Tag: ice

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Hidden Hope – Take It To the Limit

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22-112R – Zach LB

Zach out first Limit Break card, and I can’t say it’s anything special.

Zach comes in and deals a Forward 3000 damage.

Not much of a Limit Break per se.

Zach will stick around on the field as a body, So, 3CP isn’t terrible, but I’m sure there are better things to do.

 

22-133L – Mont Leonis LB

Now, this is more like it.

Even though I never liked Mont as a character, this is a card I would play.

Now, this will only work if you have 5 Fire Backups on the field when you bring Mont in.

For 8CP, you can grab a 3cost Forward and a 5 cost Forward from your Break Zone and play them straight to the field. They will both come in with Haste as well.

It still is a lot to pay, but you do get a lot in value from it.

8CP, 3LB points, and a Backup that you control.

As a last ditch effort, I will say that it can work. I mean that’s what Limit Breaks are supposed to be. Huge attacks, when you’re on your last legs.

22-114H – Viktora LB

Not bad.

I guess I’ll need to actually play a game with these Limit Break cards. Finding time is the problem.

Viktora needs, a discard deck around her, and you don’t need me to tell you that.

Luckily, Ice has the tools you’ll need to make Viktora a great play. Just like a Dragoon getting ready to Jump.

If your opponent has 2 cards or less in there hand, when Viktora enters the field, you get to choose a Forward and deal it 7000 damage.

And, if your opponent has no cards, Viktora gains +3000 power.

Much better than Zack.

22-115R – Serjes LB

Serjes, the lancer.

Now this was a decent Character in War of the Visions.

And, that is what this card is as well. Decent. Not great, not bad.

When Serjes enters the field, you can either Dull or Freeze a Forward.

And, then he’ll stick around as an extra body on your front line.

 

22-116L – Ace LB

Ace is looking like he will be a powerful card. Once Ace enters the field, Ace deals 1000 damage to all of your opponents Forwards. Just think for a second of what Ace can do if you’re playing Chocobos.

And, that’s not all cause when Ace attacks, you can reveal the top card of your deck, and if it’s a Wind card, which it will be if you’re playing Chocobos, you’ll add it to your hand.

Sure, Ace costs 8CP, but you’ll probably get that CP back, with the extra cards you’ll be drawing.

22-117R – Yuri LB

Yuri comes right in, and searches for Chelinka and Yuri brings Chelinka straight to the field. That way we’re bringing Yuri’s cost down a little bit. Sure, there are only 2 Chelinkas that you can choose, because her cost needs to be 2CP or less.

You’ll most likely be playing Chelinka (22-046R), and if you have another Crystal Chronicles Character on the field, Chelinka will give Yuri Haste, and you’ll be able to attack with Yuri right away.

Las, but not least, if you have 5 Backups on the field, Yuri also gains +4000 power, making him an 8K body.

22-118H – Shantotto LB

Shantotto, going back to her roots.

Shantotto comes in and breaks all the Forwards and all the Monsters. Every last one of them except for Shantotto herself.

If you’re in a pickle, go ahead and cast this Mage. 4CP + 7LB. That’s all of the rest of the cards in your Limit Break deck. Last ditch effort to save yourself.

If you’re just looking to get rid of all of the Forwards, just play Opus I Shantotto instead.

Or you can have both in your deck and use whichever one works better for you.

22-119R – Maat LB

Maat comes right in and gives all of your Forwards +1000 power and Brave.

That might be enough to finish the game for you, and if you end up striking out, at least you’ll still have Forwards that will be able to block.

Maat comes in with Brave himself.

This is a Limit Break card that I would gladly add to my deck.

 

22-120H – Cloud LB

Of course, we have cloud in the first set of Limit Break cards, what’s next Lightning?

Cloud comes in and Breaks a Forward, 3CP or less. After that Cloud will stick around with an 8K body, wheeling and dealing damage to your opponent.

And if you’re feeling a little CP rich, you can use Limit Burst.

For 4 Lightning CP and a Cloud card, you can Break one of your opponent’s Forwards and also deal your opponent 1 point of damage as well.

Do that 7 times and you won the game.

It’s possible.

22-121R – Lightning LB

Well, I was right. Lightning was next.

And when she enters the field, she will look for a Lightning summon.

And that is about it.

You’d think they’d have Lightning do something better.

 

 

22-122L – Tidus LB

I’m trying to think if this is worth it.

If you don’t pay 3CP does that mean you can’t choose any of these effects?

8CP, to Send a Forward to the bottom of it’s owner’s deck, a Backup to the top of it’s owner’s deck and draw 2 cards.

I can’t think of a reason to play this card, but I know I’ve already sold a few of them, so someone thinks that it’s a good play.

 

22-123R – Leo LB

Would you like to draw a card?

Well there’s better ways to get yourself to draw a card than Leo.

Only difference is that you can play Leo at any moment, because you already know that you can just grab him from the Limit Break deck.

Still, Leo will probably just be used to pay for other Limit Breaks.

Like Maat.

22-124H – Little Leela LB

This is a better Limit Break card.

Better than most of the cards we’ve seen in this set.

Little Leela comes in at 5CP with an 8k body.

You’ll say so what, nothing special about that.

And, I’ll say yes, but whenever Little Leela attacks, you will choose one of your opponent’s Forward and it will lose 7000 power until the end of the turn.

Now that makes it better. Better than Leo, better than Zack, better than Yuri, and I hate to say it but, better than Lightning.

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Hidden Hope : Frozen Hope

22-019C – Ice Bomb

I Need More Bombs!

And, this one is pretty good on my opinion.

During your turn, Ice Bomb becomes a Forward, and whenever it attacks, you can Freeze one of your opponents Forwards.
And, if you already have received 3 points of damage, Ice Bomb will also Dull that Forward, thus making said Forward unavailable for your opponent’s next turn.

I’ll take 3, and put them in the Bomb deck.

22-020R – Vallaide

Who would have thought that Green Mages have these kind of abilities. And, what is a Green Mage anyway? I thought they were Red Mages.

Whatever it is Vallaide has a pass, because he’ll kick some …

It’s true. Just use his ability on a Forward, and whenever that forward is dealt damage, it breaks. Just like that.

Sure, you’ll need another way to deal a little bit of damage to said Forward, but that should be easy enough to figure out.

22-021R – Emina

This is what everyone likes. A Backup that searches for a card.

Sure, the card needs to be an Ice Character that costs 2CP or less, and I’m sure there are plenty of good cards to grab.

This technically makes Emina a 2 cost Backup as well.

Search and Play.

 

22-022R – Quistis

Do you remember Opus I Jihl Nabaat?

Well Quistis here, does a much better job than what Jihl Nabaat did.

Of course you’ll have to be playing a FFVIII themed deck, but with a card like this, and plenty of other great FFVIII cards that won’t be hard to do.

Now, what does Quistis do?

Depending on how many FFVIII Forwards you have on the field, you can dull that many of your opponent’s Characters. And if you have 3 or more, you’ll also Freeze them.

And, the artwork? It looks great. Can’t go wrong with a good looking card with a great ability.

22-023C – Bard

Bard, a low cost Backup that will dull a low cast Forward.

And, if you have another Bard (22-023C) on the field, you can use Bard’s other ability and Break that Forward.

Is it worth the price?

Depends on what you’re Breaking.

You can’t go wrong with a 2 cost Backup, that has a couple of decent abilities. Unless your opponent isn’t playing low cost Forwards. Then you might be out of luck.

22-024L – Kurasame

At 7CP, Kurasame is a quite expensive, but he can be worth it depending on how many Ice Backups you have on the field when Kurasame enters.

Go ahead count your Backups.

I’ll wait.

5 Ice Backups, well that is perfect. You shall either Dull and Freeze, 5 of your opponents Characters. Backups? Forwards? Monsters? Yep. Yep and yep.

Or, you can have your opponent discard a card for each Ice Backup that you have.

We said 5, right?

Well your opponent is discarding 5 cards from their hand. And, what was that card that was just released in the Anniversary Collection Set 2024? I don’t have the card in front of me, but I think it said, deal 5000 damage to a Forward every time your opponent discards a card, due to your Summons or abilities.

Now, at that point I’d say it’s very well worth playing Kurasame, as it will put you in a winning position. If you can’t beat your opponent when you made them discard their hand and laid waste to their front line, I think it’s time for you to pick up another game.

I like it.

22-025C – Cloud of Darkness

This is a decent card, for a Common.

Cloud of Darkness comes in, and since you’ll already be playing Discard because you’re already playing Ice, your job will be to have your opponent have as little cards as possible in their hand before you play Cloud of Darkness. Cause when Cloud of Darkness comes in and your opponent has only 2 cards, or less, in their hand, they will send one of their Forwards into the Break Zone.

And, that is pretty much it.

 

22-026C – Seymour EX

Almost like a Summon. Seymour comes in and breaks a dull Character.

After that Seymour will just hang out on the field producing a single Ice CP once per turn.

Good thing is that this ability can come off of an EX Burst as well.

Now, where did I put that card that gets rid of my Backups.

 

 

22-027R – Shiva

Let’s talk about Ice.

It’s so cold, that it will make all of your abilities stop working. Nothing moves, and your opponent’s Characters reset to 0.

No Haste, No First Strike, No Brave, no buffs no nothing.

Plus you get to draw a card if you only paid the cost with your Backups.

The twins are your best bet at starting a frozen empire.

22-028H – Cissnei

The Turks just got a little bit better with Cissnei.

She might not look like much, but in a Turk heavy deck, she’ll be lying in the shadows waiting to attack. And she can attack twice.

Sure, Cissnei comes in dull, but she also comes in with Haste. All you need to do is activate her and she’s ready to go. Luckily, The Turks are here to give a helping hand. (And you thought that they were the bad guys.) Every time a Member of the Turks attacks, you will activate Cissnei.

Here is the battle plan, Cissnei comes in, Reno attacks, Cissnei activates, Cissnei attacks, Rude Attacks, Cissnei activate and attacks again.

For 2CP, you get a 6K body that dual wields Shurikens.

I’ll take it.

22-029R – Jihl Nabaat EX

It’s Jihl, but which Jihl will you like to play?

Is PSICOM going to become a great deck to play? Who will be in it? How many PSICOM cards are there? Why are there so many questions?

After looking up all of PSICOM there are a total of 3 Characters with that Job, One which is Jihl Nabaat. The other 2 are Rygdea and Yaag Rosch.

“Who you gonna call?”

Not the Ghostbusters, that’s for sure. You can flip a coin and see which one you’ll get.

But, at 3CP you get a Forward with 7000 Power, and you get to search for a member of PSICOM.

I’m guessing they’ll be adding more PSICOM members in the next set, Especially since Lightning is on the box.

22-030C – Shinryu Celestia

This is nice, a decent 2 cost Backup that will give one of your Forwards +4000 power.

Sure, you can only use this ability if you have 5 Backups on the field, but you should be trying to get to 5 Backups as soon as you can. Because Backups equals more CP.

Now, if you can find a way to activate Shinryu Celestia after she used her ability, then you can use it again, giving another Forward, or the same Forward, another +4000 power.

 

 

22-031H – Squall

How is Squall just a Hero?

Because he is a Hero. Just play Final Fantasy VIII to see why.

At 4CP/8000 Power, Squall becomes even more powerful, if you have 4 FFVIII Characters on the field. Not only that, but he is protected from your opponent’s abilities that deal damage.

And if you need to get more Final Fantasy VIII Characters on the field, Squall will help you with that as well. During the beginning of each of your Attack Phases, you will be able to play a Final Fantasy VIII Forward from your hand onto the field. Just as long as that Forward costs 4CP or less.

You can get the four Final Fantasy VIII Forward on the field, by the beginning of your next turn, If you play Squall right away. After that, it’ll be easy sailing.

22-032L – Sephiroth

The card that everyone is looking for. Not the one you see, but the one with the Gold Stamped Signature. It is a good looking card.

Now, lets talk about the card itself.

At 3CP with 7000 power, you would think that this card is undeserving of the Legend status. Well, we’re here to tell you that it is. And, that we can see why Squall is just a Hero.

Whenever Sephiroth is in your hand, you can pay 3CP and break one of your opponent’s dull Forwards. Which in itself is a great ability to have. Although you’ll have to remove Sephiroth from the game.

But, that doesn’t mean that Sephiroth is lost, he just went into the Lifestream like he usually does. Once he is in the Lifestream, and only during the turn that he entered the Lifestream, you may play Sephiroth onto the field for his cost. And, once Sephiroth enters the field, your opponent will discard a card from their hand.

Sephiroth will cost you a total of 6CP to play this way. There are a couple of Summons that will Break a dull Forward. One is Titan (21-071H) who will break a dull Forward for 3CP, and Hades (6-038R) who will break it, and have your opponent discard a card from their hand for 5CP. The difference is that Sephiroth stays on the field as a body.

22-033C – Time Mage

Time Mage is a simple 2 cost Standard Unit Backup that is actually pretty good.

Time Mage enters the field, and will Dull/Freeze a Forward, and if you have one more Standard Unit Backup on the field, Time Mage will Dull/Freeze a Character as well.

If you have 3 of these in your hand you can Dull/Freeze up to 6 Characters, and at 2CP each, it will only cost you 6CP or 1P per Character.

That sounds like a steal to me.

22-034H – Medusa

We finally have a new spell. Stone has arrived to Final Fantasy TCG. They’re just calling them Petrification Counters.

Medusa comes in and casts Stone on a Forward. Once that Forward has turned to stone, they cannot attack or block. And they will not be able to turn back to normal once Medusa is gone.

Nope, they will have to use a Gold Needle, and the price for that Gold Needle is 5CP.

This will put a cog in your opponents plans.

22-035C – Yuke

Simple, basic and straight to the point.

Yuke comes in for 1CP and allows you to look at the top card of your deck. If you like it you can keep it there. If not send it to the bottom of your deck.

It does have plenty of benefits.

Depending on what you see there, your game plan will change for this turn.

Do you see an EX Burst that will cause plenty of damage to your opponent. Leave it there and take a point of Damage. Do you see the card you need to put your plan into motion, play that card that allows you to draw a card.

Worst case is that you don’t like the card, and you can just recycle it to the bottom.

22-036C – Rinoa

Final Fantasy VIII, has had some great cards showing up. And, we still haven’t had a Starter Set made for 8.

Good thing is that, we already have plenty of cards to make a great deck. Is Rinoa a good card to add?

Probably not. There are far better Rinoas in other sets, so, I don’t really see you playing this one, unless you’re playing a Discard deck. Or, you just like the art and you’ll just throw it in your FFVIII deck, just to show off with the Full Art. I know I’ve done that before.

If Squall is already on the field when you play Rinoa, her cost goes down to 2CP from 3CP, which makes this card more affordable, and her ability forces your opponent to discard 2 cards.

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Breaking the Limit?

Final Fantasy TCG – Anniversary Collection Set 2024 (that’s a mouthful) is just around the Korner. If you haven’t gotten your Pre-Orders in yet, we have some still available.

Pre-Order Here.

What’s on the Soap Box today?

Limit Breaks.

If you can remember they first showed up back in Final Fantasy VII when Cloud took enough damage and unleashed Braver for the first time. Running towards the enemy and then jumping up like a Dragoon, and bringing his sword down as he’s falling to strike at the enemy causing damage.

I had you there for a second.

We’re actually going to talk about the new mechanic that will be introduced in Hidden Hope.

Limit Break cards will actually be set in a side deck that consists of up to 8 cards. These Limit Break cards are only for your side deck. And, can be played at anytime you would normally be able to play them. You’ll be almost like a Black Mage, with spells ready to go. As long as you have enough MP that is. That MP is your side deck as well. Once you pay the cost to cast a Limit Break, you’ll also need to pay for the Limit Break cost as well. You can just take a look at how Toriyama has explained it.

Let’s take a quick look at these cards now.

Zack – 22-112R

Zack enters the field and deals 3000 damage to a Forward. After that he just sticks around the board, hacking a slashing, blocking and attacking. Until he breaks, and gets sent back to the Limit Break deck, but not before stopping by the Break Zone to confirm that he is actually broken.

Ace – 22-116L

Ace is looking like he will be a powerful card. Once Ace enters the field, Ace deals 1000 damage to all of your opponents Forwards. Just think for a second of what Ace can do if you’re playing Chocobos.

And, that’s not all cause when Ace attacks, you can reveal the top card of your deck, and if it’s a Wind card, which it will be if you’re playing Chocobos, you’ll add it to your hand.

Sure, Ace costs 8CP, but you’ll probably get that CP back, with the extra cards you’ll be drawing.

Viktora – 22-114H

With Viktora, you’ll want to keep your opponents hand at zero. Make them spend every last CP that they have. And, since Viktora is already a Dragoon, and most Dragoons are Lightning. Ice/Lightning is already good at this, Simply adding Viktora to your side deck will make your main deck that much better.

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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

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Beyond Destiny : Finishing Starters

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21-125S – Onion Knight

Coming in with Haste this Onion Knight will bring a tear to your eye.

Meh, I tried.

Onion Knight comes in and if you decide to pay 2 Crystals, you can search for another Dissidia Forward and play them onto the field. Sure, they have to cost 3CP or less, but there are plenty of Dissidia Forwards to choose from.

No need to worry about Elements either.

Sword & Sorcery, is a decent ability that deals 10,000 damage to any Forward that decides to go up against Onion Knight and block him when he attacks.

Did we mention Haste?

21-126S – Cloud

Kingdom Hearts Cloud.

Was wondering when he would make another appearance.

Cloud is pretty straight forward. He enters the field, and deals 3000 damage for each Dissidia Forward that you control to a Forward of your choosing. This also comes off of an EX Burst.

Other than that Cloud is a 5 cost Forward with 9000 power. But, you can get around that. Instead of paying 5CP, you can just pay with 2 Crystals.

21-127S – Firion

Here’s Firion, the Rebel Warrior that will help you stock up on Crystals. That way you can pay for all of the Crystal abilities that the rest of your Deck likes to use. Weather it is paying for Cloud, or having Onion Knight search for a Dissidia Forward, or whatever else the rest of the Starters can do with the help of the Crystals.

Let’s get back to Firion.

Firion enters the field and deals a Forward 3000 damage. And if you have 2 Dissidia Forwards on the field, he’ll deal 7000 damage instead.

And that’s about it.

Sure, you won’t really care about his Entering ability, not when he has a way to acquire Crystals.

21-128S – Shantotto

Here’s another use for all the Crystals Firion will be able to get you.

When Shantotto enters the field, you can pay the additional cost of 2 Crystals, and grab a Dissidia Forward from your Break Zone and play it onto the field. Sure this Forward needs to cost 5CP or less, but it’s a free Forward so who cares.

You will be able to play 2 5CP Forwards for the price of one.

It’s Buy One Get One Free. Or B.O.G.O.

Salvation Scythe, is Dissidia’s answer to Opus I Jihl Nabaat.

Dull and Freeze 3 Characters.

I like it. You don’t even need to play Shantotto in a Dissidia deck. Just throw here in any Dull/Freeze situation to make thinks cooler.

21-129S – Terra

From the looks of it, it’s all about the Crystals.

A Crystal here, a Crystal there, here a Crystal, there a Crystal, everywhere a Crystal.

Terra shall come into the field, and your opponent discards a card. And if you’re playing this starter deck, you’ll probably be gaining a Crystal as well.

And then you can use that Crystal to Dull/Freeze, a Forward and draw a card as well.

Pair Terra with Shantotto and you can Dull/Freeze 4 Forwards.

It’s getting colder by the minute.

21-130S – Noctis

You see what they did there?

They gave you a somewhat cheap Forward with 9000 power, but you have to have a Dissidia Forward on the field in order to play Noctis.

But, you probably already got that covered. You’re playing this Starter Deck.

Well let’s see, Noctis comes in and Breaks a Dull Forward.

And, that’s about it.

It’s all because of the suit Noctis is wearing. And, then he’s pointing to himself, showing off his portrait on the wall.

Yes, we comment on the art when we have nothing else to say. We got to fill up space somehow.

21-131S – Warrior of Light

Here is another Crystal Generator

Warrior of Light comes in and gives you a Crystal, and after that, whenever a Dissidia Forward enters the field Warrior of Light gives you another Crystal. And, then you can use those Crystals and use them to pay for different abilities.

Such as the one right here on the card, that gives Warrior of Light +1000 power, and the ability to not be chosen by your opponent’s abilities. Now, that’s an ability.

Warrior of Light sure reminds me of Cecil. I actually thought it was Cecil until I started reading the card.

21-132S – Cecil

What’s not to like about this card?

Built in protection. Cecil is a Paladin like no other. Or so they say.

4CP/8000 power. Can’t be chosen by abilities, can’t take damage from abilities. A meat Shield at it’s finest.

Cecil also buffs all of the other Dissidia Forwards with +2000 power.

And, if that’s not enough, Paladin Force breaks those pesky high cost Forwards that like to stick around the field more than they should.

Now if Cecil had some FFIV synergy, this card would have been awesome.

21-133S – Tidus

Here’s a card in this deck that pretty much stands by itself, with no need for other Dissidia Characters. Tidus comes in and you return one of your opponent’s Forwards to their hand. And when you return a Forward to their owner’s hand, regardless of it being your or your opponent’s you draw a card and gain a Crystal.

And since there is no need for Dissidia Characters on the field for this ability to go off, you can pretty much play Tidus in any deck.

Sure, he costs 5CP, but you’ll get 2CP back when you return a Forward to your opponent’s hand. Plus, you could be drawing an extra card once per turn, making Tidus cheaper in the long run.

21-134S – Bartz

Bartz is ready to make this Dissidia deck work out. Bartz comes in and allows you to search for a Dissidia Character, add it to your hand. Bartz also gives you a Crystal

4CP, which comes down to 2CP after you draw a card. And if you already have another Crystal in your hand, play Shantotto, and then grab Cloud from the Break Zone.

Or something along those lines.

And, when Bartz is done attacking , and blocking and is sent to the Break Zone, you can remove Bartz from the game and gain an additional Crystal.

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