Gayla is a Triple Triad card in Final Fantasy VIII used to play the minigame and for turning into items with Quezacotl's Card Mod. Gayla is the sixth card in the inventory, a basic Level 1 Monster Card. It is one of the more useful cards to collect in the early game for card modding.
Being a Level 1 card, Gayla's card values are not strong, but it has two 4s at the bottom. Its value placement may also be useful for games that use Same and/or Plus. It is one of the early cards to have an elemental value, though the player won't be playing with Elemental until they optionally return to Dollet, or until they get to Fishermans Horizon, unless they pay a lot of money to the Queen of Cards. Gayla is lightning-elemental, gaining +1 to its values when placed on a tile with a matching lightning bolt symbol when the Elemental rule is in play. The +1 does not affect Same or Plus calculations, but will affect Combo.
Obtain[]
The Gayla monster has a 3.5% chance to drop the card. Using the Card command on a Gayla has a 93.7% chance to procure a Gayla card when it succeeds.
Any AI Triple Triad player who uses Level 1 cards has a chance of using Gayla in a play, from where the player can win it in a card match.
The man in the 2F elevator hall in Balamb Garden at the very start of the game, right after Squall meets Selphie, gives Squall a starter Triple Triad deck when spoken to. Gayla is part of the starter deck.
Card Mod[]
One Gayla card refines into a Mystery Fluid with Quezacotl's Card Mod ability. Mystery Fluids are one of the more useful items to procure early in the game. One can be used to teach Quistis Acid, but their most notable property is that they can be turned into Meltdowns (ST Mag-RF), one of the best spells in the game for use in boss battles and for junctioning to Vitality. When playing Triple Triad in the early game, it is best to take all Gayla cards the player can get for refining purposes.
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.