Kaijudo – Clash of the Duel Masters (TCG Expansion) Review

Wizards of the Coast has just released the biggest expansion set in popular trading card game Kaijudo. With all new creatures and spells, as well as the addition of multi-civilization cards, there’s a lot of new options in the Clash of the Duel Masters set – but is it a worthwhile addition to your deck, or just another money grab?

For the uninitiated, Kaijudo is a new trading card game in the style of such fan favorites as Magic the Gathering and Pokemon, with tons of cards to collect, creatures to enjoy, and a whole lot of options for crushing opponents and trading with friends. The game is fairly easy to pick up on, and well within the skill level of kids around the age of eight and up – but it’s actually pretty fun for adults too, making it a great game for families to enjoy together. The basic goal in each game is to destroy your opponents shields before they destroy yours, with masterful use of your deck and a good measure of luck thrown in. Each deck is accompanied by an easy to understand run-through of how to play the game, and there’s even an online component where kids can hone their skills and get in a game even when their friends aren’t available to play. A tie-in tv series is the cherry on the top, as kids can put a face on their favorite cards.

Whether you’re new to Kaijudo, or already have a formidable deck at your disposal,  keeping your eye on the newest expansions is a must if you want to stay competitive in your local games.  This particular release includes two competitive decks, each with forty cards, as well as a variety of nine card booster packs. Released on May 24th, the Clash of the Duel Masters expansion offers one thing that is entirely new to the game – multi-civilization cards. Like most trading card games, in Kaijudo each creature is a part of a civilization and that weighs in heavily on how they are played in the game. In Clash of the Duel Masters, you will find cards that span two different civilizations, a real asset during play.

Both of the new competitive decks include the standard forty cards, as well as an included booster pack, playmat, and the quick-start guide (your how-to for Kaijudo). The Psychic Assault deck is made up of cards from both the water and light civilizations, in addition to several of the multi-civilization cards (which are both water and light).

The deck’s exclusive card is the foil General Finbarr, a water civilization creature who packs a punch of 4000. It’s in his special abilities, though, that he really shines. When General Finbarr is in the battle zone, you can return a target creature to your opponent’s hand. Better yet, when he is in play, you get to draw a card when one of your other creature attacks. The rest of the cards in the deck are a good combination of light cards, water cards, and plenty of dual civilization cards that are sure to help you customize the best deck for you.

The Skycrusher’s Might deck features some equally awesome cards, starting with the deck exclusive General Skycrusher (in foil).  General Skycrusher has double breaker ability (meaning he can break two shields), as well as the ability to banish an opponent’s creature of 3000 power or less when entering the battle zone, and he also gets “Powerful Attack +3000” until turn’s end whenever one of your creatures attacks. Add in his 8000 attack, and he is a formidable opponent, to say the least. The rest of the deck gives you a nice assortment of fire and darkness cards, and of course several that are both.

The dual civilization cards are a nice addition to Kaijudo gameplay. They offer some great new spells and attacks without a lot of mana needed. Keep in mind though, that to use them you will need both types of mana to be charged, and they enter the mana zone tapped. This is actually a nice feature, as it makes sure you keep your decks well balanced. Customizing your deck to your personal preferences is really one of the best part of any trading card game, and these new types of cards add a whole new level to it all.

The Kaijudo – Clash of the Duel Masters Expansion Set offers more than just some shiny new cards. With the addition of the new multi-civilization cards, gamers can add a whole new dimension of play to their arsenals. Like every good thing, there is a cost for using them that balances out the compulsion to fill a deck with just multis. The decks and booster cards also include a variety of new cards that are sure to have you sorting and trading for days to come.