Set Review – Mrs. Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

At a glance, Kobayashi may seem like your average nine-to-five office worker, but her life with her dragon maid Tohru and her otherworldly dragon companions would prove otherwise. While they disliked humans, Tohru and her friends begin to warm up to humans as they spend their new lives living alongside their human companions.

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon is currently an ongoing light novel series that was first released around 2014. It would then get an anime adaption that debuted in early 2017, followed by a second season that aired in 2021.

At first, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid was a Japanese exclusive set that was released in April 2022; although, later on in the same year, it would get an English release in November.

During her stay on Earth, Tohru interacts with several humans and gets acquainted with some of Kobayashi’s friends. As the series continues, many of Tohru’s companions would make their way to Earth as Kobayashi meets a plethora of dragons who possess unique quirks and personalities. Human (人間 ) and Dragon (ドラゴン) are main traits of the set. Certain characters pair together to perform useful effects such as RESONATE and BOND.

A major focus within this set is the interactions between characters which are symbolized through BOND and RESONATE effects. By utilizing these interactions, and thus, going through the same arduous journey as Kobayashi does, we gain a number of beneficial effects that assist in our game plan.

Kobayashi, the main protagonist of the show, carries interactions with a multitude of dragons. The above cards are samples of Kobayashi’s bonds with the dragons. Her card on the left acts as a BOND to an Elma related event. Her card in the center gives a cross turn 2000 power boost to a card with Ilulu in its name. Lastly, Kobayashi on the right can make use of Kana’s door climaxes by giving herself a 1000 power boost and the ability to pay a stock to trigger twice on swing. Interactions such as the examples above can be found throughout the set and are mainly seen through pairings between various characters.

The first pairing is between the star of the show Kobayashi and her dragon maid Tohru. Kobayashi has an impressive brainstormer which can act as the primary focus of a deck. She and Tohru have many cards that play around this brainstormer. One synergy of the brainstormer can be seen immediately with its first effect as it provides global power if the corresponding 2/1 Tohru is on stage.

The brainstormer is also a resonator for the level one Tohru on the bottom left and the level three Tohru and Kobayashi on the bottom right. Take advantage of the modal effects linked to Kobayashi’s brainstormer to help Tohru soar to new heights.

The ever-curious and mischievous Kana acts as the main focus of her deck with her best friend Saikawa helping her out from time to time. Saikawa on the left is a Rize that reverses herself if Kana’s card in the middle is on stage. Fortunately, Kana’s card in the middle will get Saikawa back on her feet at the beginning of your attack phase with the power of their friendship. The best friend duo then pairs up for their early play and gains immense power while adding hand by digging through your deck.

The resident gamers Fafnir and Takiya join forces in a party as Takiya’s level two on the left aims to help Fafnir’s finisher, the card in the middle, deal immense damage. When Takiya attacks, he allows you to manipulate the arrangement of the top two cards of your deck. This helps Fafnir’s finisher deal extra damage through its ability to deal extra damage when triggering a bar.

Lucoa dotes over the young Shouta as he uncovers the secrets of magic. Along with pumping power, Shouta’s back row, on the left, primarily focuses on utilizing its climax combo to summon Lucoa’s finisher in the middle. If her cost is paid and her condition is met, Lucoa’s climax combo does a special type of Icy tail effect that can send climaxes to your opponent’s clock. Outside of their combos, Shouta and Lucoa have other cards that summon and benefit each other, just like their master and servant bond.

While working at the shop, Ilulu and Taketo formed an interesting friendship. Taketo’s back row serves to help Ilulu’s finisher perform at her best. While Ilulu’s finisher is on stage, Taketo can look at and re-arrange the top two cards of your deck. Taketo’s re-arranger serves to assist with Ilulu’s climax combo and her constant on-attack effect as their condition is influenced by soul triggers. Be sure to make use of these co-workers’ other cards to help get the job done.

Elma and her insatiable hunger primarily play around her event on the left. With its effect allowing you to have a maximum of eight within your deck, it can act as a cheap way to filter through your deck. Both of Elma’s cards in the middle and right allow you to put the event under them as a marker when the event is used. For every marker they have, Elma’s power grows. Be sure to help Elma snack on as many events as possible so she can become the most powerful dragon.

At first, relations between humans and dragons may have been sour, the bonds between Kobayashi and Tohru’s friends have changed things for the better. Utilizing their immense power, Tohru and her dragon companions can wreak havoc well on their own, but they are at their best when they have the support of their human companions.