Howdy, folks, and welcome to the Crystarium! We’re here today to write a letter to Johnson and Johnson asking them to make a new shampoo, cause we’ve got Tears of the Planet! I’m always excited when a set features a bunch of X/X-2 cards, and I’m sure plenty of you are hyped for all the VII stuff we’re getting, along with a chunk of cards from IV, IX, and a smattering of other titles. We’ve got new LBs, a new cost reduction mechanic for Summons, and tons of exciting new synergies to explore. While this set lacks some of the bells and whistles of other recent sets (no crystals, priming, or multi-element), I think it’s nice to have a simpler environment now and again. So let’s take a look together at all these new cards, so that when it’s time for your limited event, deck construction won’t cause any tears since you’ll have the tools to plan it!
Rating Scale
S: You are ecstatic to first pick this, and you will warp your entire deck to play it. Nearly wins the game on its own.
A: You are happy to first pick this. A strong reason to play its element. These cards are the bombs you build your deck to support. Should improve your position dramatically.
B: You are unexcited to first pick this. The cards that form the backbone of your deck. Will likely put you ahead a couple of CP when played.
C: You are upset to first pick this. The meat of the deck. These cards will rarely get you ahead immediately, but may accrue value over time.
D: If you’re first picking this then you have one of the worst packs ever printed. While these cards may have niche application or very specific circumstances where they excel, by and large they do not do much to advance your game plan.
F: If this card is in your deck at all, Godspeed
Fire
Armstrong
In a Fire heavy deck, Armstrong represents a constant source of significant damage. You are paying a sizeable cost upfront, but in a deck filled with sources of small direct damage like Trey or Forwards with low power like Red XIII who may struggle with the question of how to maximize their usefulness, Armstrong is a powerful answer. You can skip the discard effect and go straight for the throat too. 3CP for 7K damage has long been a gold standard, ever since Opus I Brynhildr. A flexible, if slightly expensive way to enable many of the things Fire is looking to accomplish. And if you happen to draw a second? Let me direct you to his first line of text.
B
Iron Eater
I worry that there aren’t enough Warriors to make this card really work. You need to be in Fire/Earth specifically, and you only have Volker, Red XIII and Red XIII-2, Rikku, and General. Four of those are H/L, and two of them don’t go the BZ when they die. How exactly are we supposed to trigger this? Oh well, he’s at least got a decent body to cost ratio.
C
AVALANCHE Member
Good damage for the cost. Pretty uninspiring if you’re not getting the effect off, so draft carefully.
B
Ifrit
I am once again on my hands and knees begging you not to throw a Backup in the trash for 2CP. In all but the final turns of the game, you are paying full price for this, and for its whole cycle. Maybe occasionally this lets you remove an Edward so you can play a 2nd, but that’s quite a line. Onto the meat of this card. It’s rare that this will be a clean 2-for-1, but like Armstrong, the 4k is a good way to make use of small sources of damage. Block a 7k with your Scarmiglione, then top off the 7k and take down a 9k besides. Sometimes you’re going to have to commit this to a single Forward and that’s ok. 4CP for 9k damage is more than fair. Don’t be afraid to skip out on getting the most out of a card when you need to. Better to win than to lose with this card still in hand just because you couldn’t engineer a perfect scenario.
A
Ace
The Bursts in this set suck, Rubicante is the only one that will actually punish you, making this mostly free. Yeah there’s a few Damage 3s here and there, but that’s a small price to pay. Plus he’s too expensive for certain effects like Necron and Baralai. Feels unfair that this can kill your opponent in Limited, as playing it on Damage 5 leaves your opponent with exactly one round of priority to stop it. Sort of sad that this card which should be the shining center of Cadet decks will be sniped by everyone who can even just splash Fire, but here we are.
S
Cloud
If clouds have silver linings, why is this one solid gold?
S
Glenn
The SOLDIER deck is a little awkward since there’s five, one in all elements but Earth. Luckily Glenn helps bring a lot of that together. By focusing just on the Rs, we can make a Fire/Wind/Water deck that focuses on Fire in order to Glenn out Lucia and Matt. Since he plays them for free, we really don’t even need to be in Wind or Water. If we get an early Sephiroth or Zack, we can even go into that element and just rely on Glenn to play out the 2s. That strategy is a bit more risky, so definitely make sure you have a couple of Glenns if you’re looking to go there.
B
Security Officer
While I may have complained last set about only getting 5K from a 3CP Backup with Warrior of Light, I’m much more willing to accept that when it’s one of two modes. Fire is more than happy to boast a multiplay Cat VII Backup that plays so well into its themes.
B
Sice
Sice is an ok way to stack just that extra little bit of damage you need onto Armstrong or Security Officer. She really isn’t very threatening by herself, but at only 1CP that’s kinda what you expect. Sure if you have FIVE (5) CADETS the turn you play her, she can attack into a 9K, but like… ok? Then they just take a damage and you’re left with a Forward that dies to everything. Assuming they have literally zero other blockers. The issue I have here is that, aside from the Job, Palom largely does the same, uh… job. 3K in exchange for a card from hand and a dull Backup. So if you’re not in Cadets, feel free to eighty-six her (get it cuz she’s supposed to be six and… oh forget it…)
D
Salamander (III)
While it’s a ton of CP, it’s also a ton of board impact. Getting rid of two Forwards, without needing any support, every single turn. Just be careful about how many Gutscos you draft.
S
Deuce
Frustrating that Fire only has three Backups and one of them only functions in a dedicated archetype. If you’re in that archetype, Deuce is excellent though, helping unite the whole team.
B
Trey
In the right deck, it’s so, so easy to get this to 4K. Fire has a ton of sources of medium damage this set, so once you get to 4K Trey is already a solid, reliable addition to your deck. In a truly dedicated Cadet deck, Trey really shines. Once he trades support from other sources of damage for support from other Cadets, Trey becomes the centerpiece.
B
Palom
The Porom thing is nice but Palom is decent enough on his own that you shouldn’t feel obligated to move into Water. He’s a card you’re basically forced to play, since Fire is so low on Backups, so thankfully he’s pretty good. 3K is I think the sweet spot, designwise. It isn’t killing anything on its own but it’s still enough to be a sizeable addition to other effects. A very welcome card in any Fire deck.
A
Volker
Unlike Iron Eater, Volker is very easy to make use of. Both Iron Eater and Red XIII are R so they’re easy enough to pick up, so you pay 7, get a free 2nd 8K, and have a Red XIII in hand to pitch for CP. Not bad at all.
B
Hell House
While Hell House doesn’t quite have the Power you expect from a 3 drop, it certainly has other boons. Since it’s not a Forward until activated, it keeps itself safe from lots of removal until the last moment. And while you’re definitely not getting the Damage 6 trigger, the Damage 3 lets it attack freely into 10ks, or do much the same things we talked about with all of Fire’s other medium direct damage effects. 3K isn’t too impressive an amount of damage, and at only 7K Hell House will struggle to be relevant in combat, notably on defense, but if you’re playing a deck with lots of sources of almost lethal damage then you could do worse.
C
Rubicante
Without Golbez, he’s pretty lame. Sure he can protect himself from a handful of abilities, but why am I paying 4 for an 8k in the same element as Iron Eater? It is nice that his EX doesn’t check for Golbez, but that’s hardly a reason to play a substandard Forward. With Golbez, Rubicante is the largest Forward he has access to, and also the only one who continues to provide value beyond an ETF, triggering that 8k burn turn after turn.
A
Red XIII
+3k at Character speed isn’t really worth the CP. Sure it helps you push an attack over a scary blocker, but you really need something like Armstrong who will be able to turn Red XIII into a lethal combatant in his own right. You need to be getting something on both Red’s entry and exit, and both of those will take perhaps more finagling than he’s worth. In a VII-centric deck, once discarded, he is able to help protect against say an opposing Ifrit cast during your MP2, but these scenarios will be rare. The best line of text on this card is Job: Warrior and many decks will play him only for that.
D
Machina
It’s quite a play restriction but as long as you’re forward thinking about Machina he’s an incredibly cheap threat. Great as an opener for both aggressive decks and Cadet decks, a great start to rebuilding should you get your board wiped, although there is a tension between becoming harder and harder to cast while getting stronger and stronger.
B
Red XIII
This Red XIII is so much better that I’m gonna call him Red XIV. Red XIV is a cheap 7k, gets a bevy of abilities when bolstered by his buddies, and +2k to the team is way better than +3k to one. This card still isn’t incredible, but at least we’re not only playing it because we drafted four Iron Eaters.
B
Wow, Fire’s actually got some misses this time around. I’m just so used to Fire being the de facto best element in every set that it’s weird to see them get two Ds. Also notably, Fire is the only element that doesn’t have a 9K at C/R. Fire actually has to depend on synergies and archetypes instead of just being able to brute force their way through everything as normal. Expect to see various flavors of Cat VII matters and Cadets. Fire does have some weaknesses this set, notably Cecil. Try to get some ways in your second element to handle a Cecil with Rosa protection or get ready to go home. Fire is one of three elements with only three Backups (no Broden doesn’t count) so be very aware of your Backup count as you draft. Fire does boast some serious haymakers, so if I get passed any of the following I’m going to consider moving into it: Ifrit, Ace, Cloud, Salamander, Glenn, and Trey. So let’s say we have a strong start in Fire. What elements should we move into?
Ice gives us a bunch of ways to deal with Forwards that can’t be burnt down, like Necron and Borghen. Maenad lets us truly abuse our Armstrong. Once Fire establishes an early board presence, Gimme Cat can help starve the opponent so they’re not able to mount a comeback. Fire also works really well with Sephiroth, but that’s more “why should Ice play Fire” so I’ll talk about that then, since you really can’t start with Glenn and then pray you open Sephiroth.
Wind, the first Cadet element. Not only do we get Cater and Nine to boost our Trey to truly lethal levels, but we also get stuff like Cid Highwind and LB Aerith to search that Cloud we first picked. Goobbue can help protect our Salamander and more importantly our Ace, ensuring he lives to deliver destined death.
Earth offers us two choices of archetypes: Warriors and VII. If we’re starting with a Volker, General and Rikku are viable options. Also, something I didn’t mention during his review, Red XIII lets Ursula eat 7Ks and trade with 8Ks. If we’re starting with Cloud, we have a Cat VII Standard Unit Forward in AVALANCHE Member who is well suited to turning Tifa’s trigger into truly terrifying totals. Our Cat VII Standard Unit Backup, Security Officer, also helps build towards Barret’s 7 VIIs. And Cait Sith lets us cast Cloud a second time.
Lightning, the second Cadet element. Fire/Lightning is the peanut butter and jelly of Limited. They’re the first two elements I look at and this set is no exception. All the cards work with each other, with the exception of SOLDIER Candidate (who at least discards to AVALANCHE Member). Kuja lets us leverage Sice and Red XIII once they’ve done their thing. Vivi is turned on by literally everything we do (not like that, you pervert). Honestly, just the idea that Eight and Baralai can bring Ace back to do direct player damage another time has me at half mast (yes like that, you pervert).
Water lets us unlock Palom’s true power. We have so many cheap Forwards to convert into Graff, who’s attack trigger (and Abzu’s) plays well into our surfeit of direct damage. And every Cecil we draft is one we never have to play against.
Ice
Gimme Cat
Gimme gimme gimme. Once you’ve got a small econ advantage, Gimme Cat helps you really turn the screws. You are paying a bit up front, but once your cat goes to the great catnip farm in the sky, you’re only down 2CP total. If you’re unfamiliar with how mutual discard affects economy, let me give a brief summary. If I have 10CP worth of cards in hand and you have 6CP worth, I have just over 150% your value. If I make us both discard a card, then I have 8CP to your 4CP, which means I now have 200% your value. Additionally, this helps make it substantially harder for your opponent to save up for extremely expensive cards like Glenn. This can also be used to flush out Summons like Ifrit. If your opponent has three cards in hand and you suspect an Ifrit, Gimme Cat’s discard can coerce your opponent into casting it then and there instead of finding a more optimal time to use it. This may help make certain attacks safer. Completely insane with Maenad. Big skip if you’re playing an aggressive strategy, but for those looking to grind their opponent to dust, this one’s a gimme.
B
Necron
Solid removal on a solid body. While Necron will be good in any deck, its second ability lends itself to a more defensive position, where you aren’t weighing attacking versus activating. Especially good versus LB cards who immediately scurry off to the LB zone. Just be cautious. You don’t want to get greedy and get super punished with a second Cloud trigger.
A
Gippal
The issue with Gippal is the cards he protects are mostly H and L. Sure you have Chimera Brain and Yuna in element at R, but I want him protecting something really valuable like Lenne or Light Yuna. Pretty good if you get both Shuyin and Vegnagun, forcing them to deal with your 9K before dealing with your 10K is a tall ask. At least he gets some minor value outside of synergy with his dull/freeze.
B
Chimera Brain
Strong attacker who picks a threat and keeps it held down permanently. Sure you need a dull Forward, but you’re in Ice. Hell, Gippal does it for you without even leaving your Category.
B
Edward
He misses on exactly 2, which can make him slightly worse going second since 1st player is likelier to be on even numbers of cards in hand and thus likelier to be on 2. While both abilities are good, they’re nothing out of this world. Aimed towards economy, you’re denying 2CP either way, making Edward equivalent to an Evoker. He certainly has good other uses though. He can stop two attacks from an aggressive opponent, and has the opportunity to remove two blockers in the late game. With some finagling, that is. While he’s rarely bad, he’s inconsistent, unreliable, and even his best case scenarios aren’t impressive.
C
Kurasame
I’m willing to wait a couple turns for a free 9K, yeah.
B
Zeid
A surprise twofer is a powerful way to swing a game. This is a very good card to keep in the back of your head, as it’s significantly less scary if you play around it. By going straight into combat, you won’t have any viable options to put in the bin. If you have a habit of playing stuff in MP1 when you don’t have a reason to, Zeid is going to punish you severely. If you’re trying to play Zeid against skilled players who skip straight to attacks like that, they likely will have a reason to dull something at some point, or you’ll get to freeze something, or they’ll have a second attacker, so at some point you should be able to find good value. Pretty funny to play in response to Amarant.
S
Sephiroth
No matter what element you’re paired with, you’ve got at least one First Striker. Every element but Earth has a SOLDIER, and Earth has Vincent. Fire also give you access to warp Red XIII who can additionally trigger the discard. If I see an early Sephiroth, I’m definitely going to see if I can move into Fire and start picking up Glenns, but honestly he’s fine even with zero support.
A
SOLDIER Candidate
This SOLDIER Candidate is so good you’re willing to play the other two just to enable it. 2CP for an 8K plus a Dull/Freeze is an insane rate. Sure there’s a bit of setup to get there, but what a payoff.
A
Chadley
Takes a lot of specific set up before he goes off, but so what? He costs the same as a normal Backup.
C
Paladin
Chimera Brain, Mateus, and Borghen all desperately want Dull Forwards, and Paladin is a cheap way to make sure you have one.
B
Nooj
The glue that makes Ice/Lightning X work. Grab Baralai if you’re still setting up, grab Gippal otherwise. 5K to all dull Forwards pairs with so much stuff in Lightning, Vivi, Reno, and Adrammelech. Solid all-rounder in specifically that one archetype and nowhere else.
B
Mateus, the Corrupt
There are enough ways to get a dull off this set that even big Brave threats like Barret can be taken down with only a little extra work. Pretty much the only things this set that this can’t deal with are Wol and General. So not only is this extremely reliable removal, you also get a dull/freeze on top of it? Sign me up.
A
Borghen
Now that’s a big effect. You need a Dull target and for your opponent to have a card in hand, so with these restrictions you don’t want to be loading up on these or depending on them for your early game economy. Midgame is where Borghen will shine, letting you advance your econ while removing a threat. Pleasantly he continues to be relevant into the late game, as you can cash him in for an additional 8K.
A
Maenad
The C Monsters this set are absolutely balanced around the idea that you’re paying their cost to access their sacrifice effect, but Maenad lets you skip that cost over and over and over. She’s absolutely insane paired with either Armstrong or Gimme Cat, both of which are extremely easy to pick up. There’s so little Break Zone removal this set that the only reliable way to stop this is to kill Maenad.
A
Yuna
Rikku and Paine are both cool but honestly I kinda just wanna get another Yuna and snow them in with Blizzara. Depends how many Gippals I’m sitting on, I suppose.
B
Lenne
While this certainly isn’t as powerful as drawing an extra card per turn since all you can do is cast it, it’s still very strong. Cards that increase your optionality are always welcome. Similar to how Zeid punishes you for playing stuff in MP1, Lenne rewards you for your patience with more options. As we move on, we’re going to see a lot of very powerful cards at or under 5K that generate value without entering combat, Aerith, Reno, Matt, Yuna. Vincent has to hit combat but I’m going to mention him here anyways. This means people will be (or at least should be) looking for reliable ways to deal with these cards, which means you can’t rely on Lenne being long for this world. Luckily she has a leg up on (most of) the others as she can generate a little more value even after blocking or eating an Armstrong.
A
Kam’lanaut
Great if you’ve got a Dark Forward, medium if you don’t. Nice thing about LB is that you don’t have to worry about drawing Kam and your Dark Forward at the same time, once you get the Dark, you’ve assembled the combo.
A
Shuyin
Great if you’ve got Vegnagun, total dogwater if you don’t. I feel like if this cost two less but asked you to discard an extra card then it would at least double as an expensive Party Attacker.
B
Ice is probably the best element this set. From bangers like Sephiroth and Zeid to internal synergy like Gimme Cat and Maenad, Ice has many strengths and very few weaknesses. Maybe the only stumbling block you face is Backups. Yes you have five, but Chadley (an H) and Paladin are the only ones that aren’t conditional. That said, every single card in Ice is solid. Some like SOLDIER Candidate and Gippal may need some support, but that support isn’t hard to find. Honestly the biggest issue with Ice is that you’re probably fighting for it. If I start seeing these cards passed to me, I’m going to assume Ice is open and I can freely move into it: Zeid, Sephiroth, Mateus, Yuna, Maenad, and Chimera Brain. So, from our privileged position, lets listen to the other elements tell us why we should deign to spend our time with them.
Fire offers Glenn. If we started our draft with a Sephiroth, then Glenn is likely to be our first target, since he conveniently skips the need to actually have Wind or Water CP for Lucia and Matt. We also gain access to LB Red XIII for another First Striker. That’s FOUR potential Seph triggers that Fire gives us access to. Ok, but what about non-Seph decks? Armstrong is a great Maenad combo piece. And… um… huh… Ok maybe Fire is so focused on what it’s doing that it doesn’t really have time for us. Is that our fault? No.
Wind offers the Goobbue to protect our Necron as he slowly digests our opponent’s Forwards, to shield our Sephiroth as he tears card after card from our opponent’s hand, to safeguard our Gippal as he safeguards our other threats. Our Maenad makes their The Mandragoras basically unblockable. Our dull/freezes can ensure Yuffie gets enough shurikens to present a true threat. And their Ceodore plays very well with our Kurasame.
Earth offers our first chance to talk about the SOLDIER Candidate deck. I believe it’s at its strongest in Ic/Ea, even omitting the lightning Candidate. For one, we don’t need the third element. Earth offers us not only our second Candidate, but Cait Sith, Luca, and Tifa to turn all these 2 drops into damage. And their Cutter and Black Belt are excellent punishes for Forwards we’ve dulled.
Lightning offers our second chance to talk about the SOLDIER Candidate deck. Lightning Candidate lets us play out Earth Candidate without even dipping a toe in their element. We also potentially get Zack who can bring back any and all Candidates of his choice. Rude and Varg help us dull anything in sight to help cards like Chimera Brain, Borghen, and Mateus. And Kuja and Vivi help deliver a final end to cards we may struggle to deal with on our own. Finally, we can extend our X-2 package into Paine and Baralai.
Water offers… well… I can see what Ice offers to Water, but honestly I think if you’re starting in Ice then Water is the last place you want to go. Oh, LB Leonora gets us our Maenad back!
Wind
Aerith
There are so many good targets in this set that it’d be a waste of time to list them all. Aerith helps hold down a ton of dangerous cards while providing an attacker, and since she draws a card when she dies you’re not even sad to see her return to the lifestream (for once). While she completely neuters Monsters, most Forwards are still attacking and blocking as normal (with some exceptions). You’re not actually getting ahead with Aerith, you’re just holding something down for a bit. While that’s certainly helpful, just keep your expectations tempered. Oh, I know people are going to ask, so: she does not interact at all with Necron’s first ability, neither forcing an early return nor preventing the return when he dies.
B
King
Big boy with a good ETF and a relevant Job. Wind doesn’t usually get 9Ks at C/R, but this set we have two with Ceodore, so enjoy Big Wind Era.
C
Queen
Sweet mother of molasses is that Break Zone removal? With just that, Queen is well suited to interfering with a ton of this set. Then we also get Backup activation for Cadet decks? Queen boasts two incredible abilities, and like Ace, every Wind deck will be looking to pick her up, Cadets or no.
A
Goobbue
Since there’s only one cycle of Summons and it’s at H, it’s nice that the repeatable one is Abilities. Goob is a great way of protecting cards you really want to keep around. Cards like Aerith, Gippal, and Golbez come to mind, cards that get more and more value the longer they live. If you’re just protecting random 7Ks like Barbariccia, he’s still acceptable, though maybe not quite worth the investment of 2CP and two cards from hand. Basically, the better your Forwards, the better Goob is.
B
Cater
I want to dislike Cater, but after some introspection I think she’s fine. She’s pretty reliable since she only requires one other to perform, which makes her a good 2nd or 3rd Cadet. As a 5K you would think it would be hard to make use of her, luckily Cadets dips into the two elements that can best make use of a source of medium damage, Fire and Lightning. And then I love EX. She may not be a show pony, or even a work horse, but she’s a solid pack mule.
C
Chocobo Chick (VII)
Your options within Wind at C/R are uninspiring. Yuffie and Lucia both want to be played on your turn, so the best choice is Cater, letting you block and trade with a 7K. Wow. This does let you play Aerith at instant speed, which enables some fun tricks. Branching out lets us play the potentially 8K SOLDIER Candidate, the SOLDIER Candidate that wants to die, or fun surprises like Matt and Yuna. If I’m being honest, none of these are very inspiring.
C
Thief
Nice way to get around notorious problems like Zeid. There are plenty of effects that get rid of smaller Forwards like Black Belt and Elite Riot Trooper, and Thief helps you subsequently go under the larger ones. Or more likely than not you’ll just draw a card.
C
Zidane
Nice bit of early disruption with the option to cancel a piece of recursion later. Zidane can also be used in the mid to late game to fish for information, checking for potential interaction like a Summon or a Scarmiglione before you walk face first into them. Zidane also helps get rid of Break Zone thresholds for cards like Iron Eater. Please remember, you do not have to pick a card. If your opponent’s hand is pure dogwater, do not help them dig for their bombs.
B
Cid Highwind
Search 2 tends to be pretty powerful text and it’s very true here. VII has some of the best Forwards in the set, and with so many you’ve got a ton of options. Cid is a very open ended card that helps nearly every deck get set up. His Damage 5 may be awkward to get use out of, since it’s such a narrow span of time for you to get a VII Forward in hand expensive enough to be worth it, but when the stars do line up it’s a great swan song.
A
Ceodore
9K for zero CP got me acting unwise, even if it takes forever to arrive. You do need a plentiful stock of warp cards, luckily both Ceodore and Kurasame are C. His protection stops surprisingly little, so don’t rely on it.
C
Chocobo
Wind actually has some serious power this set, so what normally would be a perfectly serviceable party attacker is going to find itself on the sidelines more often than not.
F
Nine
Nine is a huge boon for Cadet decks, adding to counts like Trey, receiving abilities like Queen, and helping push them forwards in combat. Excellent backbone card for Wind/Fire and Wind/Lightning.
B
Barbariccia
Of the Archfiends, Barb is the one definitely most dependent on having Golbez around. You can make a case for her in Wi/Wa for extra Cagnazzos, but that’s about it. I just have no interest in 1/7s this set. Even with Golby, Barb is one of the later cards you’re likely to get. 3K can be an awkward amount of damage to make use of, and it’s unlikely you’ll be able to make a situation where it’s useful, then play Bez, then pay 4 for Barb. Although I gotta say I’m attracted to a deck using Goobbue and Scarm to keep Golbez alive, then using Barb to continue getting value off Archfiends as the game goes on.
C
The Mandragoras
What the hell is this card? Four CP and you get to just kill two things? Normally for stuff that kills whatever is in combat with it, you can keep your important stuff safe by just not attacking with it, but The Mandragoras go that extra step and snipe something else too. Now, the best way to play around it is to not play more than one Forward? You can’t even snipe it with Armstrong without triggering its death effect. This also means you can sac it to your own Kuja for extra shenanigans.
A
Yuffie
Basically attacking as an 8K out of the gates. If you can get even just one Shuriken counter to stick, she becomes incredibly hard to block. She does die to basically all the removal in the set, but so what, she’s cheap.
B
Lucia
Lucia may as well be a Fire card, as she’s really only good when played by Glenn. In which case, she’s great.
B
Rem
Excellent for any Cadet deck at any point of the game, whether getting extra Backups in the early game to getting powerful closers like Ace in the late game. An incredible piece of consistency.
B
Aerith
Cloud and Zack are both very strong cards. I don’t know what else to say here. If you have one of them and you’re also in Wind, then go off, king. Otherwise don’t play this card.
B
The Emperor
There are fifteen cards this set that search (I’m not counting Vegnagun) and even more than return cards from the BZ. I wonder how often The Emperor is going to feel like he’s not doing anything because the opponent is choosing not to play their Nooj and you just can’t tell.
B
Wind is oddly strong this set. Still not a top tier element, but better than usual. I’d like to blame a lot of that on The Mandragoras and the total lack of Monster removal outside of Cloud, but Wind legitimately has multiple archetypes it can pursue. Cadets, of course, but Cid Highwind opens up VII Matters. Ceodore pairs with both Kurasame and Rosa. And Golbez decks are happy to have Barbariccia and Goobbue. If I see any of the following cards in picks three or more, I’m going to seriously think about drafting Wind: Aerith, The Mandragoras, Queen, Cid Highwind, and Rem.
Fire and Cadets. Nine and Cater make it easy for Trey to hit large damage numbers. Deuce and Machina help us hit that all-important 5 for King. Cid Highwind also leads into a quick Glenn deck. Also Armstrong presents a great way to make Yuffie a safe attacker, combining with her 8K to kill anything that dares to block her.
Ice is a little more difficult to justify. None of our H/Ls really call out to be paired with Ice. We do have the synergy between Kurasame and Ceodore, but aside from that it feels more like what do we have to offer them than the opposite.
Wind Earth, one of the classic FFTCG pairings. Surprisingly, there really isn’t much synergy here. There’s a world where you take Barret and move into Cid Highwind, but I’ll wait until Earth to speak towards that. If you start in Wind, honestly just look elsewhere.
Lightning and Cadets. Lightning has two Cadet Backups, causing Queen to look more towards it than Fire. Nine helps make Eight scarier to block, helping Eight to connect more often. And Cater helps Cinque hit higher, more relevant CP costs reliably.
Water, the final element. Rosa helps fetch Ceodore out. Cecil helps protect our Forwards, meanwhile Leonora helps us rebuy these cards as well as Cagnazzo. If we’re in Golbez and can make extra use of this Cat IV synergy, this all sounds great, otherwise… well… it’s not awful…
Earth
Ursula
Only gets Wol, an L, so most of the time you’re not jumping through hoops to Cait Sith her out. Honestly, just pretend she’s a Summon that says “at the beginning of Combat on your next turn, choose 1 Forward. Deal it 5K.” Once you land a Luca, Ursula becomes a “you must be this tall to ride” check, preying on the near two dozen 5Ks in the set. Scarmiglione is also a good way to protect her from the consequences of her own actions.
C
Atomos
Fun that this only gets better and better as the game goes on. There’s not much BZ removal around, so Atomos will be pretty reliable late-game interaction at a very good price.
A
Vincent
A little odd for Earth to get a card that’s 100% focused on offense. Vincent is an incredible attacker, requiring something like Vegnagun or Damage 3 Dyne to actually stop him. Seven CP is only slightly less than a billion, yet still this action ability is a huge threat. Earth, egged on by Sophie, Rikku, and Luca, not to mention expensive cards like Dyne and Cutter, wants more than any other element to have lots of Backups, making this a great outlet for all that CP. Now that focus on offense makes sense, it’s backed by a call to econ development. Big downside though is that this set has lots of cards that prey on a stray 5K, although if your 2CP card gets answered you’re not exactly up a certain fecal creek without a directional implement.
A
Wererat
It’s easy to look at this and be unimpressed. Compare this to Armstrong and it certainly looks like it comes up short. 5K and 7K versus 1K and 2K? On the other hand, Wererat lets otherwise simple cards like General become absolute powerhouses. A Brave threat that suddenly can’t even be stopped by a 10K? Wererat helps deny powerful removal, helps you win all but the most lopsided of combat, and helps boost your Ursula to more relevant levels.
B
Wol
Great cost-to-power ratio with an ability that helps protect many of your favorites. Particularly strong while protecting Ursula and Dyne from the consequences of their own actions. Shame there isn’t a more common Cardname Wol because this is such a cool Special.
B
Cutter
Cutter’s very well costed IMO. I’m more than happy to have an 8K on demand at these rates, even ignoring all the rest. Once you’re getting rid of a Forward or two on entry, you’re happy as a clam. While Cutter may be perfectly playable in any Earth/X deck, Ice and Lightning comprise its preferred pairings, with Chimera Brain, Paladin, Scorpion Sentinel, and Rude to help provide targets.
B
Black Belt
Earth only has three Backups and the other two are named to get used to drafting these whether you want to or not. Luckily both modes are pretty dang good.
C
Cait Sith
There’s a ton of great 2s in this set, although if you want a Backup you’re gonna have to shop elsewhere since Earth’s all cost 3. I think it’ll be impossible to draft a deck that doesn’t have a good target for his sacrifice, so he’s basically effortless to build around. A solid, reliable addition to any deck that can run him, which is good because Earth decks don’t really have a choice.
B
General
I feel like I must be misreading this card. Protection from Summons is nice and all, but not exactly a selling point. A 2CP rebate when dealt with is pleasant, sure. A 5/9 Brave is ok. Put all these mild effects together and you have a very mild card. Warriors is gonna run it, but mostly because they lack options. Someone’s gonna end up picking this over say a Sophie because they need more warriors for their deck to function, and it’s gonna feel awful.
D
Scarmiglione
As a long-time MTG drafter, I love combat tricks. Damage prevention is on the week end, but effects like this are so rare in FFTCG that often times your opponent won’t see Scarm coming. Now if you’re making weird trade offers on offence, your opponent will smell danger, but on defense things change. I think most people would gladly swing their Cloud of Darkness into a Tifa. CoD got her value already, while Tifa gets more value the longer she lives. That’s a great trade for the CoD player. Suddenly a Scarm comes down and tosses Tifa a shield, and bam, goodbye CoD. Scarm also presents a great defense against Fire and Lightning, who love to combine two sources of damage like a Trey ETF and an Armstrong activation. You may not be getting value here, but at least you’re not losing it. Make sure you’ve got some good ways to make use of a random 3K, whether that’s party attacking or combining with another source of damage, or Scarmiglione’s best friend Kuja.
C
Sophie
Love cards like this too that reward you for drafting a bunch. Sophie has an incredible S and even sources her own fuel for it. Once you’ve got a few copies, she reliably refunds herself, then threatens to throw around huge damage for cheap. If she’s removed before the can drop the hammer, you’re feeling great since you’re probably up CP, and if she sticks around, you’re feeling super great. Or you can save a mint on Wol or Meia.
A
SOLDIER Candidate
Gonna be honest here, I don’t really care about Brave on my 7Ks, but at least it’s a leg up against Ice. SOLDIER Candidate is a bit uninspiring. Let’s compare. He’s an 8K attacker for 2 that requires a little bit of set-up at C. Vincent is a 9K First Strike attacker for 2 that doesn’t require any set-up. There are still two very good reasons to play this card. One, Ice SOLDIER Candidate is a real card that we want to support. Two, cheap ammo for Tifa and Barret.
C
Dyne
If you can actually get to five Backups in an element that only has three, then he’ll be a true dynamo. Otherwise, he’s just raw stats. Still, a 10K is a 10K. Kinda fucked up that Barret has Marlene synergy and not him, but I guess Final Fantasy is no stranger to shitty dads.
C
Tifa
With both Vincent and SOLDIER Candidate in Earth, it’s not too hard to get Tifa up to 6K direct damage reliably, helping you deal with all those pesky 5Ks for free. There are so many Cat VII Forwards running around, and +2K on attack is a great way to push them over potential blockers. Attacking as a 10K is pretty hot too.
B
Barret
He only has one target, Tifa, luckily she’s an R so it shouldn’t be hard to get one or two. That there is enough to make me want to play him, getting two big bodies for only 6CP and getting 6K damage out of Tifa, but his Attack Phase trigger is also calling me. I’m especially looking to pair this with Fire or Lightning who have multiplay Cat VII Backups Security Officer and Elite Riot Trooper. There are 37 Cat VII cards in the set, so assembling VII of them doesn’t feel like fantasy.
A
Rikku
I like that they made someone other than Paine Warrior so that we aren’t asking “wait shouldn’t all previous Paine’s be Warrior too?” All of Earth’s Backups cost 3, so you won’t have to look far to make great use of her. There aren’t any other Xs in Earth so you’ll be looking to move into probably Ice if you want her to be anything more than a free 7K. Once you do, she can combine with Gippal to turn even the meek Lenne into a bloodthirsty 9K Brave.
B
Luca
Earth, featuring abilities that want lots of Backups like Dyne and Sophie, is absolutely in the market for a card that digs deep for more Backups, especially when you remember there’s only three. Luca helps ensure you’re hitting your Backups, helps should you want a strategy light on Backups, and also digs you deeper into your deck. As for her +1K, within Earth you have three great options. There aren’t too many 10Ks in the set, but now Vincent can attack into them. SOLDIER Candidate is happy to have extra power on both offense and defense. Most notably, Ursula at 6K is suddenly able to take out 5Ks without dying in the process. Scarmiglione is also in this block of text.
B
Sarah (MOBIUS)
Borghen, Goobbue, Wol, Sophie, Meia, Vegnagun. Looking at this list, you’re probably using this to dig for Sophie. Sophie’s a great card, and decks that manage to draft five or six of her will be chuffed to add this to their LB.
B
Yang
Yang only starts to bang when playing out 2 drops, so he’ll most often be a followup to Ursula. Since so much of Earth is focused on 2CP Forwards, this is a welcome addition to the team.
C
Earth having a fun time this set pretending it’s an aggressive element. With attack triggers aplenty you’re definitely looking for cards like Scarm and Wol to keep yourself safe. We have some of the best Cs in the set but we make up for it by not having any real bombs, and a lot of lackluster cards. At the risk of beating a dead horse, keep a close eye on your Backup count or risk losing to the Mulligan Step. I’ll believe Earth is open if I start seeing the following passed to me: Atomos, Vincent, Wol, Sophie, Tifa, Barret.
Earth wants to move into Fire because Glenn is an incredible follow-up to Tifa and Barret. Red XIII lets our Ursula prey on 7Ks. Volker fetches up our Rikku. AVALANCHE Member and Security Officer both excel at hitting seven VIIs for Barret, with five other Cat VII cards to help.
Earth wants to move into Ice because Ice is just really good.
OK fine I’ll elaborate. Chimera Brain and the rest of Ice’s dull/freeze effects help ensure Ursula and Vincent can attack with impunity, and also feed into massive Cutters. Kurasame helps us dig for extra Sophie Specials. Ice SOLDIER Candidate and Earth SOLDIER Candidate want to be together. And Yuna fetches up our Rikku.
Earth wants to move into Wind because Cid Highwind exists. Cid for Barret and Vincent, then next turn play both and get Tifa and you’re already at 4/7 VIIs. While Wol is great protection, Goobbue gives us another valuable layer of safety.
Earth wants to move into Lightning because Varg and Rude make it easy to get our attack triggers off, and also lead into stunning Cutters. SOLDIER Candidate lets us splash the Ice version. Baralai gives us extra Sophie triggers. And with Varg, Scorpion Sentinel, Zack, Elite Riot Trooper, SOLDIER Candidate, Rude, and Reno, our Barret should have no trouble counting to seven (fitting for the element with Seven).
Earth wants to move into Water because Ursula is really really good when you Abzu something first. Matt and Abzu Shoat help make sure that we’re winning the combat steps we’re so reliant on, and Cloud of Darkness helps dig us out of trouble when we stall out. And Broden provides a basically free Backup for both Dyne and Sophie.
Lightning
Varghidpolis
This feels underwhelming compared to the rest of the cycle. Definitely very strong when paired with Zack, Reno, or Ice cards. It’s also good at setting up a lethal turn by dulling two blockers. The 1K damage feels tacked on, as 1K is so hard to make use of. Lightning does have several sources of 7K, and boosting that to 8K helps take down a much wider variety of threats, so look for cards like Scorpion Sentinel and Paine. Vivi doesn’t care how much the damage is as long as there’s any. So even though Varg may feel weak, all he needs is a little help from his friends.
B
Eight
Recursion is always welcome. It’s a little awkward that we need to make contact to get it, but haste helps out, and if any element can force an attack through it’s Lightning. Lightning’s Cadets Jack and Cinque are both more than happy for Eight, Jack getting more S fuel, and Cinque being given leave to break herself so she can be replayed.
B
Scorpion Sentinel
What a cool Monster. I really like the design here, very flavorful and very evocative of the boss fight it’s based on. That said, why is this in Lightning? Ok I get that dulling stuff is primary in Lightning, but this is so defensive. Whatever, I’m done looking a gift horse in the mouth. Sentinel makes it so much more expensive to attack into you, and while it’s not the best blocker, all it takes is a Varg or Reno to make him as scary as he is in MVC2.
C
Kuja
Good but expensive way to convert spent Forwards into big results. Forwards like Scarmiglione and Cagnazzo, who have a strong ETF but weak board presence, are excellent fodder for this. Kuja is a great counter to cards like Dyne who need to be on board when their effect resolves. In the late game when you don’t care as much about the econ cost of losing a Backup, it’s hard to do better than unconditional removal. All for the normal average cost of a Backup.
A
Zack
It’s so so easy to get Zack haste, and as soon as you do you’re off to the races. There are so many strong targets for him to get back, all three SOLDIER Candidates, AVALANCHE Member, Vincent, Varg, Reno, and Matt, with nearly a dozen other cards not mentioned. No matter what element you pick as your second, Zack will find something to bring back. If he were slightly bigger, he’d be so much better, as right now he risks getting walled out by random 9Ks, and he’s not exactly generating value if he’s not swinging.
B
Amarant
There are a lot of very strong smol beans this set that Amaranth is a clean answer to. Cards like Lenne, Aerith, the other Aerith, early SOLDIER Candidates, Vincent, Matt, and Reno and Rude. Also small Forwards with ETFs sitting around for Party Attacks or whatever like AVALANCHE Member and Corsair that you can prevent from getting further value. And even if you can’t find a target like that, he can finish off something SOLDIER Candidate or Rude attacked into. Or if you have a billion CP pair it with Adrammelech for a huge cleave attack.
B
Jack
His ETF is pretty unexciting, but his S is insane. At C, and in the same element as Eight and Baralai, it shouldn’t be hard to get two, even three Deliverances. While Jack is certainly at his best in dedicated Cadet decks, I think it’s nice that he’s not dependent on them.
A
Elite Riot Trooper
With the exception of Ice SOLDIER Candidate and a caked up Machina, ERT ends the life of anything it can be pointed at. Oh, no targets? Cool, just draw a card instead. Being Cat VII is also a huge leg up, not necessarily within Lightning, but it helps synergize with other elements.
B
Cinque
Depending on what elements your Cadet deck is, it’s not too hard to do a turn like Play Machina, Play Cinque, return Cater and draw a card. That sounds great. In general, it should be relatively easy for a dedicated Cadet deck to play this very reliably for 3, giving you easy access to Queen, Rem, and surprisingly you don’t need eight Cadets for Eight. Oh, and it’s guaranteed to get Sice, although that’s not very exciting no matter how you slice it. Just be careful about having one of your Cadets blown out of the water in response to her ETF, you don’t want to sink four CP into a Backup for nothing.
B
Seven
Even moreso than Nine, you’re mostly playing Seven in order to flesh out your Cadet count for effects like Cinque. While haste is nice, none of the Cadets are significantly improved by it, and Eight has it naturally. Her S is insane if you can get two of her. Since she’s an H, if she comes around in the draft and you think you might like her, snap her up because you might not get another chance.
C
SOLDIER Candidate
A bit unwieldy, but at least your Ice and Earth Candidates will be set up. Helps alleviate the stress of a three-element deck by not requiring elemental CP. But honestly a lot of the time your opponent just isn’t going to block until they have a good answer.
C
Paine
Removal + Haste in one pretty package. Paine’s not taking out the big threats, but she still kills 28 different targets in the set (with three more targets that she doesn’t quite do enough to) many of whom are long term value generators.
B
Baralai
Gets you your best card back, then kills something later. Backups rarely get better than this.
A
Vivi
Nnnnnnnnnn VIVI! Dull on entry is a nice little bit of value. Makes Vivi a live draw at almost any point in the game. The action ability is strong, especially paired with Fire, something Lightning is already happy to do anyways. Best friends with Reno, as both cards have an ability that feeds into the other.
C
Adrammelech, the Wroth
Taking a point of damage is not something to do lightly, so make damn certain Adrammelech is getting you great value. He does kill a good percentage of the Forwards in the set, and there are lots of effects to extend his reach, notably his good friends Chocobo Chick and Nooj.
A
Rude
Rude is absolutely worth running solo as a miniature Spectral Keeper. He’s definitely not nearly as good but it’s still a valuable effect. And with so little BZ removal in the set, every additional Rude you draft is an additional Reno.
C
Reno
Reno may look weak at first, but there are tons of ways to dull in Lightning. Varghidpolis, Scorpion Sentinel, Jack, Vivi, Rude, and most notably Sephiroth. It’s not hard to get Reno up to 8K on his own, or to find other effects to add on to his damage. Begging to go with Fire, but even Water can use Abzu and Graff to capitalize on stray 4K shocks.
A
Kain
I hated Kain at first, but doing the math he’s actually not unplayable. Consider: he basically costs two less than a similarly costed normal Forward since you’re not losing a card from hand, then he costs two less again since he’s returning a card from your BZ. That leaves you with a 5/8 First Striker. That’s not great, but it’s not awful, and if you have really strong cards to get back like Cloud or even just a Jack S, well, you could do worse.
C
Sephiroth
Love High Risk High Reward cards like this. You are essentially giving up your ability to block, but in turn you take away your opponent’s ability to block, and you get to kill anything you want every single turn. And if you find you actually do need to block, you can always just not attack and use something like Rude or Varg to give you a target. Especially good if you can swing with a Chimera Brain first and start freezing the most threatening thing you’re not planning to kill with Seph. Only downside is that, since he’s not Job SOLDIER, Ice Sephiroth can’t give him First Strike. Yeah, surely that’s the only reason.
S
While Lightning may not have the raw bombs of Fire or the wide assortment of A ranked cards of Ice, it’s still one of the better elements this set. Lightning feeds into so many archetypes. The best Cadet decks will be part Lightning if you ask me. While Cat X can be Ice/Water if you get the Tidus, Baralai and Paine make it most reliable in Lightning. And Cat VII has so, so many cards here. Lightning does have a weakness that no other element has this set: too many Backups. While most elements have three or four, Lightning boasts SIX. Like Fire, Lightning can struggle in the face of a Rosa protected Cecil, although an Adrammelech should solve that in a hurry. Or you can just see who has more Specials, their Rosa or your Jack. Speaking of Jack, he’s going to be the answer to a lot of your problems (as long as they’re not named Ceodore). Jack is going to be a strong pull for me into Lightning, along with: Zack, Seven, Adrammelech, Reno, and Sephiroth.
Fire, Fire, Fire. If you know nothing else about a set, you know Fire/Lightning is a safe draft combination. Here is no different, with Armstrong being an incredible followup to Amarant. Fire’s direct damage, notably Security Officer, AVALANCHE Member, and Palom, work in tandem with our own to bring down nearly anything in the set. Our dull effects can pave the way for Hell House to get some actual attacks in. Red XIII can boost Zack so he can attack freely into larger Forwards. Kuja loves a cheap forward, like Sice, Red XIII, and Machina, and Vivi loves all of Fire’s direct damage. Can you believe all that was without even mentioning the elephant in the room, Cadets?
Ice is particularly beloved if we have a Reno start, as Gippal, Paladin, and Mateus all trigger him. Chimera Brain, Mateus, and Borghen are all happy to capitalize on our dull effects. Nooj and Yuna give us easy access to Baralai and Paine. Speaking of Nooj, LB Sephiroth lets him hit everyone. In an element with Adrammelech.
Wind, oh Wind. If we’re all in on the LB Sephiroth plan, Chocobo Chick lets us field a surprise blocker. Chocobo Chick is also excellent with Scorpion Sentinel, letting him block a 9K then finishing it off while playing out another card. Since we have TWO Cadet Backups, we’re Queen’s ideal pairing. Cater is also at her best with Lightning, as both Kuja and Vivi can make use of her while she digs for more Jack Specials. Meanwhile our dulls can help clear the way for Yuffie to get stock more than one shuriken.
Earth and Lightning, the Stunfisk of the FFTCG world. Zack is so, so happy to have a Wererat or two backing him up. Oh yeah he gets back Vincent and SOLDIER Candidate too. Tifa is happy to see all of Lightning’s Cat VII stuff. And since we have three Backups that cost two, along with two Forwards that cost two, Luca is arguably at her best here.
Water, lifegiving Water. We can clear the way for Abzu to wreak some serious havoc. Since we have a billion Backups, we can best make use of the tempo disadvantage of Kraken. Baralai can help us get extra Rosa Specials, and every Cecil we draft is a Cecil we don’t have to deal with. And we can use Water’s cheap Forwards like Cagnazzo and Corsair to enable our Kuja and Vivi.
Water
Abzu
This card singlehandedly ends SOLDIER Candidate’s career, and cripples Vincent to boot. It boasts an incredible attack trigger too. I think a fair amount of decks will struggle to deal with this, since it’s immune to Forward based removal on your opponent’s turn, and the only Monster removal in the set is Cloud. If you’re able to get some ways to keep him safe in combat like Wererat, or some ways to capitalize on his power negation like Palom, Abzu will be a genuine terror.
A
Abzu Shoat
Huh, I really thought access to Cuchulainn was going to be more exciting. There are plenty of cards you want to hit with this, Gippal, SOLDIER Candidate, Zeid, Aerith, Yuffie, The Mandragoras, Wol, Matt, Cecil. Still, for some reason I thought that list would be bigger. Oh well, it’s still relevant enough, and pairing it with -1K on demand makes for a perfectly serviceable card.
C
Famfrit, the Darkening Cloud
Feels weird that this targets the ability and then doesn’t do anything to it. Regardless, Famfrit is an extremely efficient and extremely narrow answer. Many big threats come packaged with autos, which lets Famfrit cleanly answer cards like Cloud, Gippal, Dyne, Tifa, Barret. They still get their Auto (well, Dyne doesn’t) but at least the body is gone, and in the case of repeatable triggers like Tifa they’ll never get it again. Getting a rebate on the cost helps deal with the fact that Cloud is still wreaking havoc on your board, and that Barret is still pulling out a buddy, as 2CP is a pretty good cost to get rid of a 9K.
B
Cagnazzo
Bounce is so much better in a world with Limit Break. Bez or not, Cagnazzo is a welcome addition to most Water decks. There are plenty of cards without ETFs for him to prey on, like Maenad and Tifa. Red XIII actually dies from this, and bouncing Necron lets you rescue your Forward. Once Golbez is part of this equation, Cagnazzo becomes an incredible answer.
B
Quacho Queen
Why does this card exist?
C
Kraken (III)
Great way to stall your opponent’s econ while fielding your own threats, offering Water a rare opportunity to get extremely aggressive. Kraken feels especially strong on Turn 1 going 2nd, where you basically erase the benefit of going first. One big issue with Kraken is that most of your targets have good ETFs, and the moment he dies your opponent is likely drawing another card for free. Try to make up for that with his discounts. He feels weakest in this set, where the baseline Standard Unit Backup is so strong.
A
Cloud of Darkness
Good at punishing early overextension and for breaking board stalls. Grindy decks are happy to pick a couple up, but your average deck really only has space for one of these, as they’re much less capable of creating a situation where she shines.
C
Corsair
The thing about 2 drops is about half of them you don’t wanna return, and the other half, well, they cost 2. It’s not exactly a crippling setback. Machina and Red XIII are the only ones that are really impactful, as they both get upgraded to hard removal. Genuinely confused how we got such a worse version of Cagnazzo in the same set. Also, what’s with this “play from the Break Zone” rider? Literally the only way to do that is Chadley, and I’d bet my bottom dollar he’s looking to play something better. If it were loosened to any form of played by abilities, we could at least get value with Cait Sith. In the end, he is cheap and he does have some effect, so if you’re really in the market for bad Forwards, say to power Light Yuna or as fodder for Graff, he’s still playable.
D
White Mage
Unless you’re serious about Sice, Red XIII, Chocobo, and Scarmiglione, just assume you’re drawing a card.
C
Cecil
This is very good against Fire, decent against Lightning, and very medium against everything else. Rosa making this unchooseable raises his stocks tremendously, and many decks may find it difficult to deal with them without fielding a 9K of their own.
B
Tidus
As the only X card in Water, we’re gonna have to look elsewhere for synergy. Luckily his ability can reduce to zero, meaning we have a second way after Yuna to play Rikku and Paine for free. His -4K is nice, even if it takes some effort to make use of. Luckily Water has stuff like Abzu, Abzu Shoat, and Matt, and small attackers like Corsair or Cagnazzo to make it relevant. But if you are in say Ice/Water, Tidus into Yuna into Paine is three triggers for -4k and one for 7K damage. Tidus’s works incredibly well with both Baralai and Nooj, not only bouncing them but replaying them for a single CP, giving us a second chance to abuse their great ETFs. It’s kinda frustrating to look at this, and then look at Cloud. Cloud reduces by an even higher amount, doesn’t require you to bounce a Backup to get it, gets a guaranteed amount of damage instead of some amount of -4Ks depending on what you can assemble, and has two other great modes as well.
A
Doctor Cid
Hard removal in Water? Hell yes. The card selection is good too, unfortunately Water isn’t packing much BZ synergy this time around to make use of the cards he’s pitching, so it’s not that good. If he weren’t so restricted, both in cost and in target choice, he’d be a clear A. Alas… By the way, can someone explain to me why we got four random summons and monsters and Balthier’s Dad in a set with no other XII support?
B
Broden
Broden shines with cards like Cloud, Tidus, and Famfrit (too bad the rest of that cycle can’t remove Broden or we’d be in business). All of which are H or L. On his own you do actually lose 1CP total by playing him, but if you play him off Backups only you’re taking that 3CP and banking 2 of it for a future turn. Really though I’d make sure I have multiple ways to make use of this so that he isn’t just clogging your backline for no benefit.
C
Porom
You’re losing 2CP every time you refresh a card. Yes, Limited is a format where the power difference between your worst and best cards can be massive. Yes, Porom helps you dig deeper for your bombs, and also increases your optionality. I’d like to write an article about optionality at some point, but the short of it is that Porom increases the amount of options you have at any given time, making your gameplan more flexible. Just… at this cost I’m not sure it’s really worth it. If we had more BZ synergy than just Meia and Leonora, then maybe. She’s only 2CP so you’re kinda obligated to run her. Just be conscious and aware about when and how often you’re activating her.
C
Matt
Helps protect Glenn and co, blocks as a 7K First Striker, makes combat math a nightmare for your opponent, all for only 2CP. Matt being straight up good on his own is going to make things a little awkward for SOLDIER decks since they’ll be fighting with every Water/X deck for him.
B
Meia
Between Borghen, Goobbue, and Sophie, it shouldn’t be too hard to get her ETF off. Her action ability is a nice bonus, but it’s really that ETF we’re looking for. It’ll be rare that you hit something substantial, but still 3CP is a good amount to get rid of something pesky and field a mid-sized Forward.
B
Rosa
While Cecil and Ceodore may not be your first choices to tutor up, they certainly become more desirable under the threat of untargetability. Or maybe you’re just looking for something cheap for Graff to eat.
B
Graff
Convert some spent 2 drop into a 9K with a decent attack trigger? Yes please. Particularly good with Forwards that you want to play a second of like Cagnazzo, or Forwards that can yeet themselves for value like Lenne and Rem, since he doesn’t actually need to remove the Forward to stay.
A
Leonora
Between the Fiends and the rest of the cast, there’s actually nine targets spread around the set. Every element has at least one, and Water has three so you don’t have to look far. I think her cost will put people off at first, but I also think a lot of people will underestimate her protection ability. Shame she dies as collateral damage to so much stuff, Ifrit, Sice, Nooj, Chocobo Chick, Tifa, Amarant, Adrammelech, hell even her mentor Palom.
B
Thankfully, Water isn’t bad this set. Unfortunately, it still isn’t good. Your removal is weirdly conditional and awkward. You only have three real Backups. A bunch of your Forwards are weak and there’s not really a good way to make up the difference. You have two 5Ks already, then you get a 3K and a 2K as well? I’m not a fan of running Forwards that die to Ursula and Tifa without any assistance. You also have the worst Ls. You do have some good tempo plays, Kraken and Cagnazzo can really gum up the works. Doctor Cid is good removal. Matt helps alleviate power imbalances to some degree. And Graff is huge. I just feel like Water is an element I’m going to be forced into more often than I choose. Nothing short of an H is going to pull me into Water, with Kraken, Tidus, and Graff being the strongest pulls (ok maybe a late Abzu might convince me).
Water/Fire gives us a ton of direct damage we can use to link with our smaller Forwards. Corsair may only be 3K, but that’s enough to hit 8K damage with Armstrong. This damage also works well with Abzu and Graff’s attack triggers. Speaking of Graff, Red XIII and Machina are great targets since they’re so cheap. Palom loves being able to chuck his sister at things.
Water/Ice Gives us the X-2 package. Tidus, Chimera Brain, Gippal, Nooj, Yuna and friends. Ice can slow things down enough that Cloud of Darkness starts having an impact. Lenne gives us a second chance at a Summon, so it’s easier to make use of Broden. Once we start winning econ with Kraken, Gimme Cat helps us really keep the pressure on.
Water/Wind lets Rosa search Ceodore, giving us a cheap fatty. Kraken and Graff are both things we really don’t want to be answered, and Goobbue offers a level of protection for both. Lucia gives our Matt an additional source of -2K, and Matt is also pretty good as a surprise off of Chocobo Chick. And while I hate to give this card literally any credit whatsoever, Chocobo helps our substandard Forwards attack into things they have no business attacking into.
Water/Earth lets us really abuse Ursula with Abzu and Abzu Shoat. By lowering a Forward’s power to 4K or less, Ursula can come in and clean it up without dying. Wererat can boost our lower power Forwards to competitive levels, bringing 5Ks like Cagnazzo and Rosa up to 8K, or at least threaten to. Water has a bunch of 2CP characters, so both Cait Sith and Luca are spoiled for options. Churning your deck with Porom and Doctor Cid can load up Earth cards for Wol to use. And Meia is happy to have her deck full of Sophies.
Lastly, Water/Lightning lets us use Porom to throw away Lightning’s billion Backups. Varg and Rude help sweep blockers aside so our dogshit Forwards can actually attack. And like Fire, Abzu and Graff’s attack triggers couple well with Lightning’s damage like Amarant, Adrammelech, and Reno. Our Tidus also bounces and replays Baralai, giving us repeated access to our best Forwards.
Light/Dark/Starter/Legacy
Fusoya
9K for 2 is a great rate, and you’re telling me I get a Backup too? Quite nice that if you have to cast this before Forwards you end up not milling yourself. Do be careful, it isn’t optional, so if you’ve fielded a Forward and your opponent hasn’t then Fusoya is forced to target it. I am a bit concerned playing a Backup that doesn’t dull for a relevant element, but as long as your resources are solid it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Pleasantly, he has an S, so you can feel free to draft more than one without worrying about the 2nd getting stuck in your hand.
A
Yuna
Excellent. All of these are great abilities, and reward playing lots of cheap Forwards, something in common with much of the set, especially Earth. Be careful of Cloud of Darkness.
A
Vegnagun
Yeah I’d pay 4 for a 10k. That sounds great. A lot of the removal in this set only hits up to 8 or 9, like Ifrit, Borghen, and Fusoya. Even Dyne who can hit up to 10k dies in the process. Vegnagun doesn’t even have any text, so he’s immune to Aerith too!
B
Golbez
A repeatable, reliable source of Forwards. Since Golbez only asks for generic CP, you’re able to play any archfiends no matter what elements you’re actually in. This means even dedicated Ice/Lightning decks can open this Pack 5 and take it. Getting a single Rubicante makes it worth the pick. Hell, he’s a cheap 9K that you always have access to, you don’t even need any archfiends to run him and be happy. Let’s look at what support Golbez has access to. Rubicante offers a repeatable source of high direct damage, and is a tall drink of water himself. Barbariccia offers recursion and a one-time small amount of boardwide damage, letting her surprise block up to 10Ks. Scarmiglione offers cheap and powerful protection. And Cagnazzo offers cheap and powerful removal. And since all of them are at R, it shouldn’t be difficult to pick up several. Water is a particularly strong draw here because of Leonora. Golbez is a reliable, powerful engine that you are guaranteed access to, gives you tons of options, can protect itself, and fits into literally any element combination. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say this is a contender for the best draft card ever printed.
SSS
Ovelia
Ovelia would be sick if she had any friends.
F
Squall
Squall is throwing out huge numbers everywhere, and this set is even more suited for him than his real home. There are ten Forwards Squall kills just by attacking. Meanwhile there are so many great cards that synergize with him. Armstrong, Gimme Cat, Nooj, Chocobo Chick, Varghidpolis, Amarant, Adrammelech. It’s so, so easy to rain terror with Squall. Just for the love of God don’t attack into Zeid.
S
Griever
In his first outing in Beyond Destiny, the only Witch he could get was also an L. This time round we have Meia instead of Ultimecia, pushing you towards water. I think this set is better equipped to punish spending 6CP on a card that doesn’t do anything until your next MP1. If you’re patient and find an opportunity to make him stick, or get him some Goobbue protection, he’ll completely take over the game. If you rush him and get completely blown out by Ifrit or Kuja, well, I warned you.
A
If you want my opinion (which I sure hope you do, you just spent an entire article listening to it) the elements break down like this: Ice>Fire>Lightning>Earth>Wind>Water. Pleasantly, none of the elements are bad, and I even think the best archetype, Golbez, actively wants to be in the worst element, Water. There are a lot of synergies, and a lot of haymakers this set. While some elements may be better on average, I think this Limited environment is anyone’s game, and I look forward to seeing all the different strategies and decks that pop up throughout its lifetime as the draft set of choice. With all that said, I hope the rest of your day goes well. Feel free to post up a pic of your sealed/draft decks on Twitter at @Hfftcg or Bluesky at @Lossley. We hope to see you again next time on The Crystarium.
