Thirty-one Shadowfist
promo cards have been printed so far. Promo
cards printed by Z-Man Games and Shadowfist Games have a "fist" symbol
in the upper right corner (it's the fist drawing that appears on the card back,
if you're curious). Daedalus Entertainment didn't distinguish its promo White
Ninja from the regular Flashpoint print run, so you just have to remember it's
a promo. The promos are summarized in the table, and you can find more details
about each below that. Please let me know if you have any corrections to this
list. Thanks!
Click an image to see a larger version in a new window. If it says "p" then I haven't gotten permission from the artist yet. If there's a blank it means that I don't have a scan of those cards yet. Donations of scans (or cards :) to fill in the blanks are gladly accepted. Special thanks to Mike Nickoloff, Eric Lui and Allen Hege for their contributions!
Updated through Critical Shift.
|
Image |
Card |
Set |
Company |
Year |
|
none |
Scrye "promo" cards |
Limited |
Daedalus |
1995 |
 |
White Ninja |
Flashpoint |
Daedalus |
1996 |
|
White Ninja
(reprint) |
Promo |
Z-Man,
|
2000, 2007 |
|
Open a Can
of Whupass |
Promo |
Z-Man,
|
2000, 2006 |
 |
Once and Future Champion |
Promo (teaser) |
Z-Man |
2000 |
 |
Sting of the Scorpion (topless) |
None |
Z-Man |
2000 |
 |
Nine Cuts |
Promo |
Z-Man |
2001 |
 |
The Junkyard |
Promo |
Z-Man |
2001 |
 |
The Eastern King |
Promo (teaser) |
Z-Man |
2001 |
  |
Who Wants
Some |
Promo * |
Z-Man |
2001,
|
 |
Silver Band (alternate art) |
Promo |
Z-Man |
2001 |
 |
Dragon Boat Festival |
Promo |
Z-Man |
2001 |
 |
"Time to Kick Ass!" |
Promo |
Z-Man |
2001 |
  |
Elephant
Gun |
Promo |
Z-Man,
|
2001, 2006 |
 |
Primus |
Promo (teaser) |
Z-Man |
2001 |
  |
Sword of
the Master |
Promo |
Z-Man |
2001, |
 |
Katie Kincaid (topless) |
None |
Z-Man |
2001 |
 |
Yung Chang |
Promo |
Z-Man |
2002 |
 |
Funky Monkey |
Promo (teaser) |
Z-Man |
2002 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Che Gorilla |
Promo |
Z-Man |
2002 |
 |
Silver Jet |
Promo (teaser) |
Z-Man |
2002 |
 |
Ho Chen |
Promo (teaser) |
Z-Man |
2003 |
 |
The Bazaar |
Promo |
Z-Man |
2003 |
 |
Wedding Gifts |
Promo |
Z-Man |
2003 |
 |
Burned-for-victory marker |
Promo |
Z-Man |
2003 |
|
|
Blade Palm (alternate art) |
Promo |
Z-Man |
2003 |
 |
Ang Dao the Corrupt |
Promo |
Z-Man |
2004 |
 |
Li Mao |
Promo |
Z-Man |
2004 |
 |
Tom Donovan |
Promo (teaser) |
Z-Man |
2004 |
|
|
Lateral Reincarnation |
Promo (teaser) |
Z-Man |
2004 |
 |
Public Enemy No. 1 |
Promo |
Z-Man |
2004 |
 |
Sinister Research |
Promo |
Z-Man |
2004 |
|
|
Mars Colonist |
Promo (teaser) |
Shadowfist Games |
2006 |
|
|
Scrounging (alternate art) |
Promo |
Shadowfist Games |
2006 |
|
|
Dan Dammer, Jammer Slammer |
Promo |
Shadowfist Games |
2006 |
|
|
Jessica Ng |
Promo |
Shadowfist Games |
2006 |
|
|
Queen of the Ice Pagoda (reprint) |
Promo |
Shadowfist Games |
2006 |
|
|
Living Legend |
Promo |
Shadowfist Games |
2006 |
|
p |
Kunlun Clan Assault (reprint) |
Promo |
Shadowfist Games |
2006 |
|
|
Military Commandant (alt. art) |
Promo (retailer) |
Shadowfist Games |
2006 |
|
|
Devil's Rope |
Promo (retailer) |
Shadowfist Games |
2006 |
|
|
Covert Operation (alt. art) |
Promo |
Shadowfist Games |
2006 |
|
|
Demonic Alliance |
Promo (teaser) |
Shadowfist Games |
2007 |
|
|
Reascension Agenda |
Promo |
Shadowfist Games |
2007 |
|
p |
Shard of the Molten Heart |
Promo |
Shadowfist Games |
2007 |
|
|
The Gimp |
Promo |
Shadowfist Games |
2007 |
 |
Ting Ting (reprint of NW art) |
Promo |
Shadowfist Games |
2007 |
|
p |
The Mark of Evil |
Promo (teaser) |
Shadowfist Games |
2007 |
|
p |
Kinoshita House of Pancakes (alt. art) |
Promo |
Shadowfist Games |
2007 |
|
p |
Noriko Watson |
Promo (retailer) |
Shadowfist Games |
2007 |
|
p |
Sacred Heart Hospital (alt. art) |
Promo (retailer) |
Shadowfist Games |
2007 |
* Who Wants Some cards are used in tournaments of the same name. It’s not really a promo card, but in its first printing it had a promo symbol on it, so I’m including it here for the die-hard collectors
** Topless Major Hottie was planned, but never printed. You can buy a print from Ed Beard's website though :) Just click on the "Pin-Ups (Artistic Nudes)" button, but you must be 18 years or older, of course.
Good question. The answer varies from card to card; details are in the descriptions below. Most Z-Man promos were given to Secret War Society members; Shadowfist Games replaced the SWS with the Legion of Supporters as far as promos are concerned. Most are made available to anyone via the "Power for Promos" [shadowfist.com] program, where you send in the little Power symbols clipped from boosters and starters in exchange for cards. The list below is updated as of Feb 2008 to show what's still available through the PfP program. A few promos are harder to get, like the Proving Ground League prizes (ex., Sword of the Master), the topless cards, or some of the older out-of-circulation cards like Open a Can of Whupass.
For new/recent promos, Shadowfist Games has continued Z-Man's practice of offering promos (including the topless cards) as bounty in exchange for demo decks; it comes up a couple of times a year, but it's announced only on the Shadowfist Forum. Shadowfist Games started a new practice with the release of Shurikens and Six-Guns in 2006 - they made two promos available only to retailers and distributors. You'll have to work your own deal to get them, at least for a year after the set's release. They also introduced the "case topper" promo with Critical Shift in 2007 - you have to buy a full case of six boxes direct from Shadowfist.com to get one. Yay.
For older promos, you'll have to trade or buy. Most of the promos go for US$1-$3 on eBay (the teaser promos often don't sell at all), with a few exceptions. The topless promos have gone down in value a lot in the last couple of years, from a high of around $30 they now go anywhere between $3 and $15 (it's not consistent). Open a Can of Whupass has steadily crept up in value as new Dragons cards are printed that make it more and more effective; it's now running in the $5 to $10 range when you can find it, should get easier now that it's been reprinted. Unopened cans have sold as high as $20 in 2004, usually in the $10-$15 range but they don't come up often. Sword of the Master fetches $2 to $5 (again, not consistent). And I was very surprised to see a Daedalus White Ninja go for $36 in Dec.2004, that hasn't been repeated though.
Daedalus
didn't start with promo cards until Flashpoint,
although you will sometimes hear people talk about "promos" they got
in Scrye magazine. Daedalus distributed thousands of random Limited Edition
cards in Scrye issue 8 (it had a close-up of the art from Dance of the Centipede
on the cover). A bunch of those were rares; people were known to go look through
all the copies of Scrye to find Evil Twins and Dangerous Experiments (the conscientious
people would even buy the magazine instead of slitting the plastic and taking
the card). But anyway, those aren't true promo cards, just regular Limited Edition
cards from the same print run as the rest of Limited Ed.
Scrye #8 was pretty interesting for Shadowfist fans in other ways, since it had a big fold-out ad on the inside cover, and a couple of articles inside too. Probably the most Shadowfist stuff to ever appear in a single issue of a magazine :)
Daedalus Entertainment published one promo card in the print run of Flashpoint. In game terms, it's an upgraded version of a card with the same title that originally appeared in Limited Edition. This version of the Ninja has the Flashpoint gold foil symbol in the upper right corner. The Ninja was intended to be a rare in the Flashpoint set, but at the last minute Jose Garcia was convinced to make it a promo card, so it was pulled (mostly) after the print run was done but before the cards were packaged into boosters.
Some Ninjas were given out at conventions or for defeating Daedalus staffers in one-on-one matches. A very few Ninjas ended up in the Flashpoint print run, so it's possible (but highly unlikely) to find one in a Flashpoint booster pack. Most people got theirs using a redeemable coupon from the Shadowfist Players' Guide: Volume I. I don't know exactly how many Ninjas were printed by Daedalus.
Z-Man Games reprinted the White Ninja promo card in the Throne War print run. The Z-Man version is worded slightly differently and uses the promo Fist symbol rather than the Flashpoint symbol, but has the same art as the Daedalus version. The copyright line adds the year 2000: Artwork © 1996, 2000.
The Z-Man cards were given away to any player who played a demo of Shadowfist at a Silver Band-run event, and were available via the Power for Promos redemption program. Z-Man Games also honored the coupon from the Shadowfist Players' Guide. The Ninja is no longer available from Z-Man; they are all gone as of late 2003 or so.
Shadowfist Games reprinted the Ninja again in the Critical Shift print run in 2007. The cards can be distinguished from the 2000 Z-Man printing by the copyright line - the Critical Shift version says Artwork © 1996, 2007. They were initially given away as bonus promos for every sixth box bought from Shadowfist.com in one order. Available via Power for Promos.
The first original promo card from Z-Man, printed in the print run of Throne War. One thousand of these were set aside for the Can of Whupass promotional item. A few cards were given out at GenCon 2000 and for tournament prizes soon after; the rest were given out via the Power for Promos redemption program. At one point in 2002, Z-Man had said these were all gone, but in Feb.03 Zev posted that some were still available, then in Feb.2004 Zev posted that they were all gone. Shadowfist Games reprinted the card (but not the can) in the Shurikens and Six-Guns run in 2006, so these are once again available from Power for Promos. The 2006 version has "2000, 2006" in the copyright line, and the phrase "Play during any Main Shot..." was changed to "Play any time...".
Printed in the print run of Throne War, these were given to players who joined the Secret War Society during 2000. The promo Champion was the first "trailer" or "teaser" card, intentionally printed without rules text. A short blurb about the next set to be released appeared instead. The Champion's rules text was posted on the Shadowfist website as a downloadable image of the card; three different versions with gradually increasing power were posted during the time between the release of Throne War and Netherworld 2. The card was reprinted with its final rules text in Netherworld 2. For play purposes, the promo version is considered to have the same rules text as the Netherworld 2 version. No longer available via Power for Promos.
The print run for Throne War also included a topless version of Sting of the Scorpion. It's the same as the version printed in Year of the Dragon except for the art, and the tag line is a teensy bit different too. It wasn't intended to be a promo card, so it wasn't printed with the fist symbol in its upper right corner, but Zev decided to give them away after all.
Some of these were given away at GenCon 2000; most were given away later. The only way to get one is to schmooze Allen Hege while he still has some left. They do come up for auction on eBay a few times a year.
Printed with the Netherworld 2 run, Nine Cuts got an upgrade and new art, and is actually playable now :). The new version took the place of the White Ninja as the card given out to people who participate in demos, and it was also given to the Netherworld 2 playtesters, and sent with Kiii-Yaaah! issue 1. No longer available via Power for Promos.
Also printed with
the Netherworld 2 run, The Junkyard was given to Netherworld 2 playtesters,
and with Kiii-Yaaah! issue 1. It's no longer available via Power for Promos.
On all the cards, the 
symbol in the rules text was cut off a bit due to a printer error.
The trailer card for the Shaolin Showdown set. It was given away at conventions and wherever Z-Man appeared, plus it was given to Netherworld 2 playtesters and sent with Kiii-Yaaah! issue 1. It was also available via Power for Promos, but as of early 2004 they are all gone. Z-Man didn't continue the practice of publishing the rules text on their website like the Once and Future Champion. The Eastern King was reprinted with rules text as a Rare in Shaolin Showdown.
Not really a promo card, but it was printed with a promo symbol during the Netherworld 2 run, so here it is. This card is used during the "Who Wants Some?" style tournament to keep track of who you've beaten. You get a bunch when you participate in one of those tournaments, but the card itself isn't playable. It features Brian Snoddy's art from Ting Ting's Gambit (originally printed in Flashpoint) on a neutral background. The second printed batch of these cards was printed during the Red Wedding run, and was done without the Promo symbol, so I don't count those as promos. You can get these via Power for Promos, but I don't know why you'd want one :)
Printed with the Netherworld 2 run. Silver Band members (the Z-Man Games demo team) got this alternate art version of the Daedalus Silver Band card after they run three events. The card is otherwise the same as the original Silver Band card from Limited edition. After Shadowfist Games took over publishing in 2006, these are now available via Power for Promos.
Printed with the Shaolin Showdown run. This card was given to Shaolin Showdown playtesters, sent with Kiii-Yaaah! issue 2, and used as a minor prize for tournaments. As of October 2003, it's no longer available via Power for Promos, but sometimes comes up on eBay.
Printed with the Shaolin Showdown run. This card was given to Shaolin Showdown playtesters and sent with Kiii-Yaaah! issue 2. It's no longer available via Power for Promos.
Printed with the Shaolin Showdown run. This card was given to Shaolin Showdown playtesters, sent with Kiii-Yaaah! issue 2, and used as a lower-tier prize for tournaments. Replaced by The Bazaar for tournament prizes in 2003, but Shadowfist Games reprinted the Gun with the Shurikens and Six-Guns run in 2006 (the 2006 version says 2001,2006 in the copyright line, and the rules text has different line breaks). No longer available via Power for Promos.
The trailer card for Dark Future, printed with the Shaolin Showdown run. First appearance of the Purist faction. It was given away wherever Z-Man appeared, plus it was given to Shaolin Showdown playtesters, and sent with Kiii-Yaaah! issue 2. Primus was reprinted with rules text as a Rare in Dark Future. No longer available via Power for Promos.
Originally printed with the Shaolin Showdown run. This card was originally given only to winners of Proving Ground leagues, and to Shaolin Showdown playtesters. It was reprinted in the Seven Masters run since Z-Man was running low. The 7M version has identical art, tag line, rules text and copyright info but has slightly different line breaks in the rules text. It's now available via Power for Promos.
Another alternate art card, this one featuring Katie Kincaid from Shaolin Showdown. Except for the art and the lack of any set symbol (promo or otherwise), the card is the same as the regular Katie. Again, you have to schmooze Allen (or maybe Zev or Ed) to get one of these, or they sometimes come up on eBay.
Printed with the Dark Future run. Sent in the third mailing to SWS members. No longer available via Power for Promos.
The trailer card for Boom Chaka Laka. Given away wherever Z-Man appeared, sent in the third mailing to SWS members, and still available via Power for Promos. Reprinted with rules text as a Rare in Boom Chaka Laka.
Z-Man decided to stop the topless cards, after (rumor has it) being leaned upon by Robin Laws, one of the original creators of Shadowfist and licensor of the rights. So Major Topless Hottie was never printed, but you can still see the artwork on Ed Beard's website :)
Printed with the Boom Chaka Laka run. Available via Power for Promos, but not specifically mailed to SWS members (that I'm aware of).
The trailer card for Red Wedding, printed with the Boom Chaka Laka run. Given away wherever Z-Man appeared, and available via Power for Promos. Silver Jet was reprinted with rules text as a rare in Red Wedding.
The trailer card for Seven Masters vs. The Underworld, printed with the Red Wedding run. First appearance of the Seven Masters (Taoists) faction. Given away wherever Z-Man appeared, and available via Power for Promos. Distributed to SWS members with Kii-Yaah issue 4.
Printed with the Red Wedding run. Available via Power for Promos, and replaced Elephant Gun as the low-end prize card at Proving Ground tournaments. Was *not* distributed to SWS members with Kii-Yaah issue 4. Interesting note: the Plasma Trooper was added by the artist at Z-Man request. You can see the original, sans Trooper, in the gallery on Glen's website. No longer available via Power for Promos.
Printed with the Red Wedding run. Distributed to SWS members with Kii-Yaah issue 4. No longer available via Power for Promos.
This is a non-playable "token" card that's intended to take the place of an opponent's Feng Shui Site in your burned-for-victory pile, so you don't forget to give back the site at the end of the game (it doesn't prevent you from shuffling the token card into your deck though, so you still need to be careful). Initially it confused a number of people, since it looks like a Feng Shui Site, and in theory is playable (although you'd probably only use it in a Dark Traveler deck :) but Zev announced on the forum that it's not playable. Printed with the Red Wedding run. Given away at Proving Ground leagues, available via Power for Promos in sets of 3, and each SWS member got two in Kii-Yaah issue 4.
Blade Palm was reprinted as a promo with new art in the Red Wedding print run. It was the first of the SWS reward cards to be printed, intended to be given to players when they reach Rank 7 in their chosen faction. Zev revealed the existence of this card in a posting to the Shadowfist Forum on 17 Dec 2004, but he did not distribute any of these cards — Zev stated that the art didn't come out as well as he'd hoped. When the Shadowfist Games publishing team took over Shadowfist in early 2006, these cards were distributed to all SWS members who had reached rank 5 or above (it filled the role of the alternate art common card promised to SWS level 5, even though it's uncommon :) and they auctioned a few on eBay in July 2006 - only 2 out of 3 sold. Also given away as a bonus for the 2nd box of Shurikens and Six-Guns pre-ordered direct from Shadowfist Games. Now available via Power for Promos, regardless of your SWS level.
The long-awaited
first promo 
card :) Printed with the Seven Masters vs. The Underworld run. Mailed out to
SWS members in late May 2004. Available via Power for Promos. Given away at
GenCon 2004.
Promo version of the rare card of the same name from the Seven Masters vs. The Underworld set. In story terms, the promo version represents Li Mao after he takes the place of Ho Chen among the Seven Masters. Printed with the Seven Masters vs. The Underworld run. Mailed out to SWS members in late May 2004. Available via Power for Promos. Given away at GenCon 2004.
The trailer card for Two-Fisted Tales of the Secret War (the Pulp Era set), printed with the Seven Masters vs. The Underworld run. Mailed out to SWS members in late May 2004, and given away wherever Z-Man appeared. Also available via Power for Promos.
The trailer card for the as-yet unnamed new core set due in August 2005, printed with the Two-Fisted Tales run. Mailed out to SWS members in January 2005 with Kii-Yaaah! Issue 6. Most likely was given away wherever Z-Man appears, but I haven't confirmed that. Available via Power for Promos.
Printed with the Two-Fisted Tales run. Distribution unknown. Replaced Sword of the Master as a Proving Ground League prize, was itself replaced by Living Legend. Available via Power for Promos.
The Architects finally get a promo card! Printed with the Two-Fisted Tales run. Mailed out to SWS members in January 2005 with Kii-Yaaah! Issue 6. Available via Power for Promos.
Printed with the Shurikens and Six-Guns run. Teaser card for the Critical Shift set. The first teaser card to be playable as-is (it's a foundation card with no rules text). Giveaway for 1st box pre-ordered direct from Shadowfist.com, and given away again in 2007 for the 2nd box of Critical Shift ordered from Shadowfist.com. (I don't know if the 2007 version is from a new run, or leftovers from the 2006 run). Available via Power for Promos.
Printed with the Shurikens and Six-Guns run. Giveaway for 3rd box pre-ordered direct from Shadowfist.com. Available via Power for Promos.
Printed with the Shurikens and Six-Guns run. Giveaway for 4th box pre-ordered direct from Shadowfist.com. Available via Power for Promos.
Printed with the Shurikens and Six-Guns run. Architects version (pre-critical shift) of the Syndicate card that appears as a rare in Shurikens and Six-Guns. Giveaway for 5th box pre-ordered direct from Shadowfist.com. Available via Power for Promos.
Reprint of the original Limited Edition version, printed with the Shurikens and Six-Guns run. Giveaway for 6th box pre-ordered direct from Shadowfist.com. Available via Power for Promos. Rules text has been cleaned up to match current templates but has the same effect as the Limited/Standard edition; byline has copyright 1995, 2006; and NeNe's first name does not have the accents on the e's.
Printed with the Shurikens and Six-Guns run. Available via Power for Promos. Same as the common card from Seven Masters, except the rules text and the tag have different line breaks (the font looks to be a little smaller), and the byline has copyright 2004, 2006.
Printed with the Shurikens and Six-Guns run. Replaced Public Enemy No.1 as the prize for Proving Ground leagues.
Printed with the Shurikens and Six-Guns run. Has the same text as the Netherworld 2 reprint. Was a retailer-only promo for the first year after the set's release. Now available via Power for Promos.
Printed with the Shurikens and Six-Guns run. Was a retailer-only promo for the first year after the set's release. Now available via Power for Promos.
Printed with the Shurikens and Six-Guns run. Its existence was leaked to the Shadowfist Forum in the S&SG spoiler list in August 2006, then denied by Shadowfist Games. In June 2007 they revealed that it had been printed, and would be the prize card for a new kind of Who Wants Some? tournament.
Printed with the Critical Shift run. Giveaway for 1st box ordered direct from Shadowfist.com. This is the "teaser" card for the next set, Empire of Evil. It breaks tradition with previous teasers because its rules text is already printed on the promo. Available via Power for Promos.
Printed with the Critical Shift run. Giveaway for 3rd box ordered direct from Shadowfist.com. Available via Power for Promos.
Printed with the Critical Shift run. Giveaway for 4th box ordered direct from Shadowfist.com. Available via Power for Promos.
Printed with the Critical Shift run. Giveaway for 5th box ordered direct from Shadowfist.com. Available via Power for Promos.
Printed with the Critical Shift run. Reprint of the original 1996 Netherworld art (not the Year of the Dragon art). Personally I would have sprung for new art for the game's most recognizable character, but who am I to judge? :) Giveaway for a full case (6 box) order direct from Shadowfist.com (I see that Potomac Distribution had the same deal). Yes, Shadowfist has now entered the realm of the case-topper promos.
Printed with the Critical Shift run. Reward for the to-be-announced 'Shadowfist Champions' program. At least one person pulled one from a Critical Shift pack, in the uncommon slot.
Printed with the Critical Shift run. Alternate art (modified art, more specifically) of the classic Limited Edition feng shui site. Has the same rules text as the errata version printed in Year of the Dragon and 10,000 Bullets, but is not marked as errata. To be distributed to tournament and league finalists.
Printed with the Critical Shift run. Retailer-only promo, at least for one year according to Gavin Edwards.
Printed with the Critical Shift run. Retailer-only promo, at least for one year according to Gavin Edwards.
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