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Lumina – Card Analysis

First off, let’s check what I wrote when Opus XIII : Crystal Radiance came out.

“13-085R – Lumina

3CP to search for a XIII forward. Nothing exciting, but you would think that they would have done something better for Lumina.”

Have no fear, we will go into a deeper analysis today.

3CP – Lightning
Backup
Mysterious Woman
Rare

“When Lumina enters the field, you may search for 1 Category XIII Forward and add it to your hand.”

Now, when I said nothing exciting, I meant just that. Lumina is considered a Trickster in the game, so, you would think that she would do something devious to your opponent. Don’t get me wrong, you can never have enough searchers in your deck.

At the time of this writing, there are 93 Forwards that Lumina can choose from. There are FFXIII Forwards in every Element except for Dark. There shouldn’t be too much of a problem finding a Forward to grab from your deck.

Most of the cards in the FFXIII Custom Starter Set are great candidates for Lumina to search for. Especially that Light Lightning. You cant go wrong with that card.

I’ve looked long and far, and can’t remember if there is a card that searches for a Lightning Character, Backup, or any Character for that matter. I might be wrong, and find it later. And, If I do, I shall update this post.

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Lumina

“I have a name. It’s Lumina. And, I know a lot about you.”

SPOILER ALERT

If you haven’t played Lightning Returns and don’t want anything ruined, move along.

If you have, continue on.

Datalog Entry

-Lumina

This mysterious young girl appears to be able to control the power of Chaos, and likes to get in Lightning’s way at every turn.

It seems that she has met Snow before, and the two have more than just a passing acquaintance. but Lightning has spent the last five centuries in crystal, and she has no way of knowing what could have happened between the two.

Still, she cannot deny that the girl bears a striking similarity to Serah. But Serah is dead, and this Lumina seems to have her own goals.

 

So, just who is Lumina?

Lumina, is a vessel that was created when Lightning went into Crystal Stasis, in order to protect Serah’s heart to protect her from Chaos.. And, while Lightning was in Crystal Stasis, Lumina kept in contact with everyone that was a part of Lightning’s story.

From being there when Fang and Vanille woke up from their Crystal Stasis, to keeping Vanille company when she was lonely as the High Priestess. Showing Noel the oracle drive where he defeats Lightning, Giving Sazh a coffer of souls to collect Dajh’s Soul Fragments in order for him to wake up. Lumina also came in contact with Caius and Snow, but not Hope. Nothing to do with Hope, because Hope is dead. He’s just a puppet now. Bhunivelze’s puppet.

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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 – Thunderbolts and Lightning

19-069R – Emperor (FFL)

5 cost Forward with an S-ability that has a 50% chance to turn the tide in your favor. More than 50% depending on what cards you’re playing. But, if you’re not playing any Summons or Monsters it’s 100%.

Black Box, the abilities of abilities. Depending on what is the top card of your deck you can either deal 8000 damage to all the Forwards. Dull and Freeze all the Characters, or draw 4 cards.

Either of the first 2 will be very beneficial for you.

Add Glauca to the mix and he’s only a 4 cost Forward with a 9K body.

I’ll take 3 and throw them in any Lightning deck.

19-070C – Edge

It’s all about the Shuriken Counters.

Edge comes in with 3 Shuriken Counters, each one can be used to deal 5000 damage to a Forward. He does dull when he uses his ability, but after 3 turns, you can just block a Forward and recast Edge.

This way you can have Edge on the field for most of the game, just dealing 5000 damage a turn. A nice little way to keep your opponent at bay.

 

19-071C – Elgo EX

4 cost Backup that allows you to grab a Multi-Element Forward from your Break Zone.

After that Elgo just stays on the field and produces CP each turn, as any Backup would.

His enter the field ability also comes off as an EX Burst.

 

 

19-072C – Eald’narche

5CP/9K Forward that when she enters the field you can discard a card to Break a Forward.

Any Forward will do.

In total you will be paying 7CP to break the Forward, and then you’re left with a 9K body to deal damage or block attacks.

Almost like an Opus I Odin that will Break a Forward, but you get to keep this card on the field.

19-073C – Kain

Have we had a Kain as a Backup before?

Either way, this one isn’t half bad. Actually pretty useful with Back Attack.

If you have a Forward that is blocking another Forward, and your opponent buffs it to match the your Forwards power, you can play Kain and give your Forward First Strike. That way your attack will go through first. Breaking your opponents Forward.

Other than that, there really isn’t much use for it.

19-074C – Scholar

Cheap Backup to play, and is great when you have 3 points of damage.

When Scholar enters the field you can Break a Forward of cost 3 or less.

Not only that, but Scholar has an ability to deal 8000 damage to a damaged Forward. Most of the time this will break that Forward.

You get all this for 2CP.

 

19-075C – Chimera

If you don’t have a low cost Character on the field when you play Chimera, you don’t need to break it. This can also be a way to get rid of a Backup you don’t need on the field anymore to make way for a new one.

Chimera costs a measly 1CP, and it can also become a Forward.

This is a pretty decent Monster/Forward.

 

 

19-076R – Kuja EX

2CP Backup that Breaks a 2CP Forward or 1CP when he enters the field.

After that you can dull Kuja, chuck him to the Break Zone and dull a Forward.

 

 

 

 

19-077L – Golbez

Archfiends are back. If they weren’t a thing yet, they are now.

Golbez and the Warp Counters. Every time you remove one, you can play an Archfiend from your hand onto the field. They don’t even need to be a certain cost. Any Archfiend will do. And every time you do play an Archfiend, you can draw a card.
After that Golbez gives all the Archfiends +3000 power.

So many awesome cards so far, and so many decks I want to build. And so little time to do so.

19-078C – Jinnai

I don’t see it.

I mean you can pay the 4CP to activate Jinnai, to dull a Forward.

If the cost was a little cheaper, maybe 2CP it would have been better, but for 4CP to activate Jinnai, I believe there are better options to play.

But, Jinnai is only a Common, so that might be why the cost is high.

Other than that Jinnai is a 3CP/7K Forward.

19-079H – Moebius

Did I mention I like the Dream Stooges?

Well if I didn’t, now I did.

Moebius allows you to grab a Dream Stooge from the Break Zone. Which is a good thing.

If you have all the Dream Stooges on the field, they all gain +2000 power, making them a little more difficult to deal with.

I like it and I shall be making a Dream Stooge deck, just to have some fun. Add in Kefka and I can see something fun Happening.

19-080R – Vivi

Mono Lightning?

Might as well play Vivi, if only for the fact that all you’ll have in your hands is Lightning cards.

Simply play Vivi onto the field, reveal your hand and deal a Forward up to 14,000 damage.

It’s simple as that. He’s also a Forward so you can block an attack and then play another Vivi, and rinse and repeat.

Lots of value in this little play. It’s worth a try or 3.

19-081R – Behemoth

A second Behemoth in this set.

This one plays quite different then the Earth one.

When Behemoth enters the field, you can choose a Forward of 5CP or less and send it to the Break Zone.

After that during each of your Attack Phases, Behemoth will dull one of your opponents Forwards.

What you wanted to attack with that Forward? Sorry, he’s dull. Oh you wanted to block with that Forward, Sorry, he’s dull too.

If your opponent doesn’t have an answer for Behemoth, he’ll be playing with one less Forward. One he won’t be able to play again. Unless your dulling a Standard Unit, but why would you want to do that?

Did anyone notice the KO’d Onion Knight on the bottom?

19-082H – Lightning

This beautiful card comes in with Haste, And 9000 power.

It’s an interesting card if I say so myself. Because when she is sent to the Break Zone you can play a Category XIII Character from your hand onto the field.

And her other ability reads, discard Odin, and choose a Forward your opponent controls, break the Forward and Lightning.
Now, if you already have another Lightning in your hand, you can play her onto the field for free. It’ll be almost as she never left.

Who said Lightning doesn’t strike twice? Lightning can strike up to 3 times with this card.

19-083R – Ramuh

Lightning’s Free Forward is here, in the form of Ramuh.

Simply put, Ramuh deals 8000 damage to a 3 cost (or less) Forward.

That is usually more than enough to get rid of the low CP Forwards.

And, since it’s a free play, why not use it. I know I will.

 

 

19-084R – Ricard

Looks like Dragoons got a roll of the dice.

I like these types of cards, that let you reveal the top cards of your deck and hopefully finding what you’re looking for.
You won’t always get what you’re looking for, but there is always a chance.

And with most Dragoons being Lightning. I’m sure you’ll be able to find a Lightning card or two to choose from.

After the roll of the dice, Ricard has an ability that will give a Forward First Strike. You will send Ricard into the Break Zone, and that just means you get to play him again.

19-085C – Dragoon

Dragoon here comes in with Haste, and that is enough for me.

But if you’re playing with 3 different elements, and you paid the cost with 3, you can choose a Forward of cost 3 or less and Break it.

There are Dragoons in almost all of the Elements, which can make it somewhat easy to play.

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From Nightmares – Starter Opinions

19-129S – Vanille EX

Search for Lightning. Or Fang. Or Hope, But who wants to search for Hope. Yes, I am still biased on Hope from his character in the first game. He was a child, but he was a spoiled brat. I won’t get in to it here.

3 cost 7K body, with Imperilga which will double the damage dealt to a Forward your opponent controls. And 2000 damage to all of your opponents Forwards, which is technically 4K.

I’m losing track of this card.

19-130S – Bahamut

There are ways to cast Bahamut for Free, and everyone loves free Summons. I know I do. All you need is 3 XIII characters and one of them being Fang.

When Bahamut is cast, deal a Forward 10,000 damage, and if it is broken, remove it from the game instead.

Nuff’ said.

19-131S – Fang

Plenty of things to go through to have Fang deal 2 points of Damage.

Is it worth to go through all of this for that? I believe so.

Fang comes in with Haste, and although you won’t be able to attack twice in a turn. Meaning that Fang won’t attack after she casts Bahamut for free.

But, if your opponent blocks Fang, then you cast Bahamut on that Forward, which in turn will most likely break it, Fang’s attack will go through for 2 point of Damage.

I’ll take 3.

19-132S – Snow

Snow comes in and if Lightning is on the field, Snow grants protection from Summons. to himself and to Lightning.

Now, when Snow enters the field you can either have your opponent discard a card, or if you have his fiance on the field you can dull and Freeze 3 of your opponents Characters.

Freeze those Backups, so they can’t reproduce.

 

19-133S – Serah EX

Let’s search for Mog (XIII-2).

Just the new one that costs 1CP.

And, if you play that Mog, or any moogle, you get to activate or dull 2 Characters.

And with Froststrike, you get to deal a Forward 8000 damage. And, if you play a Moogle after that, and have an extra Serah in your hand. You get to recast Froststrike.

 

19-134S – Mog (XIII-2)

Look at the grin on his face. And, those teeth. Razor Sharp.

But, he’s just a Moogle, and he does grant Serah protection from Summons and abilities. For the low cost of 1CP you have a terrible blocker, but that’s OK. You don’t need much power to block an attack.

Plus, Mog also gives a XIII Forward +2K power.

 

 

19-135S – Cid Raines

High cost Forward, but has same bite to it.

Considering Cid Raines is a L’Cie, that isn’t much of a surprise.

Cid Raines shall come in and break one of your opponents Forwards.

And the more points of damage you receive, Cid becomes even more powerful. At 3 points Cid gains +1000 power and First Strike.

His true power comes out, when you have your back against the wall. Every time Cid Raines attacks, you get to choose a Forward your opponent controls, and send it broken down to the Break Zone.

19-136S – Noel

This is a nice card. 2CP comes in with Haste, and depending on how many XIII Characters you have on the field, Noel gains that much power, X 1000.

Just a simple Forward, but every time one of your opponents Forward’s leaves the field, you get to dull another one of their Forwards. Which is good, in that you will either slow down their attacks, or leave them open for yours.

 

19-137S – Hope

Well, this Hope is pretty decent. Especially if you’re playing a XIII themed deck, and if you aren’t, you wouldn’t be playing this.

Hope comes in and either searches for a XIII Forward or deals damage to one of your opponents Forwards. How much damage? Depends on how many XIII Characters you control.

I do see this XIII deck coming out strong. And, this might be the first Hope card I like.

 

19-138S – Lightning

Such a great card. comes in with Haste, and all these abilities that come into play when Category XIII Forwards attack.
If 1 attacks, all your Forwards gain +1000 power.

If 2 attack, you draw 1 card.

And, if 3 attack, you deal your opponent 1 point of damage.

Plus Lightning comes in with Haste, so you can use these abilities right away.

It’s a good addition to any deck, if you ask me. And, if you don’t, it still is.