Let's Open Packs - Chapter Set 5

Glancing over Chapters cards is pretty tough when you don't read Japanese. However, opening packs that correspond to Opus sets gives us an interesting reference. Austin Archer found a few Chapter 5 packs online, picked them up, and tells us all about the experience of cracking them open.

 
 

I have to admit, I bought a few packs of chapters just for the fun of it, knowing they couldn’t be played and whatnot. After opening them though, it really made for some interesting thoughts. How could the game have been different, how the elements would have been changed, and why is Pupu named CeCe?!

As a side note, I know that it’s impossible to compare the two versions of the game. This is just a mere look into how things could have been different in the world we live in. Consider it a jump into The World of Ruin, Kefka-style.

chapters gau.png

Element swaps

One of the first things I noticed was just how many popular Opus cards were element switched. Take Gau 4-123H for instance. In the chapters series, Gau is a 4 cost Earth Forward with 8k power with the same +1k per monster buff, but he is missing the monster recursion from his Opus version. His special is the same cost as Opus Gau 4-123H, but 2 Earth cp instead of 1 Water, and breaks all forwards with cost inferior to the number of monsters you control! I heard Chapters was powerful, but c'mon, the World of Ruin is truly unforgiving! You can board wipe with Chapters Gau, with almost no downside. 

I think we have a much more balanced card in Gau 4-123H, but I do think this would have been an interesting card if it was left in the Earth element as opposed to Water. This could have been an extremely interesting piece in Earth / Wind decks. But alas, Gau typically only plays with Water decks primarily in the Opus decks.

Now for the case of one of my personal favorite cards, Locke 4-048L, we see another element change but also a completely different concept of card. Now, currently this card is really good: it’s an Ice staple and can really change the look of a game if he is able to get in damage one or two times. But, if we look at his Chapters version, we see the world that could have been. First off, Locke is a Wind Forward, which I think fits him much better than his Opus equivalent. He seems much more aligned with the Wind element than Ice, but I guess you can’t have it all in Chapters, though it would have been real nice to see the VI package in wind. That being said, he is a 3cp 6k wind forward that cannot be chosen by your opponents effect during their turn.

chapters locke.png

Now this is quite spicy, as you make the opponent find answers during their turn. This typically will make them have to play more reactive and can throw stall their game. In Chapters, instead of causing your opponent to discard when he deals damage, Locke returns a Backup from your break zone and brings it to hand when he deals damage.  In true Treasure Hunter fashion, that is crazy value, and it allows you to have extra lines of play to put out more Forwards or play Summons. Break your Archer 1-088C to get rid Minwu 1-171H or Fusoya 2-146H and then do it again. He still has the same Mirage Dive special to allow this to happen!

I personally think this card should have been in the Opus series as it doesn’t seem to overpowered and plays a little more into the flavor of his overall character.

no changes for the best

There are a ton of of other cards that have been altered from the Chapter series to the Opus series that have led to the game we have today. Maybe I’ll splurge a little in the future and grab some more Chapters packs to do another article, but until then, I leave you with this. Because nothing is better than CeCe.