Examining The Gundam Card Game

So! Bandai has a new money printing machine starting up with a new Gundam TCG and now it's time to wait and see if they screw this up like they've screwed up other Gundam games in the past. 

On the day the video went up, they announced that there would be an early access bundle for sale on the Premium Bandai store. Naturally, it was sold out instantly.

What they've shown so far has some high points but is mostly derivative. Not taking huge risks in the TCG space and a lot of it draws direct comparisons to other games.

The resource system resembles Hearthstone down to the second player getting the Coin. No resources mixed into your deck, just in a separate pile that you get one of a turn. In theory this might open up to having special resources in expansions.

The health system resembles Pokemon. Each player sets the top six cards of their deck aside as shields, and to win you must first destroy your opponent's Base, then destroy their shields with six separate attacks, then attack them directly once to win.

Cards come in four colors, and you are limited to two colors in your deck.

So in that sense, there's little new under the sun.

As you MIGHT expect, a Gundam game is about playing mobile suits and pilots. Pilot cards attach to the mobile suit cards and they do line up nicely so the relevant parts of the pilot card line up with the bottom of the mobile suit card frame, showing you the bonus stats and abilities. The mobile suits don't have "haste" unless you pair them with a pilot that matches their criteria, so that's a neat incentive to do lore-accurate things.

One thing I do think is interesting is that cards have a Level and a Cost. The Level is how many resources you have total, the Cost is what you need to expend. So a card might be Level 5, which means you need 5 Resources and on average means you can't play it until turn 5. But it's actual cost might only be 2. Which makes sense, given that you're going to want to play a mobile suit and a pilot in the same turn.

From the gameplay they've shown, you're not required to attack your opponent's mobile suits before you can attack them directly, but there maybe some Taunt effects down the line. The Demi Trainer card that's been previewed has an ability to where you can tap it and redirect an attack to it.

However you can play the Command cards (equivalent to instant/scorceries, actions, etc.) on your opponent's turn, which saves this a bit from turning into Lorcana which tries to discourage doing anything to the opponent.

You start off with a token Base that has three HP to chew through (damage persists between turns), but you can play other carriers like the White Base or Ra Cailum to replace that and have more HP and other effects. It's a neat way to include battleships and make sure they stick around.

I'm overall pretty positive about the game, and a big part of it may simply be that Gundam is a property I am invested in and that makes me more forgiving and interested.

Lorcana I've bounced off of because I wasn't wild about how un-interactive the game is and how far away from the end victory is telegraphed. And I mean, Disney movies are fine. They exist. I won't melt like the Ark of the Covenant was opened if someone wants to watch Lilo and Stitch. But I'm not going "omg it migkey" and getting cards because of it.

Conversely I loved Marvel Snap solely for its innovative gameplay after I'd long fallen off the MCU and stopped having strong feelings about Marvel. It's Deadpool. Okay. That's cool. Whatever.

But I already have more gunplas than I have shelf space so yes, I am kind of invested in this property. But there are things that I like. One that I hadn't mentioned yet is that cards might have effects when they are blown up as shields, so even if you are on the back foot and taking damage there is a chance you get a little boost to stabilize. And having "instant speed" interaction does a lot to fight one of the biggest things that drives me up the wall about "simpler" card games.

And since it's 2024 the game also has explicit support for two-headed giant and 3-5 player free for all, which means I can look forward to promising to save someone, letting them die, and telling them to blame the misfortune of their birth.

Next game I give them the finger guns and say I've never betrayed anyone in my life.