Before diving head first into the sea of information regarding the subject of card advantage, we must first outline why this topic is so crucial to grasp in the game of Kaijudo. First and foremost, Kaijudo is a turn-based game. What I mean by this is that the cards you use as resources, or mana, are required in order to play other cards. Because of its resource system and the option of placing only one mana per turn into your mana zone, the actual gameplay of Kaijudo relies heavily on the turn count. There is no possible way to currently place a level 2 or higher card in the battle zone or play a level 2 or higher spell on your first turn. The structure of the game simply does not allow it. Owing to the mana rule and the fact that Kaijudo is indeed turn-based, you can only play so many cards every turn. Of course, as the game drags on and each player accumulates more and more mana, more and more powerful cards and plays can be made.

While a player might have a high mana count late in the game, he or she could still quite easily lose the game if that player does not also possess options in their hand to respond to opponent's plays. This is where card advantage comes into play. Having more options than your opponent is never a bad thing. Of course, the only way that a player can truly possess more options than their opponent is to have generated some sort of advantage on the opponent at some point in the game. In all scenarios, the key to creating this advantage is keeping track of all cards on the field and in hand, both yours and your opponents. It must be noted, though, that while card advantage is of utmost importance, it does not single-handedly win you a game (although it almost always does when playing control). The strategic rush player understands this idea, and for that reason they know that giving the opponent cards is not necessarily going to hurt them if they can finish the game fast enough (as the opponent will not have enough mana to play those cards). Whenever you give your opponent a card or give yourself a card, you are generating advantage for the opponent or yourself respectively. Grasping this concept will help enhance any one player's performance in the competitive scene.

While the general concept of card advantage is simple, it becomes much more convoluted during actual gameplay. Often times, a player will find him or herself in a situation where the game is progressing at such a fast pace that it is difficult for a player to notice any particular changes in card advantage at any particular point in the game. Unfortunately, those that do not pay constant attention to card advantage will likely find themselves in unfortunate situations that sometimes could have been avoided had they been paying attention to the shifting of advantage in the first place. A prime example is the eager rush player. A rush deck aims to take shields as quickly as possible and overwhelm the opponent with low cost creatures, but what some rush players fail to realize is that every time you break one of your opponent's shields you are giving them card advantage. They are getting an extra card in their hand to possibly foil your strategy. Even without triggering shield blasts, the rush player can find themselves in some very dismal situations, if they aimlessly swing for shields. This is also one of the great things about this game that keeps it balanced. Every time you get closer to winning, you are giving your opponent advantage.

While giving your opponent advantage is typically inevitable in the scheme of things, the advantage that you give to your opponent can greatly be reduced through the creation of your own advantage. During gameplay there are four primary manners in which card advantage can be created for yourself: draw, search, discard, removal, and battle.

A card is classified as a draw card if it draws you cards. I know, who would've thought? This need not be confused with search cards such as Crystal Memory, which allow you to select, or "search" cards from your deck to add to your hand. Examples of draw cards include cards such as Logos Scan, Hydro Spy, and Spy Mission. Each of these cards generates advantage because they replace themselves and give you an extra card in the process. In Hydro Spy's case, you retain a creature on the field while getting a free card from the top of your deck, thus creating advantage. I will go into more detail about the math involved shortly. For now, note that playing any of these cards will generate you card advantage.

Search is the next category in which advantage can be created. One of the most widely played forms of search, Crystal Memory, ironically does not net you any card advantage. The reason being is that it doesn't generate any extra field presence or add more cards to your hand. It simply replaces itself with another card, thus ensuing in no net advantage. Of course, that doesn't mean that Crystal Memory is a bad card by any means. It is simply a 1-for-1, but a rather good one at that. Terror Pit, Bone Blades, Root Trap etc. are also great examples of 1-for-1s that don't directly net any card advantage. Nonetheless, there are creatures that search out cards that create advantage. The two examples I will use are Reef Prince Glu-urrgle and Gigahorn Charger. Because each of these cards provides you with a body in the battle zone you aren't losing any type of advantage from playing them. In fact, both Reef Prince and Gigahorn replace themselves with another card whenever they hit the battle zone. Reef Prince allows you to search through the top four cards (in this sense it can be viewed as a pseudo-draw card) while Gigahorn allows you to replace itself with a creature of 5000 power or more. Each of these provides you with advantage because they add a card to your hand while giving you a body on the field.

Discard is another way to create advantage. It can, in a sense, be viewed as the opposite of draw. Rather than giving cards to yourself, you are taking cards away from your opponent. This creates card advantage for you because you are essentially restricting the access to future options for your opponent while retaining your own. Fumes, Razorkinder Puppet, and Skull Shatter are all examples of discard that generate advantage. Fumes and Puppet each generate advantage in the fact that they provide you with a body in the battle zone while eliminating a card from your opponents hand, much in the same way that Gigahorn and Reef Prince generated advantage above except instead of getting an extra card you are ridding your opponent of a card. Skull Shatter can create advantage whenever your opponent has two or more cards in hand because you are using that spell and, in turn, losing a card from your hand but discarding two or more of your opponents cards, more than you got rid of.

Removal is the fourth way that advantage can be created. Removal is just that, removing creatures from the field either through banishing them, placing them in the mana zone, or placing them on top of your opponent's deck (Milporo is the only form of the latter removal). Although cards like Terror Pit and Bone Blades are removal, they are 1-for-1s, and they do not generate any direct card advantage. Of course, cards like Razorkinder, Tendril Grasp, and Barrage all have the capabilities of creating significant advantage. As will all other advantage-generating creatures, Razorkinder provides you with a body on the field, but with the added bonus of banishing an opponent's untapped creature. This generates advantage because your opponent is losing a creature while you are retaining your own creature. Unlike Terror Pit, which goes to the discard pile upon resolution of its effect, Razorkinder stays on the field which is significant in the fact that it need not leave your side of the field in order to activate its effect. Tendril Grasp and Barrage each can generate advantage in a similar manner to skull shatter. Although you are losing a card in your control by playing Tendril Grasp or Barrage, if you can remove two or more of your opponent's creatures with its effect then you are generating advantage and outweighing the negative loss of using your card.

Finally, perhaps the most intricate form of card advantage is that which is created through battle. Whenever you destroy one of your opponent's creatures as a result of battle (including when your opponent blocks and banishes their own creature while you keep yours) you are generating advantage for yourself. Essentially, you are ridding your opponent of a card in their control for nothing. When you attack and banish a tapped creature with one of your stronger creatures, you are losing no type of advantage yourself because you are not giving up any cards to do so, but your opponent is losing a creature which generates advantage. Things get even more fun when creatures with abilities that activate when they attack are activated. A prime example of this is an Aqua Seneschal attacking and trading kills with an opposing Cyber Sprite. Yes, you are losing a card by giving up your Seneschal, but because of its ability you are also adding a card to your hand. In sum, you banished one of their creatures (Cyber Sprite), lost one of your own, and gained a card to your hand. The net result is a +1 in card advantage.

Some of you might be wondering exactly what that last sentence means, as I have yet to cover what a "+1" is. While the above section detailed the manners in which you can create card advantage, what has yet to be discussed is how much advantage is created. To determine this question of "how much?", we as TCG players use a very simplistic numbers system that deals heavily with the sign in front of the number (+/-). While the above concepts make sense logically, when analyzed with basic numbers, the actual advantage accumulated becomes much more understandable and relevant. A "+" is used to designate any type of creation of card advantage, while a "-" typically indicates a loss in card advantage, whether it be for yourself or your opponent. Understanding the numbers behind card advantage will not only help you become a better player, but it ultimately will help separate you from the casual, fun player who likely does not care to understand all the theory behind TCGs.

Going back to the original card in this discussion, let us take a look at logos scan in terms of numerical card advantage. Determining the sign and number a card receives in terms of card advantage is actually quite simple. Any card that leaves the battle zone or the hand upon resolution of its effect generates negative card advantage. Thus, when you play a logos scan from your hand you are "-1ing" ("minus oneing", I know it might sound obscure at first) yourself, but the addition of two cards to your hand generates a "+2" ("plus two") in card advantage. Thus, the net result is a +1 in card advantage. This is calculated via simple arithmetic. You simply add the ensuing negative card advantage to the ensuing positive card advantage ((-1) + (+2) = (+1)).

Although on the surface this is a simple calculation, it does become slightly more complicated when we examine other scenarios. Such a scenario arises with cards that generate mana. Sprout is a commonly played card, and it is probably one of the only cards that's an outright negative in card advantage that still sees significant play. Sprout is a "-1". This might surprise some of you as it replaces itself with a mana, but we must be very wary of the definition of card advantage. Card advantage applies strictly to cards in your hand and in the battle zone. This does not include cards in your shields or mana.

Card advantage is important because you typically do not want to play cards that are going to give you a -1. The reason being is that, because you need to play cards from your hand as mana, if you are constantly -1ing yourself then you are depleting your hand and/or battle zone at double that rate on every turn you play a mana from your hand. Playing mana is a necessary evil. While playing mana from your hand does generate a -1 in card advantage, it also allows you to play cards from your hand (like Logos Scan) that can generate +s. Going back to Sprout, let us reexamine this card in terms of advantage. Sprout is a "-1" because you are not giving yourself any new cards by playing it, and you are losing a card from your hand in the process. Of course, the rationale behind playing such cards lies within understanding deeper strategy. Mana ramping cards such as Sprout actually can provide advantage, contrary to popular belief, in the form of "deferred card advantage". Deferred card advantage refers to such advantage that is created by a card later on in a game. Deferred card advantage is mostly seen when dealing with cards that add to your mana zone. While Sprout is a -1 on the surface, we must also consider the pivotal fact that there is a choice as to whether one plays a mana each turn. In the early stages of a duel, both players will typically be playing mana at the beginning of each of their turns. Remember, every time you play a mana from your hand you are -1ing yourself. Of course, nothing is to stop a player from opting out of playing a mana on one of their turns. In fact, experienced players will be the first ones to tell you that playing a mana is not always the most optimal play. This is where the notion of deferred card advantage truly comes into play. That -1 that a player incurred from playing Sprout early on can actually turn out to generate a +0 in card advantage, if that mana was used as a basis to opt out of a mana play on a following turn. This might sound confusing at first, but when you think about it is quite simple. You played Sprout on your second turn, and now you are sitting here with 5 mana but want to keep all the cards in your hand and play your 5-drop Death Smoke, so you opt out of playing a mana for the turn. In other words, Sprout started off as a -1 on your second turn, but you realize a gain in card advantage by not having to play a mana which would -1 yourself and still being able to play your Death Smoke. Had you not played Sprout, you would have had to place another card from your hand to your mana zone. From this perspective, Sprout actually turns out to give you a +0 because that -1 early game is counteracted by a +1 from the retainment of the card drawn on that turn. Of course, you do not realize this type of advantage right away, and sometimes you will never realize such advantage. This is the reason why deferred card advantage is inferior to realized card advantage. It's like this: Would you rather draw two cards now, or would you rather wait until three turns later and draw your two cards? The answer is almost always now, as it allows you to play the cards you draw immediately.

As previously mentioned, 1-for-1s (ie. Terror Pit) do not typically generate card advantage. You are using a card from your hand (-1) and removing one of your opponents cards (+1) resulting in what has previously been discussed as a +0. No advantage lost; no advantage gained. The numbers simply aid in the understanding of this concept.

While the numbers have been discussed, evolutions have been neglected. The reason being is that in order to understand why evolutions don't generate immediate card advantage, one must understand the principles. When you play an evolution creature into the battle zone you are generating a -1 in card advantage. You are losing a card from your hand because you are simply placing it on top of another creature. You receive a -1 from playing a card from your hand, then you receive a +1 by adding a card to the battle zone, BUT because that card you placed in the battle zone was placed on top of another creature you are also receiving another -1 because you are losing the previous creature. The result is a -1 ((-1) + (+1) + (-1) = (-1)). Of course, evolutions can also create advantage. Aside from being huge creatures that can generate advantage by banishing opposing creatures, cards such as Emperor Neuron and Hydra Medusa have special abilities that allow them to create advantage. Emperor Neuron draws a card every time he swings which generates a +1 on each swing. Thus, while Emperor Neuron is a -1 when you play it from your hand, if you can banish a creature by attacking with him, you generate a +1 from getting rid of an opposing creature and a +1 from Neuron's effect, netting a +1 overall. When Emperor Neuron attacks and hits a shield, it does not generate any advantage and up until that point still cost you one more card than it netted you. Although you draw 1 from its effect neutralizing the loss of advantage from playing an evolution creature, you are giving your opponent a card by breaking their shield, thus neutralizing the gain that you gave yourself and still netting Neuron a -1.

Hydra Medusa, on the other hand, has a come into play effect that has potential to create advantage. Hydra Medusa is a -1 to start because you are losing a creature (the evolution bait), but it banishes an enemy creature upon entering the battle zone. This generates a +1 for you and neutralizes the effect of the -1. In other words, as long as your opponent has a creature under their control that can be targeted, you will generate at least +0 in card advantage. Of course, what happens when the bait used already provided you advantage? Case in point being Screeching Scaradorable. If a Screeching hits the field and banishes a target level 1 or 2 creature then it is classified as a +1 for you. Now, if you play a Medusa on top of that Screeching, you can banish another creature and generate another +1 while losing your Screeching which is a -1. The result is still a +1 though ((+1) + (+1) + (-1) = (+1)). Of course, for every creature that that Medusa banishes, you are adding on possible subsequent +s.

While there are countless scenarios that I could discuss revolving around card advantage, the explanations above should provide any aspiring competitive Kaijudo player with a basis for understanding how to create and maintain card advantage.

Some of you might be wondering why in the world I discussed numbers in such detail that aren't even written directly on the card. While the numbers don't appear directly on the card, understanding what a +1 or -1 is invariably aids in the deck building process as well as gameplay. In deck construction, one needs to keep in mind all the cards in their deck that generate advantage. Think about it. If you are playing a bunch of high mana cost cards, but you don't play any cards that generate early +1s (ie. Logos Scan) then it is likely that you won't be able to play those cards until it is too late or even at all. Every time you play a mana, you are -1ing yourself, so it will become quite apparent to you as you play that you will run out of hand and options rather quickly. The player that is constantly wary of advantage has an exceeding advantage over the player that doesn't in these regards. As a result, playing actively by using the numbers previously discussed is of utmost importance.

This does not mean that you are constantly going to be thinking in terms of numbers. On the contrary, you might never actually think "Oh, I just +1'd with my Screeching Scaradorable!" But the fact that you understand that advantage was created aids greatly in responding to your opponent's plays and maintaining tempo within a game. Playing actively means you have to constantly be aware of the advantage that you are giving your opponent and creating for yourself. This is typically what separates the true experienced competitor from the casual player. An experienced player will realize when they are starting to give their opponent too much advantage. Usually this is a result of aggressive playing. As discussed earlier with the eager rush player, swinging into shields aimlessly is seldom a fruitful venture. The experience player plays actively and understands where the card advantage lies at all points throughout the game. The use of numbers is simply used to help deal with  more complex scenarios, and the actual numerical values tied to advantage created become second nature as you practice with thinking through each move and its results in terms of advantage. The experienced player doesn't have to sit there and think for a moment whether or not they just created advantage by attacking over a creature with their Seneschal (in fact, that play actually results in a +2). Rather, the experienced player will play actively by analyzing the field and weighing the pros and cons of each play. Throughout this entire process, card advantage is always in the back of the mind of the experienced competitor, and upon realization of this crucial concept, one can better understand the skill level required by Kaijudo. While some dismiss it as a simple, one-dimensional game, there is actually a great deal of depth in the strategy involved.

While there is no possible way to cover every significant trait of a competitive Kaijudo player, the topics discussed here should all help to shed light on the rising of future successful, competitive Kaijudo players. As we head into the first official tournament season in the history of this card game, I truly hope that this guide will be of some use to aspiring Kaijudo competitors, not only as a guide to enhance one's skill but also as a guide to grow your community and maintain the ardor and integrity of the community as a whole.