With the upcoming release of Unrivaled on May 31st, we are here with an overview of what to expect within this game-changing set! Many of you will be attending Pre-Release events around the world this weekend and will see these cards for the first time very soon. We will discuss new Contenders, character support, a major rule change, bans, erratas, and more. Let’s get started!
Unrivaled is a truly game-impacting set that features 7x new Contenders, support for the Discarded affiliation, 160x new cards, and much more to be excited about. We’ll start by doing a quick preview of what to expect within the set.
New Contenders
The Discarded are now in full force with Lord Krung at the helm, and they seek vengeance against the Progenitors and anyone else in their way. With a few tricks up their sleeve, including the new Ambush ability, the Discarded will be a dangerous threat to deal with!
Magnate makes his return as a Contender, boasting a never-before-seen 2 attack power on a Contender. Much like his persona, he doesn’t always get along well with others and his Contender wants to push the action himself, relying on Action cards to help him dominate. This new play style opens whole new deck building strategies and areas for players to innovate.
Cao Ling is an Emo Shashou, which means demon hunter. As such, his sworn enemy is the Discarded and he has arrived to keep them at bay! Arm Cao Ling with his ancient weapons to dominate the Clashground and exert his will.
LINN, the Nanite Cyborg is a bounty hunter of sorts. She makes her entrance with unique abilities that leverage Bounty Counters as well as a new mechanic, Diminish. By using her Bounty Counters, LINN will receive perks from removing opposing threats and collecting the bounty.
Flare, an incendiary Alpha with incredible powers, makes her debut as a Contender. Flare relies on the generation of Nova Tokens, giving her unique capabilities to utilize the Nova Tokens on her quest for domination. Don’t get in her way, or you might get burned!
Warcry, who can take charge, so to speak, as a glowing white buffalo enters the Clashground as one of two Clash Kit exclusive Contenders. He introduces a new mechanic, Exhaust, alongside some seemingly very defensive cards. Watch out though, he might flip the defensive script on you quickly.
The Alpha Hunters get a second Contender with the introduction of Webber, our second Clash Kit exclusive Contender. He is a weapons expert and puts that expertise to use, introducing a new style of gameplay that allows you to attach weapons to Clash cards you do not control.
Affiliations such as the Harbingers and Alpha Hunters are being given new tools as well in this set. The new Suit Up! card is a great addition to the Alpha Hunter arsenal that we’ve heard many of you are already excited about! The Harbingers also have new cards added to support Death, Pestilence, War, and Conquest as well!
We wanted to explore something fun artistically for Unrivaled, including a 16-piece collage of the battle for New York City! Check out the cards and artwork for this incredible piece completed by Polar Engine.
Iconics
Fan-Favorite Caio Cacau is back as the feature artist for the Iconic Rare and Iconic Art cards. You can expect to see these cards with incredible foiling, UV textures and a stamped signature of Caio.
Legendary
Unrivaled features 2 different Legendary cards including Magnate, King of the Gambit and Flare, Flamebound Seeker. Each card is unique in playstyle and will be excellent additions to the game. As usual, these are very powerful and meaningful cards once they enter play.
Alpha Rare
Alpha Rare cards are unique in nature as they are alternate arts of Legendary cards and are very hard to find! Unrivaled will feature 1 Alpha Rare card. You’ll also find we have altered the border, texture, and stamping of this Alpha Rare, so you will definitely know it’s unique by these aspects alone. The chase is on, happy Alpha Rare hunting!
Box Topper Promos
The booster boxes feature a variety of different cards including: 57 Common, 41 Uncommon, 29 Rare, 13 Epic, 5 Iconic Rare, 2 Legendary, and 1 Alpha Rare. Additionally, each booster box contains one of two different Box Topper Promos!
The Unrivaled Clash Kit features a high-powered matchup between Alphas and Alpha Hunters. Alphas will be represented by Warcry (White) and Alpha Hunters will be represented by Webber (Black). Each 2-Player Clash Kit contains 11 exclusive cards featuring two Contenders, 1x AxO and 8 Starter Rare exclusives. By combining two new playstyles with characters you all enjoy, we believe the 2-Player Clash Kit is going to be a great addition to the lineup for Unrivaled.
Rule Change, Bans, and Erratas
With the launch of Unrivaled, there are many cards and combinations for players to enjoy. With all of the new interactions, there are a few changes being made. These changes were carefully considered and are necessary to further solidify the long-term health of the game. As of today, May 23rd 2024 , these changes are in effect.
1. We have a rule change regarding non-clash damage. Non-clash damage (NCD) will now reset at the start of each phase within a player’s turn, rather than at the end of a player’s turn. As players move from Primary Phase, to Clash Phase, to Primary Phase, and so on throughout their turn, the NCD will fall off at the start of each new phase. This is much more aligned with how Clash damage operates during a Clash Phase. Not only does this rule change bring greater balance and consistency to the game, but also is easier for new players to understand. Before our red NCD players get too worried, it has been tested, and red is still really good. It does likely make 0/1 Contenders more viable in the meta than previously expected and perhaps we’ll see a greater and more diverse spread of choices moving forward. This ruling can be found in the comprehensive rulebook and basic rulebook.
2. We have added 5 cards to our Banned List. All Set 1 (The Awakening) Clash Buffs are now banned from all game formats. Due to the 0-cost nature and strength of these Buffs, it will be a healthier game without them. They had their place for a reason, and a season, but their time in the Clashground sun has set. This has been a future plan for quite some time, and after studying gameplay data and assessing feedback from the community, we feel now is the right time to implement it.
Note - There are Set 1 Clash Buffs in the 2-Player Clash Kit. These were designed to be balanced and fun gameplay against each other in a casual format, but will need to have their Clash Buffs removed for official competitive gameplay.
3. Card errata for Machina, Savage Striker. During Set 2 finalization, a clerical error was missed during the QC process. We decided to leave it be until the launch of Set 3. Due to the existence of Flare Nova Tokens, this errata is necessary for maintaining a healthy game meta. Because this Contender was a Set 2 Clash Kit exclusive, we will be reprinting the Machina Contender with new artwork and updated text within the release of Set 4 this fall.
His original text for his 25 Health ability read “Once per turn, during your Primary Phase, you may engage this card and send a non-Trap Accessory you control to Oblivion. If you do, deal two damage to target Contender or Clash card, then draw one card.” His new errata’d text reads: “Once per turn, during your Primary Phase, you may engage this card and send a non-token, non-Trap Accessory you control to Oblivion. If you do, deal two damage to target Contender or Clash card, then draw one card.”
4. Card errata for War, Legion Commander. He is receiving a small text change, as it is necessary for future balancing and game design. This card will also be reprinted in Set 4 with new artwork and updated text.
His original text for his 30 Health ability read “Clash cards you control get, “Trigger – Attack: If this is the second attack you have declared this turn, draw one card.” His new errata’d text for his 30 Health ability now reads: “Clash cards you control get, "Trigger - Attack: If this is the second attack you have declared with a Clash card this turn, draw one card."
5. Card errata for Evil Expedition. The printed version has a resource cost of 0, but a specific resource cost of 1 green. This was a mistake. The errata’d version has no specific resource cost.
Hopefully your LGS signed up for the Unrivaled Pre-Release Kit – after the buzz of the sealed Pre-Release format at our Las Vegas Clashground, you won’t want to miss it!
Lastly – if you haven’t done so yet, make sure you join the Clashground: Columbus in June and Clashground: Taguig in July! You can find more information on the Columbus event here:
