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Updated: April 3, 2024.

The requirements for a game to make this list are as follows.

The games are separated into 3 categories: Major, Alternative, and Rare titles, roughly based on their relevance and order by initial US release.

Major titles

Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering is the oldest trading card game.

Pokémon Trading Card Game

The Pokémon Trading Card Game is the first Japanese-designed TCG to be released. The game premiered in Japan in 1996 and has enjoyed a constant high level of popularity since.

I think Pokémon is one of those TCGs that is so ubiquitous that many people come recognize and collect them for various reasons, but it is true that the majority that do don't know how to play the game or are otherwise uninterested. Many that do play TCGs have said that Pokémon is one of those games that is too simple to hold their interest. Frankly I do think one of the issues with Pokémon is that it's not very interesting to discuss. That said, Pokémon is still one of the most played TCGs and thus very likely to have a locals scene. Premier events also draws a huge crowd lately.

The game is played in several constructed formats, but the main premier format is Standard, which bases legality on "regulation marks" which are indicated on the bottom right corner of the card. On April 5, 2024, cards with an E regulation mark were removed from the format, while cards with F, G, and H regulation marks remain legal.

Expanded is an alternative constructed format that begins with the Black & White series that has limited support.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game

Flesh and Blood

Digimon Card Game

One Piece Card Game

Disney Lorcana

Alternative titles

UniVersus

UniVersus is the longest continuously printed TCG in the United States aside from Magic: The Gathering, but despite this it's a somewhat niche game. Originally named Universal Fighting System, the premise of the game is that it translates the mechanics of traditional 2D fighting games into a customizable tabletop game.

Unlike most TCGs, UniVersus does not have a creature card type equivalent. A deck is constructed around a Character card, which represents the player and determines your health and hand size. The rest of your deck consists of cards that support the Character and enable you to deal attacks to your opponent. Cards are played by comparing the...............

In addition, UniVersus is shared trading card game system for various licensed media franchises. One could probably surmise that from UniVersus's previous name. Originally, the game mainly licensed fighting game IPs such as Street Fighter, Soulcalibur, and Darkstalkers true to the game's theming, but lately there has been a pivot towards anime IP with an especially strong reliance of My Hero Academia.

The game is played in several constructed formats, but the main premier format is Standard, which bases legality on the year the cards are released in. On January 1, 2024, cards released in 2021 were removed from the format, while cards released in 2022, 2023, and 2024 remain legal.

Cardfight!! Vanguard

Weiß Schwarz

Force of Will

Force of Will is a game that used to enjoy a high level of popularity during the time of its original release and when it was initially released, it enjoyed some popularity as one of most popular alternative TCGs. At the time, the game drew attention for being a Magic: The Gathering clone but with an anime set dressing. But times have been rather brutal for this game. The game was originally released in Japan, but was discontinued in 2019 due to management reshuffling (and presumably poor sales).

Interestingly, since January 2024, Force of Will is doing activities in Japan again. This includes an appearance from Daiko Printing (the parent company of Eye Spy) at Card Game Festival 2024 hosted by Bushiroad, as well as a collaboration promotional cards with Cardfight!! Vanguard.

Good luck finding a locals scene for this title, although they do exist. The game certainly has a dedicated community of die-hard fans. The game also runs a major tournament every year, strangely enough usually in Osaka.

Fascinatingly

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game

The Final Fantasy Trading Card Game is a TCG based on the popular Final Fantasy video game series. The game was originally released in Japan in 2011 and referred to as the Chapter series, but was remade and released worldwide with the same name as part of the Opus series. While the rules are similar to the original, the two game systems are incompatible, strangely enough! It's kind of like what happened to Final Fantasy XIV.

Despite the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game being based the massively successful video game series, the TCG is rather niche. Even in Japan, the game is considered a minor TCG and it may be difficult to find shops that support the title. One of the biggest criticisms of the game is the lack of original artwork. Nearly all of the game's card illustrations are sourced from various video games, artbooks, and even in-game screenshots.

I think this game has some sort of cult following (similar to Force of Will), and it's held in high regard amongst TCG players for its game system. Despite this, the community behind the game is quite small and it may be hard to find a local scene that supports this title.

It is remarkable as being one of the only Japanese TCGs that successfully implemented global simultaneous product releases. This would only be recently replicated with Dragon Ball Super Card Game Fusion World in 2024 and Digimon Card Game in 2025.

Dragon Ball Super Card Game Masters

I hear that Dragon Ball Super Card Game Masters is based on a Japanese TCG called IC Carddass Dragon Ball. After the game flopped in Japan, the game was reworked and sold in the United States as Dragon Ball Super Card Game. Despite it being a Japanese game, it is not sold in Japan at all! Sounds kind of like Force of Will...

In 2023 though, it was decided the game would basically be rebooted, and Masters is appended to this game's name. The new game is Dragon Ball Super Card Game Fusion World. While the rules are similar to the original, the two game systems are incompatible.

WIXOSS

While in Japan, there are many bishoujo TCGs. Here in the United States, WIXOSS is pretty much the only option. I guess it depends on how you view it. This is a title that pretty much only features beautiful anime girls and it even has a few anime series.

The game is not especially popular so it may be difficult to find a local scene, but it does exist. The game has ran two major tournaments.

Battle Spirits Saga™ Bandai Namco Pictures

Battle Spirits Saga

Grand Archive

Shadowverse: Evolve

Shadowverse: Evolve is a game that unsurprisingly plays similarly to Hearthstone.

Alpha Clash

Sorcery: Contested Realm

Dragon Ball Super Card Game Fusion World

Star Wars: Unlimited

Star Wars: Unlimited is the latest attempt at a TCG by Fantasy Flight Games. Actually, Star Wars.

Rare titles

Gate Ruler

Gate Ruler is the only indie TCG making it out of Japan. It's remarkable the game managed to release in the United States at all. That said, the game has virtually no hobby channel support and the number of locals that has a semblance of a scene is probably in the single digits. Organized play theoretically exists, but major tournaments are online-only and open to all players.

The latest expansion released is Shout with the Geas, released on 2023-02-10. A few months ago, due to production issue the company could not justify releasing the latest preconstructed decks and had to release the cards as "print-and-play".

Notably, the creator, Yoshimasa Ikeda was previously the creator of Future Card Buddyfight (the setting, not game design) as well as the founder of Card Kingdom, a Japanese card shop chain. For various reasons, Ikeda is considered kind of a joke in the Japanese TCG community though (unironically comparable to Tommy Tallarico), and partially contributes to this game's poor reputation in the country.

As a result, the game is infamous in the Japanese TCG community and few people are willing to touch it. Due to the language barrier, in the United States, Ikeda's incidents are largely undocumented and ignored.

Akora

Akora is a Kickstarter project that raised £197,241 from 433 backers. I would say this game competes with Grand Archive (to be discussed later) as a "western-designed anime-style" TCG, but it's pretty clear which game has the upper hand...

Kryptik

This game is probably in its last legs.

Notable upcoming titles

Altered

Union Arena

In a rather unfathomable business move, Bandai is releasing yet another TCG. This time, they are attempting to cut a piece in what they call the "common rules" TCG space. These are games that is not an original work and the setting is based on the licenses of various titles, which are released as individual booster sets and preconstructed decks. Each title could be treated as a standalone TCG, but they ultimately share the same game system of Union Arena.

The other current TCGs operating under this system are UniVersus and Weiß Schwarz, and they could be seen as direct competitors.

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