Cactuar Correspondence - Weekly FFTCG Chat 12/20/18

let's talk fftcg!

Every week, there is something new to discuss and analyze in this game. In this feature, we answer your questions and respond to recent developments, new meta decks, specific cards we like or don't like -- you call it, we'll answer.

If you want to join the conversation, send us your thoughts! We would also love to hear the questions you have next week, so please shoot us a message at Facebook or on Twitter. Thanks for reading!

What is the best summon in the game, right now?

HUNTER: Easily Diabolos and not really close. One of the struggles other NA people had for Worlds was trying to play multiple decks but not having to split Diabolos. It was already probably the best summon in the game but Yuri and subsequently Mono Wind being playable really push it over the edge into just being absurd.

CHRIS: I'd have to say the best summon in the game has to be Diabolos (L). It has so much diversity and can be useful in a wide variety of situations. All of its options are useful in any combination.

DANNY: There are a lot of impactful summons that either generate so much value or swing so much tempo it's almost hard to pick just one. Summons such as Valefor (1-198s), Phoenix (3-020H) Chaos, Walker of the Wheel (3-071H) and Pupu (4-128) require card synergy to get maximum value (mostly in the name of Yuna), but are all incredibly efficient when they combo out. As a stand alone summon, my top three goes in ascending order, Hecatoncheir (4-093R) for its cheap cost and ability to punish the opponent for stalling too long and leaving a big body on the board. Ramuh (6-102R) as it almost single-handed took monster control out of the meta, as well as the overall utility it brings.

In first place is Diabolos (5-062L). It gives wind serious firepower and is incredibly useful in a variety of situation. Turns out, choices are good. It's a card that needs to be played around, and if it isn't, it seriously punishes the opposing player or generate huge tempo turns.

ADAM L: This one is pretty easy I think. I'd be surprised if many people say something other than Diabolos. It just does too much. It’s essentially free for starters and all the effects are pretty nuts. Just straight up breaking a 5 CP by itself isn’t great. Lets look at Opus IV Alexander who does that very thing and is a burst. This sees zero play. However you’d be hard pressed to find a Wind deck that doesn’t run 3 Diabolos. Combining effects together is really powerful and being able to use any of its effects and making it free on 5 backups is just insane.

Why does Mono Lightning feel so underpowered?

HUNTER: I played Mono Lightning with Seymour (who I originally thought would be the best card in Opus VII) at one of the SOLDIER Series and got absolutely demolished. The reason for this is that it is horrendous against Yuri since he can just be dulled in response so your "active" effects are useless and so you will get absolutely drowned in card advantage vs Yuri decks and it is also surprisingly bad against Mono Water Fusoya despite having lots of tools for dealing with small forwards. The reason it is so bad against Mono Water is that Fusoya is very good vs most of your forwards, Leviathans are very good against Estinien, sometimes they play Minwu, and a lot of the time your forwards just line up really awkwardly due to them either not dealing enough or dealing too much making it so that when you put your Onion Knights or Black Waltzes in they're usually just coming in as mediocre forwards rather than killing or finishing something off. That said, Cid and Mid are both very good and I think the new Emperor 5 drop is alright (I thought he was much better before I played with him, but he still isn't bad).

CHRIS: I don't think Mono L is underwhelming at the moment, I just think it's the most predictable. Players typically know how to play around Al-Cid at this point and know what forwards are the targets for removal. I'll never say the deck is bad though.

DANNY: Mono Lightning was one of the best mono color decks since Opus 2. (Read: Al Cid 2-097H). It was the best tempo play in the game and still remains one of the best. However, it has become more readily countered and thus Mono Lightning took a hit. Currently, it's in a weird place as its speed and tempo are not quite figured out yet. I think Mono Lightning is looking to go in a different direction as a more control based color or as a highly aggressive color, as I find the mid-range style has fallen off a bit. Opus VII brings Cid Previa (7-095H) which can provide fantastic ramp potential and needs to be explored more. Ramuh (7-103C) allows lightning to better handle problematic 7k forwards that are ability resistant such as Ashe (2-121H), Y'Shtola (5-068), and Zidane (6-044L) and also acts as a major EX burst. The Emperor (7-091H) can be an absolute blowout and lets not forget about Coeurl (7-089), a card that makes combat an absolute nightmare and also eats Cactuars and Leyaks for breakfast.

ADAM L: I'm not sure if it’s that underpowered. Its definitely not top tier or anything but it can still be very good. I think the main issue is a lot of cards that Lightning has access to do pretty particular things. We have a lot of cards now and the meta is wide open so its hard for a lightning deck to cover everything being played. Ramuh is still nuts but the power level of Al-Cid has gone down quite a lot over the past few sets just due to the summons that have been printed. I do think that Azul is pretty good right now so if you haven’t you should give that a try.

Are 1 CP backups worth it? Why or why not?

HUNTER: If you're playing Cid (II) then they're insane. Otherwise they're pretty bad. I've tried to explain this many times, but basically the value of a backup is 2 CP and then also gives you some small upside (like an action ability you can use later or a small field ability).. The advantage of a 1 drop backup is basically that you are netting half a card by playing it off of another backup because a backup is "worth" 2... but you are also losing the utility you get off of 2 drop backups and because you can't sacrifice them playing too many may make it hard to get down under 5 backups for high impact backups like Shantotto. But that said, this advantage of getting a 1 cost backup is exactly the same advantage as playing a 3 drop tutor backup.. but the difference is that a 3 drop tutor backup in addition to the inherent card advantage of you only spending net 1 CP on a backup you are also getting card selection by getting to discard your worst card and dull 1 backup to get whatever your best tutor target is, which will almost always improve your hand (for example, in Ice/Earth it improves the consistency of getting Dadaluma + Terra a lot or a second Celes or Locke for their special, etc). Additionally the 3 drop tutor backups often have tribal benefits like being a FF VI character of being a FF IX character. One last point is that in order to play a 1 drop backup off another backup that first backup needs to be the same element, whereas with the 3 drops you can just discard a card of that element instead. So basically you should almost never play 1 drop backups unless you have a good reason (like Cid (II)) because if you want an efficient odd costed backup that costs net 1 CP then you should just play whatever 3 cost tutor backup works with your deck since it gives you more card advantage, the category will often matter, and it gives you more flexibility on how to pay for it.

CHRIS: I think the 1 CP backups are clearly amazing in a deck that uses Cid II. Otherwise I think they are decent. It really depends on your deck and how much you are trying to ramp.

DANNY: I consider 1 CP backups to be essential in mono color decks, as well as very good in Lulu control and heavy aggro decks. They provide efficient backup ramp and are totally worth the card slots. I would say colors such as fire and lightning gain the most from 1 CP backups. Also, they’re a key part of Grand Cross lightning decks and obviously synergize well with CID II (6-045H). Colors such as wind and water may opt not to use them as their backup selection is full of immense value already but they can compliment any deck.

ADAM L: I think 1 CP backups are very good. Cid II is another insanely powerful card and requires 1 CP backups to be played in order for him to work. I do think outside of Cid II however its hard to find room for 1 CP backups in current decks and some decks just have better ways of ramping. Just look at a new card that lightning got in the form of Cid Previa.

If Kageyama-san asked you to design one card with this metagame in mind, what would it be?

HUNTER: I think it might be nice to have a narrow but somewhat efficient card for breaking Light characters as they're really popular and good right now. I wouldn't want it to be too insane of a card advantage swing to play it but I also wouldn't want it to feel completely awful to draw it in matchups where it is useless (like Shadow Lord)… so maybe something like 3 Dark 7k when it enters the field choose 1 Light Character your opponent controls, you may pay 2 (colorless), if you do then destroy that character. (As for what character it would be I dunno why not make it the 5000th Emperor?)

CHRIS: It would be a card that grants spot evasion. Similar to a card like Dive Down or Blossoming Defense in MTG. There are a lot of abilities and summons that can just be a blow out and being able to protect and buff a forward are things we don’t have a lot of.

DANNY: Tough question, but a card that I think would be fun would be a summon that misdirected the special/action ability of a opposing character. Something like a 2-3cp summon that allows you to pick the target of a ability on the stack. Would make cards such as Dadaluma and Yuri a bit less mindless. Also just a neat mechanic.

ADAM L: This is tough. I quite like the meta right now as things are pretty wide open, IMO. Sure, there are some pretty clear top tier decks but a lot of decks can win an event right now. That being said, I would want to give Fire a powerful card that is proactive and gets some value immediately. Maybe a forward Irvine that can break a forward if it costs less that the number of cards if your hand. For example If you have 4 cards in hand you can break a 3 cost forward. I just think that one thing that could make fire really good is to give them some sort of straight break effect either that or a way to destroy backs that’s not super expensive.

You get to live in one town from any Final Fantasy game, and it won’t ever get destroyed / invaded / etc. What town would you live in?

HUNTER: At first I thought the obvious answer was Fisherman's Horizon from FF VIII, but then if you think about it this is kind of a bad answer. To get anywhere you have to take a loooong train ride or take a boat and it really is a small town with not many amenities to offer. But it is so nice and relaxing.. But maybe I'd prefer something like Esthar where everything you could possibly need is nearby and the city is just huge and efficient and 'futuristic'. Next I thought that I could maybe see Luca or Zanarkand from FFX as they both seem like a nice size and yet still relatively laid back... but then I realized the real best option is Altissia from FFXV. It seems like just the better version of Fisherman's Horizon--Stunning city, lots of impressive looking restaurants and bars, and the boat ride or train ride to get to another big city doesn't seem nearly as bad as it does for Fisherman's Horizon.

CHRIS: Hmm. There are a lot of dope choices... but it would probably have to be... The Golden Saucer!!! I know, I know it's not a town in the traditional sense, but I just think it would be a lot of fun, like the FF equivalent to Las Vegas.

DANNY: Besaid Island from FFX. Who wouldn't want to live on a tropical island with crystal clear water, and all the blitzball one could ever desire.

ADAM L: Another Tough question. I guess it would have to be Treno. Where else can I buy cool stuff and play card games whenever I want?