The Legend of Korra pro-bending board game is live on Kickstarter

The Legend of Korra: Pro-bending Arena, the board game based on the acclaimed Nickelodeon TV show’s fast-paced sport, has gone up on crowdfunding site Kickstarter.

The two-player-only game follows the format of the fictional team sport closely, with each player taking control of one team of three benders, controlling earth, wind and fire.

There’s an element of deckbuilding to the game’s action, as the benders focus their chi and buy new techniques from three decks, separated into the core elements. Each member of the team can be tailored before a match with a custom strategy deck, opening up the opportunity to have different tactics and styles of play during each game.

The team can also equip three trick cards, consisting of either powerful single-use abilities or weaker but repeatable ‘cheats’ that require the player to roll a referee die to see if they’re caught out, similar to other sports games such as Blood Bowl or DreadBall. If a single bender is given two yellow fans, they’re banned from the rest of the match, making the cheats risky – but potentially rewarding – to pull off. Some of the powers include the chance to supercharge attacks, dodge elemental attacks from enemies or resist being pushed back into their half of the arena.

The aim of the game is to occupy your opponent’s end of the pitch by the end of the game, or win instantly by forcing the rival players off the back of their own half.

The first two teams for Pro-bending Arena will be reigning champions the White Falls Wolfbats, known for their dirty play, and newcomers the Future Industry Fire Ferrets, best known for being the team of Avatar hero Korra and focusing on countering aggressive attacks with counter-bends.

The core box costs $65 (£49) (plus an estimated €7 to €14/£6 to £13 postage) and includes three models each for the two teams, with seven extra teams – and 15 additional miniatures – yet to be announced during the crowdfunding campaign’s run. There are 30 trick cards included, which can be used by any team. Pro-bending Arena is said to be just the first in a planned series of Legend of Korra games from publisher IDW.

The Legend of Korra: Pro-bending Arena is due for release in February next year and has already more than doubled its initial $25,000 target. If you’re interested, the Kickstarter will end on September 30th.