Greetings, everyone! This is FF-TCG producer, Tarou Kageyama. As you know, we started the spoilers for Opus X: Ancient Champions last week. How did you all enjoy the first article of the previews by RB? Some of you may already have some ideas for new decks. And this week, as RB had teased, I would like to introduce a villain that is being released as an FF-TCG card for the first time, and that is Xande [10-008L].

Xande is a character from FINAL FANTASY III, who stands before the four Warriors of Light and tries to flood the world with darkness. He also casts powerful spells during battle to torment the Warriors of Light, justifying why he is referred to as the “Dark Lord.” I won’t go into details regarding how his aspirations influenced the outcome of the story, but there is no doubt that his presence is nothing less than that of a powerful antagonist.

Now that we’ve taken a look at Xande’s character in the original title, let’s go over his abilities as an FF-TCG card. Xande [10-008L] is an 8 CP, 9000 power Forward and has two auto-abilities that take effect when the card enters the field. One of the auto-abilities allows the player to choose up to 1 Fire Forward of cost 1 and up to 1 Fire Forward of cost 3 from the Break Zone and play them onto the field. Xande [10-008L] has a high CP of 8, but with this ability yielding a great advantage to the player, it justifies this high cost.

The other auto-ability incorporates a new feature that has been implemented from Opus X, so let me explain this first. As you can see, the word “Damage” is written at the beginning of this ability. This keyword-based ability works along with the number written right after the word “Damage” –which would be 5 in the case of Xande [10-008L]. When the points of damage you’ve been inflicted is the written number or more, the stated ability comes into effect. So, in this instance, if you’ve been dealt 5 or more points of damage when this card enters the field, you can play 1 Fire Forward of cost 2 from your Break Zone directly onto the field. The first ability is already a great advantage, but if you’ve been dealt 5 or more points of damage, then Xande [10-0008L] can add on up to 4 Forwards, including itself, onto your field. This is on par with what Golbez [1-135L] can bring to the table. When you think about this advantage, cost-8 seems reasonable, rather than a hefty price to pay.

Now, let’s go on and look at which cards would be beneficial to play onto the field using Xande [10-0008L]. With its first ability, you are able to bring 1 Forward of cost 1 and another of cost 3 onto the field. There are many options for the cost-3 Forward, but my personal recommendations would be Bergan [9-018R] and Lyse [8-139S]. There is a condition when playing Bergan [9-018R] from your hand, but this does not apply when playing the card from the Break Zone. Also, Lyse [8-139S] will bring up the Power of your other Forwards just by being on your field. If you have a Fire-only deck, Luneth [5-024H] may also be a good choice. And even though you would need to assemble a deck specifically for this purpose, Palom [2-015H] would be a good choice as it can deal high damage when entering the field. But choosing a good cost-1 Fire Forward may be a bit difficult. Up to Opus IX, there have only been 3 Forwards of cost 1. Of those, Vivi [8-016H] may be your best bet. It can deal at least 2000 damage, and you can expect more damage by creating a Fire & Water deck that is Category IX oriented. But keep in mind that you can also play cost-3 Vivi [3-017L] by using Xande [10-0008L], so which Vivi to incorporate will depend on your deck and play-style. Of course, you can maintain a good balance and include both Vivis in your deck as well.

And with regards to the second ability that allows you to play 1 Forward of cost 2 onto the field, there are several options albeit not as many as the cost-3 options. Warrior of Light [7-131S] will most likely be able to attack using Haste, and Firion [7-132S] should be able to deal 6000 damage. But Sol [7-012H] may be the most interesting of the bunch. If you’ve already played Luneth [5-024H] onto the field with your first ability, Sol [7-012H] will enter the field as an 8000 power Forward with Haste.

Incidentally, when you play the other Luneth [2-022H], which can grant Haste to your [Job (Standard Unit)] units, along with your Squire [1-026C] onto the field using the first ability, and then play Sol [7-012H] onto the field with the second “Damage” ability, you will have two Forwards with Haste. Whether the cards are strong or not is another story, but since it’s possible to implement these kinds of gameplay strategies, you may be able to assemble a deck that can deal damage beyond your imagination.

What did you all think? Do you think Xande [10-008L] will open up possibilities for a new deck? I hope you give it some thought and consideration. Next week, RB will be introducing a character who is cute on the outside but has hidden strength on the inside, so stay tuned!