Spoiled Onions: Viera

 

Greetings inhabitants of Ivalice, and welcome to Lv.1 Onion Knight: The Final Fantasy TCG Blog that features the largest collection of Final Fantasy artwork ever in a single game. Ever. This has NEVER been done before by any other game on the market. No siree. 

Happy spooky season everyone! As the leaves begin to fall, and autumn's chill sets in, there's nothing quite as comforting as getting into your coziest sweater, tossing a few logs on the fireplace, and settling in to play some high-stakes competitive card games. But a pumpkin spice lattes aren't the only thing October brings, with ghosts and ghouls shambling out of their hiding places to haunt the living. And among all of the creeps and specters out there, legends speak of one creature that rises out of the Onion patch on Halloween night, flying through the air with new cards to show to all the FFTCG players. 

It's The Mediocre Onion!!

Boy howdy, it sure has been a long time since my last post. A whole two sets have passed with nary a humorous quip or set review in sight from that Onion Knight guy. Well, my patient little scallions, it was quite an eventful few months of "Real Life Stuff", some of it card game related, some of it not. I hosted my first ever Local Qualifier this past summer, which was enough to put me into hibernation alone (though it ended up going surprisingly well!) But to make a long story short, after running this blog for over five years, I really just needed a bit of a break. But thanks to the fine folks over at Square Enix, I'm back from my content-sabbatical with a new spoiler. So let's take a look at Viera from Hidden Legends. 

Backups are kind of a curious thing in the FFTCG, as the game has evolved to a point where a majority of decks seem to want them to take up less deck-real estate than they did in the past. If it's not a searcher or a member of a job/title specific tribal deck, a Backup has to have a pretty big impact to make it into most decks. On top of that, Standard Unit Backups can be pretty hit or miss. While they have the benefit of being able to play multiple of them on the field at once, they're usually just not very strong. This would normally give me very little to talk about, but in the case of Viera, it's actually pretty easy to justify using it as a play extender in Wind-based decks. 

With Viera on the field, you always have the potential to have an additional 2 CP available during your turn. I say "during your turn" because in order to use Viera's effect, you need a Wind Forward to have entered your field during the turn, in spite of the effect not technically being limited to your turn. There are a few exceptions to this, but we'll get into that a bit later. Since the effect doesn't require you to dull Viera, you can use her to generate CP as usual, then break her to activate her effect. In general though, Viera is great for the way she lets you extend your combos, potentially keeping a card in your hand at the cost of one of your Backups. 

Speaking of combo extension, Viera would be a solid addition to everybody's least-favorite deck, Storm. Actually, is Storm still hated as much nowadays, or has stuff like WoL 7 and Chaos decks taken away some of that ire? But uh... In any case, being able to plop down Backups that can generate 2 extra CP can help you get to the required numbers you need to hit Storm cards' casting requirements. You could even Viera alongside Opus 16 Zidane to make sure you get that third cast, giving him Haste and stealing a second card from your opponent's deck. Gross! 

In spite of what I said about Standard Unit Backups earlier, they have actually gotten some support last set, with Limit Breaks like Luso and Cid Highwind making them easier to get them in your hand. Luso being able to search any Job Standard Unit so long as it matches the element of another Character you control means that he can help you ramp up your Backups faster. Cid is also a great way for you to filter your deck for Backups early-game, and Viera would be an excellent target for him. While not a Limit Break, you could also use cards like Opus 22 Warrior of Light to search out Viera. Just make sure you're careful about when you send Viera into the Break Zone so you don't end up losing Warrior of Light's buffing effect with one less Standard Unit on the field. 

Being a 2 cost Wind Backup also makes it a perfect addition for Mono-Wind decks that use Fat Chocobo. I know, I know. Mono Wind is still super unfun to play against. But they comparatively got the worst Limit Break cards, so you know, balance! But yeah, get a free card every turn with Fat Chocobo, play Viera for free with his effect, play a Wind Forward, then use her effect to generate more CP. The Mono-Wind wheel keeps on turning. 

Remember how earlier I said that there were some ways to use Viera's effect outside of your turn? Since the card says it needs a Wind Forward to have entered the field that turn, using Summons or other effects that can play one on your opponent's turn can be a way for you to use Viera's effect outside of yours. You can play Opus 19 Zidane with Phoenix, then reactivate two Backups with Viera. With two extra CP, you can play more Summons or activate any abilities with a cost to catch your opponent off guard.

Forwards with the Back Attack keyword are another way you can use Viera's effect on your opponent's turn. Right now, Mid is one of the only Wind Forwards that have Back Attack, the other being Opus IX Edge but I think of the two, Mid has aged a bit better. Viera also doesn't specify it needs to be broken immediately once the Wind Forward enters. After playing Mid, you could potentially wait to use her effect if you need the extra CP to play something like Mist Dragon or Amaterasu, activate the Power boosting effects of Tyro or Princess Sarah, or even letting you cast Cu Sith before your opponent's turn ends.    

In spite of a relatively simple effect, Viera looks primed to be a pretty solid Backup option in a lot of different decks. What do you guys think? What decks would you want to use Viera in? Leave me a comment and let me know! 

Thanks again to Square Enix for letting me do a spoiler for Hidden Legends! Even though it's been awhile, I'm really glad to be posting on this blog again. You can expect to see some new content from this perpetually Level 1 Onion Knight in the near future. Player interviews! Deck breakdowns! Possibly the return of overly long set reviews! Who knows? All I know is, I promise it won't be as long as it was last time. If it is, my mom will never let me hear the end of it, and I'm telling you, having your mom reminding you that you haven't updated your card game blog in awhile is exactly as bizarre as it sounds (Hi mom!).

Until next time - Keep on Grinding,