Union Arena does something no other card game does: every set is a different anime. Not a crossover, not a themed subset — a complete, self-contained card pool built around one series. Solo Leveling gets a set. Attack on Titan gets a set. InuYasha gets a set. They all play by the same rules, so a Jujutsu Kaisen deck sits down across from a Bleach deck and the game just works.
It makes the line unpredictable, because demand for a set tracks the property rather than the game. It also makes it occasionally spectacular. We carry it for both reasons.
What Union Arena is
Fifty-card decks, built almost entirely from a single anime’s cards. The board has two rows: the front line, where characters attack and block, and the energy line, where characters generate the energy that pays for bigger plays. Each turn you spend action points to play cards and attack; land enough damage on your opponent’s life and you win. Raid lets a character attack in from your hand over one already on the field — the game’s signature tempo move.
It’s quick to learn and plays fast. Because every deck is one series, the cards reference the story they come from, and a game feels like the two anime meeting.
How the community plays it
Organized play runs through Bandai TCG+. Quarterly Store Tournaments are the local layer; the Championship 26-27 runs offline Regionals in two waves feeding the North America Finals. Wave 2 covers August through December, with a stop at the Baird Center in Milwaukee on October 3.
The community is unusual in that it’s organized around properties as much as the game. A new Solo Leveling set brings in Solo Leveling fans who may never have played a card game; some stay for the game, some stay for the series. That means release nights are big and varied, and it means the shop has to know the anime, not just the rules. We’ll try.
The state of play in 2026
Bandai has pushed the English line hard: ten sets in 2026 at a near-monthly pace. Sword Art Online Vol. 2 and Evangelion in January, Kagurabachi in February, Solo Leveling in March, InuYasha on August 14, and Re:ZERO and Attack on Titan Vol. 2 together on September 18. The full year’s calendar is on the events board alongside the Regional dates.
Store Tournament Vol. 4 runs October through December — the wave our first in-store events would fall into.
What we stock, and what we buy
Value follows the property, not the game: a first-edition Solo Leveling box trades at more than double MSRP; a quieter series doesn’t. We price Union Arena by series, and we’ll tell you where yours is trading before you decide.
Sealed. Booster boxes and starter decks from the current English sets. Older sets as they come across the counter, priced by how the property has held up.
Singles. Alternate-art and 3-star rares, and playable singles by series.
What we buy: sealed from any English set, alternate-art singles, collections. Tell us the series and we’ll tell you where it’s trading. Send a photo.
Where to play this season
Union Arena is the newest line on Miami’s calendar. Milwaukee on October 3 is the nearest Regional. Store tournaments at the shop run through Bandai TCG+ as the line requires — join the opening list and pick Union Arena.
