Cactuar Correspondence - Weekly FFTCG Chat 7/10/19

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 from the Lightning Crystal Cup: Zaiem Ahmad, Kyle Peters, Kevin Witherow, and winner Matthew Okimoto!

What deck did you bring to the Crystal Cup Lightning, and why?

OKIMOTO: I played Mono Loepz (AKA Mono Ice)! I played this deck because leading up to the event I didn't have much time to brew anything new and I really liked Chris's deck from the Kansas CC. I hit him up Thursday asked if he didn't mind sharing updates and he gladly shared and even talked matchup with me and card choices. Big shoutout to Lopez, Kyle, and PZ (Project Zodiark) for the help on the deck for this event.

ZAIEM: I decided to stick with what I am most comfortable with which is Mono Water. It is my favorite element and I have had success using the deck by winning the US Octgn Open and an LQ also. Then played in the RVA octgn event and won it as well. So was feeling very good with it.

KYLE: Earth/Wind splashing Ice. My win rate with the deck was absurd. It felt like the only meta weakness has been mono water since the beginning of opus 8. I almost played Mono Ice, now I'm going to get a hard time from Oki, Lopez, and Snodgras for not since Oki won!

KEVIN: I brought mono Water Fusoya. I felt it was a really strong option to take due to its deck manipulation, reliable control elements, high value plays, and large board swings.

What was the toughest match you played on the day?

OKIMOTO: My toughest match was against Mohammad in the limited on Day 2 where he drafted an entire Mono Water deck! My toughest constructed match had to of been him as well in the Finals with so much on the line and him being undefeated the entire event, it definitely had me pumped for the match. TLDR: Mohammad was the endgame boss for my entire weekend.

ZAIEM: The draft game vs oki R1 was down to the wire with 0 card left in deck. That was a hard one. In constructed, playing vs Kyle Peter in top 4 against his earth wind variant also was challenging. Both are great players and I enjoyed playing them both and hanging out with them and others as well.

KYLE: I played Brian Lue in Swiss on his Ice/Earth Scale Toad deck. I've played that deck. It has a very good matchup against Earth/Wind, so I was hoping my Ice cards changed things. In the end, I won with decking. We did the post game "what could have been done differently" and it was so interesting to see the lines that could've been taken.

KEVIN: It was a toss up between my first round of Top 8 and my first round of draft. Both very long back and forth games with a lot of volatile turns. There was also a golbez deck on day 1 of swiss. That was scary. Thank you leviathan.

How was draft?

OKIMOTO: Draft was extremely fun, well ran (Shoutout to Sam Prime, Gabe, and Andrew for running the entire draft with no issues, big props) and I love mixed format events. I really feel it tests players at all aspects of the game. Card Evaluation, Deck constructed, Deck/Card Synergy, and everything!

ZAIEM: I somehow got to run Mono Water again, felt great. Opened Zidane pack one, so that was an easy choice. Also water was very open, everyone was heavy after Ice/Fire and Earth... but no one wanted Water. Garnet was MVP. Early Zidane’s always good pressure and garnet helps it survive against all the summons that usually kill him. Finally Astrologian is a power house in an all water deck. Finally white mage being standard unit helped a lot as well. Overall draft was really fun but i have a lot to learn since I have little experience in it.

KYLE: 4 people in my draft pod made Top 8. I drafted Fire/Lightning splash Ice, went 2-2. I really wish we could add another round somewhere, maybe in constructed, because the 4-3s that make day 2 have a horrible chance at Top 8ing. If you make day 2 and can't Top 8, that's pretty disappointing, especially if you 4-0 draft. I also dislike cross pod drafting, because I like knowing the power level of my pod and having what cards I seen in the draft mattering.

KEVIN: Scary. I've practiced draft before, but most of my deck building experience going into this comes from sealed so I had no idea how this was going to go. Luckily things went smoothly.

What opinions do you have on the penalties and controversy?

OKIMOTO: This is a hot topic and I personally feel as long as we are following the current ruling guidelines then that’s how it should be handled. If we disagree with the current ruling guidelines then we should speak up and see what SE/HJ think about changing them because they are pretty responsive to how the community feels. What I want is a database system that tracks these penalties so it becomes easier to punish when they continuously happen for future events for the players.

ZAIEM: Since this is still an ongoing investigation and discussion is still occurring among those in authority, lets wait to see and hear from them. We don’t know all details and so I don’t feel it’s appropriate to answer based on 2nd hand information.

KYLE: Context matters. That being said, I did see the Scion player having 1 on 1 time personally apologizing to his previous opponents. The other penalties given in the event were as expected and explained thoroughly.

KEVIN: Uh, pass… jk! I feel proper penalties are important to ensure the competitive expectations remain upheld. The severity of the penalty is always difficult to figure out however. A lot of “what if”s and what's presented.

Which spoiler from Opus IX do you think will have the biggest impact at this point?

OKIMOTO: Gabranth - Art is Top Tier

ZAIEM: Porom. Im not saying this just cause I play water, the card seems really really good. Seems easy to abuse and I def am looking forward to trying it as well. In addition the apoilers from this weekend for lighting legend and ice seem really fun and interesting as well.

KYLE: The two cards I'm likely to build around first are Ifrita and Vayne. There is a lot to digest from this new set still though.

KEVIN: Larsa gets my vote. With a lot of large scale damage abilities the card is absurd - cards like Fina, Valefor, and now Chaos Mobius. Especially since it only has to tap itself. It also negates combat damage too, like hello!? Why is this okay?