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Earthlike Oceans

28-058R – Arciela

Earth Backup here, Arciela, the Red Mage hailing from Final Fantasy XI.

Arciela is an extra shot at Breaking a Character.

What I like about Arciela is that, it’s not just Forwards, it any Character. Backups? Yes! Monsters? Sure thing.

I was going to write this card off, but we don’t have too many ways of Breaking Backups.

It’s worth noting that in order for Arciela to Break a Character, you need to play a High cost Final Fantsy XI Forward. I’m pretty sure, we’ll see on in this set.

 

28-059C – Dark Knight

At 2CP, breaking a dull Forward is great.

The draw back is that you need to have 5 Backups on the field in order to use this ability.

But, dark knight is a Common, and only costs 2CP. If there weren’t any draw backs than Dark Knight would have cost a lot more than 2CP.

 

 

28-060R – Angeal

We have a young Angeal on our hands here.

Angeal might be a Soldier, but he acts as a Meat Shield. All of your opponent’s abilities must choose Angeal if possible. Which is something you want to happen. Because you are not playing Angeal to be your Forward, you’re playing Angeal so he can be sent to the Break Zone.

And hopefully deal some damage along the way.

Once Angeal is sent to the Break Zone, you can then decide if you want to remove him from the game. If you do, you will give one of your other Forwards +3000 power.

And, that to me is something that we can all use.

28-061R- Wylk

The true meaning of Warrior of the Crystal.

Wylk gets stronger the more Crystals that you possess.

When he enters the field Wylk will deal a Forward 4000 damage for each Crystal that you have. If you don’t have any Crystals then Wylk doesn’t do anything.

And, whenever Wylk attacks, he gains +1000 power for each Crystal that you have.

Technically, Wylk’s power has no limit.

It would suck if Wylk is put in the Damage Zone, and you don;t have any Crystals to make use of his EX Burst.

28-062C – Vincent

We always knew Vinvent was a beast.

And, this one proves it.

Vincent comes right on, on to the field, and breaks a Forward like it was nothing. Not only that, but he’ll gain a Crystal in the process as well.

Let’s not forget that this ability activates off of an EX Burst as well.

You can then use that Crystal to give Vincent First Strike.

Yeah, Vincent costs 7CP, but he’s worth the price of admission.

28-063H – Kirin

This is better than Opus I Shantotto, but needs a bit more work to get his ability to go off properly.

Shantotto wipes the board to a fresh slate, while Kirin only wipes out your opponent’s Forwards. Plus, he gets to stay on the field as a Forward with a 9K body.

What’s the extra cost?

You just need to remove 4 Forwards in your Break Zone from the game. And, they all need to be of a different element.

Shantotto ain’t got nothing on Kirin.

 

28-064H – Cactuar

Earth’s 2 cost Hero Summon, Cactuar.

Same as the other Summons, you can pay the extra cost of a Crystal, and use both of Cactuar’s abilities instead of just choosing one.

First off Break a Forward that has entered the field, from the Break Zone, by Warp, or any other way than being cast from your opponent’s hand.

The Second stops a Forward from attacking or blocking. Plus you get to draw a card.

Most of the time you’ll be using the second ability to draw a card, and stop your opponent.

28-065R – Cid Pollendina

Didn’t we already have this card? And, didn’t it cost 4CP? And wasn’t it a Wind card?

Yes. Nope. Yes.

We had the same card back in Rebellion’s Call. And it still was 3CP. The only difference is that it was a Wind Backup.

But, it’s still a good card. Searching is always needed.

And, this time it comes with the Full Art treatment.

 

28-066C – White Mage

How about a Revive from White Mage?

Sounds good, you’ll just have to use a Crystal.

And, when you do, you can grab a Forward from your Break Zone.

After that, White Mage will stick around on the field acting as a Paladin, sacrificing himself to block one of your opponent’s attacks.

Hey, at least you grabbed that Forward.

 

28-067C – Despachiaire

I have no clue as to who this is.

Probably cause I only played Final Fantasy XI for a couple of hours.

Anywho, Despachiaire enters the field, and grabs up to 2 Final Fantasy XI cards from the top 5 cards of your deck.

Hopefully making Despachiaire’s cost only 1CP.

After that Despachiaire stays on the field as a Backup, giving you 1CP per turn.

 

28-068R – Flowering Cactoid

More Forward than Monster.

Flowering Cactuar comes in for 2CP and once per turn you can turn it into a Forward with a 6K body.

Even if you’re not attacking, Flowering Cactoid will be a great blocker.

And, at 5 points of damage, you can put Flowering Cactoid into the Break Zone and deal 10,000 damage to one of your opponent’s Forwards. That itself is worth having at least one of these in your deck.

Why do I want to call it Flowering Crockpot?

28-069L – Prishe

As always Prishe is a powerhouse.

And if you have another Prishe in your Break Zone, you can bring Prishe’s cost all the way down to 1CP.

When she enters the field, she goes straight into the offensive. Trading blows with one of your opponent’s Forwards. They’ll deal damage to each other, and for the most part Prishe will survive, as she comes in with 9000 power.

Psychoanima – Prishe becomes unbreakable. Meaning Prishe will stick around for another turn.

 

28-070C – Mira

9 times out of ten, Mira will result in a free play.

And, we like free plays.

Mira comes in for 2CP. And, you get to pick one of two actions.

The first one, play a Monster from your hand on to the field. Any Monster up to 4CP.

And the second, reveal the top 5 cards of your deck and add a Monster to your hand.

She’s not a replacement for Relm, but she’ll steer you in the right direction.

28-071H – Yang

A 3 cost Forward with 9000 power.

Yes, thank you.

Downside? You can only pay with Backups to cast Yang.

Upside? All the extra cards in your hand that you didn’t use to play Yang, are now ammunition for his enter the field ability.
For every card that you discard, Yang will deal 9000 damage to that many of your opponent’s Forwards.

If I did the math right, you can get up to 6 Forwards. In Final Fantasy IV they called this Kick!

28-072L – Rydia

This is amazing. Especially if you’re running a deck with high powered Forwards already. Rydia will give them an extra 2000 power to help them get through your opponent’s attacks.

Yes, that +2000 power is on;y during your opponent’s turn, turning all your Forwards into Meat Shields.

Plus, once per turn Rydia will give herself and another Final Fantasy IV Forward protection against Summons and abilities that choose their target.

We won’t even get into the art.

 

28-073H – Rydia

This is what happens when Leviathan kidnaps Rydia. She grows older in a split second.

And when she does, you get another Full Art that is just as great as the previous one.

Rydia comes in and you reveal the top 2 cards of your deck, if you find a Final Fantasy IV character there, add it to your hand.
You can also put Rydia in the Break Zone and give a Final Fantasy IV Forward +2000 power.

And, when you do that, you can play Young Rydia, because that one is better.

 

28-074C – Rikku

Rikku will come on in and grab a Final Fantasy X Forward 2CP or less from your Break Zone and play it on to the field.
She’ll also deal you a point of damage.

If you ask me, I’d say leave this card alone. There are plenty of cards that will play a Forward from the Break Zone, and there are a lot better Rikkus to play as well.

 

 

28-075C – Lilty

Our elemental Common is back.

Lilty comes in and you gain a Crystal.

Lilty leaves, and you gain a Crystal again.

You can play up to 3 at once, and get rid of 3 at once.

That’s 6 Crystals.

Whatcha gonna do, with all them Crystals?

28-076C – Layle

Lolz for Layle.

This is both good and bad, and even funny. For your opponent not you.

Layle comes in for 3CP, and comes in with 7000 power, and if he is dealt damage, that damage becomes 0. He’s practically indestructible.

But, let’s take a look at his second ability. For 1CP Layle gains tha ability that he can not block. Now, why would we use an ability like that?

You won’t, but your opponent will. They can pay the cost to activate Layle’s ability. Then you will either have to block with another Forward, or take the damage.

I’m going to keep an eye on this card.

Shop for these Singles and more at our TCG Player Store!

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From Opus I to Valentine’s Day

What have we been up to? In a word: Listing.

We have been heads-down and deep in the stacks, restocking Final Fantasy TCG across both our TCGPlayer and eBay stores. We’ve officially finished processing everything from Opus I through Opus VI, plus singles from the World Champions Decks 2024.

Honestly? I didn’t expect the World Champions singles to move as fast as they have! It’s a good lesson learned: don’t sleep on the specialty decks. If you’ve been looking for specific older Opus cards to round out your collection, now is the time to go hunting in our shop.

The Winter Slump

The winter weather has been a real mood-killer for my flea market runs. I’ve tried to make it work, but there’s nothing more frustrating than driving all the way out there just to find the gates closed or the same two vendors selling things I definitely don’t want. I’m crossing my fingers for a break in the weather soon so I can get back to the hunt!

Looking Ahead: Dreamlike Oceans

Don’t forget, Opus XXVII – Dreamlike Oceans is launching at the end of next month! That means the Midnight Prerelease is also just around the “Korner” in March. We’ll have the specific details for you soon, though you know the drill—we like to keep the tradition alive, so expect the same great vibe we always have.

A Early Valentine’s Gift for You ❤️

Since Valentine’s Day is right around the “Korner,” we figured it was time for a celebration. Whether you’re buying a gift for a loved one or just “treating yo’ self” (we won’t tell!), we want to help you save.

Starting now, take 14% OFF your entire order!

Promo Code: VINCENT
Expires: Midnight on February 14th

Head over to the shop and snag those cards or sealed product you’ve been eyeing before someone else does!

Don’t forget about our TCG Player store either.

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Gunslinger in the Korner

08/04

Midnight Prerelease took a beating on me once again. The older I get the longer it takes me to recover.

Talked to my distributor today, We’re getting our full order. No allocations this time, which is good. Gunslinger in the Abyss is already up for Pre-Order, Hopefully by the time you read this they’ll be sold out. And, hopefully we’ll be able to get a restock.

We’ll be getting the Full Arts up sometime this week.

08/05

Back to the 30 day plan. Checked the contact page, and everything looks good. You can use this page for any questions or comments. We read every singles one of them. If we didn’t why would we even have one?

Took care of our First look at Earth today. That is up. 4 more to go. We should have Lightning up tomorrow. Our Booster Boxes should be coming in tomorrow, along with a small restock of Legacy Collection.

08/06

Everything is here, and we are ready to Rock N’ Roll!

What better way to start than to open up a couple of boxes. And we did.

But first we needed to go to Home Depot, and pick up some paint for the kids’ room. Then we need to find something for dinner. Then we have to take care of orders. And I think that was all of it.

Time to get to recording, cause well we like it, and apparently so do all of you, so thank you. It’s always great reading the comments and we reply to every one of them.

And, what a video it was. We pulled the Chase! Full Art! Golden Signature! One in every 2,160 packs! Bartz!

We’re going to have some fun, so stay tuned.

08/07

It’s the day before Gunslinger in the Abyss officially releases, and we have a ton of work to do.

Spent the day sorting and listing. And, we’ve got our orders on top of that.

Plus took a couple of hours in between all the work, to start painting the kids’ room. I didn’t make it to bed until 2AM, and I have to be up early as always.

You’ll ask is it worth it? Yeah, I love every second of it.

Oh, and our thoughts on Lightning are up now. We got 3 left. that’s 3 more days.

08/08

It’s that time!

Release date. We got all our listings up, and we’re going to put the Full Arts up on the site today.

These Legends are selling like hot cakes! And, that’s what we all want. Right?

Finished up with Water today, and that is online as you read this. You might have already read it, and if you didn’t well it’s there for you to check out.

08/09

Haven’t gone to the Flea Market in a while. So, I decided to head over there today. And, today is one of those days that I should have missed. I found nothing. No Video Games, No Cards, No Shoes, No Toys.

That’s all right, there’s always next time.

We’re almost out of stock with Gunslinger in the Abyss. Kits are flying, Boosters are rolling. And we should be looking into getting a restock soon enough.

I was so out of it when I got home, I just sat at my desk and stared at my screen, till I decided it’s time for bed. I’ll take care of the orders tomorrow.

08/10
Had to take care of yesterdays orders in the morning. Luckily it’s Sunday, and I won’t be able to ship anything out until Monday.

Game Knights Chicago was holding their Local Qualifiers today. I decided to stop by and say hi to everyone. And, I’m getting that itch to play again. So, I’m going to try and make it out to the locals this week. Also picked up some Playmats from them. I didn’t get a chance to get some of these in stock. So, I picked some up for myself. Vivi and Lightning!

Finished up some more orders and called it a night.

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Gunslinger in the Earth

Shop for these Singles and more at our TCG Player Store!

20-061H – Ajido-Marujido

I don’t know how playable this card is.

You need at least 3 elements to get the first ability to go off, and 5 elements for the second ability. Granted if you do pay with 5 elements, both of Ajido-Marujidos abilities will go off.
Now, what do these abilities do?

The first one breaks one of your opponent’s Forwards, while the second one removes one of your opponent’s Forwards from the game.

You likely won’t be able to get the full effect of this card until late in the game, but if you do, you’ll be getting rid of 2 of your opponent’s Forwards leaving a whole in their front line.

Hopefully this will be the card that hands you the game.

If not, then there are plenty of other cards available to use.

20-062R – Apururu

Does anyone actually play a Final Fantasy XI themed deck?

If so what is it? Apururu here might be able to help you out as Apururu will produce CP of any element when paying for a Final Fantasy XI card.

And, at 2CP it’s worth throwing it in your deck.

Why is it that Earth has the most cards that can produce CP of any Element?

I don’t know if Apururu knows the answer, but he might be a decent play.

20-063R -Althyk EX

Why does Althyk look like Odin?

“Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental”

Althyk enters the field, and if you have at least 4 of “The Twelve” on the field, Althyk will deal one of your opponent’s Forwards 9000 damage, giving you a good chance at breaking that Forward.

And, what does Odin do? Odin breaks them. Well most of the time.

Did we mention this also comes off of an EX Burst?

20-064R – Ignis

Ignis is a Wild Card.

His ability is only as good as the Forwards that you already have on the field.

Once Ignis enters the field, you’ll dull 2 Forwards and deal another Forward damage equal to the power of the other 2 Forwards that you dulled.

It’s a mix and match game.

Do you have enough power to take down that 9000 power body that your opponent has on the field? Have Ignis take him down. If not just hold on to Ignis until you do.

Ignis also gains +2000 power when you have 3 points of damage.

20-065L – Vanille

At 1CP what’s not to like about Vanille.

The art? It’s great. The 4000 power? That’s perfect for her ability.

Vanille works great as a defender. She will block any attack, and if she is sent to the Break Zone, you can then remove her from the game, and Vanille will allow you to grab a Final Fantasy XIII Forward from your Break Zone.

And, if that’s not enough. Once per turn Vanille will look at the top card of your deck, and if it is a Final Fantasy XIII card, you will add that card to your hand.

Like I said, what’s not to like?

20-066L – Vincent

The Gunslinger, Vincent, ready to wreak havoc on you opponent.

Vincent comes in and right from the get go, he will destroy all of your opponent’s Forwards that cost 3CP or less. 99.99% of the time, those Forwards will be sent to the Break Zone. And, I only said 99.99% because we might get a 3 cost Forward with more then 10K. There are plenty of 9K Forwards, and those might make it out alive if you have a card like Maria (1-083H) on the field, who will give all your Forwards +1000 power.

Vincent will also deal 9000 damage to a Forward that targets him with it’s ability.
And, when Vincent is chosen by your opponent’s Summon, Vincent will choose one of your opponent’s Forwards and deal them 9000 damage as well.

If you get this at Prerelease or in draft, you better come out the winner.

Let’s not forget, Vincent also has First Strike!

20-067H – Eiko

If you’ve been wondering why we’ve been getting all these Summons with Eiko on them, we now have your answer.

Not really, but it sounded good.

Eiko will come in and you can grab 4 Summons from your Break Zone and put them on top of your deck. You may now shuffle your deck and reveal the top 4 cards. If you find a Summon, you can cast it without paying the cost.

The rest of the cards are sent into the Break Zone.

You might get a great play, but then again you might lose 3 of the cards that you need. It’s risk vs. reward here.

Eiko then sticks around as a Forward with 5000 power.

20-068C – Gladiator

I think they’re running out of Standard Units. I’ll have to check to make sure, but they introduced an old game, just to use the Jobs.

I don’t mind it, I’m just saying what it looks like to me. I think it’s time to bring the 8bit sprites for cards.

Oh wait. We’re supposed to be talking about Gladiator.

Gladiator is a Backup, that can give one of your Forwards +1000 power until the end of the turn. You’ll need to discard a card for this ability.

And, if the card you discard is a Fire card, then that Forward gains +3000 power.

And, that’s about it.

Now, where are those 8bit cards?

20-069C – BeastMaster

Do you feel lucky?

Play Beastmaster, and when you reveal the top 3 cards of your deck, and if you find a Monster that costs 2CP or less, you can play it on to the field. If not all 3 cards go to the bottom of your deck.

You can also put Beastmaster in the Break Zone and give one of your Monster Forwards +4000 power.

It’s a gamble that will cost you 3CP.

20-070H – Zangan

Zangan makes an appearance after being on hiatus since Opus I. Maybe that’s why he looks angry.

And this one is worth playing.

First off, Zangan will allow you to play a Tifa from your hand onto the field. Tifa’s cost can be no more than 5CP. This allows you to play any TIfa so far, except for the Rebellion’s Call Tifa which costs 6CP.

This would make Zangan a good play all in itself, as you will get 2 cards for the price of one.

But, that is definitely not all that Zangan can do. Zangan allows himself and Tifa to use abilities that dull in the same turn as they come in.

And, Zangan does have an ability as such, when you use it, you will deal 5000 damage to a Forward for each Martial Artist that you have. It will usually be Zangan and Tifa on the field. But, there is also Dadaluma and a Snow card that is a Martial Artist as well. Not to mention Opus I Bartz, who has all the jobs.

A new tribal deck has emerged, and is in the process of being complete.

20-071C – Sheiran

What am I missing?

I don’t remember Sheiran in Final Fantasy VII, unless they just named him in the Remake.
Sheiran enters the field and grabs a Final Fantasy VII Character from the Break Zone. And, if it’s Tifa, her cost is reduced by 3CP.

Was he the doctor that helped Cloud, or was that just nurses? I can’t remember. I just remember Cloud in a wheel chair.

It took me a second to realize that yes, Sheiran grabs a Final Fantasy VII Character from the Break Zone. And, grabbing cards from the Break Zone is always great.

This is why first opinions should always be double checked.

20-072R – Titan

Big Boss Man Titan.

He’s more like a manager.

When you cast Titan, you’ll give one of your Forwards +2000 power, and that Forward will deal damage to one of your opponent’s Forwards that you will choose.

We’ve seen this before, plenty of times. The only difference with this Titan is that you can dull 2 Earth Forwards instead of paying 3CP.

 

20-073C – Dyne

The other man with a machine gun hand.

Dyne comes in for 6CP, and you’re going to want to pay for him with cards from your hand.

Why?

Because the more cards you discard to pay for Dyne, the stronger his attack is.
4000 for each card you discard, bringing it up to a total of 12,000 damage to a Forward.

And, after that attack is done, you have a 9K body on the field. Ready to attack or block.

20-074C – Tama

Tama comes in and you have a decision to make.

Would you like to gain a Crystal?

Or would you like to grab a World of Final Fantasy Character from the Break Zone?
Either way you’re getting something.

Luckily we got Geomancer in this set, and you’ll be ready to use that second ability to grab from your Break Zone.

 

20-075C – Dio

Here’s your “Rainbow in the Park”

Sort of looks like Dio too, if you take away the mustache, and make him shorter. And less buff.

The Park Director is ready to manhandle your opponent, one Forward at a time. Cause when Dio blocks, or gets blocked he gains +3000 power, add in Enna Kros and that’s another +1000 power, and Maria as we mentioned earlier with Vincent, that brings Dio up to +5000 power.

That’s a lot of power.

And, when you have that 12,000 power on Dio, you can choose which Forward will block Dio. Allowing you to slowly take apart your opponent’s front line.

I think Dio along with Vincent will be fun to play with. Not against.

20-076H – Tifa

Are you ready for another 3 Card Trick?

Tifa, Zangan and Cloud, is all you’ll need. Doesn’t matter which Cloud as long as you have Zangan. The only Zangan that we have as of now. Maybe we’ll get another one this set, but I haven’t seen any yet. (Edit : I did, but I already wrote this one)

Zangan will come in and he will search for Tifa. Tifa will get Haste because Zangan is on the field. Since Tifa has Haste, you can go ahead and use her S ability. You can discard any card, because Zangan is on the field. Deal 8000 damage to one of your opponent’s Forwards, and since Cloud is on the field you will Activate Tifa. Rinse and Repeat, until you run out of cards in your hand, or Forwards to target.

Final Fantasy VII will be fun to play once again.

20-077R – Noctis

Noctis is thinking of a plan. How do I get back our fallen comrades?

And, he has figured it out.

When Noctis comes on to the field, he will search for a Final Fantasy XV Character and he will place it on top of your deck.

Now, that doesn’t help much, but if you have received 3 points of damage, Noctis’s second ability comes into play, which states When Noctis enters the field, draw a card. Technically speaking, Noctis grabs a Final Fantasy XV Character from the Break Zone and adds it to your hand.

After that, Noctis is a Meat Shield that will block an attack, and once he enters the Break Zone, you can play him once again.
Extra points if you grab Noctis and repeat, over and over for a blocker that can never be stopped.

It’s like casting Reraise.

20-078C – Nophica

Here we go!

Nophica is able to grab a couple of “The Twelve” from the Break Zone. One on her way in, and one on her way out.

At 4CP this can potentially be a Free Play, and if you play your cards right, it will be a Free Play.

With 8000 power, your opponent will have a little bit of a struggle trying to deal with her, and when they finally do, you can just put Nophica into the Break Zone, to grab the other “The Twelve” member.

The only thing that would make this card better is, if Nophica was able to grab herself from the Break Zone. But, then Nophica would have been more than a Rare.

20-079C-15-080C – Geomancer

Here’s a reprint, of a reprint, of a reprint.

So, we’re just going to, you guessed it, Copy/Paste from Opus XV Crystal Dominion.

“Geomancer here comes in gives you a Crystal, that you can use to play Cecil. After that, Geomancer dulls and heads over to the Break Zone, and gives Cecil Brave on the way out.”

What was Cecil doing?

At least you can use Geomancer for Tama.

20-080C – Mandragora

Didn’t we already get this card last set? Let me check.

Nope we got a similar card, which combined with this one will leave your opponent hurting.

Mandragora becomes a Forward during your turn and whenever it deals damage to a Forward that Forward breaks. Like the Wind.

And if Mandragora deals damage to your opponent, Mandragora gets sent to the Break Zone, and you can grab a card from your Break Zone and add it to your hand. You can always pick another Mandragora from your Break Zone, rinse and repeat.

We currently have 3 Mandragora type cards. I’ll be keeping an eye on these, maybe someday we’ll be able to make a Madragora deck.

Singles from under the Earth! 

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Gunslinger in the Abyss Midnight Prerelease

It’s that time again. Midnight PreRelease!

Gunslinger in the Abyss will be here before you know it. Are you ready? Are you ready to try your luck and win a Prerelease Kit? Well let’s get straight to the details.

Who?

Kardboard Korner, that’s who! And, if you don’t know, now you know.

What?

Gunslinger in the Abyss Midnight Prerelease. It’s your first chance to crack some packs of the new Fina Fantasy TCG Set. Plus, you’ll have a chance to get the very rare Bartz Gold Stamped Signature card. I don’ know why they didn’t just put Vincent on the Gold Stamped card.

Where?

Same place as always.

Mr. Gyros, Yes, we’re an online shop, we just host our events here after hours.

9229 S. Cicero Ave
Oak Lawn, IL 60453

When?

August 1st, 2025

The Event will start at Midnight, but you can start showing up around 10PM for some Casual Play or to learn the game if it’s your first time playing.

And, don’t forget you might be able to win a kit.

How?

Simple, come out in first place and you will win a Pre-Release Kit. Even if you don’t win, everyone will walk away with something. We have prizes for the top 4, and then everyone else gets a free pack.

It’ll be $45 for the first kit and entry into the tournament.

Additional Kits will be sold for $40.