Final Fantasy VII Rebirth introduces a range of new mini-games and fleshed out features that the 1997 original didn’t have. One of the most addictive is Queen’s Blood, a brand new card game. In a similar vein to The Witcher’s Gwent, it involves challenging NPCs dotted throughout the game world, collecting new cards, and building powerful decks with the goal of becoming the champion.
If you’ve picked up Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and tried your hand at Queen’s Blood, you might be wondering how to become absolutely cracked at yet another digital card game. Well, dear reader, I’ve got you covered. As Kotaku Australia’s resident card gremlin, I made it my personal mission to get goated at Queen’s Blood or die trying. And luckily for you, I’m here to share tips on how to get good. Buckle up, let’s draw blood!
Don’t fear the Mulligan
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s Queen’s Blood is pretty fast paced, so having a poor starting hand is a surefire way to set yourself up for failure immediately. You’ll start with five cards from your deck, and have the option to mulligan as many as you want before you begin your turn. Generally, it’s worth removing cards that require too many pawns to play early if your hand is filled with them, and prioritising cards which will gain you decent ground on the board quickly. Don’t miss the opportunity to mulligan as much as you need to, as there’s no real drawback to doing so.
Cover ground quickly
Vital to success in Queen’s Blood: Claim as much space on the board with your pawns as quickly as you can. While you can certainly score a win with minimal board space if your cards are powerful enough, having more real estate to fill out is going to give you a fighting chance against your opponent. Security Officer is one of the best starting cards, in my opinion. Inching forward to take ground on all sides and boosting the number of pawns already holding captured spots allows more powerful cards to be played sooner.
It’s also worth noting that any open spots adjacent to your pawns that neighbour your opponent’s territory should be a priority for card placement where possible. This ensures your opponent doesn’t take it before you can! Working backwards once you’ve got a solid frontline is a solid strategy.
Balance your Queen’s Blood deck
While it’s a Magic: The Gathering term, the phrase ‘mana curve’ has its place when considering your deck build in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s Queen’s Blood. What do I mean by this? Consider the power of the cards in your deck. Avoid stacking it with too many low-powered, one-pawn cards or too many extremely high-powered cards. A good balance will allow you to more easily adapt in-game to different situations. When editing a pre-built deck, it’s a good strategy to remove a card of similar power (pawn-wise) for each one you add so the proverbial mana curve of your deck remains smooth.
Don’t be afraid to edit
In Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, there are over 140 Queen’s Blood cards available to collect, buy, or win by defeating opponents around the map. It can be easy to forget which cards you’ve picked up along your adventures, so don’t forget to regularly check what you have in reserve. You might find cards with similar tile patterns but higher strength, or with additional abilities, to what you’ve got in current play. This presents the perfect opportunity to buff your deck to become more competitive.
Card hunt for success
As mentioned, Queen’s Blood cards can be found all over in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. While you can win cards for defeating different opponents, some vendors also carry booster packs. Whenever you find yourself at a store, don’t forget to check and buy packs to increase your options and find powerful new cards to add to your deck.
While a lot of general vendors will have booster packs, there is also Thorin in Kalm that sells legendary summon cards as you continue to progress in-game. For each summon you unlock in combat, Thorin will have the corresponding card up for grabs. You’ll run into Thorin in Kalm as part of the A Rare Card Lost side quest.
If you’ve also become addicted to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s Queen’s Blood already, share your tips for success in the comments! In the meantime I’ll be over here, waiting for a physical version to come out so I can lure all my mates into yet another card game.
Image: Square Enix
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