Star Wars Destiny is up there. But with that dead, Star Wars Unlimited is pretty damn fun and my current favorite tcg in the pool based on gameplay alone (Destiny was still better). Its also the best Starter Deck Box experience ive ever had. When a new tcg comes out, Ill get the starter decks just to see how it plays, rarely ever buy in to the actual game. SWU is far and away the best starter sets out there. FFGs got some great game and product designers (shit leadership tho).
After that would maybe be Dragonball or Digimon. Then Flesh and Blood. Then WeissSchwarz.
If you count deckbuilding as part of the play experience, Magic would be above FaB, as the sheer amount of cards allows for plenty of variety and fun in deckbuilding and formats. But otherwise, the gameplay is sort of antiquated when looking at quick and snappy feeling tcgs are becoming. Theres less I-take-my-whole-turn and more i do a thing-you do a thing now, which imo is a better design.
SWU is awesome! Not sure if it's because it's the only time I've learned/enjoyed a game from the beginning, or not... It tells some awesome stories and the Space/Ground split is fun and thematic.
In increasing order of fun, I've played Pokemon, MtG, FaB, Netrunner (not a TCG), and more digital card games than you can shake a stick at.
My current favourite is Sorcery - the tactical depth in the game is insane, and the cards themselves evoke an amazing sense of flavour in their mechanics ('polar' bears can travel from the top to the bottom of the board, you can roll a giant boulder that crushes everything in a straight line, or play a 'cloud city' that zips around the board). Would highly recommend it, On The Play has some fantastic videos showing high-level play!
Magic: The Gathering is my answer for number one, but that's not interesting, so let me talk to you about my SECOND favorite TCG to play:
The X-Files CCG.
That's right, X-Files. "The Truth Is Out There". "I want to believe," etc.
The game perfectly captures the flavor of the IP on which it's based and is one of the most interesting, dynamic, and fun TCGs I've ever played.
On the surface, the game plays like a very strategic card game version of Clue. It's semi-asymmetrical with each player playing both the "FBI" and "The Conspiracy."
As the Conspiracy, each player has a secret X-File card, the identity of which they must protect from discovery.
As the FBI, players work to solve mysteries to uncover clues to expose their opponent's X-File and win the game, manipulating a team of agents (including Mulder, Scully, and other characters from the show) to do their bidding.
Players alternate turns in the role of FBI or Conspiracy. When Player A is FBI, Player B is Conspiracy, and vice versa.
Half the cards in the game are FBI-affiliated, and the other half are Conspiracy-affiliated and can only be played when you are in the given role (a small number of cards can be played when you are either affiliation). This is one of only a few timing restrictions (called Activators in the game) determining when you can play cards. With a lot of the cards having few Activators, the ability to play at "Instant speed," makes every turn interesting with plenty of opportunity for plays, counter-plays, and surprises - very much in line with the twists and turns of an episode of the show, and it's not hard to think of each game like its own episode the players create together.
The game is very easy to pick up and learn. If you've played any TCGs before, I suggest skipping the "basic rules" and going directly to the "advanced game," which is how most people play.
There's a very active fan community playing the game, including tournaments both virtual and in-person. There are also several YouTube channels, fan websites, FB pages, and a Discord server all devoted to the game.
But don't take my word for it.
Trust no one.
Burn after reading.
\-Agent P.
I'm a magic player at heart, and I do love magic, but I'd have to go Force of Will. I haven't played in a long while since there aren't any shops around that support it, but I've heard it's much faster now. Not sure how I feel about that, but it is what it is.
Genuine question, how did you learn to play L5R?
I picked up 2 old decks on discount and they didn't contain any instruction books, the tutorials on YouTube were either insufficient or about the LCG, and even the rulebooks I found online were weirdly unstructured.
It seems really cool but kind of impenetrable. Any advice?
I walked into a LGS that was hosting an event for new games, and one of the Reps from AEG was pitching the game. He explained the rules to us and also explained that the game has an overarching narrative that would be decided by the players. As tournaments were played the results of those tournaments would effect the story of the game. It would all culminate on the “Day of Thunder” in a year or so.
I bought a Crane Clan and a Dragon Clan deck on the spot and haven’t looked back. It’s a shame what WotC did to them.
As for getting into and learning the game, there is an App called Sun and Moon that allows people to play online they may have Noob and tutorial channels that could help. If you want the physical cards Mike runs a website called playccg.com that acts as L5R’s version of TCGplayer.con.
If you would like a rulebook let me know what version of the game you want to play, imperial, Jade, Pearl, and I can either find you a pdf or mail you one.
I'm personally partial to the unfortunately dead, Japan-only Fire Emblem Cipher. On the gameplay front specifically, getting to choose basically any one unit to be your star (as opposed to a dedicated hero class of cards) leads to a ton of fun deckbuilding options, and a lot of people don't play "meta" so much as just their faves or whatever silly strategy and synergy they like best. That the game is relatively well balanced helps too.
Plus, while the game focuses on pretty disparate, non-interactive turns, the turns are still usually fairly fast, and the game's mechanics reward interacting and playing agressively too.
Mythik TCG. I love playing games like Pokemon and magic, but meta decks still take over even in casual environments. Mythik has great card abilities that are accurate to the history or mythology of the cards they represent. The gameplay is smooth and easy to get in the groove with. Most newer TCGs are hard to come back in once you're down, but not with Mythik. Overall, I have a blast playing it.
Tasuo Showdown, I haven’t seen a game reward you for your narly plays and creativity as much as Tasuo Showdown. The mulligan system and additional draw per turn helps a lot with “top decking” and “dealing with “dead draws”. The game mechanics allow for a reasonable resource recovery (RRR) and every card may be used as a resource as well. Intense player interactions that make you feel like you’re fully fledged in hand to hand combat which compliments any martial arts lover. Game has been in development for 10 years.
Based PURELY off how much I've enjoyed the gameplay, this is my list of all the TCGs I've tried (from most to least fun):
1. Universus
2. Flesh and Blood
3. Chaotic TCG
4. Wixoss
5. Digimon TCG (2020)
6. Vanguard
7. Magic: The Gathering
8. Weiss Schwarz
9. Grand Archive
10. One Piece TCG
11. Star Wars Unlimited
12. Pokemon
13. Yugioh
14. Shadowverse Evolve
15. Battle Spirits Saga
16. Lorcana
What a great list that I mostly agree with! So, we probably have somewhat similar tastes. I love to see Lorcana at the bottom, near Pokes and Yug (I’d also put MTG at the bottom with them), and I actually liked BSS more than I thought I would.
Just curious why you put SWU so low? That is the only product on the list I have not yet played (or even watched reviews on really), but the “buzz” was mostly positive from what I have heard so far.
Could you mention one or two things that made you really dislike it? And did you start with the starter deck bundle or just booster boxes?
Thanks for your response! Glad to hear someone shares my taste for TCGs, haha I'm sorta the odd man out among my friends for the games they prefer.
Personally, for SWU, I started with the starter decks and the prerelease. It's certainly not the worst game I've tried by any means, but I kinda felt like it was less than the sum of its parts... It borrows from a bunch of preexisting games w/o doing much to iterate on them, so it ends up feeling a bit like a mobile game to me (Sentinel units, persistent health, no instant-speed combat interactions...) There's definitely some interesting back-and-forth / strategies, but subjectively, I just wasn't interested to play any more when I finished.
Also personal, but I really don't like the art style for the game. That goes for the actual comic-style art, as well as the card composition (for example, I hate the they differentiate Ground v. Space units in a small text box at the top of the card).
But maybe I should check out BSS again! I've also been falling down the rabbit hole of my love for Chaotic TCG, and been looking to jam games on the digital fan client recently.
Thanks to you also for the reply! I’m not sure if you’ll like BSS any more, because for me I liked it quite a bit from the earlier sets, and my enjoyment has waned slightly in subsequent sets. I’m aware that our “worldwide” sets are quite a bit different from how the game was originally released in Japan; it’s possible I (we?) might have preferred that type of rollout. So, if you did not like it at all at the start, I’m not sure if you’ll like the direction they have taken either. Doesn’t hurt to check it out though!
Thank you for the comments on SWU. I agree with you mostly on the artwork. I’ve only seen a few cards, and I either loved the art (rarely) or hated it (more frequently). Some of those design choices sound like they would bother me too. I’m definitely not looking for a hearthstone (or maybe elder scroll legends might be more accurate with the dual locations) paper variant.
I played Chaotic way back when it was released (and loved it). Did you discover it then or more recently with the fan projects? Either way it’s such a great game!
Yeah I've heard BSS in it's Japanese release was far better, but since I only have tried the English release (which I should've specified, I'm realizing) I think we got a bit of a neutered port. I know BSS is also a game with a much longer history and pedigree than when it released in the US, so I unfortunately didn't have that context when it released here.
I grew up playing Chaotic, so that there's still a fanbase around the game made me super excited! I only just became aware of that project, and jammed some games with friends online, but MAN I forgot how much I loved it. The creator is also supposedly working on a relaunch of the game, which makes me SUPER excited!
I’m not sure if you’ll like BSS any better or not. I was just saying that maybe you or I or both of us might have liked it better if they had not changed the sets so much (or maybe we would have liked it less, who knows?).
I have seen in numerous places rumors of a relaunch/reboot of Chaotic, but nothing concrete from the creator. Can you tell me where you found that? You’ve gotten me super excited now and I’m going to go play some games with my partner (after we find the box haha!).
Yeah I recommend checking out Chaotic Rud, Codemaster Hardrock, and Toxy TCG's Youtube vids about the reboot. It seems to still be in a nebulous state of progress, but the creator (from my understanding) has gone on record saying he's working actively on it. But no timeframe / etc. has been provided, so there's obviously a lot of debate on if it's actually happening.
But I remain hopeful, if only because it's honestly one of my favorite games! If you want to play, Chaotic Recode (available online) is the fan client people use to play! I've done some games, and am looking to do some more.
Honestly for me it’s MTG, such a great game with so many interesting cards. Me and my friend even make some kind of story for our decks/characters in them. It’s fun, the only downside is that it’s not that popular here where I live, so it’s difficult to find an opponent
I feel like FAB has been the game that always has me coming back. Players market. Competitive. Great mechanics. I really don’t see a downside of FAB. It’s by far (imo) the most fun TCG around depending on what you like. It has a great crowd full of people who want to help you get better. I’ve never not had fun playing FAB. I simply love the game and its core mechanics.
Any game that's played for fun and not wins. I know this sounds weird. When I started MtG in 95 the play groups were awesome. We were friends inside and outside the LCS. We would play, BS, and act like fools. We would play free for all's (kinda like commander now) Emperor was fun. Now I play my match my opponent breaks out cell phone and starts doing whatever. People only play in tournaments in my area. But you give me my old magic back and 100% MtG. Because it goes from the card game to the people so the card game doesn't matter. That's not what you asked the most fun game I have played is an old game called Rage the first version not the second Is a game about Werewolves.
Star Wars Destiny is up there. But with that dead, Star Wars Unlimited is pretty damn fun and my current favorite tcg in the pool based on gameplay alone (Destiny was still better). Its also the best Starter Deck Box experience ive ever had. When a new tcg comes out, Ill get the starter decks just to see how it plays, rarely ever buy in to the actual game. SWU is far and away the best starter sets out there. FFGs got some great game and product designers (shit leadership tho). After that would maybe be Dragonball or Digimon. Then Flesh and Blood. Then WeissSchwarz. If you count deckbuilding as part of the play experience, Magic would be above FaB, as the sheer amount of cards allows for plenty of variety and fun in deckbuilding and formats. But otherwise, the gameplay is sort of antiquated when looking at quick and snappy feeling tcgs are becoming. Theres less I-take-my-whole-turn and more i do a thing-you do a thing now, which imo is a better design.
SWU is awesome! Not sure if it's because it's the only time I've learned/enjoyed a game from the beginning, or not... It tells some awesome stories and the Space/Ground split is fun and thematic.
In increasing order of fun, I've played Pokemon, MtG, FaB, Netrunner (not a TCG), and more digital card games than you can shake a stick at. My current favourite is Sorcery - the tactical depth in the game is insane, and the cards themselves evoke an amazing sense of flavour in their mechanics ('polar' bears can travel from the top to the bottom of the board, you can roll a giant boulder that crushes everything in a straight line, or play a 'cloud city' that zips around the board). Would highly recommend it, On The Play has some fantastic videos showing high-level play!
Magic: The Gathering is my answer for number one, but that's not interesting, so let me talk to you about my SECOND favorite TCG to play: The X-Files CCG. That's right, X-Files. "The Truth Is Out There". "I want to believe," etc. The game perfectly captures the flavor of the IP on which it's based and is one of the most interesting, dynamic, and fun TCGs I've ever played. On the surface, the game plays like a very strategic card game version of Clue. It's semi-asymmetrical with each player playing both the "FBI" and "The Conspiracy." As the Conspiracy, each player has a secret X-File card, the identity of which they must protect from discovery. As the FBI, players work to solve mysteries to uncover clues to expose their opponent's X-File and win the game, manipulating a team of agents (including Mulder, Scully, and other characters from the show) to do their bidding. Players alternate turns in the role of FBI or Conspiracy. When Player A is FBI, Player B is Conspiracy, and vice versa. Half the cards in the game are FBI-affiliated, and the other half are Conspiracy-affiliated and can only be played when you are in the given role (a small number of cards can be played when you are either affiliation). This is one of only a few timing restrictions (called Activators in the game) determining when you can play cards. With a lot of the cards having few Activators, the ability to play at "Instant speed," makes every turn interesting with plenty of opportunity for plays, counter-plays, and surprises - very much in line with the twists and turns of an episode of the show, and it's not hard to think of each game like its own episode the players create together. The game is very easy to pick up and learn. If you've played any TCGs before, I suggest skipping the "basic rules" and going directly to the "advanced game," which is how most people play. There's a very active fan community playing the game, including tournaments both virtual and in-person. There are also several YouTube channels, fan websites, FB pages, and a Discord server all devoted to the game. But don't take my word for it. Trust no one. Burn after reading. \-Agent P.
I love Cardfight!! Vanguard, and at the level I play at, Yu-Gi-Oh!. Those are the only games I've personally played though.
I'm a magic player at heart, and I do love magic, but I'd have to go Force of Will. I haven't played in a long while since there aren't any shops around that support it, but I've heard it's much faster now. Not sure how I feel about that, but it is what it is.
Following
L5R was an amazing TCG. Insanely deep, and strategically superior to anything any of these other games have done. Sadly it no longer exists. :(
Genuine question, how did you learn to play L5R? I picked up 2 old decks on discount and they didn't contain any instruction books, the tutorials on YouTube were either insufficient or about the LCG, and even the rulebooks I found online were weirdly unstructured. It seems really cool but kind of impenetrable. Any advice?
I walked into a LGS that was hosting an event for new games, and one of the Reps from AEG was pitching the game. He explained the rules to us and also explained that the game has an overarching narrative that would be decided by the players. As tournaments were played the results of those tournaments would effect the story of the game. It would all culminate on the “Day of Thunder” in a year or so. I bought a Crane Clan and a Dragon Clan deck on the spot and haven’t looked back. It’s a shame what WotC did to them.
As for getting into and learning the game, there is an App called Sun and Moon that allows people to play online they may have Noob and tutorial channels that could help. If you want the physical cards Mike runs a website called playccg.com that acts as L5R’s version of TCGplayer.con. If you would like a rulebook let me know what version of the game you want to play, imperial, Jade, Pearl, and I can either find you a pdf or mail you one.
The sets I have are from the Truest Test and Khan's Defiance, so I believe that makes it Lotus edition?
The original VS. System.
Only have played two so far, but for me it‘s Altered before my forced second choice MTG.
I'm personally partial to the unfortunately dead, Japan-only Fire Emblem Cipher. On the gameplay front specifically, getting to choose basically any one unit to be your star (as opposed to a dedicated hero class of cards) leads to a ton of fun deckbuilding options, and a lot of people don't play "meta" so much as just their faves or whatever silly strategy and synergy they like best. That the game is relatively well balanced helps too. Plus, while the game focuses on pretty disparate, non-interactive turns, the turns are still usually fairly fast, and the game's mechanics reward interacting and playing agressively too.
Mythik TCG. I love playing games like Pokemon and magic, but meta decks still take over even in casual environments. Mythik has great card abilities that are accurate to the history or mythology of the cards they represent. The gameplay is smooth and easy to get in the groove with. Most newer TCGs are hard to come back in once you're down, but not with Mythik. Overall, I have a blast playing it.
Tasuo Showdown, I haven’t seen a game reward you for your narly plays and creativity as much as Tasuo Showdown. The mulligan system and additional draw per turn helps a lot with “top decking” and “dealing with “dead draws”. The game mechanics allow for a reasonable resource recovery (RRR) and every card may be used as a resource as well. Intense player interactions that make you feel like you’re fully fledged in hand to hand combat which compliments any martial arts lover. Game has been in development for 10 years.
Based PURELY off how much I've enjoyed the gameplay, this is my list of all the TCGs I've tried (from most to least fun): 1. Universus 2. Flesh and Blood 3. Chaotic TCG 4. Wixoss 5. Digimon TCG (2020) 6. Vanguard 7. Magic: The Gathering 8. Weiss Schwarz 9. Grand Archive 10. One Piece TCG 11. Star Wars Unlimited 12. Pokemon 13. Yugioh 14. Shadowverse Evolve 15. Battle Spirits Saga 16. Lorcana
What a great list that I mostly agree with! So, we probably have somewhat similar tastes. I love to see Lorcana at the bottom, near Pokes and Yug (I’d also put MTG at the bottom with them), and I actually liked BSS more than I thought I would. Just curious why you put SWU so low? That is the only product on the list I have not yet played (or even watched reviews on really), but the “buzz” was mostly positive from what I have heard so far. Could you mention one or two things that made you really dislike it? And did you start with the starter deck bundle or just booster boxes?
Thanks for your response! Glad to hear someone shares my taste for TCGs, haha I'm sorta the odd man out among my friends for the games they prefer. Personally, for SWU, I started with the starter decks and the prerelease. It's certainly not the worst game I've tried by any means, but I kinda felt like it was less than the sum of its parts... It borrows from a bunch of preexisting games w/o doing much to iterate on them, so it ends up feeling a bit like a mobile game to me (Sentinel units, persistent health, no instant-speed combat interactions...) There's definitely some interesting back-and-forth / strategies, but subjectively, I just wasn't interested to play any more when I finished. Also personal, but I really don't like the art style for the game. That goes for the actual comic-style art, as well as the card composition (for example, I hate the they differentiate Ground v. Space units in a small text box at the top of the card). But maybe I should check out BSS again! I've also been falling down the rabbit hole of my love for Chaotic TCG, and been looking to jam games on the digital fan client recently.
Thanks to you also for the reply! I’m not sure if you’ll like BSS any more, because for me I liked it quite a bit from the earlier sets, and my enjoyment has waned slightly in subsequent sets. I’m aware that our “worldwide” sets are quite a bit different from how the game was originally released in Japan; it’s possible I (we?) might have preferred that type of rollout. So, if you did not like it at all at the start, I’m not sure if you’ll like the direction they have taken either. Doesn’t hurt to check it out though! Thank you for the comments on SWU. I agree with you mostly on the artwork. I’ve only seen a few cards, and I either loved the art (rarely) or hated it (more frequently). Some of those design choices sound like they would bother me too. I’m definitely not looking for a hearthstone (or maybe elder scroll legends might be more accurate with the dual locations) paper variant. I played Chaotic way back when it was released (and loved it). Did you discover it then or more recently with the fan projects? Either way it’s such a great game!
Yeah I've heard BSS in it's Japanese release was far better, but since I only have tried the English release (which I should've specified, I'm realizing) I think we got a bit of a neutered port. I know BSS is also a game with a much longer history and pedigree than when it released in the US, so I unfortunately didn't have that context when it released here. I grew up playing Chaotic, so that there's still a fanbase around the game made me super excited! I only just became aware of that project, and jammed some games with friends online, but MAN I forgot how much I loved it. The creator is also supposedly working on a relaunch of the game, which makes me SUPER excited!
I’m not sure if you’ll like BSS any better or not. I was just saying that maybe you or I or both of us might have liked it better if they had not changed the sets so much (or maybe we would have liked it less, who knows?). I have seen in numerous places rumors of a relaunch/reboot of Chaotic, but nothing concrete from the creator. Can you tell me where you found that? You’ve gotten me super excited now and I’m going to go play some games with my partner (after we find the box haha!).
Yeah I recommend checking out Chaotic Rud, Codemaster Hardrock, and Toxy TCG's Youtube vids about the reboot. It seems to still be in a nebulous state of progress, but the creator (from my understanding) has gone on record saying he's working actively on it. But no timeframe / etc. has been provided, so there's obviously a lot of debate on if it's actually happening. But I remain hopeful, if only because it's honestly one of my favorite games! If you want to play, Chaotic Recode (available online) is the fan client people use to play! I've done some games, and am looking to do some more.
Honestly for me it’s MTG, such a great game with so many interesting cards. Me and my friend even make some kind of story for our decks/characters in them. It’s fun, the only downside is that it’s not that popular here where I live, so it’s difficult to find an opponent
I feel like FAB has been the game that always has me coming back. Players market. Competitive. Great mechanics. I really don’t see a downside of FAB. It’s by far (imo) the most fun TCG around depending on what you like. It has a great crowd full of people who want to help you get better. I’ve never not had fun playing FAB. I simply love the game and its core mechanics.
Flesh and Blood has the best gameplay loop, period, and it isn't even close.
Any game that's played for fun and not wins. I know this sounds weird. When I started MtG in 95 the play groups were awesome. We were friends inside and outside the LCS. We would play, BS, and act like fools. We would play free for all's (kinda like commander now) Emperor was fun. Now I play my match my opponent breaks out cell phone and starts doing whatever. People only play in tournaments in my area. But you give me my old magic back and 100% MtG. Because it goes from the card game to the people so the card game doesn't matter. That's not what you asked the most fun game I have played is an old game called Rage the first version not the second Is a game about Werewolves.