Posted on Leave a comment

Hidden Trials

We have just received word of a new set coming out.

Opus XXIII, Opus 23 or Hidden Trials. Call it whatever you’d like.
And we are excited!

Lightning graces the Booster Box with original artwork. And it sure is looking good. We can already guess on which card will have the Golden Signat … wait, … I don’t believe there is a Golden Signature. It just mentions a Special Card with an original illustration. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

We do get to see some of the cards, and I can tell you Lightning and Queen just look amazing.

We’re getting a new Tyro as well. This time Tyro is representing Wind, we’ll see how well he does in his new element. It also mentions that Final Fantasy Record Keeper will be a “Featured Title” so, I’m expecting at the very least a bunch of Record Keeper Standard Units, and Maybe just maybe, we’ll get the pixel art cards I’ve been wanting for a long, long time. You heard it here first. January, 11th 2024.

Legacy cards are back. Lightning (15-041L), Rydia (15-083L) and Refia (19-102L). I don’t get why they are just grabbing cards from newer sets, I believe that since they are named Legacy cards they should have come from older sets. At least 10 sets.

But, what do I know.

And with that I’ll just leave the press release here.

Hidden Trials will elevate the ‘Limit Break’ mechanic to new heights thanks to custom-themed cards that can turn the tide of battle, revolutionising the deck-building experience for players.

For the collectors, this Opus will include a very rare, Special Card [23-037R] showcasing an original illustration of FINAL FANTASY XIII Lightning by Miki Yamashita. Additionally, three beloved Legacy cards, Lightning [15-041L], Rydia [15-083L], and Refia [19-102L], are included.

As per tradition, renowned artists have contributed stunning new art pieces to bring the characters to life:

New Art

Rubi Asami, FINAL FANTASY VI / FINAL FANTASY XIII-2

Mihoko Ishii, FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE

Yuya Ishihata, FINAL FANTASY IX

Ryoma Ito, FINAL FANTASY TACTICS A2: Grimoire of the Rift

Yukihiro Kajimoto, FINAL FANTASY

Gen Kobayashi, DIRGE OF CERBERUS –FINAL FANTASY VII–

Sara Shimokobe, FINAL FANTASY IV

Toshitaka Matsuda, FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0

Fumio Minagawa, FINAL FANTASY XI

Miki Yamashita, FINAL FANTASY XIII

Oreki Genya, FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0

Posted on Leave a comment

Beyond Destiny – Quake Shake

Shop these Singles and more at our TCGPlayer Shop

21-061H – Ursula

Crystals and more Crystals.

Bring us your Crystals.

At least Ursula will give you one when she enters the field. And you can go ahead and use a Crystal to give her +3000 power. And, then you can use another Crystal and give her another +3000 power. And so on and so forth.

Or you can use that Crystal to grant your Forwards some protection from EX Bursts.

I wonder if this counts as EX Bursts that result from damage taken.

Either way, it’s still a good ability to spend a Crystal on.

21-062H – Ash

There’s a Strangers of Paradise Hero in every element. I just realized this.

Ash here, is a great supporting card. As long as you have Forwards with Brave on the field, Ash will give them a +3000 buff. I don’t think I ever thought about having a deck with only Forwards that have Brave. It might actually be a little interesting.
Anyways, Ash can grab a Character from the Break Zone when he enters the field, but only if you have a couple of SOPFFO Forwards already on the field.

And last, but not least, Ash can give another Forward Brave. And, once he gives that Forward Brave, that Forward gets the +3K buff as well.

I like this card. I might have to try it out.

21-063C – Dark Knight

This reminds me of an old card, Dark Knight (1-092C) to be exact.

Dark Knight gains +1000 power for each point of damage you have received. Which along with Enna Kros, and Ash, if you have 6 points of damage, Dark Knight will have a total of 16,000 power. But, only if you use Ash’s ability to give Dark Knight Brave.

Dark Knight also has an ability that will allow you to break a Forward. Sure, he’ll also deal you a point of damage, but, if you’re playing Dark Knight, that’s pretty much what you want. Get to 6 points of damage as fast as you can.

21-064L – Ingus EX

If you have 5 Earth Backups on the field, Ingus costs a total of 1CP.

And, after that, Ingus will search for an Earth Forward.

If you’re playing Mono-Earth you will be playing Ingus.

I mean where else can you hopefully pay 1CP for a 9k body.

And, that’s all I got.

 

21-065R – Onion Knight

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a card with no text.




3CP

9000 Power

Meat Shield at it’s finest.

21-066C – Guy

Guy and Ash should make a Tag Team.

Guy is a simple card, one that talk to animals. And, those animals tell Guy that he should always attack as long as Ash is on the field.

For whenever Guy attacks, he’ll gain +3000 from his ability, and another +3000 from Ash. making Guy hit hard. 11,000 power in one attack.

Not bad.

Not bad at all.

21-067R – Galuf

This is awesome, and it’s just a Rare.

Imagine that.

Galuf gives all of your low cost Forwards +2000 power. And when he enters the field, you can most likely grab a 2 cost Forward from the top 5 cards of your deck, and play it straight to the field.

Galuf costs 4CP, but you’ll probably get the 2CP back if you find a Forward.

Blade of Dawn deals one of your opponents Forwards 8000 damage.

Stick Galuf in a deck with Maria (17-128L) and you’ll be all set ready to go.

Let’s put this idea for a deck on the back burner. Along with the countless other decks I want to try and build.

21-068C – Qiqirn

Roll of the dice?

Qiqirn comes in, checks the top 5 cards of your deck and grabs a Forward from there, while the other cards go to the bottom of your deck.

After that Qiqirn is just a Backup, that had the ability to Break a dull Forward, before heading into the Break Zone.

Don’t tell me you don’t think you’ll find at least one Forward out of the top 5 cards of your deck. Worse case scenario, is that you don’t find a Forward, and you see the card you needed head back to the bottom of the deck.

21-069C – Krile

For 2CP you can discard a Summon, and deal a Forward 8000 damage.

And, after that, you can pay 2CP and grab that same Summon from the Break Zone and add it to your hand.

Recycling at it’s finest.

Krile may not help with your empty soda cans, but, she’ll love to grab some slightly used Summons.

Even Krile can’t believe how bad that one was.

21-070C – White Mage

This is a great card.

At least I think so.

And, is I think so, well then I’m going to persuade you that it is.

You play White Mage for 4CP, and then you a play a 3 cost Forward straight from the Break Zone.

It’s a POGO on a Forward. What’s POGO. Play One, Get One.

Yes, I’ll keep a foil play-set on hand.

21-071H – Titan

When are we going to get some 8bit cards.

If you’re doing a Titan from FFIII at least give us sprites.

Please?

Imagine a Mosaic with 8bit art.

Anyways, Titan simple summon. Either deal a Forward 9000 damage, or break a dull Forward.

21-072H – Tulien

Need a way to make a Forward attack or block? Tulien is here to help you with that.

During your turn you can use his ability and have a Forward attack or block.

Get rid of those pesky Forwards that have low HP and a irritating ability that you want to get rid of.

Plus, when Tulien attacks or blocks, the damage he deals goes up by 2000.

Thus, making Tulien a 3 cost Forward with 9000 power and 7000 HP.

I wonder if that’s how it works?

21-073R – Stoneserpent General Zazarg

You can throw this Serpent General in any Earth deck, and it will make that earth deck, just a little bit better. Throw in Ash as well and you’ll have a body on the field that will be tough to get rid of.

General Zazarg comes in for 2CP, if you already have 2 Earth Characters on the field.

What I like is Stoneserpent General Zazarg’s ability that triggers whenever he is dealt damage by your opponent’s Summons or abilities. What is this ability? You simply get to deal 8000 damage to any Forward.

Maybe you’ll break the Forward dealing damage, before they deal damage.

21-074L – Neo Exdeath

Standing in at 8CP and 10,000 Power.

I don’t know what’s better.

The Amano art or the ability?

Neo Exdeath is a one-sided board wipe. Neo Exdeath will come in, sacrifice to of your Backups, and remove all of your opponents Forwards and Monsters from the game.

‘Nuff said.

21-075R – Haveh

“Haveh your way!”

How is this just a Rare?

Haveh comes in and puts a cog in your opponent’s gears. By canceling power increase from your opponent’s Summons and abilities.

Plus, Haveh gives a nice buff to your Warriors, and he gains, +1000 power and Brave at 3 points of damage. Add in Ash, and your set.

You can actually just throw Haveh into that Warrior tribal deck we made a while ago.

21-076C – White Tiger l’Cie Qun’mi

First time I saw this card I thought it was Lightning, and then I realized it wasn’t. But, since Type-0 and FFXIII are somehow connected through the Fabula Nova Crystallis myth, I believe that White Tiger Qun’mi and Lightning are connected. Sure, I base this off the artwork of this card, and I’ll stop here.

4 cost Forward, with 8000 power. Just a regular Common, but it does have an ability that whenever White Tiger l’Cie Qun’mi is chosen by a Summon or ability she gains +2000 power.

And, this is where Ash comes in. I think Ash might be the best card in Earth this set.

Ash will give White Tiger l’Cie Qun’mi Brave, thus giving her +2000 power and +3000 power. Making her a Forward with 13,000 power.

That’s a big body.

21-077C – Monk

I just realized each element has the same Standard Unit Backup again.

And they all do the same thing.

Monk comes in and gives you a Crystal, and if you have less than 3 Backups on the field, you also draw a card.

And, that pretty much sums it up.

Again.

21-078C – Ram

You can actually use this Monster to buff White Tiger l’Cie Qun’mi, to grant her +5000 power.

Ram doesn’t really do much, he just come in dull, activates during your next turn, where you can use it’s ability, and after that Ram will take a nap, as it does not activate during your next active phase. You’ll have to wait an additional turn in order to use it’s ability once more.

I’d say this one is a Sleeper.

 

12-079R – Lich

7CP for Lich?

Yes, and you’ll be happy to pay for it. Especially if you’re running Mono-Earth. Simply because you can pay the 7CP upfront, and every time Lich is put into the Break Zone, you can discard a card and play Lich back onto the field. Yes, you can only use this ability if you have at least 7 Earth Characters on the field.

Then you’ll ask, Why would I want to pay 7CP for a 9K Forward?

That’s because every time Lich enters the field, his Enter the Field ability goes off, and you can choose one of your opponents Forwards and Break it at the end of the turn. In other words, Lich casts Doom with a tiny bit of time on the counter.

After that find a way to break Lich, discard a card and Voila, you can reuse Doom.

This is a card that will become a problem.

12-080R – Runda

Simple 2 cost Backup, that can cast some Protect, or Shell on one of your Forwards.

If one of them is being targeted by a Summon or ability that causes damage, you can dull Runda, and reduce that damage by 3000.

And, that pretty much sums Runda up.

Shop these Singles and more at our TCGPlayer Shop

Posted on Leave a comment

The Curious Card of Benjamin

5CP/Earth
Forward
Warrior
Common

Damage 3 ― Benjamin gains +1000 power and Brave.
Damage 5 ― When Benjamin enters the field, choose 1 dull Character opponent controls. Break it.

Let’s take a look at what we wrote when Emissaries of Light came out.

“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.”

Can’t say that much has changed since Emissaries of Light came out.

Benjamin is a Common, so he doesn’t have any great abilities to help you out until you get 5 points of damage. But he is a great meat shield, even if he costs 5CP, he’ll still take a hit and stay standing.

Posted on Leave a comment

Lion’s Roar

Where do we start?

That’s simple. You start with Cor (9-066C) because that is the card we chose to represent Cor in this Character of the week. We believe it is the better version, and that is that.

Now that Cor is set, we need to add the late king, Regis (15-103C), which not only gives Cor his permanent buff, simply because it’s Regis, but Regis also lowers the cost of casting the Kingslaive by 1CP.

Battling alongside King Regis, and Cor is Cid Sophiar (18-077R) and Clarus (11-068R). Cid Sophiar can grab a Character from the Break Zone, and Clarus let’s you search for a King. Which doesn’t have to be Regis.

What’s a Captain to do without the Kingsglaive? Well, we’ll need to grab them all and add them here. Pelna (15-098C) you can cast him for 1CP because you’ll most likely have more than one FFXV Character on the field already. And he’ll buff all of your XV Forwards by 2000 power.

Tredd (15-093R), for 1CP you can give a XV Forward +1K and Brave for the rest of the turn. If you put him in the Break Zone, it’s +3K and First Strike.

Libertus (11-102C), to let you grab a XV Character from the Break Zone, and possibly activate 2 Backups if you choose …
Nyx (11-097H), cause he’s about to strike down your opponent with Haste when you put a Kingslaive into the Break Zone, which could be …

Crowe (11-092C), who will help you grab a Forward from your Break Zone.

I’m lost.

With So, many Lightning Forwards we need to add Glauca (11-091R) to save us a Crystal Point every time we play a Lightning Forward.

Now that King Regis has passed away, Cor now watches over Noctis (12-121R) who comes in and grabs a FFXV Forward from the Break Zone. And every time he forms a party all the Forwards gain a 2K buff and Haste.

Cor will now need the help of the Retainers.

Ignis (20-066R), because everyone needs a meal, even when you’re on the road. Plus, you can put a Backup you control into the Break Zone, to break a Forward and grab a Forward from your Break Zone.

Gladiolus (18-135S), cause we need a powerhouse on the team, that can deal enough damage to Break even the most powerful Forwards.

And Prompto (8-082R), cause that’s the only Earth Prompto.

We’ll add Class Tenth Moogle (9-074C) to help us pay for Lightning CP.

We’re going to grab our Free Summons Fenrir (19-064R) and Ramuh (19-083R)

Then we’ll also grab Mist Dragon (9-068H) and another Fenrir (12-068H).

And that should complete our Cor Deck.

Forwards

3x – Tredd (15-093R)
3x – Cor (9-066C)
3x – Glauca (11-091R)
3x – Noctis (12-121R)
3x – Nyx (11-097H)
3x – Regis (15-103R)
3x – Libertus (11-102C)
3x – Ignis (20-066R)

Backups

3x – Class Tenth Moogle (9-047C)
3x – Pelna (15-098C)
3x – Cid Sophiar (18-077R)
3x – Crowe (11-092C)
3x – Clarus (11-068R)
3x – Prompto (8-082R)

Summons

2x – Mist Dragon (9-068H)
2x – Fenrir (19-064R)
2x – Ramuh (19-083R)
2x – Fenrir (12-068H)

What would you do different?

Posted on Leave a comment

Cor, the Immortal

Cor, the Immortal, or so they call him. We do have two to choose from, so let’s get started.

2CP/Earth
Forward
Captain
Common

“If you control Card Name Regis, Cor gains +2000 power.

When Cor or a Category XV Forward enters your field, until the end of the turn, Cor gains +1000 power and Brave.”
A 2 cost Forward, that can gain power, just by playing cards to the field. FFXV cards that is. And, if Regis is on the field, Cor gains a permanent boost.

With the Noctis deck needing just a few changes Cor is easily playable. And, I believe Cor is already in that Starter Set.

4CP/Lightning
Forward
Captain
Rare

“If you control a Job King, Cor gains +2000 power and “When Cor is put from the field into the Break Zone, you may remove the top 10 cards of your deck from the game. When you do so, play Cor from the Break Zone onto the field dull.”

Let’s see what we wrote a couple months ago.

“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.”

I’ll stick to that. But, it makes sense calling him Cor, the Immortal as you can just bring Cor back from the Break Zone.

If you ask me the Opus IX Cor is much better, even though it’s just a Common.