Hello everyone! FFTCG Producer, Kageyama here. I’m excited to be back for my third appearance in the Opus IX previews. Last time, I introduced Ultimecia [9-102H], an enemy from FINAL FANTASY VIII. This time, I’d like to introduce none other than Vayne [9-022L], the imperial consul and main antagonist from FINAL FANTASY XII. I keep on introducing enemy characters in these Opus IX previews, but RB has been introducing the hero characters, so I feel like this strikes a nice balance. I mean, if it were between RB and myself, I’m sure I come off as being more of a bad guy.
Now, Vayne has already appeared as a card in FFTCG twice, so this will be his third appearance. His rarity is Legend, so it’s been two and a half years since he was last selected as a Legend card during Opus II with Vayne [2-026L]. The latest version comes with an even trickier ability than the last, so I’d like to focus on introducing this aspect.
Speaking of Vayne, he left a strong impression on us as a character in the original game, not only for his innate abilities, but also as a cunning strategist that excels in political warfare. There’s no better element than ice when applying such characteristics to the card’s abilities. Dull, freeze, discard cards in one’s hand...mastering these abilities to obstruct your opponent from doing what they want to drive the game in a direction more advantageous for you – it’s such a perfect fit.
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Now, with this in mind, let’s take a closer look at Vayne [9-022L]. He’s equipped with average stats at 5CP and 9000 power; furthermore, he only has one ability, making him extremely simple. When one hears “strategist”, many people may imagine complicated abilities composed of long sentences spanning multiple lines. In that sense, perhaps this card will somewhat defy your expectations. But his one and only ability will, without avail, push your opponent into a tight corner and will be considered worthy for a strategist like himself.
The card reads, “All the Forwards opponent controls gain ‘At the end of your turn, if you don't pay áá1ññ, break this Forward.’” Simply put, the opponent’s forward will be broken unless the opponent pays 1CP at the end of their turn. This applies to all forwards the opponent controls, so the more forwards on the field, the more effective this card becomes. You may initially think that 1CP wouldn’t be too difficult to cover and pay up. But, consider a situation where on every turn, one backup will be unusable for every forward you control – I’m sure you see how troublesome this ability could truly be. Especially against decks that don’t use very many backups and push through with light-weight forwards – this card will become a natural enemy. Of course, this ability can be effective against other types of decks. Reason being, ice cards excel at restraining opponents from generating CP. Let’s take a look at some cards that will work well with Vayne’s [9-022L] ability.
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The most compatible cards are those that freeze backups. Dulling cards will only make them active again during the opponent’s turn, so it would be best to prioritize those with the ability to freeze. Celes [4-038L], Ultimecia [7-133S], Garland (IX) [8-026L] – these are some card we would like to use together with Vayne [9-022L]. Among those, the compatibility between Vayne [9-022L] and Garland (IX) [8-026L] is top-notch. At the beginning of your opponent’s turn, they will need to dull a character. It also enables you to freeze one character at the beginning of your turn. If they dull a back-up, it’ll be more difficult for them to pay the costs demanded by Vayne, and if they dull a forward, even if they paid the cost demanded by Vayne, it won’t function as effectively.
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Additionally, cards that dull and freeze forwards are also effective. I touched on this a bit earlier, but even if an opponent pays 1CP, if you freeze their character, their character will not be able to function as effectively in response to the cost paid. Genesis [3-033L] and Setzer [4-036H] are sure to become strong allies for Vayne [9-022L].
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What do you think? Overall, I introduced more ice cards, but wind and earth cards with the ability to break backups are also a viable option, and so are cards that constantly demand your opponent to pay costs, such as Llednar [4-024R] and Flandit [5-088C]. You’ll find other cards from other elements that are compatible with Vayne [9-022L] so please try pairing him with others and experiment with various combinations.
Next, RB will be introducing our final card from the Opus IX preview. Please look forward to the next edition as we will be introducing a beautiful card featuring a newly drawn illustration!