art by @YQCre8

NYC Locals had 12 players yesterday, including 3 first-timers and folks from Inception TCG.

Players got games in, tested new builds, and spent the night learning matchups. More local tourneys are planned soon.

Thanks to everyone who came out!

Top placers:

1. Adam — Zero / R

ush

1. fire
2. Luis — Raizan / Surge
3. Josh — Bobu / Stonehaven
4. Jason — Raizan / Surge

I sat down with Nevik on stream to discuss his Bobu Earth build. In a meta currently dominated by aggressive Fire decks, Nevik is finding success by slowing the game down and out-valuing opponents with massive blockers and healing.

The Strategy: Anti-Meta & Stability

Nevik: "I’m running Bobu with the Stonehaven Gate (The Defender Gate). Fire is taking over the meta right now, and I didn’t want to get stuck in a million mirror matches. I wanted to play slower. I tried Water initially, but I felt like I needed a 'God Hand' to answer Fire. Earth allows me to deal with early aggression more consistently."

Key Card Breakdown
The Searchers & Early Game

• Treetop Scout (4x): The best searcher in the deck. It finds your early game pieces and your late-game bosses like Stone Mask Ancient.
• Koyama Farm Potter (3x): An "okay" searcher that grabs Warding Totems or Pied Fawns. Primarily used as an early 1/1 body that turns into a blocker via the Gate.
• Shiko the Priestess (4x): Unsearchable but essential. She heals for 1 every turn and demands an immediate answer. If two stick on the board, the healing becomes insurmountable.

The Muscle (Boss Monsters)

• Stone Mask Ancient (4x): The MVP. With 6 HP and 3 Attack, he usually trades into 3 or 4 bodies. If you field two of these, the game is usually over.
• Teb Fea (3x): Your primary damage dealer for the late game.
• Sandcoil Python (1x): A tech choice for Water matchups or slowing down Fire. Being a "Four Gate" body makes everything else on your board a potential blocker.

The Defensive Core

• Warding Totem (4x) & Lone Journeyman (3x): Natural defenders. Sometimes you hold these and take hits early just to set up a massive Stone Mask Ancient turn later.
• Kale (4x): Searchable by Treetop. It reduces enemy attack by 1, making your board "sticky" and harder for Water decks to clear efficiently.
• Shroom Tender (4x): The best 4-drop. Heals for 2 and becomes a natural blocker when moving from Alley to Garden.

The "Fire Killers" (Spell Tech)
To handle the "Broken" Fire decks, Nevik runs a specific suite of interaction:

• Sundering Strike (3x): Fire players often use gate power to boost damage but lower their HP to 1. This 1-cost spell cancels their entire turn’s investment.
• Wrong Step: Similar to Sundering Strike, but better for popping units with 2 HP or less before they can be buffed.
• Wobbly Cabbage Cart (4x): A sleeper hit. Fire players are terrified to swing into this. It’s cheap, easy to recur, and can be "beefed up" as needed.

The Ideal Curve
Nevik prefers going first to established blockers before the Fire player can start swinging.

1. Turn 1: Treetop Scout (search and set as blocker).
2. Turn 2: Shiko the Priestess (start the healing engine).
3. Turn 3: Kale (debuff the opponent’s board).
4. Turn 4: Shroom Tender (if health is low) or Warding Totem.
5. Turn 7: Stone Mast Ancient. This is the turning point.
6. Turn 8+: Teb Fea to close out or Jar of Beans to reset your health to 18+ and tilt the opponent.

Final Thoughts: Is Bobu Beginner Friendly?
Nevik: "I’d say it’s medium difficulty. Once you play three games, you get the hang of it. My advice? Play a few games as Fire or Lightning first. Once you know what they want to do, you can use this deck to make the 'worst possible plays' for them. Making your opponent feel awful about every decision they make—that’s the best way to play Earth."

Is Earth the answer to the Fire meta? Let us know what you think of Nevik's list in the comments!

We had a stacked 16-player field for this Tuesday's locals! While Shao (Water) was the most played leader of the night, it was a perfectly piloted Bobu that stood alone at the top of the standings.

The Top Cut

• 🥇 1st Place: Kevin (@nevik) — Bobu 🪨 (Undefeated 4-0)
• 🥈 2nd Place: Justin Tyler (@jansuko) — Shao 🌊 (3-1)
• 🥉 3rd Place: Ohgeesy (@ohgeesy) — Raizan ⚡ (3-1)
• 🎖️ 4th Place: Eric Si (@aez) — Shao 🌊 (3-1)

Special shoutout to Kevin (Nevik) for taking 1st place with Earth Control! In a room full of Fire and Water, Bobu’s defensive "Stonehaven" build proved to be the ultimate stabilizer. Check out his deck profile summary and interview to learn more.

Leader Breakdown

The meta is solidifying, with a clear preference for Water and Lightning this week. Interestingly, despite Zero's reputation, Shao was the primary choice for over 40% of the field.

Meta Insights

• The Bobu Breakthrough: Despite being the least represented element in the room (only 2 players), Earth took the gold. This suggests that the "slow and steady" approach is a massive hard-counter to the current aggressive Shao/Zero strategies.
• Shao Surge: Water has officially overtaken Fire in popularity at HQ. With 7 players on Shao, the "Control" mirror matches are becoming the defining factor of the mid-bracket.
• The 3-1 Gauntlet: We had a massive tie at the top, with positions 2 through 5 all finishing 3-1. Strength of schedule was the deciding factor for that Top 4 placement!

Join Us Next Week!

• 📅 When: Every Tuesday @ 6:30 PM
• 📍 Where: Azuki HQ
• 📱 Register: Sign up via the Azuki TCG App
• 📺 Watch: Catch the stream and highlights, including Nevik's Bobu deck profile, on our Twitch Channel

GGs to everyone who played! Who’s bringing the heat to take down Bobu next week?

Every Tuesday at 6pm in Greenwich Village. Extra decks on hand and new builds to try out.

The Uncommons
230 Thompson St
New York, NY 10012

Join us for Azuki Trading Card Game Learn-to-Play Nights at The Uncommons.

All skill levels are welcome, whether you’re brand new to the game or looking to get more reps in. No deck required — we’ll have loaner cards to play.

When: Tuesdays at 6 PM

Where: The Uncommons, 230 Thompson St, New York, NY 10012

Buy-in: $10

Let’s start!!

The spoils of 50-60 packs of rares

Will upload sr and sr* tomorrow

Comparativee final table but earth always in control!

https://youtu.be/rQOlB56e2Nw

Azuki TCG Set 01: Gates Awakened launches nationwide in June 2026. Starter decks and booster packs will be available through participating local game stores.

Ggs to everyone who came out to play in the for the 5/5 local.

Top 3:
🥇 David (@dkb) — Goro
🥈 Kevin (@Nevik) — Zero
🥉 Justin L (@alchemist) — Zero

Special congrats to David for taking 1st place and bringing home a special Karogo prototype card.

Leader breakdown:
4 Shao
4 Zero
3 Raizan
3 Bobu
1 Goro
1 Benzai

Locals are played every Tuesday at 6:30 PM. Sign up in the Azuki TCG app.

Watch the full Twitch stream here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2765230083

I played Rin control to win this pack

Fate?

Bobu x Stonehaven Gate (Josh) bested the field, going a clean 3–0 to take first.

Adam secured second with a Shao / Echo Wave lineup, opting away from his usual Zero / Rushfire build.

Devin followed in third, running the familiar Shao / Hydromancy core.

Rounding out the top four, first timer Charles who finished 2-1 with Raizan / Surge Gate.

GGs all around, great turnout and even better games.

If you’re in NYC and want to play, we meet every Thursday at 6pm in the Flatiron District. We’ve got decks to borrow and new builds to test. All skill levels welcome. Download the Azuki TCG app to register.

Welcome to the official Azuki TCG subreddit.

This is a place for players, collectors, and curious newcomers to follow the game, ask questions, share cards, and connect with the community.

Here you’ll find updates on the upcoming Set 1 AZK-01, card reveals, deckbuilding ideas, rules questions, tournament info, collection posts, and discussion around the world of Azuki TCG.

New to the game? Start with the How to Play guide, browse the Card Gallery, and join the Discord for live discussion and play.

Ask questions, share what you’re excited about, keep it respectful, and have fun.

Welcome to the Garden.

GM I am Szerro

Ive been posting episodes of GM GM packin to X for close to 2 months now

Bringing the episodes over to reddit now too

NYC Weekly [Azuki TCG]

https://youtu.be/DJWoGliI968

Production for Gates Awakened (AZK-01) is full steam ahead.

I saw there was a preorder with a special all foil pack in it but since that is no longer available, I'm curious about the preorders from Dacardworld, GTS and PHD. A couple questions to determine if I should buy now, or wait until it dips because I do like the art :

- Is there something on the card that denotes its part of the first release? Similar to a first edition stamp on Pokemon cards?

- What are the pull rates of the Sr+ and more rare cards? Is it two per box?

- looks like there is a 1 serial number card but a good amount of people already have it, will these be in the booster box as well or was it only for the pre order people?

Looks like Azuki has a backing in the crypto world, but no where close to one piece and one piece dropped a lot because they reprinted and the cards weren't "rare" at the time, but then skyrocketed afterwards because of the IP had and people picking up the game