Wizards of the Coast has announced details of its plans for a new trading card game with broad multi-media support. The Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters TCG will be heavily supported by a Hasbro-created animated television show as well as an online battle game.
Kaijudo will be Wizards second attempt to transport the Duel Masters property from Japan, where the game is the #2 CCG in a robust market, to the United States (see “WotC Revives ‘Duel Masters’.” This new iteration, with the same game play but a somewhat different storyline, will become the version of the game sold everywhere in the world except Japan.
The Kaijudo property will center around an animated TV show that features a 14-year old boy named Ray who befriends creatures from another dimension and duels alongside them to save his friends. The TV show will be produced by Gary Hartle, whose experience includes The Mask and The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes animated shows; and writing by Star Wars: The Clone Wars co-writer Henry Gilroy. The show will air on The Hub TV network and is scheduled to begin airing this summer.
The Kaijudo TCG allows players to build their own custom decks using cards from regularly scheduled expansions. Cards in the game are based on five “Civilizations” with traditional elemental themes such as “water” or "fire." Cards in the game packs will have a standard rarity scheme, with Common, Uncommon, and Rare cards. Special Very Rare and Super Rare cards will also be included, in special premium foil formats.
The first release of the TCG, a limited edition Battle Deck, is scheduled for June 26. This package will include two pre-built 40-card decks featuring two of the main creature characters from the TV show: Tatsurion the Unchained and Razorkinder. Each box will also include two “code cards” that players can use to log for exclusive online content on the Kaijudo Website.
This limited edition release will only be made available to WPN Core and Advanced stores. The first release to mass accounts will be in September.
The Kaijudo Battle Deck will have a suggested retail price of $19.99.