Hey there folks, and welcome back to Lv.1 Onion Knight - the Final Fantasy TCG blog with a New Year's resolution to play more card games in lieu of working on any of its other numerous flaws.
Happy 2023 everyone! I sure hope everybody isn’t so full from the Holidays that they don’t have room for a nice heaping helping of hot takes about Resurgence of Power! Don’t worry, I made sure that these takes were middlingly spicy at best, so as not to cause indigestion after all that roast Behemoth.
I said last time that I skipped out on my review
for Rebellion’s Call because I didn’t really find it a super interesting set to
talk about outside of my personal frustrations with how card design was handled in that set. But I’m sure you’ll all be happy to
know that I actually found Resurgence of Power a much more interesting set to
talk about, in spite of Dancer Galuf still not making his debut this time
around.
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| I’m slowly revealing an uncomfortable amount about my preferences to you all in these posts, aren’t I? |
For a while when I was doing these reviews, I tended to talk more about the changes the new set brought to each element, and how I thought it impacted their overall power. This time around, I’m going to step away from that for two reasons:
2) I’m generally not running the stuff most other people are or playing in a competitive environment, so my opinions on whether I think an element is good or not tends to skew more to elements I’ve personally enjoyed playing.
So for this set review, I thought I would go back to how I did things waaaaaay back in my first review for Opus VI and go with more of a pros and cons style review for Resurgence of Power. A “compliment sandwich” if you will, except that I have an equal amount of things that I liked and disliked from this set, so it’s one of those weird sandwiches that has bread in the middle of it. A compliment Big Mac, then.
So without any further ado, let’s review Resurgence of Power!
Liked: Multi-Element cards make deck building feel a lot more exciting.
The last taste that we had of Multi-Element cards was back in Opus XIV, and considering that we all got our tongues properly scorched off by the sheer spiciness of that set, it was probably a good idea to take a break from them for a bit. But I don't think any previous mechanic introduced to the game opens up deck building quite like Multi-Elements do. They're just plain fun, and while I can't speak for anybody else in the FFTCG community, nothing gets me more of a "Oh that looks cool, I want to try that!" reaction than when I'm looking over the new Multi-Element cards.
While Multi-Elements have the potential to breathe new life into specific element combinations, they're not without their problems. Because there tends to only be one of each rarity type (Excluding Starter Deck cards) printed for each combination, there's a lot more pressure for them to hit it out of the park. If a Multi-Element is underwhelming, it can end up leaving that element in the lurch. Thankfully this time around, it seems like the card designers learned from their introduction and steered clear of making them too specific so that they can't be included in a variety of different decks.
Fire/Water was an element combination that really suffered from this when they were introduced in Opus XII for this exact reason. Three of the four cards introduced were specific to the Knight tribe that didn't have enough cohesion with Fire at the time, and the Legendary was for a completely different tribe with Warriors of Light. But the new Fire/Water cards introduced in Resurgence of Power are simultaneously much more broad, and build upon what was already introduced in previous sets. Along with the introduction of the fantastic new Ramza, Fire/Water Knights got the power boost it needed to be more than just a super niche deck. With cards like Arciela and Firion, you can use your Fire and Water cards in your hand as a way to generate passive value, getting even more of a bonus for Multi-Element cards.
Even Fran, who is the most specific of the Multi-Element Legends, has a super broad pool of targets to prevent her from being too niche. Only time will tell if this same level of care will be given to the other element combinations in following sets, or if we'll wind up with another Nine, taking up a Legend slot for an tribal deck that the card designers clearly had no real vision for. And with that, I have a handy segue into my first gripe for Resurgence of Power.
Disliked: Card design feels inconsistent for certain titles and jobs
One of my favorite things about the FFTCG is how many layers you can take into consideration when building a deck. You have Element of course, but you can also base a deck around a specific Job or Category. I don't think anybody got into the FFTCG without being a fan of the games, so being able to make a powerful deck based around your favorite Final Fantasy title feels really good. But sometimes it feels like for certain jobs and titles, a lot more… well, let’s say foresight has been put into making certain decks more consistent than others.
Now let me make myself clear: I’m not under the impression that every single card printed specifically needs to have tribal synergy. As much as I enjoy building around a tribe, that would limit the amount of decks they could be played in, as well as make having generic staples for element focused decks a lot more difficult. But what becomes frustrating is when the card designers begin to flesh out synergy for a job or title, and then either completely drop them or don't give them the level of care they've shown themselves capable of with other cards.
Ahem...
I joked around about how mad I was about the Ranger/White Mage from Rebellion's Call not being a Dancer, but I really did find it aggravating how they would introduce new Dancer support and then not give a deck based around having as many of a specific job on the field as possible some much needed Backup synergy, then turn around and do exactly that for Monk, Samurai, and Dragoon. I was really looking forward to beefing up my Rebel's deck, but for a set named Rebellion's Call, there was no real Rebel support to be found aside from some kind of *eh* protection with Ricard. It just felt like there were some major opportunities in that set that got completely missed.
I'm well aware that expectations are just premeditated resentments, and that often times, this perception of things being imbalanced is just a consequence of the art assets from the games that are required to be featured in a particular set. Like it wouldn’t make much sense complaining that Avalanche got more support in Resurgence of Power, since Final Fantasy VII Intergrade just so happens to have a lot of Job: Avalanche members as characters in it. But I assume that the card designers do have some degree of control over the kinds of effects they give to each card. So when Morze's Soiree gets a fully fleshed out archetype with super clear lines of play and win conditions in one set while Type-0 Cadets haven't so much as seen a new usable Backup since they were introduced in Opus III, it does make me question why some decks get really solid support and why some are left to languish set after set, even when they do get focus.
Final Fantasy VIII has traditionally gotten very little love from the FFTCG in the way of Category synergy. That's not to say that there are no good VIII cards - the Squalls printed in the past have traditionally been quite good, and the one printed this set is quite a nice bit of support that can lock down your opponent's Backups when played early, or get pesky Forwards out of the way while buffing up your board mid-to-late game. But VIII fans have long been teased by the promise of Category support over the years with cards like Opus IX Rinoa and uh... Opus XIII Rinoa (it's usually Rinoa that ends up being the tease I suppose...) giving a glimmer of hope that it might someday be fleshed out into a more solid deck. So when VIII appeared to finally be getting focus this set, seeing it have bits and pieces of different strategies without a cohesive vision yet again is somewhat frustrating.
Cid Kramer is one of the best pieces of title support that VIII could have hoped for - I know Type-0 Cadets would kill to have a cheap Backup that helps playing more than two colors easier! Seifer is also an amazing card that can help VIII play really aggressively with self-damage effects - that Opus XIII Rinoa is a lot more threatening when she can get Haste and dull all of your opponents cards in one swing! But the other cards released in this set don't really create super great synergy with either Cid or Seifer, which seems like a bit of a missed opportunity. Fujin and Raijin feel like they could have done a little bit more than just been a slightly better Logos and Ormi from Opus II, especially considering how little synergy VIII cards have with each other.
When combined with Cid Kramer's effect, the new Gilgamesh is clearly intended to be the big payoff card of this deck using multiple elements to be able to break higher-cost targets with his effect. It's just frustrating that cards like the new Zell, Selphie, and Laguna don't really work towards this goal, or with Seifer, or even with each other for that matter. They just kind of feel like a bunch of unrelated cards that happen to share a category, once again feeling like we're setting up pieces of something for VIII that ultimately don't end up coming together cohesively.
Look, I get it. This is a highly specific and largely personal complaint to make about this set. You'll notice that I'm not complaining that like... the new Gullwing's don't all work in one deck or something (though technically you could play Paine or Rikku for free with the old Opus VI Yuna leading to some interesting deck building ideas...) But cards like the new Squall and Seifer almost seem like a promise for Category VIII synergy that we'll have to wait a little (or quite possibly a lot) longer to see properly fleshed out, and I really would like to see the card designers do a better job fleshing out a tribal deck's identity, rather than picking things up and dropping them while other decks continue to get built up more.
And before you ask, no, I wouldn't consider myself a die hard fan of Final Fantasy VIII. But a lot of people I'm close to are, and because of them, I am now the Lorax who speaks for underdeveloped card game archetypes.
Liked: The Warp mechanic adds a new layer of strategy to the game
Resurgence of Power also has the distinction of introducing a new game mechanic in this set, and boy does it introduce a doozy with Warp. The card game equivalent of buying something on layaway at Walmart, the ability to pay a lower cost for a card in order to have it enter the field in a set number of turns is one of the most interesting abilities that the FFTCG has introduced in a while. Don't get me wrong, I like Crystals just fine and all. But they don't allow for the amount of strategy and Criss Angel-style Mindfreakery that Warp does.
Setting a ticking time bomb that threatens to go off in a few turns can quickly change the pacing of a match and imparts a sense of urgency that can completely change the way your opponent plays. Of course, they'll know what's coming for them, giving them a way to either prepare a counter for it or try and play around it, but I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. There's often a reluctance to give your opponent any insight into what you plan to do, but I can't help but agree with ol' Alfred Hitchcock when he said that you can only create a suspense element by giving someone information about what's coming. And considering that cost of the Warp is usually significantly lower than that of cards with similar effects, the mechanic can make for some interesting plays.
Five turns is a long time for your opponent to not want to play any Forwards, so using the information that Garuda is coming to blow up the board, you can apply pressure and attack aggressively with your own Forwards, or utilize a strategy with Monsters that can become Forwards like Tros or Spectral Keeper. In turn, they're forced to choose between taking more damage or playing Forwards to protect themselves only to lose them in a few turns. They can always cancel it with stuff like Amaterasu and Leviathan, but how many other valuable auto effects are they going to let slide through in order to hold their negate for later?
There are some truly powerful effects attached to these Warp cards the likes of which we've never seen before. The ability to draw three cards off one cast for an initial investment of only two CP with Lunafreya or play a 5-cost Knight from the Break Zone with Ramza is absolutely wild, so maybe that's why they've been a bit conservative with how many cards have the Warp ability in Resurgence of Power. Right now there's not a lot to choose from at the moment, and some elements definitely make out better than others in terms of how powerful their Warp effects are. But hey, who's to say that the ability to search out any card from your deck is stronger than summoning a big tree?
I still love him though.
Either way, I think that Warp adds a new layer when it comes to planning out turns for both yourself and your opponent, and I'm hoping that we see some creative applications for it in the future.
Disliked: The more things change, the more they stay the same
After Rebellion's call, the new set certainly felt like a breath of fresh air, and got me excited to start brewing decks again. And yet, for as many exciting things that Resurgence of Power introduces, I can't help but feel like it doesn't actually do much to shift the status quo of the game as a whole when it comes to which decks and strategies are the most consistently powerful.
I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to say that Amaterasu has been one of the most impactful cards ever printed in the FFTCG. The amount of value you get from turning off any auto-ability and destroying the Forward it triggered off of is absolutely bonkers, and the threat that you may be up against a deck that can use it is always something you need to consider when making your plays. As of right now, you can easily make several complete 60-card decks for cheaper than the cost of what getting a playset of three Amaterasu will run you. It is without a doubt, one of the biggest threats that exist in the game right now.
And they printed a second one with the new Leviathan.
Well okay, they printed a much more fair one in any case since this one doesn't work on autos triggered by Backups and the added kicker cost to bounce it back isn't something you'll be able to pull off whenever you like. But now we have a new negate Summon to worry about, and this one is in an element where you can reduce the cost to only two CP. Summon-based control is already very difficult to deal with, with only several niche cards like General Leo really doing much to turn them off. The point is, that Amaterasu is already a pain, so essentially printing a second one only creates even more of an environment where any Forward with an auto-ability over the cost of three feels like a massive risk. In a game where managing your resources and hand size are so important, cards like Kirin and Fusoya should feel like they're a massive, powerful play. But depending on if you're up against a deck running one of these two elements or the ever-dominant Mono-Wind which will likely be running Fina, the high price for casting them may not be worth gambling on.
Traditionally the FFTCG doesn't really like to print answers to threats in new sets - it just prints bigger threats to be dealt with. That and the reluctance to create a more flexible and adaptive ban/limit list may contribute to much of the feelings of "sameiness" in the competitive scene set after set. That may also be why so many people I've spoken to are so burnt out by Wind's continued strength, but we don't need to spend any more time ranting about that. We all know that having a 1 CP boardwipe that is easily achievable in Storm decks and that can be repeated every turn through the likes of Althea/Bismark is stupid. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it would be cool if more answers to powerful techs that have remained powerful every set would be printed, rather than praying that more cards get banned.
But hey, looks like Mono Water is making a comeback. That's only like, half of Sky Pirates, right?
See? That review wasn't all that spicy now was it? Despite some issues, I definitely think Resurgence of Power is a really fun set to build around, and I really hope that the reintroduction of Multi-Element cards sees some little-used element combinations make a comeback. Personally I'm looking forward to see what Ice/Water will bring in the coming sets, since I had a lot of fun with a lockdown-style deck back in Opus XIII.
So with my midly picante takes sbout the set aside, lets see how things went with Bingo this time around, shall we?
As much as I would love to give away something like a full-art Yuffie to celebrate this momentous occasion, uh... yeah, that aint happening. I like you guys and all, but being an Onion Knight doesn't quite make enough Gil to pay for something like that, and you all know by now I'm not lucky enough to pull one myself. But in order to ensure the arrival of the spring harvest, the Final Fantasy VII fans must be appeased. So this time around I'm raffling away a 25th Anniversary playmat and Tifa Promo.
Woah, a prize that isn't linked to my own personal misfortune this time? I know, I'm surprised too. Maybe whoever wins this one won't end up afflicted by the Tonberry's curse, but 2023 is just starting after all, so only time will tell.
Raffle Rules:
1) In order to be eligible for the raffle, you must complete the survey I'll be linking below. Your entry makes you eligible to win the anniversary playmat and promo.
2) The contest is open to both local and international fans, so if you don't happen to be from the US, don't sweat it! I will be in contact with the winners to discuss shipping arrangements.
3) The Raffle submission period will go for three weeks from the post date of this blog (January 9th), until Monday, January 30th at 8PM EST, so you have three weeks to enter. I'll announce the winner on Facebook.
4) I will contact the winner via the email they submit in the survey. If I do not hear back from a winner in one week, I will choose another winner at random, so be sure to submit an email that you check often!
Enter the Raffle Here!!
There you have it! I hope that everyone has a great 2023 full of good pulls, sweet jank builds, and EX Bursts that win you the game. And for anybody who is lucky enough to pull the signed Yuffie, know that I'm coming for you to steal your luck...
Until next time - keep on grinding,
