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From Nightmares : Twisted Fire Starters

19-001R – Ifrit

What a way to start off the set. Coming in at number 1 is a Free Summon.

And everyone likes Free Summons. I know I do.

Once you play a Fire Forward onto the field, Ifrit comes in for free and deals 7000 damage to 1 Forward. Pretty simple. And, it’s even better because it’s free. Add Ifrita to the mix and things can get hot very quickly.

 

19-002L – Ace

Cadets getting back into it with this “Ace”

Ace comes in for 1CP, sure you’ll remove 5 fire cards from your Break Zone when he enters the field, but half the time you’re not going into your Break Zone to grab something.

When Ace attacks you deal 1 Forward 10K damage.

And, with Spiral Gambit, Ace can attack twice and deal 2 Forwards 10K damage. Plus he’ll probably be able to Break another 1 or 2 as well.

Talk about an “Ace” up your sleeve.

OK, I’ll stop now

19-003R – Edgar

Cheap Backup to play. For 2CP Edgar will come in bring his Auto Crossbow, if you need to deal damage to a few of your opponents Forwards.

Edgar is also carrying a Phoenix Down just for Sabin. If by any chance Sabin is sent to the Break Zone, Edgar will just bring him on back, and it’ll be like he never left.

Always good to have a “backup” plan.

 

19-004R – Kukki-Chebukki

Other than the art, this card seems like it’s just a basic card. 3 cost Forward with a 6K body.

Ability is just dealing 2000 points of damage to a Forward.

If it’s broken in the same turn, you can remove it from the game instead.

 

19-005C – Sazh

Haven’t seen Sazh in a while now.

But he comes in, searches for Dajh and has a 5k body.

Cheap searcher, even though Dajh usually only protects Sazh. But, do you really want to play Sazh if you’re now counting Category XIII cards for other abilities?

 

 

19-006C – Tifa

Tifa costs 5CP, but can Warp for 2CP. You just have to wait 3 turns.

And when she finally comes in, Tifa has 9000 power, Brave and can attack twice in the same turn.

Looks like we’re getting more and more cards with the ability to attack twice. Fire is getting most of them.

 

19-007C – Dajh EX

Discard a card draw a card.

Cheap Backup, that buffs Sazh.

Just like we mentioned earlier. Probably not worth playing.

 

 

19-008R – Buffasaur

This monster is waiting to pull the trigger on one of your opponents Forwards. You can deal damage to a Forward that just enters the field, but it comes at a cost.

All you need to do is figure out, if that 8000 damage that you’re going to deal to your opponents Forward, is worth a point of damage for you?

 

 

19-009C – Bomb

Bomb, acting more like a Bomb.

When he takes enough damage, instead of going peacefully, Bomb will Explode and deal damage to 1 Forward. It should have been “all Forwards”, but what do I know.

Any how, When Bomb enters the field you can dull 2 Fire Backups and search for another Bomb (2CP or less) and play it onto the field.

Technically, you can swarm the field with Bombs in no time.

Is there a Bomb deck out there? How many Bomb cards do we already have?

19-010H – Sabin

I mean, this could have been more than just a Hero.

Sabin comes in and if you’re playing a VI themed deck, he will do some Damage. Yes, capitol D. Depending on how many VI characters are in the Break Zone, Sabin will deal that many Forwards, 8000 damage. if there’s 4, then 4 of your opponents Forwards will be dealt damage.

It’s Suplex City here.

Let’s not forget about Sabin’s twin brother. This whole time we didn’t know how strong Sabin’s Enter the Field ability is. But, now that we know. We know that the 2 brothers will be a staple.

19-011C – Miyu

A backup that searches for an Agito Cadet.

Searchers are always welcome, as they allow you to search for a card. IF you don’t want to search for a card then, this isn’t the card for you.

During Pre-Release, I noticed 2 other Agito cadets in Ice and Lightning, all of which are Backups.

Might be useful if you want to run the FFXIII Custom Starter Set with all 3 colors.

19-012C – Monk

Cheap Backup to play.

I also like the fact that you can get rid of him by using his ability. Even if you are just using it to get rid of Monk in order to play the Backup you really need to play.

And that really isn’t a problem, unless you already have 5 Backups on the field.

Who cant use a +4K buff, when your Attacking Forward is Blocked.

19-013C – Lilty

I’ve seen a couple of these types of Forwards in this set. Where if the cost is paid with more than 3 elements, the Forward gains an enter the field ability.

Lilty’s ability is to deal 8000 damage to a Forward.

Lilty also comes in with Brave.

 

 

19-014C – Luneth

A simple 4 cost Backup that deals 5000 damage to all of your opponents Forwards.

I believe with the new Warrior of Light, and all the Warrior of Light Jobs we have this set we’ll see some synergy between all of them.

By itself it’s a decent Backup that can break down your opponents defenses.

 

19-015R – Ruby Weapon

If you remember anything about Final Fantasy VII, it’s that 99% of the people that played it, haven’t beaten Ruby Weapon. Including me.

Ruby Weapon was a pain to deal with because he would remove 2 of the party members and you would have to fight him with 1 Character. Hopefully that Character had Knights of the Round and Phoenix Materia equipped. After that you might have had a chance.

Why am I bringing this up?

Ruby Weapon will remove one of your opponents Forwards with his ability. But, only if they have 2 or more Forwards on the field.

Other than that Ruby Weapon is a 6 cost Forward that has high defense. Considering that any damage dealt to Ruby Weapon is only 1000.

Might be worth a shot, if you need an extra Fire card in your deck.

19-016H – Laragorn

One of the three Dream Stooges. Taking his name from one of the original Stooges Larry. And that’s why I like this card before I even read it. Plus, the Amano art is great as always.

When Laragorn enters the field you can search for a Dream Stooge. Either one of the two, and play it straight to the field. You’re pretty much getting a Buy One Get One Free here.

Laragorn can also grab a Dream Stooge from the Break Zone, and the best part is you don’t have to send Laragorn to the Break Zone to do it.

Maybe, just Maybe the Dream Stooges can become a thing.

19-017R – Leon

I’ve seen plenty of Rebel cards this set.

Leon searches for his sister, Maria, and depending on how many Rebels are on the field, Leon does gain some buffs.
If you have 4 or more Rebels, Leon gains +4000 power and Haste.

You’ll most likely be caught between the choice of playing Leon early to find Maria, or waiting until you have 4 Rebels on the field to play him.

Sure you can also play Leon early on, and then allow him to get broken to play him again, but if he’s already on the field, I don’t see a reason to sacrifice him, unless you need to.

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Opus XIV – Fire Review

14-001C – Amalj’aa

Amal’jaa, number 001. start off the set with a Backup. Who in turn gets activated when a Fire Primal enters the field.
All you do is use Amalj’aa to pay for the Primal, and once the Primal is in, Activate Amalj’aa and dull Amalj’aa to deal 1000 damage to a Forward.

 

 

 

14-002R : Ifrita EX

Everyone loves Ifrita, and by that, I mean I love Ifrita. Just by looking at the text you know you are going to add this one to your deck if you are already playing Ifrita (9-002H). You’ll be heading towards 5 Ifrits/Ifritas in your Break Zone before you know it. You’ll be dealing 7K damage to a Forward while also searching for another Ifrita to add to your hand.

 

 

 

14-003R – Illua

Haste? Check. Illua comes in attacks, right away and you can dull up to 5 Backups. Then you get to choose a Forward deal it up to 15K damage. Should be enough Damage to break it. Illua’s power will also increase 3K for each Backup you dulled, for power reaching up to 18K. Not a bad card if I do say so myself

 

 

 

14-004C : Warrior of Light

Your Standard 4CP/8K body. Gives all your Standard Units +1K. +3K if you received 3 points of Damage. I say this card will see plenty of play.

 

 

 

 

14-005C : Oelde Leonis

Strong card power wise, and when he is broken you choose one Standard Unit from your Break Zone add it to your hand. Could be a useful blocker, but at the 5CP cost is it worth the Standard Unit you’ll pull from the Break Zone. I’m sure someone will say that he is..

 

 

 

14-006R : Ifrit, Lord of the Inferno EX

For a second there, I thought it was a Summon, and decided that he is too expensive to deal a couple of Forwards 4K Damage.

Then I saw that he is a Forward. I was wondering why he had a Job. After that my opinion changed. He counts as an Ifrit for Ifrita. Which all Summons and character abilities deal 1K more Damage. I like it.

Don’t forget Fritt (7-004C) searches for him.

 

14-007L : Garland

As we talked about this card in one of our Box openings on YouTube. Garland is practicly unbeatable. He can still receive a beat down and be broken. But, it’s his abilities that make this a great card. Whenever a Backup, is put in the Break Zone, you get to draw a card. Could be any Backup not just your own.

And let’s not forget about Flare, Break a Forwards and then your opponent puts a Backup in the Break Zone. This as well could be one of your own Forwards. Maybe Break Oelde Leonis to grab a Standard Unit from the Break Zone, and draw a card.

Hmm … What Standard Unit are we looking for?

14-008C – Caius

Cheap Forward to play, and gets an 8K body whenever one of your Forwards is put into the Break Zone. Add, Brave and Caius just might be as good as Caius (5-004R). Now some of you might say that Opus V Caius isn’t that good, but I like him. He does good at what I want him to do.

 

 

 

14-009R – Gabranth

Your Basic 2CP Backup, that doesn’t do anything until you received 5 points of Damage.

After that, you can just Protect a Forward.

 

 

 

14-010H – Gutsco

I like it.

Keep removing cards till Gutsco gets broken, or removed from the game.

After that all the cards removed come back to your hand. And, you can have a lot of cards that you can storm the field with. I will be trying this one out.

 

 

14-011 – Susano, Lord of the Revel

Six Crystal Points to wipe the board, and get a free hit. This is the second board wipe Fire and XIV receives in 2 sets. And all you need to do is get rid of one Backup. You can even get rid of Ranperre. But, I don’t know how that would work out on the stack.

 

 

 

14-012 – Kojin

Don’t like the cards you just drew? Just play Kojin with those 2 cards and hopefully get something better. And if that doesn’t work, Dull and Break and hopefully you’ll get something better once again.

 

 

 

14-013C : Koboloid Yang

I’d call this a ticking time bomb. Everytime it ticks it gets more power. But this time bomb, you can have it go off whenever you choose to.

I’ll take it!

 

 

 

14-014C : Samurai

3CP/7K +2K if you’re playing Samurais.

And Brave.

And, you better fill up your Break Zone with Samurais to get the his on entry ability.

Samurai’s look like they have been getting great support.

 

 

14-015R – Zenos

Personally, I would have thought that this card was at least a Hero. But, it’s just a rare, throw this one in with the Shadowbringers Starter Deck, add Susano and you got yourself a good deck. Could it be that easy? Sometimes, but that’s just a quick tip. You’re welcome.

You can actually call this card Fat Chocobo in red. Or, Fired up Fat Chocobo.

Also gives Haste to all XIV forwards you control.

 

14-016C – Geomancer

Geomancer’s only job is to remove the ability of your opponents Forwards to block … well … you get what I’m trying to say.
Hey, do you see that Bhunivelze with 10K Power?

He’s the only one in between me and victory and all I got on the field is a measly Palom from Opus II with a 1000 Power. What shall I do?

 

 

14-017H – Mom Bomb

I had seen this card early on. And, loved it. Mostly because it’s Amano art.

But, this Monster becomes a 2 cost 8K Forward if you control 3 or more Fire Backups. your opponent will think twice about blocking this one due to the fact that it’ll deal 5K damage to all Forwards, including your own. I like when the cards mimic the games.

 

 

14-018C – Maliris (IX)

Discard one card Job Chaos and deal one forward 8000 damage. Is it worth it? I’m sure there are Summons that can do this more efficiently. But, for a common I’ll take it.

 

 

 

 

14-019R – Red XIII

2CP to play Red XIII, then when he enters the field you can play 1 Fire CP to play Susano? That can’t be right. And it’s just a Rare??? Sure the Forward you play will be removed from the game after the end of the turn, but if you’re wiping the board and getting a point of Damage does it really matter?

You can also Discard Red XIII to get Susano’s ability off.