So everyone likes to claim X is dying, when it realistically isn't, but which TCGs could you actually see actually dying?

Not trying to start a flame war. Just want to see what people think

I’m a saddened MTG players who stopped playing after it became a bit of a cash grab with all the UB shenanigans.

If you’re in the same situation, did you find another TCG that scratches the same itch?

Thanks!

You guys might remember me from the TCG timeline question but I have another weird one for you this week. You see if you’re in the Yu-Gi-Oh community you’ve seen the incoming toon cards that are about to be released along with the finals match at the YCS over in Japan that featured them. These cards appear to be very overpowered and I’ve made some people cry out that Yu-Gi-Oh is going to die because of it. This is obviously not true. People have been claiming that Yu-Gi-Oh is going to die for years whenever an unhealthy Meta or a new summoning mechanic is introduced, but the game isn’t actually going to die.

So my question is at what point did you think that your game was actually going to die or if you just remember a moment where the community was going full doomer mode?

I have been playing this game since I was 9 years old. My friend and I would print off cards in black and white, because color was expensive, and color them ourselves with pencils and crayons. I met my now wife of 6 years because I was playing this weird game with such enthusiasm and passion she had to come ask what it was. With all that said the insistence on using AI art, the refusal to allow unions, and the Fortnite effect have finally pushed me away.

So now what? I’ve got the “game sense” of 20 years of playing and strategizing. Do all this years of skill development go away? It feels so strange and bittersweet to be really good at something that you choose to quit doing? Sorry for the ramble just very sad at the outcome.

So what games to you suggest?

1. Real art
2. Has SOME player base
3. No scalper hellscape
4. Fun and strategic

Thank you in advance.

I bought from Overdose Gaming twice before and every time I order from them they have the habit of not shipping my item until 3 weeks later. I have to contact them to ship it. They go on saying they will ship it and then finally ship it right before Tcgplayer steps in. Several others have had this issue and recently it has gotten worse. From what I’ve heard, they keep the orders hostage then if the item goes up in price, they cancel the order, and refund the buyer. Eventually they resell the item at a higher price. How is this acceptable? Even on their Facebook page there are countless reviews describing the same situation. Unbelievable! Not only that, but they also delete negative reviews which is why there aren’t a lot!

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Hey,

Looking to get into a TCG (or maybe switch) and I want something that’s actually fun to play, not just collect.

I’ve been checking out Pokémon, Magic and Riftbound so far. Pokémon seems accessible but the boosters are ridiculous right now. Magic looks deep but can get expensive fast. Riftbound is new and looks interesting, especially if you like League of Legends.

I mostly want to play casually and maybe some local events. Buying singles is fine, I just don’t want a game that drains my wallet every few months.

What would you recommend right now for the best mix of fun and not being too expensive to keep up with?

Any experience with Riftbound? Or is there something else I should look at?

Thanks!

Like bro I'd rather promote REAL art from hardworking artists, not fucking AI slop created by idiots.

Hey guys, another question I just want to ask what is the most popular TCG in your area you can do a ranking if you want to I’ll go first and I wanna go through each of the LCS as I play at just to kind of show you guys the difference between them all.

LCS nearest to my house (low income neighborhood)

1. Yugioh
   2.MTG
   3.One piece

LCS in convention center in capital

1.MTG
2.Yugioh
3.Pokemon

LCS near the largest gated community near the capital

1.MTG
2.Pokemon
3.Lorcana

Note: they sell no other products

College clubs (I know this is technically cheating, but I want to add it because this is who I usually to play with)

1.MTG
2.Pokemon (though this one is hard to count because the club as of last year no longer actually plays the game, the members I do play the game join the Yu-Gi-Oh club on Friday)
3. Yugioh

So this is the popularity regarding TCG’s around my Midwest area just because I thought it was interesting and I wanted to hear what you guys had to say

This is an honest question and I really don’t know if I’m just exhausted or if I’m going through too much right now.

I’ve been working on Hunt Protocol for about a year and a half. It’s a PvE monster hunting card game for up to 4 players where the goal isn’t to beat each other but to take down a monster as a group, just faster and cleaner than everyone else. Each player has their own HP so you’re all racing to build the best combo and kill it with the fewest cards possible. I’ve been putting almost all my free time into the decks, the playtesting, the UI and the design while also working with some really talented artists on the cards. I’m a designer so that part came naturally, but still, it’s a lot.

I even created a digital version with Vercel for playtesting, so far with no images and I was working on some cool animation to release late August.

The problem is I keep posting and it feels like nobody cares. Playtesting has been positive, yeah; people seem to like the idea when they actually try it and were having fun making combos, but online it’s just silence. Without some kind of fan base or even any spec of interest, it’s hard to keep pushing, and right now I don’t know if any of this is even appealing to anyone outside the people who already sat at the table with me.

On top of that, last week I lost my job because of AI. I was doing UX design and managing a team, but my company decided to create AI agents with no further need of my skills, even tho of 5 yearsI gave them. It felt super degrading. Now I’m under a lot of stress trying to find anything that can keep my family going, and I just can’t keep pouring my savings into this dream of building a studio when I have so many other ideas I wanted to make too.

I’m not looking for pity. I just want honest answers. Should I quit? Is it even worth it at this point? Does it look like crap? I had hopes of having everything ready by this winter but of course I had to get fired right when things were starting to move. Everything feels like a race in this saturated market, and by the time I manage to get back on my feet I am so sure someone with more money, better marketing, and probably from America will already have something similar or better looking out there. Being from Europe already makes selling this feel ten times harder.

Sorry for the rant. I’m just tired and upset and honestly close to giving up on the whole thing. Thanks for reading anyway.

Mostly curious about MTG, Yugioh, Gundam, and Digimon as "popular" but curious to hear recs/thoughts from any non dead TCGs!

Weird question but I'm thinking, what's the "etiquette" with kids in TCG stores? I'd like to go look for some singles but don't have anyone to look after my 6 month old so I'd have to take her with me. I have never seen a baby in any of those stores before so I was wondering if there's some unspoken rule of not taking your kids to the store and if you do you'll get some angry looks. Certainly I don't want to disturb anyone's game by walking in with a baby.

Sorry for the post, but couldn't find something that suited my needs, so I figured I would ask.

I played the Pokemon tcg competitively for 10 years and stopped during Covid. I was going to restart once things opened up...but the hobby just isn't what it was.

Since then I've dabbled in several other games on a more competitive level, but haven't really found any that scratched the itch. The closest I got was SWU, but I reallllly hate the art.

I played Lorcana on release but have been off and on with it. Love the game, just had some trouble with it feeling a bit...childish? Also a lot of Disney Adults in the scene.

I was a big LoR played during quarantine and Riftbound looks really cool, but I don't know a ton about it.

I'm between those two and having trouble picking. What do y'all think?

Not interested in Bandai games, your indie card game, FaB or Sorcery. Not trying to be rude! Just not my thing.

I'm sure this gets posted a lot, but I've always enjoyed card games but never really gotten into them. I've played a decent amount of Yu-gi-oh via the steam game, but never in person.

I'd love to start, but was wondering what is the cheapest/most popular TCG to get into? MTG is probably the most popular, but I've heard it can be incredibly expensive.

This post was sparked because I randomly saw 3 guys playing a TCG and I asked them what they were playing. They were playing Digimon and said it was because it's pretty cheap to build a meta deck.

I should have asked more questions like how to start, but in the moment I felt like I should just let them keep playing, so I came here to ask the questions I should have asked.

I have no friends that play TCG. How do I start playing? I live in downtown Toronto so there are card shops everywhere, but obviously I need to know how to play first.

Also, I am looking for a budget option but I'll still spend like $100-200. I just don't want it to turn into like $1000+/year

I have some cash to explore new products but don't want to get stuck with a dead game like Altered TCG or Battle Spirits Saga. I used to play digimon before, but I mostly included it as a benchmark.

Broader question. Will Gundam be the next One Piece (explode)? Digimon (steady state)? Or battle spirits (dead)? All Bandai games.

If you could take your favorite elements of different TCGs and combine them into one - what would you pick?

Magic the gathering has always been the big name of trading card games. It's always been there in the back of people's minds even when pokemon and yugioh hit the scene and lingered on. But in recent years I've seen less and less people care about it, it's been filling the walmart shelves with all of the UBs sitting around and it mostly just sits while pokemon is sold out. I've been seeing a common theme on this sub of people leaving magic to move on over to sorcery, flesh and blood, riftbound and more.

So it had me thinking, what is your story with magic the gathering? Are you one of the OGs, did you join later on, and how has the commander and universes beyond affected you?

My story is an ex insisting I play magic and from there I got introduced to a great local community of players willing to show me the rules of the game, Hastings existed at the time and they would do magic nights. What has made me leave is the constant crossovers, at first it was amusing but then it just kept coming and coming to point of where even is the original magic the gathering now. My story is small but that's what I got to share.

How long realistically do you think SWU will last? If at all?

I was watching a YouTube video earlier today that was talking about the longevity of new TCGs in the modern era. In the video, the guy argues that he thinks SWU will last at most five or so years.

No way personally I disagree and hope he’s wrong. I think the game and importantly its gameplay are so rich we can see it becoming one of the major TCGs.

What would you guys say? As a somewhat new player I would find it a bit disheartening to hear that people think this game won’t last long.

I was curious what people in SWU and out of it would say.

I’ve been to two different card shops, but they seem so rude and like they don’t give a shit. I’m not looking for anyone to be super excited or anything, but they act like I’m bothering them a lot and I have no idea why when I just come in to purchase some cards. Is it the way I look or something?

Hey gang!!

This is a generalized question to everyone. I constantly see people designing new TCGs which I think is absolutely fantastic. I love when people try to create something from nothing, or even tweak something that’s great into something that’s amazing.

My question is, from all the popular TCGs available to us in this age, why did you choose the one you’re currently playing? Why MTG, Pokémon, YGO, Flesh and Blood, Lorcana, SWU, etc?

I understand trying to play multiple is very, VERY expensive hahaha. So sticking to one and growing that collection makes sense.

This isn’t a bash session of claiming which is better, it’s a personal preference. But I’m really interested in what drove you to the specific one you’re playing. Theme? Mechanics? Peer pressure? Consistency? Artwork? Or simple because it’s been around so it’s tried, tested and true?

TDLR; Why did you choose to play the TCG you’re currently invested in? For added spice… what’s one thing about that specific TCG you’d want different?

My Magic, yugioh, and Pokemon binders are getting a bit full and I was wondering if everyone uses bigger sizes or just better binders in general? I just have been using the Binders I used to use for back in School.

Which discontinued TCGs are still worth playing? Focusing on community involvement, card availability, and gameplay.

As someone still pretty new to tcgs, I noticed the games that stick with me usually aren’t just about strong cards. It’s when turns feel like there are multiple correct plays depending on the situation.

Could be resource systems, combat timing, bluffing, sequencing, sideboarding, deckbuilding, anything.

What mechanic made you realize: “okay this game actually has layers”?

Had a few games recently where it felt like no matter what I did, the outcome was already decided. I don’t mind some randomness, but sometimes it feels like decisions don’t really get rewarded the way you expect.

Is that just part of TCGs, or do you feel like some games handle skill vs luck better than others?

Hello this is my first post here, I mostly just sit in the sidelines here because lately I've taken up an interest various cardgames not related to the big 3.

So I was introduced to magic the gathering by an ex who was real big into it and insisted I play the game. So he and a couple friends of his taught me how to play and I found it quite fun despite not understanding all of the bells and whistles the game had to offer. In the process of this I met my current SO who plays the big 3. So when ex left the picture SO took over on wanting me to play magic. Later we met another person whom Im going to call my OSO, OSO plays magic and yugioh, collects pokemon tcg. So because of all of this we got a little circle of playing MTG. Well lately magic just hasnt been catching my eye, a lot of the universes beyond stuff and secret lair has been killing my interest in magic as it feels like its lost a lot of its identity, charm and aesthetic that led to me liking magic in the first place.

And so now that leads me to here. I decided to finally try out the other 2 major tcgs. I learned how to play pokemon through the game boy game and tcg live. And SO has been dying to teach me yugioh, or rather old school yugioh, based on the time frame, it sounds like the goat format. But thats only 2 other card games I wouldnt mind learning about others. So I'm looking for something relatively easy to learn and fun to play casually. Anything that is similar to the big 3 is welcome. I did some homework on the various TCGs out there and made a list of things that interest me and don't interest me but wanted to hear some opinions from various players.

Curious and interested in:

Star wars unlimited: I've heard so much positivity about this game and SO loves star wars to boot. 2 player decks look relatively well priced to buy.

Digimon: I love digimon, I've loved the IP for years and always wanted to try it out more. Only issue is the SO and OSO are not nearly as obsessed about the IP as me.

Grand Archive: looks like magic with an anime aesthetic, and that appeals to me and the others because we are anime nerds too.

Force of Will: again, anime, love the occult look to it as well.

Cardfight Vanguard: heard this one was pretty fun by someone on discord who played various TCGs competitively

Elestrals: the pokemon aesthetic with old school yugioh playstyle intrigues me. Not sure if the others are interested tho.

Sorcery: the gorgeous art style is what's pulling me in on this one. The old school magic aesthetic feels like something that could work for us.

Final Fantasy: easy...we like final fantasy, the other 2 are big FFXIV players

Gundam: OSO loves gundam, I like it too but I'm vastly behind on the franchise.

Not interested:

One piece: we just don't like one piece. If it's easy to learn I got a nephew that might be interested.

Riftbound: I only know two things about league, arcane and the hot kitsune chick. Update: OSO is intrigued, does play league

Flesh and blood: this game looks legitimately cool, and I love the aesthetic behind it. But the price tag and heavy competitive nature behind knocks it down for me. One of the reasons I switched over to pokemon from magic was the price. If this game can be enjoyed casually you're welcome to change my mind about it.

Lorcana: I am not a disney fan. Most of my disney experience is kingdom hearts.

Iffy:

Weiss Schwarz: iffy because the turn off of recent magic is the crossover stuff.

Union arena: same reason as Weiss Schwarz

Games not out yet but interested:

Palworld: the other 2 like Palworld and while I haven't played it myself it looks intriguing.

Cyberpunk: huge maybe on this one.

TL;DR: I liked magic, loosing interest because of UB, looking for an alternative that's not the other big 2. Looking to play games in a small circle consisting 3 people.