



               -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

               -=-         Final Fantasy IX          -=-

               -=-         Tetra Master FAQ          -=-

               -=-           Version 0.90            -=-

               -=-           By: Trifthen            -=-

               -=-        trifthen@hotmail.com       -=-

               -=-     http://www.kildosphere.com    -=-

               -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-





-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-



-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=- Provision:

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-



  (c.) 2000-2001 Shaun M. Thomas, All Rights Reserved.

  This FAQ is protected by Copyright Law.  All text copied from this

  FAQ can only be done with the consent of Shaun Thomas.  An updated

  version of this FAQ can be obtained at gamefaqs.com or my personal
  website.


-=-=-=-=-=-

-=- Intro:

-=-=-=-=-=-



Most people I've talked to seem to think Tetra Master is incomprehensible.

annoying, and fruitless.  Well... it is, but that doesn't mean there isn't

some rhyme to the horrible chaos that is Tetra Master.  The fact is, it

does have rhyme and reason, just a bit too random.  Fortunately, all of

this can be overcome, and eventually you'll reach the top collector level.



Special Note: No.  There wasn't, isn't, and never will be any kind of

tangible reward for playing Tetra Master.  You don't win items, gold,

hidden FMV's, or even fame by reaching the top collector level.  The

reward for putting in the hard hours required is absolutely zip, zilch,

nada, nothing, nil, zero, the big goose egg, total and complete

vacuum - a veritable oblivion.  The game seems solely to exist for

bragging rights, as it has no other function in FF9 other than making

you waste time.


For those of you living in Germany, a company known as Dino contacted me
to write the rules for a tabletop version of Tetra Master.  The game has
gone into production, and should be available in stores.  I suggest
picking it up, it's a good adaptation.  Sadly, it won't be released on
US shores due to some negotiations between Square and a US company that
will represent them on future projects.  So, if you want it, you'll have
to import it.  Or, you can berate Squaresoft until they relent.

Either way, you're going to be waiting.


-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=- Contents:

-=-=-=-=-=-=-



I.   History

II.  Rules

     A.  Requirements

     B.  Getting Cards

     C.  Getting Ready

     D.  The Game

     E.  Card Numbers

     F.  Card Stats

     G.  Arrows

     H.  Battles

     I.  Combos

     J.  Winning

     K.  The Point System

     L.  Collector Levels

III. Card Types

     A.  Card Power

     B.  Card Defense

     C.  Physical Cards

     D.  Magic Cards

     E.  Power Cards

     F.  Advanced Cards

IV.  Strategies

     A.  Blocks

     B.  Picking Cards

     C.  Combos

     D.  General Tips

V.   Card List

VI.  Credits

VII. Contact





-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=- I. History

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-


Version 0.90 : June 11, 2001
  -- Lots of little fixes.  Redid the formulas for estimating approximate
     chances of winning, plugged the new game in Germany, added information
     I got from Squaresoft.
Version 0.81 : January 22, 2001

  -- Apparently, I can't add.  256 arrow combinations, not 258.  Also

     corrected a typo.

Version 0.80 : January 10, 2001

  -- Small changes to card list, added some more rankings, revised the

     intro, various cosmetic changes.

Version 0.76 : December 13, 2000

  -- Finished the card list, now just need the M/P stats on a few of them.

Version 0.74 : December 6, 2000

  -- Lots of little changes, filled out the ranking chart.  Added "Combo"

     section.

Version 0.70 : December 5, 2000

  -- Added more cards, revised a lot of the section III text, added a

     section on card stats, and revised some tables.

Version 0.50 : December 4, 2000

  -- Added more cards, new rank levels, and fleshed out the physical

     card section.

Version 0.28 : November 29, 2000

  -- Added about 1/4 of all cards to card list.  Revised point tallies for

     extra cards.

Version 0.15 : November 27, 2000

  -- Second FAQ.  Added "Getting Cards", "Advanced Cards",

     "The Point System".  Revised text on "Power Cards".  Corrected errors

     in "Collector Levels".

Version 0.1  : November 24, 2000

  -- First FAQ, contains layout, rules, card types, strategies and

     credits.  A card list is the works.





-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=- II. Rules

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-





A. Requirements:

----------------



  -- 2 players

  -- 5 cards for each player





B. Getting Cards:

-----------------



  In order to get those five (or more) cards you'll need to play the game,

  you'll need cards.  There are a few ways to get them:



  1.)  Find them hidden in the towns/dungeons.

  2.)  Get characters to give them to you.

  3.)  Win them in card battles.

  4.)  Get them at the end of a random encounter.

  5.)  Buy Them



  As a note, the arrows and stats of these cards is not determined until

  you actually own it.  So for cards you find in towns and dungeons, or

  obtain from other characters, you can reset the game until the card

  has the stats you desire.  This works on all cards, even rare ones - 

  so this can help you in getting that top collector level.



C. Getting Ready:

-----------------



  Walk up to a character, and press [] (square) to initiate a card game.

  Not everyone plays, but quite a few do.  Once the card game has been

  initiated, pick five cards and confirm them as you final pick.  Once

  you've done this, the game begins.





D. The Game:

------------



  The game grid looks like this:



                   ###########################

                   #-------------------------#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #-------------------------#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #-------------------------#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #-------------------------#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #-------------------------#

                   ###########################



  This game grid may have anywhere from 0-6 random spaces blocked off

  at the beginning of the game, restricting where cards can be placed.

  A coin is tossed to determine who starts the game.  Whoever starts

  must place a card in one of the grid spaces, and the flow of the

  game turns to the second player.





E. Card Numbers:

----------------



  Cards, being collectible, are given numbers.  There are 100 cards in

  the game, and you can only have 100 with you at any one time.  So,

  if you really wanted to be a master player, you can only have one of

  each card.  That is no easy task.



  As a note, I don't quite understand why you can only hold 100 cards.

  That's roughly the size of two decks of playing cards, and many people

  who play Collectible Card Games often carry around 6 favorite playing

  decks.  The card limit is more than a little arbitrary.





F. Card Stats:

--------------



  Cards will have a few stats below the picture.  Here's what they mean:



  PTDM

  ----

  P : the power of the card in hexadecimal.

  T : the card type, P, M, X, or A.

  D : the card's physical defense in hexadecimal.

  M : the card's magical defense in hexadecimal.



  Example: 1P40



  What is hexadecimal, you ask?  Hexadecimal is the numbers represented

  from 0-15 by letters and numbers.  So 0 is 0, and 15 is F.  This means

  the strongest card in the game would be FAFF, since A is the strongest

  card type.



  Here's the confusing part.  While the card's stats are represented in

  hex, those stats represent another number entirely.  Here's a chart.



   Hex | Stat  | Min | Max

  -------------------------

   0F  |   0   | 000 | 015

   1F  |   1   | 016 | 031

   2F  |   2   | 032 | 047

   3F  |   3   | 048 | 063

   4F  |   4   | 064 | 079

   5F  |   5   | 080 | 095

   6F  |   6   | 096 | 111

   7F  |   7   | 112 | 127

   8F  |   8   | 128 | 143

   9F  |   9   | 144 | 159

   AF  |   A   | 160 | 175

   BF  |   B   | 176 | 191

   CF  |   C   | 192 | 207

   DF  |   D   | 208 | 223

   EF  |   E   | 224 | 239

   FF  |   F   | 240 | 255



  Why the "Hex" column?  Notice how the first number in the hex

  column matches the number in the stat column?  That's how hexadecimal

  works.  For a two digit hex number, you take the first number,

  multiply by 16 and add the value of the second number.  So 6F is

  6*16+15 = 111.  The minimum value would be 60 or 6*16+0=96.



  Card types are discussed later in the FAQ.





G. Arrows:

----------



  Each card will usually have a set of arrows in any of 8 directions.

  A sample card with all directions lies below:



                    _______

                    |\ | /|

                    |-   -|

                    |/ | \|

                    -------



  Here are a few cases where the arrows will not do anything:



    1.)  The first card played obviously can not affect other cards.

    2.)  A card is played next to another card, but has no arrows

         pointing to the opposing card.

    3.)  A card is already on the board with an arrow pointing to

         a square.  A new card is placed in that square, but the

         new card doesn't have an arrow pointing to the first card.



  Basically, this means that nothing will happen unless the card that

  is played has an arrow pointing to another card.



                   card 1 | card 2

                    _____________

                    |\ | /|    /|

                    |-   -|    -|

                    |/ | \|    \|

                    -------------



  Card two was placed second, so nothing happened.  The fifth

  possibility is that the card placed in the grad has an arrow

  pointing to the adjacent card.



                   card 1 | card 2

                    _____________

                    |\ |  |    /|

                    |-    |-   -|

                    |/ |  |    \|

                    -------------



  The player that placed card two now owns card one.  These ownerships

  can change through the game, and whoever ends up owning the most

  cards at the end of the game wins.  Cards may have *no* arrows, and

  these are discussed in the "combos" section.





H. Battles:

-----------



  There is one final possibility remaining.  If a card is placed next

  to another card, and they both have arrows pointing at each other,

  a battle ensues.  



                   card 1 | card 2

                    _____________

                    |\    |     |

                    |    -|-   -|

                    |/    |  | \|

                    -------------



  The above placement would result in a card battle.  Each battle has

  three phases where different numbers are displayed.



  Phase 1:

    * Each card has a power as discussed previously.  This value falls

      between the min and max listed in the table.  Each card also has

      a defense fitting the the above chart.



                 A            B

      Example : 4P22 attacks 1M01



      The first number that appears on card A is its attack power, say

      70 (4 = between 64 and 79).  Card A is a physical card, and card

      B has 0 physical defense, so the first number to appear on card

      B is its defense, say 7 (0 = between 0 and 16).



  Phase 2:

    # Next, the computer rolls a number between 0 and the number shown

      in phase 1.  This will be the *actual* attack or defense.  Let's

      say it rolls a 66 for card A, and 1 for card B.



  Phase 3:

    # The number rolled in phase 2 is subtracted from the number in

      phase 1.  This guarantees that the number will be positive, and

      the highest number wins.  So:



      Card A: 70 - 66 : 4

      Card B: 7  - 1  : 6



  There are a few things this should tell you :



  1.)  Higher rolls are BAD.  You want low rolls so less is subtracted

       from the total number.

  2.)  A weak card can defeat a strong card if the roll is in its favor,

       look at how the 1M01 defended itself against a 4P22.



  If you want to know how likely a card is to win a battle, here's the

  basic formula:



  1 + Power of Weak
   100 * (1 - ----------------------)
 2*(1+ Power of Strong)

  So in our example, you have:



                 1 + 7             142 - 8  
       136
   100 * ( 1 - --------- ) = 100 * ---  --- = 100 * --- = 94.4%

               2(1 + 70)           142
 142         142


  So in our example, card A will win the battle 94% of the time.  But

  in the example of the battle, it lost because of a bad roll; that's

  the 6% it loses.



  But, since you may not know attack/defense values right away, you

  can get a basic idea.  Using our example again, take the maximum

  attack card A could have (79) and the lowest defense card B can have

  (0) and use our equation.  The result is 99.4%.  Now, take the minimum

  attack card A can have (64) and the maximum defense card B can have

  (15) and use our equation.  The result is 87.7%.



  So, in our example, if you don't know the values of the cards fighting

  it out, card A will have a 88-100% chance of beating card B if it

  is attacking.



  If you played card A, good job.  You would have won the card battle,

  but you had a 6% chance of losing, and lost.  Your opponent now

  controls both cards.  If you had won, you'd control both cards.





I. Combos:

----------



  Sometimes a card that loses a battle may also point to other cards.

  This is a very dangerous situation, and can lead to those cards

  being lost as well.  For instance, let's assume player 1 owns

  cards one and two, player two puts down card three.



                        1 |  2  |  3

                    ___________________

                    |\    |     |     |

                    |    -|-   -|-    |

                    |/    |  | \|     |

                    -------------------



  We'll assume card three is really powerful, and wipes out card two.

  Player 2 now owns all three cards, because the losing card had an

  arrow pointing to card one.  Avoid this at all costs!  A properly

  placed combo can flip up to eight other cards on a full board.

  Normally cards with a lot of arrows are good due to their great

  defense abilities, but the potential for combos is dire.  We'll talk

  about how to fix this problem later.



  Some of you may have encountered cards with no arrows on them, and

  rightly wonder what they're good for.  They're good for one and only

  one thing so far as I have seen and heard: sheer numbers.  These cards

  have no combo power, are completely defenseless, and are very rare.

  But keep in mind that if played last, you have no fear of setting off

  combos where you may lose cards.  They're a completely safe play if

  all you need to do is win one more card to win the card game.  They

  also make wonderful combo fodder.





J. Winning:

-----------



  Whoever controls the most cards when all cards are on the board wins

  the game.  After winning, the winner gets to pick a card from the

  loser's deck, but only a card that was flipped during the course of

  the game.  If all of the cards are flipped to one player or another,

  the game is called "perfect", and they get to keep all of their

  opponent's cards.  Good if you win, *really* bad if you lose.





K. The Point System:

--------------------



  As you play through the game, you'll win points.  How these points are

  awarded, however seems to be a bit of a complexity.  Points are awarded

  not by your win/loss ratio as it would seem, but on the cards you own

  and how their arrows are arranged.  Here's a quick explanation.



    - One Unique Card                : 15 points

    - Unique card, non-unique arrows : 10 points

    - Extra cards                    : 5 points per card

    - Extra cards, non-unique arrows : 0 points per card

    - X card                         : 1 bonus point

    - A card                         : 2 bonus points



  So, if you have one "A" card, and it has no arrows the same as any other

  card, you'll have 17 points for that card.  Logic would dictate that

  in order to reach the top collector level, you'd need all 100 of your 

  cards to fit this criteria for a maximum of 1700 points.  Ouch.



  So far as arrow configurations are concerned, there are more than a

  hundred, here's how they're broken down:



      Arrows    |   combinations

    -----------------------------

        0       |         1

        1       |         8

        2       |        28

        3       |        56

        4       |        70

        5       |        56

        6       |        28

        7       |         8

        8       |         1

    -----------------------------

      Total     |       256



  So, you have a total of 256 total arrow combinations, and you only

  need 100.  Also keep in mind that 163 of those have 4 arrows or more,

  so you don't need to feel defenseless.



  That still doesn't detract from the fact you'll have to have 100 "A"

  level cards, each with a different arrow configuration to reach the

  top collector level, but everything is worth effort, right?





L. Collector Levels:

--------------------



  The game keeps track of all wins, losses, and draws, but they don't

  mean anything to your collector level.  Your collector level is

  determined by the total value of all of your cards as explained above.

  This may seem unfair, but it's how things work.  Collector level is

  awarded by point values, as shows in this table:



      Points     |   Level      |       Points     |   Level

  ---------------------------  -=-  ---------------------------

  0    - 299     :  Beginner   -=-  1350 - 1359    :  Champion

  300  - 399     :  Novice     -=-  1360 - 1369    :  Analyst

  400  - 499     :  Player     -=-  1370 - 1379    :  General

  500  - 599     :  Senior     -=-  1380 - 1389    :  Expert

  600  - 699     :  Fan        -=-  1390 - 1399    :  Shark

  700  - 799     :  Leader     -=-  1400 - 1449    :  Specialist

  800  - 899     :  Coach      -=-  1450 - 1474    :  Elder

  900  - 999     :  Advisor    -=-  1475 - 1499    :  Dominator

  1000 - 1099    :  Director   -=-  1500 - 1549    :  Maestro

  1100 - 1199    :  Dealer     -=-  1550 - 1599    :  King

  1200 - 1249    :  Trader     -=-  1600 - 1649    :  Wizard

  1250 - 1299    :  Commander  -=-  1650 - 1679    :  Authority

  1300 - 1319    :  Doctor     -=-  1680 - 1689    :  Emperor

  1320 - 1329    :  Professor  -=-  1690 - 1697    :  Pro

  1330 - 1339    :  Veteran    -=-  1698 -         :  Master

  1340 - 1349    :  Freak      -=-

  ---------------------------  -=-  ---------------------------



  What, not 1700?  I'd like to take this time to quote a poor soul

  who wasted many hours playing this game.



  "So what happens at 1700, you ask?  Well, under your collector

   pts. where Master was written it now says, superimposed over

   everything, 'Would you like to discard?'.  So, after a hundred

   hours of playing this game I am rewarded with a F***ING

   GLITCH!!!"

                                                    -- ik141



  We feel for you, man, we really do.  All I can say, is may Squaresoft

  learn a lesson from this!  I bet they didn't think anyone was crazy

  enough to actually reach the maximum number of points possible.

  That'll teach 'em.





-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=- III.  Card Types

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-





A. Card Power:

--------------



  Each card will have a set stats, arranged to look like: 0P00.

  The first number is the card's attack power in hexadecimal.  Refer

  to "Battles" for how this works.



  Cards that defeat other cards in many battles, or flip many cards

  eventually get stronger.  So a 0P00 that is used often will make

  it to a 1P00.  These values have maximums however, and I'm still

  determining the maximums for each card.  I'd appreciate help on

  this one.





B. Card Defense:

----------------



  Cards have two types of defense, physical and magical.  Like power,

  defense is listed in hexadecimal.  If a card is classified as 

  0P12, 1 is the physical defense, and 2 is the magical defense.



  Like Power, defense can increase if a card defends attack often

  enough.  So a 0P00 can become a 0P01 or a 0P10 depending on whether

  it defended many physical or magical attacks.





C. Physical Cards:

------------------



  You probably noticed that I've been listing my examples as 0P00 or

  some variation.  What I was actually assuming is that the cards in

  my examples are physical cards.  Hence they do physical damage

  in their attacks.  A card with "P" in the middle of its stats is a 

  physical card.



  Like mentioned above, physical abilities are not based on the number

  in the attack power alone.  A 1P00 card can still lose to a 0P00 card

  if the 0P00 card gets a better roll.  Generally, cards with higher

  card numbers are stronger, but you can't count on that.



  Confused yet?





D. Magic Cards:

---------------



  Cards with an "M" in their stats are magic cards.  They deal their

  damage through some kind of magic.  Unfortunately, most magic cards

  will be horribly slaughtered by a physical card.  Hence it's essential

  to have a good balance of each in those chosen for the game.  On the

  other hand, a strong magic card will liquefy a physical card with low

  magic resistance.  Beware!





E. Power Cards:

---------------



  Next are power cards.  These can exist in any of the card numbers, and

  are denoted by an "X" in the card stats.  Most often, you'll have

  a monster you have many multiples of, and maybe only one of them is

  a power card.  These can be obtained in a couple of ways:



  1.)  Win them.

  2.)  Use a normal card until it turns into one.



  Power cards seem excessive at first.  They appear to have higher stats

  compared to the other cards you may have in your inventory.  But how

  do they work?



  Defending card     |   Actual Defense

  -------------------------------------

    0P10             |        0

    1M91             |        1

    9M19             |        1



  See a pattern here?  If you play a power card, the lowest of the

  defender's defense powers will determine the type of attack your card

  uses.  Strong physical defense?  Use a magical attack.  Strong magical

  defense?  Use a physical attack.



  As you can imagine, taking a power card can be difficult.  But there

  are a few ways to do so.



  1.)  Take the card on an unprotected corner.

  2.)  Use a powerful card that will overwhelm power card defenses.

  3.)  Use a card with high defense stats.



  Three may not make much sense, but it works.  Remember, power cards

  only gain an upper hand when defense values of the other card are low.

  A card with 0P9A stats would most likely demolish a power card that

  was 2X32.



  At least at the beginning of the game, disks one and two perhaps, save

  them for the last card you play if at all possible.  They can swiftly

  turn the tide of battle, and work wonders when used in combos.


  The more you use your cards, the better.  Any normal card has a 1.56%
  chance of upgrading to an "X" card.
 This occours whether or not the
  card lost any card battles; the usage is the important part.



E. Advanced Cards:

------------------



  There is one more type of card that has a huge advantage over all other

  cards.  This is one step above X cards, and instead identifies itself

  with an A.  1A12 for example.  You can get them a couple of ways.



  1.)  Win them.

  2.)  Use an X card until it turns into one.



  So what are these wondrous cards, and how do they work?  Like X cards,

  they take the lowest of the defense values, but to add a little spice

  to the mix, they also throw in the attack power.  For example:



  Defending card     |   Actual Defense

  -------------------------------------

    0P12             |        0

    9M09             |        0

    3P9A             |        3



  Yes, that's right.  The lowest number in all of the stats is used

  as the card's defense.  I don't think I have to tell you how horrible

  this can be.  But wait, this isn't all!  Take a look at the following:



  Attacking "A" card |   Actual Attack

  -------------------------------------

    0P12             |        2

    9M09             |        9

    3P9A             |        A



  Yes, you see right.  Not only does the defending card have a very

  low defense, but the "A" card uses the highest number on the card

  as the attack.  Now an "A" level Genji card doesn't look so useless

  as it did before, does it?



  These are more rare than power cards since they are upgraded from

  power cards.  Taking these cards can really only be done one of two

  ways.



  1.)  Take the card on an unprotected corner.

  2.)  Use a card with higher stats in all aspects.



  If you want to take a 2A33, you'll need at least a 3P33 for equal

  footing, probably higher to be on the safe side.  If the computer

  plays one of these cards, take it!  Do what ever you can to make

  that card yours.  If you don't get it the first time, rematch until

  you do.  These cards will most definitely complete your arsenal.


  You may upgrade "X" cards to "A" cards as they are used.
 The percentage
  of this occurring is lower, about 0.56%.  This means you must use your
  "X" cards twice as much to get them to upgrade to "A" cards.



-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=- IV.  Strategies

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-



  Winning Tetra Master is usually easy at the beginning of the game,

  but as it goes on, you'll find yourself frequently outclassed by

  players with more powerful cards and more opportune arrow placement.

  Be careful!





A. Blocks:

----------



  Remember that the game can start with anywhere from 0-6 squares

  blocked from play.  These sometimes create spots where one or

  two cards can be placed in complete immunity.  Use these first!

  The less cards you leave open to combos, the better.  Try to use

  your weakest cards in these spaces, or cards that have arrows 

  that wouldn't work well in the board layout.  These cards you

  would have lost have suddenly turned into cards you'll keep.



  Blocks can also be used as strongholds.  Sometimes there is only

  one way to attack cards behind certain blocks.  You can block combos

  and other nefarious attacks by putting a card here that has no

  arrows in the area that can be attacked.  If you stack two or three

  more cards behind this defender, you may lose the defender, but the

  other two are 100% safe.  For example.



                   #-------------------

                   #|#####|#####|#####|

                   #|#####|#####|#####|

                   #|#####|#####|#####|

                   #-------------------------

                   #|\   /|     |     |#####|

                   #|    -|-    |    -|#####|

                   #|     |  | \|  | \|#####|

                   #-------------------------

                   ###########################



  Though this doesn't happen often, there are similar opportunities

  of which you can take advantage.





B. Picking Cards:

-----------------



  Try to play four-corners as much as you can.  By that, I mean pick

  cars that have arrows in one of the following patterns.



                  -------  -------  -------  -------

                  |     |  |     |  |  | /|  |\ |  |

                  |    -|  |-    |  |    -|  |-    |

                  |  | \|  |/ |  |  |     |  |     |

                  -------  -------  -------  -------



  Why?  Because if the cards are strong enough, they'll hold the corner

  you put them in.  You don't want to place a card that'll be taken

  without a fight unless you're setting up combos.  These cards make

  great first moves.  I suggest at least two of these, in case a block

  ruins one of your corners.



  Next you'll want at least one card that can clear the board in your

  favor.  This is fairly simple, just pick a card with as many arrows

  and high stats as you can manage.  In most cases, this will be your

  last card, and will activate as many combos as possible.  Power cards

  work very will here.  You should only need one of these.



  Finally, you'll want two wall cards.  Any of these patterns are

  usable:



                  -------  -------  -------  -------

                  |     |  |\    |  |\ | /|  |    /|

                  |     |  |-    |  |     |  |    -|

                  |/ | \|  |/    |  |     |  |    \|

                  -------  -------  -------  -------



  These are mostly good at protecting other cards from combos.  They'll

  be the cards you play in the middle of the game to set up combos or

  protect cards you've just won from being taken away.



  Remember, you can add as many arrows as you wish to these examples,

  but I strongly advise against taking arrows away unless you have a

  good combo in mind.  Cards with less than three continuous arrows

  are almost defenseless unless protected by blocks, and you can't

  count on whether or not the computer will even use blocks.



  Cards that only protect one side are perfect for combos, and they

  can block access to other cards.  Use them in the right place, and

  the best the computer can do is take the card you used, leaving the

  rest under your control.





C. Combos:

----------



  Sometimes the best way to win Tetra Master, and do so with a higher

  probability of a perfect, you must make good use of combos.  The basic

  strategy here, is to take a very weak card with all 8 arrows, and

  play that first in a very open location.  For example...



                   ###########################

                   #-------------------------#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #-------------------------#

                   #|     |\ | /|\ | /|     |#

                   #|     |-   -|-   -|     |#

                   #|     |/ | \|/ | \|     |#

                   #-------------------------#

                   #|     |\ | /|\ | /|     |#

                   #|     |-   -|-   -|     |#

                   #|     |/ | \|/ | \|     |#

                   #-------------------------#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #-------------------------#

                   ###########################



  Any of those four spaces in the middle will work just fine.  Let

  the computer take the card.  In fact, you might use a lot of weak

  cards, and let them lose battles as well, and just use one really

  strong power card to take them all back in one fell swoop.  Remember,

  the last card you play only has to be strong enough to defeat the

  8-arrow card.  The computer has more incentive to play around the

  8-arrow card if you own all or most of the cards around it, so defeat

  the 8-arrow card as many times as possible until you lay the last card.



  If there are no blocks in the way,  and you go second, you have the

  opportunity of sweeping the board with this strategy.





D. General Tips:

----------------



  At all costs, avoid capturing cards in corners with a card containing

  a lot of arrows until the end of the game.  Take the following

  example, you just took all of your opponent's cards with the card

  marked with a *.  Four cards are suddenly yours, and the card that

  battled was very powerful, and not likely to cause a combo later.

  But your opponent had a power card (marked by an X) and even though

  it only had one arrow, it turned your card into instant puree.



                   ###########################

                   #-------------------------#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #|     |     |     |     |#

                   #-------------------------#

                   #|     |#####|     |#####|#

                   #|     |#####|  X  |#####|#

                   #|     |#####|  |  |#####|#

                   #-------------------------#

                   #|\    |#####|  |  |\    |#

                   #|    -|#####|- * -|-    |#

                   #|/    |#####|/ | \|  |  |#

                   #-------------------------#

                   #|  | /|\ |  |     |\ |  |#

                   #|    -|-    |-   -|-    |#

                   #|     |     |  |  |     |#

                   #-------------------------#

                   ###########################



  Would you look at that?  You've now lost five cards, and there is

  no way you can get them back.  Even if you flip the card the computer

  used to cause the combo, you'll still probably lose.  When not paying

  attention, I've lost up to six cards this way, with no way to get

  any of them back.  In a worst case scenario, up to eight cards can

  be lost in a combo, and with that many cards on the board, openings

  are slim, and those cards may be lost forever.





-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=- V.  Card List

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-



  The type listed is the initial type the card has when first obtained.

  It may change to X or A later.  Someone has offered to help add a

  section to this list for maximum reachable stats for each card.

  It's a good idea, and I'll take input from anywhere.



  Num | Card Name        | Type        Num | Card Name        | Type

  ------------------------------  -=-  ------------------------------

  1   | Goblin           | P      -=-  51  | Abadon           | M

  2   | Fang             | P      -=-  52  | Behemoth         | P

  3   | Skeleton         | P      -=-  53  | Iron Man         | P

  4   | Flan             | M      -=-  54  | Nova Dragon      | P

  5   | Zaghnol          | P      -=-  55  | Ozma             | M
  6   | Lizardman        | P      -=-  56  | Hades            | M

  7   | Zombie           | P      -=-  57  | Holy             | M

  8   | Bomb             | M      -=-  58  | Meteor           | M

  9   | Ironite          | P      -=-  59  | Flare            | M

  10  | Sahagin          | P      -=-  60  | Shiva            | M

  11  | Yeti             | M      -=-  61  | Ifrit            | M

  12  | Mimic            | M      -=-  62  | Ramuh            | M

  13  | Wyerd            | M      -=-  63  | Atomos           | M

  14  | Mandragora       | M      -=-  64  | Odin             | M

  15  | Crawler          | P      -=-  65  | Leviathan        | M

  16  | S. Scorpion      | P      -=-  66  | Bahamut          | M

  17  | Nymph            | M      -=-  67  | Ark              | M

  18  | Sand Golom       | P      -=-  68  | Fenrir           | M

  19  | Zuu              | P      -=-  69  | Madeen           | M

  20  | Dragonfly        | P      -=-  70  | Alexander        | M

  21  | Carrion Worm     | M      -=-  71  | Excalibur 2      | P

  22  | Cerberus         | P      -=-  72  | Ultima Weapon    | P

  23  | Antlion          | P      -=-  73  | Masamune         | P

  24  | Cactuar          | P      -=-  74  | Elixer           | M

  25  | Gimme Cat        | M      -=-  75  | Dark Matter      | M

  26  | Ragtimer         | M      -=-  76  | Ribbon           | M

  27  | Hedgehog Pie     | M      -=-  77  | Tiger Paw Racket | P

  28  | Raluimahgo       | P      -=-  78  | Save The Queen   | P

  29  | Ocho             | P      -=-  79  | Genji            | P

  30  | Troll            | P      -=-  80  | Mythril Sword    | P

  31  | Blazer Beetle    | P      -=-  81  | Blue Narciss     | P

  32  | Abomination      | P      -=-  82  | Hilde Garde 3    | P

  33  | Zemzelett        | M      -=-  83  | Invincible       | P

  34  | Stroper          | P      -=-  84  | Cargo Ship       | P

  35  | Tantarian        | M      -=-  85  | Hilda Garde 1    | P

  36  | Grand Dragon     | P      -=-  86  | Red Rose         | P

  37  | Feather Circle   | M      -=-  87  | Theater Ship     | P

  38  | Hecteyes         | M      -=-  88  | Viltgance        | P

  39  | Ogre             | P      -=-  89  | Chocobo          | P

  40  | Armstrong        | M      -=-  90  | Fat Chocobo      | P

  41  | Ash              | M      -=-  91  | Mog              | M

  42  | Wraith           | M      -=-  92  | Frog             | P

  43  | Gargoyle         | M      -=-  93  | Oglop            | P

  44  | Vepal            | M      -=-  94  | Alexandria       | P

  45  | Grimlock         | M      -=-  95  | Lindblum         | P

  46  | Tonberry         | P      -=-  96  | Twin Moons       | M

  47  | Veteran          | M      -=-  97  | Gargant          | P

  48  | Garuda           | M      -=-  98  | Namingway        | M

  49  | Malboro          | M      -=-  99  | Boko THE Chocobo | P

  50  | Mover            | M      -=-  100 | Airship          | P

  ------------------------------  -=-  ----------------------------



  Each card is awarded 0.005 points total in this FAQ, so take number of

  cards, multiply by 0.005 and round up, and that's how much of the FAQ

  version is based on the card listing.





-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=- VI.  Credits

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-



  -- I'd like to thank Drew Cosner of thegia.com for this anecdote:



     "Anyway, here it is: how the hell are you supposed to play

      Tetra Masters in FFIX? As far as I can tell, you place your

      cards on the board at random and your opponent randomly

      puts his cards down causing random cards to flip over at

      random, leading to the random card battle which is apparently

      won completely at random. In the end, one of you wins.

      At random."

                                          -- Drew Cosner.



  -- Big thanks to Ferdinand Pelayo for setting me straight on the point

     system and pointing out I needed a section on obtaining cards.



  -- A big hand to Templeton for telling me about "A" cards, and the

     note about beating "X" cards.



  -- Thanks to the entire Internet for telling me that cards can upgrade

     into "X" or "A" cards.  A big thank to almost everyone here, and

     xxxFTWxxx for cluing me in to the combo trick.



  -- Thanks to Kyvnn, DarkLordRyu, wind-x, libra22ox, fyrecrypts,

     MultiMozerg, XpacBreakinItDwn, graham.odom, IMortal^ASasin, ~Xeros89,

     and patb9 for helping me make that card list a little more complete.

  

  -- Thanks to sephiroth635 for the expanded ranking chart.



  -- Many, Many kudos go to Mr. Truong for multiple little tidbits.



  -- A round of applause to ik141 for setting me straight on the card

     stats, the really big ranking expansion, and the horrible discovery

     about the "A" cards.

  -- Many thanks  to Andrew T. Weir.  He corrected me on the math formula,
     which is sad.  But statistics were never my strong suit. ^_^

  -- And of course, a big thanks to Squaresoft who made this game annoying
     and horribly pointless, and for giving me insider information.


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=- VI.  Contact

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-



  If you want to add anything to this FAQ, either to change something

  I got wrong, or help me with the card list, feel free to use the

  contact information below.



  Trifthen

  -----------------------------------------

  Public Email : trifthen@hotmail.com

  AIM          : trifthen

  ICQ ID       : 13671332

  ICQ Nick     : trifthen

  Website      : http://www.kildosphere.com





-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=-                               The End                               -=-

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

