Media Blasters and Dex Entertainment have created an American version of Alteil, the number one online fantasy card game in Japan.  The game, which has been refined and expanded for over four years in Japan, features a continuously expanding storyline and uses virtual cards representing characters and spells to create a rich hybrid that combines the style of a Japanese fantasy RPG with elements of a dueling card game.  Alteil is 100% Web-driven and is free to play, though players can purchase cards to augment their free starter set. 

Media Blasters plans to launch the Alteil game in the spring of 2008 at which time online card packs will be available for purchase (the price of the virtual cards has not been set yet, but a Media Blasters spokesperson told ICv2 that the cards 'should be significantly less than $1 per card... and people could potentially get several cards for $1).

The Alteil cards, which are entirely 'virtual' rather than physical objects, nevertheless feature art from leading Japanese creators including designer Katsuya Terada (Hellboy, Tekken 5), illustrator Hitoshi Yoneda (Phantasy Star, Xanadu II), and monster maven Yuji Kaida (Godzilla) to name just a few.