Designing UniVersus: TEKKEN 8

The TEKKEN 8 Clash decks are just around the corner!

To celebrate their release we’ll share some tales from building them and what we’re looking forward to with their release from a round table discussion with the Game Design team. In these new Clash decks you may see some classic rules phrases and implementations. These work in these decks as they always have, though you’ll see a return to our new wordings with our next booster release. So what are some fun interactions coming in the decks? Fans of the “punch” archetype are in for a treat. Here’s what playtester Barrett Bryant had to say:

"I’m particularly interested in the Jun Kazama deck because it brings back some much needed Order symbol punches! Repeated 100% Smash will be able to make a nice return to some deck builds with some much needed lower difficulty punches that have been lost for the deck archetype since MHA Set 1 has rotated. Grace provides a nice lead-in punch attack with Stun: 2, and Haraede Kannagi is a nice 4 difficulty punch to play 2nd or later to be a 5 High for 5. To top it off, Defy Fate provides a similar effect as Deft Maneuvers but for the Punch decks which will be easily accepted into decklists. I can’t wait to see what players bring to the table as we welcome fighting games back to UniVersus with the TEKKEN 8 Clash Decks!"

Fellow playtester William Howard was also excited about what the release means for punch decks, adding:

"I am excited to see a resurgence in the punch package. The Good and Order symbols have been missing pieces since rotation and Jun helps in replacing some of those missing pieces. Defy Fate helps provide us a consistent way to pump damage and speed across multiple punches during our string. My hope is to see some love come back to some oldie but goodie cards from prior sets, like Rejuvenating Smash and Repeated 100% Smash."

Our rules manager Tim Friedlieb and game designer Jeremy Ray focused on how they’re looking to strategize in deckbuilding with the new decks. Jeremy’s take?

"I want to talk about my favorite build of Jin Kazama in testing: Jin wants to pay you off for a big card pool and in order to maximize that, you need to find a way to draw extra cards, and get those cards out of progressive. The best kit for doing that in my opinion? Allies! Utilizing Demon Plants, other Kurama support and Ally lineup all-stars like Tasty Riff and Double Trouble, you can put together dangerous strings with huge back end finishers boosted by Jin’s ability. With the help of The Devil Gene, it creates a powerful offensive shell that can push through even the toughest defenses."

Tim echoed that approach, saying:

"Design led to a Jin deck that wanted to play a string of attacks, and give one of them a big bonus. You can see that a lot of the effects focus on improving the card if another effect already gave it a bonus. This allowed us to steer the player into the idea of “I only need to focus my powers into one attack.” That eases the pressure away from the idea that you have to pay close attention for an extended amount of time over your entire turn."

Senior game designer Matt Smith was more excited about a specific character: Marshall Law. Marshall Law is one of the four awesome promo cards you can receive for participating at local championship events near you (learn more here). Here’s what Matt loves about Marshall Law:

"My most anticipated character coming with TEKKEN 8 in UVS is Marshall Law. His abilities might not look like a lot, but once you can build a deck that utilizes the best commit foundations you’ll find the extra value can go a long way.

Some highlights are:

• Titanic Combat to get +3 damage, +1 speed, and commit 1 rival foundation.

• Heroic Endurance commits for -3 damage.

• Spirit Sword Ultimate getting +3 damage for each foundation you commit.

That doesn’t even include all the value you get from just using Stun. Marshall really presents a very cool deck building experience that can potentially improve the strength of every card in your deck!"

We’re excited for the next step in our Clash deck series! The TEKKEN 8 Clash decks are available for purchase starting October 24, 2024 in Europe and Oceania and November 8,2024 for North America.