Quick Answer
Force of Will is a strategic TCG that draws on mythology, fairy tales, and original fantasy lore to create one of the most flavourful card games available. It is available in Australia through the secondary market and select specialty importers. The gameplay rewards deep thinking and the community is small but genuinely passionate. Go in knowing the limitations and it delivers real value.
The Game's Unusual Premise
Force of Will launched in Japan in 2012 and entered English markets in 2014. The publisher, Force of Will Co., built the game around a striking creative decision: use public domain mythology and fairy tales as the basis for an original fantasy multiverse. Alice in Wonderland, Dracula, Little Red Riding Hood, Aladdin, and figures from Norse, Greek, and Japanese mythology all appear as characters in the game's story. They are not cameos. The game has built extensive lore around how these characters exist in a multiverse called Attoractia and how they relate to each other across multiple story cycles.
This approach gives the game's card art a genuinely distinct identity. An alternate-universe Alice wielding powerful magic alongside Norse giants and vampire lords is a setting that exists nowhere else, and players who engage with the lore find a surprisingly rich fictional world underneath the card game.
The gameplay complexity is the closest comparison point to MTG in the entire TCG market outside MTG itself. The rules system is deep, the card effects interact in complex ways, and the learning curve is real. This is not the game to pick up for a casual Friday night with no TCG experience. It is the game to pick up when you want strategic depth and are willing to invest time in understanding the system.
How the Ruler System Works
Every Force of Will deck is built around a Ruler card, which functions similarly to a Commander in MTG Commander format. Your Ruler defines your strategy, your Will attribute access, and your deck's mechanical identity.
Rulers start the game in a special Ruler area and have limited abilities in their base form. As the game develops, they can transform into their J-Ruler form, a powered-up version with significantly stronger abilities. The transformation condition varies by Ruler but typically involves some combination of paying Will, meeting a board state requirement, or triggering a specific game event.
Your Ruler's attribute identity (the six Will types: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Void, and Light) restricts what cards you can put in your deck. A Fire/Wind Ruler can only play cards that require Fire, Wind, or no specific attribute. This restriction makes Ruler selection the most important decision in deck construction.
The Will system itself works through Regalia, Resonators, and stones placed on the field. Each turn you can play one Attribute Stone from your hand to a Stone Area, and these generate the Will you spend on cards. The Stone system means games have a natural development curve where both players increase their resources over time, similar to the land system in MTG.
What It Costs to Start in Australia
Force of Will does not have a formal Australian distribution deal. Stock comes through specialty importers and eBay sellers. This makes pricing less predictable than Bandai or Konami games, but the secondary market is generally reasonable.
Starter Decks are released with each new cluster (the game's equivalent of a set block). They are the correct first purchase. Each starter is a complete deck built around a specific Ruler and mechanical theme.
Approximate costs:
| Item | Approximate Cost (AUD) |
|---|---|
| Starter Deck | $20 to $35 |
| Booster pack | $5 to $9 |
| Booster box (36 packs) | $130 to $200 |
| Competitive Resonator singles | $5 to $40 |
| Resonance Stone singles | $2 to $20 |
Booster box pricing varies significantly based on which cluster you are buying and whether you are getting it from an Australian importer or sourcing directly. Japanese-language cards are sometimes cheaper, but Force of Will is one of the games where the English card text genuinely matters for competitive play.
Search Force of Will on eBay AU
The Australian Situation Honestly
The Australian Force of Will community is small. In-person events outside Sydney and Melbourne are rare. Online communities exist on Discord and Facebook with Australian participants, and there is a segment of the global competitive scene that draws Australian players to international events, but domestic organised play is not well-developed.
Finding stock locally requires specialty importers or online sources. This is not prohibitive, but it adds friction compared to walking into a store and picking up a Digimon or One Piece product.
The C3 Take
Force of Will rewards players who invest in understanding it. The mythology-based lore is richer than it appears at first glance. The Ruler system creates a genuine sense of deck identity. The strategic ceiling is high enough to satisfy players who find most anime TCGs too simple.
If you are an MTG player who wants something with comparable depth and a completely different aesthetic, Force of Will is the closest thing available. If you are new to competitive TCGs and want a game with a large local community and easy access to product, start with One Piece, Digimon, or Dragon Ball Super and come back to this one later.
What to Read Next
- Browse Force of Will cards at /cards/forceofwill
- Compare all your options in one place at /quizzes/which-tcg-extended
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