UNION ARENA: Rurouni Kenshin Red Starter Deck Upgrade Guide
Looking to build the exciting Rurouni Kenshin red deck but don’t know where to start? Then this guide is what you are looking for. Below, we’re going to be breaking down what you can get out of buying two Kenshin starter decks, how to put those decks together to build a basic Kenshin red deck, and how you can upgrade your decks even further through the cards you get from booster packs.
Rurouni Kenshin Starter Deck
If you are new to Bandai trading card games, then it might seem a little odd to you that you have to actually pick up two starter decks in order to get your initial, basic upgrade build. While technically speaking the starter decks are playable as is, they’re gonna be a lot more playable if you buy two of them, and picking up two ensures you have everything you need to have the basis for your strategy.
What’s inside the starter deck?
As you might be able to tell from the color of the packaging and the card shown in the artwork, the Rurouni Kenshin starter deck is based on the red energy color – an energy color known for its aggressive battle stance and double attack keyword.
This particular starter deck is highly worth the buy and I cannot recommend it enough – not only is it the basis for the strongest Kenshin deck, it’s one of the best and most playable starter decks we’ve had in UNION ARENA to date.
Apart from the instruction manual (which doubles as a play mat), the core things you’re getting this starter deck is the fifty card deck and the promo pack. You’ll be combining the two starter decks into the one shown in just a moment, but you might be a little more confused about what the promo pack is for.
Well, you won’t be playing these cards in your Red Kenshin deck – they’re different colors and geared towards entirely different strategies. However, these cards are pretty fundamental to the other decks released in the set, so definitely hold onto them for later.
Also, one of the four cards in the pack contains an alternate artwork – so use that to snazzy up your deck!
Rurouni Kenshin Starter Deck basic upgrade
First up is what I call the basic upgrade. This upgrade is achievable entirely with what’s included in the starter decks (assuming you’ve bought two). And thanks to how excellent this particular starter deck is, this basic upgrade version is actually strong enough on its own to start playing some games. You could even take this to a tournament if you wanted. It’s not nearly as strong as this deck can be at its peak, but there’s enough power here to do some damage. Let’s look over what your key cards are and why they matter.
Starter deck staple cards
In any UNION ARENA deck, there are a few must-have staples. We won’t go into these in overwhelming detail as every deck has similar cards like these, and in Kenshin they are:
Ryuutsuisen: Your Special trigger card aimed at removing foes from the board.
Oath Not to Kill: Your Final card which can save you when hit out of life at the end of the game and also good for extending the moves you can play in a turn.
Your three zero-cost characters which are essentially here to help you build the basis of your energy line.
Rurouni Kenshin Starter Deck comes with the strongest card in the set
Beyond those, this deck’s strongest card by far is the Raid Kenshin you get.
At first this Kenshin card seems relatively vanilla but once you play this deck you realize he is anything but. His Impact 1 capability and When Played effect that moves opposing characters to the energy line is a hugely advantageous tool to both deal damage, clear the defensive line, and also disrupt your opponent’s energy line.
True – this strategy is more effective into some decks than others. Either way, it’s a powerful multi-purpose card that should be the backbone of your fully upgraded deck – and how great is it that you get it in the starter deck?
Indeed, this card is so strong the Kenshin Starter Deck is likely to go down in history as one of the very best UNION ARENA starter decks, right up there besides the JJK one that had Sukuna. You just don’t usually get the set’s best card bundled into the starter deck, but in Kenshin, you do!
Kaoru adds more draw support
Another helpful SR character included in the starter deck is Kaoru. Kaoru may not be a powerhouse heavy-hitter like Kenshin is, but she does let you draw a card each turn – as long as your opponent’s characters weren’t sidelined this turn.
Sanosuke is a powerful 2 AP character for the basic upgrade
Finally, the last card I’d like to highlight is the two-AP cost Sanosuke. While he’s not necessarily the optimal fit for a fully powered up Red Kenshin deck, he does wonders in the basic upgrade, acting as additional removal by forcing your opponent to block him.
In the fully upgraded version of this deck I prefer the two-AP Kenshin because he is so core to this deck’s strategy, but Sanosuke is also a great option.
Ruroni Kenshin Red Deck: full Starter Deck upgrade
Now that we’ve covered the highlights from the Starter deck, let’s talk about the fully upgraded deck you can build. This deck is going to be considerably more challenging to play than the basic starter deck upgrade, and will take some work to acquire all the pieces for.
To get these cards, I needed to purchase about six booster boxes. These can be purchased much more cheaply online via my partners at TCGPlayer than anywhere else, so I highly recommend starting there before going any further.
Once you have the products you need, you’ll still need a few pointers to help you go to the next level with your Kenshin deck.
Knowing when to shut off “During Your Turn” effects
From my testing with Red Kenshin so far, the most difficult thing to learn how to do well is when to force your opponent’s characters to the energy line, and when to force them to be sidelined instead via blocking.
When it is more advantageous to force your opponent’s characters to be sidelined – such as when they have a relatively empty energy line and a full front line, you’re going to want to shut off your Kenshin’s “During Your Turn” effect that sends characters to the energy line.
To do this, your best bet is to use 2-AP Kenshin.
You may notice that this guy does not have any “During Your Turn” effects, but he does have several others that are strong. First of all, he comes in active, making him a no brainer to include in this deck given his 4000 BP stat. Next, he also unlocks additional draw when played. Finally, if you remove an Oath Not to Kill from your sideline, you draw a card and all of your Kenshin characters lose their During Your Turn abilities, meaning you can start punching through opposing characters and send them to the sideline.
When not to shut off your “During Your Turn” abilities
While you’re going to want to use this powerful effect when your opponent’s front line is full and energy line is empty, conversely, if your opponent has a built energy line and forcing them to remove a bunch of two-energy gen characters would be hugely disruptive, you’re going to want to push characters back instead.
Learning how to handle this new and complicated mechanic is the single most challenging thing to master in the red Kenshin deck.
Additional cards to upgrade your strategy
While we’ve gone over the core strategies to master your upgraded deck, let’s look at a few more key cards you’re going to want to include in this deck, starting with Kenshin with the Color Trigger.
Of all the cards it feels odd to not have included in the deck, this one stands out to me. Kenshin’s Color Trigger card is insanely strong, and having four cards with Color Trigger in your deck is generally recommended. Coming in at 4000 BP, you can also switch this character to active the turn it is played. As if that weren’t enough, he’s got the powerful Nullify Impact keyword, making Kenshin a must have in your deck.
Kaoru provided energy gen and protection
Karou is also very strong, acting as a two-energy generating character at only a two-cost as long as Kenshin is on your front line. She also has a handy proctive effect that can be activated at no cost the turn she is played.
Last but not least is this powerful Kenshin Raid. This guy is so strong – letting you draw a card and also acting as a Double Attacker if you discard a card – that I could see you running him at four instead of two. I only pulled two of these guys in my six boxes, however, so I’ve been making-do with four.
There are a lot of combos and tons of power behind Red Kenshin, making it one of the strongest decks in UNION ARENA right now. Power up your basic starter decks with card from the booster packs and you’ll be well on your way to dominating the playing field!
