Change is a scary thing. UVS has seen plenty of it over the years. I couldn’t imagine what went through players minds when some FB post announced this thing called “Reversal” that would melt players minds. Since the MHA era began in 2021, the game and everything around it has gone through a metamorphosis. The entire TCG landscape has been turned over. Attack On Titan: Battle For Humanity will bring many more changes and before we step into this new era, let’s take a look at where we are…

The Good

UVS is a Top 10 TCG today. With the new kids on the block (One Piece, Lorcana, DBS: Fusion World, Star Wars Unlimited, etc.), that’s a tough title to maintain. TCGs are no longer just the Big 3 and a bunch of small card games trying to make it. The big players have seen the gold mine Pokemon, Magic, and Yu-Gi-Oh have built and are keep on replicating that success. With all that, UVS continues to grow set over set.

SOLD OUT! Yu Yu Hakusho: The Dark Tournament proved that MHA isn’t the only reason people play this game. The news was recently released that UVS Games completely SOLD OUT of The Dark Tournament. Many have speculated that the My Hero Academia IP was the reason people were buying cards and this game needed My Hero in order to survive. While My Hero has been a fantastic partner is garnering interest in the game, it’s clear with the awesome sales of Cowboy Bebop, Critical Role, and Yu Yu Hakusho that this game appeals to much more than anime fans and is ready for expansion into new worlds.

Art Good! Now that there’s a fully staffed art team that has proven their ability, Universus is being given the opportunity to make their own art more often and not be forced to use screen caps. Many licensors are careful when they license their IP. They are careful to make sure their property is distributed with quality and care. So, some of the cards we’ve gotten have been shots directly from the anime because it’s easier for companies to trust their own art than the new look UVS Games art team. However, after the past year, UVS Games has proven that they can make PREMIUM quality artwork on the level with the best TCGs. License holders are noticing and we’re going to see that reflected in the future.

Gameplay. Games aren’t perfect, but let’s talk about the good. UVS has more interaction and miracle turns that any other game out there. It mirrors the power you feel when you play Yu-Gi-Oh, while giving you the complexity and control of MTG. But what none of the biggest TCGs offer is a meta THIS wide. Dozens of characters have a shot to win any event at any time. Player expression is flush throughout this game. You want to aggro? Endeavor, Dabi, Mina, Kurama, Younger Toguro, … insert 5 years later meme here… the list goes on! When you’re in your bag, the game feels GOOD!

The Bad

Gameplay. Games are getting shorter this year, but they still go on a bit too long. Ties are way too common and smart players are black-balling characters that take too long to win (Recovery Girl, etc.) I don’t blame the game system for this, but the cards themselves. Block mods that are too cheap, Deadlocks that are too weak, Board states that don’t reduce… the game has been seemingly afraid of monstrous attacks, giving them low check values and limiting their effectiveness.

Hopping On Board. If you have a home store, then you know the onboarding process can be tough. Getting players to show up, learn the game, and then keep playing can be tough. Many players find that getting from 0 to “Hey, I think I can win sometimes!” is too daunting of a climb. UVS did add in the Dized.com app to give a tutorial to new players, a new demo experience is shipping to stores, and there are features in Battle For Humanity that will help in the deck building process. Let’s hope that helps as the Scout Regimen hops on board.

Finding a Store. This is sadly still a problem. Many players don’t have a LGS near them that hosts tournaments. MHA helped a lot of stores hop on board and I expect that this year will see more for many reasons. If you don’t know, UVS has a Retailer Advisory Network program to reach out to stores, get their feedback and help them grow the game at their brick and mortars. If you would like to start a community, tell your LGS to reach out to lgs@uvsgames.com.

The Future

The other night I woke up at about 3am restless, so I turned on YouTube to see a friend of mine on stream playing his Endeavor 3, so I put it on. After the match I got to talk to my friends opponent. She told me she had concerns about the new set, but mostly just because other people had concerns. Some people were expecting this to new set to be a huge disappointment, however she was reserving her judgment for when the reveals were actually shown. I tell that story to say this. It’s refreshing when anyone today can reserve their judgement until they have facts. I just thought that was really nice. But are they right?

Sorry, no spoilers here. In the coming days and weeks, players will start seeing the future of the game. I have no doubt that the online mob will micro-riot. Why? Because change is scary. It’s always easier to yell the “The devs are idiots!” than it is to take a long look at the changes and predict what the impact will be.

My guess? Some changes will feel great immediately. The cards look incredible! Other changes will take players a minute to adjust to and there will be some deserved complaints about those adjustments. But after the dust settles, we won’t ever want to go back to a time before Battle For Humanity. Thanks for reading and OUR HEARTS TO THE CAUSE!