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Beyond Destiny – Twistin’ Turbulence

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21-041C – Evil Weapon

Doesn’t look that evil. Evil Weapon looks like he belongs in the hit movie “Ghoulies”.

If you haven’t watched it, you should. If you like 80’s horror movies that aren’t actually that scary.

Let’s see now. Evil Weapon cost a a whole whopping 1CP. And, for what it does is pretty cheap. I know some people just play certain cards just to gain a Crystal. And Evil Weapon here, will give you a Crystal, and also deal 4000 damage to one of your opponent’s Forwards.

Evil Weapon, is more like a side weapon, a pistol to your shotgun. If your Forward doesn’t Break your opponent’s Forward, just use this Evil Weapon to finish it off.

21-042H – Vaan

If you’re playing Mono-Wind, Vaan could be of some use. As he’ll be a free Forward, if you already have 7 Wind Characters on the field.

If not he costs a whopping 7CP to play a Forward with 9000 power.

Not much to say about this one. I’ll probably just leave it on the side to gather dust.

But, not all is bad.

If you already cast 3 cards, you draw a card. So, you might come up with +2CP.

But, is it really worth it?

21-043C – Viera

Now this is a decent card as well.

Play Viera onto the field and grab one of the top 2 cards of your deck. The other one goes to the bottom of your deck.
And when Viera is active on the field, you can dull Viera and do it once again.

3CP for a Backup with a great ability.

You can’t go wrong with Viera.

 

21-044C – Dancer

Technically, this is a free card.

A 4CP Forward, that gets reduced to 2CP if you already have a Dancer on the field. And if you paid the cost with a couple of Backups, you can choose to activate those Backups, by Dancer’s ability. Which goes off once she enters the field.

That brings us to a total of 0CP.

Not bad for an 8000 power Forward.

 

21-045C – Princess Goblin

This is the kind of Backup that everyone likes. A searcher.

Princess Goblin enters the field and allows you to search for a Warrior of Light, or a Princess Sarah.

She comes in does her job, and hopefully gets your board to where you need it to be.

If not, well, at least she’ll provide a Crystal Point once per turn.

 

21-046C – Cid (II)

Cid is here staring at you to make sure that you’re going to play this card.

And, as long as you have cards that can warp in, there’s a 94.38762% chance that you will. Yes, this conclusion came off of extended research and as of December, 5th 2023, this is accurate. It might not be in the next hour or so, but we’re sticking to our research. And stuff.

Cid (II) comes in and you’re searching for a card that Warps.

You Warp that card right away.

Next turn, you’ll be sending Cid to the Break Zone, in order to speed up the Warp process.

Simple, and effective.

I like it.

21-047C – Summoner

Summoner summons a Summon.

Well, that’s what Summoners are supposed to do.

Once Summoner comes in, you get to grab a Wind Summon from your deck.

And, Every time that you cast a Summon, Summoner gains +2000 power. From how I’m reading it, you can cast a couple of Summons and keep stacking that +2000 power on top of the other. Plus. it’s a Standard Unit so you can have 3 of these on the board at any time.

Combine this with Meia (16-123L) and you have a reduced Summon cost. Add in plenty of low cost Summons and you’ll have 3 Summoners who serve as Meat Shields, or attackers.

Meat Shield just sounds better.

21-048L – Princess Sarah

Look no further. If you needed a way to keep Feolthanos on the board, so he can see EX Bursts, Princess Sarah can help you out.

Once per turn you can choose a Forward and that Forward cannot be chosen by EX Bursts.

After that, just dull and discard a Princess to make the next damage dealt to it 0.

Now, you don’t need to have Feolthanos, but I’d say you play these cards together.

 

21-049R – Sarah (Mobius)

Yes, she gives a +1K buff to all of your Forwards.

Yes, she is a 2 cost Backup.

Yes, she is probably good for draft.

No, I will not be playing this card, actually maybe I will.

I would have said to just go ahead and play Opus I Maria, for 3CP and the same buff to all of your Forwards, but what’s stopping you from playing both at the same time.

I started thinking this card wasn’t that great, it’s decent, but I started changing my mind the more I started writing about it.

I might give it a shot.

21-050H – Sophia (SOPFFO)

For a second there I read that Biker Mage.

You can throw Sophia and Summoner in the same deck. Both grab Summons, and when a Summon is cast they both have abilities that can go off.

Sophia here will deal 5000 damage to a Forward when you cast a Summon. Sure, you can only use this once, as you’ll have to dull Sophia, but that 5k can help out. Especially if the Summon you cast has dealt some damage to a Forward but not enough to Break it.

I wouldn’t call this a Hero, more like a Rare.

21-051R – Tiamat

Chocobos are going to make a comeback, just you watch.

I’m just saying that cause I can’t think of another Mono-Wind deck at the moment.

If you are playing Mono-Wind, you will be playing Tiamat. 4CP/8K body, throw in Opus 1 Maria and a bunch of Chocobos, and you have an unstoppable beast.

Hey, that’s pretty much what Tiamat is.

 

21-052R – Niini

This isn’t bad, especially for the cost.

1CP allows you to look at the top card of your deck. If you like what you see, you can keep it there. If not send that card to the bottom of your deck.

If you cast at least 3 cards this turn, you can grab that card, or grab the next one if you already sent it to the bottom of your deck.

Good thing about this is if you can check to see if you have an EX Burst coming up. If you do you can leave it there and when you take Damage you’ll know that you’ll have a surprise for your opponent.

21-053L – Balthier

Even though I’ll probably never play a Sky Pirates deck. This is a great card.

You can probably just throw it in any Mono-Wind deck, and you’ll do great.

Because every time a Wind Character comes in, you’ll be dealing 3000 damage to one of your opponents Forwards. And 3000 is enough to Break some Forwards, and then I’m sure you’ll have a way or two to finish them off.

Now if you’re playing Sky Pirates, Balthier will be able to Activate all of your Characters once per turn. Right at that moment when you get into your Main Phase 2, you can discard a Sky Pirate and have Balthier’s ability go off, and you’re left with a bunch of active Characters, ready to block, and what not.

21-054H – Pandemonium

And, here I thought this was a Backup.

For 2CP this is great card. Summon comes in and if you played a couple of cards this turn Pandemonium will deal 5000 damage to one of your opponent’s high cost Forwards, and Pandemonium searches for a high cost Forward for you.
If Pandemonium is the first card you played, you can pick one or the other.

Still great for 2CP.

 

21-055H – Penelo

These Sky Pirates just keep getting better and better.

Kind of wants me to make a Sky Pirate deck.

Penelo, a 2CP/5000 power Forward. that activates 2 Characters when she enters the field, as long as you have at least 2 Sky Pirates already on the field.

The best part is that when Penelo is sent to the Break Zone you can grab a 3 cost Sky Pirate from your Break Zone and add it to your hand. I think Balthier would be the perfect card to pick.

21-056R – Galeserpent General Najelith

Here we have the pixelated 3d graphics of FFXI. Even though this was on the PS2, the graphics look like they came from the FFVII era. Enough of the art.

It’s actually not that bad of a card.

Galeserpent General Najelith’s cost can be reduced by 2 if you already have a couple of Wind Characters on the field. Thus making her, a 2 cost Forward with 8000 power.

She cannot be chosen by your opponent’s abilities, giving her protection from that, and you can dull her and deal a Forward 4000 damage. This is where Penelo and Balthier come in.

Dull, 4000 damage, activate, Dull, 4000 damage, activate, dull, 4000 damage.

That’s 12,000 damage right there.

21-057R – Fran

Can’t go wrong with 1CP.

Especially since Fran grants protection to Balthier.

And, if Fran is in the Break Zone, you can play Balthier and grab Fran from the Break Zone and play her onto the field. At the small cost of 1 Wind Crystal Point.

Now I kinda, want to see what Balthier does.

 

21-058C – Machina

Finally a Machina that has synergy with your Type-0 Cadets.

And at only 2CP this is a great card.

If you have at least 2 Cadets on the field, Machina has 8000 power, Haste and Machina cannot be chosen by your opponent’s Summons.

Let’s not forget Armor Break, if you need to you can break a high cost Forward.

I do like it. It’s probably time to dust off that old Cadets deck and see what happens when we add Machina.

21-059C – Dragoon

Play Dragoon early, as your second or third Backup. As, that’s when you’ll get the most value from Dragoon.

Once he comes in you’ll gain a Crystal, and if you have 3 or less Backups on the field you get to draw a card. Which makes Dragoon cost a total of 1CP.

And, that is all. Simple, effective and straight to the point.

Not much else going on here.

 

21-060R – Rikku EX

Most of these Wind cards work well together.

Rikku here is another example of why you should be playing Mono-Wind.

When she enters the field, you’ll reveal the top card of your deck, and since it’s a Wind card, and you’re playing Mono-Wind you’ll just go ahead and add that card to your hand.

This also activates as an EX Burst when you get that point of damage, and Rikku pops her head.

And at 3 points of damage, Rikku gains +2000 power making her a 7000 power Forward.

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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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Crystal Dominion – Ice Review

15-022C – Amidatelion

Time to Ice your opponent.

Got yourself a way to remove some buffs. More specifically Haste, Brave and First Strike.

You can play Ice/Earth and have Robel-Akbel recycle Amidatelion.

 

 

 

15-023R – Werei

Werei is here, to draw you a card at the end of each of your turns.

Stick him in a discard deck.

 

 

 

 

15-024R – Orphan EX

Orphan here is a one man show, even though he is a Rare. For 5CP you can dull 1 Forward at the beginning of each of your Attack Phases. Hopefully your opponent won’t be playing Feolthanos (10-098L).

A good card to play with Orphan, you ask?

Physalis (13-028L), along with all the other Discard cards you might have available in your possession.

 

15-025C – Scholar

Cast a Summon

Dull Scholar.

Dull a Forward.

In that order.

 

 

15-026C – Kazusa

Just because, Orphan and Kazusa come from the same “Universe” per se, doesn’t mean that they will play well together.
But, they do.

Imagine being able to break a Forward, just because Orphan will be causing your opponent to discard a card at every Attack Phase.

After that 1(I)CP and dull Kazusa, throw him in the Break Zone, and Break one of your opponents Forwards.

 

15-027R – The Emperor

Is there a never ending recycle loop here with the Emperor?

Considering there are 8 The Emperor cards, including this one. You will be able to play Emperors left and right, discard them, revive them, break, search and destroy to bring back The Emperor from the Break Zone.

I lost myself there. It’s all a blur.

All I know is that you will be able to have 24 The Emperors in your deck. Where most of them can interact with each other when they hit the Break Zone.

15-028H – Gogo

I think Gogo will be interesting to play. Doubling down on some abilities by any Forward or Monster. I’d say the only drawback is that you can only use that ability once per turn. I’m sure there will be ways around that, but even so, It’s still a great ability

Gogo, will fit right at home in a FFVI themed deck.

And Mimic, allows you to use another Characters Special ability.

Physalis, I’m looking at you.

 

15-029R – Zalera

Cheap Summon, for a great Break.

Only thing is the Forward you chose needs to be dull already. Not a problem. Once that Forward attacks, it dulls itself, thus allowing you to use Zalera as you see fit.

But, then again this card is just a reprint. We should already know that.

 

 

15-030H – Shiva EX

The Ice version of Ifrita.

The more Shivas in your Break Zone the stronger this Summon gets.

0-1 Dull 1 Forward
2-3 Dull 2 Forwards
4-5 Freeze the dulled Forwards
6 or more, Your opponent discard 2 cards from their hand.

All this for 1 CP.

15-031C – Shiva

Choose one of two. Deal 9K damage to a dull Forward, or give all your Ice Forwards +3K.

Depending on th Situation. You can probably always figure out which one to use. But, the +3K sounds real good. At least for now.

All this for as little as 1CP. If you’re carrying a Crystal that is.

 

 

15-032C – Cid Raines

You usually try and keep your Forwards alive, but Cid Raines here, is definitely a blocker.Just keep him on the field. Till he blocks everything he can, and then … you’ll realize you should just be attacking. That way he’ll either be dealing your opponent Damage, breaking Forwards, or worse case scenario. Cid Raines will be broken and sent to the Break Zone. And then your opponent will discard a card from their hand.

 

 

 

15-033C – Jumbo Flan

Jumbo Flan here has 2 Jobs.

1) Dull and Freeze a Forward.
2) Become a Forward in itself, and strike fast.

Doesn’t matter if Jumbo Flan deals damage or not, because once you turn Jumbo Flan into a Forward, he will Break at the end of the turn.

 

 

15-034R – Snow

We’re getting more than just flurries, here.

Pay a Crystal and either Freeze all the Forwards, or Freeze all the Backups.

Or Bounce Snow with Rinoa, pay an extra Crystal, and Freeze all the Forwards and Backups.

 

 

15-035H – Setzer

With Setzer you’re gambling with the odds on your side. 8 out of 10 times you’ll grab a Character from the top spot of your deck.

Other than that, Setzer will most likely be giving you Crystals at the end of your turn.

 

 

 

15-036H – Celes

This is a great looking card. There better be a Full Art Version.

The Rune Knight Celes has a thing for Locke, as she allows you to search for him when she enters the field. But, if you already have Locke in your hand you’ll just make your opponent discard a card from there hand.

Celes knows all about parties. And when FFVI Forwards form a Party and attack. You can either Freeze 2 Characters, or Find a Category VI Character in your Break Zone.

That Character will be Locke. Any Locke will do, as you’ll already have Locke (4-048L), and using his Special Ability will allow you to slowly chip away at your opponent.

15-037L – Terra

Some more great artwork.

Playing a Summon heavy deck? Terra is the card for you. You might be able to Dull and Freeze your opponents whole board. Might.

But, even if you just dull and Freeze the main pieces of your opponents board, you’ll still be in a good position.

And whenever you cast a summon Dull 1, Freeze 1. 1 Forward, one Backup. Choose and pick.

15-038C – Knight

Knight comes in, hands you a Crystal

Next turn, Knight Dulls himself and puts himself into the Break Zone dulling a 3 cost Forward.

Thus concludes the story of Knight

 

 

15-039C – Mime

It’ll be fun playing with Mime as his Power will change every time another Forward comes in. From the high powered forwards, to the 1000 power. But, it won’t really matter as long as Mime will be able to block a Forward. Does it really matter how much power Mime has?

 

 

 

 

15-040C – Larzos

Hmm, I don’t know. 5CP to Freeze Forward, but it’ll leave you with a 9K body on the field.

When he’s tossed into the Break Zone, you’ll get a Crystal for your troubles.

Larzos is just a common, which is probably why he costs 5CP.

In my opinion, I think there are better options, and worse ones as well.

Now prove me wrong as to why you should play Larzos.

 

15-041L – Lightning

Now this is an interesting card.

For optimum results you’ll want your opponents hand to have 0 cards. and the less cards you have Lightning is even stronger.

1CP/10K body with Haste.

That is what you’re looking at.

There are plenty of cards this set, that’ll help you achieve that

Orphan, Shiva (15-030H), Cid Raines, Celes, and Gogo for when you’re using these abilities. Not to mention cards from previous sets, but you should have a very good chance at achieving no cards in your opponents hand before you play Lightning.

15-042R – Locke EX

This card might …. No, he won’t replace Opus IV Locke, but you might want to throw in a couple if you’re running a FFVI themes deck.

Think about it. Play a VI card. reveal the top card it’s a VI card add it to your hand. Play that VI Card and grab the next VI card. It might work. FFVI themed deck is already a strong deck in my opinion.