I believe there are better Summons.

 

18-137S – Aranea EX

Haste, First Strike and the ability to break 2 of your opponents Forward when she enters. All this for 6CP.

Aranea is more like a Summon that sticks around after it has been cast.

Sure you can keep her on hand until you decide to use her when you get 5 points of Damage. Or you can keep Opus VIII Rinoa on hand and bounce her.

 

18-138S – Glauca

This is an interesting one. Just a regular card until he enters the Break Zone. Where he allows you to search for 2 Captains.

You don’t even need to wait for your opponent to send him there, you can put him in the Break Zone whenever you’d like, and you’ll Dull 2 of your opponents Forwards for doing so.

 

 

18-139S – Noctis EX

Search for a Retainer.

Play that Retainer and deal Damage equal to it’s power to one of your opponents Forwards. But this ability isn’t limited to the Job Class Retainer. It can be used for any Wind or Earth Forward.

Only downfall, which isn’t really a Downfall is that it can only be used once per turn.

 

18-140S – Ardyn

Coming in with Brave and a 9K body Ardyn would be a decent card without his ability. But, with that ability you can play a number of cards for a measly 1CP.

Imagine playing Iedolas or Aranea for 1 CP. And that’s just 2 cards that came in this deck.

I can see decks being made around this card.

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Opinion on Starters : Rebellion’s Call

17-131S – Kain

Haste? Check
Way to reduce the CP cost? Check
Buffs self when attacking? Check

All in all Kain here is a decent card. You might end up only paying 1CP for Kain, and if you do he’s an attacking Forward with 9K power.

 

 

17-132S -Zemus

Kind of plays like Don Corneo from a couple Opus back.

But, as before to remove 7 or 1 cards from your deck is quite the number.

Unless you’re sure you’re going to win this game, it’s best to avoid using these abilities. But, you’re playing Fire. Go on Aggro yourself ahead and hope for the best.

 

17-133S – Scarmiglione

Interesting.

If you’re playing against a Mono-build this card is a perfect choice. If not, it’s still a good choice.

Scarmiglione comes in and you pick an element. Scarmiglione becomes twice as strong against that element.

And, Blood Tap? Yes that damage will increase as well. It’s a Special ability and since you don’t need to dull Scarmiglione, you can keep using it till you run out of Scarmigliones. With this one there are a total of 4 different Scarmiglione. Multiply that by 3, and you can see how many times you’ll be able to use Blood Tap.

17-134S – Baigan EX

Not much here, but Baigan does allow you to search for Golbez.

After that you can put Baigan into the Break Zone to break a Forward.

4CP/8K power. Average card.

 

 

17-135S – Edge

Same thing with Scarmiglione. Edge has an ability that triggers when he enters the field. Depending on how many FFIV Characters you have on the field, Edge can break a Forward. You can quite easily pick apart your opponent using Mirage over and over.

Plenty of Edges to keep on hand for this ability.

 

 

17-136S – Kain

Kain allows you to grab a FFIV Water Character from the Break Zone.Plenty of Characters that you can choose from.
Other than that he can come in with Haste depending on the field situation.

 

 

 

17-137S – Rydia

Search for a couple of Summons, one gets tossed to the Break Zone by your opponent.

After that each time you cast a Summon, you might be able to break one of your opponents Forwards. Especially if they are high cost Summons.

 

 

 

17-138S – Rosa

Decent card, better card if Cecil is on the field.

Even though Rosa is a Forward, she plays like a Backup, casting White Magic on your Forwards. Activate and a buff. All for a total of 0CP. You know you’ll be using her ability each turn.

 

 

17-139S – Cecil

There are better Cecils, but every time I say that, someone comes up with a way that makes this one even better than the other ones.

So, I’ll just say that Cecil here can have up to 10K Power with Brave.

That and if you dull your FFIV Characters, you can dull Forwards and deal damage and stuff.

 

17-140S – Golbez

Same thing with Cecil, but Golbez can act like a Summon as well.

Which unless you’re searching for another Golbez I don’t see the point in not paying the 2CP and keeping Golbez on the field.

But, you might say 6CP is a lot to pay for this card. But so is the 7CP Odin and all he does is break a card.

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Emissaries of Light – Thoughts on Earth

16-064C – Dark Knight

Not the best way to start off with Earth, but you can play 3 Backups in one turn at 3 points of Damage if you already have 3 Dark Knights in your hand.

Not much else to say.

 

 

16-065C – Amber EX

Here is the searcher your Soiree deck needs.

4CP to grab a card.

I’ll need to get all these cards together and figure out what’s going on.

 

 

16-066R – Heretical Knight Garland

I like this card.

Garland buffs up one of your Forwards into a Berserk Behemoth, or something of that nature.

+4K power and Brave, is no laughing matter.

And plus, if you keep enough CP available, Heretical Knight Garland is almost indestructible.

16-067L – Aerith

No need to grab your Phoenix Downs, Aerith will raise herself from the dead.

3 turns is all she needs.

She’ll be back in no time, Block, Attack all you want. You’ll probably be able to get into a rhythm here, and have all 3 Aeriths recycling themselves in a way that as soon as one is broken, remove from the game, and on the next turn, yours or your opponents she’ll be back on the field ready to block. All she needs is Haste.

 

16-068C – Eiko

10K Damage?

That’s a lot for a common Backup.

There might be some use to Eiko.

 

 

16-069C – Ciaran

Low cost Forward that can reach up to 9000 Power.

And, that Special Ability. Gets stronger with each Backup you control.

 

 

 

16-070L – Kirin

Kirin and the Shijin. Sounds like Hootie and the Blowfish.

What you don’t already know is that Kirin has the “Power of Love”. Just ask Doc Brown.

He’ll buff up the Shijin with +1K power, and when he comes in, Kirin allows you to play a 4 cost Forward from the top 5 cards
of your deck. That’s almost like grabbing Marty McFly to play at your Prom.

 

16-071C – Gladiator

Another Backup on Standby.

Keep Gladiator on the field till you have received 5 points of Damage. After that dull, return to your hand, play Gladiator, put him in the Break Zone and give all your Forwards +10K and Brave.

And, this is just a Common.

 

16-072C – Beastmaster

Looking for an Energy drink?

Beastmaster will let you grab a Monster when he enters the field.

Yeah, that one was cornier than the other ones.

 

 

16-073C – Benjamin

They finally added a Mystic Quest character to the game. All we need now is 8bit FFI characters. Come on Square-Enix you can do it.

High cost, high power. And Benjamin gets stronger at 3 points of Damage.

Throw him in late in the game and you’ll also Break one of your opponents dull Forwards.

 

 

16-074C – Cactuar

Break a Forward with this Summon, but Cactuar carries some drawbacks. Unless you want to deal yourself some Damage to get the benefits of all these Earth cards.

 

 

 

 

16-075R – Shinju

I think this card is the base of Soiree, as she allows all the different elements to be paid using any element.

Grab Shinju with Amber and watch Soiree unfold before your very eyes.

 

 

 

16-076R – Sophie

She was banned, but now she’s back with a Vengeance.

Sophie’s first ability comes off of Sophie’s Second ability.

If you’re playing high cost Characters, Sophie will be dealing 10K damage to one of your opponents Forwards. 12K if you have Enna Kros as a Backup.

 

 

16-077R – Terra

Terra might fit in a Fire/Ice Category VI deck. Or you can just go all out and grab all the VI Characters and go 6 element FFVI.

Someone out there, already knows how to use this card, and that person is not me.

 

 

16-078C – Demonolith

I remember a card like this in an earlier Opus, but that was a Summon.

Demonolith stays on the field until you want to see your next draw. And if you ;like it, you can keep it. If not just chuck them to the bottom of your deck, and hope for 2 better cards.

 

 

 

16-079H – Hades

The 2 cost Monsters in this deck are something. Each one I keep seeing is a card you’d easily add to your deck.

Hades here, let’s you discard a Backup to draw a card. And, you already know that there are plenty of Backups whose only purpose is to come in and use their on-entry ability. Now you have a way to get rid of them to play another Backup.

But, that’s not all.

Hades can make some of your opponents Forwards vulnerable.

As, whenever a chosen Forward is dealt Damage, that Forward will be broken, and sent to the Break Zone.

Relm is going to have some fun this Opus.

16-080H – Madam Edel

Madam Edel has been name dropped throughout this set, and now we can finally see what she is made of.

Madam Edel is the Forward your opponent will be trying to remove once she is on the field.

Madam Edel grants Protection to all the Morze’s Soiree Members. No Summons or abilities will be able to lay a finger on them.

And for 4CP, you’ll be able to grab a Morze’s Soiree Member from the Break Zone and play it on the field.

16-081R – Mira

We mentioned Relm earlier, but Mira here, will be able to take the reigns just as well.

Mira comes in and lets you play a Monster onto the field, and it all depends on how much Damage you have received. The more Damage the stronger the Monster.

 

 

16-082H – Mont Leonis

Well, you’re always going to be using that first ability. And, we mean always. There’s no reason not to. It doesn’t cost you any CP, and at the same time it gives Mont protection from damage dealt by Summons and abilities.

Taunting Blade? Yeah, it has some use. Mont attacks and uses the ability to take down the Forwards that are blocking him.

I still don’t like Mont.

16-083H – Layle

Depending on which side you’re on, Layle can either make or break you.

Everyone will attack and block, unless there are no more attackers for the blockers to block.

And, with Brave, Layle will be pulling double duty on both sides.

If you need to, you can always give Layle +1K to help him survive.

 

16-084R – Leslie

Leslie is your infiltrator, allowing him to dispose of your opponents Forwards from the inside. He’ll sit perfectly in a Mono-Earth deck as that will be the only way to be able to pass Leslie on to your opponents field.

Once he is there, your opponent will need to choose 2 Forwards and hopefully they’ll be sent to the Break Zone along with Leslie.

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Master of the Shijin

“… It is time to reap your reward.”

Kirin

6CP – Earth
Forward
Category : XI
Job : Kirin
Legend
9000 Power

Brave

“Kirin cannot become dull by your opponent’s Summons or abilities.

The Job Shijin Forwards you control gain +1000 power.

When Kirin enters the field, reveal the top 5 cards of your deck. Play 1 Forward of cost 4 among them and return the other cards to the bottom of your deck in any order.”

This will make some interesting play. I was just talking about how they should make an Archfiends deck. And, they listened. Sort of. We now have Kirin & the Shijins, coming to a bar near you. Playing all your favorite oldies. Ok, I got a little carried away.

Kirin comes in lets you hopefully play a Shijin from your deck to the field, and give all the Shijins +1K. And since he comes in with Brave, and cannot become dull by Summons or abilities, Kirin looks like he’ll be around for a long time.

Now let’s take a look at the Shijin.

Suzaku, Seiryu, Byakko and Genbu.

They all have one ability that reads. “If you have a Job Shijin in your Break Zone, the cost required to cast (card name) can be paid with CP of any Element.” Why is this important? It’s the basis of the whole strategy. You shall quickly discard the First Shijin to pay for Kirin, and hopefully you’ll find a Shijin.

And can’t forget about the EX Burst “When (card name) enters the field, you may search for 1 Job Shijin Forward other than Card Name (card name) and add it to your hand.” You’re already adding Shijins to your hand after you, hopefully, play one from Kirin’s ability. You’re likely to swarm the board pretty quickly here.

But, that’s not all.

Each Shijin also has a 3rd ability.

Suzaku – “When Suzaku attacks, choose 1 Forward deal it 5000 damage.”

Seiryu – “Seiryu cannot be chosen by your opponent’s abilities.”

Byakko – “When Byakko attacks, choose 1 Forward. Dull it.”

Genbu – “If Genbu is dealt damage, reduce the damage by 3000 instead.”

Other than searching for each other, these cards really don’t play well together. But, I’m sure with help from other cards these can do some damage to your opponent.