Magic Numbers

Some numbers are just special: 7777HP in FFVII, 1000 damage in FFIX, levels that are a multiple of five in FFV. At first glance they just seem like normal numbers; but, as anyone who’s hit Lucky Sevens in FFVII, been killed by 1000 Needles in FFIX, or been wiped out by Level 5 Death in FFV can tell you, sometimes specific numbers are really important! The same is true in card games. Eleven is the highest opening hand you can have in Blackjack where there is no risk in hitting. Four toughness is the baseline for creatures in the Modern format of Magic: the Gathering. This is because the most common damage based removal, Lightning Bolt, deals three damage. Knowing these magic numbers and what they mean is key to both playing these games well and evaluating cards. You can’t properly evaluate cards unless you keep in mind their larger context. With that in mind, let’s take a looks at some of the magic numbers in the FF TCG that you should keep in mind while playing and building decks.

Let’s start with a magical CP cost: two. As has been noted on the RVA Returners Podcast, any two cost backup is playable. This is because two CP is the cost at which a card can be played by simply discarding a card of the same element. This makes two CP backups ideal plays as they don’t completely decimate your hand early and they are easy to play off of backups late. Since two is the sweet spot for early backups, you should evaluate every two CP backup in your elements if you’re trying to solve a problem. Sometimes narrow backups like Ranger will be the correct choice because Monster decks are running amok. Sometimes a backup like Scholar (5-102C) will be correct because a low to the ground aggro deck is especially vulnerable to 3000 damage. Your two cost backup slots are some of your most flexible, so don’t be afraid to jam in a targeted answer for a specific problem.

Three is another magical CP cost. Three is both the most vulnerable cost for a backup and also the cheapest you’ll pay for a truly game-breaking backup. Cards like Minwu and Fusoya completely alter the game the moment they come down. They are so dominant that almost every deck needs to gameplan for them. However, three cost backups can be broken by both Archer (1-088C) and Hecatoncheir (1-117R), two cards that see relatively high levels of play. So be careful when you build around a three CP backup. If you’re playing against an Earth of a Wind deck, maybe play a less valuable backup when your opponent has an Archer and see if they bite. Or play your Minwu when you want to attack so your opponent has less time to plan for it. Try to be conscious of the sorts of counters your opponent might try and then counter their counter.

CP costs aren’t the only space where we can find magic number. Certain power levels can also be especially significant. One such power level is 4000.  4000 power is the number where your forward will be given the One Punch Man treatment by the Dadaluma/Cactuar combo. If you’re playing a forward with 4000 power, you need that forward to provide value when it enters play, avoid Dadaluma’s targeting, or provide value when it dies. If you’re building around a card that does not meet those requirements, either play a lot of ways to pump that card up or don’t build around it at all. The more 4000 power forwards there are in your deck, the worse your vulnerability to this key interaction is. So be careful when stacking your deck with shrimps.

7000 is our next magical power level. 7000 is both a very common power level for three and four cost forwards and a very common damage amount for summons to deal. When you look at the list of playable cards that deal 7000 damage or reduce power by 7000 it’s kind of staggering: Ifrit (7-005C), Ramuh (7- 103C), Ramuh (6-102R) Glasya Labolas, Brynhildr, Lulu (7-020C), Lasswell, and the ever-present Fusoya (2-146H). Thanks to Fusoya being a Light card, every element has access to repeatable 7000 damage removal. Therefore, cards with 8000 power or more almost have a form of protection by virtue of their size. Let’s call it the Big Butt Benefit.  This dynamic incentivizes using power boosting backups to get above this key threshold. If you’re going to build around some 7000 power forwards, consider adding some backups or forwards that lift your key forward up a little. Maybe play a Rosa if you’re building around Kain (2-104R) or add a Maria (1-083H) if you’re using Chelinka. With this adjustment in mind, a counterplay to the incentive to get 8000 power might be to play forwards with 9000 power. They have the Big Butt Benefit and outsize the typical 7000 power forward pumped by a 1000 power boosting backup.

To finish up let’s touch on a bit of a magical threshold in forward costs: four versus five CP. There are a number of effects in Earth and Lightning that break forwards of cost four or less. This dynamic is inverted in Wind. Wind has multiple summons that only break forwards of cost five or more. Knowing this little quirk, you might want to play out your five cost forwards earlier against Lightning or Earth since it will be protected by its cost. Likewise, you might want to hold back your five cost forwards against Wind until you know your opponent can’t break it on the spot. Funnily enough, Diabolos plays both sides of this divide. I guess that’s why the Big Devil is the strongest summon in the game.

I think that keeping these key numbers in mind can lead us to some new decks that wind up on the right side of all of these inflection points. Are there any other magic numbers that you think are worth calling out?

Gino Grieco is a freelance writer. You can read his work on Giamtbomb and Waypoint. He co-hosts the "Deep Listens" podcast which can be found here. You can find him on Twitch, Youtube, and Twitter.