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Hidden Trials – By Earth

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23-058C – Dark Knight

Oh wow, these Standard Unit Backups in this set are powerful. Sure, you need to have 5 Backups to get the full effect, but these Backups only cost 2CP.

Dark Knight comes in and gives a Forward. +1000 power and Brave.

If you have 5 Backups, then all of your Forwards gain +1000 power and Brave.

You can go all in swinging left and right with all of your Forwards, and then still have the resources to block your opponent’s attacks.

 

23-059C – Ignis EX

Noctis Is Down!! Hurry Phoenix Down!

That pretty much sums up Ignis.

When he enters the field you can grab a FFXV Character from your Break Zone, and add it to your hand. Not just Noct, but any XV Character that resides in there at that moment.

Best part is that this ability also comes off as an EX Burst.

Might be worth it … it’s always worth it if your grabbing cards from the Break Zone.

23-060L – Vincent

Beautiful card.

Though shall not pay 7CP to cast Vincent. Though shall pay 1CP to Warp Vincent. Vincent is Warp 6 meaning that 3 full turns need to pass before Vincent will enter the field. But the Warp Counters will reduce by one each time a Final Fantasy VII Character enters your field.

A ticking time-bomb, that once it goes off, you will Break one of your opponent’s Forwards and one of their Backups.
If you didn’t Warp Vincent, then you’ll just Break the Forward.

A Vincent worth playing?

23-061H – Warrior of Light

This is great.

If you have the CP, you can play a Standard Unit from the Break Zone at the begining of the Attack Phase. Doesn’t matter whose Attack Phase it is either! Yours. Your opponent’s. You can play that Standard Unit and buff up your defenses, add an attack, or play that Dark Knight from earlier, and give +1000 power and Brave to all of your Forwards.

You can also search for 2 Standard Units when Warrior of Light enters the field and send them to the Break Zone, so they’re ready for you whenever you’ll need them.

You can also splash any element with these Standard Units.

23-062H – Emet-Selch

Here’s one way to search for a high cost Forward.

And when you play a high cost Forward onto the field, Emet-Selch will deal another Forward 8000 damage.

And, that’s about it.

Other than that Emet-Selch costs 4CP, with a 8k body.

At least his ability to deal 8000 damage to a Forward goes off every time a high cost Forward enters the field. Maybe bounce that high cost Forward.

23-063C – Gladiolus

Gladiolus is ready to deal some serious damage, as long as his buddies are around.

Does that mean that this Gladiolus is a better play then the other Gladiolusi (? Gladioluses?)?

Probably not, but it might be fun to play in sealed, if there are more FFXV Characters in this set.

Gladiolus gains +1000 power and Brave if you have at least another FFXV Character on the field. Which you most likely will, or you won’t be playing Gladiolus.

Dawnhammer, Gladiolus’s Special ability that will 99% of the time break a Forward of your choosing.

23-064R – Golem

Would you like to see this Golem’s 3 card trick? He’s been hanging by the Korner with a Kardboard box and 3 cards. Would you like to try your luck?

I bet you do.

Choose a Forward, any Forward.

Now let’s flip over these 3 cards.

Grab one of the Forwards, return the other 2 to the bottom of your deck, and deal your Forwards Power as damage to the Forward that you have chosen.

Didn’t find a Forward?

Well, you’re out of luck.

23-065R – Gogmagog

Two heads are better than 1. 2 Monsters are better than one, too. And Gogmagog, is better with another monster on the field.

We already know that Gogmagog turns into a Forward with another Monster on the field.

So, let’s talk about what Gogmagog can do. Gogmagog can bring itself back from the Break Zone, as long as you remove a Monster in play from the game.

Should be good in any Monster deck.

23-066R – Jessie

Need a quick buff?

Jessie has 2 abilities that will buff you Forward.

The first one, she’ll buff any Final Fantasy VII Forward by 1000 power.

And secondly, If she buffs Cloud, Cloud will gain +2000 power.

Talk about favoritism.

 

23-067R – Shantotto

Do you recycle?

If so, Shantotto can help you get some recycled goods.

Shantotto comes in and grabs 2 Summons from either Break Zone. After that they are yours to keep until the end of the game, casting them whenever you need to.

This works good for you, as if your opponent is known for removing cards from your Break Zone, you can keep a couple of Summons that you know you’ll need later.

It’s like a side, side deck.

23-068C – SOLDIER Candidate

Earth’s Candidate to become a full fledged member of SOLDIER.

These are all pretty decent 2 cost Commons.

SOLDIER Candidate, come in and acts like Atlas?

… or was it Titan?

Well, SOLDIER Candidate comes in and you choose a Forward, and they deal damage to each other.

Might be a good way to get rid of a Forward.

23-069C – Narashima

Just like SOLDIER Candidate, only this time you choose your Forward that you want to trade blows with.

If you got an overpowered Forward, with plenty of buffs, well then this card is for you.

If you ask me, I’d pick Opus VII Fang, with 6 FFXIII Characters on the field, including Opus I Lebreaue. What’s that 11K?

I’m sure you can find a better Forward, but since Narashime is already a Category XIII Character. I stuck with that.

23-070H – Hythlodaeus

At first look I thought we were getting some Organization XIII cards. Then I realized we aren’t.

But, that doesn’t mean this isn’t a good card. In fact I think it’s great.

If Emet-Selch is on the field Hythlodaeus becomes a 3CP Forward with a 9K body.

That’s what you call a cheap Meat Shield. And, that is not the reason you’re playing this one.

You can use Hythlodaeus’s ability to put both her and Emet-Selch into the Break Zone. Then you shuffle your deck reveal the top 4 cards and play all the Characters onto the field.

If you’re lucky and all of your high cost Forwards pop up, you’ll be golden.

Just hope you don’t find any Summons there.

23-071C/15-080C – Geomancer

You know what time it is?

Copy/Paste time.

“Reprint.

Standard Unit.

Crystal.

Brave.

Maybe a Geomancer actually mines for Crystals.”

23-072 Brionac

A 5 cost Forward with 9000 power. Pretty normal for a Common, but during your Main Phase, you can remove 2 Earth cards from your Break Zone, from the game, and Brionac will gain +2000 power and Brave.

Brionac also has an ability that will deal 9000 damage to a Forward, but you’ll need a Crystal for that one.

If all you need is a Meat Shield, to block your opponent’s attacks, Brionac might be a good fit for you.

Best case scenario you find Brionac when you cast Golem.

23-073C – Prompto

Monster Hunter, or Monster Tamer?

Either way Prompto does things to Monsters that not many people do.

He takes pictures.

And those pictures will either Break a Monster, or Bring one back from the Break Zone.

???

Yeah, I got nothing.

23-074C – Wrieg

Here we are.

You can play Wrieg right before you play Prompto.

You’ll get your Monster back, and have a Forward and a Backup to show for it.

Is it worth playing?

I’d say that depends on if the Monster has an ability that goes off when it is put into the Break Zone.

At the very least, you’ll draw 2 Cards.

23-075R – Layle

A self sustainable Forward.

Layle comes in, gains a Crystal.

Layle attacks, gains a Crystal.

Layle attacks again, gains a Crystal.

Layle uses the Crystals when he is attacking and break a Monster or a Forward.

All this for 2CP.

23-076H – Regis

Regis might cost 7CP, but you get so much in return for that.

Regis comes in and you can grab a Final Fantasy XV Forward (of cost 5 or less) from your Break Zone, and play it straight to he field.

That alone will make Regis worth playing, but if you have already received 5 points of damage, you can go ahead and double that. This allows you to grab 2 XV Forwards from your Break Zone and play them straight to the field.

3 Forwards on the field for 7CP? Sounds like a good deal to me!

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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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Crystal Dominion – Ice Review

15-022C – Amidatelion

Time to Ice your opponent.

Got yourself a way to remove some buffs. More specifically Haste, Brave and First Strike.

You can play Ice/Earth and have Robel-Akbel recycle Amidatelion.

 

 

 

15-023R – Werei

Werei is here, to draw you a card at the end of each of your turns.

Stick him in a discard deck.

 

 

 

 

15-024R – Orphan EX

Orphan here is a one man show, even though he is a Rare. For 5CP you can dull 1 Forward at the beginning of each of your Attack Phases. Hopefully your opponent won’t be playing Feolthanos (10-098L).

A good card to play with Orphan, you ask?

Physalis (13-028L), along with all the other Discard cards you might have available in your possession.

 

15-025C – Scholar

Cast a Summon

Dull Scholar.

Dull a Forward.

In that order.

 

 

15-026C – Kazusa

Just because, Orphan and Kazusa come from the same “Universe” per se, doesn’t mean that they will play well together.
But, they do.

Imagine being able to break a Forward, just because Orphan will be causing your opponent to discard a card at every Attack Phase.

After that 1(I)CP and dull Kazusa, throw him in the Break Zone, and Break one of your opponents Forwards.

 

15-027R – The Emperor

Is there a never ending recycle loop here with the Emperor?

Considering there are 8 The Emperor cards, including this one. You will be able to play Emperors left and right, discard them, revive them, break, search and destroy to bring back The Emperor from the Break Zone.

I lost myself there. It’s all a blur.

All I know is that you will be able to have 24 The Emperors in your deck. Where most of them can interact with each other when they hit the Break Zone.

15-028H – Gogo

I think Gogo will be interesting to play. Doubling down on some abilities by any Forward or Monster. I’d say the only drawback is that you can only use that ability once per turn. I’m sure there will be ways around that, but even so, It’s still a great ability

Gogo, will fit right at home in a FFVI themed deck.

And Mimic, allows you to use another Characters Special ability.

Physalis, I’m looking at you.

 

15-029R – Zalera

Cheap Summon, for a great Break.

Only thing is the Forward you chose needs to be dull already. Not a problem. Once that Forward attacks, it dulls itself, thus allowing you to use Zalera as you see fit.

But, then again this card is just a reprint. We should already know that.

 

 

15-030H – Shiva EX

The Ice version of Ifrita.

The more Shivas in your Break Zone the stronger this Summon gets.

0-1 Dull 1 Forward
2-3 Dull 2 Forwards
4-5 Freeze the dulled Forwards
6 or more, Your opponent discard 2 cards from their hand.

All this for 1 CP.

15-031C – Shiva

Choose one of two. Deal 9K damage to a dull Forward, or give all your Ice Forwards +3K.

Depending on th Situation. You can probably always figure out which one to use. But, the +3K sounds real good. At least for now.

All this for as little as 1CP. If you’re carrying a Crystal that is.

 

 

15-032C – Cid Raines

You usually try and keep your Forwards alive, but Cid Raines here, is definitely a blocker.Just keep him on the field. Till he blocks everything he can, and then … you’ll realize you should just be attacking. That way he’ll either be dealing your opponent Damage, breaking Forwards, or worse case scenario. Cid Raines will be broken and sent to the Break Zone. And then your opponent will discard a card from their hand.

 

 

 

15-033C – Jumbo Flan

Jumbo Flan here has 2 Jobs.

1) Dull and Freeze a Forward.
2) Become a Forward in itself, and strike fast.

Doesn’t matter if Jumbo Flan deals damage or not, because once you turn Jumbo Flan into a Forward, he will Break at the end of the turn.

 

 

15-034R – Snow

We’re getting more than just flurries, here.

Pay a Crystal and either Freeze all the Forwards, or Freeze all the Backups.

Or Bounce Snow with Rinoa, pay an extra Crystal, and Freeze all the Forwards and Backups.

 

 

15-035H – Setzer

With Setzer you’re gambling with the odds on your side. 8 out of 10 times you’ll grab a Character from the top spot of your deck.

Other than that, Setzer will most likely be giving you Crystals at the end of your turn.

 

 

 

15-036H – Celes

This is a great looking card. There better be a Full Art Version.

The Rune Knight Celes has a thing for Locke, as she allows you to search for him when she enters the field. But, if you already have Locke in your hand you’ll just make your opponent discard a card from there hand.

Celes knows all about parties. And when FFVI Forwards form a Party and attack. You can either Freeze 2 Characters, or Find a Category VI Character in your Break Zone.

That Character will be Locke. Any Locke will do, as you’ll already have Locke (4-048L), and using his Special Ability will allow you to slowly chip away at your opponent.

15-037L – Terra

Some more great artwork.

Playing a Summon heavy deck? Terra is the card for you. You might be able to Dull and Freeze your opponents whole board. Might.

But, even if you just dull and Freeze the main pieces of your opponents board, you’ll still be in a good position.

And whenever you cast a summon Dull 1, Freeze 1. 1 Forward, one Backup. Choose and pick.

15-038C – Knight

Knight comes in, hands you a Crystal

Next turn, Knight Dulls himself and puts himself into the Break Zone dulling a 3 cost Forward.

Thus concludes the story of Knight

 

 

15-039C – Mime

It’ll be fun playing with Mime as his Power will change every time another Forward comes in. From the high powered forwards, to the 1000 power. But, it won’t really matter as long as Mime will be able to block a Forward. Does it really matter how much power Mime has?

 

 

 

 

15-040C – Larzos

Hmm, I don’t know. 5CP to Freeze Forward, but it’ll leave you with a 9K body on the field.

When he’s tossed into the Break Zone, you’ll get a Crystal for your troubles.

Larzos is just a common, which is probably why he costs 5CP.

In my opinion, I think there are better options, and worse ones as well.

Now prove me wrong as to why you should play Larzos.

 

15-041L – Lightning

Now this is an interesting card.

For optimum results you’ll want your opponents hand to have 0 cards. and the less cards you have Lightning is even stronger.

1CP/10K body with Haste.

That is what you’re looking at.

There are plenty of cards this set, that’ll help you achieve that

Orphan, Shiva (15-030H), Cid Raines, Celes, and Gogo for when you’re using these abilities. Not to mention cards from previous sets, but you should have a very good chance at achieving no cards in your opponents hand before you play Lightning.

15-042R – Locke EX

This card might …. No, he won’t replace Opus IV Locke, but you might want to throw in a couple if you’re running a FFVI themes deck.

Think about it. Play a VI card. reveal the top card it’s a VI card add it to your hand. Play that VI Card and grab the next VI card. It might work. FFVI themed deck is already a strong deck in my opinion.