Gundam Card Game: A Complete Beginner’s Guide

Everything you need to know to start your journey as a Gundam TCG pilot

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Welcome to the Battlefield

The Gundam Card Game is BANDAI’s officially licensed trading card game based on the iconic Mobile Suit Gundam franchise. Whether you’re a lifelong Gundam fan or a TCG veteran looking for something fresh, this guide covers everything you need to know — from your first shuffle to your first win.

What Makes the Gundam TCG Different?

The Gundam Card Game is built around mobile suit warfare. You’re not just casting spells or playing creatures — you’re deploying units to a Battle Area, pairing pilots with mobile suits to unlock powerful Link abilities, and racing to break your opponent’s Shields before yours run out.

The game currently has three main booster sets — Newtype Rising [GD01], Dual Impact [GD02], and Steel Requiem [GD03] — along with eight starter decks perfect for learning the ropes. With over 1,065 cards in the database, the game is growing fast.

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What You Need to Play the Gundam Card Game

• 50-card Main Deck (Unit, Pilot, Command, and Base cards)
• 10-card Resource Deck (separate from your main deck)
• Token Cards (EX Base, EX Resource, Unit Tokens — included in starter decks)
• Damage Counters (dice work great)

That’s it. No complex accessories required.

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Understanding the Five Colors

The Gundam TCG features five colors, each with its own playstyle and identity. When building a deck, you can use up to two colors — mono-color or dual-color:

• 🔵 Blue – Control and disruption. Blue decks excel at countering your opponent’s moves, negating attacks, and outmaneuvering the enemy.
• 🟢 Green – Resilience and recovery. Green focuses on high-HP units, repair effects, and sustained presence on the field.
• 🔴 Red – Aggression and speed. Red decks hit hard and fast, leveraging strong attack power and First Strike to overwhelm opponents early.
• ⚪ White – Support and versatility. White excels at buffing allied units, creating tokens, and flexible strategies that adapt to any situation.
• 🟣 Purple – Unique and unconventional. Purple plays by its own rules, often leveraging removal, resource denial, and effects that don’t fit neatly into any other color’s identity.

There is no Black and no Yellow in the Gundam TCG — if you’ve read otherwise, that information is incorrect.

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The Four Card Types of the Gundam Card Game

Unit Cards

Units are your mobile suits. Deployed into the Battle Area (max 6 at a time), Units are how you deal damage and defend your position.

• Units have AP (Attack Power) and HP (Hit Points).
• A Unit cannot attack on the turn it’s deployed — unless it’s a Link Unit (more on that below).
• Units attack by “resting” — turning them sideways. Rested Units cannot block.

Pilot Cards

Pilots are the legendary pilots of the Gundam universe: Amuro Ray, Char Aznable, and many more. You pair a Pilot with a Unit by placing it face-up beneath it.

• Pairing a Pilot adds its AP and HP values to the Unit.
• The paired Unit gains the Pilot’s listed ability.
• A Pilot can pair with any Unit — there are no unit restrictions for pairing.
• Link Units: When a Pilot’s link requirement is fulfilled, the paired Unit becomes a Link Unit and can attack immediately on the turn it’s deployed. This is the game’s signature mechanic.

Command Cards

Commands are one-time-use cards that trigger powerful effects. They go to the trash after use.

• Some Commands can be activated during your opponent’s turn using 【Action】 timing — making them the game’s version of “instants.”
• Some Commands can also be used as a Pilot with the 【Pilot】 effect.

Base Cards

Bases are deployed to your Shield Area and act as a line of defense protecting your shields.

• Only 1 Base can be in play at a time (every player starts with an EX Base token).
• When your opponent attacks, damage hits your Base before it hits your Shields.
• Bases are destroyed when their HP reaches 0.

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Deck Building Rules

Rule	Detail
Main Deck size	Exactly 50 cards
Resource Deck size	Exactly 10 Resource cards
Max copies per card	4 copies of the same card number
Color restriction	1 or 2 colors per deck

The Resource Deck is completely separate from your main deck. You’ll draw from it during your Resource Phase every turn to generate the resources needed to play cards.

To play a card:

• Your card has a Lv (Level) — you need at least that many Resources in your Resource Area to play it.
• Your card has a Cost — you “rest” (turn sideways) that many Resources to actually pay for it.
• Rested Resources refresh at the start of your next turn.

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How a Turn Works

Every turn follows this sequence:

1. Start Phase

Untap (“set active”) all of your rested cards. Any “at the start of your turn” effects trigger here.

2. Draw Phase

Draw 1 card from your main deck. If your deck is empty when you would draw, you lose immediately.

3. Resource Phase

Take the top card of your Resource Deck and place it face-up in your Resource Area. This is your primary source of resources — you gain one per turn automatically.

4. Main Phase

This is the heart of your turn. In any order, as many times as you want:

• Deploy a Unit from your hand (costs resources)
• Pair a Pilot with one of your Units
• Play a Command card
• Attack with a Unit (rest it to declare an attack)
• Activate 【Activate·Main】 abilities on cards you control

5. End Phase

• Trigger any “at end of turn” effects
• Discard down to a hand limit of 10 cards
• “During this turn” effects expire

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How Combat Works

Attacking is straightforward — rest an active Unit and target either:

• Your opponent (their Base first, then their Shields)
• A rested enemy Unit (Unit vs. Unit combat)

Battle Steps:

• Attack Step — Declare your attacker and target
• Block Step — Defender can rest a Unit with <Blocker> to redirect the attack
• Action Step — Both players can respond with Command cards or abilities
• Damage Step — Units deal damage equal to their AP simultaneously. Units at 0 HP are destroyed.
• Battle End Step — Cleanup and trigger effects

Attacking the Player: When a Unit attacks your opponent directly, it hits their Base first (if one exists), then the top Shield in their Shield Area. Each Shield has 1 HP.

When a Shield is destroyed, it’s revealed — if it has a 【Burst】 effect, that effect triggers immediately.

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How to Win

There are two ways to win:

• Shield Break Victory: Destroy all of your opponent’s Shields, then deal battle damage to them with no Shields remaining.

2. Deck Out Victory: Force your opponent to draw a card when their deck is empty — they lose immediately.

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Setting Up the Game

1. Shuffle your 50-card deck and 10-card Resource Deck separately
2. Determine who goes first (coin flip, dice, etc.)
3. Both players draw 5 cards — each player may mulligan once (shuffle hand back, redraw 5)
4. Each player places the top 6 cards of their deck face-down as Shields
5. Each player places 1 EX Base token in their Base section
6. The player going second places 1 EX Resource token in their Resource Area (a small advantage to offset going second)
7. The first player begins their Start Phase

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Key Keyword Effects

Get familiar with these — you’ll see them on cards constantly:

Keyword	What It Does
<Blocker>	This Unit can rest to redirect an enemy attack onto itself
<First Strike>	Deals battle damage before the enemy — if it kills them, you take no damage back
<High-Maneuver>	Opposing Units cannot activate <Blocker> against this attacker — essentially unblockable
<Breach X>	When this Unit destroys an enemy Unit, deal X damage to the top Shield
<Suppression>	When hitting Shields, destroys the top two Shields simultaneously
<Repair X>	At end of turn, recover X HP on this Unit (remove X damage counters)
<Support X>	【Activate·Main】 Rest this Unit to give another friendly Unit +X AP this turn

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Building Your First Deck

Start with a Starter Deck

If you’re brand new, pick up one of the official Starter Decks. Each one is a ready-to-play 50-card deck with a pre-built Resource Deck included. Current starters:

• Heroic Beginnings [ST01] — Classic Amuro Ray / RX-78-2 Gundam
• Wings of Advance [ST02] — Gundam Wing
• Zeon’s Rush [ST03] — Char Aznable / Principality of Zeon
• SEED Strike [ST04] — Gundam SEED
• Iron Bloom [ST05], Clan Unity [ST06], Celestial Drive [ST07], Flash of Radiance [ST08]

Build for Consistency

Once you’re ready to customize, keep it simple:

• Pick one core strategy — don’t try to do everything
• Stick to 1 or 2 colors — the rules enforce this anyway, but resist the urge to splash a third
• Run 3-4 copies of your best cards — consistency is king
• Watch your Lv curve — if all your cards cost 4+, you’ll be stuck doing nothing in the early game

Use Card Commander’s Deck Builder

Our Deck Builder makes this easy. Browse the full card database with 1,065+ cards, filter by color and set, and drag them into your build. The builder shows your Level curve and color distribution at a glance.

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Learning the Game Faster

Play the Official Teaching App

BANDAI released a free Teaching App (iOS and Android) specifically designed to walk you through the rules interactively. There’s also a browser version that requires no download. This is genuinely the fastest way to learn the rules — you’ll be playing practice games within 30 minutes.

Find Your Local Store

Check our Store Finder for local game stores running Gundam TCG events. BANDAI also hosts BANDAI CARD GAMES Fest events globally — a great place to meet the community and play against strong players.

Track Your Collection

Use our Collection Lists feature to catalog what you own. Export to PDF for trading, insurance, or just personal satisfaction.

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Grow Your Collection Smartly

Buy singles, not just packs. Opening packs is fun, but if you’re targeting specific cards for a deck, buying individual singles is far more efficient. Check out Card Commander’s store for both fixed-price and auction listings from sellers in the community.

Know your trade values before making deals. The community is generally friendly and fair, but it helps to know what you’re working with.

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Ready to Deploy?

The Gundam Card Game has a depth that reveals itself the more you play — tight resource management, the Pilot/Link system, and reactive Command timing give it a strategic ceiling that rewards practice and knowledge.

Your journey starts with a single deck and a single game. Don’t stress over making mistakes — every loss teaches you something your next deck will fix.

See you on the battlefield, Commander.

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Quick Links:

• Browse the Card Database – All 1,065+ cards
• Deck Builder – Build and test your deck
• Store Finder – Find events near you
• Card Store – Buy singles and complete your build
• Collection Lists – Track what you own

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Card Commander Pro – Your Ultimate Gundam TCG Resource