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Banon’s Returners

Where do we start?

Well we need to start off with Banon, it’s a deck built around him after all. Now, let’s see what FFVI Characters do we have in Water. None, that actually have anything to do with Banon, actually yes, Gau. Gau does help Banon with the battle at Narshe.

Gau (19-089H), even though Gau isn’t the best place to start building a Banon deck with, he is Water, comes in with Back Attack, and gives a FFVI Forward 1000 power x the FFVI Characters on the board. He’ll most likely help your Forward survive an attack, Summon or ability.

Next we’ll take a look at Edgar and Locke. And, no we’re not going with the Dawn of Heroes setup, that would be too easy. We’ll grab Locke (9-122H), that way we can grab more FFVI Characters, plus the +2000 power he gives to all the FFVI Forwards every time he attacks, is a plus.

Edgar (19-003R), cause we need Backups, and this Edgar can grab Sabin from the Break Zone, which leads us to Sabin (17-017H). Since you’ll probably already have a bunch of FFVI Characters on the field, you’ll probably be only paying 1CP to cast Sabin, or you’ll be grabbing him from the Break Zone with Edgar. We’re taking Sabin for his Chakra ability. And, since both of his abilities don’t require Sabin to dull as part of the payment, well add in another Sabin, anyone as it’ll be mostly used for paying the cost for Chakra, and Aura Cannon. We’ll go with Sabin (15-018C). And if you do decide to play it, during each of your turns you can choose one of your opponent’s Forwards and deal it 9000 damage.

Banon believed Terra would be the catalyst to destroying the Empire, because she is the light in his story. Or so he thinks. We’ll say she’s the fire and add Terra (10-132S). That way you can recycle a Summon, and deal 2000 damage to one of your opponents Forwards every time you cast a Summon.

Let’s not forget that Locke saved Celes and brought her to the Returners as well, and luckily we do have a Water Celes. Celes (11-118L), with 3 abilities to choose from every time she attacks. And, if you have received 3 points of damage, you can choose 2. Celes gains 2000 power, if Celes deals damage to your opponent draw 1 card, or return a Backup to your hand, and a Forward to your opponents hand.

Which leads us to Owzer (11-106H), (I can’t believe I forgot about this card, for my Ultros deck), You can return Owzer to your hand to play him again, and gain control one of your opponents 2 cost Forwards.

We’ll add Class Fourth Moogle (10-121C), to help us pay for Fire CP.

And, since we’re already buffing our Forwards power’s, well buff it some more with Aria (III) (10-108R). And, let’s add Minwu (1-171H) for a little bit of protection.

We’re going to add Ifrit (19-001R) and Leviathan (19-101R) because they are Free Summons. And in case you haven’t noticed, we like Free Summons.

Amaterasu (12-002H), because you need that protection Amaterasu grants.

Unicorn (20-118H), solely because it’s a FFVI Summon. Well, not solely, mostly. Activate a Forward, and Return a a Forward to your opponent’s hand.

Mog (VI) (4-140H), just so you can draw a card, if you have nothing worth playing.

Plan of attack would be to, buff up your FFVI Forwards and attack. Simple as that.

Forwards

3x – Gau (19-089H)
2x – Mog (VI) (4-140H)
3x – Banon (9-111H)
3x – Celes (11-118L)
3x – Locke (9-122H)
3x – Terra (10-132S)
3x – Sabin (17-017H)
3x – Sabin (15-018C)

Backups

3x – Aria (III) (10-108R)
3x – Class Fourth Moogle (10-121C)
3x – Edgar (19-003R)
3x – Minwu (1-171H)
3x – Owzer (11-106H)

Summons

3x – Unicorn (20-118H)
3x – Amaterasu (12-002H)
3x – Ifrit (19-001R)
3x – Leviathan (19-101R)

What would you play different?

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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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Crystal Dominion – Opinion on Water

15-106C – Atomos

Easy way to get rid of a Forward. Doesn’t matter which one, you’ll still get rid of one.

Add a Crystal and only pay 1CP for Atomos.

Not bad, not bad at all.

 

 

15-107H – Umaro

1CP/9K Power

That is one hell of a trade. But, you’ll also pay 1 Crystal. At least you’ll get it back when Umaro is put into the Break Zone.

That is, if he ever makes it to the Break Zone.

 

 

15-108C – Dancer

I would have never thought that they would make a card like this.

All of a sudden that 1 Forward loses all it’s abilities and Categories and wait … does Job count as a Category? What about Element? I’ll have to check on that. … But even if it’s only Category it will still put a dent in some decks.

Now, Imagine if they had a card that would do this to the whole board.

 

 

15-109R – Ultros

The card with the best art this set. I don’t care what anyone says. This is the Chase Card.

Ultros being Ultros.

As of this moment you can have up to 12 Ultros in your deck. That means you’ll most likely hit an Ultros if you reveal the top 5 cards of your deck.

Each Ultros has the ability to find you another Ultros if it gets chosen or broken.

This will be the card I am making a deck out of this set.

Thank you, I’ll take 3.

Shiny Holo Full Art.

15-110C – Gau EX

“Gau’s a Wild Child,
come and love him,
He wants yoooouuuuuuu, ooooo”

I wonder if Gau is a WASP fan. He and Blackie Lawless can form a band and gain a Chris “tal” Holmes when he enters the field. Get it? XD No?

At least I didn’t quit my day job. Yet.

Any who, for 2CP you’ll gain a Crystal and at 3 points of Damage, Gau gains 3K power.

15-111C – Keiss

See, Gau and Blackie Lawless would have been perfect for this card.

Keiss is just a Free card that can generate double the CP for you. If you got a party going that is.

Simple as that.

 

 

15-112R – Shinryu Celestia

Expensive card, if you want to se her on entry ability. It’s almost like paying 6CP for it.

But, if you’re playing Cadets, it might be worth it. For, every time one is sent to the Break Zone, one of your opponents Forwards will lose 3000 Power.

 

 

 

15-113C – Strago

Pay a Crystal, get rid of a pesky Forward that’s been bothering you for a bit, and draw a card.

I hope that Forward doesn’t have an on entry ability cause he only went as far as his owner’s hand.

But, you still get a card.

 

 

15-114C – Dracoknight

Self-reviving Forward.

3CP/7K will recycle for you and then you can play Dracoknight again the next turn. Or even the same turn if you have the CP.

 

 

 

15-115H – Penelo

If you’re playing Sky Pirates, you’re playing this Penelo.

You will be paying 0CP for her ability.

Protect a Forward, Weaken a Forward, or Draw a card.

The option is up to you.

 

 

15-116C – Hilda EX

Technically you’re paying 2CP for Hilda, and if you play her late game, it might even be free. because at 5 points of Damage you can play a 3 cost Forward or less from the Break Zone onto the field. And if that card is a Viking, You are drawing 1 more card.

 

 

 

 

15-117R/9-113H – Famfrit

Reprint from opus IX.

Nothing to see here, move along.

Well, Famfrit used to be a Hero, now he’s just a Rare.

Put 2 Forwards or Monsters in the Break Zone.

 

 

15-118C – Blue Wyrm

Draw a card, and cash out when you need a Forward with 6000 Power.

Do or Die, or Do and Break.

 

 

 

 

15-119L – Porom

Porom here, getting an EXP Counter Every turn. And Every turn you can choose 1 Forward of 5CP or less and it loses all abilities. And at 3 EXP Counters it’s power becomes 1000.

After that you just use Palom (15-011L) and finish that Forward off. Just Like that.

It’s called Twincast.

 

 

15-120H – Mind Flayer

Mind Flayer is Lani’s (12-018H) Water Summon form.

Grab one of the top 2 cards of your opponents deck and cast it without paying the cost. But, only this turn. Lani would allow you to keep the card and cast it whenever you would like. But, you would pay the cost.

I’ll take it.

Let me grab that Sophie of the top of your deck. Opus 1 Shantotto? I think I’m ready for a board wipe.

15-121R – Mayakov

A forward that dances the effects of your opponents abilities away. Mayakov has the 4CP/8K Power we all have come to know, but it’s his ability that makes him stand out. Plus playing a Dancer from your hand onto the field, also lowers his cost to 1CP.

How many Dancers do we have?

 

 

 

15-122L – Mog (VI)

Hmm, this is interesting.

Pay a Crystal, draw some cards, and hopefully Break one of your opponents Forwards, or your own, if that’s what you’d like. Or just return them to their owner’s hand.

Either way Mog, has the ability to draw even more cards, with Water Harmony, only this time you don’t need to discard any cards.

 

 

15-123C – Oracle

I had a plan with Oracle. And then I realized that it wouldn’t work.

So, scratch that.

Oracle will give you a crystal every time she enters the field. You can dull, and put her in the Break Zone to reduce damage to one of your Forwards and grab her back with Robel-Akbel.

Oracle’s use will be determined by the abilities that revolve around Crystal use.

 

15-124H – Relm

Like Relm here. Oracle will give you the Crystals for Relm to search for Monsters to play onto the field.

And there are plenty of 5 cost Monsters that will do some damage. Some Monsters will even let you grab Characters from the Break Zone.

Build your own Army of Monsters, all you need to do is protect Relm.

 

 

15-125R – Lunafreya

At 1CP/7K Power, Lunafreya is only here to protect a XV Forward.

Which one you chose is up to you. But, you will need Noctis if you plan on attacking with Lunafreya. Or block for that matter.
Other than that, you can just cast Lunafreya and keep her like a Monster. Just standing in her own Zone. Not blocking, not attacking. Just a constant 2K buff to your XV Forward along with a veil of Protection against Summons and abilities.

 

 

15-126R – Lenna

Here’s another use for Oracle.

Lenna will allow you to grab a Forward from the Break Zone and play it onto the field. 2CP or 3CP, depending on how many Crystals you use to pay.

There are plenty of 2 cost and 3 cost Forwards that you can play. They don’t even need to be Water Forwards. Any element will do. Like that sneaky Zidane from Opus III.