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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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Beyond Destiny – Ice Sculptures

21-021C – Red Mage

For 2CP and a Common, I’d like to say that this is a pretty good card.

Red Mage comes in and dull/freezes a Character. Same thing whenever Red Mage forms a party and attacks.

Now you can also play 3 Red Mages, have them all form a party and attack, and then you’ll be Dull/Freezing 3 Characters every turn.

Red Mage might not have a lot of Power, clocking in at 5000, but her ability to Dull/Freeze sure makes up for it.

21-022H – Astos EX

The Dark Elf. I haven’t seen how Astos looks in Strangers of Paradise, and after looking at this card, I have got to say they did a great job. That is very close to what I pictured Astos looking like. I don’t know why, but the art for the Character is spot on.
Anyway, on to the card.

Astos comes in with Brave, and whenever he enters the field of leaves the field you gain a Crystal.

And, if you have 3 Crystals, you can Dull all of your opponent’s Forwards and then deal 9000 damage to all of your opponent’s Forwards.

Astos is a ticking time-bomb.

Play Astos, Play Rinoa (6-041L), Bounce Astos, and you have 3 Crystals. Next turn you use his ability and hopefully you get a board wipe.

21-023L – Ultimecia

There’s a lot of text here. And there isn’t really a way to summarize it, but we’ll try.

Ultimecia comes in, you remove up to 5 Characters from your Break Zone with a cost of 5CP or more. Once they are removed you can Dull/Freeze up to 5 Characters. Your opponent also discards one card.

If you’re playing a deck with a lot of high cost Characters, Ultimecia can do some damage, if not then she isn’t really worth the price of admission.

 

21-024C – Scholar

The 3CP Backup that gives you a Crystal when she enters the field.

Also, if you have 3 Backups or less you’ll also draw a card.

Not Bad. Not Great either, just something to play when you don’t know what else to play.

 

 

21-025R – Kiros

If Ward is here, you know that Kiros is just around the Korner. And Laguna shouldn’t be too far behind.

But, we’re here to talk about Kiros.

All you want to do is warp. Over and over and over.

Not only is the cost cheaper, but when Kiros Warps in you can Dull and Freeze one of your opponents Characters. And, that’s not all. When any Forward Warps in you can Dull and Freeze a Character.

So, keep Kiros safe, and Warp.

21-026C – Bard

I mean, who doesn’t like that ability.

Best part it doesn’t cost anything, so I don’t see a reason not to have Bard on the field. Or at least in your deck.

Bard is a 4 cost Forward with 8000 power. And, once per turn you can use his ability for a total of 0CP. And have a Forward lose all of it’s abilities until the end of the turn.

That Forward that has protection from Summons, or abilities, or damage, well Bard is here to take care of that Forward, and allow your attacks to go through.

21-027L – Griever

That’s one way to search for a Witch. Plus side to this one is that you”ll play the Witch straight to the field.

Considering the cost, you’d probably want to search for a high cost Witch to play straight to the field. Like Edea (2-099L) or Ultimecia (7-133S), or like the one that is probably in this set that I just haven’t seen yet.

If you decide to keep Griever on the field, his ability let’s you break a dull Forward, or have your opponent discard a card.
There’s a tag team here. Griever and Amon (2-098L) Amon dulls and Griever Breaks.

Ice and Lightning do work well together.

21-028H – Shiva

This Shiva is like a reusable Ice Cube.

Once Shiva has been cast, You can remove 4 Ice Cards from your Break Zone, and put Shiva back in the Freezer … I mean your hand.

After that you can just cast Shiva over and over again, until you run out of Ice cards in your Break Zone. But by then you should have Dull/Freezed? all of your opponents Characters. If not proceed to a triple party attack from the 3 Red Mages.

 

21-029R – Squall

Mini-Squall.

Did I mention I have yet to play World of Fina Fantasy?

At first I thought this was a decent card. Then I took a closer look and actually read the card from top to bottom. And for a rare, it’s a great card.

First of all, Clo … I mean Squall comes in and has First Strike. And when he attacks, if you have at least 2 WoFF Characters, your opponent discards a card.

See like I said decent.

But, here’s where it gets good.

Squall attacks, and he gets blocked. You can use his ability to deal 3000 damage to the Forward that is blocking. And with First Strike already on hand, you’re 95% going to come out on top.

21-030C – Snow

Since when is Snow a Martial Artist?

To me he’s always been a Meat Shield that can punch.

Any ho, Snow will turn into a Meat Shield after you get 3 points of damage.

Up until then every time Snow attacks you can, you guessed it, Dull/Freeze a Character. You can just go ahead and party attack with Red Mage.

Plus Snow gets Haste, if you have another WoFF Character on the field.

21-031H – Setzer

“Are you a gambling man, Sandy Claws?”

I like this card, I actually played Ice just to play Setzer. Well not all Ice, it was Fire-Lightning while I splashed 6 Ice cards. I think.

Setzer comes in and you remove 2 Forwards from your Break Zone, from the game. After that you can play those 2 Forwards whenever you’d like.

Sure, if Setzer gets sent to the Break Zone you lose those 2 Forwards but they were already broken to begin with.
I’ll take it, and I’ll figure out how to make it work.

21-032R – Terra

Trying to figure out if this Terra is better than that Terra or the other Terra.

At 5CP, Terra comes in and allows you to search for 2 Ice Summons. And, that brings her cost down to 1CP.

For 1CP this is a great card. 8000 power and Magitek Laser.

What’s Magitek Laser?

Terra’s S Ability, where the cost is another Terra card and a Summon. Any Summon. You can play those 2 cards and deal 9000 damage to a Forward. Which has a decent chance of Breaking that Forward.

Or you can just cast the Summons you searched for.

21-033R – The Girl Who Forgot Her Name

The Searcher you didn’t know you needed. Well now you got it.

The Girl Who Forgot Her Name will search for Squall, and that will give Squall the 2 WoFF Characters he needs to have your opponent discard a card whenever he attacks.

Or if you want to go another route. I still haven’t seen Reynn or Lann so, we’ll have to wait on that.

 

21-034C – Fomor

Don’t F.O.M.O. on Fomor.

???

Never mind.

Fomor is a pretty decent Monster.

Fomor comes in and deals damage. Fomor leaves and deals Damage.

4k here, 4k there. You’d think we’re talking about televisions.

21-035C – Minwu

Minwu looks mad.

I always thought that Minwu was an older White Mage. this card clearly depicts him as a teenager. Nothing wrong with that, it’s just that I always thought that he was older.

Anyway, let’s get to the card.

Minwu comes in and Freezes a Character.

And then you can pay a CP and dull Minwu and send him to the Break Zone to Dull/Freeze a Character.

For a Common this isn’t bad at all, but unless you’re playing a Rebel deck, I don’t see you playing this Minwu, not when you have the Opus I Minwu which suits my play style a little bit more. And, I don’t even have that Minwu in the deck right now.
At least I don’t think so.

21-036H – Y’shtola

We got a new element for Y’shtola. Not only does this card look good, but I believe the Ice Blue suits her well.

Y’shtola here, is perfect for discard decks. The fewer cards your opponent has in their hand the more powerful Y’shtola becomes. 0 being the perfect number of cards that you want in your opponents hand. because each time Y’shtola attacks she’ll deal damage to one of your opponent’s Forwards, for a max of 9000. The damage will decrease by 1000 for each card that your opponent has in their hand.

I’d like to see how this will fit in the Scions deck.

21-037C – Reaper

Here’s a card you can play, right before you have Y’shtola attack.

Reaper comes in and forces your opponent to discard a card. Or you can go ahead and send a dull Forward to the Break Zone. Sure, it’s cost needs to be 3CP or less, but you’re still breaking a card, or forcing your opponent to spend CP in order to counter it.

 

 

21-038R – Rinoa

A decent Backup if you’re plan on using Summons, or if you plan on saving your Summons in the Break Zone, from the chance of your opponent removing your whole Break Zone from the game.

Rinoa comes in removes a Summon from your Break Zone, and then you can use that Summon whenever you’d like.
It’s like an Ace up your sleeve.

 

21-039C – Lufenian

With a Job Title of Lufenian, Lufenian, is a the perfect card to play to start your game.

For 2CP, you play Lufenian, and if Lufenian is the only Backup you control, you’re opponent will discard a card, from their hand. Leaving them with one less card than the number of cards they had in their hand before you decided to play Lufenian.
Thank you, Captain Obvious.

I’m just surprised this isn’t a Standard Unit.

Decent card, Y’shtola will love working with Lufenian.

But, then again, Lufenian only has one job. And, if she doesn’t get it done right away, she’s worthless.

21-040R – Rursan Arbiter

All Ice cards look like they’re working well together.

Lots of discard, and abilities that go off when your opponent has no cards in their hand.

Y’shtola deals a Forward damage, and Cid here, I mean Rursan Arbitar, Breaks one of your opponent’s Forwards.

Now I”m looking at all these cards, and I’m wondering why I didn’t use more Ice at Prerelease.

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Dawn of Heroes – Lite Bright

20-127L – Shinryu

Where to start off?

5CP/9000 Power.

Shinryu can be cast technically for free if your opponent controls 3 more Forwards than you do. You’ll pay 2CP, and search for a card. Any card that you’d like.

Coming in with Brave, Shinryu will block almost any attack you throw it him.

And, just take a look at Tidal Wave.

You can cast it during your turn and Wipe Out your opponents Forwards in one simple play. Unless your opponents knows how to surf, they’ll be feeling it for a while.

20-128H – Materia

How many Light Characters do you need?

With Materia you can add as many as you’d like, and still be able to play them all on the field. No, we’re not reinventing the wheel, as this has been done since Opus I.

Materia enters the field and you gain a Crystal.

And with that Crystal, you can grab a Forward from the top 4 cards of your deck. If there’s no Forwards, you are out of luck.
With Materia’s second ability, you can exchange CP for Crystals.

So, if you’re running low, you know where to find them.

Materia is like your local drug dealer, she’ll give you the first Crystal for free, and then charge you, cause she knows you’ll need them.

20-129H – Spiritus

Almost the same as Materia.

Spiritus is working with Crystals, but he does things a little different.

Spiritus will give you a Crystal each turn, as long as you spend at least 2 Crystals each turn. You can always use 1 Crystal to give a Forward +5K Power.

And, with Spiritus on the field, you can play as many Dark Characters onto the field as you’d like.

I really should play Dissidia to figure out what’s going on. I just got easily bored with it.

20-130L – Zenos

I’m having a hard time trying to figure this out.

Let’s start from the top.

Zenos can be played from the Break Zone, but when he comes in from the Break Zone, Zenos will be removed from the game at the end of the turn.

When Zenos comes in you choose 1 Forward of 3 or less and Break it.

When it is put into the Break Zone. This is the part I don’t get. Are we talking about Zenos, or the card that we choose to Break?

I believe it is the Forward you choose to Break, but why would they even mention the card being sent to the Break Zone. (Mind you, this was written in April, when it was first announced.) It might have changed now.

Anyways, whichever card it is, it hits the Break Zone, and then your opponent either discards a card, or Zenos gains Haste.
At least the card looks good, we’ll figure out the rest later.