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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.

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Emissaries of Light – Opinion on Lightning

16-085C – Assassin

2 cost Backup that serves as a backup plan and a Backup.

Deals Damage to a Forward that entered this turn.

8K should be enough to break most Forwards coming in.

 

 

16-086C – Ixion

This is a pretty decent Summon. 4CP to have a Forward lose 8000 Power. And, if you’re playing a tri-color deck, it’ll also cause all of your opponents Forwards to lose 2ooo power. Including the first Forward you chose, so that will make it 10K.

 

 

 

16-087C – Puppetmaster

Puppetmaster enters the field, you discard a card and grab a better one from the Break Zone.

I like this card, and it doesn’t cost much.

Grab that Forward from the Break Zone that just got broken, and use it again as your opponent just watches as he just used all of his resources to get rid of it.

Or, something like that.

16-088L – Black Waltz 3

Black Waltz is coming out in full force. (Yes, I know that everyone already knows that, but these are what I see when I first look at the card. I’ve been very behind this Opus,)

All the Black Waltzes are helping each other come back from the dead. And, this time there is no timers on them.

It would be interesting if there was. Roll of the dice or flip a coin, and they just Stop.

Time to head to Black Mage Village.

16-089H – Zack

Zack looks like he’s ready to save Cloud once again.

He’ll come in take care of all the enemies and when he is ready to be sent to the Break Zone, Cloud will come in and finish the job.

It would have been nice if it was that easy.

But, still a pretty decent card for a FFVII deck.

 

16-090R – Seymour

Summon heavy?

Seymour, (I always end up typing Seymore) is a card you’ll play later on in the game, as with depending on how many you have in your Break Zone, Seymour will Break a Forward when he enters, and after that, he simply deals your opponents a point of Damage for removing 6 Summons from the Break Zone.

Sounds good to me.

 

16-091C – Chadley

Now, this is a decent Backup.

Lightning is getting some cards that will help you retrieve cards from the Break Zone.

For 4CP, Chadley can grab you 2 Forwards from the Break Zone. And, you don’t need to use his ability right away.

You can use it as soon as a Forward you need is sent to the Break Zone.

16-092C – Noel EX

For an expensive Common, this is a decent card.

Noel comes in and Dulls 2 Forwards. This also works off of an EX Burst as well.

Other than that, you can dull and sacrifice Noel, and Dull all of your opponents Forwards.

What did they call him in Lightning Returns? The Shadow Hunter?

 

16-093R – Noctis

You are playing a FFXV deck for certain. Kingsglaive or Noctis and Friends, or a mix of both.

Noctis here will shine in either deck.

You’ll be dulling Forwards left and right, and with the new Noctis/Ardyn deck coming out later this year, I’m sure there will be plenty of use for this one.

Noctis can watch it all happen while he sips his coffee.

16-094C – Palmer

The way Palmer is sitting there, about to sip his tea, you know that he’s got something up his sleeve. You think you have him backed into the corner, but nope.

Palmer gives you a way to grab two cards when you run out of cards.

For 2CP, I think this is a good play. He’ll grant you a CP every turn until you decide to use his ability.

 

 

16-095R – Vivi EX

Are we getting the pieces to make a Black Mage deck possible?

Grab a Black Mage from the Break Zone, when Vivi enters the field.

And deal Damage to a Forward, which increases with each Black Mage that you have on the field.
Is this the first Lightning Vivi?

 

16-096R – Byakko

Another Shijin for Kirin.

We already know, Byakko comes in and you can search for a Shijin other than Byakko.

After that, every time Byakko attacks, you can choose 1 Forward and Dull it.

 

 

16-097H – Hyoh

You can play Hyoh for 1CP, but he’s not that great. Not yet.

Hyoh becomes more valuable, the more you put into him.

You’ll want to spend another 4CP on Hyoh to make him a devastating threat.

1CP to give Hyoh Haste and up his power to 7K. After that another 3CP to up his Power to 10k and when he deals damage to your opponent you will deal 2 points instead of 1.

Just watch out for a possible Double EX Burst that might come your way.

16-098H – Spectral Keeper

Spectral Keeper is a Keeper.
Yeah, that was lame.

But, this Monster is a Monster.
OK, I’ll stop there.

But, dulling a Forward at the beginning of each Attack Phase is more than enough to place him in your deck.

And, at 3 points of Damage, Spectral Keeper becomes a Forward and every time it attacks,you will dull a Forward as well.

16-099C – Merald

Soiree Members coming out in full force.

Let’s give this Common some great enhancements, depending on how many Soiree Members are being played.

2 for Haste.
4 to Break.

I’ll need to check out some of these Soiree decks.

16-100L – Y’shtola

Every time I see a new Y’shtola card, I think to myself, I should start playing FFXIV again.

Can Scions make it once again in the Meta? I don’t really follow it, but I haven’t really heard about Scions recently. First it was Marche/Ritz, then it was Samurais, Sky Pirates, Kingsglaive and and now Soiree and The Black Waltz.

But, I believe Y’shtola can give Scions a new Pulse.

 

16-101C – Yuke

Another backup Backup.

Keep Yuke on the field until you need to use him.

After that dull, return to hand, play and Break a Forward.

 

 

16-102R – Lann

For the cost of a Monster, Lann becomes a decent card.

If you decide to remove a Monster from the Break Zone after you play Lann, he’ll gain 2K power, and you’ll dull a Forward during each of your Attack Phases.

You can also use that same Monster to pay for the cost to play Lann, thus killing 2 birds with one stone.

 

16-103C – Larva

Like this Monster.

Larva has some use, but he’ll be perfect for Lann.

Or, just play Larva to Break a Forward, and then put him in the Break Zone to see what your next draw will be.

 

16-104R – Reeve

This Reeve is more like Reeve from the game. Think about it.

Reeve comes in and you play a Forward from the Break Zone onto the field. That Forward could very well be Cait Sith.
Reeve cannot activate during the Active Phase simply because he will be controlling Cait Sith, and will be too busy to be doing anything else.

Which makes me think if we’ll be getting a decent Cait Sith in the near future.

Resurgence of Power, I’m looking at you.

16-105R – Reynn

Just like Lann, Reynn has pretty much the same abilities as her brother.

Only difference is that she gives another Forward Haste.