Card list
Game Flow and Comic
(on the reverse side of the Battlefield)
What Is Legendz: The Card Game?
Legendz: The Card Game was released between April 2004 and March 2005.
As far as I remember, it was developed across four chapters—though it may have continued slightly beyond that.
At the time, many card games tied to anime series were being released one after another.
It was an era when trading card games were treated more as children’s toys than competitive games.
Naturally, Legendz: The Card Game was also a tie-in product with the anime.
However, what makes it particularly interesting is that its world setting is completely different from that of the anime.
While the anime, manga, and novel are set in the modern world, the TCG takes place in a distant fantasy era.
It seems to depict the age of the “Legendz War” mentioned in the anime’s backstory.
This difference in setting felt strange to some fans, but personally, I loved this fantasy world.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to actually play the game at the time, so I would just look at Bandai’s product pages and imagine the ancient world of the Legendz.
To be honest, I never truly played the game back then.
I only collected a few cards later in life.
So there may be some inaccuracies in my explanation—please feel free to correct them if you notice any.
Gameplay of Legendz: The Card Game
One of the most commonly mentioned aspects of the game is that there are no dedicated “mana” cards.
Unlike Magic: The Gathering with its lands, or Pokémon with its Energy cards,
Legendz allows any card to be placed in the “Power Position” to generate power.
In other words, the number of cards placed equals your available power—very similar to Duel Masters.
Given that Duel Masters remains popular even today, one would expect Legendz to be just as enjoyable.
However, despite this, the game did not receive particularly strong evaluations at the time.
According to blogs run by card shops back then, the main criticisms were
- The game progressed too slowly
- Low-cost cards were difficult to use effectively
- The Talispod’s dice system often rolled high numbers (6 or more), disrupting balance
From a competitive standpoint, these issues were significant.
Even if the franchise had continued, it may have struggled to survive as a top-tier competitive TCG under those rules.
That said, had the game progressed into a fifth or sixth chapter, it’s possible that more refined mechanics could have emerged.
It’s a shame that we’ll never know how far it might have evolved.
The True Appeal of Legendz: The Card Game
So, does that mean it was a bad game?
Absolutely not.
The greatest appeal of Legendz: The Card Game lies in its artwork.
The illustrations are richly painted, dynamic, and full of life—very different from the anime style.
From the soaring Wind Dragon to the imposing Blaze Dragon, the artwork is unique and powerful.
Many of the illustrations were created exclusively for the card game.
Additionally, even monsters of the same species were given distinct personalities and designs.
For example, “Werewolf Hamidashi Chitta” and “Manticore Okubyou Rief” differ significantly from their standard depictions.
This not only expanded the lore of the Legendz world, but also encouraged creative interpretations and fan works.
(Those “original Legendz” designs were really popular back then.)
Another major highlight is the inclusion of Legends that never appeared in other media.
Characters like Anubis, Weretiger, and Assassin Bug—who never became Soul Dolls—appear only in the card game.
Even more intriguing are characters such as Spiritual Wind Dragon Ranshiin and Spiritual Iron Golem, whose designs exist nowhere else.
The fact that we can see these designs at all is thanks to the existence of the TCG.
It’s bittersweet to think about what might have been if the series had continued.
In Closing
Finally, I’d like to share a small personal wish.
Someday, I want to play Legendz: The Card Game face-to-face with someone—just once.
It doesn’t matter if they don’t know the rules.
It doesn’t matter if we only have preconstructed decks.
I only own one myself, after all.
I just want to sit down and play it the way we did as kids, saying things like,
“I have no idea what’s going on, but this is fun.”
So—why not give Legendz: The Card Game a try?
You can still find copies on Mercari.
And one last question…
Did anyone actually play this game using the Talispod’s dice feature seriously?
Card list
Game Flow and Comic
(on the reverse side of the Battlefield)