Magic: The Gathering The best of them all. Magic: the Gathering is the all mighty Card Father. Without this game being created, most or even all of these games on the this list would not have ever been created. Magic is the first and greatest of them all. The game has a balanced amount of complexity and simplicity, as well as worlds to explore and a huge story. The cards can be used in the craziest ways and far too many different deck builds to even list. This game covers and references many more things than most people realize. For example, Theros is a Greek-themed world, while Throne of Eldraine is European fairy tales, and Innistrad is Castlevania and Twilight rolled into one. It even has joke cards, which all other card games don't (unless you count Cards Against Humanity). This game has something for everyone, believe it or not. Magic no doubt.

Those other games are for kids. If you think you're smart and want to push your brain to its limit, then magic is where it's at. It's a game with infinite possibilities only limited to how far you can stretch your brain. Wanna beat your opponent with standard knights or soldiers? How about mob them with a horde of zombies? You can make a powerful fairy/unicorn deck if you wanted! Or destroy them with plagues and diseases! I've seen a weather deck! The possibilities are literally endless depending on your mind. But if you're not too bright and need to fall back on the "randomness factor" to win, then go play Yu-Gi-Oh or Pokemon with the kids.

Magic is a game that's easy to play, takes a lifetime to master, and is addictive as hell! They don't call it cardboard crack for nothing. As a matter of fact where are my cards? Magic: The Gathering is the original and best.



For starters, its 5 color mana system is simply brilliant (and brilliantly simple). It balances all the components of the game, it creates clearly defined early/mid/late game stages, and unites the flavor and meaning of different cards created decades apart.



In addition, the development process of the game is just awe-inspiring. Every few months a new set is released, and every set tells a story. Wizards of the Coast, the company behind Magic, manages to make every last set release exciting. It doesn't matter if you play Standard or Modern or Commander or rules-free casual-- every last set will have something new for you.



There are a few caveats. Becoming a skilled Magic player is challenging, and is quite the pricey habit. But once you get past the initial learning stages, you will be rewarded hundreds of times over. The community is established, the creators are ingenious, and the possibilities are endless. Not much competition. Magic: The Gathering is 100% the best trading card game and here is why:



1. Better Artwork

2. More Strategy/Thinking

3. More Formats for a variety of players

4. Magic: The Gathering Arena. Magic Arena is an online version of Magic with great visuals and programming. This is great for new players and players who don't want to spend money on the game and still want to enjoy it. Magic Arena will also force other players to not be able to cheat during the game.

5. In-Depth story. The story for Magic is great compared to any other trading card game. Every card in every set has something to do with the story of the game whether it is a key event or a creature that exists in the plane(Not the flying kind)

6. Card Types. In Magic, the number of different cards may be confusing for new players but offers a variety of different play styles and unique decks.



These are just a few examples I can think of from the top of my head, I'm sure there are ...more

Yu-Gi-Oh! Really, yugioh should dominate. I have magic and yugioh. I've been playing both for years and yugioh is a lot more fun. Magic is too complicated and it can be hard to create a new deck. Yugioh is not that complicated and is a lot easier to create a deck with. You don't need mana and all that stuff. Also, yugioh has stragetgy but magic is just working with what you have. Yugioh can play cards face down to keep your opponent guessing but magic just has monster to attack. Magic also has flying O. Creatures which is way overpowered. Yugioh has cards which can always be beatable. Yugioh also takes longer to play which is good cause you can enjoy the experience longer. For another reason magic has like 9 different types of ways to play with different rules. Yugioh has one good way to play which is not confusing. You sound like you've never really played magic much. Or you are just terrible at it since you're complaining about flying creatures. It's far more than just creatures attacking creatures. Try playing it and try building a decent deck. Flying is far from your biggest worries. You gi oh is the best card game by far. It is so fun to play their is a great community and I have fun playing it with all my friends I like Yugioh, and I personally believe it's better than other games, because of its complexity, where you can create very interesting decks with very cool combinations. Yugioh is a much more expansive game, with a lot more room to be innovative. Magic The Gathering and Cardfight Vanguard are too linear, and don't allow for nearly enough creativity or interesting games. One possible issue with this game is that it may be too complicated for a child to understand, but in that case all they have to do is keep practicing the game on a yugioh simulator until they understand all of the mechanics of the game. Overall Yugioh is a lot of fun, simply because you can be extremely creative with your decks. The one card game that keeps "dying" yet always seems to be relavent. Let's not forget how Pokemon's kid friendly animal trainer, and Magic's high fantasy settings greatly restrict what types of creatures and art can even make the final cut, whereas Yu-gi-oh has some of the most unique card arts and archetypes in any TCG. Every tcg has artifacts, creatures, spells, trainers, draw power, dragons etc... How many of them have archetypes based around batteries? The Modern smartphone and household appliances? Athletes and formula one racers? Stuffed Animals? Yu-gi-oh has you covered beyond the realms of warriors and wizards and catch 'em all.

Pokémon TCG Honestly, the best card game out there. In comparison to Yugioh, Pokemon appeals to anyone regardless on how old they R. In tournaments, they have Juniors, Seniors and Masters so if you are 14 years old, you wouldn't have to worry about going against a 22 year old. This is also good because it puts people with the same caliber together so it isn't too unfair. Also, anyone can qualify to the world championships, unlike Yugioh which you must qualify from nationals. Pokemon is a really strategic and fun game and the community is much more friendly than Yugioh. I play Pokemon and Yugioh and while I still enjoy Yugioh a lot, I prefer playing Pokemon much more, especially as I have qualified for the World Championships 2013 in Vancouver, Canada. Pokemon is more natural and honest the novelty has not worn off for a very long time now. As a card game it is way more inviting than perhaps Magic the Gathering which never would expect. It is the least 'Dark' franchise and also the more enjoyable. Without casting a spider web, Pokemon can actually make a person happy or smile. The best game should be the one that is most prefer personally. Although ace games as Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic the Gathering are professional it is easier to grab a Pokemon round of cards and play without needing to second guess. It appears to be the brighter of the series as well and has now 5 evolution in record of the Pokemon saga of gamer and trainers which is greater in value than other trading card games being brought to light. When it comes to 'just for fun', yeah it is Pokemon. Pokemon the name is 'Got to Catch Them All' the reason is the favorite select chosen Pocket Monster can be against a vastly distinct number of foes. Meanwhile the Pokemon can evolve itself too so more forms of the same enjoyable creatures can be given to the user for satisfaction. The Items and Clothing evolve as well, despite being an evolution problem this series is fun and never ceases to amaze. So although the others might be not in the favor list there is a newer better evolve version to captivate the attention in a good way. If that holds true the Poke-Masters can enjoy at leisure victories against all sorts of diverse beings in the same built world of Pokemon. So the changes are important but not always needed to do well with the user's Pokemon of lower level for instance. Different levels of play change the game as well, and although strange sometimes not evolve creatures under control might win against different strong or larger adversaries simply since are not in the same ...more Easy game to pick up, yet has room for tons of strategy. Also, the online game is just fantastic, so if you're looking for an online card game, whilst waiting for Hex/Hearthstone, I definitely recommend it to put your feet in it before going out and buying cards. Like many said, it's appealing because it's Pokemon, everyone knows it and tons of people love it. Wish I'd gotten into the actual card game earlier when I was a kid, but with the online game and growing popularity in my town, I'm just happy to be a part of it.

Cardfight!! Vanguard In my opinion, this game is one of the most unique card games to be made. So many card games focus on similar rules and strategies that I have a hard time enjoying a particular one. The game is also flexible, leaving room for change and for interesting surprises. I like the idea of clans and their different lore, I enjoy the names and feeling of the game. I always find myself hungry for more. Though this game is awesome, I wish that Bushiroad would improve their competitive system. They should take a look at how yu-gi-oh and pokemon. My idea is that they should give, at max, 20 points at a shop challenge with a goal of 140 for an invite to worlds. Regionals could offer more points and have money prizes. I'm sure competitors wouldn't mind paying for entry to regionals. Yu-gi-oh invites the top 8/16/32 to worlds depending on the number of competitors. Either way, it would intrigue more people to play, I know about 20 people who would quit other tcgs to play Bushiroad games if this happened. The game is very fun and requires strategy and does not require luck and it is very well balanced and easy to get the gang of it. As for Yu-Gi-Oh it can get complicated and at times the rules and the cards contradict one-another. And when I play this with friends and other we sometimes get into arguments over the card effect because they are not specific or clear, I have also seen that happen to others. But in Cardfight Vanguard the cards are clear and balanced in Yu-Gi-Oh it is not balanced and at times not that fun since you can get into the arguments because of the cards clarity. In conclusion Cardfight Vanguard is better because of its mechanics and previously mentioned elements. Well, just as it is written above, the cardfight vanguard game is one of the best. Yes it didn't start well but after it came in tcg things are steadily changing. Yugioh was the boss as always( still has the Guinness record. But think of this: with the newest formats always depending on 2 maybe 3 decks that will be banned in one or two lists, all decks made a form of income and so on, the game has lost its value. Players out there search for something fun easy, with no rules (chains, priorities, sp summon chainability etc) cheap( most vanguard cards are cheap with the most expensive being at 30 $), and also new, fresh you could say. All that is the summary of vanguard. The rules are easy, the game is fun, the whole thing has some rules taken from yugioh, others from magic others from many games, but it only took the best aspects of those games leaving out all the imperfections. Number 10 might seem fine right now but with the coming of this game in all the world l think we will ...more

Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's Ahh, Yu Gi oh brings so many memory's! It is one of those game that appear out of nowhere! This game is highly recommended and one of the best tcg games! It is more fun when it's for duel It has cooler cards more stronger monsters (except for exodia, the god cards, etc). I like the all the syncro summoning and its goes a little more differently, in a good way Best card game simple rules, few requirements, great idea, and cool cards, gave me a way to gain more friends.



Thanks yugioh! The newest yu-gi-oh, you know the one that makes no sense to the old school players

Duel Masters I want to get one thing out of the way. The art is frankly amazing. It was one of the factors that got me interested in this game so much. The rules are very easy to learn, and you can use a whole lot of creativity with the decks compared to other TCG's and the every duel is exciting. In Japan this game is still very, very popular and the game has advanced to a whole new level with many new card types, abilities and of course the beautiful art. I also love the fact that the game depends on skill and strategy rather than luck and some card you drew by chance. I really, really hope this game comes back to the rest of the world with the new concepts and abilities. It would be awesome! It is one of the card games that you want to stick to after gripping the game just once or twice only... No doubt yugioh is one of the best ones out there but it is a bit complicated sometimes, for an instance a 12 or 13 yr old can't use the intricate twists of the game as compared to older players, where as duel masters lies in plain sight with simple and straight forward tricks and twists that one can mold into complicated turns in the game making the game more appealing compered to yugioh for all ages. Sadly the English version of the game died too young compared to the Japanese counter-part, but no worries they still gave us hope giving Kaijudo a new shot in place of the parent game... so lets hope for the best... I love magic but hate how standard always pushes cards out which are less than a year old. I started with duel masters and kinda started making it popular at my school for most of 2012 but honestly it's downfall was its own fault, it's kinda sad. Now in japan the artstyle is so over hyped and flashy it makes my eyes roll to the back of my head. Magic is amazing but in the end it's basically a cash cow I do play magic but only casually with duel decks or if my friends happen to have a spare deck. Duel masters will always have a special place in my mind! As a matter of verity, I wasn't expecting this truely beatiful game to take the 9th position simply for some reasons; First of all, I played Yu Gi, Vanguard, and I know a lot about MTG and Pokemon, but believe me, Duel Masters requires more strategy and intelligence to master it, really though. You'd need like 1/2 years experience to consider yourself finally a "Good DM player". With a large card pool as well as efficient card combination, Duel Master pretty much encourage the player to be creative (for E. X: in Vanguard all decks are the same; decks are lost of your own touch) and enthusiastic and careful during deck building, since card choice represents the key to build a strong deck. As for gameplay, learning it wouldn't take a lot of time as it's pretty simple. And again, another advantage; most trading card games depend on luck whereas in DM, if you depend on it, you pretty consider yourself lost, as in; if winning the game depends on one card then your opponent will work to ...more

Hearthstone Great card game for those wanting a first experience to strategic card games or veterans looking to destroy. 889 cards are in the game, with another 45 officially coming out in about 3 or 4 weeks. The virtual aspect brings many cool animations and sound effects, playing on many different boards with many different heroes and many different mechanics. What hearthstone offers that no other card game can is the RNG, where sometimes probability can decide a critical moment in the game. Honestly in its glory years this could be number 1 Any day But with the toxic devs a OP card wont just get nerfed, but will be completely unusable Got a request? Well they OBVIOUSLY don't need to read them as they used to nail Warcraft. Also its fine having to battle modes one friendlier for new players so they don't need to have all the old cards but At NO point do they encourage wild, Sorry old players tough luck. Also old players who spent a lot of money on the expansions Well, guess what, those can be crafted rendering everything but the levals [which have no replay value] USELESS. Hearthstone is much awesome. I think that later a new game called hex might be better than it but for now it is a fun and simple time waster and is one of the best card games out there. The only thing I could criticize is it's long term appeal but they're adding some new game modes and cards too. Hear this.MTG and yu gi oh may have some history to say but I bet they doesn't stand a chance with hearthstone.Yes I do agree that hearthstone took ideas from those games but their has been no card games that was able to draw huge attention all over the world unlike pokemon card games who's popularity is restricted and this game is the one of the top among esports games.Blizzard gives great maintenance to the game and it's free to play and you could really get cards without paying.I am a legendary rank player and I have proven it.So great gaming guys!

Star Wars The Decipher version should absolutely be top 10, and is #1 in my book. I tried numerous other games after Decipher lost the license to Wizards of the Coast (whose version was far inferior), and nothing compared in terms of mechanics and the "free-world" feel, although from what I've read, Legend of the Five Rings might be a contender. Great Games, particularly deciphers version. This was one of the great card games of all time and if decipher had been able to continue with the license from lucas arts it would be one of the best out there today. No doubt a complex game but the feel of star wars and depth of play is off the charts. Best game ever! Too bad the license didn't continue. Complex, but amazing!

World Of Warcraft TCG Unfortunately it has stopped manufacturing.

Otherwise one of the better TCG to learn and get hooked, yet complex enough to be enjoyable for veterans. Captures the fantasy of the MMO well and extremely flavorful with deck building and strategies.

Raid decks also provide a commander-like experience that is challenging and fun for group play in parties. Legendary Game. Instead of dying it gave it's position to Hearthstone. And Hearthstone currently holds the number 1 position of digital card games and one of the top five positions of online games. Hearthstone has a great future but also a legendary ancestor. It offers a gameplay that is very similar to Magic, but with its own changes.

It's easier to learn, gives you boss fights and the types of cards are fun.

The combat system is also entertaining. The raid decks was really what made this TCG stand out - three players against a very powerful deck (either operated by a player or automated) made this a co-op experience like no other.

Lord of The Rings TCG 10 Besides being a lot of fun it requires a lot of thinking. Try playing for a hour without making any mistakes. Really good gameplay mechanics and really fun to play with friends It is my favorite tcg and I'm sad it got discontinued Amazing game, requires lots of thinking.

The Contenders

Chaotic 11 Chaotic is easily called the best. They got everything: Creatures, Battlegear, Mugic, Locations, and attacks. They have a T.V. show, online game, trading card game, Video Game, and even drinks! No other TCG did all that not even Pokemon, magic or yugioh. Their Card art is made a lot by Khary Randolph and if you look at Chaotic Cards, you can see all the good art. Magic is just mana and using att/definitely to attack while Chaotic you got energy, stats. elements, and ability all per creature. Mugic (spells) are not like yugioh but they actually have affect paying costs which is strategy. There are millions of combos but ONLY CHAOTIC has battlegear, Location cards which alters affects, ATTACK DECK and you can reshuffle so you don't just lose like Magic, and the Creature cards have so much different abilities which makes you think twice before playing. Chaotic is definitely the best and if you're reading this, go on Google, look at the cards and you can easily see. It is an innovation for trading card games because it can be played not only in reality but also online. It was released publicly as a trading card game online and a television show but with unfortunately squashed to death by more popular trading card games such as Magic the gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Pokémon. It had a very short lifespan, although there have been rumors that it will start up again in the year 2013 or 2014. I believe that on YouTube there was a video called Chaotic roomers and it was about 4kids saying that they would release it again in Japan. I hate that this game isn't around anymore. It was made for today's mobile market. Heck, the show was basically showing us what we would have today if it hadn't been for the greed of 4Kids. It would have been Pokemon GO long before Pokemon GO. Go out into the world, scanning monsters, battlegear, mugic, and attacks with your phone, then using those scans against other players either from the app or with the online game. But now we'll never have it and it sucks. It was always a balanced game. Nothing was definitely overpowered. You could have some of the best meta decks face each other and you would never know which one would win or lose. Anything that was too powerful would be balanced by the next set and even the oldest cards were playable competitively.

Digimon 12 Good game, great card artwork, talking about the HC Serie. Others series like Alpha and fusion are way below. They have more childish artwork, Fusion ressemble more to Transformers to digimon Simple, tactical, works with the theme of Digimon and is overall a joy to play. Also, the artwork is great. Digimon is more card like instead of building ships which can be confusing Digimon is much less complicated than ships.

Naruto 13 Great mechanics and a great set of art. Promos were full art and the impressive detail put into the cards deserve a spot onto this list. Although it's the hardest game out there, This game is great! People just voted for the love of naruto, I am guilty too I like the show Naruto I watched all epsode

Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V 14 This is yugioh with a little difference Newest yugioh on psp It's a new awesome gerneration of yu gi oh and I have watched a lot of arc v episodes and its good so put this your stuff down and start playing

Harry Potter Trading Card Game 15 The Harry Potter Trading Card Game, (colloquially "HPTCG") is a strategy and collectible card game based in the magical world of the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling. Created by Wizards of the Coast in August 2001, the game was designed to compete with the Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering card games. It was released to coincide with the release of the first film in the series. The game was praised for the way it immersed people in the Harry Potter universe. At one point the game was the second best selling toy in the United States. I am so sad they discontinued it... :( I almost want to design cards based on the last 5 books and print them out to play with my dad as we did years ago.

Sword Girls 16 I like SG easy to learn you could craft your own cards very friendly people and also good art. My favorite, the art is attractive, the amount of card content is vast and it doesn't make you feel like you have to stick to any specific style or faction, the only downfall is it consume a lot of time to progress

17 Topps Attax

Digimon Fusion 18 Love this card game! One of the best out there! They made a smart decision on making their own play styles and ideas for this game, unlike their previous versions which copied much of the ideas from other card games. Too bad Bandai chose to back the Power Rangers card game instead, this game was selling out everywhere within days of being stocked. Could have put Bandai back up there in popularity. Much better art than the original digimon and you can see some packs in target, proving it is becoming popular.

Bakugan 19 It is so entertaining and some of the designs for the Bakugan are spectacular. What other game can incorporate this many different types of creatures all into a ball shape. Even though I am still a gigantic fan of Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon, I feel like Bakugan deserves more appreciation. It had an excellent television run and the TCG was played a lot during it's time on air. This game is so simple, and all the bakugan have unique features, making it a very fun game to play. I mean Magic and Yu Gi Oh are fun indeed, but this game is just both reduced to simplicity.



Also, there are constantly many bakugan with high power G's that you can find them almost anywhere. Bakugan is not only a fun game, but one of only three that I can think of off the top of my head that is played the same way in real life as it is in the anime. Nobody understands the strategy within this game, I'm 35 with no mental issues whatsoever and I still play this with my dad!

Walking Dead 20 Stupidest game out there zombies seriously people! These cards are great Its great fun

Future Card Buddyfight 21 This new card game by bushiroad (the creators of weiss schwarz and cardfight vanguard) is a new breath of fresh air for the tcg scene all new mechanics that are super solid and just looks fun! This card game comes out at the end of January and the anime comes out January 3! So close I can almost feel it taking my money from my wallet! But for real try this new card game out and the most cool thing is the Japanese and us are getting everything the card game introduces at the same time so no waiting like other card games. I could talk about this card game all day so just see for yourself and I bet you wont regret it! After years of playing pokemon, magic and yugi I felt lime I need a change. Buddyfight offers a simple to learn, hard to master aproach in a very low budget game -you can build a solid deck with 100$-. Its rules are simple and clear amd very easy to pick up. But for me as a card player what exites me more is that with the proper twinking almost every deck can be competitive and every single world between the 12 available offers a unique playstyle that covers all taste. No more ban lists, no more 1000$ decks that after 1 season are banned and useless. Buddyfight its all about fun and creativity and I reccomend it to anyone who lpves tcgs It is the best game in the whole universe based on your skills which makes it the better than other cheap card games. LETS BUDDYFIGHT! This game only started in January and it's already released tons of great content. Buddyfight is an amazing game by Bushiroad and it's quickly become my favorite card game

VS System Marvel 22 This was a great cardgame and I miss playing it.

I started off with only one deck/team (Arkham Inmates), but new characters and mechanics made me buy a whole lot more. The rules of the game were complex and made different kind of tactics possible. I'm still looking for a ccg that can replace it. FANTASTIC GAME! Terrible shame that it stopped being sold at stores, although you can still get new sets via the on-line community...

23 Topps 2013 Football Cards

Dragon Ball Z 24 This game recently got a reboot and I have to say its amazing. Panini bought the rights and they streamlined the game a ton making it way better. The original dbz ccg was great but once we got to like buu saga on it got ridiculous. Especially gt. Free style decks and sensei decks and all this crap that this wonderful card game did not need. granted it was great with all that stuff, the game is now easy to pick up so much fun and streamline Ignore the license and this game has one of the best card game engines created. Its from a time when every game wasn't trying to just be Magic 2.0. If you've only recently come into playing card games, or have never ventured far from Magic land, give this game a chance to see how fun Card Games can be. Variety is the area this game excels in. The variety in win conditions masteries and personalities make it to where there are no two decks exactly alike. I must admit, these cards are AWESOME! They are really fun and I love trading them.