Wind

Bartz
3
Even just a discount of two makes Bartz an attractive Forward, especially in an Element desperate for 9ks. Naturally, the deeper your commitment to Wind, the stronger he becomes. There are a few Dull abilities like Cactuar Dancer Penelo that Bartz lets you double up on, but none of them are over the top good. Chocolatte is the best amongst them, so I wouldn’t bother going out of my way to build a deck to enable them.

Ranger
2
It’s nice to have some resiliency to effects, and if you can keep a board small enough then Ranger can put in some work. He does get outclassed pretty easily, to try to either get some good ways to pump him up or slot him into a super aggressive deck like a Turbo Discard styled Ice/Wind.

Zidane
3.5
There are so many applications for this little guy. He can stunt early development, snipe a closer like Nael or Squall before it can win the game, clear out removal before you play your bomb, rip away that card your opponent just searched for or brought back, just one good use after another. For a long time, Zidane helped keep the meta honest by holding greedy decks in check, and he’ll do much the same here.

Dorgann
3
He’s a little slow to get going, so you want to be pretty proactive about playing him, but he utterly removes anything he can target, bar Emet-Selch, and he does it permanently. Expect him to eat removal very often, which is a pretty good outcome. By acting as a lightning rod for removal, he helps protect the Forwards that come after him.

Bartz
2
The Haste is nice, and the First Strike can be great when paired with Fire or backed by Cactuar/Penelo. Getting to 5 will be pretty tough, so don’t count on the triple swing. There aren’t too many Jobs Matter cards in the set, but gaining jobs can be a bit relevant for Warriors of Light, Knights, and Nyx. WoLs and Knights are both ideally Water/Fire, but even just paired with Earth he can receive the +1k buff from Ingus.

Barbariccia
2.5
What’s especially nice about Barbariccia as part of a combo kill is that she negates the damage prevention of Minwu and cards like him. Ideally paired with Fire for all the direct damage it has, but there are plenty of sources of 1k within Wind, so you really don’t need to reach too far to find a way to use her.

Adelle
3
Adelle is an absolute Must Kill, as she threatens to win the game on her own if left alone. She is easy to kill, so that’s a strike against her, but if you’re cautious it isn’t hard to get a free point of damage with her. As a closer she isn’t quite as strong as Nael or Squall, who usually swing combat math by two or more bodies, but when the opponent is at 5 with a low hand size then it’s usually pretty safe to go for the throat.

Arc
2.5
Wind tends to have some trouble keeping up statwise, outside of a few choice Forwards like Bartz, Fina, and Yiazmat. The +1k from Arc tends to be very welcome for this reason, as he gives you so much more presence in combat. His Action Ability is also a welcome addition, giving Wind a solid way to punch through intimidating blockers that they may have trouble dealing with otherwise.

Y’shtola
3.5
A sticky Forward that many decks will have trouble dealing with outside of combat. Where Y’sh shines is in protecting your gameplan, being able to say “no” to many of the ways your opponent will try to disrupt what you are doing. Y’sh is fantastic, and her relevance in Constructed every single meta since she was printed is testament to her power.

Zidane
3
Like Ranger, the protection from abilities is super nice. Zidane pairs best with Ice for multiple reasons. Ice’s ability to clear away blockers makes is easier to safely get Zidane’s attack trigger, and Ice’s natural discard can also trigger his ability to activate Wind characters. He’s still a great card in any archetype, so don’t feel compelled to move into Ice just because you took him. If your opponent can’t find a way to kill him, his mere presence will warp the way they play the game, as they may seek to discard their Forwards for CP in order to resist his attack trigger. Look to couple him with combat tricks like Diablos or Bismarck so that you may more confidently swing with him.

Paul
2
There’s basically no other support for a mill strategy, but that’s fine since Paul threatens to mill em out all on his own. It usually takes about two hits to really get to a point where the opponent is risking losing to their own deck size, but this also makes cards like Cid (XI) and Cloud’s Action Ability much less enticing for the opponent to use. Some decks filter through their cards so rapidly that even a single Paul hit will make things very tight for them. And it’s always nice to have some strong evasion like this. Like Adelle, he is super easy to kill, though, so don’t rely on him. Luckily, unlike many other mill oriented cards, he at least is doing real damage.

Vata
2
Just like Bartz, any discount you get on him is gravy. He’s not quite as desirable, as he’s smaller and his ability has a trigger restriction (and he activates fewer things, and he doesn’t counter your Forwards being frozen, and he lacks EX, and he isn’t searchable by Syldra, and and and and and) but he’s still perfectly playable, if unexciting.

Chocobo
2.5
I love this little guy. Even just the threat of his activation is enough to stop a lot of combat. I really can’t stress enough how much 3k is. It gives you a bunch of protection versus direct damage too. A lot of Fire effects will just accidentally kill him, as 4k is not a high bar to hurdle, so be forewarned.

Dorgann
1.5
He’s good at buying you some time to set up, or at simplifying the board before going for the win, but unless you load up on Y’sh and Unsaganashi you can pretty much count on him dying, in which case all his hard work is quickly undone. Removal that requires this much set up should be more permanent, if I’m going to rely on it.

Ninja
2
Fire/Wind is all about chunking down opposing Forwards bit by bit, and Ninja is a very cost effective way to do that while also presenting a large threat.

Cecil
3
The double activation can be useful for getting a discount of Cecil or for reactivating attackers or Forwards that have been frozen down. What you’re really looking for here though is the 10k statline. Grindier Wind decks will be more than happy to throw down one of the biggest bodies in the Cube. What puts this over the top of many other Damage 5s is its ability to help stabilize you there, as the moment you take your 5th damage he becomes a colossal threat.

Ark Angel MR
3
Just about every deck you come across will have something that can block this, and several will have many ways. That does mean they have to commit to those, though, when often they would rather pitch them for CP. If you can back MR with ways to deal with them, whether it’s direct damage, dulling, combat tricks, or what have you, then she’ll carry you to victory. Just try to make sure you’re able to activate her protection.

Aerith
3.5
This level of protection for your board is completely unparalleled. Aerith is an absolute nightmare for some decks to deal with, although decks looking to just slam huge dudes will be completely unfazed. Try to suss out how impactful she’ll be in the matchup and play or pitch her accordingly.

Selkie
1
She kind of helps Paul out, at least a little bit? When she dies, if you’re lucky, you get a 2cp rebate, I guess? Hurray? Searchable off of Bel Dat, but do we really care? 8ks are fine, but a vanilla 8k is definitely just filler.

Fina
3.5
It’s a bit harder to do crazy combos here than in Standard, so just treat her like a super-Firion who sometimes instead is just a really cheap 9k. Wind has fewer combo kill options than fire for sure but still has some amount. Wish we had more Action Abilities with just Dull as the cost, like Iroha, as she’s also good at doubling up on those.

Yiazmat
5
Tied with Sephiroth for largest printed power, and with almost equally strong abilities to boot. Every Element has plenty of 5 drops they’re looking to play, and Yiazzy puts the kibosh on that pretty hard. The activation is super nice, especially when paired with any way to use your Characters in response, like Chocolatte or Fiona. Monsters exist, so once in a blue moon I guess you can kill a Bomb before it can stop Yiazmat.

Rem
4
Rem is incredbly frustrating for many decks to deal with, as they have to deal 9k in a single blow. Even a single +1k buff makes her able to block nearly every forward in the set. She allows for you to swing in without losing any of your defenses. In addition, she provides for incredible resilience to dull/freeze effects. Nearly every opponent you face will in some way be set back by Rem, and in a big way. Keep in mind she only stops 3k from the total power when blocking a party attack.

Arc
2.5
Nine of the twenty nine Backups in Wind are targets for his activation effect, if you build towards it then you shouldn’t have too hard a time getting it off, although as we saw with Squall and Selkie just getting an 8k for 2CP isn’t exciting. This means we really want to be getting value with his BZ effect. Damage 3 means you’re already in the midgame, so getting a Backup is acceptable if unexciting. Forwards are what we’re really looking for. In Wind, your options are Ranger, Chocobo, and Warrior of Light, who are all acceptable. Lenna is a great option no matter what element you pair with, and any of the other WoL filled Elements, Fire, Earth, or Water, will have some decent choices as well. Aside from Lenna (and maybe Krile) none of them are super spectacular, so I’m not particularly excited to build around Arc.

Vaan
2
Cheap and huge, in the right deck. Especially when paired with Water, Vaan has the potential to be a massive lad. If he’s going to attack, be sure to swing with him before doing pretty much anything else, naturally. It isn’t too hard to get him to 9k, which should be your goal.

Kain
1.5
If you can get out an early Kain and then back him with removal, trading even with your opponent’s resources while denying them a board, Kain is very tough for them to deal with. Without any sources for Gungnir, he will find himself unable to contend with defensive Forwards, so make sure you have plenty of ways to allow him to get through.

Warrior of Light
3
Sort of a bigger Chocobo, Warrior of Light provides a little less of a boost, but is much more difficult to kill. 2k is a hefty amount, and will be safe enough in a lot of instances, but if you’re not particularly scared of the damage then you can even use it to really start uptrading for instance 7s into 9s. Your opponent will be trying to save their removal for things you hit with Warrior of Light, so be careful when you really can’t risk taking damage. Yuna was removed from the Cube, so no more exile shenanigans, but you can still use effects like Scholar to stop affected Forwards from dying.

Thief
0.5
Remember all that talk about 2cp 8ks being wholly unexciting? Well Thief is even worse than that. As someone who’s favorite 8-Bit Theater character for years was Thief, it hurts to see Hobby Japan do him dirty.

Tiamat
3
This is a pretty cheap cost to break a 5CP Forward. Tiamat does a pretty decent Yiazmat impression, cheaper, smaller, but less flexible. Can even pick up another card sometimes when it dies.

Bel Dat
1
Everything she can get is dogshit: Clavat, Selkie, and Lilty. Yuke isn’t even in the Cube, so she’s even more hamstrung for not being able to fix for Ice. Her damage trigger is at least a little less restricted, as Leo, Undead Princess, Larkeicus, Jegran, Yuri, and Galdes can also count. Of those, Yuri and Galdes are the only ones you’re really excited to play, unless you’re relying on Leo as an Elemental converter for a greedy deck. If you have an FFCC SU you can fetch, and you can reliably get her damage trigger, she isn’t awful, but in no way is getting an extra 2cp worth building around.

Ashe
2.5
If you can get a card or two off of her while enabling her boost, Ashe is a nice cog in your deck, but the Cube isn’t really able to sustain triggering her reliably over and over. Where she fits in best in in an aggressive Ice/Wind shell, looking to drop multiple cheap threats early. Here she acts as a reverse Argath, drawing a card instead of forcing a discard.

Enkidu
1.5
While the single 1k from Clavat may not be worth running, AoE damage like this is a bit more in demand. Still, it’s not exactly exciting.

Bartz
1.5
Boko, Zack, Sol, Leo, Cait Sith, and Famed Mimic Gogo. That’s it, that’s the whole list. Boko, Zack, and Sol can all be good hits, so if you’re going to run this, I’d advise moving into Fire.

Boko
0.5
Buffing the non-opus XII Bartzes is kinda nice, but you don’t run a card just because it might give a slight boost to another specific card. There’s almost no other rewards for party attacking, just Firion and Yuna. It’s so difficult to really get value out of Boko that it just isn’t worth how easy to kill he is.

Alexander
2
Every deck will have multiple targets for this. It’s not exciting, but you need workhorses.

Alexander
1.5
Same as above.

Diabolos
4.5
One of the best removal Summons in every format it’s legal in, and Cube is no exception. Kills 5ks at a huge CP positive, and has plenty of other uses as well. It can negate dull/freeze, provide surprise blockers, give you uses for sources of 1k direct damage, act as a cheap combat trick, give you extra uses of Penelo and Chocolatte. An absolutely insane amount of applications, given how robust it is.

Diablos
2.5
A pretty cheap combat trick, 4k is small enough that most Forwards will be able to take out whatever you hit with this. Just be careful of cards like Vaan, who don’t rely on their printed power for their strength. Alternatively, use it on Leo to give him +3k.

Alexander
3
Clean removal that hits a huge range of targets.

Sylph
1.5
Not much of a boost, but it is incredibly cheap. Helpful for enabling Ashe and Locke.

Pandemonium
2.5
2k wide is a huge amount of damage for how affordable this is. One of the best enablers for Baralai.

Diabolos
2.5
This will be live against a shocking amount of Forwards. It won’t always hit what you want to hit, but it will go up in value enough of the time to be worth it. Treat it as more of an economical adjustment than premium removal, and it’ll do a great job of putting you ahead on the resource race. Every once in a while you’ll be able to get extra value by hitting something boosted by an effect like Carbuncle. Pair with effects like Rain to hit anything you want.

Koboldroid Yin
3.5
Unlike a lot of similar cards, like Adelle and Paul, Yin is only targetable when you let it be. This makes ETFs like Cloud unable to interact with him (not counting Burst.) This resilience is a huge contributor to his score. It’s very difficult to deal with him without going down resources, but he’s absolutely worth overkilling if that’s your only option.

Cactuar
1.5
The 1k is useful but not impressive. 10k though is an incredible amount of damage, and even though the cost is high, you need some amount of hard removal. If this is the removal you have access to, then you’re going to run it.

Deathgaze (IX)
4
Unconditional removal is always great. There are a few abilities here and there that can blow up Deathgaze, Yiazmat and Prishe jump to mind, but for the most part this will be hard removal.

Basilisk
1.5
A great use for the 1k damage to board effects from Enkidu, Dancer, and Penelo, amongst others. Basilisk can use both effects on the same forward if necessary, but if you’re able to get both ends to kill something, then it becomes pretty CP efficient.

Unsaganashi
3.5
A cheap shield for your more precious Forwards that also threatens to reactivate all your blockers once you’re on Damage 5. This is one of the best ways to stabilize at high damage.

Killer Bee
0.5
An acceptable enabler for Baralai or Locke, and lets you carry some CP from one turn to another, but its effects are pretty minor and only useful in specific conditions, making it an awkward card to slot into your deck. Getting double duty from Backups in one turn can really help finish the game, but it’s a lot of setup to get there.

Floateye
1.5
Of these effects, I think I like this one the most. Trading a backup and three CP for a 5 drop is a decent trade, although obviously the longer the game goes on from that point the more CP you’re losing out on by not having access to that backup. Because of that, you really want to be using Floateye at the very end of the game, which means that if you win before they can replay the card you bounced, then it’s unconditional hard removal.

Dancer
1
It has a few uses here and there, but the additional 1CP is pretty costly. Make sure you have lots of ways to make use of her if you’re planning on casting her.

Evoker
2
Still a fan of these guys.

Maria
3
Several Wind Forwards really really appreciate even this tiny boost, Rem in particular. Since Wind has so many smaller Forwards, this helps restrict exactly what incidental direct damage effects can stop them.

Archer
2
There aren’t as many things in this Cube you want to hit, Wakka is the only Elemental pumper and most of the other 3s are Evokers in disguise as they draw a card. Nono and Althea are good targets, Cu Chaspel can help your damage preventors, Red Mage and Yotsuyu are great to not have to worry about. If you’re loaded up on Backups with damage effects, this helps them stay relevant against Jihl Nabaat/Minwu. It’s a nice ability to have in your back pocket, even if you’re not going to have a use for it in every game.

Kan-E-Senna
2.5
Of the formats she’s been legal, this is perhaps the one she’s best in. Everyone is running targets for this, and having EX is just icing on the cake. You only have so much room in your deck for these larger removal style backups, so don’t load up on too many of them, since they’re awful during the early game.

Nono
2.5
Definitely the best of this cycle, being able to reactivate even one Forward is a fine threat that your opponent will have to respect.

Oracle
2
Ice is going to have absolute fits trying to kill you while you have this up and out. A nice low investment way to get access to this ability.

Archer
1.5
2k to board is nice, even if opportunities to use it are few and far between. One of the nice things about these boardwide blasts is that they get around choice restrictions like Zidane and Delita.

Nono
2.5
There are a lot of cool uses for Nono, from Dancer/Penelo to Firion, and even just being able to play stuff MP1 and reactivate for MP2 is great. You’ll end up getting a bunch of extra CP over the course of the game, and as long as you have a way to use them, Nono will absolutely pay you back.

Archer
1.5
A neat little combat trick. Defensive tricks aren’t nearly as good as offensive ones, but this one at least can completely blow out someone relying on First Strike (please note there is not very much First Strike in this Cube.)

Aria (TYPE-0)
3
DeFenSIvE tRIcKs ArRn’T qUiTe aS GoOd As OfFeNSivE oNeS. Ok except for this one. The opportunity cost is pretty low and you’ll find the -1k to be relevant over and over and over. This is probably the best “2CP” Backup that Wind has access to.

Echo
2.5
Echo has such a diverse range of abilities that you’re almost always able to get a bunch of value off of her. Scry 1 and draw on T1 really helps you buy back into the game after a mulligan doesn’t quite pay off. Most often, she pretends to be an Evoker by activating and drawing, but you’re essentially discarding 1 and drawing 1 as you do that, giving you the ability to sculpt a better hand by pitching irrelevant cards, or even converting renewable Backup CP into CP in hand.

Miounne
2.5
Miounne is one of those cards you just don’t appreciate until you start playing with it. You look at her and go “you’re just moving cards around, you’re not actually getting anywhere,” but then you start doubling up on ETFs, you start replacing dead cards in hand with fresh draws, and you realize that behind this unassuming innkeeper lies a shocking display of power.

Cid Haze
2
Most of the STD Units in the Cube are bad, but even if you intend to never cast any of them, he’s still an Evoker with EX Burst who can fix for Elements. One of his best uses is to snap up crap like Thief and pitch it for CP so that you don’t risk actually drawing that bullshit in the late game.

Wind Drake
1
Decent for slowing down damage for those slow decks out there. Nothing terribly exciting, but it’s serviceable.

Waltrill
3
In Opus VIII, Waltrill was excellent because of his ability to churn through your deck in search of your heavy hitters. In Cube, since the average power level of cards is much higher, you’ll end up running many more bombs, so this aspect of Waltrill is somewhat less pronounced. This lets you focus more on his other uses, aiding weak opening hands, clearing away substandard cards, getting more Backups in the early game, and clearing away extra Backups in the late game. His Action Ability even makes Norschtalen better than it already is. Waltrill is the motor oil that keeps your engine running smoothly.

Sherlotta
2
Losing one of your backups is a pretty serious cost, so rather than use it as part of your development, you’re much more interested in playing out splashed bombs in the late game with this, like a Locke or a Nael. Sometimes you just need that one extra CP when trying to close out the game, and Sherlotta will be nice to have in those situations too, but honestly how often is 1CP the difference between life and death?

Norschtalen
4
No matter what element you go, Norsch can fix for it, and as a Backup who searches another Backup, Norsch is one of the best openers in the Cube.

Fran
3
3k direct damage is unheard of in Wind. Access to this source of burn keeps Fran a relevant play the whole game through. We’d be excited to play this even without the 6k, which stands strong as an intimidating threat.

Penelo
2
1k really isn’t that much, but here you’re paying so little for it. Penelo is a great recipient for reactivations like Pandemonium and Nono, and will likely be instrumental in any deck seeking to abuse Baralai.

Class Eighth Moogle
3
I really don’t have anything…

Class Twelfth Moogle
1.5
to say about these cards…

Thief
2.5
that I didn’t already cover in previous Elements.

Chelinka
3
You can drop Adelle and this and just take someone from 4 to dead in a flash. You can get a double kill with Galuf.  Outside of Magical Christmas Land, getting an extra attack (and leaving the Forward active to block) for only a single CP is a fantastic rate, and you can even bounce her and do it again to close out the game.

Fiona
1.5
The ability is crazy expensive, but access to any card you want is a powerful ability. You really have to be very built towards exploiting a grindy late game if you’re looking to use her more than once a night. Yiazmat’s biggest fan.

Althea
2
While she may be less than ideal as a developmental backups, she gives you a free reactivation and then allows you to reuse a strong ETF, or even protect your cards from removal. Also gives you endless Dorgann triggers.

White Mage
1
The Storm archetype isn’t nearly as supported in Cube as it is in Opus XII, so good opportunities to make use of White Mage will be much rarer.

Chocolatte
2.5
A great way to use the myriad reactivation effects amongst all the Wind cards, but even without them you’ll find yourself with extra CP on several occasions, and having a way to bank that while setting up for a powerful late game turn makes Chocolatte a great investment.

Ninja
1.5
Ninja really wants you to pair her up with big beefy Forwards so that you can attack and then also block. There aren’t any good dull effects to abuse, outside of maybe Chocobo, so pretending to have Brave is basically the only proactive use there is for Ninja’s first effect. She also doubles up as a restricted Oracle in a pinch.

Earth

Gippal
1.5
On average, Earth has the largest Forwards, so you may be thinking that it can use this buff the least. However, Earth has one of the most difficult times dealing with its Forwards being outclassed. Other elements have removal, combat tricks, First Strike, evasion, and while Earth does have some of these as well it’s in much smaller numbers. That makes effects like Gippal quite desireable, as he allows you to push over powerful defensive lines. The boost is large enough that even Earth’s more irrelevant bodies like Larkeicus and Krile become colossal. Gippal is a great closer in an Element desperate for closers, but that’s all he is.

Vincent
1
It’s nice to have some amount of resilience to removal, but 4cp for an 8k is not a good rate. Death Penalty is a powerful effect, given that there are two other Vincents to pitch, and VII Matters is a real deck, but unless you’re really getting that Tifa out reliably then Vincent is super underwhelming.

Delita
3
Delita puts such a strong, uninteractable presence down on the table that he’s often going to be the initial draw into Earth. He’s not unkillable by any stretch, cards like Nyx or Mushussu who are already dead when they choose him don’t care about his reprisal, and depending on the game state taking a point of damage in order to Ifrit him isn’t that impactful, but for most cases he will be an incredible hassle to deal with.

Dadaluma
2.5
Cactuar and Larkeicus are both here, allowing you to assemble the fearsome combo. Outside of that, Dadaluma does a great impression of a 12k that sometimes gets some extra value here and there. Outside of Cactuar, Wind has no other effects to trigger Dadaluma. He may be better paired with Fire, who has a bunch of cards no one else is looking for that combo well with him, like Clavat and Mutsuki.

Ingus
3
Like Gippal, Ingus provides Earth with a flexible out to the opponent just dropping a 10k like Yiazmat or Sephiroth. He helps out as a combat trick, protects from Direct Damage, and even has Warrior of Light synergy for the few times it’ll be relevant.

Wol
2.5
It’s a great list of abilities, each one useful, but none of them are particularly spectacular. Wol gains a little bit of value here and there, and the longer you can keep him on the table the better he’ll be.

Cecil
4.5
Exactly what you’re looking for when you want to go for the long game, the ability to drop a fatty while killing something that’s been beating down on you. There are even two other Cecils if you want to Dark.

Leo
2
Really helps out three Element decks, and will likely be one of the most beneficial cards they can run. Outside of that function, without reliable access to either a bunch of monsters or sequences that drop multiple characters like Aigis/Faris you’re not going to get Leo to a genuinely threatening power. If you can pair him with Elements that will help clear the way for him, he’s at his best.

Asmodai
3
Five Earth CP isn’t easy. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t hard, but it certainly isn’t easy. That inconsistency (and the -1k) put Asmodai’s score down from Cecil’s a little bit. Still a great card though.

Galuf
5
This card is a genuine nightmare to deal with. He’s enormous, and if left to his own devices he will dine on whatever he so chooses. As a 9k, he’s not shabby on defense, though he’s not spectacular. Underestimate this card at your own peril. It may have never made waves in Standard, but it is probably the single best Forward Earth has access to in Cube.

Krile
1.5
I want to give this card a better rating, I really do. It feature free combat tricks, can protect itself, and even lets you splash whatever removal you want. It’s just… only being able to splash summons is really restrictive, +1k is such a small amount, not being able to protect herself against summons is a serious vulnerability, and everything she does is super telegraphed.

Xezat
3
If you’re in either Ice or Lightning, then Xezat is a serious threat. If you’re not able to double activate those abilities reliably every turn, then he still threatens to be a 10k on demand.

Undead Princess
1
Great as a way to knock out a blocker in the late game so that you can swing through the defensive line. Outside of that specific use, pretty useless. You’ve got room in your deck for one or two of these types of effects, though, so I wouldn’t mind picking one of her up if I really need closers.

Graham
1.5
A great defensive line in the late game. Typically decks that throw down a ton of early pressure will be less than fazed by this, as they’ll likely find some way around it, but against more fair decks that happen to be a little quicker than you this will help take some of that ground back. To be fair, I watched a match the other day where I literally shouted “holy shit, is Graham breaking something!?” so just know that it’s a pretty rare occurrence.

Heretical Knight Garland
2
Even moreso than in Opus IX, it’s not terribly hard to get HK down to 2 for 8. Like I’ve said before, this isn’t a great ratio, but HK’s ability when double activated is capable of clearing an entire board, and the threat of that is worth something.

Vincent
2.5
Like a little mini-Cecil, except it doesn’t kill like half the things you really want it to kill. And it’s way more expensive in the long term. Zoom is cute though.

Larkeicus
1
The Monsters in Cube suck, and a 1cp 5k sucks too. If you’re really desperate to assemble daddycac, this will do, and there are a couple Monsters that don’t completely blow like Kanna, who you will be ecstatic to bring back for a second go.

Lilty
0.5
She gives you access to your answered bombs, maybe, sometimes, occasionally…

Enkidu Uruk
1
This card is bad, but BTL Gilg is good, so making Gilg great is good, so this card isn’t bad. Unless you don’t have BTL Gilg, which isn’t good. Then this card is very bad. His protection ability looks enticing, but you will find that in practice it is much harder to make use of than it seems.

Black Tortoise l’Cie Gilgamesh
3.5
If you have ever played Ice then you know what an absolute pain cards like this are. Earth would be happy to settle for Guy, but we got the big boss instead. Conveniently also dodges Leviathans and Famfrits. There’s still a fair amount of ways around him, so he’s not the End All Be All that he was in oX, but he’s still a serious body who is absolutely worth the premium CP he demands.

Sieghard
2.5
If you’re heavy in Earth, it’s really nice to have this kind of protection for your Forwards. This effect can be a little hard to judge just because a lot of what he does is only evident to your opponent, as you may not be aware of what plays they want to make but can’t.

Kefka
2
This Kefka has always been a little hard to leverage. It’s great being able to trade your more worthless Forwards for your opponent’s valuable Forwards, but getting a 7k to survive until your next turn’s attack step can be difficult at times. His kill trigger is nice, giving you the ability to convert one Backup CP into two CP in hand, so if you can chain him into an immediate removal effect you can start recouping a little bit of CP. Best paired with Water for its selection of cheap bodies like Viking and Porom. Hilarious with Galuf.

Shantotto
4
I’m more than willing to pay full price here. Totto has a ton of versatility. Nothing she’s capable of is outright game winning, but she usually has a dramatic impact of the board state that you can carry into a victory. When breaking things, the likeliest candidates are going to be Backups, though there are plenty of 3CP Forwards worth cracking. When looking to return stuff to the field, Earth’s options are pretty sparse outside of Shadow Lord. Every other Element has plenty of excellent targets, though, so you should be able to rustle up something scary.

Ardyn
3.5
A big tough asshole that’s hard to deal with. Any level of protection like this is worth having on a 9k, and Ardyn’s is pretty good. He turns a lot of removal into temporary removal, and even without that, the ability to mess with combat in Earth is worthwhile.

Tifa
4
The big payoff for going into the VII archetype. You’re typically pulled into either Fire for Cloud and Zack, or Ice for Genesis and Sephiroth. Lightning has a big Seph but the Cait Sith doesn’t really benefit too much from Tifa. Dark Seph and Kadaj are of course great, but the real dream is Light Cloud to tutor up Tifa.

Barret
2
His abilities are just intimidating enough to make up for how unexciting a 4cp 8k is.

The Deathlord
2.5
A big thickie that gets probably the best card in your deck. Yes please.

Monk
1
4k and Brave is an attractive bonus, so you’re never upset to take this as filler.

Wrieg
0.5
Nothing like only having a chance to get a discount…

Lich
2
The other Job Chaoses at least offer the ability to go up on CP, but recursion is a powerful ability. A second shot at your best Forward is pretty good.

Vincent
1
Unless you’re on the Tifa train, this card is a meme. Death Gigas is a great ability, but with only two other Vincents, neither of whom is particularly good, you’re filling your deck with a lot of filler. Can muck around with recursion effects to keep churning out the S.

Cloud
2
If there were just slightly more VII Forwards that you could sacrifice to this, it would be way better, but the majority of decks will just use him as a way to cheat out a nice 3 drop.

Krile
4
Getting double duty on all your best summons is already good, being able to steal your opponent’s is incredible. Pairs well with Leo to allow you to cast anything from your opponent’s Break. Ironically, the card you want to pair the other Krile with the most. Also good at using Fusoya’s oft forgotten first line of text, although putting a 2CP Forward in your deck is not what Fusoya is hoping for.

Shadow Lord
3.5
With some careful timing, this downside just doesn’t exist most of the time. Shadow Lord really benefits from Final Fantasy’s BO1 style, because once your opponent knows about it they are much more likely to take advantage of the free forward.

Hecatoncheir
3
Consider this as a “reverse backup” where instead of providing you with 1CP every turn, it denies that much to your opponent. There are plenty of good targets for it, although nothing especially juicy outside of Unei.

Atomos
1.5
It’s expensive as hell, but it’s powerful. You gotta run the options you have, and this is what we have.

Hecatoncheir
3.5
There are so many cool ways to use this that it’s honestly one of my favorite cards. Helps nullify the efficiency of your opponent’s removal by taking one of their Forwards down as well. Gets extra triggers on your Dadaluma or Azul. Takes advantage of Galuf’s unbreakability. Triggers Ignacio. Makes random pumps off of EX worthwhile. Just all around one of the most flexible pieces of removal around. Don’t use this proactively if you can avoid it; there’s nothing worse than setting up a great Hecc and having your opponent Bismarck your dude.

Carbuncle
2
This has been a decent tech choice in Standard a couple of times (very briefly) but just due to the nature of Draft it’s very hard for Carbuncle to really shine. This may seem strange, combat tricks are inherently better in Limited, and Carbuncle is an acceptable trick, but what this lil cutie is best at is turning your 7ks into 9ks so you can take out 8ks. So since most draft sets are so reliant on 9ks, getting to par isn’t really great. It’s pretty cheap to do it, though, so it’s still a fair use of the card, but now instead of total blowouts we’re just looking at trading even, or even slightly behind. Now there will be plenty of games where removal is flying everywhere and it comes down to your smaller Forwards vs theirs, and Carbuncle will be great there. Note that its “return to hand” beats out Krile’s exile.

Cactuar
2.5
Bahamut is a great card, and I’m totally willing to trade the exile for the capacity to deal 12k.

Titan
3
Supercharged one-sided Hecc with EX. Yes please. Even moreso than with Hecc, try to use this on Forward that are either unlikely to be removed in response or who are already dying so that you’re not risking a huge blowout. Hecc only costs 2 so if your Forward gets removed it isn’t that bad, but Titan’s cost is too big to play risky with, unless you absolutely have to throw those dice.

Yojimbo
2.5
The worst of the Hecc effects, but the athlete who places 3rd in the Olympics is still World Class.

Golem
3
Everything Carbuncle wishes it could be.

Mist Dragon
2.5
All of the options are at least somewhat relevant, and you should almost always find a strong use for it in every game.

Cu Sith
3.5
This flexible recursion on command allows so many cool and interesting lines. There are few cards that increase your optionality as dramatically as this one, and the sheer amount of plays that it enables is absolutely worth losing out on a couple of CP.

Fenrir
1.5
Unlike Mist Dragon, these abilities are going to be much harder to hit with. Probably half your games will have a Backup target and a Light/Dark target so those should be the selections you’re expecting. Few monsters are worth breaking, too many can just be broken in response for value. Ironically, the 2CP Earth Forward which was the only reliable mode in Opus XII Limited is pretty weak here, as it only has six targets in the whole Cube: Undead Princess, Cloud, Krile, Shadow Lord, Prishe, and Shantotto.

Gigas
2.5
Gigas is unwieldy, true, but he’s also a nightmare for the opponent to deal with. Use him in grindier decks where he serves as a defensive wall that’s hard for the opponent to navigate.

Mushussu
1.5
Not great removal, but removal all the same. Best with Ice, naturally.

Luminous Puma
0
I fucking hate Puma and nothing you say will sway me. If he works for you, great.

Antlion
1
It’s a powerful protective trick, both good in combat and against a majority of summons.

Mandragora
1
Most of Mandragora’s 5CP+ targets are in Earth, which is a huge problem, as you’re the one most likely to have taken them. There are less than ten 5CP+ Backups outside of Earth, so your chances of finding one on your opponent’s board are less than finding a Pikachu in Viridian Forest. This means most games you’ll end up relying on his Monster Counters. Getting a 1CP discount on Hecatoncheir isn’t really worth the time investment it takes to get there, so keep your expectations of Mandragora muted.

Evoker
2
This space has been intentionally left blank.

Shantotto
4
You know how good Totto is. Biggest problem is name clash with Starter Totto and ME Totto.

Jessie
2.5
Excellent tutor for the VII deck, or even just a deck running one of the better Sephiroths.

Sorbet
1
You really gotta get this to 2k before it starts really paying off.

Monk
2.5
Now here’s a combat trick worth writing home about. 3k is absolutely massive. The Brave really is a trap, you want to use this at the absolute last moment, so that you minimize the opportunities for your opponent to stop you. Trying to utilize the Brave is a great way for a dull/freeze effect to suddenly gain a ton of econ against you.

Raubahn
3.5
The extra cost on this is pretty low, so even if your opponent blows your Forward out in response, you’re barely out anything.

Rydia
2.5
Earth has some great Summons, so reliable access to them is extremely welcome, not to mention whichever Summons you’re running outside of Earth.

Miner
3
The prototypal Cu Sith, Miner gives you such flexibility at multiple portions of the game. He is weakest in a soft opening hand, when he is your only Backup, but the same can be said of Raubahn, Kan-E-Senna, or any number of other Backups worth running.

Mog (MOBIUS)
2.5
Instant and immediate access to your bomb is absolutely worth the slot in your backline.

Momodi
3
Being able to attack without dropping your guard is an extremely strong position to be in, and few cards enable that as consistently and reliably as Momodi. Particularly useful with Gigas, as the constructed Citra Valefor decks have shown us.

Krile (XIV)
0.5
There’re no Scion synergies here, so the only draw is the ability. It’ll be relevant every once in a while, but Water is already one of the weaker elements in Draft, so hedging your matchup percentage against it is perhaps not the best use of resources.

Cait Sith (XIV)
2.5
Good Forwards are good. Protecting good Forwards is great.

Minfilia
3.5
Unlike Miner, Minf is even useful in a weird opening hand. The longer the game goes on before you draw her, the better she is, as the quality and selection she has access to grows. Nearly every deck you play against will have some target for her Action Ability as well, making her truly exceptional.

Kolka
2
Reliable access to exactly what you want. These kinds of cards keep your deck running smoothly, don’t ignore them.

Geomancer
2
Not quite as good as my Main Girl Monk, but still a perfectly serviceable supporter.

Apururu
3
Once you get this guy down to 3 or even 2, she is truly an incredible Backup. Cu Sith except potentially cheaper? Yes please.

Prompto
3.5
Just an absolutely unreal cost for straight Break whatever you want. Every once in a while you get to pull off the legendary double, though the single is already so efficient that you shouldn’t try to finagle some miracle board state.

Layle
2.5
Good Forwards are good. Protecting good Forwards is great. (Literally just copy+pasted Cait Sith (XIV)’s review, deal with it)

Class Fifth Moogle
1.5
Good cards are good.

Class Tenth Moogle
3.5
EaLi is a great archetype, since Earth and Lightning always tend to be in the top 3 Elements in any given draft environment and there’s a bunch of EaLi support between this and the Multi-Elements. This makes this Dual Moogle perhaps the most valuable of the whole cycle.

Cid (MOBIUS)
2.5
Don’t count on being able to reliably deal more than 8k with this, and always be aware of the opponent being able to kill your Forwards in order to decrease the damage.

Joker
2
There’s enough Brave around that this will be able to get some real value throughout the tournament. 2k is a pretty strong amount of damage to be stopping, and your Brave Forwards will tend to be the ones you want to protect the most, so this winds up being pretty relevant.

Miotsk
2.5
Just explicitly Geomancer except even better with Enkidu Uruk and Tortoise.

Tyro
3
Fixes your hand quality, fixes your CP, then late game fixes your combats. Absolutely exceptional.

Beastmaster
2.5
Sadly not an FFCC character for Norschtalen, unlike the other non-Wind options in this cycle. Still good.

Luca
0.5
This is almost acceptable in Water, where you can plop out Wakka and Minwu, but seriously are you going to go this deep just for some oblique trick? If you’re not dropping Chelinka off of this then don’t waste your time.

Vaigali
2
You have to be in an archetype that has MEs, and then also draft those MEs which is a fair bit harder here than in Opus XII. It’s extremely unlikely you’ll end up with more than two targets for this, although he can be pretty decent fixing for a 3 Element deck.

Think this all sounds fun? Looking to do some Cubes? There’s a great tool online at https://www.fftcg-cube-draft.com/ where you can run a Cube with others. At the end of the draft portion, there is a deckbuilder that will create a file for use in OCTGN. If you’re looking for places to meet up for Cube drafts, both the Global Discord and Chocobo Joe’s Cube Club are great places to find other players. For any other inquiries, feel free to reach out to me on Discord at Lossley#5502, or on Twitter at HowWL. Thanks again for reading this admittedly insane amount of words, and I look forward to seeing you next time, here on the Crystarium.

This is the second part in the series of articles about All-Star Draft covering Wind and Earth cards. You can also view the other parts here:

How to Win Limited: All-Star Draft (Opus XII) – Fire and Ice

How to Win Limited: All-Star Draft (Opus XII) – Lightning, Water, Duals etc