Title says it all. Just trying to stir up a friendly conversation via the comments section, so don't be afraid to let us know. I personally have been very busy with the PA Shonen Jump so I haven't purchased or had the time to actually play with any of the new cards.

That being said. . .

How do you guys feel Bandai did with Set 21?

Which elements do you feel will be the strongest? Weakest?

Favorite surprises from the set?

Any cards you felt where really under powered or over powered this set?

Let us know in the comments below.

-Tsu

Labels: bandai, Chief Tsuzumiya Haruhi, Set 21, tsu

I know, I'm as amazed as you are. I want to say "Hey guise, I'm totally back fo'reelz", but to tell you the truth it will probably be awhile before I actually post something else on the site. It's not that I'm too swamped with work (Though I do have alot of work I need to do), or that I'm too lazy (Though I am incredibly lazy), the main reason is that I just don't have anything I really want to write about. Actually, that's a lie. I want to write about how the community is killing the game, and making it so the people who spend their time trying to help the game grow want to shoot themselves in the face.

90% of the conversations I have with Pat and Tylar are about all the complaining on the boards. It's gotten to the point where every card previewed falls into one of two catagories: 1. "OMG BANDAI IS SO STUPID, THIS CARD IS BROKEN" or 2. "THIS CARD IS TERRIBLE KILL YOURSELF TYLAR". I'm not even exadurating, go read the preview threads if you don't believe me. It's gotten so bad that Tylar doesn't even check the preview threads most of the time, because he's so tired of everyone jumping to conclusions and complaining about every single card.

If the thread is clearly a number 1 thread, then it will basically end up a 10 page thread discussing how bandai can't seem to print "Fair" (I question if people actually understand what this word means) cards, 4+ card combos that make this card sooo broken, how we can errata this card to be "Fair", why bandai seems to only print broken cards in element X but not Y, and when it will be banned. I initially wrote out a bunch of user names, but decided that it would probably be in bad taste to point fingers, and also because it's very obvious who does it the most anyway. It's not terrible to occasionally over react to a card effect, as we have all done it before (InbeforeQFPstarterhokages), but when you starting calling pretty much every playable card broken, because it has synergy with several other cards in the format, thats when it's too much.

Now with the second type of thread, namely fire related threads, you have people simply looking to complain about how everything in life isn't the way they want it to be. Yes, I'm calling out every one of you who complained about fire getting mill support and the new -1/-1 coin theme,because you wanted a "Uchiha theme". I'm sorry your favorite element isn't based on mass draw and effecient removal, with tons of utility Ninja effects, but you have to move the f*** on, and get over it. For the people who complain that the cards suck and that Tylar is terrible at design; you are awful. I don't care wether you have "designed" tons of games with your friends, or if you can pull a rabit out of your ass; you obviously have no understanding on what a good card is. Fire recieved a ton of playable, and even AMAZINGLY good cards this set. Sure there were some mediocre as hell cards, but EVERY element gets mediocre cards, because designers try out new mechanics, and make weaker variants of cards at lower rarities to help players who don't spend alot to play the themes casually.

So now that we have identified the problem (Everyone being awful), what can you do to fix it? The answer, believe it or not, is to think before you post. When you are about to post how this latest preview is broken because of a 4 card combo that does anything short of win you the game outright, before even typing "Really Bandai? Really?" think to yourself "Maybe I should give bandai the benefit of the doubt and assume that my made up combo is actually pretty bad justification for a card being unbalanced. Why else do I believe this card is unfair for the environment?" From that you should come to one of two conclusions:

1. You might be wrong, as outside of this crazy scenario in which everything is perfect these cards aren't so great- In this case don't post what you initially wrote out. Instead post about the combo you figured out in the thread, and with the other posters that are interested, come up with ways to make it more consistent.

2. The cards alone feel too powerful for the format for a number of reasons that are comparable to previously restricted or banned cards- In this case just post why you feel the card is unbalanced, but accept the possibility that you could be wrong, and try to steer clear of blaming Bandai, calling Bandai/Andy stupid, begging for people to be fired, and complaining.

So now that I have ranted about how awful you all are, heres a Panda. Also, inbeforeyoumad.jpg

Tsu Edit: Yes, that is a real preview card

-Andrew

Labels: Broken Cards, He mad, jdragon #1, KFC, lasers, lolwtf, previews, Set 21, Zero

Hey loyal readers, I would have posted TWO previews for you tonight, but one Mr. Andrew Kardis is being a cock smuggler and did not send me the email with the cards attached.

Instead, you will be pleasured with my now endless ranting and raving.

So what has Mr. Nick Botchis (Aka Shino'sDad) been up to? Well, aside from trolling Naruto in the newest chapter of, Naruto, I have been playing Pokemon White a lot and also testing decks for the upcoming Chunin at ATF in New Jersey. More importantly, I am smoothing out the last bit of planning for my trip to Flordia for the SJC at Fort Minor, I mean Fort Myers (omg lol ur not funny Shino'sDad). I will be accompanied by a rather exotic crew of players from New England, as compared to my normal CT Crew. Expect to see the likes of Joe Colon and possibly Eric Melone kicking it in the backseat of my car (But which seat should I take?!).

So until tomorrow when I actually have the damned cards to preview, I will drop a hint for you all. He may not be Picaso, but he has a solid foundation at least. And then another card too.

-Shino'sDad

[Insert Sig Pic Here]

Labels: Andrew Kardis dissapointed me, bandai, naruto ccg, Set 21, Shino'sDad, sjc

So in typical "The Perfect Curve" fashion, things happen later than expected. The Akatsuki article went up a whole day later than expected. In fact, I think it's taken us a lot longer than usual to update the blog and for that I apologize. I'm working, Josh is working, Andrew is in college, and I don't even know what Nick does with his spare time.

With that being said, our second preview was supposed to go up last night, just in time for Susano'o's big unveiling today. Unfortunately, Andrew had to study for a few quizzes (one he took earlier this morning) and one he's taking right now. So that leaves either Josh (busy with work), Nick (not answering his phone) or myself to do it.

*sigh*

When talking to Tylar yesterday after seeing the Itachi, the subject of what Susano'o would do came into question:

[3/31/2011 1:04:02 PM] Tylar Allinder: previews r up
[3/31/2011 1:04:31 PM] Patrick O'Neill: HA!
[3/31/2011 1:04:32 PM] Patrick O'Neill: I CALLED IT
[3/31/2011 1:04:38 PM] Patrick O'Neill: IT'S A REIINFORCEMENT
[3/31/2011 1:04:40 PM] Patrick O'Neill: ANDREW LOSES
[3/31/2011 1:04:42 PM] Patrick O'Neill: I WIN THE BET
[3/31/2011 1:06:30 PM] Patrick O'Neill: GOOD CARDS
[3/31/2011 1:06:37 PM] Patrick O'Neill: I don't like that Itachi is EOJ
[3/31/2011 1:06:46 PM] Patrick O'Neill: Unless Susano'o has like stupid good put in play effect
[3/31/2011 1:06:53 PM] Tylar Allinder: he has to be
[3/31/2011 1:07:00 PM] Tylar Allinder: otherwise, how does it counter Kirin
[3/31/2011 1:07:01 PM] Tylar Allinder: lol
[3/31/2011 1:07:11 PM] Patrick O'Neill: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Knowing our one of our other preview cards it makes a lot of sense.

KIRIN

Now I know what you're thinking, that card is REALLY good. But Susano'o + Itachi is meant to allow you to stand up to the punishment that Kirin delivers. Itachi is one of the few effects in the game that is able to be chained to the effect. Susano'o, as you notice, doesn't put itself into play in a Ninja's team, meaning it isn't present on the battlefield. That means that the Set 21 Itachi is completely unaffected by Kirin, and Susano'o's ability to not allow you to lose by Battle Rewards gives you a chance to build up your field. Considering the steep cost of RFGing the discard and having to discard so many cards, the odds your opponent can use another shot are slim.

The only hangup I have with the card is that it draws 3 cards for seemingly no reason. There is only 1 playable turn 5 Sasuke in format, so I guess a 0 cost single user Jutsu that only draws 3 seems fair, but it seems like insult to injury on top of what is already a Chidori Stream-esque ability. I know Chris Kovaz had a preview of some either promo or Set 21 Sasuke on his facebook earlier but I can't find it (otherwise I'd link it). It wasn't as good as Eyes of the Serpent and I hope that it was the Set 21 Sasuke because if any turn 5 Sasuke gets printed that's better than Eyes of the Serpent, we're all in trouble.

I guess we all had it coming though. A 0 cost, land mark jutsu like Kirin was destined to be either almost broken or terrible. I kinda wish it was the later rather than the former

-Tsu

Labels: Chief Tsuzumiya Haruhi, previews, Set 21, tsu

For a good 10 or so sets now, most of us have wanted an Akatsuki deck where we could cram all the members in and it wasn't until the introduction of Void in Set 19 that this idea became possible. Bandai has succeeded in creating what may not be the most competitive deck type ever, but certain one of the most fun as players can finally get there hands on a full-fledged Akatsuki deck without the awkward and clunky 5 colored late game only variants of yesteryear.

Here's the low down on the cards in case you missed them.

Zetsu
Zetsu is actually a really awesome zero drop. He has good stats for a turn zero, and his effect is actually more powerful than you think. Looking at your opponent's hand in tandem with the Note Taking rule allows you to know your opponent's early to midgame strategy. You'll know if there's a critical mission to stop or a surprise Jutsu or Might Guy you might run into. The best part? It's guaranteed to go off twice, meaning late game you can chump this guy and know right away whether you can sweep in for the kill.

The only downside? He's named Zetsu, meaning he has some really stiff competition with set 18's amazing sideboard card of the same name.

Tobi
I was wondering when they were going to use the Tobi artwork from our website. He's actually pretty solid and depending on the cards with "World" in the name that are to be released in later sets, he could end up being a staple. As it stands though, his only option in format is "Taking Over the World", which actually isn't terrible as a 1 of or 2 of if you run this card and are playing the right deck. Tutoring up a free BR or a free Injure isn't that bad if your deck can for sure satisfy the requirements on turn 3 every game. If that's the best "World" card he ever gets though, the card will simply be wasted potential.

As it stands, he's not really going to see much play though as Many of Mystery from Set 16 is a for sure staple. Until that rotates, no card with the name Tobi will see play (outside of the obvious Uchiha Madara).

I also find it funny that Tobi comes in the Starter deck that doesn't have any cards with "World" in the name. Unless Andy fixed the lists recently?

Deidara
Deidara is interesting to me. I don't really know how this guy is going to pan out, but if I had to take my first guess, not so good. First off, his requirements are somewhat strict to pull off and your opponent has the option to negate the damage by ramping your turn marker by 1, which they will almost always do. So he essentially is going to ramp the turn marker by 1 for 2 generic if all your Ninja are void. That can be good or bad though late game as it might put the opponent in a position where they have to choose between taking a damage or dealing with Preta Path or Deva Path's effects. To top it off, no way to play C4 also hurts him.

I like his stats though and I hope I'm just wrong on this card cause I think he has nifty design (like all the cards for Set 21 so far).

Sasori
A little birdie told me that Sasori's effect was originally every turn before it got changed. That would make the card simply absurd. As he stands now though, Sasori isn't all that bad, with some solid Sakura-esque stats on turn 3. Good stats and characteristics also help him out. In the right deck he essentially will fetch you a whole new hand and given that the extra effect on other Void cards is to draw cards off the bottom of the deck, with proper management, you can swap into/draw into some really impressive hands.

Kakuzu
while I love the flavor of Kakuzu, I think this card is the least likely of all the cards to see play in the actual void deck and the second least likely to see play at all. His stats and characteristics are good but I'm not a fan of any of his effects. In a Lightning deck, I'm gonna want to play Kakashi as my 5 drop. In a Wind deck, Sasori is my man. So that relegates him to using the last effect which is essentially a "I can trade well" or "Well I'm not totally screwed" tool. I suppose it might be useful to just pay the 1 every turn for an invincible turn 5 Ninja but in the past that hasn't worked out too well (Hidan). I just think there's better options and this guy will strictly be for Limited play.

Hidan
First off... WTF BANDAI? WHY DOES HE HAVE A HANDCOST!?

So ... he's a turn 4 Zabuza Demon of the Cloud Village, a card seeing no play right now, only instead of killing 1 to 3 Ninjas when his effect triggers...you get a -1/-1 coin. Right. Gotcha. That's so worth it.

I get that he has good synergy with Uchiha Madara, but Chibi Hidan is better for that. Speaking of Chibi Hidan, the best card to use Set 21's Hidan with is the same Chibi Hidan...which you obviously can't do. So much fail...easily the worst of the Akatsuki in this theme.

Itachi Uchiha
...but you quickly forget about how terrible Hidan is once you see this guy. Itachi may be one of the best 6 drops ever printed. Great stats, all the relevant characteristics on a card you could want, and an essentially free effect. Considering no Jutsu played costs more than 3 (except maybe Hydro Pump which may get through on a technicality), At worst you're dropping your turn marker to 4 when you use this guy...which means you're most likely still going to drop the same card you would have anyway on the following turn (Chiriku anyone?). The longer the game goes on, the more ammo Itachi has and for a free effect, negating the first Jutsu your opponent plays for free is VERY powerful.

Fun combos: You lower your turn maker to an odd turn off of Itachi to trigger Preta Path.

Gaara/Temari + Obito Uchiha + This Guy = Jutsu? Nah bro!

Kisame
As expected, Kisame is the perfect partner for Itachi. His ability is also fantastic not only for fueling the effects in the deck, but depleting opponent's resources. He's all around a very solid card with solid stats...his only drawback is that he's only playable in a deck with a sizable amount of void cards.

Pain (Deva Path)
...or as I like to call him "One Winged Angel" (bad joke!). This Deva Path is very much an improvement over the original one in Set 19. His first effect essentially locks your opponent on turn 5 if you went first and they have to block him for fear of losing the game. However the true beauty of the card is should you drop him on 6 and win a victory every turn, you will always have an even turn marker for the rest of the game, meaning his second effect is always active. His second effect can actually seal away whole games as you're able to go on the offense with your big Jutsu like C4 or Hydro Pump and your opponent simply cannot retaliate to it.

I think he's actually a very strong 6 drop, who may actually be hidden tech later on at some point. I just don't know if he'll be good enough, especially when you compare him alongside Itachi who can essentially do the same thing but far easier and without the Sacrifice.

Konan
Well this card was a bit of a disappointment to me when I read it. For once I thought we'd actually get a great Konan but alas she's only just "okay" in the Akatsuki deck. Her best play obviously is to drop in play Deva Path and then drop Kakuzu or Kisame but that's really where the awesomeness stops. Sacrifice is a requirement to put in play certain Ninja, not just deploy them. So sacrificing for Deva Path and then deciding to put in play Asura Path or what have you will also require a Sacrifice. Now this could be awesome considering it triggers Konan again, but the already small field presence the Pain deck has would just get even smaller. And considering she doesn't have too many chances to trigger, I just don't see her as being that good.

Her effect is essentially resigned to dropping into play a Giant Chameleon whenever you put in play something like Preta Path or Animal Path. Might allow you to get some field presence/rush going or fuel other sacrifices later...but I'm gonna pass on this one.

Edit: Just reread Konan cause someone said I had the effect wrong. Yeah...that makes her even worse. Nothing to see here. Move along to the preview.

Okay I assume most of you just whizzed right through most of that and stopped right around here just so you can see our first Set 21 preview, which goes along with Fire Week.

I give you...

DENKA

...Yes this adorable kitty is actually a much needed early game drop for Fire, perfectly complimenting the rush style gameplay of Anbu and Dogs. As the game progresses and your field gets larger, Denka goes from pint sized to something much bigger along the lines of his feline friend Giant Tiger. And for those non-rush oriented decks, he actually has a really useful other ability. Should Denka actually stick around to see the late game and you need options, simply sacrifice him and your deploy to pick up a guy from your discard pile and slam him onto the table (don't forget to pay the hand cost)!

For a turn 0 common, I don't think Fire could have asked for much better. He's all around incredibly solid and is sure to make a lot of you Fire players purrrrrfectly happy.

Check back tomorrow night when Andrew will have our 2nd Set 21 preview.

-Tsu

Labels: bandai, Chief Tsuzumiya Haruhi, previews, Set 21, tsu