Duel Masters Trading Card Game

About this board game

Duel Masters Trading Card Game is a 2–4-player card game released in 2004, with games lasting about 30 minutes. Players build decks of creatures and spells from cards found in starter decks and booster packs.

Creatures enter play when you pay their associated mana cost. Once in play, they can attack an opponent’s creatures or the opponent’s shields. Familiar terminology such as tapped and summoning sickness is also used, reflecting the game’s similarities to Magic: The Gathering.

At the beginning of the game, each player places five cards from their deck face-down in front of them as shields. These shields, together with any tapped creatures in play, form the player’s defenses.

• Build a deck of creatures and spells.
• Pay mana costs to bring creatures into play.
• Attack opposing creatures or break shields.
• Take a broken shield into your hand.

When an unblocked creature attacks a player, it breaks one shield. The player then adds that shield card to their hand. Victory comes when one of your creatures makes an unblocked attack against an opponent who has no shields remaining.

Duel Masters Trading Card Game focuses on managing creatures, spells, mana, attacks, and defenses in a compact head-to-head contest or a larger game for up to four players. The game was later re-released as Kaijudo.