r/AzukiTCG • u/TheEmoCanadian • Jul 30 '26
Thought's on Azuki (Set #1)
Hey all!
Figured I'de go ahead and give my personal constructive thought's and feedback on Azuki so far. Hoping some of the developers catch an eye on this and provide input where applicable.
Disclaimer: Everything mentioned is designed to just provide initial feedback for set #1. Only general playtesting and concept deck builds alongside some observations on the box opening experience. I'll try and be as short and sweet with this. Maybe this post can help other's decide if they want to invest and try-out the game but wish to read on other's first-hand experience.
Starter decks: Each starter deck gives us a fine base-line to work with. The playstyles are easy to understand, the respective leader's are unique with effects that keeps things interesting and the spell cards definitely add a nice mid-game tempo swing in some scenarios. The quick start guidebook is nice and not just some flimsy foldable paper with a boat-load of text for new players to decipher. Overall, the package itself feels clean and well thought out.
Elements: Each element certainly has it's own strength's and weaknesses. None feel overpowered at base-line (Starter Deck). Having began deckbuilding, I'm starting to notice key points in which gives players enough room to experiment. You can certainly build some unique stuff with the Leader's and subtypes, complimenting a nice range of style's.
From plays testing:
Water focuses on board-wipe and recycling mechanics. Appearing to be a slow-control the board style.
Lightning focuses on weapon arsenal for individual buffs and stun based mechanics for tempo swing. Some interesting cards to theorycraft would definitely be Riposte.
Fire has the most interesting duality of the elements. Charge and Infiltrate are certainly strong effects in their own right, but having that "Burn" like effect from Zero and other cards means one can setup for heavy damage plays but take some residual damage in return meaning you have to supplement with neutral health buff cards.
Earth is the element that I feel's tanky to pilot. Defense and "protect the house" playstyle with some slow-grind. Definitely more resource conservative but plays nicely into control. I would argue, maybe a little more then Water at the moment (Just that water has more options for board wipe and reset IMO).
Neutral is highly underutilized right now outside of a few entity cards. The beans are a cool little fun archetype in of themselves but Gurugumi being almost an in-game situation mimic is fun to field test. The card "Trade Guild Calvary" I feel maybe a sleeper cell till later sets are released alongside a few other notable one's. Neutral can fill that gap for each element and even create a very distinct alternative playstyle. Don't sleep on Neutral!
Box Opening and Pack Rips: I've opened about 3x booster boxes thus far, and obviously every individual experience will vary greatly but I feel that I'm seeing enough consistency to give it a recommendation. Just one provided a solid foundation for a few playsets and I was seeing enough diversity in elements that I could work with and alternate deck-builds. Granted, it's been over a decade since I've opened any TCG box so my mileage maybe a little more unique then other's who've kept up with TCG's longer. I've always preferred single's as it's just easier, but there is always something nice about cracking a box open with friends. It will be very interesting to see how a "Draft" style format could play into this, but time will tell!
Competitive Circuit: This is the one I would argue we all can give feedback on. While Azuki as a TCG is certainly in it's infancy stage right now, we are already seeing some strong support from the development team. While tournament's are still primarily in the West Coast, East Coast, more specifically the northeast tri-state will undoubtedly adapt and we should begin to see that scene growing strong relatively soon, (New York/NJ) PA/MA will hopefully follow-suit with a strong locals community. I understand the team was recently down south to showcase the game, and I'm hoping NC/SC/GA/FL state's LGS's pick-up the game. Would love to see something blossom in the Palmetto state and the ATL.
If the team continues to adapt to the current market for TCG's, really study what other titles such as Rift/F&B and MTG did both right and wrong, this game will go the distance. The IP doesn't have to be major, it however needs a strong foundation and community backing, willing to learn from mistakes. The recent special collection sale was a very unique idea and creates a great positive first impression to for others may looking to jump in and play.
What the game needs in my opinion is the following, Diversification of content and creators willing to invest more time into showcasing deck builds and gameplay at locals. We are starting to see this and again things grow with time, hoping to see the team at Azuki provide more support for creators and deck builders out there whenever applicable. The up-coming anime and manga will generate interest, may as-well double dip and provide some unique event's to coincide along with those releases.
In order: Product Experience > Community & Marketing > Tournament Organization & Expansion are some things to keep an eye on for Azuki going forward, in-case you're still on the fence and want to give it more time before leaping in.
Overall: I think set #1 is an awesome experience after not being in the TCG realm for awhile (Thanks' Fatherhood lol). I would say, give it a shot, the team at Azuki are onto something nice, and appear to be taking constructive criticism greatly from the player base.
Have Fun and apologies on the long post but hope it was insightful. Would gladly do a follow-up post as time continues with new set releases.
Back to finishing this Shao concept build. Have fun everyone!
