Heroes 101: All you need to know!

Below you'll find everything you need to know about Super Dragon Ball Heroes cards.

There's a lot to get through, so here's a rundown:

• Each DBH card is of a very high quality: heavily textured with multiple layers of holo-foil, a DBH card is 2-3 times thicker than a traditional TCG card and has a focus on artwork and design with minimal text.
  
  
• Unless otherwise noted, any card you purchase from us is considered to be Near Mint or higher condition. 
  
  
• All cards are up to 10 years old.
  
  
• First set released was H-1 in September, 2010.
  
  
• The oldest cards are some of the most valuable, because Arcade Card Games like DBH don't have booster packs to obtain the cards. 
  
  
• You obtain new cards by playing the DBH arcade machines. These machines are only in Japan. They are updated with the latest cards upon release (every few months). 
  
  
• The other way to the cards is second-hand from any local hobby store in Japan. Anyone can trade their old cards in at a hobby store, which is the only real way for others to obtain them. 
  
  
• There are 6 card rarities which are listed in order lowest to highest below, all identified by symbols in the top left corner on the back:
• Common (represented by ★)
• Rare (★★)
• Super Rare (★★★)
• Campaign Promo (CP)
• Ultimate Rare (★★★★)
• Secret Rare (★★★★ SEC)

• There are also Promotional cards ('P') that you can get as a magazine/other media insert, or from a Promotional booster pack. These packs contain separate cards to the main series which do not share the same rarity or value.

Now to expand a little..

Since roughly the beginning of time, Trading Card Games have captured the eye of collectors and hobbyists across the world.

From MTG to Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! to Dragon Ball Super and everything in-between - TCGs have time and time again given people, myself included, feelings of both immense satisfaction or frustration as they open booster packs (or boxes!) in an endless chase of the rarest cards. 

What separates Dragon Ball Heroes from these other card games is one key thing - it is not a Trading Card Game, but an Arcade Card Game - ACG for short.

Because of this, you don't get these cards by pulling them from booster packs- booster packs only exist for promotional items that are separate to the main series. 

How do you get these cards then?

Your first option is to play the Dragon Ball Heroes arcade machines that can only be found in Japan. Each time you play (after inserting 100 YEN!) a card is dropped from a hidden place inside the machine into a small tray for you to collect. Face-down, of course, so you never know if you've hit the jackpot with a Gogeta ★★★★ SEC (Secret Rare) or if its just another Krillin ★ (Common) to add to the pile.

These arcade machines are updated with the newest set every few months, the previous set having sold out (each machine is empty of cards and unplayable). If a machine does have cards left-over when a new set is released, they are sold to nearby hobby stores to make space the day prior. 

All up this creates a much more limited supply of older cards, particularly in good condition, when compared to any TCG that is offered to consumers exclusively via booster packs. TCG's have insane numbers of boosters that are produced to cater to a worldwide market. Anyone interested gains the ability to just purchase a sealed box and sit on it potentially forever leaving any cards inside untouched. Arcade Card Game's operate very differently as outlined above - and they also involve less card production in general because of a). tri-monthly release cycle and b). once again the machines are only found in Japan.

Interesting stuff. I'm trying to picture what playing these machines look like..

Not a problem. As you can see below, each of these arcade machines have an interactive second screen on the bottom where you place the cards to add the characters depicted to fight for your team in the game.

 

You physically move the cards around on the screen to use each character's special ability!

Nice! So.. how else would you get the cards if not from an Arcade Machine?

Well, your only other option is to acquire them second-hand. Japan is a country abundant with hobby stores where you'll find plenty of traded-in, second-hand goods. This of course includes a goldmine of specific cards from every set ranging back to Heroes 1 (H-1) released in September, 2010.

★ The older the set is, the more difficult certain cards become to find - especially in good condition. Children tend to be the ones who initially obtain the cards, using them to play the game. ★

Luckily, we have done the hard work for you and have stocked up on the best cards we could find while traveling to Japan on a few occasions over the last couple of years.

Brilliant. What about those booster packs I've heard about for these cards?

There are specific promotional card booster packs released separately every so-often which contain a limited number of cards, some of which are quite nice but generally are not particularly valuable. Compare the promotional cards on our site to some of the main series' rarities and you'll notice the variations. 

Note: Campaign Promos are specific to the main series releases (ie. Universe Mission). They are not related at all to the separate promotional cards outlined above, which reside outside of the main series and are denoted by a 'P' on the back.

Thanks for clearing that up. One last thing.. I'm after a particular card and I can't find it on your site, can you help me?

We can help! Anything you're after we may be able to sort for you, or we may already have it but we just haven't listed it yet. Check out 'Our Story' to get an idea of how frequently we visit Japan, and how we arrange new inventory between trips.

 
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Thanks a lot for reading through our very first article. We hope it helped shed some light on the beautiful cards found in the Dragon Ball Heroes Arcade Card Game. We fell in love with them, and we hope you will too.

Stay tuned for upcoming stock and content! Big Bang Mission is coming through with some absolutely insane new cards.

- Jake & the Team.