Zell 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. Zell is the hundred and sixth card in the inventory and the seventh Level 10 card. It depicts Zell Dincht who is playable in the main party. It is one of the early Level 10 cards the party can get.
As a Level 10 Player Card, Zell has good values with an A, which represents the value 10 for the minigame and is unbeatable without special rules. Its value placements may also be useful for games that use Same and/or Plus.
Obtain[]
Ma Dincht has Zell's card.
Zell's card is held by Ma Dincht in Balamb Town, who plays with the Balamb region rules. She lives on the second house on the main street. The earliest she can be played is when returning to Balamb Garden from the SeeD field exam. The player must first enter and exit the house before entering again, and have Zell in the party, to play her. Though she holds Zell's card, it may take numerous tries for her to use it in a hand, as she tends to use her rare card much more seldomly than the previous rare card holders the party may have challenged. Zell's card is the fourth rare card the player can get after MiniMog, Quistis and Ifrit.
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 Zell card and then win it back.
Card Mod[]
The Zell card refines into 3 Hyper Wrists, which teach the Str+60% ability to a Guardian Force. This is a very good ability, and only the late game GF Bahamut learns it natively. Having Str+60% is also beneficial early on before the party has the best spells and perhaps some stat boosting with Bonus abilities under their belt and the best weapons, when they will likely hit the cap with Str+40% already. However, Zell being an early card to get makes it useful for the minigame itself.
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.