Tag: first strike

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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?

 

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Dawn of Heroes – Bucket of Dirt

20-064C – Arkasodara

I like this elephant man.

A simple 3 cost Backup that will either Break one of your opponents dull Forwards, or your opponent will pay 3CP for them to save that Forward.

Either way your opponent will lose part of their strategy due to them having inefficient funds, or due to them being down a Forward that they needed.

I like it, I’ll take it.

20-065H – Antlion (IV)

I remember fighting Antlion in FFIV to in order to get the Sand Pearl to save Rosa from desert fever.

Now the Antlion is back, and it is still angry. Must be all the monsters roaming the Antlion Den.

As a Monster, Antlion doesn’t have a special ability, it just waits for Backups to come and go, so it can turn itself into a Forward.

Once it’s a Forward it is something to deal with. With 9000 power and it’s counter ability, that will deal the same damage it received and deal it to another one of your opponents Forwards. Which one? Anyone you’d like.

Yes, I like it.

20-066R – Ignis

At the time of writing I just finished writing about Gnash.

Well, Ignis is the perfect answer to Gnash, Ignis is also one of the Backups that can be chosen by Gnash.

Ignis enters, and you can chuck a Backup and break one of your opponents Forwards.

Not only that, but on the same turn when you send that Backup to the Break Zone, you can grab a Forward from the Break Zone.

End of the day, Ignis has a way of recycling that Forward you need when he is sent to the Break Zone. After all is said and done, you’ll still have a 9K body on the field.

20-067R – Ifalna

Aerith’s mother. That’s all I’ll say in case there are people living under a rock, and haven’t played FFVII yet.

A great 2 cost Backup, that will grab an Earth Forward from your Break Zone and play it straight to the field.

This is actually really good, especially if all of your Opus XIV Clouds are in the Break Zone, and you have no other way of bringing them back.

We need more cards with support Characters that we haven’t seen yet.

20-068R – Aerith

We’ll have Aerith right next to Ifalna in our Binders.

What ever you do, you’re Warping Aerith in. There is no reason to pay 2CP to make her just a 5K body. Aerith is much more than that. Just ask Zack.

Aerith Warps in and grabs a Forward from your Break Zone.

After she grabs that Forward, that’s when she becomes a 5K body.

The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Both Ifalna and Aerith pretty much have the same ability.

20-069H – Chaos

Oh, this is nice.

Chaos causing Chaos just cause his name is Chaos.

Or something like that.

Chaos is a 6CP Forward, that let’s you search for a 4CP Dark Forward and play it onto the field. This will make Chaos a 2CP/9K body, and depending on which Dark Forward you choose you can probably put some hurt on your opponent. Too bad Sterne Leonis is banned, cause that would have been fun. For you, not your opponent.

And that’s not all.

If Chaos is in the Break Zone you can remove Chaos and 2 Dark Characters from the game to Break a Forward of your choosing.

The OG Dark Lord will take vengeance on the Warriors of Light. Maybe that’s what the 2000 year time loop is for.

*queue Alice Cooper’s “Vengeance is Mine”

20-070C – Leatherworker

Uhm, lots of Earth Backups that get played for free.

Free is usually a good thing, when they have a decent enter the field ability. Or any ability at all.

Where’s the Copy/Paste button when you need it?

 

 

20-071C – Ciaran

Here’s your Crystal pumping machine. As long as Ciaran stays on the field and attacks, you’ll be gaining a Crystal each turn.
He can actually use the Crystals himself and gain a 2K buff until the end of the turn.

Other than that, Dark Sword is a decent Special ability that deals a Forward (3000xpoints of damage you received). And you don’t even need to dull Ciaran in order to use it.

There are 2 different Ciarans meaning you can use this ability up to 5 times in one turn. But, only if all the Ciarans are in your hand.

20-072C – Gigas

A Giant? Let’s call him Andre.

Andre comes in and pretty much stops one of your opponents Forwards. Stuns? That Forward will not be able to Attack or Block until the end of their turn. Allowing your tiny Forwards to get some attacks in without the fear of being blocked by a big body.

Gigas … I mean Andre once he’s done Stopping that big body, can be sent to the Break Zone dealing a Forward 8000 damage on the way.

 

20-073C – Kimahri

This is the same as Auron. Only difference is that it’s Earth, and the art on Auron’s card is way better.

Just use what I said about Auron and change the name to Kimahri. And, the damage to 4000.

 

 

20-074C – Miner

3CP to hopefully find a Backup.

If there is a Backup in the top 5 cards of your deck, then Miner will only cost you 1CP.

I think I like the other Miner better.

At least, if you don’t know what to do, you can always put Miner in the Break Zone and draw a card.

 

20-075L – Cecil

Is 3 CP worth a point of damage?

Depends on what you’re playing. If you need that point of damage to buff up all your Forwards because you just received 5 points of damage then go right ahead.

Besides that, Cecil remains true to his story. As he can turn his Dark Knight self, into a Paladin. All you have to do is cross the mirror. Or get sent to the Break Zone. Whichever one is easier. For when you put Cecil into the Break Zone, you can search for a Paladin Cecil, and play him onto the field.

That Emissaries of Light Cecil, is looking good with this right now.

And Tenebrous Blast, just a special ability that deals 8000 damage to a Forward.

20-076C – Sonon

Let’s see, Melphie searches for Sonon, and if Melphie is in the Break Zone, Sonon gains a 1K buff and Brave.

Not bad, for a common.

You got a 9k body on the field, ready to block all of your opponents attacks.

If Sonon is in the Break Zone, hanging out with Melphie, you can remove them from the game a draw a card.

20-077L – Tifa

Another Tifa?

2 in one set? When was the last time that happened?

All the way back to Opus I? I guess, I always thought that there were a lot more Tifas. Apparently there are only 9.

19 Lightnings but, who’s counting?

1CP for a 9K body? Sure, I’ll take it. When Tifa enters the field you must discard 2 cards.

Tifa already has Brave, and if you pay 2CP she can attack again. And, if you have 2 more CP you can attack again, and again. I see an infinite loop somewhere, where someone will figure out how to keep activating all of their Backups in order to have TIfa attack over and over, til it’s game over.

You can’t discard 2 cards if you don’t have any cards in your hand. *Hint Hint.

20-078H – Noctis

The Prince is back, and is becoming quite a regular.

Noctis comes in, and buffs a Forward with +2000 power and Brave, for the rest of the turn.

After that Noctis will hand around the field, until he is sent to the Break Zone, and when he does get sent to the Break Zone, you can put one of your Characters in the Break Zone and play Noctis on the field with a permanent 2K buff.

 

20-079C/15-080C – Geomancer

Reprint.

Standard Unit.

Crystal.

Brave.

Maybe a Geomancer actually mines for Crystals.

20-080R – Fake

The first time I saw this card I thought it was a Fake, and didn’t pay much attention to it.

And, then I read the card wrong, and had to rewrite this.

For 2CP it’s worth giving a shot. Even if Fake can’t attack or block until it sees 2 points of damage.

2CP for a 10K body, sign me up.

 

20-081H – Fenrir

Is this what I think it is?

A Free Summon?

Yes, why yes it is! But, only sometimes.

Fenrir a 1 cost Summon that protects your Forwards from your opponents Summons.

And, if that Forward costs only 1CP, Fenrir is Free!!!

1CP isn’t that much to pay, but Free is better.

20-082C – Mira EX

The Dark Lord is back to help you find your Monsters.

And she does a good job at it, as long as there is a Monster in the top 5 cards of your deck.

After that she has a 3k body, that will fend off at least one attack. OR you can just put her in the Break Zone, and grant one of your monsters the ability to not be broken.

 

 

20-083R – The Magus Sisters (XIV)

At first I thought this was a Summon.

Then I realized that it is not.

What’s good about them is that your opponent can’t use Haste.

Which isn’t really a bad thing as most players don’t really have a lot of Haste cards. But, if you’re using my Haste deck well, it’ll really put a foil in your plans.

20-084R – Leo

See, this is what a King does, he looks out for his people, before charging them taxes and what not.

Leo, a 6CP Backup that when entering the field searches for a FFCC Forward and plays it onto the field.

Think about it for a second.

You pay 6CP for Leo, Find Yuri and play Yuri onto the field. Then you’ll discard a card, and search for Chelinka and play Chelinka onto the field. If you get this off turn one, you’ll be set for the game.

Oh, and let’s not forget the 1K buff to all the FFCC Forwards.

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Dawn of Heroes : Straight Out the Freezer

20-022C – Alhanalem

I feel like I just wrote about this card.

Alhanalem is a cheap Forward to play. Very cheap. At 1CP and a 3000 body, he can block any attack that you throw at him. Surviving the attack is another story.

Alhanalem also comes with 2 abilities. All you have to do is dull Alhanalem, and you can either Dull or Freeze a Forward.

I don’t see any reason not to have a couple of these laying around.

20-023C – Armourer

The Common card between all the elements.

Let’s just Copy and Paste here.

If you got 3 Backups already on the field, this Backup is free.

Other than draft, I really don’t see much use for this card, but I’ve been wrong before. Watch a Forward show up where you discard a Backup for a great ability.

20-024H – Calbrena

Rerouting damage to the nearest Forward.

Calbrena comes in whenever it wants to come in. Your turn, your opponents turn, or whenever one of your Forwards is being targeted by one of your opponents abilities.

You can now reroute that damage to Calbrena.

And when Calbrena is dealt damage by one of your opponents Forwards, you can deal damage to your opponent equal to Calbrena’s power, which will usually be 7000.

A nice little counter to have in your hand.

20-025C – Juggler

Backup.

Back Attack.

Juggler enters and dulls a Forward.

‘Nuff said.

You can actually play Juggler, when your opponent attacks and dull the Forward that is attacking.

20-026C – Edward EX

The Spoony Bard is back again, as a Backup.

And with his trusty harp, he will take a dull Forward, and break it.

As long as your opponent has 2 Dull Forwards on the field, that is.

For 2CP, I’d say this is a good deal.

 

20-027C – Genesis

We Finally got another Genesis card. We’ve been waiting since Opus III. Let’s see if it’s been worth the wait.

5CP for a 9K body.

Common.

Either Freeze 2 Characters, or have your opponent discard a card.

If Genesis comes in with Warp, you can use both abilities. Warp cost is 2 Ice CP.

It’s worth a try. At least in draft.

20-028R – Cissnei

This is interesting.

Cissnei uses Shuriken Counters, just like Edge.

Cissnei can use Shuriken Counters from other Characters to use her ability.

Edge (11-045H) gains a Shuriken Counter every time a Ninja enters the field.

Are there any Ice Ninja’s. Besides Vanilla Ice in TMNT 2.

We’re either throwing Edge (19-070C) in a Turks deck, or finding a way to put Cissnei in a Ninja deck.

20-029C – Jihl Nabaat

Am I the only one that still likes to play Opus I Jihl Nabaat? If I am, I might not after this set is out, as this Jihl has the same Enter the Field ability, but better.

Jihl comes in and if you pay the extra 2CP you can not only Freeze 2 of your opponents Characters, but dull them as well. That way you won’t need to pick from the dull Characters, cause you will dull the Characters you want to Freeze.

Jihl Nabaat is also a Forward, and if you’re playing Mono-Ice, well she’ll gain +2000 power.

I don’t know how well she’ll do in the XIII Custom Starter Set.

I guess we’re about to find out.

20-030R – Setzer

Setzer deck incoming.

First off, all the FFVI Ice cards look amazing this set.

Setzer comes in and allows all of your VI Forwards to form a party together regardless of element. Combine this with Locke, and get that table of four, to combine their attacks into one big party and get Locke’s ability to go off.

And with a party of 2 you get to dull and freeze a Forward.

Yes, please, I’ll take 3.

Is this a Full Art as well?

20-031R – Celes

If you’re playing Celes, you’re playing Locke, and whole bunch of FFVI Characters. Might be time to dust off my Setzer deck and update it.

Celes gains Haste if Locke is on the field, and Locke gains Haste if Celes is on the field. A win-win for these two.

Other than that, when Celes enters the field, you can dull all of your opponents Forwards, if you have enough FFVI Characters on the field.

And you get that for only 2CP. After that Celes is a 5k body, able to block an attack, get sent to the Break Zone, and then you can just play her again.

20-032C – Soldier : 3rd Class

Cloud’s old SOLDIER buddies are here.

These one’s gain 1000 power for each SOLDIER : 3rd Class in your Break Zone. They also search for each other when they enter the Break Zone, + you get to play them straight to the field.

Pair these SOLDIERs with the Opus III Soldiers and you can have up to 5 SOLDIER : 3rd Class in your Break Zone, to make this Soldier an 11k power house.

 

20-033C – Cerulean Drake

I was going to say, How come I don’t remember Cerulean Drake from FFVII? Then I realized it’s from the Remake.

Cerulean Drake is a 1 cost Monster that will Freeze a Forward when he enters the field.

Not much to write home about, but it does have some abilities that will allow you to dull a Forward, or break a dull Forward.
If you got 2 of these on the field, you can use the abilities back to back and Break an active Forward.

20-034R – Terra

There is a nice combo right here. Along with Lock and a couple more FFVI Characters. And, I probably won’t even scratch the surface here.

Terra comes in and you can grab a Summon from the Break Zone. This makes Terra’s CP go from 4 to 2. And once Terra forms a party and attacks, you’ll be able to cast that Summon for Free.

And along with the Free Summons from the last set. You can cause a lot of damage.

Considering this Terra is only a rare, it’ll be easy to get a playset.

20-035C – Knight

Ice Reprint Standard Unit.

Just find what I wrote for Samurai and change the word Samurai to Knight.

 

 

 

20-036H – Number 24

Number 24? This card is Number 36. They should get their facts straight.

All jokes aside Number 24 in the Royal Rumble is pretty good.

No?

Ok, Number 24 is a great blocker. Just keep a Barrier Counter on him and block any attack that comes your way. Add a Barrier Counter at the beginning of the Main Phase, and you’ll always have a constant supply of Barrier Counters.

Just make sure you keep blocking, because once those Barrier Counters are 3 or more, Number 24 will become dull at the end of each of your turns. But, he should activate during the beginning of your Main Phase, so you should be good.

20-037H – Mateus (FFTA)

2 cost Summon that will either Freeze all of your opponents Forwards, or all of your opponents Backups.

Pick and choose, but the end result will always be the same.

Mateus will be removed from the game.

No way to save this one.

20-038H – Wicked Mask

Chris Isaak would have had a field day with this card.

“Such a Wicked Mask to play”

3 cost Monster that reroutes a Summon from one Character to another Character of your choice. I’m seeing plenty of Counters this set, even if they aren’t called counters.

After Wicked Masks enter the field ability is used, Wicked Mask stays on the field until you decide to turn it into a Forward.

And, let’s not forget – Back Attack.

20-039R – Rude

Correct me if I’m wrong, but you can play an ability if it doesn’t have the dull icon.

I’m 99% sure of that, so that means, Rude enters the field, Dulls and Freezes a Forward. After that you can use Haymaker to Break it.

Only drawback I can find with this card is that, you can only use Backups to pay for this card. Other than that, Shinra should be getting stronger this set.

 

20-040L – Rufus

Rufus, President of Shinra, doing Presidential things.

You can lower the cost to cast Rufus by 2 if both Reno and Rude are in the Break Zone. Making Rufus a 2 cost Forward with a 7K body.

Once Rufus enters the field, you can grab one of the Turks from the Break Zone, making Rufus a Free Card. And, we all like Free cards.

After that whenever Rufus attacks, you can choose from 3 different abilites. Dull and Freeze a Forward, grab a Turk from the Break Zone, or you can make your opponent discard a card.

Rufus is the President that keeps on giving, even after he has been elected.

Doesn’t Weiss (18-019R) have an ability that activates when your opponent discards a card. (hint hint)

20-041R – Reno

Just goes to show you that the Turks are here to stay.

You play Reno for 3 and pay the extra cost to give Reno Haste. After that you can attack with Reno, search for Rude and play Rude onto the field.

It’s almost Buy 1 get 1 Free.

This even works better if you play Rufus first.

Let’s take a look.

Reno and Rude are in the Break Zone. You play Rufus for 2CP and grab Reno from the Break Zone. You play Reno, pay 1CP and give Reno Haste. Reno Attacks and searches for Rude and Rude gets played straight to the field. That’s pretty much comes out to 4CP for 3 Forwards.

Bright Spark? Dulls 2 Forwards.

20-042L – Locke EX

Really?

Now I’m definitely dusting off that Setzer deck.

Locke comes in and you get to grab a FFVI Character from the top 4 cards of your deck. Which should be pretty easy to get since most of your deck should consist of FFVI Characters.

Once Locke is on the field, get as many FFVI Forwards on the field, and form a a party of 4 FFVI Characters. Do that once per turn and your opponent won’t ever have any Forwards to attack or block. Which should work in your favor. Cause, even if you form a party with only 2 FFVI Characters, you’ll still be dealing your opponent a point of damage.

Yes, I’ll take 3. Hopefully we get a Full Art here.

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From Nightmares – Full Colored Monsters Under Your Bed

19-107C – Vaan EX

Anytime you get a card that can Activate all your Backups, you get a card that is worth playing. Even if you don’t like Vaan.

🙂

(That’s probably the first Smiley I used on the Website.)

You actually get to chose between 2 abilities when Vaan enters the field, or off of an EX Burst.

Most of the time you will be activating your Backups, just because that’s what I would do. And when this ability comes off of an EX Burst you’ll probably be dealing a Forward 5000 damage.

19-108L – Zidane

Coming in with Haste, and an ability that he cannot be blocked by Forwards of cost 3 or more, makes Zidane, … Zidane.

This card is a mixture of previous Zidanes, which is a good thing. It’s a mixture of Opus I and Opus III. Which are both great Zidane cards, and that makes this one even better than the other 2 combined. Why? Because Opus I Zidane was 4CP or higher, and this one is 3CP. That’s a whole lot of Forwards added to the list of those that cannot block Zidane.

The other ability allows you to look at your opponent’s hand and discard a card from there. The only drawback to this card, is that your opponent will draw a card when you decide to discard one of his cards.

I’ll take 3 please. Full Arts if available.

19-109H – Cherukiki

What? Really?

Cherukiki, come on over and let’s get all these abilities rolling.

Even for himself (herself? I haven’t played much of FFXI so I’m not so sure.) As soon as Cherukiki comes in you can use the ability and find Kukki-Chebukki and Makki-Chebukki and play them straight to the field.

What? Did I read that right?

For 5CP you can play 3 Forwards onto the field?

Ranperre/Kain anyone? You can pay 3CP for Kain, discard active Ranperre, play Cherukiki for free, bring in Kukki-Chebuki and Makki-Chebukki and you’ll be able to use their action abilities. So, you’ll deal a Forward 2000 damage and they’ll also put the top card of their deck into the Break Zone.

That’s a whole lot of something for only 3CP and a Ranperre.

19-110H – The Emperor

Warp and the abilities will follow.

The Emperor’s abilities will only trigger if he comes in due to an ability. And, Warp counts as an ability, 2CP of any element to play the Emperor. You don’t even need to have Earth or Ice elements in your deck, you can just throw in the Emperor to any deck and he’ll still work.

The two abilities you can choose from are removing all the cards in your opponent’s Break Zone, or grabbing a Forward from your Break Zone.

Either way The Emperor is a 2 cost when he Warps, with a 9k body.

19-111L – Prishe

You’ll pay an extra Crystal Point to get Prishe’s first ability to go off. Is it worth the extra CP to deal a Forward 8000 damage? I would say so. After that Prishe will enter the field on your next turn, and she will Dull and Freeze a Forward and a Backup.

And, that’s about it. I’m having a brain fart, and can’t think of anything else to write.

 

 

 


19-112C – Larkeicus

As per usual, Larkeicus deals with Monsters. Why is this? I don’t know. I should play Crystal Chronicles to find out. I remember buying it back in the day on the GameCube, but that’s a story for another day.

Larkeicus comes in and let’s you recycle a Monster from the Break Zone, bring that Monster out, and play him straight to the field. You can even play that Monster you just used to pay for Larkeicus.

What I like about this ability is that you don’t need the Monster to be of the same Elements as Larkeicus or the deck your playing. You can splash Monsters from all elements, and be able to play them on the field, straight from the Break Zone.

The Doctor is in.

Let’s not forget that Larkeicus is also a Forward. Block with him, and play him again to bring back another Monster.

19-113C – Gilgamesh

Cue, Battle on the Big Bridge.

Everyone’s Favorite, Gilgamesh.

Haste and Brave, and a Warp cost of 2.

It’s a decent play for 2CP. You can throw him in a Wind/Lightning deck, when you don’t have anything else to put in.
Hurricane, for a Gilgamesh card and 3CP you can Break a Forward.

Not bad, if I say so myself. Cause who doesn’t like Breaking Forwards. I just got an idea for a t-shirt. Maybe we’ll get into the T-shirt business as well.

19-114L – Cloud

The chase card of the set.

That’s if you get lucky enough to pull the Gold Signature.

By itself, Cloud is a good card, that can come in a Break 2 of your opponents Forwards. 6 cost with 9000 power.

I’d say it is worth it. Even at 6CP. And, if you already cast 2 cards this turn, you’ll only be paying 2CP for Cloud to come in and cause mayhem.

Will this card change the FFVII engine, or will it just make a new deck completely?

19-115H – Veriaulde

2CP/7K body, Veriaulde is a … I don’t even know.

But, Veriaulde can be devastating to your opponent, if they don’t have an answer for him.

You can be sure that when Veriaulde comes in you will be removing 5 cards from your deck. Once you do that, you’ll have a Guinea Pig Counter on Veriaulde, and once he has a Guinea Pig Counter, every time Veriaulde attacks, you will dull all of your opponents Forwards. Leaving them open to all of your attacks.

And, that is definitely not all! I even used an Exclamation point right there.

At 3 points of damage, Veriaulde gains Haste, which means you don’t need to wait a turn to attack with Veriaulde, and start taking down your opponent, as soon as he comes in.

19-116C – Paine

Paine brings the pain to your opponent’s Break Zone.

Ok, that was terrible.

Paine enters the field and you get to remove 2 cards from your opponents Break Zone, if you already control at least 3 FFX Characters. Which you most likely will. If you’re playing Paine you will be playing some form of YRP. Which used to be a great engine.

I still think older Paine’s are better.

19-117H – Hilda

This is a beautiful card.

Princess Hilda, hopefully it’s not the Lamia Queen, is a great card for a FFII deck. And, depending on Scott she could be good, or really good.

So far there are only 2 Scott’s to choose from. Neither are that great, but might be of use in a FFII deck.

Her second ability is better, allowing you ta grab a FFII Forward from the Break Zone. And, since these are action abilities, you can use them once per turn. If you find a way to activate her, you can use it more than once per turn.

I can see some interesting things with this card.

Now, if we can only get a better Scott.

19-118L – Yuna

Why does it seem that some Characters only get good cards, and others always seem to get a bunch of crap printed?

Yuna here is the former. It is a good card, that gets even better once you have 5 points of damage.

When Yuna enters the field you get to send one of your opponent’s Forwards back to their deck top or bottom, the choice is yours.

At 5 points of damage, you can also search for a FFX Character and play it onto the field.

Now imagine what you can do if you can find a way to bounce Yuna with Opus VI Rinoa?

19-119L – Unei

Here we all thought Unei was an old woman. She’s a Magus so that allows her to transform.

6 cost Unei, comes in with 9000 power. You can reduce the cost by 2 when you removes 2 Summons from your Break Zone, Earth or Water or both.

When she enters the field, you get to return one of your opponent’s Forwards and one Backup and return them to their hand.

It’s a decent play to disrupt your opponent for a turn or 2 until they get their board back the way they wanted it.

Unei also has an action ability, in which you can grab a Summon from the Break Zone.

You can keep grabbing back some of those Free Summons and use them over and over.

19-120C – Garnet

Garnet has one job. And that is to grab a Summon or two from your Break Zone.

After that she is just a body on the field, who will hopefully keep your opponent at bay with her 8000 power.

She can come in with Warp as well.

 

 

19-121H – Meia

Meia is a good card, buffing all of your MOBIUS Forwards, other than Meia with +1000 power and Brave. That in itself is a good enough reason to play Meia.

Other than that you will reveal the top 5 cards of your deck and grab not 1, but up to 2 MOBIUS cards and add them to your hand. Thus possible making Meia a 1 cost Forward with 9000 power.

What’s not to like about that? Any card that buffs your cards is a yes for me.

 

19-122C – Zack EX

You will not play Zack unless you Warp him in.

First of all, it’s a 3CP difference. Paying 5CP to deal 7000 damage to a Forward is too much. You can do more damage with a well placed Summon.

Now, if you do Warp Zack in, he is worth every Crystal Point you pay. All 2 of them.

First off he will deal 7000 damage to a Forward, and when he enters the field, he has Haste, First Strike and Brave.

So, even if he just comes in and attacks. you will most likely deal your opponent 1 point of Damage. After that just keep Blocking until Zack is broken, just so you can Warp him in again.

19-123H – Anima

This is a great card. I like it and I like it some more.

Anima come in and your opponent is racing against time to get Anima off the field before his ability is activated. Once it’s activated it could be game over for your opponent.

Anima comes in and you remove 2 cards from your Break Zone.

After that at the end of your turn, you remove the top card of your deck.

Then at the end of your opponents Turn you remove another card from the top of your deck.

One more time, at the end of your turn you remove the top card of your deck.

Once you have 5 or more cards removed by Anima’s ability, you can bring them all to your hand. And start playing them like you’ve had them this whole time.

Best part is that you’ll wipe the board of all of your opponents Forwards, leaving you with up to 12 cards in your hand, ready to bring the Pain!

19-124L – Y’shtola

Y’shtola must be the reason I’ve been selling a bunch of Opus XIII Urianger over the weekend.

Y’shtola comes in, and if you like she can deal you 1 point of Damage and you in turn can deal your opponent 1 point of damage. It’s an exchange.

Not just that, but whenever anyone takes a point of damage, you’ll choose 1 of your opponents Forwards and deal them 4000 damage.

Now I’m tempted to go look at the Opus VIII FFXIV Starter Set, and see how well it fits into that deck.

19-125H – Mog

Free Mog!!!

Free him into your deck, of any color that you’d like, as long as you have FFVI Characters!!!

And when Mog attacks, they all gain First Strike!!!

What’s not to like?

I just bought a FFVI Playmat with matching sleeves, And I will make myself a FFVI themed deck. Mog and Kefka will be a part of it. Sabin and Edgar as well.

19-126C – Shadow Lord

From the elements I see here, Shadow Lord is just a tall glass of Ice Cold Ice Water.

And his abilities say the same as well.

Shadow Lord comes in, your opponent discards a card, while you draw a card.

Simple as that, but, he is a little pricey. 6CP with no way to reduce the cost. Well, you’ll say it is a Common, what did you expect?

It’s the high cost that might stop us from using this card.

19-127L – Relm

Another VI card, although this one isn’t Free, it still is good.

For 2CP, you can either grab a monster from the Break Zone and play it onto the field, or you can Double Cast a Summon.
Anyway you look at it, you’re getting some value out of this card.

You’re either playing a Monster and Relm for 2CP.

Or you’re playing Relm, and since you just played an Ice Forward, and a Water Forward, you can go right ahead and cast Shiva and Leviathan for Free, and when they enter the Break Zone, you can remove them from the game and cast them again.

That’s a lot of firepower for 2CP.

I’ll take 3 please.

And, why does it look like Relm is driving a Go-Kart with wings?

19-128L – Warrior of Light

The OG WoL, The one with no name, besides the name you give him.

The first Quad-Elemental card, and it is a good one.

We mentioned that with Refia this set, you have a great reason to run a Warrior of Light deck.

Now, with Warrior of Light, you have a better reason to run this deck. Run the 2 together and, you got something on your hands that will keep activating itself.

And, that is what you’re looking for.

Stop your opponents from destroying you.

Warrior of Light is basically a Free card, cause he activates all your Backups, and he can only be played by Backups.

He comes in with Haste, First Strike, and Brave. 10,000 power. You name it Warrior of Light has got it.

Let’s see what people come up with for this card, I’m really curious to see what Warrior of Lights can do.

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From Nightmares – Winter is Coming

19-018R – Waltril

A 2 cost Forward with 5000 power. I mean, cheap to play. Can block a Forward, might deal damage to your opponent.
And, at the end of each of your turns, you gain a Crystal.

 

 

 

 

19-019R – Vincent

I was writing a whole paragraph, and then I realized I read the card wrong.

Vincent Freezes Backups when he enters the field. I was reading Forwards for some reason.

This is actually a great card, in my opinion. Vincent comes in Freezes 3 Backups, blocks a Forward and gets broken.
After that replay Vincent for some more Frozen Backups.

Find a way to keep getting Vincent back, and you’ll be giving your opponent a hard time.

Might be a good fit for that Shinra deck.

19-020H – Umaro

The Abdominal Snow Man, or just plain Yeti.

Umaro has Brave and he just wants to attack your opponents Forwards, he doesn’t even want to come onto the field, just straight to the Break Zone and deal a Forward 8000 damage.

Once he’s in the Break Zone, you can discard 2 FFVI cards and play him onto the field.

This will work in any FFVI deck. You don’t even need to have the right elements to play Umaro.

Just Throw Umaro into the Break Zone, and then pay the cost with 2 Category VI Characters and you are set.

19-021C – Cloud of Darkness

Pesky Monsters bothering you?

Take them out with this Cloud of Darkness. For only 5CP, you get to choose one of your opponents Monsters and break it.

While she already has the fire power. At 3 points of Darkness … I mean damage. Cloud of Darkness gains Brave. Giving you an extra blocker.

 

 

19-022R – Shiva

FREE SUMMON!!!

Yes, we’ll take 3 please.

When Shiva is cast, select 1 Forward. Dull and Freeze.

And, if you already played an Ice Forward, she’s free.

Simple as that.

Oh, and you get to draw 1 card.

19-023C – Snow

Discard and gain more power.

Snow can fit into any Discard deck.

If your opponent has 1 card or less in their hand, Snow gains+2K power.

And, when Snow blocks your opponent discards a card.

“With more discard comes more power.”

 

19-024L – Sarah (MOBIUS)

“Sarah can’t attack,
Sarah can’t block,
the only thing about her is the way that she stops”

Auto-abilities that is.

Well, not necessarily, but she might.

If one of your opponents Auto-abilities goes off, they’ll have to pay 2CP or else it will cancel.

Other than that, Sarah’s other abilities are, dulling 2 Forwards, and giving a Forward +2000 power.

19-025R – Sephiroth

Technically, you can play Sephiroth for free, but I don’t think you’ll want to wait until you have received 6 points of damage to do so.

Either way, his entry ability is pretty good, but at what cost?

Would you pay 6CP to Break a dull Forward at the beginning of your game, or would you wait until the cost is more reasonable.

Personally, I think there are better choices for this ability.

Oh, and he does have Back Attack

19-026H – Curlax

Here’s a card that will help Snow out. All you have to do is … oh, wait. It’s any Dream Stooge. If a Dream Stooge is sent to the Break Zone, your opponent discards 1 card. And, once there sent, they can be brought back by Laragorn.

Other than that, once per turn, if you control all 3 Dream Stooges, you can Dull and Freeze 1 Forward.

I really like the Dream Stooges. I’m going to give them a go.

 

19-027R – Chocobo Eater

Simple Monster that does some damage in the form of removal.

Once he enters the field, Chocobo Eater will remove a low cost Forward from the game, for as long as he is on the field.

If nothing else, Chocobo Eater will just stall your opponent for a bit. Unless that’s the only copy of the Forward that they’re playing. Even then, it probably isn’t that important to their deck.

It’s still a cheap play, with a good ability.

19-028C – Terra EX

Did you just cast Shiva, and now need to bring her back to cast her again for free?

Well Terra here, can dig through the Break Zone and find her. Not just Shiva, but any Summon you need to look for.

4 cost Backup, and if you don’t need to grab a Summon you can deal 8K damage to a dull Forward.

Is there a way to bounce Backups?

 

19-029C – Tohno

You can use a little Tohno in your deck.

Tohno comes in with an enter the field ability which lets you Freeze a Forward. Doesn’t have to be your opponents Forward either. But, why would you want to Freeze your own Forward.

What I like about this card is that you can send Tohno to the Break Zone. That way your opponent will discard a card, and you can play another Backup.

It’s called Backup Management.

If you have any complaints, don’t tell me about them.

19-030R – Norschtalen

If you have Waltrill in the set, you know that Norschtalen isn’t too far behind.

A nice little combo, as Norschtalen allows you to play Waltril straight from the Break Zone. And, if Waltril is not in the Break Zone, you can just grab a Crystal Chronicles Character instead.

For 2CP, Norschtalen is also a decent blocker.

 

 

19-031C – Flan

Cheap card to play.

1CP Monster that can become a Forward for an additional 0CP. Quick blocker if you need it, or just an attacker when your opponent runs out of Forwards.

Plus, Flan recycles itself, as when he is sent to the Break Zone you can search for another Flan and add it to your hand.

 

 

19-032C – Yuke

Yuke and the Multi Element Payment. MEP. I’m going to claim that term. Let’s see if it catches on. Probably not.

When Yuke enters, if you used 3 different Elements for your MEP, you get to dull 1 Forward.

Other than that he has First Strike.

 

 

19-033C – Lean

Discard = no cards in your opponents hand.

And that’s where Lean comes in. IF you decide to play him. For when he enters the field, and your opponent has no cards in their hand, you can search for a card and add it to your hand.

The good thing is that you can search for any card. be it Character or Summon. Forward or Backup, or even a Monster.
What card you search for is up to you.

 

19-034C – Nu Mou

Like Nu Mou here. If you already read Lean, you know that Nu Mou can help you achieve the goal of your opponent having no cards in their hand. Sure, you need to have received 3 points of damage for your opponent to discard a card when he enters the field, but if you’re playing Discard, you’re going to surely have more cards that will make your opponent discard all their cards.

And, if they know you’re playing Discard, your opponent will most likely be trying to get rid of all their cards so you won’t be forcing them to discard any cards.

Makes sense?

I hope so.