Fire

Achuka

Gesundheitka. Removal on a Backup is always attractive. You’ve usually got space for one, and occasionally even two cards like this. The nice thing about Backup based removal is that you’re not really giving much up. With Summons, once it resolves it’s gone. With Forwards, that Forward can be merked. Backups though? Achuka’s gonna sit pretty for the rest of the game. Not only that, but he continues to be a threat for the rest of the game, making all your combats, your Salamanders, and your Paines that much more lethal. The awkward part about Achuka is that he’s a C. If he were an R you could snap one up the moment you saw him and be content, but at C now you have a balancing act where you don’t want to pick him early over other cards that may be more difficult to get, but you don’t want to wait too too long and risk not getting one. The worst case is ending up with three of these extremely awkward Backups clogging up your early development, so make sure your backline is solid without him. Maybe don’t even factor him into your Backup counts when drafting/building.

A

False Stalwart

7k Brave for 2cp is a decent rate, and that rate gets much better with the addition of more manikins. With only one other manikin on the board, suddenly this unassuming looking 2-drop is threatening to trade with 9ks. As a C, you can probably pick up four or five of these unless someone nearby is contesting you. All the manikins work well with each other, but the other five all send help outwards. Stalwart is the only one who can conscript others to help himself, meaning he is benefitted twice over. For example Phantasmal Girl both protects him from being chosen AND gives him 2k. This makes him a natural focal center for manikin heavy decks.

B

Machinist

I loved playing with the evoker/summoner cycle in Opus VI, and I’m so glad to see 1cp Backups come back. These are the only Multi-play Backups in the set, which should shift them up your priority list during the draft, as they will be heavily sought after. Machinist costing one means he will slot in nicely and efficiently at several points during development. And nicely, if you’re past the point of needing more Backups, you’re not locked in to discarding him for CP. You can pitch him to see a new card. This will improve your mid-to-late game consistency, and will lower the impact of the dreaded double Backup dead draw. It also helps to fuel your BZ for Salamander. Be careful about using too many of these with other effects that remove cards from your deck like Two-Headed Dragon and Tidus, as you run the risk of emptying your deck. Fire, Ice, and Wind don’t have a 3 cost Backup that refunds you a card, so those three elements are even more in the market for the unique cost point that this cycle provides.

B

Cleome

If you ever played Vanille 13R, you know how quickly cards like this get out of hand. Is Cleome gonna outright burn anything to death on her own ever? No, but she gives a hand twice per turn cycle to anyone around. Is there a combat going poorly? Solved. Is there a damage effect that’s barely killing your Forward? Solved. Does Zell need +3k? Solved. Does Salamander need a little help clearing a big Forward? Solved. If you successfully pass turn with Cleome on the board, your opponent’s options suddenly become much more limited, and they lose more and more the longer she goes unanswered. Also, the longer she goes unanswered, the harder it becomes to answer her. She’s not gonna be running any marathons herself. Rather, she’s the coach for the athletes who are actually competing.

B

Salamander

There are twenty six Forwards in the set that have 5k or less power. If we leave out the Starters, that’s 20% of the set. Not 20% of the Forwards in the set. 20% of the entire set. One in five cards can die to this. Now of course, many of those cards can protect themselves from it by increasing their own power, so you’ll need one of two things, preferably both. First, get ten Fire cards in your Break Zone and bump yourself up to a hefty 7k. Take a guess. How many cards in this set are 7k or less Forwards? How much does that 26 figure go up? We’ll get there in a moment, meanwhile getting ten Fire cards into your BZ may not be as difficult as you think. You’ll need a heavy dedication to Fire, around 60% of your deck, which is made easier with the prevalence of Multi-Element. Cards like Machinist, Two-Headed Dragon, Tidus, and Meeth can help stock your BZ earlier than normal. Second option is to use cards like Achuka, Cleome, Two-Headed Dragon, Faris, and most cleanly a second Salamander to drive the damage home. With both options at your disposal, Salamander will be a huge boon to you and your deck. The answer was fifty by the way. Well over a third of the set dies to boosted Salamander

A

Zell

Zell is that rare intersection of Haste and removal. Both are desireable on their own, but together they make for a very lucrative package. Discard 2 is a hefty risk, so you better be damn certain Zell is living until Attack Declaration. What’s nice is that Zell continues to have his Discard 2 after you pass the turn, letting that ability double both as an enabler for his attack trigger and as resiliency against removal. If you’ve got the lead in CP, it can be very tough for certain elements to deal with him. Be cautious about getting into combats where you need to discard to survive, as that’s a great time for your opponent to spring a removal Summon on you, getting not only the value of Zell but also an extra two cards to boot. This will I think make Zell one of the more skill intensive cards in recent limited history, and playing with/around this common will be one of the hallmarks of this set.

A

Selphie

Recursion, combat application, and EX. I’m sold.

B

Two-Headed Dragon

I honestly can’t believe this deals 4k. Suddenly your Stalwarts and Cleomes are attacking into 9ks without fear. Suddenly your party attacks delete a blocker. Suddenly your Faris attacks delete a blocker. Suddenly Berserker is attacking safely every single turn. I’m so used to needing to combine burns like a 5k with a 2k, or a 4k with a 3k. Just getting two (or more!) 4ks off of one card feels insane to me. Oh and it can attack too, and it’s a 9k for 4. Both ends of this card fuel Salamander, so make sure to pick some up.

S

Tidus

Budget Zell. Decent if you want to stock your BZ to pay for Summons. 4cp 8k Haste is a good statline, so don’t turn your nose up at him just because Zell is a much better card. I’m not sure it’s possible to run too much haste, but it’s definitely possible to run too much “put my deck in the Break Zone” so be careful. If you actually get to deal 8k, buy a lottery ticket on the way home.

C

Berserker

While it seems your opponent can just put a 9k in his way, you can pair Berserker with Achuka, Cleome, Selphie, or Two-Headed Dragon and make him incredibly hard to block. His ETF can and should give you an extremely profitable attack step that turn, giving you good opportunity to take out a value Forward or trade something like Stalwart for something much more expensive.

B

Paine

Big body, big damage, and EX. I’m sold. Oh, it messes with recursion and summon fuel too? Sell me two.

B

Faris

Faris is slightly risky, but there are some real good ways to abuse her. Other WoLs in the set include Arc, Bartz, Onion Knight, and Lenna (and Krile but a Backup doesn’t help here). Arc is an R, so the only one you’re reliably getting on the board with Faris without her Damage 3. With their power combined, Faris fires her cannons for a total of 7k. That kills a lot of stuff. Faris pairs well with all the other cards that do damage that have been mentioned so far, but a special shout out needs to be said for Achuka and Cleome. They can use Faris as a magnifying glass, hitting her with their 1k and letting her refract that into 3k. She does all this for a very cheap cost, and once you hit her Damage 3 certain archetypes will be able to get a rebate. Don’t think of Faris as a tribal card. Yes, Faris synergizes very well with WoLs, but she is still an actual nightmare with only basic support.

A

Fang

With access to both Caius and Snow in Fire/Ice, it isn’t impossible that her buff will be online some small amount of the time. It’s still wildly unlikely, but not impossible. You also have the Ice/Lightning Lightning who isn’t out of the question to splash. So, having assembled all this, how much does the +2k change? Well Fang is still underwhelming. Caius is Brave, so going to 11k is huge on both offense and defense. Snow and Lightning both go to 10k which is massive. Fang still dies to a lot of removal, though, so prepare for that +2k to disappear when you need it most. Her action ability doesn’t affect the cost of Caius, Snow, Vanille, or Lightning/Water Lightning, which are all Multi-Elements and thus can’t cost 1, so her discount only applies to Ice/Lightning Lightning. All in all, unreliable and underwhelming.

D

Meeth

Typically the Multi-Elements are among your better cards, so it will not be often you’re using this to upgrade a bad card to a good one. What Meeth is good for is giving you access to silver bullets, specific cards when you have a need for them. Grabbing a Hein when you need some breathing room. Fetching a Ramuh when you need massive damage. Aranea when you’re on Damage 5. You won’t always have a use for this flexibility, but it’s nice to have some level of access to it, especially when it isn’t costing you anything extra. It also gives you an out for more situational cards like Snow or Akstar that you may not have an immediate use for.

C

Ramza

Our first Warp card. There’s one in every element, two in Water, and an extra Ice/Wind. Ramza synergizes well with knights so let’s look at his options. We have Rain in Fire, and Physalis and Lasswell in Ice. The knights he can get back are acceptable. Rain is big, Physalis offers a lot of “card draw,” and Lasswell…
No matter who you’re hitting, paying 7 for a 9k and another body is pretty good. Not stellar, but good. Like I mentioned during Salamander, Fire has a relatively easy time stocking its BZ, so Ramza should have somewhat reliable access to a target. His warp is pretty interesting though. I’d pay 2 for a 9k with no abilities, and I’d even wait around for it. If your Warp comes with a Physalis, you’ve got full resources to make use of her Discard ability too. You’re not warping in the late game, but early on it lets you get some beef on the board cheaply. Warp can be nice in situations where you have too many cards in your hand, but don’t want to commit to the board yet for fear of removal. It helps you set up for big turns, where you can prepare to drop several Forwards at the same time, reducing the impact of single-target removal (though increasing the impact of boardwide removal). One issue is the information you’re giving your opponent, that this thing will happen at exactly this time in the future, giving them time to prepare for it. Still, I think it’s a powerful option and I’m excited to use it. Ramza has another ability that I haven’t talked about, where he dulls four active knights. As powerful as it is, there are only four knights total. Three Rs and an H. Assembling all four together on the board at the same time will be a herculean achievement, but if you manage it, the payoff is potentially game-ending.

C

Lulu

Basically turns one card in your hand per turn into a 1cp summon that deals 3k. Now that’s not a summon you’re happy to run, but when every card is secretly also that summon it becomes a lot more attractive. As a Magic player since 1995, what drew me to FFTCG was the idea that every card in the game was a split card, one half of it was the card as printed, and the other half was Dark Ritual (a summon that puts you up 2 CP). Lulu tacks a third half onto that, giving your cards incredible flexibility.

B

Rain

2cp off is a good rate, but not one you can really count on. You’ll have to cast this for full price more than you may want to. He’s still a decent body, and his Damage 3 turns him into a real offensive threat. He’s not winning any awards though. Rain certainly is head and shoulders above filler, but even his best case scenario isn’t going to raise any eyebrows. Just a serviceable dude.

C

Ice

Alhanalem

Stops Warp, Ramza, Leafkin, Aphmau, Lenna, Akstar, Xande, Fran maybe, Onion Knight if they somehow have two of them, and Iedolus. That’s a decent list. It’s mere presence should totally stop your opponent from Warping, though some people may see the opportunity to turn their Warp card into Backup removal.

C

Weiss

There is so much discard in Ice this set that you should have little trouble making Weiss one of the most terrifying cards in the format. Byblos has been a powerhouse since his printing, and while Weiss lacks the more powerful triggers that Standard decks have, he’s even more flexible when he does get to go off since he can hit Backups and Monsters. His Damage 5 is excellent in the grindier decks that discard strategies often find themselves in, as it gives you a powerful stabilization tool. The dream is to play him out while you’re already on five damage, but honestly he’s probably the centerpiece of your deck so you’re not going to wait that long.

A

Quistis

If you’re sure she’s getting her trigger, then she’s a pretty cheap Forward. If her target gets blown out before attacks, well, that will be an instructive moment. Random discard is a little better than regular, since there’s a much higher chance of snagging something important, whether it be a bomb, a needed source of elemental CP, or a crucial combat trick. She’s also a good way to trigger Weiss, so look to pair them together to let this SeeD sprout. Her +2k is nice, and will occasionally let you get an attack in where you wouldn’t be able to, but that’s likely to be the least useful part of her kit. Quistis will need to quest for a way to make her 5k body relevant, as she really isn’t very impressive once class is over.

C

Cu Chaspel

Hilarious on turn 1. Really hard to get good use out of later. If they ever empty their hand, you’re good to go for it. Ingrid can clear a Break Zone and give you a window. You may have a chance after your opponent powers up a summon. If their BZ doesn’t have any juicy targets left, its a good time to get your best card back. Notably, Cu Chaspel lets you trigger Weiss even if their hand is empty.

C

Black Mage

Black Mage is incredibly important to Ice’s gameplan. Why, you may ask? Is there some synergy that isn’t immediately apparent? No, nothing Black Mage is doing interacts much with other Ice cards. The issue is the other Backups. Nooj can be awkward to find a window for, and Nero is only good if you have Weisses still in your deck. This leaves Chime, Alhanalem, and Black Mage as the reliable Backups any Ice deck can use. Don’t get painted into a corner where you don’t have the backline to support your element. Draft Black Mage early, so you can ensure you have enough.

B

Krysta

If you’re confident in your ability to keep your opponent at low cards, Krysta is a very efficient beater. However if the game is out of your control, Krysta isn’t really going to do much to wrest that control back.

B

Shiva

What an absolute powerhouse. Shiva has so many applications. It can give you time against an aggressive deck. It can stop a powerful attack trigger twice. It can remove a critical blocker. And in the late game, it’s one of the most efficient pieces of unconditional removal yet.

A

Chime

A solid payoff for all the discard, and a good complement for Weiss. If they empty their hand to stop the Weiss triggers, she gets to chime in with First Strike.

B

Teodor

Incredible if you can use his warp in the first couple turns of the game. As the game goes on, the less and less impactful his warp is. He gives enough advance notice that it won’t be hard for your opponent to just play out their whole hand. He does still benefit from this, and 9k Haste First Strike is a hell of a card for 2cp. While 9cp is a lot to cobble together in the late game, I have a feeling that more than a few rounds will be decided by a hard cast Teodor.

A

Nooj

This is considerably more situational than Achuka so you can’t just toss one of these into your deck and call it a day. There will be times where you’re struggling to get a target, and if you don’t have enough other Backups you may find yourself falling behind in development while Nooj rots away in your hand. When he’s good, though, he’s very good.

B

Nero

We’re already bending over backwards to play Weiss, and now we have EX tutor that also triggers him?

A

Hein

I see protection from Break still hasn’t been errated (damage abilities don’t break Forwards. The rules do. Saying “that don’t deal damage” doesn’t mean anything). Some built in protection is nice, though you often won’t notice it since you can’t see the options it’s preventing. Freezing four characters is a massive swing though. It lets you lock down attackers, giving you breathing room and a window to counterattack with impunity. It lets you keep a backline down, forcing the opponent to play mostly from their hand. This card will have no shortage of opportunities to meddle with opponents.

B

Physalis

Once you’re set up with a strong backline, Physalis threatens to turn the worst card in your hand into real value over and over and over again. Normally I’d caution you against milling yourself out, but honestly if you activate this three times you should be winning the game. She is small so expect her to die quickly.

B

Rune Fencer

Back in Opus 8 we used to walk uphill both ways to get Celes who was only half as good. This card is so good it makes me mad. 8k is very relevant, so negating your opponent’s best Forward while you get to crash in with her over and over is going to be crushing.

B

Phantasmal Girl

Not exactly impressive on her own, and her ability doesn’t exactly stack well. Phantasmal Girl is a good way to protect other Manikins you may have, but outside of that she doesn’t really have much usefulness.

C

Yuna

Yuna puts the brakes on aggression pretty well, and she also helps tear down the walls of Babylon. Don’t forget to pair her with her new boyfriend, Kam’lanaut. Great S too. Direct damage is only occasionally in Ice’s toolkit, so this will give you diversity in removal options. And at R, there will probably (probably) be more than one in the draft. You do need to get both at the same time, but since there’s no dull symbol in the cost you get to use it immediately. Meaning if they don’t have any summon speed interaction, you get to 16k whichever Forward they selected not to dull, leaving them defenseless.

A

Lasswell

If you played much Opus 10 limited, you’ll remember how awkward it was to get the discard from Kam’lanaut, and I expect Lasswell to be similar. He does have the capacity to be a 2cp 8k though so even if he can’t find an opportunity to draw a card, he’s not out of usefulness.

C

Wind

Arc

Arc will help his three Wind/X decks have better consistency and earlier access to their non-wind bombs. This is the kind of card it’s easy to overlook. You might look at this and think “oh he’s just a 2cp 7k” but digging deep into your other color is a benefit that’s really hard to measure. Sure he’s not winning any medals, but he helps bring your deck into a cohesive whole, to be more than the sum of its parts. Also he’s one of only eleven bursts in the set. Do not build with the intent to get his +2k off. Just pretend it doesn’t exist. Do not count on it. Do not rely on it. It will abandon you in your time of need. Since only Forwards count towards enabling it, one quick removal spell will wipe that quiet smirk off his face and off yours.

C

Iris

Iris offers a great piece of protection to your squad. Late game, you’re happy to be able to trade off your Backups for board impact, and Iris asks nothing up front. In exchange you get a powerful shield for your most crucial turns. And occasionally your Starter cards will give you a rebate.

C

Delusory Dragoon

Haste and potentially more haste. Since he doesn’t protect manikins or provide any removal or have a respectable power, he’s not high on my list of priorities, but you take what you can get.

D

Kytes

You’re gonna want to be pretty deep in Wind for this. If you’re comparing him to Madam M, 3 is much less consistent than 4 (also EX was a huge part of that card). Kytes’ second ability sets him apart from M, as he provides a safeguard against Ice’s multitude of dull/freeze shenanigans, and also lets you get aggressive without actually losing the ability to block.

B

Ranger

Hits Delusory Knight and Elena (FFBE). Wow.

F

Cerberus

Reactivating Backups is a good way to make this card “free” and Cid Haze can further convert that into board control, but considering how awkward he is to animate this is probably not a good option. Drawing a card is certainly the weakest option, but it’s nice to have a fallback for when the other two options can’t do as much. Since you need to cast two in order to attack with him, he doesn’t really do defense. So either get used to not attacking often, or fill your deck with cheap cards. The real reason you’re running Cerberus is that he smokes a 5 drop.

B

Colkhab

Nice that he at least tries to protect himself. Usually playing out a big boy like this is just begging to get him hit by cheap removal, but the ability will at least make your opponent thing twice before casting Shiva, even if the odds are ever in their favor.

C

Zhijie

All of Zhijie’s targets are all solid, Weiss, Yuffie, Tifa, Sephiroth, Sonon, and Billy Bob, though I imagine the first three are the likeliest. Still, the off-element cards give you not only access to your splash color, but cashing Zhijie in for pitch CP lets you get two CP from him that turn.

B

Thief

Good cycle is good.

B

Sherlotta

Warped or cast, Sherlotta gives you exactly what you need. Try to make sure you have a use for a random 5k though.

C

Dryad

Realistically this is probably 6k on average, and unlike the other elements you can’t make it more lethal. When boosted, it is the cheapest, so it does have that going for it, and it’s not like it’s that hard to make it 8k damage.

C

Gnash

Removal when you need it, regular Backup when you don’t. You can even cash him in once you’re deeper into the game. Gnash is going to be one of the defining cards in Wind for draft this set, and should be a strong draw towards running the element.

A

Bartz

If you’re looking to get more out of selecting a job than just the power boost, Manikin is probably the best. There are so many that would love to have more on the table. He already has Warrior of Light so Faris is happy. Knight makes it easier to hit the four knight threshold if you’re splashing Wind in your Ramza deck for some reason. Turning Bartz into a Princess can give Nerine +2k. Standard Unit can help meet the threshold for Leo. As far as selecting an element goes, you’re almost always using it to protect him (or her if you went with Nerine). There are extremely few cards that care what element he is. Selphie can boost him. He can trigger Two-Headed Dragon. Most relevantly, Poppy can give him +1k and your choice of First Strike or Brave. That’s it. Just those three cards. He always has an element other than Water so Tchakka will continue to neg him. So after everything, he’s probably a 2cp 7k, occasionally a 9k, with a fair amount of protection built in. I’ll take it.

B

Poppy

It shouldn’t be hard to make a deck where Poppy’s gift of evasion threatens to end games on the spot. Between efficient Wind Forwards and Gnash removing things that can still block, Poppy can invalidate any number of blockers. And as though that weren’t enough, granting First Strike or Brave to half your Forwards is insane. As small as she is, it should be easy for your opponent to remove her, so try to maximize the value you’re getting the turn she comes in.

A

Yuri

There are nine other FFCC cards (Meeth, Alhanalem, Cu Chaspel, Chime, Gnash, Kolka, Tilika, Leo, Chelinka) making either Ice or Earth your best bet. Not sure there’s enough to really make him reliable, but 2/8 can’t be chosen is worth the effort.

C

Yuffie

Big hasty attacker with extremely small windows where she can be interacted with. Also “braves” all your other Forwards. Keep an eye out for Forwards with strong Dull abilities, as Yuffie can have them working double shifts. Yuffie is going to cause a lot of PTSD in those who have dealt with Kadaj before, as her untargetability is extremely similar to his coming in and out of the Lifestream. She does still fall to untargetteds, though, so it’s not quite as oppressive. She has some cool flavor text about the Doom of the Living, and your win rate will be doomed if you think you’re pulling that off in draft. If you do, remember that you announce division of damage when you put it on the stack, not when it resolves.

S

Leafkin

In element, you have Colkhab and Sherlotta (unexciting) and Yuffie (very exciting). Fire’s likely the best suited to make use of this with both Paine and Rain at R. You can rely on being at Damage 3 for at least some amount of the game, so it pays to know what options are in your deck as you’ll almost definitely have the opportunity to cash this in during the late game. The other options available are Hein, Yumcax, August, Ashe, Laguna, Gladiolus, and Aranea, all of whom are good. Some of them like Hein Laguna and Aranea are good enough that you might even consider running them with no other way to play them.

B

Earth

Ahriman

The removal is a little on the expensive side but reliable. And you’re getting a sometimes 8k too so the price is absolutely worth it. Pairing Ahriman with a 9k isn’t trivial, but it isn’t really hard either. Yumcax Gladiolus and Leon are all natural 9ks in Earth. Galuf and Daisy make the cut after Damage 3, and there’s no shortage of 9ks around the set.

A

Delusory Knight

Delusory Knight has three uses: Protect False Stalwart; Protect Bartz, or anything with a spreading of Nayo; And party attack fodder. All three uses are all medium.

D

Galuf

Big body, big attack trigger, can turn cards in BZ into fuel in a set where it’s hard for your opponent to get rid of them, and Brave. Galuf threatens to own the board, especially if your opponent’s removal is all damage based.

A

Krile

Berserker Faris Bartz Galuf Lenna are the options, so nine times out of ten you’re getting a summon. EX get Galuf back is pretty hype.

C

Cait Sith (XI)

Nice to have some recursion, and nice to have some fixing in the late game. Cait Sith will usually be online right around the time you want to be casting your splash cards, and if those cards are Forwards then you can even get them back with the ETF. Don’t stick a catload of off-element duals in your deck expecting Cait Sith to save you, though. They have extremely quickly diminishing returns the more you add to your deck, and I’m always wary of relying on Damage 3s.

B

Kolka

Similar to Gnash in that he’s solid removal when you need it, and just a regular Backup when you don’t. A lot of Earth’s Fowards have underwhelming powers, or get bigger after Damage 3, so probably not the best in a Serafie based deck.

A

Serafie

You’ve got Tama and Delusory Knight in Earth to trigger it, as well as Leon Chelinka and Vanille in the Multi-Elements. There are a few other 2cps scattered around, especially in Fire Ice and Lightning, so you can realistically draw two cards off of this. Assuming she lives. If you think you can get good use out of a 5k body, you really want Tama access to protect your bombs, and/or you think you can reliably get two cards off of her, then go for it.

C

Tama

If you have some strong bomb that you really need to protect, Tama can be a great proactive way to do that. Doesn’t protect against combat tricks like Hashmal, or against boardwide effects like Salamander, but there’s plenty of targetted removal that Tama can make awkward. There aren’t actually that many things that stop Tama ahead of time. Salamander and Tchakka can both do it, but if you want Faris or Sol (FFBE) to get her, you have to use them both together. Cloud of Darkness is a pretty good option to remove her too.

B

Daisy

Speaking of Salamander, here’s your safeguard against it. Daisy provides a good scapegoat for combat, letting you risk her rather than your other Forwards, and once you hit Damage 3 she can make some incredibly awkward situations for your opponent. Once she’s bigger than anything your opponent has, you can make all kinds of attacks that would be trades otherwise. Most of the direct damage in this set comes from Fire, so against many decks she’ll only be affecting combat, but she’s good enough there that you’re not worried. One other nice thing is that she can safeguard attack triggers from Forwards that would die otherwise.

B

Tilika

I thought they stopped printing Forwards with no abilities.

D

Nayo

Is it pronounced Nayo or Nayo? I have my doubts that Brave is worth 1cp upfront, and 1 more every time you want to actually use it. The Job thing is interesting if extremely difficult to actually use. Turning anything into a Manikin has merit, as it lets you use Delusory Knight to save anything. You’ve got the same list as Bartz (Manikin, Knight, Princess, Standard Unit) except now you’re not starting with Warrior of Light so Faris makes the list too. That’s… not very many applications…

F

Hashmal

7k for 1 is huge, enough to swing any combat or protect against any damage effect short of boosted Ramuh. When Hashmal is boosted, it can safeguard your team against Salamander, Two-Headed Dragon, and make for a combat phase that’s impossible for your opponent to deal with.

B

Geomancer

Good cycle is good.

B

Polk

With only Billy Bob, Nayo, and Zhijie spread across three elements as your only options, Polk is going to be extremely underwhelming. You’ve already got Geomancer and Nayo to act as odd costed Backups, which are something you don’t want to overload on. His +2k is fine, and if it were on a 2cp Backup I’d be happy to play it, but in an element with Hashmal and Daisy I’m not that desperate for combat tricks. He’s extremely hard to get value out of, and that value is of middling worth to begin with.

C

Beastmaster

What a weird form of crowd control. It is kinda nice that she can stonewall a Forward indefinitely, especially if it has terrifying attack abilities like Ice/Lightning Lightning. It is extremely committal though, and only stops that Forward for as long as you control Beastmaster and she isn’t getting frozen.

C

Yumcax

Bulky enough to dominate the board. Yumcax resists a ton of what Fire’s trying to do (Two-Headed Dragon is only hitting for 2k, Achuka and Cleome do nothing, Lulu Salamander and Faris are severely nerfed) making him incredibly powerful against that element. Each element has a handful of ways to deal with him, but if you think you’ve exhausted a lot of their options then he absolutely dominates the board after Damage 3.

B

Rikku

Element fixing and recursion in one package. I love cards like Rikku, that bring you into warping your deck around her. Once you have her and a Cait Sith or two, you start to realize you can run a lot more off-element cards that your Backups wouldn’t support otherwise. Build-arounds like this are a great focal point for any draft set, especially when they threaten to accrue value turn after turn like Rikku does. Of notable use with Serafie/Tama, letting you reuse Tama’s protection while also loading Gem counters on Serafie.

A

Lightning

Red Mage

Good cycle is good.

B

Aphmau

There are enough 1 and 2 cp characters that Aphmau is all but guaranteed. This adds a strong layer of consistency to your early game, giving you better access to your developmental Backups in the opening stages of the game. Later you can use her to dig for some of the more powerful Multi-Elements (every elemental combo has at least one 2cp) and she can be exchanged for one once it finds its way into the Break Zone, giving her life even in the closing turns of the game.

B

August

An incredible follow up to Salamander, Cloud of Darkness, Garuda (III), or even just a brutal attack phase. You get a free swing with him each turn before you decide whether to attack twice or leave him up for blocks, letting him get aggressive even if you’ve got all personnel manning the walls. At 6cp and no built-in protection, hard casting him will be risky. Cards like Shiva, Hashmal, and Ramuh can blow him out of the water for a single CP, and Hashmal doesn’t even need to be on the same drugs the other two do. Plenty of other effects can clear him too, from Cerberus to Leo, so be cautious about how many options your opponent has access to before committing six cp to the board.

C

Kam’lanaut

His occasional protection is nice, and his +1k is nice, but the middle ability is the real reason we’re playing him. Kam is a serious boon to any deck looking to swing out. It won’t be enough that your opponent plays one solid blocker, they now have to assemble two, and both have to stay back if either one wants to play defense. On the other hand, it incentivizes your opponent into being aggressive. If you can’t beat em, join em, and all that. So make sure that you’re ready to contend with that. Pairs incredibly well with his new girlfriend Yuna, as together they dull the whole defense.

A

Garuda (III)

A sick get-out-of-jail free card, even if the 10 cost is extreme. The warp on this is something else, 5 turns is a ton of time, and I’m not sure how best to make use of it. Telegraphing something that far ahead is risky, and giving your opponent advance warning of your sweeper is sometimes useful to deter aggression and sometimes a liability. One tactic is to Warp her, then flood the board. Force the opponent to commit to the board or die, then stop playing things to the field and let Garuda clear things a couple turns later once your hand has refilled. Another tactic is to abandon the board. Build Backups, draw cards, and only interact when you need to, when your opponent forces your hand. Unlike every other sweeper ever printed in the history of FFTCG, Garuda happens at the start of your turn with all your resources available to you. This means you’re the first person who gets to rebuild. It shouldn’t be hard to take advantage of that, giving you a lead in tempo. Especially if you can turn the clocks to August.

A

Gilgamesh

A nice payoff to go multiple elements (or even just have a splash EX or two) but even if you’re breaking a 2-drop you’re feeling good. Gilgy goes from good to terrifying at Damage 3, so I’d be more inclined to draft a deck that takes a little time to get going, though he’s strong enough that you don’t need to force it.

A

Seifer

There are plenty of Cat VIII characters in the set for Seifer to pick up at C and R, notably Laguna, Rinoa, Zell. With Cid Kramer backing him up, it’s pretty easy for Seifer to grab back a powerful splash card that was pitched for resources in the early game. He can also fuel Rinoa and Laguna’s powerful S abilities. OK with all that nonsense out of the way let’s get back to reality. Seifer isn’t getting any of those. He’s getting the Disciplinary Committee back together. Preferably Raijin, unless their BZ can support a boosted Shiva soon, or they’re on Lightning and though you’re worried about Ramuh you think they can’t cast one right here and now. The damage thing is nice, giving Seifer the opportunity to hit the field gunblades blazing. It also helps on defense, making it harder to attack you after you’ve taken damage. Don’t forget the new Gilgamesh is Cat VIII too.

B

Cid Kramer

Like I just mentioned, Cid Kramer is a great way to splash powerful cards like Zell, Krysta, Rinoa, and Laguna, and you’re not paying anything for his tutelage. Just don’t try to use him to pay for Laguna’s S.

C

Cid Sophiar

Good early, good late, good EX. I’m sold.

B

Cindy

I’m declaring Cindy an honorary member of the Disciplinary Committee, as she seriously helps all three of them by getting you to Damage 3 ASAP. She even clears blockers while she does it, and when paired with Seifer even tosses +2k Haste around like candy. Dragoon is another C in Lightning that wants Damage 3, and there are plenty of cards throughout the set that reward you being able to deal yourself damage. Once you’re on Damage 5, she stops her sadism, letting you activate her freely. It’s no accident that Lightning is light on EX, so look elsewhere for powerful Bursts that she can abuse (not Tilika). Oh also she stops attack triggers, and has Haste for the times you just want an extra attacker.

B

Fujin

Without Seifer, shes sometimes a 7k can’t be chosen by Summons. Not exactly impressive. It’s her synergy with Seifer and with Lightning as a whole that drive her, and all of that I’ve pretty much covered already.

C

Hurkan

Kills stuff, then kills more stuff. What a legend (not actually a Legend). This is where I’d put my normal caveat about not stocking up on high cost removal Backups that aren’t multiplay, like Achuka or Nooj, except you can break Hurkan and play more.

A

Melusine

There’s no good way to sacrifice your own stuff, so Melusine’s ETF is a bit restricted in usefulness. The chosen Forwards are neither activated nor gain Haste, so you can’t attack with them (unless they have Haste naturally and were active). If you somehow have a million water cards in your BZ then Lenna can be a funny steal. Choosing Arc, Poppy, or False Hero can remove their buffs for a turn. Physalis has a strong ability you can abuse. And choosing Cleome or Delusory Knight can compel your opponent to use them right then and there (Delusory Knight is a legal target for his own ability). What’s going to happen most of the time though is that you’re going to remove a blocker. And not even one of the really threatening ones like Yumcax. The tradeoff for this medium ETF is that her activation is unique amongst the cycle, both free and without restriction. She even gets a little bit of protection that just so happens to trigger Weiss if they pay for it. Although I doubt they’re quaking in their boots in the face of a 7k.

C

Imitation Despot

With the Manikins all at C, getting to 3 is a tough ask, but a feasible one. You’re still happy to be playing this, whether he costs a total of 2 or 0.

B

Raijin

Same as Fujin except protection from abilities is almost always more attractive in Limited. I don’t know why Fujin and Raijin don’t protect each other, Paine and Rikku figured out how to be a team back in Opus VI.

B

Ramuh

2/7 is a solid rate, and there are plenty of threatening 7s around to nail. 15k is absurd, and Lightning heavy decks will be well rewarded in the late game.

A

Dragoon

Kills any Forward, and is huge after Damage 3. An excellent workhorse.

B

Water

Ashe

Even with only one Water Backup, it shouldn’t be that hard to get good value by attacking a smaller Forward into a bigger one then using the -2k to finish it off. Once you’re on three, you start threatening to outright kill utility Forwards while getting a huge body for cheap.

B

False Hero

It’s rare that we get anthems like this on Standard Units. Two of these at the same time can make even the lowly Delusory Knight a reasonable 7k. And since he has an alternate cost, you don’t even need to have access to Water CP to play him.

B

Ingrid

The only real BZ removal in the set. Ingrid stops your opponent from fueling summons and cards like Gilgamesh. Also helps to stunt recursion, especially relevant against Lightning’s Aphmau, Seifer, Cid Sophiar, and Imitation Despot. If you can have her die while accomplishing something, all the better. Attacking and finishing her blocker off with Ashe, or using Tchakka to lower the opponent’s Forward to something she can fight better, both are decent options within Water. You’re hopefully drawing a card when she dies too, so even if she just chump blocks you won’t be out that much CP in the end.

C

Echidna

The Summons in this set are pretty good, so being able to get one back is welcome. You also have the option to instead of casting that summon to have one of the most efficient 8ks in the format instead, should you like. However you’re knuckling down with Echidna, it can’t be bad.

B

Kalmia

Now I may have missed a card somewhere, but I don’t think her first ability actually does anything in Limited. Her second ability has some application at least. Ashe, Tchakka, Rune Fencer, Sol (FFBE), Sonon, and Lilisette can all reduce power. It’s unlikely any of those are going to be that prevalent, especially since four of them are Water and you’re one of the Water drafters, but it’s not nothing. The cost to gain that protection isn’t nothing either.

D

Cloud of Darkness

This being an R may be the death knell for aggressive strategies in Opus 18. If your opponent is on Water, it suddenly becomes much riskier to build a big board to burn them down. Once you have one or two of these in your deck, you feel a lot safer hiding behind a big Forward like Ashe. If they try to develop more Forwards to party attack over her, you get to punish that. If they don’t have early Backups and have to commit Forwards to the board, you get to punish that. Pairs well with Monsters and Warp.

A

Tchakka

There are some Forwards in this set with whom it’s tough to tango. Tchakka helps keep that problem manageable, from Rain to Yumcax. Tchakka’s not going to be conspiring murder in the same way that you can assemble Fire’s varying sources of burn, rather he just oozes his fatty whale oil over the spread that is your opponent’s board, clogging them up, weakening them. As nice as -1000 is when you’re defending, -3000 is even better when you’re attacking. Caveats, of course: his effectiveness is lessened against other Water decks, and your own non-Water Forwards will suffer just the same. Even if your deck isn’t rolling in the waves, Tchakka can be helpful. You’re likely to be weakened less than your opponent is. Worth noting, his attack trigger outright kills Tama and Delusory Knight, and the -1k messes with the breakpoint on Zell. And because it’s completely unintuitive, let me remind you that his ability should actually have been translated to “Forwards that are not Water” as this wording sounds like it gives -1k to Water/X cards.

B

Nerine

While Bartz can give her +2k, your only Assigned-Princess-At-Birth in the set is Lenna (well, Faris should be too, but I guess we’re a ways away from cards having three jobs). This card is absolutely not worth building around, so if you end up last picking her in pack 1, don’t go out of your way to pick up support.

D

Geomancer

I’ve actually got more to say here than “good cycle is good!” Leo means you really want to hit 2 Job Standard Units, so Geomancer’s a little more attractive than his other already attractive counterparts.

B

Rune Fencer

-4k is enough to kill only Delusory Knight, Tama, and Cindy outright, so you’re probably looking to use this to finish off a blocker, or in conjunction with other effects. He does a good rendition of Dragoon should you seek to aim both at the same target, but where Rune Fencer will shine is being able to bring two things low at once. That won’t always line up, but it will be an option enough of the time that it’s worth swinging for the (rune) fences.

B

Leviathan

Fauxmaterasu is a card I’m happy to have access to. Plenty of autos are worth cancelling. Entry from Warp. Zell’s attack trigger springs to mind. Hard cast Ramza looks a lot less impressive when he doesn’t get to bring a friend. Preventing Yuna from actually just killing you feels like it might be a good play. Stuffing Yuffie or August’s reactivation may leave your opponent without their defenses. Tama can be cancelled after she puts herself into the Break, letting you push removal past her guard. Garuda (III). Seifer or Basch after taking damage. Dragoon’s extra payment. Some Tchakka attacks rely on his attack trigger making it safe. Xande. And these are just the best ones. There will be a dozen opportunities to cast this every single game.

B

Rinoa

Reasonably costed removal that you can make cheaper by waiting a bit? Seems good. This may be my favorite Warp card, even if it’s the one most able to be played around. This gives your opponent two turns of anxiety over whether or not they should commit Forwards. And if they choose not to, or only to play out bad Forwards? Well that’s great for your tempo. At C, you can end up with a bunch of her too, letting you make excellent use of her excellent S. Also Angelo is a good boy.

13/10

Lunafreya

If you’ve got a nice early Backup curve, Warping her out on turn 1 or 2 can be incredibly lucrative. You’ll be tight on resources for the first bit, so be careful to make sure you can still play the game. Also maybe don’t do this going first, as your opponent can capitalize on how much resources you’ve committed, drop two Forwards on their first turn, and kill you before she comes back. Less impressive as time goes on, and maybe the worst of the bunch to hard cast. a 3cp 5k is not where I want to be.

C

Leo

Every element has two Standard Units and most of them are pretty good (Ranger being the only exception). As long as you draft with Leo in mind, it shouldn’t be hard to get full value out of him. And even if you don’t? His floor is Blue Mage, a defining card of its own draft format.

A

Lenna

Lenna requires a grand total of thirteen (13) Water cards in order to get her second ability off, which is next to impossible in all but the most hydrodynamic of decks, and she does basically nothing until then. Water isn’t one of the elements with three pairings, which would make her a bit more potentially reliable. If you want to make her work, you’re probably going to need to draft some of Water’s less strong cards like Nerine or Kalmia over better options in other elements, lest you risk not hitting that 12+1 threshold. Maybe even run some MEs that you can’t actually cast. Shame Lunafreya’s bonus draw is only on Warp and not any non-cast ETF. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, Lenna also makes you immune to Ingrid’s death trigger. Actually, I don’t think anything would have changed if I had forgotten to mention.

C

Lenne

So there are only six summons in the set, Lenne lets me turn two Backup CP into two hand CP? That’s not unplayable, but it’s not something I’m chomping at the bit to do. Well, she doesn’t cost any extra up front, so you may as well play her, and when the opportunity does come it’ll be worthwhile in enough circumstances. Just don’t overload on her, or go out of your way to get her triggers.

C

Wakka

Good fixing, good burst. I’m sold. Wakkas are amphibious creatures so make sure you keep enough Water in the tank for him.

B

Everything Else

Elena (FFBE)

Gets to apply pressure and generate value while she does it. At 5k she is easy to disrupt, and 8ks can be walled by bigger Forwards, but it’s tough for someone to want to trade their 8k for your 1 drop, even if it is the right choice. Should she go unanswered, she gets to choose between putting you up CP, or putting you down CP while putting your opponent down choices. Both have their places. A quick rule of thumb (with exceptions out the ass so don’t treat this as gospel): if you’re equal or behind, you want to add resources to the game. If you’re behind, you want to remove them. Consider, if I have five cards in hand and you have two, I would gladly lose two to make you lose one. If it were reversed, I would much rather draw a card to get closer to parity.

A

Squall

Dull/Freeze is ok. Dull/Freeze on an 8k is good. Dull/Freeze on an 8k for 2 is great. Dull/Freeze on an 8k for 2 and also a small temporary buff is, well… still just great. Not exactly a payoff you’re going to warp your deck around, but if enabling him only takes drafting an extra Quistis here and there, then go for it. And if you’re in Lightning then you’re there without even trying.

B

Ultimecia

Good card to plop down if you’re ahead. If you’ve got the lead in Forwards, or your opponent is struggling with only one or two Backups, this can help seal the deal. The issue with playing a Light/Dark card that’s situationally bad for you is that you can’t do anything else with it. If you’re behind and Ultimecia hurts you more than your opponent, then she’s just dead in your hand. If you’re set on playing Ulti, try to pick up cards like Zell, Lulu, and Cu Chaspel who can discard her for profit. Sick S if you can get two of her.

C

Sol (FFBE)

What a set of abilities. Multiple ways to ensure you win combat, and can even be used to protect against Salamander, Hashmal, and Leviathan. More direct summons like Shiva, Dryad, and Ramuh can just be cast in response. Since it’s a “beginning of Attack Phase” trigger and not an attack trigger, you get his benefit instantly. And at a 3/9 you’re happy to have him around anyways.

A

Akstar

Assuming you’re solely in Fire/Ice, you have access to Berserker, Faris, Yuna, and Sol (FFBE) for your 3 drops. It can be risky if you’re dull/freezing a bunch of your own, as your opponent is the one who recovers first, so you can’t just slap Akstar in any old deck. If you’re able to take advantage of all three of his ETFs, though, he can be an absolutely crippling play. And since it’s three separate abilities, you’re mostly safe from Leviathan.

A

Caius

Like Onion Knight 16C before him, Caius is extremely good if you can play him with an empty hand. Since he’s best off of two Backups, that is a little harder to orchestrate. Playing Caius means you’re going all in, so make sure you’re not at risk of getting swept off the board by Garuda (III) or Cloud of Darkness. He has one of the best cost-to-strength ratios in the game, though, so if you can navigate his downsides he’ll do you proud.

B

Snow

There aren’t many Cat XIIIs around so this isn’t that likely to hit. You’ve got Fang and Caius in Ice/Fire, and that’s about it. His ability is mandatory, so if you flip a Caius and don’t want to cast it then its gone forever. He’s a potential 2cp 8k Haste tho so go nuts.

C

Xande

A great way to follow up a trade in combat. It shouldn’t be too hard to find an opportunity to cast a live Xande, and if you really want to be able to force it, Delusory Knight, Selphie, Iedolus, and Polk can all KYS themselves on demand. Should you actually get to five Backups, the return of the king will be game-ending.

A

Basch

There are so many good Damage 3s in Earth and Fire that you’re almost excited to take damage. And you’re getting a card of your choice, too? And it makes Basch himself better too? Glad to see we finally get a proper Basch (even if I am sad he’s not a Captain for synergy with the Starters (even if I did complain that he wasn’t a Judge last time he was printed in Gabranth’s armor)).

A

Leon

Budget Basch is still a good card.

B

Cid Haze

Cid Haze is great at creating a heavy tempo turn where you drop three cheap things while also meddling with your opponent’s board. He can make things free, making it easier to chain into things like Maria or a splashed 2 drop. It will be difficult to trigger him twice in Limited, but it will be absolutely crushing should you manage it. Remember that all Cid Haze is buying you is time, so make sure to make the most of it.

B

Maria

Discard of choice can be crippling at the right time. Unfortunately your opponent gets the most control over when that happens. The reactivate can be a good option if you can blow all your resources in MP1, and there will be times your opponent doesn’t want to block her attack for fear of how much you’ll gain from it. There will be plenty of times they can invalidate her, though, such as discarding everything before killing her in their Main Phase 2, where you can’t get any value off of her trigger.

C

Melvien

Of all the Warp cards, Melvien is the most hard-castable. He generates a 4cp swing on entry, assuming you can make use of the reactivated Backups. His ETF loses half of its value if he’s Warped in, as the only ways for Ice/Wind to make use of the reactivation are Chime, Shiva, and Dryad. Still, it’ll be the more efficient option sometimes to pay two cp less now rather than get repaid two cp later. Melvien’s true draw is how unkillable he is. Ingrid is the only way to remove him before he can remove himself, and good luck getting that timing to work. So as long as you don’t target her with removal while waiting for Melvien’s death trigger to pop, you should be good.

A

Sephiroth

Absolutely backbreaking. Every line of text on this is excellent, and decks that can cast this will be ecstatic.

S

Lightning

Lightning gets to act as a sort of repeatable Dragoon/Rune Fencer that can still manage to get value even when she can’t attack. Don’t forget that there’s no limit to how many times you use her dull and break abilities in one turn, so you can do stuff like dull their entire board, which is pretty good when paired with haste.

S

Laguna

While not nearly on par with the other two Ice/Lightning cards, Laguna still delivers. His 5k allows for Ice’s smaller Forwards like Quistis, Cu Chaspel, and Phanstasmal Girl to punch up in combat. His dull helps make blocking much more difficult. And his S deals enough damage to break almost anything for a pretty reasonable price. And if you’re the only Ice/Lightning in the draft, you should be able to pick up a fair few Lagunas.

B

Chelinka

MONSTER BAD! CHELINKA SMASH!

B

Tifa

Boasting a strong resilience to Fire’s effects, Tifa gets to come down and squash any pesky 8ks that may be getting in your way. She can block 9ks and live too. Solid removal with solid board presence is a nice package and I’ll be happy for Tifa to lead the way.

A

Fran

She can play Kytes and she can play Basch so it’s not like she does nothing, just really really close to nothing.

C

Vanille

Helps to make it more expensive for your opponent to mess with your stuff. Also trades in for either 2cp or a powerful ETF from something like Kolka or Hurkan. Pretty medium in the meanwhile though.

C

Sonon

Back Attack and a combat trick. Sonon may be tough to get the theoretical max value of killing an attacker while killing something else with the -5k, but even just getting one thing (or protecting one of your own Forwards) will be well worth it. His alternate payment is incredible in the late game, letting you convert your Backups which don’t have much life left in them into real tangible board presence.

A

Billy Bob

I dunno why this guy is cosplaying Axl Rose. What I do know is that he’s incredibly cheap for his power and helps get back one of your best cards.

A

Onion Knight

Bouncing is going to be the default selection here. Lightning and Water don’t have the best ways to deal something a non-lethal amount of damage, although this does give you a great way to use Ingrid. 3/8 bouncy boy is definitely appealing, and should you happen to get two of them then you’re set for life.

B

Lightning

Lightning is a great way to push damage. She presents +1 attacker on your side and -1 blocker on the opponent’s side. This alone will often be enough to secure victory. With how cheap she is, it won’t be hard to play either another haste or another piece of removal and really swing combat math in your favor. Even early, she’s a 0/7 that applies a truckload of pressure to the opponent. Anything they spend to stop her is probably more than you spent. There’s no Odin in the set, so if your opponent manages to use her last ability, call a judge.

A

Lilisette

There are twenty seven Forwards in the set that this kills. Fire, Ice, and Lightning have the lion’s share, but every element has at least one, and every Multi-Element pairing has at least one. Her S is a sick combat trick, even if it doesn’t outright kill very much on its own.

B

Arciela

Great at any point in the game, except maybe Turn 1. Usually cards that generate value turn after turn like this aren’t also removal, so I’m excited to run this. With such a small window to react, she acts as pretty reliable removal too, even into the late game.

A

Jecht

If you’ve got the CP to sink into his ability, he’s an absolute terror. And with a powerful S at common you get to throw out massive direct damage too.

A

Firion

Firion may be small, but he helps to fuel himself. With enough cards in hand, he threatens to win any combat. Since he can activate himself, he can always block, and serves as an ace against Ice. Just be wary of pitching a bunch to outclass something like a Yumcax only to get Hashmalled in response.

A

Iedolus

It’s easier to say which Fire Forwards this doesn’t bring back, Paine, Ramza, and Rain. Everything else, including all nine of Fire’s Multi-Elements, is a legal target. And if that weren’t enough you get to throw out 7k damage later too!

A

Ravus

4/9 isn’t the worst statline out there…

D

Ignis

Sick attack trigger. If you happen to also have one of the other Crownsguard Starters and happen to play them out at the same time it’s even better. Both Prompto and Noctis can search him out to help protect themselves.

B

Prompto

If you’ve got another Crownsguard Starter, Prompto can snap them up. He only really has synergy with Noctis giving him +3k Haste, as you’re not very excited to make your 5k unchooseable by abilities.

D

Gladiolus

He’s big, at least.

C

Titan

With almost no BZ removal in the set, it shouldn’t be hard to get this to be serious damage.

A

Aranea

Double keywords, double removal, and EX. I’m sold.

A

Glauca

Dull 2 on demand is a handy way to break through in the endgame. Even if you have a Ravus or a second Glauca, he can’t only get one Captain, and they’d need different names anyways.

B

Noctis

Great all on his own, without any of the Crownsguard. If you manage to pull any of them then he gets even better. His trigger grants powerful removal to an element pair that often struggles to find direct ways to deal with problem Forwards.

A

Ardyn

Big Brave body for only 4 that can make cheaper many of the significantly highly priced Forwards in these Elements, notably Paine, Ramza, and August.

B

Aerith

A nice way to protect your Forwards from being comboed to death. Perhaps a little less relevant this set than most, but still a worthwhile thing to have.

C

Sephiroth

This guy’s every bit the beast he was in Opus 11, and will totally swing any game he’s cast in, whether your opponent is the one at Damage 4 or you are.

A

Cloud

There are a ton of great three drops this set for Cloud to turn into. There are even a few other Cat VII Forwards kicking around that you can transform. Weiss, Yuffie, Sephiroth, Tifa, Sonon, and Billy Bob. Tifa Sonon and Billy Bob probably the only ones you actually want to turn into something else, but the option is there.

B

Crystal

“Oh, did you get a Crystal pack during a draft? Lmao get fucked”
– Square Enix

F-