DB 101 Part 2: Determining the Optimal List

So, you built your first deck list. You’ve played a few games, and decided there are a few changes you want to make. A few questions pop up in your head:



-How many copies of a card should I run?

-I found my hands to be clogged and to not be able to make plays as often as I would like. Why ratios need to change so I can make plays at every point in the game?

-I find myself getting stuck on plays because all 5 Backup Zones are full, or I have Forwards and Backfields on the field with the same names as the cards in my hand. What’s wrong?

Generally, there are two overarching reasons players have problems with questions like this.



1.) The player is not piloting the deck effectively.

2.) The deck is not built with ratios in mind.



Today, I would like to focus on the latter point, and discuss how you should be considering ratios.



Ratio Theory

In the Final Fantasy TCG, players can run 1, 2, or 3 copies of a specific card (not name). When determining how many copies of a card you should run, you need to reflect upon a few ideas.



1.) Is this card an integral part of my strategy, or is it a complementary tool?

2.) Is this a card I always want or need access to?

3.) Is this a card that I want in every matchup?



As such, here is the criteria that I have been using when determining if I should run 1, 2, or 3 copies of a card, as I choose the category that the card in question most specifically falls under. The concept here is transferable across most card games, FFTCG is no exception.



Reasons to run 3 copies of a card:



1.)I almost always want to open with a copy of the card: Going first, you have a 33% chance to open with a card you run 3 copies of (37% going second). If a tutor for the card exists, the chance of opening with the desired card could become as high as 56% / 62%. If you run 3 copies of a card, you will draw one of them in the first 10 turns 90% of the time, without any other drawing or deck trimming.

2.)I almost always want to have access to the card: A good 3-of is a card that is powerful in the beginning, middle, or end of the game. For example, Red Mage, is an excellent 3-of. If you begin with it, you can use it as an Enabler (see Part 1) to start your plays. Midgame, you can play a second copy without discarding any cards for CP because it is non-unique (meaning you have multiple copies on the board at the same time), and in the late game you can use its ability to stop blockers and create game-winning board states.



3.)I can draw 2 copies of the card in my opener and still have a good hand: The most underrated idea probably in this article. If you draw two copies of the same card, can you still open well? Shantotto is a powerful card; it clears fields and gives you access to all 6 primary colors in the game. But, it is a unique Backup, it is expensive, you will probably only resolve the ability once, and it has no effect until your opponent has established a board state. You’re already going to open with one you have to discard for CP turn 1. In your first three turns, you will draw 2 copies of a card that you run 3 of 10% of the time. Can you deal with that? 10% may sound like a negligible amount, until you realize this applies to 5 or more different groups of cards in your deck.

4.) This card can frequently win me the game if it resolves: Win conditions- Every deck needs one. For some decks, it’s about creating a gamestate. For other decks, you win through a concept like tempo- creating consistent pressure to the game state every turn. Some decks, rely on a singular card or combo to win. If you need the card to win, you should probably run 3 copies.



There is a second important note here, exclusive to FFTCG. Some EX Bursts, particularly Jihl, Cost 7 Odin, and Mustadio, that create huge game-winning swings when it resolves. Not that many of these cards exist as of Opus 1, but being able to win a game because your EX Burst kills their 6 cost Forward for free warrants maxing out- statistics says the effect in one out of every three games in which your opponent gets 6 rewards against you.

5.) The card demands duplicate copies to reach a power ceiling that justifies being played: Some cards, like The Emperor, gain power the more copies that are in your deck, as you can resolve its effect multiple times. If you are running Agrias, you want to consider running 3 Ovelia to ensure you net a card every time Agrias resolves. Or perhaps you are trying to maximize the number of blasts you have, or resolve a powerful Signature like Magic Charge Terra.



Reasons to run 2 copies of a card



1.) I generally want to see a copy of the card, but rarely want to have both copies at the same time: By far the biggest deciding factor for me on running two copies of a card, I am opting for two copies of a card I strongly want to avoid getting stuck with multiple copies of. This will often unique Backups like Maria, or a card like Vanille, that has a lot of staying power on the board.

2.) The card is not good at the very beginning/ very end of the game, but excels on the other end and through the mid-game. Unlike a 3 of that is going to be viable at all points of the game, there may be reasonable situations in which a card is not playable. Drawing a Brother when you already have one on the field, or after you are out of searchable targets, makes the card a poor draw in some late game situations.

3.) The card is fantastic in some matchups, even if it’s only average in others. Perhaps you are running a certain card to break up the plays your opponents are making, like running Archer to destroy Minwu. Or perhaps you run Earth Cecil or Lulu to ward away rush decks. But if those cards aren’t helpful in other matchups, a third copy may not be needed.

4.) I want to resolve the card most games, and my deck cannot tutor or resurrect it.:

Are you worried about drawing a card turn 1, having to charge it, and not having a copy to play later? If you rely on that card for your late game, and there’s no way to quickly retrieve or revive it, you probably want to run the second copy.

5.) This card facilitates or supports my win condition, but isn’t a mandatory part of it.

On paper, draw cards like Moogle are great, because they help you draw into your win condition or tide turners. However, the card doesn’t directly work towards winning the game, just giving you quicker access to them at the cost of losing some amount of tempo. Those type of cards are generally best as 2-ofs.



Reasons to run 1 Copy of a Card

1.) I never want to draw it in your opening hand: Some cards are designed specifically for the mid game or late game. Cards like Water Cecil are great once you have an established field, but will never benefit you until you have a field set up of cards you’d rather not be targeted by effects.

2.) I cannot afford to resolve more than one copy of the card in your deck:

While not outstandingly present as of Opus 1, cards like Turn 8 Sephiroth put you very behind in resources. While the cards can be game-breaking, it’s unlikely that you will have the resources to play two copies of the card in the same game. And even if you did, you are probably so ahead in cards that you would win anyway. Perhaps you want to splash a high-end monster that is off color and cannot play it until Chaos or Shantoto is on the field; that card should be highly considered as a 1- of.

3.) The card can be tutored or resurrected: Some cards you run maybe for a specific matchup than for part of your primary game plan. Cards like Guy, that shut down dull-heavy decks focused on Ice and Lightning cards, can be totally game changing. Other times, it’s a very average four drop. I find these cards are usually most effective at 1-2 copies, especially if the card is tutorable. Something like Cid Raines nets you insane advantage when you’re playing against decks that play a lot of cards in the 1000-4000 range, but is ineffective against slower lists. Being able to search your deck for it through Mog allows you to search the card when it would resolve effectively, without drawing dead copies against other decks.

Also, If your deck can run something like Sage or Devout to mitigate losing the single card early, that may justify only running one copy.



4.) I can still win games if the card does not resolve: Fairly straightforward, if a card is powerful enough for an inclusion, but doesn’t really do anything for the rest of your strategy, it’s worth including as a 1-of to start.



5.) This card offers name diversity that my deck would be short on otherwise: Do you find yourself only running 5 different named Backups, and really want to ensure you can always play one? Do you need another unique target for Golbez? FFTCG is a game where not having enough variety in your card choices can be your downfall. I currently shoot to have 10 different Forwards and 7-8 different Backups; we’ll talk about the reasoning behind that in the next article.

Application of Theory

Now that we have a framework for how many copies of a card should we run in a vacuum, let’s apply it to a few popular cards. We will apply it to the deck Matt from Six Sage Gaming posted recently- you can see the list by clicking here.

Click here for the graph applying the ratio theory.





Apply the Ratio Theory to some of the cards listed, we can infer that his ratio for Sephiroth is spot on, that Shantotto and Yuna are viable as a 2 of and 3 of respectively, but it’s worth considering cutting a copy, and that cutting a copy of Cecil should be heavily considered. If Matt was to include Yaag to his list to help protect Minwu, he should consider testing a single copy and modify more after testing.

If your scores vary and it’s easy to justify one ratio over another, I look at the average of these scores. Shantotto scores a 6 in one copy, and a 7 for 2 copies. If those averages are above 6, I’ll start with the higher number if the deck space allows it. If the average is closer to a 4 or 5, like Yaag, I’ll err on the more conservative number. If the card is scoring at a 4 or worse across multiple ratio scores, I question if I should be including the card in the first place.

But I can just discard dead cards for CP!

I believe the most common mistake players are making in their deckbuilding is including too many copies of cards on the premise that they can just discard dead copies for CP. I believe that is a self destructive strategy- Drawing a playable card is better than drawing a non-playable card 100% of the time. In my deckbuilding, I strive towards capping my list at 13 dead draws 1 in every 4 cards. I define a “dead draw” as: A card that I either do not want to draw at almost any point in the game unless in niche situations, or having access to the card does not allow me to play additional copies. I believe 1 in 4 is the absolute maximum a player should run in their list- Experienced TCG players new to FFTCG would become ill just thinking about drawing a dead card every other turn. To conceptualize this, let’s look at the following list of cards. How many cards here would you consider dead draws?



3 The Emperor

3 3CP Water Geomancer

2 3CP Serah

3 5CP Vincent



3 Minwu

2 Jesse

2 Red Mage



3 Moogle

3 Fairy

1 Cost 7 Odin



I count 7/25. Did you?

Because Emperor and Minwu are unique (can only have one copy on field at a time) cards, additional copies will be dead draws, but only if you already have the first copy. In this case, I would count The Emperor and Minwu twice for my number of potential dead draws.

Serah and Jesse fall under the same category, but only if you have both copies at the same time. We would count each of these as 1 dead draw.

Red Mage and Geomancer are both non-unique cards, so they would not count towards dead draws.



Vincent would not count as a dead draw either, because extra copies could be used towards Berserk Dance.



Moogle and Fairy can be played multiple times in the same turn, so we will never consider it a dead draw.



I would personally consider Odin a dead draw, for it is incredibly expensive to play, and is much more powerful when resolved as an EX Burst than in your hand.

Even if a card is not playable in that matchup or in that specific instance, the ability to have options is invaluable. In a gamestate in which players have a similar number of rewards, cards in hand, and number of cards on board, it is often the player has has a greater number of options that is in an advantageous position.

And remember, this system is not designed to be some kind of hard ruleset you build your deck around as much as a tool you can use when developing new lists to help you identify what cards deserve additional slots, or where some of the easiest cuts may be if your list needs to trim.

Thanks for reading! I hope you found this article below. Stay tuned for Part 3, where we begin to discuss curves and archetypes in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game!





Bio: Richard “Zappdos” Zapp, career counselor and massage therapist by day, and competitive gamer most of the day, too. My experience and deep understanding of competitive gaming stems from 10 years of semi-competitive Smash Bros. Melee, 5 years of Yugioh back in the day, testing partner for a member of the best Naruto TCG team. Most recently, I had tremendous success playing Kaijudo – where I had arguably the most consistent record nationally during the games last pro tour. I am ecstatic to provide quality content for the Final Fantasy TCG community and help prepare players for competitive play.





