Fire

Ignacio 001H

5cp 9000
Forward – Sworn Six of Paladia – FFBE
When Ignacio deals damage to your opponent or to a Forward, draw 1 card.
Discard 1 Fire card: Ignacio gains +2000 power until the end of the turn.
5
Huge, and at a reasonable upfront cost, Ignacio gains you value the longer he stays on the field. His discard effect helps keep him safe from damage effects and combat tricks, and helps him win basically every battle he’ll find himself in. There are few effects that will deal with Ignacio efficiently, and I expect him to take over nearly every game he is played in.

Ifrit 002H

3cp
Summon – III
Choose 1 Forward. Deal it 8000 damage. All the Fire Forwards you control gain +2000 power until the end of the turn.
3.5
8k for 3 is a great rate. Just that alone would rate Ifrit pretty high, but Ifrit buffs your Firey boys too. 2k is enough of a boost that it’s not difficult to engineer a situation where you break one Forward with damage and win a combat with the buff at the same time. A lot of this format is going to revolve around landing and protecting your 9ks, and this helps keep yours safe while also helping to overpower your opponent’s.

Balasa 003C

4cp
Summon – XII
EX BURST Choose 1 Forward. Deal it 2000 damage for each Backup you control.
3
Not needing the backups to be Fire already makes Balasa more appealing than the cat XI Ifrit. You’ll want to be rushing your backline to make use of him, but once you hit 4, Balasa is a solid cost to damage ratio, and at 5 he’s absolutely insane, and an excellent way to blow out your opponent’s 9ks. We’d be excited to play this even without EX, so that’s a sweet positive as well.

Caius 004H

4cp 9000
Forward – Guardian of the Seeress – XIII
When Caius enters the field, you may play 1 Character of cost 3 or less from your hand onto the field.
When Caius is put from the field into the Break Zone, select 1 Character you control. Put it into the Break Zone.
3.5
Not only is Caius an undercosted fatty, he brings a friend along for the ride. This allows for some very aggressive openings, as he can drop backups while applying combat pressure. This set is chock full of large forwards, so unlike Opus V Caius you should expect him to die eventually. Try to minimize the damage his break trigger does by including lots of characters who gain value when they enter. You might pursue a line like Turn 1 discarding Lann to pay for Caius, using him to play Rorrik who returns the Lann, then sacrificing Rorrik once Caius breaks. Also worth noting is that Caius allows you to break unique backups, letting you more safely play them in multiples.

Gancanagh 005C

4cp
Monster – Goblin – XIII
Put Gancanagh into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Forward. Deal it 8000 damage.
Damage 5 – Put Gancanagh into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Forward. Deal it 10000 damage.
2.5
Removal is removal, and Skater Boi here will solve a lot of problems for you. Having him on the field in the face of 9ks will make your opponent think twice about attacking while you’re at Damage 4.

Cloud 006R

2cp
Backup – SOLDIER – THEATRHYTHM VII
When Cloud enters the field, you may pay Fi Fi. When you do so, choose 1 Dark Forward. Break it.
Cross-slash S Fi Fi 1 Dull: Choose up to 2 Forwards. Divide 10000 damage among them equally.
3
With Raegen, Hein, and Cloud of Darkness in the set, his ETF will be relevant every once in a while. Hein can protect himself, but you’re both paying 2cp so you’re not really falling behind by doing it. His Cross-slash is definitely worth picking him up in multiples, however. 10k damage for the same cost as Brynhildr is pretty appealing.

Zack 007H
4cp 8000
Forward – SOLDIER – VII
When Zack or a Fire Forward enters your field, choose 1 Forward opponent controls. Deal it 2000 damage.
When Zack or a Category VII Forward enters your field, choose 1 Forward opponent controls. Deal it 2000 damage.
3.5
Zack drops a sizeable amount of burn when he hits the field, and so long as you can fuel his fire, keeps the hits coming. Your other forwards all now threaten to trade up by 2k while attacking, which makes blocking a nightmare. Zack pairs well with Caius and Xande, who can drop multiple Fire Forwards at once, but is best as the vanguard of a wave of SOLDIER: 3rd Classes.

Xande 008L

8cp 9000
Forward – Dark Lord – III
When Xande enters the field, choose up to 1 Fire Forward of cost 1 and up to 1 Fire Forward of cost 3 in your Break Zone. Play them onto the field.
Damage 5 – When Xande enters the field, choose 1 Fire Forward of cost 2 in your Break Zone. Play it onto the field.
2.5
Options for Xande are a little limited, with only two 1s, two 3s, and one 2. At least they’re all C and R, so it won’t be too hard to pick them up. The 1s aren’t great, especially since Xande wants to be heavy in fire and Onion Knight wants to be in 4E, but even just getting a single 3 drop is likely to be decent value. Playing him for full value sounds enticing, but you’re stuck with the unexciting Lann as your only 2. I wouldn’t put too much effort into getting more than a Firion or a SOLDIER: 3rd Class.

SOLDIER: 3rd Class 009C

3cp 5000
Forward – Standard Unit – VII
First Strike
When SOLDIER: 3rd Class enters the field, you may search for 1 Card Name SOLDIER: 3rd Class and add it to your hand.
2.5
5k isn’t terribly exciting, but First Strike is a real ability. Look to pair them with effects like Ifrit, Geomancer, Raiden, and Sylph. Once you’ve got a couple on the board, partying for 10k will be a serious threat. This is a very synergy driven card, so make sure you have at least three of them with plenty of other cards to work with them. Unfortunately, because of how well they work with Zack and Xande, expect to face competition trying to draft them.

Onion Knight (III) 010C

1cp 2000
Forward – Standard Unit – III
If you control 4 or more Backups and if the Backups you control are all of different Elements, Onion Knight (III) gains +6000 power.
1
It’s a lot of hoops to jump through, getting four backups of different elements without doubling up, but if you get enough breakables like Ranger and Cecil it will be a little easier to control. Once you have your cheap 8k army, you still have to worry about Doga, Ranger, and 9ks. Make sure to stock up on ways to get your OKs to punch up that last little bit, Mutsuki being a great one. Too much set-up for not enough payoff if you ask me.

Naji 011R

1cp 7000
Forward – Warrior – XI
Naji cannot attack.
Naji cannot become dull by your opponent’s Summons or abilities.
1
Not being able to attack is a huge downside, and absolutely not worth the 2cp you save compared to an on-curve 7k. Bodies of this size just aren’t as relevant in Ancient Champions as they have been in the past. Naji seems intended as defense against Eald’narche, Cloud of Darkness, and Squall, but every single Forward that Ice can field has the ability to go up to 7k, if not higher. If he were an 8k, we’d be talking, but at 7 he just does not hold the fort well enough to spend a card on. He’s an acceptable include in Xande decks, as you’ll want to be as heavy in Fire as possible, but outside of that, I’d pass.

Geomancer 012C

3cp
Backup – Standard Unit – III
When Geomancer enters the field, reveal the top card of your deck. If it is a fire card, add it to your hand.
Dull, put Geomancer into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Forward. Deal it 2000 damage.
3
The more Fire cards the better, but 2k on demand is worth paying a little extra for. If you’re heavy in fire, this is a good card to Caius into.

Firion 013R

3cp 7000
Forward – Warrior – DFF II
If you control 3 or more Fire Backups, Firion gains Haste.
If you control 5 or more Fire Backups, Firion gains +2000 power and First Strike.
2
On the off chance you manage to draft mono Fire, Firion will be a force to be reckoned with, but most of the time you’ll have to console yourself with a 7k haste. Haste is a great was to mess with combat math, and is especially relevant this set, as your opponent will likely be trying to set up for Damage 5. Haste will often let you get that one last swing in to go straight from 4 to lethal. 3 Fire backups isn’t an insignificant ask, relegating the haste to a late game finisher rather than early game pressure. Until then, 3 for 7 is fine, if unexciting.

Mutsuki 014R

4cp
Backup – Agito Cadet – TYPE-0
When a Forward opponent controls is put from the field into the Break Zone, activate Mutsuki.
Dull: Choose 1 Forward opponent controls. Deal it 1000 damage.
2.5
An extra 2cp is a lot extra, but Mutsuki has the power to pay that investment back. You earn 1cp back every time you break one of your opponent’s Forwards, you can trade up in combat, your removal summons and monsters effectively cost one less, you can even use cards like Gancanagh and Kanna Kamuy to bank reactivations for later turns. If you can chain a couple Raidens together, Mutsuki can combo with them to clear a whole board. Mutsuki combines particularly well with Lightning, as it enables both Sakura and Dark Knight for super cheap.

Class First Moogle 015R

2cp
Backup – Moogle – TYPE-0
1 dull: Choose 1 Fire Forward you control. It gains +1000 power until the end of the turn.
2.5
Anything that gives you a buff in combat is worth including, even small ones like this. You’re paying 2cp for backups anyways, so there’s no initial investment you have to hurdle, and it presents a very real threat that your opponent has to respect for the rest of the game. Every once in a while someone will forget you have access to it, and you’ll get to blow them out on the cheap.

Class Second Moogle 016C

2cp
Backup – Moogle – TYPE-0
If Class Second Moogle is on the field, Class Second Moogle can produce Ice CP.
3
Gonna just repeat what I said last Opus about this cycle, with the caveat that they work especially well with Onion Knight (III).
An on curve backup who handily facilitates a two element deck or a splash into Ice for a Fire-centric build. This guy is cheap and flexible, and will be a strong foundation for any deck that can abuse him. He doesn’t work nearly as well in reverse, in Ice decks that are just splashing Fire, but he’s still one of the better cards to support that splash.

Lann 017R

2cp 5000
Forward – Mirage Keeper – WOFF
If you control a Card Name Reynn, Lann gains +2000 power and First Strike.
When Lann enters the field, choose 1 Monster that is also a Forward. Until the end of the turn, it gains +5000 power and Brave.
1 / 3 if you have Reynn
If you get a Reynn, it’s worth it to pick up a couple of Lanns, as 7k haste first strikers are top notch. Barring both opening a specific L and having it on the field, Lann is a wee lad, not really good for much. Be careful even if you do have Reynn, as you run the risk of getting blown out while Lann is in battle via well timed removal. Let me save you some time looking by telling you that there are no Monsters that turn into Forwards in Opus X, so leave that ability for Constructed.

Ryid 018C

5cp 9000
Forward – Agito Cadet – TYPE-0
Damage 3 – Ryid gains Brave.
Damage 5 – Ryid gains +2000 power.
4
With so many 9ks running around, having someone who can go over the top is valuable indeed. If you’ve ever played with Ayame, you know how terrifying a huge Brave beater can be, and Ryid absolutely delivers on that promise. You’ll get the most out of him in a slower deck, as you’ll want to take a bit of damage before running him out.

Lusse 019C

2cp
Backup – Mother – WOFF
The cost required to play Lusse onto the field is reduced by 1 for each Card Name Lann or Card Name Reynn you control.
Dull: Choose 1 Card Name Lann or Card Name Reynn you control. It gains Brave until the end of the turn.
2
If you’ve got the Lann/Reynn deck, Lusse is pretty nice. Getting her cheap is good, Brave is good. Most of the time though she’ll just be a 2cp vanilla backup, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Reynn 020L

5cp 8000
Forward – Mirage Keeper – WOFF
The cost required to play Reynn onto the field is reduced by 1 for each Category WOFF Character you control.
The Category WOFF Forwards other than Reynn you control gain Haste.
When a Category WOFF Forward you control attacks, choose 1 Forward opponent controls. Deal it 4000 damage.
3.5
Lann, Lusse, and Rorrik are the only WOFF Characters in the set, but all together they are a pretty strong package. Giving Lann haste is great, especially considering how well the 4k burn couples with his First Strike. Even just as an 8k who drops 4k on attack, Reynn is pretty decent, although I would try to at least get 1cp discounted from her cost.

Rorrik 021C

3cp
Backup – Father – WOFF
EX BURST When Rorrik enters the field, choose 1 Card Name Lann or Card Name Reynn in your Break Zone. Add it to your hand.
1 / 3 with Reynn
He helps bring a lot of consistency to the Reynn/Lann package, and if you have those it’s worth picking up a Rorrik or two. He’s at his best recurring the Reynn, as she’s the lynchpin of the strategy, and at L is much harder to get a hold of. With that in mind, avoid the trap of loading up on Lanns and Rorriks without the Reynn to make them worthwhile.

Ice

Yve’noile 022R

3cp
Backup – Descendant of the Zilart – XI
EX BURST When Yve’noile enters the field, you may search for 1 Card Name Eald’Narche or Card Name Kam’lanaut and add it to your hand.
3
Eald and Kam are both strong Forwards, and having a cheap backup that fetches them and has EX is great support for them.

Unei 023H

6cp
Backup – Magus – III
When you cast a Summon, choose 1 Forward you control. Remove it from the game. Then, play the removed Forward onto the field dull. This effect will trigger only during your turn and only once per turn.
2.5
You need a fair amount of both Summons and Forwards worth flickering, but assuming you do, Unei provides a relentless value train. Without even leaving Ice, we get access to Eald, Kam, CoD, Scylla, Squall, and Sephiroth, with both Shivan and Shiva as triggers. Keep an eye out for strong ETFs in other elements, and also consider pairing with Y’shtola to protect her from Ranger and Doga.

Eald’narche 024R

5cp 9000
Forward – Descendant of the Zilart – XI
If you control a Card Name Kam’lanaut, the cost for playing Eald’narche onto the field is reduced by 2.
When Eald’narche enters the field, choose 1 Character opponent controls. Dull it.
Damage 5 – When Eald’narche enters the field, choose up to 3 Characters opponent controls. Dull them.
3.5
Good body for his size, tutorable via Yve, when played together with Kam you’re going to get a discount on one of them, and sporting an incredible finisher. Dull 4 is one of the best reasons to really push to try and take your opponent from 4 to 6 damage in one turn.

Kam’lanaut 025R

4cp 8000
Forward – Descendant of the Zilart – XI
If you control a Card Name Eald’narche, the cost for playing Kam’lanaut onto the field is reduced by 2.
When Kam’lanaut enters the field, if your opponent controls 4 or more dull Characters, your opponent discards 1 card from his/her hand.
3
4 dull characters is a pretty easy condition to meet against all but the most aggressive of decks. If you can get the discount from Eald as well as the discard, Kam becomes an incredibly cheap body, putting even the Onion Knights (III) to shame.

Bard 026C

2cp
Backup – Standard Unit – III
When Bard enters the field, if your opponent has no cards in his/her hand, draw 1 card.
2
Not the most reliable of abilities, but he’s a 2cp backup with occasional upside that isn’t unique, so you’re not really losing out by playing him.

Kurasame 027C

4cp 8k
Forward – Instructor – THEATRHYTHM TYPE-0
If you control a Category TYPE-0 Character, the cost for playing Kurasame onto the field is reduced by 1.
2
There are enough Type-0s to get his discount reliably enough, just know that a 3cp 8k is is barely above filler. He’s fine, he’ll hold the line, but he isn’t going to wow anyone.

Cloud of Darkness 028L

4cp 8000
Forward – Wraith – III
When Cloud of Darkness enters the field, you may put 1 Character you control into the Break Zone. When you do so, your opponent selects 1 dull Forward he/she controls. Put it into the Break Zone.
When Cloud of Darkness attacks, each player selects up to 2 active Characters he/she controls. Dull them and Freeze them.
4.5
An on curve body with ETF removal that ignores power, ignores unchooseability, and ignores Feolthanos’ cancel effect. If you really want to maximize that trigger, stock up on backups that effectively cost 1cp, like Yve’noile and Nag’molada. It is best paired with Serah/Mog (XIII-2) however, as you can use Serah to dull whatever you want, or you can sacrifice Mog and bring it back on the cheap. Her second ability is also incredibly oppressive. If you’re able to utilize all your backups and attack with her last, you can orchestrate a position where you have no active characters that are legal selections for her. Alternatively, you can stock up on monsters like Dendrobium (which has the side effect of making Nag’molada more relevant) and select them to dull/freeze. Cloud may feel symmetrical at first, but you’ll find quickly that she isn’t difficult to break. The only downside is that at 8k she falls victim to a lot of removal, so make sure to get value out of her ETF.

Black Mage 029C

2cp
Backup – Standard Unit – Special
Ice Ice dull, put Black Mage into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Ice Summon in your Break Zone. Add it to your hand.
2.5
Both of Ice’s summons are pretty strong, and being able to fetch them back because of an on-curve non-unique backup makes Black Mage a welcome addition to nearly any Ice deck.

Shiva 030H

4cp
Summon – III
Choose 1 active Forward and 1 dull Forward. Dull the former and deal the latter 9000 damage. If you have cast a Card Name Shiva other than Shiva this turn, also Freeze all the Forwards opponent controls.
3
Not only does Shiva provide a clean answer to 9ks, she locks something else down in the process. The stars really have to align to get the Freeze effect, so feel free to ignore that. You do have to choose 1 active and 1 dull, so every once in a while you’ll have to dull one of your own troops, but 9k for 4 is absolutely worth it.

Jenova SYNTHESIS 031C

5cp 9000
Forward – Jenova – THEATRHYTHM VII
When Jenova SYNTHESIS attacks, each player discards 1 card from his/her hand.
2.5
9ks are everywhere this set, and Jenova provides a body thick enough to kill them. If you can clear out your hand each turn, her attack trigger is pure value, and if you’re stuck with cards in hand that you don’t want to pitch, like Cloud of Darkness, you can always just not attack. She’s no Eduardo, but she’ll do the job well enough.

Scylla 032H

7cp 7000
Forward – Scylla – III
When Scylla enters the field, choose 1 dull Forward opponent controls. Break it. Your opponent discards 1 card from his/her hand.
4
The value Scylla provides if you get the ability to resolve is off the charts. The 7k body isn’t particularly impressive, though, and if his ETF gets countered, you’re left with a hugely overcosted middle-of-the-road forward, so be careful of effects like Unsaganashi and Chocobo. Try to make sure you have access to a cheap duller, like Squall or Serah, to make sure you’re not stuck with a dead Scylla in hand. Once you’ve got all that handled, though, there are enough high cost Forwards in the set that Scylla will provide some serious bang for your buck.

Squall 033L

3cp 7000
Forward – SeeD Candidate – DFF VIII
When Squall enters the field, choose 1 Character. If your opponent has 2 cards or less in his/her hand, dull it.
Damage 2 – When Squall enters the field, choose 1 Character. Dull it and Freeze it.
Damage 5 – When Squall enters the field, choose 1 Forward. If it is dull, deal it 8000 damage.
3.5
Squall is acceptable at his baseline, and just gets better and better as the game goes on. Dull 2 is often enough to set up lethal combat math, and he’s also able to nuke a midsized forward on top of that. Squall has a ton of applications, and should not be underestimated.

Sephiroth 034H

3cp 6000
Forward – War Hero – VII
Back Attack
When Sephiroth enters the field, choose 1 Forward. Dull it.
Damage 5 – Sephiroth gains +2000 power.
Draw Slash S: Until the end of the turn, Sephiroth gains +1000 power and First Strike.
3
Back Attack is a powerful ability, and its nice to see it not tied to a cost restriction like Tidus or Edge. Sephiroth isn’t as powerful as Jinnai, but he’s also cheaper. Dulling something on entry helps hold back some aggression, and Seph will find the best home in a slower, grindier deck. One thing he does exceptionally well is to stop an alpha strike, when your opponent tries to weaken your board and bring you from damage 4 to damage dead in one turn. Ambushing the second attacker at 8k and dulling a potential third will give you a sizeable amount of breathing room. The biggest problem with Seph is his size, however. 6k is pretty small in this format, and even at Damage 5, 8k just doesn’t stop the 9ks that are rampant. To this end, try to make sure you have access to things like Shivan or Garganzola to help bridge that gap.

Serah 035R

3cp 7000
Forward – Commando – XIII
Dull, put 1 Card Name Mog (XIII-2) into the Break Zone: Choose up to 2 Forward. Dull them.
Ice Dull: Choose 1 Card Name Mog (XIII-2) in your Break Zone. Play it onto the field.
3
On her own, she’s a pretty average 3cp 7k, but paired with Mog you’ve got a pretty solid engine. Dull 2 is great for aggressive decks for closing out the game, and pairs well with Cloud of Darkness, Scylla, and Shivan. Also worth mentioning, you can discard the Mog to pay for Serah, then return it at a discount. Combined, Serah and Mog give you a lot of control over how the game will play out, and they are an excellent combo.

Terra 036R

4cp
Backup – Magitek Knight – DFF VI
EX BURST When Terra enters the field, you may search for 1 Ice Summon and add it to your hand.
Ice Dull, put Terra into the Break Zone: Cast 1 Summon of cost 4 or less from your hand without paying the cost.
2.5
Terra gives you reliable access to both Shiva and Shivan, both of whom are excellent. She even gives Shiva a discount if you break her, which doesn’t really cost much if you win the game because of it. Any EX that gets you a card has a marginal amount of playability, and stapling that to an on-curve backup makes for a card you’ll want in every deck you can get at least a handful of targets for.

Dendrobium 037C

2cp
Monster – Stalker – XIII
Put Dendrobium into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Forward. Freeze it. Draw 1 card.
Damage 5 – Put Dendrobium into the Break Zone: Choose up to 3 Forwards. Freeze them. Draw 1 card.
2
Since Nag’molada is at C, you’re probably playing one or two of these. They’re not particularly exciting, though they do help a slower deck stop an attack while trying to dig deep to removal/bombs. Dendro’s existence should make you very wary about attacking with multiple forwards and leaving an Ice opponent at 5 damage, as freezing 3 is pretty strong game.

Knight 038C

2cp 5000
Forward – Standard Unit – III
When Knight or a Character enters your field, Knight gains +2000 power until the end of the turn.
2
There are some pretty decent combos to do with Knight within Ice, Serah can put Mog in at instant speed and Sephiroth has Back Attack. Ice has a lot of cheap characters, Nag and Yve both functionally cost 1, and Dendro costs 0 if you pop it immediately. This makes Knight a lot more appealing on attack then on defense though, and if you’re stocking up on Knights you should plan your deck accordingly.

Nag’molada 039C

3cp
Backup – Member of the Armathrwn Society – XI
When Nag’molada enters the field, you may search for 1 Monster and add it to your hand.
3.5
All the monsters in the set are pretty good, so having easy access to them is great. Because he also doubles as an element fixer, and is an excellent turn 2 play, Nag is easy to slot in to your early backline building. An excellent card that will really facilitate multi element decks.

White Tiger l’Cie Qun’mi 040R

2cp 5000
Forward – L’Cie – TYPE-0
If you control a Category TYPE-0 Character other than White Tiger l’Cie Qun’mi, White Tiger l’Cie Qun’mi gains +2000 power.
Put White Tiger l’Cie Qun’mi into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Summon. If your opponent doesn’t pay 3, cancel its effect.
2.5
2 for a 7k is a decent rate, and there are plenty of ways to get her buff. Within Ice, we only have Kurasame at C to buff her, so a lot of your synergy will come from your other element. Fire and Earth have the most, at 4 each (5 if you include Ace S.) Her break ability is useful, as it makes your opponent not able to use summons without leaving up a resevoir. Also, if you are in an advantageous board position and the body is less than relevant, you can use it to strip available CP from your opponent, which minimizes their options.

Shivan 041C

1cp
Summon – XII
EX BURST Choose 1 dull Forward. Deal it 4000 damage. Draw 1 card.
2.5
A solid defensive option, Shivan allows your smaller forwards to “block up” and trade with forwards much larger than themselves. Since you get a 2cp rebate, the math works out so that you’re losing in total your forward’s cp +1, so if you do this to say a 2 drop and block a 5 drop, you’re going up 2cp. Also clears smaller forwards, like Suzuhisa, Elza, and Kytes. Can be used in combination with other effects like Sylph, Zack, or even just more Shivans as well to create an efficient chain of damage.

Mog (XIII-2) 042C

2cp
Backup – Moogle – XIII
The Card Name Serah you control gains +1000 power.
When Mog (XIII-2) is put from the field into the Break Zone, choose 1 Forward. Freeze it.
3
Most of what I would say about Mog was already covered in my notes on Serah, what else I’ll say is that you’re really not losing much by picking up a Mog or two without her, as it’s still a perfectly serviceable 2cp backup. Mog also has a little synergy with Caius, Cloud of Darkness, and Garland, who let you put your own characters into the Break Zone.

Wind

Arc 043H

5cp 8000
Forward – Warrior of Light – III
EX BURST When Arc enters the field, choose up to 3 Job Standard Unit or Job Warrior of Light. Activate them.
Damage 3 – When Arc enters the field, choose 1 Job Standard Unit or Job Warrior of Light of cost 3 or less in your Break Zone. Play it onto the field.
3
There’s a big difference between using Arc’s first ability to reactivate backups versus forwards. One gives you a CP rebate and mathematically puts you ahead (assuming you can use that CP) and the other gives you a one-time surprise “brave” to potentially sneak in an extra attack or two. As the game goes on, you tend to be more interested in the second, so let’s go over our options for both. There are only six SU backups, 2 in Ice, 0 in Earth, 1 in the rest. The one that is in wind, Ranger, has a huge upfront cost and is not great in multiples. Ice looks like a good option, but Knight wants you to play things MP1, while Arc wants to be played MP2. As for Forwards, we have twelve. Four of them are Onion Knight (III), but the rest are mostly decent. 3rd Class isn’t very good on defense so he’s not a great target, but Warrior, Monk, Shinra Soldier, and Knight are all pretty fine. This brings us to the Damage 3 ability. There are no WoLs in that CP range, which leaves us with SUs. Really, the only decent options are 3rd Class, Monk, and Shinra Soldier. All of these are good options, but none of them really stand out. In summary, Arc has a lot of restriction, but a lot of power. You really want to wait until Damage 3 to play him, but if you do, and you also get good value off the reac, you’ve got a pretty solid board swing for not too much investment.

Vaan 044H

2cp 4000
Forward – Sky Pirate – XII
For each active Character other than Vaan you control, Vaan gains +1000 power,
3
Vaan is an excellent vanguard for a deck comprised of smaller Forwards, like Sky Pirates. Normally, you’d end up in situations where you have a bunch of 3s and 6s stonewalled by something like BTlG, but Vaan lets you use that swarm of little dudes to power up one mega fatty that you can use to go over the top of all the 9ks. Vaan is one of the only forwards in the set that can rumble with a Damage 5 Ryid, and he’s super cheap too. A couple of downsides: you want a wide board of cheap stuff, which means you probably don’t have many other big bodies; removal summons (or even Back Attack Sephiroth) double as combat tricks against him, as they can reduce his power on demand; If you’re using him on defense, you’re disinclined to use your backups for CP; If you’re using him on offense, once you dull all your backups and followup attackers, Vaan will be very small and very open to removal.

Unsaganashi 045C

2cp
Monster – Spook – XIII
Put unsaganashi into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Forward you control. It cannot be chosen by your opponent’s Summons or abilities this turn.
Damage 5 – Put Unsaganashi into the Break Zone: Activate all the Forwards you control. They cannot be chosen by your opponent’s Summons or abilities this turn.
2
Unsaganashi is a nice little way to protect your better forwards from removal. Since the opponent can’t respond to his entry, one of the best times to play him is when you smell removal in their hand, for instance if they leave a bunch of backups active you can bet there’s a Balasa or a Shiva incoming, and playing Unsaganashi MP1 will likely cause the CP from those backups to be lost. His Damage 5 ability lets you swing out freely during the late game, letting you get a full reactivation. The only moster removal in the set is Ramza S, so you can rest easy knowing that your little spook isn’t going to bite the bullet before you can use him.

Aerith 046H

4cp 7000
Forward – Ancient – VII
Dull: Choose up to 3 VII Characters other than Aerith. Activate them.
Wi dull: Choose 1 Forward you control. It cannot be chosen by your opponent’s Summons or abilities this turn.
Wi Wi: Choose 1 Forward. During this turn, the next damage dealt to it is reduced by 2000 instead.
3
There are a handful of targets for her first ability, notably Cloud, Jenova, and Shinra Soldier. Her other two action abilities are both excellent ways to protect your forwards as well. She synergizes well with the rest of your deck, even if she isn’t great on her own.

Echo 047R

3cp
Backup – Fairy – MOBIUS
When Echo enters the field, you may search for 1 Category MOBIUS Forward and add it to your hand.
0.5
If you really really need more Wind backups, you could do worse than a vanilla 3cp. Actually, strike that, you can’t.

Kytes 48R

1cp 3000
Forward – Sky Pirate – XII
When a Card Name Vaan enters your field, you may pay Wi Wi. When you do so, play Kytes onto the field. This effect will trigger only if Kytes is in the Break Zone.
Put Kytes into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Job Sky Pirate. It gains +3000 power until the end of the turn.
2
Without any Vaans, Kytes acts as a souped up Garganzola that can also swing and party. This would be pretty decent for a low investment forward, if it weren’t for Shivan and Sylph. With Vaan making him reusable, his value goes up a bit, but not too much.

Ranger 049C

4cp
Backup – Standard Unit – XI
Dull, put Ranger into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Backup of cost 3 or more. Break it.
2
While it hurts to hit a backup that got entry value, there are a few good targets out there still. Mutsuki, Unei, Nono, and Doga in particular are high value targets. 4 is a huge upfront cost, but in a slower deck you can get a lot of value out of it. Playing out a backup and breaking a backup are ultimately the same; one earns you 1cp a turn, while the other denies 1cp to the opponent. You really have to be aiming for the long game, however, and that doesn’t really seem like it gels with the rest of Wind’s gameplan.

Thief 050C

4cp 7000
Forward – Standard Unit – III
When a card is put from your opponent’s deck into the Break Zone, Thief gains +2000 power until the end of the turn.
When Thief attacks, your opponent puts the top card of his/her deck into the Break Zone.
3
There are fewer Break Zone synergies in this set than usual, meaning that it’s pretty safe to put extra cards into your opponent’s BZ. Being able to attack as a 4cp 9k is very strong, especially in this format, and once you get them in multiples, the 2nd that attacks in a turn will be an 11k. Unfortunately, the only other way to accelerate the deckout strategy is G Diver, making it unlikely to work, so focus more on Thief’s power as a strong attacker.

Zidane 051C

3cp 5000
Forward – Genome – IX
Zidane doesn’t receive any damage from Summons or abilities.
Zidane cannot be blocked by a Forward of cost 4 or more.
2.5
Zidane resists Balasa, Gancanagh, and Shiva, while dodging the mass of 9ks running around, making him an excellent evasive attacker. Make sure, if you’re relying on him, to pack ways to clear out 3cps, as there are still a fair amount of them.

Cid (FFBE) 052L

3cp 7000
Forward – Sword Six of Paladia – FFBE
When a Forward of your opponent enters the field, deal it 2000 damage. If the Forward entered play without paying for its CP cost, deal it 9000 damage instead.
Spineshatter Dive 0 S Wi Wi Wi Dull: Choose 1 Forward. Deal it 10000 damage and 1 point of damage to that Forward’s controller.
2
There is very little that Cid stops in Opus X. Xande, Caius, Unei, Kytes, Warrior of Light, Gilgamesh (XI), Refia, and Starter Vaan are the only ways to cheat a forward onto the field. The 2k eliminates Suzuhisa and the Onion Knights, provided they’re not 8ks. When paired with Penelo or Mutsuki, Cid can clear Kytes and Elza as well. Even when paired with Sylph, not much more dies to him. This makes him, for most purposes, a vanilla 7k.

Sylph 053C

2cp
Summon – XII
EX BURST Choose 1 Forward. Deal it 3000 damage. Draw 1 card.
2.5
Sylph is a great way to make cheap cards like Zidane and sky pirates trade up. With as small as Wind’s forwards tend to be this set, you’ll almost need them in order to get anywhere. Especially useful with a First Striker like SOLDIER: 3rd Class. Also a profitable answer to Suzuhisa.

Onion Knight (III) 054C

1cp 2000
Forward – Standard Unit – III
If you control 4 or more Backups and if the Backups you control are all of different Elements, Onion Knight (III) gains +6000 power.
1
See Fire’s Onion Knight (III).

Chocobo 055H

2cp
Summon – III
Choose 1 Forward you control. Return it to its owner’s hand. Draw 1 card.
2.5
Chocobo is an excellent way to counter removal or combat tricks, and also gives you a vector to abuse ETF triggers like Caius and Raegen. While it itself is CP neutral, it does cause you to lose the original investment of the forward, so don’t just use it on anything, unless you really need to dig through the deck. Try to save it for your more impactful forwards, so that your opponent has to commit to removing them a second time.

Nono 056R

3cp
Backup – Moogle – XII
When a Category XII Forward enters your field, choose 1 Backup you control. Activate it.
3
In the deck you want it in, Nono will stack value on value. It only takes one trigger to make Nono an effective 2cp backup, and it isn’t unreasonable to get 4+ triggers over the course of a game. He cries to be paired with Sky Pirates, and also pairs well with Lightning’s Llyud, Willis, Judge of Wings, and Feolthanos. Outside those two archetypes, Nono isn’t likely to do much other than be an overcosted source of revenue.

Bartz 057C

4cp
Backup – Wanderer – THEATRHYTHM V
EX BURST When Bartz enters the field, activate all Characters you control.
2.5
Bartz is a great late game play. As your fifth backup, he not only reactivates everything you used to pay for him, but himself as well, letting you follow up with a 5 drop. He reactivates your forwards as well, which can be especially helpful if you want to double activate Serah or Hein. Keep in mind that he’s abysmal as your first or second backup, so try and keep him to decks with 14+.

Penelo 058R

2cp
Backup – Dancer – XII
Damage 3 – Dull: Deal 1000 damage to all the Forwards opponent controls.
2.5
Like Mutsuki, Penelo helps your forwards trade up, enables Sakura and Dark Knight, and all around makes math a little easier for you. Penelo pairs well with SOLDIER: 3rd Class and Zaidou’s First Strike. Can’t be activated early game, but you probably won’t have cause to, barring Suzuhisa.

Filo 059R

2cp 5000
Forward – Sky Pirate – XII
If you control a Job Sky Pirate Forward other than Filo, Filo gains +1000 and Haste.
2
Haste is always a great ability to throw off combat math, at least when you’re on the offensive. 2cp/6k is a pretty bad rate in a set with Qun’mi, Prishe, Willis, and Llyud, but it does put it exactly in Sylph/Kytes range of trading with a 9k. The Sky Pirate deck is pretty much willing to play any Forward with this job, so even if Filo isn’t a great addition, it’s very welcome.

Fran 060L

2cp 5000
Forward – Sky Pirate – XII
If you control a Card Name Balthier Forward, Fran cannot be chosen by your opponent’s Summons or abilities.
For each Job Sky Pirate other than Fran you control, Fran gains +1000 power.
When Fran attacks, choose 1 Forward opponent controls. Deal it 1000 damage for each Job Sky Pirate other than Fran you control.
3.5
It’s not terribly hard to get Fran up to 2cp/8k, and the small ping when she attacks helps to allow other smaller Sky Pirates also attack into big bodies. An early Fran (or Vaan) is an excellent reason to move into wiwa. Unfortunately there’s no Balthier to protect her, but she’s still a strong card even without that synergy (unlike Ramza, Lightning, and Echo…)

Class Eighth Moogle 061C

2cp
Backup – TYPE-0
If Class Eigth Moogle is on the field, Class Eighth Moogle can produce Earth CP.
3
Surprise, this effect is still good.

Class Twelfth Moogle 062R

2cp
Backup – TYPE-0
2.5
Perhaps the worst of the +1k moogles, just because Wind’s forwards are generally so small that you need to jump a bigger hurdle in order to make a difference. Still, in a pinch you can double trigger it with Nono, Thief at least is large enough to care, and it’s still only 2cp.

Y’shtola 063C

2cp
Backup – Scion of the Seventh Dawn – THEATRHYTHM XIV
Put Y’shtola into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Summon or ability choosing a Backup you control. Cancel its effect. Draw 1 card.
2
If you’ve got a Mutsuki, Unei, or Doga that you really want to protect, Y’shtola is a very low-investment way to do that. The only effects of your opponent’s that can even choose your backups are Squall, Ranger, Doga, Hein, and Starter Shantotto, although if you REALLY want to clear space in your backline you are allowed to counter your own Nono.

Earth

Atlas 064R

3cp 7000
Forward – Colossus – XIII
Damage 2 – Atlas gains +1000 power.
Damage 5 – Atlas gains +2000 power.
2.5
Atlas looks like a mini-Ryid but he is so much worse that it is almost criminal. It isn’t until Damage 5 that Atlas can even compete with the bigger forwards in the set, and until then you’re stuck with a paltry 3cp/8k. In other limited formats this would be excellent, but 8k dies so easily to Balasa, Ifrit, Cid (MOBIUS), and to all the other 8s and 9s on the field. 3 is still cheap, and leaving him on defense once you’re at risk of dying wards off the opponent from putting you at 5, at least until they find a way to deal with a 10k.

Warrior of Light 065L

7cp 7000
Forward – Warrior of Light – DFF I
When Warrior of Light enters the field, reveal the top 5 cards of your deck. Play as many Job Standard Unit Forwards as you want with a total cost of 5 or less among them onto the field and return the other cards to the bottom of your deck in any order.
Damage 5 – The Job Standard Unit Forwards you control gain +5000 power.
2.5
Without dipping into Onion Knights, it’s hard to get more than one off his entry. Your best bet to get a double is to go heavy Monks and pair with either Ice Knights or G Divers. Hitting a 4 is still pretty solid, Warrior and Thief are fine Forwards to get for free. Once you hit the damage threshold, even the lowly G Diver can take 9s in combat without dying. Earth is the only element with 2 non-Onion Knight Standard units, so there’s not a strong pull into any given element. Just make sure you load up on targets, because whiffing his ETF is catastrophic.

Garganzola – 066C

1cp
Monster – Flan – XIII
Put Garganzola into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Forward. It gains +2000 power until the end of the turn.
Damage 5 – Put Garganzola into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Forward. It gains +5000 power until the end of the turn.
3
There are very few ways of power boosting in the format, so Garganzola is a valued source. It is able to both swing combats and protect you from effects like Balasa and Kanna Kamui. On 5, it is capable of allowing all but the smallest of forwards to battle with anyone. Just be careful of someone trying to lure you into using it, then responding with an effect like Balasa, Ifrit, or Asuran Fists and getting extra value off their removal.

Enkidu Uruk 067R

3cp 7000
Forward – Royal Advisor – TYPE-0
The cost required to play Card Name Black Tortoise l’Cie Gilgamesh onto the field is reduced by 3.
Put Enkidu Uruk into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Earth Forward you control. Dull it. It cannot be broken this turn.
2.5
Enkidu is in a tough spot. 3cp/7k isnt an attractive stat line, and his action ability dulling the target seriously diminishes its usefulness. It is still a strong ability, BTlG, Sieghard, and Basch are all excellent and worthy of Enkidu’s protection, and BTlG in particular is so strong that knocking 3 off the cost makes Enkidu a valuable add to any deck containing the l’Cie.

Cu Sith 068C

2cp
Summon – XII
EX BURST Choose 1 Forward or Backup in your Break Zone. Add it to your hand.
3
Cu Sith provides several valuable roles in any deck. It gives you a +2cp Burst, it allows you to retrieve bombs that were discarded to fuel your early economy, it lets you recur powerful forwards that your opponent already had to deal with once, it lets you bank strong effects like Eald’narche’s Damage 5 until the time they are most useful, lets you get multiple activations of powerful S abilities like Prishe’s Asuran Fists, and it even lets you fix elements for your splash. Aside from the Burst, it does do all this at a net loss of 2cp, but for the reliability and flexibility it provides that’s a cost I’m willing to pay.

Black Tortoise l’Cie Gilgamesh 069R

6cp 9000
Forward – l’Cie – TYPE-0
Brave
Black Tortoise l’Cie Gilgamesh cannot become dull by your opponent’s Summons or abilities, cannot be returned to its owner’s hand by your opponent’s Summons or abilities, and cannot be put into the Break Zone by your opponent’s Summons or abilities.
4
Gilgamesh may look at first blush like an overcosted 9k, but between brave and his list of resistances he is a serious package. Brave is relatively rare in the set, with only Basch, Titan, Warrior, Lusse, and Ryid also boasting the keyword (at least in a meaningful way, e.g. Noctis and Lann’s brave aren’t able to be applied in oX limited). As one of the biggest beaters in the set, unless your opponent has a way to contest him, BTlG will dominate the field both on offense and defense. Ice, one of the strongest elements in the set, finds him incredibly difficult to push through. Cloud of Darkness, Shiva, Scylla, Squall, Sephiroth all fail to even slow him, leaving their only options to either put Eald’narche or Jenova in his way, or rely on a second element. Compounding the difficulty of simply battling him with a 9k is the bevy or cards who synergize with him. Joker, Miotsk, Gargonzola, Sieghard, Enkidu, and Titan are all in-element ways to safeguard him in combat, and Enkidu even HALVES HIS COST! I’m already 100% down for paying six cp for this stunner, but getting a discount for playing a card I already want to play due to his protection effect elevates BTlG from a great hardbody into an outright bomb. Oh, and you even have Cu Sith as insurance if he ever dies.

Sieghard 070H

4cp 8000
Forward – Sworn Six of Paladia – FFBE
If Sieghard receives damage, reduce the damage by 2000 instead.
If an Earth Forward other than Sieghard you control is dealt damage, reduce the damage by 1000 instead.
3.5
Sigurd resists almost all removal in the set, for some like Balasa, Cid, Ganc and Kanna at least until their condition is met. He can block 9ks. He protects your team from Mutsuki, Penelo, dampens the damage of cards like Raiden and Shivan, and in general makes your Earth forwards much more difficult to combo kill. Sakura and Dark Knight become much less reliable in the face of Seigfried. He can even attack into 9ks if you have some other way to increase his damage, like Raiden or Mutsuki, and he parties well with the smaller forwards Earth has access to, like Suzuhisa and Onion Knight (III). Any way to mess with combat math is usually a good addition to your deck, and Ziggurat provides one that simply persists with no additional investment.

Cid (MOBIUS) 071R

4cp
Backup – Veteran – MOBIUS
EX BURST When Cid (MOBIUS) enters the field, choose 1 Forward opponent controls. Deal it 4000 damage for each Forward you control.
3.5
Cid promises an absolutely unreal amount of damage for doing what you want to be doing anyways: playing forwards. Earth has several cheap forwards if you really want to enable Cid, but usually you’ll have enough to reliably deal 8k. I like that 9ks, the dominant force in oX limited, require a little more investment to deal with, needing 3 forwards. Be careful of an opponent’s ability to remove a forward in response to his trigger, and if you think they may have a trick it may pay to ensure you’re doing 4k more than you actually need. Also keep in mind that Cid is very much a mid to late game backup, and will not factor into your typical early development.

Shantotto 072L

3cp 7000
Forward – Mage – XI
When Shantotto enters the field, reveal the top card of your deck. When the revealed card’s cost is 2 or less, choose 1 Summon in your Break Zone. Add it to your hand. When the revealed card’s cost is 4 or 5, choose 1 Character in your Break Zone. Add it to your hand. When the revealed card’s cost is 6 or more, choose 1 Forward opponent controls. Break it.
3
There are only 11 cards in the set that cost 6 or more (including Starters) and only two are less rare than H, so for most of the time assume you’re returning either a summon or a character. You’ll want to pick up several summons and avoid including too many 3 drops as possible in your deck to avoid bricking, but the ability isn’t so powerful that you are going to be willing to destabilize your deck too much. Ultimately, you’re (probably) going to get a discount on a 7k and get a good card back, which makes Totto decent but not great.

Joker 073C

2cp
Backup – Cardian – XI
Ea Dull: Choose 1 Forward with Brave. During this turn, the next damage dealt to it is reduced by 2000 instead.
2.5
If this card only affected BTlG, I would still love it. As though that weren’t enough, it also hits Basch (on attack), Ryid, a Lusse backed Lann or Reynn, and even once in a while a forward pumped by Warrior. 2k is enough to seriously mess with combat math, and in a pinch you can even combine it with Titan.

Suzuhisa 074C

1cp 1000
Forward – Leader of the Dominion Legions – TYPE-0
When your opponent’s auto-ability triggers, put Suzuhisa into the Break Zone. When you do so, draw 2 cards. These effects trigger only once per turn.
2.5
There are so many auto-abilities floating around that at some point your opponent is going to trigger this. It only puts you up 1cp, but mathematically it lets you essentially turn one point of renewable CP from your backups into 2cp that you can use at any time. It also digs you deeper into your deck, making it more reliable and giving you access to your bombs one full turn earlier. Aside from Suzu helping to sculpt your hand, he also adds to your forward count for Cid, and parties well with Sieghard. He does die easily, so be careful of Mutsuki, Shivan, Sylph, Penelo, Raiden, and Cuchulainn, all of which deal with him at a CP gain for the caster.

Warrior 075C

4cp 8000
Forward – Standard Unit – Special
When Warrior enters the field, select 1 of the 2 following actions.
“Choose 1 Forward. Until the end of the turn, it gains Brave and it gains +1000 power for each point of damage you have received.”
Choose 1 Forward. Deal it 1000 damage for each point of damage you have received.”
2.5
Brave is a fine keyword, and even a little bonus power can help swing over tough defenses. The more damage you take, the more you become able to use his damage in conjuction with another effect to take down larger forwards. Both options are strong in the right situation, and you’re getting an on curve body afterwards.

Titan 076H

1cp
Summon – III
Select up to 2 of the 4 following actions.
“Choose 1 Forward you control. It gains +1000 power until the end of the turn.”
“All the Forwards you control gain Brave until the end of the turn.”
“All the Forwards you control gain ‘This Forward cannot become dull by your opponent’s Summons or abilites’ until the end of the turn.”
“Draw 1 card.”
2
There’s a lot of flexibility here, but honestly not much power. Most of the time you cast Titan will be as a mini-Belias without EX. He does help in combat a little, can blow out removal, can let you use Joker on any forward, and helps counter things like Damage 5 Eald’narche, Back Attack Sephiroth, and Cloud of Darkness’ attack trigger. It’s worth having one in the deck, as worst case scenario you just cycle it for cheap.

Onion Knight (III)

1cp 2000
Forward – Standard Unit – III
If you control 4 or more Backups and if the Backups you control are all of different Elements, Onion Knight (III) gains +6000 power.
1.5
This Onion Knight is slightly better than the others for two reasons. He helps power up Cid (MOBIUS) and he helps Earth’s mass of 8ks to party attack into 9ks. Both of those are dubious reasons, but he’s absolutely the most playable of the group.

Doga 078H

5cp
Backup – Magus – III
When you cast a Summon of cost 4 or more, choose 1 Backup of cost 3 or more opponent controls. Break it. This effect will trigger only once per turn.
0.5
Only Balasa and Shiva trigger him, and many backups aren’t even in his range. Fewer still aren’t effectively 1cp backups, making it nearly impossible to get enough value from him. Doga simply asks for too much up front for a payout that is both difficult to attain and of not enough value.

Noctis 079C

2cp
Backup – Prince – THEATRHYTHM XV
When Noctis enters the field, choose 1 Forward. It gains +2000 power until the end of the turn.
When Noctis enters the field, until the end of the turn, all the Category XV Forwards you control gain +2000 power and Brave.
2
Sometimes the boost will let you swing into or over a blocker, sometimes you won’t be able to get any benefit from it at all. Either way, you need 2cps, and having them be slightly useful sometimes is good.

Basch 080H

4cp 8000
Forward – Judge WAIT NO IT’S CAPTAIN FOR SOME REASON – XII
At the beginning of the Attack Phase during each of your turns, if you have 2 or more cards in your hand, Basch gains Brave until the end of the turn. If you have 4 or more cards in your hand, Basch also gains +2000 power until the end of the turn.
When Basch attacks, choose 1 Forward opponent controls. If you have 7 or more cards in your hand, deal it damage equal to Basch’s power.
4
Basch presents a serious offensive threat. There are very few forwards that can block a 10k profitably, and Basch can even hold the fort while he does it. Getting a single attack off with 7 cards will gain you a significant advantage in board presence. You’ll want to play a deck that wants to stock up on cards in hand, as he excels in a slower deck. If you can, try to play him while keeping 5 cards so that you can get his damage trigger on the next turn. He is a massive lightning rod for removal, so any way that you can protect/recur him goes up in value accordingly.

Prishe 081R

2cp 5000
Forward – Abhorrent One – XI
If you control a Forward of power 9000 or more other than Prishe, Prishe gains +3000 power.
When Prishe enters the field, each player may search for 1 Forward of power 9000 or more and add it to his/her hand.
Asuran Fists S Ea Ea Ea dull: Choose 1 Forward. Deal it 9000 damage. Activate Prishe.
2.5
Prishe carries a fair bit of risk, as your opponent is capable of getting some serious bombs with it. Make sure that the things you’re getting are great, and that you can reliably have her as a 2cp 8k. It also helps to have her in multiples, as Asuran Fists is a great solution to whatever behemoth your opponent searches up. Since it reactivates her, Asuran Fists is often going to be part of a critical turn, where you pair it with another removal effect and then swing for lethal. In summation, she’s a cheap mid-sized threat that, while risky, also gives you a tool to mitigate that risk.

Miotsk 082C

2cp
Backup – Cadetmaster – TYPE-0
Ea Dull, put Miotsk into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Forward. It gains +2000 power until the end of the turn.
Ea Dull, put Miotsk into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Category Type-0 Forward. It gains +4000 power until the end of the turn.
3
As one of only three sources of buff in the set, Miotsk provides a rare and valuable service, and for a cheap cost. It is somewhat telegraphed, though sometimes you can dull all but her and leave the opponent to wonder if that last card in your hand is Earth or not. Sometimes they’ll gamble. +4 is huge, and there are plenty of Type-0 forwards, 3 in Earth, 2 in Ice, and 1 in Fire. Even +2 is likely to do most of what you need it for, though.

Mog (MOBIUS) 083R

2cp
Backup – Moogle – MOBIUS
Dull: Choose 1 Category MOBIUS Forward you control. It gains +1000 power until the end of the turn.
2
It does the job, even if it ain’t pretty. Well, ok, it is pretty, it just… you know what I mean! You need 2cp backups, and it’s not like this does that much less than Noctis. Would it have killed them to use MOBIUS art for at least one forward? Prishe has sweet MOBIUS art, and Jenova SYNTHESIS has incredible MOBIUS art!

Monk 084C

3cp 7000
Forward – Standard Unit – XI
Dull 1 active Card Name Monk: Monk gains +1000 power until the end of the turn.
2.5
On his own, he’s able to block at 8k, and with one more monk he can step in front of 9s. The more you can get the stronger they will be, and at C you can get a whole bunch. Alone, he isn’t really much to talk about though, as 9s rule the format, although with a Garganzola or a Miotsk he can still block those. Remember that since his ability doesn’t use the dull symbol that he can be activated the turn you play him.

Lightning

Alus 085H

5cp
Backup – Prince – III
Mill 1 card every turn.
Dull, put Alus into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Forward. Dull it.
0
Combo it with G Diver to deck yourself!

Aldo 086C

4cp
Backup – Leader of the Tenshado – XI
When Aldo enters the field, you may search for 1 Lightning Forward and add it to your hand.
3
Consistency is a blessing for any deck, and the targets Aldo can fetch all do great work. He even facilitates a Lightning splash, as he searches up the bomb you’re trying to play.

Willis 087R

2cp 5000
Forward – Warrior – XII
If you control a Card Name Judge of Wings, Willis gains +3000 power, “Willis must attack once per turn if possible.” and “When Willis is put from the field into the Break Zone, choose 1 Forward of cost 4 or less opponent controls. Break it.”
3
2cp/8k is a pretty good rate, and Lightning has pretty consistent access to Judge courtesy of Aldo. Judge is also big enough that it’s mighty tough to break him mid-battle to shrink Willis; only Balasa will take you by surprise. This makes his drawback of being required to attack a little more palatable, and his break trigger makes it so that he can still gain value when your opponent puts a 9k in his way. Willis doesn’t work well on defense, and doesn’t work at all without Judge, so make sure you’re playing to his strengths.

Garland 088H

3cp 9000
Forward – Knight – DFF I
First Strike
When Garland enters the field, select 1 Character of cost 3 or less other than Garland you control. Put it into the Break Zone.
4
Garland owns the field. The dream is to play him t2 off a t1 Aldo. The other dream is to play him off a Ranperre. Another strong play is to clear something like a Nag’molada so you can play another one. Hopefully you’re able to find some way to mitigate his extra cost, as 9k First Strike is the juice. Pick up a couple Raidens, or Sylphs, or Garganzolas or something, just to make sure you’re able to handle anything.

Khalia Chival 089C

2cp
Backup – Chancellor – TYPE-0
Li Dull, put Khalia Chival into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Category TYPE-0 card in your Break Zone. Add it to your hand.
2.5
There are no Lightning Type-0 forwards, so you’ll have to look to Fire, Ice, or Earth for targets. Ryid and BTlG are the clear winners here, but Kurasame isn’t awful. Being able to turn your early backups into big forwards late game is a pretty strong ability, so if you’re in one of those elements he’s a decent add.

Kanna Kamuy 090C

3cp
Monster – Wyvern – XIII
Put Kanna Kamuy into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Forward. It loses 7000 power until the end of the turn.
Damage 5 – Put Kanna Kamuy into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Forward. It loses 9000 power until the end of the turn.
3.5
7k may not be enough to outright kill a lot of things, but it is enough to make any battle go your way. At Damage 5 it becomes a serious monster, but honestly -7k is so strong that an extra 2 doesn’t make much of a difference, except to stop things like attack triggers from Reynn or Jenova or the like.

Zaidou 091C

2cp
Backup – Provost – TYPE-0
Dull, put Zaidou into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Forward. It gains First Strike until the end of the turn.
Dull, put Zaidou into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Category TYPE-0 Forward. Until the end of the turn, it gains Haste and First Strike.
3
Zaidou is a serious threat that must be respected. Leaving him active makes any potential trade suddenly a one-sided affair, meaning your opponent has to beat your forwards by 1k in any fight. Occasionally you’ll even get to pop off a sneaky haste too.

Sakura 092C

2cp 5000
Forward – Sage – FFBE
When Sakura enters the field, if your opponent controls a damaged Forward, draw 2 cards.
2.5
Sakura really needs some enablers to shine, Penelo, Mutsuki, and Desch are great ways to get damaged forwards. While Raiden does actually enable her, unless you’re getting value somewhere else from it I wouldn’t rely on it. Once on the field, she’s too small to do much on her own, so use her to party with Lightning’s 7 and 8ks into 9s, and as a damage source once the board is clear.

Shinra Soldier 093C

3cp 7000
Forward – Standard Unit – VII
For each Job Shinra Soldier or Card Name Shinra Soldier in your Break Zone, Shinra Soldier gains +1000 power.
2.5
3cp/8k is an acceptable rate, though nothing to write home about. Once you get into the 9k territory, though, he becomes a serious threat. That means in draft you need to commit early and hard to picking them up, so that you can get them beefy ASAP.

Judge of Wings 094R

6cp 9000
Forward – Judge of Wings – XII
The cost required to play Judge of Wings onto the field is reduced by 1 for every 2 Lightning Summons in your Break Zone (it cannot become 0).
When Judge of Wings enters the field, select 1 of the 2 following actions.
“Choose up to 2 Forwards. Dull them.”
“Judge of Wings gains Haste until the end of the turn.”
3.5
Let me start this by saying how much it bothers me that reminder text in this game has actual rules relevance. With that aside, Judge will often wind up being the core of many Lightning decks. A great target for Aldo, unlocks Willis’ true potential, acts as surprise pressure with the choice of two powerful ETFs, and stands tall at 9k. Judge is one of the best Forwards in the element, and she should be a strong draw to Lightning.

Desch 095H

3cp 7000
Forward – Mysterious Man – III
Damage 1 – Desch gains First Strike.
Damage 3 – When Desch attacks, deal 2000 damage to all the Forwards opponent controls.
Damage 5 – Put Desch into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Forward. Break it.
4
Desch is a serious offensive threat. Once you unlock 3, he can swing into 9s with impunity. Once you hit 5, being able to break any forward gives you the opportunity to gain a decent CP advantage, doubling as a Kanna Kamuy that can also attack. He can even take down the rare 10k or higher with a Raiden or something similar.

Knight 096C

4cp 8000
Forward – Standard Unit – III
When a Forward other than Knight you control is put from the field into the Break Zone, Knight gains +2000 power until the end of the turn.
2
On offense, Knight dissuades your opponent from trading, for fear of Knight following up as a 10k. Sometimes you’ll even be able to make a trade on block, or just make a chump block, in order to pump him on defense too. He’s also strong with forwards that can be binned at will, like Desch, Kytes, Enkidu, and conditionally White Tiger.

Noel 097R

4cp 8000
Forward – Commando – XIII
The Card Name Serah you control cannot be chosen by your opponent’s Summons or abilities.
When Noel attacks, activate Noel. Noel can attack once more this turn. This effect will trigger only once per turn.
3
If you can clear the way for him, Noel will dish out the beats. Pair him with as much removal/pump as you can, and let him slam over and over. I don’t think it needs to be said that pairing him with the Serah/Mog (XIII-2) engine is sweet, but he’s fine in any deck that wants to be even a little aggressive. Just make sure you can stop your opponent from stonewalling him with a 9k.

Feolthanos 098L

7cp 9000
Forward – Aegyl – XII
Summons or abilities of your opponent must choose Feolthanos if possible.
When Feolthanos is chosen by your opponent’s Summons of cost 5 or less or an ability of their Characters of cost 5 or less, cancel its effect.
3.5
There are some decks this will utterly shut down, and some decks against which it will only be an overpriced 9k, and it’s often hard to tell which is which until you watch your opponent’s face as you field him. Pretty much the only thing that’s gonna stop him outside of battle is EX, so try to keep Earth decks under 3 forwards, or Cid (MOBIUS) will shatter your dreams. Not much you can do about Balasa, though. Other solutions are Scylla and Cloud of Darkness, which means against Ice it might be best to just leave him on defense.

Dark Knight 099C

3cp
Backup – Standard Unit – III
When Dark Knight enters the field, choose 1 damaged Forward. Deal it 8000 damage.
3
All the things that enable Sakura enable Dark Knight as well, except you’re also much more likely to suicide a smaller forward like Llyud or Sakura herself during combat and following up with a MP2 Dark Knight to clear the blocker.

Raiden (REVENANT WINGS) 100C

1cp
Summon – XII
EX BURST Deal 2000 damage to all the active Forwards opponent controls. Draw 1 card.
2.5
There are lots of little uses here and there for Raiden: enabling Sakura and Dark Knight, clearing Suzuhisa and inactive Onion Knights, topping off damaged blockers, helping your First Strike attackers clear tall forwards, making Judge of Wings 0.5cp cheaper, all sorts of things you can do. The issue is that all of them are synergy based (except the Suzu one) making it less than impressive on your own. Make sure you’ve got multiple ways to utilize Raiden in your deck before stuffing them in there. And even then, probably hold to only 1 or 2 copies. Keep in mind it doesn’t target, which means it’s one of the few ways to help clear Feolthanos.

Lightning 101L

6cp 8000
Forward – Knight of Etro – XIII
When Lightning enters the field, you may search for up to 2 Card Name Odin and add them to your hand.
Li Dull, remove 2 Card Name Odin in the Break Zone from the game: Choose 1 Forward. Break it.
0.5
She does technically attack for damage, so she’s not completely useless, but in a world of 9ks, an overcosted Black Belt is not where you want to be at.

Ramuh 102H

2cp
Summon – III
EX BURST Choose 1 Forward that entered the field this turn. Deal it 8000 damage.
2.5
There are just too many important things that this doesn’t kill to be rated any higher. You can combine it with Raiden to clear 9s and 10s, but you’ve really got to be spot on predicting what your opp is going to play. The window is incredibly small, so most of the time you’ll be discarding a lightning card to play it. It is still a sizable chunk of damage, so if you’ve got Mutsuki, Penelo, or Raidens, or even Cid (FFBE), then it becomes much more attractive.

Ramza 103R

5cp 7000
EX BURST When Ramza enters the field, choose 1 Category FFT Character other than Card Name Ramza in your Break Zone. Add it to your hand.
Damage 5 – When Ramza enters the field, you may play 1 Category FFT Character from your hand onto the field.
Chirijiraden S Li Li Li Dull: Deal 7000 damage to all the Forwards opponent controls.
0.5
Chijjejurdin or whatever it’s called is a tempting S, but loading up on overpriced 7ks isn’t worth it. Even if you manage to pull it off, the average power level in the set is high enough that it simply won’t be as impactful as you hope, unless you combine it with Raiden or Mutsuki.

Ranperre 104R

2cp
When Ranperre is put from the field into the Break Zone, you may play 1 Category XI Forward from your hand onto the field.
2.5
Like Zaidou and Khalia Chival, Ranperre has no options within element, meaning you’ll have to outsource. Fire has only Naji, so you’ll more likely be drawn to Ice for the Zilart brothers, Water for Gilgamesh and Lion, or Earth for Prishe, Totto, Monk, and if you’re lucky enough Starter Totto. You will need a source to put Ranperre into the BZ, Caius, Cloud of Darkness, Garland, or even, and this can’t be optimal, Starter Totto. It is a lot of pieces to assemble, needing an XI forward in hand at the same time you have a way to break Ranperre, but in the meantime you’re not paying anything extra for him.

Llyud 105R

2cp 5000
Forward – Aegyl – XII
If you control a Wind Backup, Llyud gains +2000 power and Haste.
2
2cp/7k is decent, and Haste is valuable enough. He’s not especially great, but he’s quality filler.

Water

Ashe 106L

4cp 8000
Forward – Princess – XII
At the beginning of the Attack Phase during each of your turns, select up to 2 of the 4 following actions.
“Draw 1 card, then discard 1 card from your hand.”
“All the Water Forwards you control gain +1000 power until the end of the turn.”
“Choose 1 Character. Activate it.”
“Choose 1 Forward of cost 4 or less. It loses all its abilities until the end of the turn.”
4
There are a ton of things to do with Ashe in oX. Class Seventh Moogle and Aria are excellent recipients of her activation, as is anything with a dull ability like Raegen or Hein. Her buff to all Water forwards incentivizes a heavy commitment to Water. Her ability strip can be strong in the face of cards like Fran, Enkidu, Sieghard, Garland, and Knight. Finally her ability to cycle quickly through your deck helps get you to the rest of your business cards quicker, although be careful of using it in the face of Thieves.

Exoray 107C

3cp
Monster – Nudibranch – XIII
Put Exoray into the Break Zone: Draw 2 cards.
Damage 5 – Put Exoray into the Break Zone: Draw 3 cards.
2
Exoray is a good way to dig deep into your deck, although you’re losing 1 cp to do it. If you can hold off until Damage 5, it makes you cp, although it isn’t terribly likely you can just wait that long. The power of most of the other Damage 5 monsters is that they become immediately relevant in combat, and unless you’re packing Balasas and Ifrits, Exoray doesn’t help you survive if your opponent is planning to take you from 4 to 6 in one turn.

Aria (III) 108R

2cp
Backup – Seeress – III
If you don’t control any Forwards, Aria (III) does not activate during your Active Phase.
Dull: All the Forwards you control gain +1000 power until the end of the turn.
2.5
While she’s not well suited to early development, once you’ve set up a bit she provides a powerful buff. With a source like Ashe or Folka to get double triggers, you can create some incredibly strong board states. Just make sure you’re not relying on her as your turn 1 play.

Elza 109C

2cp 3000
Forward – Sky Pirate – XII
EX BURST When Elza enters the field, if you control a Job Sky Pirate Forward other than Elza, draw 1 card.
2
Completely untenable outside of the Sky Pirate deck, but there she’s a cheap striker. Make sure you’ve got enough other Sky Pirates, and also enough ways to clear a path for her, although she does make for a great party attacker as well.

Cuchulainn 110C

1cp
Summon – XII
Choose 1 Forward. Until the end of the turn, it loses 1000 power for each card in your hand. If its power has become 0 or less by the previous effect, draw 1 card.
2.5
-2 or -3 is enough to swing a lot of battles in your favor, and every once in a while you’ll get to kill something like Suzuhisa or even a SOLDER: Third Class outright. Pretty good deal for how cheap it is.

Gilgamesh (XI) 111H

6cp 9000
Forward – Pirate – XII
If you control 5 or more Water Characters, Gilgamesh (XI) cannot be broken by opposing Summons or abilities that don’t deal damage.
When Gilgamesh (XI) attacks, choose 1 Forward of cost 2 or less in your Break Zone. Play it onto the field.
4
Gilg is the biggest forward in Water, and on top of being huge has a powerful attack trigger. There are lots of choice Forwards you can replay with him, Elza, White Tiger, Vaan, Suzuhisa, Willis, Sakura… Backed with power altering effects from Cuchulainn, Class Seventh, and Aria, you should be able to swing rather safely with him over and over, and he even provides a steady source of chump blockers if you need.

Sara 112H

3cp
Backup – Princess – III
The Job Warrior of Light Forwards you control gain +1000 power.
0.5
I don’t trust Sarahs without an H, and I don’t trust a backup that only affects 3 targets, none of whom are particularly good.

G Diver 113C

2cp 5000
Forward – Standard Unit – VII
When G Diver is put from the field into the Break Zone, each player draws 1 card.
1.5
It’s servicable, but it’s small enough that Aria and Seventh aren’t going to be much help. It really is just filler, even though it looks like it might have synergy with Zack, Thief, and Gilgamesh. None of those are powerful enough to be worth building towards, although it’s worth knowing what all you can do with the inevitable couple of G Divers you may be obligated to play.

White Mage 114C

2cp
Backup – Standard Unit – XI
Wa Wa Dull, put White Mage into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Water Summon in your Break Zone. Add it to your hand.
2
Neither Cuchulainn nor Leviathan is so good you really want a second helping, so White Mage is pretty much just relegated to filler.

Cecil 115C

2cp
Backup – Paladin – IV
Dull, put Cecil into the Break Zone: During this turn, if a Forward you control is dealt damage, reduce the damage by 2000 instead.
3
Cecil can help turn trades into one sided events, can protect your team from effects like Penelo and Raiden, completely shuts off Zack for a turn, counters Desch’s attack trigger, just all around provides for a solid chunk of damage removal.

Onion Knight (III) 116C

1cp 2000
Forward – Standard Unit – III
If you control 4 or more Backups and if the Backups you control are all of different Elements, Onion Knight (III) gains +6000 power.
1
Yep, still bad.

Tidus 117H

4cp 8000
Forward – Guardian – DFF X
The Category X Forwards other than Tidus you control gain +1000 power.
When Tidus enters the field, you may return 1 Backup you control to its owner’s hand. When you do so, choose 1 Forward. Return it to its owner’s hand.
Quick Hit S: Activate Tidus. Tidus gains +2000 power until the end of the turn.
3.5
Unfortunately, there are no recipients for the TCG version of Tidus’ Cheer ability, but he is able to tag in for one of your backups and yeet an enemy back to the hand. This often huge tempo swing can be exacerbated by bouncing something like Verena or Dark Knight to get a second ETF. In multiples, his Quick Hit allows him to handily defeat 9s, and you can avoid telegraphing it too. Swing with a relatively full hand so that it looks like you have Cuchulainn, then when your opponent cracks back, surprise!

Tomaj 118R

2cp
Backup – Sky Pirate – XII
Dull: Choose 1 Forward. It loses 1000 power until the end of the turn. You can only use this ability if you control 3 or more Job Sky Pirate Forwards.
2.5
In the Sky Pirate deck, the forwards are often at power levels where a 1k difference isn’t a huge deal, outside of Raz, and only Fran cares about non-forward Sky Pirates, but still the ability will be useful enough, and is both cheap and stapled to an on curve backup.

Verena 119R

3cp
Backup – Empath – XI
EX BURST When Verena enters the field, you may search for 1 Job Goblin or Card Name Goblin and add it to your hand.
2.5
Gancanagh is a strong card, and when coupled with Class Fourth you get a Fire Water deck that is pretty consistent. You can also use her if you’re only splashing Fire to get reliable access to the element. Outside of that, stay away.

Folka 120L

3cp 7000
Forward – Sworn Six of Paladia – FFBE
Discard 1 Water Summon: Folka cannot be chosen by your opponent’s Summons or abilities this turn.
Discard 1 Water Summon: Choose 1 Forward and 1 Backup. Activate them.
Discard 1 Water Summon: Choose 1 Forward of cost 4 or less opponent controls. Return it to its owner’s hand.
2.5
The three abilities are all pretty strong, and hopefully not too many other people are contesting you for water, so you should be able to pick up a couple of Cuchs and hopefully a Levi or two. Bouncing a 4cp puts you up 2cp, and if you pair her with 9s the potential of her reactivating a forward becomes a powerful threat.

Class Fourth Moogle 121C

2cp
Backup – Moogle – TYPE-0
If Class Fourth Moogle is on the field, Class Fourth Moogle can produce Fire CP.
3
The presence of Verena for Gancanaugh as well as Class Fourth makes Fire Water a tempting archetype, I just worry that there isn’t enough synergy outside the reliable backup base.

Class Seventh Moogle 122R

2cp
Backup – Moogle – TYPE-0
2cp
1 dull: Choose 1 Water Forward you control. It gains +1000 power until the end of the turn.
2.5
Class Seventh is a weaker Aria without the drawback of requiring forwards. That means it also works well with Ashe and Folka, while being reliable early game. It does only affect Water forwards, so make sure you’ve got plenty of those. Slightly better than the other element’s buff moogles, since Water has means to reactivate it.

Lion 123R

3cp 7000
Forward – Scout – XI
Damage 2 – When Lion is put from the field into the Break Zone, Draw 1 card.
Damage 5 – Lion gains +1000 power and “if Lion receives damage, the damage is reduced by 1000 instead.”
2.5
At Damage 2, Lion is effectively a 1/7, and at Damage 5 it takes 9k to down her. With just a little help from Aria, Cuchulainn, or Class Seventh, she takes down 9ks and survives. At just 7k though, she isn’t really that impressive, even with the card draw, so plan on trying to find a way to survive at Damage 5 in order to get the most out of her.

Raz 124C

4cp 8000
Forward – Sky Pirate – XII
When Raz enters the field, choose 1 Forward. If you control a Job Sky Pirate Forward other than Raz, return it to it’s owner’s hand.
3
Raz should be one of the strong reasons to go into Sky Pirates, as he’s big enough to present a serious body, especially when backed by Tomaj, Rikken, or any of Water’s other myriad buffs and debuffs, and if you should get his ETF off you’ll be quite far ahead.

Leviathan 125H

3cp
Summon – III
EX BURST Draw 2 cards, then put 1 card from your hand on the top or bottom of your deck.
2
Levi is super expensive for what he does on the surface, which is to affect your card selection. You end up with the same amount of cards in hand, meaning you’re simply out 3cp. This means you really need to be doing something with him. Things he’s good at include: getting rid of excess dark/light cards; setting up strong EX BURST like Balasa and Cid (MOBIUS); digging towards the cards your deck may revolve around; triggering Unei; being discarded to fuel Folka. Of course, as a Burst, he’s somewhat better than a standard Draw 1, but if you’re only running him with the hope of Bursting him, he’ll just be filler most games.

Rikken 126R

3cp 7000
Forward – Sky Pirate – XII
At the beginning of the Attack Phase during each of your turns, all the Job Sky Pirate Forwards other than Rikken you control gain +2000 power until the end of the turn.
2.5
Rikken helps several of the other Sky Pirates become a decent size. Filo becomes an 8, Raz a 10, Vaan and Fran can get wildly out of hand, and if you manage to pull Vaan S he becomes a 10 as well. Kytes and Elza don’t really benefit too much from it, though, leaving Rikken’s boon a little hard to take advantage of at times.

Light/Dark/Starter

Citra 127H

3cp 7000
Forward – Sworn Six of Paladia – FFBE
EX BURST When Citra enters the field, choose 1 Summon or Monster in your Break Zone. Add it to your hand.
Discard 1 Light card: Choose 1 Forward. It cannot attack or block this turn.
3
1cp/7k is only a fair body, so the appeal of Citra is the second chance at a powerful piece of removal. Returning Balasa, Gancanagh, Kanna Kamui, these are the dreams, but she’s large enough to make Cuchulainn relevant, and in a pinch you can use her to fix for whichever element you need in order to play something. If you wind up with multiple Light cards, your opponent will never play around her second ability, particularly because both the other Light cards are awful.

Refia 128L

5cp 8000
Forward – Warrior of Light – III
When Refia enters the field, you may search for 1 Card Name Arc, Card Name Ingus, or Card Name Luneth of cost 4 or less and play it onto the field.
When Refia attacks, choose 1 Forward opponent controls. If you control 4 or more Job Warrior of Light Forwards, remove it from the game.
0.5
The only Arc, Ingus, or Luneth in the set doesn’t cost 4 or less, so that ability doesn’t work, and there are only 3 Warriors of Light, Arc, Warrior of Light, and Refia herself, so the other ability doesn’t work… that leaves us with a vanilla 5cp/8k that can’t even discard for CP. Hard no.

Hein 129L

4cp 9000
Forward – Mage – III
Discard 1 card. Name 1 Element. Hein cannot be chosen by Summons or abilities of the named Element and doesn’t receive any damage from Summons or abilities of the named Element this turn.
3 dull: Choose up to 2 Characters. Dull Them. You can only pay with Fire CP, Ice CP, or Lightning CP to use this ability.
4.5
Hien rumbles with the best, is almost impossible to deal with outside of combat, and can negate up to four blockers for a single combat phase (activate at end of opp’s turn, then again after your Active Phase.) He also comes in under curve. Paired with any way to protect him in combat, like Aria or Garganzola, he becomes an absolute nightmare. Be a little careful against Ice, as Cloud of Darkness can answer him cleanly if he’s your only dull Forward. Ashe also can choose to strip his abilities, causing you to either activate him on the spot or leave him without his shield.

Raegen 130H

5cp 8000
Forward – Sworn Six of Paladia – FFBE
3.5
Raegen not only gives you a small rebate when he enters, he also gives you another shot at one of your better cards. 8k is a sizable body, and throwing EX into the mix presents a pretty appealing package. Another thing Raegen is good at is fetching Damage cards that were chucked early on, but now that you’ve met their damage threshold, you want them back. His Dark discard is also strong, should you happen to get hold of another copy, or a Hien or CoD S.

Ace 131S

2cp
Backup – Class Zero Cadet – DFF TYPE-0
When Ace enters the field, select 1 of the 2 following actions.
“Choose 1 Forward opponent controls. Deal it 5000 damage.”
You may pay Fi Fi Fi. When you do so, choose 1 Forward opponent controls. Deal it 9000 damage.”
3.5
Ace presents a clean way of handling 9ks, and one of the few that doesn’t require something extra, whether that be five backups, three forwards, or to be at Damage 5. If you’re gonna splash him then forget about getting the 9k, but even at 5 you can do great things with him.

Terra 132S

4cp 5000
Forward – Magitek Knight – DFF VI
EX BURST When Terra enters the field, choose 1 Summon in your Break Zone. Add it to your hand.
When you cast a Summon, choose 1 Forward opponent controls. Deal it 2000 damage.
2.5
Terra is like a mini-Citra that is also more expensive and can’t get monsters. The 2k is nice, but Sylph, Shivan, and Raiden do too little as it is for Terra to make them into real hitters. She does make Balasa able to take down 9s without five backups though, so she’ll always make the cut.

Vaan 133S

6cp 8000
Forward – Sky Pirate – DFF XII
When Vaan enters the field, reveal the top 5 cards of your deck. Play 1 Forward of cost 3 or less among them onto the field. Then, shuffle the other cards revealed and return them to the bottom of your deck. If you have received 5 points of damage or more, perform this action twice instead.
2.5
Within wind, your targets aren’t exciting, excepting Fran at L. There are still plenty of great targets throughout the elements, though, Squall, Atlas, Garland, Desch to name a few, though even just getting something as simple as Monk will be nice. Take Vaan early and try to build around him, rather than trying to fit him into an established deck. Lightning is probably his best pair, with Shinra Soldier at C and multi-playable, although he’s also a great start to a Sky Pirates deck.

Kain 134S

3cp 5000
Forward – Holy Dragoon – DFF IV
Haste
Kain doesn’t receive any damage except battle damage.
Gungnir S: Until the end of the turn, Kain gains +5000 power and First Strike.
1
I don’t care how well he can protect himself from non-battle damage, at a measly 5k your opponent has no need to burn him down. The only relevant text on Kain is haste, and some aggressive decks are absolutely in the market for Haste, no matter the size of the Forward. Wind, however, I doubt is one of those decks.

Kefka 135S

4cp 7000
Forward – Mage – DFF VI
EX BURST When Kefka attacks, choose 1 Forward you control and 1 Forward opponent controls. Break them.
When a Character opponent controls is put from the field into the Break Zone, you may pay 1. When you do so, draw 1 card.
3.5
Just due to the nature of limited, your deck is going to have plenty of cards that are on the lower end of the strength scale. Kefka gives you a prime vector to trade these at 1:1 for your opponent’s best dude, then on top of that lets you turn one renewable CP from a backup into a bankable card in hand. Even without any support, he can throw himself under the bus to take down something truly nasty. And since his second trigger isn’t restricted to his own ability, just having him on the field will generate resources throughout the natural course of the game.

Shantotto 136S

9cp 9000
Forward – Mage – DFF XI
If your opponent controls 7 or more Characters, the cost for playing Shantotto onto the field is reduced by 3.
When Shantotto enters the field, select 1 of the 2 following actions.
“Choose 1 Character of cost 3 or less in your Break Zone. Play it onto the field.”
“Choose 1 Character of cost 3 or less opponent controls. Break it.”
3
Totto promises some huge swings, coming down with a massive body and either bringing a friend or excising a problem. In limited, 7 characters is almost guaranteed to happen at some point, and getting Totto for only 6 means that you are paying next to nothing for the 9k, assuming you’re getting maximum value out of her ETF.

Lightning 137S

4cp 8000
Forward – Ravager – DFF XIII
During this turn, if you attacked with 2 or more Forwards you controlled, the cost for playing Lightning onto the field is reduced by 3.
Crushing Blow S Dull: Choose up to 2 Forwards. Dull them. Draw 1 card.
2
Finally, a use for Lightning L! Unfortunately you have to attack with two discrete forwards, and not one forward twice, or this would have been a really neat combo with Noel. As it stands, it isn’t too terribly hard to get a double attack off, and 1cp/8k is excellent. She doesn’t really do anything else, though, and between Knight, Noel, Shinra Soldier, and Willis, the element already has plenty of 8s.

Ramza 138S

5cp
Backup – Knight – DFF FFT
When Ramza enters the field, reveal the top 3 cards of your deck. Add 1 Forward, 1 Backup, and 1 Summon among them to your hand, and put the rest of the cards into the Break Zone.
Li 1 Dull, put Ramza into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Monster. Break it.
1.5
All of the monsters in oX can be broken at will, so the usefulness of Ramza’s Action Ability is a tad diminished, and it will be hard to get enough summons to make him reliably hit for 2 cards on entry. You’re incentivized to avoid playing monsters once you have him, and Kanna is just too good to give up. The risk of only drawing one card off him is too high for me, although a 3cp backup isn’t the end of the world, and you’ll draw 2 often enough that he’s still worth consideration.

Onion Knight 139S

3cp 7000
Forward – Onion Knight – DFF III
When Onion Knight deals damage to your opponent, you may search for 1 Card Name Onion Knight and add it to your hand.
Blade Torrent S: Until the end of the turn, Onion Knight gains +1000 power, Haste, First Strike, and Brave.
Meteor S Dull: Choose 1 Forward. Deal it damage equal to Onion Knight’s power.
1
If he worked with the Onion Knights (III), this would be a different story. As it stands, OK is an on curve body that can’t party, can’t produce CP, and has no abilities unless you manage to get two of him, and since he’s S rarity he only shows up in the foil slot, making that an incredibly unlikely event.

Cloud of Darkness 140S

3cp 7000
Forward – Wraith – DFF III
At the end of each of your turns, remove the top card of your deck from the game.
Cloud of Darkness gains +1000 power for each card removed by Cloud of Darkness’ ability.
When Cloud of Darkness leaves the field, add 1 card removed by Cloud of Darkness’ ability to your hand, and put the rest of the cards into the Break Zone.
3.5
With just a little time, Cloud of Darkness can contend with, and then best 9ks. On top of that, she gives you a rebate when she’s finally dealt with, and the longer she stays the better selection you get to choose from. Pretty much the only ways she can be broken before her ability resolves on the first turn are Balasa, Ifrit, and Ramuh, at least ways that aren’t in a public zone which you can play around, and of those only Ramuh actually gains your opponent CP, so as long as you’re careful about when you play her it’s almost impossible to lose economy.