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Posted October 12, 2012 by Amy in Features
 
 

Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters Core Set Review

rotdm
rotdm

“Which creatures will you unleash?”

For the uninitiated, Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters is a relatively new trading card game that looks to join the ranks of such venerable classics as Pokemon and Magic the Gathering. While there is a television show and online game tie-in, Kaijudo is an impressive trading card game in its own rite. With high quality cards, an ever evolving cast of creatures, and simple yet engrossing gameplay, Kaijudo is a game that is tough to discredit.

The gameplay in Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters is fairly easy to pick up, I won’t go into too great of detail here, but it is a game that is both playable for kids (about age 8 and up) and enjoyable for adults. You have a combination of shield cards, mana cards, and battle cards – both creatures and spells. The object of this turn based card game is to knock out all five of your opponent’ shields, thereby winning the game. In order to attack the shields, you’ll need to have the right amount of mana, and the right type of mana as well. There are five different Civilizations in Kaijudo (Water, Light, Fire, Darkness, Nature), and all five are represented in each deck. This is significant, because in order to play a Darkness card, you need to have at least one Darkness card in your mana pile.

Tonight we will be looking at the Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters Core Set, more specifically, the Rocket Storm and Sonic Blast competitive decks. Each deck comes with forty cards and a bonus 9 card booster pack, enough to get a game going, and to get a start on your personal deck. Buyers are promised both a super rare and a very rare card in each of the decks. These are desirable both for their cool foil finish, and for their generally high ranking creatures. In addition to all that, you also get a code card, which will allow you to play online with your deck.

For those who will be buying one of these packs as their first Kaijudo deck, they really do have everything you need to play, online or off. Included with the cards is an easy to understand how-to sheet that explains how to play the game in simple terms. There is also a checklist, separated by Civilization, that allows you to keep a record of the cards you own.

In order to play, you need to have at least forty cards in your deck. The competitive decks come with a total of 49 cards. The majority of the cards are pretty much what you would expect from a quality trading card game. They are well-made, and the artwork on each card quite impressive. While the illustrations keep to the simple nature of the game, they have a graphic novel look to them that lends an artistic air to your collection. The background colors of each card matches the Civilization it belongs to – red for fire, green for nature, etc. – which makes for timely identification during heated play. At the bottom of each card is a quote from the television show, for a fun extra.

While the whole of your deck is very important for gameplay, it’s the rare cards that are every collector’s dream. The drawings of the creatures featured on them are done in such a way that they seem to jump right off the card. The whole face of the card is covered in a shiny foil finish, with a holographic pattern superimposed onto the card. The creatures are powerful, and are sure to be the stars of your deck, although their high mana requirements mean they won’t be played early on in the game. These are the cards that will make you a formidable opponent, and building your deck with the right combination of high and low ranking creatures will make all the difference in your Kaijudo matches.

The Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters Core Set competitive decks have a lot to offer to both card game players and collectors. The cards themselves have a professional high quality feel to them, with comic inspired illustrations that really serve to bring the game to life. The gameplay itself is  simple enough for a child to understand, but appeals to adults as well – making it a great game for parents and kids to enjoy together. If you haven’t tried the Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters trading card game yet, the new Sonic Blast and Rocket Storm competitive decks are the perfect opportunity to pick up a game that can grow with you and your family.


Amy

 
U.S. Senior Editor & Deputy EIC, @averyzoe on Twitter, mother of 5, gamer, reader, wife to @macanthony, and all-around bad-ass (no, not really)