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My Opinion on Major Card Games

11.04.02  Hey all! I haven’t written in awhile, so I decided to write up an article. There will be no reader’s response section this time, simply because it’s been so long since I last wrote. There might not be one again either… unless I get lots of email again =).

Now most of you probably know my opinions on lots of games. I love to play Magic. I think it’s actually becoming my favorite game to play. Yu-Gi-Oh… well I’ve voiced my opinion on that quite a bit haven’t I?

Anyway, here’s my basic rating system. I will rate each game by it’s gameplay, tournament structure, and popularity. At the end of this article, I’ll give my final rankings.


The TCG’s

DragonBallZ (The late-bloomer)

When DBZ first came out, it looked like a REALLY random game. In fact, very few people played it… and it looked like it would die. But something happened. It DIDN’T. In fact, it became a mainstay in TCG society.
Gameplay wise, it’s kinda complicated. But the whole idea of energy levels, physical attacks, energy attacks, and other cards is great. I think that this is one of the better games gameplay wise, simply because it’s ORIGINAL compared to the other games.
Tournament Structure I would’ve said was weak about 6 months ago. But obviously I’ve been proven wrong… just a couple months ago, the DBZ World Championships gave away FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS to first place! That’s better prize structure than even Pokemon! Great prizes. Sounds like a good structure to me… but the absence of qualifiers and the like lower my rating.
At first, it really wasn’t that popular. But more and more, late bloomers have entered the card game! Back when Pokemon was at it’s peak, there were few DBZ players in my area. But now… when I go to magic tourneys, there are tons of them! Tons! Surprisingly, this game didn’t start off with it’s run, but seems to be finishing with it! X_X. It’s popularity rating is waaaaaay up from what it use to be.
Oh, and I better talk about the show, right? Man, it is AWESOME! I’m being serious here. Staring down for 20 minutes is like, the best!  And 5 minutes in DBZ time take 7 episodes… lol. Actually, I think it’s a great anime.

Gameplay Rating: 7.5/10
Tournament Structure: 4/10
Popularity: 6/10

Yu-Gi-Oh (The current fad)

I’ll admit I’m surprised at how popular it HAS gotten. I didn’t honestly expect it. It just seemed to be … a fad. Well, whether or not it remains popular, which I seriously doubt, I have to at least give it credit for the run it HAS made.
Ok. I really don’t like the gameplay, and that’s the main reason I have not gotten into it. It doesn’t seem like they put a whole lot of time into thinking the mechanics. Already there is like one deck you can play, and playing a different deck almost guarantees losses. Did that happen with Pokemon too? Yeah, it did. So maybe Yugi has hope after all.
Tournament Structure… WHAT tournament structure? Yeah, I guess it is too early here too. But the sanctioning system is at least a plus. So maybe if Yu-Gi-Oh gets a tournament system (major tournaments, qualifiers, etc.) it can be successful? I don’t know. But it does have potential.
Popularity is through the roof. In fact, I rate it second only being beat by Magic. I’ll explain… but truthfully, the big issue that turns me off about the game is this: They claim it’s for a more mature audience than Pokemon. Now remember, I am an avid Pokemon player. I’m almost 15 years old. I see Yu-Gi-Oh players that are mostly (although there are exceptions) UNDER 13. How can they say Pokemon is less mature? LOL, I get emails from kids that are like, 9, telling me it’s for more mature people. I just don’t get it. =\
Hmm. The show is really weird… but it’s not horrible either. But the idea of playing a card game to save the world… is REALLY weird.

Gameplay Rating: 3/10 (Harsh, I know, but remember: It’s just my opinion)
Tournament Structure: 3.5/10
Popularity: 8.5/10

Pokemon (The dying game)

Yeah guys, it is indeed dying. At least, it seems. Then again, it has been dying for like, 2 years now hasn’t it? Well… there is more reason now to justify this.
What are you guys doing during the off-season? Playtesting MMF? I haven’t seen a whole lot of it. Playing in your league? That’s cool. Prepping for tournaments? (Uh, RaNd0m, WHAT tournaments?) Ohhhhhh… I see. There aren’t any. Yeah, that’s the problem. Wanna know what I’ve been doing while I’ve been slightly idle from Pokemon? Playing Magic. Prepping for the JSS… getting ready for the Chicago PT Qualifier coming up.
We now know that the GC’s and SC’s will not start until next year. Wanna know what that means? TONS of you 14 year olds are disappointed. You’ll turn 15, and odds are if you aren’t rich, you won’t be playing in any major tourneys anymore. It’s a shame, really.
The gameplay is excellent. In fact, it has one of the best, if not THE best, gameplay mechanics in the TCG world. Hey, you think a TCG becomes really popular if the game is dumb? I think NOT.
The tournament structure is very good, although really bad for the 15+ crowd. However, compared to other games, it isn’t bad. I could go into another speech about how the 15+ deserves more, etc., but I think you guys know my opinion already on that. It’s frustrating. =\
Ok, in the TCG world, this is one of the more popular games. MOST of the non-Magic: The Gathering players have at one time played Pokemon. It’s true. In fact, Pokemon was single-handedly responsible for bringing TONS into the TCG World. So it’s popularity has decreased like wildfire in the past two years, but it still gets a high rating simply because of what it has done for the TCG world.

Gameplay Rating: 9/10 (It would’ve gotten 10, but flips sorta made the game a bit chancy. JUST a bit =)
Tournament Structure: 7.5/10
Popularity: 7/10

Magic: The Gathering (The best game. Period.)

Yeah guys, you should try this game. The more and more I play it, the more and more I’ve come to love it. The mechanics are great, and the fact that it IS newbie friendly makes it THE BEST game in the TCG world.
If you’ve played it, you know why the mechanics are great. No flips, just skill. Deckmaking skill. Sure, there is luck of the draw, but that’s in every card game. The game is one of the best to play casually. And it is THE best to play competitively.
LOOK at the tournament structure. It’s insane! They have like, 6 or 7 chains of tournaments running in a certain year! Chains of MAJOR tournaments! And the prizes, oh my goodness, 30,000 dollars? Insane! Simply insane! And the ages…? There are tournaments for all ages. ALL ages. You could be 13… and you can play competitively. That’s what the JSS is for. Heck, you could even try for Pro Tour. =) AND you can be 16, 17, whatever, and have a hell of a lot of fun.
Popularity wise, I think this hits the bud. Many will disagree, but Magic DOES sell the most. And I think it is the most popular TCG ever. And it will always BE the most popular TCG ever.

Gameplay Rating: 10/10
Tournament Structure: 10/10
Popularity: 10/10

(Is that possible? I just rated… Magic… 10/10… on everything! And I’m not kidding you either. If you haven’t played this game, you ought to check it out.)

Sailor Moon (What ever happened?)

I tried this game once. My sister loves it. And there still are a lot of people who like(d) it. Anyways… the game has ultimately died. No longer played.
Gameplay, it was interesting. I think it was moderately good. There were some flaws, but overall it wasn’t bad.
Tournament Structure… lol. Um, Sailor Moon never really escaped it’s Casual nature. In fact, …lol. I’ve never heard of a Sailor Moon Tournament. =)
Popularity never hit an extreme. But it was a pretty solid game at a time.

Gameplay: 4.5/10
Tournament Structure: 1/10
Popularity: 4.5/10

Lord of the Rings: (The next big game?)

Yeah, this one’s becoming popular, slowly but surely. I predict this to be the next huge game to rival big bad WotC. Yu-Gi-Oh will be short-lived, and this game will rise to the tops.
Why? Well simple. It can be played by anyone. The only other game that even shows this kind of ability is Magic. Adults who enjoy Tolkien will enjoy this. KIDS will enjoy this. TEENS will enjoy this. Everyone’s satisfied. And they don’t have a big bad TPC to give them problems either. =)
Gameplay seems to be very interesting. I haven’t actually played a whole lot yet, but I think it’s very good gameplay, at least at a basic level.
Tournament Structure actually exists for it. Decipher, the company who makes LotR, actually has a few world tournaments. Once it improves to a local level tournament system, it’ll soar.
Popularity is on the rise. This will be high simply because it is a great series. The books are great (if you can get around the detail -_-) and the movie was definitely cool. Look for more on LotR.

Gameplay: 7/10
Tournament Structure: 6.5/10
Popularity: 7/10

Harry Potter (The disappointment)

Truthfully, I expected a bit more out of the game. The game did NOT satisfy the hype at all. In my opinion, it wasn’t made too well.
Gameplay seems alright. But the discarding off the deck idea didn’t really work for many of the people who wanted to play this game. It isn’t as satisfying to whisk away someones deck… you wanna beat them up =D
Tournament structure has yet to show up in a big way. I think there was some HP stuff at Gen-Con though.
Popularity was HUGE at first… then died down. Again, I think it was disappointing to many.

Gameplay: 5/10
Tournament Structure: 4/10
Popularity: 6.5/10


RaNd0m’s Final Ratings On the Major TCG’s

Top TCG Overall
1.) Magic: The Gathering
2.) Pokemon
3.) Yu-Gi-Oh
4.) Lord of the Rings
5.) Harry Potter
6.) DBZ
7.) Sailor Moon
(MLB Showdown would probably go at 7, and SM at 8, but I didn’t research it, so I didn’t review it.)

Top Gameplay Overall
1.) Magic: The Gathering
2.) Pokemon
3.) DBZ
4.) Lord of the Rings
5.) Harry Potter
6.) Sailor Moon
7.) Yu-Gi-Oh (Ouch)

Top Tournament Structure Overall
1.) Magic: The Gathering
2.) Pokemon
3.) Lord of the Rings
4.) DBZ
5.) Yu-Gi-Oh
6.) Harry Potter
7.) Sailor Moon

Top Popularity Overall
1.) Magic: The Gathering
2.) Yu-Gi-Oh
3.) Pokemon
4.) DBZ
5.) Lord of the Rings
6.) Harry Potter
7.) Sailor Moon

Those are the major card games. These were just my opinions. I might’ve missed one or two of your favorites, and if I did, I’m sorry >_<. In fact, I can already think of a few I did miss.
The TCG world is a huge place. HUGE. There are tons of options for a card game lover to choose. So pick what best suits you. Don’t pick one just because everyone else is, but pick a game that you like because your friends can do it with you, or because you simply LOVE it.
There are many of us who simply fell in love with Pokemon. And we hate to see it die. That is why the 15+ revolts happen. That is why we “bicker” and “whine”. Not only because we want equality with the 14-, but because we don’t want to see the game die. Which it will at this rate.
And don’t forget, we are consumers. WotC probably knows that. We don’t have to stay because we have a loyalty to the game… and the reason most of us are left is because of that loyalty. But we don’t HAVE to buy packs. We don’t HAVE to do any of that. Just like they don’t HAVE to give us trips, gameplay, etc. So we’ll see. But I’m really worried that the game only has a few months left before it’s gone. And that’d be a huge shame. Because Pokemon is one of the best games. Ever.
By the way, I am in no way encouraging a boycott against Wizards. That’s not what I’m saying. This has nothing to do with companies at all. Wizards IS a great company. They’ve revolutionized the TCG world. I just wish they would give Pokemon a bit more respect as a MAJOR card game than they are giving it.
Anyway, I’m playing Magic.  If I was boycotting Wizards, it’d be counterproductive to play their other game.

~ RaNd0m
rand0m_For_life@hotmail.com
Pojo Featured Writer

AIM: JonSchweppe