I ended up deciding to take a Wind/Water Mill strategy different from the popular variations. My priorities with the list were clear to me from the get go: to abuse synergies between demonstrably strong cards, play a ton of removal, and do it faster than other decks can. I’ll get a little into why these were high priorities a little later, for now let’s go down the list and talk about each card.

Porom

An excellent addition to the deck that offers previously unavailable recursion, but is not the critical turning point it’s made out to be. Good synergy with Asura and lets you cast more than 3 big Famfrits.

Paine 1-119S

Not nearly as strong as in traditional lists but often a free cantrip that can slow the opponent down substantially and sometimes fix your CP. A common mistake I see is people just running out Paine without thinking about it first; a lot of the time you are better off just holding it because you’re going to Famfrit soon anyways, or because you want their Veritas or other removal to rot in hand longer.

Paine 2-063R

Searches for your missing Yuna or Rikku, Yuna usually being the higher priority.

Zidane

Takes away things that could possibly disrupt your gameplan like their copies of Zidane, or things you don’t really wanna see like Magus Sisters and Galdes. Sometimes you nab a Backup that screws them.

Fina

Almost never played as a 2 CP 9000 Forward and almost always just used for the 5000 wide. Removal is the only reason she remains slotted.

Veritas of the Dark

Great way to deal with early opposing Forwards from Ice (namely Locke and Genesis that can’t be left alone to be Famfrit’d later) and opposing Veritas. Usually when the opposing Veritas’ enter the break zone auto resolves I put my own Veritas in the bin and force a Backup down, which can slow opponents down immensely and give you 2~3 turns of breathing room.

Asura

Loops Porom and occasionally generates CP or nabs discarded/broken Rikku or Yuna. Can also get Leyak back as a pseudo-Urianger.

Cuchulainn, the Impure

Was originally Halicarnassus but EX and the ability to nab it back with Porom made it the clear choices. Does almost nothing but sometimes prevents annoying autos like Vanille, Magus Sisters, Galdes, and Veritas.

Valefor

Combos with Fina and creates CP. Not gonna go deep on this one.

Famfrit, the Darkening Cloud

Removal.

Alexander

Mostly a worse Diabolos, sometimes a worse Hecatoncheir. I opted for a second one of these over a second Veritas because I can discard two to play it into opposing Sephiroth when they go for the discard two, which comes up pretty often.

Diabolos

Staple removal.

Famfrit

MVP removal Summon. This is often your best card in the deck and usually the best Summon to recycle with Porom. Hitting monsters is super important as well.

Leyak

Allows you to play on the opponent’s turn more easily. Gotta be careful about not accidentally Famfriting it away. Arguably a staple for dedicated mill variants.

Archer

Used to target Edward, opposing Rikkus, and sometimes anthems. I think I used it once in the entire tournament.

Artemicion

Another mulligan on a Water Backup.

Rikku

Obligatory MVP. Self-explanatory win condition of the deck.

Summoner

Here to stop Mist Dragon (mostly), Glasya Labolas, Valefor, and Asura.

Thief

Pseudo-fourth copy of Zidane. I toyed with a bunch of different Wind Backups in this slot. It’s a pretty free choice, I just landed on this because players will sometimes cut characters to try and make you whiff with it, which is more than fine for us.

White Mage

Most important wind breakable. I would play five if I could. Helps vs Magus Sisters, Vanille, Ghost, Puma/Galdes loop, Undead Princess, and so on. Definitely the best Backup aside from Yuna and Rikku.

Yaag Rosch

My most controversial Backup choice. He’s obviously great against Archer, but also helps vs Celes and the new Squall, as well as a small assortment of other rogue effects. I toyed with Green Mage, Eiko and a few other Water Backups in this slot, but they were all pretty bad. There is an argument to be made for a second copy of Artemicion given that you will basically never play up to three Water Backups and Yuna is always going to be one, but sometimes you are forced on to three and being unique in the deck is a big advantage. I would not advise dropping this so quickly, and especially not for a different non-breakable.

Yuna

Makes your Famfrits have busted CP costs and enables Valefor. Just as important as Rikku and usually a higher priority to get out early.

Brother

Searches for Paine and by large extension Yuna and Rikku. Usually only a viable line in very slow matchups, but it does come up a pretty good amount of the time. Landed on one copy just to try and smooth out the curve a little bit.

Echo

Good EX, sometimes a 3 CP Backup. Wouldn’t want more than one but sometimes just better than Brother, which landed me on one of each.