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When the Gundam Card Game launched, it did so with four starter decks — and two of them, Heroic Beginnings (ST01) and Zeon's Rush (ST03), sit at opposite ends of the gameplay spectrum. One is the balanced, heroic, learn-the-ropes deck; the other is a focused aggressive machine built to overwhelm you before you're ready. Choosing between them really comes down to how you want to play.

Both are complete, ready-to-play products: a 50-card main deck, a 10-card resource deck, the tokens and damage counter you need, a rule sheet, and a bonus pack with a full-art holographic card. You can open either one and start playing immediately — no extra purchases required.

This guide breaks down what each deck is, what it teaches you, and which player each one suits, so you can pick with confidence. Prices shift over time and by region, so we'll keep cost qualitative and let you check current pricing yourself.

The Quick Answer

If you just want a recommendation, here's the simplest way to decide. These decks are designed around different philosophies, and the right one is whichever matches your temperament at the table:

• Choose ST01 Heroic Beginnings if you're brand new to the game, you want to learn solid fundamentals, or you prefer a measured, balanced style where you react and adapt. It's the gentlest on-ramp.
• Choose ST03 Zeon's Rush if you like dictating the pace, racing your opponent down, and playing proactively from the first few turns — or if you're simply a Zeon loyalist who wants to pilot the bad guys.

ST01: Heroic Beginnings (Blue / White)

Heroic Beginnings is the deck Bandai built as the front door to the game, and it shows. It's a Blue and White deck that brings together heroes from two generations of Gundam: the classic White Base crew of the original 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam — Amuro Ray and the Gundam itself, alongside the Guncannon and Guntank — and the more recent fan favorite The Witch from Mercury, led by Suletta and the Gundam Aerial.

In color terms, Blue supplies the Earth Federation's tempo and resilience while White brings the Witch from Mercury cards and a defensive, control-leaning toolkit. Together they create what the designers describe as a balanced approach — you're not all-out aggression and you're not pure defense; you're equipped to respond to what your opponent does and win the longer game. It's a forgiving style that lets a new player make mistakes and recover.

Best for: total beginners, players who want a classic "good guys" roster spanning old and new Gundam, and anyone who enjoys a measured, adaptable style over raw aggression.

ST03: Zeon's Rush (Red / Green)

Zeon's Rush is the aggressor's deck, and it doesn't pretend otherwise. It's a Red and Green build packed with Principality of Zeon and Neo-Zeon Mobile Suits drawn from across the timeline — the original Mobile Suit Gundam through Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn — and it exists to put you on the offensive immediately.

The color pairing is the engine. Green provides acceleration — ramping your resources so you can deploy threats ahead of schedule — and Red turns that tempo into damage. The result is a deck that applies constant pressure, leaning on direct damage and on units with the Breach keyword, which let your attacks bypass blockers and strike your opponent's Shields and base directly. The plan is to race: get ahead early and never give your opponent room to stabilize.

Best for: players who like to attack and control the pace, fans of Zeon and the antagonist factions, and anyone who finds racing more fun than grinding.

Head-to-Head

Side by side, the contrast is clear:

Neither is stronger than the other in a vacuum — they're two well-built starting points designed to feel different. And because one is balanced and the other is aggressive, they make natural sparring partners: pick up both and you've got an instant rivalry to learn the game with.

How the Matchup Plays Out

If you do end up with both, the games between them are a clinic in the most fundamental dynamic in any card game: aggression versus control. ST03 wants to come out swinging — ramping with Green, then pushing Red damage and Breach attackers at your Shields before you've fully set up. ST01's job is to weather that opening storm: trade efficiently in combat, lean on White's Commands and attack-power reduction to blunt the rush, and survive into the mid-game.

From there the dynamic flips. If Zeon's Rush can't close the game before Heroic Beginnings stabilizes, the balanced deck's resilient Units and reactive tools tend to take over the long game. So every match becomes a clock — the Zeon player races, the Federation player survives — and learning which side of that clock you're on is one of the most valuable skills a new player can develop. It's why these two make such a good teaching pair.

Which Should You Buy?

Match the deck to yourself:

• If you're a complete beginner: Start with ST01. Its balanced style gives you time to think, makes your mistakes less punishing, and teaches the core skills you'll carry into every future deck.
• If you already know you love aggression: Go straight to ST03. If "I want to attack and keep attacking" describes you, you'll have more fun learning on a deck that rewards exactly that.
• If you're buying by your favorite series: Pick the roster you love. ST01 for the classic White Base crew and Witch from Mercury; ST03 for Zeon across the original era and Unicorn. Playing the suits you're a fan of makes the learning curve disappear.
• If you have a regular opponent: Buy one of each. The balanced-versus-aggressive matchup is a genuinely good way for two people to learn together, and you'll both have a complete deck from day one.

The Full Launch Lineup

ST01 and ST03 didn't arrive alone — they shipped alongside two other starters, and it's worth knowing the full set in case a different color pairing speaks to you more:

• ST02 Wings of Advance (Green / Blue): A ramp-focused deck themed on Mobile Suit Gundam Wing — Heero's Wing Gundam and Zechs' Tallgeese — using Green's acceleration to power out stronger plays ahead of curve.
• ST04 SEED Strike (White / Red): A more defensive deck from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, built around the linked-unit mechanic — pairing Pilots like Kira and Athrun with their Units to unlock enhanced effects.

Across the four, you get a balanced deck (ST01), an aggressive deck (ST03), a ramp deck (ST02), and a defensive linked-units deck (ST04) — roughly one for every temperament. If neither of our two headliners is a perfect fit, one of the others very likely is.

After the Starter: Upgrading

Whichever you choose, the starter is a launch point, not a finish line. Both decks are fully playable out of the box, but the real fun begins when you start tuning them with booster singles — adding extra copies (up to four) of the cards you like most and slotting in new tools from the booster sets that followed the starters.

ST01 naturally grows into a balanced Blue/White tempo-control deck, while ST03 sharpens into a faster, meaner Red/Green aggro build. When you're ready to take that step, our guide to building your first deck walks through colors, the card-type ratios, and curve — everything you need to evolve a starter into a deck that's truly yours.

Quick Buyer FAQ

• Are starter decks tournament-legal? Yes. Each is a complete, legal 50-card deck with its own 10-card resource deck, ready for standard play straight out of the box.
• Do I need more than one copy? Not to start — one starter is a full deck. You'll only want extra copies later, once you're upgrading and chasing additional copies of specific cards.
• Can I combine ST01 and ST03 into one deck? Not as a four-color pile — a deck can use at most two colors, and ST01 is Blue/White while ST03 is Red/Green. You can, however, pull individual cards from either into a one- or two-color deck you're building.
• Do I need the Assemble (A) version? Only if you want the Gunpla miniatures. The cards and gameplay are identical to the standard starter.
• Which has the better chase card? Both include showcase rarities and a holographic bonus-pack card, so each has collectible appeal. Buy for the deck you want to play, not for a single card.

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