Future Card Buddyfight! (Overview)
Welcome one and all to another grand review on Hope for Gaming! Enjoying the summer so far? Today I'll be doing something a little different. Instead of covering a video game, I'll be covering a trading card game called Future Card BuddyFight! (I know it says Ace, but I'll get it into that later). BuddyFight is a Japanese collectible card game created by Bushiroad who also owns other franchises like Cardifgth Vanguard, Weiss Schrawz, and Love Live! BuddyFight also has manga and an anime I recommend checking out as the story isn't half bad. I will be diving into the story of BuddyFight a little bit but this review isn't about that. This review will be covering the card game, the mechanics, and the metagame. Perhaps I'll cover the anime and manga another time. With that being said, let's get started!
What BuddyFight is about and Basic Gameplay
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| (A game mat playing field of BuddyFIght) |
So let me get into the story of BuddyFight before I start throwing terms around. The world of BuddyFight is rather interesting. In the story, our world is shared with those of others. These other worlds make up the realms of monsters, dragons, legends, fairies, heroes, etc. These monsters enter our world through cards, and we use these cards to challenge each other in duels through the game of BuddyFight. Having these cards isn't enough, however. To truly make yourself a true BuddyFighter, you need to have a Buddy which are your partner, and the main monster of your deck. Buddies actually play a role in the real card game as well albeit in a small way but it's a very nice touch none the less. That's basically the gist of it. The story is very good in my opinion and is perhaps one of the best card game animes to watch. I highly recommend watching the series on Youtube as the official BuddyFIght channel has all the episodes.
I was going to talk about how to play the game, but the guys at Bushiroad actually made a very good tutorial video that does a way better job explaining the rules of the game than me typing it. So give it a watch.
Ah! And here's a link to a website that tells you about the worlds you can play. Each world is unique and offers their own playstyle. I guarantee you'll find a world that fits you (https://en.fc-buddyfight.com/special/world-intro/)
Artsyle
The art style is very diverse and unique. Each card stands out very well on their own, and each world has its own unique style that defines them. Hero World's cards look like they came from either a comic book or a space anime while Star Dragon World has this metallic style that gives them that "future" look. It's pretty outstanding. It's not all anime either. Some cards look like cartoons while others look like they belong Magic the Gathering. It's pretty cool.
Gamestate and Meta
This game does very well in Japan (pretty much every Bushiroad game does...maybe except for Dragonbourne. I hardly hear anything about that game). There's also a wide audience in America and other countries as well. Bushiroad also hosts regional and world tournament events year-round, so there's always a competitive circuit for you to play in. The game is not in danger of dying anytime soon, however, the meta is...debatable. Right now we're in the Ace era. The Ace decks are decks that belong to the current season of the show which is Buddyfight Ace. These Ace decks are the most updated for the current state of the game. This means deck before the Ace era lacks the tools to deal with the current meta. Some decks have gotten recent updates, a couple could probably do well on their own from time to time, but for the most part- these decks are subpar and aren't advised if your planning to play them competitively. There are plans to update pre-Ace era decks in the future, so it isn't all that bad.
As for the meta itself, like I said before, it's questionable. I'll try to put it simply, but it's more balanced then it was before. The era before this was mostly just two decks and that was Thunder Empire or CHAOS. It wasn't really fun (unless you were playing these decks then I guess it was fun). The Ace era is more diverse, and every world is a "viable" option. There are many generic cards that help all worlds deal with the meta decks, but you wouldn't need these generic cards if games didn't end so quickly. Games end fast simply because the current meta pushes so much damage and games end in like two-four turns if you don't have the right cards to deal with the situation. The problem isn't within the decks. Sure, our meta focuses too much on card advantage and the game likes to draw cards...like a lot of cards. If your deck isn't drawing 5 cards per turn then you've already lost. This, however, promotes a lot of card interaction, and games go back forth a lot as each turn a player has the chance to change the tides if they play their cards right. So what's the problem? Remember when I said every deck is a "viable" option? If it was the deck itself, then this wouldn't be an issue. The problem is that players aren't paying the deck as intended. In fact, players are using their decks to play into this...
Lost World (This is a bit of rant but this is important)
This right here is quite arguably is what is ruining the game right now. Lost World is a special mechanic that allows you to play with two different decks. You start off with your original deck that hs two lost world flag cards. If you draw a lost world flag, you may choose to play it at the end of one of your opponents turns at the small cost of two gauges. From here, you switch to your Lost World deck and play with that for the rest of the game. This concept is actually pretty cool, but the execution...oh the execution. The problem- Lost World is broken. Every card is a free draw, free destruction, and free defense. Monsters deal ridiculous amounts of damage (most monsters have can deal 9-10 damage if they connect. YOU START OUT WITH 10 LIFE! While other monsters can clear entire boards without any effort. Oh! And they have no size limit. Meaning you can as many broken monsters as you want with your only boundary being you can only summon three at them. Three is all you need really). They also have cards that deal 10 damage (did I mention you start out with 10 life?). Lost World can be played in any deck. Meaning all worlds have access to this thing. That's why I said every deck is a "viable" option. It doesn't really matter what you play. Once you get into this. Your all set. Because of this, players focus on turbo into this thing as fast as possible using whatever means necessary. Once it's out, it's almost impossible to deal with.
Now people are going to say "it isn't all that bad". They mostly say "just kill them before they get into lost world" or "it isn't that broken if you have the right cards". First of all, killing them is easier said then done when decks these days draw their entire deck and can get this thing in like two turn (especially if you're playing Dimension Dragons which is basically the main turbo lost world). This is worst if their stall deck. I would like to kill them before they get into this thing, but most decks have the options to stop you....a lot of options surprisingly. Second. saying that you deal with them if you have the right cards in hand is like saying you can stop a tank if you're equipped with a rocket launcher. Yes, they're beatable. Yes, you can get lucky sometimes. They're not impossible to deal with. It isn't easy, however, and not every deck is built to do so.
At the very top level of the competitive circuit, games mostly play out like this. "Who's going to hit lost world first?". Yes, there are decks that don't use a lost world. There isn't many. If you look at all the top winning decks. Almost 90% of the meta is all lost world users. It's true that you don't actually have to use lost world, but your basically screwed if the other player decides to. Because of this focus on Lost World, the market has also grown more...toxic as of late. This brings me to my next point.
Market
Just guess how much this card is? If you guessed 50-100$ Then you are a psychic. This card is also pretty much core if you want a good lost world deck (you also need four of them so..you know). This card alone has won way too many games in the competitive circuit which is why it's so expensive. The market is quite frankly awful. The problem isn't with Bushiroad (kind of). It's the community. I never understood these ridiculous prices. Top meta decks are like 150-300$ and if your adding lost world to the mix, tag another 200-300$. I think the problem is that Bushiroad tends to short print cards which cause sellers to upmarket these things. A simple solution is just to print more cards. That way meta decks are afforable and more people can play the game. Yugioh does this all the time 100$ dollar cards turn into 10$ cards the next day. Sure you can argue you can get by with cheaper options, and that's fine if your playing for fun. Do what you want in that case. But competitive wise, this game is expensive, and not very budget friendly. Some cards are just key, and those cards can cost anywhere between 10-50$ (50-100$ if your Vanity)
Other
I thought I mention this, but Bushiroad is collaborating with properties to release cards starring animes. The first of these is Detective Conan with Bang Dream Girls! possibly coming to America soon. This is actually a pretty good promotion, and Japan already has these cards and according to the gameplay; these decks are awesome and fun to play with. With the continued support of the game. There's no telling what Bushiroad might release next, and it's quite exciting to anticipate what's next.
Conclusion
Despite all the negative things I've said about the game. I still recommend you play it or at least give it a try. Buddyfight offers simple yet diverse gameplay that a lot of fun once you get down to it. The worlds, the monsters, and the decks are all so unique and wild and add so much flair to the game. The only thing stopping this game in its tracks right now is Lost World and the secondary market. Thankfully, Lost World has calmed down a bit with the upcoming news of the Thunder Empire support and Detivce Conan playsets. There are also plans to support pre Ace era decks in the future. This is a fine line, however, and the while the player base is doing fine for now. This may change in the future depending on how future sets turns out. Let's hope Bushiroad knows what they're doing.
That's it for my review on Buddyfight. Let me know what you think of the game in the comments and what I should review next. Check out my other reviews too. Until next time.
(Buddyfight is owned by Bushiroad and all rights go to them. Please support the official release)
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