Update, Thursday October 29: Drum Island is not receiving any of Friday's launches. Not EB-05, not Stardust Trails, not the TS-03 Mini Case Set, not the Kayou set, and not the Battle Decks. We would rather say that plainly than have anyone drive over expecting product we do not have. Everything below is still the full Friday shelf and what each product costs, just not at this shop.
Tomorrow is the busiest release Friday of the fall, and it pays to walk in with a plan instead of a wishlist. Four products land on October 30: the One Piece set everyone is watching, a new Gundam set, a festive My Little Pony set, and a pair of cheap Pokémon Battle Decks. Each one has a different price and a different reason to buy it or skip it. Here is the whole shelf.
The headliner: EB-05 Heroines Edition vol.2
EB-05 is the set driving Friday. Packs hold 12 cards at $4.99. The set runs 75 card types plus 2 more. The headliners are a Nico Robin Green and Yellow Leader, a Kentaro Yabuki alt-art Nami, and six SP cards. The pre-sale box ask sat at $305.00 on the October 26 snapshot. It fell from $340.32 just three days earlier, so the box keeps sliding toward the shelf instead of away from it.
One warning: Bandai's own US shops sell EB-05 by advance lottery only across the release weekend, and registration closed on October 21. If you missed it, your Friday run is a local shop run, so ask about the shop's EB-05 plan before the weekend, not during it. The same morning also brings the TS-03 Mini Case Set at $11.99, with a mini case, a promo card, and two OP-17 packs inside. Small box, honest price, and an easy add-on to any EB-05 trip.
Looking past Friday, the Heroines Battle event series runs November 6 through December 6, limited to Heroines Leader cards only. The participation and winner prize is an EB03-006 Nami.
Gundam's turn: Stardust Trails
ZZ Gundam, one of the Stardust Trails sample cards. Card image via TCGplayer, via InkSight.
Gundam players get the other big Friday box. Stardust Trails, or GD06, carries 143 card types drawn from Gundam ZZ and 0083: Stardust Memory. Packs hold 12 cards at $4.99. The box lists at $119.76. The pre-order ask sat at $139.00 on the October 21 snapshot, so this is the rare new set whose pre-order price sits above its shelf price. That gap is worth watching, not chasing.
The sealed event runs October 30 through November 8 at participating stores. You open four packs and build a 30-card deck, with no color restrictions and no copy limit per card number. The release-event promos are Elpeo Ple's Qubeley Mk-II and Elpeo Ple himself. One caution: Bandai has previewed a Link Rare treatment pairing pilots with their suits, but distribution is unconfirmed.
The rest of the shelf
The Stardust Trails booster box. Product image via TCGplayer, via InkSight.
Kayou's Hearth's Warming Eve set lands Friday too, with 197 cards across 14 rarity tiers and a festive winter theme. It arrives at big-box stores and select hobby shops. Per the update at the top of this post, it is not coming to Drum Island.
The cheapest Friday buy is also the easiest to recommend. The 30th Celebration Battle Decks land Friday, at $19.99 each. One is built around Espeon ex and one around Umbreon ex. They are ready to play out of the box, and they make a clean gift for anyone who just wants to shuffle up. Friday has a headliner, a Gundam box, a holiday set, and a twenty-dollar on-ramp. Pick your lane and set your budget before you walk in.
Hear more on today's Trade Post, where Car talks Radiance's week one verdict with Top.
