When an ongoing title has been on the market long enough, changes are typically made to balance mechanics or ensure one strategy does not steamroll the game's "meta." For instance, Destiny 2 infamously decided to sunset weapons with Season of Arrivals in 2020 so players could take advantage of gear coming in new expansions, though Bungie is removing sunsetting in Season 14 following backlash. GungHo Online Entertainment's Teppen will soon do something similar by rotating card packs out of its competitive ruleset.
Teppen is a mobile card collecting and battling game in the vein of Hearthstone or Legend of Runeterra, but utilizing Capcom's iconic franchises like Monster Hunter, Street Fighter, and Mega Man for its playable characters, called "Heroes," and card packs. GungHo developers describe the game as unique from other titles in the genre because it blends real-time and turn-based action, and that has kept the game going since July 2019. Game Rant spoke to Teppen directors Yuki Okano and Satoshi Ogihara about the game's upcoming card rotation and how else it will evolve following its "A Dark Agenda" update. They will collectively be referred to as GungHo for this article.
Teppen's news page announced additional formats would be coming this year on November 11, 2020. As of this writing, every card set released since launch has been usable in Standard format. Soon the game will have an "Unlimited" format in which all packs are available, but "Standard" will only include the game's "CORE" and Basic cards, as well as a number of sets that will rotate out over time. The first rotation will take place at a yet-unannounced date when the next pack releases, taking "DAY OF NIGHTMARES," "The Devils Awaken," and "The Force Seekers" out of circulation. GungHo said,
"The reason for the card rotation is to maintain a healthy battle environment. We believe that new types of decks will be created ... that deck environments will change more than ever before."
When subsequent packs are released, only the oldest set will become unavailable. The new Standard rules will "generally" apply to Teppen's Ranked and Free Matches, while Unlimited can be used for other game modes, according to a news post uploaded March 14, 2021. GungHo said going forward, the rotation system will affect its design philosophy by giving the team more room to not only buff cards or add more powerful ones, but to add "card variations for new gameplay."
Neither developer specified whether card packs which have been rotated out will ever return, and according to GungHo there are currently "no plans" to stop even if there is fan outcry against the idea. Luckily, the Unlimited rules will allow players to keep using older cards if they prefer, and fans who missed out on these while they were available aren't entirely out of luck.
When the "A Dark Agenda" update released in Teppen on March 1, 2021, adding Resident Evil's Ada Wong as the 16th Hero alongside cards from the Strider franchise, another feature incorporated was Deck Gifting. The official update said players can send each of their friends one Deck for free, with future gifts costing an in-game currency called Souls. These decks can include 15 Common, 15 Rare, 10 Epic, 10 Legendary, and up to 15 Basic cards, and GungHo said it is possible to gift cards that have been rotated out of the Standard ruleset.
The shift in Teppen's format is reflective of GungHo preparing to take it in new directions narratively. Ada Wong is the game's final Hero, each being associated with one of Teppen's four elements, coming with a set of Basic cards, and using unlockable "Hero Arts" to supplement gameplay with strategic abilities. Whereas each expansion up to "A Dark Agenda" focused on why disparate Capcom Heroes have come to the game's Land of Illusions, GungHo said a unique story with corresponding gameplay will now be told mixing their perspectives. GungHo also added,
"We will continue to hype up Teppen, in terms of gameplay and scenarios to meet everyone's expectations. We hope you look forward to it!"
Teppen is available for Android and iOS mobile devices.