Greetings, this is Rio from the Hobby Japan FFTCG Development Team. I will be taking over for this week’s Card of the Week, where we introduce new cards from the upcoming Booster Pack “Gunslinger in the Abyss,” set to release on August 8th. Nice to meet you again and I hope you enjoy my article!
This week I will be introducing Zodiark [26-123L].
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Zodiark, along with Hydaelyn, are at the core of the FINAL FANTASY XIV story, and to borrow from the game’s description, he is "The eldest and most powerful” Primal. With his muscular, rugged body, thick skin, and sharp eyes, the illustration definitely gives off an atmosphere of someone incredibly powerful.
This strong and terrifying illustration is drawn by Tetsu Tsukamoto. With such an intimidating illustration, you may be able to fear your opponent into submission just by playing this card onto the field. Zodiark [26-123L] is a 6CP, 9000 power Dark Forward, with Haste and 2 Action Abilities. Now, let’s go through each of the abilities!
The first Action Ability of Zodiark [26-123L] is, by dulling Zodiark and placing 1 Forward in the Break Zone as a cost, you may remove 1 Forward from the game. Furthermore, the opponent must remove 1 card in their hand from the game. This is a very powerful ability.
An Ability that allows you to place a Forward you control in the Break Zone is actually quite rare and there are various ways to potentially utilize such an ability. For example, if you can take control of an opponent’s Forward by using Garland [23-001C]’s Auto Ability and use it as a cost of Zodiark [26-123L], you will be able to remove 2 Forwards at once.
As long as Zodiark is not destroyed, there is nothing to fear. If I can take control of Zodiark, I would want to use his Abilities multiple times during battle to experience the feeling of being "The eldest and most powerful.”
The second Action Ability is by dulling Zodiark and putting 1 Forward into the Break Zone as a cost, all the cards in the opponent’s Break Zone get removed. Because he has Haste, you can immediately use his Ability during the same turn he enters the field by dulling and spending the cost, plus you can also draw a card, which makes this Ability give you an extra advantage during the game. However, because this Ability is so strong, this can be used only once per turn.
This card will disrupt the opponent if they are trying to add cards from their Break Zone to their hand or use Abilities that reduce costs based on the number of cards in the Break Zone. If you can use this Ability with the right timing, you will be able to cause a lot of trouble to your opponent. Perfect!
Zodiark [26-123L]’s Action Abilities both require one of your Forwards to get placed into the Break Zone as a cost. So, this Ability gives Zodiark the potential to shine by incorporating him with a deck that frequently deploys Forwards, or decks with a lot of Forwards with Auto Abilities that trigger when entering the field. Furthermore, there are interesting potential combinations when used with Forwards that have Auto Abilities that triggers when placed into the Break Zone, such as Maria [18-114C].
What did you think of Zodiark [26-123L]? Being a Dark element, he has powerful Abilities, and being hard to break with 9000 power, he pairs well with many cards in the current game environment.
For next week, Producer Kageyama-san will be introducing a Fire and an Ice character who are sisters. Is everything okay with the Wind Crystal?