Posted in: Card Games, Dragon Ball Super, Games, Tabletop | Tagged: cross spirits, dragon ball, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball Super Card Game, Dragon Ball Super CG

Opening Dragon Ball Super CG: Darkness Reborn Reboot Starter Deck

Dragon Ball Super Card Game has officially released its fourteenth main expansion, Cross Spirits. Cross Spirits, the fifth installment in the ongoing Unison Warrior Series block, introduces the new mechanic BOOST to the game. It includes cards featuring artwork inspired by and moments taken from iconic Dragon Ball Z, Super, and GT storylines including the Buu Saga, the Super 17 Saga, the Tournament of Power, and more. It is notable for having one of the most popular Secret Rares in the game's history, which features Frieza teaming up with Goku. With this wide release, I've already unboxed booster boxes and loose packs during the pre-release week. Today, you can catch three exclusive openings on Bleeding Cool of the three remaining Cross Spirits products: the Pride of the Saiyans Starter Deck, the Darkness Reborn Reboot Starter Deck, and the Cross Spirits Premium Pack. In this installment, we're opening the Darkness Reborn Reboot Starter Deck.

First, it must be noted that I approach the Dragon Ball Super Card Game from a collector's perspective. Starter Decks are items targeted to players, but I believe these are interesting for collectors as well. Competitive players may appreciate aspects of the usability of the cards in this product that I won't, so if you are a player, there are other content creators covering that part of this hobby.

Of the two Starter Decks that Dragon Ball Super released this weekend, this one doesn't appeal quite as much as the Pride of the Saiyans. While Pride of the Saiyans features memorable characters like Vegeta in his Super Saiyan Blue form as well his student, Cabba, this deck is going to be a bit more niche. However, something tells me that it's highly playable, as I've seen this one marked up above MSRP in local game shops while the Pride of the Saiyans is being sold for MSRP.

The Darkness Reborn Reboot Starter Deck features two cards with golden embossed features, which gives these cards the treatment that a Super Rare (SR) would have in a main-series expansion. If you saw my Pride of the Saiyans opening, it's the same with that product. The gold foil cards this time around feature the Dark Masked King and one leader card: Super Saiyan 3 Bardock.

Now, you might see why this would be a bit less appealing to collectors who are here for the iconic characters from the anime and manga. However, one thing I do want to say though is how interesting it is to see Dragon Ball Super Card Game pull from the non-canon supplemental material so we can get cards featuring oddities like a Super Saiyan 3 Bardock. What gets less interesting, in my opinion, is the other cards, like the Dark Mask King, which is a character and motif we've seen Bandai use a lot.

The other cards, which are all foil but not gold embossed, feature Vegeta, Broly, and Bardock (in his standard form) wearing the Mask from the Dark Empire. Overall, not the most interesting spread. My other critique from a collector's perspective is true of the Pride of the Saiyans Deck as well: We receive two copies of each card except the leader, which features art on both sides. Collectors will get this product wanting one of each card, with that card being the one they'd need a double of to display both pieces of artwork in their binders. As I wrote in the other deck review, this is standard practice for the Dragon Ball Super Card Game so it's no big surprise, but it's something that would make this product more appealing beyond its playability.

Overall, this is a decent product that will satisfy completionists and potentially competitive players but it isn't quite as interesting for everyone else.

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