The Gundam Card Game launched in July 2025 with four Starter Decks, followed by quarterly booster sets: GD01 Newtype Rising (July 2025), GD02 Dual Impact (October 2025), GD03 Steel Requiem (January 2026), and GD04 Phantom Aria (April 2026). The next booster, GD05 Freedom Ascension, lands July 24, 2026 as the 1st-anniversary set.
If you're trying to catch up or figure out what to buy, here's the lineup in order, plus what each release brought to the table.
The launch Starter Decks (July 2025)
The game arrived with four preconstructed Starter Decks on July 11, 2025 — about two weeks ahead of the first booster. These are the cheapest way in, and they were designed to be played against each other straight away.
The launch starters carry names like Heroic Beginnings (ST01), Wings of Advance (ST02), and Zeon's Rush (ST03), each anchored to a recognizable faction and color identity. If you're brand new, one starter plus a few boosters is the standard on-ramp.
image description ## GD01 — Newtype Rising (July 2025)
The first booster set, Newtype Rising, dropped July 25, 2025 and established the foundation of the format: the core Units, Pilots, and Link conditions that early decks were built around. Most of the launch archetypes trace their roots here, and Wing Zero shells in particular owe their existence to this set.
image description ## GD02 — Dual Impact (October 2025)
Dual Impact released October 24, 2025, paired with a second wave of Starter Decks (ST05–ST06). It widened the card pool considerably and gave more two-color pairs the tools to turn on their links consistently — which is exactly what the format rewards.
image description ## GD03 — Steel Requiem (January 2026)
Steel Requiem arrived January 30, 2026 alongside ST07, continuing the quarterly rhythm. It pushed a few archetypes forward and introduced the chase cards that defined the spring metagame.
image description ## GD04 — Phantom Aria (April 2026)
Phantom Aria released April 24, 2026 and brought two new series into the pool: Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (Blue cards) and Turn A Gundam (White cards). It also added new Mobile Suit Gundam and Unicorn support — including an Awakened Unicorn variant.
By the numbers: 135 base cards plus 16 Special (SP) cards, split across the usual rarity bands (50 Common, 36 Uncommon, 32 Rare, 12 Legend Rare, plus tokens and resources). It shipped with the ST08 and ST09 starters as well.
SD Gundam G Generation Eternal collab starter (June 2026)
A starter-deck collaboration with the mobile game SD Gundam G Generation Eternal launches June 27, 2026. It leans into multiplayer-focused cards, so it's worth a look if you and your friends play more casually than competitively.
GD05 — Freedom Ascension (July 2026, 1st anniversary)
Freedom Ascension drops July 24, 2026 as the 1st-anniversary booster, and it's a big one. It debuts Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny with the Strike Freedom Gundam as a marquee Blue card, plus the first cards from Mobile Fighter G Gundam — Shining Gundam and pilot Domon Kasshu as White cards, with the "Shining Finger" attack as a Command.
A Custom Deck Box (SC01) ships the same day with 125 reprint cards and eight packs of Freedom Ascension, aimed at new players using the anniversary to jump in.
For exact, day-of product details and regional timing, the official Gundam Card Game site stays the source of truth.
Which set should you buy?
It depends on your goal:
- Just learning? Grab a Starter Deck first. It's complete and cheap, and you'll learn the rules faster with a focused list than with a pile of random boosters.
- Building toward competitive? Prioritize the most recent boosters — GD04 Phantom Aria right now, and GD05 once it lands — since they define the current meta and tend to hold value better.
- Coming back for the anniversary? The SC01 Custom Deck Box plus a GD05 booster box is a great refresh-and-rejoin bundle.
- Chasing specific cards? Buy singles instead of sealed product. It's almost always cheaper than ripping packs for one card.
Once you know which cards you're after, a collection tracker keeps your wants list straight, and the deck builder lets you test a list before you spend a cent. If you're brand new, our guides on which starter to buy first and how to play are the best place to begin; if you want to see what current sets enable competitively, the meta decks page is the quickest read.
