Fire

Irvine 001C

4cp

Backup – Sniper – PICTLOGICA VIII

When Irvine enters the field, choose 1 Forward. Deal it 5000 damage. If the number of Forwards your opponent controls is greater than the number of Forwards you control, deal it 7000 damage instead.

2

There are a lot of fire backups that deal damage on entry, so each of these will be less impactful than it would be in other sets, but it’s still a strong ability. Irvine is perhaps the worst of them in general. He does excel in one area, however, and that is as an early to midgame play in a slower style of deck. Playing him as your third backup while halting your opponent’s early forward development will give you a lot of breathing room to set up in the face of pressure.

Ifrita 002H

3cp

Summon – MOBIUS

Select 1 of the 3 following actions. If you have a total of 5 or more Card Name Ifrita and/or Card Name Ifrit in your Break Zone (before paying the cost for Ifrita) select up to 3 of the 3 following actions instead.

“Choose 1 Forward. Deal it 7000 damage.”

“Choose 1 Monster of cost 3 or less. Break it.”

“Deal 3000 damage to all the Forwards opponent controls.”

4

Lets just get this out of the way quickly: with no Ifrit in the set it is astronomically unlikely Ifrita will ever be fully realized. That said, each mode is pretty decent on its own. 7k for 3 is a fine amount to burn for, and 3k to their board will be a fine way to clear out multiple forwards when combined with other damaging effects or with combat. Every once in a while you’ll be able to use the Break a Monster mode to break Bomb and get a lite version of the 3k mode on top.

Ace 004C

2cp

Backup – Class Zero Cadet – DFF TYPE 0

When Ace enters the field, choose 1 Forward opponent controls. Reveal the top 5 cards of your deck. If you have a Job Class Zero Cadet among them, deal it 7000 damage. Then, shuffle the revealed cards and return them to the bottom of your deck.

3.5

This set has so many Class Zero Cadets that it will be relatively easy to build a deck that can reliably pull his effect off, but even if you fail you still only paid the going rate for a backup, which makes him acceptable at worst and an incredible cp swing at best.

Cyan 008C

2cp

Backup – Samurai – VI

When Cyan enters the field, until the end of the turn, all the Forwards you control gain +1000 power and Brave.

3

Cyan gets a bonus to his score for being the only backup in fire that isn’t damage based. He seriously screws up any combat math your opponent will have done, as your attackers will be both larger and able to block afterwards. Honestly we would probably run this at 3cp and still be happy with him as a top end. While the rest of fire’s backups this set are usually best early and mid, Cyan is good early and late, letting him fill a unique niche.

King 010R

4cp 8000

Forward – Class Zero Cadet – DFF TYPE-0

You can discard 1 Job Class Zero Cadet (instead of paying the CP cost) to play King from your hand onto the field.

When King enters the field, choose 1 Forward. It cannot block this turn.

2.5

Just so there’s as little confusion about this as possible, King’s first ability only alters his cost. It does not remove the timing restrictions on playing a Forward from your hand, so no Back Attacks here. Getting a 2cp discount is pretty good, and 8ks are usually pretty relevant. Being able to stun a blocker can be a great way to force some damage through, or force some favorable blocks if you’re threatening lethal.

Shadow 012C

2cp

Backup – Assassin – VI

Fi Dull, put Shadow into the Break Zone: Choose 1 Forward. Deal it 8000 damage. You can only use this ability if a Forward you controlled has been put from the field into the Break Zone this turn.

3

Shadow gets a small bonus for being the only fire backup that isn’t an ETF. He lets you make some interesting attacks, as the 8k burn is so cheap that having your small forwards blocked lets you take down nearly any forward on the opponent’s side. It can also make attacking into you very threatening if you leave so much as a small blocker back, although you’re risking losing 2cp if your opponent simply passes turn. What he also does is make casting removal against you less enticing, as you can crack back very cheaply. His mere presence will scare off a lot of lines your opponent may be looking to pursue. Unfortunately, it’s a telegraphed effect that your opponent has a lot of control over when and how it may be activated, which diminishes its value by a reasonable amount. Look to combine this with cheap efficient forwards like Porom.

Fusilier 013C

2cp

Backup – Standard Unit – FFTA2

When Fusilier enters the field, you may pay Fi. When you do so, choose 1 Forward. Deal it 5000 damage.

3.5

This guy is a huge upgrade from Cid (FFL), since you only pay the extra when you want to. Granted, it makes playing it for damage a little more restrictive since you need two sources of fire, but being able to drop him as a standard backup when you don’t need that oomph is strong. The flexibility of cards like this cannot be overstated. Also, being non-unique is great, since you can load up on him and not get fussy with diversity. In draft, you’ll want to pick him up early and often as your core, and use the unique damage dealing backups to round out your backline. Can’t wait to hear all the great ways people are going to butcher his name.

Nael 014L

6cp 9000

Forward – General – XIV

When Nael enters the field, reveal the top 3 cards of your deck. Add up to 2 Forwards among them to your hand and put the rest of the cards into the Break Zone.

Remove 1 Backup from the game: Until the end of the turn, Nael gains +2000 power and Haste.

Remove 2 Backups from the game: Choose 1 Forward. Deal it 8000 damage.

4.5

Just gonna start this by saying you can only pay costs with your own resources, as every time a card like this gets printed I see this question a dozen times. If I’m playing a slower deck, I’m totally in the market for a vanilla 9k for 6cp, and Nael is so much more. He gives you a variable discount that gets better the more forwards are left in your deck, and also lets you convert backups into board control on a critical turn. Don’t be afraid to yeet your whole backline into the aether if it’s going to win you the game, since if you don’t get another Active Phase, it doesn’t really matter that they’re gone. Haste + Removal is insane in limited, Jellyfish was incredible as a 1of in op8, and he still needed another body to combo with. Whether you’re in a hyper aggressive 24+ forward deck, or a super steady deck with 15 or so backups, Nael will pay dividends. The only downside to him is that he heavily incentivizes shaving as many summons/monsters as you can get away with.

Hume 015C

4cp 8000

Forward – Standard Unit – XII

Fi: Hume gains Brave until the end of the turn.

Fi 1: Hume gains Haste until the end of the turn.

2.5

A fine baseline that lets you pay for extra abilities when and where they’re useful. Brave is a solid ability on an 8k, and Haste is always a dangerous ability, much moreso when applied to a forward with this size. Hume is pretty flexible, has a solid power, and will be something you always have to consider when you are at a dangerous amount of damage.

Belias 017C

1cp

Summon – MOBIUS

EX BURST Choose 1 Forward. Until the end of the turn, it gains +1000 power and First Strike. Draw 1 card. If you have received 4 points of damage or more, it also gains Haste until the end of the turn.

3.5

This card’s gonna be a lot better early in the format when people aren’t yet used to playing around it. It’s a decent burst, it’s a crazy cheap combat trick, and late game the Haste can mess with combat math. I’d say always be careful if your opponent has a single fire backup open, but honestly discarding 1 and overpaying is still good value. At common, you pretty much just expect every fire deck you play against to have access to one of these, if not more.

Bergan 018R

3cp 8000

Forward – Judge – MOBIUS XII

You can only pay with CP produced by Fire Backups to play Bergan from your hand onto the field.

When Bergan blocks or is blocked, deal 7000 damage to the Forward that blocks or is blocked by Bergan.

Fi 1: Choose 1 Forward. Deal it 1000 damage.

3.5 draft / 0.5 sealed

A huge incentive to go heavy fire, getting an 8k with bonuses for 3 is a bargain. If you manage to get Bergan out he threatens to kill 8ks with ease, and anything less for free. With enough investment, he can even rumble with 9s and 10s and walk away without a dent in his sweet armor. Even without his Active Ability, Bergan deals a total of 15k damage in combat, enough even to take down Yiazmat and Garif. You have to be seriously committed to fire, though, as 3 fire backups isn’t an easy ask. If you can supply the fuel, though, he’ll burn through your opponent’s whole frontline.

Bomb 019R

2cp 5000

Monster – Bomb – Crystal Hunt

During your turn, Bomb also becomes a Forward with 5000 power.

When Bomb is put from the field into the Break Zone, deal 2000 damage to all Forwards.

1.5

Bomb is small and volatile, not a combination you really want. He can trade up against 7ks, which does not seem like something that will get you very far ahead in this set. Because your opponent has a reasonable amount of control over when he breaks, you run the risk of having him turned against you. What he is good at is being the first attacker each turn, when your board is on average smaller than your opponent’s. This makes him difficult to block, as breaking him will put future blockers much closer to death, letting you threaten to trade up. This really is only good when threatening lethal, however, as otherwise the opponent can simply tank the damage and leave you down 2cp and a card.