Kessenju

Kessenju (決戦獣), formerly known as Kessenju! (決戦獣!) until 2007, and also known in the US as Kessenju!: Ultimate Battle Beasts, is a media franchise by ACS consisting of a manga, several anime series, a trading card game, and several video games.

Kessenju began life as a manga series by Hideaki Terasaki, which was serialized in Kodansha's Comic BomBom magazine, and ran from November, 2001 until April, 2006. It follows the story of a 12-year old boy named Sendo Tenryu, who aspires to be the best duelist there is. Since then, four sequel series have been made, each starring a new protagonist. An animated adaption of the first series, Kessenju!: Ultimate Battle Beasts, was later produced by Nippon Animation and ran from 2003 to 2006.

The Kessenju trading card game was developed and published by ACS, and was launched in December, 2001 in Japan and May, 2004 in North America. In North America, the Kessenju trading card game was distributed by Topps up until 2007, when it was discontinued due to dismal sales numbers. As of this writing, the North American version of the game is out of print, and the game is now only available in Asia, and only printed in Japanese.

Gameplay
In Kessenju, players draw cards from their respective decks and take turns playing cards onto the field, with the main goal of the game being to use creature attacks and spells in order to attack each other until one of them wins. A game of Kessenju is typically played between two players. Each player must use a deck containing at least a minimum of 40 cards, as well as a maximum of 3 copies of the same card in a deck (barring several "restricted" cards, which only allow one copy for each deck). Before each match, both players would decide who gets to play first using a coin toss.

Players starts the game with 2500 "Vitality Points" (VP), as well as five "Barrier" cards and an empty "Mana Pool", which is the main resource of the game. For every turn, during each player's Charge Phase, each player must sacrifice at least one card from their hand, into their mana pool per turn, which constitutes to one mana point. Unlike in Magic: The Gathering (and like in Duel Masters), any card can be used as a sacrifice, be it a Creature card, Spell card, Equip card or Arena card. This gives the game more flexibility against "dead draws", at the price of forcing players to make decisions on which cards should be sacrificed, and which ones to keep.

Putting mana sacrifices into play requires tapping (done by rotating the card 90 degrees, indicating that it has been used that turn) a certain amount of mana, including at least one mana from the same color, or Realm, as with the card that the player uses. More powerful cards cost more mana, so as the game progresses, more sacrifices will be in play, more mana will be available, and the quantity and relative power of the Creatures, Spells and Equips played tends to increase.

Players begin the game by shuffling their decks and then drawing five cards. On each player's turn, following a set phase order, they draw a card, put a card on their mana pool as a sacrifice, tap their sacrifices as necessary to gain mana as to summon creatures, cast spells and/or equips, engage their creatures in an attack round against their opponent and their creatures, who may use their other creatures or trigger their Barriers to block the attack, and then complete other actions with any remaining mana, before ending their turn. Tapped resources remain tapped until the start of the player's next turn, during what is known as the "Neutral Phase", so the player must also plan ahead for their opponent's turn. The standard order of phases in a turn goes: Draw Phase > Neutral Phase > Charge Phase > Main Phase 1 > Attack Phase > Main Phase 2 > End Phase.

During the Attack Phase, one-by-one, players target their opponent's creatures and engage in combat with them, during which the opponent can choose to assign a creature that hasn't been targetted by the player as a "blocker", and divert all damage to the target creature into the blocker instead. Alternatively, they can instead trigger one of their Barriers to summon a creature that can be used as an emergency blocker, or cast a Spell that counters their opponent's attack. After the Attack Phase, creatures who have attacked and aren't destroyed in the current turn are "tapped" until the players next Neutral Phase, and can't be used as a blocker for the opponent's turn. When there are no creatures in the opponent's field, the player can then use their creatures to deal direct damage to the opponent. In Kessenju, players cannot use their creatures to deal direct damage to their opponent until they have no more creatures in their field. Thus, players have to utilize their creatures and Spells effectively in order to clear the opponent's field from their creatures and then damage their opponent's VP directly.

When attacking, players compare their creature' Attack (when attacking creature directly) or Defense points (when attacking a blocking creature), which usually comes in values around the hundreds. When the attacking creature has higher Attack points than the target creature, the target is destroyed, and vice versa, with any excess damage being dealt to the defending player's VP instead. When both creatures have the same amount of Attack points, both are destroyed. Blocking creatures are unable to destroy opposing creatures, but are able to avert excess damage to the player's, even after being destroyed by a creature with greater Attack points. When the blocking creature has more Defense points than the opponent's attacking creature's Attack points, excess damage is reflected it to their opponent instead. When both the attacker and blocker have the same amount of Attack and Defense points, respectively, none of the creatures are destroyed.

When dealt with a bad hand at the start of the game, the player is given an opportunity to "mulligan" their starting hand, which allows players to shuffle an unsatisfactory opening hand back into the deck at the start of the game, draw a new hand with the same number of cards, and repeat until satisfied. To dissuade players from abusing this rule, their opponent may choose to draw one additional card for every mulligan performed.

A typical Kessenju setup consists of the playing field, where players can place their creatures and Spell cards, the mana pool, where cards sacrificed for mana are placed and tapped for usage, and the Barrier zone, which consists of five face-down cards waiting to be triggered. When a player's creature or Spell card is destroyed either through battle or after usage, they are sent into the "graveyard". Certain Spell cards allow players to steal cards to from the graveyard, and transfer them onto their own hand for their own use. Alternatively, certain creatures and Spell cards have effects that cause cards to be "expelled", removing them from play for the remainder of the game. There is also an Arena slot, where Arena cards are placed once it is played.

The game ends when:


 * One of the players' VP is reduced to zero. If both players reach zero VP at the same time, the game ends in a draw.
 * One of the players has to draw from an empty deck.
 * One of the players forefeits, automatically landing a win for the opposing player.
 * Certain cards with special conditions which trigger automatic win or loss conditions, are put into play, provided that the cards' requirements are filled.

Barrier System
One of Kessenju's distinguishing core mechanics is its Barrier system, where players can set up five cards in advance and summon them in the middle of the match, allowing them to counter against their opponents' powerful creatures and spells.

At the start of the game each player possesses five "Barriers", which consists of five Creature or Spell cards of the player's choosing. During the opponent's Attack Phase, players can activate a Barrier Trigger, and use the card's effect to save themselves or their creatures from damage, at the price of skipping their next Charge Phase. Before triggering a Barrier, the player also needs at least one mana with the same color as the card in their mana pool.

Several cards in the game hinge upon the Barrier mechanic. For example, certain creatures and Spell cards are meant for breaking the opponent's Barriers, rendering them unable to use Barrier Trigger. Other Spell cards allow players to install aditional Barriers with cards from their hand, while others have the inverse effect, taking one of their own Barriers and putting them on their hand.

Summoning a Creature card through Barrier Trigger automatically assigns it as a blocker, shielding the player or a targetted creature from any potential damage. If the summoned creature remains on the field, the player may then use it as if it were summoned regularly. Summoning a Spell card through Barrier Trigger would activate the card's effect as if it were summoned from the hand.

Cards that can be used as Barriers are distingused by a "Barrier" logo on the bottom left of the card. Several cards, most notably Quick Spell cards, creatures with high Defense or "on summon" effects (which are activated as soon as the creature is summoned), benefit from being used as Barriers. There also exist several Spell cards that are specifically meant to be used as Barriers. This gives the game an added layer of strategy, giving the player flexibility regarding which Barrier cards to use for the duel, and when to trigger them.

Conversely, several cards cannot be used as Barriers due to either impracticality or potential as game-breakers. These inlcude all Equip and Arena cards, most high-cost Spell cards (barring certain high-cost Quick Spell cards), all Evolved Creature cards, and any Creature card with a casting cost of 4 or more mana.

Card Types
The game features four types of cards: Creature, Spell, Equip or Arena, each with their own specifications and uses.

Creature Cards
Creature cards are summoned by each player to attack the opposing player's creatures or VP, or defend against the opponent's attacks. Each creature represents a certain race (Wyvern, White Mage, Dark Mage, Elf, etc.), and typically has a set amount of Attack and Defense points (usually a value between 100 and 1500, creatures with 1600 points and higher were introduced in later expansion sets), which are used to determine the results of battles, as well as certain basic abilities that take advantage of their strengths in combat. By default, creatures can only be used to attack on the turn after they are summoned, unless the creature has the "Rapid" ability.

Certain Creature cards also have varying special effects, which tend to be unique with each creature. The rules text on the card specifies the creature's effect. Some creatures have effects that activate on summon (once they are put into play), on first strike (once they attack an opposing player's creature), or on death (once they are destroyed by an opposing player's creature or Spell), while others have more specific triggers for their abilities (i.e.: Ignel, the Flame Dragon gains +100/+100 for every Wyvern creature on the field).

Low cost (3 and below) creatures can be used as Barriers, where they can be summoned as a blocker in response to the opponent's attack, to shield the player from the attack or trigger an effect. Creatures that benefit from being used as Barriers the most include "Shielders" (Defense-centric creatures that can't attack, but possess high Defense points) and creatures with "on summon" effects. Creatures with a mana cost of 4 and above cannot be used as Barriers.

The Evolved expansion set introduces "Evolved Creatures", creatures which require a creature of the same type in the field, wich would then have to be sacrificed in order to summon the Evolved Creature. Evolved Creatures tend to be stronger than regular Creatures of the same mana cost, or possess powerful effects. Evolved Creatures cannot be used as Barriers, regardless of cost.

Creature Abilities
Most creatures have a set of basic abilities, which take advantage of some of their strengths in order to gain the upper hand against the opponent.


 * Alert - This creature untaps automatically during your End Phase.


 * Barrier - This creature can be summoned from a Barrier through Barrier Trigger.
 * Eliminate - When this creature is blocked or loses a battle, send both creatures to the graveyard.
 * Insistence - This creature attacks each turn if able.


 * L./D./W./F./E. Attacker - When attacking a creature from their respective opposing Realm, this creature gains a boost in their Attack points.


 * L./D./W./F./E. Blocker - When blocking a creature from their respective opposing Realm, this creature gains a boost in their Defense points.


 * L./D./W./F./E. Destroyer - This creature can't be blocked by creatures of the opposing Realm.
 * Protected - This creature cannot be affected by several Spells and/or creature abilities.


 * Rapid - This creature can attack instantaneously at the turn that it is summoned.
 * Shielder - This creature can't attack.

Spell Cards
Spell cards are magical spells with a variety of effects, which can range from replenishing lost VP, to directly attacking the opponent's VP, to reviving destroyed creatures, to destroying all creatures on the field, among other effects.

Spell cards come in three varieties:

Spell cards are the most common and useful cards to be used as Barriers, due to their instantaneous effects. Some Spell cards are even built specifically as Barrier cards, and cannot be played from the player's hand like a regular Spell card.
 * Basic Spell cards have a single, one-time effect before they go to the graveyard.
 * Constant Spell cards have effects that remain in play after activation until they are destroyed.
 * Quick Spell cards are Spell cards that can be played from the hand at any point in the game.

Equip Cards
Equip cards are cards that have to be "equipped" to a face-up creature on the field (hence the name) in order to take effect, after which they then give several advantages to the creature, such as increased Attack and/or Defense points, or immunity from certain types or attacks or spells. Aesthetically, Equip cards are usually depicted as artifacts and other trinkets.

When put into play, Equip cards are attached beside the creature, indicating that they are "equipped". Barring a few exceptions, when a monster with an Equip card is destroyed, the Equip card is send to the graveyard alongside the monster. Certain Spell cards are also able to "unequip" creatures with Equip cards.

Most Equip cards are usually specific to a certain type of creature, and cannot be used to a creature of another type. For example, "Enchanted Pearl", which is made for White Mage-type creatures, cannot be used by Wyvern-types, who instead have their own equivalent in the form of "Dragonite". Equip cards cannot be used as Barriers.

Arena Cards
Introduced in the Evolved expansion set, Arena cards are able to change the entire state of play for its controller's or for both players' side of the field, giving several advantages to players and their monsters. Unlike the other basic cards, Arena cards are played on an entirely separate spot on the field. Aesthetically, Arena cards are often depicted as various thematic landscapes.

There are a handful of ways to counter an overpowering Arena card. For instance, the player may override the effect of an active Arena by playing an Arena card of their own with a higher mana cost, after which, the weaker arena is then sent to the graveyard. Furthermore, certain Spell cards are built specifically to destroy Arena cards.

Typically, Arena cards give out advantages that lean toward the Realm that they are from. Hybrid Arena cards were introduced in the Amalgamation expansion set, and give out more powerful advantages at the price of requiring mana from two or more colors to cast. Arena cards cannot be used as Barriers.

The Five Realms
Each card in Kessenju belongs to one of five "Realms": the Realm of Light, the Realm of the Dark, the Realm of Water, the Realm of Fire and the Realm of the Earth. Each Realm represents an archetype of concepts and virtues, which are reflected on the cards' design. The concepts behind each of the colors of the Five Realms are as follows:


 * The Realm of Light represents light, the beacon of peace and order, and is associated with the color yellow. Creatures from the Realm of Light consist of human knights, warriors and mages, with some of them showcasing heavy "magitek" influences, and their spells tend to benefit the player or their creatures.
 * The Realm of the Dark represents darkness, a symbol of death and despair, and is associated with the color purple. Creatures from the Realm of the Dark consist of zombies, monsters, witches, and other macabre abominations, and their spells often draw from the player's own life source to cause misery for the opponent.
 * The Realm of Water represents water, and its inherent trickery and playfulness, and is associated with the color blue. Creatures from the Realm of Water consist of wizards and spellcasters, as well as the sea monsters thet they have tamed in the past, and their spells rely heavily on "draw power" and manipulation.
 * The Realm of Fire represents fire, as well as its its sheer power and supremacy, and is associated with the color red. Creatures from the Realm of Fire consist of dragons, goblins, and orcs, among other warmongers, and their spells are often destructive in nature, often causing direct damage or mass destruction.
 * The Realm of the Earth represents nature, the source of life and evolution, and is associated with the color green. Creatures from the Realm of the Earth consists of elves, animals and plantoid monsters, among others, showcasing the world's flora and fauna, and their spells focus on natural strength and forces of nature.

Besides illustrating their lore and philosophy, the five Realms of Kessenju each form the "cycle of conflict", representing their individual strenghts and weaknesses, as well as their opposition against one another. In gameplay, this is represented by attacks from certain creatures of a certain Realm being stronger when pitted against cards from their opposing Realm. Certain creture effects and Spell cards are also meant to work specifically against their specific opposing Realm.


 * Light outshines the Dark
 * Dark contaminates the Water
 * Water douses the Fire
 * Fire burns the Earth
 * Earth absorbs the Light

Most cards in Kessenju represent a single Realm, as identified by their color, shown along the card's border. The cost to play them requires at least one mana of the same color as the card, and potentially any amount of mana from any other color. Hybrid cards were introduced in the Amalgamation expansion set and their borders are usually a mix of the colors of the two Realms they represent. Their casting cost requires mana from at least two different colors.

The Five Realms of Kessenju can influence deck construction choices, with hybrid and multi-color decks being common in professional play so as to cover each others' weaknesses. There are no limits to how many colors can be in a deck, but the more Realms there is in a deck, the more difficult it may be to provide mana of the right color.

Card Rarities
Kessenju cards have different levels of rarity, which defines the scarcity of the cards in boosters, as well as their percieved power. All in all, there are six rarity levels in Kessenju: Common, Uncommon, Rare, S-Rare, X-Rare and U-Rare.

Generally speaking, the higher the rarity of a card is, the more powerful they are, and the more sought-after they become, though this might not be the case for certain cards. Rarity levels in Kessenju cards are indicated by the tiny little symbol on the lower left side of the card.

Generally speaking, a single 9-card booster pack would usually contain 6 Commons, 2 Uncommons and 1 Rare. Finding an S-Rare in a booster pack is typically a matter of luck, while X-Rares cannot be found in any booster pack, and tend to be reserved for special releases.

The card rarity levels in Kessenju are as follows:


 * Common: Commons are indicated by a black circle inside a larger, white circle. Quantity-wise, commons are the most abundant cards, but are usually rather weak compared to other cards of much higher rarity.


 * Uncommon: Uncommons are indicated by a black diamond inside a larger, silver circle. Uncommons are largely a step above commons in terms of power, but are also more scarce in terms of quantity.


 * Rare: Rares are indicated by a black star inside a larger, gold circle, and wrapped in holofoil. Rares tend to be more powerful than both commons and uncommons but are also much scarcer in quantity than both.


 * S-Rare: Shorthand for "Special Rare", S-Rares are indicated by a black letter "S" inside a larger, titanium circle, and wrapped in holofoil. While consisting of the most powerful cards in the game, S-Rares are also among the hardest cards to find, with a 1/8 chance of finding one in a random booster pack.


 * X-Rare: Shorthand for "Extra Rare", X-Rares are indicated by a black letter "X" inside a larger, platinum circle, and wrapped in holofoil. X-Rares cannot be found in any booster pack, and are usually reserved for special releases, such as tournament prizes, collector's edition tins or as freebies in manga issues or video games.


 * U-Rare: Shorthand for "Ultimate Rare", U-Rares are indicated by a black letter "U" inside a larger, diamond circle, and wrapped in holofoil. U-Rares exist only in the Japanese OCG, where they are awarded to the winner of the yearly ACS-sponsored Kessenju World Championship.

Product Information
Kessenju trading cards are available in starter decks, structure decks, booster packs, collectible tins, and occasionally as promotional cards.

As in all other trading card games, booster packs are the primary avenue of card distribution. Typically, at least five or nine random cards are found in each booster pack, depending on the expansion set and each set usually contains a larger number of cards, typically around 100-150 different cards per set.

Some cards have been released by other means, such as being bundled with video games and issues of Comic BomBom. These cards are often exclusive and possess the special "X-Rare" type of rarity or are never-before-seen to the public.

Expansion Sets
In its three years of existence in the North American market, the Kessenju TCG has has had 13 expansion sets released. A 14th expansion set was planned for a 2008 release, before Topps dropped the Kessenju distribution license in November, 2007 shortly after the release of the 13th and final expansion set, "Defenders of the Sky".

However, this is not the case in Japan, where the Kessenju OCG continued to thrive, and is still going strong up to this day, with expansion sets released every three months, on a near-regular basis. From its launch in December 5, 2001 up until at least 2019, there have been over 100 expansion sets released for the Japanese Kessenju OCG.

US Expansion Sets
Note that this list only denotes expansion sets that were released for the US TCG, which were distributed by Topps, and ran production from 2004 to 2007.


 * KSJ-01: Ultimate Battle Beasts (May 19, 2004)
 * KSJ-02: Evolved (August 5, 2004)
 * KSJ-03: Wyverns' Uprising (November 14, 2004)
 * KSJ-04: Great Mage Strife (February 25, 2005)
 * KSJ-05: Primordials (April 20, 2005)
 * KSJ-06: Goblins Unleashed (July 6, 2005)
 * KSJ-07: Amalgamation (October 18, 2005)
 * KSJ-08: Warlords and Berserkers (January 19, 2006)
 * KSJ-09: Mystic Elves (May 2, 2006)
 * KSJ-10: Raging Flame / Turbulent Sea / Wrathful Earth (September 23, 2006)
 * KSJ-11: Infinite Darkness / Guide Of Light (January 11, 2007)
 * KSJ-12: Reign of Chaos (April 29, 2007)
 * KSJ-13: Defenders of the Sky (September 8, 2007)

Manga
The Kessenju manga series was written by Hideaki Terasaki, and published by Kodansha, in their Comic BomBom magazine. The original manga series ran from 2001 to 2006, and was compiled into 14 tankoubon volumes. It was then followed by Kessenju REVOLUTION, which ran from 2006 to 2010, which was later followed by Kessenju VICTORY, which ran from 2011 to 2013, after which, the manga took a hiatus until returning in 2015 with Kessenju CLASH, which ran from 2015 up until 2018. There have also also spinoff manga unrelated to the main series. As of this writing, the current ongoing series is Kessenju ACES, which began in April 24, 2019.

The Kessenju manga ran in Comic BomBom up until the magazine's discontinuation in December 2007, after which it moved to Kadokawa Shoten's Kerokero Ace, where it stayed for 6 years until that too was discontinued in 2013. Eventually, the manga moved once again in 2015, to Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comic magazine, where it has stayed ever since. As of this writing, none of manga series have been licensed for the U.S., though fan-made scanlations do exist.

Anime
Main article: Kessenju!: Ultimate Battle Beasts

The first television series, titled simply as Kessenju! originally premiered in Japan on August 10, 2003 and ran until November 26, 2006, spanning three seasons throughout its run. It was then followed by a sequel series, Kessenju REVOLUTION, a sequel series taking place in an alternate timeline which premiered on 2007. REVOLUTION spanned three seasons up until it was concluded in 2010, after which it was succeeded by Kessenju VICTORY, a direct followup to REVOLUTION, spanning three seasons from 2011 to 2014. VICTORY was then followed up by Kessenju CLASH, which ran from 2016 until 2019, spanning three seasons. An animated adaption of Kessenju ACES has been slated for the Summer 2020 anime season. In 2015, a four-episode OVA adaption of Kessenju DD was released.

All three seasons of the first series were licensed for English adaptation, broadcast, and release by Nelvana. Nelvana's dub of the series, entitled Kessenju!: Ultimate Battle Beasts in order to match the card game's localized name, features several visual edits and name changes, in order to better suit an American audience. The series was broadcast on the sibling cable channel YTV in Canada and in ABC Family's Jetix block in the United States in 2004. Following the discontinuation of the card game in 2007, Nelvana opted not to license the sequel series Kessenju REVOLUTION.

Video Games
Main article: List of Kessenju video games

Over the years, ACS has published several games based around the Kessenju franchise, mostly ranging from digitized conversions of the card game, to role-playing games featuring characters from the various Kessenju manga and anime series.

Light Novel
Kessenju DD: Duel Diary is a spinoff light novel series written by Hideaki Terasaki for ACS' DokiDoki Bunko light novel imprint, published from 2007 to 2011. It is a sequel to the original manga series, starring the main cast, now having grown up as teenagers, as they rediscover their passion for the game. As it is intended for a much older target demographic than the manga, which was intended for the kodomo demographic, Kessenju DD features several darker elements than its original source material.