Final Fantasy : The Crystal Card Game gameplay

Please note that the following article deals with the coverage of a fan-made product that isn't licensed by Square-Enix.

Final Fantasy : The Crystal Card Game, being a living card game, requires the use of cards to duel one another. A total of 12 categoires of playable cards can be found throughout the game, as well as some cards specific to the players and gameplays. The goal of a duel is to reduce the enemy crystal's HP to zero, thus winning the game. Players use dice and playmats which are included in each starter pack in order to be able to play.

How to play ?
The Crystal Card Game is a 2-players card game. Both players are going to duel, much like other card games like Yu-Gi-Oh!, for example. In order to participate a duel, each player is required to possess a playmat, a die, a player crystal card as well as a total of 99 cards (each starter pack contains exactly what is required to play the game).

When the game begins, players enter the "Dice Breaker" phase : they must roll their die, and the bigger number determines who earns the first turn of the game. Should the numbers be the same, players have to roll the die again until one gets a bigger number than his opponent.

The player who takes the lead enters his "Action Player Turn". It represents the time between the moment he's able to play until the end of his turn.

At the start of an Action Player Turn, the player must roll his die. This phase is called the "Action Dice Turn". The number on the die represents the number of actions the player is allowed during his Action Player Turn. He can decide to spend all, or part of his actions during his turn, but all actions left aside at the end of an Action Player Turn are lost.

Each and every move during the game (except rolling the die, drawing a card and changing your units' row) costs one or more Action Dice Turns.

Players put their Player Cards on the playmat, shuffle their cards and draw the 5 cards on top of their decks. With these cards in hands, they can start the game. The objective is to reduce the enemy's crystal's HP to zero. Players need to remember they cannot attack their opponent's crystal directly, except if a card says so. In order to damage it, they need to deal enough damage to trigger an "Overkill".

By dealing damage on an enemy unit, players are able to reduce said unit's HP. If they go down to zero, then the unit is destroyed and sent to the Rift. When striking the final blow, every inflicted extra damage superior to the remaining HP of the unit is considered an Overkill and is directly withdrawn from the player's crystal.

Players need to remember that for every Action Player Turn they end without a single unit on their side of the playmat, their crystal shall suffer a loss of 10% of its maximum HP (only units with HP values are concerned). This rule has been set in order to avoid players not summoning units, thus incapacitating their opponent who has no target to aim. Such a situation is called an "Empty Phase".

Starter packs : the Crystal Boxes
Also known as a "Crystal Box", a starter pack contains everything a new player requires in order to begin his journey through the Crystal Card Game. There are 5 different starter packs, one per crystal the player can choose to represent his HP during a duel (between fire, water, earth, wind and darkness elements). The content of a Crystal Box is as follows :


 * 1 playmat (matching the element of the starter pack via a unique design)
 * 1 regular six-sided die (matching the element of the starter pack via its color)


 * 1 player crystal card (of the corresponding element)
 * 1 crystal principle card (of the corresponding element)
 * 3 zodiac stone cards (of the corresponding element)
 * 1 "The End" card
 * 1 "All or Nothing" card


 * 99 cards from all types (mostly corresponding the element, and including 40 Monster, 6 Trinity, 3 Soul Eater, 1 Unlimited, 6 Hero, 5 Role, 2 Familiar, 5 Eidolon, 16 Item, 3 Dominion, 2 Crystal and 10 Xtra cards)

The content of each Crystal Box is fixed. Players must enter the duel with the playmat and die matching the player crystal they have chosen, otherwise they cannot participate in a duel.

Structure Decks : the Treasure Chests
Also known as a "Treasure Chest", a structure deck is a new deck containing episode-related new cards. Since the Crystal Card Game is a living card game, there is no random factor and thus the Treasure Chests' content is fixed and focuses on a particular game in the franchise.

Since each Final Fantasy game is quite different from the others, the number of cards between different Treasure Chests varies. Each game is divided in multiple Treasure Chests and will prove to be a formidable addition to any player's deck by offering all possible types of cards.

Master Boxes : the Legacy Editions
Also known as "Legacy Editions", these are special boxsets in which players will find all the structure decks linked to a specific episode of the franchise, as well as a unique collector playmat which can be used in any duel, even if it does not feature any element like the ones from the starter packs.

Each Legacy Edition also contains a few unique cards that are not included in any other Treasure Chests and cannot be obtained in another way. These super rare cards are know as "Empyrean Cards" and bear incredible powers.

Using the playmat
In order to participate to a duel, players must possess a playmat. They will find one in each starter pack, matching the corresponding element of the pack. While playmats are of simple use, there still are a number of informations to explain for beginners to fully understand how it works through the course of a duel.


 * 1)  PLAYER CRYSTAL  : this space is where players put the elemental crystal they have chosen to defend. The crystal must be of the same element as the playmat.
 * 2)  CRYSTAL PRINCIPLE / ZODIAC STONE  : this shared space is where players put their gameplay card. Since this is a common zone, it means players can only activate one of the two gameplays at a time.
 * 3)  XTRA ZONES  : four spaces are allocated for the use of Xtra Cards. Players who want to use such cards must have at least one free zone in order to allow the activation of the card.
 * 4)  DECK  : this space is where players put their cards, face down, at the beginning of a duel.
 * 5)  RIFT  : this space is where players send the discarded, sacrificed and destroyed cards during the course of a duel.
 * 6)  CARD ZONES  : these seven spaces are where all playable units are to be put. They also include the unique " ROW " feature.

Attack or defense mode : using rows
Most like in the Final Fantasy games, battle units can make full use of the row system. Every card zone has additional layers on its upper and lower sides. When players call forth a unit for combat, they place it at the center of the card zone. Then, they have to decide in which position to switch it :


 *  FRONT ROW  (attack position) : requires the player to slide the card up (the "front row" indication remains visible for the player to easily identify the current status of his card). In front row, units can deliver physical attacks at full power. Magical attacks remain at full power no matter the row. On the other hand, units in front row will receive full damage from enemy physical attacks. This position is particularly adequate for strong melee fighters.
 *  BACK ROW  (defense position) : requires the player to slide the card down (the "back row" indication remains visible for the player to easily identify the current status of his card). In back row, units only deliver half of their physical strength. Magical attacks remain at full power no matter the row. On the other hand, units in back row will receive half damage from enemy physical attacks. This position is extremely adequate for magical units who tend to be physically fragile.

How to read a card ?
There are a variety of informations to be found on the cards. Securing knowledge of these informations will allow the duel to be played at its best, and the players to master their cards. Some cards bear similar informations, while some others are working very differently. It actually depends on the category of the card you're playing. For example, combat units (like monsters, heroes or eidolons) bear a similar gameplay due to their use of life points, as well as physical and magical conditions that shall help them in battle. On the other hand, supportive cards (like roles, dominions or items) tend to use different skills and thus shall display different informations.


 * 1)  NAME  : the name of the card
 * 2)  IMAGE  : the image of the card
 * 3)  HIT POINTS (HP)  : the life force of the card. If it reaches zero, the unit is destroyed and the card is discarded in the Rift.
 * 4)  STRENGTH POINTS (ATK)  : the physical strength of the card. Every time the player strikes a normal attack, or uses a physical ability, the unit shall deal as much damage as the number indicated.
 * 5)  MAGIC POINTS (MGI)  : the magical powers of the card. Every time the player uses a magical ability, the unit shall deal as much damage as the number indicated.
 * 6)  ZODIAC STARSIGN  : each card bears a zodiac starsign. While this feature can be tempered with through abilities, its main purpose is to influence players who decide to use the zodiac gameplay.
 * 7)  ELEMENTAL CRYSTAL  : all combat units (with the exception of crowned elite units) and roles are connected to one of the five elemental crystals of the game. While this feature can be tempered with through abilities, its main purpose is to influence players who decide to trigger the Crystal Blessing, or to use the elemental gameplay.
 * 8)  ABILITY NAME & EFFECT  : each card comes with one single ability. Each ability is totally unique and will never be found again in another card throughout the entire game, allowing players infinite possibilities to customize their deck.
 * 9)  ABILITY NATURE & COST  : abilities come in two distinct categories. Offensive abilities are represented by a RED circle, while defensive abilities show a WHITE circle instead. To enact the ability of a card, players must consume a certain amount of their Action Dice Turns, which is indicated in the circle. If they don't possess enough ADT, then they can't use the ability. Since Action Dice Turns are set with one die only, abilities cost between 1 and 6 points to be enacted. It is however possible to temper with this cost through the use of abilities which can raise of reduce the number of Action Dice Turns required to use an ability.
 * 10)  ELEMENT OF THE ABILITY  : only offensive abilities can sometimes be elemental. If that's the case, the symbol of the element appears here. There are a total of eight elements, each of them being opposed to another one : fire and ice, water and lightning, earth and wind, and finally light and darkness. For example, a fire breath ability would bear the fire element, and deal fire-elemental damage to the target.
 * 11) RARITY CHEST : cards follow a different level of rarity based on the effect of their ability. This level is indicated with a small treasure chest at the bottom-left corner of the card. There are three levels of rarity : common (indicated by a black treasure chest), rare (indicated by a mythril blue chest) and super rare (indicated by a golden treasure chest). While this feature is of no direct use for the players, it can be related to some abilities.
 * 12)  REFERENCE NUMBER  : in order to allow players to collect and classify their collection, they will find a reference number at the botton-right corner which will help them organize their cards. They can choose to comply with the official order, while they are also entirely free to do as they please.

There is another information the players should consider, although not specifically noted on the cards : the  SPECIES . Whenever they summon creatures from the different Final Fantasy games, players should be aware that some of the cards' abilities can affect specific species, thus it is crucial for players to bear a complete knowledge of the cards they own.

While other important informations do exist on other cards (elite crown, trinity rank, equipment ...), they only appear on specific categories of cards, and thus are best to be explained in their respective parts.

Optimized strategy : the species
Final Fantasy : The Crystal Card Game species

Although not indicated on the cards themselves, each creature the player can summon is of a certain species that could help develop further strategies. Also, some abilities focus on specific species to enact various effects that can prove to be of tremendous use for players, should they want to elaborate strict strategies. While these informations can be found in the booklets of each deck, they should be remembered as players should know the composition of their deck very well should they want to master the duel.

Optimized strategy : status effects
Final Fantasy : The Crystal Card Game status effects

Sometimes brutal strength is not the only option. Although the objective of a duel is to destroy the enemy crystal, meaning players should try to Overkill enemy units as often as possible, it can happen though that the enemy defense is way too elaborated to be peirced through easily. Much like in traditional Final Fantasy games, there is always a way to defeat your opponent, and it usually involves status effects.

Whether they are negative (meant to harm and weaken enemy units), positive (meant to aid your units and resist your opponent's assaults) or even neutral (with effects capable of both good and bad), these status effects can lead the best strategies to ruin if played correctly.

With a total of 48 different status effects, players have great possibilities to strengthen their decks and elaborate complicated yet very precise and unforgiving strategies to eliminate their opponent's crystal.

Player Crystals
Players are represented on their playmat by an elemental crystal. They can choose between fire, water, earth, wind and dark crystals. Once they have chosen a crystal, players cannot change it during the course of the duel. The number of HP for both players is determined before the beginning of the game either by the players themselves or an arbiter. Once a player crystal's HP have reached zero, the game is over and the player who owns said crystal loses.

Player crystals have the ability to embed one card zone with the corresponding element, rendering that precise zone elemental for the whole duration of the game. This feature is called the " CRYSTAL BLESSING ". Although it may empower corresponding elemental cards once they are summoned on that particular zone, it also weakens cards of the opposite element (with the exception of darkness related units, and crowned elite units which are not affected by this rule). The Crystal Blessing can be activated at any time and requires no use of any Action Dice Turn. On the other hand, it cannot be deactivated once triggered.

Choosing to activate the Crystal Blessing also triggers another feature called the  "CRYSTAL LINK" . It is a permanent bond between the player's crystal and the zone which becomes elemental. Every time the player ends his turn, his crystal automatically drains 10% of the maximum HP of the card that has been summoned on that particular zone. Should the space be vacant at the end of a player's turn, his crystal loses 10% of its own maximum HP instead.

When played carefully, this strategy can ensure a constant life regain for the player's crystal while empowering units at the same time, but since both Crystal Blessing and Crystal Link cannot be deactivated once triggered, this strategy can quickly prove to be more of a flaw than an asset if not handled with great care.

The End
This unique card represents an extension of the game. Players can only have one in their deck. While players come with a maximum of 99 cards in their decks, they can run out of cards if all of them have been used, discarded or destroyed. Should this occurs, the duel ends and the player with the highest remaining HP is the winner. This allows players to establish quick but strong strategies in order to claim victory as rapidly as possible, while coping with their opponent's deck.

However, should players draw this unique card, they can play it using one Action Dice Turn and put them in the last position of their deck. Once the bottom of the deck has been reached, players can use this card to reclaim all discarded cards from the Rift. They need to shuffle these cards and to keep only half of them as their new deck, while the rest of the cards remains discarded in the Rift, allowing players to extend their game with a last chance strategy they'll have to put up with. While this card can be of great assistance, it can only be used once and needs to sacrifice half of the player crystal's HP to be activated. It is definitely a last resort move in order to try and turn the tide.

All or Nothing
Another unique feature of the game, this card can only be used once. It is impossible to have more than one copy of this card in a deck. Players can use this card anytime on an already summoned unit, no matter its row. Once linked, this card acts as a shield preventing a unit from any kind of damage for three whole player turns. While said unit is still able to play as normal, it is rendered totally invincible for the time the card is played.

On the other hand, such advantage comes with a big counterpart. At the beginning of each of his turns, the player who used the All or Nothing card designates a number on the die. The opposing player immediately rolls his die to try and match the chosen number. Should he fails, he must discard one card from his hand (if he cannot, he must discard the next card of his deck) and his crystal loses 10% of its current HP. He will be able to try again for two turns before the All or Nothing card ends its use and is discarded.

Should the opposing player rolls the die and matches the chosen number, then the consequences are brought on the player who played the All or Nothing card. Not only the unit he protected is immediatly destroyed, but his crystal loses 50% of its current HP and he must discard as many cards as the number he has chosen. Said discarded cards are to be chosen from the top of the player's deck. In reward of his luck, the opposing player who rolled the die can pick two cards from his deck and add them to his hand.

After three turns, if the number has not been matched by the opposing player, the All or Nothing card is discarded and its effects end as well.

Crystal Principles
An extension of the Crystal Blessing feature, the elemental gameplay provided by the addition of the five Crystal Principle cards allow the players to embed their whole playmat with the corresponding element. Players can decide to use their Crystal Principle anytime. It costs one Action Dice Turn to be played, and requires the principle to match the player crystal's element (for example, a player cannot be fighting under a water crystal and activate a fire principle. Should he wants to use a principle, he then needs to use the water principle instead).

While rendering the whole seven zones of a playmat elemental could be considered as a major boost for players who want to use a fully elemental strategy, one must be aware that the principle also triggers the Crystal Link effect ... to all zones ! Which means, every time the player ends his turn, his crystal shall drain 10% of the maximum HP of all occupied spaces of the playmat, as well as lose 10% of its own HP for every empty space. Maintaining such a balance can be both exhausting as well as card-consuming, and may lead the unaware player to certain doom in a very short time. On the other hand, that kind of gameplay can be used to considerably boost an all-powerful quick strategy set to end the duel in a very limited time with brutal strength.

Should a Crystal Principle be destroyed, it cannot be revived and must be removed from the game. This destruction also implies the deactivation of the Crystal Link and all zones return to non-elemental ones, with all previous boosts getting cancelled.

Zodiac Stones
While the cards bear elements, they also bear a zodiac starsign. Another approach which does not involve magic nor elemental strategies consists of using a zodiac related gameplay. Unlike the Crystal Principles, while the twelve Zodiac Stones (there is no Ophiuchus Zodiac Stone) do embed the entire playmat with a specific starsign, they cannot empower nor weaken units of the corresponding/opposed starsigns.

This gameplay affects the cards in a very different way, as it only allows players to use cards of the corresponding zodiac starsign. No card of another starsign can be played while the Zodiac Stone is played. On the other hand, there are no specific effect that link the Zodiac Stone to the player's crystal.

That kind of alternative strategy, while easily mistaken for a weak one, is actually far more elaborated. Much like their real-life counterparts, all cards bearing a specific starsign will see their gameplay and abilities linked to the characteristics of said starsign. For example, Aries related cards will bear fierceful powers and strong energy to crush their opponents without mercy, while Scorpio related cards, on the other hand, will prefer sneaky approches, and vile strategies like the abuse of status ailments.

Monster cards
Monster cards are BLACK.

Monsters are the most basic units players can summon. They possess between 1 and 9.999 HP and do not require any particular process to be summoned on the playmat. They can be considered as the basic infantry as they represent the fastest and easiest way to fill one's card spaces due to their summoning not requiring anything special. Monsters can make full use of the front and back rows, can physically attack enemy units and bear one ability, whether it's an ofensive one (spotted with the red sphere next to its description) of a defensive one (bearing the white sphere instead).

Trinity cards
Trinitarian cards are YELLOW.

Trinities are reinforced creatures that possess between 10.000 and 999.999 HP. Due to their excessive hit points, they can be considered extremely dangerous but cannot be freely summoned. The number that appears in the central star classifies the Trinities through seven levels of power.


 * Level 1 : HP between 10.000 and 19.999
 * Level 2 : HP between 20.000 and 29.999
 * Level 3 : HP between 30.000 and 49.999
 * Level 4 : HP between 50.000 and 69.999
 * Level 5 : HP between 70.000 and 99.999
 * Level 6 : HP between 100.000 and 499.999
 * Level 7 : HP between 500.000 and 999.999

In order to summon a Trinity card, the player must first discard as many cards from the top of his deck than the number in the star. Then, his crystal must pay a tribute equivalent as the level of the Trinity unit x10 (for example, if a player wants to summon a level 3 Trinity card, his crystal then loses 30% of its current HP). Trinities can make full use of the front and back rows, can physically attack enemy units and bear one ability, whether it's an ofensive one (spotted with the red sphere next to its description) of a defensive one (bearing the white sphere instead).

Soul Eater cards
Soul Eater cards are BLUE.

Soul Eaters are special creatures that do not come with any digits regarding of their stats. In order to summon these creatures, players have to sacrifice as many Monster cards as they want (said cards must be in the player's hand to be allowed to be sacrificed). The addition of the sacrificed cards' digits represent the respective values for the Soul Eater's hit points, strength and magic. Soul Eaters can make full use of the front and back rows, can physically attack enemy units and bear one ability, whether it's an ofensive one (spotted with the red sphere next to its description) of a defensive one (bearing the white sphere instead).

Unlimited cards
Unlimited cards are WHITE.

Unlimiteds are by far the most powerful units of all. They are creatures with at least 1.000.000 HP, which makes them extremely dangerous and difficult - but not impossible - to strike down. Only one Unlimited card is allowed per deck, as its conditions to be summoned are extremely risky for the player who would bet on its brutal strength rather than to think of a proper strategy.

Calling an Unlimited card requires the player to discard 50 cards from his deck and lose 90% of his crystal's current HP. Furthermore, the summoning of such a creature destroys every other card the player has previously summoned on his card zones (thus not the Xtra or player cards). Such a move is best to be reserved for a last resolve, and only should the player still possesses at least 50 cards in his deck, which means this cannot occur at the end of a duel (when the The End card will be more appropriate). Unlimiteds can make full use of the front and back rows, can physically attack enemy units and bear one ability, whether it's an ofensive one (spotted with the red sphere next to its description) of a defensive one (bearing the white sphere instead).