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Mage Master on Naruto
Playing Naruto on a budget
August 22, 2006

So you have seen the Naruto anime or you have read the manga and now you are interested in playing the Naruto CCG. You have a slight problem though, you’re short on cash like most teenagers are these days, don’t panic. This article will hopefully help you get the most out of this game by spending as little as possible.

Let’s start with the very basics, Starter Decks. They cost about $10-$15 depending on your retailer and come with 40 cards which is an ideal starting point because it gives you everything you need to start playing the game right away. Once you’ve gotten used to playing the game and your deck you are going to want to improve it with new cards, this can be done in a number of ways, some more effective than others.

Let’s start with boosters, they are the most obvious place to start but can be expensive ($3-$4) depending on where you buy them. If you’re on a budget you will be limited to maybe 2-3 boosters at a time so it’s probably not the best place to start if you want to expand your card pool. If you do decide to buy boosters, they each come with 10 cards but there is no guarantee of you getting the cards that you need to improve your deck so you are essentially taking a risk with buying boosters. Don’t let that put you off though because if you enjoy the risks that buying boosters entails it can become as enjoyable as playing the game itself. Essentially, boosters are a double-edged sword, sometimes the risk pays off and sometimes it doesn’t.

If buying boosters isn’t your idea of saving money you could always trade with your friends or people at your local card store. Now, I know what you’re thinking; “Why would I trade cards that are in my deck that I need for other cards that I need?” Well the simple answer is that you don’t.

Instead, say for example you play Yu-Gi-Oh or Magic the Gathering and you have some cards that you don’t use or need anymore. Instead of letting them sit in your house and gather dust, take them down to your local card shop and trade them for the Naruto cards that you need. Failing that, if your local card shop buys in cards you could trade in your unwanted cards for store credit so you can buy more Naruto booster packs, starter decks or single cards.

Another option would be to pool your cards with a group of friends so you can each improve your decks while spending little to no money. This method works really well with 3 or 4 people but as the number of people gets higher it can become rather complicated to keep track of cards which can also lead to arguments. That doesn’t mean that it’s a bad idea however because you all save money in the long run and it can be a fun way to meet new people and an easy way to get access to the cards that you need to improve your deck.

If you feel confident enough tournaments are also a good way to get boosters. It can be a risk however because you need to finish in a high position to get your moneys worth out of the tournament. Tournaments are not cheap to enter so I wouldn’t recommend entering tournaments for the soul purpose of winning boosters because you’re not likely to win on your first or even second try. However if you just want to have a good time, meet new people and get feedback on your deck, tournaments are the best place to go, either that or the Naruto Deck Discussion section on the message boards.

If you want to find out what the game is like or if you just want to test out a deck idea before you go looking for the necessary cards, the Apprentice program is the way to go. Apprentice was originally designed to allow people to play Magic the Gathering over the internet but people have created patches that allow you to play Pokemon, Naruto and various other card games on Apprentice. The Naruto patch can be found in the Naruto Gossip section on the message board and has been posted by the generous ShadowZ.

Apprentice is rather easy to use once you get the hang of it and is an invaluable resource for anyone who plays Naruto and I highly recommend that you try it out.

Well that’s it for my first article, I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it and that it has helped you out in some way.

If you have any feedback for me please e-mail me at gd-fan06@hotmail.co.uk

Good luck and happy gaming.