Kaijudo Article Contest Entry: Controversial Topics In Kaijudo

February 20, 2013

Categories: Kaijudo

by Alex Jacobs

Hello players of Kaijudo everywhere! My name is Alex and I am proud to say this is my submission for the Kaijudo article contest! I'm not widely known because I don't have a YouTube channel but I post frequently on the Pojo forums and try to post as often as possible to help the real Kaiju-tubers. I just want to thank Alter Reality Games for the opportunity to write for them, I want to be a bigger part of the Kaijudo community and this is the perfect way to do it. From the title you can see that I will be talking about topics that get discussed in a heated way. Let's just get started.

Today, the two controversial topics I will be talking about is if Kaijudo should get a set rotation/limited and forbidden list and a sideboard. I'm sure most players know what a sideboard and set rotation/forbidden and limited list is, but for those who don't; a sideboard is a set amount of cards that aren't a part of your main deck, rather they are cards that can shifted in by replacing cards in your main deck. A set rotation is where the playability of your cards depends on the most recent sets, normally the last four packs released. A forbidden/limited list is a list of cards that can ranged from the very birth of the card game all the way until the most recent set. If there is a card on the list, be sure to keep aware of where on the list it is, if you make a mistake and take an illegal deck to a bigger tournament, you may get disqualified! Almost every card game I have played has had one or the other, in most cases both. Yu-Gi-Oh! has both a forbidden/limited list and a sideboard while both Pokemon and Magic the Gathering have a set rotation with Magic the Gathering also having a sideboard. Even Duel Masters (the game Kaijudo grew off of) that is still going in Japan has a forbidden/limited list. So why wouldn't Kaijudo? To me personally, I feel that if Kaijudo gets some kind of restriction on the cards to be played with it will be in the form of set rotation. Now granted, set rotation isn't particularly a bad thing, more so a cost thing. The thing I am loving about Kaijudo is that it is a fun and cheap game, cheap playing a role in the rotation debate. Buying several boxes of cards for 60+ dollars a box doesn't sound so great when you realize that after a few more sets, all those cards have little to no value, not to mention no playability, unless we get a game type like Magic has called Legacy, where you can play all the cards released under a small forbidden/limited list.

Now, just because I seem against the idea of set rotation, doesn't mean that it would be an awful thing to happen, the same applies for a limited/forbidden list. In fact, a limited/forbidden list might be the way to go. Because of how often sets are made and how many cards each set can hold, a few cards can be overlooked for reasons such as not being relevant the entire time since it's been released, there were better cards with similar effects, etc. That is where the problems can be without some form of restriction. Cards that weren't originally that great, when combined with new cards, can be very abusable. Kaijudo actually already has an infinite loop including three cards, (Alcadeus, Winged Justice, Twilight Commander and any other card that can make Twilight Commander a Powerful Attacker) if you don't add Shield Blasts into the equation. Right now, this loop is very inconsistent but in the near future, cards could be released that would make the combo unstoppable. This is where you could see having a forbidden/limited list very important. Another thing to factor in is just overpowered cards in general. Wizards of the Coast has done a very good job of making every card balanced but none that are just unbelievably good. (some may say broken) With a set rotation though, they could take those cards that were considered too overpowered and fix them, whether it by adding less attack, costing more mana, close to the same effect but with limitations on what all the creature can do, making it playable and fair to the opponent staring it down.

Next thing that needs discussed is a sideboard. I wouldn't be opposed to a sideboard if it wasn't so easy to kill off an entire deck type, that deck type being Rush. Rush is a deck built around using the lowest costing mana creatures and attacking shields each and every turn, if possible. The problem with that though is every creature dies to the cheapest removal in the game so with a sideboard, it wouldn't be hard to throw in a couple Barrage's, Tendril Grasp's and the other plethora of removal, (assuming you aren't already running them) and stop the deck in its tracks. With the mana rule of Kaijudo, as long as you have one color of a Civilization in your mana, you can play as many as you want of that color from your hand. WNF (Water Nature Fire) could essential trade out the cards that aren't very good against the match-up and throw in Bones Blades and the major enemy of Rush, Scaradorable of Gloom Hollow. What we would most likely see is one dominating deck that can essentially side every card needed for any match-up and always win. I don't like that idea. Kaijudo is an awesome game because of all the different possibilities of decks that can be built and hold their own against most other decks. I personally have four different decks built right now that I would say are all extremely competitive. I don't want this game turning into mirror match after mirror because let's be honest, that would get old fast. The only reason I could every see a sideboard needed would be when Rush can get the cards needed to be consistent, both siding and main deck answers, and have counters to what the opponent might side in.

Well guys, I hope this article was informational and I hope it is not my last. If you disagree or agree with me please post your thoughts in the comments. I love hearing feedback on any of my thoughts and ideas! Until next time, play hard or go home!