-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighter's Clash 2 Expand Edition Complete Cardlist, Card Guide & Partial Game Translation v 0.984 by "~Kaz" theeternallostboy at hotmail dot com -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- -= Legal =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This Complete Cardlist is a complete listing of all the cards obtainable in the NeoGeo Pocket Color game, Cardfighters Clash 2, and is copyright 2006 by "theeternallostboy at hotmail dot com". Do not plagiarize or distribute any part or whole of this document for profit or without giving the author (that's me, the guy typing this) credit. Feel free to put the entire guide on your webpage, as long as the content is not altered and I'm credited. This is best viewed in a browser with a fixed-width font. If you are using an editor to view this, use a fixed-width font like Courier. How can you be sure? Just compare this line with the line below. If they're equal, you are golden. abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0987654321 * 1234567890 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcba -= Acknowledgements -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- A great big THANK-YOU to: GameFAQs: for composers and credits, and glitches and previews... ...spoiler-filled walkthrus, long top-10's and reviews... ...Regional boards, come see what you're missing... ...these are just a few of my favorite things! SNK, Capcom, and Moto Kikaku for releasing this (2001)... ...even if it was a Japanese exclusive The late, great Chris MacDonald, aka "Kao Megura" (1979-2004). Your skill & determination are an inspiration to us all. GameFAQ writers such as: -the Lemming's (thelemmings@thelemmings.net) Cardfighters Clash 2 FAQ Alongside Z-force (z-force@execpc.com) and Ritalman (ritalman@thelemmings.net), their FAQ is stuffed with GI-normous chunks of info. It's big too. -Ragnarosen & Thundergod for their Savestate Editing FAQs Couldn't have found all 424 cards/804 combos without them. -Hasu.. I mean myself Swelled head and all for the sleepless nights because every detail had to get its own special attention The members of GameFAQs' Final Fantasy Legend 2 board, because they kick @$$. The members of GameFAQs' Cardfighers Clash 1 board; SNK 100% SHOCK, baby! And to my family and friends who can stand to put up with me on a daily basis. ..I still don't know how they do it. 8^P -= Contact =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Kaz Fact: The author of this FAQ can be found @ www.GameFAQs.com under the FINAL FANTASY LEGEND II Board section, where he has harassed the local posters of the for the past 3 or 4 years under the name of "Hasukawa Kazuya(a)". (A Bonus-kun if you recognize the pseudonym.) If you can't visit the boards, feel free to flame me via e-mail. Corrections & helpful suggestions are more welcome though. -= History =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- v0.00- Tentative release: Somewhen Spring 2006. Actual release: ?? My personal Cardlist filled with my own nifty comments. This is more of a personal compendium which I am publically releasing rather than a cardlist, so I'll have quirky lines like "Man, what is gazongas in the game? Morrigan, Athena, Carol? And why are Mai and the other Vampire/Darkstalkers crew being surprisingly conservative?" This will include the card name & abilities, romanized and hopefully translated. If I'm lucky, I might be able to even translate some of the extra card-text under the card. If I someone get a job as a translator, I'll dump the game's script. And what the heck is Hokutomaru? v0.98- Public release: 2006/02. Slightly cleaned up the format so it doesn't seem as scattered. I've got all the card abilities and names translated except for Hokutomaru's ability and "Ochuushia". The rules are written, the shortcuts are listed, abd the rare cards are revealed. What's left? Each card's flavor text, the game script, and if you can get any more [S] cards, but I'm pretty much done. v0.981- 2006/02: Oops, forgot to translate the counter-attack menu. Moriya's ability activates at the START of your turn. Added to the Galactica Phantom (R008) information. Corrected the Cruel Hunting (R009) card and other errors. v0.982- 2006/03: Included how to get Kyo/Ryu if you picked the CAP/SNK deck. Included how to get more [S]-rank cards and Bargain store. Added more to the Substitute AC. Added more info about Kid's Bargain Store. Added a change to Mech Zangief/Krauser's abilities. Corrected Rugal's power. Corrected a Cruel Hunting mistake. v0.983- 2008/01: Flav has made an English translation of this game; woo-hoo! v0.984- 2008/4/1st - Making up for 2007 April Fool's! Griffon Mask ability amended for when it's activated by other means. Kain's power corrected. Raiden's power amended. Marco R.'s powers corrected. Simplified the Activate! AC description Corrected RE Grand Master description -= Contents -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Jump to each chapter by searching their for their number ("0.", "I.", etc.) This is only a Card Guide to help you construct your own deck; for rules on how to play through Story Mode, read the in-game help books or other FAQs. # | Title | What you'll find --------------------------------------------------------------------------- T.| Tutorial (quick) | A very basic run-through of the rules 0.| Glossary of Terms | Explaination of the language and symbols I use I.| SNK Cards | The numerical listing of SNK Characters II.| Capcom Cards | The numerical listing of Capcom Characters III.| Common Card Teams | Some 'teams' you can keep any eye out for IV.| Action Cards | The numerical listing of all Action Cards (ACs) V.| Reaction Cards | The numerical listing of all Reaction Cards (REs) VI.| Decks | Pre-arranged decks VII.| Changes from CFC1 | More rules, shortcuts, lists of changes, and ranting -= T. TUTORIAL =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Most of this information can be found in game (if you read Japanese) or from the Lemming/Z-Force's FAQ. Be sure to read "Changes from CFC1" at the end of this file for more info! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Quick Rules of the Game: (if you can't understand the tutorial) The game goes in phases: 1. You draw a card 2. You manage the field/ring a. You can place a single (no more) character card on your side b. You can back-up a single (no more) card in your ring (!) Cards that just entered may not be backed-up (!) Each card has a limited number of back-up slots (!) Each slot can only be filled ONCE c. You can use Action Cards as long as you have enough SP d. You can use []-abilities if you have a card that has one (!) Cards that just entered may not use their []-abilities (!) Using []-abilities will "freeze" your card 3. You attack or end your turn (!) Cards that attack will be "frozen" 4. Your turn is now totally over 5. The opponent draws a card, manages their ring, and/or attacks 6. If your opponent attacks: a. You may examine the field, discards, and the stats so far b. You may look at your hand and play an RE card 7. You can decide to counter/block your opponents attack with a card (!) Only your UNFROZEN cards may counter/block 8. Your characters are unfrozen and your turn begins again - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - You must go from "1 to 8" in that order. You can do the sub-phases (marked with "a-d"), only once, in any order. Win by reducing your opponent's HP to 0. You can also win if your enemy has no cards left to draw during Phase 5. You can also lose if you have no cards to draw during Phase 1. The limit a player's HP can grow is 9900. The limit a character card's BP can grow is 3300. There is no hand size limit, you cannot discard on your own. Remember, normally, you can only play one card and back-up one card per turn. There are cards you can find that will allow you to: -put more cards down in Phase 2a. -allow you to back-up more cards in Phase 2b -allow you to back-up cards that just entered in Phase 2b -allow you to use []-abilities of cards that just entered in Phase 2d - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Here are the commands on the fight screen: 1. Look at hand 2. Look at cards on field 3. Glossary 4. Choose attack cards 5. Use []-ability 6. End Turn (for a list of shortcuts, see part 8 at the end of this file) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - If you are attacked, here are the commands you are given: 1. Choose a card to block 2. Look at hand/use REs 3. Do not block 4. Glossary - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Here are the commands on the Story Mode pause screen: 1. Deck Work -> Card Menu 2. Save 3. Go to Main Menu (goto part 8 at the end of this file for "Card Menu" and "Main Menu") - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - How Card Menu works: 1. See Deck 2. Set as "active" deck 3. Card Album 4. Rename deck 1. See Deck You will be taken to the list of all the cards you have. (for a list of shortcuts, see part 8 at the end of this file) When the tabs are flashing, you are highlighting that tab. Press Option to change the sorting order. Press left/right to select a tab and press "A" to select the tab. Once you are in the tab, move the cursor around and select which cards you want with "A". Select how many you want with left/right, confirm with "A". (!) Your deck must have exactly 50 cards. You can "reserve" 80 cards for your deck in this menu. Once you are done with a tab, press "B" to go back to tab-select. Press "B" when you are highlighting the tabs to leave. You will be shown 3 choices: (a.) Accept changes (b.) Discard changes (c.) Delete this deck 4. You can select a name for your deck! Hit Option to jump straight to "OK" to find out what it looks like. You can use Hiragana, Katakana, or ABC's to name your deck. Use "B" as backspace and "A" to confirm. You cannot leave the name blank. If you backspace over a blank name, the game will ask you: (a.) Leave Rename Deck? (b.) No, continue Renaming! -= 0. GLOSSARY =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Card Number [Rarity] Card Name * * BP value of card (Change from last game) * * SP value of card (Change from last game) * * Backups who are accepted * * Who the card can Help * * Special Ability (if any) and []-type or /\-type or ()-type* * My personal Comments * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Abilities: (EOA or UPN, your choice) [] Will activate on command; card is frozen after using it /\ Will activate, once and only once, when the card is put on the field () Is always active; will turn off at the end of your turn IF you use the card with this in a United Combo, but will turn back on at the end of your opponent's turn (phase 5) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Value: "Low" 400 BP or less, 2 SP or less, or a BP/100 & SP total of 6 or less "Med" 400-500 BP, 3-4 SP, or a BP/100 & SP total of 7-8 "Good" 600-700 BP, 4 SP, or a BP/100 & SP total of 9-10 "High" 800+ BP, 5+ SP, or a BP/100 & SP total of 11+ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rating: * Poor and/or Junk; drop as soon as you can ** Low-level card; useful early on or in rare situations *** Decent card; good to use before late game when heavier-hitters appear **** Excellent card; get it, get a lot of it, and use it ASAP ***** Top-notch; use this card and abuse your opponents « Half a star; if I can't be precise about a rating - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Stages in your Game: "Early" From the start of the game until you defeat Fou "Mid" Around when you first fight NeoMask to Nanako "Late" From Nanako to the Final Boss "Post" After you defeat the Final Boss through the new Free Battle mode - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rarity: [D] Very common; weak and/or low ability [C] Common; middle-power level card; maybe has a good ability [B] Uncommon; powerful, balanced, good ability [A] Very rare; very powerful, balanced, and/or great ability [S] One-of-a-Kind; unique art work and an unusual ability - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - There are 8 SNK and 8 Capcom [S]-rank cards. There is no easy way to get more than 1 set of [S] cards this time around. The special requirement is that you need to defeat each CPU character in Free Battle Mode 20-30 times to unlock; you will get the [S] card instead of the random set you normally get and the victory count becomes "**". ***************************************************************** * (!) It's easier to do this before beating the game. (!) * ***************************************************************** Haruna (20) - Akari(T) || Kid (20) - Terry (T) Lip (20) - Nakoruru (S) || Fou (20) - Chun Li (D) Zet (30) - Geese (H) || Nanako (30) - Roll (M) Torawoh (20) - Rock (M) || Shin (30) - Ryo (H) Asou (20) - Shiki (S) || Kei (30) - Kyo (T) Dogou (20) - Jill (M) || Cap (30) - Cody (D) Fuwa (20) - Cammy (D) || Comet (30) - Morrigan (D) Yashichi (30) - Rimururu (S) || Sys (30) - Ryu (U) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - After beating the game, fighting them will be harder. Each character will have 3000 HP, but give 5 (except Asou and Dogou). What cards they give will be listed at the bottom of the selection screen. For example Shin will give only "Garou" (Fatal Fury) series cards when you beat him. When you unlock & fight Neo Mantle, Robo Mantle, and G.Lady, you do not build up a victory count against them, but earn 3 totally random cards. ***************************************************************** Haruna - Only SNK cards || Kid - Art of Fighting Lip - Only Character || Fou - Only Capcom cards Zet - Samurai Spirit || Nanako - Other Capcom 3D Games Torawoh - AC & RE cards || Shin - Fatal Fury Asou - just 3 RE cards || Kei - King of Fighters Dogou - just 3 AC cards || Cap - Justice High Fuwa - Last Blade || Comet - Vampire Savior Yashichi - Other Capcom 2D Games|| Sys - Street Fighter 1~3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - While [A] cards are rare, they are normally obtainable during fights, VS.Net shops, Recycling Machines, Radio Dowsing, and VS matches. There are also some [A] cards which you are guaranteed to get going through certain circumstances and conditions: -The Dregs card is given to you the first time you beat the game -Kyo is given to you for the final battle of Story Mode (SNK deck) -Ryu is given to you for the final battle of Story Mode (CAP deck) -To get the other, visit Kid's Store in Story Mode after you beat the game to see your first bargain sale: Ryu for 3 [C]-ranks! Bargain sales will appear randomly. Kid will offer an [A], [B], and [C] rank card; any of them can be traded for 3 [C] rank or higher cards. -Tabatha/Tessa is given to you at some point during the Story Mode The Lemming/Z-Force lists that Chizuru can be bought during the second Bargain Store appearance (took me 524 fights), GOD Rugal and Shin Gouki can be obtained from Link fights, and which cards can be easily obtained through Recycle Machine. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - What Letters After Name Mean (C) Chivalry (or SLASH in Samurai Showdown): Shiki, Nakoruru, Rimururu (T) Treachary (or BUST in Samurai Showdown): Shiki, Nakoruru, Rimururu (P) Power version (Akari from Last Blade) (S) Speed version (Akari from Last Blade) (H) Hiroaki; drew Geese (H) & Ryo (H) cards (T) Tonko; drew Akari (T), Terry (T), and the new Kyo (T) cards (S) Senri Kita, drew Shiki(S), Rimururu (S), & Nakoruru (S) cards (U) UZI, drew the Ryu (U) card (D) Daichan, drew Cammy(D), Chun Li (D), Morrigan (D), & Cody(D) cards (M) Maede Shima, drew Jill (M), Rock (M), & Roll (M) cards - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Various Terms I May Use: Field The ring where you put your cards; it is split into yours and theirs Hand The cards in your hand Trash The Discard, Junk, or Trash pile; as a verb, to discard something Deck The cards left in your deck; as a verb, to shrink a deck United A combined/combo attack between 2 or 3 characters Bruiser A character with high BP, but gives low (or no) SP Weenie Also, weiner. A weakling. A sap. A patsy. Stuffup Specifically, to clutter your enemy's ring with weaklings. Team Cards that give and receive help from each other. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Card Number [Rarity] Card Name * * BP value of card (Change from last game) * * SP value of card (Change from last game) * * Backups who are accepted * * Who the card can Help * * Special Ability (if any) and []-type or /\-type or ()-type* * My personal Comments * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * -= I. SNK CARDS -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- S001 [B] Terry BP: 1000 SP: 3 Backup: Andy, Ryu Helps: Joe, Blue Mary, Ryu, Sean, Cody () Terry Rush Keeps character out of Freeze Phase after he attacks. (****«) Again, Terry is the center of your initial deck if you choose the SNK one at the start. Terry is the better of the Bogard Bros. because of his 1000 BP and of course "Terry Rush". Terry can do a regular attack AND remain unfrozen to defend in case the opponent has someone left. While his role after the last boss dimishes, Terry brings enough power to the table to warrant him to be a constant in your deck. NOTE: Terry's ability does NOT mean he can never be Frozen. Terry just doesn't freeze after attacking normally. S002 [B] Andy BP: 800 SP: 3 Backup: Mai, Hokutomaru Helps: Terry, Mai, Hokutomaru, Ayame, Urien /\ Zan Ei Ken (Shadow Slicer) Randomly selects one enemy card from his/her hand and discards it. (****) A strong card with 800 BP and 3 SP, Andy Bogard also has a great ability in removing a card from the enemy hand. It's random, so you may or may not screw them up; but at the very least, it's annoying. Andy hasn't changed much other than his backups. He is best played on his own in CFC2 anyway. S003 [B] Joe BP: 700 SP: 4 Backup: Terry, Sagat, Adon Helps: Daimon, Sagat, Adon [] Screw Upper Draw 2 cards from enemy's deck and trash them. (****) Another Legendary Fighter, another [B] card. The man of Mui-Thai has great stats: his BP is good and his gives a high amount of SP. On top of that, the threat of using Joe's Screw Upper will indeed screw with your opponent. Loosing two cards can be devastating in two ways: (1) They could've been strong cards, and (2) you end up "decking" your opponent faster. If you they start their turn and can't draw any more cards, they lose the game. This year, Joe's part of a better team and can seriously be a part of a crew that concentrates on decking your opponent. S004 [C] Mai BP: 600 SP: 2 Backup: Andy, Hokutomaru, Chun Li Helps: Andy, Hokutomaru, Chun Li, Morrigan, Kaede (OM) [] Henje no Jutsu (Morph) Discard your hand and pick same number of cards you discarded plus 1. (***«) Mai's ability is nice if you think your hand is junk and want more cards. Plus her 600 BP is still good for a [C] card. Mai hasn't changed much from CFC1; she makes a duo with Andy or Chun Li. S005 [B] Billy BP: 700 SP: 2 Backup: Geese, Son Son Helps: Geese, Geese (H) /\ Suzume Ootoshi (Shrike Drop) See enemy's cards. If they have any AC cards, you can discard 1. (****) Hitman and bodyguard Billy Kane is a highly valuable card. He has high BP (700), gives a decent amount of SP (2), and has a great ability: it gives you a great view of the enemy's hand PLUS lets you junk one of their ACs (if they have any). In CFC2, Billy's ability to view hands is invaluable, too bad he lost out of some help. On a positive note, he Geese are now interchangable. S006 [C] Kim BP: 500 (-200) SP: 3 (+1) Backup: Kim Sue-Il, (Kim) Dong Hwan, (Kim) Jae Hoon Helps: Chang, Choi, Lee Rekka, Kim Sue-Il, (Kim) Dong Hwan, (Kim) Jae Hoon, Jhun Hoon, Kyouko, Hideo, Iincyo (Chair) [] Kyou Iku! (Training!) Unfreeze a character on your field. (***) Wow, did Kim get re-worked. The destroyer of Evil and protector of Justice has gotten a little rusty as of late. Paired up with a card with a strong ability, like Joe, Kim can double their effectiveness. While weaker, Kim's potential is fully tapped if he's part of back-up based deck. If you collect all the Kim's, they'll be a family tree to be reckoned with. As he stands, Kim can back up a record-setting TEN different cards on his own making him highly useful at the start of the game. S007 [C] Duck King BP: 300 SP: 3 Backup: Bob, Kyoshiro, Dee Jay Helps: Bob, Kyoshiro, Dee Jay, Birdie /\ Duck Dance Raise 1 teammate's BP by 300. (**«) A good low-level card to have, Duck King is the equivalent of having an Awakening AC in your hand with the plus side of being a 3 SP-giving character card. Duck King could play back-up to any of the 4 cards listed, but if there's room, you should play Duck King to boost the BP of a stronger card and then back Duck King up. Nothing has changed for DK since the the previous game; you can get the most out of him in a back-up based deck with Bob & Dee Jay. S008 [C] Blue Mary BP: 500 SP: 3 Backup: Terry, Seth, Vanessa Helps: Charlotte [] Mary Spider [M.Arachnid] Keeps one Frozen character Frozen for another turn. (***«) Unfortunately, Blue Mary is less of a threat than she was before. Too many powerhouses, methods to snake abilities, and RE cards that un-Freeze characters ruin an otherwise killer power. Blue Mary is a fair card: 500 SP and 3 SP are all good stats to have. She is also an excellent card to have for her Mary Arachnid: the built-in version of the "Double" AC effect. You sacrifice Mary's turn to keep an enemy heavy-hitter frozen another turn. And when Mary recovers (if she hasn't been hit with Double), she can KEEP that heavy-hitter stalled ANOTHER turn. And ANOTHER. (until you feel like it, or unleash Evil Ryu on them). Mary works better if you have Rimururu (T), the Puppet AC, or the Ryuunen RE cards as they set the enemy up for a Mary Spider. S009 [D] Hon Fu BP: 500 (+200) SP: 0 (-4) Backup: Akari, Fei-Long, Wang Tang Helps: Fei-Long, Wang Tang () CLONE no Yomi (Yomi's Clone) Draw one card when his attack is countered. (**) While his strength has decreased since the first game, he can find a place in a back-up based deck. His ability activates like Karin's and is highly beneficial for adding more back-up potential to your hand. Because he gives no SP, you should think twice before placing Hon Fu. S010 [D] Bob BP: 300 SP: 3 Backup: Duck King, Dee Jay, Elena Helps: Duck King, Grant, Dee Jay None (*«) A very simple (weak) card, under-par in many respects except for the fact he can back-up a team of better characters. S011 [B] Yamazaki BP: 800 SP: 2 Backup: Goenitz, Mature, Vice Helps: Mature, Vice, Roddy, Lei Lei (Hsien-ko) /\ GAN Tsuke! (Face Off) Freeze a character directly in front of him. (***«) Yamazaki's been downgraded to a [B] rank because his power is no longer as threatening. As card placement is now much more important, you'll find it more difficult to use Yamazaki's powers. Players and the CPU alike will try to put their power-cards in front of weenies to avoid abilities like Yamazaki's. Yamazaki can still replace Goenitz on an Orochi-based team, but his starting 800 BP may make him a target from the get-go. S012 [C] Chong Shu BP: 400 SP: 3 Backup: Chong Lei, (Kim) Jae Hoon, Yang Helps: Chong Lei, Hotaru, Yang [] Rojin Ken (Fogey Fists) KO's one other character in your ring. Add their BP to Chong Shu. (***) I like him. Fair stats and his ability can clean your ring of dead weight. Or even clean your ring of people with annoying abilities. Or just clean your ring of strong characters so you can play even stronger characters. The only downfall is if Chong Shu gets sent back to your hand, he looses all those BP he gained. S013 [C] Chong Lei BP: 600 SP: 2 (+1) Backup: Chong Shu, (Kim) Dong Hwan, Yun Helps: Chong Shu, Hotaru, Yun None (***) A good card if you find him early. 600 BP is great to have early on, and he now gives 2 SP. S014 [C] Rick BP: 500 SP: 3 (+2) Backup: Rob Python, Vanessa, Bison (Balrog) Helps: Rob Python, T.Hawk, Dudley None (**) Now a fair [C] card, Rick's stats make him a decent contender. S015 [C] Xiang Fei BP: 400 SP: 4 Backup: Lei Lei (Hsien-ko), June, Tao (Mai Ling) Helps: Chun Li (U), Lei Lei (Hsien-ko) None (**) A good card to have early on, especially with 4 SP. Unfortunately, she no longer helps as many cards. S016 [D] Alfred BP: 200 SP: 2 Backup: John, Guile, Nash (Charlie) Helps: Falcon () W-Rider (Double Rider) Let this character attack the turn he was played. («) Good ability, crappy card. Even if Alfred was the first card played, 200 BP is just weak. NOTE: W-Rider does NOT let Alfred partake in United Combo attacks. S017 [D] Tsugumi BP: 300 SP: 3 (+1) Backup: Griffon M., Zangief, Rainbow Mika Helps: Rainbow Mika None («) Tsugumi is weaker for not being part of that rasslin' crew. S018 [A] Krauser BP: 1200 SP: 5 Backup: Mr.Big Helps: Arthur /\ Gigantic Cyclone When entering, KO another ACTIVE character in your field. (*****) 1200 BP #and# 5 SP is special enough. Krauser & Mech Zangief are the only two cards that have such high stats in both areas. Though his new ability forces him to KO a partner in the ring (not himself) if one exists, Krauser is still a worthwhile card to have multiples of. KO-ing another character in your field is NOT a bad thing, especially if you have no other cards there, or they're too weakened to fight. Think of Krauser as an [A]-rank Setsuna, only with twice the BP. S019 [A] Geese BP: 1500 SP: 0 Backup: Billy Helps: Billy, Rock H., Vega (M.Bison) /\ Yoyuu (Composure) Show opponent your hand and discard all AC & RE cards. (***«) Geese is just bad luck this time around. True, he does have 1500 BP, is interchangable with Billy, and helps out more cards this time around, but he gives no SP, forces you to show your hand and you lose all non-character cards. Even if you didn't have AC or RE cards in your hand, you're still showing your cards. S020 [B] Ryo BP: 900 SP: 2 Backup: Robert, Takuma Helps: Robert, Yuri, Mr.Karate, Marco R., Makoto [] Kiryu KUTAME (Spirit Surge) Discard 1 AC card from hand to gain 1 SP for each card left in hand. (****) A high BP should instantly turn your head. Ryo now gets more help from his Kyokugenryu school and gives some back too. Ryo's ability is still the same; it's more potent if you have a Crossover/Dregs or Tenchi Souzou to get penty of cards. S021 [C] Robert BP: 700 SP: 1 Backup: Ryo, Ken, Karin Helps: Ryo, Yuri, Ken, Dan, Karin None (***) A good heavy-hitting bruiser to have, especially alongside Ryo. The Kansai-accented Ryugeki student is a notch above many strong-arms in that he at least gives 1 SP. Robert used to be Ryo's sprite-swap in Art of Fighting's player 2; CFC2 reflects those roots by teaming him up with who used to be Ryu's semi-double of Street Fighter 2. The rich Garcia is also paired up with Capcom's fabulous Karin Kanzuki and of course Dan who he shares a *slight* resemblance to. S022 [C] Yuri BP: 500 SP: 2 Backup: Ryo, Robert, Dan Helps: King [] Kochi! Kochi! (Bring it on!) Lower's enemy's SP by 3. (***) No longer part of the Women's team with Mai, she still gets help from her Kyokugenryu family and gives help to her former Josei capitan. Yuri's stats are still decent, but her ability is more important in CFC2 with the fear of an enemy using Reaction Cards not to mention preventing Unions and ACs. S023 [C] Takuma BP: 500 SP: 4 Backup: Heidern, Saishu, Makoto Helps: Ryo, Saishu, Marco R., Makoto None (***) Another member of the Sakazaki clan in good standing. His stats are solid and he helps more people this time around. S024 [C] Mr.Karate BP: 700 SP: 0 Backup: Ryo, Dan Helps: Mr.Big, Dan [] Yukuefumei (M.I.A.) Shuffles deck after this card is returned to deck. (**«) Takuma.. I mean Mr.Karate is still the same 0 SP bruiser, but this time, he's helping fewer people. Mr.Karate is still hard to grade; he is still very powerful for the first 1/2 of the game and can scuttle himself out when he's weakened, but there's still the 0 SP. S025 [B] King BP: 600 SP: 5 (+4) Backup: Yuri, Sagat, Adon Helps: Kasumi, Charlotte, Adon, Rain, AKIRA, Eagle /\ Dealer Discards entire hand to pick 1 card from your deck. That card is your new hand. Shuffle deck. (***«) I love this Mui-Thai kickboxing bar-owner (as do 6 other cards; three less than the previous game), and because her SP boost has increased, she makes for a decent character. With +5 SP, her ability is now more reasonable if you wanted an AC or RE card. While you still discard your entire hand, there are more cards that will let you draw more (Son Son, for example) or pick the trash (like Modoru no Jia). Unlike Saki & Management, you don't have to show off which card you picked. S026 [D] John BP: 400 SP: 2 (+1) Backup: Mr.Big, Guile, Nash (Charlie) Helps: Alfred, Mr.Big, Guile, Falcon None (*) Just another "John McFlunkie" of Mr.Big. 400 BP isn't particularly bad at the start of the game. Now he can now back up bigger fish. S027 [D] Lee Pylon BP: 200 SP: 5 Backup: Genan, Choi, Balrog (Vega) Helps: Genan, Chin Gensai, Balrog (Vega), Gen, Lee, Son Son None (*) 5 SP is good for a weakling that can still back up Genan & Balrog. S028 [C] Mr.Big BP: 600 (+200) SP: 3 (+1) Backup: Mr.Karate, John, Eagle Helps: Krauser, John, Geese (H), Blues (Proto Man), Eagle, Son Son [] Tegoma (Mob Control) Discard a card in your hand with an ability; that ability goes to someone in your field. (**«) This time around, Mr.Big deserves his [C]-rank. No longer content with being just an underworld mini-boss of AoF, Mr.Big called/begged his KoF'96 team to let him in; Mr.Big now has good stats, an annoying ability and helps many more cards. S029 [D] Eiji BP: 300 SP: 3 (+1) Backup: Zantetsu, Mukuro (Kenji), Shou (Ginsu) Helps: Zantetsu, Lin, Ibuki /\ Sakiyomi (Prophecy) After seeing your deck's top 3 cards, rearrange them in any order. (*«) Ninjas are cool. Eiji is a ninja. Eiji should be cool, right? Eiji now hangs around with the weaker ninjas of the game, which make him decent in an early back-up deck. Now with an added SP, you can feel a little more confident about Eiji predicting your cards and not just boosting them. S030 [C] Kasumi BP: 400 SP: 4 Backup: King, Takato, Ryuhaku Helps: Takato, Ryuhaku [] Kasane-ate (Overlap Crunch) Discard 1 Action card from hand to damage your enemy for 200 HP. (***) A slightly less-than-great card to have now. While her Overlap Crunch is easier to perform, it's more of an annoyance now. Kasumi now has an aikido/judo teammate in Takato and Ryuhaku, so what if one happens to be her oft forgotten father (1st punching ba.. er, I mean 'boss' of AoF1)? S031 [A] Haohmaru BP: 1000 SP: 1 Backup: Charlotte Helps: Shizumaru, Ryoma () Zantetsusen (Iron Slice) Attack cuts through opponent, damaging your enemy's HP. (*****) Haohmaru is a one-man wrecking crew, and that's when he's sober! Iron Slice makes Haohmaru a walking United combo attack. His slash cannot be stopped by anything short of death or Manali's Song. It will ignore Machioke, cut down characters, and if Haohmaru has any BP left, he will then damage the enemy directly! Ignore the fact he only gives 1 SP, imagine the damage he could do when powered up? S032 [D] Ukyo BP: 700 SP: 2 Backup: Hokutomaru, Bulleta (B.B.Hood) Helps: Touma, Roy () Kabosoukii no Chi (Dwindling Life) KO this character at the end of the turn if he attacks or counters. (**«) Poor, poor dying Ukyo. Coughing up blood is definetly not a good sign. Ukyou still offers you a lot: 2 SP and 700 BP are nothing to cry about. Are you still worried about this samurai's dwindling spirit? Remember that there are several cards (Anakaris, Substitute, etc.) that can remove his ability, and if you have enough SP (or Tooptadon), combo Ukyo with someone in a United attack (which suspends his Ability). Or just Raw Shield Ukyo's BP for HP. S033 [B] Hanzo BP: 600 SP: 3 Backup: Galford, Mukuro (Kenji) Helps: Zantetsu, HAOUMARU, Mukuro (Kenji), Shou (Ginsu) [] Mijin-gakure (Dust Cloud) Returns this character to hand. (***«) Much better upgrade to Mr.Karate. Hanzo comes in and gives 3 SP, defend and attack perhaps, and then POOFs back out with his own personal Escape ability only to come back in down the line with his 600 BP to bear. Superior in every way, Hanzo even makes a better team with Jubei than Mr.Karate & Dan. S034 [D] Galford BP: 300 SP: 2 Backup: Nakoruru (C), Galon (Talbain), Rush Helps: Hanzo, Nakoruru (C), Rush /\ Hey Poppy! Draw one card. (*«) Not terrible to have at the very beginning because of his draw 1 bonus. His stats are still low, and he now only helps 2 good cards. S035 [A] Nakoruru (C) BP: 600 SP: 4 Backup: Galford, Rimururu (C) Helps: Galford, Rimururu (C), T.Hawk /\ Shizen no Megumi (Balm of Nature) Recover 500 HP. (****«) Best healing card ever. With this rare card, Kensuu, Rimururu (C), Raw Shield, and even Grace are almost redundant. Nakoruru isn't a shabby fighter either; with 600 BP and a whopping 4 SP points, Nakoruru is good to have in the field. Chances are though, you won't be receiving help from her rather weak back-ups or even consider using her as back-up yourself. I gave her an extra («) due to the importance of staying alive against harder opponents. S036 [B] Nakoruru (T) BP: 600 SP: 4 Backup: Rimururu (T), Rush Helps: Rimururu (T), Galon () SHIKURUU no Kiba (Shikuroo's Fang) At the end of your turn, all frozen enemy characters take 200 damage. (****) Equally as good as her chilvarous goody-two-shoes counter-part, Bust/Treachery (how did SNK US come up with BUST & SLASH?) Nakoruru packs a mean offensive punch: any enemy found frozen weakens itself 200 BP thanks to her wild wolf. Great to place after an enemy attacks or after something like Puppet, Yamazaki, or Rimururu (T)'s Konril! Play multiples of her and watch the damage from Shikuroo stack! A passive ability means the CPU won't target her as aggressively; keep her alive and watch the enemy slowly die! S037 [S] Nakoruru (S) BP: 500 SP: 3 Backup: Strider Hiryu, Rock (Mega) Man Helps: Rimururu (C), T.Hawk, Yurika [] Oide MAMAHAHA (Mamahaha Call) Draw one card. (**«) Not too shabby a card. A little weak considering she is an elusive [S] rank. The original Nakoruru (with trained falcon) has good stats and can allow you to draw a card anytime you like, but by the time you get her, one card & 500 BP may not matter too much. Also by then, you might have gotten other cards, like Hon Fu or Takato, which let you draw more cards as ()-abilities. S038 [C] Rimururu (C) BP: 400 (+100) SP: 4 Backup: Nakoruru (C), Nakoruru (S), Rain Helps: Nakoruru (C), Shizumaru, Momo () Kaze no Sasayaki (Wind Whisper) Get 100 HP every time your turn ends. (***) A fair card to get before you hit end-game. She and Nakoruru (C) make an OK team, but Rimururu's main attraction is that she can give 4 SP and heal you every turn. Her ability, Wind Whisper, is much improved, but her 400 BP is still easily overshadowed by stronger cards and cards with stronger offensive abilities. S039 [B] Rimururu (T) BP: 500 SP: 5 Backup: Nakoruru (T), Sasquatch Helps: Nakoruru (T) [] Konru (Konril) Freezes 1 enemy character. (****) Now THIS is an upgrade. Rimururu (T)'s stats are much better than her Chilvarous counter-part, and her ability is a lot more serious too. Konril may not seem like much, since the enemy will recover when it's their turn, but if you already have a heavy-hitter waiting in the wings, then this may open up a path directly to the enemy's HP. Or you can use Konril in conjunction with Evil Ryu, Blue Mary, or Double. Even if you don't Konril someone, 500 BP and an amazing 5 SP are still great for your side. S040 [C] Jubei BP: 600 SP: 3 (+1) Backup: Heidern, Ramon, Sagat Helps: B.Hayato, Ryoma None (***) No special abilities doesn't mean you should overlook this 600 BP [C] card. While he isn't part of any strong team per se, this wisened samurai still brings 3 SP. A great card for the mid-level game before the 1000 BP cards become commonplace. S041 [D] Charlotte BP: 400 SP: 3 Backup: Blue Mary, King, Balrog (Vega) Helps: Haohmaru, Rain None (*«) Rightfully given a [D] stats. Many other 400/3 cards are part of better teams, so I've dropped Charlotte's rating a bit. S042 [C] Kyoshiro BP: 300 SP: 3 Backup: Duck King, Dee Jay, Amingo Helps: Duck King /\ Mononofu no Mai (Warrior Dance) Raises BP of all your characters (even himself) in the ring by 100. (**) Tagging with Dee Jay & Duck King keeps Kyoshiro in some decks; otherwise, consider him a regular 400/3 character card with the perk of giving a free Showtime knock-off. S043 [D] Genan BP: 400 SP: 1 Backup: Lee Pylon, Balrog (Vega), Raizou Helps: Lee Pylon, Mukuro, Blanka, Balrog (Vega), Raizou [] Nozo KUKE! (Peeping Kay!) See enemy's hand. (*«) Until Billy Kane drops into your lap, or you stockpile Stifler cards, Genan will be the one peeking at your opponent's hand. Add the fact that this Shiranui (yup) tribesman actually forms some sick team with Balrog (Vega), Lee Pylon, and Raizou make him useful early. S044 [D] Tam Tam BP: 500 SP: 2 Backup: Cham Cham, Balrog (Vega), Q Helps: Cham Cham None (**) Tam Tam has nothing exceptional, no great ability of his own, but he has a good 500 BP, which is pretty good in the early goings. S045 [D] Cham Cham BP: 400 (+100) SP: 3 (+1) Backup: Tam Tam, Felicia, Al & Iven Helps: Tam Tam, Hayate, Felicia, Sasquatch, Al & Iven [] Paku Paku Discard a RE card from your hand to draw 3 cards. (**) This cute mascot carries her own mascot (Tam Tam's cursed form)! This time around, Cham Cham carries decent stats and a built-in "3 Shimai" ability, which make her more than just back-up fodder. Paku Paku, by the way, is her (new?) monkey's name. S046 [D] Genjurou BP: 700 SP: 0 Backup: Amano, Aulbath (Rikuo), B.Hayato Helps: Shiki (C), Amano, Aulbath (Rikuo) () Shitta Kotoka! (I knew it!!!) Character cannot perform counter-attacks. (*) A very high BP for a [D] card, but his ability is a pain (defense is important) and he gives no SP. You could consider a Substitute or ESP or even Anakaris card for your deck, or just use Ukyo [D] instead. S047 [D] Nicotine BP: 300 SP: 4 Backup: Gaira, Retsu, Donovan Helps: Gaira, Kuroko (the Ump), Retsu () Fuuin no Fuda (Exorcism Card) Disables all characters' [] abilities. (*«) The monk known as Caffiene Nicotine isn't just a funny name. He's also a decent [D] card. 300 BP is passable and the 4 SP is plentiful, but being able to stop attacks like M.Arachnid and S.Dynamite? The hardest part is giving Nicotine a rating; his stats are good in the early and mid-game, but his ability is more useful in annoying people in the mid-game and beyond, when they have all those [] abilities that can screw you over like S-Upper. Nicotine is still a good low-level card, but you can always use Anakaris or June to mute everyone's abilities later on. NOTE: This will prevent YOUR characters from using [] abilities too. S048 [B] Shizumaru BP: 500 SP: 3 Backup: Haohmaru, Rimururu (C) Helps: Cammy [] Samida Regiri (Midsummer Rain) KO this character. Both players discard their hands. (***) Good stats on this card make Haohmaru's student worthy of holding during mid-game. His ability is a bit iffy; generally you should use it when you have few useful cards in your hand, hoping to take out something natsy the enemy may be storing. S049 [D] Gaira BP: 400 SP: 1 Backup: Nicotine, Gouki, Donovan Helps: Nicotine, Retsu, Donovan /\ Katsu! (Shout!) Ends all characters' Freeze Phase. (*) A fairly poor card. 400 BP isn't shabby, but he only gives 1 SP and his Shout! will awaken even your opponent's frozen cards, allowing them to defend your attacks. There are only 2 reasons to have Gaira. You have a lot of cards with [] abilities, they'd get to use them twice in a round if you play Gaira (same if you used a Fight! card). Or you have him back-up some of the less "blah" cards. I'd rather have Kyouko or a Fight! AC. S050 [D] Kubikiri Basara BP: 200 SP: 4 (+1) Backup: Iori, Birdie, Zaki Helps: Cathy, Freeman, Zabel (Raptor) None («) Remember kids, revenge is still worthless and so is Basara. There are many [D] cards that provide better BP, SP, help, or all three. S051 [C] Kazuki BP: 600 SP: 1 Backup: Ralf, Ken Helps: Kagami, Kain, akira [] Enmetsu (Imbroglio) KO's character. Decreases a random ring character's life by 500. (**«) A decent mid-level card. 600 BP offsets his single SP, and he can help his brother Sougetsu. Kazuki's explosive ability is a bit of a gamble unless he was the only character in your ring. It's a great way to go out if he's weakened though, doing 500 BP of damage to (hopefully) one of your opponent's cards. S052 [B] Sougetsu BP: 700 SP: 3 Backup: Chun Li, Aulbath (Rikuo) Helps: Aulbath (Rikuo) /\ Koori no Emi (Frigid Smirk) Skips enemy's next draw phase. (****«) High BP, good SP, and his ability will annoy your opponent to no end. Sougetsu is a great addition even after beating the game. S053 [C] Shiki (C) BP: 500 SP: 4 Backup: Genjurou, Balrog (Vega) Helps: Asra, Balrog (Vega) [] Shikishu (NRG syphon) KO one of your characters to gain 200 HP. (***) A very good card, 500 BP and 4 SP is really nice for a [C] card. This hot mamacita's ability is also... nice. She can clean your ring of weaklings while recovering your HP. S054 [B] Shiki (T) BP: 600 SP: 5 Backup: Asra, Balrog (Vega) Helps: Asra, Necro () YUGA no Juubaku (Yuga's Spell) Raises cost for Action Cards by 3 for both players. (***) Stronger than Shiki (C), but her ability is a double-edged attack. Great if you have a cache of SP and your opponent doesn't, or if you don't have many ACs and they do. This does not affect the cost of Reaction Cards nor United attacks. NOTE: Having more than 1 Shiki (T) in the ring COMPOUNDS their abilities. 6 Shiki (T)'s would mean the cost of ACs rises by 18! S055 [D] Asra BP: 400 SP: 2 Backup: Shiki (C), Shiki (T) Helps: Shiki (T), Shiki (S) /\ Yamiyori Kitaru (Rising Evil) Draw one discarded card, return it to deck, and shuffle deck. (***) Highly useful card for a LONG while. Not only does Asra have a decent 400 BP and 2 SP, his ability immediately recovers any AC or character back into you deck. NOTE: Even if you have nothing in your trash pile, playing Asra will still shuffle your deck. S056 [D] Taizan BP: 400 SP: 2 Backup: Ralf, Eri, Tiffany Helps: None None («) Not bad. Enough BP to survive, but no friends (just his own Backup). Taizan, by the way, comes from the NGPC Samurai Showdown/Spirits. S057 [C] Amakusa Shirou BP: 600 SP: 2 Backup: Zankuro, Orochi Helps: Zankuro, Orochi, Bowman /\ Mio Yudaneyo (Give Yourself) KO all other characters in your Ring. +3 SP for each KO'd character. (**) A decent character, though he wears a rather flamboyant costume, he's a boss. No idea why he and Zankuro are a good team in this game. You might see similarity between Amakusa and Bishamon; they are best used to clear your ring of weenies. You can also use Amakusa when your ring is empty too. S058 [C] Zankuro BP: 700 SP: 0 Backup: Amakusa, Samanosuke Helps: Amakusa None (*«) A 700 BP wall. Not as bad as Genjurou, but not quite Mr.Karate. It's a lot of BP for an early character, but no SP is annoying. S059 [B] Kuroko (the Ump) BP: 100 SP: 5 Backup: Nicotine, Kuroko (the Ump), Kuroko (the Ump) Helps: Kuorko (the Ump), Hagure Hitogata (the Wanderer), Akari, Twelve () Fushigibito (Mystic) Disables this character's attacks & counterattacks. Yup. («) Kuroko is a being of few words. And here, a being of fewer actions as well. The Referee (not to be confused with Mr. Referee of "Medabots") nets you 5 SP if you don't want to use him as someone's back-up, and is best the target of Double KO cards, Substitute cards to stop your opponent's counter-attack, or just fodder for someone like Amakusa or Rose whose abilities requires a sacrifice. S060 [A] Kyo BP: 800 SP: 1 Backup: Batsu Helps: Daimon, Shingo, Kagami, Ryu (U) /\ OROCHI Nagi (Orochi Wave) Decreases enemy's life by 500 HP. (****«) A strong card with a powerful ability; you should grow familiar with Kyo as he renders character abilities like Saishu's obsolete. Kyo's rating has improved due to the increased difficulty in dealing large chunks of direct damage and the fact that you can get him easily. Kyo's alternate card is still better... S061 [S] Kyo (T) BP: 700 SP: 3 Backup: Shingo, K' Helps: K' /\ 182 Shiki (182 Ways) Lowers enemy's or an enemy character's HP/BP by 300. (****«) Plain-clothed Kyo is much more versatile than regular Kyo in that he can decimate the enemy or weaken their lines. Kyo (T) still has a high amount of BP and even offers more SP, and if given a choice, I would choose him over his flaming counter-part. If I were making a direct-damage themed deck, I'd include them both. S062 [B] Benimaru BP: 600 SP: 1 Backup: KAEDE, Edge Helps: Daimon, Seth, Blanka, Edge [] Raiko-oh Ken (Thundergod Fist) Lower's his and one selected enemy character's BP by 500. (***) Do you understand? The karate-man from Japan who concentrates more on his style and his street-fighting than his classes has 600 BP which puts him up there as a heavy hitter. He could use more SP, but his ability can make up for it in that he can use it twice if he survives long enough, or as a desperation attack to weaken (or wipe out) a character. I almost expected Beni to help out every female card here ala KoF'98. S063 [C] Daimon BP: 500 SP: 4 (+2) Backup: Joe, Kyo, Benimaru Helps: None! None (**«) Apparently Daimon has turned into a prima-donna himself; he no longer helps anyone though he still gets help (back-paid) from his Team-Japan buddies... and that head-band fad he and Joe share. Daimon still takes a backseat to those with abilities, but his higher stats make him useful in the field. S064 [C] Heidern BP: 600 SP: 1 Backup: Leona, Ralf, Clark Helps: Takuma, Jubei, Leona, Ralf, Clark, Saishu, Tao (Mai Ling) () Storm Bringer Steal up to 3 SP if this character directly damages the opponent. (***) The Ikari squad leader should be a favorite among the SNK version players. In fact, Heidern can be instrumental in your early and mid-game decks. 600 BP is a good start, and he can be backed-up by many good common cards to keep his strength high. Even after his teammates leave your deck, Heidern is still someone to be reckoned with, especially since Heidern can drain SP from your opponent, no matter how weak he gets. Later on though, you may need SP immediately and dealing direct damage in a non-Union Combo will be much harder. S065 [C] Leona BP: 400 SP: 2 Backup: Heidern, Ralf, Clark Helps: Heidern, Ralf, Clark, Rolento, Rock Man X /\ X-calibre Decreases 1 other character's life by 200. (**«) Leona's ability is very handy: cut someone on the other side down a notch. She also makes good back-up fodder along with her Ikari comrades; all except Heidern have 400 BP. It doesn't really matter who gets on the field first (although Leona and Heidern obviously have the nice abilities you want to exploit), they can all back each other up. NOTE: Be careful when playing Leona. If there are no enemies, Leona WILL have to attack a teammate. She can be played when the field is empty, but her ability won't activate. S066 [D] Ralf BP: 400 SP: 3 Backup: Heidern, Leona, Clark Helps: Kazuki, Taizan, Heidern, Leona, Clark, Whip, Nash (Charlie) None (**«) Early on, Ralf & Clark really do form the ultimate cross-changers. 400 BP and 3 SP are a good combination, especially for a [D] card. Read Leona's review to see that these Ikari warriors are probably the best team at the start of the game. They can even survive nukes! S067 [D] Clark BP: 400 SP: 3 Backup: Heidern, Leona, Ralf Helps: Heidern, Leona, Ralf, Whip, Nash (Charlie) None (**«) No Ikari team would be complete without the wrestling antics of this bespecled grunt. Ralf & Clark are the best [D] team out of the game: they can back each other and they can back more powerful cards. Expect to hold onto at least one copy of this duo during mid-game. S068 [C] Athena Asamiya BP: 600 SP: 1 Backup: Kensuu, Chin Gensai, Rose Helps: Kensuu, Chin Gensai, Bao, Hinata [] Psycho Charge Raises SP 3 pts. (***) A great card, this pop-star/fighting idol has 600 BP to attack with and can use her ability to generate SP. A.Asamiya can sit out churning SP as well as get in there and knock some heads all mid-game. S069 [C] Kensuu BP: 500 SP: 2 Backup: A.Asamiya, Chin Gensai, Yun Helps: Tsugumi, A.Asamiya, Chin Gensai, Bao /\ NIKU-manya! (Meat Muffin!) Gain 200 HP. (***) Sie Kensou is a solid addition to your mid-game deck. He has slightly less BP than Asamiya, but slightly more SP. Kensuu's biggest draw is that he let's you gain 200 HP as soon as he enters (almost enough to overcome a Grenade), but he can also be Athena's shining knight. S070 [D] Chin Gensai BP: 200 SP: 5 Backup: Lee Pylon, A.Asamiya, Kensuu Helps: Lee Pylon, A.Asamiya, Kensuu, Bao, Gen, Oro, Lee None (*«) He brings 5 SP to the table, but also backs up the rest of the Psycho Soldiers, A.Asamiya and Kensuu. If you have those two, might as well keep Chin. S071 [D] Chang BP: 600 (+200) SP: 0 Backup: Kim, Jhun Hoon, Victor Helps: Cody (D), Zaki None (*) A convict "recruited" (drafted) by Kim in his crusade against evil. More BP makes him a fair bruiser now, but he's just not menacing. S072 [D] Choi BP: 300 SP: 4 (+2) Backup: Kim, Jhun Hoon, Balrog (Vega) Helps: Lee Pylon, Cody (D), Kurow /\ Kirude YANSU! (I'll cut you good!) Shuffle your deck or your opponent's. (*) Another weak card, Choi is STILL sub-par in terms of stats although his ability (a battlecry announcing his flying tornado attack) can mess around with people who use Saki or Cammy (D) a lot. S073 [C] Saishu BP: 400 SP: 2 Backup: Takuma, Heidern Helps: Takuma /\ Yamibarai (Exorcism) Decreases enemy's life by 200 pts. (**) He doesn't even help his own son. It's OK, Kyo is much better than him in every respect. Saishu will still give you an edge in the early-game when everyone's only at 2000 HP. S074 [C] Shingo BP: 400 SP: 1 Backup: Kyo, Sakura Helps: Kyo (T), Sakura, Sean, Lilith, Yurika [] Moeru! Shingo (Burning Shingo) Decreases his and another character's BP by 300. (**) Kyo's #1 fan gives pitiful SP and has only passable BP, but he can help many good cards and his ability is good early on. Chances are, Shingo can get two of them off before he's KO'd. In every sense, Shingo is a weaker Benimaru, but he does help around the ladies. S075 [A] Chizuru BP: 300 SP: 2 Backup: Yuki Helps: None [] Fuujimasu! (Contain!) Discard 1 AC from hand to remove 1 character's ability AND reduce their BP to 100. (***) One of, if not the best "discard an AC from hand" ability there is; it's too bad Chizuru herself is a very weak card. Funny why this Shinto priestess doesn't help Kyo & Iori though. S076 [C] Iori BP: 1000 SP: 0 Backup: Jedah Helps: Kubikiri Basara, Setsuna, Morrigan (D) () Ge no Keiiyaku (Blood Contract) Disables this character's counterattack. (**«) A little hard to grade. Yagami's BP is incredibly high, which offsets my general disregard for 0 SP cards, but his ability is horrible! Thankfully there are many cards in CFC2 that can get rid of it. S077 [A] Yashiro BP: 700 SP: 2 Backup: Shermie, Chris, Q Helps: Shermie, Chris /\ Jet Counter (Counterblow) Returns the opponent's card in front of him to the enemy's hand. (****) Team Orochi LIVES. Yashiro used to be one of the greatest cards available, but since he only uses his ability on the card in front of him you'll find it more difficult to use Yashiro's J.Counter. Players and the CPU alike will try to put their power-cards in front of weenies to avoid abilities like Yashiro's. Yashiro still can help reverse the tide of battle if you're starting second though. Even if you can't knock someone away the Orochi of the Earth is great to put in a back-up based deck. Again, do not send back a card like Gouki. S078 [B] Shermie BP: 500 SP: 3 Backup: Yashiro, Chris, Kyouko Helps: Yashiro, Chris /\ Yasashi Kushitene (Be Gentle to Me) Disables enemy character's attack in next enemy turn. (***«) A one-sided version of the Glare Off AC. The Orochi of Wild Lightning is a useful card to have in your hand the entire game. She has good balanced stats, especially +3 SP to your pool, and her ability can buy you an extra turn if you're being overwhelmed. S079 [D] Chris BP: 400 SP: 3 Backup: Yashiro, Shermie Helps: Yashiro, Shermie None (**) Rounding out Team Orochi, the speedy Orochi of FIRE. I've given him an extra half-point because he works interchangably with Yashiro [A] and Shermie [B], although they're less common than he is. S080 [C] Goenitz BP: 600 SP: 3 Backup: Mature, Vice Helps: Yamazaki, Mature, Vice None (***) A very good card to have, he's going to be a resident tough-cookie for your mid-game deck with 600 BP and 3 whole BP. Plus Goenitz can give/receive back-up from Mature/Vice plus giving to Yamazaki. Without a special ability though, he won't last into the end-game. S081 [A] Orochi BP: 1000 SP: 0 Backup: Amakusa Helps: Amakusa, Gill /\ Shiouki (Sanity) Reduces each player's SP to 0. (**«) I don't like "bruiser" cards; cards that are high in BP but don't give SP. There is a balance though. 1000 BP more than makes up for Orochi's lack of SP, although his ability can be DEATH if you need to use SP yourself. S082 [D] Mature BP: 400 SP: 2 Backup: Yamazaki, Goenitz, Vice Helps: Yamazaki, Goenitz, Vice, Rugal, Juli None (**«) A good card to have early on, she makes a good team with Vice and Goenitz, plus she can back Yamazaki as well. The Ikari team are still better, but the Servants of Rugal are a good "Plan B". S083 [D] Vice BP: 400 SP: 2 Backup: Yamazaki, Goenitz, Mature Helps: Yamazaki, Goenitz, Mature, Rugal, Juni None (**«) Just like Mature, these vixens are virtually interchangable. They have decent stats, and are a highly valuable team early on with Goenitz and later with Yamazaki or even Rugal (again). S084 [A] Bousou (Wild) Iori BP: 1000 SP: 0 Backup: Satsui no Ryu (Evil Ryu) Helps: Setsuna, Jedah /\ Kurf KO's one character with 800 or more BP or Wild Iori gets KO'd. (****) 1000 BP and the ability to KO a strong enemy. If W.Iori gave SP, he'd really be insane. Your end-game deck should have one or two. Wild Iori is somewhat less useful than Akuma since Akuma is indiscriminate about who he KO's and won't KO himself if there's no one else out there. S085 [A] Bousou (Wild) Leona BP: 800 (+300) SP: 0 Backup: Satsui no Ryu (Evil Ryu) Helps: None /\ Mezmer (Awakening) Damage 1 character 400 pts. (or this one if another is unavailable) (****) Slightly more powerful than Leona, the Orochi version does double damage upon entering, but has 800 BP. Still gives no SP, but at least Bousou Leona doesn't nearly kill herself if she appears alone. S086 [A] K' BP: 700 SP: 3 Backup: Kyo (T), Maxima Helps: Kyo (T), Maxima, Kula, akira, Blues (Proto Man) /\ Seigio Funou (Unstoppable) Decreases all other characters' life by 300 BP. (***«) K' is a weird card. He can do more harm than good if you have 2 cards on your own field, so make sure the opponent has a full court before using K'. Best time to use him is either when you have no one or want to get rid of your own weiners and can leave your opponent with weakened cards. Not quite Mega Crush, but hey, it's free. S087 [C] Maxima BP: 600 SP: 1 (+1) Backup: K', Victor Helps: K' None (*«) Maxima now gives a single SP, which redeems him from being a simple bruiser, but he STILL only works with K', which bars his card from being in my decks. Personally, I'd pick Heidern or Goenitz any time. S088 [D] kaede BP: 400 SP: 4 Backup: Moriya, Akari (P), Yuki Helps: Moriya, Seishirou, Yuki None (**«) An excellent card to have a lot of early on. 4 SP will help and 400 BP, even at the middle of the game, is decent. S089 [D] KAEDE BP: 700 SP: 0 Backup: Moriya, Akari (S), Yuki Helps: Benmaru () KA no Daishou (Power Match) Loose 2 SP at the beginning of each of your turns. (*) The powered up version of the Last Blade duelist, KAEDE is very strong for a [D] card, but it may end up costing you 4-6 SP to play before KAEDE falls or breaks through the enemy defenses. If you think you can end battles faster, include one in your deck. Personally, if I'm going to put that much SP down, may as well use Bloodia. S090 [C] Moriya BP: 500 SP: 1 (-1) Backup: kaede, Yuki Helps: kaede, KAEDE, Touma, Yuki () Oboro (Shadow) At the start of your turn, opponent looses 100 HP (***) Like kaede, Moriya is a good addition to your early games. While you get less SP from Moriya now, you get to slowly watch the enemy wither as the turns go on. Fun if you have Rimururu (C) recovering your HP the entire time. But drop Moriya once you fight 3000 HP opponents. S091 [A] Akari (P) BP: 500 SP: 4 Backup: Juzo, Rose Helps: kaede, Juzo, Akari (T), Tabatha (Tessa), Rouge [] Hyasuki Yakou (100 Demon Night) KO's all characters in the ring, including this one. (****) Z-force said it best: The ultimate reversal-of-fortune card. Giving 4 SP is a bonus considering she can turn a one-sided fight in your favor by eliminating everyone in the ring before you play your next card. Her stats aren't as high as Haggar's [A], but Akari (P)'s ability is much stronger. Your opponent won't be able to get their characters back unless they have something like Laundry or Lilith, just make sure Akari (P) stays alive long enough to use the ability. S092 [B] Akari (S) BP: 500 SP: 4 Backup: Juzo, Rouge Helps: KAEDE, Juzo, Akari (T), Dhalsim, Rose, Rouge, Momo [] Henje Hitokata (One-Way Morph) Discard 1 character from hand with a /\ ability and activate it. (***) A valuable card for her stats and her friendliness more than her funky ability. Akari (S) has strong stats just like Akari (P), but helps more cards out, so it is useful to have a few in your deck. Akari (S)'s power is probably best used on weaker cards (like Gen or Asra or Galford) which might not be in your deck after awhile. Sometimes, especially if your side of the ring is full, you may want to dump a strong card from your hand just to use their ability, like Wild Iori's Kurf. If you back-up Akari (S) with Juzo and Rouge, then One-Way Morph Sakura, you've just bumped Akari (S)'s BP up to 2200, that's only 1100 points shy of the maximum BP a card can get! Your HP must be 1000 or less to do this of course. If you had spare Daigo and Maki cards and your enemy's ring was full while yours was empty... S093 [D] Juzo BP: 400 SP: 1 Backup: Akari (P), Akari (S), Akari Helps: Akari (P), Akari (S) None («) He can back up both Akari (P) and Akari (S). S094 [C] Washizuka BP: 500 SP: 2 (+2) Backup: Kojirou, Gouki, Eagle Helps: Kojirou None (**) 500 BP and 2 SP is decent, and he helps out his Wolfpack. S095 [C] Kojirou BP: 400 SP: 5 Backup: Washizuka, Gouki, AKIRA Helps: Washizuka () Syunjin (Suddenly) Nullifies all /\ abilities. (***«) A great card to have mid-game. 5 SP is a lot and 400 BP is decent. While only a team with Washizuka now, Kojirou now stops /\ abilities like Guile (a [B]-rank) while just being a [C] card. S096 [D] Amano BP: 300 SP: 3 (+1) Backup: Genjurou, Hibiki, Roy Helps: Genjurou, Hibiki None (*) All-around weak, but he can team up with two better cards. S097 [D] Mukuro BP: 300 (+100) SP: 2 Backup: Genan, Zabel (Raptor), Zombie Helps: Genan, Gennety /\ Ikeru Shikabane (Living Corpse) All characters in the ring loose their abilities. (**) Normally, I'd say Mukuro was the worst card ever. This time, though, his ability just causes so much havoc. He's a more common version of Capcom's Anakaris which makes him that much more devastating. If you chose the SNK deck to start out with and can't find Anakaris, just use Mukuro instead. S098 [D] Lee Rekka BP: 300 SP: 4 (+1) Backup: Kim, Yun, Yang Helps: Fei-Long, Elena None (*«) A fair card, though no longer part of a Kung-Fu team. S099 [D] Zantetsu BP: 200 (-100) SP: 3 (+2) Backup: Eiji, Hanzo, Shou (Ginsu) Helps: Eiji, Hanzo, Mukuro (Kenji), Ayame () Byuuma (Grievous Mistake) At the end of your turn, all characters take 200 BP damage. (*) This card is DEATH. He will damage EVERYONE at the end of your turn, most likely KO-ing himself in the process. On the upshot, if you've got no one left, he's a great stall; moreso if you can raise his BP or steal his ability. With an Awakening (Kakusei) card, which he can afford, Zantetsu becomes a deadlier version of Roll-chan. He just can't control his raging homicidal urges. S100 [C] Shigen BP: 500 SP: 1 Backup: Shishiou, Leo Helps: Shishiou, Leo, Fuuba (Baby) () Tetsu no Mamori (Steel Bulb) Nullifies extra damage when he counter-attacks a Unified attack. (*«) His ablity is exactly like Makoto's for the Capcom side, but I feel she's stronger than this Last Blade fighter. Shigen's ability is nice, sacrificing himself and absorbing all the extra damage he couldn't stop, thus protecting your HP from a Unified Attack, but stat-wise he's just average and could use better friends. S101 [B] Kagami BP: 700 SP: 1 Backup: Kazuki, Kyo Helps: None [] Fushichou (Phoenix) KO this character and get 100 HP for each card in hand. (***«) A very strong card with a worthwhile ability to use when he's low on BP. Kagami is useful in your mid-game deck just for his 700 BP. S102 [D] Hibiki BP: 300 SP: 4 Backup: Amano, Chun Li, Chun Li (D) Helps: Amano, Ele None (*«) For her to make it all the way from Last Blade to Capcom vs SNK 2, it must mean Hibiki has something good to offer. Sort of. As a [D] card, she has good stats. She has interchangable back-ups. For all this, Hibiki's 4 SP are still her best contribution. S103 [D] Setsuna BP: 600 SP: 5 Backup: Iori, Bousou (Wild) Iori Helps: None /\ Inochi no Akashi (Life Sign) Discard 1 Character card from hand or KO Setsuna. (**«) HIGHLY valuable early on, a bulky 600 SP #and# 5 huge SP for the cost of a weakling in your hand. If you sacrifice a 300 BP card, you still come out on top since it would be the same as playing a 300 BP card and powering them up instantly. S104 [B] Hagure Hitogata (The Wanderer) BP: 100 SP: 0 Backup: Kuroko (the Ump), Twelve Helps: Twelve /\ Chenji! (Change!) Choose an enemy character in their ring. BP becomes the same. (***) Hagure Hitogata is a powerful card to have if your opponent has a lot of heavy-hitters in their ring. The Wanderer can then become a wall to stop an attack, or an offensive force for you to strike back with. Even though the Wanderer gives no SP, it can surprise your opponent after they've played (or powered-up) a strong card. S105 [B] Akari BP: 500 SP: 5 Backup: Kuroko (the Ump), Ibuki Helps: Hon Fu, Juzo, Akari (T), Makoto [] PONTA no HASUBA (Ponta Leaf) Discard a character from your hand. Akari's BP is that of the card. (***) No longer a rare card, her ability can mean she can keep her BP up indefinetly as long as you have cards in your hand. 5 SP points is also a good deal. Akari is a great way to deal with those Bloodia or Genjurou cards in your deck. If you want to use Akari's ability to its fullest, put Geese and Zero Gouki cards in your hand as well. In later fights, Akari will most likely get herself KO'd before she can use Ponta Leaf. S106 [D] Hayate BP: 400 SP: 1 Backup: Cham Cham, Rosa, Kim Sue-Il Helps: Carol, Rosa, Alex None (*) Your SNK game might see him early at the start. Being a Kizuna/Fuun character, Hayate's stats aren't anything to write home about, but he is part of a strangely mix-able Kizuna gang. S107 [D] Carol BP: 200 SP: 4 Backup: Hayate, Kim Sue-Il, Natsu Helps: Rosa None («) Like Hayate, Carol will probably be plentiful early on for a quick 4 SP. Unfortunately, she no longer makes good back-up fodder. S108 [C] Rosa BP: 600 (+300) SP: 2 (-1) Backup: Hayate, Carol, Daigo Helps: Hayate, Carol, B.Jenet, Daigo, Tron /\ Sagattena! (Get back!) Sends a card in your ring (including Rosa) back to hand. (**) A good, balanced card to have at the start of the game, Rosa also works well with a lot of cards, though they don't all form a cohesive unit. Rosa's ability and stats maker her identical to Capcom's Rain. Because Yashiro's ability no longer can send your own cards back to your hand, I've had to re-evaluate Rain and Rosa's ability. While they are a free Escape card that can send a weakened defender, or card with an annoying ()-ability you want to turn off, or a card with a /\-ability you want to re-use, or because you want to free up a specific slot on your field, this ability is much more useful. However, because you MUST send a card back to your hand, it's still annoying if you just want to continue a non-stop offense. S109 [D] Kim Sue-Il BP: 500 SP: 1 Backup: Kim, (Kim) Dong Hwan, (Kim) Jae Hoon Helps: Kim, Hayate, Carol None (**) 500 BP is good for a [D] card. Kim Sue-Il also makes a great pair with regular Kim. As a weak bonus, he can also help the Kizuna Gang. S110 [D] Shishiou BP: 500 SP: 0 Backup: Shigen, Leo Helps: Shigen, Leo, Arthur None («) The Boss of the turf battle, Lion King is the weak link among a decent circle of friends. Each one of them has 500 BP, but only Shishiou offers no SP bonus. S111 [D] Gai (guy) Tendo BP: 300 SP: 3 Backup: Takato, Ryo (H) Helps: Takato, Ryo (H) () Kodoku no RING (Lonely Ring) Add 200 BP to him each time he attacks alone. (*«) Early on, guy (Gai) is decent. His balanced stats are worth it, and he makes a great team with Takato. This BURUKI-ONE king also gets a decent 500 BP attack (if he's the only one on your side attacking). NOTE: Gai can be a persistent attacker, constantly gaining BP and attack many times before he's worn out; or if weaker AIs aren't paying attention, powering up endlessly. S112 [D] Takato Saionji BP: 500 (+200) SP: 0 (-5) Backup: Kasumi, Gai (guy), Ryo (H) Helps: Kasumi, Gai (guy), Ryo (H) () Aiki (Aikido Skill) Whenever he blocks an attack, draw 2 cards. (***«) Takato is one of the few 0 SP cards I like and will have in my decks throughout a good part of the game. Not only does he have enough BP to be a good defender, he gives me cards every time he does his job. In a back-up based deck, he could help you draw extra back-ups. S113 [D] Rob Python BP: 400 SP: 0 Backup: Rick, Bison (Balrog), Dudley Helps: Rick, Bison (Balrog), Dudley None («) Moderate BP and no SP? Junk. He's the weak link of the Boxing Team. S114 [D] Eri BP: 400 (+100) SP: 5 (+4) Backup: Tarma, Marco, Fio Helps: Taizan, Tarma, Marco, Fio /\ HINEKURE Mono (Hothead) If there is ANYone else on the field, Eri returns to hand. («) Ah, the Metal Slug troupe. If you had all of them in your hand... they'd still be pretty worthless. Eri moreso if she's not the first card played either at the start or after a Slaughter AC. Eri will give you 5 SP, but if there's anyone in the ring, you've just wasted your placement phase. "Hinekure Mono", if it wasn't in katakana, would allude that she was a hotheaded person. S115 [D] Tarma BP: 300 SP: 2 (+1) Backup: Eri, Marco, Fio Helps: Eri, Marco, Fio None («) With all the early SNK arcade icons in your hand, you'd need an "Activate!" AC and 4 SP to use them all. S116 [D] Marco BP: 400 SP: 2 Backup: Eri, Tarma, Fio Helps: Eri, Tarma, Fio [] Enemy Chaser Discards hand. All characters but him get 100 damage for each card. («) The only decent one of the sad six (team Metal Slug & Top Hunter) with a special ability. It pretty much says if you have the other 5 in your hand, chances are you'll use Enemy Chaser to dump them all for damage instead of gradually playing them on your field. Still, Marco has passable stats though. S117 [D] Fio BP: 200 SP: 4 Backup: Eri, Tarma, Marco Helps: Eri, Tarma, Marco None («) Fio gives 4 SP, but is part of a very weak family of cards. S118 [D] Roddy BP: 200 SP: 3 Backup: Yamazaki, Cathy, Necro Helps: Cathy None («) The Top Hunters now only back-up themselves; why?? S119 [D] Cathy BP: 200 SP: 3 (+1) Backup: Kubikiri Basara, Roddy, Zaki Helps: Roddy None («) Some strange help Cathy can receive, and receive is all she does. S120 [B] Athena BP: 600 SP: 2 Backup: Nina Helps: Nina () Honoo no Tsurugi (Flame Sword) This character always does 600 damage when attacking your opponent directly even if she has fewer/more than 600 BP. (*****) Very useful offensive ability. If this Psycho warrior gets her BP reduced, she will sneak past the CPU defensive line and still do 600 damage. The CPU will almost never block a 100 BP character, so never give Athena back-up or in any way raise her BP. If you don't recognize her costume, it's from the classic Athena arcade/NES game, and sometimes her alternate costume during SDMs. She also wears it in SVC Chaos as a defender of Heaven. S121 [A] Rock H. BP: 500 SP: 5 Backup: Geese, Terry B., Michelle Heart Helps: Terry B., Terry (T), Michelle Heart, Gill [] Deadly Rave (Neo) KO Rock H. and opponent suffers 100 HP for each card in their hand. (***«) A good card with excellent stats, Rock Howard's Neo Deadly Rave is a great way to go out if he's low on BP and your opponent's hand is brimming. A good way for that to happen is to stuff their ring so they're constantly drawing cards they can't use, which is great if you're playing as the underdog. Another method is if you still have cards like E.Honda or Jhun Hoon which force the opponent to draw. S122 [A] Terry B. BP: 700 SP: 4 Backup: Rock H. Helps: Rock H., Kevin, Ryo (H), Tiffany [] Power Geyzer Throw away a card from your hand to KO a character with 800+ BP. (*****) An excellent card at any time, you can get plenty of Terry Bogard cards from a lucky trip to the Trade/Recycle Machine or from matches. Terry B. can be used at any point in the game due to his high-but- not-too-high BP and his whopping (4) SP. Post-game, Terry B.'s Power Geyzer can easily stop big bruiser cards, even if he's weakened. S123 [S] Terry (T) BP: 700 SP: 3 Backup: Rock H. Helps: None [] Sorry! Look at the top 5 cards of your pile; put 1 in your hand and trash 4. (***«) Great stats, but Capcom's Rose ability is so much better. S124 [C] (Kim) Dong Hwan BP: 600 SP: 2 Backup: Kim, Kim Su-Il, (Kim) Jae Hoon Helps: Kim, Chong Lei, Kim Su-Il, (Kim) Jae Hoon, Yun None (***) A great mid-game bruiser who's part of a big Tae-kwon-do team and makes a great duo with various other gaming brothers. S125 [C] (Kim) Jae Hoon BP: 500 SP: 4 Backup: Kim, Kim Su-Il, (Kim) Dong Hwan Helps: Kim, Chong Shu, Kim Su-Il, (Kim) Dong Hwan, Yang, Kyosuke, Urien None (***) What I said about his brother, add: Jae Hoon helps more people. S126 [C] Gatou BP: 500 SP: 4 Backup: Hotaru, Yun, Yang Helps: Hotaru [] Nikushimi (Hatred) Can turn anyone's ability into +300 BP for that character. (*****) Great stats and can give your characters +300 BP for getting rid of use-once abilities, bad abilities, or abilities you no longer need, or you no longer want the enemy to use. S127 [D] B.Jenet BP: 300 SP: 1 Backup: Rosa, Tron, Ruby Heart Helps: Tron, Ruby Heart /\ Lilien Knights Put a 100-300 BP card from your deck into your hand; shuffle deck. (**) Not a bad card to hate at the start. You can call heavy-hitters like Bishamon, Duck King, or Samonosuke on the field; they start off at 300 BP but can quickly power-up upon entering. You can summon Alfred or Hokutomaru for a quick attack. Son Son or Zombie might just save your skin. Later on, you can set up Ruby Heart, Cody (D), and Shiki (S). If things are getting hairly, pick Mukuro, Yuki, or Regina. Unfortunately, our young piratess should be replaced by the time you collect her backups. Or get Damnd who can call 100-500 BP cards. S128 [D] Marco R. BP: 500 SP: 1 Backup: Ryo, Takuma, Ryo (H) Helps: None () Okiru-noda! (Hoy, wake up!) Unfreezes EVERYONE in the ring after every player's turn. (***) Very good for a [D] ranked card; Marco R. essentially gives your team Terry's ability to not get frozen after attacking. Too bad you can never use Double on anyone ever again. S129 [D] Hokutomaru BP: 300 SP: 1 Backup: Andy, Mai, Son Son Helps: Andy, Mai, Ukyo () CHOKOMAKA (Chalk Mark? Chocolate Nut? Accomplishment? ??) Characters with BP higher than Hokutomaru cannot block his attack. (**«) He's an annoying bugger who has some strong friends. He can really mess around with stronger decks by constantly dealing direct damage (moreso if you have a Cody (D)), but Hokutomaru always needs to be played next to a tough defender to stop those counter-attacks. Mai & Andy had kids and I lost a bet. S130 [B] Hotaru BP: 400 SP: 4 Backup: Chong Shu, Chong Lei, Gatou Helps: Gatou, Momo /\ Itokatsu (Stringy) Place a discarded AC at the top of your deck. (***) A decent card with a useful ability. It's almost like having a Study AC; almost. Itokatsu is her ferret's name. S131 [C] Griffon Mask BP: 600 SP: 2 Backup: Raiden, Zangief, Rainbow Mika Helps: Tsugumi, Ramon, Tsuiisekisha (Nemesis) /\ DAA~! Raise the BP of the weakest card(s) in the ring to the BP of this one. (***«) The fact that G.M./Tizoc could end up helping your opponents more than you do prevents him from sticking around until the end game. However, if your side usually attacks with 100-200 BP weakened cards, this masked luchadore can turn things around. S132 [D] Kevin BP: 500 SP: 2 Backup: Terry B., Phobos (Huitzil), Donovan Helps: Donovan None (**) A fairly bland card that can team up with another. S133 [D] Freeman BP: 400 SP: 3 Backup: Kubikiri Basara, Remy, Zabel (Raptor) Helps: Remy None (*«) See comments above for Kevin. Apply to Freeman. (Why include him?) S134 [B] Grant BP: 800 SP: 0 Backup: Bob, Kain Helps: Kain [] Tomoto no Kizuna (Unbrekable Bond) KOs himself; any remaining BP gets converted into HP. (***«) A build-in Raw Shield. Nice ability if you're hurting for HP. He and Kain have their pact to help you out, but they've isolated themselves from everyone else. S135 [B] Kain BP: 700 SP: 4 Backup: Kazuki, Grant Helps: Grant () Risou (Idealist) Everyone's direct damage AC cards do 100 HP more damage. (***«) Boring ability that won't really help you, but he has good stats. S136 [B] Raiden BP: 800 SP: 4 Backup: Ramon, Zangief Helps: Griffon M., Ramon, Rainbow Mika, Q, Hugo () Mike Appeal When any player backs-up a character, they draw a card. (****) Raiden is perfect for back-up heavy decks, like those with Q-Bee, but be careful that this ability also works for your opponent as well. Big Bear should've also received back-up from Griffon M. or Blue Mary, SNK's other big-name grapplers. S137 [D] Ryuhaku BP: 400 SP: 3 Backup: Kasumi, Kasumi, Kasumi Helps: Kasumi None (*«) Kasane ate! Heh heh, silly Todoh Ryuhaku; he gives 'till it hurts. S138 [S] Geese (H) BP: 500 SP: 3 Backup: Billy, Mr.Big Helps: None [] Reppu Ken (Tempest Fist) Damage the card in front of Geese (H) by his BP; return him to hand. (****) You can only use his power if there is someone in front of Geese (H). Not bad for dealing quick damage and freeing up his slot, but he doesn't really have the stats to be a heavy-hitter. Because Geese (H) returns to your hand, you don't have to worry about an empty hand. S139 [D] Seishirou BP: 700 SP: 5 Backup: HAOUMARU, kaede Helps: None () Inemuri (Napping Off) Will not un-freeze on his own during your unfreeze phase. (***) Never comes out of Freeze phase, even if part of a union attack. In other words, he is a wall. You can, however, use Lightning to prevent this. While this ability is bad on many MANY levels, do not overlook Seishirou's 700 BP or his 5 SP contributions. He makes for a great defender and in CFC2, there are plenty of ways to remove his ability. Just make sure he never gets frozen by the enemy. S140 [C] Touma BP: 600 SP: 2 Backup: Mikoto, Ukyo, Moriya Helps: Mikoto, Necro None (**«) I wish I knew more about this latest Samurai Spirits character, but as it stands, he makes for a good mid-game hitter with Ukyo and Moriya backing him up. S141 [B] HAOUMARU BP: 800 SP: 3 Backup: Hanzo Helps: Seishirou, Samonosuke () Gankou (Piercing Eyes) Card(s) across from him looses its ability at the end of your turn. (****«) Unbelievably good ability that restricts the opponent from placing a good card in front of him. HAOUMARU's weakness is that he doesn't have Haohmaru's Iron Slice. Seriously though, his 800 BP may make him a target, and if you use him too early in the gamem an opponent may place a card with a detrimental ability like Iori's "Blood Contract" that they want you to get rid of. S142 [C] Mikoto BP: 600 SP: 2 Backup: Touma, Shiki (S) Helps: Touma, Shiki (S) () Akai Hitomi (Red Eyes) When attacking, the enemy can't use REs. (***«) A great card to put down just so your opponent can't use RE cards. Capcom's equivalent would be Momo, but Mikoto's activates whenever she attacks ensuring safety if an attack happens en masse. S143 [S] Rimururu (S) BP: 500 SP: 2 Backup: Kula, Sasquatch Helps: Sasquatch [] Oshioki-dayo! (I'll punish you!) In the name of the north, punishes the enemy HP 200 damage. (***) Rimururu (S)'s ability only does 200 HP of damage making her into a variation of Kasumi only without a card-cost penalty and less SP. Not bad to have in the early-goings, but once the enemy gets 3000 HP, you'll want to back a bigger punch. Or drop Moriya who has the same BP and will passively sap the enemy's HP. S144 [S] Shiki (S) BP: 300 SP: 3 Backup: Asra, Mikoto, Balrog (Vega) Helps: Mikoto /\ Hoho no Negai (Wishing of a Smile) For every card with 300 BP or less, add 300 BP. (***«) Shiki (S) is essentially a 600 BP card if Guile or Kojirou isn't in play. She's much like Griffon M. or the Ochuushia RE in that she might help the enemy more than she could help you. S145 [B] Rugal BP: 800 SP: 2 Backup: Mature, Vice Helps: GOD Rugal, Shin Gouki /\ Genocide Cutter Must remove a power from a card on the field, excluding this one. (****) Repeat after me: "I will never strike a god again!" Highly useful card if your opponent is annoying you with ()- or []-abilities. Rugal has high BP, still gives 2 SP, can get his two flunkies to back him up like Vega/M.Bison can, and he backs-up two bad mothers-! S146 [D] Bao BP: 300 SP: 5 Backup: A.Asamiya, Kensu, Chin Gensai Helps: None None (*«) The fact he helps NO ONE hurts him. Other than that, he's got 5 SP. S147 [C] Jhun Hoon BP: 500 SP: 4 Backup: Kim, Seth Helps: Chang, Choi [] Bromide Opponent draws 3 cards. (**«) Good stats, and he belongs in Kim's Tae-Kwon Do club now with only 50% prison convicts. Seriously though, overlook his ability unless you're going to use it to set up Rock H.'s ability. If you're pairing him up with Joe to try and deck your opponent, there are two scenarios you should observe. The first is the easiest: make sure the enemy has no SP and a filled ring so they can't use any cards you're forcing them to draw with Bromide. Second scenario is to make sure you've got a few Fight! cards and Kim is there to help Jhun Hoon re-use Bromide; you could be forcing the enemy to draw 8-16 cards away. (S.Upper, Bromide, Training!, Bromide, Fight!, repeat) S148 [C] Whip BP: 600 SP: 4 Backup: Ralf, Clark Helps: Krizalid None (***) A card with great stats. She can be even stronger with help from the Ikari Team, but she makes for a good powerless mid-game bruiser. S149 [C] Krizalid BP: 500 SP: 5 Backup: Whip, Kula Helps: None [] DATA Ishoku (Data Graft) "Infects" another card with this power; the user loses this power. (****) Krizalid has good stats and his power can be used to "infect" other cards and replace good (or bad) powers. Considering how important and annoying abilities are in this game, Krizalid's deserves some recognition. However, much like the Zombie T-Virus/Biohazard, an infected enemy can use this right back on one of your characters. S150 [D] Seth BP: 500 SP: 2 Backup: Benimaru, Vanessa, Bowman Helps: Blue Mary, Jhun Hoon, Vanessa None (*«) A fair card to have early in the game, but he only works well with Vanessa. S151 [B] Vanessa BP: 700 SP: 2 Backup: Seth, Ramon, Tiffany Helps: Blue Mary, Rick, Seth, Bison (Balrog) () Foot Work Cut SP cost for both player's RE cards by 2. (***) Not a bad card for her stats alone. Her most notable back-up would be that she can give help to Blue Mary though. NOTE her ability reduces the cost of BOTH player's RE cards. S152 [D] Ramon BP: 500 SP: 4 Backup: Griffon M., Raiden, Rainbow Mika Helps: Jubei, Raiden, Vanessa None (**) Ah, unrequited love for Vanessa. How creepy. Thankfully grappler Ramon has decent stats and can actually perform well in a wrestler- themed back-up deck. S153 [C] Lin BP: 500 SP: 2 Backup: Eiji, Ibuki, Zaki Helps: Ibuki () Dokushu (Underhanded Poison) Lowers enemy's SP by 3 when countered. (**«) His KOF2000 bio says his blood is type "poison", which would explain his skill. Ninja born, Ninja bred, revived with poison so he's a walking Ninja dead. Much like Capcom's Karin, if his attack is stopped, the opponent suffers. While not death-inducing, losing 3 SP is still annoying. S154 [C] Hinako BP: 500 SP: 3 Backup: E.Honda, Karin, Yurika Helps: E.Honda, Karin, Hinata, Gan /\ Hinako Funbaru (Hinako's Ready!) If your HP is 1000 or less when Hinako is played, draw two cards. (**«) If you're that near death, drawing two cards MIGHT help. Hinako has just moderate stats, but on a positive note she is part of a large school-oriented team. Funbaru is that straddle/brace Hinako makes in her introduction. S155 [B] Kula BP: 800 SP: 2 Backup: K', Sasquatch Helps: Rimururu (S), Krizalid, Sasquatch () Death Freeze Characters just entering the ring can use their [] abilities. (***«) A power just like Batsu's only by a character with more BP. While it makes her a target, it's also 200 more BP she can use to attack. S156 [B] Zero BP: 700 SP: 3 Backup: Zero Gouki, ZERO Helps: Twelve, Zero Gouki /\ Henjin (Change Person) Copies another in-ring card's ability. (***) Not detrimental as Rugal's would be as Zero isn't taking away anything. He can still copy an ability from someone in your ring to compound its effect or if you're about to sacrifice/lose that person. Depending on whose ability you copy, Zero can turn into Ken or Twelve or just be that "guy with good BP". S157 [A] Yuki BP: 300 SP: 5 Backup: kaede, Moriya, Rose Helps: Chizuru, kaede, KAEDE, Moriya () Fuuin no MIKO (Priestess Seal) Priestess Seal prevents anyone with 800+ BP from entering the ring. (***«) How annoying is this? Like Chizuru, it'll be hard to keep her alive, but if you do, all future 800+ BP cards must be made from those already played. While this is a very good ability, there are plenty of cards below 800 BP that can cause problems. I would rather have Terry B. in the field and discarding cards from my hand to warn off potential monsters simply because Terry B. has more BP than Yuki. S158 [S] Akari (T) BP: 600 SP: 3 Backup: Akari (P), Akari (S), Akari Helps: None [] BAKUCHI Yade! (Let's Gamble!) A character on the field, at random, loses or gains 300 BP. (***) As a card, it has good stats for the middle of the game. As an ability, it's like suddenly cursing someone with the Galon/J.Talbain virus. And like Kazuki's Enmetsu (Imbroglio), way too random for me. S159 [S] Ryo (H) BP: 500 SP: 4 Backup: Gai (guy), Takato, Terry B. Helps: Gai (guy), Takato, Terry B., Marco R. /\ Ko-oh Ken (Shining Tiger Fist) Swats anyone with a /\ ability back into their respective hands; including Ryo (H). (***) Like Yashiro's old ability, only Ryo (H) is weaker and it only affects cards with /\ abilities. This can be good if you want to return your own card back to your hand to re-use later, or if you are desperate to reduce your opponent's ring. NOTE: Like Rain or Rosa, if no one in the ring has a /\-ability, Ryo (H) MUST swat HIMSELF back to your hand. S160 [A] GOD Rugal BP: 900 SP: 4 Backup: Rugal, Gouki Helps: Satsui no Ryu (Evil Ryu), Gill [] Yuugou PAWA (Supreme Evil Power) A random power is bestowed upon anyone God Rugal chooses. (****) Read Akari (T)'s description above, only instead of "middle of the game", replace it with "any time in the game". GOD Rugal has vicious stats and hangs around with some major baddies, but his power is something I wouldn't trust completely. I've gotten some nice powers such as Ryu (U) or Kyosuke's; I've gotten some poor powers such as Jhun Hoon's or Shizumaru's; I've also gotten some bad powers like Asra's (a /\-ability) or June's (locks []-abilities). The fun part of having Supreme Evil Power is that you can give OTHER cards random abilities found in the game that replace whatever they have. -= II. CAPCOM CARDS -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- C001 [A] Ryu BP: 1000 SP: 3 Backup: Sakura, Terry Helps: Oro, Terry [] Shinku Hadoken Discard 2 cards from hand. Do 500 damage to any one character. (****) Strong BP, good SP, and if he's weakened, tapping him to do 500 damage is a kick-ass bonus. He's no longer partnered with Ken for some reason, and his ability has been modified so it now takes 2 cards though they don't have to be ACs. Because of the additional card, be careful not to throw away your hand to use his power. C002 [C] Ken BP: 700 SP: 2 Backup: Sean, Robert Helps: Robert, Kazuki () Dotou no Seme (Rage Wave) Keeps character out of Freeze Phase, even after attacking. (***«) Very useful ability and good BP; if Ken had more SP, he'd be ****. As is, Ken will see a lot of action until Terry arrives. One gripe: Capcom/SNK broke up the team of Ken/Ryu for Ken/Robert! C003 [A] Chun Li BP: 500 SP: 0 Backup: June, Mai Helps: Cammy, Cammy (D), Mai, Sougetsu, Hibiki /\ S.B. (Spinning Bird) Kick Uses all SP; all characters in play (except herself) go to 100 BP. (***«) Her ability, which can be done with 0 SP, makes up for her average BP. It hits your side too, so it's still best used when the opponent has a full field, reducing their fearsome numbers to wastes of space. Because she drains ALL your SP, Chun Li can be the most annoying of equalizers more than anything else. Still, for an underdog deck, she can be invaluable. Her ranking has been upgraded since CFC1. C004 [B] Guile BP: 700 SP: 4 Backup: Nash (Charlie), John Helps: Nash (Charlie), Remy, Alfred, John () Somersault (Kick) Neutralizes all /\ abilities. (***«) Guile is one of the strongest pains-in-the-ass of the game. Excellent stats, Helps a lot of people, and Guile has his very unique ability that can help or hurt you. It allows you to bring someone like Wild Iori or Bloodia out early, at the same time preventing enemies from using things like Kurf or Balm or Counterblow. Just keep in mind that goes the same for your opponent: they can bring in their Geese and Zero Gouki cards while your Yashiro and Gouki cards are stopped. Paired up with June and no one can do ANYthing. C005 [D] E.Honda BP: 500 SP: 3 (+2) Backup: Sodom, Hinako Helps: Sodom, Gan, Hinako /\ KA Mizu (Show of Strength) Each player draws two cards. (***) Good mid-level card; surprisinly good for a D-ranked card. Honda has good BP, good SP, and he's common too. The fact that the opponent draws two cards as well, means E.Honda's ability is neither very helpful nor harmful, but if you're playing the underdog, getting more cards is always a plus. He does well in a decking deck too. C006 [D] Blanka BP: 400 SP: 1 Backup: Dan, Genan, Benimaru Helps: Dan, Raizou /\ Houden (Electric Discharge) Both players trash the top 5 cards of their decks. (*«) Worse than E.Honda because even though both players are affected, unless you have plenty of other cards to sift through the trash, you could be throwing away something you need. While his stats are fairly weak, Blanka is best in a decking deck if you've got your heavy hitters in your hand or on the field; this way, an unprepared opponent can loose large chunks of their deck in one turn. C007 [D] Dhalsim BP: 400 SP: 3 Backup: Necro, Anakaris, Akari (S) Helps: None /\ Satori (Enlightenment) View the top card of your deck; choose to put it at the bottom or not. (**) A good low to mid-level card. His ability is neat, but not always useful. His stats are still solid for a mid-level game until you get stronger characters or better abilities. Dhalsim's has found a plane beyond giving help to weaker characters. C008 [C] Zangief BP: 700 SP: 2 Backup: Rainbow Mika, Haggar Helps: Birdie, Rainbow Mika, Alex, Victor, Mech Zangief, Hugo, Tsugumi, Griffon M., Raiden None (***«) A very strong contender, Zangief is good enough to still be in your deck late in the game. Very good BP and decent SP, just like Ken, but you'll feel better stacking Rainbow Mika as a helper. A nice bonus since CFC1, 'Gief now helps NINE people; one shy of SNK's Kim, but a record for Capcom's side. C009 [C] Mike Bison (Balrog) BP: 600 SP: 1 (+1) Backup: Rob Python, Vanessa Helps: Dudley, Rick, Rob Python None (*«) What a difference 1 SP makes. Mike Bison is now a very worthwhile card to have. Not only does he have decent BP, gets back up from a weaker character, gives back-up to a stronger one, he also gives you some SP to work with. Many [C] cards still have more BP/SP... C010 [C] Balrog (Vega) BP: 500 SP: 4 (+1) Backup: Lee Pylon, Genan, Shiki (C) Helps: Q, Lee Pylon, Charlotte, Genan, Tam Tam, Shiki (C), Shiki (T), Choi, Shiki (S) None (**«) A very solid card to have due to his balanced (and decent) stats and the fact he has common back-ups. Balrog is more of a ladies' man this time around, moreso than Benimaru is; like Zangief, he can help NINE other cards! C011 [B] Sagat BP: 1000 SP: 2 Backup: Joe Helps: Adon, Joe, King, Jubei /\ Shin no Tsuyosa (True Power) Both Players reveal hands, then discard all Action cards in hands. (***«) By his stats alone, Sagat is a very powerful card, HOW-EVER, his ability is something to pay attention to. It's nice to make an opponent loose all their ACs, and seeing their hand is nice, but remember that you show your hand and loose ACs as well. Sagat now is part of a Mui Thai group with Joe and Adon (the student that tried to kill him?!) which ups his rating a bit. C012 [B] Vega (M.Bison) BP: 800 SP: 4 Backup: Juni, Juli, Geese Helps: Cammy (D), Juni, Juli, Hyo, Geese /\ Aku no CHARISMA (Evil Charisma) Shuffles deck after adding ONE Juni & ONE Juli card to your hand. (****) One "Activate!" card from turning into a 1400 point monster, and he brings just enough SP to activate it. The evil overlord has excellent stats & brings his own back-ups; if there's any downside, it's that Vega reshuffles your deck even if you don't have any Juli/Juni cards in there. Late in the game, or after the game, you shouldn't need Juni/Juli cards. This Shadoloo overboss now works hand-in-hand with SNK's underworld lord, Geese; though I think Vega is the better card. C013 [D] Dee Jay BP: 300 SP: 4 (+1) Backup: Amingo, Duck King, Bob Helps: Amingo, Duck King, Bob, Kyoshiro None (**«) Dee Jay is a pretty simple and straight-forward card: Weak BP, nice SP, but he can team-up with a lot of good low-level people. C014 [D] T.Hawk BP: 400 SP: 3 Backup: Rick, Nakoruru (C), Nakoruru (S) Helps: None None (*) A decent card, but his backups are mostly better than he is and the Thunder Hawk no longer provides helps to anyone. C015 [D] Fei-Long BP: 400 SP: 3 Backup: Wang Tang, Hon Fu, Lee Rekka Helps: Hon Fu None (*«) Decent BP and SP, but is only teamed up with Hon Fu now. C016 [D] Cammy BP: 300 SP: 5 (+1) Backup: Chun Li, Sakura, Shizumaru Helps: Tao (Mai Ling) None (*«) She has no special skills and isn't part of any special teams. Not bad to use for some quick SP early on. C017 [S] Cammy (D) BP: 600 (+300) SP: 3 Backup: Vega (M.Bison), Chun Li, Sakura Helps: None /\ Spy Put a card from your opponent's hand at the top/bottom of their pile. (****«) Wow, what an upgrade. Cammy (D) should be in almost every deck just because of the chaos she can cause. She doesn't force someone to discard a good card, but puts it at the bottom (or top) of their deck. First, many decks have Revive or Tsumamigui to pluck discards; they won't help against Cammy's Spy. Second, you have to pay attention to the hiragana/katakana that flashes by to see who just got sent to your draw pile. Third, unless you have a card that shuffles or sifts through your deck, say goodbye to that card. C018 [A] Gouki (Akuma) BP: 800 SP: 0 Backup: Shin Gouki Helps: Donovan, Zero Gouki, Shin Gouki, Gaira, Washizuka, Kojirou, GOD Rugal /\ Shun-Goku-Satsu (Instant Light Murder) Upon entering, KO's the character opposite him. (****«) If there is no card in front of him, he will no longer go nuts on his teammates. Even with a modified ability, Gouki is STILL one of the best cards to have due to the indiscriminate KILLING power he has. Just like Yashiro, Gouki is best used to shift momentum of a fight. Even though Gouki gives no SP like the previous two, he KOs the card and is deserving of a spot or two in your deck. But because he has 0 SP, don't use three Gouki's unless he's back-up fodder for SEVEN cards. C019 [S] Ryu (U) BP: 700 (+200) SP: 1 Backup: Sakura, Kyo Helps: None [] Hado-ken (Wave Motion Punch) Discard 1 card from hand. Do 300 damage to any one character. (****) If he gave more SP, he'd have an extra «; sounds like Ken yet STILL doesn't get any help from him. *sigh* Well, Ryu (U) is in many respects better than regular Ryu. You discard only one card instead of two and you can carefully carve your opponents cards to nothing. Having 700 BP also puts him under the radar for cards like Terry B. or Regina. C020 [S] Chun Li (U) BP: 500 SP: 2 Backup: Nash (Charlie), Xiang Fei Helps: None /\ Gomen-ne! (Sorry!) See the top 3 cards on your enemy's deck and choose 2 to discard. (****) A decent card with a very useful ability; the ability alone #may# warrent the rarity level. Not only do you view the opponent's top card, you also get to get rid of some potentially harmful cards in the process, especially in the late/post game. With Pester and Joe, your opponent can loose much of their deck. Chun Li finally gets paired up with Xiang Fei, though I wish these [S]-cards helped more people. C021 [B] GUY BP: 500 SP: 4 (+2) Backup: Cody, Haggar Helps: Cody, Haggar, Cody (D), Maki () Haya-Gake (Sudden Neck Breaker) When there is only one enemy card left, they cannot counter-attack GUY if he attacks, but can counter anyone else who is attacking. (***«) Do not be confused with "gai" from SNK's BURIKI-ONE. GUY is a decent low/mid-level card with a very useless ability. Enemy characters cannot counter GUY, but they can counter anyone else who is attacking. There are mainly 2 opportunities to use this ability: (1) When you go first and play GUY as your first card, the enemy must play Shermie to stop your attack. Or (2), when the enemy has fewer HP than GUY has BP and only one available defender. In CFC2, Guy has better stats and has made up with Cody & Haggar at the loss of his unofficial history with Rose. Now Guy comes with enough SP to use Awakening after being placed doing 800 damage if he attacks at the start of the fight. C022 [B] Rose BP: 600 SP: 5 Backup: Rouge, Akari (S) Helps: Rouge, A.Asamiya, Akari (P), Yuki /\ Tarot Card Draw 4 Cards, then discard 3 from your total hand. (****) Overall, Rose is very good, especially for an uncommon [B]. She has great stats, both good BP and high SP, plus a funny ability. It helps you work through your deck faster and can get rid of any unhelpful cards you may have been holding before you played her. I like to have 1-2 Roses in my deck, but I also like to have Shopping just in-case I have to throw away something useful. While the Guy/Rose romance side-stories were ditched, Rose can help many more cards now. C023 [C] Nash (Charlie) BP: 600 SP: 3 Backup: Guile, Ralf, Clark Helps: Guile, Chun Li (U), Alfred None (***) OMG! They killed Nash/Charlie! Those bastards! OK, all kidding aside, he's still a very good, balanced character, even with no abilities. C024 [D] Sodom BP: 400 SP: 1 Backup: E.Honda, Damnd, Samonosuke Helps: E.Honda, Damnd, Arthur None («) Decent BP, but poor SP and strange friends. You can do much better. C025 [D] Birdie BP: 500 SP: 0 Backup: Zangief, Zaki, Duck King Helps: Zaki, Kubikiri Basara None («) No SP and who he helps/gets help from are better played on their own. Except for Basara. C026 [D] Adon BP: 300 SP: 4 (+1) Backup: Sagat, Joe, King Helps: Sagat, Joe, King None (*«) The upstart Mui-Thai now gives you 4 SP, but still can barely take a hit. Now for some reason, he and Sagat have made up, which puts Adon in a bigger circle of kick-boxers making him good back-up fodder. C027 [B] Dan BP: 500 SP: 2 Backup: Blanka, Robert, Mr.Karate Helps: Blanka, Yuri, Mr.Karate /\ Doshta Doshta! (What Gives?) Decreases enemy's SP by 6. (***«) Doshta Doshta? He is the MAN for he is DAN- DAN- DAN HIBIKI! Oyajii~! I now consider Dan to be a good mid-level character because his special ability is actually nastier in CFC2. Nothing's changed for Dan, but because SP is much more important in this game, reducing your opponent's is much more useful. Dan works great if you can combine him with cards like Yuki or Regina to prevent high BP cards like Pyron that can give lots of SP. Dan still xhelps Jimmy aka Blanka (who've thunk those two would end up being friends) and Mr.Karate (perhaps mistaking him as an uncle), but now instead of getting help from Ryo, now it's Robert (you can't see the irony, can you?) and Yuri. C028 [C] Sakura BP: 500 SP: 3 Backup: Hinata, Shingo Helps: Ryu, Cammy, Cammy (D), Ryu (U), Sean, Hinata, Shingo /\ Sakura Ganbaru (Sakura Fighting Spirit: the 2 vol. comic by Gamest) BP doubled if player's life is at 1000 or less. (***«) Sakura will be a staple in your deck for a while, moreso if you have the Capcom deck. Sakura will be more helpful in your 2000 HP fights, as you don't want to be below 1000 HP if you're up against the 3000 HP card-fighters. While she's no longer helping ten different cards, she's still helping 7; a record held by only six other cards. (Gouki, Yang, Heidern, Chin Gensai, Akari (S), Jae Hoon) Plus, Sakura is still part of the school gang with Hinata and Shingo. C029 [D] Gen BP: 400 SP: 2 (+2) Backup: Lee, Lee Pylon, Chin Gensai Helps: Lee /\ Ryuu Hagae (Changing School/Style-shift) Returns all discarded AC to deck then shuffles deck. (*) The average deck should not be more than 30-35% ACs, and chances are, you'll want to have a specific AC card rather than just shuffling everything back in. In this sense, even with 2 SP, Gen is a pretty poor card you could replace with a Study or Shopping AC. C030 [D] Rolento BP: 300 SP: 3 Backup: Lei Lei (Hseik-ko), Cody (D), Leona Helps: Damnd, Eagle None («) Backups have changed, but he's still weak and can back Damnd. C031 [C] Karin BP: 500 SP: 2 Backup: Robert, Hinako Helps: Rain, Robert, Hinako () Hou-Shou (Compensation) Decreases enemy's HP 200 points when her attack is counter-attacked. (**«) I like her. Karin is pretty valuable early on in the Capcom version. Not only does she have decent stats for a mid-carder, she also has a good ability that stings the enemy's HP even if she can't get through. (her ability kicks in the instant the opponent counters) Karin is on par with SNK's Lin; they both have good, yet weak abilities. Karin can still be part of a decent school-themed team, even if it looks like she's and SNK card. C032 [D] Rainbow Mika BP: 400 SP: 3 (+3) Backup: Zangief, Tsugumi, Raiden Helps: Zangief, Alex, Q, Tsugumi, Griffon M., Ramon None (**) Much improved from being the joke-character of SFZ3 and CFC1. Rainbow Mika is stll best suited as back-up fodder, but she now provides help for 6 different cards and is part of a grappling crew. C033 [D] Juni BP: 300 SP: 3 Backup: Vega (M.Bison), Juli, Vice Helps: Vega (M.Bison), Juli None (*) A rather weak card, Juni is mainly Vega's (M.Bison) henchwoman, though she can team with Juni if you don't have a decent team yet. I like how many of these duos are either mirror matches (like Hazuki and Sougetsu) or have great backgrounds like Juni & Juli. C034 [D] Juli BP: 400 (+100) SP: 0 (-2) Backup: Vega (M.Bison), Juni, Mature Helps: Vega (M.Bison), Juni [] Psycho Charge Alpha Discard a character from your hand; gain its SP. (*) She now looks better than her sociopathic counter-part and the two have a strange difference. Juli is the stronger of the two, but requires a "sacrifice" to give SP, an ability that puzzles me for two reasons: (1.) Even if you don't have space to put down a weak card that gives you SP, by using this ability, Juli is frozen. (2.) Wasn't she supposed to have Psycho Charge Beta? I guess this was another change when she lost her SFZ3/SFA3 connection to T.Hawk. Like Juni, Juli will be dead weight, even as fodder for Vega/M.Bison, around the middle of the game. C035 [C] Alex BP: 600 SP: 2 (+2) Backup: Zangief, Rainbow Mika, Hayate Helps: None () Sonic Headbutt When Alex hits the enemy directly, they can't use ACs their next turn. (***) Because he now gives 2 SP, he's a decent card up through the mid-game. C036 [D] Yun BP: 400 SP: 2 Backup: Yang, Chong Lei, (Kim) Dong Hwan Helps: Yang, Wang Tang, Chong Lei, Kensuu, Lee Rekka, Gatou None (**«) A bit of a mixed bag now. The young Twin Dragon is still weak, but can team up with a variety of mid-level cards. C037 [D] Yang BP: 400 SP: 2 Backup: Yun, Chong Shu, (Kim) Jae Hoon Helps: Yun, Wang Tang, Urien, Chong Shu, Lee Rekka, (Kim) Jae Hoon, Gatou None (**«) Like Yun, only with different mid-level cards. The Blue Dragon of the Gale joins the twin-brother brigade. C038 [D] Sean BP: 400 SP: 1 Backup: Sakura, Terry, Shingo Helps: Ken () Makezu Girai (Sore Loser) If your opponent's hand is bigger at your turn's end, draw 1 card. (*«) A weak card with a decent trick and can back-up Ken. Sean's not too shabby if you're reducing your hand by burning through AC/REs. If you have multiple Sean cards out, they activate Sore Loser at the same time (and you draw multiple times). C039 [C] Oro BP: 400 (+100) SP: 3 Backup: Ryu, Chin Gensai Helps: None () TENGU Ishi (Tengu Stone) BP increases by 100 each time you turn starts. (**) Looks weak at first, but the longer he's out, the tougher he gets. Wow did his ability go from WOAH to BLOWS. Thankfully, Oro doesn't suck as a card, but I'm seriously considering if he's half-a-star better than Gai. Originally, Oro's card would gain 100 BP each time the opponent drew a card; if it had stayed like that, Oro would be godly if you had E.Honda or Jhun Hoon in play. Now, Oro gains BP MUCH more slowly. NOTE because this ability kicks in at the start of your next turn, being in a United Combo does NOT affect this ability. C040 [D] Elena BP: 400 SP: 3 Backup: Urien, Gill, Lee Rekka Helps: Bob [] Healing Discard one card in your hand to recover 200 HP. (*«) A very good common card. Decent BP and good SP, plus a nice ability. Elena still only helps Bob, but now she can toss any card. Too bad she only heals 200 HP. Her stats make her decent at the start. C041 [D] Ibuki BP: 400 SP: 2 (-2) Backup: Zaki, Eiji, Lin Helps: Ayame, Yurika, Kaede (OM), Akari, Lin [] Hana Uta (Flower Song) Raise one card on each side of the ring by 300 BP. (**«) Ibuki lost some stats since the last game, and a rarity ranking, but she's still a good card to have. Despite the downgrade, she's managed to turn more ninja and less schoolgirl. Paired up with Blue Mary, Ibuki can power herself up as much as she'd like as long as the patsy is kept frozen. Otherwise, she makes a decent pair with Lin. NOTE: Ibuki's Flower Song requires that the opponent have a card out. C042 [D] Necro BP: 400 SP: 0 Backup: Twelve, Shiki (T), Touma Helps: Dhalsim, Zabel (Raptor), Roddy None («) I have no idea, but somehow he got worse. Why is he singing to me? If Jay Sherman can't do it, maybe Simon Cowel can: Worst ever! C043 [C] Makoto BP: 400 SP: 3 Backup: Ryo, Takuma, Akari Helps: Takuma () KIAI Jiyaa! (Yell) Stops extra damage when she counter-attacks a United attack. (**«) A good character who now pairs up well with other karate experts. Her average stats and semi-useful ability make her a contender. Like Gaira, Makoto can sacrifice herself to prevent a United attack from reaching your HP. Looks like Makoto got hit by the angry stick. C044 [D] Q BP: 500 SP: 2 (+2) Backup: Balrog (Vega), Rainbow Mika, Raiden Helps: Tam Tam, Yashiro () NAZO no Sonzai (MYSTERY Origin) At your turn's end, both players trash the top 2 cards of their deck. (**«) Q got an upgrade; more SP and a special ability that goes well with a decking deck as long as you have Vacation or Gen and Lilith. For some reason, Q has a lower rank yet better stats. C045 [C] Twelve BP: 100 SP: 0 Backup: Kuroko (the Ump), Hagure Hitogata (The Wanderer), Zero Helps: Necro, Hagure Hitogata (The Wanderer) () X.C.O.P.Y. When this character counters, BP becomes that of the attack. (**«) Slightly better than Makoto or Gaira's ability to stop United damage. X.C.O.P.Y. would sacrifice Twelve to KO #all# the attacker(s). This in itself makes Twelve valuable in that it could stop a 4000+ damage United-attack.. but would the enemy even attempt that if they knew Twelve would KO all their cards? For a [C] card, you might want to try it out in the early goings of the game, but when you have 700+ BP attackers coming out to play, you probably want to put a character down to give you some SP too. C046 [B] Remy BP: 700 SP: 3 (+3) Backup: Guile, Freeman Helps: Freeman () Fukushuu (Revenge) BOTH players lose 1 SP for each card in their hand at the start of your turn. (**«) Like Q and Twelve and Makoto and Ibuki, Remy has his useful points. He's good for your deck if you think you can use all your SP quickly (or lose enough cards) and reduce your opponent's SP to nothing. Because his power goes into effect at the start of your turn, you can't turn it off by throwing him in a United Combo. Remy has gone through a minor change not counting his backup list (still no one notable); Remy has an additional 3 SP which makes him helpful before his power kicks in. Make sure you won't shoot yourself in the foot with his ability. C047 [D] Retsu BP: 200 SP: 5 (+1) Backup: Donovan, Nicotine, Gaira Helps: Nicotine None («) Five SP makes Retsu a decent starting card, but this old street fighter is no longer even good back-up fodder. C048 [D] Lee BP: 200 SP: 4 (+1) Backup: Gen, Lee Pylon, Chin Gensai Helps: Gen None («) Ooh! Plus one SP. How useful! Everyone should have a Lee card... so you can POOP ON HIM! C049 [A] Satsui no Ryu (Evil Ryu) BP: 700 SP: 3 Backup: GOD Rugal Helps: Bousou (Wild) Iori, Bousou (Wild) Leona /\ Satsui no Hadou (Evil Energy) KO's one character in Freeze Phase (****«) Technically, "Murderous Intent" Ryu. Unlike the previous game, this time sociopathic Ryu has made some friends; EVIL friends. Now, not only can his power wrack ANY frozen character (unlike Gouki's newly adjusted power), he can also back-up others into being MORE fearsome. A very good card, 700 BP & 3 SP are very nice, and if no one is frozen, he can still be played. EVIL! NOTE: If the only frozen players on the field are on your side, Evil Ryu *will* KO one of his teammates coming in! C050 [C] Demitri BP: 500 SP: 4 Backup: Zombie, Zombie, Red Arremer Helps: Red Arremer [] Midnight Bliss KO one of your characters to draw 1 card. (***) Worthwhile stats and a neat ability that can rid your ring of weenies. I like drawing heavy hitters while making space to put them down. Like all "[] KO" abilities, Demitri can use it on himself. C051 [B] Morrigan BP: 700 SP: 5 Backup: Mai Helps: Lilith () Ubaste Aberu (Life Sucker) Damage she does to the opponent's HP is added to your HP. (****) Well, Morrigan is no longer the best [B] card ever. It is now much harder to directly damage opponents with a high BP character, so only if Morrigan is weakened (or you wiped out the opponent's field at once someone) will you be able to use her ability. Try to do what you can to force the enemy to choose between a high BP attacker (such as Haohmaru) or Morrigan; this may require a few Reparation ACs to do, but one strike from her and the tides of battle can change instantly as you deal damage and heal your own. I feel awkward that Mai backs her up instead of Lilith now. C052 [S] Morrigan (D) BP: 700 SP: 5 Backup: Iori Helps: June [] Oyasumi no Kiss (Goodnight Kiss) KO's one of your characters and raises your SP by 8. (****) A rarer card that's just as powerful as it's [B] rank coutnerpart, but not as dangerous. Because it is much more difficult in using the other Morrigan's powers, KO-ing a weenie on your team for 8 SP is an #excellent# trade. Still a powerful card to have in your deck. C053 [D] Galon (J.Talbain) BP: 400 SP: 3 Backup: Felicia, Nakoruru (T) Helps: Bulleta (B.B.Hood), Leo, Galford /\ Ge no Tagiri (Seething Blood) Randomly raises or decreases BP by 300. (*) Too random for my tastes. J.T. does give you 3 SP, but I've seen him enter the ring at a paltry 100 BP more often than I've seen him 'Gief-up to 700 BP. You may want him if you've got Guile in your deck to prevent Seething Blood, but by then 400/3 may not be impressive. While he gives more help this game, he's still too random for me. C054 [D] Zabel (L.Raptor) BP: 400 SP: 2 Backup: Zombie, Kubikiri Basara, Necro Helps: Lei Lei (Hsien-ko), Zombie, Red Arremeber, Murkuro, Freeman None (*) Zabel Zarock, Le Malta, they haven't treated you well. On the upshot, Lord Raptor makes a great tag-team with Zombies if an opponent sends the Zombie virus back your way. Plus, Raptor also backs up Lei Lei (Hsien-ko) and Red Arremer. C055 [C] Victor BP: 700 SP: 0 Backup: Zangief, Mech Zangief Helps: Chang, Maxima None (*«) He has no SP gains, but does have 700 BP. This makes him more valued than say, Necro or Rob Python. It's a really short list now, but Victor is still tough enough to deserve a spot in your deck early on when sheer POWER can intimidate. Too bad Victor still isn't a big "team" player; the people he helps are weaker and the people helping him are better. If Victor got help from Haggar, I'd have nicknamed him "Lariat City". C056 [B] Felicia BP: 500 SP: 2 Backup: Al & Iven, Cham Cham Helps: Galon, Al & Iven, Cham Cham [] Otsukai ART (Sidekick Art) Randomly draw 1 Action card from deck. (**«) A decent card overall. Felicia has good BP and decent SP, plus cheap back-up cards. If you don't have that many AC in your deck, chances are she'll draw a good one to your hand. However, Felicia doesn't fit as a "strong" attacker. After you stop holding Cham Cham in your deck, you'll probably dump Felicia for the Management AC. C057 [D] Sasquatch BP: 400 SP: 3 (+2) Backup: Cham Cham, Rimururu (S), Kula Helps: Rimururu (T), Rimururu (S), Kula None (*«) A bit of an overhaul this time around. Sasquatch is a fair card to have in the early goings, though he forms a cool team with some heavier hitters later on if you want. (No Capcom back-ups at all!) C058 [D] Bishamon BP: 300 SP: 4 Backup: B.Hayato, Samonosuke Helps: None /\ Kirisute Gomen (Regretful Lop) KO's all other characters in your ring. Gain 300 BP for each KO. (**) A pretty useful card actually. Great for coming in second or third, after you've played a weak card that adds SP, or for eliminating a weakened defender. He can still be played if your ring is empty. While no longer forming a team of steel with his back-up, Bishamon still has a fun ability that can power him up to 600-900 BP. C059 [C] Anakaris BP: 600 SP: 0 Backup: Aulbath (Rikuo), Gill Helps: Dhalsim /\ Ouke no Sabaki (J.O.T.P.; Jaunt of the Pharaoh) All ring characters lose their abilities, including himself. (**«) A very "screw you" card. You get a good 600 BP bruiser, and you get to eliminate any () [] (and /\) abilities your opponent's ring may be using to annoy you. Anakaris is no longer a big team player, but his ability nets him an extra half-star because of how annoying some new abilities are. NOTE that J.O.T.P. (Ouke no Sabaki) also affects YOUR ring characters. C060 [D] Aulbath (Rikuo) BP: 400 SP: 1 (-3) Backup: Genjurou, Sougetsu Helps: Anakaris, Genjurou, Sougetsu [] Mizu no Uruoi (Wet Water) Anyone receiving back-up gains 200 BP. (**«) Still a great card, especially if you hold Sougetsu and Genjurou. While no longer the 400/4 [D] card from CFC1, Aulbath's ability can seriously beef up a deck that relies on back-ups until you find Natsu; just make sure the enemy doesn't benefit more than you do. (STILL don't know where the names "Rikuo"/"Aulbath" come from) (Wikipedia places Rikuo as a pun on the actor in Creature from the Black Lagoon, but searches on Orubasu lead to ORange BATHingsuit) C061 [C] Phobos (Huitzil) BP: 700 SP: 1 Backup: Blodia, Kikaioh Helps: Kevin None (**) A good card, much like Zangief. Strong BP, still gives 1 SP, but for some strange reason, he no longer teams with many cards. As a stand- alone Phobos isn't bad, but should be replaced by cards like Q-Bee. C062 [B] Pyron BP: 800 SP: 2 Backup: Lucifer Helps: Lucifer () Cosmo Power +3 to SP at the end of your turn if yours is lower than your enemy's. (****) A great card to have at least one of. Early on, it's great to have a lot of to make use of his ability. Later on, the ability is more of a nicity, but his stats are still great. If you have more than one Pyron, his Cosmo Power stacks with itself and activate simultaneously (giving you +6 or +9 instead of +3). C063 [C] Lei Lei (Hsien-ko) BP: 600 (+200) SP: 2 (-3) Backup: Zabel (Raptor), Yamazaki, Xiang Fei Helps: Xiang Fei [] Anki (Dark Weapon) Shuffle Lei Lei and your hand back into your deck; draw three cards. (***) Aiyaa! The Chinese Ghost has had a major overhaul. She has been changed from a team-player into a bruiser card that forms a team with Xiang Fei. Still, high BP for a [C] card and she still gives 2 SP. Lei Lei/Rei Rei/Hsein-ko (and to make it more confusing, her ofuda- slash-sister Lin Lin; how did she get so many names?) even has a power that's somewhat useful. You don't discard your hand, but shuffle it back into your deck (along with Lei Lei) unlike Mai's ability. It's a toss-up though as three cards isn't much. C064 [C] Donovan BP: 500 SP: 4 Backup: Gouki, Gaira, Kevin Helps: Retsu, Nicotine, Gaira, Kevin [] Change Immortal Discard a card from your hand to raise Donovan's BP by 300 pts. (***) Donovan's ability has improved, but it's still rather risky since it's a []-ability; you'll freeze Donovan while tossing a card. Even without using it, this Vampire Hunter is still a potential power-house with two good friends (plus one demon-incarnate). C065 [C] Jedah BP: 500 SP: 4 Backup: Q-Bee, Lilith, Bousou (Wild) Iori Helps: Iori () Shimabe no Akashi (P.D.C.) Draw one card when he damages enemy directly. (***) Not so strange that the misundersood Jet Black Vampire Savior helps misunderstood dreg Iori, but why is he getting help from the crazed sociopath Bousou (Wild) Iori? While harder to get a direct hit, his P.D.C. (Prova di Cervo / Shimabe no Akashi) is a good power. Another benefit is that he's another character that can be backed up by Q-Bee, who when played will search through your deck to add up to 2 Q-Bees into your hand (one for her, one for him!). C066 [A] Bulleta (B.B.Hood) BP: 500 SP: 3 Backup: Galon Helps: Ukyo [] RINGO Bakudan (Apple for You) KO's a single enemy character, then shuffle B.B.Hood into your deck. (****) A very, VERY kick-ass ability. It does randomize your deck some more, but the fact that you've just pulled a Double KO without spending SP #and# while keeping the bounty hunter sometimes known as Bulleta ALIVE so she can do it again has to warm the cockles of your heart. What prevents B.B. from getting a higher grade is that her stats are only above-average. Still though, even in the hard-hitting late game, getting a free KO is still getting a free KO. No idea why she's getting help from someone she'd hunt; Rush might have been a more logical choice (Marvel VS Capcom 2; B.B. vs Mega). C067 [B] Q-Bee BP: 600 SP: 3 Backup: Q-Bee, Q-Bee Helps: Jedah, Q-Bee /\ Plus B Put all Q-Bees from deck into your hand. Shuffles the deck afterwards. (***«) A real hard worker; try to get more than one Q-Bee into your deck. Not only does she have 600 BP and 3 SP to give, her special ability let's her back herself up into a 1200 BP monster that much faster. Q-Bee can also back up Jedah, another good card. Even if you don't have a Q-bee left in your deck, playing her will shuffle your deck. C068 [D] Lilith BP: 400 SP: 2 (+2) Backup: Morrigan, Shingo Helps: Jedah /\ Hitotsu Ni Naruno (Becoming One) All discarded characters are shuffled back into the deck. (***«) Now with 2 SP! Lilith is still a great [D]-rank card, though the randomization is somewhat annoying. Lilith's a strange card to grade: she's better later on when you want to put powerhouses back into your deck rather than early when you don't want to shuffle the weaker cards back in. Remember to keep Laundry and Shopping to pick up the odd AC in your discard pile (and Lilith should she end up there). Try not to have more than one Lilith card in your deck due to over-recycling weenies. Strangely, Lilith only helps Jedah now and receives back-up from Shingo (instead of Morrigan), hah? C069 [C] Hayato BP: 700 SP: 1 Backup: June, Ele Helps: June, Ele /\ Ashura Discard all ACs in hand, gain 200 BP for each discarded card. (***) Somewhat of a mixed blessing. While you don't show your hand off, (I think) you are forced to lose all the ACs in your hand when playing Hayato. On the plus side, 700 BP to start with is good already, imagine if you had 1-2 ACs in your hand? With Hayato in your hand, you may want to consider adding a Gen or Hotaru card into your deck. C070 [C] B.Hayato BP: 500 SP: 2 (+1) Backup: Ryoma, Samanosuke, Jubei Helps: Bishamon, Genjurou None (**) 500 SP and 2 SP are good at the start. He gets back-up from and gives back-up to early and mid-game cards. For a [C]-card, he could be better. C071 [C] June BP: 600 (+200) SP: 3 Backup: Morrigan (D), Hayato, Ele Helps: Chun Li, Hayato, Blues (Proto Man), Ele, Xiang Fei () Plasma Ring Prevents [] abilities from activating. (***) June has been upgraded to a "good" card. Good BP and SP, a big ability like SNK's Nicotine, but she has a strange and somewhat inconsistent cocktail of backups and help. June is still a good upgrade to Nicotine, she is part of a good Star Gladiator team with Hayato & Ele, and teaming up with Guile, can stop all annoying abilities. C072 [C] Rain BP: 600 SP: 2 Backup: Karin, King, Charlotte Helps: Rimururu (C), Bilstein /\ Osagari-nasai (Back off!) Sends one character in your ring (including Rain) back to hand. (**) A decent card with a quirky ability. Rain can either be viewed as a pushy 600/2 bruiser or a field medic who shuffles the weak out of the ring. Early in the game, you can have Rain knock a weak or weakened ally from the field back into your hand and start powering her up with her 2 decent back-ups. Personally, with my style of playing, any weak cards in the field are better used as fodder. Rarely do I want to return a weakened power- house with an Escape AC unless they have a useful /\ ability. I try to use the weakened card to furthur weaken the enemy, with another strong card ready to enter as soon as the field opens up. Because Yashiro's ability no longer can send your own cards back to your hand, I've had to re-evaluate Rain and Rosa's ability. Because you MUST send a card back to your hand, it's still annoying if you just want to continue a non-stop offense. C073 [A] Jin Saotome BP: 800 SP: 4 Backup: Blodia, Blodia, Blodia Helps: Blodia [] Saotome Dynamite KO this character, then KO 1 enemy character. (*****) He's still Jin Saotome, walking 800 BP Double KO card. And he still gives 4 SP. And he can be obtained through battle like a regular [A] card. Jin can give and take damage, and if his BP gets too low, can KO himself, making space for another card, while taking an enemy down with him. 2-3 of him. Deck. ASAP. Granted, there are now many new ways to stop 800 BP cards, Jin is too valuable to pass up. He is an excellent defender & gives lots of SP. C074 [D] Blodia BP: 1000 SP: 0 Backup: Jin Saotome, Kikaioh Helps: Phobos (Huitzil), Jin Saotome, Omokane Saki, Kikaioh /\ Energy Cost After playing, you must have and loose 10 SP or this card KO's itself. (**) Somewhat hard to grade as Blodia is pretty useful after the game is over, when SP is plentiful because you have lots of rare or uncommon cards like Mech Zangief or Pyron. If you have Guile in play, Blodia can enter the ring with no consequence. At the very least, it makes a good back-up to Jin & Saki. C075 [A] Zero Gouki (Zero Akuma) BP: 1500 SP: 0 Backup: Gouki Helps: Zero, ZERO, Omokane Saki /\ Giga Crush You must show the opponent your hand and discard any AC & RE cards. (***«) Just like Geese, Zero Gouki has been given a significant penalty. Losing non-character cards alone is bad, but you also show off your hand and get no SP. It wouldn't be so bad if you had a killer hand and Zero Gouki was the icing on the cake. Using Zero Gouki before the end of the game isn't a bad idea, as decks won't have cards like Bousou Iori or Regina; things that target cards with 800+ BP. If you keep one for later, it's best used at the start or as back-up. Oh Zero G., what a pale shadow you've become from your Cyberbots incarnation. (Capcom's most popular 2D Robot Fighting Game!) C076 [D] Leo BP: 500 SP: 2 Backup: Galon, Shigen, Shishiou Helps: Shigen, Shishiou None (**) Nice for a [D] rank card. 500 BP and gives 2 SP to boot. Still the best out of his teammates. C077 [D] Mukuro (Kenji) BP: 400 (+100) SP: 1 (-2) Backup: Shou (Ginsu), Hanzo, Zantetsu Helps: Eiji, Hanzo /\ Mittei (Espionage) Draw a card from the enemy's deck; toss a hand card into their trash. (**«) Mukuro/Kenji is quote like Mukuro on the SNK side, looking at his stats you would think he was a sub-par card. However, his ability is quick devastating if you pick up a good card. True that unless they used something like Saki or Hotaru's ability, you won't know what's on top, but if they have a better deck you won't mind. Even if they have a weak deck, you can throw the card you picked up into their trash. Kenji's good enough to be put in a mid-game deck, a decking deck, or a team-based deck. C078 [A] Tabatha (Tessa) BP: 300 SP: 2 Backup: Al & Iven, Rouge, Akari (P) Helps: Al & Iven [] Naiyou no Tsue (Solar Cane) For this turn, the next AC card you use is free of SP cost. («) Despite being the most well-known Warzard character, she's very weak. Despite her [A] rank, she doesn't even have a decent ability. It's nice that you can get a free AC use and conserve SP, but by the time you obtain Tessa (in Story Mode), you probably won't need to. C079 [D] Al & Iven BP: 100 SP: 6 (+1) Backup: Felicia, Tabatha (Tessa), Cham Cham Helps: Felicia, Tabatha (Tessa), Cham Cham None (*) Wow, 6 SP is a record setter. And then they still die. C080 [D] Tao (Mai Ling) BP: 300 SP: 5 (+1) Backup: Cammy, Son Son, Heidern Helps: Son Son, Xiang Fei None (**) A 5 SP card with passable BP. Too bad she's only teamed up with Son Son. And Heidern? What happened to Lei Lei, June, and Xiang Fei? C081 [C] Batsu BP: 600 SP: 3 Backup: Kyosuke, Hinata Helps: Kyo () Nekketsu (Boiling Blood) All characters entering the ring can use [] abilities right away. (***) The three members of the Taiyo Gakuen are a good team, but Batsu & Kyosuke stand out more. "Burning" Batsu here has good stats and is pretty strong during mid-game for being a [C] card. His ability is fairly obscure, but helpful at times. This can turn someone like Rimururu (T) into a cheaper Yamazaki (Classic), able to Freeze any enemy upon entering the ring. Batsu will easily be replaced by Kula, his stronger SNK counterpart who is a slightly better team-player. C082 [B] Kyosuke BP: 600 SP: 3 Backup: Hyo, (Kim) Jae Hoon Helps: Batsu, Hyo () Cool Decreases AC card cost by 2 for both players. (***«) Like Batsu, this Rival School teacher and twin brother of Principal Hyo has good stats, but his ability is double-edged. While you can play certain AC cards for 0 SP, so can your opponent. It's hard to choose who's the better/less damaging between him and Batsu. NOTE: Multiple Kyosuke's in play will have their abilities stack. C083 [D] Hinata BP: 300 SP: 2 Backup: Sakura, A.Asamiya, Hinako Helps: Sakura, Batsu /\ Ganbatte! (Go for it!) Raise any 1 character's BP by 200. (**) Hinata is a good card to have in your deck even after you get Duck King (who gives a 300 BP boost). While Hinata is no longer the "generic" back-up, she can still help her (smaller) school-girl cliq. C084 [C] akira BP: 500 SP: 5 Backup: Daigo, Kazuki, K' Helps: Kazuki /\ Anioh Sagashite (Big Brother Search) Looks through deck from the top and put the 1st Action card you find into your hand. Discard all the cards you've looked through. (*«) A rather dangerous card to play since it may be long way down until you get an Action Card. Hopefully Lilith or Laundry Day is coming up so you don't loose half your deck. If you could bypass this ability, akira would be a great card to play. C085 [D] AKIRA (Classic w/helmet) BP: 400 SP: 3 Backup: Daigo, King, Kojirou Helps: Daigo, Kojirou None (*«) Decent stats, and this helmeted biker's sister now helps more people. For some strange reason, she doesn't help her classmates, her rival (Zaki) or her Brother's old gang (whom she teamed with once). She does team up with her Mibo look-alike, Kojirou. C086 [A] Daigo BP: 800 SP: 0 Backup: AKIRA, Rosa Helps: akira, AKIRA, Edge, Gan, Rosa /\ Matometekoi! (Finish It!) BP doubles when enemy has 3 characters in their ring. (****«) Potentially the strongest single non-enchanted character card. With both back-ups, Daigo would have 2200 by HIMSELF. Even without his ability activating, he's still an 800 BP beast (that doesn't give SP though). Considering its more difficult now to get & use Krauser or Mech Zangief (1200/5) Daigo is definetly a force to have if your deck. C087 [B] Kyouko BP: 600 SP: 2 Backup: Hideo, Kim Helps: Shermie, Hideo /\ Massage Ends Freeze phase for all characters in your ring. (***) Good stats, and a moderate ability. In essence, playing Kyouko is the same as playing a "Fight!" (another Justice Gakeun picture) card. To make the most of her ability, have your in-ring characters use their [] first (to freeze themselves) and then play Kyouko. Teaming up with Kim & Jhun Hoon will allow Jhun Hoon to Bromide the opponent into shrinking their deck by 12. C088 [C] Hideo BP: 500 SP: 3 Backup: Kyouko, Kim Helps: Kyouko None (**«) The other Justice High teacher's stats are just as almost as good as Kyouko's, but note quite. Kyouko is laos a bit more helpful. C089 [B] Falcon BP: 700 SP: 2 Backup: Ayame, John, Alfred Helps: None [] Power Stone Randomly discard 1 card from your hand. Select one of your characters to receive +300 BP. (***) A strong card that gives decent SP. His ability is risky since it removes a card at random from your hand, but it turns that card into a free Awakening AC. For some reason, he no longer helps people... C090 [D] Ayame BP: 300 (+100) SP: 5 Backup: Ibuki, Andy, Zantetsu Helps: Falcon () Ohka-Gakure (Butterfly Illusion) At beginning of your next turn, she shuffles back into the deck. (*«) Very valuable early on to give yourself lots of SP quickly when you don't mind rando-mixing your deck. A quick 5 SP and the next turn she auto-removes herself from the field (if she's still there) and into your deck. Later, when you pick up beefier cards that give SP bonuses, the Butterfly Illusion starts to become annoying. While Ayame has some common back-ups, it'll be hard getting her to stick around. C091 [D] Wang Tang BP: 300 SP: 2 (+1) Backup: Yun, Yang, Hon Fu Helps: Fei-Long, Hon Fu None («) Barely passable BP, marginal SP, and he's not that great a helper. C092 [C] Ryoma BP: 300 (-100) SP: 4 (+2) Backup: Rouge, Haohmaru, Jubei Helps: B.Hayato, Samonosuke /\ Bushido Choose 2 cards between your hand and the trash for your new hand. The remaining cards go into the trash. (*) Fair stats and can help out two decent cards. His ability is only good if you #desperately# need to pilfer your trash; if not, then it becomes a liability. C093 [D] Rouge BP: 200 SP: 5 Backup: Rose, Akari (P), Akari (S) Helps: Rose, Tabatha (Tessa), Ryoma, Akari (S) None (*«) 5 SP is attractive, and she's quite helpful this time around. C094 [B] Strider Hiryu BP: 700 (-200) SP: 3 Backup: Option, Option, Option Helps: Option, Nakoruru (S) [] Cypher KO's one character who is receiving backup. (****) Wow, did Strider get shot down a notch. Lose 200 BP and gets dropped a rank. Still, that puts him under the 800 BP mark, safe from critters like Bousou (Wild) Iori. Hiryu's stats are still good enough to place him on the front line, but his ability is a tad marginalized due to CFC2's reduced priority on back-ups. Speaking of which, his Backup/Help list now no longer looks like Jin Saotome's. C095 [D] Option BP: 400 SP: 0 Backup: Strider Hiryu, Option, Option Helps: Strider Hiryu, Option () Support Allows entering characters to receive back-up (including itself). (*«) The ability is nice, but 400 SP and no SP hurts. Option is great in combination with the "Activate!" AC and either Q-Bee or M.Bison who summon their own Back-Ups upon entering. C096 [C] Cody BP: 600 (+100) SP: 2 Backup: GUY, Haggar, Terry Helps: GUY, Haggar None (***) I guess Guy & Cody have made up since their Final Fight days. Cody is a decent heavy-hitter early on with 600 BP and makes a great "Final Fight One" team with brawlers Guy & Haggar. C097 [A] Haggar BP: 700 SP: 3 Backup: GUY, Cody Helps: Zangief, GUY, Cody, Maki [] Deadly Lariat (Spinning Lariat) Returns all characters in ring back to their decks & shuffles decks. (****) Mayor Haggar has very good stats AND has a great ability that can turn the tide of a fight if you're being outnumbered. Activate his ability (which doesn't KO anyone) before you send in your new card. While not as powerful as Akari (P)'s, Haggar is much more survivable. The Mayor-slash-Saturday Night Slam Master also helps Lariat buddy Zang-O and Final Fight 2 partner Maki. C098 [B] Damnd BP: 600 SP: 0 Backup: Sodom, Rolento Helps: Sodom [] Kuchibue (Whistle) Put a card with 100-500 BP from your deck to your hand; shuffle deck. (***«) Faithful Damnd, his ability is pretty worthwhile if you've got lots of 500 BP guys with useful abilities left in your deck that you want out sooner. Damnd's 600 BP is good too, still wish he gave SP. Because you now choose who's going to your hand, Damnd acts like he does in Final Fight: calling in weaker jobbers for your enemy to beat up. But don't under-estimate the abilities that some cards with 500 BP or less posess. Guys Takato and E.Honda can easily help you stall or draw more powerful cards while Rock H. and Akari (P) are still 500 BP. C099 [B] C.Commando BP: 700 SP: 4 Backup: Shou (Ginsu), Gennety (Mack), Fuuba (Baby) Helps: None [] Captain Corridor Freezes himself and then gives 400 damage to all Frozen characters. (****) A very powerful card by himself, 700 BP and 4 SP is great for a[B] card, but his ability (sort of like the Crush AC) is a little iffy. You have to wait until the enemy does something (so they're still frozen your turn), but this is a great way to weaken several enemies at once. Cap.Com. might even be able to do it again and wipe them all out (possibly himself too) simultaneously. Still, a good card to consider for his BP/SP anyway. Too bad this time around, the Captain is too selfish to GIVE help. How do you translate "Captain KOREDA~"? Sounds like he's just shouting his own entrance: "Captain, kore da!" C100 [D] Shou (Ginsu the Ninja) BP: 200 SP: 5 (+1) Backup: Gennety (Mack), Fuuba (Baby), Hanzo Helps: Mukuro (Kenji), C.Commando, Gennety (Mack), Fuuba (Baby), Eiji, Zantetsu None (*«) Weak, but he gives 5 SP and can back-up C.C. and some extra Ninjas. C101 [D] Gennety (Mack the Knife) BP: 400 (+2) SP: 0 (-2) Backup: Chou (Ginsu), Fuuba (Baby), Mukuro Helps: C.Commando, Shou (Ginsu), Fuuba (Baby) [] Haka Mori (Grave Keeper) Discard 1 card; prevent an enemy character from defending. (*«) Gennety has some redeeming value this time around, though he won't actually "freeze" anyone. It would be better if he did as it could set up C.C.'s ability nicely. C102 [D] Fuuba (Baby Head) BP: 200 SP: 5 (+2) Backup: Shou (Ginsu), Gennety (Mack), Shigen Helps: C.Commando, Shou (Ginsu), Gennety (Mack) None (*«) Read Shou (Ginsu), except that Fuuba is a strict C.C. follower. tolerable as back-up fodder. C103 [B] Leon BP: 600 SP: 2 Backup: Claire, Jill Helps: Claire, Jill [] Ashidome (Confinement) Stops use of ACs during the next enemy turn. (***) Good stats, decent power, a welcome mid-level card for any deck. While not a Redfield, Racoon City's best can still provide good help. C104 [C] Claire BP: 400 SP: 4 Backup: Leon, Chris R., Jill (M) Helps: Leon, Jill, Chris R. [] Otori (Decoy) KO this character and draw 1 character randomly from deck. (**«) A nice card overall. Claire has good stats, good teammates, and has a fair ability if she's weakened or if you think you have stronger cards left in your deck. By the mid-game, the ability won't be useful as card will just KO her in one hit by then, but she's a solid back-up or calvalry for her S.T.A.R.S. teammates. C105 [C] Zombie BP: 200 SP: 0 Backup: Zabel (Raptor), Zombie, Zombie Helps: Demitri, Zabel (Raptor), Zombie, Red Arremer, Mukuro [] Biohazard (Resident Evil) KO's this character and turns another character into a zombie card. Discard all the back-ups of the fresh Zombie. (*) A somewhat funny card. Zombies carry and infect enemy cards with their T-Virus (BioHazard, the Japanese name of the Resident Evil series), which means they can turn your cards into Zombies, which means you can use the T-Virus again... Eventually somebody decks themselves if no ACs are played. On the plus side, if you don't want to do this, you can just use them as back-up bait, or even back them up with other Zombies you have... until they get weakened and pass the virus on again. C106 [D] Jill BP: 400 SP: 1 Backup: Leon, Claire, Chris R. Helps: Leon, Chris R. [] Beretta Damage one enemy character or enemy 100 pts. (**) I added the extra half-grade since she's part of a good team. Otherwise, she's got weak BP, low SP, and a weak ability. C107 [B] Rock (Mega) Man BP: 600 SP: 5 Backup: Roll-chan, Rush Helps: Nakoruru (S), Roll-chan, Rush, Rock Man X [] Teki no Uryoku (Enemy's Ability) Steal the ability of any one character card in the ring. (****) One of the greatest cards you can find early on. He gives a big 5 SP, has a nice 600 BP, which should really just be great on their own, but the Blue Bomber has one more trick up his arm cannon: he can steal, not duplicate, but REMOVE the ability from the target card and give it to himself. This means that the 'bot known once again as Rock could remove annoying abilities from your enemy, even [] Enemy Ability from a Rock Man on the other side. It could also remove annoying abilities from your own heavy hitters like Iori's () Blood Contract cutting the 1000 BP monster loose. C108 [C] Roll-chan BP: 400 SP: 4 (+4) Backup: Rock (Mega) Man, Rush Helps: Rock (Mega) Man, Rush [] Roll Buster Decreases all characters' BP (including this one) 200 pts. (**) Rock n'Roll isn't one of the game's stronger combinations. Roll is still fair to keep if you want to back Mega Man up. Her Roll Buster has the potential of hitting 3 enemies, but try to make sure you don't have that many on your side. Early in the game, 200 damage should really annoy the enemy. Later on, wait until you see Ryu (BF). Compared to SNK's Zantetsu Roll-chan has more HP, gives 4 SP, and has it as a command attack instead of an auto-attack, she's much better liked. Unfortunately Roll-chan's team isn't as strong as Claire's. C109 [D] Rush BP: 200 SP: 3 (+1) Backup: Rock (Mega) Man, Roll-chan, Galford Helps: Rock (Mega) Man, Roll-chan, Galford, Nakoruru (T) None («) Maybe for back-up would I include Mega's canine companion. C110 [D] Blues (Proto Man) BP: 300 SP: 2 (+1) Backup: June, Mr.Big, K' Helps: None None («) For someone who constantly gets the drop on Mega Man, he's awfully weak and his lack of helping others is just plain awful. WTH is up with his back-up list; it looks like a bad joke?! C111 [D] Rock Man X BP: 500 (-100) SP: 1 (-1) Backup: Rock (Mega) Man, ZERO, Leona Helps: ZERO [] Parts Change Discard 1 action card from hand and draw 2 cards. (***) Good BP make X a decent addition to a mid-level deck. He also makes a good team with ZERO, too. X's ability pretty much changes any AC in your hand into Lucky Kitty. Useful if you need to sift through your deck faster. Someone must be laughing at the X/X-calibre link. C112 [C] ZERO BP: 600 SP: 3 (+1) Backup: Zero Gouki, Rock Man X, Zero Helps: Zero, Twelve, Rock Man X None (***) Now one better than Rock Man X, ZERO has good BP and SP. He can also makes a good team with SNK's Zero. The number games continue with Zero Gouki and Twelve. ZERO improves while X drops; I suppose that's what happens when you start your own series as opposed to making your 9th sequel. C113 [D] Arthur BP: 300 SP: 3 (+2) Backup: Sodom, Krauser, Shishiou Helps: None None («) Just get another [D] card. C114 [C] Red Arremer BP: 600 SP: 2 (+1) Backup: Demitri, Zabel (Raptor), Zombie Helps: Demitri None (**«) A 600 BP [C] card, but it also gives 2 SP. Not much else to say from this Ghosts & Goblins fiend (who became a Gargoyle on a Quest). C115 [A] Lucifer BP: 1000 SP: 0 Backup: Pyron Helps: Pyron [] Ike Nie (Sacrifice) KO 1 character in your ring. Give its BP as damage to 1 enemy card. (***) 1000 BP is nice, even though you get no SP out of it. The flaming boss of Ghosts & Goblins basically has a Bopper AC at his disposal. While you can use the ability to clear your side of the ring of weaklings, it's better if Lucifer can be used as a 1000 BP monster. NOTE: Lucifer cannot KO himself. C116 [B] Ryu (BF) BP: 800 SP: 3 Backup: Ryu (U), Nina Helps: Nina [] Ryuu Henshin (Dragon Transform) Decrease all enemy characters life by 100. (****) A strong card to have, and a useful, if weak, ability to use. 100 BP is more of an annoyance since you shouldn't want to clear the enemy's ring of weaklings, but it's nice to have if Ryu (BF) ever gets hurt. C117 [D] Nina BP: 400 SP: 2 Backup: Ryu (BF), Michelle Heart, Athena Helps: Ryu (BF), Athena () Tsubasa (Wings) Disable Counter-attack against Nina when you have no cards in hand. (*«) She has decent stats and can back up Ryu (BF). Her ability is less straight-forward. Much like Capcom's GUY, the opponent cannot stop Nina's attack. If Nina is attacking alongside others, the opponent can still target the others. It would be nicer if Nina's powered up, but you still need to have no hand for her ability to kick in. C118 [D] Michelle Heart BP: 300 SP: 5 Backup: Nina, Gill, Rock H. Helps: Nina, Rock H. None (*«) The Capcom Legendary Wings heroine of old, Michelle, gives you 5 SP and has fair BP. Teaming up with Rock H. is her modern high-point. C119 [A] Omokane Saki BP: 600 SP: 2 Backup: Blodia, Zero Gouki, Kikaioh Helps: Regina /\ Taikimeirei (Stand By) Select 1 character card from deck and put them on top of the deck. Shuffle the rest of the deck. (****«) Every time Saki enters the field, she telegraphs your next card to the opponent and shuffles your deck. Still a good trade-off if you want to draw a person you really wanted for next turn. Her stats are pretty good as well. C120 [A] Mech Zangief BP: 1200 SP: 5 Backup: Zangief Helps: Victor /\ Bousou (Reckless) KOs another ACTIVE character in your ring. (*****) 1200 BP #and# 5 SP is special enough. Mech and Krauser are the only two cards that can do this. Now you can win multiple copies of each, though they will rare wins from tough fights. Just like Krauser, Mech Z's Bousou forces him to KO someone else in the ring if he can, but this is not always a bad thing; think of it as an opportunity to clear weakened cards out. If you can, keep multiple copies of Krauser & Mech Zangief, but beware of cards like Yuki or Terry B. who target high BP cards. C121 [C] Dudley BP: 600 SP: 3 Backup: Bison (Balrog), Rick, Rob Python Helps: Rob Python None (***) A decent meat-shield that doesn't reflect his 3rd Strike poking game. Dudley hangs around with some nice boxing talent, but helps the wrong one out. C122 [B] Hugo BP: 1000 SP: 0 Backup: Zangief, Raiden Helps: Tsuiisekisha (Nemesis) () Toughness? At the start of your turn, change Hugo's BP to 500. (***) A great defender, he almost unstoppable early on. Later, when you face more 600+ BP characters, find a way to ditch Hugo's ability. C123 [B] Urien BP: 700 SP: 3 Backup: Yang, Andy, (Kim) Jae Hoon Helps: Elena [] Doku Saishia (Despot) See enemy hand; they discard all their RE cards. (****) Similar to Billy, except with a [] & the enemy looses all their REs. Highly useful to use just before, or even a turn before, you strike. His stats alone are pretty good for any end-game fights too. For some reason, he also receives helps from the two blue brothers. C124 [B] Gill BP: 700 SP: 4 Backup: Orochi, Rock H., GOD Rugal Helps: Elena, Anakaris, Michelle Heart [] Arahitogami (God Who Walks Among Men/Emperor) Discard an AC card to KO an enemy with no abilities. (***«) Despite having a mirror image to Urien, these two rivals won't help each other. Funny bit of info, since Gill is facing left, he's using his Ice-based special-techniques. Gill's stats make him a strong contender, but his ability is almost strictly for the mid-game. While you can put Gill in your post-game deck, there will be cards with similar stats and better abilities. C125 [D] Eagle BP: 400 SP: 3 Backup: Rolento, King, Mr.Big Helps: Mr.Big, Washizuka None (*«) Welcome to the Men Playing with Sticks (batons/tonfas) Club. I'm not sure of the Washizuka & King connections, but he should at least have helped "Falcon". C126 [S] Cody (D) BP: 300 SP: 5 Backup: GUY, Chang, Choi Helps: Rolento, Zaki () Bad Stone All single attackers with 300 BP or less cannot be countered. (***) Yes, his power affects BOTH sides. I'm not sure whether to put the Street Fighter Alpha/Zero version of Cody as a mid-level or post- game group. His ability is slightly unpredictable as you can only guess at the pandemonium it can cause. If your 300 BP cards are attacking, you better have someone unfrozen left to defend against the enemy attack. The best scenario I can imagine this power being used is if the opponent only has 100 BP characters and you only have 300 BP ones. A Chun Li card would make getting that easier. C127 [C] Bilstein BP: 500 SP: 2 Backup: Rain, Rain, Rain Helps: None [] Plasma Power Draw two cards into your hand; discard a card from your hand. (**«) His ability is decent, it's his strength that's questionable. C128 [C] Ele BP: 400 SP: 4 Backup: Hayato, June, Hibiki Helps: Hayato, JUne None (**«) Decent stats and part of a fair team. Her card shouldn't get a [C]... C129 [C] Shoma BP: 600 SP: 3 Backup: Natsu, Roberto Helps: Natsu, Roberto () Ri~ Ri~ Ri~! (Wind Up) After attacking or blocking, returns to hand. (**«) Annoying Wind-Up ability mars an otherwise strong card. Despite disliking volleyball, he ans Natsu for a good team. Go-Go-Gorin High! C130 [B] Natsu BP: 700 SP: 5 Backup: Shoma, Roberto Helps: Shoma, Roberto, Carol () Gekirei At the start of your turn, all cards receiving back-up gain 200 BP. (****) She must really like effortful people. Natsu is like Aulbath on steroids. She has upgraded stats, an upgraded ability, and is part of a strong sports-school team. Just make sure you don't help the enemy more. Thought she'd help long-time friend Hinata. C131 [D] Roberto BP: 500 SP: 2 Backup: Shoma, Natsu Helps: Shoma, Natsu /\ KEEPA no Shiji (Goal Keeper) Switch the positions of two cards, yours or the enemy's. (***) You can't put someone in an empty space. Would've made Roberto awesome. He gets an extra half-star for being on a solid team. Despite his proficiency with guns and the fact his name is probably "Robert" and not "Roberto" (but that wouldn't mesh well with SNK's Robert Garcia), Roberto is a good card to have in the mid-game. While his ability can set up attacks by Gouki or HAOUMARU, or keep you out of one, it's unreliable because you can't switch someone into an empty space. C132 [D] Roy BP: 400 SP: 3 Backup: Tiffany, Bowman, Ukyo Helps: Tiffany, Bowman, Amano /\ Ryoute Nihana (Blessed Twice) Select a character to receive multiple back-ups this turn. (**«) A fair [D] card with a built-in Activate. Glory to Pacific High. Roy's great in back-up themed decks for his ability, and Bromwell is still a stand-up card to play early on. No idea why a character who dislikes Japan so much is working with Ukyo & Amano. His ability also translates as "Blessed Twice... with Two Women". C133 [C] Tiffany BP: 400 SP: 3 Backup: Roy, Bowman, Terry B. Helps: Roy, Bowman, Taizan, Vanessa /\ Groovy Knuckle Your opponent randomly discards a card from his/her hand. (***) RIVAL SCHOOLS RETURNS! So the other cards may have split up their teams, Gorin & Pacific are picking up the slack. The... jubilant Tiffany Rose who speaks broken Japanese/English (depending on your perspective) is essnetially a more common Andy Bogard. That's GROOVY. C134 [D] Bowman BP: 500 SP: 2 Backup: Roy, Tiffany, Amakusa Helps: Roy, Tiffany, Seth None (**«) This devout boxer should've been paired up with Vanessa or Maxima (who shares a similar portrait pose), but instead gets help from the legendary Japanese Christian, Amakusa Shirou. Well, #try# not to think of the Amakusa from Samurai Spirits. Special interests not withstanding, Delgado is a good [D] card and part of a good team. C135 [C] Edge BP: 500 SP: 2 Backup: Daigo, Benimaru Helps: Benimaru /\ KATSU AGE (Gimmie Your Money!) Steals the power of the enemy opposite him. (****«) Son of the upstatnding Yamadas, Eiji is a knife-weilding psycho. However, he is a SKILLED knife-weilding psycho. His ability is a slightly watered-down version of Rock (Mega) Man's ability. It's better since Edge does it coming in. While Edge requires actual space that's opposite to the ability you want to steal, try to work him in. It's great for ridding the field of an ability that's cramping you and not your opponent, like Nicotine's that stops you from using []-abilities. If the opponent attacks you, counter with Edge and let him get KO'd, taking that ability with him. C136 [C] Gan BP: 700 SP: 2 Backup: E.Honda, Daigo, Hinako Helps: None None (***) What happened to his pupils? Why doesn't he help his teammates? Super-sized Gan Ishido is a sumo who eats all the time. His stats reflect his health while his helper list reflects his sloth. Would've made a funny pair with Kensuu. C137 [C] Raizou BP: 600 SP: 3 Backup: Blanka, Genan Helps: Genan () Osekkiou (Meddler) Cost of RE cards for both players is increased by 3 BP. (**«) What? No back up for his son, Batsu? Nephew Hyo? Nephew Kyosuke? While this might be a deterrent for your opponen to use REs, I'd rather have Urien or Mikoto or Momo just to be sure. Not a terribly powerful ability, but Raizou is still a 600 BP card. C138 [C] Hyo BP: 600 SP: 4 Backup: Vega (M.Bison), Kyosuke Helps: Kyosuke [] Sen'nou (Former King) One of your cards in play w/an ability loses it and you draw a card. (***«) Not a bad card; makes the best of someone's /\ or bad ability. Hyo will only let you choose a card on your side of the field though. I fail to see the tie between megalomaniac and possessed principal. C139 [D] Iincyo (Chairperson) BP: 400 SP: 4 Backup: Chun Li (D), Kim Helps: None None (**) She should've been more powerful; like Zaki, she can be so dominant in "Moeru! Justice Gakuen"/"Project Justice" despite the rumors of her Saikyou-ryu background. Though it might explain her fighting techniques and surprising amount of SP for a [D] card. C140 [D] Momo BP: 300 SP: 3 Backup: Rimururu (C), Akari (S), Hotaru Helps: None /\ Dadakko (Tantrum Thrash) Opponent cannot use RE cards this turn. (**«) Her ability is quite powerful, only Momo herself is quite... not. I have no idea why she doesn't give Shoma help as a personal stalker. C141 [B] Zaki BP: 300 SP: 0 Backup: Birdie, Cody (D), Chang Helps: Birdie, Ibuki, Kubikiri Basara, Cathy, Lin /\ SUKEBAN no Iji (Stubbornnes of a Female-gang Leader) If you have no SP, raise SP by 10. (***) Zaki is a decent card to get. This Seijyun delinquint is part of a "chain" gang with Birdie, Basara, and Chang. She can easily power up your SP if you spend it liberally or have someone like Orochi or Remy in your deck. C142 [D] Yurika BP: 400 SP: 5 Backup: Ibuki, Nakoruru (S), Shingo Helps: Hinako, Kurow None (**«) Very high stats for a [D]-rank. I'm not quite sure how her help-list was made. She's a puppet to her brother Kurow, that much I get, but do the other cards have an interest in the violin? And didn't she and Akira make up? As it stands, Yurika is one of the best [D] cards that can provide you with 5 SP. C143 [B] Kurow BP: 800 SP: 5 Backup: Yurika, Choi Helps: None () Kyouki (Madness) KO this character at the start of your turn. (*) The talon'd dictor of the Dark Student Council has no friends and story-wise, does kill himself off often enough. Would have at least thought he'd use his hypnotizing flute again. Kurow's high stats are a waste if you can't get rid of his ability. Much like Kuroko the Ump, it would be really nice to give someone else this ability, otherwise you have an Ukyo on your hands. The irony is that the ability often translates as "Plesantness" C144 [C] Maki BP: 500 SP: 0 Backup: GUY, Haggar Helps: None /\ Makenki (Competetive Spirit) If your ring is empty, Maki's BP is doubled. (***«) 1000 BP if she's your starting character or if the enemy has mopped the floor with your ring. A must-have for underdogs. While she does not give SP like Sakura Kasugano would, she can double her BP even if you're HP is above 1000. It's not that hard to have a clear ring, but even if you don't, 500 BP isn't so bad. Think of Maki like a weaker version of Daigo. C145 [B] Chris R. BP: 600 SP: 3 Backup: Jill, Claire Helps: Claire, Jill, Jill (M) /\ Midare Uchi (There's Trouble Inside) If the enemy has 3 characters in play, deal 200 damage to each. (***«) Ability activates like Daigo's, it's more powerful than Ryu (BF), and it's a safer than Roll-chan's. While Chris Redfield's stats don't make him seem like a threat, his ability can easily cut down your opponent's side. Even without it, Chris R. is a good mid-game card. C146 [C] Tsui Sekisha (Nemesis) (Pursuer) BP: 700 SP: 1 Backup: Hugo, Griffon M. Helps: None None (***) A lonely 700 BP bruiser with a Japanese name I cannot pronounce. C147 [S] Jill (M) BP: 500 SP: 2 Backup: Chris R., Regina Helps: Claire [] Handgun Discard an RE card to deal 300 damage to a card or the enemy. (***) Slightly better than regular Jill, she turns an RE card into a grenade almost like Kasumi Todoh does. Her stats aren't that strong, but she's part of the Resident Evil squad which ups her grade. C148 [C] Rock BP: 600 SP: 2 Backup: Roll, Roll (M) Helps: Roll, Roll (M) [] Bouken (Rockman Adventures) Select a hand card and place it on the top of your opponent's pile; draw a card from the bottom of your opponent's pile. (**«) A basic [C]-rank to have, though his ability is strange. If you have a junk card you want to force the opponent to get (like the Ump or Kurow), it'd be fun to try. C149 [S] Rock (M) BP: 700 SP: 0 Backup: Roll, Roll (M) Helps: Roll, Roll (M) [] Rock Buster KO Rock (M) and damage all characters by 300 BP. (**«) A bruiser with a death wish. Unfortunately if he uses his ability, it hurts your team (if you have anyone out) just as much. Think of it like a built-in Doumou. I still can't get past the 0 SP part. C150 [C] Roll BP: 500 SP: 4 Backup: Rock, Rock (M) Helps: Rock, Rock (M) [] Operate Returns one of your cards in the field to the bottom of your deck. (**«) It's almost worse than KO-ing a card unless you have other cards that shuffle or search through the deck. Roll's stats are decent for a mid-game card, but there are much better ways of clearing a field. C151 [S] Roll (M) BP: 500 SP: 3 Backup: Rock, Rock (M) Helps: Rock, Rock (M) /\ Yobi PARTS (Recycled Parts) Choose one of your discarded RE cards to put in your hand. (***«) A nice ability, no real down-sides, and a card with good stats. If she were more common, it'd be nice. Also, Legends my foot, her team could be much improved. C152 [C] Tron BP: 600 SP: 1 Backup: Rosa, B.Jenet Helps: Ruby Heart, B.Jenet () Otasuke KOBUN (Help from Kobun) You get to draw an additional card during your draw card phase. (****«) The savior of the Rock/Mega Man Legends series, and in a game of her own: (da-da-da!) the Mischiveious TRON BONNE! Her power is stackable; with 3 Tron on the field, you draw 4 cards! Her power does NOT get nullified by doing a Union attack. Be careful not to deck yourself! I'd only have one Tron in play at one time. Wonder why no Capcom cards (*cough* RockRubyRoll *cough*) will help her? C153 [A] Regina BP: 300 SP: 5 Backup: Omokane Saki Helps: Jill (M) () Musen Renraku (Radio Transmitter) All 800+ BP cards return to hands at the end of your attack phase. (***«) If a card has been raised to 800 BP or higher, they must return to their respective hand and discard their back-ups. Can be useful to push back high BP cards; or to reuse them like say Bousou Leona! Of course, so can your opponent. Remember that if either player powers a card to 800 or more BP, they can still attack with it. Something your opponents can do and you can't, beucase the return happens at the end of your turn, is that they can summon a high BP character (that may give extra SP) just for the purposes of blocking one of your attacks. That card will then return to your opponent's hand if not destroyed as soon as your attack is done. Regina is somewhat of a loner card, an epitome of the survival horror of Dino Crisis. C154 [B] Samonosuke BP: 300 SP: 2 Backup: Ryoma, Kaede (OM), HAOUMARU Helps: Sodom, Bishamon, Kaede (OM) /\ Oni no KOTE (Demon Gauntlet) Show off hand; for each 100-300 BP card, add 200 BP to Samonosuke. (*«) Not terrible, but useless later in the game when you won't be using many 100-300 BP cards. Showing off your hand later is also very highly incredibly detrimentally (is that a word?) bad. C155 [D] Kaede (OM) BP: 300 SP: 5 Backup: Ibuki, Samonosuke, Mai Helps: Samonosuke None (*«) She gives 5 SP. After grading 315 cards all I can say is WOo0oOoOOoo. C156 [A] Ruby Heart BP: 300 SP: 2 Backup: Tron, B.Jenet Helps: Amingo, B.Jenet /\ Captain If there is no one above 300 BP in your ring, place a 2nd character. (**«) Not bad if you get B.Jenet, Ruby Heart, and Shiki (S) together. Great if you can string 2 Ruby's together; great way to start a match or to bring calvalry to a weakened character. I'd still like to use the SP Partner instead; it's more reliable. C157 [B] Son Son BP: 300 SP: 2 Backup: Tao (Mai Ling), Lee Pylon, Mr.Big Helps: Tao (Mai Ling), Amingo, Billy, Hokutomaru /\ Bunshin (Dividing Magic) If you have fewer cards than your opponent, draw until you are equal. (**«) Son Son makes a weak team with Tao/Mai Ling. A pity that has her unique ability is more useful later in the game against guys like Cap who like to shrink your hand size. The "bunshin" technique fameous in the Monkey King tale is that he could make clones in battle from his hairs to fight for him. C158 [D] Amingo BP: 400 SP: 5 Backup: Dee Jay, Ruby Heart, Son Son Helps: Dee Jay, Kyoshiro None (***) Like Yurika, a good [D] card that gives 5 SP. And a good team player. C159 [B] Kikaioh BP: 1000 SP: 2 Backup: Blodia, Fuuba (Baby) Helps: Phobos (Huitzil), Bloodia, Omokane Sake /\ Fair Play Both players show hands and discard all RE cards. (***«) Not bad as both players reveal their hands. Somewhat of a toss-up between Kikaioh and Blodia. Blodia has a big SP cost, but Kikaioh aka G.Kaizer (North American name for Mazing-- I mean "Kikaioh") from Capcom's "Tech Romancer"/"Kikaioh" removes all RE cards. I consider Kikaioh the RE-consuming equivalent of Sagat, but since your opponent is ditching their REs, you can feel safer about making an attack. C160 [A] Shin Gouki BP: 800 SP: 4 Backup: Gouki, Rugal Helps: Gouki /\ Kiwameshi Sadame (Extreme/Mastered Destiny) Swap your trash and draw piles; shuffle new deck. (***«) Unbelievably awesome ability. Just don't play Shin Gouki at the start of your match, hence the lower grade despite the high stats. Goes great with Last Resort. -= III. COMMON COMBOS -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SNK BURNING SOLDIERS Ralf, Clark, Leona [C], Heidern [C], Whip [C] Interchangable parts in a great machine. If you can manage to beef up Heidern, all the better. Whip can also get boosted. NEO CAPCOM GAKUEN Tiffany [C], Roy, Bowman Pacific High's Western-themed trio is easier to find than Gorin's sports club, plus they get safer abilities to boot. FASTER KITTY, KILL KILL! Cham Cham, Felicia [B], Al & Iven A rather weak team, but a trio nonetheless. TRIBUTE TO EDWARD SCISSORHANDS Genan, Lee Pylon, Balrog (Vega) [C], Raizou [C] Not counting Raizou, these cards are interchangable. Raizou only teams with Genan, but that's not too bad. RHYTHM & BEAT-DOWN Duck King [C], Bob, Dee Jay, Kyoshiro [C], Amingo While the first three really gel, Kyoshiro and Amingo are great partners for DK. PLASMA POWER Hayato [C], June [C], Ele [C] They work well with each other. Hayato is the most powerful, but Ele gives the most SP. June is almost as strong as Hayato (w/o ability going off), and gives almost as much SP as Ele. OROCHI RISING Yamazaki [B], Goenitz [C], Vice, Mature Now that Yamazaki is more common, this is close to the Ikari team, but without as many special abilities. THE REAL GHOST HUNTERS kaede, Moriya [C], Yuki [A] A well oiled machine, though Yuki will be harder to find. The old team of Nicotine, Gaira, Retsu & Donovan broke down. NINJA WRAP! Eiji, Zantetsu, Mukuro (Kenji), Hanzo [B] I'm sure I'll get sacked for that joke. Eiji, Zantetsu, Hanzo, and Mukuro/Kenji all help one another in a round-robin sort of way. Eiji boosts Zantetsu, who in turn helps Hanzo, who in turn helps Mukuro/Kenji, who in turn helps Eiji... This works on three overlapping pairs: -Eiji & Zantetsu -Zantetsu & Hanzo -Hanzo & Mukuro (Kenji) The 3 problems with this quartet is: -Zantetsu can help Mukuro, but won't get help back -Mukuro can help Eiji, but won't get help back -Hanzo just won't work with Eiji TAE-KWON DO TIES Kim, [C] Kim Sue-Il, (Kim) Dong Hwan [C], (Kim) Jae Hoon [C] Kim Kaphwan: SNK stud. Just look at this stable! BREAKING JOINTS, TAKING NAMES Takato, Gai (guy), Ryo (H) [S], Kasumi, Ryuhaku Not counting the lone [S]-rank, this is a simple team to collect. Takato, Gai & Ryo (H) all work interchangably and each has 500 BP. (Gai will have to activate his power once to do that). Kasumi can also team with Takato; if Takato boosts Kasumi, Ryuhaku can boost her furthur or be fodder for her ability. I'M SEEING DOUBLE Yun, Yang, Dong Hwan [C], Jae Hoon [C], Chong Shu [C], Chong Lei [C] Even without twins Kyosuke & Hyo, this is a rather powerful assembly. While each set of brothers helps themselves, they will only work with half of the rest. Still pretty decent, even without abilities. Throw in Gatou [C] and Hotaru [B], who can help each other or receive from Yun/Yang or Chong Shu/Chong Lei respectively, and you've got your powerhouses. JUST LIKE A SHOUJO MANGA Hinata, Sakura [C], Shingo [C], Hinako [C], Karin [C], Yurika Like a strange after-school soap-opera, things have changed. First, Ibuki is no longer a big help. Second, they've broken up into three main pairs: a. Hinata & Sakura; best friends b. Sakura & Shingo; big fight-fans c. Hinako & Karin; the blondes -Shingo will help Yurika, but not Hinako & Karin nor Hinata -Hinako will help Hinata, but not Sakura & Shingo nor Yurika -Yurika will help Hinako, but not Sakura & Shingo nor Karin Seriously confusing, but they're all good cards. FEDERATION of ENTERTAINING WRESTLERS Griffon M. [C], Raiden [B], Zangief [C], Rainbow Mika The few, the proud, the luchadores. They aren't a perfectly oiled tag-team, but the factions do mesh fairly well. -Zangief & is the heart of the team; he can be played for his good stats or he can back-up everyone. -The hero Griffon Mask is also good if you play him as he can be helped by everyone. -Raiden can be boosted by Zangief & Ramon if you play him first; otherwise the Big Bear helps masked wrestlers Mika, Griffon, and even Ramon (that eye-patch!). -Rainbow Mika can tag with Ramon & Tsugumi if she can't help the superstars. BIOHAZARD CONTAINMENT Jill, Claire [C], Leon [B], Chris R. [B] One of the only teams you'll find late in the game. This team sort of makes sense. Leon Kennedy & Chris Redfield are the strongest and are easily backed up by Claire & Jill, who by later in the game, really just make good back-up fodder. It also works the other way around (the guys providing back-up to the gals). TEAM NINJA (not a division of Tecmo) Andy [B], Mai [C], Hokutomaru Thought Hokutomaru didn't like Mai? ONE MORE FINAL FIGHT GUY [B], Cody [C], Haggar [A], Maki [C] What more can be said other than they're also strong individually. Maki is the odd duck as she doesn't give help. KICK-BOXING KINGS Sagat [B], Joe [B], Adon A harder to get team, the trio are fearsome on their own too. OROCHI '98 Yashiro [A], Shermie [B], Chris Would have been a kick-ass team had Chris an ability. THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL (for when all else fails) Eri, Tarma, Marco, Fio Shou (Ginsu), Mack (Gennety), Fuuba (Baby) DUOS Andy, Mai A.Asamiya, Kensou Kojirou, AKIRA Mega Man X, ZERO etc. -= IV. ACTION CARDS -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- (Yay, throwback art!) Rating: * Useless ** Useful sometimes, given the right situation; rarely used otherwise *** Probably use it a few times (maybe have 1 to turn the tide) **** Very useful; lots of occassions to use it (good to have 1-2) ***** Usin' it, usin' it, and usin' it again! (good to have 2-3) A001 [D] Fight! Cost: 2 Effect: Undoes Freeze Phase for all characters in your ring. (**) Not bad. If you have lots of [] characters, or get Frozen by your opponent a lot, Natsu & Shoma tells them to act again. A002 [D] Denkousekka (Lightning/Rolling Thunder) Cost: 2 Effect: Keeps your characters out of Freeze Phase after attacking this turn. (***«) Essentially makes all your characters have Terry/Ken's () ability for 1 turn. A cheap card that lets you recover after Combo Unions. A003 [C] Daburi (Double) Cost: 4 Effect: Keeps one already Frozen character Frozen their next turn too. (****) Don't pity Kyo. This is great to stop a strong attacker who's just hit you from doing it again. Definetly have one of these in your deck if you have a Puppet AC or Yamazaki or Rimururu (T). A004 [B] Puppet Cost: 6 Effect: Freeze or un-Freeze a character. (****«) Thank the evil mastermind in RB: Fatal Fury for the versatility of stopping a character cold or awakening them to fight. A005 [D] Toupou (Escape) Cost: 3 Effect: Returns 1 of your cards to hand. (****) Useful to recover a powerhouse that's dying. Or to use it one someone with a useful /\ ability that you'd like repeated. If you're desperate for space, you can recall a weakling back into your hand. Much like image of G-2 chasing Sherry, it's best if you leave the wimp to go out fighting on the field unless they're an integral character. A006 [C] Chousai (Peacemaker) Cost: 6 Effect: Return a character of yours and of the enemy's to their owner's hand. (***) Ah, Tung Fu Rue making peace between two brothers. This can be a nice card to have if you want to recover a weakened card AND remove a strong card from your opponent's ring. Keep in mind, you don't want to give the opponent back a card with an annoying /\ ability or a card that gives lots of SP or a card you've significantly weakened. There are better cards that you'll eventually see, but Peacemaker will be good enough in the beginning. A007 [B] Kikan Meirei (Reparation) Cost: 7 Effect: Returns any 1 character to hand. (****) Mary Miyabi might seem like an expensive version of Escape, but she also lets you shunt an opponent's character back to their hand. This card will probably be used later in the game, when you make the extra SP to spend. A008 [A] Houkago (School's Out) Cost: 8 Effect: Returns all characters to hand for both sides. (***) A semi-useful card. This lets you get a breather if your opponent is just out-numbering you on the field. Kyo's girlfriend Yuki is nothing more than a stall though since you probably know which characters your enemy will play down soon. A009 [D] Engoshia Geki (Cover Fire) Cost: 4 Effect: Decreases 1 character's Life by 300. (***) Highly useful early on in the game where Chris & Rebecca can KO a 300 BP card in one shot, or severely wound a 400-500 BP guy. Initially, this works great alongside the Robot Punch RE, but because you'll have better cards to spend SP on and higher BP enemies, both will get replaced by something like Tri-Quiz. A010 [D] Tokkou (Bopper) Cost: 4 Effect: KO's one of your characters to turn their BP remaining into damage against a character of your choice. (**) It's a cheaper way to clean your ring of unwanted characters than putting them in a United attack. Lucifer has this as a [] ability, but Dan & his Oyajii (Dad) let you use this before you find Lucifer. A011 [C] Michizure (Chaos) Cost: 5 Effect: KO's one character. Decrease all other character's life 300 points. (*«) For 1 SP more and a sacrifice to Rugal, this lets you use Cover Fire or Doumou to injure everyone in the ring. Very uncontrollable unless you only have 1 character and the enemy has 2-3. You can cripple them before putting in a fresh guy. Doumou is the better card though. A012 [C] Sharyu Dan (Grenade) Cost: 5 Effect: Decreases enemy's life by 300 HP. (**) It's Super Joe (y'know, from from B.Commando) to the rescue with some straight-forward direct damage. I could think of better ways to spend 5 SP, but it's nice if you've got 2-3 of them in your deck. A013 [B] Mega Crush Cost: 7 Effect: Decreases all characters' life 500 pts. (*«) A more powerful Chaos card that doesn't require a sacrifice. Though I'm pretty sure the guys in your ring aren't going to be pleased when a P-38 and Super Soldier (Unknown Soldier) comes crashing through. A014 [B] Kuniomi no HOKO (Earth's Pike) Cost: 8 Effect: Decreases enemy's life 500 HP. (***«) Kouryuu offers a 66% more powerful grenade for 60% more SP. Good deal. A015 [D] Nakamaware (Break Up) Cost: 4 Effect: KO's any 1 character receiving back-up. (**) Pretty nice. If someone gets back-up, call Geese's flunkies KO them. Once you own Strider Hiryu, you no longer need to reserve space in your deck for this. A016 [C] Munikaere (Nothingness) Cost: 5 Effect: KO's all characters with 400 BP or less. (**«) It's nice to wipe away weaker cards on the field early on, but later you want to keep weenies on the field, at least for your opponent. But earlier in the game, Orochi almost acts like a cheap Slaughter AC. A017 [C] Double KO Cost: 6 Effect: KO's 1 of your characters to KO any 1 enemy character. (*****) Always wondered who would win between Lee Rekka and Yun. Wicked card you should almost always have in your decks. It let's a weak/weakened character take out a fresh opponent before they go. If you have Jin Saotome, you can afford to drop some of these. A018 [B] Seraphic Wing Cost: 6 Effect: KO's all characters with 500 or more BP (****) For one extra SP, Gill will appear instead of Orochi and KO the real heavy hitters of the field. This can take out the entire strong- arm of your opponent if you have nothing (or almost nothing) on your side. And when the field is devoid of bruisers, play one of your own. A019 [B] Itsuki Uchi (Fate Duel) Cost: 7 Effect: Select 1 character on your side & 1 on their side. KO everybody else. (***«) A very specific Seraphic W, it can give you a strategic edge in the fight if you've left your opponent with only one character. Moreso if you haven't put down a character for your turn yet! Oh, and Iori is at a disadvantage if he's the defender to Kyo. A020 [A] Messatsu (Slaughter) Cost: 8 Effect: KO's all characters in the ring. (***«) I find Seraphic W to be cheaper, but Slaughter is always a surprise. Better than Bopper or School's Out, everyone just gets trashed. A021 [D] Jiko Gisei (Raw Shield) Cost: 1 Effect: KO's one character and heals you by the amount of BP they had. (**) Nakoruru is a cheap AC to use to clean your ring of weaklings, but unless you desperately need HP, I'd leave those weaklings to absorb attacks. A022 [C] Iinori (Grace) Cost: 5 Effect: Gain 500 HP. (***«) Good to have if you have (or your opponent has) Grenade cards. Sally will pray for you from her heart. Better than using Raw Shield. A023 [C] Tsuwasaru (Abduction) Cost: 0 Effect: KO's any # of your characters that you want. Gain 5 SP for each KO'd. (***) Amakusa's ability in Amakusa's card, but on steroids. Now it's a GOOD card to use; +5 SP and space for KO-ing a weenie is tremendous! A024 [B] Kiaida! (Psyche Up) Cost: 0 Effect: Raise SP by 5 (****«) What's not to like about a card that gives free SP? So what if Hayato is beating it out of Batsu; I'm sure he's having fun. A025 [B] Ora ora! (Hey! Hey!) Cost: 3 (-2) Effect: Reduces both player's SP to 0. (*«) Ryo. Dan. Together. If your deck isn't keeping enough SP, might as well screw the other player up. Still, I'd rather have Dan or Heidern or even Remy to drain your enemy's SP than this card. A026 [D] Sedai Koudai (Heritage) Cost: 0 Effect: KO any # of characters you have. Draw 1 card for each KO'd character. (**) A decent ring-cleaning AC to have, especially if you have to cycle through a lot of dead weight in your deck, may as well let Ryuhaku & Kasumi do it for free. A027 [D] Best Shot Cost: 1 Effect: See your top 3 cards. Choose 1 to add to hand and discard the other 2. (**«) Ran & Yugumi can draw a useful card to your hand in a pinch, but hope you have a Revive or Shopping card in case you ditch a good one. "I won't give up this rare Shutter Chance!" A028 [C] Maneki NEKO (Lucky Kitty) Cost: 3 Effect: Draw 2 cards. (****) Highly useful until the end of the game. Having Pure & Fur cycle more cards into your hand is always helpful until you want to replace this card with heavier hitters like Akari (P) and Saki. A029 [B] Round 2 Cost: 6 Effect: After discarding hand, draw 5 cards. (***«) Hinako (Buriki One) will give you 5 completely new cards after losing your current hand. Weigh how much you can stand to lose your current hand and how many cards you may gain. I still like Makeover better because you don't discard anything and it costs less, unless I only had 1 or 2 cards left in my hand. A030 [C] Kakusei (Awakening) Cost: 3 Effect: Raises any character in play by 300 BP. (****«) There is no downside to adding 300 BP to a card. Due to the addition of high powered and restrictive cards, you have to put more effort into powering up cards now. A031 [C] Morphing Cost: 5 Effect: Select a character whose BP you want to change. Select the top card of your's or the enemy's pile. BP of the character becomes equal to that card's value. KO's character if a non-character is on top. (*«) Take a gamble on turning Kuroko into Wan-Fu? Might be a good thing. In CFC2, I've seen the CPU use this card 4 times as well, but they play it smarter. They targetted one of MY high BP cards and forced me to draw. Twice I drew an AC (one of those times the CPU forced me to put one on top of my pile), once I drew a weaker card, and once I drew a card of similar BP. This AC still requires a lot of set-up to use effectively, such as Mischief or Saki or Hotaru, but if you have 5 SP to spare and want to take a shot at weakening a power-player, go for it. A032 [C] Showtime! Cost: 5 Effect: Raises all of your characters' (that are in play) BP by 200. (***) Better than Awakening since it raises all your characters, but Lilith is only more cost effective if you're boosting 3 people. A033 [C] ESP Cost: 4 Effect: Copy 1 character's [] ability and give it to 1 of your characters. (**) Surprised they acknowledged Athena's PSX adventures. This is pretty nice, but it doesn't really hurt the enemy like Mega Man's ability. It will, however, replace any abilities on your card. A034 [B] Iirekawari (Substitute) Cost: 4 Effect: Select characters with ability and switch their abilities. (***«) Better than ESP, Lin Lin & Lei Lei outright steals an opponent's ability. Not only are they stuck with a useless /\-ability, or even better, a crappy ability (such as Ukyo's Dwindling Life), but you might have snaked a strong ability from them (such as S.Dynamite)! You can even switch abilities of two cards that are on the same side; the posibilities are endless! A035 [S] Noroi (Curse) Cost: 4 Effect: All characters get 1 ability found in this game. (**) The ability that all in-ring characters get is completely random. Mizuki may give everyone Mystic for all we know. A036 [C] Fuuin no Gi (Stifler) Cost: 3 Effect: See enemy's hand and select one of their cards to discard. (***«) Very useful to see an opponent's hand, even more useful to select something valuable of theirs to trash. Thanks to Awakened Priestess Yuki, though she really does look like Deis/Bleu from Breath of Fire. A037 [B] Goyou Aratame (Storm Rush) Cost: 6 Effect: Each player reveals their hand and then discards all character cards. (**«) Not bad to play after you put a character down. If you had no, few, or bad characters, you can still come out on top since your opponent is forced by the Shinsengumi to discard all of theirs. A038 [B] Kishi no PRIDE (Pride) Cost: 5 (-1) Effect: The player with most cards in hand (after Pride is played) discards their hand and then picks the same number of cards as other player. (**) Zeiger's not that useful an AC to use. The biggest benefit is to hope your opponent lost some strong cards. Side-benefits include seeing your opponent deck (reach 0 cards) themselves. Possible screw-over point is if you use this while YOU are the one with more cards. NOTE: If both players already have the sized hand, Pride is discarded and you lose the SP. A039 [D] Iitazura (Mischief) Cost: 1 Effect: See the top 3 cards of either deck, then arrange them in any order. (*) You're better off putting Lucky Kitty in your hand instead of Efu. A040 [D] Kozaikunashi (No Tricks) Cost: 2 Effect: Discards all Action Cards in deck. Shuffles deck after discard. («) Franco Bash here screws you over by removing all ACs from your deck. While you can get to your characters faster, you've lost ALL your ACs. A041 [C] Korumogae (Makeover) Cost: 2 Effect: Returns hand to your deck. Shuffle deck and draw the same # of cards you had before +1. (in other words, hand size including Makeover) (****) Athena's learned, from her wardrobes over KoF '94 - '99, this is much better than Round 2 since you now end up with more cards without trashing any. However, you still have a chance to get some useless cards back. A042 [C] Iiyagarase (Pester) Cost: 4 Effect: Take the top 3 cards from enemy pile and discard them. (****) Rints is pretty good to annoy your opponent and help deck them. Who knew she and Saki were from the same game? (Quiz Nanairo Dreams) A043 [B] Management Cost: 1 Effect: Select 1 AC from deck. Shuffle deck and put that card on top. (**«) Poison acts like Saki would, but for ACs. Not bad if there's a specific one you need at the moment, like Makeover or Slaughter. A044 [A] Last Resort Cost: 8 Effect: Reduce deck to 5 cards of your choice & order. Trash everything else. (**«) The characters from the game with the same name. If you have a plan, like combining this with Laundry, go right for it. A word of warning though, you still have to draw your 5 cards one at a time. Make sure you win the game after drawing your 5th card, or make sure you have and use Laundry. You lose if you have no more cards to draw. A045 [A] Roulette Cost: 2 (-1) Effect: Changes top card on you or your opponent's deck to a different card. («) The card it changes to is a completely random one from the game. That card remains changed for the duration of the battle. A046 [C] Shopping Cost: 3 Effect: Draw up to 3 cards that you have discarded, shuffle them into the deck and draw one card. (*****) The highly successful Masters family provides a highly useful AC in that you get to choose which cards you want back and get a bonus draw. A047 [C] Osentaku (Laundry) Cost: 4 Effect: Return all discards to the deck, then shuffle the deck. (****) Billy Kane's sister Lily is invaluable in replenishing your deck. A048 [C] Kenkyau (Study) Cost: 4 Effect: Draw 1 Action card from discard pile and put in hand. (***) Momo puts the AC straight into your hand, ready to be re-used. A049 [C] Fukktsu (Revive) Cost: 6 Effect: Draw 1 character card from discard pile and put it in hand. (***«) Just like Study, just putting a card you want into your hand is highly useful. All it takes is 6 SP and one Orochi-powered madman. A050 [B] Miyou Mimane (Emulate) Cost: 5 (-1) Effect: Mimics one AC card from enemy's discard pile. (*«) Not bad if your enemy put an expensive AC like Slaughter or Dregs into their discard. Otherwise, like Shingo & Sakura, you look silly. A051 [C] TRON ni KOBUN (Tron & Kobun/Activate!) Cost: 4 Effect: During this turn, you can use more than one back-up card. (**) Tron & Kobuns are great if you have Q-Bee or Vega/M.Bison on-hand. Since those two cards summon both their back-ups into you hand, you can play them, use Activate! to bypass the "1 back-up per turn" rule and use both their back-ups right away. The ultimate use of this card is if you managed to SP Partner both of them, regardless if you had Option in your ring. On that same turn, you can Activate! and start backing everybody up at once. NOTE: This does not break the individual card's back-up limit; i.e., Vega/M.Bison can only be backed up by ONE Juni & ONE Juli card. A052 [D] Tooptadon (Two Platon/Double Team) Cost: 0 Effect: During this turn, all Unite attacks cost 5 SP less. (***«) Great to get a free 2 character Unite combo thanks to Roy & Tiffany. A053 [A] SP Partner Cost: 7 Effect: Lets you bring in one more character if you've played one already. (****) Similar to Activate!, this let's you bypass the game's "play only 1 character per turn" limit. Very handy throughout the entire game, but you'll probably only have enough SP near the end of the game. Play this card AFTER putting out your first character or you waste 7 SP. To bring out three cards in one turn, you'll need 2 SP Partner ACs. No idea why Whip & Anita/Amanda are on this card. "Tayori nidaru NAKAMA." "Soreha: Super Share Partner!" "They say I need more FRIENDS." "OK: Super Shared Partner!" A054 [C] Synchro Cost: 1 Effect: Each player chooses 1 card from the other's deck and keeps it for the duration of the game. («) Why would you give your opponent a chance to take something from your own deck? (unless you have no deck left) Great job Nagare/Rikuo. A055 [B] HIME no Wagamama (Indulge) Cost: 6 Effect: All character's BP becomes 200. (***«) Similar to Chun Li's ability to reduce everyone else's BP to 100 (for all your SP), Devilot's Indulge is the substitute for something like Seraphic W. If the enemy's ring was full, Indulge leaves them (and you) with a slew of weaklings. Considering that now, KO-ing everyone constantly isn't an option, this is a great ability that won't decimate your SP reserves like Chun Li would if you're out numbered. Note that if characters had 100 BP, their BP gets raised. A056 [B] Niramiai (Glare off) Cost: 6 Effect: You can't attack this turn, your enemy can't attack their next turn. (**«) Helpful stall card. Like playing Shermie except you can't attack this turn. It'll give you an extra turn to live to come up with an R2 or something. (Z-force is right, this is nice pic of Mai vs Chun Li) A057 [A] Shadow Cost: 4 (-1) Effect: Change one character to another in the game. (Discard backups) (*) Completely and utterly random. I suppose if anything, use it on a dying character. Behaves just like Vampire Savior's Shadow. A058 [A] 3 Taku QUIZ (Tri-Quiz) Cost: 5 Effect: Choose Grenade, Grace, or Showtime. Card has that effect. (*****) Either damage enemy HP 300, gain 500 HP, or have all cards in your ring gain 200 BP. The ultimate AC to have, you should have 2-3 ASAP. A059 [A] Reset Button Cost: 10 Effect: KO all of your characters. After you end your turn, start another. («) This is, in effect, a Heritage AC plus SP Partner AC in one. Except it costs more, gives you only 1 card, and KO's all your characters. Tell Tsukushi it's not worth it. I'd rather just used SP Partner. A060 [A] Crossover (Dregs) Cost: 15 Effect: Shuffle hand cards into deck, use Discards as your hand this 1 turn. (***) If you have the SP (or Tessa) and want to re-use your Discard pile right away, go for broke. Just remember: The turn after, your giant hand goes back into the Discard pile. Unless you have SP to burn, mix with Last Resort in some big gamble. A061 [D] Engokogeki Cost: 2 Effect: 100 HP of direct damage. («) 100 HP of direct damage. Yay. Wear a shirt, Hyakutarou Ichimonji. A062 [D] Koukeisha (Successor) Cost: 0 Effect: Discard a card in your hand with an ability; that ability goes to someone in your field. (**«) Very much like Mr.Big's new ability, it's only great if you have no room to place a new card down and need to use an ability right away. Kotetsu is still to small compared to Shigen. A063 [A] Lunch Rush Cost: 3 Effect: Players show their hands and draw a card for each AC card they have. (*«) Great to get more cards, but you may also help your opponent and you show off your hand, which is a bad thing in my book. "Mistresssss Tro~n!" (*stampede*) A064 [A] Seikai Seifuku (World Conquest) Cost: 10 Effect: Discard an AC card; remaining cards in hand turn into that card. (**«) If you had a lot of SP, you could create some mass chaos if you tossed Earth Pike, or Puppet, or Pester, or Fight!. You could even use Lunch Rush and ADD another hand to your current one. -= V. REACTION CARDS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- R001 [C] Shikkari Senka (Reliable Warrior) Cost: 3 Effect: Unfreeze all your characters. (***) Same function as the Fight! AC, and can be a nasty surprise to suddenly have everyone able to defend again. Mmm.. throwing cookies. R002 [B] Ryuunen (Repeat Grade) Cost: 4 Effect: Freeze an enemy character who did not attack. (**«) Not a bad set-up since the fighter (unless they're Terry) will be frozen after they attack. (this is why class is important, Batsu) R003 [D] Robot Punch Cost: 4 Effect: Damange an enemy character by 300 BP. (***) You can stop United Combo attacks if you KO one of the attackers. Feel free to target someone not attacking too; you might be able to clear a path to your opponent's HP. Makshima's the one in the back. R004 [C] Aura Spark Cost: 2 Effect: Do 300 damage to 1 card for each card in the ring with backup. (**«) A cheap version of Robot Punch, but requires some set-up. Nice to have if your deck is filled with back-ups. (who ARE these Soldiers??) R005 [B] Striker Cost: 0 Effect: Discard two cards to damage everyone on the field by 300 BP. (***) Slightly worse than Doumou since you discard from your hand and you damage your side as well, but Kirishimashou costs no SP. R006 [B] Choukadan (Time Bomb) Cost: 4 Effect: Discard a character from your hand; damage a card by that card's BP. (***) Theoretically a stronger version of Robot Punch (who keeps 200 BP cards, or Al & Iven, in their hand?), but it costs a hand-card. That's what I call Dark Artillary! R007 [B] Doumou (Ferocity) Cost: 5 Effect: Select 1-3 of your cards already in play (finish by pressing B); damages EVERYONE on the field 300 BP per KO'd character. (***«) Nice if you've got whimps in your ring and are being harassed by several bruisers or by a big United Combo you want to break up. Aa! Zombie Dinosaurs are popping out of windows! R008 [C] Galactica Phantom Cost: 5 Effect: If the enemy is using a United Combo, KO 1 of the attackers. (***«) Good for when your opponent decides to lead a United Combo with one of their weenies; KO the strong card in back! There is one heck of a coincidence that the CPU never seems to use United Combos against me when I draw one of these. (much like VS. Ralf in KoF) If only one card remains attacking you, their attack becomes a regular attack. That means you can block it without fear of it reaching your HP; however, ()-abilities will get turned back on. Characters like Karin will have abilities like Hou-Shou in use. R009 [C] Cruel Hunting Cost: 5 Effect: KO ALL attacking card(s) with 800 BP or more. (****) Better than Galactica Phantom if you're dealing with an opponent who has a high-BP deck. Doesn't Bulleta usually have two mercenaries under the carpet? You waste this card if you use it against sub-800 BP cards. R010 [C] Seien (Encouragement/Banquet) Cost: 4 Effect: Heal yourself 500 HP. (****) A cheaper version of the Grace AC, it can often mean the difference between life and death. It's also just a cheaper way to heal 500 HP. Hazuki (Kazuki's sister) & Sausu Jae Hoon (Kim Jae Hoon's girlfriend I think, since she's clapping like his girlfriend does in MotW): "Good lu~ck!" "Don't give up!" R011 [C] Takenoko (Bamboo Shoots) Cost: 4 Effect: Heal yourself 100 HP for each card your opponent has. (***) A bit dicier than Seien if your opponent goes through cards quickly. The story of the Monkey King and bamboo shoots goes as thus: the King and his 80,000 monkeys were fraught with thirst while they were treking through a cursed forest. The king saw that even the ponds were cursed with demons who would eat those that would wander too close. He had to think of a way to get the water without getting near it. The solution: he found bamboo that he turned into straws. This story has nothing to do Friar Pig/Ton Ton though. R012 [D] Datsurioko (SP Leak) Cost: 0 Effect: Opponent looses up to 5 SP. (**«) Unfortunately it is not retro-active and can't stop a United Combo that's already aimed at you. It will reduce the chances of the next one though. Despite my low grade, if you plan on leaving your enemy's field filled with whimps, have 1-2 of these cards to furthur reduce their SP, and their chances of mounting a comeback. Wow. Anakaris' Khybit makes a cameo! (wiith NeoPocket-kun) R013 [D] Hitoyasumi (Rest) Cost: 0 Effect: Discard a character card; gain the SP value listed on that card. (*) If you're desperate for SP and/or have no room to play the card. Felicia: "Tsukare dato kiha ohirure-nyan", Cham Cham: "Nyan-nyan!" F: "If we're tired, let's take five-nyan!", CC: "Yeah-nyan!" R014 [A] Yuujyou (Fellowship) Cost: 0 Effect: Discard the top 20 cards from your deck; gain 1 SP for reach RE card. («) The "No Tricks" for Reaction cards. It is an [A]-rank, and I get a LOT of these every game. Prime cards for VS.Net trades. R015 [D] Vacation Cost: 3 Effect: Give any card in the field +300 BP. (***«) Just like Robot Punch was the same as a Cover Fire AC, Vacation is just like Awakening with one small exception: you can give ANY card on the field +300 BP. Not only can you power your own cards up, but if you happen to have Regina or Bousou (Wild) Iori, you can boost someone up to "target" level. Chun Li & Blue Mary don't seem to mind the sun & the surf. R016 [D] Ochuushia (Painful Treatment) Cost: 3 Effect: ALL characters in ring with 300 BP or less get +500 BP. (***) Much like Shiki (S), and Griffon M., make sure you're not helping your opponent more than you're helping yourself. If you're planning on stuffing their ring, this card shouldn't be in your deck. It does work nicely in the early parts of the game. Pocket Fighters rule! I keep thinking this is Morrigan's "Oshiokio!" "It's punishment time!" R017 [C] KA Ishi (Power Mode) Cost: 0 Effect: Discard 2 cards and raise a card in the ring by 500 BP. (***) Not bad if you can get rid of two cards you don't need or if you really need a big-hitter in the ring when your turn comes up. Two cards = 3 Power Gems? Falcon: "Super Change! Gungun, power up!" R018 [C] Tatari (Curse/Evil Eye) Cost: 2 Effect: KO one of your cards; change another card's BP to that of the KO'd. (***«) Better than the Double KO AC; you get to turn your whimp into THEIR whimp AND you free up space in your ring. You can even change that big bruiser attacking into a weenie! This gets an extra half-grade because it only needs 2 SP, but it does require that you have a weakened card to begin with. R019 [C] Kami Fubuki (Divine Storm) Cost: 3 Effect: Raise a card's BP by 100 for each of your discards w/300 BP or less. (**) Great for a weak deck. You can power up Samonosuke even MORE. R020 [D] Clone Cost: 0 Effect: Discard a card in your hand with an ability; that ability goes to someone in your field. (**«) It's the same as Koukeisha, so it gets the same rating. R021 [D] Nusutto (Robber) Cost: 3 Effect: Steal an ability from anyone and give it to one of your characters. (****«) You never know when this card may come in handy. I always have one on hand in case. You can take an ability from any card on the field, even one of your own, but you MUST give it to a card on your side, and you must have a card on your side to give it to. You can remove an ability from an enemy that you fear they'll use later, like S.Dynamite. You can remove an ability from an attacker, like S-Bringer, that you may want to use later. You can even use it to get rid of unwanted abilities like Somorsault Kick by putting it on a card you know is going to get KO'd if they counter-attack. R022 [B] Kioku Soushite (Hypnotic Glare) Cost: 2 Effect: Everyone in the ring loses their abilities. (***) A nasty card to put out if you don't want Mukuro or Anakaris in your hand. Or in case their abilities get blocked. R023 [B] Super Art Select Cost: 4 Effect: Trade the abilities of 2 cards on the field with abilities. (***«) Just like the Substitute AC, only you must get attacked to use it; slightly worse than the AC. Remember not to give a good one away. R024 [D] Manali no Uta (Manali's Song) Cost: 0 Effect: If you have no characters in the ring, the opponent's attack fails; the opponents are recinded and are frozen. (**«) Great ability for a free card, and a [D]-rank at that. Because you can't have any cards in your ring for this to work, you should stock up on Oukane Mouke cards (also 0 SP!). R025 [D] Shikiri-tagari (Overdoing It) Cost: 0 Effect: Causes an attack by 2 or more enemies to become a United Combo. (*) There are times when this is useful. It doesn't cost any SP and can be great if you have Shigen or Makoto or a Galactica Phantom or Kyoushiou RE. You choose how many people (2-3) in the United Combo and the order. Your opponent does NOT loose SP, you cannot undo a Combo already in progress, but you can add the 3rd person if they're attacking seperately. R026 [B] Kyoushuu (Assault/Charm) Cost: 3 Effect: When a character counters a United Attack, you cannot lose HP. (**«) You make someone have Shigen/Makoto's power. You will not KO your attackers. R027 [B] Machiboke (Waiting in Vain/They're Not Coming) Cost: 3 Effect: The enemy recinds their characters if you do not defend against them; they remain unfrozen. HOWEVER, () abilities still activate. (****) This card does not tell you what this entails. If someone with an offensive () ability, like Haohmaru or GUY, attacks, they WILL damage you since their abilities say how they should behave if no one is stopping them, even though any other attacking cards will have stepped down. If you counter, you cancel the effects of this card. R028 [D] Okane Mouke (Cash Profits) Cost: 0 Effect: Select any of your characters to return to hand; draw a card. (**) It's free. If you're not going to use them to defend, and you have a full ring, you get a card out of it. You might also draw a Manali's Song or Machiboke RE if you have one. Otherwise, it's at least better than the Heritage AC; you won't have to KO any cards. If you don't want to select any more cards, press "B". R029 [D] Scan Cost: 1 Effect: See your opponent's hand; for each RE card he/she has, draw 2. (***«) Good, cheap, [D]-card that lets you spy on your opponent's hand. If they have REs, you may think twice about attacking, but you also draw two cards which may remedy that. R030 [D] Modoru no-jya (Time to go back) Cost: 1 Effect: Shuffle all your discarded RE cards into your deck then draw 1 card. (****«) Excellent RE card; try to use all your RE cards before this. Even if you can't, you get to draw a card nonetheless. R031 [C] HARA ni ICHIMOTSU (Macho Match-up) Cost: 0 Effect: Enemy draws 3 cards, you draw 2. (*) When you have no SP to spare and need cards. Your opponent draws more, so be careful about that. (should be a [D]-rank for that) The translation did not go well; essentially, the English equivalent would be "Oh yeah? Mine's bigger." R032 [C] Overheat Cost: 2 Effect: Enemy discards 2 random cards from his/her hand. (****) It may be random, but your opponent looses two cards that they could immediately use for a measly 2 SP. R033 [C] Suketto (Gimmie a Hand) Cost: 4 Effect: Draw 2 cards for each card attacking. (**«) You get to draw 2-6 cards for a cost of 4 SP. When you need cards, you need cards, but there are better REs to use for about the same cost. R034 [C] Tsumamigui (Snared) Cost: 5 Effect: Return one of your discarded cards to your hand. (*****) Another EXCELLENT card. You get to pick up ANY discarded card to put back in your hand, which makes it better than the Study & Revive ACs. R035 [B] 3 Shimai (3 Sisters) Cost: 0 Effect: Discard a RE card and draw 3 cards. (***) Not bad, you can dump an extra RE card you won't need for 3 new cards, plus it's free. The not-so-good is, in a good deck, you won't want to just toss an RE. R036 [B] Lucky Card Cost: 2 Effect: Show your hand; for each RE card (not counting this), draw 1 card. (*) You show your hand. You show your hand! A combination of Scan & 3 Shimai work better and cost less. (whoever hearda GaiaMaster anyway?) R037 [B] Kyodou Fushin (Behaving Suspiciously) Cost: 4 Effect: See opponents hand; opponent discards all non-character cards. (****) Chun Li is looking at Urien's butt; we are getting the crotch. You scan the opponent's hand AND get to trash all ACs/REs you see. You can leave your opponent with nothing if you have a Storm Rush! R038 [B] Seikurabe (I Can Do Better) Cost: 4 Effect: The player with fewer cards draws until both hands are equal-sized. (**«) It's like the complete opposite of the Pride AC. It's an RE card that affects the player with fewer cards. It even costs an SP less. This is useful to deck your opponent if you have more cards (after playing this one), or if you need a new/bigger hand. However, like Pride, if you both have the same-sized hands (after using Seikurabe), then this is just a waste of SP, so be careful. R039 [A] Sore Kureru? (Will You Gimmie?) Cost: 5 Effect: Pick a card in your deck to be placed on top; shuffle the rest. (*****) How excellent is this? It's like Saki's ability, only it applies to ANY card in your deck. If I had only one complaint, is it doesn't actually put a card in your hand immediately. But because it's being used as an RE, there's nothing the enemy can do to stop you. R040 [A] Tenchi Souzou (Heavenly Creator/Grand Master) Cost: 10 Effect: All REs from your discard are added to your hand; at the start of your turn, trash your entire hand. (*«) A very expensive Snared/Tsumamigui. Not bad if you have plenty of good REs in your trash and the SP to use them all, but then you also trash your entire hand. -= VI. DECKS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- As a tip, keep your decks mixed. Try not to invest more than 33% of your deck in Action/Reaction Cards, sometimes your opening hand can be 4-5 ACs. The FAQs on GameFAQs will deal with deck-creation strategies such as a "quick-kill" deck, or a "decking deck". There is no such thing as a KILLER deck in this game; there are too many variables with RE cards and new abilities. That's why you can't bank on a specific card's ability too much; there are a lot of chances the enemy can prevent your draw, force you to discard, or change a card's ability. These are just generic ones that I made relative to my speed games. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - INTERMEDIATE DECK Terry, Mai, Ukyo, Rimururu (C), Rimururu (T), Sogetsu, Daimon, Heidern, Yashiro, Goenitz, Takato, Athena, Terry B. x2, Gatou, Seishirou, Touma, Whip, Krizalid, Kula, Lei Lei, Donovan, Bulleta, June, Jin Saotome x2, Batsu, Claire, Roll-chan, Shoma, Hyo, Iincyo, Yurika, Maki, Ruby Heart Lightning, Double, Escape, Reparation, Cover Fire x2, Double KO, Awakening, Toptadon Robot Punch x2, Vacation x2, Nusutto, Sore Kureru? 35 Character cards: 0 [S], 7 [A], 5 [B], 18 [C], 5 [D] 9 Action cards: 0 [S], 0 [A], 1 [B], 3 [C], 5 [D] 6 Reaction cards: 0 [S], 1 [A], 0 [B], 1 [C], 4 [D] An "intermediate deck" should be able to handle all fights before the last. This is the deck I had after about 7 hours of playing; note the lack of [S] cards. While putting more time put into Exhibition Battles and VS.NET would give you a stronger deck, this deck is a measure as to the minimum strength you should have. This deck's main weaknesses is that it may have too many low-BP/low-SP cards. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - LATE DECK Terry, Andy, Krauser, Haohmaru, Nakuroru (T), Rimururu (T), Sogetsu, Kyo, Kyo (T), Yashiro, Bousou Leona, Akari (P), Athena, Terry B. x2, Gatou, Whip, Krizalid, Kula, Chun Li, Chun Li (D), Rose, Morrigan, Bulleta, Lilith, Jin Saotome x2, Batsu, Kyousuke, Daigo, Hyo, Tron, Ruby Heart Lightning, Escape, Reparation, Seraphic W, Psyche Up, Awakening, Pester, Shopping x2, Toptadon Robot Punch, Vacation, Nusutto, Modoru no Jia, Overheat, Tsymamigui, Sore Kureru? 34 Character cards: 2 [S],14 [A],10 [B], 7 [C], 1 [D] 9 Action cards: 0 [S], 0 [A], 3 [B], 3 [C], 3 [D] 7 Reaction cards: 0 [S], 1 [A], 0 [B], 3 [C], 3 [D] Gone are "patient" cards, like Rimururu (C) and Seishirou, who help you over time or are there just to take hits. This deck will help you just maul your opponent with the sheer number of [A]-rank cards. Be careful against some of the specialized decks like Comet's and especially Cap who will leave you, literally, short-handed. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PERSONAL "VS CAP" DECK Andy, Blue Mary, Galford x2, Nakoruru (C), Rimururu (C), Sougetsu, Shiki (C), Shermie, Mukuro x2, Takato, Terry B., HAOUMARU, Krizalid, Vanessa, Lin, Guile, E.Honda, Cammy (D), Dan, Remy, Ibuki, Morrigan, Pyron, Jedah, Kyosuke, Ryu (BF), Rock (Mega) Man, Urien, Edge x2, Hyo, Rock, Tron (x2) Double, Escape, Substitute, Shopping x2, Indulge, Tri-Quiz x2 Seien, Datsurioko, Nusutto, Machiboke, Modoru no Jia, Overheat, Tsumamigui, Kyodou Fushin 34 character cards: 1 [S], 2 [A],13 [B],11 [C], 7 [D] 8 action cards: 0 [S], 2 [A], 2 [B], 3 [C], 1 [D] 8 Reaction cards: 0 [S], 0 [A], 2 [B], 4 [C], 2 [D] Something I've tested against Cap a lot. It's far from infallible as there are "killer hands" anyone can get that can royally screw someone up (which is always possible). Though this deck works well in most fights, it tends to be boring since it only follows ONE plan of attack: wear your enemy down. This deck is actually based on both Cap & Comet's decks as they have the best in the game; Cap's reduces his opponent's chance to plan an offense by reducing hand size while Comet's keeps her HP sky-high. This meshes both: keeping your HP high, reducing your opponent's offense, and lowering their SP for good measure. This strength and weakness behind this deck is that it does not rely on a single card, but a mesh of all of them at once. The main draw of this deck is that it can draw more, cards that is. Secondly, there is a small assembly of cards that will nullify abilities, from the Substitute AC to Mukuro. There are also Escape and Shiki (C) to clean your side of the ring. Finally, there is a variety of 400-600 BP cards to throw up against your opponent. Once their side is filled, you can wait until you draw a card with exactly 100-200 BP less than one of theirs. If its a 900+ BP card, it'll take some extra work (like an Indulge AC). The goal is to weaken instead of KO-ing characters. The icing on the cake comes from cards like Dan and Tri-Quiz, even Remy (if you can KO or remove his ability after it activates enough times); you can constantly heal yourself (remember to do so!) while draining SP. Don't worry about using your []-abilities, concentrate more on nullifying your opponent's offense; plan your offense only after he/she can only (potentially) take off less than 500 HP a turn. There is a chance that you may have a whimp like Mukuro in your ring and you can't get him out. First, make sure you have enough cards in your hand that you want to put in, then make sure your enemy has 4 or less SP. Make a big Union Attack with Mukuro at the point; see if you can hit the spot in front of him. When a new enemy card is put in, let a weakened Mukuro take the hit and get KO'd. Hopefully a second Union Combo will net you the win. Alternatively, if I could come up with the cards, I'd try for this: Billy, Galford, Nakoruru (C) x2, Sougetsu x2, Shiki (C), Shermie, Mukuro, Takato, Terry B., Krizalid, Yuki, Guile, E.Honda, Cammy (D), Rose, Dan x2, Remy, Anakaris, Morrigan, Morrigan (D), Pyron, Jedah, Mukuro (Kenji), Rock (Mega) Man, Urien, Edge x2, Tron, Son Son, Kikaioh Double, Escape, Psyche Up, Round 2, Storm Rush, Shopping, Indulge, Tri-Quiz x2, Seien, Datsurioko, Nusutto, Kioku Soushite, Machiboke, Modoru no Jia, Tsumamigui, Kyodou Fushin The making this deck came from some deep bitter feelings, mainly because Cap cheats. Seriously, he has 2-3 Cammy (D)'s and they're [S]-rank cards. That's not counting that his entire deck is centered around the simple plan of cutting your hand (with Cammy, Sougetsu, Pride, and Overheat) to prevent you from playing more cards. On top of that, his deck is mainly made up of 700 BP characters, which won't be stopped by cards like Yuki or Regina, and have the occassional 1000+ BP and some 400-600 BP cards sprinkled inbetween just to mess around with your mind. The only defense against that is a faster offense. You always play the underdog against Cap, taking hits while trying to "perfectly" reduce his ring characters to 100 or 200 BP, then removing any annoying ()- or []-abilities. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PERSONAL DECK Terry, Andy, Joe, Yamazaki, Haohmaru, Nakoruru (C), Nakoruru (T), Rimururu (T), Sougetsu, Kyo (S), Orochi Leona, Akari (P), Athena, Terry B. x2, Gatou, HAOUMARU, Rugal, Krizalid, Kula, Gouki, Chun Li (D), Rose, Evil Ryu, Morrigan, Pyron, B.B.Hood, Lilith, Jin Saotome x2, Daigo, Mega Man, Tron Lightning, Escape, Reparation, Seraphic W., Psyche Up, Awakening, Shopping x2, G.Phantom, C.Hunting, Vacation, Robber, Cash Profits, Time to Go Back, Overheat, Snared, Will You Gimmie? 33 character cards: 2 [S], 12 [A], 15 [B], 3 [C], 1 [D] 8 action cards: 0 [S], 00 [A], 03 [B], 3 [C], 2 [D] 9 Reaction cards: 0 [S], 01 [A], 00 [B], 5 [C], 3 [D] There's no Tri-Quiz or Orochi Iori and Yamazaki and Joe are still there; not terribly polished, but it gets victories. There is a card for virtually every occassion, from hand-removal to decking to healing to direct-damage. -= VII. CHANGES -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- As you have seen, many cards have changed, the art has changed, but more than that, the gameplay has changed. My first thoughts? "Holy crap is this game more involving than its predecessor." Reaction cards add a new dimension to fights, as do the addition of more characters in Story Mode. The upped AI is also a whole new challenge, plus a slew of unlockables such as different trading modes and the now-super-rare [S] cards. There is still only a single save, but the interface of the game is much different than the first Card Fighters Clash (CFC1). Upon entering the game, you have a "Main Menu": 1. Story a. Enters story-mode (You are fighting around town looking for a card thief) 2. Battle a. Free Battle (Fight a CPU opponent you defeated for an [S] card) (Beating the game makes Free Battle MUCH harder!) b. VS Exhibition (via Cable) (Fight a friend for some random cards) c. VS Death Match (via Cable) (Fight a friend while wagering your own cards) d. Tutorial e. Game Glossary 3. Deck Work a. Card Menu (Create/Modify/Delete your decks) b. Trade Card (Give) c. Trade Card (Get) 4. VS.NET (unlockable via Story) a. Card Shop (Higher Rarity unlocked the more % of cards you discover) b. Trade Machine (Recycle Machine) (Game auto-saves after you get a new card) c. Dreamcast Link Mode (after you beat the game) d. Radio Dowsing (via Receiver Peripheral/Hardware) 5. Save Radio Dowsing is unlocked after you beat the game. Visit Nanako in her lab and she will grant you Dowsing potential. You still need an FM-tuner to plug into your NGPC. You have to unlock NeoMask, RoboMask, and G.Lady as "Free Battle" opponents, all of them must be found after beating the game once. Unlock G.Lady by defeating her in Principal Lip's office; RoboMask visiting the Carnival; NeoMask by defeating him in the MV COF Carnival. (Neo/RoboMask may or may not show up so keep re-entering the Carnival) The Trading Shop will open a "B" rank trade upon beating Zet and "A" upon beating Story Mode. I've also unlocked the "A" store by beating Cap 10x in Free Battle (about 185 victories & 71% cards found). They get new cards every 5 battles or so. There are new shortcuts in the game. Hold B during dialogue to get through non-important text. Hold B during while moving on the map screen in Story Mode to dash. During battle, tap B to jump to "End Turn". Pressing Option/Start lets you handle animations; [Ori=Yes] or [Nashi=No]. Tapping B+Down looks at the battle stats: Opponent's Deck Size / Hand Size / Discard Size Your Deck Size / Hand Size / Discard Size Tapping B+Up lets you see the cards in the field. Tapping B+Right looks at your opponent's discards. Tapping B+Left looks at your discards. When looking at your hand, tap left or right to go to up/down a screen. When looking at your hand, press Option each time to rearrange your cards by No., BP, SP, Ability, or Rarity. When organizing deck, when selecting tabs, press up to see your deck in use. When seeing your deck in use, tap left or right to scroll up/down a page. When seeing your deck in use, tap "A" to see each individual card. When seeing your deck in use, tap Option to see more stats. When arranging your deck, now the rarity will be displayed. When arranging your deck, press Option to re-arrange them in other manners. When arranging your deck, the font for the AC page is a purple on red. OW! About the gaming mechanics, now this game is now more about SP than ever! When it comes to having ammunition for United Combos, ACs, and now REs, SPs are highly valuable. It also means cards that remove SPs are also more valuable. Somehow, [B]-ranked cards are harder to obtain in this game. I usually have three or four times as many undiscovered [B] cards as [A] cards. Less importance on back-ups; now there are fewer "teams" and more pairings. Back-ups have gone from a quick and simple way to boost your power to an extra 100% to complete. Some back-ups make sense, some don't, and there are powers (Raiden, Natsu) that give perks for people who use them. The powers are upped in this game too with the inclusion of 80 new characters and new abilities. There is more emphasis on long term ()-abilities like Rimururu (C)'s new Wind Whisper and Pyron's old Cosmo Power that make them keepers. Other powers, like Morrigan's Life Sucker or Yashiro's re-worked Jet Counterblow, are harder to use. Because of new card abilities, like Edge; and the change in some old ones, like Yamazaki, placement is important. This can make starting second sometimes better than starting first. Cards as a whole are more balanced: some of the weaker characters from the previous game gained, whether it was BP or SP or a new ability. Toughies like Krauser and Geese have been toned down. If anything, only the newer RE cards are little too strong (or at times too weak) for their rarity. There will still be scrawny characters, quirky powers, and killer hands, but there will be more closer games with comebacks and rallies. The CPU in this game is also a lot smarter (and better equipped); it will no longer go for low-BP union attacks if there is a 3rd card attacking. Certain abilities, like Athena's Fire Sword are still ignored; ditto for defending in the case of Twelve's ability to KO all attackers. Some, like Haohmaru's Iron Slice and HAOUMARU's Piercing Eyes, are taken very seriously by the CPU. Now, if you use launch a United Combo and a regular attack, the CPU will go after the card it can do the most damage to or the most damage it can stop. The CPU will think: -Can I reduce one of the cards attacking to 100-200 BP? -Can I reduce the 2nd card of the United Combo to 100-200 BP? -If I use a card block, which prevents more damage: -Absorbing part of the combo? -Stopping the lone attack? -Am I below 1000 HP? (If yes: tries to stop ALL attacks) There is a small flaw in this new line of thinking: -If the 3rd attacking card is 100 BP -And the 1st card of the combo is 100 BP -And the CPU is not below 1000-1500 HP -It may not block ANYTHING If more cards attack the CPU than it has defenders, it thinks: -Stop the card with the highest BP with my lowest BP card In case of a tie: 1. Stop the card with an ability if one has and one doesn't 2. Stop the left-most (according to how you see your side) card If you have two cards with the same BP attacking, and the one on the left has an ability you wanted to use, like Jedah's PDC, you're outta luck. If the CPU has cards with BP higher than Jedah and his parallel attacker, you can still trick the CPU into blocking the other attacker and not the card with the ()-ability. Put the second attacker in front of a United Combo that, if the CPU blocks will leave you with a 100-200 BP weakling. A quick glance at the cast: (by order of fights) Haruna, 2000HP Simple AI, chooses the deck-brand opposite to yours Haruna will follow you around, but will mainly be in the CF School, first floor for a fight. Lip, 2000 HP Simple AI, weak deck The principal will be in her office next to Haruna. Bubble-headed and her voice easily gets excited. Fuwa, 2000 HP Ninja-themed deck, a little tricky Fuwa is almost always at the JOYFUL Fountain. Kid, 2000 HP Simple AI, a wide variety of kung-fu/wrestler cards Main character's older brother owns the Joy Joy trading shop; related to the previous game's owner? Beat him to unlock the VS.Net Trading Shop so you don't have to visit him in Story Mode to trade. The Story Mode store however, holds the first Bargain sale. Subsequent sales will be available through the Main Menu. Dogou, 2000 HP Rebel/Gang-themed decks, somewhat tricky AI Asou These three rebel students are sometimes on the roof Torawoh of the school. They all have similar decks and the same HP. Torawoh is the leader in the trenchcoat (proof is in her Mr.Big card), Asou is the hothead in the pink dress (Eri card), and Dogou is the dark nerd with the green flask and the monster cards. The first time you meet them, you face all three in succession without any time to re-adjust your deck! Shin, 3000 HP Harder AI, moderate "fire" deck One of the heroes from CFC1 is apparently a member of the Western-themed Vanguard Club. Can be found there or at the abandoned COF room in MV Land carnival. Fou, 2000 HP Moderate AI, back-up themed deck Aiya! The chinese owner of Lost World trading co. is back with her store and a similar style of playing. Will splice bad grammar now and again. Kei, 3000 HP Harder AI, moderate all-around deck The SNK heroine of CFC1, also an English-splicing member of the Vanguard. She kind of sounds like Tiffany from Justice Gakuen/Rival Schools. Neo Mask Hard, mirror-deck 3000 HP Special encounter with the man with your same deck. When you fight him after the game is over, he will have a randomized deck. In VS mode, he will still use the same deck you use. You can win 3 totally random cards from Neo Mask in Exhibition Mode; even [S]-ranks! Yashichi Moderate AI, special-ability themed deck 3000 HP Back at the fountain, this is hyperactive Yashichi who holds up a windmill star. Watch out for her deck! Comet, 3000 HP Moderate, healing deck Comet, the heroine of the CAPCOM version of CFC1, is still major-league annoying. She will often boost her HP well above her starting 3000. Nanako, 3000 HP Moderate, robot deck Imagine Zombie from CFC1 and you have Nanako. Lots of BP, not so much SP. Zet, 3000 HP Moderate, hobby-themed (robots/sports) deck Transfer student who stays in the same room Haruna does. Watch out for his bruiser cards. Cap, 3000 HP Strong, hand-cutting deck Cap, the most annoying CPU fight not counting the mirror-match. I have a deck specifically tailored against him. He's the hero of CFC1: Capcom version and sails the ship "I AM NOT BOY", the slogan of the NeoGeo Pocket Color in ads against the GameBoy. Robo-Mask Strong, Evil-themed deck 3000 HP Made up of lots of (random) heavy-hitting cards, from bosses of games to Orochi teams, etc. Even Dan! Watch out for any ability-stealing AC/REs too. You can win 3 totally random cards from Robo-Mask in Exhibition Mode; even [S]-ranks! Sys, 3000 HP Strong, mostly [S], [A] & [B]-rank cards Even more heavy-hitting cards! Look out for KO abilities, cards that KO, direct damage, and cards that target high-BP cards. GameMask Lady Strong, random decks 3000 HP You get a random deck when fighting her too! You can win 3 totally random cards from G.Lady in Exhibition Mode; even [S]-ranks! -= VIII. EOF =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- End of File! The Swordsman of Crystalis/God Slayer is STILL not here! And what happened to the sharply dressed Gamemask/Gamemantle/Game-ant/Gemant?