Cài Wén Jī (Lady Cai) 蔡文姬 (SP009)

Translated Description
“Extraordinary Talent 金璧之才(jīn bì zhī cái)”

Who is she?
If you ask me who was the most beautiful lady during the whole Three Kingdoms era, I really can't name one. The beautiful ladies always leave their names in history (just like Da Qiao 大乔, Xiao Qiao 小乔, Diao Chan 貂蝉). But if you ask me who was the most talented lady at the time, I am sure that must be Lady Cai, who is also called Cai Wen Ji 蔡文姬 in history. The proof is that she did not only leave her family name but also her first name (蔡琰Cài Yǎn) in the history books. In ancient China, that was a special honor reserved for only the smartest of ladies such as Zhen Ji 甄姬 (whose real name was 甄宓Zhen Mi), and Huang Yue Ying 黄月英. Lady Cai was a poet, a composer and was famous for her incredible memory in literature. Want to know more about her? Just check out the previous write up!

Why is she an SP character?
Technically speaking, Lady Cai is indebted to Cao Cao 曹操. Though she was born in a noble family, she spent 12 years as a prisoner under the Huns, until Cao Cao paid a heavy sum for her freedom. In  return, she worked for Cao Cao and his Wei Kingdom. This special experience was really tragic, and also made her a special female character, both in history and SGS game. I guess the game-makers wanted to give her a sense of loyalty to her benefactor, thus this Wei version as the SP character.

Character ability1: “Dirge 悲歌 (bēi gē)”
Every instance a player suffers damage from an ATTACK, you can discard a card (on-hand or equipped), and the player who suffered the damage flips a judgement card.

If the judgement is “hearts”, the victim regains 1 unit of health.
If the judgement is “diamonds”, the victim draws 2 cards.
If the judgement is “clubs”, the attacker discards 2 cards.
If the judgement is “spades”, the attacker flips his/her character card over.

Character ability2: “Sorrow 断肠(duàn cháng)” [Enforced ability] 
The player who kills you loses all of his/her character abilities until the end of the game.

Additional info based on changes:
Nothing much has changed except her portrait (and the allegiance). It’s probably just due to the unpleasant players’ reviews about the original portrait. The original was indeed quite scary, yet according to history, Lady Cai was a beautiful woman. This version presents that quite well but the sorrow on her face has gone. Anyway, for the readers out there, which one do you prefer?

Ricky: Actually I prefer the old portrait, which had that abandoned vagabond psycho-killer look. The old version reminds me of The White-Haired Demon 白发魔女 while this new version looks like she's totally decked out from a shopping spree.

Wiki Links:
- Cai Wen Ji Wiki

How to obtain this character?
She is not available on SGS online so far. For obtaining a card, purchase ZYZ magazine
issue #10 (October 2011).

Contributing Writer:
- Cherry Cat