“Jumping Christmas!” – Bartz Klauser

Happy Holidays people, I know it’s been an eternity since I’ve written an article, so I’m happy that I get to squeeze one in tonight between all my projects going on!  Very pumped for Reunion that is fast approaching on January 12th, 2019.  Can’t believe Xmas is in 9 days, that seems insane.  Any-who, I just finished my play-through of Final Fantasy V for the first time, and I certainly noticed a few reasons as to why Category V cards were (as always, in my opinion) put together the way they are!  So without further ado….

 

Cid Previa (7-095H) Mid Previa (7-101H)

 

Cid and Mid Previa help out Bartz and the gang in Final Fantasy V on multiple occasions.  Usually repairing transportation or offering advice, Mid and Cid (reluctantly) help each other out frequently, and they make a great team as Grandpa and Grandson.  This is reflected very well in the card game, as their abilities have very strong synergy with each other.  When Cid enters the field, he can bring in his grandson Mid from the breakzone for free to play onto the field.  This allows Mid to deal 6000+3000 damage for his entry to field abilities, which will typically wreck an enemy forward.

Ghido (3-131H)

Ghido, the wise turtle that guides Bartz near the later half of his adventures against Exdeath.  For 1 water cp, you can activate Ghido (he doesn’t normally activate during the active phase).  This reflects him typically being on his back (shell) when you find him, like seeing an old man who fell and can’t get up.  With a helping hand, he’s back on his feet.  For 1 water, and 1 additional cp and dull, you can return an enemy forward cost 5cp or more to the top of their deck.  This reflects how Ghido fends off Exdeath in Ghido’s cave, delaying him.  Exdeath is typically a 5 or 6 cp card, which isn’t defeated or broken but simply fended off, which is why he’s sent back to the top of the deck, instead of the break zone.

Berserker (3-091C)

Pretty straight forward.  In the video games, Berserkers have no input from the player, and simply swing at their enemies whenever their turn is up.  This is just like the video games, where you MUST attack at least one per turn if possible.  Berserkers are known for their high power values, which is why this card is above the curve for it’s CP.

Cannoneer (3-021C)

Cannoneer (not available in the SNES version of FFV) is a unit that gains an ability called “Combine” at level 3.  This allows you to mix specific resources to fire off explosives, dealing damage to multiple targets in the game.  This is why the Cannoneer  can use up resources (cp and itself) to deal damage towards multiple Forwards.

Faris (3-019H) / Faris (7-120H)

 

Both of these versions of Faris gain power when they are present with Lenna (1k and 2k).  This is relevant because Faris is the sister of Lenna.  Faris is able to search for Syldra because Syldra is her animal companion that helps sail the seas, and she also has to hunt down Bartz and Krile’s location near the end of Final Fantasy V, which is why she can reveal the top 5 cards of your deck to seek her companions.

King Tycoon (3-059H)

Very simple — King Tycoon is the father to Faris and Lenna.  Seems to make sense that as a backup, he searches out for them.

Famed Mimic Gogo (3-142H)

From the ground up, FMG represents his digital counterpart pretty closely.  In Final Fantasy V, the unique key to defeating his boss encounter is simply to do nothing.  Without interaction or combat, he cannot mimic you and thus suffers a defeat.  That is why when no forwards are present, he is simply defeated and sent to the break zone.  His S ability, Power Hit, puts a forward into the break zone, as long as FMG has been damaged.  This reflects the punishment the player’s party suffers in the video game when you try to attack Famic Mimic Gogo.  Unless you are insanely capped out with leveling, Gogo will usually take you out in 1 to 2 counter attacks (or spells)

Galuf (7-067L)

Galuf’s cannot be broken during your turn effect represents his assault on Exdeath, that happens while the crystals are subduing Bartz and the other characters in your party.  No matter how much Exdeath beats him or nukes him with magic, he does not yield and you can keep attacking Exdeath until Exdeath retreats.  His S ability “Stop”, would be accurate if he simply job changes to Time Mage, and utilizes the spell “Stop” (requires level 3 Time Mage) in FFV.

Enuo (3-101R)

Enuo was a very powerful sorcerer who was eventually defeated by the 12 ultimate weapons in Final Fantasy V.  While he was defeated,  he still exists in the Void.  This reflects his ability to remove cards both before something hits the break zone, or something that is already in the break zone.  He banishes them to the Void to be manipulated or destroyed.

Exdeath (3-100L)

Exdeath, the main antagonist of Final Fantasy V, inflicts a lot of damage and misery to the heroes and inhabitants of FFV’s world.  In the latter half of the game, Exdeath goes on a rampage, and literally wipes out castles and towns, removing them into the Void (even the Moogle Village!).  This is reflected perfectly in Grand Cross (his S ability), where all characters on the field, AND all the cards in the break zones are outright removed from the game.

Well, I think that’ll do it for this article, everyone have a great holiday season and I hope to see some of you at Reunion on January 12th!

(Did you know?  Originally, Final Fantasy V was going to be named “Final Fantasy Extreme” for all the combinations of Job abilities and Job changes you could take advantage of and manipulate in your party throughout your play-through.)  

 

 

“”I will burn down this kingdom, and from its ashes build for you a new one – a kingdom worthy of you. I will show you a world where your light will outshine the sun – a world that will know no darkness. And you will have no more need of tears. I will not fail you in this.” – Delita Heiral

This entry is going to be a bit different.  It’s a piece I wanted to write about and touch on for the past couple of months.  And, fair warning, this is more about myself, my store, my journey through FFTCG, and the people who have become a part of my life due to these things.  Of course I’ll have another card references article soon, but this morning I felt particularly ready to write about the concepts I just mentioned.  This might be a long one, but I’ll just let my thoughts and memories pour out, and see what happens.  With all the time I invest in FFTCG and the community (both that I love), I present my history and story for those that are interested.

And so it goes

I have been obsessed with Final Fantasy since I was 7 years old.  I walked into my local video game store back in Brooklyn,  I wanted to rent Final Fight for the SNES, and it was not available.  Next to where the Final Fight box would be, was this red box labeled “Final Fantasy II” (Now FF4).  It had cool fantasy font, a sword, and a neat description on the box, so I thought I’d give it a try for my rental that my weekly allowance would allow.  I had no idea what a role playing game was.  A little experimentation, and I learned you take turns in battle, slowly diminishing “Hit Points”.  The other systems were learned, such as elemental weaknesses, boss strategies, etc.  I became captivated with Cecil, Rosa, Rydia, Golbez, Chocobos, Summons, Crystals, Airships, looking for hidden treasure, working on ultimate gear for my characters.  On top of that, I rented the game every chance I got, and prayed that some other customer did not save over my file.

Back then, I’d get a new game for my birthday (August), and a game for Christmas.  Between that time, it was rentals and borrowing games from friends.  And let me tell you, my friends did not have good games =P   This obsession carried on with Final Fantasy 3 (6), and then the Playstation entries.  Final Fantasy XI became a ridiculously potent obsession, to the point where I STILL log on now and then to work on my character.  XIV I played in the 1.0 version, survived Dalamud exploding on Eorzea, and still have a lovely Free Company home in Area 1 Zone 1 in the Mists =)  The point is, Final Fantasy has always been an outlet for me to adventure, explore, partake in fantastic stories and challenges, while avoiding the annoyances of social life and work.  Along that entire stretch, Final Fantasy IV, Tactics and XI are my favorites.  Delita Heiral is my favorite Final Fantasy character, because he did not let labels, preconceived notions or bullies stop him.  While he isn’t exactly a hero, if there was a FF character I felt I could relate to, it would be him.  It doesn’t hurt that his armor and job type later in the game are incredible.  Cecil from IV and Gabranth from XII come in behind Delita as very close 2nd/3rd favorites.  Ever since I was 7 years old, I think the 3 key things I would seek in a character would be Justice, Power, and Determination.  And thus, let’s move on to my mid 20’s.

Still in the Fog

Was in my mid 20’s, and still really didn’t find my path just yet.  I worked as a manager at a local retro gaming store for minimum wage, and while I enjoyed my work and made my great friends at that location, I wasn’t happy.  I had no clear direction of where I was headed in life, Final Fantasy XIII wasn’t that great, and I was bored.  Being bored is incredibly frustrating to me.  Over the next few years, I met someone in a similar spot that I was in, I got married, and had my son.  I also gained a daughter from a previous relationship she was in, and took her under my wing (and still do).  Unfortunately, the relationship did not last past a few years, so after the paperwork was finished, I got a new place to live, with a couple of great friends that were in somewhat similar situations.  Depressed, confused, but still gaming on and taking care of responsibilities to the best of my abilities, while struggling financially and mentally.  And then…. something happened.

He places finely honed skills into a stone

Two incredible things happened in a very short scope of time.  My now wife Kayla and I started dating, and I discovered the Final Fantasy Trading Card game.  While the development of a serious relationship between Kayla and I obviously towers over the card game, discovering FFTCG led to a chain of events that I would not have imagined possible.  I learned how to play at a local store, and made the best decks I could with what little cards I had.  I did not have money to buy booster boxes for Opus 1 (and mind you, this was in winter 2016 when a booster box was $210+, and not readily available in the USA).  For Xmas, Kayla got me some of my favorite characters in foil, and thus started my collection.  A few months later, I got my tax return, and got my first booster box.  It was incredible.  It was thrilling to possibly get the coveted “Light Cloud”, or Shantotto, or a foil Tidus Legend, there was so much to look forward to!  After setting aside cards I knew I’d play with or save for other deck ideas, I randomly came across the FFTCG marketplace.  Card by card, from a single booster box, I sold foils I did not want, and progressed from there.  With money that came in, I bought a new booster box.  Rinse, repeat.  Soon my brother loaned me money to buy a 6box case, and I started taking notes.  Pack cracking patterns, spikes in prices, cards that were favored by the elite players, cards that have key words for future use and play.  I was obsessed.  I loved buying, selling, playing, collecting, trading, this was it.

Opus 2 was released, and I was stressed the hell out.  It was a gamble.  Let’s buy 12 booster boxes and go for it.  Keep the cards I wanted to play, and sell the rest.  I went for Fire (And let’s face it, you play Fire if you want to keep cheap cards and sell the expensive ones).  After the release of Opus 2, Kayla told me it was time.  We had to go official with a store.  She said I was clearly passionate and skilled with what was involved, and even though it had major risks and a ton of stress involved, she would support me.  And thus, Cards of Ivalice was born.  Ivalice was a place of magic and technology, heroes and villains, music and wonder.  And yah, home to some of my favorite games.  So I got the logo, the store, did inventory, crossed my fingers, prayed, told Kayla she was the most incredible thing in my entire world, and off it went =)  Along this entire journey, I grew more and more attached to the community, some of the SE staff that are involved with the game, which led me to giving back to the community when possible, and getting involved with it’s security and development.  In that time, Kayla and I got married, we walked down the isle to Theme of Love from Final Fantasy IV, and I now have a home of consistent teamwork, happiness and goals to work towards in a field I love.

Simple and Clean

So now we are approaching Opus VII in just 10 days, and I am insanely excited.  A lot of powerful cards to add to my mono lightning deck, and a ton of deck brewing to go around the community!  Kayla and I will be hosting our Opus Wings and Pack Cracking at our home with friends and family. And there’s also the Opus 7 pre-release this weekend!  A big shout out to my wife Kayla who continues to shatter my expectations on how thoughtful, generous, and mucho caliente a partner can be.  She has pushed me to achieve goals and happiness that I never would have imagined possible.  Huge thanks to my mom, brothers, friends and kids for keeping me laughing, offering constructive criticism and  support throughout this journey.  Huge thanks to the members of Chocobros, Sam / Zach / Kody for letting me sponsor them and mastering the game we discuss and play all the time, offering me tips and advice on all things involved.  Also wanted to thank Rich Brady from SE, who continues to excel in giving the best community and technical support for FFTCG, despite the mountains of stress and nonsense that can be involved in such a huge endeavor.  Thank you to Andy Carmona, Max Williams and Corey Hillman for supporting my first COI tournament and giving me emotional/technical support that I could actually get people to want to gather for my own event and have it be a success.  Thank you to SE and Tarou Kagayama for keeping the game balanced and refreshing, with fantastic artwork, exciting themes and an incredibly interactive card game.  Thank you to PHD, my distributor, for being a part of fate and building a warehouse right next to my home, and my rep Anji, for knowing what I need before I ask, and always being on top of the barrage of questions I throw at you.

And what is something awesome that this has all led up to?  Will go into very specific details tomorrow about what’s entailed!  Much love to the FFTCG community =)

 

(Did you know?  Throughout the years before FFTCG, James was very competitive in the 1st Person Shooter and Fighting game scene, especially in his teenage years.  With the release of Final Fantasy XI and WoW, this has shifted more towards MMORPG’s, leading guilds and losing millions of hours gearing up and completing quests.  He now shares his gaming, including video gaming, TCG playing and board gaming, with his wife Kayla and 2 children, Arianna and Vincent.  He also moderates the FFTCG-US page on Facebook.  Non-Final Fantasy RPG’s he enjoys in particular are Star Ocean 2, Valkyrie Profile, and Grandia II ) 

 

 

“Do be careful with those. For every task, there’s a perfect tool.” – Jihl Nabaat

Happy Friday everyone, hope you had a wonderful week so far as we approach the weekend.  It’s another helping of card references, where I go over (in my opinion) where the inspiration of the following cards relates back to their digital selves.  Off we go!

Moogle (XI) [6-058R]

This fantastic 2cp wind backup has the ability “Retrieve”, for S and dull, to search for 1 card (any card) and add it to your hand.  This is very relevant to it’s character in Final Fantasy XI, whose job it is to manage all of your stored inventory, whether it comes to furniture, equipment, potions, ingredients, etc.  If anyone knows where to find the item you are looking for, this Moogle would know.  On top of that, the default storage space for your Mog Safe is 50 slots, much like your FFTCG deck.

Ark Angel EV (4-097H)

Next up, we have another character from Final Fantasy XI, the Ark Angel EV.  (EV stands for the race she represents, the Elvaan).  When Ark Angel EV deals damage to a forward, you increase it by 2,000.  When Ark Angel EV is dealt damage by a character, reduce it by 2,000.  This is relevant to her character from FFXI mainly because of her in (video game) job type.  The Ark Angels have job combinations, with her combo being PLD/WHM (Paladin / White Mage).  She takes reduced damage due to her constant Protect spell being active, as well as her tower shield and high Defense rating as a Paladin.  She inflicts extra damage via her ability “Spirits Within”, which can easily 1 shot an enemy target during her raid encounter.  Both in the digital and card game, she can be a very stubborn target to defeat.

Barbariccia (3-066R) / (2-064H)

Barbariccia, the Archfiend of Wind from FFIV, relates to her video game counterpart pretty blunt.  In Final Fantasy 4 (any version other then original NA Easy Mode), if you tried engaging Barbariccia during her tornado form, she would counter with either a physical attack, or Maelstrom, which would reduce your party members hit points to single digits.  This is pretty much what both versions of her do in the card game, when being an ETB effect, with the other being her S ability (literally named Maelstrom).

 Jihl Nabaat (1-193S)

Jihl Nabaat, one of the antagonists in Final Fantasy XIII, is an ice card from the XIII starter set back in Opus 1.  This card saw a ton of play due her cheap cost of entry (2cp), and her exburst which freezes up to 2 targets.  Her S ability, Sadistic Surge, can also dull and freeze a forward as well.  This plays very well to her character from XIII because her role as the Commander of PSICOM is to subdue and imprison threats to Gran Pulse.  Upon capture, they are often knocked out or disabled in restraints, much like her ability to dull or freeze forwards in the TCG.

Moomba (2-045C)

In Final Fantasy VIII, when you summon Moomba, it will reduce a target’s HP down to 1.  This is pretty much what he does in the TCG, dealing it damage equal to it’s power minus 1,000 (almost always resulting in it’s power being at the minimum value currently allowed in the card).

Asura (2-049H)

Here we have Asura, Queen of the Feymarch from Final Fantasy IV.  When Asura is summoned, you can choose 1 of 3 actions:  activating up to 2 forwards, activating up to 5 backups, or choosing 1 character of cost 2 or less from the breakzone and adding it to your hand.  This closely resembles her Summon from Final Fantasy 4.  Asura has 3 faces which do 3 different abilities – Life, Curaga, or Protect.  The 3 different abilities correlates to the 3 abilities you can choose from on her card.  Both the video game Asura and TCG version also lend themselves as a support type summon.

And that’s it for this week my friends!  Hope you enjoyed, and please look forward to next week’s references!  (￣▽￣)ノ

 

(Did you know?  The story of Final Fantasy 7 draws heavy reference from the Kabbalah.  The Kabbalah is a Jewish school of thought that also refers to the mysticism of Judaism and Gnosticism, a collection of ancient religions.  Not only does FFVII draw from the beliefs of these religions, but it incorporates what actually happened to the followers in real life, as well as using Hebrew in the formation of character names. A few examples are:

• The Gnostics were persecuted, like the Cetra.
• Sephiroth’s name comes from the term Sefirot (meaning “counting” or “enumeration”), which refers to the ten aspects of God in the Tree of Life.
• The sixth sefira in the Tree of Life is beauty, known in Hebrew as Tif’eret {ti-fah-ret}. This is very likely how Tifa’s name was derived.)

 

 

“See the monster I’ve become!” – Snow Villiers

Happy Monday everyone.  Today we are going to cover a new Rare that was spoiled over the weekend,  that has certainly caught my attention to be on the look out for.  This spoiled card is… Snow 7-033R!  He is a backup in Ice which costs 4 cp.

When Snow is on the field, he has quite an impact on how your forwards behave.  When a forward you control attacks, you choose 1 forward that an opponent controls and you dull it.  Doesn’t matter what element forward they are, you swing, they dull.  This creates an incredibly annoying factor that the opponent more then likely has to deal with for the rest of the game.  Let’s discuss why this card will more then likely stick around for the rest of the game, and some potential combos that will cause a brain-freeze.

Sustainability

Being a 4cp backup, this card can pretty much stay alive once it is put into play.  The only card (even with Serah protecting Snow from abilities), would be Hecatoncheir from Earth.  Other then then that, no one really plays Sephiroth in both his promo and Opus 1 Legend form, and this Snow is out of range for Archer being at 4cp.  So in most games, once Snow enters, he’s sticking around for good.  And once he enters, the game state pretty much changes to where now any time you attack, their defensive line weakens.  They now have to consider that at a minimum, they will need 2 forwards out (or Earth forwards such as Guy or Yang) in order to prevent damage coming.  This becomes incredibly dangerous and nerve-wracking, especially if haste forwards are involved, where at a moments notice, a forward can arrive, attack AND dull a forward, and inflict damage.  The value of constantly having an effect where you can dull their forward line is insane.  This could have easily been a Hero or a Legend card in my opinion.  And since Ice tends to force your opponent to discard, this adds a huge layer of putting them behind since they need to constantly have multiple forwards out to avoid taking damage.  But this isn’t even the scary part — next we can look at some…

Combos

As soon as I saw this card, the brain went into overdrive.  Ice is frustrating enough, but this card can combo into some nasty, annoying as all hell frustration.  While I’m sure to miss some here, let’s take a gander at a few that came across my mind after viewing Snow.

This card hasn’t really seen play in the past 4 months, but smack my cat with a spoon, this could really be annoying with Snow.  Since Snow is a XIII character, 4-115L Lightning has the potential to dull 3 Forwards when the turn she comes into play since she has haste.  She arrives with a XIII character already in play (1), and when she attacks, she dulls a forward (2), and then Snow uses his ability to dull another forward (3).  Seriously?  The lady just dominates the board with her brother in-law.

This version of The Emperor, who will be included in the upcoming Duo Clash Deck, combines quite well with Snow.  Every time an opponent’s forward becomes dull, you can zap an active forward for 3,000 damage.  If they have forwards such as Vikings, you can break them quite easily just by swinging in if there are other targets you can dull.  This works great against Water decks since they tend to flood their board with forwards to support both Cloud of Darkness and Cagnazzo .

Both Mecha Chocobo and Laguna were paired together for this because they share the same combination with Snow.  When they attack, they will break an enemy forward in most situations.  Mecha Chocobo will break a forward as long as they cost 4 or less, and Laguna will break a forward if they are 7,000 or less.  Laguna will have to actually inflict player damage, but swinging in at 9k (10k if wth Duke Larg), and dulling a forward in the process, changes are he’s making his way in.

**Mecha Chocobo does not actually work in this case, due to the Forward not being dull during activation of the ability.  Thank you Nicholas Schnell**

And lastly we have Squall from Opus 2.  Another forward that does not see much play at all, however Snow does beef him up a bit.  Since Squall relies on enemy characters being dull to power himself up, he will be a very strong forward when he is swinging.  Not only powering up from the backups that Squall himself dulls, but also the additional forward that is being dulled from Snow.  This makes him a wrecking ball on the offense.  Unfortunately, he is still just a 6k when the turn is over.

Well, what do you think about the new Snow?  I’d say he’s going to be a $10 foil coming out, and we all know how our Ice players love their bling.  Any combos I missed?  Feel free to respond!  Thanks for reading =)

(Did you know?  Just as Final Fantasy 7 was designed to show off the Playstation 1’s capabilities, Final Fantasy XIII was designed to show off what the Playstation 3 could do.  This feeling of innovation combined with nostalgia was intentionally designed for the intro combat/tutorial section of Final Fantasy XIII.  You literally play an Ex-Guardian (Ex-Soldier), named Lightning (Cloud), who reluctantly fights alongside Sazh, a black male protagonist character with a gun (Barrett),  that engages a mechanized scorpion, Manasvin Warmech (Guard Scorpion)

“I would say that guy is missing a few buttons…” – Locke Cole

Hey guys, been a few weeks (I know, I’ve had several people yell at me to continue posting, apologies) but it’s been crazy with bunch of IRL stuff going on and new gaming releases happening simultaneously.  Anywho, was itching to continue on with the card reference series since I have gotten a lot of good feedback with those articles, so we will continue on with our 7th issue of that =)  Here we go!

Shantotto (1-107L)

Ah yes, glorious Shantotto, the Legend that has struck fear into FFTCG players since Opus 1.  When Shantotto is on the field, she gains all elements except Light and Dark.  On top of that, she removes all forwards on the field from the game.  This is a reference to her character in Final Fantasy XI, being the most powerful Mage in all of Win’durst (and honestly all of Vana’diel”.  She has mastered all the different elements, and can even skillchain/combo into herself, causing ridiculous damage.  As for removing forwards on both sides from the field, even though Shantotto is a “good guy” and helps you from time to time, she tends to go a bit nuts on occasion, and always reminds everyone that she is on top of the food chain, and demands either payment or respect.  She even becomes the final boss in the FFXI Mini Expansion – “A Shantotto Ascension”.

Adelle (5-050H)

Next up, we have Adelle from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2.  Known in that game as “Adelle the Cat”, she is known for her insane agility, speed and cunning throughout the various hunter guilds.  In the TCG, she has haste, and for a wind, she cannot be blocked.  This references her natural speed as mentioned above, but also that as a “Heritor” job, she has access to very powerful gear such as Ribbon that can get her in and out of situations while ignoring threats (hence why she cannot be blocked).  She also has the highest speed stat of any character from FFTA2.

Green Mage (5-137C)

Pretty straight to the point on this one.  When you dull Green Mage, put it in the break zone to cancel an action ability.  The Green Mages from FFTA2 have the spell “Silence”, which prevents an enemy character from taking action and casting a Spell or using specific abilities.

Ghoul (4-029C)

Another simple yet accurate card, Ghoul can dull, pay 1 ice, and 1 any element, and dull 1 forward.  This references their ability from Final Fantasy Tactics, known as “Sleep Touch”, which currently puts a target to sleep.  This takes it out of a position to perform in combat, much like dulling a forward in FFTCG.

Lich (4-046R)

Lich is a summon from Final Fantasy Tactics.  It deals each Forward the opponent controls half it’s power in damage.  This is very accurate to it’s effect in FFT, where it deals damage equal to half of the maximum hp of an enemy character.

 

That’s all for this edition of the CoI Card References.  While a couple of these were pretty basic and to the point, I continue to appreciate how accurate a lot of these cards are to their digital counterparts.  Make sure you tune into The Break Zone this weekend for coverage on the FFTCG Nationals!  Have fun =)

(Did you know?  In Final Fantasy Dissidia, when you deplete the enemy character of their bravery points, you “Break” them, effectively negating their combat prowess and strength until they stabilize and fight back.  This is where the term originates from in FFTCG when you inflict damage equal or over a target’s power level (or use summons, abilities, etc), they are considered broken.) 

 

“The way I see it, as long as you make it out of a battle alive, you’re one step closer to fulfilling your dream” – Seifer Almasy

Happy Labor Day everybody.  Had a fun weekend of gathering with my fellow FFTCG players throughout a couple of tournaments, and it’s been a blast!  While engaging with many of these players (and the dining that commences post tournament) a lot of ideas, opinions and thoughts are exchanged on the state of the game, what could be better, what is great, what we are looking forward to, etc.  With that said,  today I would like to write about some things that I would like to see tweaked or changed the future (hopefully near future).  After all, I personally believe that if you are compassionate about something, you seek not only settle for the good, but improve on the rough parts as well.  And as I will reiterate at the end of this article, please take note – changes take time, communication, and patience.  I understand this, and so should you.

1. Judge System

This has been poked, prodded, questioned and brought up as an issue since December 2016.  We need an official Judge system (North America).  At many events, it seems like a crap shoot on who’s “calling” plays and designated what is legal and what isn’t.  Over a dozen times I’ve seen 1 “judge” say that Barbariccia effects power level this way, and at another event a “judge” claims the opposite.  Plays on streams (typically non crystal cup) go through, and the entire stream spectator chat explodes because a misplay occurs and it just cruises on by.  This is Final Fantasy people.  Institute a judge program, add some FF flavor to it, and get it going.  Give certain regions Judge Shirts representing various Judges from the FF universe, give them a damn glowing Nethercite shard to hang around their necks at events for players to be able to identify them, I don’t care.  But this could be not only a fun concept to put in, but an essential one.  We’re approaching the fall/winter of 2018 and there’s still been no word.  While local / casual play is always fun, there are a ton of players clamoring for more OP support.  OP is one of the most controversial topics regarding FFTCG to date.  Comp the Judge Flight and Room, and I guarantee you people will volunteer, I know I would.

2. Make Promos Exciting

Now before you get up in arms, I don’t want promos being “unique” cards, like how the first 3 Vincent, Lightning and Sephiroth cards were.  I believe that promos should not give a player an edge in any shape or form, but should be an exciting bonus to chase to make your deck fancy or add a collectible to an already fun game to collect.  My problem lies with the cards that are typically chosen to become promos.  When I hold my locals for the first week that new promos become available, the players want the foil promos.  It’s foil, it’s a new card, that’s all it takes to get someone excited typically.  But most of the time, they get the foil, they smile, they put it in their binder, and that’s it.  Forgotten.  September’s promo will be Marche,  and granted, the artwork is fantastic!  But it doesn’t matter.  There will be non foils flooding every collection or store, basically tossed at players because it’s a card that sees zero play.  Now take note, you don’t want insane hero or legend cards becoming promos, that simply crushes financial value for said card which effects (stores such as myself) the secondary market.  But take a card that sees a lot of play, such as Red Mage 1-121C  .  This is a common, 25 cents.  Sees play in tons of decks, especially mono lightning.  It’s bulk.  But you make that a promo card?  People will be gunning for those promos, I guarantee it.  It makes going to your locals that weekend exciting!  Ask anyone who players regularly, and they will tell you the mountains of Onion Knight promos that are in a shoe-box.  Here, use this art for the Red Mage. Done.  (This is the FF3 Famicom one, since the card is the FF3 variant)

 

3.  Bonuses with Boosters

I would love it if we got some exciting additions to purchasing packs / booster boxes for FFTCG.  Many different TCG’s take advantage of things such as promos you can only get from buying a booster box, full art special cards put in every half case / case of boxes, “God Packs” that when you crack a pack, it has all of the top rarity cards instead of commons, rares, etc.  It adds excitement to buying a random booster pack, or adds value to stores that invest heavily into FFTCG like I do.  A few suggestions for what we could do in FFTCG.  You could have “Primal Packs”.  Just like God packs in other games.  Every card is a Legend.  Or you could do all foils in the pack that are hero or legend.  Something along those lines that when that crack is packed, your entire city can hear you shouting with joy.  When buying a half case from a distributor, have a unique playmat available that can be used for a tournament prize or given away at the store’s discretion.  Dragoborne did this with gorgeous playmats and I think it was fantastic.  If a full case is purchased (12 boxes in FFTCG), give 2 or 3 playmats.  And lastly, you could do bonus codes in FFTCG packs for DLC with games.  Dissidia Omnia, Dissidia NT,  FFXIV, FFXV, Dragon Quest XI, etc, all these games have options for DLC.  Random booster packs will have codes that can unlock content!  Make it happen Square Enix / Hobby Japan.

And, most importantly….

 

4.  Transparent, Frequent, Accurate Communication from Square-Enix / Hobby Japan

Yah, this is a big one.  I’m STILL salty from all my years playing Final Fantasy XI on how bad Square-Enix is with their communication.  Now mind you, this isn’t 1 person or 1 division that I’m saying is responsible for this.  I’m talking about the company in itself.  As a store owner, a moderator, a player and a devoted fanatic of the game, I have seen the same issues stirring countless times over this game’s lifespan and they need sledgehammer responses with haste.  Some remedies have taken baby steps in 2018 and I applaud them for that, but there are still some glaring obstacles that shouldn’t exist.  Biggest one?  It’s a Final Fantasy game, and no one knows it exists.  The advertising is non-existent and it shows.  Every tournament, every time one of my FFTCG facebook posts is shared on my personal page.  “THERE’S A FINAL FANTASY CARD GAME?”  It stings.  It’s practically a meme.  To SE’s credit, they did a wonderful presentation at E3 this year, but it’s not good enough.  Have ads in Game Informer.  If I’m searching for Final Fantasy related videos or loading up Dissidia Opera Omnia, have it pop up somewhere in there.  This game is the best damn TCG I’ve ever played, based one one of the most popular video games ever, and no one knows it’s even around.  I asked my distributor for marketing material, and I got 6 inch poster.  No.  There needs to be a 5 foot cardboard cutout of Cloud or Tifa the moment you walk into a store.

If this shows during every single Final Fantasy youtube search, but not FFTCG, somethings wrong.

Exciting Crystal Cup matches being played by incredible people, and there’s 70 people watching.  70.  Not good enough, I’m sorry.  I’m sure this is stepping on some toes, but with all the time I devote to promoting this game and helping build it, that’s unacceptable.  Put FFTCG promo cards or ad pamphlets inside all the new SE games.  Dragon Quest XI is coming out tomorrow, and it’s a shame I won’t see anything about it in the case.  Octopath Traveler sold like hot cakes, and nothing (a perfect opportunity to slip a promo card or ad in there).

So in summary?  We want communication open.  We want cards translated perfectly.  We want rule explanations to be crystal clear, and to be easily accessed.  Dates on a Judge Program, access to OP information, communication with stores, players and distributors to be in sync, and information regarding product to be cryptic.  Took in pre-orders for this seasons new sleeves and VI playmats back in early July.  It’s September.  My distributor still has no idea when any accessories such as those are coming or at this point if it’s even coming.  That’s not good.  That’s incredibly bad for business with everyone involved.

/rant

Well, there you have it folks.  I’m sure that came off like a bashing, but I have been loving this game since 2016, and I only write articles such as this because I devote so much time and compassion towards it.  I do know people at SE that slave endlessly towards making this game the best it can be, but corporate really needs to throw more money behind it, hire more people and allow those that have such a love for the game to utilize more freedom with it.  But for better or worse, I will be doing my best to help with FFTCG!   Have a good one =)

(Did you know?  The realm of Ivalice extends past Final Fantasy, such as in the game on Playstation 1 known as Vagrant Story.  Vagrant Story (ベイグラントストーリー Beiguranto Sutōrī) is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) . The game was released in 2000, and has been re-released through the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita consoles. Vagrant Story was primarily developed by the team responsible for Final Fantasy Tactics, with Yasumi Matsuno serving as producer, writer and director.  The protagonist you control is Ashley Riot.  

“You don’t need a reason to help people” – Zidane Tribal

Happy Tuesday everybody, it’s good to be back!  After Gencon and a bunch of other events all colliding at once, the content hiatus has concluded and I’m back for writing articles and covering info on FFTCG.  So with today’s article, I wanted to go over something I have witnessed many times throughout different games (board games, video games, TCG’s, MMO’s, etc), and that would be the social interactions that go on during both casual play and tournaments and how it can effect both the players themselves and the existing community that is participating.

Joining the Fray or Accepting New Players

A very important aspect of sustaining a healthy community in a social game (focusing obviously on FFTCG here) is both it’s growth of new players and it’s current player base sustaining with the veterans.  Typically a gaming community will start with a small group of players that are already committing to having a weekly/biweekly meetup, but in order for it to be successful, there must be new blood that joins.  After all, you want a community that is growing, not becoming stagnant, and eventually dying out from playing the same players every single week.  So when a new player (or group) comes into the store and sits down, welcome them!  Tell them it’s great to have new players, ask where they are from or how they heard about the game, etc.  Be social!  You don’t have to go overboard, but that first impression is incredibly important.  Let them know you are looking forward to having them come back to play with the current players, and that it’s nice to see the community growing.  DO NOT ignore new players.  I don’t care if you think you are Squall Leonheart in the flesh, do not elevate yourself over new players because you win every local tournament or because they don’t know how Light backups work.  Without new players, your scene will eventually crash, and the game will lose support.  At least greet them, or offer to play them and give some advice.  You don’t have to flex your skill in the game though, if you are that good, other players will do that for you.

On the other side of the Figaro Coin,  if you are new, make your voice heard.  Don’t run in the place with a Megaphone and be obnoxious, but introduce yourself.  Ask questions.  Buy a drink and a snack or a booster pack from the LGS to show support for welcoming you in, take a seat, and get ready to play!  The entire reason get togethers at the store exist is for players to socialize and to play their favorite games!  So get busy.  I have met many wonderful people at my FFTCG events, which certainly expand beyond just discussing FFTCG, so you never know who you might bump into!  You already have a huge common interest, so it shouldn’t be that hard to gain some buddies!  And if you had a good time, tell everyone (especially the LGS employee or manager) how you felt, and that you’ll be back next week!  That kind of feedback is imperative to sustain events and support for said game.  And obviously, not everyone is gonna be hearts and rainbows with you, but give it a shot and see what you can do.

Tournament Play and Competitiveness

So typically, a LGS will host a weekly tournament, where players get paired off against each other, you play for packs/money/promos, etc, pretty standard stuff.  Again, you will have the veterans who are riding/defining the meta, and you will have the newer players.  The new players are probably nervous or stressed out since players are being competitive, and you will typically see 2 types of decks stem from new players.  The first is a deck that is based on their fandom, and they’d like to pilot their deck to glory.  How else to make a name for yourself then to show that you don’t need fancy Legends, but your faith in your favorite characters and the heart of the cards.  The other is usually quite the opposite, a copy paste of a meta deck that is seeing many wins across the world.  And there’s nothing wrong with that!  So where am I going with this?  2 things for both new and veterans.

New players

1.  If you are the new player, do not be stubborn and rude if your “I’m Cloud Strife IRL” deck doesn’t see many wins.  While it’s good to be passionate about your favorite game, you need to learn, adapt, and be flexible in FFTCG (like most games).  If a player suggests that playing 12 Cloud’s might not be the best tactic, do not feel like you are being insulted or that someone is being a “try hard” around you.  Get whatever experience you can get from both playing and getting advice from players, and keep testing!

2.  Meta decks exist for reason.  They typically contain lots of powerful cards that have great tempo, search capabilities, synergism with each other, and just pack more value then other cards.  But if you are new, no deck will auto pilot you to a win.  You need to learn a lot of different facets involved with the game.  When to play this or that, when to bait out players or use summons during their turns, how fast you should ramp up or when to not go overboard with your forwards.  I’d highly recommend against diving right into a meta deck before testing and asking players for advice with it before competing and most likely feeling betrayed by whatever deck has earned other players many wins.  Ask questions online, at your LGS, with other players, etc.

Veterans

1.  Typically, you will be able to notice the newer players from Turn 1 or 2.  They will be very cautious with their plays, hands might be shaking, we’ve all been there.  Do not sigh, or look at your phone or (yes I’ve seen this) walk away from the table.  Respect the player who is supporting the game you are playing, and if they apologize for taking a while, tell them it’s no problem.  For the time constraint, do advise they can’t take TOO LONG (be polite) but it’s all good, since matches do have time restrictions.  But if you bark at a player to hurry up, they will misplay, get frustrated, and I can guarantee they won’t be looking forward to either playing you again, or coming back for another tournament.  If you win, shake their hand, say thank you for playing and listen to their feedback.  They may ask “Not sure what went wrong, not sure why my deck failed, etc” and give some some casual advice.  Do not unload a text book of critical TCG theory on them, just point out a specific play and how it could have been handled differently.  And if for some reason they win, praise them.  You are not playing for a new car, you are playing for a promo card or some free packs.  And if you want more tournaments, you want every player coming back for more.

2.  Your games will typically end quicker then games with newer players being involved.  So you tell the employee that you won/lost, and then you might walk around.  You might talk to other players who have finished or you might spectate another game going on.  So let’s focus on the latter.  DO NOT HOVER.  You finished your match early, congrats \o/  But do not hover over other players that are trying to compete.  You can watch, but keep a somewhat distance from the gameplay.  Do not chuckle, snort, or make comments relating to cards in hand or plays occuring, it is obnoxious, rude, and does nothing to help anyone.  It’s exciting for everyone go gather around a match and see what happens when it’s neck and neck, but use common sense.  If one of the players is new, they are stressed out as it is, and now they have pressure from a bunch of spectators watching their every move.  And again, if the match ends, tell them they did good (regardless of how it ended) and if they start asking why the game ended up the way it did, give advice!  Tell them what the other player had in their hands at the time, how they reacted, etc.  But don’t be rude.  Don’t tell them something like “WOW YOU REALLY MESSED UP HERE, CAN’T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT, OBVIOUSLY A BAD DECISION”, etc.  Yes, I have heard things like that and watch newer players crumble.  It’s ridiculous.  Things like that ruin the chances of a player coming back, resulting in a smaller or even split community.  Don’t be that person.

In closing,  games like FFTCG are all about the players and community.  It’s very simple to be honest, be good to each other, and the game will be good to you.  The community with both new players and experienced veterans is the key to having a great time.  Who knows, that new player might come up with the new meta that dominates for the next 3 months?  And you can always use more people to test your deck with in your free time!  Hope you enjoyed the read!

(Did you know?  The limit break type ability in Final Fantasy IX is known as “Trance”.  This is referencing the ability Terra has from Final Fantasy VI, which she could access after unlocking her ability to enter her Esper form)

 

 

“Life doesn’t last forever. That’s why we have to help each other and live life to the fullest. Even if you say goodbye, you’ll always be in our hearts.” – Vivi Ornitier

Just got back home after a nice vacation out with the wife to Indiana for family and Gencon!  Although I only got to spend one day at Gencon to shop for goodies, scout out other games and play some Final Fantasy TCG, wanted to share my experience on how it went.  This is less of a FFTCG ruling/critique/news artice, and more of a personal experience at an event journal entry sort of writeup.

Travel Stuff

So coming from Orlando, I basically arrived into Indiana, and then had to drive 1.5 hours to family I was staying with.  This made the trip to the convention about 2 hours and some change.  I also wasn’t able to physically get my badge early (although it was reserved/paid for), so I had to do that the following morning.  And by morning, I mean I had to wake up at around 4:30am, shower, get fancy looking, and drive out, especially if I wanted to get a decent parking spot.  7am, I arrive at the convention, after securing a parking spot about 3/4 mile away.  Not only do I have my cards and playmat, but I’m also lugging around my Opus VI inventory for a mile, since people requested I bring it to sell to them.  On top of this, I just have a terrible back, through and through.  Make it to the convention entrance, and the line to pick up the badge (Even at 7:15am!) looked like it went for miles.  And so I joined the merry line, lugging my stuff around, and eventually obtained glorious badge of entry.  Hurray! \o/  At this point, with little sleep and lugging stuff around, I am already dead tired, and I have yet to eat.  It was unavoidable for this trip, but if I do another visit to this con or another, I am booking a hotel 5-10 minutes from the hotel.

The peeps, the meets, and the greets

So I get into the exhibit hall a bit early (about 1.5 hours before shops and events start), and what a sight to see.  Tons of familiar brands, people setting up shop, fans eagerly awaiting, it’s everything I hoped for but on a much larger scale.  Notably, I first checked out the Square Enix FFTCG booth, where I met a player (Unfortunately the name slipped me, but he offered to play Mario Kart on his switch while we waited, so if this is you, please comment!) and we had a very a nice time discussing our thoughts on the game and how we looked forward to everyone showing up.  Shortly after, 2 additional players introduced themselves, except they had never played the game before, so we invited them to sit down at a table.  We discussed our favorite Final Fantasy games, what cards we wanted to see in the future, where we were all visiting from etc.  I then proposed that I would buy an Opus 6 booster box, teach them about the particulars in cracking packs, and that I would give them all the Commons / Rares to get them some basic cards to get started with.  It pleased me to see how excited they were with this proposal, and off I went!   And……. my card was rejected.  Apparently, Paypal disabled my account due to thinking it was a scam since I was outside my home state.  After 35 minutes of discussing this issue on the phone, I got it worked out, and then we cracked packs!  The 4 of us had a lot of fun going over rarities, how booster boxes are more efficient then buying single packs, etc.  While this was going on, LOTS of people started pouring in.  Some faces I did not recognize, or that were just checking out what all this Square-Enix hub-bub was about, and then some awesome people I definitely did recognize!  Handshakes, hugs, and manderville flexes were exchanged, as people I have been talking to via the US Facebook group have finally appeared face to face after over a year, it was wonderful!  It was especially funny when someone asked where I was from, and someone shouted across the area “IVALICE, OBVIOUSLY” and then sat back down (LOL).  For the first time in a while, I could see the core of an absolutely fantastic gaming community coming together in one place.  The Break Zone then showed up, which was an absolute pleasure of mine to meet, as I have been a huge fan of them ever since they started streaming Final Fantasy TCG, which was then followed by official Square Enix staff, including Richard Brady and Kagayama, the creator of FFTCG.  This is what it was alllllllllll about folks.  I was happy as can be.  While all this was going on, and the sealed tournament was being prepared, I got to sit with about 6 different people to thrown down on some constructed skirmishes.  I brought along my Mono-Fire deck, and actually did really well!  I went up against multiple YRP Opus 6 decks, Ice discard, and a Viking Water deck.  The best part was finally getting to play with people from different parts of the country that otherwise I would probably never have an opportunity to do so.  I felt really lucky.

Sealed Tournament, $$, and Pain

So the sealed tournament began, and while I paid for participation, I am not a huge fan of sealed, but I wanted the packs and the Firion box, so off we went.  We each got 9 packs to open, write down all the cards we got, which would then be swapped to another random player, and then we’d have to record the deck we assembled from the new cards.  The original 9 packs were simply dumbfounding.  Estinien legend, minwu legend, Foil Zidane legend, it was silly.  And off they went to someone else.  Somewhat disappointing, but that’s the rules, so it’s not a problem.  The new set of cards I had actually had a couple of legends as well, so not too shabby!  After that was finished, I dropped to avoid any complications, got my box, promo and cards, and off I went to shop and explore some of the other areas of Gencon!  As soon as I stood up though, a lot of pain shot up my back.  With the lack of sleep, and the huge amount of inventory/accessories I had to carry around from all the walking and standing, my back was already suffering.  So I picked up the starter set from the Transformers TCG, a whole bunch of goodies including a gigantic LE bag from the Blizzard store, and then checked out the Warhammer tabletop section.  The Blizzard store had a lot of cool new products, but the Warhammer Games-Workshop area was really lacking.  It was basically my local store, except with higher prices, and a few unique products you could only get at Gencon until September.  Meh.  After walking away from some some Warhammer 40k cosplayers, I realized that (About 12:35pm now) I still havn’t eaten since the day before.  Off to some expensive / mediocre pizza.  But hey, you gotta eat.   After eating, I bumped into a couple of friends near the ARG/Dragonball booth, including Jim Mcmahan who got my Cards of Ivalice jersey designed, which was really neat!  After that, I bought a bunch of merchandise from the FFTCG booth, and then rested at a table, back was really starting to hurt.  Thankfully, I got to play a couple more games of constructed with friends, and rest a bit.  And then… things got kind of awkward.  It was a minor thing but, still kind of odd.

As I was going through my inventory, a FFTCG judge walked up to me.  I don’t remember his name, and I did not recognize him, but no biggie.  Problem was, he asked why I was still hanging around since I dropped, and I explained that not only was I selling singles to people who were in need of cards, but I was demoing the game for new players, and the entire point of my trip was being with the community.  He then rolled his eyes and said if “I was just sitting around”, that I should have just played anyway, and didn’t understand why I bothered entering.  One way or another, it was awkward, and I really hoped that other non sealed participants weren’t given a lecture on just being social or playing friendly constructed games on the side at tables that were empty due to the tournament progressing and players dropping.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Regrets and Surprises

There were 2 major regrets during my FFTCG visit at Gencon.  The first was not being more assertive with certain players.  A good example of this was when I was playing against Angel Moret in constructed.  We were discussing things like FFTCG, Octopath Traveler, Battle for Azeroth, etc, and having a fun game.  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a familiar player next to me, who I thought was Hunter Nance, but was not completely confident it was him, and also didn’t want to interrupt my current game (or the player next to me who I assumed was Hunter) in the middle of his game, in fear of being rude to either him or Angel.  After I dealt my final damage to Angel and shook his hand, the guy next to me was gone, and I was disappointed that I didn’t introduce myself to him (I found out near the end of the day it was indeed Hunter).   While I believe Hunter to be consistently critical of a ton of cards, he always has reasons behind it and I take his advice on the game very seriously, so I was looking forward to meeting him since I knew he would be attending.  But, alas things end up like this unfortunately.  I should have just spoke up.

The 2nd regret was that I did not get to really talk to Kagayama or gunsling with him, nor anyone on the Square-Enix staff.  I inquired a few times on when gunslinging would be available, but it seemed that at the time of inquiry, they did not have a time established for that yet, so I wasn’t sure what to do.  This was also my first major FFTCG event with guests such as Kagayama or The Break Zone, so I wasn’t too familiar with the pacing of the event.  He did sign my Final Fantasy Tactics playmat through, and that really meant a lot to me.  We got to shake hands, I told him I loved the game, but I could have easily sat with him for a very long time to share my thoughts and praise on FFTCG, the community, and the state of the game.

As for surprises,  I think having people approach me, or pat me on the back, or just hug me and go “It’s you!  The dude from Ivalice!” or people I’ve talked to on the FB group for a long time but meeting in person for the first time was the best surprise.  Meeting  up with Matthew Okimoto, his wife Angelica, Max Williams, Greg Col WoL IRL, Jesse Sims, Matthew Rice, Angel Floret, Jesus San Miguel, and many others, it was such a blast.  Not only to play cards, but then to go out to eat (beers and burgers!) and then hang out at their Airbnb Pad… I mean, I could do it every single day.  I felt right at home, like I was with friends I’ve known since I was in middle school or something.  And to get to watch these incredible TCG players skirmish with each other.  It was perfection.  And I’m definitely gonna make future rendezvous possible.  But by midnight, my back was a disaster, I was running on no sleep, and I still had 2 hours to drive back to my wife and family, and that was after ubering back to my parking garage.

 

Lessons learned, memories earned

 

 

So between the logistics, my medication, the timing and preparation, lessons were learned.  Thankfully my wife Kayla made this all possible, since we were able to integrate a visit to her family and Gencon in 1 trip, but it just got a bit too dicey for me with all the driving and lugging stuff around.  In the future, we’ll get a hotel room right next to the con, plan to spend all 2 or 3 days of the event together with friends, so that it won’t seem as rushed, and I will not being my store’s inventory with me to the con itself (maybe sell after hours if we meet up and playtest somewhere else?)  The following day, I was on pain meds and got to relax with my awesome inlaws, so that’s just how it worked out, but I am definitely looking forward to dedicated trips to official FFTCG events, and i definitely want to play in constructed or title.  This article went on forever, and I’m extremely tired from a delayed flight, uber, 45 minute drive (Sorry Richard Brady / Kagayama, god speed on your flights!), but just wanted to share my trip.  Met so many awesome people, and I love this community, I really do.  Thanks guys!  Less mushy / personal articles coming up soon!  =P

(Did you know?  Many players were convinced you could bring Aerith back from the dead in Final Fantasy 7, since the original NA name for Aerith was Aeris.  When you rearranged the letters in “Aeris” you end up with Raise.  While Gameshark could help you with this conquest, players tried for many years to naturally accomplish this feat.)

 

 

 

“The body dies… but the spirit lives on.” – Zemus

Happy Monday everyone!  Going to be a crazy week with Gencon starting up on Thursday.  There will be 2 Crystal Cups going on, and a huge chunk of the community meeting up for what will be a glorious event.  Been getting a ton of positive feedback for my card reference articles, so going to continue on with that for today — so yeehaw here we go.

Marauder – 4-017R

A standard unit that can be hard to answer early on with some decks, this forward gains +8000 power when it attacks.  This is akin to the “Berserk” ability that Marauders get in Final Fantasy XIV, which makes all their attacks critical and direct hits, reflecting in the massive boost of power.

Edgar 4-004H

Next we have King Edgar Roni Figaro from Final Fantasy VI.  His exburst allows him to search for 1 card name Sabin, and add it to our hand.  This is a perfect fit because not only is Sabin Edgar’s brother, but he literally searches out for him in Final Fantasy 6 with Terra and Locke.  This leads up to them engaging against Vargas on Mt. Kole.  He has an S ability Drill, which outright breaks a forward.  This is straight from his “Tools” abilities in VI, where he gets a massive power drill and deals huge damage to a single target that penetrates their defense.

Umaro – 4-025H

When Umaro enters the field, you may search for 1 monster and add it to your hand.  He is able to find monsters because he lives in the Narshe caves, which is where all sorts of monster reside, and under Mog, he runs the show.  Umaro must also attack once per turn if possible.  This comes from his job classification in FF6 “Berserker”.   In battle, Umaro cannot be given commands and will use physical attacks endlessly.  And lastly, we have Bodyslam, which deals 1 forward 7,000 damage.  This comes from an ability that Umaro gains when you give him the “Berserker Ring”, which adds 3 new abilities to his arsenal (Bodyslam being one of them)

Gumbah – 5-033R

Gumbah from FFXI is a backup that, when broken, can search for another card name Gumbah and be played onto the field dull.  This directly relates to his character in Final Fantasy XI, where as a member of the Galka race, he reincarnates after death.  Unlike most Galkas however, Gumbah is also destined as a “Talekeeper”, a Galka that reincarnates with all his memories intact, to preserve the culture and strengths of the Galka race.

Zemus – 5-108L

Zemus, a Legend Opus V forward, can choose 1 lightning forward from the break-zone, and bring it back onto the field if he pays it’s CP cost.  This is referencing his ability in Final Fantasy IV to control certain characters, and give them renewed strength to do his bidding.  This happens with (directly) 2 other Lightning Forwards both in the card game and Final Fantasy IV, Kain and Golbez.

And that’s it for this week’s card references!  Really fun vacation for me coming up with my wife to see family and play cards with some awesome people at Gencon!  Hope to see you there =)

(Did you know?  In the title for Square-Enix’s new amazing 2DHD RPG “Octopath Traveler”, the word Octopath not only stands for the 8 paths that are taken with the game’s roster, but is also an Acronym for the playable characters.)

Ophilia

Cyrus

Therion

Olberic

Primrose

Alfyn

Tressa

H‘aanit

“Good day, fine sirs, how may I be of service?” – Dadaluma

Hiya folks, time to thrown down with some more Final Fantasy TCG card references, with my opinion on where their card abilities were originally referenced from.  Off we go!

 

Dadaluma – 4-085H

This incredibly powerful Hero card from Opus 4 has the ability to deal damage to an opponent’s forward when it’s targeted or dealt damage from an ability or summon.  This ability comes from his boss fight in Final Fantasy VI, where when Dadaluma is hit with the Fight command four times, he will counter by throwing either a Mythril Knife or a Dagger at a random party member, or if he is hit with Magic twice.

Shuyin – 6-112H

Shuyin from Opus 6 has the ability to control an opponent’s forward until the end of the turn.  This is represented from his character in FFX-2, where unlike most unsent, Shuyin’s spirit can possess people, controlling those who are deep in malice. He can also possess fayth, using their aeons to help him.   This possession ability is just like the “controlling” of your opponents forwards.

5-034C – Gesper

Gesper is a monster card from Opus V, that can easily force your opponent to discard cards, causing frustration when Forwards are outright removed from your hand before they get a chance to participate.  This is much like his ability from Final Fantasy 8, degenerator, which can kill and eject one party member from the battle.  A forward being ejected is much like a forward going from your hand straight to the break zone.

Master Monk – 5-092C

Master Monk has the ability to deal 2 forwards and himself 4000 damage a piece.  This is much like their ability “Dark Fist” from FFTA2, that deals heavy damage to an enemy while sacrificing their own HP.

Orator – 5-144C

The Orator let’s you choose a monster you control, and return it to it’s owner’s hand.  This is referencing the Orator’s abilities Beast Talk and Entice, that allows the Orator to control and manipulate monsters.  They can control if the monster joins your party (putting it in your hand in the TCG) among other effects.

And that’ll do it for the card references in this article!  Hope to see lots of you fine people at Gencon next week!

(Did you know?  When people think about Final Fantasy 7, they usually think of one of FF’s most iconic songs, “One Winged Angel”.  According to composer Nobuo Uematsu, it’s opening segment was inspired by the equally choppy intro to Jimi Hendrix’s psychedelic anthem Purple Haze.)