Carta de la semana: 19 / Shadow [4-015H]

Hi everyone! We’re back with the first Card of the Week of 2018! This week’s card is one of the biggest threats of Opus IV, and one of my personal favorite cards to play with in this set. This card can turn any other card in your deck into a deadly weapon. Let’s talk about Shadow [4-015H].

In FINAL FANTASY VI, Shadow is an assassin with a mysterious past. When you first come across him, Edgar says Shadow is so ruthless, he’d kill his best friend for the right price. This isn’t necessarily the case, as he has a soft spot for his dog, Interceptor. Ironically, as Shadow is a fire card, he saves the party from a burning building. Afterwards, he claims he had just gone in for Interceptor.

You’ll need to play the game to find out more about his past, because his ability deals more with his command action in FINAL FANTASY VI. Each character in the game has something unique about them aside from what types of items they can use. Shadow has Interceptor, and a command called “Throw” which allows him to do just that. Take any item in your inventory and throw it for varied damage.

Let’s take a look!

Shadow is a 4 CP Fire Forward with 7000 power, First Strike, and an ability that reads: “2 Fire CP, remove 1 card in your hand from the game: Choose 1 Forward. Deal it 1000 damage for each CP required to play the removed card.” Just like his “Throw” ability in FINAL FANTASY VI, this ability allows you to throw your unwanted cards at Forwards! If a card isn’t quite working out, you can just throw it and get some use out of it that way.

This is also really valuable with his First Strike, since he can Throw cards at a blocker, or attacker that he’s blocking, that might have too much power to take out with just his own 7000 power. It effectively adds damage on top of his First Strike. Throw a 4 CP card at the opposing Forward, and Shadow will do 11,000 damage before they get a chance to deal damage back.

While Shadow claims to not care about his FINAL FANTASY VI companions, they’re some of the best characters to play alongside him.

Cyan [4-007H] is a 3 CP Fire Forward with 7000 power and Brave. He also gives all of your Category VI Forwards Brave. Having Cyan in play means you can continuously attack with Shadow and still have him available to block. His special, Bushido: Fang, allows you to choose 1 Forward, and at the beginning of your next Main Phase 1, if Cyan is still on your field, break that Forward. Use this during your opponent’s 2nd Main Phase, so your opponent will need to deal with Cyan immediately or lose their Forward.

Since we’ll want other Category VI Forwards, Edgar [4-004H] is a great one to consider. At 5 CP and 7000 power, he’s a little on the weaker side, but his EX Burst allows you to search for his brother, Sabin, and add him to your hand. You can also dull Edgar to deal 2000 damage to a Forward, which synergizes well with Shadow. His special ability, Drill, costs 2 Fire CP, 1 colorless CP, and dull Edgar to choose 1 Forward and Break it. Edgar’s drill can pierce through nearly any obstacle, regardless of power.

Sabin [4-021L] is one of the strongest Fire Forwards currently in FFTCG! At 4 CP cost and 8000 power, he might not look like much at first glance. However, when Sabin enters the field or attacks, choose 1 Forward you control. It cannot be broken this turn. Sabin allows you to make attacks without fear of losing the forward you’re attacking with. You can also pay 1 Fire CP and 1 colorless CP while Sabin is attacking to give Sabin +2000 Power until the end of the turn.

You can also use Sabin’s special, Rising Phoenix, while he’s attacking which costs 2 Fire CP and 2 colorless CP to deal 8000 damage to all Forwards. This special is a bit dangerous when your board is full, as it damages your own Forwards as well, but it’s a good way to clear your opponent’s Forwards from the field if you’re having trouble dealing with them.

You’ll want some high cost cards that can double as cards to throw with Shadow’s ability. While it may seem like you should just include all of the highest cost cards in the game, it’s best to choose cards that you would likely play in the deck even if you don’t manage to use Shadow’s ability.

Bahamut [1-018L] is a 9 CP Fire Summon that deals 10,000 damage to up to 2 Forwards. If they are put from the field into the Break Zone, remove them from the game instead. 9 CP is pretty costly, so more often than not you’ll be using this to do 9000 damage with Shadow, but late game it can be a great way to remove two Forwards from the game.

Sephiroth [1-186L] is an 8 CP Dark Forward that fits perfectly with Shadow. He has 8000 power and First Strike, letting you use him the same way I described with Shadow earlier. Also, when Sephiroth enters the field, choose 1 Backup and Break it. This can help you get rid of problem Backups like Minwu [1-171H], which prevents your damage effects. Also, since you can’t use Sephiroth for CP, and he’s unique so you can’t play more than 1, he’s a prime candidate to throw for 8000 damage.

Another Dark card that would fit alongside Sephiroth is Zodiark [3-147L]. We’ve already covered this card in a previous Card of the Week, so you should know that Zodiark, which normally costs 7 CP, only costs 4 CP with a Dark Forward in play. You can use Zodiark to break all of your opponent’s Forwards, but be careful, as you take damage for each Forward you break. Zodiark is great for securing a win, but it’s risky or even unusable at other times. For those situations, throw it with Shadow for 7000 damage. Shadow takes away the risk of including Zodiark in your deck and makes it a win, win situation.

Of course, you can throw literally any card with Shadow. Which cards do you like to include in your deck with Shadow? Let us know in the comments at facebook.com/FinalFantasyTCG!

See you next week!

~RB