Gundam Card Game: Starter Deck ST05 - Iron Bloom Review

In today's article, we'll explore the new Gundam Card Game starter deck, ST05 - Iron Bloom.

We'll go through the main list, its strategies, pros and cons, and how it fares against other starters. We'll also discuss purple, the new color, and its main mechanics.

So, without further ado, let's see ST05 - Iron Bloom, which came out on September 26th, 2025!

This starter deck is white and purple and centers around Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, the animated series. It also introduced a new color to the game, purple, and self-damage as its main mechanic. If you have any damaged units in play while you play this color, you'll get something in return.

As usual, here is everything included in this product:

10x Resource Cards

01x Bonus Pack

01x Damage Counter

02x Token Cards (Base Ex and Resource Ex)

Decklist

Gameplay

As we said above, this strategy revolves around dealing damage to your own cards to buff them.

One of the most significant differences between this starter deck and the others is how many units, bases, pilots, and command cards it includes.

The first four decks all included 28 units, 6 bases, 8 pilots, and 8 commands.

This one, however, includes 30 units, only 4 bases, 10 pilots, and 6 commands.

Unlike the first starter decks, this one doesn't include any pilot commands and, as such, isn't as versatile.

This deck is aggressive as well, considering it has 11 cards that cost 1 or 2 and just 2 units that cost 4 at the top of the curve.

One of them, Gundam Barbatos 4th Form (ST05-011), has a new ability called Suppression. This ability states that, when this unit deals damage to Shields, it deals damage to the first 2 cards at the same time.

The main strategy centers around the purple part of the list. The white part is more like support, as it is mainly blockers and ways to reposition enemy units.

Together, CGS Mobile Worker (ST05-003) and Isabiri (ST05-015) are quite powerful. If they are both in play, your most basic units will be able to destroy enemy units and bases with just a single attack.

Mikazuki Augus (ST05-010) and Gundam Barbatos 2nd Form (ST05-002) are also a significant threat together. You can use this buffed unit to remove any enemy card you can't kill with a single strike.

Akihiro Altland (ST05-011) and Gundam Gusion Rebake (ST05-005) let you return to your hand units in your trash that are level 2 or lower after you destroy an enemy unit on your turn.

They're an excellent way to get resources back and put pressure on the opponent later on.

Fatal Strike (ST05-014) is an excellent removal, as it removes from play threats or blockers that could disrupt your main strategy. Please note that it can only remove units that are level 3 or lower.

With Iron and Blood (ST05-013) deals 1 damage to a unit but also buffs it by +3 AP, so you can use it in combat to trade a unit with your opponent, for instance.

I thought it was quite interesting, particularly considering the rest of the archetype.

This type of strategy is usually very "hit or miss", that is, you either win by a landslide or fail catastrophically. One bad move and you will lose your units and get nothing in return. So, be very careful with it.

If your opponent is playing white, don't be afraid to buff your units more than usual. After all, an Unforeseen Incident could ruin all your plans, particularly in combat. Try to take advantage of how easily this list buffs its units, particularly with Isabiri (ST05-015).

ST01: Heroic Beginnings

This starter deck will struggle against ST01 because it can control the board pretty well and be quite disruptive. Furthermore, when you deal damage to your units, you'll actually be progressing their game plan, not yours.

Thoroughly Damaged (ST01-012) will be incredibly strong against this list. It will simply remove all your damage units from play.

The opponent will also play Amuro Ray (ST01-010) and Guntank (ST01-004) to control your side of the board, so following your main game plan will be quite challenging.

White Base (ST01-015) is the icing on the cake for ST01. You'll have to decide between attacking this base or their units, and, to make things worse, they will still have numerous units to play afterward.

ST02: Wings of Advance

In this matchup, you'll have more time to set up your board, so you actually have a good chance of winning.

One of the biggest issues will be Wing Gundam (Bird Mode) (ST02-002). It gives more resources to your opponent, so with it they'll be able to play Wing Gundam (ST02-001) with Heero Yuy (ST02-010). It is also difficult to remove.

Gundam Heavyarms (ST02-003) is relevant because it can deal damage to multiple units and remove them at once. Ideally, you should wait before damaging your units to make sure you don't lose all of them in a single attack.

If you're careful and don't lose your entire board with just one move, you'll probably win this matchup, considering the opponent will need more time to put their pieces down. You'll just move faster than them and inevitably win.

ST03: Zeon’s Rush

This is a matchup between two aggressive decks. In this case, ST05 has a significant advantage because it plays bigger units and blockers. This way, you can take advantage of the damage you deal to remove their threats and deal more damage to their bases.

Their most dangerous cards are Sinanju (ST03-001) and Full Frontal (ST03-010).

You should also be careful with Char Aznable (ST03-011), which, when paired, gets High-Maneuver and can escape blockers.

The Blue Giant (ST03-014) can be a bit annoying when you're trying to deal with enemy units, but the best way to play this matchup is by controlling your opponent.

ST04: SEED Strike

In this matchup, most of the time you'll have to be the aggressive player. Kira Yamato (ST04-010) is the most complicated card on their side because it nerfs units and, as such, improves combat for them.

Aegis Gundam (ST04-006)'s ability can't target much in this matchup. Aegis Gundam (MA Mode) (ST04-007) is a lot more effective in combat.

Aile Strike Gundam (ST04-001) is quite disruptive to your strategy. As your units won't have a lot of HP, it can return most of them to your hand and force you to set up your board all over again. It is also an incredibly strong blocker.

This is a decent starter deck. It features an interesting strategy and can deal a lot of damage.

Its core also interacts really well with the overall game structure itself and encourages you to use your units in combat.

The new ability, Suppression, results in incredibly powerful attacks. With it, you won't have to stumble into a base to remove 2 shields.

I, personally, considered this deck quite interesting, but it has a few disadvantages over other colors, competitively speaking, considering their card pools are bigger. The purple card pool is simply a bit small as of now.

I believe Gundam Barbatos 4th Form (ST05-001), Isaribi (ST05-015), and Mikazuki Augus (ST05-010) are decent reasons to purple.

However, another issue is the number of purple pilots. You'll often have too many in hand when you actually need a unit.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!