If you could grab a drink with any trading card game character, who would it be? I’m picking Liliana Vess from Magic: the Gathering ’cause she’ll raise anyone’s spirits. Ha, necromancer jokes! But forget MtG, forget Pokémon, the One Piece CG is killing it out there. Let’s take a look at more manga and anime-related tabletop news. Shuffle, draw, let’s play!
It has been a busy start to 2023. While ripples of the pandemic continue to be felt, tabletop players have had a lot to talk about, including the Wizards of the Coast OGL fiasco, a Dungeons & Dragons movie that’s probably out by the time you read this, and the announcement of a new edition of Warhammer 40,000 from Games Workshop. We’ll focus our laser targeters on anime and manga properties, though, and there’s a fair heap of loot to wade through. Let’s cast off!
Chibi Villains for My Hero Academia
April 7th will see a new DLC (Deck Loadable Content, yes, you heard me) launch for the My Hero Academia CCG Series 4. Entitled My Hero Academia CCG Series 4: Chibi Mani Deck Loadable Content (DLC), this set contains twelve unique cards with chibi art. All are tournament legal. If you like villains, this is the set for you, as it has baddies like Twice, Spinner, Muscular, and Moonfish.
Source: ICv2
One Piece CG on Fire
How did you get your start on One Piece? The school I was teaching English at in Japan had the manga in English, so I… cough… dove in.
According to the geek culture business website ICv2, the One Piece CG is on a massive winning streak with fans, having sold well in 2022 and already into 2023. One Piece needs no introduction, but have you tried the card game? Bandai Namco has you sorted if you haven’t; a beginner’s page will teach you everything about the game, an app, and the video below. Now’s a great time to pick this one up.
Reincarnated as a Slime Vol. 3 Booster for Weiss Schwarz
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Vol. 3 will get a booster for the Weiss Schwarz TCG. It’s scheduled for release into retail on July 21st, 2023. The set includes foil hot stamped sign cards of Miho Okasaki (Rimuru), Tomoaki Maeno (Veldora), Makoto Furukawa (Benimaru, Taiju Oki in Dr. Stone), Sayaka Senbongi (Shuna), MAO (Shion), Rina Hidaka (Milim), Atsumi Tanezaki (Mjurran, Anya Forger from Spy x Family), and of series mangaka Taiki Kawakami. Thanks, Bushiroad!
Source: ICv2
Strong GeGeGe no Kitarō Vibes for Pathfinder 2e
Longtime anime and manga fans will know of GeGeGe no Kitarō, which popularized Japanese folklore and yōkai. Paizo, which publishes the Pathfinder Second Edition Roleplaying Game, announced two new books for their Tian Xia East-Asian-inspired setting, coming later in 2023 and 2024. One of their books, the Lost Omens Tian Xia Character Guide, looks like the nod to the GeGeGe legacy we need. Sign me up!
WarGreymon and Garurumon Digimon Starter Decks
We can expect two new Digimon CG Starter Decks from Bandai: Wolf of Friendship and Dragon of Courage. They’ll hit the shelves on October 13th, 2023.
Tai and WarGreymon feature in the Dragon of Courage deck, while Matt and Garurumon are the focus of the Wolf of Friendship deck. Both decks are ready to play out of the box, with a 54-card deck and two Memory Gauges in each pack.
Source: ICv2
And Now for Something Completely Different
This might be for fans of SK8 the Infinity. Or anyone who enjoys the more out-there bits of Japanese pop culture. Thrasher magazine recently released video parts of various Japanese skateboarders, including this Tightbooth part by Japanese Super Rat. Watching this level of creative freedom takes me to my happy place, enjoy.
…I’m Tapped Out!
Now for an important question: if you could befriend any Pokémon in real life, which Pokémon would it be? Let us know in the comments or online on Discord, Facebook, or Twitter.
Pokémon intrigues me, and if you’re as interested to see how the series and games change over time as I am, bookmark our Pokémon store page. It’s constantly evolving! (Okay, I’m gone!)
