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Story Booster ST01 released August 21, 2026 (English), and it's a different kind of product than a mainline Fusion World expansion. Story Boosters are themed releases — this one built entirely around the Majin Buu saga — and ST01 packs that theme into 85 card types total, a tighter list than a full numbered set typically carries. Fewer cards usually means a simpler buy-in decision. It hasn't meant a quiet release.

That's really the headline here. ST01 has already reshaped who's winning regionals within 10 days of release. At the Auckland (Oceania) Wave 2 regional on August 30 — the first major tournament of the post-ST01 era — the Top 8 looked meaningfully different from the format that had been forming all summer. That's the story this review leads with, alongside the set's two confirmed chase cards.

This review covers what's actually confirmed about ST01 — the Secret Rare chase cards, the Auckland Top 8 breakdown, and the meta context that came before it — plus who the set is worth buying for right now. We're sticking to what's documented: the other 83 non-SCR card names and effects in ST01 aren't itemized here, and none of the specific Auckland decklists are either. "Best cards" here means the ones actually worth knowing about right now — the two confirmed SCRs for collectibility, and the Goku SSJ3 card for what it just did at Auckland — not a power ranking, since we don't have confirmed text for any of them to judge on the merits. Prices for a set this new move fast, so treat anything money-related below as directional and check live comps before buying.

The Set at a Glance

The fast facts on Story Booster ST01, before we get into why it's mattered so much in its first ten days:

The Story Booster format itself is worth understanding before anything else here. Unlike a mainline set, ST01 doesn't try to touch every archetype in the game — it's built around one saga, with a card count to match. That smaller footprint is exactly why the two confirmed Secret Rares carry as much weight as they do: there's no long tail of alternate chase targets diluting attention. Two named SCRs, full stop, is the entire premium chase for this release as far as what's been confirmed.

The Chase: Vegito & Vegeta Secret Rares

ST01's confirmed chase list is short and specific: two Secret Rares, Vegito at card number ST01-070 and Vegeta at ST01-071. Both are characters central to the Majin Buu saga this set is built around, which tracks with the Story Booster's whole premise — a themed release chasing a themed pull.

We don't have confirmed card text, power lines, or ability wording for either SCR to work with here, so this review isn't going to guess at what either card actually does in play. What is confirmed is the rarity tier and the card number for both, and for a chase list this short, that's already enough to make them the two cards worth watching out of all 85 in the set.

One clarification worth making up front, because it matters later in this review: the ST01-070 Vegito Secret Rare is not the same card as the Vegito that's been anchoring the Blue archetype in competitive play since June. That's a separate card entirely — from FB10: Cross Force — and the two share a name and a character but nothing else. Keep that distinction in mind as we get into the tournament results below.

With only two named SCRs to track, ST01 sidesteps the "which one do I actually want" problem that comes with a longer chase list. If you're pulling packs, you know exactly what you're hoping to see. If you're buying singles instead, the shopping list is two cards long — which, for a set this size, is arguably the whole point of a themed Story Booster over a mainline expansion. If you're curious how Bandai TCG pull rates and case-hit mapping typically work for a set like this, our pull rates and box mapping guide breaks that down.

How ST01 Already Reshaped the Format

This is the part of the review that makes ST01 worth writing about beyond its two chase cards. The Auckland (Oceania) Wave 2 regional on August 30 was the first major tournament held after ST01's release, and the Top 8 it produced looked different from the format that had been settling in all summer.

Two archetypes split the top of the Top 8 evenly, at 37.5% each. SSJ3, the deck that gets its name from ST01's Goku SSJ3 card, took three of the eight slots and the tournament win. Gogeta: BR — an archetype that's been a contender all summer — also placed three decks. Majin Vegeta and FB10's Vegito each took one remaining slot, with Vegito's single Top 8 appearance a notable step down from where it had been sitting for most of the format's recent history.

Put simply: a set that's been out for barely a week and a half produced a tournament where two archetypes tied for the top spot, and the deck that had dominated the format for the two months prior only just squeaked into the Top 8. That's a fast, real shift, and it's the reason this review leads with a tournament recap instead of a mechanics breakdown.

Before ST01: A Format Already in Motion

To understand how much just changed at Auckland, it helps to know where the format stood before ST01 landed — and it wasn't sitting still, either.

Vegito (Blue), from FB10: Cross Force, released back in June 2026, had been the format's clear number one deck through July and into August. It won the Rotterdam Wave 2 regional on August 9, beating Gogeta: BR in the finals — the same Gogeta: BR archetype that would go on to tie for the top of the Auckland Top 8 three weeks later.

A week after Rotterdam, Son Goku UI took an upset win at the Madrid Wave 2 regional on August 16. So even before ST01 released on August 21, the format wasn't a settled, static thing waiting to be disrupted — it had a dominant deck in Vegito, a strong runner-up in Gogeta: BR, and at least one upset result showing cracks in that hierarchy. Worth noting: Son Goku UI's Madrid win didn't carry forward — it's absent from Auckland's Top 8 entirely, nine days later, arguably a bigger reversal than Vegito's slide to a single slot. ST01 landed into a format that was already moving, and then moved it a lot further.

Reading the Auckland Data Point

It's worth being precise about what the Auckland result actually is: one regional's Top 8, eight decks total, from the first major event held after ST01's release. That's a real result worth paying attention to, and it's also, by definition, a single data point rather than a confirmed new format. A two-deck SSJ3-versus-Gogeta:BR co-dominance at the top of one event doesn't mean the format has settled into exactly that shape — it means that's what showed up once, at one regional, nine days into a brand-new set's life.

What makes it worth taking seriously anyway is the size of the swing. Vegito didn't disappear — it still made the Top 8 — but it went from beating Gogeta: BR in a regional final three weeks earlier to being the smallest story in Auckland's bracket. Majin Vegeta's single appearance is worth watching too, given how directly it fits ST01's own saga theme, even though one Top 8 slot isn't enough to call it a third pillar of the format yet. The honest read: watch the next wave of regionals before treating SSJ3 and Gogeta: BR as the new default answer. One event moved fast. It'll take a few more to know if it stuck.

Best for Players

If you're playing competitively, ST01's biggest relevance isn't the two Secret Rares — it's the Goku SSJ3 card anchoring one half of the new Auckland split. Whatever else is in this 85-card set, that single card was enough to build an archetype that tied for first place at the first regional held after release. If you're already invested in Gogeta: BR, Auckland is good news — the deck held its ground against a brand-new set rather than getting pushed out by it.

If you're newer to Fusion World and building your first competitive deck, this is a genuinely interesting moment to start, precisely because the format just got shaken loose. Our budget leaders guide for new players and our guide to building your first Fusion World deck are both good starting points — and if competitive card games in general are new to you, our beginner's guide to starting any TCG is worth reading first. It's also worth cross-checking against our meta tier list as more post-ST01 results come in over the next few events.

Best for Collectors

For collectors, ST01's appeal is its simplicity. Two confirmed Secret Rares out of 85 card types is a short, clean chase list — if you want the full ST01 chase, you're targeting exactly two cards: Vegito (ST01-070) and Vegeta (ST01-071). Once you've actually got them in hand, a decent sleeve and toploader setup is worth having ready before they pick up any wear. If you're comparing against a mainline numbered set's chase list, our FB09 Dual Evolution review covers that ground.

If you're weighing whether to send a pulled SCR out for grading once you land one, our grading worth-it guide walks through the trade-offs. And if you're curious how ST01 compares to what collectors were chasing in the set before it, our FB08 Saiyan's Pride best-cards guide is a useful reference point.

How to Buy In Smart

A few basics apply here the same as with any new set, and they matter more given how quickly ST01 has already moved the competitive conversation. If you're after a specific card — either of the two SCRs, or singles for the SSJ3 or Gogeta: BR archetypes that just posted results at Auckland — singles are almost always the more reliable route than opening packs and hoping, and our booster box vs. singles budget breakdown walks through that math in more detail. Packs make sense if you want the full set experience or you're chasing pull-rate excitement rather than one particular card.

Pricing on anything tied to ST01 right now is going to be volatile in both directions. A single strong regional result is enough to move demand on both the new set's key cards and on cards from older sets whose competitive standing just shifted — FB10's Vegito being the obvious example after its drop at Auckland. None of that is captured in the numbers in this review; check live prices at the time you're actually buying, and if you're buying either SCR as a single, it's worth knowing how to spot a counterfeit card before you pay for one.

The Verdict & Quick Reference

The quick-reference version of everything above:

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