NEWS
Column Articles
Selected articles are available in English. For full coverage, see the Japanese edition.
- Reading S-001, the Summon Card — the official site calls it "the card you need to summon Characters to the field", yet 9 of the 20 revealed Characters never go through itOne copy of S-001 sits on the table from the moment a battle begins. Its effect text is a single line — "You may rest this card to summon a Character card." — with no cost field, no stat fields and no rarity field. The official site describes it as the card required to put Characters onto the field, but count the 20 Character and EX Character cards whose effect text is readable and nine of them carry a way onto the field that never mentions S-001. On top of that, nothing in any revealed card says how a rested S-001 becomes active again. We read the whole card using the image published on October 13, 2026.
- The CP-001 Chakra Card face is finally public — its effect text is word for word the same as C-001. The differences are the art and "NOT FOR SALE"Handed out at demo events across more than eleven countries, and from 2027 at Japan's Premier Demo Events too, the CP-001 Chakra Card had never shown its face. On October 13, 2026 it did, in the participation gift section of the Japanese 先行体験会 page. The effect text reads "When using Chakra, turn this card face-down." — identical to the standard C-001. There is no rarity field and no cost field. We read a promo card whose in-game performance is exactly zero different from the common version, using nothing but what is printed on it.
- Three Starter Deck Leaders — The Third, Gaara, Is 0 of the 38 Revealed Cards, and "Sunagakure" Appears 0 Times. The Two Earlier Leaders Already Narrow Where the Difference ShowsBANDAI's October 10, 2026 press release named the three Starter Deck Leaders as Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara. Checking that against the 38 cards in our database: only two Leader cards are known, and they match on LIFE 15, DMG 1, POW 3 and rarity L. The differences are exactly two — the first effect and the traits. The second effect is word-for-word identical. That narrows what to look for on Gaara's Leader card. And Gaara is 0 of 38, with the trait "Sunagakure" appearing 0 times.
- Counting the 38 revealed entries again turned up thirteen zeros — the official site explains that characters are built around the Leader's color, yet not one card's color is known. An inventory of every blank, on NYCC opening dayNew York Comic Con 2026 opened on October 8 local time — day one of the four days the official roadmap marks as "New info reveals". Before it starts, we recounted every field in our card database (38 entries), the product database and the pre-order/lottery hub. Thirteen fields currently sit at zero: color, product set, official Q&A, flavor text, cards that move HP, cards that rest an opponent's character, cards that grow your hand, the {Earth} trait, products you can pre-order. Together with the nine fields that are only partly filled, this is the full list of blanks, built from confirmed facts only.
- The "Logo Side" — Presumably the Card Back — Comes in Four Colours, Not Five: Only Character and EX Character Share One, and Turning a Chakra Card Face-Down Hides NothingThe Card Types section of the official "About the NARUTO Card Game" page shows, for each of the five types, the card face alongside a logo side. Checking all five, the logo sides come in four colours: red for Leader, white for Character, white for EX Character, orange for Chakra and black for Summon. Only the two deck-going types share a colour — and once you see that, "setting a Support face-down" and "turning a Chakra face-down" stop looking like the same action.
- Not One Revealed Card Moves HP — Every Number in the Effect Text Sits on the Attacking Side, and the Only Durability Value That Changes Is the Leader's LIFEWe searched all 38 entries in our card database (24 of which have readable effect text) for the names printed in the stat box. "Power" returns six cards, "life" two, "damage" one — and "HP" zero. The 20 revealed Characters print HP values ranging from 3 to 11, yet no revealed card moves that number by even 1 once the Character is on the field. Here is what that asymmetry means, with confirmed facts kept strictly apart from what is still unannounced.
- Chidori Sasuke Uchiha is the only one of six revealed Sasuke cards with a readable cost — and counting the attribute traits, Earth is the only one of the five natures at zeroWe read the Character card "Sasuke Uchiha (Chidori)" from top to bottom. Six Sasuke Uchiha cards have been revealed, but this is the only one whose chakra cost is readable on the card face. Recounting the attribute-style traits that sit at the front of the trait line across the 34 cards with readable traits gives 7 kinds and 37 entries in total: Special leads with 15, followed by Lightning with 8 — and 5 of those 8 are Sasuke Uchiha. Meanwhile not a single card carries Earth, one of the five chakra natures, and all 4 Wind entries belong to Naruto Uzumaki (3) and Minato Namikaze (1) — father and son only.
- Orochimaru is the only card that names a village other than the Hidden Leaf — three "Hidden Village" types exist among the 38 known entries, and both of the non-Leaf ones are Orochimaru cardsA full read of the Character card Orochimaru. Recount the type lines across all 38 entries in our card database and only three say "Hidden ... Village": Hidden Leaf Village (20), Hidden Sound Village (1) and Hidden Rain Village (1) — and both non-Leaf entries are Orochimaru cards. He is also the only character whose village is replaced by a different village from one version to the next. On top of that, POW 4 is the lowest value among the 20 known Characters, yet the rarity is SR: the five SR cards run 11 / 10 / 8 / 7 / 4, leaving a gap of three to the next lowest, Jiraiya.
- Hinata Hyuga is the only known card that uses "non-EX" as a restriction on removal — a K.O. effect that cannot touch a single Character with POW 10 or moreA full read of the Character card Hinata Hyuga. Four known cards print the words "non-EX Character", but the other three (Gamabunta, Jugo, Manda) all use it to narrow what they can summon. Hinata is the only one using it to narrow what she can remove. Since every known Character with POW 10 or more is an EX Character, Hinata is a removal card that cannot K.O. a single high-power body. We also confirm the only known pair whose cost, DMG, POW and HP all match: Suigetsu Hozuki (N-021).
- Sakura Haruno is the only known card that does not say "K.O." — the sole "return to the owner's hand" effect, and the sole cost-1 card with DMG 2A full read of the Character card Sakura Haruno. Going back through all 24 known effect texts, seven cards move an opponent's Character off the field — six say "K.O. the chosen card", and only Sakura says "Return the chosen card to the owner's hand". She is also the only one of the 12 cards with a legible chakra cost to have DMG 2; the other 11 all have DMG 1. The same inversion we recorded on August 16 for POW+HP — cost-2 cards are smaller, not bigger — turns out to hold on the damage side too.
- Naruto Uzumaki (N-004) and Chidori Sasuke share an effect line word for word — and 16 of the 20 known characters have POW/HP that is either mirrored or symmetricalA full read of the Character card Naruto Uzumaki (N-004). The effect line under [Support] Rasengan is identical to Chidori Sasuke Uchiha, and their POW/HP mirror at 5/4 against 4/5. Cross-checking every known character on that basis, 12 of the 20 have a mirror partner, 4 are symmetrical (5/5, 8/8) and only 4 stand alone. We also correct a claim in our Jiraiya (N-006) article that only one pair shared an identical effect line.
- Sasuke Uchiha (N-014) has HP 11, the highest known — the only card that names a type in its Summon Requirements, and the only SR EX Character you could actually pay for with known cardsA full read of the EX Character Sasuke Uchiha (N-014). HP 11 is the only one of its value among the 20 known characters. It is the only known card that writes a type — {The Taka} — into its Summon Requirements, and it carries that type itself. And of the four known EX Characters, only this one and Manda (N-022) have requirements payable with known non-EX cards.
- Naruto Uzumaki (N-003) Has the Highest Known Power at 11 — The Four EX Characters Form Two Mirrored Pairs, 11/10 ⇄ 10/11 and 10/8 ⇄ 8/10, and Only This One Can Call a Card Out of the Deck by NameWe read the EX Character Naruto Uzumaki (N-003) from top to bottom. Power 11 is unique among the 20 Characters with readable stats. And lining up the power/HP of all four known EX Characters gives two clean mirrors: 11/10 ⇄ 10/11 and 10/8 ⇄ 8/10. This card is also the only one of the four known "summon another card" effects that does not carry the words "non-EX".
- Jiraiya (N-006) and Orochimaru Share an Effect Line Word for Word — Same Rarity, Same Cost, Same Type, With Power and HP Swapped 7/4 and 4/7Cross-check all 24 readable effect texts and two pairs come out identical; in one of them, Jiraiya (N-006) and Orochimaru share their second line exactly. Both are SR, both cost 2, both DMG 1, both carry {The Legendary Sannin}. The only differences are the jutsu name and power/HP being swapped 7/4 against 4/7. Why the only known removal that selects two targets was printed as a matched pair — and why its hit condition is still floating in mid-air.
- Sasuke Uchiha Leader (N-012) Is the Only Known Card That Says "Draw" — And Your Hand Still Does Not Grow, Because Nothing Known Can Grow ItSearch every known effect text and the word "draw" appears on exactly one card: Sasuke Uchiha Leader (N-012). Even then the card you drew is paid back by placing one card from your hand on top of your deck, so your hand size never changes. And no known card increases hand size at all. In a world where quantity cannot grow, this Leader is the only card that moves quality every turn for free — we counted what that one line actually changes against five Chakra and three payoff cards.
- Jugo (N-019) Is the Only Known Card With [When Attacking] — The Narrowest Hit Condition of the Three, and the Only Card That Can Stack It Sits in the Leader SlotPull every timing notation out of the known effect texts and [When Attacking] appears exactly once: Jugo (N-019). Among the three cards that reveal the top of the deck, his hit condition is the narrowest, and he is the only card that writes both a card name and a type into a single condition. Yet the one known way to stack that narrow hit is the Activate: Main on Sasuke Uchiha Leader (N-012). His power of 9 is the highest of any known non-EX Character — at rarity C.
- Shisui Uchiha (N-016) Shuts Off the Only Known Way to Refill Chakra — Why His Price for "Negate" Looks Heavier Than 2 LifeOnly three known cards mention turning Chakra face-up. Two of them are the two Leaders' [Recovery], word for word identical, and the third is Shisui Uchiha (N-016) — "you cannot turn your CHAKRA face-up." That one line shuts off the only known way to refill Chakra for a full turn cycle. Which is heavier: that, or the 2 Life paid by Kakashi Hatake (N-009), who shares the exact same sentence structure? We counted it against the size of the wallet: 5 Chakra.
- Minato Namikaze (N-007) Stacks Four "Only" Labels — The Sole Known Effect That Checks Its Own Stats, and a Power of 8 That Falls 2 ShortRe-read the 24 cards with readable text and four separate "only" labels land on Minato Namikaze (N-007) alone: the only card with the [Your Turn] trigger, the only effect that conditions on its own stats, the only card with both {Wind} and {Lightning}, and the only card with {Five Kage}. Its printed power is 8, leaving it 2 short of the "10 or more" that switches Rush on. We count how many known cards can close that gap.
- Manda (N-022) Has the Only Unconditional Summon Requirement Among the 4 Known EX Characters — Yet Its Own Power of 8 Cannot Fuel Any Other EXSort the Summon Requirements of the 4 known EX Characters by how many cards they cost and what conditions they attach, and only Manda (N-022) reads "Place 1 of your Characters in your trash" — one card, no condition. Yet Manda's own power is 8, making it the only EX that cannot pay the "1 Character with 10 or more power" demanded by EX Naruto (N-003) and Gamabunta (N-005). The widest entrance, the narrowest exit. Its On Summon deck-top reveal also has the broadest hit condition of the three known cards that use it.
- Suigetsu Hozuki (N-021) Is the Only Card That Says "Will Not Be Affected" — One Ally Walks Through Six of the Seven Known Removal CardsSort the 24 cards with readable text by how they stop the opponent and you get three phrasings: two cards negate, one cancels an attack, and one says "will not be affected." That last one is Suigetsu Hozuki (N-021). Six of the seven known removal effects come from face-down Supports, and Suigetsu's immunity is written to point at all six. It does not remove the opponent's card — it lets one ally walk straight through it, and no other known card is written that way.