Carta de la semana: 20 / Vanille [1-093H]

Vanille is one Forward that I really enjoyed early on, but I couldn’t seem to find a place for it in most decks. As the meta changed, I moved away from trying to find a way to make this character work. However, recent shifts in the meta, along with some tournament results, have shown she’s gotten a significant boost out of Opus IV and is now a much stronger character.

Oerba Dia Vanille appears in FINAL FANTASY XIII as part of Lightning’s party that comes together following the Purge. Each of them has an eidolon bonded to them that becomes summoned in a dire situation. Vanille’s eidolon is Hecatoncheir, an Earth elemental with multiple arms that Vanille can ride when it transforms into its Gestalt Mode. If Vanille falls to 0 HP in battle, Hecatoncheir will cast “Arise,” bringing Vanille back to life, but dismissing Hecatoncheir. Vanille is a survivor, wanting nothing more than to live her life with Fang, and defying all odds to make that happen. Her FFTCG card represents just that.

Let’s take a look!

Vanille is a 4 CP Earth Forward that reads, “When Vanille is put from the field into the Break Zone, search for 1 [Card Name (Hecatoncheir)] and remove it from the game. If you do so, return Vanille onto the field dull.” So, just like in FINAL FANTASY XIII, Vanille is a survivor. As long as you have a Hecatoncheir card available in your deck, he will cast “Arise” whenever Vanille would be broken. This makes her one of the most persistent characters in FFTCG.

Now, in Opus I there was only one version of Hecatoncheir, meaning you could use Vanille’s ability a maximum of three times, assuming you never draw one of the Hecatoncheir cards. With Opus IV, we have a new version of Hecatoncheir, meaning you could use her ability up to 6 times! It takes a lot to get rid of Vanille.

You will want to run both versions of Hecatoncheir in a deck that utilizes Vanille. Hecatoncheir [1-117R] is strong in its own right, allowing you to choose 1 Backup of cost 3 or more and break it. There are plenty of strong Backups that cost 3 or more you’ll want to break, such as Minwu [1-171H], Fusoya [2-146L], or Aerith [3-050L]. Another popular Backup you will always want to break when using Vanille is Yuna [1-176H], as her field ability will remove Vanille from the game when she’s broken, and not allow her to use her ability.

Hecatoncheir [4-093R] is mostly in the deck to use for Vanille’s ability, but it’s also really strong to cast when Vanille is on the field. It reads, “Choose 1 Forward you control and 1 Forward opponent controls. Each Forward deals damage equal to its power to the other.” You can use this and choose Vanille to deal 7000 damage to Forwards that would normally break Vanille when they deal the damage back, but thanks to her ability, she’ll end up dull rather than broken. You can even use this after using her ability once already during the turn, as it doesn’t matter if she is already dull.

Another card in Opus IV that works great with Vanille is the new version of Delita [4-087R]. “When Delita enters the field, choose 1 Forward opponent controls. You may put 1 of your Forwards of the same cost other than Delita into the Break Zone. If you do so, break the chosen Forward. When Delita is chosen by Summons or abilities, Delita gains +1000 power until the end of the turn.” At 3 CP, 7000 Power, and the ability to increase his power whenever he’s chosen by a Summon or ability, Delita is already a decent Forward. His first ability, when combined with Vanille, allows you to break any 4 CP Forward when Delita enters the field for free. This combo is definitely one of the most exciting ones of Opus IV.

Mog (XIII-2) [1-196S] is also a great choice when playing Vanille, as it lets you search your deck for any Category XIII Forward and add it to your hand. This will allow you to start strong with an early turn 1 or 2 backup and the ability to play Vanille as soon as you need a blocker.

Since we’re playing Ice, and Vanille is a Category XIII Forward, Serah [4-037H] is a great choice to run alongside Vanille. When Serah enters the field, choose 1 Forward opponent controls. If you control a Category XIII Forward other than Serah, dull and Freeze the chosen Forward. Like I’d mentioned earlier, once Vanille is in play, she’s very hard to get rid of, so odds are you’ll have her in play when you play Serah. Also, when Serah attacks, you may pay 2 Ice CP, if you do so, your opponent discards 1 card from his/her hand. While she may not be as sturdy as Vanille, she does a lot to disrupt your opponent’s plans, so you’ll definitely want to consider her as an option.

Lastly, a staple card for Ice, Devout [1-048C] can cause even more frustration for your opponent’s inability to get rid of Vanille, as you can break Devout to bring back any 4 or less cost Forward from your Break Zone. While your opponent may be focusing on breaking your Forwards, you can just continue to bring yours back.

So what do you think? Does Vanille’s resilience seem like an appealing strategy to you? What other cards do you think combo well with Vanille? Are there any other older cards that you feel got a major boost thanks to Opus IV? Let us know in the comments at facebook.com/FinalFantasyTCG!

See you next week!

~RB