Final Fantasy Trading Cards Games
Card of the week 2021-06-10 17:08:59

Opus XIV Card of the Week - Barret


Barret and Marlene standing in front of flowers in a chapel

Hello everyone! This is FFTCG Producer, Tarou Kageyama. The time has come again – yes, the “Card of the Week,” featuring cards from “Opus XIV: Crystal Abyss,” is about to start. I hope you enjoy this series of articles, too!

For the commemorative first piece, I would like to introduce a Fire/Earth multi-element card: Barret [14-121L]. This card is the Booster Display box topper promo, which means if you purchase a full display box of “Opus XIV,” you will obtain a Premium Foil, Full Art version of Barret [14-121]. Since we’re on the subject, let’s take a look at the Full Art version, too.

Fire/Earth Barret Opus XIV Legend Card Fire/Earth Barret Opus XIV Full Art Legend Card

Now that we’ve taken a look at the illustration, let’s continue on to look at Barret [14-121L] as a TCG card. As mentioned earlier, Barret is designed as a Fire/Earth multi-element card, and so it does cost 4CP to play; but he is a rather hefty Forward at 9000 power. He has the Job AVALANCHE Operative from Category VII with a total of three abilities, out of which two relate to the Job AVALANCHE Operative.

His first ability does not tie directly into the Job AVALANCHE Operative. That being said, it is a powerful ability that assisted players throughout the history of FFTCG, where any damage dealt to him that is less than his power will become 0 instead. I’m sure it will be painstaking to deal enough damage to break someone who has a large amount of power like Barret.

The second and third abilities relate to the Job AVALANCHE Operative. One of them reads: “The Job AVALANCHE Operative Forwards other than Barret you control gain Haste.” Unfortunately, Barret himself does not gain Haste, but all others who are Job AVALANCHE Operative will, and I think that can put a lot of pressure on your opponent.

The other ability, as mentioned earlier, also relates to the Job AVALANCHE Operative, but this is an action ability. By discarding one card, you can choose one Job AVALANCHE Operative other than Card Name Barret in your Break Zone and add it to your hand. While it is limited to once per turn, considering you can have any Job AVALANCHE Operative card added to your hand, and have them gain Haste when placed in the field, I think it’s plenty useful.

・A Forward with the Job AVALANCHE Operative

 Now, at this point, some of you may have already noticed something very important. That’s right; as of the latest set, “Opus XIII,” there are no Forwards other than Card Name Barret who also has the Job AVALANCHE Operative. You might think, this renders the second ability almost completely useless. Of course, we can use Bartz [3-065L] or Hashmal, Bringer of Order [2-087R], and so forth, but considering that third ability, I’m sure you’d benefit from having Forwards that have the Job AVALANCHE Operative printed on them, right?

 Well, did you know? The recently revealed Tifa [14-120H] is a Forward who has the Job AVALANCHE Operative. Like Barret, she is also a Fire/Earth multi-element card, so they go quite well hand-in-hand. On top of that, if you play Tifa when you are at six points of damage, you may play Barret [14-121L] from your hand. That would let Tifa gain Haste, so she can attack right away. Additionally, Tifa can search for Card Name Cloud, so you can pull Tifa out of the Break Zone using Barret’s ability, to add Cloud into your hand. You can create a cycle in which an unwanted card in your hand can be exchanged for Tifa, who will then bring Cloud.

Another element I’d like for you to take note of is the FFTCG TWO-PLAYER STARTER SET AVALANCHE VS SHINRA set. Contained in the set include some Forwards with the Job AVALANCHE Operative. It won’t be out for a while but let me introduce one of those cards to you: Jessie [15-132S].

Jessie card from Avalanche vs Shinra Starter Set

If you control cards with the Job AVALANCHE Operative, the cost to play Jessie decreases by two, and you can cast Jessie with 1CP. Plus, if two or more Job AVALANCHE Operative form a party to attack, then you may either “play a Card Name Cloud from your hand onto the field,” or “search for one Card Name Cloud and add it to your hand.” If you have Barret [14-121L] in the field, then you can play Tifa [14-120H] to search for Cloud, then cast Jessie [15-132S], attack using a party with Tifa and Jessie who have now gained Haste thanks to Barret’s ability, then play the Cloud you searched earlier, for a beautiful chain reaction. While they are multi-element, Tifa is 2CP and Jessie’s cost is reduced to 1CP, so it shouldn’t be too big of a strain from a CP standpoint.

 So, what do you think of this card? It does rely somewhat on how your deck is constructed, but because of that, it does make for an opportunity to show off your skills. I would encourage you to give it a try.

 Next time, Richelle is going to talk about a character who will be joining the fray in FFTCG for the first time. I hope you look forward to it!