FFTCG Opus VIII Spoiler Discussion #4

Happy spoiler season Mysidians! I am back with some more spoiler’s discussion for the upcoming Opus VIII set.

In this article I will break down my thoughts on each spoiler. Keep in mind that it is very hard to judge cards without seeing the entire set, and even then, some cards can be hard to predict. If you have alternate opinion to mine, that is great! Please share them in the comments so that we can all learn from more perspectives. I have sorted the cards by how they were spoiled. All of my information is from the sources themselves, and the Zodiac Braves, who are compiling a full Opus VIII spoiler list here.

There has been a pretty sizable increase in spoilers in the recent weeks, which is natural as the set release approaches. This week I am going to sort my spoilers by category. I think we have had some pretty relevant Title Format cards spoiled, so I will cover some of those cards today.

You can also check out my previous Spoiler Discussion articles below.
Opus VIII Spoiler Discussion 1
Opus VIII Spoiler Discussion 2
Opus VIII Spoiler Discussion 3

​FFVI

Edgar 8-005C (Spoiled by RVA Returners)

Pretty simple card to start off with, this card could see play in a Fire/Ice FFVI build, as it can help your Setzer, Locke, and Terra stay out of Fusoya range. Overall it won’t see a lot of play in constructed, as it takes up an all-important Backup slot.
 
Title Implications:
This card will be very important for FFVI Title. Title matches can often feature very large board states and having an attacker getting through is pretty important. Sabin being able to attack for as high as 11k is very relevant (especially since he can’t be broken). This card will also be fantastic fodder for the Forward Edgar’s Special Ability, Drill.

Sabin 8-019C (Spoiled by Ludus Distributors)

I am actually pretty intrigued by this card. Fire has a lot of ways to combo with ping like this to finish off forwards. With the new Edgar Backup out, this will easily ping for 4K damage, as well as, swing for 6k. This card could party attack with Emperor Xande or the new Rain card that was recently spoiled to ping a forward to death. I think the more likely application for this card will be to combo with Fire summons or Fire ETBs like Vivi, Zell, and Firion.
 
Title Implications:
In Title this card can combo with the Forward Edgar to hit for 6K. It also has synergy with Terra (1-047R), General Leo, Shadow, Celes, and Dadlumas’ ping abilities. I don’t know how easy it will be to set those abilities up, but it is likely this guy will already be pinging for 4K with the new Edgar in play, so it has the potential to trade up at the very least. Will definitely see play in Title.

Setzer 8-036C (Spoiled by FFTCG Indonesia)

EX Burst Backup with a break zone search effect? Not bad, although it is hard to believe this will displace the Forward Setzer’s utility for setting up consistently each game. VI does have some very strong forwards that you want to bring back from the break zone. This card would make it easy to bring a Locke back to your hand in order to use a Mirage Dive to end the game, but then again, Scholar also has that utility and costs 2 CP. EX Bursts that add a card to your hand are strong, as Wind/Water decks have shown, although it is nicer when it comes from your deck and you don’t have to draw it later on. I think this card might see some trial but won’t replace the Setzer we know and love.
 
Title Implications:
Awesome Title card, easy include in any VI deck as it just adds a Forward from your break zone to your hand. EX Burst is great value.

​Strago 8-119C (Spoiled by Flagship Games)

Gladiator sees a lot of play and has revived a lot of Vikings (and some Knights). This card does the same thing, but for Relm in a Water Monster deck. Every time you revive Relm you will likely draw another card (so it will act similar to Gladiator-Viking), and you can keep turning monsters into weapons. We have a lot of new monsters this set, so I think we will see a lot of monster decks. This card will be fantastic in those decks.
 
Title Implications:
There is only one Monster so far in category VI, (Deathgaze (5-063H), so you won’t be playing Relm, let alone this version of Strago.

FFVII

Yuffie 8-064H (Spoiled by Germany Ice Crystal Cup)

“If you control 3 or more Category ______” sure sounds like a Title card to me, but note, this card specifies Characters, and not just Forwards. If you are playing FFVII backups, then her condition is easy to fulfil. Earth/Wind FFVII might be a thing in Opus VIII, which means you are likely playing Aerith and Jessie on your Backup line. If that is the case, you only need one other FFVII Forward out for Yuffie to be a 2 CP 7K Haste Forward. Her second ability is not conditional and will combo well with some of Wind’s AOE abilities. This card could also see play in a Wind/Lightning build, especially if the Turks turn out to be rad.
​
Title Implications:
This card will almost always have its conditional abilities active in Title making it a great addition to FFVII Title decks as it effectively swings for 8K (including its 1K ping). This card will combo with Cloud (4-145H) and Ramuh to make them ping for 8K. It also has synergy with Angeal Penance, meaning your opponent has to be careful or you will come in and break a Forward if Yuffie is on the board ready to go.

FFIX

​Deathgaze (IX) 8-056R (Spoiled by Josephyr)

This card is nuts, and is great at 3 CP. That isn’t a crazy amount to pay for remove from game removal, and a lot of Monster removal options target 2 CP cost or less Monsters. This card will force players to include more removal cards like Dragon, Alexander (4-052C), Nacht, Ranger (7-048C), and Odin (5-100H).
I do think we will see even more Monster removal printed, so that Limited doesn’t get out of hand, but also so deck variety can increase. Fire and Water will need Monster removal options for 3 drops this set or this card will be bananas in those matchups.
 
Title Implications:
FFIX Title will be amazing this set, due to a few cards that have been printed, but Deathgaze in particular has me interested. Of the card listed above that can break him, only Dragon sees regular play in Title. Sin in FFX is another card that you might have to look out for, but generally if you get Deathgaze down in a Title match, he isn’t getting removed. This is all contingent on what other Monster removal we see printed.

​​Whale Zombie 8-127C (Spoiled by Ban’s FF Corner)

I do not remember this enemy existing in FFIX, but I’ll take it! The card cycles itself, which isn’t as useful in FFTCG as it is in say, MTG. But cycling a card and playing a Monster can be very relevant in Monster decks, which is one of the reasons why Schrodinger’s Cat has seen lots of play. The second ability can also be very useful for ensuring your future turns are set up. This also combos with the Light Yuna, the Opus VII Vanille, or Seymour.
 
I think this card could even see play in Water decks without a Monster theme… maybe. If you play it early, this decaying whale replaces itself in your hand and can help you find Backups to set up efficiently. This card is a CP loss if you play it off discarding, and it doesn’t affect the board at all. The card just doesn’t add anything past deck sorting without Monster synergy and there are a lot of other cards you will want to fit in your deck instead. It could be an interesting way of reducing your Backup count, on the merit that it could also help sort for Forwards or Summons late game.
 
Title Implications:
This might be useful to FFIX Title decks for the same reasons I listed above, but FFIX doesn’t have any Monster synergy to work with this zombie fish.

FFXI

Ramuh 8-104C (Spoiled by FFTCG Europe)

At 5 Backups, this card will hit for 10K to an active Forward. This will be super relevant as an EX Burst, but the cost is high to play normally. Lightning already has a lot of removal options on its Forwards, so you don’t need to run a big removal Summon. I don’t think this will replace the 3 or 4 CP Ramuh’s, as the 3 CP has tremendous utility, and the 4 CP has power reduction.
 
Title Implications:
The first of many new FFXI SUMMONS! This is something I have been eagerly been anticipating, as I would really like to play FFXI Title, and Summons would help it become a stronger deck. However, each Summon has a theme dependant on having the same Element Backups or Characters. While Shantotto will count as whichever element you need, there are not that many Lightning Backups to work with for Ramuh, he won’t see much play. At the time of writing, Destin is the only XI Lightning Backup. With Shantotto and Destin out, Ramuh will be 7K to an active Forward. It isn’t terrible, and the EX Burst is nice, but it isn’t very powerful either.

Leviathan 8-130C (Spoiled by FFTCG Europe)

It is the hype snake himself, Leviathan! This guy saw quite a bit of praise when he came out, and rightfully so. The condition is easier to fulfill than the other FFXI Summons, since it mentions Characters rather than Backups. In Mono Water this will range from helping out with trades, to straight up single target removal, something Water didn’t do well previously. It isn’t unreasonable for this to get to 8K damage reduction every game. The cards good.
​
Title Implications:
There are 4 Water Characters in XI: Pieuje, Claidie, Curilla, and the new Shamonde P Grauche. Shantotto will also count as a Water Character, making this a 5K power reduction. Considering that two of the Characters are Forwards, and Pieuje currently only searches for himself, this Leviathan won’t be consistent enough to see play in Title. People may try to run it as a combat trick, but I think it needs more support before it is Title ready. These new FFXI summons also compete with each other, making it more likely you will play Titan over this card, considering the cards that are commonly ran in a FFXI deck.

Titan 8-077C (Spoiled by Axroche TCG Boutique)

This card is competing with Carbuncle and Golem Summons. Once you are set up however, it is always better than Golem (if you are playing Mono Earth, which I am). It will also be nicer than Carbuncle, since you would need to cast Carbuncle 3 times to match this dude. Carbuncle has other applications, so Titan isn’t a straight replacement for it. I like running Golem as a one-of in my Mono Earth, this will definitely steal its spot in my list.
​
Title Implications:
Earth has 5 Backups in Title, so this card can see it’s full potential. I think this card will be great in Title. It isn’t a terrible EX Burst and it combos with Grav’iton as well. At 1 CP it is easy to cast. It also targets your Forwards, so it can just force damage through, or a good trade, without having to worry about targeting a Balthier or Gullwing. 

​Shamonde P Grauche 8-116R (Spoiled by Envy Games)

Wow, what a beauty, cool name too right? Shamonde has come to shut down a very specific matchup… Wind/Lightning. He wants to make sure no Dancers or Cactuar set up break effects from Orlandeau, Black Mage, or Angeal Pennance. Not really sure what else to say other than, who knows, this card could one day be relevant. So don’t forget about him!
 
Title Implications:
A Water Backup for Leviathan, nice! This will stop Dancer in some FFT matchups, but not much else. If Theatrhythm ever becomes Title legal, this card could be relevant for stopping Cactuar (and a follow up Orlandeau).

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed my opinions on these spoilers and are more excited for the potential of each card. There are a lot of other spoilers I still need to cover so expect some more articles this week. See you next time!

​-Alex

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