Overview

The Bleach Trading Card Game is a collectible card game for 2 players based on the Bleach anime and manga series, published by Score Entertainment from 2007 to 2009 (7 sets released). Each player builds a deck around a Guardian character card and battles by playing character cards, using energy to pay costs, and attacking to reduce the opponent’s power to zero. The game features three energy types (Mind, Body, Spirit) and a unique resource system where players choose between drawing cards or playing energy each turn.

Components

• Guardian card (1 per player — determines energy deck composition and starting power)
• 60-card Main Deck (characters, items, battlegrounds, events)
• 20-card Side Deck (energy cards matching the Guardian’s energy types)
• Power tracker or counter

Setup

1. Each player places their Guardian card face-up in front of them.
2. Shuffle your 60-card Main Deck and place it face-down as your draw pile.
3. Shuffle your 20-card Side Deck (energy cards) and place it face-down separately.
4. Set your power counter to the value printed on your Guardian card.
5. Draw an opening hand of 6 cards from your Main Deck.
6. Determine the starting player (coin flip or die roll).

Turn Structure

Each turn consists of three steps:

1. Resource Step

The active player performs the following in order:

• Draw a card from the Main Deck.
• Choose: Draw another card from the Main Deck OR place the top card of your Side Deck (energy card) into play face-up.
• Choose again: Draw another card from the Main Deck OR place the top card of your Side Deck into play.

This gives you up to 3 draws, or a mix of draws and energy plays.

2. Main Step

The active player may perform any of the following in any order, as many times as they can pay for:

• Play a Character from your hand by paying its energy cost (exhaust/tap the required energy cards).
• Play an Item (red background) by paying its cost. Items attach to characters or provide ongoing effects.
• Play a Battleground (green background) by paying its cost. Only one Battleground can be in play per player; a new one replaces the old.
• Use activated abilities on cards in play.
• Attack with one or more characters.

3. End Step

• Formal conclusion of the turn.
• Resolve any end-of-turn effects.
• Pass play to the opponent.

Actions

Playing Cards

• Pay the energy cost shown on the card by exhausting (turning sideways) energy cards of the matching type(s).
• Energy Types: Mind, Body, Spirit. Some costs require specific types; others are generic.
• Characters enter play ready (unexhausted) and can attack the turn they are played.

Attacking

• Declare one or more of your unexhausted characters as attackers.
• The defending player may block with their unexhausted characters.
• Compare attack values vs. defense values. Unblocked attacks deal damage to the opponent’s Guardian (reducing their power).
• Blocked attacks are resolved between the attacking and blocking characters.

Using Abilities

• Many characters and items have printed abilities that can be activated by paying costs or meeting conditions.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

• A player wins by reducing the opponent’s power (printed on their Guardian card) to zero.
• A player also wins if the opponent is unable to draw or discard a card from their Main Deck when required.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Energy cards refresh (unexhaust) at the start of your turn, so all energy is available each turn.
• You cannot have more than one Battleground in play; playing a new one replaces the existing one.
• The Guardian card cannot be destroyed or removed; it stays in play for the entire game.
• Some cards have keyword abilities that grant special combat effects.
• The game was discontinued in April 2009 before its seventh expansion was released.

Player Reference

Zone	Contents
Guardian	Your main character — stays in play, tracks power
Energy Area	Energy cards (Mind, Body, Spirit)
Character Area	Characters in play
Main Deck	60-card draw pile
Side Deck	20-card energy pile
Discard Pile	Used/destroyed cards
Hand	Cards available to play

Resource Step Options	Choice 1	Choice 2
Mandatory	Draw 1 card	Draw 1 card
Optional (×2)	Draw another card	Play an energy

| Victory | Reduce opponent’s power to 0 OR opponent cannot draw/discard | |———|————————————————————-|