Carddass Hyper Battle (カードダスハイパーバトル) is the first offical set of trading cards released for the One Piece franchise. The set was released in two forms, Stages and Grand Boxes, and began release in November 1999 and were distributed until February 2002. Card art featured a mix of original illustrations and images from the anime, with card sets introducing characters in continuinty with the anime, as well as from the first 2 movies: One Piece: The Movie & Clockwork Island Adventure, and the first special: Adventure in the Ocean's Navel.
As the game expanded with each set new ways to play were introduced, offering various rule sets involving larger and more complex decks. In total, 3 different rule sets are available to play featuring different cards and formats, with Grand Rule being the most complete version of the game to date.
Cards that belonged to the various Stages were initially obtained through vending machines where a pack of 4 random cards could be bought for 100円 (yen). These cards would be released over the period of roughly 2 months until the release of the next set.
Boxes, such as Grand Boxes 1 through 5 and Grand Box DX, were released in between Stages and consisted of ready-made decks containing new and exclusive cards, usually coming in 3 variants that centered around a single character with a Gold Stamped Card.
Hyper Battle was already moderately popular in Japan due to cards being released for other popular shows such as Hunter X Hunter and Digimon but the One Piece version proved particularly successful. The game was featured at multiple of events, such as Toei Animation Fairs, where promotional cards were distributed, as well as having nationwide tournaments and workshops. Only two years after its debut Carddass created and relased its succsessor, the One Piece Card Game, a completely unique TCG that lasted till 2007.
Card Overview:
Hyper Battle Cards can be broken up into 4 kinds which are easy to distinguish based on the cards border and orientation: Character Cards, Reversal or Special Cards, Hyper Cards, and Field Point Cards. Each kind has their own unique use and function in battle, including restrictions in which rule set they can be played in.
Character Cards are the most basic cards that make up the bulk of the entirety of the Hyper Battle series. These cards are easily placed by their yellowish-gold border and feature a singular character or item as well as its mark(s), type(s), power, and any special abilities.
Character Cards can have anywhere from 1-3 Marks which can always be found in the top left superimposed above the art. The name of the character, as well its types and power, are found just below the art, with names typically shortened (i.e. cards that feature Monkey D. Luffy have all been shortened to "Luffy"). Character cards can have up to 2 types and are represented by different colors to easily tell from a glance. Card power varies from character to character, with higher power cards having more costly requirements in order to place them on the field. Lastly, cards often have unique abilities which can affect either player and often offer some form of deck manipulation or cost requirement to be played. Almost all Character Cards can be used in every rule set but some exceptions are exclusive to the Grand Rule ruleset and will include a special marker in the top left of the Ability Box to indicate it. Lastly, all Character Cards feature flavor text underneath the Ability Box that are often lines from the anime/manga.
Reversal or Special Cards are defined by their blue border and feature a singular Special Mark, a skull and cross bones, in the top right corner. These cards were often holographic as only a few were distributed in each set because of their use in-game. While they share many similarities to Character Cards, Special Cards all share the same Mark and Card Type so they have more than one way to distinguish them aside from the border color. Because of how they function in-game, Special cards are only used in the latter 2 rule sets: EX Rule and Grand Rule.
Hyper Cards have a red border and feature unique design and abilities. Theres no mark or type as they are played at the end of each round if applicable, but the card's abilities and effects often require steeper costs and can greatly affect each round. Hyper Cards each have a name, requirement(s), and ability, as well as often featuring art of multiple Character Cards related to their ability/requirement(s). Similarly to Special Cards, they can only be used for either EX Rules or Grand Rules.
Field Point Cards have the same border as character cards but are oriented in landscape and feature the cards name on the left. These cards stand in for Game Points and typically offer buffs for both players, regardless of whos deck they belong to. Additionally, these cards are only used for Grand Rules as their impact on the game is often powerful.
Marks:
There are a total of 13 unique marks that can be found on Character Cards. Marks are always located at the top right of each Character Card, with cards having anywhere from 1 to 3 different types. Marks vary from card to card with some cards of the same name having completely different marks while others follow a pattern based who they represent. Additonally, Marks often go hand in hand with certain card types, for instance, Fish-Men like Arlong most often have the Fish-Man type to the right of the Card Name as well as the Fish-Man Mark (魚) in the top left (e.g. card: C212), but this mark is not solely for Fish-Man nor do all Fish-Man cards have it (e.g. card: C222).
Knowing what each Mark means is helpful to know which cards go well together as the overall goal of the game is to play cards of matching marks. Below is a table to help explain marks and what Card Types they're generally seen with. However, keep in mind some marks are more often character specific and dont have a corresponding type. Additionally, not all cards with a certain type will have the corresponding mark.
Mark:
Kanji:
Corresponding Type:
Mark:
Kanji:
Corresponding Type:
Ｌ
~
賊 / zoku
Pirate
武 / bu
~
剣 / ken
Swordsman
軍 / gun
Marine
知 / chi
Wisdom
民 / tami
Citizen
獣 / kemono
Animal
料 / ryō
Cooking
超 / chō
~
魚 / sakana
Fish-Man
罪 / tsumi
Organization
政 / matsurigoto
Government
~
Reverse/Special
Types:
Card Types function a bit differently from Marks, where the rule of the game is to play cards with matching Marks, Types are often only referenced in cards Abilities in order to do things like manipulate a card's power, remove certain cards from play, or other similar actions. While cards with certain Marks often have corresponding Types, having a wide range of Types in a deck was important so as not to fall victim to strategies that could affect your ability to play.
Below is a table of each Type that can be found and their translation.
Type:
Kanji:
English:
Type:
Kanji:
English:
海賊 / kaizoku
Pirate
悪魔の実 / akuma no mi
Devil Fruit
剣士 / kenshi
Swordsman
知略 / chiryaku
Wisdom
技 / waza
Skill
料理 / ryōri
Cooking
魚人 / gyojin
Fish-Man
獣 / kemono
Animal
市民 / shimin
Citizen
海軍 / kaigun
Marine
組織 / soshiki
Organization
政府 / seifu
Government
アイテム / aitemu
Item
軍団 / gundan
Battalion
その他 / sonota
Other
特殊 / tokushu
Special
Rules:
Hyper Battle rules are very similar to most trading card games in existance today. While the mechanics are unique, the overall goal is to win, either by reducing your opponents Game Points to 0, or having them deck out, that is, create the circumstances where the opposing player cannot draw any cards at the beginning of the a round. This is done by playing Character Cards which feature typically feature a One Piece character, as well as their power and any abilities listed on the card, to make your total power greater than your opponents. Players must play cards that have matching marks, which are found in the top left of the cards corner, and players cannot play more than one card of the same name each round.
Deck Size:
≥4
Hand Size:
3
Game Points:
≥2
Starter Rules:
Starter Rules are simple and easy to understand in order to help players get an understanding for how Hyper Battle works. Starter Rules only use Character Cards which are the most abundant cards in the game. Players need a deck of at least 4 Character Cards but can have as many cards as they desire in their deck as long as they and their opponent have decks of equal size. Players take turns alternating placing cards down while keeping track of the overall total power. Whoever has the highest power at the end of the round after taking into account any abilities, wins. The loser then deducts 1 Game Point from their total and a new round begins. While the minimum Game Points for the smallest possible deck is 2, for larger decks, players can agree upon the number of Game Points needed in order to win.
In addition, there are 3 phases each round to help players know when to do which operations. They are: Main Phase, Battle Phase, and Lost Phase.
Order of Operations:
Starting:
Players draw 3 cards from their deck and fill their hand
Players start the game by playing Rock-Paper-Scissors to see who goes first, winner starts
Main Phase:
Players alternate placing cards onto their field until they can both no longer place any cards
Cards placed must have matching Marks, but players cannot place 2 cards of the same name on their field in the same battle
Battle Phase:
Once either player can no longer place cards, both players tally up the total power of all cards on their field, taking into account any effects of cards Abilities
After all changes are accounted for, the player with the highest total power wins
Lost Phase:
The player who lost deducts 1 Game Point from their total points
Both players then discard all cards they previously placed on their field
Before drawing, players may also discard any leftover cards from their hand if they wish
Then both players draw back up to 3 cards if they can
Rounds continue until one of the players has lost all of their Game Points.
Deck Size:
30
Hand Size:
5
Game Points:
5
EX Rules:
EX Rules are the a middle step between Starter and Grand Rules to help introduce players to Special Cards and Hyper Cards. EX Rules also include larger decks, now consisting of exactly 30 cards, with players hand size and Game Points both increasing to 5. While most rules are unchanged from Starter Rules, Special Cards and Hyper Cards have their own step during gameplay to add more excitment and strategy. Players can now play 1 Special Card per round, placing it face down and only turning it over at the end of the Battle Phase after totalling the power of all Character Cards on the field. However, just like how you cannot play Character Cards of the same name, you cannot play a Special Card if it has the same name as a Character Card already on your field (i.e. You cannot play a Luffy Character Card anf a Luffy Special Card in the same round). After taking into account any Special Cards, players can then opt to play any Hyper Cards from their hand for added effects/bonuses.
Order of Operations:
Starting:
Players draw 5 cards from their deck and fill their hand
Players start the game by playing Rock-Paper-Scissors to see who goes first, winner starts
Main Phase:
Players alternate placing cards onto their field until they can both no longer place any cards
Cards placed must have matching Marks, but players cannot place 2 cards of the same name on their field in the same battle
Players can play up to 1 Special Card and place it face down below their field but cannot play any Special Cards of the same name as any Character Card on their field
Battle Phase:
Once either player can no longer place cards, both players tally up the total power of all cards on their field, taking into account any effects of cards Abilities
Players then flip any Special Cards they placed on their fields face up and make changes to their power or fields as needed
After tallying, the player who started the round may play any number of Hyper Cards from their hand if they choose, but cannot play multiple Hyper Cards of the same name in a single round
If the player who went first decides to play a Hyper Card, the other player must play at least 1 Hyper Card if it is in their hand
After all changes are accounted for, the player with the highest total power wins
Lost Phase:
The player who lost deducts 1 Game Point from their total points
Both players then discard all cards they previously placed on their field
Before drawing, players may also discard any leftover cards from their hand if they wish
Then both players draw back up to 5 cards if they can
Deck Size:
30
Hand Size:
5
Game Points:
5
Field Points:
0-5
Grand Rules:
Grand Rules
Order of Operations:
Starting:
Main Phase:
Battle Phase:
Lost Phase:
Set Info & Card Sets:
First Stage
Title:
VERSUS!! Buggy Pirates 「VERSUS！！バーギ海賊団」
Released:
November 1999
Card Count:
42 Unique Cards
Distribution:
Individual Packs of 4 Cards from Vending Machines
Original Cost:
100円
First Stage cards featured the first two arcs of the East Blue Saga, consisting around the events of the Romance Dawn Arc and Orange Town Arc. Surprisingly, Usopp was also included as one of the characters available despite his anime debut still being 2 months away. It presented a small introduction into the game and consisted of only Character Cards and Special Cards, using the basic Starter Rules for battles. The first 6 holographic cards were also introduced and set the standard of 6 holo cards per 'stage' for the remaining sets to come.
Fierce Fighting!! Kuro of a Hundred Plans Edition 「激闘！！百計のクロ編」
Released:
January 2000
Card Count:
42 Unique Cards
Distribution:
Individual Packs of 4 Cards from Vending Machines
Original Cost:
100円
Second Stage cards featured a continuation of Orange Town Arc and introduced a range of characters from the Syrup Village Arc such as Jango and Captain Kuro. This set also introduced the Field Point Card which consisted of a location from the anime and expanded the game into EX Rules.
The first Grand Box release included the first premade decks that could be purchased that included a number of character cards, special cards, and field points. It also introduced gold foil stamp cards that were the focal point of each deck, being the first card you saw when you removed the deck from the box. Since there were only 3 gold foil stamp cards in the total set release, there were 3 unique decks a player could purchase but wouldnt know until they opened the box. The first Grand Box also saw the introduction of Krieg and the first card centered around the Baratie Arc.
Dangerous!! Don Krieg Edition 「Dangerous！！首領クリーク編」
Released:
April 2000
Card Count:
42 Unique Cards
Distribution:
Individual Packs of 4 Cards from Vending Machines
Original Cost:
100円
Third Stage centered around the events of the Baratie Arc and One Piece: The Movie with popular cards like Sanji and Woonan being introduced, Woonan being the highest point value card introduced into the series thus far.
Fourth Stage is compiled of several cards from the events at the beginning of the Arlong Park Arc but expanded greatly upon the ending of the Baratie Arc, introducing characters like Dracule Mihawk and plenty of 'item' cards that were used to boost existing characters during rounds as well as create more elaborate combos.
A Gathering of the Strong!! Defeat Arlong! 「強者集結！！アーロンを倒せ！」
Released:
July 2000
Card Count:
60 Unique Cards
Distribution:
Boxes of Pre-Built Decks Consisting of 32 Cards
Original Cost:
980円
Grand Box 2 was a sequel to the first, this time consisting of 6 fewer cards per deck than its predecessor but involving a larger cast centered around the Arlong Park Arc. This set was also the first to feature Smoker well before the anime reached the Loguetown Arc, embossing him as one of the 3 designated gold foil cards.
The Fifth Stage set is a mix of the Arlong Park Arc and Loguetown, with the return of cards featuring Buggy in addition to Alvida after her transformation due to her devil fruit. This set also focused more on the 'swordsman' type with the addition of more cards featuring Zoro, Zoro's swords: Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu, Tashigi, as well as her sword Shikure.
Clash!! Battle in Loguetown 「激突！！BATTLE in ローグタウン」
Released:
November 2000
Card Count:
42 Unique Cards
Distribution:
Individual Packs of 4 Cards from Vending Machines
Original Cost:
100円
Sixth Stage is comprised of cards from the Loguetown Arc as well as the first filler, the Warship Island Arc. This featured cards of characters like Apis, Ryuuji, and Eric as well as Dragon's first appearance into the card game, though amusingly classifying him under the 'pirate' sub-type as the full understanding of his character was not yet understood.
Incandescent - Fierce Battle! The Phantom Lost Island! 「白熱•激闘！！幻のロストアイランド！」
Released:
December 2000
Card Count:
60 Unique Cards
Distribution:
Boxes of Pre-Built Decks Consisting of 32 Cards
Original Cost:
980円
Grand Box 3 features many prominent characters that had been featured over the course of the anime so far, having the full Strawhat Crew thus far as well as Arlong's, Shank's, and multiple cards centered around the Marines. It also contains 2 cards from the first TV Special, Captain Joke as well as his bat form.
Great Adventures in the Drum Kingdom!! 「ドラム王国の大冒険！！」
Released:
August 2001
Card Count:
42 Unique Cards
Distribution:
Individual Packs of 4 Cards from Vending Machines
Original Cost:
100円
As a tie-in with the release of Set Sail Pirate Crew! for the playstation, certain cards had button combinations printed just above the card name for hidden unlockables in game.
Promotional cards were handed out through various means to promote events or were included in video game, board game, CD, and DVD/VHS releases. Some cards were also exclusive to national Carddass workshops where the game was showcased and tournaments were held or events like the Toei Animation Fair or Tokyo Toy Show.
