Cactuar Correspondence - Weekly FFTCG Chat 3/28/19

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.

This week we are joined by John Schreiner of EXP Plus!

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’s the biggest surprise from Opus VIII?

JOHN: The thing that was probably the biggest surprise personally was Duncan from FFVI getting a Legend card with brand new original art. After seeing all of the chibi art on the VI cards this set, I never expected that they would get the special art treatment. FFVI is my favorite and it isn't often that we get to enjoy new official art, I can't wait for the article with the full picture of this guy!

CHRIS: The biggest surprise so far for me is how great this set is as a whole from top to bottom. Unassuming legends all the way down to powerful staple level commons. Fantastic stuff!

ADAM: Right now, I’m of the opinion that there isn’t a single Legendary that isn’t really good and will be featured in a deck. I find that pretty surprising.

What archetype do you think takes the biggest step backwards?

JOHN: This is a tough question. It's a lot easier to think of all of the things that are stepping forwards! I think that Ice/Earth was a really potent element combination in Opus 7 that saw a lot of success in the hands of Hunter Nance and overseas at the German Crystal Cup, but that it didn't get as many new toys to play with as a lot of other elements and may fall a bit behind at least at the beginning of Opus 8. Decks seem to be trending towards more aggressive styles at least for now and I think that the strong cards that Ice and Earth got this set lend themselves more to other element combinations. It's early enough that I could just be horribly, horribly wrong.

CHRIS: As far as a step backwards, that's tough. I'll say Wind Water ONLY because it's an archetype that can go so many ways and with the addition of a lot of very powerful cards, it going to be difficult to get the right build without a ton of testing. But when it gets right...

ADAM: I think Mono Fire got better at the same time it got worse. New Aerith makes damage-based removal a little harder to run, and that Aerith can get to a place where Fire has extremely narrow ways to interact. They need a “break it” card beyond Cyan and Edgar, especially now that Edgar found a home as a backup.

Is there any one card that gets a big boost from past sets?

JOHN: I think this set has given cards that may have never seen play before a breath of life like Montblanc from Opus 2 who went from searching for nothing relevant to searching for the heart of Opus 8 Fire decks, Marche. Montblanc and Marche together give Fire a package of six solid EX burst slots including a backup that help them generate card advantage, which is always an issue for mono fire. Alexander from Opus 4 I think is also about to become a wind staple at least until the meta settles and we know how prevalent monsters are.

CHRIS: Oh look! A piece of low hanging fruit. I'll easily say the card(s) that got the biggest boost were Locke and Sabin. The addition of Edgar and Duncan have elevated these cards to heights that they haven't seen since early Opus V.

ADAM: I’m gunna cheat and say any Forward that is a Standard Unit. It looks like Warrior of Light is a real card.

Do you think the meta will play with Madeen and Ark?

JOHN: I think that Ultima and Zodiark are highly underplayed simply because of the flexibility of their cost being payable with any CP and their powerful unique effects. Zodiark has recently been showing how strong it can be in Kansas at the Petit Cup and at the German Crystal Cup. Madeen and Ark have similarly powerful effects but have more synergies than Zodiark and Ultima had. I absolutely think that people will be testing Madeen and Ark, but it may be a while before we see them make their way to a top table

CHRIS: Man, that's tough. I think a card like Ajido will help make it happen but they are expensive on their own. So I'm gonna say... maybe?

ADAM: They are their own line, all by themselves. If you play Water, you have some ways of filtering these out of your hand without losing card advantage, so I think the deck that plays them will have Water in it. I have no idea what the deck looks like, but I think it’s a definite yes.

If you could be drawn as a character by Yoshitaka Amano, who would you look like?

JOHN: If I could be drawn in the Amano style of any FF character, it would probably be the specific drawing of Locke from FFVI where he is relaxing on the ground next to a machine just looking super cool. Locke is my favorite character and that picture of him is the one they use for his page in the instruction booklet for the SNES copy of the game, and it has been my favorite ever since. I had never seen a style of art like Yoshitaka Amano's until I read that instruction booklet and as a kid I always thought that Locke was the coolest character in any game because of this picture. I found out at a young age that it is difficult to be an Amano character for Halloween.

CHRIS: If I could have Amano draw me in his style, first of all is he honored and however he made me look would Probably perfect so...i don't think I can pick a particular character.

ADAM: Mog, from VI. All I want to do is sit in a chair with a beverage and a fluffy smile on my face.