With Gen Con now in the rear view mirror (sadly) it is time to begin looking forward to the future. After having a lot of internal discussion with what we want the future of The Late Night Players to be about and the direction we want to take our content in, we thought it would be fun to kick off this soft relaunch with a subscriber drive and giveaway.
What exactly are we planning on doing, you ask? Well we’ve put together some amazing giveaways that are either from our own personal vault or provided to us from some amazing publishers. We haven’t decided yet if it is all going to be one massive grand prize or if we’ll select a bunch of different winners. That will all depend on how much participation we get from all of you!
Before getting into the details of how to enter, let’s look at our first inclusion into the giveaway- a complete set of the Gen Con 2022 My Hero Academia promo cards!
Plus Ultra!
The fine folks at Jasco Games hooked us up with this set at Gen Con. They were more than happy to help us bring some great goodies to our audience, especially those who couldn’t make it to Gen Con themselves.
So how do you get the chance to add these beautiful foils to your personal collection? To borrow a catchphrase from one of our editor’s favorite web-series: It’s super easy, barely an inconvenience.
Simply visit all of our social media locations (listed below for your browsing pleasure) and give them a Like, Follow, or Subscribe. Each one gets you entered into the drawing, so you’ll have multiple entries if you’re so inclined to follow multiple sources! Current followers/subscribers on any/all of these platforms are already entered.
Another way to enter is by supporting us on Patreon. Yes, we know that that is such an annoying thing to do. However, 100% of all proceeds from that account get put directly back into the content we are trying to produce. We have lots of big plans for the future and the funds just help us get to that future a little faster (like getting new recording equipment). That being said, we are committed to never put anything whatsoever behind a paywall. The Patreon will eventually have some special perks as our way of saying thank you (like custom tokens) for those that are in a position to go that extra step with us, but all articles, videos and the like will be available for everyone. No one gets left behind in our gaming group!
If you would care to check that out (there really isn’t anything there since this is all a relaunch), head over to The Late Night Players Patreon.
Since this is a summer time drive, we’ll let the hype train for the goodies run until the end of September. The last day of summer in North America is September 22nd, but we’ll just let it ride out the full month of September and draw the name of the lucky winner(s) on or around October 1st.
To our long-time readers, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for sticking it out with us over this last year as we adjusted to new things happening in real life that has kept us away from the tables. To all of the new readers who may be discovering us for the first time, we hope you’ll like what you see and have a seat at the table long after the subscriber drive giveaways are done.
Check back through out the week as we announce new additions to the giveaways!
Until next time, keep your dice warm and happy gaming!
Sorry this one is a little late. There wasn’t much in terms of new information from this past Friday’s “The Joffice: Live!“.
They had the crew of Top Deck Heroes from Rochester CCG on as special guests to talk about their upcoming event. And amidst some minor technical difficulties, the information relayed this week for the My Hero Academia: Collectible Card Game is as follows:
Release Date: They keep getting asked but they can only state a “Release Window” for September 2021.
Website and ‘Learn to Play’ Content: The website is coming along, as are the “Learn to Play” videos. There are several features of the new website that they are excited to share but they are not ready at this time.
Future News and Information: The official website (when it launches) and the official Facebook page will be the places to find any and all news and releases when things get going. The weekly streams are merely once a week, and once things start rolling out, it will be a steady flow of information. However, things are still needing approval from the licenser, so that will come in time.
How Much Product is Too Much Product: The conversation was brought up in the stream about how much product should a player buy. The general answer was simply “Yes.” That being said, a case of MHA:CCG consists of 6 sealed booster boxes. The guys from Rochester CCG agreed that a case would be a smart investment for players looking to get into high end competitive play. There was also the question of how many Rival Decks will be needed for a complete playset. Like previous Turbo Decks, the Rival Decks include a few cards that you only get a singular copy of. For a complete playset, a player would need 4 decks. However, all cards in the Rival Decks can be in the Extra Rare slot in the boosters, so it is still possible to get a complete playset eventually by simply opening packs.
Note: Rival Decks include 2 randomly inserted Ultra Rare cards. Some hobby stores are preording the Rival Decks for $23.99, so you would get 8 Ultra Rares for the price of a booster box ($95.96) and end up with 2 extra (sealed boxes have an average of 6). While you’d end up with a lot of bulk extra, there is value there.
Possible Nationals by the End of 2021: Jason mentioned there were very early, early plans to possibly have a US Nationals by the year’s end. They couldn’t confirm if the plans were for a MHA:CCG exclusive event or if it would be UniVersus Standard, but did mention that it would possibly be held at a convention of some sort (possibly due to their obligations with Asmodee and/or Funimation).
Note: Pure speculation on our part, but the big possibilities for conventions in the October to December range include Origins (Ohio), C2E2 (Chicago), and New York Comic Con (New York).
(Not-So-New) Card Preview: Finally, we received a glimpse of previously revealed cards in their official new frames. The cards were the Bakugo Character card and the “Passing the Torch” Foundation. It was stated that the non-foil Character cards in the set (of which we are sure there are plenty) can be found in the Extra Rare slot as foils, again increasing the value on the option of buying sealed boxes. Humorously, “Passing the Torch” was originally called “Eat This”.
Our apologies for the quality, they are screen shots from the FB stream.
And that wraps up the My Hero Academia: Collectible Card Game news roundup. What do you all think? Are you itching to go Plus Ultra in two short months? Which Hero (or Villain) are you going to build first? Sound off in the comments below.
As always, until next time, keep your dice warm and happy gaming!
It was mentioned originally at Gen Con Live 2020 that Jasco was the master license holder for My Hero Academia when it comes to table top games. In the most recent episode of the Joffice, they said they were excited to announced other MHA related game projects beyond the collectible card game in 2022.
We want to real quickly share our theory on what one of the game could possibly be.
On April 3rd, we responded to a Facebook post with this theory for the first time. On the unofficial Marvel Crisis Protocol Facebook page, a player asked when the MHA crossover would happen because the Deadpool: Samurai manga had just released its latest chapter that featured an official cameo by All Might from My Hero Academia. My response was as follows:
Note: We went back to find the exact time stamps of the mention of Marvel Crisis Protocol during the various live streams, however there roughly 20 hours of Gen Con Live coverage and hundreds of hours more recorded since then. While we distinctly remember them mentioning it, we do want to clarify that that is a portion of the theory we cannot 100% validate any longer without combing through all of that footage once again.
We’ve since shared the theory with other players of Marvel Crisis Protocol and some have expressed interest, while others have stressed the general nature of Shonen manga/anime would make it impossible to adapt into a miniatures game. The heroes and villains are constantly evolving, receiving power ups (some times at alarming rates), so how would that translate into a static medium like miniature games?
The easiest solution, at least in terms of MHA, is to follows Jasco’s formula for the card game and release the miniatures in waves based on seasons. The first year of the game would be Season 1 with a starter set (like Marvel Crisis Protocol) that features a selection of Heroes and Villains and then additional models through out the year. Repeat the process with the following season/year. Though, it should be noted that Marvel Crisis Protocol is about to into its third year with only one starter released so far.
The other solution, and the one less likely to be taken, would be to do the first year based on Season 1 but then released card packs, either physical or digital that represent the characters’ evolutions. So far, with Marvel Crisis Protocol, Atomic Mass Games has optioned to release new versions of the models (first one was a new Black Widow, then the recent Amazing Spider-Man) as opposed to updated cards. This works fine for comic book characters who have major changes over time and they want to showcase as different versions. Outside of some slight costume variations, manga characters don’t tend to physically change appearances unless they are the main characters. So a singular model for a character with various stat cards would be perfect.
Ultimately, this is a pipe dream and one that could very well never see the light of day no matter how well the puzzle pieces fall into place. However, if any other IP was tailored made for the Crisis Protocol rule set, My Hero Academia is it.
What do you all think? Are we on to something with this idea or are we just setting ourselves up for disappointment? Let us know in the comments below.
As always, until next time, keep your dice warm and happy gaming!
Jasco Games offered a small My Hero Academia: Collectible Card Game update on their July 2nd edition of the “The Joffice: Live!”.
Release Date:
The release window is still “September 2021”. The exact release date can not be confirmed until manufacturing and shipping have been 100% confirmed and Asmodee gives the ok. Manufacturing has no current hold ups, but shipping is an issue world wide. Shipping containers have been acquired ahead of time and logistics have begun to help ensure the release window. However, there are no guarantees with everything that is happening.
Printing and Supply:
The game has had two print runs completed for the first wave, with a third printing about to take place. Speculation is that MHA:CCG has a larger print volume than some of the leading competitors.
Due to a world-wide paper shortage, a lot of trading card games are having issues getting their regular print materials. MHA:CCG will be printed on the standard Japanese tcg paper as opposed to the normal UniVersus card material, similar to those printed by Bandai.
Hobby stores are the top priority for Jasco with the launch of MHA:CCG. Mass retail stores will not receive product until February/March of 2022.
While not official, there are multiple languages being discussed, starting with Spanish and then moving to German, Italian and French.
Per their agreement with Asmodee, retailers will only be able order MHA:CCG product through Asmodee and their distributors. All other UniVersus sets are still ordered through Jasco.
Organized Play:
They teased a quick glimpse of the proof copy for organized play posters that will be included in hobby stores’ Plus Ultra tournament kits. The posters feature a spot for stores to write out their event dates and times, a visual of a selection of the Plus Ultra-exclusive cards and the Plus Ultra tournament packs, and an advertisement for the first wave of My Hero Academia themed sleeves.
Pictures from the July 2, 2021 edition of ‘Joffice: Live!’
There are a limited number of tournament kits available. They did print as many as they could, but the game’s popularity continues to exceed expectations.
Miscellaneous:
They showed off the new acrylic displays for the MHA:CCG and UniVersus booster boxes. These can be purchased through Asmodee via one of two different tier levels. The previous displays held four boxes with graphics as they were for the Turbo Format of UniVersus. The Turbo format recognized the latest four printed sets as legal as opposed to the latest ten in Standard.
Pictures from the July 2, 2021 edition of ‘Joffice: Live!’
Tim trolled the chat with a look at the booster box proof copies- plain white boxes they are using for sizing the acrylic displays!
New demo decks are on their way and will be distributed via Asmodee internationally. The current, non-legal demo decks are still available and are being included with any orders made through the Jasco webstore.
Jason mentioned at the top of the episode that they have some games planned for the My Hero Academia license outside of the collectible card game planned for 2022, following the launch of the ccg. We have our guess as to what one of the games could possibly, possibly be (if you’re curious as to our guess, click here).
And that is it for the MHA:CCC portion of the Joffice. We’re slowly inching towards that September release of the game and hopefully we’ll be able to see previews soon. As always, whenever the slightest big of MHA:CCG news drops, we’ll be there to cover it!
As always, until next time, keep your dice warm and happy gaming!
Did you know there is a My Hero Academia card game coming out?
If you’ve been following our blog or chatted with us on any of the various platforms, you know that it has been our most anticipated game release in the last couple of years. We’ve been asked on multiple occasions about the game and the UniVersus game system, so we thought we’d try to talk about it today.
Since being announced in July of 2019, the My Hero Academia: Collectible Card Game has been one of the most talked about game launches in recent memory for any card game. However, the unfortunate events of 2020 led to a delay in the game and scarce details as Jasco took the delay as a chance to retool some things, which led to the need for new approvals, in the hopes of launching the best possible game they could. However, we are finally reaching a point in which information is slowly leaking out before the tidal wave hits us as we get closer to the game’s September 2021 release window.
This has led customers and retailers asking two simple questions- What is the My Hero Academia: Collectible Card Game and how do I get started?
While we don’t have the super specifics of the game just yet, we think we have enough information to be able to help answer these questions and guide you on your journey into the My Hero Academia: Collectible Card Game and the UniVersus system as a whole!
So before we get into the question of what or how, we have to start with where the game is coming from!
UniVerses (Formally UFS)
The entire core of the My Hero Academia: Collectible Card Game (from here on referred to as simply MHA:CCG) is based on the fantastic trading card game called UniVersus. Formally known as UFS (or Universal Fight System), UniVersus is a fast paced, collectible card game featuring multiple IPs from video games and anime that utilizes a core rule system and mechanics that mirrors a classic fighting video game like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. Both UFS and UniVersus are fully compatible.
Players select a fighter from the property of their choice and construct a 60-card deck to battle 1-on-1 with their friends, frenemies and rivals. A Standard Legal deck can consist of any cards from the last 10 in-print sets, so long as the cards match the selected fighter’s Resource Symbols listed on their card. For ease of learning the game, players can pick only one of the three Resource Symbols and make sure that all of the cards contain that one symbol.
We had to use our two favorites as an example.
Gameplay is done over the course of several rounds, with players either attacking or defending. Whenever a player plays a card, they have to perform a Control Check. For each card played prior to the current card, the difficulty is raised. This simulates the difficulty it takes to pull off harder and more complicated combos in a video games. Blocking is very similar, and both use a High, Medium, or Low mechanic to determine the full or partial success of either.
We’ll be going into game play more in-depth in the coming weeks as we plan on making some beginner’s guides and videos. The game itself is so easy to learn, but a challenge to master. It is definitely a fun challenge, though.
Now onto the newest set…
My Hero Academia: Collectible Card Game: What Is It?
The MHA:CCG was announced in July of 2019 and was supposed to be the big relaunched of the UFS system into UniVersus. As stated above, that didn’t work out as planned. While we awaited the game, Jasco Games did release six DLC (Deck-Loadable Content) packs in 2020, featuring: Cowboy Bebop, two for Soul Calibur VI, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and Zenescope’s Grimm Fairy Tales. These cards all featured the new card backs for UniVersus and the updated frames.
While information has been sporadic, we have gathered all the information we have been able to piece together from Gen Con 2020, various live streams, and the official MHA:CCG channels. NOTE: All of this is information available up until the time of this writing’s publication. The state of the world is in constant flux and it should go without saying that this is subject to change.
Lets dive in!
The MHA:CCG is the latest expansion into UniVersus that features Class-1A of the prestigious U.A. High School, Pro Heroes, and Villains, as well as their Quirks and iconic moments from the hit anime My Hero Academia. The game will launch in series/waves, with a minimum of four currently planned. Each series/wave will launch with a booster box expansion, DLC pack, Quirk Pack, Plus Ultra Pack, Tournament Pack, and Accessories.
The inaugural series is due with a release window of September 2021, with a new series launching roughly every four months. The first wave consists of the following products:
Series/Wave 1 slide from their live stream at Gen Con Online 2020
From our coverage of these reveals at Gen Con Onlinelast year:
“Starting with the top left, we have:
Izuku Midoriya vs. Katsuki Bakugo 2-Player Rival Deck: These include two complete decks themed to either Deku (Midoriya) or Bakugo. In traditional fashion with their 2-Player Turbo Deck, each deck is predertimed with Rival Deck exclusive cards and 1 randomly inserted Ultra Rare from the main booster set. These offer new players a fantastic way to learn the game as well as possibly get some legit value starting out (my Cowboy Bebop 2-Player Turbo Deck included a $15 Ultra Rare).
Next to that in the same row, we have the My Hero Academia: Collectible Card Game DLC pack. DLC, or Deck Loadable Content, are a new product they launched this year. Each pack includes once copy of 4 different fighters, and two copies of an Attack and a Foundation for that character, for a total of 20 cards. These offer a great way for players to get new content for existing sets that do not have a full booster set in the release schedule.
Then we have a look at the first three officially licensed My Hero Academia playmats. These just look absolutely gorgeous (we have a closer look at them further down the article).
On the bottom, we have the box art for the first set. We’ve been told that there may or may not be hints at who we can expect to see in the set on the box. Though we have also been told that the first box focuses on the first season of the anime, so that will be a bigger clue of what to expect I think. Booster boxes include a box topper and every booster pack has 1 point printed on them for their redemption program.
And finally, we have the first three officially licensed card sleeves from DragonShield. These are gorgeous and each set gets better than the previous (again, a closer look towards the bottom).”
Since then, we have gotten the following updates:
The first booster set will feature 144 cards, with the cards spread across 5 different rarities (Common, Uncommon, Rare, Ultra Rare, and Secret Rare). Booster packs will contain 10 cards (6 Common, 3 Uncommon, and 1 Rare or higher), with 1 Uncommon slot card having the potential to be a full art Xtra Rare. Booster boxes will include 24 packs, a special box topper, and 2 Quirk Packs. On average, past UniVersus sets have had around 6 Ultra Rare cards per box. The new Xtra Rares have a chance of increasing the possibly Ultra Rare outcome to 11 per box!
The Quirk Packs in every box every box will contain 1 of 5 cards. These cards are foil and found exclusively in these packs. While we don’t know what they do as of yet, the names are: All Might (True Form), Amphibious Ambush, Capture Evil-Doers, Kamui Woods, and Villains Defeated. So we know that there are two of the set’s massive 35 character line up are exclusive to Quirk Packs!
Next up, the Deck-Loadable Content packs will include 24 exclusive foil cards. You will get 4 different characters and 2 copies of 2 different signature cards (an Attack and a Foundation) or the characters. This means for a playset of the signature cards, you will need to purchase two copies of the DLC pack. The characters in the pack are All Might, Ochaco Uraraka, Teny Iida, and Tsuyu Asui.
Finally the Izuku Midoriya vs. Katsuki Bakugo 2-Player Rival Deck will include two 51-card decks and 2 random Ultra Rare cards. As mention previously, these decks will include the first ever “How To Play” guide they’ve done, and the cards will have Reminder text on them. The cards found in the Rival Decks can be found as Xtra Rares in the booster boxes, without the Reminder text.
Additionally, they have given an update to Organized Play as well. The tournament exclusive cards will be divided into two types: Plus Ultra Packs and Tournament Packs. Plus Ultra Packs will be found at your local stores. There will be 12 cards exclusive to these, including 5 characters – All Might, Mt. Lady, Mina Ashido, Mezo Shoji, and Mashirao Ojiro. There has been mentioned of Victory Packs and Sensei Packs to be given to the winner of these events and those running them that are supposed to be the same cards but with different art. That hasn’t been completely touched on but I’m sure we’ll know something as soon as Organized Play begins to start up again.
The Tournament Packs will be exclusive to major events and online events held by Jasco Games themselves. Exactly how many cards will be featured, we do not know. We do know that there will be 4 characters exclusive to the Tournament Packs- Kurogiri, Midnight, Present Mic, and Toru Hagakure.
Also, like the sets themselves, each Quirk Pack, Plus Ultra Pack, and Tournament Pack is series/wave exclusive. You will have roughly 4 months to acquire everything before they are gone for good. Possibly, but more on that later.
When it comes to the game and its compatibly with UniVersus as a whole, MHA:CCG will be be a completely stand alone format free of some of UniVersus’s more competitive rules for ease of entry for new players. We went over the proposed rule changes back in January, but a quick break down is as follows:
If you would like a break down of what this means in greater detail, follow our link here.
Aside from its own format, the MHA:CCG will be 100% fully compatible with both the Standard and Retro formats of UniVersus. The Standard format allows for any of the last 10 printed booster sets to be legal, and Retro allows for any set Jasco Games has printed to be legal (Jasco Games began publishing the game in 2010, prior sets were released by Sabertooth Games/Fantasy Flight Games). Both formats have their respective Banned/Restricted lists.
My Hero Academia: Collectible Card Game: How Do I Get Started?
Now that we’ve covered what is about to come out in the near future, the question left to ask is how do you get started in the game? There are two possible answers depending on rather you are just interested in the MHA:CCG or UniVersus as a whole.
If you are wanting to play MHA:CCG exclusively, a fun way to begin would be to acquire one of the MHA:CCG demo decks they released at Gen Con 2019. They feature Deku and Bakugo, and give a nice feel for the game. They have been announced to no longer be legal in any official event due to some art and name changes, but they still are completely functional decks. They mentioned recently that they had received the test prints for the updated demo decks and will hopefully be getting those out as soon as possible.
Some stores are still taking preorders on the first Series/Wave of product due out in September. We would recommend, at the very least, the Rival Deck, a booster box, and two copies of the DLC pack. The 2-Player Rival Deck will be the only way to get Deku and Bakugo, and the the random Ultra Rare cards had incredible value to the decks. With a sealed box, you will have access to a wider range of characters to choose from, not to mention the two Quirk pack exclusives. Finally, the DLC packs are the only way to get those versions of the 4 characters and their cards. Two of them will also get you a play set of all of the included Attacks and Foundations.
If you are curious about UniVersus as a whole, there are multiple ways to jump right in.
Over at Drive Thru Cards, Jasco Games has a 2-player Intro deck pack featuring Kaden and Reese from Red Horizon. Currently the two decks are on sale for only $5.40 (at the time of this writing)!
Currently in Standard rotation, there are three 2-Player Turbo Decks (think of them as the original RivalDecks). For Cowboy Bebop it is Spike vs Vicious; for Street Fighter it is Ryu vs Chun-Li; and for Mortal Kombat X it is Sub-Zero vs Scorpion. All three of the decks include exclusive cards and two random Ultra Rares from their respective sets.
This one includes an exclusive version of Spike and is the only way to get Vicious
Sticking to Standard would be the easiest way for players to get into the game as the card pool is much smaller than going into Retro, so it can be far less intimating to learn the rules and all the various interactions. As we mentioned previously, the oldest set in the Standard rotation is Megaman: Battle for Power and will drop off in September when MHA:CCG releases. The most recent sets of Soul Calibur VI: Lost Libra of Souls, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Seventh Cross give players a nice mix of content between traditional fighting game IPs the game has become famous for and their newer venture into other IPs like anime.
Both the Cowboy Bebop and Mortal Kombat X boost boxes are currently sold out on Jasco Games’ website, but a quick search online showed some store still have limited supply. Rochester CCG and Legendary Wolf Games seem to be two of the gold standards for the UniVersus secondary market and community, and they have both in-stock at the time of this writing. Of course, check with your local friendly game store as well to see if they have any of them available either.
Something that Jasco Games does that we absolutely love is their Redemption program. Every booster pack of UniVersus features a little skull icon, marking the pack as worth 1 Redemption point (making every booster box worth 24 points). Players can keep their empty packs and mail them in to redeem various promo cards, foil cards, and embroidered playmats. We mentioned earlier that the only way to the MHA:CCG promos were through the various events. While it isn’t confirmed 100% yet, those hard to get promos may very well end up on the Redemption page as well.
More so, Jasco Games recently offered an extension to the program to cover any Standard legal Rare and Ultra Rare cards that would be banned. Unlike some games in which a broken card is banned and you instantly lose value on the card, they will allow Rares to be traded in for 20 Redemption points and Ultra Rares for 50 Redemption points. Of course, there is always the possibility the cards could be unbanned or errata’d in the future, but the option is there for players and collectors alike.
That was a lot of information to go over! Obviously there is so much more to be considered when getting into either the MHA:CCG or UniVersus in general. We’ll be bringing more coverage to both sides of this fantastic card game in the future, including our picks for character selection, how the various Resource symbols effect deck construction and play style, and competitive play. Of course, as preview season kicks off, we’ll be commenting on all the sure-to-be-amazing card reveals.
We hope you have found all of this, or at least some of it, remotely helpful as you begin to jump into this fantastic game. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below and we’ll be happy to answer them the best we can!
Jasco hosted another of their weekly “The Joffice: Live!” yesterday and offered a few tidbits into the status of the upcoming My Hero Academia: Collectible Card Game (September cannot get here soon enough!). We’ve linked back to the video for anyone who wants to watch it in full, but we’ve included the break down below!
Release Date:
As they have previously discussed, the release date cannot be more specific than “September 2021” at this point. They do not want to give a firm date until they have been notified the cards are on a ship and heading out. Given the current state of the world and how much shipping and production is backed up, they don’t want to make any promises. Jason (Jasco’s owner) talked about wanting to make sure that he has back up plans for his back up plans.
They did mention that production is up as the orders have been constantly coming in and they have had to do more and more print runs. Currently, their primary printer is in Japan, but are looking to secure both a US and Singapore printer to have multiple printers working on the print runs.
Demo Decks:
They discussed that the samples for the new demo decks were in. As they mentioned in a previous stream, the original decks from Gen Con 2019 will not be legal in any sort of tournament or standard play. They explained today that that is because they had short term approval to produce the original decks and that, through the longer formal approval process, changes to art and names had to be made to some of the cards. Bakugo’s demo deck was said to have required the most edits and changes.
They showed a few of the demo deck cards, noting that there were some changes. The Bakugo character card has a slightly different background and a more aggressive looking artwork. The other cards have look to put them inline with the cards from the booster set, though the Extra Rare versions will have the extended art.
Note: Sorry the pictures are a little blurry. Those were the clearest shots we could screen grab.
2-Player Rival Decks:
They chatted about the 2-Player Rival Decks for a little bit, mainly discussing that it will include the first ever “How To Play” guide for the game.
The 24-page booklet is in full color and is illustrated to walk new players through using their Rival decks. The booklet will have a quick reference page on the back of the guide, with page numbers for ease of use. The guide will also have a QR code that will link players to the main rules page for the game, that will have all the erratas, expanded rules, and even “Learn to Play” videos.
In the upcoming weeks, they will release one page of the upcoming “Learn to Play” guide with each corresponding video released to help new players learn the game at their own pace.
Spoilers…
Reminder Text:
The game will include reminder text for keywords and generic abilities. The text will be included on the cards in the 2-Player Rival Decks, Commons, and some Uncommons. They wanted to limit the reminder text to mechanics within the game that can be difficult to remember without constantly reaching for a glossary, such as Deadlock and Throw.
The reminder text will be removed from the Extra Rare versions of those cards to keep the full art and foil looking clean and pristine.
New Website:
They have been working on a new website for the My Hero Academia: Collectible Card Game over the last couple of months. They have “hundreds of pages” already prepared to launch. They say that every character will have a bio page, explaining their anime lore and quirk, as well as break downs of their featured cards and deck building strategies.
___
To us, it sounds like things are ramping up to be an electrifying release. Yes, the game has been delayed and the lack of details talked about ad nauseam, but we think that is all about to change. They are finally getting to a point where they are able to share what they can, when they can.
If the September release window holds true, we’re just three months and some change out from what could be one of the most amazing expansion releases for any card game in recent memory.
What do you all think? Are you ready to go Plus Ultra on the table top this September? Or have you given into the League of Villains and are sitting this one out? Let us know in the comments below.
As always, until next time, keep your dice warm and happy gaming.
On the January 22nd edition of The Joffice: Live! (Jasco Games’ weekly live stream to the community), we were given a bit of a look into the future of the My Hero Academia-exclusive format for UniVersus.
Before we get into that, a huge shout out and thanks to Tim who organizes and hosts the weekly stream. We know that being asked the same questions over and over on a weekly basis can’t be that fun. So we appreciate the work that goes into this every week, and the transparency the company as a whole provides its community. It is something that we wish other companies would try to emulate.
But we digress. Onto the My Hero Academia information!
First, no release date at this time. It sounds like a few more details are needing to be ironed out before the date can be officially hammered home.
Now, the format details:
Deck Construction:
Decks will be the Character + a 50-card minimum deck. The format will still restrict the stand 4-copy limit on cards (unless otherwise noted). Cycling will still remain at 10 cards.
Note: For those that aren’t familiar with the game, in UniVersus, whenever a player would need to draw a card but cannot, they shuffle their discard pile to form a new deck. Before drawing, they remove the top 10 cards of their deck from the game. If a player should ever run out of cards when cycling, they automatically lose.
Side Deck:
The My Hero Academia format will utilize a 10-card side deck. Players my use a side deck consisting of 0 to 10 cards.
Note: Earlier in the stream, during some general updates for Standard/Retro, Tim announced that this new side deck rule would be in all formats of UniVerses going forward.
No Diversity Rule In MHA:
Standard UniVersus events (formly UFS) have previously used a Diversity rule. To more easily explain what that is, we have added the Diversity rule section from the UniVersus Tournament Policy 1.1 document:
“3.4 Diversity
When cutting to single elimination, only one player per character card and version will make top cuts. If a player is eliminated through diversity, next runner up will take the lowest spot in the cut. In the event there are two or more players in the cut playing that same character card, then apply the following criteria:
• If players sharing the same character diversified have different scores at the end of Swiss rounds, the player(s) with the lower score will be cut from elimination. • If players sharing the same character have the same score, the player(s) with the lower strength of schedule will be cut from elimination.
• If players sharing the same character diversified played in Swiss rounds, and a winner was determined, the loser(s) will be cut from elimination. • If players sharing the same character have the same score and strength of schedule, the player(s) with fewer round wins will be cut from elimination. • If players sharing the same character have the same score, the same strength of schedule, and the same number of match wins, then there will be an untimed playoff match.“
Ok, maybe that doesn’t make it the easiest explanation. In other words, if 15 players show up to an event running the same Character (doesn’t matter actual deck contents), only the best scored player makes it through. This makes the larger scale events for the game rather competitive.
They had already stated that there would be know Diversity rule for the My Hero Academia-exclusive formate at this past Gen Con Online, but it is good for further confirmation. The limited Character card pool would only add to that.
Character Stacking:
Unless otherwise stated via an ability on your starting Character, players cannot stack different versions of characters. Character Stacking simply the act of a playing a Character card from your hand with the same Identity (name only) of your starting Character to your Staging Area and then attaching it to your starting Character.
“D.2.2.5.4 Whenever a character card with the same identity as a player’s starting character is added to, or otherwise exists in, their staging area, attach it to the starting character.
D.2.2.5.4.1 A player’s starting character has all abilities and symbols on each different character attached to it. Note: This means that if multiple copies of an alternate version of a starting character are attached to it, the starting character only gets one set of those abilities.
D.2.2.5.4.2 Attached characters cannot be chosen for, or in any way impacted by, effects unless an effect explicitly refers to character cards in the staging area. Note: Attached non-character cards can be chosen for or impacted by effects as if they were any other card in the staging area.”
The stated reason behind this is honestly a great one. Due to the game’s initial launch, the pool of Characters is going to be vastly smaller when compared to Standard or Retro. A few characters might have one or two alternate Characters (we’re guessing Deku, Bakugo, All Might, and Todoroki), so it puts the other characters with only one version at a massive disadvantage.
Note: This only effects Characters within the My Hero Academia-exclusive format. Character Stacking is still allowed within Standard, which these characters are fully playable in.
Strick Symbol Construction:
For ease of entry into the game, all cards in the deck must share a symbol. In the example given during the stream, you will pick one of the three symbols on your starting Character’s card and all cards in the deck must include include that symbol.
In Standard and Retro, as long as the cards included in the deck feature at least one of the symbols on the fighter, you can open up a lot of options. However, that brings in a lot more complexity in deck construction and play style than what most would probably want just starting out. For those that play Magic the Gathering, it would be the difference in playing a mono-colored deck versus playing a deck including three or four mana-types.
First Turn Immunity:
In the My Hero Academia-exclusive format, players cannot attack on the first turn. This is something that will not that seems to be heading to either Standard or Retro. First Turn Immunity is something that will definitely play a big role in deck construction as some deck builds can tend to lean into lots of Attacks. It would be horrible to end up with a hand of several Attacks and you are the first player.
Note: There seemed to be a little bit of confusion as to rather or not this applies to only the first player cannot attack or if First Turn Immunity applies to both player’s first turns. We’re sure to get more information closer to the actual release, so we’ll update accordingly.
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Ultimately, any news is good news in our books. Yes, we would love to have a firm release date that we can throw our money at, but they are dealing with one of the most profitable IPs in the world right now. We’d rather the launch go off without a hitch than to only end up with a set or two.
What do you all think? Any of these new format rules pique your interest? Any that you aren’t too sure about? Sound off in the comments below and let us know!
Until next time, keep your dice warm and happy gaming!
Gen Con Online was this past weekend and Jasco Games took the time to do several multi-hour online seminars to connect with retailers and their fans. Along with some great online sales (50% Yu Yu Hakusho UFS booster boxes!!!), trivia contests and an intimate look behind the scenes at the company, they took the time on Sunday to offer an update to the previously announced My Hero Academia: Collectible Card Game.
Before we get into it, we have to give a massive shout out to Jasco Games for offering the demo decks and promo cards from last year’s announcement celebration during the Sunday stream. Player’s had to go through a little bit of an obstacle course to get the Deku and Bakugo demo decks and alternate foil fighter cards. Then the only way to get the amazing looking All Might promo fighter, you had to participate in the demo tournaments that all sold out in mere minutes of Gen Con’s event page going live last year.
On Sunday, they listed the demo decks with matching promo fighters on their website for free (all you had to do way pay shipping). This literally crashed the site for a good ten minutes. They sold out and then they relisted them only for them to get sold out again. The All Might promo was listed for $40, which isn’t bad considering the only way to get this was through the sold out demo tournaments.
Anyways, enough fanboying over that. Lets talk the news and what it means.
First off they revealed this image of their first wave of My Hero Academia: Collectible Card Game products:
So many beautiful goodies to buy
Starting with the top left, we have:
Izuku Midoriya vs. Katsuki Bakugo 2-Player Rival Deck: These include two complete decks themed to either Deku (Midoriya) or Bakugo. In traditional fashion with their 2-Player Turbo Deck, each deck is predertimed with Rival Deck exclusive cards and 1 randomly inserted Ultra Rare from the main booster set. These offer new players a fantastic way to learn the game as well as possibly get some legit value starting out (my Cowboy Bebop 2-Player Turbo Deck included a $15 Ultra Rare).
Next to that in the same row, we have the My Hero Academia: Collectible Card Game DLC pack. DLC, or Deck Loadable Content, are a new product they launched this year. Each pack includes once copy of 4 different fighters, and two copies of an Attack and a Foundation for that character, for a total of 20 cards. These offer a great way for players to get new content for existing sets that do not have a full booster set in the release schedule.
Then we have a look at the first three officially licensed My Hero Academia playmats. These just look absolutely gorgeous (we have a closer look at them further down the article).
On the bottom, we have the box art for the first set. We’ve been told that there may or may not be hints at who we can expect to see in the set on the box. Though we have also been told that the first box focuses on the first season of the anime, so that will be a bigger clue of what to expect I think. Booster boxes include a box topper and every booster pack has 1 point printed on them for their redemption program.
And finally, we have the first three officially licensed card sleeves from DragonShield. These are gorgeous and each set gets better than the previous (again, a closer look towards the bottom.
Click on the images to enlarge!
Following the line up of the products, they went into previewing the new card borders and new rarity introduced for this set- Extra Rares (though the name will probably change since the owner doesn’t like that it’s abbreviation is ER).
The Deku and Bakugo fighters above will probably look familiar to those that scored the promo cards and decks at Gen Con last year. The first card in each image is the Fighter card as it appears in the demo deck. The second card is the alternate foil promo from Gen Con as well (and the sale from Sunday). The final card in each image is as they appear in the 2-Player Rival Deck.
Note: The final Deku card is missing his element symbols (the three black dots) because Jasco will be running a public beta test for the card game beginning sometime around November and do not want there to be any bias to elements (the way some players have a bias for colors in Magic the Gathering). Several of the cards they showed are missing their elements or any text because they are a part of the public testing or they are waiting for surprises later in the year.
The next card they showed off was 5% Detroit Smash from the demo deck. The card received a name change going into the release- Aspirational Punch. The second card, featuring the change, also includes the border that most cards will include (the color coded dotted). The third card is the full-art “Extra Rare” version. It loses the border, though some cards will have more art displayed with the borders due to the show being in widescreen. They will be foiled, full-art and any card in the set, save for Ultra Rares, will have the chance to have the Extra Rare treatment. They also stated that they will not take up the Rare or Ultra Rare slots in boosters, though they haven’t figured out the distribution percentage as of yet.
Future Charge, a very iconic looking Deku attack, is a great example of the difference between a standard card border and the Extra Rare border. The new elements of the game’s visual changes are on display here, including color coding the border to the type of card (Orange for Attacks, Gray for Foundations). The visual elements add a very cartoon, yet dynamic look, to the cards that are extremely fitting for the source material.
Example of how the widescreen aspect of the show can effect the artwork’s display between the full-arts and regular version.
They showed off a few of Bakugo-centric Attacks and Foundations. The character’s fiery attacks look gorgeous in full art and we can only image how they will look in a foil pattern.
After teasing us with the new design changes, we got a glimpse of what we know was on everyone’s mind- who will playable? Well, we got a teaser overload! We get to see some Class 1-A students, pro heroes and teachers, as well as our first villain. Interestingly, Todoroki is displayed with only his ice powers, which is fitting given his story arc during that first season.
Note: Again, these are missing their text and elemental symbols in order to have unbiased playtesting this winter.
After teasing us with cards we won’t be able to have in our hands for months, they showcased the accessories that they hope to have out this holiday. They print all their playmats in house, which accounts for some of the most vibrant colors and long lasting playmats in the industry (we speak from experience). The card sleeves are produced in a partnership with Arcane Tin Men under their Dragon Shield sleeve brand. They are 100 count and made from the same durable material that all their others are.
Click the images to enlarge!
They announced that the playmats and sleeves will come out in series, launching with their respective booster expansions. They then showed off the next three series of sleeves. While future expansions can’t be discussed, they did say that the sleeve art could hint at the content of those boosters.
The last thing discussed about the My Hero Academia: Collectible Card Game dealt with Organized Play. The sign of any healthily collectible card game is its Organized Play. From your local shop to the World Championships, a healthy environment keeps players engaged with the game and thus spending money. More money spent, the more content the developers make. Sadly some bigger companies think it goes the other way around and produce premium products without concern for the environment. We digress, however, as that is a conversation for another day.
They showed off the following slides that briefly detailed Organized Play from the local game store (called Dojos) level to World Championships:
The big bullet points to take away from this are:
My Hero Academia: Collectible Card Game is a fully supported UniVersus title, able to be combined in the existing format. However, it will have its own tournament series with its own meta and prize support that is purely MHA.
Unlike standard UFS/UniVersus events, the MHA format will not support the diversity rule.
Worlds and Nationals will be an open event, meaning no invite required. However, at Worlds, the top 32 players ranked by points will receive a special welcome package that they describe as having some significant value. Players earn points for participating in events, though the distribution hasn’t been discussed (do you get points for just participating or is it based on your win/loss record?).
Participation prizes and supplemental prize support includes a special “Plus Ultra” Booster Pack. These packs will include event exclusive cards that you are unable to obtain by normal means or through the company’s redemption program.
They want the bigger events to be just that- events. There are plans for several side events so if you wash out you won’t feel as though you have nothing to do or can’t have fun. They even plan on supporting cosplayers who attend their events.
Their last card tease featured everyone’s favorite teacher and a card that was featured at Gen Con last year:
They closed out the show by discussing where else the My Hero Academia license will be seen within the board game and tabletop industry under the Jasco Games banner. While they didn’t go into too many details beyond partners (and mentioning Pixel Tactics), they did discuss the My Hero Academia Miniatures Game.
The My Hero Academia Miniatures Game will be a part of their Universal Tactics System line that they launched with the Street Fighter: The Miniatures Game on Kickstarter. While they didn’t have any samples to show off because the game is currently in the approval stages with the parent company, they did say these will be fully painted and to scale with their Street Fighter miniatures (Nintendo Amiibo sized miniatures). The also mentioned they have submitted over 20 characters to be approved to be a part of this game, so let the speculation begin.
An example of the Zangief miniature prototype for scale.
That about covers the big update, previews, and information drop they gave all of us this past Sunday. There is a lot to unpack and let sit, especially if you are new to either their games or just their trading card line in general. We’ll link to the full Sunday live stream below if you want to hear the details straight from the developers themselves. It is just a couple minutes shy of being 5 hours long, but the My Hero Academia portion begins at the 2:58:21 mark: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/698261247
What do you all think? Are you excited to see Deku, All Might and the rest of the heroes (and villains) coming to UFS/UniVersus? Who are yAre you happy with the visual changes to the game or do you wish they’d have kept the old border? Lets us know in the comments below.
As some of you might recall, we discussed the stealth announcement of Bandai Games bringing the My Hero Academia to their Chrono Clash game system back in March (you know, in the before time?). This was a huge announcement to just slide under the radar (much like they did with Neon Genesis Evangelion). Since the world altering effects of the pandemic brought much of all non-essential production and news to a halt or slow crawl, Bandai has been rather radio silent about the game. As expected and acceptable as that is, we now know there may be more to the story than originally thought.
Earlier this month, several commenters in various Chrono Clash Facebook groups have been saying that their local game stores are informing them that their distributors are saying the game will not be released in the United States. When we reached out to surrounding game store for our on confirmation, we were told that the game was no longer available for order and that their preorders had been canceled. On July 21, a post on the game’s primary community Facebook page stated that they had spoken with Bandai’s customer service and it was confirmed that due to licensing of My Hero Academia, the game could only be sold in certain countries.
We have reached out to Bandai Games and will update if and when we get a reply.
Update- 7/21 9:34CST: We received a response from Bandai Games and it does ultimately confirm the distribution at the very least. Per the email from Bandai’s Customer Service-
“We appreciate your support for Carddass Club.
Due to the license of “My Hero Academia”, we plan to sell it only in certain countries. We cannot providedetailed information at this time.
Thank you for understanding.“
Back in our original post, we commented on the name simply being My Hero andquestioned rather or not that that had anything to do with Jasco Games’ own My Hero Academia TCG for their UniVersus card line. In the July 10th edition of their “Joffice Live!” live stream, they begin talking about My Hero Academia at the 35 minute marker. At the 38:50 mark, they comment that they are the master license holder for the IP in North America for board games and card games. This, more than anything else, is probably the reason for the game not being released here.
Another strong reason is that a couple months ago, Bandai Game’s released an all-new attempt at the Digimon TCG. The game has taken off over seas and it seems like an inevitability that the game will hit English-speaking regions once things return to a somewhat sense of normalcy.
At the core of the game, however, is the unique Chrono Clash engine. The main system that made it so fun and challenging is now the heart of a brand new game. While it isn’t unheard of for company’s to use the same system for multiple titles, it is when they are such vastly different games in this case. On one hand, the Chrono Clash titles are mostly one and done purchases, especially as they didn’t not allow for cross-property play or deck building (no Mothra or Eva-01 in a Naruto deck). Everything anyone would need to play is in the box. They keep customers coming back with new expansions and title add ons. On the other hand, Digimon is a collectible card game in which more money is spent because players will constantly need to update their decks with every new release.
That “Memory Gauge” sure looks familiar…
Chrono Clash is a fantastic line that had momentum coming out of Gen Con 2019. Naruto had launched a couple months prior and had people talking. Godzilla met some criticism. Neon GenesisEvangelion was praised for its complexity and new mechanics. The announcement of My Hero Academia, however, got more stores talking about it and looking at it because My Hero is one of the biggest manga and anime properties in the world at the moment. It offers a cross-selection of multiple potential buying groups that only comes around once in a while and one that had store owners seeing dollar signs. Chrono Clash could only go up from there.
However that momentum went head first into a brick wall. Even prior to the pandemic and many areas going into lockdown, the game had problems. The lack of tournament support for competitive players compounded with the lack of cross-property play. The dead silence from the developer on even the most basic of things (the game’s official Facebook page was last updated was March 3, 2020). These are problems easily fixed, though. Now, as we drift along, we are finding it hard to see anything saving the game at this point.
Yes, the game uses only icons/symbols so that the game can be shared across a language barrier. If someone wants the game bad enough, they can import the game from another country and be able to enjoy it. That’ll be fine for home games but not for local stores. The place where communities develop and games fail or flourish. How much fun will it be to play the game if you have no one to play with? How much fun will you have playing a year old Naruto deck against the new powercreep of All Might or Deku?
Ultimately, though, things could change. Jasco Games and Bandai Games could come to some sort of arrangement that benefits both parties (Goku in UniVersus perhaps?).
What do you think? Is the Chrono Clash game line dead in the water or is it just waiting to catch it’s second wind? Sound off and tell us what you think in the comments below.
In yet another stealth announcement, Bandai Games updated their Chrono Clash System website to announce three new sets based on one of the most popular manga/anime series in the world – My Hero Academia.
Izuku Midoriya and Class 1-A Set (MH01)
Katsuki Bakugo and Shoto Todoroki Set (MH02)
All Might and All For One Set (MH03)
Beyond the box art, set names, and the listing on the game’s official website, not much (if anything) is known about the newest edition to the Chrono Clash System.
Each set will include two decks, obviously, but their contents aren’t known at this time. With the Izuku Midoriya and Class 1-A Set it would be a safe guess that the Class 1-A deck will focus heavily on the rest of Deku’s classmates that Bandai didn’t feel couldn’t warrant their own deck(s). It would explain why Bakugo and Todoroki recieved their own decks.
The set that has my interest, however, is the All Might and All For One Set. The pro heroes of My Hero Academia have always been one of my favorite parts of the series, so anything that gives them more attention is a plus (ultra) for me. Much like western comic books, the heroes can only be as great or enthralling as their villains. Judging by the box art, the All For One portion will have a focus on the League of Villains.
Interestingly, however, they are simply calling the set the My Hero Card Game. I wonder if that has anything to do with the release of Jasco Games’ My Hero Academia Collectible Card Gamefor their UniVersus line (the revamped Universal Fight System)?
Obviously, this is a set I cannot wait to hear more about and have the cards in hand. What about the rest of you? Is this something you’re looking forward to? Or is it something you may put off getting in favor of a more solo based game right now?
The Late Night Players 