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Naruto Collectible Card Game
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Naruto Collectible Card Game | |
|---|---|
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| Publisher | Bandai |
| Players | Two |
| Age range | 8 and up |
| Setup time | 3 minutes approx. |
| Playing time | 15 minutes approx.1 |
| Random chance | Some |
| Skills required | Card playing Arithmetic |
| 1 Games may take much longer or shorter depending on a deck's play style. | |
The Naruto Collectible Card Game is a CCG based on the Naruto series.
Contents |
Naruto is a two-player, duel-based game in which players take alternating turns putting cards into play and attacking using Ninja 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 of the same card can be used in a single deck.
Naruto consists of four unique types of cards, each of which has a specific role:
- Ninja (忍) cards represent actual characters from the Naruto series and are the main focus of the game, as ninja battles are generally the most effective way to win a game. By organizing Ninja cards into teams, players can attack or defend during the game's Battle phases. Only one Ninja card may be deployed during a player's Mission phase unless otherwise stated on a particular Mission card, and a player cannot use two Ninja cards of the same name on the village, unless otherwise stated on the Ninja card itself or by an effect.
- Jutsu (術) cards represent various techniques used by ninja in battle. Jutsu cards are used during the Battle phases by both players. Any number of Jutsu cards can be used during a given Battle phase, but the player must have the necessary chakra available to perform them.
- Mission (作戦) cards represent specific events from the Naruto series. They have certain effects on gameplay and, like Ninja cards, only one may be played during a player's Mission phase. As of Curse of the Sand, every Mission card released requires a hand cost (one card with the same elemental symbol as the mission must go from the player's hand to their Chakra area).
- Client (依) cards represent clients of the Hidden Villages and characters that make appearances but do not engage in any battles. While in play, they benefit the player and their ninja, often containing two chakra symbols for the sake of paying for jutsu. Only one may be played during a player's Mission phase, and a player cannot control two Client cards at a time.
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. 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 statistics, 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 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 combat number while the one printed on the side is its injured combat number (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.
Jutsu cards have various symbols beneath the name of the card. These symbols are the card's "Jutsu cost," and must be paid for using the upper-right hand symbols of cards in the player's chakra (voluntary discard) area in order to gain their effects in combat.
Client cards are similar to Ninja cards, but have two symbols in the upper-right corner and have no combat stats (they cannot be used in ninja battles).
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 (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 (Japanese sets 5 & 6) is the third set of the game. It was released on October 27, 2006. It has illustrations from the preliminary battles of the Chunin exams up to the start of the actual main matches. Four more starter decks were released with this set, two representing Naruto and the other two representing Gaara.
Revenge and Rebirth (Japanese sets 7 & 8) is the fourth set and is currently in circulation. It was released on February 16, 2007 and introduced platoons, pairs of two ninja on the same card. It has also been known to be the first set that held the "Nine Tailed Fox" within it's collection.
The fifth set in the franchise. Covers Japanese series 9 and 10. It will include cards from the Return of Itachi and Search for Tsunade arcs. The set will be released on May 11th with one deck. The deck will be a Naruto/Jiraiya platoon.
The sixth pack in the franchise. Will be out in August 2007. Includes both new and old cards. Not included in japanese franchise.
Naruto cards in North balls are sold in two packages: ten-card booster packs (containing six common cards, two uncommon cards, a foil of any rarity, and one rare card with a super rare in every twelve packs) or starter decks, 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 $30 on eBay.
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. Both the Japanese and American cards have four different types of rarity, but they 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, 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 who's foil rares is foiled with a diamond-shaped pattern, while the other is a swirl-like pattern.
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 also 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. 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 at over $5 each (compared to $3.99 MSRP), 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.
- Official Bandai website, including rulebook and card lists.
- Gamers Round Table – Tournament organizers, and ratings and records keepers
- Naruto.TCGplayer – Articles, news, discussion and price guides by the internets leading TCG Network
- Naruto CCG deck designs - from Pojo.com
- Naruto CCG articles and deck designs - from Cobra Cards
- Official Japanese Carddas website - Includes news and information on the Japanese version of the Naruto Card Game, and upcoming Naruto Shippūden Card Game.
| Franchise: | Naruto episodes • Naruto: Shippūden episodes • Media • OVAs • Video games • Collectible Card Game |
|---|---|
| Plot: | Story arcs • Naruto • Kakashi Gaiden • Naruto: Shippūden |
| Jutsu: | Types • Cursed Seal jutsu • Genjutsu • Kekkei genkai • Ninjutsu • Sealing jutsu • Taijutsu |
| Movies: | Naruto the Movie • Naruto the Movie 2 • Naruto the Movie 3 • Naruto the Movie 4 |
| Other: | Characters • Ichiraku Ramen Bar • Geography • Ninja ranks • Rookie Nine |