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Hidden Legends of Lightning

24-073H – Valigarmanda

Lightning is kicking off things with a Summon, and a beautiful Full Art as well.

Valigarmanda is a 4 cost Summon that comes in dulls a Forward, and Freezes it as well.

That Forward loses 9000 power until the end of the turn, and then Valigarmanda also deals it 9000 damage.

99.99% of the time it will break the Forward that Valigarmanda is targeting.

At the very least, Valigarmanda will disable that Forward for this turn.

24-074C – Odin EX

Odin is ready to break a Forward.

Any Forward?

Yes, any Forward, but the cost might be a bit high for some Forwards.

It’s 5CP to cast Odin, plus the top card of your deck times the CP required to play the Forward that you’re looking to break.

Odin is useful in certain situations, but why not just play the Opus I Odin that will break any Forward for 7CP flat.

No extra charge.

I’ll pass.

24-075C – Guardian

I just realized we have similar Backups in every element.

Guardian comes in and you draw a card.

After that, depending on if you have at least 4 Lightning Backups on the field, Guardian will allow you to choose 2 Forward, and dull them.

Other than that, Guardian is just a simple Backup that will give you a Crystal Point each turn.

But, you already know that.

24-076C – Juggler

Wicked Clowns?

Juggler, the Backup you knew that you might need.

Juggler will come in and hang out until you need to get rid of a 2 cost Forward.

Juggler only costs 2CP, the only draw back if you call it that, is that a Lightning Forward needs to enter your field, in order for Juggler’s ability to go off.

I see some use for this.

Probably, more than some.

24-077H – The Emperor

Who would have thought, that the only reason the Emperor is here is to gain Crystals.

Look at it. The Emperor comes in you gain a Crystal. If your opponent has a Crystal, gain a Crystal. That’s two from the get go.

Add in one more Crystal from another Backup, and you’ll be able to use The Emperor’s second ability.

But, first let’s take a look at the first one. Or, the top one.

Break a Forward that costs 4CP or less.

Yeah, that’s pretty straight forward. Nothing groundbreaking, but very useful.

Now let’s take a look at the second ability.

Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Do you see that? Break all the Forwards and the Monsters opponent controls. That would wipe your opponent’s whole board, leaving it wide open.

If you don’t win the game after that ability goes off, then I don’t know what to tell you.

Plus, we get a Full Art version of this card in the Prerelease Kits.

24-078R – Cidolfus (XVI)

3 cost Forward that allows you to search for a Lightning Summon.

And, that is pretty much it with Cidolfus.

You’ll get a 5K body that sticks around on the field.

Other than that what else is there?

Oh yeah, Priming.

Cidolfus Primes into Ramuh.

What does Ramuh do?

Guess we’ll have to wait to find out.

24-079L – Jack Garland

Jack is ready to turn your opponent’s front line upside down.

All of your opponent’s Forward must attack, and they must block.

This will either leave their front line open for your attacks, or all of your opponent’s Forwards will be broken.
Just make sure you at least have bodies on your field to block the attacks your opponent will be throwing at you.

And, every time one of your opponent’s Characters is put into the Break Zone you will gain a Crystal.

Sooner or later, you’ll have enough Crystals to use the Emperor’s ability to wipe out your opponent.

I’ll take 3.

Full arts preferably.

24-080R – Chime

Here we go, the King’s Minister is here to give you a great deal.

Buy one Get on Free.

Chime comes in and you reveal the top 4 cards of your deck, and play a Character of 2 or less onto the field.

I’d say it’s worth taking a chance on this.

Either way Chime is only 2CP, and you can get some decent value if you find a 2CP Character in the top four cards.

After that, Chime is a 5K body, ready to be taken out, just so you can play Chime once again, and hopefully find another 2CP Character.

24-081R – Noel

This Shadow Hunter is attacking from the shadows.

Noel comes in and he starts going to town. Striking with precision and going back to the shadows from which he came.

Yes, Noel only has 3000 power, but you won’t need to worry about that unless you decide to block with him.

Noel’s attacks will go through, just because he cannot be blocked.

I’ll take 3.

Throw them into your FFXIII deck, and once this Noel is gone, you can play another Noel.

Take your pick. Rebellion’s Call, From Nightmares or Hidden Trials.

All of them will do well.

24-082C – Vivi

Vivi is ready to come in and deal some damage to your opponent’s Forwards.

2000 across the board isn’t much, but let’s not forget about Summons that break damaged Forwards.

Or abilities that dull damaged Forwards, and what not.

Plus, if there is already a damaged Forward on the field, you can use Vivi’s ability and deal it an additional 4000 damage.

After everything is said and done, Vivi sticks around with a 5K body.

24-083H – Firion

Let me start by saying, if you’re playing Lightning you’re playing Firion.

Why? First off, you can only pay with CP produced by Lightning Backups.

Now, once Firion comes in you can pay 2CP more, and give him Haste and First Strike.

Then you can go ahead and attack with Firion.

Now, it’s time to cast Drain. Break a Forward, Activate Firion, and attack one more time.

Firion is going all out here. Time to start building that Rebel deck.

24-084R – Behemoth

Let’s up the stakes.

Behemoth is just that a Behemoth.

No power, unless you make it a Forward, but when a Forward of yours attacks, you can put Behemoth into the Break Zone and give a Forward the ability to deal 2 points of damage to your opponent.

Now, you can give that buff to Noel, who can’t be blocked. Or what about Firion, who can attack twice this turn.

And, that’s just 2 Forwards from this set, think about all of the other cards that can make use of Behemoth here.

24-085C – Mid (XVI)

I like this.

And, it’s only 2CP to bring Mid in.

She’ll stay on the board, and whenever you’d like you can put her in the Break Zone and grab a Forward. 4CP or less and add it to your hand.

That right there would have made this card playable.

But, Mid isn’t done. No. Not at all.

If you grab Cidolfus from the Break Zone, you’ll have a chain of Events that will start to go off one by one.

Let’s see how that will go.

You put Mid into the Break Zone, grab Cidolfus and play him straight to the field. Cidolfus searches for a Lightning Summon. Cidolfus Primes into Ramuh. Ramuh casts a Summon from your hand without paying the cost, and deals one of your opponent’s Forwards 8000 damage.

All that for 2CP plus the cost to Prime into Ramuh.

24-086C – Lightning

Coming in with a 9K body, Lightning is the prefect Meat Shield for your front lines.

You’ll also be able to discard a card and give Lightning Haste and a +1K buff giving her a 10K body, that’ll be tough to break.
And that pretty much covers everything.

You’ll pay a total of 6CP, which includes the discarded card, for a Forward that’s ready to go, from the get go.

 

24-087C – Ranan

Another Warrior of the Crystal.

When Ranan comes in, he grants another Warrior of the Crystal, Haste.

And, that’s about it.

I’ll have to check with the other Warriors of the Crystal to actually see how this deck runs.

 

 

24-088R – Ramuh

Coming in at 5CP, but thankfully you won’t be paying 5CP, you’ll be Priming into Ramuh.

Ramuh comes in and you can cast a Summon from your hand, any element will do, and you won’t have to pay the cost to cast it.

If the Summon you cast is a Lightning Summon, you will deal 8000 damage to a Forward of your choosing, as long as it’s active.

I’d say it’s still worth paying the 5CP to cast Ramuh.

24-089C – Ramza

Ramza stands alone. While leaning up on a tree.

Decent artwork, taken from the game, but what about the card?

If Ramza is sent to the Break Zone, you gain a Crystal. Ok, not bad. You can probably just throw Ramza in just to block and gain a Crystal with him.

And if you need to give Ramza a quick buff, you can remove 2 cards in your Break Zone from the game.

Not bad, for 3CP.

24-090L – Leon

Leon being Leon, almost like Kain going back and forth between the Rebels and the Empire.

Leon comes right in for 1CP, and deals a damaged Forward 4000 damage. Possibly breaking it.

Your opponent has the choice of taking control over Leon, by targeting him with an ability. Once Leon is targeted he will switch sides. You can get Leon back by targeting him with your own abilities.

But, why would you?

You actually want your opponent to have control over Leon, because if they don’t have any other Rebels on their field, Leon will deal them 1 point of damage at the end of their turn.

And, at the end of yours as well.

This is a card that will eat up your opponent from the inside.

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Hidden Legends of Ice

24-019R – Umaro

I don’t see why anyone would play Umaro on to the field, when his ability goes into play when Umaro is in your hand.
For 3CP you can discard Umaro from your hand a break a dull Forward.

That’s it. Plain and Simple.

I mean you can play Umaro on to the field for 2CP, but that’s about it. He’ll just stay on the field producing 1CP per turn.

I’d say Umaro is more like a 3 cost Summon, and he should be treated as such.

24-020C – Ulmia

Can you here the Harps playing your song?

Ulmia is ready to Freeze one of your opponent’s Characters.

And if you got another Final Fantasy XI Forward on the field, Ulmia will make your opponent discard a card.

Ulmia will make Anselmo proud.

“Walk on home, boy!”

Maybe she can take Dime’s spot. Put some Distortion on that Harp.

24-021H – Kurasame

Deja vu?

I think we’ve seen this one before.

This time Kurasame is a Hero though, instead of a Legend.

Kurasame comes in and Freezes your opponent’s Characters. How Many? Depends on how many Backups you have on the field.

And depending on if your opponent has at least 4 dull Characters on the field, Kurasame will draw you a card every time he attacks.

You can run this one and the Hidden Hope Kurasame, and you’ll have 6 Kurasames that will Freeze your opponent’s Characters.

24-022H – Gogo

Gogo is back!

And s/he is better than ever.

Whatever FFVI Deck you’re playing, just throw Gogo into your deck. 3 copies will be perfect.

First line of attack, play Gogo, and protect Gogo at all costs.

Why?

Gogo casts Reraise on one FFVI Forward once per turn.

If a Final Fantasy VI Forward is put into the Break Zone, once per turn Gogo will bring them back!

If that’s not a great card, I don’t know what is.

24-023C – G Deleter

A backup that causes a splash.

Why a splash?

Because G Deleter is Ice splashing in Water.

G Deleter comes in and you draw a card, and if you have 4 Ice Backups, you can dull and Freeze one of your opponent’s Characters.

Not bad for 3CP, and you get 2CP back once he enters the field.

24-024R – Shiva (XVI)

Shiva comes in and you can Break 2 dull Forwards.

And at the end of each of your turns if 2 or more of your opponent’s Forwards are sent to the Break Zone, your opponent discards a card.

You get all of this and a Forward with 9000 power.

You’ll probably just want to Prime into Shiva instead of paying the 7CP.

 

24-025L – Genesis

First off the card is awesome. The art, the abilities and that we’ll finally have a great card to start off a SOLDIER deck.

Genesis comes right in for 5CP. Yeah, it’s your standard 5CP for a 9k body, but you get to choose from 1 of 3 abilities.

Have your opponent discard a card, choose 2 Characters to Dull and Freeze, or have your next SOLDIER’s cost be 3CP less.

The best part is that, you can choose more than once. Every time a SOLDIER enters the field one of Genesis’s abilities will
trigger, allowing you to choose which one you would like to do.

You should keep a playset of Genesis until Tears of the Planet comes out, that way you can use it in a Ice/Lightning deck with that Zack card that was spoiled for the next set.

24-026H – Zalera, the Death Seraph

4CP to break a Forward.

Not bad, when you consider that Summons that break Forwards come in at a high cost.

Zalera does hit a little different. You just choose the cost of the Forward. 4 or less, or 5 or more. After that your opponent will choose which Forward to break.

I wouldn’t say that this is a great card, it is good card, it’s just the chance of using it and getting what you want out of this Summon is slim.

Unless they only have 1 Forward that is 5CP or more, then you’ll know that you’ll hit your target.

24-027C – Shantotto

Shantotto coming in with a trombone, and I’m ready to crack a joke about rust. But, I’ll keep my mouth shut this time.

Shantotto reduces the cost of casting your Summons by 1, add Opus I Yuna to the mix, and all of your Summons cost will be reduced by 2.

And, that’s not all. Shantotto has the ability to Dull/Freeze a Forward if you have already cast a Summon this turn.

If I was a heavy Summon player, I would be playing a Yuna/Shantotto Combo.

24-028R – Jill

Lots of cost reducing in this set.

Jill is no different.

Jill’s cost is reduced by 2 if Clive or Torgal is on the field.

That means for 1CP you can Dull/Freeze one of your opponent’s Forwards, and you’re still left with a 7K body.

After that, you can Prime into Shiva (XVI) and break 2 dull Forwards.

I think we’ll have to see Priming in action before I get excited about it.

24-029C – Squall

Squall acting like he’s Opus IV Viking.

Getting things done when he enters the field and when he leaves the field.

Squall won’t draw you a card, but he will deal a dull Forward 5000 damage. Which can be more than enough to Break it.

And, let’s not forget Rough Divide, which gives Squall +1000 power and First Strike.

And it’s only 3CP!

Given Squall’s 8000 power, it would normally have been 4CP.

This is a decent Common to have.

24-030C – Terra

Theatrhythm is going strong in this set.

Terra comes in and grabs a Summon from the Break Zone.

This also comes off of an EX Burst.

You can then cast that Summon for one less Crystal Point with Shantotto.

After that Terra sticks around as a 5K body, ready to block. Or, attack.

 

24-031R – Torgal

Well here is the main card of your Final Fantasy XVI engine.

Torgal, the Wolf.

I don’t know much about Torgal, except for the fact that most of your FFXVI Forwards can be paid with CP from any element. This includes Priming costs as well.

Being a Backup, it is a little harder to have Torgal sent to the Break Zone, but, there are a couple of cards that can break Backups, but I think Torgal will be just fine.

This will be played.

And, it’s only 2CP.

24-032R – Piscodaemon

Why do I always go to write Psycho Demon when I’m trying to write Piscodaemon?

2 cost Monster that can be sent to the Break Zone when one of your Forwards attack.

And when Piscodaemon is put in the Break Zone, you can choose 2 Characters and Dull/Freeze them.

After that in your Main Phase 2, you can bring in Shiva (XVI) and break those 2 dull Characters. If they’re Forwards. Not Backups.

“Psycho Demon, Qu’est-ce que c’est?”

24-033L – Bhunivelze

Bhunivelze is back. It’s been a long wait since Crystal Radiance to get a new Bhunivelze card.

I can see this card being played in a Monster deck, especially if all those Monsters have effects that go off when the Monsters are sent into the Break Zone.

And, for every Monster or Forward that you’ll put in the Break Zone, your opponent will choose 1 Forward they control and send it to the Break Zone.

Mass Extinction going on here.

This could be Game Over for your opponent.

After all is said and done, you’ll still have a body with 10,000 power.

Just in case your opponent survives the onslaught.

24-034C – Velis EX

Well, this confirms it.

Warriors of the Crystal will be a thing here.

At least for a month or 2, just so everybody can try it out.

All you need is some Crystals to be able to bring in all the Warriors of the Crystal into play without worrying about color fixing.

Let’s talk about Velis now.

Whenever Velis or a WotC (imagine that) comes indull and Freeze one of your opponent’s Forwards.

It will be a bunch of abilities going off at the same time.

I believe it’ll be fun.

24-035C – Mateus (XII RW) EX

2 cost Summon.

2 choices.

Which one will you pick.

Break a dull Forward that costs 3CP or less.

Or.

Dull a Forward, Draw a Card.

Choice is yours.

Ex Burst as well.

24-036C – Nu Mou

Nu Mou, just chilling in your back line until an Ice Forward enters your field.

After that you can put Nu Mou into the Break Zone, and you can Dull and Freeze one of your opponent’s Forwards.

It seems like all the Ice cards were Dull and Freeze and dull and Freeze some more.

But that’s what Ice does.

Now you have more cards to choose from.

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Hidden Trial – By Water

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23-096C – Akpallu

Pay 1CP to draw a card.

Not bad, at all. If you don’t have anything going on in your hand, might as well play Akpallu to draw another card.

And after Akpallu is on the field, not doing anything, just sitting there, you can then use Akpallu to pay the cost for Fencer (XIII)’s ability and Break one of your opponent’s Forwards.

There are more cards that need another Monster to pay for the cost to use their ability.

I’d say Akpallu is a decent card.

23-097C – Altennia

A simple add-on to your Knight deck.

When a Knight attacks, Altennia gives a Forward +2000 power. Now what will happen when all of your Knights attack? You’ll be handing out +2000 power like candy on Halloween.

It’s like adding 200 horse power to your Knight engine.

 

 

 

23-098C – Alphinaud

Alphinaud is Alisae’s Backup, who will save her from the Break Zone in order to do whatever Alisaie has to do.

If we take Alisaie from Hidden Trials, it’s a pretty decent combo.

Once you have an Alisaie in your Break Zone, you’ll use Alphianaud’s ability and play Alisaie onto the field. Once Alisaie is on the field you can search for a card that has the same name as one of the cards in your Break Zone, and add it to your hand.

Yeah, that’s pretty much it.

Not bad.

23-099C – Urianger

Urianger is already flipping the cards to see what Scions he can find.

I mean yes, .. maybe . . not really.

Depends on what you’re playing.

You can pull this out if you’re drafting Hidden Trials and you’re trying to run Scions.

Other than that, there are far better Uriangers out there.

 

 

23-100L – Young Excenmille

Coming in with 5000 power, Young Excenmille surely loves his Crystals.

You’ll need a constant supply of Crystals to keep Young Excenmille well fed.

Feed him once and he cannot be chosen by your opponents abilities, and his Power will become 9000 until he is sent to the Break Zone.

Feed him once more along with a Water CP, and you can search for a Water Forward of cost 3 or less, and play them straight to the field.

I like it.

23-101C – Dancer

Last Chance to Dance.

Dancer, just like the rest of the Elemental, Class Action, 5 Backup plan, Backups is better played when Dancer is the 5th Backup that enters your field.

When he does, as the 5th Backup on your field, all of your opponent’s Forwards lose 4000 power.

You might break a couple if you’re lucky.

If not, Dancer just chooses one of your opponent’s Forwards, and they lose 2000 power.

23-102R – Gizamaluke

A Monster, the sort of searches for a Monster.

Gizamaluke, comes in and you reveal the top 3 cards of your deck, and grab a Monster, if you find one there. If you do, you just got a Gizamaluke for Free.

Gizamaluke also turns into a Forward if you have another Monster on the field. Technically you can get a 0CP Forward with an 8K body.

 

 

 

23-103C – Quina

My Bombs will get that much stronger.

Because once per turn, whenever a Monster enters the field, I get to draw a card. Doesn’t matter whose turn it is. If a Monster enters the field you get to draw 1 card.

And let’s not forget about the Frog Drop. (Just don’t catch them all, cause then they can’t reproduce and you won’t be able to get 99 frogs.) Once Frog Drop goes off, 1 Forward will lose 3000 power for each Monster that is on the board.

How many Quina’s can you fit in your deck?

23-104H – Witch of the Fens

Here’s a decent card for your Monster deck.

Witch of the Fens comes in, and if you already have a Monster on the field, you can draw a card.

And, let’s not forget about that ability.

Put a Monster in the Break Zone, and one of your opponent’s Forwards will lose 7000 power until the end of the turn.

How many Monsters do you have in that hand of yours?

23-105C – Defender

What there’s no Water SOLDIER Candidate? All we get is a cheap knockoff? And, I was looking forward to making a 6 elemental SOLDIER Candidate deck. Guess I can’t do that now.

*shrugs

Defender can probably be played on his own. No need for the other SOLDIER Candidates. (But, the other ones could be played in their respective element as well.) As before, if you have at least 2 Standard Units in your Break Zone, SOLDI.. . I mean Defender gains +3000 power.

2CP/8K, the true definition of a cheap Meat Shield. And, we mean that in a good way.

Meat Shield here, also does not receive any damage that is less than it’s power. He’ll take a beating and you still won’t be able to get rid of him.

23-106H – Tataru

Tataru pays for Tataru during your next turn.

As long as you have another 3 Scions of the Seventh Dawn on the field, you’ll be able to dull Tataru for an extra card.

And, that is pretty much it. Don’t like your hand? Dull Tataru and hope for the best.

 

 

 

 

23-107L – Frimelda

Frimelda should just get thrown in your Warrior of Light deck.

It’s as simple as that, and if I needed to tell you that, well … You’re Welcome.

This card is pretty straight “Forward”. (No, that just came out, i didn’t think of that.)

You’ll need at least 4 different elements on the field in order to make use of Frimelda. Water can be the 4th element you play when she comes in, and her ability will go off as soon as you enter your Attack Phase. It will also trigger when your opponent goes into their Attack Phase as well.

Double Trouble.

You can either play a Forward that costs 4CP or less onto the field, or you can have one of your opponent’s Forwards lose 2000 power for each element that is on your board.

Choice is yours, bulk up your defenses, or get rid of theirs.

23-108R – Fourchenault

Who would have thunk that Fourchenault would cost Four CP? And, if you have Alisaie and Alphinaud on the field Fourchenault is a Free Play!

Fourchenault’s Enter the Field abilities are great and decent. One is better than the other, but the other has it’s use as well.

First one, return one of your opponent’s Forwards to their hand. Which is good, getting rid of a Forward, even if temporarily is always good. As long as they don’t have an enter the field ability.

The other is Activate a Scion of the Seventh Dawn.

And, when all is said and done, you’ll have an 8K body on the board.

23-109C – Portia

The more I see new Dancers the more I ponder the idea of making a deck. Yes, let’s add one more to the list of decks that I will never make.

For a Common, Portia is a great card. First of all she pays for herself, as if you already have a couple Dancers on the field, you will draw a card. You’ll have a no cost 5K body on the field ready to go to work.

And if you have 4 Dancers on the field, You’ll be able to send one of your opponent’s Forward to the bottom of their deck.

Let’s make Mayakov proud.

23-110R – Porom

Porom, the other half of the twin mages.

Same thing here, Porom is a free play if you have Palom already on the field.

And, just like Porom she comes in with 5000 power.

When Porom comes in you can place 2 EXP Counters on a Forward, and that Forward gains a shield of sorts. Damage dealt to that Forward will be reduced by 2000.

You’ll be able to splash one or the other of these twins, as there is no cost to pay, if the other is on the field.

2-111C/15-123C – Oracle

It’s straight from the (Re)printers!

And, a Copy/Paste from Dawn of Heroes.

“Didn’t we say recycling center earlier? Maybe we meant the Printers, reprinting cards and such.

Not that I have anything against reprints, I just would rather have a new card that does something similar instead of having reprints.

Anyways, Oracle gives you a Crystal when she comes in, and reduces the next damage dealt to a Forward by 1000.”

2-112H – Young Rahal

Rahal! Where are those Crystals!? Young Excenmille is hungry for those Crystals.

And, that is his job. Feed Yound Excenmille to bring out more Water Forwards onto the field.

How is Younf Rahal going to feed Young Exenmille? You gain 2 Crystals when he enters the field.

And that’s not all. When Young Rahal enters the field or attacks, all your Water Forwards gain +2000 power.

Combine this with Palom and Porom, and you have a decent front line, for almost half the cost.

23-113R – Leviathan

Finally, there is a way to get the one card you needed that ended up in the Damage Zone.

Not only that, but Leviathan let’s you draw a card as well. Only downside would be that you have to return another card back to the Damage Zone, but you probably have a card you don’t need in your hand.

This is one of the better cards in this set.

Leviathan is your insurance policy.

 

23-114R – Lilisette

“A live wire, barely a beginner
But just watch that lady go
She’s on fire, ’cause dancin’ gets her higher
Than anything else she knows”

David Lee Roth, might have been singing about Lilisette, and I wouldn’t blame him.

Lilisette comes in and searches for a Dancer, cause well, it takes 2 to Tango. And, that also comes off as an EX Burst.

Other than that, you have Rousing Samba. An ability that gives all of your Forwards +2000 power, and all of your opponent’s Forwards lose 2000 power, tilting the dance floor in your favor. At least until the end of the turn.

But, that turn can be a Break or Make moment.

The only thing that I would change with this card is the art.

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Hidden Trials – By Lightning

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23-077H – Azul

The Tsivets are coming strong, and Azul is about to kick some butts.

Azul has Counter, he will Counter any damage dealt to him to one of your opponent’s Forwards.

For the cost of 1 Crystal, Azul can also cast Berserk on a Forward. And, when he does, Azul gains +2000 power.

I’d say that’s a Crystal well spent.

 

23-078C – Alisae

Alisae is like a bloodhound. She’ll help you find the card you need, but only if you can show her what you’re looking for. And, the only way to do that is to already have a card with the same name in your Break Zone.

The only thing Alisae can’t search for will be Standard Units and Summons, everything else is fair game.

I’m sure she has some use, but there are plenty of other cards that’ll search better then she does.

 

23-079R – Estinien

I mean he’s no Opus VI Estinien, or Dawn of Heroes either, but Estinien is still a decent card to play.

Coming in with Haste, Estinien has the ability to attack from the get go, but you already knew that. So, why would we mention that?

It’s simple. Every time Estinien attacks, you get to grab a Scion Forward from your Break Zone. Making Estinien a great play, right away.

And, that’s not all!

At 3 points of Damage Estinien gains +1000 power. Add in Opus I Lulu and Hidden Trials Krile, and you’ll have a Forward that attacks for 11,000.

And this is just a Rare card.

23-080R – Odin EX

If this comes off of an EX Burst it’s great.

If it doesn’t it’s too expensive, and the Opus I Odin, along with the Opus I reprint from Opus VIII. is a couple of CP less.

Why would you play this one? Because you can cast it for 3CP if you remove 6 Lightning cards from your Break Zone. If you have no way of getting them back, then go right ahead.

Breaking a Forward still is a broken Forward your opponent can’t use.

23-081C – Puppetmaster

2 Cost Elemental Lightning Backup.

Puppetmaster is ready for action with his Puppet right behind him ready for orders.

Puppetmaster comes in and dulls a Forward. As with some of the other Backups of this set, he has greater power when you have a full line of Backups on the field. And, when that happens, Puppetmaster dulls all of your opponent’s Forwards.

I’m noticing a lot of great plays being brought in towards the mid-end game.

 

 

23-082H – King

Is this a new thing, where we remove cards to reduce the cost of casting a card?

Because King turns into a 1 cost Hero, if you remove 4 cards from your Break Zone.

And, whenever King attacks, you can discard 2 cards and Break a Forward of your choosing.

King’s cost evens out as the 4CP you save from removing the 4 Characters from your Break Zone.

There’s plenty of ways to get rid of cards, Lightning might become even more fast paced.

23-083H – Queen

Your Savior, Your Queen.

This is a great card. Cadets will be one the rise solely based off of this card.

At the small cost of removing 3 cards from your Break Zone. Queen will give a Class Zero Cadet a 2000 power buff, plus damage dealt to that Forward by your opponent’s abilities will become 0.

This card kinda makes me want to remake that Cadets deck I had made back during Opus XIII.

23-084C – G’raha Tia

At 5CP and 9000 power, G’raha Tia is just a regular Common card.

When he enters the field, and you have another G’raha Tia in the Break Zone, you can remove it from the game and deal 4000 damage to 2 of your opponent’s Forwards. You will also dull them as well.

If this card cost a little bit less, I would say that it’s better.

 

 

23-085R – Krile (XIV)

Look at the new card you’ll be putting in your Scions deck.

Nothing beats a 1K buff across your board. Especially when it comes to the Scions and they already work well together.

And if you still need a little bit of extra power, Krile can give a Scion another 1000 power when it deals damage to a Forward.

Can’t go wrong with that.

 

 

23-086H – Thancred

Thancred, reporting for duty!

Thancred is ready to go from the get go. (If you already have some Scions on the field.) He’ll break one of your opponent’s Forwards as he enters, and he’ll bring back a Forward from the dead as he enters the Break Zone.

Almost like a Viking, but different.

Scions being Scions.

 

 

23-087C – Jack

Yeah, you’re not going to play this card.

Unless there is another card that stated “this and this” if there are so many cards in your Break Zone.

I’m also pretty sure that the other Jacks are much better, I can say that without even looking for them.

Even at 2CP, I wouldn’t play this card.

At least the art is nice.

23-088L – Serah

Mono-Lightning XIII deck Incoming.

Your opponent will be using all their resources to get rid of Serah here.

Once she comes in all of your opponents Forwards will lose 2000 power, and if you have at least another 2 FFXIII Forwards their power will go down by 5000. And, this does not end at the end of the turn. As of my understanding, they lose that power until Serah is removed from the field.

That means that most of your opponent’s Forwards will be unusable. Sure, there will be ways that your opponent can raise the power of their Forwards, but Serah also has Dispel. Dispel removes any power gains that your opponent has given their Forwards until the end of the turn.

I’ll take 3 with all the bells and whistles.

23-089C – SOLDIER Candidate

Now, this is a Candidate I have a use for.

2CP/5K body, with Haste.

If you remember, I have built an all Haste deck, and this one fits perfectly into it.

2CP is perfect for it because you’ll only need to discard 1 card, since I don’t play any Backups. 5000 power isn’t bad, because you’re hoping to win in 2 rounds. And, half the time your opponent will not have any Forwards on the field.

And, most of the low cost Haste cards are Standard Units, SOLDIER Candidate will gain +3000 power, giving her an 8K body, the perfect “Candidate” for a Meat Shield.

23-090C/15-095C – Ninja

You know the drill.

“You’d think they’d at least try and get the serial numbers to match.

Would’ve looked a lot better reading 20-099C/15-099C.

Not that big of a deal but, at least you gain a Crystal when Ninja comes in.

After that you can send Ninja to the Break Zone, and deal a Forward 1000 damage.

*yawn

Maybe if it wasn’t a reprint I’d be more excited.”

23-091C – Fencer (XIII)

There’s a lot of good Monsters in this set.

Fencer is ready to Break a Forward on command, as long as you have an extra Monster on the field, because that extra Monster will be part of the cost you pay for Fencer’s ability to go off.

It’s a cheap play, and as long as the Monster you send to the Break Zone has done it’s job, you’ll be good to go.

 

23-092R – Black Widow

This Monster is interesting.

You’ll need 2 or more Monsters for Black Widow to become a Forward. And when Black Widow does become a Forward, when it attacks, you may put another Monster into the Break Zone, and that will allow Black Widow to deal 9000 damage to a Forward of your choosing.

You can splash Black Widow into your Monster deck with Relm, and after that Black Widow will slowly get rid of your Monsters to play more Monsters.

 

 

23-093C – Mog (XIII-2)

This Moogle makes that XIII Mono-Lightning deck easier to make.

Always good to have a couple of searchers, and this one is better, because you can get rid of Mog once he finds what you’re looking for.

Mog comes in for 2CP, and just hangs out until it’s time for you to use his ability.

After that, you can play Mog once more, and he’ll do the same thing once more.

Yes, this card is needed.

23-094C – Y’shtola

How is this a Common?

If you’re playing a Scions deck, you will be dulling your opponent’s whole front line.

And, this only costs 3CP.

All I see is, you play Y’shtola, and block with her as soon as possible, in order to play her again.

Find a way to grab her from the Break Zone as well, and you’ll be golden. Just like the S(ci)un of the Seventh Dawn … Ok, maybe that wasn’t that great.

23-095R – Rosso

Rosso, the Crimson.

Vincent is in trouble here.

The Tsivets are coming for him and all of his allies, and Rosso is coming hard. For every time she attacks, she deals 4000 damage to one of your opponent’s Forwards.

And, if you have a stash of Crystals, you can use them to give one of your Tsivets Haste, allowing them to go from the get go.
Tsivets might finally have some decent cards to get a fun deck going.

Singles?

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Hidden Trials – By Earth

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23-058C – Dark Knight

Oh wow, these Standard Unit Backups in this set are powerful. Sure, you need to have 5 Backups to get the full effect, but these Backups only cost 2CP.

Dark Knight comes in and gives a Forward. +1000 power and Brave.

If you have 5 Backups, then all of your Forwards gain +1000 power and Brave.

You can go all in swinging left and right with all of your Forwards, and then still have the resources to block your opponent’s attacks.

 

23-059C – Ignis EX

Noctis Is Down!! Hurry Phoenix Down!

That pretty much sums up Ignis.

When he enters the field you can grab a FFXV Character from your Break Zone, and add it to your hand. Not just Noct, but any XV Character that resides in there at that moment.

Best part is that this ability also comes off as an EX Burst.

Might be worth it … it’s always worth it if your grabbing cards from the Break Zone.

23-060L – Vincent

Beautiful card.

Though shall not pay 7CP to cast Vincent. Though shall pay 1CP to Warp Vincent. Vincent is Warp 6 meaning that 3 full turns need to pass before Vincent will enter the field. But the Warp Counters will reduce by one each time a Final Fantasy VII Character enters your field.

A ticking time-bomb, that once it goes off, you will Break one of your opponent’s Forwards and one of their Backups.
If you didn’t Warp Vincent, then you’ll just Break the Forward.

A Vincent worth playing?

23-061H – Warrior of Light

This is great.

If you have the CP, you can play a Standard Unit from the Break Zone at the begining of the Attack Phase. Doesn’t matter whose Attack Phase it is either! Yours. Your opponent’s. You can play that Standard Unit and buff up your defenses, add an attack, or play that Dark Knight from earlier, and give +1000 power and Brave to all of your Forwards.

You can also search for 2 Standard Units when Warrior of Light enters the field and send them to the Break Zone, so they’re ready for you whenever you’ll need them.

You can also splash any element with these Standard Units.

23-062H – Emet-Selch

Here’s one way to search for a high cost Forward.

And when you play a high cost Forward onto the field, Emet-Selch will deal another Forward 8000 damage.

And, that’s about it.

Other than that Emet-Selch costs 4CP, with a 8k body.

At least his ability to deal 8000 damage to a Forward goes off every time a high cost Forward enters the field. Maybe bounce that high cost Forward.

23-063C – Gladiolus

Gladiolus is ready to deal some serious damage, as long as his buddies are around.

Does that mean that this Gladiolus is a better play then the other Gladiolusi (? Gladioluses?)?

Probably not, but it might be fun to play in sealed, if there are more FFXV Characters in this set.

Gladiolus gains +1000 power and Brave if you have at least another FFXV Character on the field. Which you most likely will, or you won’t be playing Gladiolus.

Dawnhammer, Gladiolus’s Special ability that will 99% of the time break a Forward of your choosing.

23-064R – Golem

Would you like to see this Golem’s 3 card trick? He’s been hanging by the Korner with a Kardboard box and 3 cards. Would you like to try your luck?

I bet you do.

Choose a Forward, any Forward.

Now let’s flip over these 3 cards.

Grab one of the Forwards, return the other 2 to the bottom of your deck, and deal your Forwards Power as damage to the Forward that you have chosen.

Didn’t find a Forward?

Well, you’re out of luck.

23-065R – Gogmagog

Two heads are better than 1. 2 Monsters are better than one, too. And Gogmagog, is better with another monster on the field.

We already know that Gogmagog turns into a Forward with another Monster on the field.

So, let’s talk about what Gogmagog can do. Gogmagog can bring itself back from the Break Zone, as long as you remove a Monster in play from the game.

Should be good in any Monster deck.

23-066R – Jessie

Need a quick buff?

Jessie has 2 abilities that will buff you Forward.

The first one, she’ll buff any Final Fantasy VII Forward by 1000 power.

And secondly, If she buffs Cloud, Cloud will gain +2000 power.

Talk about favoritism.

 

23-067R – Shantotto

Do you recycle?

If so, Shantotto can help you get some recycled goods.

Shantotto comes in and grabs 2 Summons from either Break Zone. After that they are yours to keep until the end of the game, casting them whenever you need to.

This works good for you, as if your opponent is known for removing cards from your Break Zone, you can keep a couple of Summons that you know you’ll need later.

It’s like a side, side deck.

23-068C – SOLDIER Candidate

Earth’s Candidate to become a full fledged member of SOLDIER.

These are all pretty decent 2 cost Commons.

SOLDIER Candidate, come in and acts like Atlas?

… or was it Titan?

Well, SOLDIER Candidate comes in and you choose a Forward, and they deal damage to each other.

Might be a good way to get rid of a Forward.

23-069C – Narashima

Just like SOLDIER Candidate, only this time you choose your Forward that you want to trade blows with.

If you got an overpowered Forward, with plenty of buffs, well then this card is for you.

If you ask me, I’d pick Opus VII Fang, with 6 FFXIII Characters on the field, including Opus I Lebreaue. What’s that 11K?

I’m sure you can find a better Forward, but since Narashime is already a Category XIII Character. I stuck with that.

23-070H – Hythlodaeus

At first look I thought we were getting some Organization XIII cards. Then I realized we aren’t.

But, that doesn’t mean this isn’t a good card. In fact I think it’s great.

If Emet-Selch is on the field Hythlodaeus becomes a 3CP Forward with a 9K body.

That’s what you call a cheap Meat Shield. And, that is not the reason you’re playing this one.

You can use Hythlodaeus’s ability to put both her and Emet-Selch into the Break Zone. Then you shuffle your deck reveal the top 4 cards and play all the Characters onto the field.

If you’re lucky and all of your high cost Forwards pop up, you’ll be golden.

Just hope you don’t find any Summons there.

23-071C/15-080C – Geomancer

You know what time it is?

Copy/Paste time.

“Reprint.

Standard Unit.

Crystal.

Brave.

Maybe a Geomancer actually mines for Crystals.”

23-072 Brionac

A 5 cost Forward with 9000 power. Pretty normal for a Common, but during your Main Phase, you can remove 2 Earth cards from your Break Zone, from the game, and Brionac will gain +2000 power and Brave.

Brionac also has an ability that will deal 9000 damage to a Forward, but you’ll need a Crystal for that one.

If all you need is a Meat Shield, to block your opponent’s attacks, Brionac might be a good fit for you.

Best case scenario you find Brionac when you cast Golem.

23-073C – Prompto

Monster Hunter, or Monster Tamer?

Either way Prompto does things to Monsters that not many people do.

He takes pictures.

And those pictures will either Break a Monster, or Bring one back from the Break Zone.

???

Yeah, I got nothing.

23-074C – Wrieg

Here we are.

You can play Wrieg right before you play Prompto.

You’ll get your Monster back, and have a Forward and a Backup to show for it.

Is it worth playing?

I’d say that depends on if the Monster has an ability that goes off when it is put into the Break Zone.

At the very least, you’ll draw 2 Cards.

23-075R – Layle

A self sustainable Forward.

Layle comes in, gains a Crystal.

Layle attacks, gains a Crystal.

Layle attacks again, gains a Crystal.

Layle uses the Crystals when he is attacking and break a Monster or a Forward.

All this for 2CP.

23-076H – Regis

Regis might cost 7CP, but you get so much in return for that.

Regis comes in and you can grab a Final Fantasy XV Forward (of cost 5 or less) from your Break Zone, and play it straight to he field.

That alone will make Regis worth playing, but if you have already received 5 points of damage, you can go ahead and double that. This allows you to grab 2 XV Forwards from your Break Zone and play them straight to the field.

3 Forwards on the field for 7CP? Sounds like a good deal to me!

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