So, for those of you out there who don't know who I am, (Which I find completely impossible since I am, after all, one of the most important people in the Naruto CCG Community) my name is Nicholas Botchis, and I go by the handle Shino'sDad in pretty much any forum or site that has to do with the Naruto CCG.

I have been a sort of court advisor in the shadows to The Perfect Curve since it's creation, and up until now, have only been mentioned in context to discussions or tales of whimsy by the other members of the staff. Starting today though, I begin my “internship” as a writer for the blog itself. Zero feels that I require some sort of trial, a rite of passage if you will, to prove I am up to snuff, though he fails to realize that I pretty much write all of Tsukiyomi's content for him (Haha, joking.. I think.)

Back to the point, though, I have been playing the Naruto CCG since it's launch with Path to Hokage. Those halcyon days of believing that a Hand cost could be paid with any Element Symbol and that Zabuza Momochi [Demon of the Cloud Village] belonged in every single deck are long since over, and I now play competitively, playing in many Chunin level tournaments (multiple Top 8's and a “win”) in my time, as well as the Mist Kage in '09 (7th Place) and the Sannin Event at Gencon for the past two years (Moving on...). I am also a Meijin for my local game shop, if you call a 45 minute drive local that is. Forum wise, I am an active member or the Bandai Forum Community, as well as one of the founding members of my Team's forum, CT Crew Gamming (Shameless Plug-no-Jutsu!).

On a less Naruto-esque note, I am an avid gamer of all fields. I have at least tried nearly every MMO game to date, save for the more obscure Korean and Japanese exclusives (and even a lot of those), and was a full time player of both Everquest and Everquest 2 up until about two years ago. Table top RPGs are also another area of expertise of mine, ranging from Dungeons and Dragons to Vampire: The Requiem. And of course, I have shuffled and cut a deck of dozens of CCGs, including but most certainly not limited to: Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon, Magi Nation, Star Wars (Decipher), Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, Legend of the Five Rings, Dragon Ball (Score and Bandai), Bleach, and of course, Naruto (both the English game as well as the Japanese Shippuden CCG).

Less Talky, More Previewy

Now that introductions are out of the way, I am proud to have the pleasure of revealing and reviewing one of The Perfect Curve's previews for the week. Fitting in with our Taijutsu theme, I present to you the Raging Blue Beast himself, Might Guy!



So, right from the get go, we notice a few key things that make this Might Guy different from the rest. Sporting the addition of both Surge as well as Growth on his characteristic line this time, as well as a support value of 3 in his Healthy Status, along with maintaining his monstrous 6 Combat even when injured.

This Might Guy can play the role of both Head Ninja as well as Support, given that 3 is the golden number we look for in support Ninjas, as well as the fact that with Growth and Surge, he can be either a 6/3 6/0 (normally), 7/4 7/1 (growthed), or a 8/5 8/2 (surged). With the existence of Might Guy (Afro), he has plenty of backup copies to Growth from, or better yet to Surge with, and his effect makes all those extra copies even more useful. A valid effect that turns Surge into a reusable effect is not exactly game breaking, but with the right cards, you can produce some positive results.

Rock Lee (N-913) – Pro: Surge him multiple times with a plethora of useable cards in hand for that key Outstanding Victory. Con: Late game tech for a early game Ninja.

Leaf Hurricane (J-755 ) – Pro: Surge a Ninja multiple times and then pick them up with this Jutsu card to do it again or conserve Hand advantage. Con: Requires you to go relatively unharassed during the Exchange of Jutsu for maximum effectiveness (if you want to use the combination effect in tandem with a copy of this card in your chakra or discard already).

Advisor of the Sand (N-939) – Pro: Turn every copy of a Ninja you have in play already in your hand into a new card from your Deck. Con: As with Leaf Hurricane, this can be interrupted during the Exchange of Jutsu by your opponent, though...

Chiyo (N-942) – Pro: Gives much more flexible defensive control in case you need to surge off of the same Ninja in order to block a jutsu or two. Con: Another non-Taijutsu Ninja for what it seems it supposed to be a near Taijutsu pure decktype.

Overall, Might Guy [Gate of Joy] may not be the most incredible Might Guy ever printed, but he fits in as a key component of the Taijutsu deck for Path of Pain, as you will see once Zero posts his own preview in a day or two. Keep in mind both Leaf Hurricane as well as Advisor or the Sand for that one.

Labels: Might Guy, naruto ccg, Path of Pain, previews, Shino'sDad, Tylar