Cactuar Correspondence - Weekly FFTCG Chat 6/6/19

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.

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!

This week, we are joined by the Top 4 players at the Crystal Cup Ice: Matt Okimoto, Sam Tuell, Colin Kauflin, and winner Brian Bylicki!

What did you think of the decks at Crystal Cup Ice?

BRIAN: Most of the decks were pretty consistent to what we've seen in the past. You had your wind/waters, mono waters, wind/earths, some scions thrown in there too. I'd say the deck that caught me off guard the most was the mono earth deck I played in both swiss and top 32.

COLIN: From what I saw, the decks at Crystal Cup Ice were more of the same that I’ve been seeing. There were some spicy techs in some decks, notably a fun Zeromus in fire/ice. Everyone seemed to be playing good cards lol, nothing out of the norm.

SAM: I'm a little disappointed that people aren't trying anything too new, but with worlds on the line I wouldn't (didn't) either.

OKIMOTO: The Ice Crystal Cup was a blast! I traveled there with Brian (and the homie Greg Cole surprised us and showed up too!!) We were fortunate to get an airbnb with Sam, Chad, Jen, & Jacob! The Tampa locals are all a blessing and extremely fun to be around and room with! As far as the decks, none of them really surprised me outside of my Top 32 opponent and Michigan Local, Adam Brevick. His WoL/WoD deck was pretty cool and glad he was able to day 2 with it! Id say its pretty apparent that North American loves their Mono Water, Wind Earth, Fire Ice, and Wind Water decks.

Do you think the new King card helps make Type-O cadets a better deck?

BRIAN: Well, I definitely think hes better than the opus III king. A 2 cp 8k is pretty great and if you’re playing cadets you probably have a bunch of forwards on field already so his ETB is definitely relevant. Only downside is you are most likely pitching ace to play him, and he’s pretty important for the archetype.

COLIN: King will work really well with that Golbez Cadets deck we saw at Crystal Cup Water and is probably great S Fodder but probably a better Title card than Constructed.

SAM: Yes, but not enough. I have a Type-0 still together (my first starter) and a strong, cheap, neutral forward helps a ton. It also lets you play King in a wind/lightning only list.

OKIMOTO: This is hard to say without seeing more of the set. Light Ace makes 5cp King feel better than 4CP King, however 4 CP King being a 2cp 8k essentially seems real good if there is enough support in Opus 9

What are your thoughts on the new Ramuh and Glasya Labolas summon rulings?

BRIAN: Jeez, as if lightning needed this hahaha. This is incredibly strong for the ice lightning archetype. It makes Cid Raines (an already great card mind you) so much better in that deck. Seems like a pretty expensive play but you’re getting 11k damage on a target which is probably killing it and making them discard and you get a Forward. Seems good.

COLIN: Honestly thought that that is how they always worked. I just never really clarified whether it did or not. I’m glad the ruling was cleared up. This way the globe can hopefully start playing the same game despite language barriers.

SAM: I am a little upset it took so long to come out, but this ruling makes sense. It shouldn't have checked mid resolution as modal cards are supposed to "fuse the two effects into one".

OKIMOTO: I don't think this changes much about any of the modal effects other than Ramuh.

Are EX Bursts worth building a deck around, or are they a value trap?

BRIAN: I think it’s hard to build a deck around cards that are completely based on luck. I know there are cards like Fusoya, Ephemeral Summoner, and Seymor that can set things up but I think with the strong mill Rikku backup presence we see right now it isn’t really great.

COLIN: I love Ex Bursts, so I’m gonna quite biased in building decks around them. But they are definitely more of a crutch or liability at that point. You might as well just play better non exburst cards rather than rely on statistics and an aggressive opponent to blow them out of the water.

SAM: EX's are huge and can certainly be built around. Just don't be surprised when people stop swinging on you.

OKIMOTO: I think EX bursts are not worth building a deck around, however if 2 cards are similar in value but one has EX, I am more likely to high roll the EX card. I think people need to consider the # of EX in the deck when determining their lines of play. For example as Wind Earth if I have not seen an Earth 5cp Cecil 30 cards in I am way more likely to just take damage when my app attacks as an EX Cecil could turn the tempo in my favor. Another way to think about EX in deck building is Wind/Water, that deck naturally has a ton of EX so you can spend the first few turns building economy while allowing your EX to help you recover to setup Valefor/Fina turns.

If you win at your locals, what packs are you asking for in prize support?

BRIAN: We usually just stick with Opus VIII for now. Everyone is gunning for those foil Veritas and Finas, but if not that then Opus V for sheer value.

COLIN: Opus V still, because despite being common, I would like a foil Miner, but I don’t want to spend over 10 bucks for it. And in the meantime I could just end up getting a valuable legend.

SAM: Opus 5, Opus 8, Opus 7 (for foil Bartz) in that order. It might change with the new starters though.

OKIMOTO: If I win at locals I usually am asking for Opus 8 as that is the set we are drafting for the future Crystal Cups. I recommend to all my locals to save the packs they get so we can draft later without costing them money. This tends to work for my local scene.