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Hidden Trials – By Earth

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23-058C – Dark Knight

Oh wow, these Standard Unit Backups in this set are powerful. Sure, you need to have 5 Backups to get the full effect, but these Backups only cost 2CP.

Dark Knight comes in and gives a Forward. +1000 power and Brave.

If you have 5 Backups, then all of your Forwards gain +1000 power and Brave.

You can go all in swinging left and right with all of your Forwards, and then still have the resources to block your opponent’s attacks.

 

23-059C – Ignis EX

Noctis Is Down!! Hurry Phoenix Down!

That pretty much sums up Ignis.

When he enters the field you can grab a FFXV Character from your Break Zone, and add it to your hand. Not just Noct, but any XV Character that resides in there at that moment.

Best part is that this ability also comes off as an EX Burst.

Might be worth it … it’s always worth it if your grabbing cards from the Break Zone.

23-060L – Vincent

Beautiful card.

Though shall not pay 7CP to cast Vincent. Though shall pay 1CP to Warp Vincent. Vincent is Warp 6 meaning that 3 full turns need to pass before Vincent will enter the field. But the Warp Counters will reduce by one each time a Final Fantasy VII Character enters your field.

A ticking time-bomb, that once it goes off, you will Break one of your opponent’s Forwards and one of their Backups.
If you didn’t Warp Vincent, then you’ll just Break the Forward.

A Vincent worth playing?

23-061H – Warrior of Light

This is great.

If you have the CP, you can play a Standard Unit from the Break Zone at the begining of the Attack Phase. Doesn’t matter whose Attack Phase it is either! Yours. Your opponent’s. You can play that Standard Unit and buff up your defenses, add an attack, or play that Dark Knight from earlier, and give +1000 power and Brave to all of your Forwards.

You can also search for 2 Standard Units when Warrior of Light enters the field and send them to the Break Zone, so they’re ready for you whenever you’ll need them.

You can also splash any element with these Standard Units.

23-062H – Emet-Selch

Here’s one way to search for a high cost Forward.

And when you play a high cost Forward onto the field, Emet-Selch will deal another Forward 8000 damage.

And, that’s about it.

Other than that Emet-Selch costs 4CP, with a 8k body.

At least his ability to deal 8000 damage to a Forward goes off every time a high cost Forward enters the field. Maybe bounce that high cost Forward.

23-063C – Gladiolus

Gladiolus is ready to deal some serious damage, as long as his buddies are around.

Does that mean that this Gladiolus is a better play then the other Gladiolusi (? Gladioluses?)?

Probably not, but it might be fun to play in sealed, if there are more FFXV Characters in this set.

Gladiolus gains +1000 power and Brave if you have at least another FFXV Character on the field. Which you most likely will, or you won’t be playing Gladiolus.

Dawnhammer, Gladiolus’s Special ability that will 99% of the time break a Forward of your choosing.

23-064R – Golem

Would you like to see this Golem’s 3 card trick? He’s been hanging by the Korner with a Kardboard box and 3 cards. Would you like to try your luck?

I bet you do.

Choose a Forward, any Forward.

Now let’s flip over these 3 cards.

Grab one of the Forwards, return the other 2 to the bottom of your deck, and deal your Forwards Power as damage to the Forward that you have chosen.

Didn’t find a Forward?

Well, you’re out of luck.

23-065R – Gogmagog

Two heads are better than 1. 2 Monsters are better than one, too. And Gogmagog, is better with another monster on the field.

We already know that Gogmagog turns into a Forward with another Monster on the field.

So, let’s talk about what Gogmagog can do. Gogmagog can bring itself back from the Break Zone, as long as you remove a Monster in play from the game.

Should be good in any Monster deck.

23-066R – Jessie

Need a quick buff?

Jessie has 2 abilities that will buff you Forward.

The first one, she’ll buff any Final Fantasy VII Forward by 1000 power.

And secondly, If she buffs Cloud, Cloud will gain +2000 power.

Talk about favoritism.

 

23-067R – Shantotto

Do you recycle?

If so, Shantotto can help you get some recycled goods.

Shantotto comes in and grabs 2 Summons from either Break Zone. After that they are yours to keep until the end of the game, casting them whenever you need to.

This works good for you, as if your opponent is known for removing cards from your Break Zone, you can keep a couple of Summons that you know you’ll need later.

It’s like a side, side deck.

23-068C – SOLDIER Candidate

Earth’s Candidate to become a full fledged member of SOLDIER.

These are all pretty decent 2 cost Commons.

SOLDIER Candidate, come in and acts like Atlas?

… or was it Titan?

Well, SOLDIER Candidate comes in and you choose a Forward, and they deal damage to each other.

Might be a good way to get rid of a Forward.

23-069C – Narashima

Just like SOLDIER Candidate, only this time you choose your Forward that you want to trade blows with.

If you got an overpowered Forward, with plenty of buffs, well then this card is for you.

If you ask me, I’d pick Opus VII Fang, with 6 FFXIII Characters on the field, including Opus I Lebreaue. What’s that 11K?

I’m sure you can find a better Forward, but since Narashime is already a Category XIII Character. I stuck with that.

23-070H – Hythlodaeus

At first look I thought we were getting some Organization XIII cards. Then I realized we aren’t.

But, that doesn’t mean this isn’t a good card. In fact I think it’s great.

If Emet-Selch is on the field Hythlodaeus becomes a 3CP Forward with a 9K body.

That’s what you call a cheap Meat Shield. And, that is not the reason you’re playing this one.

You can use Hythlodaeus’s ability to put both her and Emet-Selch into the Break Zone. Then you shuffle your deck reveal the top 4 cards and play all the Characters onto the field.

If you’re lucky and all of your high cost Forwards pop up, you’ll be golden.

Just hope you don’t find any Summons there.

23-071C/15-080C – Geomancer

You know what time it is?

Copy/Paste time.

“Reprint.

Standard Unit.

Crystal.

Brave.

Maybe a Geomancer actually mines for Crystals.”

23-072 Brionac

A 5 cost Forward with 9000 power. Pretty normal for a Common, but during your Main Phase, you can remove 2 Earth cards from your Break Zone, from the game, and Brionac will gain +2000 power and Brave.

Brionac also has an ability that will deal 9000 damage to a Forward, but you’ll need a Crystal for that one.

If all you need is a Meat Shield, to block your opponent’s attacks, Brionac might be a good fit for you.

Best case scenario you find Brionac when you cast Golem.

23-073C – Prompto

Monster Hunter, or Monster Tamer?

Either way Prompto does things to Monsters that not many people do.

He takes pictures.

And those pictures will either Break a Monster, or Bring one back from the Break Zone.

???

Yeah, I got nothing.

23-074C – Wrieg

Here we are.

You can play Wrieg right before you play Prompto.

You’ll get your Monster back, and have a Forward and a Backup to show for it.

Is it worth playing?

I’d say that depends on if the Monster has an ability that goes off when it is put into the Break Zone.

At the very least, you’ll draw 2 Cards.

23-075R – Layle

A self sustainable Forward.

Layle comes in, gains a Crystal.

Layle attacks, gains a Crystal.

Layle attacks again, gains a Crystal.

Layle uses the Crystals when he is attacking and break a Monster or a Forward.

All this for 2CP.

23-076H – Regis

Regis might cost 7CP, but you get so much in return for that.

Regis comes in and you can grab a Final Fantasy XV Forward (of cost 5 or less) from your Break Zone, and play it straight to he field.

That alone will make Regis worth playing, but if you have already received 5 points of damage, you can go ahead and double that. This allows you to grab 2 XV Forwards from your Break Zone and play them straight to the field.

3 Forwards on the field for 7CP? Sounds like a good deal to me!

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Hidden Trials – By Wind

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23-039R – Asura

1CP and a Full Art, cant go wrong with that.

When you cast Asura, you activate all of your Forwards. Plus all of your Forwards can’t be returned to your hand and their power can not be decreased until the end of the turn.

You can either play this at the end of your turn, after you attacked with all of your Forwards. This way if you go all out thinking that you’ll win the game, you can still cast Asura and you will be able to block during your next turn.

I’m sure there’s better ways to play Asura, but that’s how I would play it.

23-040L – Adelle

This is wonderful.

Mono-Wind + Adelle = Hard to beat!

With Adelle, you can go all out with all of your Forwards, and if your plan doesn’t work out, you can attack with Adelle and use her ability to Activate all of your Wind Characters.

That way you’ll have your front line ready to block when your opponent decides to attack.

But, maybe they won’t , once they see all of your Forwards activated.

Only drawback is that Adelle won’t activate during your next turn, but since you’re running Wind, I’m sure you’ll find a way to activate Adelle.

23-041C – Jornee

A 2 cost Backup that that shall buff a Forward, and give it some protection as well.

Sure, that Forward needs to cost 3CP or less. But, once per turn, Jornee will give that Forward +1000 power and all damage dealt to that Forward by your opponent’s abilities will become 0.

I mean 2CP, for some damage control is worth it if you ask me.

And, if you don’t, then try it for yourself.

 

23-042C – Vaan

Well, this looks like a decent Vaan.

Vaan comes in, gain a Crystal

Vaan attacks, gain a Crystal.

Life of Crime, double the damage dealt to a Forward by Vaan.

Use the two Crystals Vaan gained from earlier and deal 8000 damage to all of your opponent’s Forwards.

And, they say a Life of Crime doesn’t pay.

23-043R – Venat

A 2 cost Backup, that can search for herself and play herself straight to the field.

Of course, that ability means that you’ll be searching for Venat (23-115L) and you;ll get 2 Crystals for it.

For me, that is worthless as, I will probably never play the other Venat.

Or you can just keep Venat on the field, and use her first ability to cancel a Summon whenever needed.

Now that, I can use.

23-044R – Silver Dragon

I see a pattern here. Monsters that need a Monster to become a Forward.

Silver Dragon becomes a Forward with 9000 power. Which is pretty decent, considering you only paid 2CP for it, but Silver Monster also has the ability, to protect your Monsters from your opponent’s Summons and abilities.

Meaning that you should throw Silver Dragon into any deck running Monsters and Opus XI Relm, as she searches and plays Monsters on to the field, without having to worry about CP.

Yes, Add it to your Monster deck.

23-045C – Samovira

Another Monster.

Samovira is a Winged Demon, waiting on the sidelines until it’s time to unleash his fury on a Forward, or a Monster.

It’s not much to get him on the field, but you’ll have to send Samovira and one other Monster into the Break Zone. Which in return will allow you to Break on of your opponent’s Forwards 5CP and up, or a Monster.

It’s almost like an even trade.

23-046C – SOLDIER Candidate

Another SOLDIER in training.

Just like the other Candidates, this SOLDIER Candidate gains +3000 power if you have a couple of Standard Unit Forwards in your Break Zone.

Now the question I have, is do SOLDIER Candidate’s abilities apply only to each individual card, or do they all get the effects?

 

 

23-047H – Tyro

The Record Keeper returns, and this time he’s grabbing a card from the Break Zone. You’ll need 3 elements in your back line for this to work. If you do, (which you will, because you won’t be playing Tyro if you don’t) Tyro becomes a Free play.

Tyro will also protect one of your Forwards that is being targeted by a Summon, ability or an attack, by reducing the damage dealt to it, all the way down to 0.

I can see it being used, but I don’t see me using it.

 

23-048C – Dr. Mog

“Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard, Dr. Mog!”

Search for a Moogle, does that mean Moogles are a thing now?

Are we going to get Killer Moogles from Outer Space?

So, many questions, we need more Moogles.

Dr. Mog also activates a Moogle with his ability.

Good King Moggle Mog might be making a comeback as well.

23-049C – Ninja

We’ve seen plenty of Ninjas already.

This one is a Backup that costs 2CP, and depending on when you play him, you can a decent card, or a really good card.
Ninja will make a Forward unblockable by a Forward that costs 3CP or more.

Ok, not bad.

But, if you have 5 Backups on the field, all of the Forwards that you control gain that ability.

Allowing you to have a semi-open path to your enemy.

23-050H – Noel

It’s not Warp, it’s Ludicrous Speed!

Noel might cost 5CP to play him, but he can come in easily with Warp. You might not even need to wait a whole turn. If you have 3 Final Fantasy XIII Characters on the field, as soon as you get into your Attack Phase, you will remove 1 Warp Counter for each XIII Character on the field.

You can end up playing Noel for 1CP.

After that Noel comes in with Haste and First Strike, and he’s ready to attack with 9000 power.

He’s gone plaid!

23-051L – Hope

Coming in at 3CP with 7000 power.

Hope is a great card, and you probably will never attack with Hope.

All Hope is going to do, is come in to play, pay (x), search for a Final Fantasy XIII Forward and play it onto the field. This is a great way to splash some more elements into that XIII deck that you know you will be building.

Once the new Forward comes in to play, all you’ll need to do is dull Hope, remove him from the game, and bring him back during your next Main Phase 1. You will then pay XCP once more and search for a XIII Forward and play it on to the field, and repeat.

Don’t forget to add Nora EX (1-079R) and Bartholomew (7-060R) to your deck.

23-052R – Maina EX

Finally, Ninjas have a way to search for Ninjas.

4CP to search, making Mainas cost 2CP.

And then Maina also brings protection, for one of your Ninjas, against your Opponent’s Summons and abilities. Simply by dulling 2 active Ninjas.

Let’s make a Ninja deck that will make Vanilla Ice proud.

“Go Ninja, Go Ninja, Go!”

23-053R – Meteion

A rare Backup, that will activate all of your Backups.

And give you a card as well.

Sure, you’ll have to put Meteion into the Break Zone, but she will have served her cause, and then you can play another Meteion, because this one is gone.

All this for 2CP, not bad at all.

 

23-054C – Yuffie

There are Ninjas everywhere, and Yuffie is ready to go.

2CP, 5K body, and the ability to draw a card every time a Ninja deals damage to your opponent.

Plus if you have a couple of Wind CP ready to go, you can just attack with Yuffie, and if anyone tries to block her, just use those 2 Crystal Points to make Yuffie unblockable.

Almost like Opus IV Locke but, instead of paying with a card of the same name, just use two generic Wind Crystal Points.
I can see this being used.

23-055C/15-058C – Dragoon

Reprint of a Reprint.

Dawn of Heroes, Crystal Dominion.

“Crystals and more Crystals.

Use this reprint Dragoon to generate one Crystal and then use his ability to get him off the field.

See, I actually wrote something this time.

No Copy/Paste.

Nope.

I might Copy/Paste this for the next one though.”

23-056C – Luso

Need a way to bring back a Character from the Break Zone?

Luso here might be able to help.

Luso comes in and let’s you grab a Character of 2CP or less from the Break Zone and play it straight to the field.

And Luso’s abilities don’t end there. You can turn Luso into a Monster Hunter, where he will Break a Monster, but Luso will also end up in the Break Zone.

It’s a decent card, has good abilities when Luso enters and exits the field.

Deserves a shot.

23-057H – General Leo

A General needs his army, and so does General Leo.

Only difference is that General Leo’s army is a lot smaller than your average army. General Leo can handle the battle with only 3 soldiers.

When General Leo’s army is on the battlefield, they will give the General +2000 power and protection from your opponent’s Summons.

Other than that, General Leo will also allow you to play a card of 2CP or less from your hand onto the field, when he enters the field.

A leader among low cost Characters!

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Hidden Trials – By Ice

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23-020C – Red Mage

Red Mage enters the field, and your opponents discards a cards.

The only question is, will they choose the card that they will discard, or are you going to choose the card that they will discard.

The answer lies in how many Backups you have on the field. If it’s 4 or less your opponent will choose. If you have 5, well, the choice is all yours.

Get rid of that one card that you know your opponent has been searching for this whole time.

23-021C – Weiss

Are Tsivets going to be a thing?

They will if Weiss has anything to say about it.

Weiss searches for a Tsivet, yes you have to pay a Crystal for the search, but what else are you going to do with those Crystals. You can’t hoard them forever.

And once another Tsivet enters the field, Weiss will now have +2000 power and Brave.

And, that my friend is not a bad thing.

Unless your name is Vincent.

23-022R – Aemo

Play this card.

Have your opponent sit back and watch as you neutralize their hand, and they lie lifeless on the side of the road as you dissect their board.

Bit much?

That’s pretty much what happens when you use Aemo’s ability.

Cheap Backup, but that ability is .. what’s the word … Bonkers.

Once your opponent removes his hand from the game, you have free reign over the board.

Unless they have enough active Backups on the field, and active Forwards, they will not be doing much this turn.

And, at the end of the turn, they get their hand back.

But, once the damage is done, it’s done.

I’ll take 3. And 3 more just in case.

23-023H – Anima, Eikon of Eikons

Powerful card.

But, it has very limited use.

In order for Anima’s ability to go off, both you and your opponent must have 0 cards in hand.

Is it likely that this will happen?

Yes, If you’re playing Discard, you can have your opponent down to no cards, and then you’ll use up the rest of your cards to play Anima.

Dull/Freeze their whole board, and you won’t have to worry about their next turn either.

23-024R – Shiva EX

Dull/Freeze a Forward.

And if somehow, that Forward deals damage to one of your Forwards or to you, that Damage becomes 0.

Now, I don’t know how a Dull and Frozen Forward can deal damage to you, but I’m sure we’re going to find out shortly.
If not now, then next set.

 

23-025C – Shelke

Here is where your supply of Crystals will come from when you’re running Tsivets.

Shelke should be the first Tsivet you play, if possible.

Shelke will be the one that gives Weiss a Crystal to search for another Tsivet.

And, since you’ll have 2 Tsivets on the field, Weiss will gain +2000 power and Brave.

You can give Shelke that other Crystal, to give herself +3000 power until the end of the turn.

It’s a Common, it’s 2CP, it’s worth it.

23-026C – Jegran

4 cost Common Forward, 8000 power.

That’s your standard cost for a Common with 8000 power.

Jegran has the ability, once put into the Break Zone, to either Break a dull Forward or have your opponent discard 2 cards.

Either way, it’s a bit of help if played at the right moment.

 

23-027C – Jihl Nabaat

Jihl Nabaat, will hang out on the backfield, producing a single Crystal Point, until the time you’ll need to use her ability.

And, what ability is that?

Jihl Nabaat will break a dull Forward, for the cost of a PSICOM Character, and 2 Ice Crystal Points.

There’s plenty of PSICOM Characters that you can use for this.

And, Jihl shall stay on the field, for when you’d like to use her ability once more.

23-028L – Cecil

Move over Batman, Cecil is the real Dark Knight.

As you can see, all of Cecil’s abilities deal damage to you. Is it worth using these abilities, or even playing Cecil? Well that depends. Do you need to inflict damage upon yourself in order for your deck to get that much stronger.

If the answer is yes, then yes you should play Cecil. Just imagine your back is pinned to the wall, and all of a sudden you reach 5 points of damage and you cast Dark Flame. Most likely, wiping out your opponents front line.

All that’s left is for you to come in a get the win.

23-029R – Zenos

Zenos has your opponent’s Break Zone on lock down.

Every time a card leaves your opponent’s Break Zone, your opponent discards a card. It doesn’t matter where that card goes. It could be removed from the game. It could be added to your opponent’s hand, it could be played straight to the field. Whatever the reason, if a card leaves your opponent’s Break Zone they discard a card from their hand.

And, let’s not forget when Zenos enters the field, you get to remove 2 cards from your opponent’s Break Zone.

Guess what happens after that?

23-030C – Serah

Pick one of two, or two of two.

Depends on if you have a Commando on the field.

Serah comes in and you can Dull/Freeze a card, and your opponent discards a card from there hand.

No Commando, no worries. Just add Fang. There should be a Fang in this set. I haven’t seen it yet.

 

22-031C – SOLDIER Candidate

I always wanted to build a SOLDIER deck. And, when I finally do, SOLDIER Candidate will be in it. 3 copies of it.

As long as you have a couple of Standard Units in your Break Zone, SOLDIER Candidate becomes a 2 cost Forward with 8000 power. Cheap, Effective, Meat Shield. What else would you want? You could stop here and it would be a decent card, if only to block your opponent’s attacks.

But, we’re not stopping here, because when SOLDIER Candidate enters the field, you will Dull/Freeze one of your opponent’s Forwards.

I’ll take 3.

22-032H – Drautos

I don’t remember who this is.

But, this does look like a great card.

You’ll need to have 1 or 2 cards in your hand, in order for you to cast Drautos.

For 2CP this is far from bad. It’s actually pretty good. Drautos comes in with a 8k body and Brave. Meaning you’ll be swinging, and swinging because Drautos will still be able to block.

Plus, he comes in with some added protection from your opponent’s Summon and abilities. If they deal damage, that damage will become 0.

22-033C/15-038C – Knight

Reprint of a reprint. We’ll just put down what we wrote during Dawn of Heroes.

“Ice Reprint Standard Unit.

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

 

 

 

22-034R – Pacos Amethyst

For some reason I want tacos right now.

Monster Tacos!

Pacos Amethyst won’t do anything except wait around, unless you have another Monster on the field.

If you do Pacos Amethyst becomes an 8k body on your front line.

And if your opponent wants to get rid of Pacos by targeting it with Summons or abilities, well then your opponent will have to discard a card from their hand.

It might be worth it, if you target it with Opus XI Relm.

22-035H – White Tiger l’Cie Nimbus

5 cost Forward with an 8k body, that also searches for a “Brave” Forward.

White Tiger L’cie Nimbus, or Nimbus for short. Does search for a Forward with Brave. Nimbus also has Brave himself.
Nimbus also cannot be chosen by your opponent’s abilities, making Nimbus a meaty Meat Shield that can also attack.

Nothing special, just a big body that searches for a “Brave” body.

 

22-036C – Flan

1CP to have the option to dull a Forward whenever you’d like.

And if you like your Flan with extra Flan, you can remove 3 Flans from your Break Zone, and Break that Forward that Flan just dulled.

It’s the cycle of Flan.

 

 

 

23-037R – Lightning

This whole time I thought that Lightning was a Legend.

Then I read the card, and thought that is not legend material.

And then, I realized Lightning is a Rare card.

Lightning doesn’t do much when she comes in, but at the begining of each Attack Phase Lightning will dull one of your opponent’s Forwards.

It’s not bad, it’s not great, but the art is amazing.

Why else would they put the Golden Signature on this card?

23-038H – Lady Lilith

“Luck be a Lady tonight”

You’ll be lucky if you have 3 Crystals, cause Lady Lilith will seduce one of your opponent’s Forwards with that Crystal and bring them over to your control.

That’s all there is to say.

I might have to go ahead and redo my deck. So, many cards are coming out that allow you to take control of your opponent’s cards.

 

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Hidden Trials – By Fire

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3-001C – Garland

What a way to start off the set.

A 2 cost Backup that when Garland enters the field, you gain control of one of your opponents Forwards.

Sure, you’ll only have control of that Forward until the end of the turn, but, it is a good way to spoil your opponent’s plans and attack with that Forward, where they’ll either block it and send it to the Break Zone, or you’ll break the blocking Forward, or you’ll deal them a point of Damage.

I’ll take 3 of these.

Now, where did I put that card that recycles Backups? I can’t even remember which one it was.

23-002L – Caius

Caius is making a comeback, and he’s forming a Tag Team with Bahamut. Any Bahamut will do, as Caius will enter the field, you’ll search for Bahamut, and cast Bahamut right away. Most Likely that Bahamut will be a Free Play. As all Bahamuts cost 5CP or less with the exception of the Opus I Bahamut which costs 9CP.

You can play that one for 2CP, if you have Fang on the field, 19-131S or 19-020R, as both of these reduce the cost to cast Bahamut by 2.

Other than that you can cast Raise on Caius as he enters the Break Zone, for the small price of discarding 3 cards from your hand, Caius can came back to the field.

Even Yeul couldn’t see that one coming.

23-003C – Kain

Haste, and First Strike?

Kain is ready to strike!

Remember when we were talking about an all Haste deck? Well, Kain here is the perfect fir for it. Cause, every time he attacks, all of the Forwards with Haste or First Strike gain +2000 power.

Your opponent won’t know what to block, when to block, who to block, where to block, and most importantly, how to block.

Double Jump, is just a regular Jump attack, if it was double, Kain would be dealing damage to 2 Forwards.

23-004R – Kefka

First off, this is a great looking card. Almost reminds you of some Amano art.

Second off, Kefka is here to wreak Havoc on your opponent. Every time he attacks, Kefka deals 4000 damage to one of your opponent’s Forwards.

But, you’ll want to wait until you have 5 points of damage to play Kefka. Cause when you do, Kefka comes in with Haste, +2000 power, and whenever Kefka deals damage to your opponent, or to a Forward they control, you will double the damage Kefka deals to them.

That means 2 cards in the Damage Zone. And, when he attacks, it’s 8000 damage to that Forward that you choose and at least 14,000 damage to the Forward that will block Kefka.

When your back is against the wall, Kefka will do what Kefka does best.

I’ll take 3 Full Arts, Por Favor.

23-005R – Golbez

I don’t know how Golbez is just a Rare.

Golbez has 3 abilities to choose from, each one is better than the other.

Deal 5000 damage to all of your opponent’s Forwards. Break a Forward. And, the one I like the most, Grab a Forward from your Break Zone.

You can start building decks with all different cards, EDH style, and if a Forward ends up in the Break Zone, just use Golbez to grab it back.

All you need to do is protect Golbez, and you’ll never miss a card. Unless it ends up in the Damage Zone, but we have a way to grab cards from there as well.

23-006R – Soulcage

For 2CP you get a Forward with 9000 power. Is there a sale on Soulcage, cause that is dirt cheap. You can’t even get a deal like that at the Goodwill anymore!

Yes, Soulcage is a Monster, and yes, you need another Monster on the field for Soulcage to become a Forward, but that’s not a hard thing to do. Especially with all of these Monster decks that are going around.

And, when you put Soulcage into the Break Zone, you can remove it from the game, and grab a Monster from your Break Zone and add that one to your hand. It’s a win-win.

 

23-007C/15-007C – Samurai

Just Copy/Paste from what we wrote for Dawn of Heroes.

“What? A reprint? I wasn’t expecting that. Let’s see what we wrote when Crystal Dominion came out.

“Exchanging 2CP for a Crystal.

Seems like an even trade. Now to find what we’re going to use these Crystals for?

Samurai has no abilities, that consume Crystals, but there are plenty other cards that do. Samurai’s job is to give you a Crystal and then hopefully you’ll find a way to Break Samurai so you can play your real Backups. ”

Huh? What was I even writing, I had to edit it to make sense. In my defense, we didn’t know what Crystals would be doing back then. … Half the time I still don’t know.

Because apparently, if you actually read the card Samurai can put itself in the Break Zone.”

23-008H – Zidane

Free Zidane!

You play Zidane, and once he enters the field you get to search for 2 FFIX Forwards and, add them to your hand. And, that’s great, you can get rid of him right after, because he only has 5000 power, but that’s still enough to block one of your opponents attacks.

If we get some decent FFIX cards, Zidane would be one of the first cards you would throw into a IX deck.

 

 

23-009H – Zorn & Thorn

Zorn & Thorn, we have a Tag Team right here, going for the World Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Belts.

And how are they going to do that?

It’s simple, they pick their own opponents. Zorn & Thorn attack and they get to pick the Forward that will block them. Over and over. All you need is to give them a buff, and they’ll be that much better.

And, if they are finally sent to the Break Zone, they turn into a Monster. Not a giant monster, just a Monster that costs 2CP or less.

I like it.

It’s kind of like Zorn & Thorn transform into Meltigemini.

Who would have thought?

23-010C – SOLDIER Candidate

First Strike.

I know I’ve seen a SOLDIER Candidates in another element, now I’m wondering if there is one in every element, and if they are all the same. Only one way to find out.

If you have a couple of Standard Unit Forwards in your Break Zone, SOLDIER Candidate gains +3000 power.

Now, the real question is, if it’s only for this SOLDIER Candidate, or all of the SOLDIER Candidates.

I wonder if they met Zack?

23-011L – Terra EX

One of my playmats has the same artwork. If you haven’t seen it, it is a beautiful sight. Terra riding the Magitek Armor ready to … well you should know. I won’t spoil it.

Terra comes in and you can grab a Summon from your Break Zone. then you can cast this Summon for 2CP less than what it costs to normally cast it. You also grab a Summon from your Break Zone when Terra is put into the Break Zone. Making Terra’s final cost a whopping 1CP.

Terra only has 5000 power, but the reason you’ll play her is solely for the reason that, when she is on the field, your opponent cannot remove the Summons in your Break Zone from the game.

And, that is it.

Protect the Summons! Protect the Espers!

23-012C – Tifa

What are those? Maracas?

3CP, 7Kpower and the ability to deal 2000 damage to a Forward every time Tifa attacks.

Let’s not forget about the Crystal you gain whenever Tifa damages a Forward that is sent to the Break Zone.

And, with that Crystal, Tifa gains +2000 power and Haste, giving her a total of 9000 power.

For 3CP, that’s not bad at all. Sure there are better Tifas, but this one also has it’s uses.

23-013C – Morrow

Morrow is a Backup now?

You won’t be playing Morrow, if you have received anything less than 5 points of Damage.

This is a card that you’ll most likely play alongside Kefka (23-004R) As they both shine once you have received 5 points of Damage.

Morrow comes in and deals a Forward 9000 damage.

He’s like a Mini-Summon. Plus, Morrow only costs 1CP.

If this would have been a Forward it would have been twice as better.

23-014H – Nelapa

What?

This is your Summon control.

Your opponent will think twice about casting a Summon, when Nelapa is on the field.

Cause if they do, Nelapa will deal 10,000 damage to a Forward of your choosing, and also deal your opponent 1 point of damage.

With that being said, I can see Nelapa thrown into any deck that deals with Fire. I mean why wouldn’t you. There should be a card that hardly sees any play in that deck anyway.

I’ll take 3 Foil copies.

23-015C – Notsugo

Is it Not-sugo or No-tsugo?

A 1 cost Monster that sacrifices itself and another Monster to deal 9000 damage to one of your opponents Forwards.

Simple and straight to the point.

It might be worth playing in certain situations.

 

23-016R – Bahamut

This is the Bahamut you’re supposed to play with Caius.

You can play this Bahamut, and many other Bahamuts free of charge if you grab him when Caius enters the field.
Removal at it’s finest.

Not just 1 but 2 Forwards are to be removed from the game.

The first one just needs to have 9000 power or less, and the second one should already be in your opponent’s Break Zone.

For a Free card this is great.

23-017C – Parai

Parai searches for a Final Fantasy Legends Character. And, he only costs 2CP.

But, there’s always a but, Parai will deal you one point of damage.

Is it worth it?

Depends on if you have Kefka and Morrow ready to go once you reach 5 points of Damage.

Maybe yes, Maybe no.

23-018R – Palom

Palom, one half of the twin mages.

Palom is a free play, if Porom is already on the field.

If not he’ll only cost 2CP. Palom comes in with 5000 power and allows you to place 2 EXP Counters on a Forward. That Forward will gain +2000 power.

And, if the twins work together, I think Porom will be something like this as well.

 

23-019C – Monk

A one hit wonder.

How big is that one hit?

Depends on how many Backups you control one Monk enters the field.

If you have 5 Backups, that hit will be a whopping 8000 damage dealt to one of your opponent’s Forwards.

If not then it’ll be a measly 4000.

That’s not that bad. There are plenty of Forwards that will go down with a 4K shot.

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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.