TCG Newsflash: the Darkest Faerie Set Has Arrived!

Meridell, Brightvale, and Altador need your help! The Darkest Faerie expansion set, the newest yet in the Neopets Trading Card Game world, has been released, and there is much to see in this one set alone from new sketch cards and constellations to two new pets added to the bunch. This article is to introduce you to the newest, and perhaps strongest cards there are.

Also, if you have never heard of, or played this trading card game, you might want to try researching the game a bit before reading this. It may make your head explode with confusion if you don’t.

Pets

I would like to start out with the pets included in this expansion. There are a total of twelve neopets, two of which are new. Here is an inside look on each of them, starting with the two newest ones.

Nimmo, the frog-like neopet, is one of the two new additions. It comes in two colors, blue and green. Their faerie type is water and their strongest arena seems to be intelligence with a stat of 7. The Nimmo has two experienced pets in this set, and receives a warm welcome to any trading card player’s deck.

The other new pet in this set is the Koi, a well-liked limited edition pet. This pet comes in two colors, blue and red. Their faerie type is water and their strong arena is magic with 7-9. The Koi has two experienced pets that can be used, including the foil ghost Koi card.

Other pets included in this set are Draiks, Skeiths, Ixi, and Blumaroo, all unseen since the Meridell expansion. From the Base set, Kacheeks, Eyries and Wockies also return. Buzz, Bruce and Bori are the other three pets. This adds up to a total of twelve different pets in the new, Darkest Faerie expansion.

Constellations

The first new addition you may notice in this set is the new card type, Constellation. These cards have a darker blue border, and to use them, you have to discard points from your bank! ‘Who wants to do that?’ you may think. Actually, some of them are worth it, though it all remains opinion. “Even though the full card list has been released we still don't know exactly how the constellation cards will affect game play. We don't really know how many you will be allowed to play or even how long the effect of a constellation card will last. From what I do know I think the constellation cards will end up being a lot like fate cards; they will change the way the TCG is played but in a small way. I think many of the constellation cards will turn out to be more trouble then they are worth,” says Gomn, a fellow TCG player.

One Constellation that is good for a hero-based deck is ‘The Wave’. To play it you must discard 3 points from your bank, and then you can play heroes without tapping for the rest of the game.

A spectacular add to any deck is ‘The Gatherer’. This constellation is a Foil card, and rightfully so! It is the only constellation that you do not have to discard bank points to use, and it allows you to bank twice for every contest you win! In a few swift turns you could win the game if this card is in your first draw.

Missing Fates?

What you may notice next is that there are no Fate cards in the Darkest Faerie set! Not one. Perhaps, in this set there would be simply be too many cards if there were fate cards. It is, after all, a 150-card set. “Shame about not having any Fates. That's actually rather odd, leaving out an entire card type,” said avid collector ghostkomorichu.

New Sketch Cards

Twelve of the pet cards are available in an ultra-rare sketch card! Neopets artists individually drew each card, so no two are the same! They are so rare, that there are about one in every 1,152 cards! Some of the sketch pets are the Green Bori, Red Bruce, and the Blue Koi. “I think they're really cool! They certainly add a fun new aspect for collectors of the Darkest Faerie expansion, and I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a few myself,” says Neopian Times Writer, cosmicfire918.

Tainted Cards

Tainted cards are also fresh in the Darkest Faerie set. Two locations, Tainted Meridell and Tainted Altador, are new. Tainted Meridell takes all the fun out of winning contests. To bank or draw after winning a contest in this location, your have to discard a card from your hand as well!

Two experienced pets have gone bad too. Well… gone bad for your opponent, good for anyone who has them in their deck! They are the Tainted Draik and the Tainted Ixi. Both have decent stats. The highest stat for the Ixi is 8 in Agility and the highest for the Draik is 10 in Intelligence.

The other two ‘Tainted’ cards are the Tainted Harris, an equipment card, and the Tainted Minions, a Villain card.

Now to focus on some individual cards.

Something Has Happened

Twist of Fate – This common card could be both good and bad. Don’t hint to your opponent if you have a good card, because they may have this card up their sleeve. It allows you to make your opponent discard their whole hand and then draw the same amount that they discarded. For example, they have four cards in their hand, and then you play Twist of Fate. They discard their hand, and then draw four. And this card is marked common! Number 149 out of 150. This card is very much like ‘Cease Fire’ from the Return of Sloth set. That card had you and your opponent discard their hands and draw four, but that card was rare.

Heroes

Tor- Yes… Tormund, a yellow lupe and one of the two main characters in the upcoming Playstation Two game. There isn’t anything spectacular about this card, just your average hero. His highest stat is 18 in Magic, and his lowest is 9 in Intelligence (ouch!). While he is in play, each of your basic pets gets +5 to all stats.

King Altador- Another Lupe hero from the Playstation Two game. He is white in color and much wiser looking than the bold Tormund. This hero’s stats reflect his age and experience as well. His highest stat is 21 in Intelligence, and his lowest stat is 16 in Magic. Not too bad stat wise, now is he? When he is discarded from use, you can return something from your discard pile to your hand.

Equipment

Altadorian Sword- Rare card number 34 is the Altadorian Sword. This card is one of a kind! It allows the pet that it is attached to start a contest without tapping. With this attached to any pet, you could start a contest and still have a pet free for playing other Equipment or Something Has Happened cards. With its awesome ability, and witty Flavor Text, (“Try to find a pen mightier than THIS!”) Altadorian Sword is a nice addition to anybody’s deck.

Villains

The Darkest Faerie- What would this set be without the one who started the mayhem? Dark decks would welcome The Darkest Faerie. With a high stat of 24 in Magic, and her lowest stat 11 in Strength, this Faerie could be quite a pain. Especially since at the end of each player’s turn, any Experienced Pets in her arena are discards. Ouch. To play her, you need three dark neopets.

Darkest Knight- Ah yes, The Darkest Faerie's right hand man, I mean minion. Even their names are alike. With a high stat of 23 in Strength, and his lowest being 18 in Agility, this crony may even be more intricate than the Darkest Faerie herself! And he only takes 2 dark neopets to play. “Whoo, those are some nice stats. It's balanced out by the fact that you need 2 Dark Neopets to play it, but that probably wouldn't make much of a difference in Dark decks, I guess. So, all in all, I think it's a pretty okay card,” says cosmicfire918.

Constellations

The Hunter- To play this constellation you must discard two points from your bank. It lets you play two contests in each arena. That’s pretty cool, but wait... what if you combined it with the Altadorian Sword? * looks pleased with self *

Well, now you have seen it all. From dashing new Heroes to bashing new Villains, there is nothing this set does not have. Well, aside from those missing Fate cards, of course. New Constellations and Sketch cards are sure to catch your fancy. You may need a box of these puppies just to stay on top of things!