Sunday is the Gundam crew's first regular session since Stardust Trails released Friday, and the 1 PM tables are where the new cards get their first real games. Drum Island is not receiving the set, and that part matters, so nobody shows up expecting to buy it here. If you tracked the set down somewhere else, Sunday is the day to bring it and play it.
The shop opens Sunday at 1 PM, and the Gundam session starts at that same hour. Doors stay open until 8 PM. If Saturday takes you to the first Saturday Pokémon League session or the Halloween card show in Bellevue, Sunday is the slower second act, a table, a new deck, and no line.
What Stardust Trails brings
Elpeo Ple, a Stardust Trails release-event promo. Card image via TCGplayer, via InkSight.
The set draws on two series, Gundam ZZ and 0083: Stardust Memory, with Judau Ashta and Elpeo Ple on one side and Kou Uraki and Anavel Gato on the other. The set holds 143 card types in total, with eight of them tokens. Packs hold 12 cards at $4.99. The rarity spread runs up to 12 Legend Rares and 5 Specials.
When TCGplayer first listed the booster box in August, InkSight's market snapshot sat near $300. By October 21, that snapshot had fallen to $140.18. That slide is why the patient move is to play the cards first and chase singles later.
The sealed event, and the promos to chase
Stardust Trails booster box. Product image via TCGplayer, via InkSight.
Bandai's sealed release 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 on any one card. Winners receive extra promo sets, and the two promos to know are Elpeo Ple's Qubeley Mk-II and Elpeo Ple herself. Entry runs through the Bandai TCG+ app, and Bandai notes some regions may start later because of shipping.
The priciest presale singles on TCGplayer's October 28 snapshot were listed at $19.00 each. Those three are Infinite Justice Gundam, Turn X, and ZZ Gundam. None of this is a promise that Drum Island has the set or runs the official event, so check with a participating store before you travel for sealed play. Sunday at Drum Island is the regular weekly session, a place to play the new cards, not a sealed-event bracket.
How to play Sunday
Bring the deck you built from the new set, or bring the old favorite and borrow ideas from the new cards across the table. The session runs from 1 PM, and the shop stays open until 8 PM, so there is room for a slow afternoon of games. New players are welcome at the tables, and the regulars have a habit of explaining a new card before they play it.
Today's Trade Post plugs this Sunday preview in its What Else beat, after Car talks the Sacramento Riven result with Top.
