Fusion Fail: Do we really want a Panini America + Retro Dragon Ball Z TCG Format?

(Editor’s Note: This article only considers Retro DBZ rules changes and authentic Score Entertainment Dragon Ball Z CCG cards. Virtual Cards are not included in this discussion.)

One of the biggest selling points of the new Panini America Dragon Ball Z 2014 TCG is it’s compatibility with the Score Entertainment Dragon Ball Z CCG. And for the most part this is true: all the cards that we’ve seen and the rulebook is 100% compatible with old cards. Where the questions begin to arise is whether or not old Score cards would be allowed in officially sanctioned events.

Well I’ve been asking a different question: Do we really want the two formats to fuse?

Panini America Dragon Ball Z CCG 2014 Compatibility Sheet

A few weeks ago, I tried to make a deck with the handful of cards already revealed and the existing library of Score cards (ignoring the sixty card cap, the restriction of only Lv. 1-4 personality cards and the new named card rules introduced with the new set). The result was, unsurprisingly, a deck that had the potential to go infinite. Even just constructing the deck brought to light a few issues, as I had to take a few liabilities when combining the old and new rules just to come up with a working deck in way that I thought would be “fair”.

Overall, I think it will be fairly easy to decide what to do with most of the rules changes like what to do with named cards and various deck construction rules (basically just using the Retro rules over Panini where applicable). The issues are going to come from balancing certain cards like Orange Adaptive Mastery (see the previously mentioned Goku deck) and Frieza’s Supernova (there are thirteen different non-personality Frieza cards in the Score game), among others and some we’ve no doubt not seen yet.

Even more daunting will be trying to figure out what to do with reprints, partial reprints and “spiritual” reprints (like Heroic Energy Sphere). Do we allow a decks to run three Android 18’s Stare Down and three Stare Down (which was no doubt introduced to get around the named card rule change)? Do we play with the classic Black Defensive Burst or the slightly more powerful Panini version of Black Defensive Burst? Should you be allowed to play non-proxy Score versions of cards with exact reprints or must you run the Panini America version?

What do we do with Dragon Ball GT reprints?

What do we do with Dragon Ball GT reprints?

Unfortunately, the answer to all of this (if we are looking for a balanced environment) will be to basically have a second CRD-like conversion manual for a “Retro PanZ” format. This document will unfortunately have to go through and dictate which new cards are legal, any adjustments they might need to be balanced in a fused environment and how the various different reprints will be treated. This list will have to be developed via trial and error by the community as I can’t see Panini America devoting resources to running official events with product that they won’t be making any money on. This list will also have to be updated for every set release.

So in order to play in a non-broken Retro PanZ, we will have to basically develop a whole new game with a whole new set of rules. The results won’t be guaranteed, and I can’t say that the effort will be worth it when the Retro format is already pretty fun and the Panini America format is shaping up nicely. It’s fun to fantasize combining old and new cards, but in practice it will be a nightmare.

Compatible with the old game? As far as I’m concerned all that means is that I already know the rules. This isn’t Score Entertainment’s Dragon Ball Z CCG Set 12, this is Panini America’s Dragon Ball Z TCG Set 1. Don’t dwell on thoughts of official Retro PanZ events, because it’s just something I don’t think any of us will want.

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Later, BroZ

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