Also brief explanation:
>50 card deck
>draw 2 cards per turn, the game is meant to simulate a fast battle in the field so best of 3 is the norm
>can only have a max number of cards in your hand, 5 or 7 id have to check, any more at the turn are discarded to the break zone (graveyard)
>goal is to directly attack your opponent by getting rid of all their offensive characters called forwards, with backup characters that provide effects and utility
>when you damage your opponent they take the top card from the deck and put it in a sideways list on the mat called the damage zone. 7 direct hits and you dead nigga
>But some cards have EX on them so if you hit your opponent and the damage card they draw is an EX card it does an EX burst which means they take the damage but the cards effect goes off. Most summons are EX cards so they pull something like Leviathan that returns all your opponents forwards to their hand and its like doing damage but to a massive detriment yourself.
>Cards are summoned by crystal power or CP. There are elements tied to this. A 6 in a red crystal means a card needs 6 fire cp to summon. You get CP by tapping/dulling a backup of that element for 1 or discarding a card of that element for 2. backups are the longterm value but early or in a pinch costing a card to burn for 2 CP can be a legup in the right moment.
>Forwards have one value like 7000 power. Its the damage they do and their health. at the end of each turn if they didnt die in combat the number returns to max. So if one guy has a 9000 character and you have a 3000 and a 5000 you both attack and take it down to 1000 but it survives so next turn the damage wipes
>You can party cards of the same type to overcome some stuff like having a 3000 red xiiii, 5000 tifa and 7000 cloud makes a party with a value of 15,000 that can stomp any individual. But they are now one unit. the party wipes adn they all die so partying up is a gamble
>cards can have attributes like brave where they dont tap/dull after attacking and can go again the next turn without a rest period, haste means in a 1v1 they always hit first and so on.
>Some cards have a 3 card icon by their name so you can have multiple on the field at the same time eg the tactics generic troops while ramza does not so only one ramza can exist at a time but you can still have 3 in your deck.
>Named cards but not jobs often have a signature move on top of their regular ability. These require discarding a card of the same name and often tapping/dulling some backups for CP as well and are ridiculously powerful. For example a light element cloud from Opus 1 has Climhazzard which basically one shots one opponent forward garantueed. The trick here is the name needs to be the same, not the card. Right now there are around 4 clouds for example. The started deck for 7 has a super expensive fire cloud and a cheap light cloud with climhazzard. So you use a searcher like jessie that searches for ff7 cards to put the fire one in your hand, summon the cheaper light one and spend the expensive one for climhazzard. killing your enemy for far less than it would cost to play the more expensive card of the same name but different in every other way
>Opus 4 also added monsters. traditional FF mobs like tonberries, cactaur, bombs and so on that to begin with have nothing but for a second cost can become very good forwards or temp summons for an additional cost with new chracters from new archetypes like crystal chronicles having human characters be 'monster masters' that summon extra monsters and buff them so it costs more in the short term but you get more spell effects at the cost of less direct damage dealers.
Those are the basics of the top of my head. Its actually super fun and sanic speed but not that well known because SE doesnt market it much.