How many cheap cards should an Azuki TCG deck run?

MochiBosu

Most good decks are cheap. Every deck in the Midwest Regional Top 8 averaged between 2.0 and 2.8 IKZ per card and ran at least 14 cards that cost 1; the three Raizan decks that took first to third ran 26 to 28. Start near 2.3 and go higher only with a plan to survive.

Cheap cards aren’t boring, they’re fast! The top three Raizan decks had 26 or more 1-cost cards. I counted twice cause I thought I messed up.

How to tell

Your deck averages more than 3 IKZ per card.
Fewer than 12 of your 50 cards cost 1.
You have more cards at 6 or more than at 2.

Example: The Midwest Regional Top 8

IKZ cost of each Top 8 deck at the Garden Arena Midwest Regional in Peoria, October 2026, from the official decklists:

Place · deck	Avg.	1	2	3	4	5	6+
1 · Raizan, YQ	2.00	26	11	8	0	2	3
2 · Raizan, NoahBrews	2.00	26	11	8	0	2	3
3 · Raizan, ducky	1.96	28	8	10	0	0	4
4 · Zero, Azn	2.06	25	9	7	6	3	0
5 · Shao, tadpolite	2.80	14	16	4	4	4	7
6 · Shao, zakai	2.52	14	20	3	5	5	3
7 · Zero, Baydestrian	2.66	16	11	10	4	5	4
8 · Raizan, jaxx	2.32	23	10	7	2	4	4

Add up your deck’s costs and divide by 50 to compare. With 16 one-cost cards, you open with at least one about 95% of the time.

Garden Arena Midwest Regional results and decklists

Real example: Zero Marksman Burn update: Rei in, Fatal Strike out

How to fix it

Sort your 50 cards by cost and count each column.
Fill turns 1 and 2 first. These are the turns where an empty hand costs the most.
Keep the top end small and specific: the two to four cards your deck wins with.
Going above 3 per card? Add Defenders, Taunt and extra IKZ so you live long enough to cast it.

In other card games

Hearthstone

Hearthstone players read their curve off the deck builder’s cost bars. Azuki’s IKZ arrives at the same pace, one a turn up to 10, so the same reading works.

Compare the mechanic

Marvel Snap

Marvel Snap gives energy equal to the turn number for six turns, so a curve there is about filling each turn exactly. Azuki works the same way, but the game is not capped at six turns.

Azuki TCG vs Marvel Snap

Magic: The Gathering

A Magic curve also has to leave room for about 24 lands in 60 cards. Azuki’s IKZ are outside the deck, so all 50 slots go to the curve.

Azuki TCG vs Magic: The Gathering

Questions

What is a good average IKZ cost for an Azuki deck?

Between 2.0 and 2.8 per card covers every Midwest Regional Top 8 deck. The Raizan weapon decks sat near 2; the two Shao decks at 2.5 and 2.8.

Can a high-curve deck work?

Yes, with ways to survive and extra IKZ. Cat’s Top 8 Bobu list runs 13 cards costing 6 or more, backed by Warding Totem, a 4-cost Defender that adds an IKZ, and Stone Masked Ancient, a 7-cost Taunt.

Send feedback