Final Fantasy Trading Cards Games
Producer's blog 2020-07-13 11:24:03

From the Producer Special Vol. 10: “Opus XII: Crystal Awakening” Preview Recap


2020 04/producerblog vol1 desktop

Hello, everyone. FF-TCG Producer Tarou Kageyama here. Recently, we provided updates on our upcoming plans including the “Opus XII: Crystal Awakening” release date, scheduled for November 6th. There’s still some time to go, but it’s great to know that we now have a better outlook for the release date. Therefore, in this column, I’d like to take a moment to recap the cards that have been introduced thus far through our “Card of the Week” articles. It might be interesting to hear someone else talk about the cards previously introduced by RB and Tim.


Yuna [12-105L]*

(*Full art version available in every sealed box of Opus XII)

RB introduced this card which holds an ability related to party formation, but there will be several other cards in this set with abilities that suggest forming a party. Therefore, more than ever, we should expect to see situations where parties are formed to attack.

Additionally, when Multi-Element Forwards are used to form a party, all Forwards need to share either one of the elements. For example, when you have a Fire, Fire/Ice, and Fire/Water Forward, they are all Fire element cards, so you can consider them to be the same element in forming a party to attack. Alternatively, when you have a Fire, Water, and Fire/Water Forward, the Fire and Water Forwards do not share an element, so a party cannot be formed. It’d be good to keep this in mind.


Amaterasu [12-005H]

Tim introduced this Summon which will be making its first appearance in FF-TCG. It’s essentially a new type of Summon; not only does it cancel the effect of an auto-ability, if the cancelled auto-ability triggered from a Forward, it can deal that Forward 8000 damage. Even if the auto-ability isn’t triggered by a Forward, as long as it’s an auto-ability, it can be cancelled. There are endless possibilities for use against commonly used cards like Shantotto [1-107L], Zidane [3-056H], and Star Sibyl [5-091H], as well as some from the most recent set like Marche [11-017H], Ritz [11-063L], Nyx [11-097H], and Sephiroth [11-130L] among others.

Furthermore, when the ability is used against Princess Sarah [11-128H], it keeps a Light Backup on the field, making it difficult to follow with a Light/Dark Forward, so there are also ways to use this card to largely hinder your opponent’s plan. There is no doubt that we should expect to see a wide range of use for this card. 

Additionally, Gen Kobayashi, the artist responsible for this card’s illustration, also created original artwork for other Summons, so I hope you look forward to seeing those as well.


Selh’teus [12-112L]

This one was introduced by me, and it’s quite splendid being the first Multi-Element card in FF-TCG that also features an original illustration by Ryoma Ito. Multi-Element cards require two elements to place on the field, so it’s more difficult than Single-Element cards in that regard, but its effect is set that much higher to correspond with the costs that need to be paid. When Selh’teus [12-112L] is placed on the field, it allows you to place another Forward onto the field. At most, you will be able to place a 5CP Forward, so it essentially gives you a good deal when placing Forwards onto the field. There are 18 Multi-Element cards in total, so I hope you look forward to the others as well.


Lani [12-018H]

This is the second card RB introduced, and it’s from FINAL FANTASY IX, featuring an original illustration from Toshiyuki Itahana. This character will be making its first appearance in FF-TCG. There are many first appearances in “Crystal Awakening,” so it really makes it worthwhile to introduce them.

Lani [12-018H] makes your opponent remove the top card of their deck from the game and enables you to use the card. It removes the card face down so your opponent will not know what has been removed. If you are able to steal one of their key cards for which only one single card is included in their deck, that alone may create a great advantage for you. Toshiyuki Itahana illustrated one other card this set, in addition to Lani [12-018H], so perhaps it’ll be fun to predict what other character he may have illustrated.


Emet-Selch [12-024H]

Tim introduced the card featuring Emet-Selch, the character from FINAL FANTASY XIV. He is a very popular character among FFXIV players, but I also feel like his abilities will make it a popular card. It goes without saying that he is extremely strong when a player has already taken 5 damage points, but I personally feel like the first ability is also quite strong. It can be assumed that the card is vulnerable to being removed from the field by an opponent, but on the contrary, it can also be assumed that it is extremely difficult to completely remove this card from the game. After 5 damage points, an opponent will always need to contemplate over the balance between the advantages from removing him and the disadvantages from his return. That said, these types of cards are something that cannot be fully understood until they are actually used in tournaments and events, so please give him a try when the set releases.


Galuf [12-056H]

This card aimed to recreate his eponymous scene and ended up with an ability that can be considered as pretty strong for FF-TCG as well. I’m thinking about creating a deck that repeatedly unleashes its Special Ability for Gunslinger matches, but I’m currently contemplating between making an Earth/Lightning or Earth/Wind deck. More so, I’m hoping we can get back to enjoying Gunslinger matches, that is, events in general soon.


Bonus

Now, I’d like to introduce one new card, separate from the “Card of the Week” articles here today – Dragoon [12-089C] featuring an original illustration by Rubi Asami.


The card reads: “When Dragoon enters the field, you may reveal any number of Job Dragoon or Card Name Dragoon from your hand. When you reveal 1 or more, Dragoon gains Haste until the end of the turn. In addition, when you reveal 4 or more, choose 1 Forward. Break it.” Although revealing 4 cards may be quite difficult, it does give you an urge to try this out since it allows you to break a Forward you choose unconditionally, regardless of its cost or conditions. The design also differs slightly between the Standard version and the Full Art version, so I hope everyone also enjoys that aspect of the card.  

I’d like to close out this column around here. Until next time!