Topic: The General Trading Card Game (TCG) Topic

Hello, as the title would suggest, this is the place to talk about all things pertaining to TCGs, be it Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Magic: the Gathering, some obscure other game nobody but you has played, or anything else. What do you play? What have you played? Tell us about your collection and decks. Do you play competitively or just casually? What cards are you currently looking for, or what kind of deck are you working on now? Or do you just want to brag about your awesome win record? That's fine too!

As for me, I've hopped around a fair bit. I started collecting Pokemon cards, and I still do, from their release, but I didn't start playing till a few years ago, though before I started playing Pokemon, I played Yu-Gi-Oh! for a few years, though that was always casually. I stopped that to start actually playing Pokemon, and I played that mostly casually, though I did play some tournies here and there. Now, I recently got back into Magic, which I dabbled in a few years ago, but I've gotten full-blown into it recently, and for the first time, I have my good friends to play with, which is really nice. We play casually; we don't exactly have the cash to keep up with standard, but we have a ton of fun playing with each other.

In Magic I'm currently working on a Precursor Golem deck, which I could go into detail with if anyone cared to see it. I have no idea if it'll work, but I'm certainly hoping it will. My other decks are a mono-green stompy 100% Timmy deck, an annoying-as-heck-but-hardly-ever-wins mono-black deck I've named Hand the Ripper, which does exactly that: Eat's away at my opponent's hand and hurts him for it. I've got a terrible mono red Goblin deck, an alright Metalcraft deck, and more recently I inherited a Blue/White control deck that focuses on tapping my opponents stuff, but it still needs a ton of work. Oh, and I also have a pre-constructed Samurai deck from Kamigawa that I haven't done anything to.

I think that's enough about me for now. Go ahead: Tell us anything you want to regarding your TCG hobby (or addiction ).

Edit: Well, this was disappointing. I thought some people for sure would play some TCGs around here, but I guess not. Maybe most of you are too young?

Here's a giant post to make up for your lack of responses.

I play The Spoils and Wars. Spoils takes all the best aspects of games like Magic and tops it off with the best CCG artwork out there and a good sense of humor. There are also little-to-no super-powered-must-have rares. Wars I like because it is so different, almost like a board game in CCG format, and because it is dead and no one cares about it, so it was super cheap to get cards.

I've also recently gotten into FFG's LCG concept. Same concept as a CCG except the expansion packs have fixed distribution so at the expense of the draft format you can very easily get all the cards you want for your deck for much less cost. They currently have four games like this: Warhammer Invasion, Call of Cthulhu, Game of Thrones, and Lord of the Rings. I currently have cards for CoC and LotR, LotR being notable for being a fully cooperative game, a first for customizable card games, to my knowledge.

I have one Pokemon deck (dark/steel starter with Umbreon + some cards I traded for, but not much) that I got recently just to play with a highschool kid who comes to my library's board game night occasionally. I recently looked into the tournament scene out of curiosity and noticed that at least two of my old decks are basically banned, haha.

I don't like Magic much because of the Mana system. Spoils "fixed" it (for me) by giving the player two starting resources, the ability to play any card as a face-down (generic) resource, and the ability to pay four to play additional resources. Lots of control there. I also don't like the artwork much and find the bazillions of cards available too intimidating. But I like it well enough to play if someone has an extra deck.

In my time, I've also played Decipher's Young Jedi, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings, all of which I liked well enough. I wish their one and only current CCG, Fight Klub, didn't seem so incredibly boring.

I really like the customizable card game concept. I just wish it weren't so expensive to play multiple games. My policy right now is to only play one living random-pack card game at a time, and Spoils will probably be that game until the day they stop making it. Fixed distribution games are easier to justify, especially with the lack of a tournament scene here.

To answer some of your questions if I haven't already: I'm not a collector by any means, so there's no collection to speak of. If a card doesn't go in my decks, I trade it for something I can use. I play casually. The closest game shop that isn't totally Magic-oriented is an hour away, so that's a deterrent and a half right there, but I also prefer a casual environment where I can test out weird decks and actually have a shot at winning. I would describe some of my decks I use if there were anyone here who plays the same games.

I used to be pretty a pretty hardcore Magic: The Gathering player until sometime after high school when the cost of keeping a competitive deck was overshadowed by the need to eat. Every now and then I still bust the old cards out when I have friends over, but I usually just get my fix with Duel of the Planeswalkers on XBLA. I did play a few others several years ago but they must not have made an impression on me as I can't seem to recall their names.

I don't have any card decks (unless you count Top Trumps and a few similars ), but I take a great interest in the Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! card dueling collections.

However, I once found a stray Pokemon Jigglypuff card lying in the storage. My aunt has always been a huge Pokemon/Digimon (and the like) fan in her young days of the original. Maybe there's a whole Pokemon card deck she owned hidden somewhere about.

Still, I'd kill to buy a deck of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. I don't have any such store around me selling them though, and the online printables - er... I doubt it. Might get into character duel card collecting when I find a good outlet. I always did like Jaden's and Bastian's collections.

Truth be told, I only got into the card stuff about a year ago, what with watching multiple episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX on TV, lol. I've never seen/tried Magic: The Gathering, but it seems so very popular. I must check it out someday.

I don't know the first thing about Yu-Gi-Oh. I guess I should. I know it's popular because of the brand, but it wouldn't have stayed popular if the game itself weren't worthwhile on top of it.

I make my own card games using Microsoft Word. I've made transformers, SSBB, Castlevania and my first was Lego Bionicle.

I have some pretty kick Magic The Gathering decks

I have A LOT of Yu-gi-oh, Pokemon, and Digimon trading cards. The Yu-Gi-Oh cards are the only ones I would actually assemble a deck out of and use competitively. I just liked collecting the Pokemon and Digimon cards, because of the shows.(plus there was no one around me that knew how to play.)

Been playing Magic for 14 years now. Used to be competitive to, getting 8th for Regionals and 64th for Nationals back in '04 I think it was.
Got sick of all the Spike players that don't know the meaning of Magic, so nowadays the most competitive thing I do is play FNM every week. (Almost, saw Alice Cooper last night, so had to miss out on FNM ).
Currently running a throw-together Black Aggro deck, which makes it sound like garbage, but it's been placing in 1st or 2nd for about 3 months now. If you're looking for a cheap T2 that works, I'll gladly throw you a decklist. It's seriously just commons and uncommons (With the exception of two Liliana's). Deck's only worth $30, but it beats down the competition pretty good.
(Just noting, my area is very competitive as well, so it's not like I'm beating trashy decks )

lol whats the deck list bed commando? I want to pimp out my black deck. I do have demon of death's gate and a Grave titan in it and those are my best cards.

Yu-Gi-Uh was pretty fun because it was easy to play lol. I remember I found a random Kuriboh card in between a couple of cans at the super market.

I do pokemon cards and i have 3 main decks. One is Water/Fight combo deck, Grass/Normal and Fire/Dark. Then when i do Magic i have a Swamp/Water. And you guys know there were Magic cards before Magic:The Gathering. Fun Fact:the people who make Magic cards also Make the Pokemon cards.
.... Edit: Stu-pid-Oh! is Dumb.

WotC sold Pokemon a loooong time ago, actually. But they were indeed the first company to make them.

They still make the Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh CCGs? That's surprising.

End of the world is now commencing.

I used to make my own TCGs.

it was really fun.

Call of Cthulhu was the best TCG. I cried the day that went away.

I also played around with Lord of the Rings (not so good) and Magic the Gathering (really good). I still play some MtG Online, if anyone else here does.

If there are any Magic players who like Shards of Alara block and multicolour with wedge colours, then you'll likely enjoy this custom set as much as I do. I came across it recently, and it is awesome to the core!
_{I'd love to print some randomly-generated boosters for limited play sometime.}

Fantasy Flight's Cthulhu LCG is the same game, just different purchase model. I know some people even mix and match sets. I don't know if the card backs are the same, but you could always sleeve them. I've only recently started playing it, but I can see why you would cry. It's very colorful and has an interesting approach to conflict. I don't have a lot of cards, so I doubt either is competitive, but I've got a couple decks. One is Order of Silver Twilight, lots of discard effects for good synergy; only problem is in multiplayer games it can get milled out. Then I've got a Yog-Sothoth/Hastur deck with lots of terror and milling. Kind of sucks against another deck with terror though since you can't drive a card insane if it has terror.

Your parenthetical comments on the other games, are those saying how good you were or how good you thought the games were? Just curious. I don't remember enough about the old Lord of the Rings card game to say one way or the other, though I liked it at least enough to buy more than a starter. I remember it being weird. I wish they had done more like the Star Wars game where one player is the good side, the other evil. Having two fellowships was odd. The new LotR card game is easily better.

Yeah, I probably need to get into the LCG at some stage, but I'm a little time limited for card games these days. I remember when I heard the CCG was being discontinued I went out and bought every box of the things possible - not to much to play though. It was the art that really appealed to me.

I actually bought a book of the best Call of Cthulhu card game art. Great book.

As for the parenthesis - I was not a fan of Lord of the Rings at all. I like Magic, though.

BTW, do you have an email, Adam? It's dang hard keeping up with you on these forums.