The FFTCG 7th Anniversary Fan Fair was held at the main office of Square Enix on February 25th, 2018. Two members of the FF portal staff participated in the event celebrating the 7th anniversary of the FINAL FANTASY Trading Card Game (FFTCG)!
Unlike the usual tournament venues, this one was dark and atmospheric.
◆Single Title Tournament
The main event of the day was the Single Title Tournament, a tournament that restricts your deck to a single FF title. You can build a dream deck using your favorite of the FF series!
With that in mind, I, Mariko, a member of the FF portal staff, decided to take on the challenge. This was my deck.
The tournament consisted of five matches, with everyone using a deck created from that one FF title they remember so fondly!
The final tally:
Match 1: Lost vs. FFV deck
Match 2: Lost vs. FFT deck
Match 3: Draw* vs. FFXII deck
Match 4: Draw* vs. FFXIV deck
Match 5: Won vs. FFVI deck
*Draws count as a loss.
Final result: 82nd out of 92 participants
Everyone was as good as I’d expected! But the concept of this tournament was about enjoying the game rather than winning, so the atmosphere was very relaxed and pleasant. There was even one participant who had only been playing for a month.
The prizes of the tournament included cards signed by the creators of the FF series and other FF merchandise, which were given out to participants in a raffle. It was nice having the chance to win something without being a top-ranking player!
◆FFTCG Puzzle-Solving Game
That’s not all! There was another event held that day. I also participated in the FFTCG Puzzle-Solving Game!
I’ve got this!
Once everyone got started, FFTCG card packs were distributed with the purpose of using the cards to solve the puzzles. There were clues placed all around the venue, too; there was lots to do! I was able to solve most everything by hounding the event staff and other participants for hints (laugh)!
The last question was of course related to FFTCG. Th-this is hard...!
(Wait a minute, I haven’t used the information on that mysterious poster taped conspicuously to the wall.)
When I headed to the final room, I encountered the final boss, Man of History and Tradition! My last challenge was to defeat him in a game of FFTCG.
Thankfully, I had all the clues I needed to solve the puzzle and was able to defeat the final boss!
The art depicted on this game mat was the final boss battle from FINAL FANTASY V. Any FF fan would be blown away by the portrayal. It was truly amazing!
◆Beginner’s Workshop
While Mariko was having fun at the tournament, I, Tomy, another portal staff, was participating in the FFTCG Beginner’s Workshop!
A regular deck consists of fifty cards, and you win by dealing seven points of damage. However, for the workshop, each deck consisted of thirty cards, and you won by dealing four points of damage. Here, experienced players helped beginners figure out the rules and how to read the cards.
A random piece of trivia: The Forwards’ designs were inspired by swords, the Backups’ books, and the Summons’ feathers. Did you know that?
Using starter sets, my opponent chose speed with a lightning-element deck, and I chose power with a fire-element deck.
Grr... I lost. But I got to learn the rules and had a lot of fun! The beginner’s workshops are generally held at all FFTCG events. Try them out for yourself!
There’s also a video tutorial! I recommend watching it to learn the rules of the game.
◆Introduced on the EDAMAME Arcade Channel!
The YouTube channel “EDAMAME Arcade Channel” hosted by “powered by SQUARE ENIX” introduces various Japanese games, and they did a feature on FFTCG! You can check out the Fan Fair footage here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxg36JD1iK4