The 10th anniversary of WIXOSS is here, and it's even more powerful than before! 4th "WIXOSS" [5 Decks & Expansion Packs Present!

In this series of articles, we will report on the appeal of TCG games that can be enjoyed by TCG beginners even if they are just starting out, as well as the TCG industry as told by the development team and staff.

In this fourth issue, we pick up "WIXOSS," a title full of beautiful girl characters that is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and showing even more excitement.

In the first half of the report, we experienced the appeal that "WIXOSS" has built up over the past 10 years by playing with actual decks while receiving instruction from the Takara Tomy WIXOSS team.

In the second half, we asked Mr. Yamaguchi, Mr. Tomita, Mr. Shimizu, and Mr. Kanazawa of the Takara Tomy WIXOSS team about the 10th anniversary of "WIXOSS," future developments, ideas for boosting the TCG industry, and messages for those who want to start playing TCGs!

People we interviewed

Ravika

A deck case fairy who came from the TCG world with a mission to increase the number of new TCG players. It would be a terrible thing if the number of new players did not increase, so today she is helping spread the charm of TCGs to the world.

Since she cannot play the card game in this body, she uses her live avatar's hands during the interview.

That system is back for the 10th anniversary!

Rabika Hello - I'm here to play with "WIXOSS"!　I'm Ravika!

TOMITA TOMITA, TAKARA TOMY (TOMITA ) Hello, Rabika here. I'm Itto Tomita from the TCG Division of TOMY Co!　My name is Itto Tomita, and I am the TCG producer of "WIXOSS.

What is "WIXOSS"?

WIXOSS is a TCG title released on April 26, 2014, in conjunction with the "selector" TV anime series. Players attack with two types of character cards, "Rurig," the player's alter ego, and "Signi," which support the Rurig, and the player who directly attacks an opponent with a life cross of 0 wins the game. The game features heated play, such as having to play seven random cards from the deck instead of life counters, which means that important cards must be played face down as life.

Rabika Rabika, I was actually a selector (*a player) of "WIXOSS" just about 10 years ago. I got hooked on the first season of the anime and played all night long with my fairy friends!

Tomita: "selector infected WIXOSS". I'm glad that there are many users like Rabika who became interested in the game through the anime.

Rabika: That's why I was really looking forward to today's interview!　Because you can play today at .......

Tomita That's right. What Rabika is going to play today is a pre-built deck that was released to commemorate the 10th anniversary of "WIXOSS!

Rabika: Wow, I've seen all these rigs before!　I've seen them in "selector," but seeing them all lined up like this makes me feel really nostalgic.

Tomita I'm sure that people will feel nostalgic not only for the rigs but also for the feeling of playing the game, and I hope that they will enjoy playing against the "DIVA" decks, which are played by teams of three players.

Now, Kanazawa and Shimizu from the WIXOSS team will explain the game in a teaching style.

TOMY Kanazawa (Kanazawa ) Pleased to meet you, I am Kanazawa!　Rabika-chan will be playing with the "WHITE ALT HOPE" deck (Selector deck) from the pre-constructed deck that was just released on April 27, in which Tama is a Rurigu. I will support Rabika-chan.

TOMY SHIMIZU (Shimizu ) My name is Shimizu. I will be playing against Rabika-chan with the "SUPER DIVA DECK DOUBLE HEROINES -" deck (DIVA deck), in which Hirana and her 3 rigs are teamed up. By the way, Rabika, can you grab cards with your hands?

Rabika: It's okay. I'm bringing a live avatar this time too.

Kanazawa Heh, ....... Your hands are more realistic than I thought. ......

(In the foreground is the hand of the live avatar that Ravika is using for the interview.

Shimizu ......, let's get back on track. First, please place the level 0 card of the "Rurig" that will be the player's partner from the Rurig deck face down on the back side. Rabika-chan is a "selector battle style" deck, so she only has a center rig, and I am a "DIVA battle style" deck, so I have one center rig and two assist rigs.

Ravika: Wow, I see. So Ravika's is the old "WIXOSS" Battle Style?

Shimizu Yes. But the game format itself is "DIVA Selection", so you can play with DIVA decks as well. Of course, you can also play with a "MIX Style" deck that mixes the two. Each has its own strengths, so users can build decks according to their own preferences.

Ravika: It expands the range of play!

Shimizu: That's right. Well, in "WIXOSS," the game progresses in seven major phases per turn. First, there is the Up Phase, in which the "Rurig" and "Signi" on the field are made up and ready for action. Draw Phase to draw cards from the Main Deck, Energize Phase to replenish Energy, Grow Phase to level up your Rurig, Main Phase to summon your Signi or use card abilities, Attack Phase to attack with your Signi or Rurig, and End Phase to end your turn. Phase, the Attack Phase when you attack with your Signet or Lurig, and the End Phase when you end your turn. The player who repeatedly attacks the 7 Life Crosses protecting the opponent's Rurig by repeating these 7 phases and reduces the Life Crosses to 0, and the player who can deal more damage from them wins the game.

Ravika: So, "Rurig" is the partner and "Signi" is the supporting character that attacks. Also, it is interesting that the life cross, which represents a player's life, is taken from the cards in the main deck and arranged in a row.

Kanazawa That's right. The key point is that perhaps a strong card may be the Life Cross. However, some cards have an ability called "Life Burst," which activates when a Life Cross is revealed after taking damage, so there is a possibility that you can take a shot even if you take damage.

Ravika So there are elements that can turn the tables even in an inferior situation!

Kanazawa And I think you will be able to play more strategically than ever before, with the return of the special move "Arts" that you know from "selector," as well as the additional element of "Recollect," a new ability that can be used when "Arts" are accumulated in the Rurig Trash.

Rabika Rabika will do her best to remember things. Okay, let's give it a try first. Open! (shout when you turn the rig face up)

～Rabika turn after 20 minutes.

Rabika: All right, Rabika's turn!　Up, draw two cards, add Energies and ....... Grope the Rurig's Tama!　I'm now at Level 3!

Kanazawa Now that Tama is Level 3, let's use the Arts Card "Draw Enhance" in the Main Phase. By doing this, the token card "Limit Upper", a unique element of "selector battle style", will be activated. With this, the total level limit of the signi you can put on the field will be +2!

Ravika: That's so strong!　Okay, I've been cornered so far by Shimizu-san's Assist Rig, so I'm going to try to turn the tables on him at once. I'm going to use all the Arts I can use, and since I've accumulated cards in my Rurig Trash, I'm going to Recollect and return my opponent's Signi to my hand. Attack there directly!

Shimizu: I have no countermeasure, so I take it with Life Cross. This is a bit, bad. ......

Ravika: I'm just about out of life crosses, so I attack directly with the last Rurig!　I was using Arc Light Aura, so I have to pay the cost if I want to guard!　How about that?

Shimizu: Oh no, I can't guard ....... I lost. ......

Ravika: Yay, I won!　Now Rabika is one step closer to becoming a Dream Limit Girl*!

(*: In the anime, if you keep winning "WIXOSS," you can become a Dream Limit Girl who can make wishes come true. For more information, watch the anime "selector infected WIXOSS" and "selector spread WIXOSS" which are being distributed for free for a limited time from 4/19 to 5/7 on Takaratomy's Youtube channel as a 10th anniversary commemoration!)

For more details on the limited time free anime distribution, click here.

Click here for the official YouTube channel "WIXOSS Channel" of TOMY "WIXOSS

Kanazawa Congratulations! You won beautifully!

Shimizu I thought I could guard it somehow since I drew a lot, but I'm sorry. ...... Ravika, how was your first time playing "WIXOSS" in a while?

Rabika: It was very interesting!　I was a little nervous because it was a new deck with a new set of cards, but it had a lot in common with the old Tama's White deck, so I got the feeling of playing again right away. There were new elements such as "Recollect," and I had to carefully choose the cards to play if my opponent had a different battle style from mine!

Shimizu: There are many cards that were re-recorded from the original version, so if you played the game 10 years ago, you may think, "Whoa!

New cards on the left and old cards on the right. New cards on the left, cards from back then on the right.

For detailed rule explanations and deck introductions, check out the official website!

Next, WIXOSS general producer Tomo Yamaguchi joined us to talk about the 10th anniversary and future developments!

Tomo Yamaguchi, Itto Tomita, Mizuki Shimizu, and Takuya Kanazawa of Takara Tomy talked about the 10th anniversary and future developments.

(From left) Takuya Kanazawa, Tomo Yamaguchi, Itsuto Tomita, Mizuki Shimizu

Ravika: Thank you very much for your teaching today!　Once again, this is the 10th anniversary of "WIXOSS". How do you feel now?

TOMY YAMAGUCHI (Yamaguchi) It feels like 10 years have passed in the blink of an eye, but it was 12 years ago that I actually started planning "WIXOSS". At first, I spent two years working on the animation, so it has been a total of 12 years since 2012.

The biggest thing I feel now is that we have had the support of many users in a market where various TCGs have started up and then disappeared. We have many people who have been playing for 10 years, and we are deeply impressed by the fact that users who started playing because of the anime have continued to play along with the "WIXOSS" worldview.

Ravika: This time, to commemorate the 10th anniversary, you released a card set focusing on "selector" luligu, why is that?

Yamaguchi: The "selector" series originally started 10 years ago with a pre-built deck of three luligu: white Tama, red Hanayo, and blue Pilruk, and two months later a deck of green Midoriko and black Ulisu was added, and has continued to develop until today.

As we celebrate our 10th anniversary this year, we wanted to take a fresh approach to everyone who watched the "selector infected WIXOSS" anime back then. We thought that it would be easier for new users to start with the members from the beginning of "WIXOSS", so we chose five luligu.

Also, we had already had the idea of creating a world 10 years after the original work. I also wanted to get together with Mari Okada, who designed the story, J.C.STAFF, who produced the animation, and Kanon Wakeshima, who sang the theme song, and create a new worldview, so we created a new story called "selector loth WIXOSS" for the 10th anniversary. I chose the five luligu partly because I wanted to incorporate them into the story.

Therefore, when we first released the product in January of this year, we simply announced that we were releasing a revival of the old five luligu, but in reality, it is a product with the stories of the characters set 10 years later as the backdrop.

The details will be revealed in the upcoming comic book series, but the characters from the series 10 years ago and the characters in this "selector loth WIXOSS" 10 years later will be different characters, even though they have the same names and appearances, even though they are the Tama of the world 10 years later, They are the Tama of the world 10 years later, but they are not exactly the same.

Tomita: The pre-constructed decks and expansion packs were released on April 27, and these are products commemorating the 10th anniversary of "selector" and the 10th anniversary of "WIXOSS," so they are only commemorating the 10th anniversary. However, as Yamaguchi explained earlier, the characters in the products to be released in April and the "loth SELECTOR" expansion pack to be released in July will follow the world view of "selector loth WIXOSS".

Yamaguchi: I would like to draw your attention to the card illustrations as well. They follow the characters of "selector infected WIXOSS," but there are some changes to match the worldview, such as the addition of certain accessories, so I hope you will enjoy the game while guessing about such things.

Shimizu I would also like you to read the flavor texts of the cards, etc. You may enjoy them even more if you compare them with the cards from 10 years ago and read them in light of the new worldview.

Rabika: There was an idol-like Tama in the "DIVA" series, so I thought it would be along those lines, but it was a shock to see a completely different development!

Tomita: Up until February of this year, we had been working on a storyline in which Tama and her friends came to the world of the "WIXOSS DIVA(A)LIVE" anime in 2021, but we have now moved on from that worldview to start a sequel that is an extension of the "selector infected WIXOSS" time line. This will be an extension of the "selector infected WIXOSS" timeline.

Yamaguchi: That's why the product name contains "ALT," which means "alternative," and I hope that people will see it as something similar but not the same.

Ravika I see. By the way, I think there have been some major changes in the game system this time around, with the introduction of the new "recollect" ability, the return of "arts," and the diversification of battle styles.

Kanazawa: It was difficult to reconcile the ideal with reality. First of all, as a challenge, today's users fight 3vs3 with a main rig and an assist rig, whereas 10 years ago, users had only one type of rig and arts. It's a completely different system. At this point, there is a contradiction, and the first problem was how to put them all together in a "WIXOSS" battle.

After much thought, we decided to allow each user to choose from three battle styles: "selector battle style, DIVA battle style, and MIX style. We went through a number of test plays to find the best balance, consistency, rulings, and so on. That was the most difficult part.

As we continued development, there were many members of the WIXOSS production team who used to play "WIXOSS" and were former players, and through interviews with them, we got ideas such as reviving the arts.

Tomita: I just had Rabika play with the game, and although the detailed system is different, I think that players will be able to enjoy battles even with different battle styles. So, the game is designed to be enjoyed from various angles by those who used to play, those who are still playing, and those who are just starting out.

Rabika, by the way, can cards from 10 years ago be mixed into the deck?　Ravika, I've been to a lot of events and things like that, so I have a lot of feelings about cards from back then. ......

Tomita: Of course you can play with them, but since there are multiple deck formats, I would suggest that you check which format the cards you want to use can be used in before playing. If it's in the "Key Selection" and "All-Star" formats, you can mix and match with old cards.

Ravika: Good, that's a relief!　Also, how do you think the change in the competitive environment will affect current users?

Kanazawa: The decks are now more flexible, and you can play with your own favorite strategy and concept.

I hope everyone will enjoy creating their own original decks.

Tomita One of the characteristics of "WIXOSS" is that some users play because they like the card characters, while others are more interested in serious competitions, and there is quite a wide variety. Therefore, I think that the addition of this new product has had a great impact on the variety of options available, such as making a single point of emphasis on a characteristic or grouping together only the characters you like, depending on your own style of playing.

Shimizu: You can go with a single most favored Rurig, or you can have two favored Rurigs next to the most favored Rurig, and so on.

Tomita: Since the start of the "DIVA" season, there have been many cards with the characters of the Rurig turned into Signi, so if you want, you can build a deck with only your guesses.

Ravika: "WIXOSS" is also characterized by its many cute and pretty girl characters, isn't it?

Yamaguchi: Almost all of the cards are illustrated by beautiful girls, a concept that we have been following for the past 10 years.

Tomita I think the best example of using the characters you are pushing for is the "Yumeki Shoujo Cup," a "WIXOSS" event that determines the best in Japan. In other TCG tournaments, for example, there are cash prizes or prizes for rare cards, but in "WIXOSS", if you become the best in Japan, you are presented with a card that is a bishoujo with your favorite character.

Ravika...... Eh?

Tomita A fairly strong player asked Yamaguchi, "Do you want to be made into a bishojo?" and he answered, "Yes, I want to be a bishojo! and he replies, "Yes, I want to be a bishojo!

Ravika In a way, is it a reproduction of the original story? ......　By the way, there will be many events this year for the 10th anniversary, what kind of events are you planning?

Tomita Since it is the 10th anniversary, we are creating events with an eye to having fun for those who have loved us for the past 10 years. The point is that we are preparing both serious competitions and casual fun events, and we are running them with the intention of having everyone in Japan and all over the world enjoy them.

As for serious competition, we will hold a tournament to decide who is the best. This year, for the first time, we will hold a tournament in February next year to determine the world's best selectors, including those from North America, Europe, and Asia.

On the other hand, as for casual venues, we will provide opportunities to enjoy free games at large venues like the recently held "WIXOSS 10th Super eve Festival". We are also preparing for a "user exhibit" that will not be a TCG venue, but will provide a place for creativity through "WIXOSS" like at a comic market.

And the most significant project of the event "WIXOSS ~10th GROW! ~Super 10th Anniversary Festival" held on April 28 was the "Super Remember! FAR Hyakuninshu".

Ravika ...... What?　Hyakunin Isshu, that Hundred Poems?

Tomita Yes, that Hyakunin Isshu. We did the Hyakunin Isshu with all our might. We are quite serious.

Ravika May I ask you to elaborate a little bit ......?

Tomita Starting with this series, for the first time, we have created a rarity called "FAR (Full Art Rare)." TCGs are fought based on the parameters and text written on the cards, but we were too eager to push the wonderful illustrations to the forefront, so we decided to remove the text. We were too eager to push the beautiful illustrations to the forefront, so we decided to remove the text. The result is a very collectible card.

Ravika: I don't understand what you are saying.

Tomita And I was planning this event for the Hundred Days event based on the belief that users who love "WIXOSS" would probably recall the text in their brains just by looking at the illustration of the card. First, the FAR card is placed. Then, the game master would read out the text of the original card. Then the participants would say, "Oh, this is the text of Tama's level 4 rig!" Then the participants are asked to take their Tama cards.

Ravika You are relying too much on the participants' level of understanding. ......

Tomita We had a very serious meeting. After much trial and error, we came to the conclusion that the best way to convey the appeal of the FAR was to play the Hyakunin Isshu card. On the day of the event, we put down tatami mats at the venue, and there will be a preliminary round before the main line.

In order to maintain the enjoyment of "WIXOSS" that Yamaguchi created for us over the past 10 years, we have been continuing to organize these kinds of events. I hope everyone can enjoy the 10th anniversary of "WIXOSS" together.

Yamaguchi: Since the story of the animation was dark, I thought it would be better to have a brighter event itself, so that's one of the areas where we differentiated ourselves.

Rabika Come to think of it, I remember doing a karaoke contest at an event Rabika attended 10 years ago. ......

Yamaguchi That brings back memories. TCGs are rather difficult to get into, so I think it would be better to have events like anime where users who come from non-TCG backgrounds can enjoy themselves.

Ravika: I see. By the way, what else are you doing to increase new users of "WIXOSS"?

Tomita In terms of new users, we want to make people aware of the "WIXOSS" content again, so we will be offering a limited time free distribution of the "selector infected WIXOSS" and "selector spread WIXOSS" anime on Takaratomy's Youtube channel. We hope that people will watch the anime that became a hot topic 10 years ago and become interested in the TCG as well.

We are also making a video on how to play the game with the voice actors from the anime version, so we hope that people will learn how to play the game by watching the video.

As for events for beginners, we have a teaching corner at large events and events for beginners held at card stores. One unique feature of these events is that not only our production staff but also general users volunteer to help as instructors. This is something that Yamaguchi created as part of the "WIXOSS" culture, and we continue to carry it on.

Yamaguchi: Today, there are many opportunities for the media and customers to get involved through SNS and other means, but there were not many in the past. At that time, we thought that one of the conditions for becoming a core user, rather than simply consuming and playing games, was to become a transmitter. We have prepared many opportunities for this.

Ravika: Last question, then!　What do you think is important for the TCG industry as a whole to further increase the number of new users and become even more exciting?

Yamaguchi: I believe that the number of new users has been increasing in recent years. I think it is not only the so-called parents' generation, but also their children's literacy has expanded as their children reach junior high school age, and it has become possible for two generations of parents and children to play TCGs together. In the past, TCGs inevitably gave the impression that they were something for a few enthusiasts, but now that they are becoming more common, I think that many people are playing them as if they were video games.

The longer we continue the game, the more the content and the users grow together, so I feel that "WIXOSS" should be like a "playground for adults" and that everyone should enjoy playing together.

Tomita If we go back to the starting point, I think it is "fun. As a manufacturer, I believe that providing a place where everyone can have fun will ultimately lead to the enjoyable and healthy growth of the card market as a whole.

We sometimes hear people say that it is difficult to learn the rules when starting a new game, but to put it another way, I don't think it is necessary to follow the rules so closely at first. I hope that as you play more and more, you will gradually become more proficient and find enjoyment in the game. If you try to do it strictly from the beginning, it will become a bit cramped, so we want people to enjoy it without limiting how they play.

Ravika: I see, so you are saying that the appeal of TCGs is in the "fun" aspect. Well then, any last comments for the users?

Yamaguchi: I don't think "WIXOSS" is difficult to approach just because it is a TCG. WIXOSS" has many users who have been playing for a long time, so if a beginner wants to start playing now, there are many senior players who will teach him or her. I would be very happy if you could start playing without hesitation.

Tomita: WIXOSS is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the "selector" series, so I hope that you will first watch the "selector" anime series on Youtube. If you are interested in the characters, we hope that you will pick up the TCG and enjoy playing with the LURIGUs.

Kanazawa: This is the 10th anniversary of the WIXOSS series, so we hope that people can easily pick up one of the new pre-built decks that they like the look of without being too uptight.

Shimizu: "WIXOSS" is a very warm content, and "WIXOSS" users are very kind to beginners, and they want newcomers to sink into the "WIXOSS" swamp. Please come and sink into the swamp.

(Reporting and writing by Umi Yoshida , Illustrations by Ayu Airai )

Outline of the Present Campaign

We are giving away a set of five "WIXOSS" pre-built decks and expansion packs to three lucky winners in a drawing!

To celebrate our coverage of "WIXOSS," we are giving away a set of five pre-built decks and expansion packs to three lucky winners!

<Entry requirements

Application period: April 26, 2024 (Fri.) - May 3, 2024 (Fri.) 23:59

Number of winners: 3

Announcement of winners: Prizes will be shipped to the winners.

Prizes will be sent out sequentially.

How to apply: Use the dedicated application form below.

<Note

Registration (free of charge) is required to enter the contest.

Only one entry per person is allowed.

We will not be able to respond to any inquiries regarding lottery results or shipping status.

Transfer or resale of the prize or rights to the prize winner to a third party is prohibited.

Kakaku.com Group employees and related parties are not eligible to participate.

Prizes must be shipped within Japan.

We will take the utmost care in packaging the prizes, but please note that we cannot accept returns or exchanges in the event that the prizes are damaged due to an accident during transportation.

Please note that the prize will be invalidated in the following cases

　Multiple winners at the same address or in the same household

　If you have entered the contest using an unauthorized account (e.g., multiple accounts by the same person)

　If the prize cannot be delivered due to the winner's address, change of address, long-term absence, etc.

　Prizes cannot be delivered due to incomplete contact or delivery address information.

　Prize winners who fail to contact us by the prize delivery address notification deadline

　If there is any fraudulent activity related to the application.