Every anniversary set in Dragon Ball Super Card Game: Fusion World has taught the game something new. The second anniversary taught it two things at once. The third, set to land in March 2027, is promising a brand-new mechanic — and Bandai is keeping the details deliberately quiet. Here's what we actually know, and why the pattern is worth studying before the box hits shelves.
The anniversary tradition
Fusion World's anniversary boosters have become the game's mechanic-launch pads. Last year's second-anniversary set, Dual Evolution [FB-09], introduced two systems that still shape decks today.
The first was Fusion Evolve. It works exactly how it sounds: a card with the keyword can be played from your hand in Active Mode, but only by stacking it on top of two specified Battle Cards of equal power already on your field. The result enters ready to attack the same turn. The cleanest example is the set's centerpiece — build Son Goku and Vegeta on the board, then drop Gogeta on top of both. It's the iconic fusion turned into a literal game action.
The second was Ki. Where Fusion Evolve is flashy, Ki is subtle: markers placed under cards that can be accumulated, spent, or referenced to trigger skills. Some Leaders scale off it directly — Gogeta: GT awakens once its Ki reaches 2 or more, then jumps to 25,000 power during your turn and gains +1 Ki every time it attacks. It rewards patience over aggression, a genuinely different rhythm for the game.
Both were explicitly framed as long-term additions, and they've stuck around. That's the pattern to notice: anniversary sets don't just add cards, they add vocabulary.
What FB-13 promises
The third-anniversary booster — listed as FB-13 — is following the same playbook. Bandai's product copy confirms a brand-new mechanic debuts in the set, arriving after the [Ki] and [Fusion Evolve] keywords from FB-09. What it actually does hasn't been revealed yet. That's the hook.
What we do know is what surrounds it. FB-13 contains the highest number of Leader cards ever printed in a Fusion World set — five Leaders, per the rarity breakdown — and Bandai is teasing that the jump in Leaders may be connected to the new mechanic. It also carries more Super Alt-Art Leader cards than any previous set, a treatment that first appeared in FB-09 with just two cards. For collectors, that's the set to watch.
The full breakdown runs 128 card types: 5 Leaders, 40 Commons, 35 Uncommons, 25 Rares, 20 Super Rares, and 3 Secret Rares. Packs hold 12 cards, displays hold 24.
When it lands
Bandai has FB-13 in retail during March 2027. ICv2 reports the on-shelf date as March 3; several retailers list March 12. Treat that week as your window and check your local store for the exact timing in your region.
Why learn it now
If the FB-09 pattern holds, the new keyword won't be a one-set gimmick — it'll become part of the game's permanent vocabulary, supported in sets to come. Learning it before the support arrives is the difference between being ahead of the curve and scrambling to catch up. We'll break down the mechanic in full the moment Bandai reveals it. Until then, the smartest prep is understanding how Fusion Evolve and Ki actually play — because the third anniversary is clearly building on both.