Final Fantasy Trading Cards Games
News 2020-03-04 21:22:20

Opus XI - Community Spoilers 3


2019 12/2020announce

We hope you’ve been enjoying these Community Spoilers. This week we have a new group of guests talking about some new cards based around Summons. We have Micael Acurcio from FFTCG Luxembourg, Myles Tyler from Legendary Wolf Games, Crystal Cup Earth Winner 2019 Patrick Rueger, Worlds Participant Nicolas Larrouy from Team Mustadio, and Nick Militello from Envy Games. Let’s jump right in!

Eiko 11-108C

3 CP Water Backup, Category LOV/IX, Job Summoner

EX BURST When Eiko enters the field, you may search for 1 Job Summoner Forward and add it to your hand.

Micael: Like other job tutors, Eiko is a 3-cost backup with EX-Burst. Having a main character as a tutor is always dangerous since you might want to play other versions of the card (looking at you Rinoa). “Fortunately” for Eiko, there is currently none really being played so this won’t impact her for now. While there is no summoner forward to be seen in competitive decks for now, adding her in a deck with Yunalesca 11-123R and Yuna 11-061L or 7-127L could result in some interesting summons focused deck. In limited this will probably be a dud though.

Myles: This is an interesting shift! While other versions of Eiko focused on tutoring summons to hand via the deck or BZ, this one appears to branch into another direction that supports the "Summoner" archetype as a whole. Wind/Water and Earth/Water are the initial elements that come to mind, but I am sure that the community will get creative (looking at you Yuna 11-061L) and find a way to make several elements work with these cards. I personally look forward to seeing what Eiko brings to both casual and competitive play, as I see a lot of potential with her in this archetype!

Patrick: By being Category IX she is searchable by Steiner (3-137R). Being able to look for Rydia (9-077L) and Yuna (7-127L), especially in Water, might actually enable a nowadays forgotten Archetype. The great Water Light Summons deck. The deck traditionally ran Ultima, the High Seraph (3-145L) and Yuna (7-127L) with lots and lots of card draw to find the particular combo pieces, play light forwards Zidane (3-154S), Rain (8-134L) and the killing the opponent after clearing their board with Ultima, the High Seraph (3-145L). Really looking forward to that particular Backup. And whatever other Job Summoners might be waiting for us in Opus XI.

Nicolas: As a Summoner herself, her cost can be reduced by 1 when controlling Braska [7-121C], making Eiko a 2CP tutor Backup, which is very solid. I expect her to be played in two copies in a Water Earth summoner Deck, using Braska, Rydia, Yuna and Yunalesca. Will it be competitive? This I don't know, but this Deck will be pleasant to run for sure!

Nick: A 3 CP EX-Burst searcher is always appreciated, but, up until now, we wouldn’t have had many great targets to search for.  That all changes though in Opus XI and from what has been revealed so far, you would love to search every job summoner target in this set!  11-123R Yunalesca and 11-061L Yuna already synergize very well so giving us a way to find either in the deck is phenomenal!  This will allow you to make your summons cost less by at least 1 CP a lot more consistently and if you choose to add any of the previous job summoners to this deck as well, the amount of value is great.  Wind Water players will love this new take on playing the cards and summons they love!

Mootie 11-012C

3 CP Fire Backup, Category FFL, Job Eidolon

When Mootie enters the field, you may search for 1 Fire Summon and add it to your hand.

When you cast a Card Name Bahamut, activate Mootie.

Micael: Being able to search for Ifrit is great in mono fire decks and Bahamut 4-061R is a pretty good answer to a lot of stuff thanks to the “remove from game” clause. Being able to play that Bahamut basically for 3 is a great bonus but the other Bahamut cards still seem lackluster, even with the reduced cost. If there is a good Bahamut in this Opus this card might be great in limited but otherwise it seems like it will mostly see constructed play.

Myles: 3cp backup that searches for a fire summon. Already a bit better than Sazh, albeit no Ex Burst. The Bahamut synergy is incredibly interesting to add merit to running Bahamut as Summons in a Fire list, possibly alongside an Ifrita engine. The cost is great, effectively 1cp is fantastic, and re-activation on cast means an easier time doing what Fire does best. It also makes the 9cp Bahamut almost easier to work with. Very solid card overall, and I love the interesting Fire support.

Patrick: A great card for your Draft deck. When playing Fire in Draft you usually have have 1-3 Fire Summons in your Deck that are able to deal with Opponents forwards relatively cheaply. Being able to search for them in your deck gives you a huge boost in tempo and advantage. You should be able to pick him up somewhat late in Draft as Mootie is a C and no one wants to run more than 2 or 3 of them in their Deck.

Nicolas: So basically, it makes all your Bahamut cost 1CP less. Combined with Fang [1-020R], you gain 3CP, which is pretty interesting! But the point is that the actual played Fire Summons are Ifrit and Belias, mostly because they require no setup to be value and because the potential Ifrita enhancement is amazing... I'd wait for the Opus XI Fire Summons to have a final thought about this Backup.

Nick: I took a liking to this card immediately being that I’ve been playing a lot with Mono Fire as of late.  I like the option of having another searcher for Fire Summons other than 7-008C Sazh, and for 1 cp less, though it is not an Ex Burst.  I do believe it makes up for it with its second effect of reactivating each time Bahamut is cast, which will couple nicely with another Backup, 10-014R Mutsuki and a synergy card from way back, 1-020R Fang.  With these 3 cards on board you will have the opportunity to cast almost all existing Bahamut Summons essentially for free! With the right support, I believe this card has the opportunity to see lots of play and make casting Bahamut Summons the choice for decks like mono fire!

Shiva 11-034R

1 CP Ice Summon, Category FFTA

EX BURST Choose 1 dull Forward. Deal it 6000 damage. If your opponent has received 5 points of damage or more, deal it 9000 damage instead.

Micael: A very interesting card. While Opus X introduced the Damage keyword, this card seems to be the reverse of that, focusing on the damage your opponent has been dealt instead. The potential 9k for 1 sounds like great value but unfortunately this card won’t do you a lot of good early game since 6k is often just not enough. While the Ex-Burst might not be enough early game to kill an opposing forward, it might bring it into range for Glasya Labolas to finish it (+ discard of course). In limited, where forwards are far more important, a 1 cost removal sounds like a great weapon, especially in an element that usually lacks it.

Myles: What beautiful art for such a beautiful card. Featuring art direction from none other than Hideo Minaba, This 1 CP cost summon makes a very large contender for all ice decks. Choosing a dull forward makes this a great setup for punishing opponents that swing too wide or pushing damage in, anytime during the match. In the late game 9000 damage is incredible! What a versatile EX Burst! This card synergizes well with Snow 7-033R, being able to effectively snipe pieces off your opponent's board. This Shiva will be my card of choice to play before I cast Shiva (10-030H) meeting the requirements to freeze all of my opponents forwards. All for 5 CP total.

Patrick: I highly doubt Shiva will cut the mustard in Constructed play, at least in Standard. For L3 she might be another nice cheap Ice summon to activate Unei (10-023H), as Ice has usually a high % of forwards with come into play abilities, one would like to reenter play multiple times. For draft Shiva is a beast. A one CP summon that deals 6000 damage to a dull forward, allows your lower dorkier forwards to trade upwards. She also has the always lovely EX Symbol on the top right corner we appreciate so much (at least in our own decks). Depending on the quality of pack one opens, I can see myself first picking her quite often, cause even if we don’t end up drafting ice for our deck, as its usually fine to have 2-3 of colour EX in your deck in draft.

Nicolas: Here is a 1CP Summon that deals 6k to any dull Forward (even yours, just in case...). 6k is not that much, it does not kill many Forwards without support. However, the damage she deals are increased while your opponent is at least at 5 damages, reaching 9k which kills almost any Forward existing in the game. That mechanics is interesting as it does not rely on the damage you've taken but on your opponent ones! This card might be a powerful addition to any Ice aggro deck, as this kind of Deck easily deals the first damages but struggles to manage with opponent Forwards when the game lasts. This Shiva is a good way to definitely get rid of any Forward that became dull.

Nick: I love that Shiva is in this batch of spoilers because you now know 1 target for the next spoiler!  It is our first Summon for FFTA and I like the power of this card for its Rarity, stronger than its FFT version from Opus 1.  One of my favorite cards just released last set 10-132S Terra will love this card, making it a 1 CP 8000 damage Summon. The possibility to save you in late games by modifying its damage to 9000 Power to a dull forward makes the card feel real good and to me stays on theme with pushing what we have seen a lot in this set so far – using damage as a resource.

Black Waltz 3 11-031C

2 CP Ice Forward, Category IX, Job Black Mage

When Black Waltz 3 is put from the field into the Break Zone, select 1 of the 3 following actions, “Your opponent discards 1 card from their hand.” “Choose 1 dull Forward. Deal it 7000 damage.” “Choose 1 Ice Summon in your Break Zone. Add it to your hand.”

Micael: Multimodal cards are always interesting due to their versatility and this new Black Waltz 3 is no exception. On block it can uptrade with a 10k forward who was very probably more expensive than 2CP. Should you have 3CP lying around you could bring back a Glasya Labolas to do the same thing AND make your opponent discard a card. Being a 2-cost forward means that, in a Fire/Ice deck you could use Phoenix 3-020H to bring him back and block to get his effect again. Should there be no good targets for those options, you can still make your opponent discard. Unfortunately, his 3k body will mean that most AoE effects will outright kill him but hey, that’s how you get to activate his ability.

Myles: At face value, it is a 2cp chump blocker that can recoup its cost, force a trade with a non-brave 10k it's blocking, or rid the opponent of a resource to discourage or disable further pressure. The trade-forcing and discard effects are a nice boon, but not too powerful; it serves a similar purpose to existing 2-drop forwards (Argath and Babus come to mind) of punishing or disabling aggression or pressure. I have mixed feelings, however, on it being able to recoup its own cost. I wouldn't say it's TOO powerful, but I'd certainly say it's powerful enough that I can't think of reasons why I'd run other 2-cost forwards with similar abilities over Black Waltz.

Patrick: Yet another Category IX forward. This one is pretty interesting. He has multiple different leaves play triggers compared to Palom (8-041H) who has an enter play trigger. Black Waltz's abilities are one a whole different power level though. Having your opponent discard a card, dealing 7000 damage to a dulled forward or getting a Ice Summon back into your hand, are all far more powerful. His ability to kill attackers with 10,000 power or getting back a Summon like Zalera, the Death Seraph (3-037H) will make him a staple in Draft and a great addition for certain Ice decks in Constructed.

Nicolas: Seeing this card I immediately thought ''This is an Ice 2CP Porom [9-115R]''. While it can only bring back Ice Summons, he can also block a Forward up to 10k power or increase pressure by making your opponent discard. He has no Ex Burst but he's a good Swiss Army Knife, you'll always find some value among these 3 effects. He can be countered with Yuna [1-176H] or Yuri but as a 2CP Forward you don't invest much in it, so this loss might be acceptable.

Nick: Black Waltz 3 is a relatively weak Forward with only 3000 Power, but its strength lies in leaving the field and has a lot of versatility to adapt to the situation at hand with the modes in its text.  This card does everything you want it to do in a Fire/Ice deck from slowing down your opponent by taking away their hand resources, to making your opponent think twice about attacking, to cheating damage.  To me this card feels like a 9-115R Porom built for Ice decks by removing the ex-burst and instead giving you multiple options of how to play the card the way Ice likes to play.

And that’s everything for these spoilers! We’ll have more in a couple days, so be sure to check back here!