Howdy! The thirst for new information about the next set continues unabated – almost every e-mail received this week was a question about DBZ: Heroes and Villains. The development of the set is still ongoing, and I am excited to see how these cards will impact the tournament scene. I hope everyone is looking forward to the result, and it seems that time is flying towards the March release. On to the questions:

 “How does the design team approach the limitations of the 6 styles? Their strengths are generally apparent and pushed via the Masteries, but the specific limitations of the styles are not so clear. Other games have some hard limits, e.g. “<Color> cannot destroy <Card Type>”. Have you been working with any similar constraints in designing the new version of the game?”

-Dan G.

Great question! Preserving the essence of each Style is desirable from a thematic standpoint, and it is essential to balanced gameplay. Without stark contrasts between each Style, decks would become homogenous and the metagame would stagnate. When the different Styles are able to function as a sort of “checks and balances” system, the environment should be able to ebb and flow naturally. For that reason, each Style will always have some things it is lacking. For example, you won’t see a lot of efficient ways to lower your opponent’s anger in Orange, nor a powerful Setup/Drill destroy effect in Black.

“In the original game, I loved the Swordplay cards, is there any chance we will see similar mechanics in the new game that work like Swordplay or Kamehameha decks?”

-Robert M. from California

I am a big fan of subthemes in general, as they help further differentiate decks. While you may not see “Swordplay” cards specifically, it’s safe to say that named cards will continue to give a unique and distinctive feel to each character. As the card pool expands, named cards will enable each MP to be applicable in a broad range of deck types. For example, [REDACTED] in the next set can utilize his [REDACTED] named card to augment the existing strengths of a Black Style deck, or bring some of those abilities to a different Style that would benefit from having access to that kind of effect. Oops, I’ve already said too much…

“I would like to know if there are any plans with HEROES AND VILLAINS or any other future sets to change the foil pattern or foiling process.”

-John S.

While nothing can be shown at this time, we have definitely listened to feedback about further enhancing the foiling process. I think everyone will be pleased with the outcome, but stay tuned for further details as we approach the launch date!

“Question of the week response: I am dying to use Nappa and I hope his named cards are good with Vegeta. I was also wondering if you would mind listing your favorite cards and decks.”

-Rudy V.

There was a nearly even split on replies to the question of the week, with all of the new MPs getting a lot of love. Nappa has way more fans than I would have expected! For some favorite cards, I think Goku’s Kaio-Ken is one of the most powerful effects in the game. Whenever I am working on new deck concepts, I’ll always give extra consideration to Goku since I enjoy playing Kaio-Ken so much.If you’re looking for deck ideas, I think Blue Goku is extremely underrated and interesting to pilot.

“When cards like Black Command get discarded while Krillin’s level 1 effect is active, which would resolve first?”

-Mike H. 

The discard effects of Black Command would happen first, then Krillin’s floating effect would take place. Similarly, if Krillin’s effect is floating and Blue Protective Mastery is used, the effect of the Mastery take place first. This is also the case for Black Devious Mastery.

That’s all for this week, but remember that your questions, comments, and concerns can be answered here by sending an email titled “MAILBAG” to dbz@paniniamerica.net (please include your first name, last initial, and location). For ruling inquiries, please use the same address. As always, I’ll end this installment with the question of the week:

Which Style do you find the most enjoyable to play, and why?