Hello everyone! We’re back with another edition of the Mailbag, which is now regularly scheduled for Thursdays. There’s a lot to cover this week, so let’s get to it!

“If I play Nappa’s Confidence and my opponent is at zero power, does he have to discard damage?”

-Ken T. from Texas

Whenever a personality loses stages at 0, the remaining stages are discarded as Life Cards. Keep in mind that destroying/discarding cards is different from taking damage (you may not use Endurance and Dragon Balls do not require a replacement discard). Also note that “losing stages” is different from “paying stages” – for example, Saiyan Offensive Rush can be used when you are less than four stages above zero, and you would discard the remaining amount from your Life Deck. However, if Saiyan Offensive Rush required you to “pay” stages, then you would need to pay the full amount.

“There has been speculation and rumors that this game is going to be a “Block Format,” where after a certain amount of sets (3 from what I have heard), the old cards will no longer be legal in organized play. Can you give any information and squash/support these rumors?”

-Bryan B.

In the realm of the DBZ TCG, it seems that rumors can fly to Namek and back before the truth even has a chance to board a space pod! After careful deliberation, there are no plans to implement any kind of format rotation. We currently have less than 60 cards per Style, so something like this wouldn’t even be on the table until much further down the line. Any information about the game that did not come directly from Panini should usually be taken with a grain of salt.

“When can we hear about the official start to Organized Play? Been 6 months since game release and people are itching to relive the nostalgia of Worlds/Regional Tournaments.”

-Wayne W. from Montana

I was an avid tournament player in the DBZ CCG, so I completely understand the burning passion for Organized Play! Rest assured, it is coming, and I’m confident that your competitive itch will be scratched.

“I’m loving the new set but all of my creations cannot seem to beat the old tier decks like Orange Ginyu Force and Promo Krillin Black. What should I do?”

-Kris B.

Heroes & Villains vastly increased the amount of tech options for a variety of matchups. If Orange Ginyu is giving you problems, consider using cards like Isolation or Withering Fire. Depending on your local environment and the deck you are running, you might also want to run Energetic Left Blast. If you’re seeing a lot of Krillin Black with an emphasis on defense, you would be well served to run an anti-control MP like Nail. Other strong options against Black Krillin include It’s Over 9000, Blue Battle Drill, or any kind of stage denial like Nappa’s Confidence and Saiyan Charged Fist. Tuning your deck to defeat a predicted metagame is always a rewarding experience, so I hope you have fun perfecting your deck!

That’s all for this edition, and remember that your questions or comments can always be addressed here by e-mailing dbz@paniniamerica.net with “MAILBAG” in the title. Please send any rules questions to the same address. To close, I’ll pose the question of the week:

What is your favorite Named card?