Frequently Asked Questions

A legal Kaijudo deck has 40 cards or more. You can have up to 3 copies of any single card in your deck. Most decks include lots of creatures to make sure you can break your opponent’s shields.

The easiest way is to look at the color of the card frame:

The number of stars tells you the rarity of the card. The more stars a card has, the more rare it is:

No, it’s just for fun. This text gives you a glimpse inside the world of Kaijudo or the adventures of the TV show.

The number to the left is the collector number and the number/letter combination to the right of it is the set code. For example, “12/43” is a collector number, and “1TVR” is a set code. Here are the details:

Collector Number — This number helps you organize and collect a complete set of Kaijudo cards. The number to the left of the slash “/” is the unique number of that card within the set. Sets are organized by civilization, and then alphabetically. The number to the right of the slash is the number of cards in that set. For example, card 12/43 is the twelfth card in a 43-card set. However, super rare cards have their own collector number system. They have an “S” before the number. For example, card S1/S2 is the first of two super rares in a set.

Set Code — Each set code is a number followed by some letters. The number tells you which set it is in the history of Kaijudo releases. This number will continue to go up as new sets are released. The letters are an abbreviation of the name of the set. For example, the set code 1TVR means the card is from the very first Kaijudo release, the Tatsurion vs. Razorkinder™ battle decks set.

The final information is the illustration credit, which tells you who created the card’s art. The collector number, set code, and illustration credit have no effect on game play.

Look for cards wherever trading card games are sold. Check our store locator to find the store closest to you. You can also play a digital version of the game right here on our site!

First, each player shuffles his or her deck. Then, each player deals out 5 cards without looking at them. These are the players’ shields. Then, each player draws 5 cards and looks at them. These cards are the starting hands. Then, decide who plays first.

You can use any method to randomly pick a player (roll dice, flip a coin, play rock-paper-scissors, etc.). That player can choose to play first or second. Remember that the player who goes first doesn’t draw a card at the beginning of the first turn.

Your hand is the cards you can cast or summon on your turn. Whenever you draw a card, you put the top card of your deck into your hand. You start the game by drawing 5 cards (after you set up your shields).

At the beginning of each of your turns, you draw a card. The only exception is the very first turn of the game. The player who plays first doesn’t draw a card at the beginning of that turn. Some spells and abilities may also tell you to draw cards.

No. You should keep your hand secret. However, some spells and abilities may tell you to look at your opponent’s hand.

No. You can have any number of cards in your hand at any time.

When you run out of cards in your deck, you lose the game.

No, but on most turns you’ll want to charge mana if you can. When you have more cards in your mana zone, you can tap them to summon creatures and cast spells of higher level.

To tap a card is to turn it sideways. This shows that it’s been used for the turn. At the beginning of each of your turns, you’ll untap your cards by straightening them out again. This means they’re ready to be tapped again.

No. Ignore all the text on cards in your mana zone. They can be tapped to summon creatures and cast spells, but they have no other abilities.

No. You only charge mana at the beginning of your turn—after you untap your tapped cards and draw a card. If you choose to not charge at that time, you can’t charge later in the turn.

Yes. You charge mana after drawing a card, so you can always charge the card you draw on your turn.

The result is the same: any card in your mana zone can be tapped to summon creatures and cast spells, no matter how it got into your mana zone. You can always put a card into your mana zone if a creature’s ability or a spell tells you to, even if you charged mana that turn. Cards like Bronze-Arm Tribe are a good way to get more cards into your mana zone, allowing you to summon more powerful creatures and cast awesome spells faster.

The discard pile usually sits near your deck. Your creatures in the battle zone go to the discard pile when they are banished. Cards in your hand go to your discard pile if they are discarded. Spells you cast are put there after you do what they say. Other effects can also put cards into your discard pile from other places, like your shield zone or your mana zone.

Yes. The cards in your discard pile are kept face up, and either player may look at them at any time.

In cases like that, always do what the card says. Cards can override the game rules.

When you summon a creature, it is put into the battle zone, where it fights for you turn after turn, unless it loses a battle and is banished or leaves the battle zone for some other reason. When you cast a spell, you do what it says and then put it into your discard pile. Creatures and spells both work the same way in the mana zone, however. You can tap them when summoning a creature or casting a spell. When a card is in your mana zone, ignore all of its text.

The number is the card’s level. This tells you how many cards in your mana zone you have to tap to cast the spell or summon the creature. The symbol just below that is a symbol from that card’s civilization. Cards with the “Shield Blast” ability have an additional symbol under the civilization symbol to make them easier to spot when breaking a shield.

That’s the creature’s power. When two creatures battle, the one with the higher power wins.

If you see a + sign in a creature’s power, it means the creature has an ability that can give it more power. It’s an easy way for you and your opponent to remember that the creature’s actual power may be higher than what’s printed on the card.

At the beginning of the game, you placed 5 cards face down as your shields. When you charge mana by putting a card into your mana zone, place it behind your shields (closer to you). When you put a creature into the battle zone, put it in front of your shields (closer to your opponent).

First, make sure you can cast spells from the Water civilization. To do this, you must have at least one card from that civilization in your mana zone. Next, you must tap cards in your mana zone equal to the spell’s level. So, in this case, you must tap 5 cards in your mana zone. The cards you tap can be from any civilization. So, for a level 5 Water spell, if you had one Water card and 5 Fire cards in your mana zone, you could tap all 5 Fire cards and cast the spell.

Yes. You can always cast a spell if you have enough cards in your mana zone, even if you can’t choose its target. Sometimes you may want to do this because the spell has additional effects.

No. Any card than mentions “creatures” means only creatures in the battle zone. If a card allows you to choose a creature or spell in a mana zone, it will clearly say so.

A creature can’t attack on the turn it’s put into the battle zone unless it has an ability that says it can. A creature also can’t attack if it has an ability like “Guard” that says it can’t attack. Other abilities may restrict what a creature can attack.

No. You tap cards in your mana zone only when you summon the creature.

No. When you start an attack, you choose which of your creatures is attacking and also what is being attacked—either your opponent or one of your opponent’s tapped creatures.

Yes. A creature can attack multiple times in a turn if you find a way to untap that creature during your turn.

“Blocker” is an ability that lets a creature change what an attacking creature is attacking. If you tap a creature that has “Blocker,” the attacking creature will change its attack and attack that blocking creature instead. You must tap the creature that has “Blocker” to block, so only an untapped creature can block.

No. Only untapped creatures that have the “Blocker” ability can block.

When your opponent starts an attack, he or she chooses which creature will attack, chooses what that creature will attack (you or one of your tapped creatures), and taps the attacking creature. After this happens, you can tap one of your creatures that has “Blocker” to block the attack if you want to. You don’t have to block, even if you have an untapped creature that has “Blocker.”

Yes. These abilities are called “triggered abilities,” because another event (in this case, attacking) triggers the ability. Triggered abilities happen immediately after the event that triggered them.

No. A creature can’t block for itself because blocking changes what’s being attacked.

Shields are face-down cards that stay in your shield zone. A shield is “broken” when a creature attacks you and isn’t blocked. A broken shield is put into your hand. You start the game with 5 shields. If your opponent has no shields, and you attack him or her with a creature that isn’t blocked, you win the game!

Not unless a spell or creature’s ability tells you to.

Normally, when one of your shields is broken, you put the card into your hand. However, some exciting spells have an ability called “Shield Blast.” When a card with “Shield Blast” is in your shield zone and that shield gets broken, you can cast it immediately instead of putting it into your hand.

When you cast a spell using its “Shield Blast” ability, you don’t tap any cards in your mana zone, no matter what level that spell is. Normally when you cast a spell, you have to make sure you have a card in your mana zone that matches that spell’s civilization. However, you don’t have to do this when casting a spell using “Shield Blast.” For example, if your opponent’s creature breaks one of your shields, and that shield is a level 4 Darkness spell, you can immediately cast it even if you have only three tapped Fire cards in your mana zone!

You do.

Not unless a spell or creature’s ability tells you to.

Normally when one of your creatures attacks your opponent and isn’t blocked, it breaks one shield. A creature with “Double Breaker” breaks 2 shields instead, and a creature with “Triple Breaker” breaks 3 shields instead! All shields are broken at the same time.

If you ever have two or more shields break at the same time, you can use the “Shield Blast” abilities of all of them. When you break the shields, reveal each of them that has “Shield Blast” that you want to cast. Then, cast them one at a time in any order, doing what each one says and putting it into the discard pile before casting the next one.

A battle is a contest between two creatures. There is a battle whenever a creature attacks another creature or when a creature attacks and is blocked by another creature.

The creature with the highest power wins the battle. The losing creature is banished (put into its owner’s discard pile).

In that case, both creatures lose the battle and are banished. Neither creature wins.

No. If a battle happens, no shields will be broken.

You win the game when you attack your opponent with a creature that isn’t blocked when he or she has no shields left. You can also win the game when your opponent has no cards left in his or her deck.

Well, not yet, but your opponent will have no shields! To win the game, you must attack your opponent with a creature that isn’t blocked while he or she has no shields.

If you can't find the answer to your rules questions in the FAQ, you can download the complete rules document.