Naruto Collectible Card Game

Infobox Game
subject_name = Naruto Collectible Card Game
image_link =
publisher = Bandai
players = 2
ages = 6+
setup_time = ~3 minutes
playing_time = ~15-25 minutes¹
complexity = Moderate
strategy = High
random_chance = Some
skills = Card playing
Arithmetic
footnotes = ¹ Games may take much longer or shorter depending on a deck's play style.
bggid=22910Published by Bandai, the Naruto Collectible Card Game is a collectible card game (CCG) based on the "Naruto" series. This game was introduced in 2006.

Gameplay

"Naruto" is a multi-player, duel-based game, in which players take alternating turns putting cards into play and attacking using Ninja cards combined with Jutsu, Mission, or Client cards. The goal of the game is to either earn ten battle rewards before the other player or force the other player to run out of cards. In cases where both players meet the conditions to win, the win is deferred to the current attacking player. Players each use a deck consisting of exactly forty cards. Of those forty cards, no more than twenty-five can be Ninja cards and no more than three cards of the same name can be used in a single deck.

Design

A "Naruto" card is divided into two halves. The upper half is the art half of the card and illustrates its subject. The upper-left and upper-right corners identify the card type and chakra type, respectively. The lower half gives the name of the card and describes its effects and statistics. On the bottom of every card lies the copyright information, card number, set logo, and a number of white, yellow or red dots (or lack thereof) determining rarity.

Ninja cards are identified by a grey background or by the card type symbol. To the left of the card name is the ninja's village of origin. To the right are the card's Entrance cost and Hand cost, identified by a shuriken and an image of three cards, respectively, both of which are numbered. Below the card name is the card's basic charcteristics, giving the ninja's home village, rank, and gender. It may also have certain special effects or statuses such as "Mental Power" or "Growth". Beneath that is the card's effect text, which clarifies what a ninja does aside from attacking and defending. In the bottom-right corner are the combat and support numbers and the combat attribute, the former of which determines the card's overall power. The number printed on the bottom is the card's healthy power while the one printed on the side is its injured power (which comes into effect after the card is defeated by another). In most cases, the injured number is lower than the healthy one. The combat attribute is used in determining the effect of other cards used on it.

Mission cards are designed in basically the same manner as Ninja cards, but have a deep sea green background and lack power, characteristics and a combat attribute.

Jutsu cards have various symbols beneath the name of the card. These symbols are the card's "Jutsu cost," and must be paid for applying the upper-right hand symbols (Chakra type) of cards in the player's chakra (voluntary discard) area in order to gain their effects in battle.

Client cards are similar to Ninja cards, but have two chakra types in the upper-right corner and have no power stats (they cannot be used in ninja battles).

Card sets

Path to Hokage

"Path to Hokage" (Japanese sets 1 & 2) is the first set. It was released in April 2006 with the first four starter decks, two representing the main series protagonist Naruto Uzumaki and two representing his friend and rival Sasuke Uchiha. It has illustrations from the beginning of the series to roughly the first half of the Land of Waves arc.

Coils of the Snake

"Coils of the Snake" (Japanese sets 3 & 4) is the second set. It was released July 28, 2006. It has illustrations starting from where the first set left off and ending at the Forest of Death in the Chunin exam arc. It adds new abilities like "Permanent (X)" and "Mental Power" as well as new Client cards.

Curse of the Sand

"Curse of the Sand" (Japanese sets 5 & 6) is the third set, released in October of 2006. It introduced "Growth" and the first "The Fourth Hokage" and focuses on the sand siblings: Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro.

Revenge and Rebirth

"Revenge and Rebirth" (Japanese sets 7 & 8) is the fourth set and is currently in circulation (but not first edition). It was released on February 16, 2007 and introduced platoons, pairs of two ninja on the same card. This series also includes the nine tailed fox spirit which has not technically appeared yet. Cannot be found in blisters or non-blisters.

Dream Legacy

The fifth set in the franchise was released on May 11th 2007. Covers Japanese series 9 and 10. It includes cards from the Return of Itachi and Search for Tsunade arcs. There are four starter decks available with a 2 decks representing Naruto Uzumaki, Jiraiya platoon, and two decks representing Kakashi Hatake. The new Super rare ratio was introduced in this pack, 1:6. The set has a total of 13 super rares and the super rares in the deck cannot be found in the packs, where as in Curse of the Sand the Super Rares can be found in the Starter Deck packs.

Eternal Rivalry

The sixth set in the franchise, released July 27, 2007. "Eternal Rivalry" introduced 113 new cards. 80 cards from this set included brand new effects and artwork that were never released in the Japanese version. These cards are exclusive to the United States and made especially for U.S. Naruto CCG players. "Eternal Rivalry" added new Ninjas, Jutsus, Missions and Clients. “Eternal Rivalry” focused on the main characters including Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Zabuza, Haku, Gaara, Rock Lee, Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Neji, Hinata, Orochimaru, Third Hokage, and others. This set has the most super rares so far.

Quest for Power

The seventh set in the franchise (covers Japanese set 11, set 10 deck, and coin cards, plus some new US exclusive cards), released October 26, 2007. This set was based on the Sasuke Retrieval arc. A new Rasengan was confirmed for this series, which was originally released in Japan. This set was the largest released in the US to date. The decks come with a coin matching the character it is based around. This set introduced a new type of card, Dual-Chakra Mission cards, which have two elements on them. It also has new First and Second Hokage as super rares.

Battle of Destiny

The eighth set in the franchise (covers Japanese sets 12-13, with more US exclusive cards). The release date was January 25, 2008, and it introduced 141 new cards. This set covers the destined battle between Naruto and Sasuke where they each learn to access their "Special Power." Also, this set included all the Sound Ninja Four and Kimimaro in their State 2 Forms with all of their powerful Jutsus. New versions of favorite characters such as Gaara, Kakashi, Sakura, Jiraiya, Tsunade, etc. were also included.

The Chosen

A 300 card set released on May 16 , 2008. The starter decks were released in April 11, 2008, to give some newer players the opportunity to get some of the cards they missed in recent years. Half of the set is reprints from sets 1 through 5. The other half are all new cards from US exclusive to Japanese cards. Also, over 20 of the US exclusive cards will be based on the video game "". Bandai has stated they will release errata cards with new text in this set.

Lineage of the Legends

Hobby Release Date: 8/29/08Mass Release Date: 9/12/08

Over 200 cards in the set focusing on the Hokages and the younger Sannins. Finally, the Fourth Hokage reappears!

hippuden

Hobby Release Date: 10/05/08Mass Release Date: 09/10/08

Half of this set will include Shippuden artwork and the other half will include original artwork

Collectible Tins

Secrets of the Masters Tins

Bandai has just revealed 3 new tins for the Naruto CCG for $14.99. Each tin will include four packs: 1 path to Hokage, 1 Coils of the Snake, and 2 Battle of Destiny.The characters are Naruto/Jirayia(7/2 healthy,7/2 injured) Rock Lee/Might Guy(7/0 healthy, 6/0 injured), Kakashi/Sasuke(7/3 healthy, 4/3 injured). The post says each tin will include 3 preview cards from the upcoming Series 9 “The Chosen”(total of 9 cards). They are set to be released on 2/22/08. [http://www.bandaicg.com/naruto/showpost.php?p=571942&postcount=1 Preview of Tins]

Unstoppable Force Tins

There will be 3 different tins: Naruto, Sasuke, and Kimimaro. They will each have: 1 pack of Battle of Destiny, 2 packs of The Chosen, and 1 pack of Lineage of the Legends. Also, each tin will have 3 Alternate art cards.

TV Commercials on Cartoon Network from 9/16/08 - 9/30/08.

Ultimate Ninja Way Tins

Bandai has recently revealed 4 new tins for the Naruto CCG. Each tin will include five packs: two Revenge and Rebirth, two Dream Legacy, and one Eternal Rivalry. [http://www.bandaicg.com/naruto/showthread.php?t=30077 The first look at the tins art] The characters are Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara of the Desert, and Kakashi(card inside is sharingan eye). The post says each tin will have three Quest for Power preview cards(total of 12 cards). They were released on 9/28/07. The promos were not legal to use in tournaments until October, after many players had already won tournaments with these cards in their decks.

North American distribution

Booster packs in North America are sold in two alternate art packages, they contain six common cards, two uncommon cards, a foil of a random rarity and a rare card with a foil lettering on the name. 'Super-rares' are included in boosters to a varying probablity, with one super-rare per 12 packs in the first four (4) sets, and one super-rare per 6 packs in editions released after Revenge and Rebirth. 'Starter decks' are also sold. These are fifty card packs containing one forty-card deck, a ten-card sideboard, a game playmat, a turn-counter, and a stainless steel "ninja blade coin." Booster boxes (display boxes containing 24 booster packs) and theme deck sets (containing all four different decks) are also sold for bulk purchasers. The game's popularity has led to an established market for cards via the internet, with some super rares going for over $40 on eBay.

Rarity

Depending on the combination of dots on the bottom line of any given card, that card will have a specific rarity. Like other collectible card games, a card's rarity often marks its overall power or usefulness; however, certain cards are also made rare simply for their popularity, instead of for strategic reasons. Levels of rarity are named differently in the American version to match conventions used by other collectible card games for simplicity reasons.

The American version also has "Foil" cards, which are shiny versions of normal cards. The Japanese version uses such cards as "Super Rares," instead of simply making foil versions of any given card. In American booster packs containing Super Rares (Ultra Rares in Japan), the foil card is replaced by the Super Rare and the Rare card is left alone. An interesting note is that each booster set has two "package" variations, one whose foil rares is foiled with a diamond-shaped pattern, while the other is a wavy, swirl-like pattern.

"Rarity Guide For Japanese and English Cards"

Japanese
* No Dots = normal card (no foiled picture or gold name text, cold be specially printed in wavy or diamond foil)
* 1 Dot = Rare(no foiled or gold name text, could be specially printed in wavy or diamond foil)
* 2 Dots = Super Rare (Foiled in different forms depending on set, including sparkly-rainbow foil and wavy-rainbow foil)
* 3 Dots = Ultra Rare (Golden-reflective foiled with golden-foiled name text)
* 4 dots= Ultimate Rare
* 5 dots= Secret Rare (Shippuden only)

English
* No Dots = Normal Card (no foiled picture or gold name text, could be specially printed in wavy or diamond foil)
* No Dots Alt= Promotional cards also have no Dots on them. Just the added PR.
* 1 Dot = Uncommon Card (no foiled picture or gold name text, could be specially printed in wavy or diamond foil)
* 1 red Dot = Card found in starter decks only (no foiled picture or gold name text, not found in wavy or diamond foil)
* 2 Dots = Rare Card (gold name text, no foil, could be specially printed in wavy or diamond foil; some are found in starter decks without gold name text)
* 3 Dots = Super Rare Card (gold-reflective foiled with gold-foiled name text, is not found in wavy or diamond foil(in chosen lighter foil))
* 3 red Dots = Super Rare Card found in starter decks only (gold-reflective foiled with gold-foiled name text, is not found in wavy or diamond foil)

Lately, reprints of popular cards, such as [zabuzaZabuza Momochi and Sakura Haruno, have been showing up as alternate foiled promos. The foiling is often called "Silver" or "Platinum".

Issues

The game's cards are released in card sets themed after the current events taking place in the English version of the anime and manga. Because the English version is so far behind the Japanese version of the series, the Japanese version of the card game is well ahead, with many cards symbolizing events that have not yet appeared on Cartoon Network's showing of the anime. For that reason, many independent websites have taken it upon themselves to translate the Japanese cards as set spoilers.

Bandai, the company responsible for localization and distribution in the game's American market, has criticized this practice, claiming that such translations are misleading because the North American rules are different from the game in Japan. This is at least somewhat true in the fact that some of the Japanese cards use somewhat different terminology when literally translated in English, though recent trends have seen an alteration in text or new effect text altogether. The moderators of the forums located on the card game's official website are under policy to immediately lock any threads showing or requesting a translation of a Japanese card that has yet to be officially localized and launched into the American market, although raw images of the cards themselves are tolerated.

Upon launch of the game in America in April 2006, the game was quickly sold out across the nation, achieving above and beyond the demand Bandai had projected for it. The result was an incredible product shortage that spiked card and booster pack prices as the cards became less available. Parts of North America either consistently sold out or continued to sell "Path to Hokage" booster packs, well above the prices of packs for the top competitors in the collectible card game genre. This was largely been corrected by the release of unlimited edition "Path to Hokage" cards six months later.

There are also problems regarding the prints of very early Path to Hokage cards. Some of the cards were translated in a fashion that replaced terms unique to the series with other synonymous terms ("Illusion" for "Genjutsu," for example). These have since been corrected, and the series' terms have been used ever since.

External links

* [http://www.bandaicg.com/naruto/home.php Official Bandai website, including rulebook and card lists.]
* [http://naruto.gamersroundtable.com/ Gamers Round Table] – Tournament organizers, and ratings and records keepers
* [http://naruto.tcgplayer.com Naruto.TCGplayer] – Articles, news, discussion and price guides
* [http://www.playtcgforums.com/forums/ Play TCG Forums] - The 2nd best site for the Naruto CCG, for the players by the players.
* [http://www.carddas.com/naruto/ Official Japanese Carddas website] - Includes news and information on the Japanese version of the Naruto Card Game, and upcoming "Naruto Shippūden" Card Game.

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