Seifer 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. Seifer is the hundred and ninth card in the inventory and the tenth Level 10 card. It depicts Seifer Almasy who is temporarily playable. The card values are a mirror of Squall's card.
As a Level 10 Player Card, Seifer has great values with a 9 and an A, which represents the value 10 for the minigame and is unbeatable without special rules. It is excellent for capturing a corner position. It may also be useful for games that use Same and/or Plus.
Obtain[]
Cid holds Seifer's card.
Headmaster Cid holds Seifer's card, but there are only small windows of opportunity to challenge him until later into the game. The earliest the player can get Seifer's card is after the Timber mission briefing; exiting Balamb Garden and returning, Cid is found in his office in 3F, and can be challenged. Later on, after Balamb Garden crashes into Fishermans Horizon, Cid summons Squall and the player can play him before heading into town; after progressing the game, Cid will disappear from Balamb Garden. When in Balamb Garden, he plays with the Balamb region rules, meaning it is preferable to win Seifer off him in either if these two times.
Cid is next found at Edea's House where he will remain available to challenge until the player can no longer return to the normal world map. He now plays with Centra region rules, which has Same, Plus, and Random by default. It is best to spread Open to the area from Balamb or another region, or get the Queen of Cards to Winhill and then pay her to spread Open to Centra, as dealing with the Same and Plus without Open is hard as the opponent can still "see" the player's hand and set up "traps" for them. The CPU will always go for a Same/Plus if it can, even if doing so lets the player counterattack and turn the tables with a Combo, so that is one strategy to look out for when playing Cid at Edea's House. One can use "Rule Manipulation" to keep the contest as simple as possible.
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 Seifer card and then win it back.
Card Mod[]
The Seifer card refines into 3 Diamond Armors, which teach the GFHP+40% ability to a Guardian Force. This ability is not very useful, as the player will likely not be summoning much after the beginning of the game, and GFs regain health by simply walking around the field and so the damage they take is not so relevant, unless they KO. Seifer is also an excellent card for the minigame itself and likely the player's best card for a long time if they get it at the earliest opportunity.
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.