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Wingvern 6-059R

Wingvern 6-059R is a versatile Wind Monster that features several options for synergy with existing cards. This card has a straightforward ability and purpose: deal with large Forwards under your opponent's control. Wind has several ways to interact with large Forwards already, but a majority of those interactions check CP cost instead of power. Additionally, it is important to note that Wingvern does not deal damage to a Forward in any way, rather it simply breaks the character. This makes it a sensible way for a "ping" deck to work around cards like Minwu 1-171H, as well as Aymeric 6-106H.

Wingvern is a very affordable card from a CP perspective, as it only costs 2 to play. His ability costs one Wind CP and one generic CP, for a total of 4 CP overall. This is a very good rate for removing a Forward of power 9000 or more, especially considering we can manage the CP consumption over several turns.

Wind Forwards often have a tough time matching up to other Forwards. The Wind element specifically is the only element that cannot benefit from two "anthem" effects, as all other elements can. Maria 1-083H can partner up with any other of the Opus 1 cycle backups to give an opponent's Forwards +2000 CP, whereas Wind Forwards do not have a Wind-specific booster. Wingvern helps balance this a bit, and potentially exploits an opponent who plays several anthem effects to overpower their Forwards.

To maximize Wingvern's value, we have a few options. First of all, he is a Category Type-o Character. This means that Rem 3-072R can offer us recursion around our Wingverns that may have already flown off with a big Forward, and are now in our Break Zone. Because Wingvern only costs 2 CP, he plays nicely with Gau 4-123. Wingvern's ability does not require us to dull the card in order to activate it, which means if we were able to animate him into a Forward, we could attack and still pop his ability in the same turn. That makes Relm 4-144H and Kefka 4-147H appealing options. With these considerations, we built a deck where Wingvern would feel right at home.

This deck features the classic Yuna / Rikku / Paine package, as well as Type-o cards and other Monsters. For removal, we have Yuna as a soft-bounce option and Chaos, Walker of the Wheel to Break and sometimes remove from the game. Our Forwards are a little under-powered, but Malboro and Cloud of Darkness help navigate bad combat matchups. Wingvern is here to remove high-powered Forwards that pose the biggest threat. If we need to party attack, we have Leyak to forgive aggressive combat. 

With nine monsters, we have a statistically fair chance to always find something from Relm's EX ability. Additionally, with Mira, we can turn Wingvern (and our other Monsters) into 1 CP forwards. If we're playing an opponent who is all-in on big Forwards, we could even pop Wingvern's ability and then dull Mira to find another one in the same turn. And, we can bring Wingvern's back into play when Gau enters.

Overall, there is a lot to like about Wingvern. It offers us some of the most efficient Forward removal that we've seen in the game so far, if the conditions are met. It fits right at home with Wind decks, and potentially also with Monster decks. He definitely won't let your Forwards get bullied around by an opponent's overpowered Forwards, which makes this card a great fit in a build that needs those answers.