Bandai has announced a staggered release for its Naruto CCG Set 9: The Chosen:  The Chosen Theme Decks will hit retail on April 25th, while the Boosters will follow a month later on May 23rd.  The Chosen reprints some of the best cards from the first five Naruto CCG releases, which makes it an excellent 'jumping on point' for new players and Bandai will be running a special new player organized play promotion, 'Ninja Academy Open Enrollment,' during the one-month gap between the release of the Theme Decks and Boosters.

Every retailer who has scheduled tournaments for the April 25-May 23rd period on the Naruto CCG Organized Play Website will receive an extra giveaway in addition to their regular tournament kits, a free 'New Player' kit that will include 10 promo card packs and 4 game mats.  Under this flexible program retailers can give any 'New Player' who purchases a Naruto Theme Deck a promo pack containing 20 Naruto promo cards -- and the top 'New Player' finisher in each weekly tournament can receive a game mat as a prize.

Retailers who wish to participate in this 'Ninja Academy Open Enrollment Program' can still sign up for Bandai's Naruto Organized Play Program  via the Bandai Website.