Quistis is a one-of-a-kind Triple Triad card in Final Fantasy VIII used to play the minigame and for turning into items with Quezacotl's Card Mod. Quistis is the hundred and fourth card in the inventory and the fifth Level 10 card. It depicts Quistis Trepe who is playable in the main party. The card is available since the start of the game and is the first Level 10 card the player can get.
As a Level 10 Player Card, Quistis has good values with a 9 and an A, which represents the value 10 for the minigame and is unbeatable without special rules. It is good to place in a middle position between two other cards. Its value placements may also be useful for games that use Same and/or Plus.
Obtain[]
The Trepies hold the Quistis card.
Quistis is held by her fan club, the Trepies. The card can be won off both the two girls in the 2F classroom, and the guy in the cafeteria. The earliest the player can get Quistis is right at the start of the game, after they have enough cards to play Triple Triad; the student outside the 2F elevator gifts Squall a starter deck. The Trepies will always remain available to challenge as long as the party can access Balamb Garden and there is no event going on (such as Graduation Ball, Balamb Garden Revolt or the Battle of the Gardens).
If the player completed the Card Club quest before the point of no return (fighting the boss atop the Lunatic Pandora), the club members will appear aboard the Ragnarok in the endgame, from whom the player can win all Level 8–10 cards they do not currently hold in their deck, even the cards they had modified before. This also allows the player to modify the Quistis card and then win it back.
Card Mod[]
The Quistis card refines into 3 Samantha Souls, which teach the SumMag+40% ability to a Guardian Force, boosting the summon's damage in battle by 40%. It is a rare item and the ability is good to have if the player is using GFs a lot, as only the late game GFs Doomtrain, Bahamut and Eden learn it natively and modding Quistis's card can be done since the start of the game. This would also allow the GFs the player gives the ability to to skip spending AP to learn SumMag abilities altogether, and go straight to the best one. However, summons' damage caps at 9999. Quistis is also the first Player Card available, and thus is much higher level than other offerings at the time, making it especially useful for the minigame itself, and thus a good card to keep. Another use for Samantha Soul is making into Triples (1:60), a top tier spell for junctions, but there are other ways to get Triples.
Physical version[]
In 1999, following the release of Final Fantasy VIII in Japan, Bandai produced a full set of collectible Triple Triad cards in Final Fantasy VIII Carddass Masters Perfect Visuals. The set was made up of the 110 cards as seen in the game along with 72 artwork cards and a collector's edition playing mat. The cards have a blue side and a red side. The cards have become a rare collector's item.