What is Grand Archive?
Grand Archive is a brand-new Trading Card Game (TCG) coming to Good Games Local Game Stores in 2023. With stunning anime-inspired artwork and an easy to learn western-style game design, Grand Archive appeals to new and enfranchised players, cementing itself in the current competitive market.
Grand Archive is a part of the new wave of ‘Kickstarter TCGs’, which unlike most current TCGs, is crowd funded before the initial release. Over 1,500 contributors pledged nearly 1 million dollars, making it one of the highest backed physical TCGs ever. This has resulted in an extremely active game community even before the game is physically released, with large virtual tournaments that allow play even before cards have been printed.
In this article, you’ll learn about what separates Grand Archive over other TCGs, the first ever Australian Grand Archive Pre-release Event, and also about the collectability of cards! Make sure to keep an eye out on the Good Games blog, as there are plenty of Grand Archive articles in the pipeline, such as our upcoming “A Magic Player Thoughts on Grand Archive” article.
The Specifics: why Grand Archive over other TCGs?
The TCG market is no stranger to new additions, so what separates Grand Archive over the other new games hitting the market?
It’s a difficult question, but Grand Archive is trying to fill a currently untapped niche; the combination of Japanese-style TCGs and Western-Style TCGs. Games such as Cardfight Vanguard, Weiß Schwarz, and the Bandai TCGs (One Piece, Digimon, and Dragon Ball Super) all display anime-style artwork, and share similarities in game design. They have a focus on learning the deck you’re piloting, and understanding how to play it to the highest level.
On the other hand, western-style games, such as Magic: The Gathering and Flesh & Blood, tend to involve more interaction between players, and have more focus towards how individual cards and decks interact with each other. Grand Archive intends to appeal to those already playing Japanese-Style TCGs with its vibrant anime-inspired artstyle, but are looking for a change in gameplay. For those who want to join a TCG from the start and be involved in a passionate community, Grand Archive is one of your best bets! Comparatively, the One Piece TCG released at a similar time, and it will be interesting to see how this Kickstarter TCG does alongside Bandai’s third major TCG released in the west.
Finally, the core gameplay loop also separates Grand Archive from other games like Magic: The Gathering or Flesh and Blood. While there are similarities, there are several intelligent differences such as their unique take on a mana/resource system. We’ll cover these differences in an upcoming article: A Magic Player's Thoughts on Grand Archive, so stay tuned to check out what makes Grand Archive truly unique!
The Pre-Release Event
Grand Archive officially releases in April 2023, but Good Games Greensborough was exclusively selected to hold the first Australian pre-release event to great success!
The pre-release event saw over 18 new and enfranchised players fill up the store, get their hands on some booster packs, and jump straight into the game! Each participant received a starter deck and three First Edition booster packs which could be used to customise their deck. Additional boosters and promotional cards were raffled out over the day.
As the day progressed, Grand Archive really began to shine. New players unfamiliar with the mechanics of the game had no difficulty picking up and understanding the basics, while those who had played before were excited to explain the deeper strategy and complexities that become clear the more you play. Discussion of weekly locals quickly became the topic as the day concluded, with everyone wondering when they would get their next chance to play.
But perhaps the most exciting part of the day was when one lucky player cracked a Collector’s Ultra Rare! This gorgeous card was bought at the same event for a whopping $3000!
The Collectability: Are the Cards Worth buying?
Finally, let’s talk about the collectability of Grand Archive.
Over 2019-2022, TCGs became more than just card games to lots of people, they became investments. With the price of Magic: The Gatherings’ reserve list cards increasing, Pokémon pack-opening streams becoming increasingly popular, and newer TCGs such as Metazoo and Flesh & Blood breaking the market, how do we know how Grand Archive cards will have value? From what we’ve seen from the initial hype, it's clear people are willing to spend money on this game.
The first set will be released in two waves; the First Edition and the Alter Edition. Both editions will have the same card list, but the first edition boxes can contain ‘Collector Ultra Rares’. These cards each have a totally unique signature and a number between 1-70, printed as a golden stamp, indicating the limited nature of these cards. The Alter Edition will also have gold-stamped ‘Collector Super Rares’, but with a non-unique signature and no serial number. These Alter Edition ‘Collector Super Rares’ are different cards to the ‘Collector Ultra Rares’ in the first edition boxes, thus giving both editions cards worth chasing.
Additionally, collector’s pieces in Grand Archive aren’t just to be hoarded. Grand Archive innovates organised play by offering The Path of Silver: the first ever competition for collectors! Here, players can submit 50-card collections to earn points based on various factors, such as the rarity of cards, and their art or design.
We’ll have articles about upcoming events, gameplay guides, and more coming soon - so stay tuned and look to Good Games for all your Grand Archive needs!
