Tag: review

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Hidden Trials – By Light & Dark

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23-115L – Venat

Ok, this is the third time I’m trying to write about Venat.

And I don’t see anything that Special with this card.

4CP/9K

Strong enough Forward to play, you have your Crystal abilities. One which allows you to remove a Forward from the game when Venat is sent to the Break Zone.

The only thing I like about this card, is that you can search for a card whenever you’d like as long as you have the Crystals to pay for it.

23-116H – Illua

Did you ever think we’d get another Illua as good as Opus V?

I don’t know about you, but this one is up there.

Illua already comes in with Haste, which is always a plus, and depending on how many Backups you have on the field determines her ability.

If you have up to 3 Backups on the field, every time Illua attacks, you choose one of your opponent’s Forward and they lose 5000 power.

If you have at least 4 Backups, Illua becomes unblockable.

Either way you need to get Illua on the field as soon as possible.

23-117L – Chaos

I read this card wrong the first time, I was thinking to myself who would have that many Chaoses in their deck. Then I read Job Chaos, and it makes much more sense now.

Once Chaos comes into the field, remove a mixture of 5 Monsters and Chaos (the Job not the Legend) and your opponent will put one of their Forwards into the Break Zone, they will also discard 2 cards from their hand.

Talk about thinning out a hand.

Flare.

If you got 10 cards left in your deck, and you need 1 point to win the game, you have already one if you got an extra Chaos in your hand. Maybe Amaterasu can stop Chaos and Flare, but other than that 99.99% chance you’re going to win when you cast Flare at that point.

Singles?

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Dawn of Heroes : Straight Out the Freezer

20-022C – Alhanalem

I feel like I just wrote about this card.

Alhanalem is a cheap Forward to play. Very cheap. At 1CP and a 3000 body, he can block any attack that you throw at him. Surviving the attack is another story.

Alhanalem also comes with 2 abilities. All you have to do is dull Alhanalem, and you can either Dull or Freeze a Forward.

I don’t see any reason not to have a couple of these laying around.

20-023C – Armourer

The Common card between all the elements.

Let’s just Copy and Paste here.

If you got 3 Backups already on the field, this Backup is free.

Other than draft, I really don’t see much use for this card, but I’ve been wrong before. Watch a Forward show up where you discard a Backup for a great ability.

20-024H – Calbrena

Rerouting damage to the nearest Forward.

Calbrena comes in whenever it wants to come in. Your turn, your opponents turn, or whenever one of your Forwards is being targeted by one of your opponents abilities.

You can now reroute that damage to Calbrena.

And when Calbrena is dealt damage by one of your opponents Forwards, you can deal damage to your opponent equal to Calbrena’s power, which will usually be 7000.

A nice little counter to have in your hand.

20-025C – Juggler

Backup.

Back Attack.

Juggler enters and dulls a Forward.

‘Nuff said.

You can actually play Juggler, when your opponent attacks and dull the Forward that is attacking.

20-026C – Edward EX

The Spoony Bard is back again, as a Backup.

And with his trusty harp, he will take a dull Forward, and break it.

As long as your opponent has 2 Dull Forwards on the field, that is.

For 2CP, I’d say this is a good deal.

 

20-027C – Genesis

We Finally got another Genesis card. We’ve been waiting since Opus III. Let’s see if it’s been worth the wait.

5CP for a 9K body.

Common.

Either Freeze 2 Characters, or have your opponent discard a card.

If Genesis comes in with Warp, you can use both abilities. Warp cost is 2 Ice CP.

It’s worth a try. At least in draft.

20-028R – Cissnei

This is interesting.

Cissnei uses Shuriken Counters, just like Edge.

Cissnei can use Shuriken Counters from other Characters to use her ability.

Edge (11-045H) gains a Shuriken Counter every time a Ninja enters the field.

Are there any Ice Ninja’s. Besides Vanilla Ice in TMNT 2.

We’re either throwing Edge (19-070C) in a Turks deck, or finding a way to put Cissnei in a Ninja deck.

20-029C – Jihl Nabaat

Am I the only one that still likes to play Opus I Jihl Nabaat? If I am, I might not after this set is out, as this Jihl has the same Enter the Field ability, but better.

Jihl comes in and if you pay the extra 2CP you can not only Freeze 2 of your opponents Characters, but dull them as well. That way you won’t need to pick from the dull Characters, cause you will dull the Characters you want to Freeze.

Jihl Nabaat is also a Forward, and if you’re playing Mono-Ice, well she’ll gain +2000 power.

I don’t know how well she’ll do in the XIII Custom Starter Set.

I guess we’re about to find out.

20-030R – Setzer

Setzer deck incoming.

First off, all the FFVI Ice cards look amazing this set.

Setzer comes in and allows all of your VI Forwards to form a party together regardless of element. Combine this with Locke, and get that table of four, to combine their attacks into one big party and get Locke’s ability to go off.

And with a party of 2 you get to dull and freeze a Forward.

Yes, please, I’ll take 3.

Is this a Full Art as well?

20-031R – Celes

If you’re playing Celes, you’re playing Locke, and whole bunch of FFVI Characters. Might be time to dust off my Setzer deck and update it.

Celes gains Haste if Locke is on the field, and Locke gains Haste if Celes is on the field. A win-win for these two.

Other than that, when Celes enters the field, you can dull all of your opponents Forwards, if you have enough FFVI Characters on the field.

And you get that for only 2CP. After that Celes is a 5k body, able to block an attack, get sent to the Break Zone, and then you can just play her again.

20-032C – Soldier : 3rd Class

Cloud’s old SOLDIER buddies are here.

These one’s gain 1000 power for each SOLDIER : 3rd Class in your Break Zone. They also search for each other when they enter the Break Zone, + you get to play them straight to the field.

Pair these SOLDIERs with the Opus III Soldiers and you can have up to 5 SOLDIER : 3rd Class in your Break Zone, to make this Soldier an 11k power house.

 

20-033C – Cerulean Drake

I was going to say, How come I don’t remember Cerulean Drake from FFVII? Then I realized it’s from the Remake.

Cerulean Drake is a 1 cost Monster that will Freeze a Forward when he enters the field.

Not much to write home about, but it does have some abilities that will allow you to dull a Forward, or break a dull Forward.
If you got 2 of these on the field, you can use the abilities back to back and Break an active Forward.

20-034R – Terra

There is a nice combo right here. Along with Lock and a couple more FFVI Characters. And, I probably won’t even scratch the surface here.

Terra comes in and you can grab a Summon from the Break Zone. This makes Terra’s CP go from 4 to 2. And once Terra forms a party and attacks, you’ll be able to cast that Summon for Free.

And along with the Free Summons from the last set. You can cause a lot of damage.

Considering this Terra is only a rare, it’ll be easy to get a playset.

20-035C – Knight

Ice Reprint Standard Unit.

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

 

 

 

20-036H – Number 24

Number 24? This card is Number 36. They should get their facts straight.

All jokes aside Number 24 in the Royal Rumble is pretty good.

No?

Ok, Number 24 is a great blocker. Just keep a Barrier Counter on him and block any attack that comes your way. Add a Barrier Counter at the beginning of the Main Phase, and you’ll always have a constant supply of Barrier Counters.

Just make sure you keep blocking, because once those Barrier Counters are 3 or more, Number 24 will become dull at the end of each of your turns. But, he should activate during the beginning of your Main Phase, so you should be good.

20-037H – Mateus (FFTA)

2 cost Summon that will either Freeze all of your opponents Forwards, or all of your opponents Backups.

Pick and choose, but the end result will always be the same.

Mateus will be removed from the game.

No way to save this one.

20-038H – Wicked Mask

Chris Isaak would have had a field day with this card.

“Such a Wicked Mask to play”

3 cost Monster that reroutes a Summon from one Character to another Character of your choice. I’m seeing plenty of Counters this set, even if they aren’t called counters.

After Wicked Masks enter the field ability is used, Wicked Mask stays on the field until you decide to turn it into a Forward.

And, let’s not forget – Back Attack.

20-039R – Rude

Correct me if I’m wrong, but you can play an ability if it doesn’t have the dull icon.

I’m 99% sure of that, so that means, Rude enters the field, Dulls and Freezes a Forward. After that you can use Haymaker to Break it.

Only drawback I can find with this card is that, you can only use Backups to pay for this card. Other than that, Shinra should be getting stronger this set.

 

20-040L – Rufus

Rufus, President of Shinra, doing Presidential things.

You can lower the cost to cast Rufus by 2 if both Reno and Rude are in the Break Zone. Making Rufus a 2 cost Forward with a 7K body.

Once Rufus enters the field, you can grab one of the Turks from the Break Zone, making Rufus a Free Card. And, we all like Free cards.

After that whenever Rufus attacks, you can choose from 3 different abilites. Dull and Freeze a Forward, grab a Turk from the Break Zone, or you can make your opponent discard a card.

Rufus is the President that keeps on giving, even after he has been elected.

Doesn’t Weiss (18-019R) have an ability that activates when your opponent discards a card. (hint hint)

20-041R – Reno

Just goes to show you that the Turks are here to stay.

You play Reno for 3 and pay the extra cost to give Reno Haste. After that you can attack with Reno, search for Rude and play Rude onto the field.

It’s almost Buy 1 get 1 Free.

This even works better if you play Rufus first.

Let’s take a look.

Reno and Rude are in the Break Zone. You play Rufus for 2CP and grab Reno from the Break Zone. You play Reno, pay 1CP and give Reno Haste. Reno Attacks and searches for Rude and Rude gets played straight to the field. That’s pretty much comes out to 4CP for 3 Forwards.

Bright Spark? Dulls 2 Forwards.

20-042L – Locke EX

Really?

Now I’m definitely dusting off that Setzer deck.

Locke comes in and you get to grab a FFVI Character from the top 4 cards of your deck. Which should be pretty easy to get since most of your deck should consist of FFVI Characters.

Once Locke is on the field, get as many FFVI Forwards on the field, and form a a party of 4 FFVI Characters. Do that once per turn and your opponent won’t ever have any Forwards to attack or block. Which should work in your favor. Cause, even if you form a party with only 2 FFVI Characters, you’ll still be dealing your opponent a point of damage.

Yes, I’ll take 3. Hopefully we get a Full Art here.

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Opus XIV – Light/Dark Review

14-115L – Shinryu

Scary Good.

But, Shinryu’s ability counts on what Forwards your opponent controls. You might break all your opponents Forwards, you might not.

Now Shinryu’s second ability is what we’re here for.

At the beginning of each of your turns you get to reveal the top card of your opponents deck. If it’s a Forward, all your opponents Forwards lose 7K. If it’s not you draw a card.

But, most of all you get to see what the top card is. If it’s an EX Burst you might want to hold back on attacking depending on what it is.

14-116H – Macherie

Get ready to cast your summons.

For the most part you’ll be casting your Summons for 1CP less. But, if you Discard 3 Summons from the Break Zone you can cast them for 4CP less.

That makes a couple of Summons more CP friendly, Some that you wouldn’t have considered before due to their cost.

 

 

14-117L – Omega

Hmm, I’m having trouble understanding this card. Just because, it can’t be what I’m thinking. That would be too Powerful.
At the end of each of your turns, if there are no Weapon counters on Omega you place a Weapon counter on Omega. When a Weapon Counter is placed on Omega, Omega deals your opponent 1 point of Damage and removes all weapon counters from Omega.

If I’m reading that right that means Omega deals your opponent 1 point of Damage at the end of each of your turns.

Holy Cow!

14-118H – Sterne Leonis

He sure looks stern. Get it? No? …

Anyway, for 4CP you can reduce the cost of all your Forwards by 1CP. In which this card will pay for itself in the long run and keep adding value.

It’s true I didn’t give much attention to this card until now. Why? Because I had to read it and see what it says in order to write this quick review.

And if you don’t mind about removing Forwards from your Break Zone, you have plenty of options to choose from.

“Choose 1 Forward. Deal it 7000 damage.”
“Choose 1 Monster. Break it.”
“Until the end of the turn, all the Forwards you control gain +4000 power and Brave.”

It also does not state that you can only use these actions, once per turn. Which means you can use them as many times as you’d like. If you have enough Forwards.

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Opus XIV – Water Review

14-096C – Blue Mage

Would have been better if it read, “For each Monster you control … ” But, then it wouldn’t have been a common card.
And if there are no Monsters on the field you can always look for one in your Break Zone when you play this card.

 

 

 

14-097C – Ananta

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

 

 

 

14-098R – Ultimecia

Put a Forward into the Break Zone to grab one of your opponents Forwards of the same cost.

“Hey there, Cloud you look pretty glum over there. Why don’t you just come over here and sit down next to Ultimecia. She needs a Guardian. The other guy didn’t cut it.”

 

 

14-099C – Eiko

Technically, you’re just paying 5CP to search for a Summon.

 

 

 

 

14-100H – Octomammoth

The Monsters are becoming stronger. Why else would this Octomammoth have 8 arms? Well, it has 8 arms to grab to of your opponents Forwards and throw them back at him.

Plus, turning into a Forward isn’t bad either.

 

 

 

14-101R – Ultros

Ultros just won’t go away.

Actually, he does run away, and then comes back stronger. But, are 5 cards worth grabbing Ultros back from the Break Zone. I guess we’ll find out in Opus XV … I mean Crystal Dominion.

 

 

14-102L – Leviathan, Lord of the Whorl

These Primals are Crazy! Yes, with a capitol C.

For 9 CP you can return a Forward, a Backup and a Monster to your opponents hand. And when a Character is returnd to it’s owner’s hand you can choose 1 Forward and it loses 9000 Power.

That’s 3 Forwards if you return all 3.

And, a 9K body. I can’t wait to try these Primals out.

14-103R – Quina

Is it just me, or is this the first card where the head blocks out the line where the name is?

I like how they’re playing into the characters’ themes. Discard a Monster card. Pretty much Quina eats the Monster and gains abilities. Might not be a powerful card, but can draw cards and remove cards for you.

 

 

14-104C – Kraken (IX)

Kraken plays well into Water.

Draw 2 cards if you’ve got another Job Chaos to discard.

 

 

 

14-105C – Corsair

“Do you feel lucky, Punk?

Well. Do you?”

If you do, try your luck here and get a better card than the one that you started off with.

Is it just me, or can you see Clint Eastwood posing for this card?

 

14-106H – Golbez

They’re starting to pump out Golbez cards. But, it’ll never surpass the amount of Cloud or Lightning cards there are.
This card might eventually pay for itself. The longer this card stays on the field the more chances you have of being able to play a Forward on to the field for free.

And Kain, will be having nightmares with Golbez’s ability.

 

 

14-107C – Sahagin (XIV)

Simple Backup, that let’s you see what cards are coming up. That way you can either set up your opponent for an EX Burst, or play the cards you need.

 

 

 

 

14-108H – Jecht

Pair Jecht with Minwu.

Jecht Block will stop your opponent in their tracks.

And when he enters the field during your Main Phase 2, depending on how many Forwards were attacking you can either Break or return a Forward.

 

 

14-109C – Steiner

I don’t see anyone playing this card. Not when all the other Steiner’s are better plays at any given moment.

 

 

 

 

14-110C – Tonberry

Hmm, this one should have been like Mom-Bomb if you ask me. But, instead Tonberry acts like a searcher, where each Monster Counter is counted as 1 card that you can look at.

Because why would Tonberry have anything to do with dealing massive damage? /Sarcasm

 

 

14-111R – Lakshmi, Lady of Bliss

Draw a card at the end of each of your turns. Period

That and if you have 5 or more cards in your hand damage dealt to Lakshmi is reduced by 2K.

Your strategy, if you choose to accept it, is to play your cards down after your attack phase.

 

14-112L – Larsa EX

This is interesting. You can actually grab a card from the Damage Zone and trade it with a card from your hand.
There are now ways to grab any card, from anywhere.

No, need to make sure that the card you’ll need later on is safe.

Larsa’s second ability is like icing on the cake, you should be able to get 3 EX Bursts into your Damage Zone, easily.

 

14-113R – Leviathan EX

Get rid of 2 cards, or get rid of 1 and grab 1 from your Break Zone.

Simple. It’ll be great if Leviathan comes off an EX Burst.

6CP isn’t that high of a cost to remove 2 Forwards from the field, might see limited play if you ask me.

 

 

14-114 – Luzaf

Easy way to get out of a sticky situation. Is one of your Forwards being Targeted by a Summon, or ability? Just have Luzaf enter with his Back Attack and return that Forward to your hand. Your opponent also Breaks one of their Forwards.
I like it.

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Opus XIV – Lightning Review

14-077C – Ovjang

Easy way to grab a Forward of cost 3 or less that was recently broken. Any Forward will do.

But, you’ll probably want to play Aphmau.

 

 

 

14-078H – Trap Door

Trap door, if you walk through it you’ll break a Forward.

Your opponent will think twice before breaking Trap Door.

 

 

 

14-079 – Aphmau

If you grabbed Aphmau from the Break Zone, you can play a card named Aphmau from your hand for 1 Lightning Crystal Point. Doesn’t have to be this one, but there aren’t any other cards named Aphmau.

 

 

 

14-080R – Exdeath

8CP is a bit high. But, you get to do 2 things at once. Break a Forward and grab a Forward from your Break Zone that is 4CP or less.

But, you’re probably going to be playing this card for the ability, Black Hole. For 1 Lightning CP and an Exdeath you can remove 1 Forward from the game.

 

 

14-081C – Puppetmaster

Hmm, this Puppetmaster needs his puppet to dull a Forward.

 

 

 

 

14-082C – Gnath

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

 

 

 

14-083C – Fachan

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

 

 

 

 

14-084C – Schuzelt

For Mono-Lightning this card can be great. Deal a Forward 1000 Damage and then use Grim Reaper to Break it. You can use Grim Reaper more than once.

 

 

 

 

14-085C – Sylph (XIV)

A primal activates Sylph, and sylph can dull and reduce the Damage one of your Forwards takes by 2000.

I’m wondering, what a Primal deck would look like. Every time a Primal enters the field you can activate all of your Backups.

Hmm.. Let me look into it.

 

14-086R – Heidegger

Break a Forward when Heidegger enters the field, but you’ll need to discard 2 cards. 6CP, not bad for it. Cheaper then 8 that Exdeath had.

Next turn, you can pay 1 Lightning CP, and dull Heidegger and put him in the Break Zone to add 1 Forward to your hand. If you find one in the top 5 cards.

Even Heidegger is wondering if this is a good deal.

 

14-087L – Ravana, Savior of the Gnath

Ravana can attack 4 times???

Move over Gilgamesh, Ravana has taken your spot. It doesn’t really matter that Ravana can’t gain Brave when he activates every time a Character is put into the Break Zone. Yours or your opponents.

And the Damage that he is dealt is reduced by 5K.

Gilgamesh and Ravana. Ice/Lightning. The game can be over in 1 turn.

14-088C – Mneejing

This card was probably meant to help Aphmau, but it probably won’t be used for Aphmau.

You can choose any Forward 3CP and under to use it on.

 

 

 

14-089C – Ewen

For 1CP you can Break a damaged Forward.

Nuff said.

 

 

 

14-090R – Ramuh, Lord of Levin

Unless you’re playing Ramuh early on, he is coming in with Haste.

And, you’ll be breaking Forwards left and right. You can have Ramuh on the field and cast Raiden (Revenant Wings)
(10-100C), and Break all the active Forwards your opponent controls.

Remember you heard it here first.

 

14-091R – Ramuh

Same thing as above. If you already control Ramuh, Lord of Levin, you’ll be Breaking 2 Forwards each time you cast this card.

 

 

 

 

14-092C – Dragoon

Are you playing Dragoons? You might want to pass this card, unless you can find a way to play him for cheaper. But then you still have a body on the field.

 

 

 

 

14-093H – Luso EX

I can see some playing this card. For 2CP you get to search for a FFTA2 Character, and if that doesn’t work, at least you have a blocker. That will last through one round.

Engage on the other hand, is the same as his n entry ability, except for the fact that the FFTA2 Character is played straight to the field than to your hand.

 

 

14-094R – Ravus

Plenty of Captains to choose from but, one that stands out is Captain (12-094C). I can see some shenanigans that will come out of these 2 cards.

With that being said, 1CP for a 9K body, is what you would want to play every chance you get.

A Forward losing 5K when he enters either the field or the Break Zone isn’t bad either.

 

14-095H – Roche

Roche. The perfect play Turn 1.

If he is in your hand on your First turn, You will basically, just lay the card down and deal your opponent 1 point of Damage. If not, then there is nothing special about him. Except the first time you fight him in FFVII Remake.