10 Cards I Want to See Again or Reimagined

My name is Danny Rider. Long time fan of the Dragon Ball Z card game. With the new game on the horizon and the reveal of some old favorites such as Blue Terror, Orange Stare Down, Blue Round Throw and Confrontation returning to the game, I have to say I am a little excited. The new square one the game begins at will be a smaller pool of cards than the original Saiyan Saga set, but with many mechanics being worked out and aged finely over the last decade, I’m thinking quality will surpass quantity in the upcoming set. Hopefully we won’t get too many watered down “Physical Attack. Raise your anger 1.” cards which were the meat and potatoes of the Saiyan Saga’s styled choices.

Since it has already been brought up about things that people are hoping they don’t see in the resurrection of Z game, be it mechanics, promo availability or specific cards, I figured I would list the cards that I look forward to seeing in this new iteration. Some may need to receive a slight-to-full make over like the Namekian Dragon Balls, while others could transition easily with a little bit of word clean-up or a new image. So what old friends am I really looking forward to seeing?

10. Goku’s Battle Ready: At one point in the game, 3-4 copies of this card in a beat down deck was a strong choice. You could just about drop your opponent to 0 stages and take their anger to 0 as well. This allowed for a strong beat down, regardless of the opponents standing on the PAT. As the game evolved and damage shot into easily obtainable double digits and anger waned in competitive play, this card was quickly left behind. Now this rare (like many from the Trunks Saga) is quickly looked over and dismissed. One of my main hopes in seeing this return is that we will hopefully see a cap or reduction on the damage single cards can dish out. With a 60-card deck requirement and a scaled down Physical Attack Table, the game doesn’t need every card to do 20 plus stages of damage, with or without the possibility of endurance. Having a few heavy hitting cards isn’t a bad thing, but cards like Goku’s Battle Ready would be nice to see become utility again.

9. Vegeta’s Gallic Gun: Throughout the entire run of Old Z we saw various versions of the Kamehameha, ranging from Krillin, Goku, Gohan, Styled and Supremes. But Vegeta’s first signature move only got an uncommon nod in Frieza Saga and was easily overlooked for the better Jolting Slash choice. While players can make an entire deck around Kamehamehas, Gallic Gun never had a synergy. I’m looking forward to seeing this card make a return with some changes. Considering how named cards will now be specific to a personality the chances of using Gallic Gun as a go-to support card for Vegeta are possible, which is really why I want to see it return: I want to see how they can improve it.

8. Vegeta Scans the City: For a very long time there weren’t too many cards to drop your opponent a level. The Calming cards were difficult to play as they were somewhat situational, and even Cell’s Threatening Position was only available to villains. Vegeta Scans the City was a great stand-by for a variety of level dropping options, but just like Goku’s Battle Read, it became outdated with time. I think the new set is going to need Vegeta Scans the City once more, now that leveling seems to be such a focus for all styles. This card could always be useful and seeing it back in style would feel like old times again.

7. Chiatzou Level 2: New allies that are not going to be useable as Main Personalities? Sounds like a great chance to blow me up some Chiatzou! As a matter of fact, I think this new ally concept as a whole could be a great way to build some new ally deck archetypes and synergies (think Team Stamps or themes). Either way, believe it or not, I’m kind of looking forward to this personality level coming back at some point for new and suicidal use.

6. Pikkon’s Leg Catch: Keeping this as a named Pikkon card, and keeping the possibility that Pikkon will still be able to declare Namekian Mastery and using the Namekian Mastery on display at San Diego Comic Con, this card will only get better despite the fact that it would be personality restricted. The only thing I don’t want to see is regards to this card is another Irwin Toy hunt scenario. In fact, I don’t ever want to see another promo hunt, con exclusive hunt, tournament winner club hunt, This-card-was-never-actually-printed hunt, or any such thing ever again. I’m old, my bones and wallet are weary, I’ve settled down and the lessons learned from post 2007 gaming economics coupled with boxed games and Living Card Games have spoiled me. But I digress…I want to catch legs, get cards back AND jump a level. What’s not to love?

5. Vegeta’s Quickness Drill: Of all the staples, VQD is the one I would like to see return in some form the most. Card draw, simple effect and all players having access to it make it one of my favorite cards from the Saiyan Saga and of the game as a whole. With current info on the new game showing more of an emphasis on leveling, critical effects and masteries like Orange and the new Goku MP set, there are some indications that VQD in a reincarnated form may not have the same comfortable feel that it once did if it were to see play, but as the game grows I think the drill could continue to find a home in many decksc, proving its value as a staple once more in the new life of the game.

4. Dream Machine Battle: Honestly, I think this card is a prime candidate for the total overhaul. It never got a chance to see play at any organized event and it’s the only banned card I wouldn’t mind putting in this top ten list (This Too Shall Pass seems less relevant with the new spheres being set-up cards). I wouldn’t care what this card did (though lowering both personalities a level or clearing the table on both sides would be my recommendations). It would just be great to have the first banned card in Old Z and harbinger of Score errata and FAQ’s which followed it receive a nod in the new game.

3. Black Searching Maneuver: Black doesn’t need all of the control tricks that it had at its disposal to be returned to the game, but one that I felt defined the first steps of Black into a control style is this card. Useful without being completely broken, critical in a thinking man’s deck and a card that adds a great deal of depth into the “You punch me, I blast you” play mechanic of DBZ. I think with the deck limit at 60 cards, Black Searching Maneuver and perhaps a couple other control components paired with the right personality might be all that is needed to keep Black playing like Black plays best.

2. Dragon’s Victory: This is the only alternate win condition that should exist in this game. Dragon’s Victory is fun to build, play and pull off. Maybe because of the way it works or the fact that it does take some level of skill to execute I am reminded of the more thinking type CCG’s out there. I think having a thinking component in DBZ is just as important as having a main personality, and cards that rewarded the clever player should still find a home in the new game. With all the new anger stuff shown so far, Dragon’s Victory could either be just as useful as it once was or perhaps even less predictable and harder to execute in the future, but I would like to see it get a chance to be part of the future of this game.

1. Gotenks: This has been mentioned in some online discussions already, so this may not be much of a surprise. While we may not see Gotenks or the fusion mechanic touched on right away, it’s one of the things I am most excited about. I couldn’t have cared less about fusion when it first was mentioned in Old Z, but now there is a do-over opportunity on the table. The chance for fusion and the fusion personalities to be made more playable and actually competitive is real. If there was one thing the new game can learn from the old was how complicated, ineffective, unrewarding and non-competitive a fusion deck was. Even three years of virtual support cards from Retro, countless debates, articles and ideas have still not managed to make fusion what we feel it should be or worth playing. Outside of fun decks and Goten of The Ring, Gotenks Hi-Tech cards remain useless (and let‘s not even talk about Gotenks level 3). With critical effects a constant threat, Potara Earrings and Fusion Dance set-ups could be even more unlikely to get pulled off, not to mention stay in play once initiated. But with a full do-over Panini could essentially recreate fusion, how it works, what powers it provides or even determine if fusion characters could end up as Main Personalities. While this could be a long way off and may or may not come to pass as we may wish it, nonetheless it is something to await—either with baited breath or dismay.

Well, those are my big hopes. Obviously, we are only seeing a portion of this new set/build of the game, and as time reveals more it is entirely possible opinions could change, but my thoughts behind many of these needing to be returned to the game will not waver.

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