xande

Posted on December 26, 2023 by Niko — Leave a comment

Beyond Destiny – Twisted Transistors

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21-081L – Irvine

Well, I can see why this is a sought out card.

It’s the butterfly on Irvine’s finger. When it flaps it’s wings, it’ll cause your opponent to slowly get discombobulated. In a way, at least.

Irvine enters the field, you remove 2 cards from your opponent’s Break Zone, and it’s off to the races. The butterfly’s flap will give Irvine +2000 power, Haste and First Strike. Meaning Irvine can attack right off the bat, as a 9000 power Forward, and don’t forget First Strike. 99% of the time your opponent will either be sending a Forward to the Break Zone, or getting a point of damage.

And, Armor Break, breaks a Forward or a Monster.

You can’t go wrong with this one.

21-082C – Red Mage

Your Elemental Backup, that’s the same as the other Standard Unit Backups in the other Elements as well.

Maybe in draft, but I don’t see much play outside of it.

Prove me wrong, and I’ll send you a playset on the house.

21-083H – Ace

Is this Ace better than the rest?

I don’t think so, but I always used Ace when playing Type-0.

Sure the other Aces are better, but this Ace is a Hero.

Ace enters the field and you draw a card if you already have a couple of Cadets on the field. Thus making Ace a 2 cost Forward.

Other than that, you can discard a card, and dull a Forward, and give Ace +1000 power.

I think I’ll pass on this one.

21-084H – Odin

A Summon that will Break over 75% of all Forwards and Monsters. And, it only costs 3CP. You can even reduce that cost to 1CP if you have at least 5 Lightning Characters on the field. Because when you do you get to draw 1 card. And, everyone likes drawing cards.

There is another 2 Odins that will Break any Forward regardless of cost, but Odin (1-124R) costs 7CP. You also have Odin (12-077H) which costs 6CP, and that one’s cost is reduced by 1CP for each Odin in your Break Zone.

Playing this Odin with the Opus XII Odin might be a good idea.

Other than that you got some great Amano art.

21-085H – Emperor Gestahl

More Amano art, and Gestahl is starting to look like “The Wiseman” from the Labyrinth.

For a 2 cost Backup, Emperor Gestahl will allow you to grab a Forward from your Break Zone. Plays like these are always good. Especially if that Forward was the only one that you had. And, let’s not forget about their enter the field ability that will cause havoc on your opponents board.

Ok, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Later on you can put Emperor Gestahl into the Break Zone, remove 4 of the same type cards from your opponent’s Break Zone, and draw a card.

I don’t see why not.

“sometimes the way forward is the way back.”

21-086C – Gunbreaker

This isn’t bad at all. And with Gunbreaker being a Standard Unit, you can have 3 of these on the field at the same time. Hopefully you’ll have a pocket full of Crystals, because I can see a board wipe shaping up here.

Every time Gunbreaker attacks, you deal 2000 damage to all of your opponents Forwards. If you have a Crystal, you can deal an additional 2000 damage to all of your opponent’s Forwards.

And, if you have a couple more Gunbreakers and a couple more Crystals, then you’re dealing 12,000 damage to all of your opponent’s Forwards.

Pair this with some Bombs and I see a deck forming.

21-087C – Machinist

What is this? 2CP?

For a 5K Forward?

I can see some use with this one.

Gunbreaker attacks, and then you play Machinist in your Main Phase 2, and deal 5000 damage to one of your opponent’s Forwards.

And, after that, once per turn, you can Dull Machinist and deal 2000 damage to a Forward.

21-088C – Gilgamesh

Que “Battle on the Big Bridge”

You can never go wrong with Gilgamesh, unless he pulls Excalipoor. And this, Gilgamesh is not pulling Excalipoor. Especially, if you got yourself a couple of Crystals on hand, and 3 points of damage. For when you do, Gilgamesh becomes a 9K body, with Haste and Brave, and can also attack twice in the same turn.

Pair this with Estinien (6-088L) and you can have the match over with in a couple of turns.

I like it, the only thing I would change about this card, is give it some Amano Art.

21-089R – Queen

A Forward with Haste, that doesn’t receive damage when attacking?

I’ll take it. It doesn’t matter what else Queen does, this is more than enough.

And, it still gets better. Queen, also, can’t be chosen by Summons or abilities either. And, if for some reason you need to give her more power, just spend 2CP and you’re set. You can even do this part multiple times to keep upping her power.

This will be going straight into the all Haste deck.

21-090R – Cloud

You wouldn’t play this Cloud in a FFVII deck, but you might in a WoFF themed deck.

2CP to cast a 5K body, that will maybe, just maybe break one of your opponent’s Forwards. Well, Cloud actually just might. There are plenty of low cost Forwards out there, and if you already have Reynn on the field, to help pay for Cloud, well then you have 2 WoFF Characters on the field. And, there are plenty of 2 cost Forwards to break.

Yeah, that’s about it. Break a Forward, and then you have a tiny meat shield to absorb an attack. Or something like that.

21-091C – Black Knight

Black Knight has 1 job, which can be done twice. Once when Black Knight enters the field, and once when Black Knight enters the Break Zone.

Break a 2 cost Forward or Monster. Which is pretty good considering the cost to play Black Knight is 2CP.

Black Knight will then hang out on the field, but when Black Knight starts heading to the Break Zone, Black Knight will Break any Forward or Monster that your opponent controls.

Sure, costs and blah blah blah, but I’ll give this one a try.

Or two.

21-092R – Man in Black

How come Lightning is getting all these good cards? Half of them are just Commons and Rares.

Like Man in Black here. a 4 cost Rare Forward, with an 8K body.

Ok, you’ll say, that’s just an average card. But upon closer inspection, every Attack Phase, Man in Black, allows you to choose 2 Forwards, and unless your opponent pays 3CP, they can”t attack or block this turn.

Allowing you to march Forward as you pile up cards in your opponent’s Damage Zone.

At 5 points of damage, Man in Black also gains +2000 power. Thus making Man in Black a 10K Forward.

12-093L – Xande

Mono-Lightning mean you’re playing Xande.

Xande might be 5CP, but you can reduce that by one if you have Glauca (11-091R) on the field. And if you have 8 Lightning Characters on the field you can grab a Forward from your Break Zone and play it straight to the field. No cost limit on this one. you can even grab those 10 cost Forwards and just play them straight to the field.

I’d say it’s worth having at least one Xande in your deck if you’re playing Mono-Lightning.

21-094C – Shantotto

Hmm.

That is what Shantotto is thinking.

How do I fit into a multi-element deck? One that can play every element, so I can get the most of my Enter the Field ability.

Tyro and Moogles and ….

Worst case scenario you’ll be dealing 3000 damage to one Forward.

Best Case 21,000 damage. I can’t think of any use in trying to find a way to have all the elements one the field, including one Light or Dark Character, but the look on your opponent’s face when you say I’m dealing your Viking 21K damage.

21-095C – Trey EX

Class Zero finally got a card that it needed.

Trey, the Recycler!

A card that will allow you to go into your Break Zone, and grab a Class Zero Cadet.

It’s always good to have a Backup, with a backup plan.

Dynamite Arrow, deal a Forward 9000 damage.

The only bad thing about this card, which isn’t really a bad thing, is that Trey can’t send himself to the Break Zone.

Other than that, you know you’ll be playing Trey in your Cadets deck.

21-096R – Nine

Nine reminds me of Amon from Opus II, which is still a great card.

Once per turn Nine is able to dull a Forward. Reducing your opponent’s numbers down. Allowing you to utilize a bigger attack, than you previously thought you’d be able to pull off. Add Opus II Amon and you’ll double that reduction.

Plus, let’s not forget that Nine has Protect cast on himself, as whenever he takes damage, that damage is reduced by 2000.

Class Zero has gotten some nice cards this set.

21-097R – Neilikka

Are there Brave Exvius decks out there?

Does anyone actually play Brave Exvius decks?

Just wondering, cause if they do they’ll probably play Neilikka here. She gains Haste if you have 2 Brave Exvius Characters on the field.

Neilikka costs 2CP and whenever she attacks she dulls, and deals 3000 damage to one of your opponent’s Forwards.

You can still play this card without any FFBE Characters, dealing damage to a Forward while dulling it is worth the 2CP alone.

21-098R – Palom

I’d say this is a pass.

There are far better Paloms out there.

Sure, this one is Lightning and deals 9000 damage to one of your opponent’s Forwards that cost 3 CP or less.

I’d say the only good thing about this card is that the ability can go off from an EX Burst. And, that’s about it.

Leave this one at home, unless your drafting. Then you might want to use it.

21-099H – Firion

Restrictions, restrictions, restrictions.

What do you expect? If there weren’t restrictions, we’d have so many over powered cards, where the winner would be determined by who goes first.

Or something like that.

I like this card. Should be played in Ice/Lightning. Dull everything in sight, and then you have Firion who can attack twice per turn is your opponent has 4 dull Characters on the field. See it doesn’t even say Forwards. Backups count as well, which more than likely will already be dull do to CP costs and playing cards.

Firion attacks twice, with Brave and +5000 power. making him a Forward with 8000 power. Add in Lulu (1-150R) and Maria (17-128L) and you’re turning Firion into a 11K wrecking machine.

All this for 1CP.

Can’t get more bang, for 1 Crystal Point.

21-100C – Dragoon

I keep telling myself, I should look into these Dragoons. They’re usually the “Cool” Characters. Take Kain, and Fang into consideration. Both great Characters, both are Dragoons. Even though Fang isn’t considered a Dragoon in FFTCG. Not yet any way, but her spear says other wise.

Let’s get back to the card.

Dragoon enters the field and deals either 4000 or 8000 damage to an active Forward. And it all depends on how many Backups you have.

By itself it’s an OK card.

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Posted on January 18, 2023 by Niko — Leave a comment

Resurgence of Power – Mixing Elements

18-107L – Akstar

A is for Akstar, and he learned the 3-step. I was surprised myself but it’s true. Akstar can dance the Waltz. Just look at all those 3s.

First off Akstar comes in and Dull/Freezes all the Forwards, including your own, that don’t cost 3CP.

When he comes in you can also play a 3 cost Ice or Fire Forward onto the field.

And when he attacks or enters the field you deal 1 Forward 3000 damage for all the 3 cost Forwards that you control.
That’s a whole lot of 3s. Even Akstar himself costs 3CP.

Are we getting new deck ideas, where every card in your hand costs 3CP? Can it work? Someone make this happen.

18-108H – Caius

It seems like Caius cards always have a drawback to them.

Sure, you can get a 2 cost 9K body, but you’ll have to discard your hand when he enters the field.

What can we do then?

Just play your whole hand, and then play Caius last.

Let’s look at his abilities. Whenever Caius attacks, you can either have your opponent discard a card, or double the damage Caius deals either to a Forward or your opponent.

He also comes in with Brave. I might have to try this card out and see how it works.

18-109C – Snow

Snow allows you to possibly cast an extra XIII card, when he enters the field and each time he attacks. Though, you’re not drawing the card, you’re actually removing it from the game, and if you don’t cast it this turn, you will lose it.

You basically have a 50/50 chance of casting or removing.

And, at 3 points of damage, Snow gains Haste and +3000 power.

18-110H – Xande

Ok, so, we’ll be playing Xande towards the end of our turn. Trying to get as many cards in the Break Zone so we can deal 9000 damage to as many Forwards as we possibly can. 4CP will already be 2 Characters. And if you play any other cards before hand, count those Characters as well.

You can also play Xande from the Break Zone, for the cost of 2CP and 5 Backups. Is it worth it? or are you better off just playing Xande from your hand?

Those 5 Backups are 5 Forwards that you can deal damage to.

18-111L – Basch

The question is, Is it worth 1 point of damage to search for a Fire or Earth Character?

I’m sure there are plenty of other cards that will search for the card that you’re looking for, without getting a point of damage.

3 points of damage, Basch gains +1000 power and Brave.

5 points of damage, when Basch attacks you deal 8000 damage to 1 Forward.

You do have an incentive to receive that 1 point of damage. Early on it might be a good idea to use it, but later on I would pass.

Or you can just not pay the extra cost, and play Basch as is.

18-112C – Leon

It looks like more and more cards are dealing you a point of damage.

Just how backed up to the wall do you want to be?

Sure, some cards excel when you’re fighting everything off at 6 points of damage, but why would you need to get there in order to hope that you win.

Anyways, Leon here comes in with Brave.

18-113H – Cid Haze

Cid comes in and gives you the ammunition to use his ability on the same turn that he comes in. Reducing the cost of casting your next card by 2. It doesn’t say it cannot become 0, so your next card could be free. After that you play 1 more card.

Once you’ve played your third card, and enter your Attack Phase, you choose 2 of your opponents Characters and you dull and Freeze them.

Farewell to the Blockers that your opponent has set up. At least for this turn.

18-114C – Maria

I would be trying to get Maria onto the field as soon as possible. And then just trying to find a way to send her to the Break Zone.

Worst thing that could happen is you block a Forward and your opponent discards a card.

Or, you block a Forward and activate all your Characters. Win/Win

18-115L – Melvien

I would put Melvien in the same category as Opus XVI Tidus. Even if she is put in the Break Zone, your opponent will never really be able to truly get rid of her.

Every time Melvien is put into the Break Zone, you can simply remove her from the game and put 2 Warp Counters on her. 2 turns later she comes back into the field.

And, every time she enters the field, you can Activate 2 of your Backups and Freeze up to 2 of your opponents Backups.
Not much else to say, but I like this card.

18-116L – Sephiroth

Kingdom Hearts Sephiroth is back. And, once again with Back Attack.

No, I didn’t plan that.

Sephiroth is coming, and he has entered Attack Mode. One Winged Angel, Demi-God, and whatever else you’d like to add.
When Sephiroth enters the field he Breaks 1 dull Forward.

And every time he attacks, your opponent will either discard 1 card, or you can Break a Forward of cost 2 or less.
Sephiroth will be leaving bodies left and right.

18-117H – Lightning

The Savior is here. For your deck, not your opponents.

Lightning comes in with Haste and starts attacking left and right, dulling, Breaking and dealing damage across the board leaving no Forward unscathed.

Well, that’s what we’re hoping for.

Every time Lightning attacks, you can pay 1CP to dull a Forward, and then pay 2CP to Break a dull Forward. Which in itself is a good reason to play this card.

I shall be trying out this card. At some point.

And if you don’t want to attack, you can use Lightning’s 3rd ability and have your opponent discard a card.

18-118C – Laguna

High cost to play Laguna, but he might be worth it.

When Laguna enters the field or attacks you can a) Deal an active Forward 5000 damage. or b) Dull a Forward.

I’m thinking there are plenty of cards that can chip away at multiple Forwards, chip damage is making a comeback. Or, maybe I’m just beginning to notice it. I can see FFVIII decks becoming stronger. Ever since Opus XVI. And now with Seifer, Fujin and Raijin, there should be plenty to play with.

Let’s not forget Satellite Laser. Well nothing to crazy, but you can deal 9000 damage to a Forward.

18-119C – Chelinka

Need to break some of these new Monsters that came out this set? Look no further than Chelinka. Chelinka Breaks a Monster when she enters the field.

You can throw her in the new Noctis deck and you’re set.

18-120H – Tifa

Tifa comes in a has Protect already cast on her, reducing the damage dealt to her by 2000. And, that’s a good thing. For when Tifa enters the field she goes 1-on-1 with another Forward. You can choose any Forward you would like.

Meteor Strike, is also pretty good in itself. You are able to deal 8000 damage to 3 Forwards. Cost might be a little high, but it can be worth it.

18-121L – Fran

I think I said earlier that Sky Pirates will be making a comeback. (Not in this post, probably in Wind.) And, Fran here proves it. Whenever Fran attacks, or enters the field, you can play a FF XII Character of cost 4 or less from your hand onto the field. And, Fran only costs 3CP!

Think about it, you’ll be able to build your offense faster than what you would have. A free card once per turn.

And if Balthier is on the field, Fran gains +1000 power and Brave.

Yes, I shall try out a Sky Pirate deck, all thanks to Fran.

Thank you, Fran.

18-122H – Vanille

2 cost Forward that can cancel an auto-ability. We can never have to many cards like this. Vanille is more of an insurance card. I don’t think you’d be attacking with Vanille unless you knew the attack will go through. But, you’re better off just keeping her active, in order to dull her, when an auto-ability goes off.

Sure, it won’t out right cancel it, your opponent will need to pay an extra 2CP for it to go through.

And when you’re done with Vanille, you can just chuck her to the Break Zone to grab a Backup.

18-123L – Sonon EX

Getting rid of your own Backups is always a plus. Especially when they come in do their on entry ability and then do nothing, but sit around.

Sonon comes in and allows you to remove 2 Backups instead of paying the cost. After that you can replay 2 new Backups and hopefully get another on entry ability.

He can also come in with Back Attack, although I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody actually use Back Attack, but you can. You can even remove the 2 Backups during your opponents turn.

Sonon also comes in with an EX Burst, hopefully helping your Forward that is blocking or attacking overcome the other Forward.

I can see some use with Sonon.

18-124C – Billy Bob

Billy Bob comes in and let’s you grab a Forward from the Break Zone. Any Forward. Doesn’t have to be a certain Job, Element, or Category. A little different than Search your deck, but will still see plenty of use.

Best part is that Billy Bob is a Common.

After that Billy Bob just hangs out on the field with an 8K body.

18-125H – Onion Knight

Onion Knight has a lot going on for him.

First off he enters the field and either Breaks a damaged Forward, or return’s a Forward to your opponents hand. Either way your getting rid of one of your opponent’s Forwards.

The best thing though, when Onion Knight is put into the Break Zone, you can pay 1CP and search for another Onion Knight and play it onto the field.

Very Ultros if you ask me.

18-126L – Lightning

Another card that doesn’t want to go away.

After Lightning is sent to the Break Zone, you can pay the 2CP, remove a Lightning and an Odin from the Break Zone and then you can play Lightning onto the field.

Sure, it’s the same cost as paying Lightning on to the field, but what if you don’t have a Lightning in your hand. This way you can just simply play her, straight from the Break Zone.

She also comes in with Haste, dulls a Forward when she enters and you draw 1 card.

What’s not to like?

18-127C – Lilisette

Some of these Commons are actually really good.

Take Lilisette her, she Breaks a low cost Forward when she enters the field.

After that she can dance. And, boy does she dance. Once she’s done with her Sensual Dance, your opponents Forwards will all be week at the knees, and will have lost some of there power. Some will have lost it all.

18-128H – Arciela

How many of your cards do you want to show your opponent?

Depending on the answer, you can either deal 7000 damage to a Forward, draw a card, or both.

But do you really want to show your opponent your hand just to cast the abilities?

I think I’ll take a pass on this one.

18-129C – Jecht

Jecht is just a Common, but we already said we have some good Commons this set. This is another one. Once he enters the field you can pay the extra cost and give Jecht Haste, Brave and First Strike. With the 9000 body he can lay waste to a Forward, or deal your opponent a point of damage.

We also have Jecht Beam, that deals a Forward 8000 damage.

Decent card.

18-130L – Firion

Low cost, low power. But, if you have at least 5 Characters on the field Firion, gains Haste and whenever he attacks you draw a card.

I don’t know if you’ll be attacking much with Firion, but you can discard a card and give him +2000 power. Depending on what element the card is you can either give Firion First Strike, or activate him.

Not the greatest Legend, but could see some use.

Posted on April 6, 2021 by Niko — Leave a comment

Opus XIII – Fire Review

13-001R – Irvine

Weighing in at 2CP-5k. Irvine is an OK Forward, but his ability to deal 5000 damage to another forward, just by putting him in the Break Zone. You can deal unsuspecting damage to your opponents forwards that have just attacked. Might see some play, but this one is not for me.

13-002L – Akstar

The Fire Legend. Actually, just a Mercenary. His enter ability allows you to trigger an EX
Burst in your Damage Zone. Depending on what is in your Damage Zone, will decide if that ability is any good or not. You’ll probably just end up holding that card until you find something good to use. At Damage 3, you can search for 1 FFBE character other than Akstar and add it to your hand. Plenty of cards to choose from, but I would pick 13-017H Rain. I would say that Akstar is a glorified searcher.

13-003C – Imaginary Soldier

Cloud here, … well he was pretending … (Just like I pretend to know what I’m talking about.)

Basically, you can swarm your field with Manikins, just like Chocobos. But the more Manikins you have Cloud … I mean Imaginary Soldier just gets stronger. It would be pretty easy to pair this one with a couple of Manikins from this set and Opus II and III, just to make him a power house. And depending on when he enters the field, you might be able to Break your opponents strongest Forward. Except Feolthanos and probably a handful more, but it’s a start.

13-004C – Clavat

This one won’t see play in a Mono-Fire Deck. You don’t need Big brains to figure that out, but Fire/Ice or Fire/Lightning could work. Well, duh. That’s what the card says. Maybe throw Clavat in a Fire/Ice VI Deck. Or alongside a Class Zero Moogle or .. just don’t see much play for this one. Prove me Wrong.

13-005C – Black Mage

This card will work if you splash a single Lightning or Water card. Because then you’ll now exactly what you’ll end up with. Other than that. NEXT.

13-006C – Xande

Xande searches for Xande (10-008L) and at Damage 5, Xande plays 3 cards onto the field from your Break Zone. Nuff said. You can also choose to receive a point of damage to get you closer to 5 points of Damage.

13-007R – Cinque

Cinque deserves a spot in your Cadet Deck, play her on the field with Warrior (5-014C) and Lebreau (1-030R), and Cinque could be swinging for 12K with Brave. Break a forward on top of that.

13-008R – Vermilion Bird l’Cie Caetuna

I don’t see this one as being better than Vermilion Bird l’Cie Caetuna (6-010H), but in a few circumstances might be able to break one of your opponents forwards.

13-009H – Selphie

Make way for the Multi-Element forwards that don’t have Haste, because they now have Haste, if you decide to pay the extra Fire Crystal Point. 2CP/5k decent for what it is, and The End. “This is the end. Beautiful friend.” You can sing that song when you cast this ability.

13-010C – Onion Knight (FFT)

Have three of these tucked away at the end of the game and you’ll have 3 Forwards with 9k and Haste. Go in for a quick strike and you might make it out alive. If not you’ll have a couple of meat shields to take some Damage.

13-011C – Iron Giant

1CP/7k body. Monster that turns into a forward at 3 Damage. A cheap forward, with an enter ability that might, but probably won’t, break a forward.

13-012R – Bahamut EX

FREE BAHAMUT!!! FREE SUMMON!!! Late in the game, if you’re at 5 points of damage you can basically summon Bahamut EX for free. Yep, because his cost is reduced by 3, if you have Fang (1-020R) on the field his cost is reduced by 2. Although it can’t become 0. That’s where Mootie (11-012C) comes in. Just Dull Mootie and activate it once Bahamut is cast.

FREE BAHAMUT!!! FREE SUMMON!!! #freebahamut

13-013C – Palom

Cheap Backup with an enter the field ability. Needs Porom to be any good, but then there are a few other Palom cards I would rather play than this one.

13-014R – Larkeicus

A Cheaper Deathgaze (IX) (8-056R), but Larkeicus might be harder to remove. I like it, Fire/Wind coming soon. Deathgaze (IX) and Larkeicus Tag Team Champions of the …. It might work.

13-015C – Luneth

Need a quick attack, Luneth is your man. Gives Haste to a recently entered Forward. Well not any forward. Just a Standard Unit, or Warrior of Light. Gives you less of a choice. Now if you’d be able to cast it on Braska’s Final Aeon (11-015L) or Neo Exdeath (12-110L) that would be a different story.

13-016H – Rubicante

Just add Golbez (13-115L). Simple counter attack after Rubicante is put into the Break Zone. Up to 8k damage.

13-017H – Rain

The real Fire Legend in this set. Just like Lani was in Opus XII. (Well, that’s just my opinion. It should be your as well.) Rain gets cheaper the more backups you have. And the more Backups you have make Rain even more powerful. Up to 5k damage to a Forward every time he attacks, you’ll want to be swinging away A.S.A.P and when you have 3 points of Damage, he’ll also come in with Haste, and deal 5k damage, then attack and deal 5k damage. Might be a quick way to get rid of Illua (5-099H).

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