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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.

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Tears of the Limit Break

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25-106R – Machina LB

How much you like this card depends on when you can play it.

Machina is a 2 cost Forward, who’s power will range from 4K – 10K, as every point of damage that you have received gives Machina +1000 power.

This is not bad at all. The only problem I see is that you can’t play Machina if you already have a Forward on the field.

And, that might be the reason Machina is a Limit Break.

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25-107H – Red XIII LB

This is what a Limit Break should be.

Red XIII comes in and he gives all of your Forwards +2000 power until the end of the turn. With all the Final Fantasy VII Characters in this set, I see Red XIII being a great Limit Break to play.

And, since we’re talking about Final Fantasy VII, if you have another 2 FFVII Characters on the field, Red XIII will also gain Haste, First Strike, and Brave.

This will be a great play after a couple of turns. You’ll have a Forward that will be tough to beat.

I do like this one.

25-108R – Kam’lanaut LB

I’m not sure if Kam’lanaut looks more like a Transformer or a Super Hero.

Either way Kam’lanaut will do the same thing once he enters the field. He will break a Forward.

Why am I so sure, that Kam’lanaut will break one of your opponent’s Forwards? Because you wouldn’t be playing it if you didn’t control a Dark Forward.

After that you’ll have a Meat Shield on the field.

Hey, that rhymes.

25-109H – Shuyin LB

Shuyin! What’cha doin?

Looking for Vegnagun, that’s what Shuying is doing!

Shuyin will come in and search for a Dark Forward. If you don’t want Vegnagun, you can always look for Emissaries of Light Chaos, and go that route.

And, hey if you get Vegnagun in your starting hand, you won’t need Shuyin, but it’s always good to have him.

Yeah, I can’t think of anything else.

25-110R – Aerith LB

Here’s a way to make sure you can start your FFVII deck off right.

If your hand isn’t good, and you need to just find Zack or Cloud, Aerith knows where to find them.

You can then play them on to the field, and go along with your plan.

Aerith can also cancel an auto-ability targeting a FFVII Character.

It’s almost as if she’s sacrificing herself to protect the rest.

I’d call Aerith the perfect Meat Shield, but that feels wrong.

25-111H – The Emperor LB

Do you want to draw more card?

The Emperor her will help you out with that.

Every time your opponent searches for a card, or brings a card back from the Break Zone, you get to draw a card. And, there’s no limit on how many cards you can grab.

Since we already know that every deck has a card that searches for cards, and most decks have a way of bringing cards back from the Break Zone, you will draw enough cards to make The Emperor a free play in the long run.

You also get a body on the field with 5000 power.

You’ll want to keep The Emperor on board for as long as you can.

25-112H – Sarah (MOBIUS) LB

We were just talking about MOBIUS, somewhere during this set, and it is getting some love here.

Sarah will come in and if you find a MOBIUS card in the top 4 cards of your deck, you can add it to your hand, if not then all the cards go to the Break Zone.

It can work in your favor, it can also work against you.

But, the real reason you’ll be playing Sarah, is her second ability, in which she reduces the cost of playing your MOBIUS Forwards by 2CP.

And, you get a body, but you’ll probably just be dulling Sarah to help pay for your Forwards.

125-113R – Yang LB

Bring on the Monks!

This is just a way to get an extra Monk on the field.

What am I saying? I gotta read a little better here.

This is a way to get a Forward on the field, any Forward, any Element, any Category, any Job.

As long as you have enough Monks on the field you can even play Mont Leonis (14-075H) and Chaos (16-129L)

Just find a way to break Yang, and play him again, and then play him once again. Since Yangs LB cost is only 1 point, you can play all 3 Yangs if you have them in your Limit Break deck.

25-114R Kain LB

Kain might cost 9CP, but you can bring that cost all the way down to 2CP.

How?

Its simple really.

If you have 3 Dragoons on the field, Kain’s cost comes down to 4CP. And, once Kain enters the field you’ll grab a Forward from your Break Zone. Bringing it down to 2CP, just like we mentioned.

You can grab the Forward you just used to pay for Kain’s cost, or you can grab another one.

Most likely, you’ll be grabbing another one. Probably that Dragoon that was just broken last turn.

Did we mention Kain has First Strike?

If you’re playing Dragoons, you should throw at least one in your Limit Break Deck.

25-115H – Sephiroth LB

This is a fun card to play. I managed to pull it on Prerelease along with a couple of FFVII Legends, but that’s a story for another day.

The high cost of Sephiroth is worth it.

Whenever Sephiroth attacks or when he enters the field, Sephiroth will dull all the Forwards except for himself.

And, at the end of your turn you will break a dull Forward. At the end of your opponent’s turn, you will break another dull Forward. And so on, and so forth.

You will slowly break down your opponent’s front line, but be careful. Once your opponent loses all their Forwards, you’re going to start breaking your own Forwards.

But, then again, if your opponent doesn’t have any Forwards on the field, you’re probably winning the game.

25-116H – Graff LB

The Grand General. Graff looks like he could be a captain, and when I saw it the first thing I thought about is Vikings.

Why Vikings?

Well, when Graff enters the field, choose a Forward you control remove it from the game. If you remove a Viking, you will draw a card.

Which should be a good enough reason to play Graff in your Pirate deck.

And also, whenever Graff attacks, you’ll choose one of your opponent’s Forwards and they lose 4000 power until the end of the turn.

Let’s not forget about Graff’s 9000 power either.

25-117R – Leonora LB

One more card that can search for another card.

A Forward to be exact, A Final Fantasy IV Forward.

Which Forward? Well, that’s up to you.

Leonora can also help protect your Final Fantasy IV Forwards, with her second ability which turns the next damage dealt to them to 0.

Final Fantasy IV now has 2 cards that will search for a FFIV Forward.

We might be on to something here.

25-118H – Golbez LB

We’ve seen all the Archfiends, now let’s take a look at their leader, Golbez.

5CP plus 2LB to play a 9K Golbez.

So far this is meh. Just your regular High Powered Forward.

Now let’s take a look at the ability. Once per turn, you can search for an Archfiend and play it onto the field. Just like that.

Imagine, looking for Cagnazzo, right when you need to get rid of a Forward that you don’t want on the field. Or playing Scarmiglione when one of your Forwards gets attacked and needs to be saved.

And, that was just a couple of Archfiends from this set. Imagine what you can do if you go through all of the Archfiends.

That Golbez VS Cecil deck is looking pretty good right now.

d

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Yang Fang Leiden

Level-headed monk with an indomitable will.

A monk and squadron leader from the kingdom of Fabul. He is the strongest monk in his nation and possesses a polite personality, making him quite popular among his people. Yang is attacked by monsters while training on Mt. Hobs and is saved by Ceil’s party. He joins them after learning that his country’s crystal is in danger. After the battle for the Wind Crystal, Yang continues to adventure with Cecil’s party and helps them overcome innumerable hardships. Yang’s personality is both serious and strict, but he is no match for his short-tempered wife.

-Taken from the Ultimania

After much training and trying to dodge his wife’s frying pan, Yang is ready for your decks.

Looking for Yang.?

2-090R – Yang

Yang, an 8000 power Forward that will gain more power with each additional Monk that is on the field. From Backups to Standard Units, you name it. Each Monk gives Yang +1000 power. And, if Yang’s power becomes more than 10,000 Yang will also gain Brave.

Sure, the 5CP you need to play Yang is a bit high, but you’ll be getting a nearly unstoppable Forward that will be wheeling and dealing damage throughout the entire game.

Simply put, just add Monks.

“Uhh…is it time for training already? Let me sleep a little longer.”

2-091C – Yang

The second Yang from Opus II.

This Yang plays like the other Yang, but slightly different.

If there is another Monk, Yang gains 2000 power and Brave. And, that’s it.

Yes, you can only raise Yang’s power once by 2000, but this Yang only costs 2CP compared to the 5CP of the Rare Yang.

Is this better?

Probably not, you’ll much rather spend an extra 3CP to play the other Yang.

“I see. Then I will most humbly accept whatever help you are willing to provide.”

3-095R – Yang

This is more like it.

Yang gains +1K and Brave if you control Ursula. Who’s Ursula? Yang’s daughter, but you’ll only see her in The After Years. Or was she a baby during the events of Final Fantasy IV?

Nope, she is first seen during Final Fantasy IV Interlude. But, we’re not here to talk about that.

When Yang enters the field, you can play Ursula from your hand on to the field. You’ll probably want to grab Ursula (11-064L) which will allow you to grab a 2 cost Monk from your Break Zone and play it onto the field. If you get lucky on turn 1, you can have 3 cards on the field for a whopping 4CP.

Then there’s Kick. Yang’s ability from Final Fantasy IV, where Yang does a Flying Kick to all the enemies, dealing them all damage which equals to half of Yang’s power.

This might be your starting point for a Monk’s deck.

“Ooh, time for training!”

5-095H – Yang

5CP for Hero Yang.

This time if you control 5 or more Earth Characters Yang gains +1ooo power and Brave. This is already not as good as the previous Yangs that we have seen.

The only saving grace to this card is that Yang cannot become dull by your opponent’s Summons of abilities.

Other than that, Yang is just a glorified Meat Shield.

With Brave.

“It has been an honor fighting with you.”

9-075R – Yang

Yang comes on and gives another Forward +2000 power and Brave. If that Forward is a Monk, it will also deal damage to one of your opponent’s Forwards equal to that Monk’s power.

After that Yang once again stays on the front line as a Meat Shield.

At least the artwork is good on this card.

Other than that, you’ll probably want to save that 4CP, and play something else.

“Achoooooooooooooo!”

13-064R – Yang

“If you’re playing Mon…. I already said that. Yang will give your Monks a boost.

High powered Forwards with Brave. Add Enna Kros (1-095R) and they will have an extra 1K.

I saw that Monks already took first place, and Yang was a part of that. ”

That’s what I wrote when Opus XIII came out.

At 1 point of damage Yang comes in, and you play a Monk from your hand. Which could be Ursula as we mentioned before, letting you grab a Monk from the Break Zone and playing it onto the field.

At 3 points of damage, Yang gives all the Monks +1000 power and Brave, making them all unstoppable .. Almost unstoppable.

“Lure the enemies here, then… Smash ’em!”

Where’s Yang?

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Opus XIII – Earth Review

13-052C – Abyss Worm

For it’s cost this is a great card. Giving a Forward +3K and Brave, is good enough for this 1 cost. But the fact that it turns into a Forward at 3 Damage, makes it even better.

 

 

 

 

13-053R – Alexander EX

Hmm, I don’t know if I would use this card much, but keeping one in a deck for the rare chance that it’ll pop out after you’ve taken 5 points of Damage might be worth it.

 

 

 

 

13-054C – Lady of Antiquity

Reducing Exdeath’s (13-071R) CP doesn’t seem like a big deal. You still have to pay 5CP, but the second ability will let you play a 6 color Manikin Deck, in which the aforementioned ExDeath will be your main attraction.

 

 

 

 

13-055C – Ingus

+1k and Brave to a Standard Unit or Warrior of Light. Alexander EX (13-053R) seems a little better as you can choose any character. But, Ingus can use his ability once per turn.

 

 

 

 

13-056R – Vanille

I’m actually surprised this card is only a Rare.

This card will pay for itself, if your opponent does not get rid of it soon enough. There are plenty of cards you can play every other turn unless your opponent finds a way to Break Vanille. All these High cost cards will be Free plays from Your Break Zone.

Vanille Deck in progress. Just Vanille and High cost forwards.

 

 

13-057H – Graff

A constant +2K during the Attack phase. Main Phase the Forwards will still have their regular power.

 

 

 

 

13-058C – Sherlotta

Perfect to use in any 2 color deck. Even three. Or as many as you’d like. Tyro (11-072R) does this better, but Sherlotta is only a 2 cost.

 

 

 

 

13-059H – Scarmiglione

Trying to Break a Forward, well have I got a card for you. Scarmiglione here will double the damage dealt to a Forward. Any Forward. Ping it to death, till it lies broken in the Break Zone.

 

 

 

 

13-060R – Cecil

Not one of the better Cecil’s, but it might be worth the 1 point of Damage to get rid of a forward that’s been causing you trouble. And if that extra point of Damage gives you Brave, and +1K, well you might actually play this card.

 

 

 

 

13-061C – Hugh Yurg

4CP/8K who might have Brave depending on your cards. Decent Common.

 

 

 

 

 

13-062H – Bhunivelze

10CP for 10K. But you can find a way to get him down to Free, if you’re playing that many colors. As the game goes on, Bhunivelze just keeps getting better, and better. 3 Damage – Brave and Double Attack. 6 Damage Break a character every time Bhunivelze attacks. Times 2

And the fact that you can play this card from the Break Zone with Vanille (13-056R), I wouldn’t be surprised if this was in every Earth Deck. Simply just because you can.

 

 

13-063C – Monk

If you’re playing Monks, this is a good card. If you’re not, it’s too expensive.

 

 

 

 

 

13-064R – Yang

If you’re playing Mon…. I already said that. Yang will give your Monks a boost. High powered Forwards with Brave. Add Enna Kros (1-095R) and they will have an extra 1K. I saw that Monks already took first place, and Yang was a part of that.

 

 

 

 

13-065R – Rydia

I don’t know if Rydia is cost effective. 6CP to play a summon without paying the cost. I’ll pass.

 

 

 

 

13-066C – Lilty

Ice/Earth or Earth/Lightning take your pick. Or neither, With Tyro, you can choose any element you’d like. Discard or Break. The choice is yours.

 

 

 

 

13-067L – Leo

You might be able to play a high cost card for a couple of CP, depending on how many Crystal Chronicle Characters you’re controlling. Vanille (13-056R) is the better choice in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

13-068C – Alchemist

Just like Black Mage (13-005C). This card will work if you splash a single Ice or Wind card. Because then you’ll now exactly what you’ll end up with. Other than that. NEXT.