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New Trading Card Games Make “Magic” Yu-Gi-Oh!, Bakugan and Magic: The Gathering Heat Up CompetitionsGood friends. Fantastic images. Evolving play. Collectible card games have quite a draw. Experts in competitions and novices hanging with friends both come for quick fixes of addicting games. WHERE THE COMPETITION LIES Play All Day, a gaming store in Little Egg Harbor, N.J., holds sanctioned game nights during the week where players compete. They also have casual nights for people to have fun without the pressure of competitions.  “The competition of Magic [from Wizards of the Coast] is very high. People like to strive for that,” Owner John Devitt told TDmonthly Magazine.“Magic is probably No. 1 one and Yu-Gi-Oh! [from Konami] is probably second in line,” he said. “These are the only ones I actually carry. Nothing else comes close.” Part of the appeal of Magic: The Gathering, which is currently seeing a sales climb among card games in the specialty market, and Yu-Gi-Oh!, Devitt said, is that a new expansion launches at least every three months. This injects the game with new cards, new energy and sometimes even new mechanics. The freshest Magic: The Gathering expansion is Zendikar, opening up a new world for players. New game mechanics and new Planeswalkers — beings who transcend dimensions — will liven up any deck. With a tag line of “Deadly Perils, Priceless Treasures,” this 249-card set has players trawling the Internet for clues of what the new cards will be. Konami is bringing more Yu-Gi-Oh! cards to the table in October with the Ancient Prophecy Special Edition and Warrior's Strike Structure Deck. The Special Edition comes with three packs of the Ancient Prophecy expansion plus one or two variant cards. Warrior's Strike is loaded with three foil cards in addition to the normal deck. SELECT FEW STAY ON TOP  Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh! are “crazy good” sellers, said Eric Reasoner, owner of Cardhaus, a game store in Lynnwood, Wash.“We're very selective with what we carry. Unless it's pretty safe, we don't dabble in it,” he told TDmonthly. “We used to go big into everything that came out. We'd sell a little bit and get stuck with a bunch of product.” He said there's still a solid core of fans of Legends of the 5 Rings from Alderac Entertainment. Celebrating 15 years in 2010, L5R inhabits a mythical samurai world. While many games have tournaments, L5R is the only one where the winner actually changes the future of the game. The winner and the winning cards affect the lives of the characters in the ongoing, immersive storyline. Choosing which team to play opens doors in a worldwide community, said Todd Rowland, a spokesman from publisher Alderac Entertainment. CARDS FORGE COMMUNITY  “In general, in most collectible card games, you're on your own, everyone against everyone. But when you pick up L5R and say, 'I'm going to play the Dragon Clan,' you are instantly part of a larger group.”The new expansion, 150-card Imperial Gift, will be given out free over the course of three releases to those who ask for it as a reward for players who have supported the game, Rowland told TDmonthly. Fantasy Flight games like Call of Cthulhu and Game of Thrones are also selling well, Reasoner said. These games are morphing into what Fantasy Flight dubs a “Living Card Game.” Traditionally, collectible card game players buy packs of cards at stores, and single cards when they can get them, many times leaving the best cards to he who has the most money. In the Living Card Games, however, every player buys the same 40-card set, a Fantasy Flight spokesman said. Scourgewar is the 10th expansion of the online role-playing game World of Warcraft, published by Upper Deck Entertainment. This follows an ongoing storyline, and incorporates character abilities and other favorites from the online version. Randomly inserted Loot cards provide upgrades to your online character as well. Also from Upper Deck is Dinotector Showdown, an expansion of the Dinosaur King game that adds new dinosaurs, and some of the most powerful in the game, to the game inspired by the TV show. “World of Warcraft is a pretty solid property, but it's been losing a lot of steam,” Reasoner said. Single-card sales were selling for a while, but [have] tapered off slightly. “WoW has the problem of just having more of a tournament crowd.” BAKUGAN FOR ALL “There are two different markets (for collectible card games): tournament players and casual players,” Reasoner said, and different aspects of game play appeal to the different markets. Casual players are not as selective; they'll open a few boxes and play. Tourney players will scour the Internet for the one card they need, he said. But you don't have to be a master player to enjoy the game ... you don't even need to know how to play. Peter Wilmot, 7, of Howell, N.J., does not know the official rules of Bakugan from Spin Master, but he loves the game. “He learned bits and pieces from school and before-care programs,” his mother, Leslie, told TDmonthly. “It's like a pick-up basketball game,” she said of how his friends play, “but it's a pick-up Bakugan game. It's whoever brings them in and that's how they play.” The Bakugan balls opening on the magnetic card initially drew Peter in. “It was a little magical,” Leslie said. “After that, someone told him that each one has a different power.” And that just took over. “How many Gs does yours have?” Another part of the appeal is the size. “You could keep a lot in pockets … so you could bring them to the playground without the teacher seeing them.” Bakugan is the first collectible card game that incorporates transforming action figures, strategy and shooting skill, according to Spin Master. New cards, traps and accessories are being introduced to change up the fun. Marching at the front of the new line is the 7n1 Maxus Drago, already on several hot holiday toy lists. It’s made up of seven combining toys — six Bakugan Traps and one Dragonoid. The Bakugauntlet — which is worn over the wrist like Dan, the protagonist of the Bakugan Battle Brawlers cartoon show, and has slots for cars — will also be new to stores this fall.
 Writer's Bio: Chris Lundy is a freelance writer and game designer who covered municipal news for several New Jersey newspapers. He's also written comic books and short screenplays. Read more articles by this author |
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