On November 20, the Azuki TCG expands its horizons. Fractured Domains brings new ways to play, whether you’re a total beginner or an experienced card gamer. The new set gives us new ways to play each of the four elements, plus – for the very first time – a multi-element Leader that combines the power of Water and Lightning.
The Azuki TCG is a battle that takes place across two rows, and deciding whether to play cards in the Garden or Alley is a major part of its strategy. Entities in the Alley (back-row) cannot be interacted with, and entities in the Garden (front-row) can attack, but they’re also vulnerable to attacks and spells. Using the game’s signature Gate portaling mechanic, players can move entities from the Alley to the Garden, in turn activating a unique and powerful Gate effect that can significantly influence the tempo of the game.
Each deck pairs a Leader with a Gate of a matching element, and Fractured Domains introduces the first Leader to combine multiple elements, starting with Water and Lightning. You can pair this new Leader with any of six Water or Lightning element Gates, choosing which strategy to build your deck around. New cards from the set also support existing Leaders, Gates and playstyles from the first set, Gates Awakened, so players can keep tweaking their existing decks.
Let’s take a closer look at some of those new strategic decisions:
New strategies for every element
Water disrupts the board. Water gets a new mechanic called Displace, which moves opposing entities from the Garden to the Alley without activating their card effects. Water will have more ways to control the game, whereas Gates Awakened water cards were more tempo-control.
Earth slows the opposition. Earth gets a new mechanic called Rooted, a status effect that stops an entity from attacking until the start of your next turn, which you can combo with other cards or just buy time to ramp or develop your board.
Lightning plans ahead. The new Lightning Leader and Gate let you set up the top of your deck then play them for free. The deck is a bit more combo-y than the current Lightning Leader, but it requires more actions each turn to set up your gameplan.
Fire turns up the pressure. Fire gets the Bloodlust mechanic, which is all about going face. Cards with Bloodlust deal more damage when targeting opponent Leaders, but those cards generally have lower stat lines, so you can’t contest board as much, so this deck is suitable for players who just want to go full-aggro and end games fast.
A wide range of neutral cards also come with the set, and those can go into any deck. The new neutral cards from Fractured Domains allow for more tech cards for various situations, such as removing big bodies.
Choose a starter or expand your collection
With a new set and a growing competitive scene (the first regional tournament Pasadena drew 320 players), now’s a great time to start or expand your collection. The four new starter decks – Fire, Water, Earth, or Lightning – include a Leader, Gate, and 50 main deck and resource cards. That’s everything you need to learn the rules before building a deck from scratch.
Plus, the starter decks are semi-competitive, so they can be a great foundation to build upon. Then, you can use any of the cards from Fractured Domains or Gates Awakened to tune your deck, as long as the element of the cards match the element of the Leader or if the cards are neutral.
Collectors also have new cards to chase, including three new Portrait Rares, two of which feature the IP’s main characters Shao and Raizan, and a new ‘Color Variant’ rarity. The retail Relic Hunter Box offers another way to explore the set: six Fractured Domains booster packs, one guaranteed promo card and one random IKZ promo card, with a US MSRP of $39.99.
Fractured Domains releases November 20 across North America, Latin America and Europe. You can find out more about the set and where to pre-order straight from Azuki TCG. And, if your LGS hasn’t got the game in stock yet, why not show them Azuki’s retailer guide?
Source: Wargamer
