Weiβ vs. Schwarz: Who Will Prevail?!

What’s Weiβ Schwarz?

No, we didn’t just sneeze. Weiβ Schwarz (often written as Weiss Schwarz) is a trading card game made by Bushiroad, the same company responsible for BanG Dream! and Love Live. In German, “Weiβ” means “white” and “Schwarz” means “Black”, which represent the two sides in the game.

The difference between Weiss Schwarz and other trading card games is that you aren’t limited to only original characters and monsters with Weiss Schwarz. Quite the opposite, in fact! 

Want to pit Pecorine from Princess Connect Re:Dive against Asuna from Sword Art Online? No problem! Want to fight Hololive’s Pecora with Godzilla? Yep, you can do that too. Toy Story’s Woody vs. Cars’ Lighting McQueen? Believe it or not, yes, that’s an actual battle you can have with Weiss Schwarz.

The only restriction is that all of the cards in your deck must be from the same series, but there’s no end to the possible ridiculous throwdowns you can create!

There are currently over 10,000 different Weiss Schwarz cards available as of 2022, and they’re always releasing new series, including a Chainsaw Man series coming later this year!

Why Buy from Japan?

Now don’t worry, I hear you. “Weiss Schwarz cards are available in English, why would I want to buy the Japanese versions?!” It’s true that Weiss Schwarz cards are also produced in English, and those cards are great for beginners just learning the game, but there are a few reasons the pros prefer the Japanese cards.

1. Access to a wider variety of series
   • Unfortunately for English-speakers, not every anime series becomes popular enough in Japan to be translated into English. This goes for Weiss Schwarz cards too, and some of your favorite characters may never make it to the English version. A few examples of series that are available in the Japanese version but not the English version are Persona 3, Lucky Star, and Kemono Friends.
2. Frequent new set releases
   • It seems like Bushiroad is constantly announcing new booster packs, deck boxes, and series for the Japanese version. As for the English version, it’s never clear if a certain series will ever be translated, so if you’re holding your breath waiting, you may be waiting a while. If you go for the Japanese version instead, you can get your favorite characters ASAP, and know that there will likely be expansions later on.
3. They’re cheaper!
   • Believe it or not, the Japanese cards are usually cheaper than their English counterparts. Part of this is simply due to supply and demand. Higher demand in Japan means higher supply, which equals lower prices. This goes double for used cards, which you can find on sites like Yahoo! Auctions, Rakuma, and (cough cough) other flea market sites.

Where to Buy

Think you want to give Weiss Schwarz a try? Here are some online stores to check out!

• Torecolo
  • Not only is Torecolo great for Weiss Schwarz, it’s a great website for all the major Japanese trading card games, like Pokémon and Yu-gi-oh. They deal in used cards, and have a discounted section for cards that aren’t in perfect condition. Just make sure you check the sale price “販売価格” and not the buyback price “高価買取中”!
• Yuyu-Tei
  • Yuyu-tei is a great place to get both new and used Weiss Schwarz cards. The new section offers booster packs and boxes in addition to single cards. Another major bonus for Yuyu-Tei is that they offer free domestic shipping on ALL orders, even if the order is just one card! As with Torecolo, be sure to check whether the price you’re seeing is a sale price or a buyback price!
• Magi
  • Magi is a flea market site aimed specifically at trading card games. (And sneakers? apparently?) Since every seller is a real person, it’s easy to leave a comment on a listing to ask questions about the items! You can also see each seller’s reviews, so you know if they’re reliable or not.

If you’d like to do a bit of googling around yourself, here are the search terms you can use:

• Weiβ Schwarz
• Weiss Schwarz
• ヴァイスシュヴァルツ
• ヴァイス

Popular Cards, Chosen by Tournament Winners

休日のお出かけ トール＆カンナ＆小林さん

• Name: A Holiday Outing, Tohru, Kanna, and Miss Kobayashi
• Rarity: RR
• Card Text: 【AUTO】At the beginning of your opponent’s Attack Phase, if all your characters are “Human” or “Dragon”, you may put 1 card from the top of your deck into the waiting room. If that card is a Level 2 or lower character, this card gains the following ability during that turn:【AUTO】 When this card is frontal-attacked, you may return this card to your hand.
• This card is currently Japanese-only, but is set to be released in English on November 18th, 2022. The English translations of the name and card text are rough translations. It was used as part of the winning deck for the Bushiroad World Grand Prix 2022 in Sapporo. If used in the right deck, this card can be returned to your hand to be replayed over and over again!

空からの贈り物 草薙寧々

• Name: A Gift From the Sky, Kusanagi Nene
• Rarity: SSP 
• Card Text: 【AUTO】[(1) Put a “Music” character in your waiting room under the clock.] When this card is put from your hand to the stage, you may pay the cost. Then look at your deck, choose up to one Level 1 or lower character, show it to your opponent, add it to your hand, and shuffle that deck.
• Again, since this card is Japanese-only, the English translations are rough. This card was used as part of the winning deck for the A Block of the Bushiroad World Grand Prix 2022 in Kyoto. Regardless of the card’s strength, the art is absolutely beautiful and it features a signature from Kusanagi Nene herself!

ジャガ丸くんのお土産 ヘスティア

• Name: Present of Croquettes, Hestia
• Rarity: U
• Card Text: 【AUTO】 When this card is placed on the stage from your hand, choose up to 1 of your opponent’s characters, put it into their memory, and your opponent puts that character from their memory on any position of their stage.【AUTO】 [(1) Put 1 card from your hand into your waiting room] When this card is placed on the stage from your hand, you may pay the cost. If you do, your opponent chooses 1 climax in their waiting room, returns all cards from their waiting room except that card to their deck, and shuffles their deck.
• This card is available both in Japanese and English versions, so the translations here are the official ones! This card was used as part of the winning deck from the A block of the Spring Challenge 2022 in Osaka. It might only be Uncommon rarity, but the deck’s owner says it was the lynchpin that allowed them to win the tournament.

Useful Tool – Deck Log

Want to check out some example Weiss Schwarz decks or build your own? Look no further than Bushiroad’s Deck Log tool. It’s available both for the English version and the Japanese version, and offers a simple How-to Video Guide.

This is a great place to start playing around with strategy and deck building, so be sure to check it out!

Ready To Dive In?

If you’re ready to create your own super-strong deck with your favorite series, or if you just want to collect the cards for their art, we can help! 

Feel free to submit an order for any of the products featured here (or anything else) via our Request Form.

Not sure how to use our Request Form? Check out our Tutorial Article!

Have a question or comment? Shoot us an e-mail at contact@dejapan.com, or leave a comment below! We’d love to hear from you.