Are All These New Trading Card Games Doomed To Fail?

Justin analyzes whether or not the new boom in the trading card game is sustainable. From Disney's Lorcana to the One Piece TCG there's a lot of nuance in the future of the industry.

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[MonkeyFightTCG]

I hope all of y'all appreciate this different type of video. I would love to cover card games outside of yugioh at some point! Let me know if there's any games you'd love to see the channel cover in the future.

[TheoJay]

I'm here 1/29/2024. I came back to say you were right about MetaZoo. It's dead.

[reddytop]

Shadowverse evolve is actually pretty fun to play. I started playing when it released and have really come to enjoy it. Currently using a Havencraft and Spellcraft deck. I've recently made a completely neutral deck that I have yet to try against others.

[SapphicSara]

The market as it is now in the US at least can't handle this many TCGs. There simply isn't enough time in shops for these games to all get dedicated time in the space.

We would need an expansion equal to that of Japan where we start seeinf dedicated card shops popping up.

[benjaminsantiagosstuff]

Kinda sad about wizards mismanaging both DnD and Magic. They are both such great games. I think magic is actually in a really good place. The limited formats have been good, standard despite not being in stores feels really good to me, pioneer and modern feel pretty stable. The game is great and if they don’t treat them as money printing machines because of hasbro or whatever I think they’d actually be in a better place.

[windwakerrules]

I really hope Grand Archive succeeds would be fun for a kickstarter to do well. Also why is it that Bandai seems to be not as crappy as other media companies when it comes to releases, its like other companies try some gimmicky garbage that they sell to you where bandais like "you like the flashing lights of dbz and wargreymon, heres 50 some costing $10"

[frostdracony]

At first I didnt think much of BattleSpiritsSaga, because of, well, the monetization, but after seeing so many others hardcore fans of the franchise, I think it's worth taking the risk buying the cards. I just want every bandai product to do well, and battle spirits has the potential for it 🙂.

[ravenologies]

My biggest frustration with the One Piece TCG is the scarcitiy of products. I suppose it means it's incredibly popular, but new players can't get into the game if they can't get starter decks & packs.

[TheoJay]

I'm really glad I'm not the only one who sees through Metazoo. I live in a big city and not one of our game stores hosts events. Product just sits and rots on the shelves.

[AT-bhtd]

yeah sadly metazoo does NOT look fun or have cool enough art imo

[Kultactivities]

I don’t play lorcana but boy were you wrong lol. I’m definitely not a fan of anything Disney related, but as someone who does play TCG’s I obviously heard and seen lorcana. I haven’t really dived into that game and probably never will but I heard it’s pretty fun. It has a lot of major events so I think it’s here to stay honestly, people are liking it a lot.

[seanjordan]

Lorcana is going nuts. I actually enjoy playing the game. I even won the final First Chapter League 4 week round at my LGS. I have over 1, 000 first chapters cards and not enough Legendaries. I plan to pick up my Rise of the Floodborn pre-orders in 10-12 hours. I recommend Lorcana if you love Magic and Disney.

[KesslerVTuber]

There is one problem the one piece card game has right now in the English market. It is incredibly hard to find and overly expensive all because it has the one piece name on it. Bandai though is going to release a second wave of the starter deck and hopefully the first booster set too

[icholi]

1 year later, Meta Zoo is dead, the recreational cardgame bubble inflated by covid has finally popped and we see a wasteland of new aborted card games. You almost had it, but forgot your first premise. The more card games that enter the market the less market share they each can possess. Big 3 remain and YGO is looking to fall off anyway too because they can't attract new blood and konami are likely to shift to speed duels (abandoning the OCG and TCG altogether).
Its too niche and with less free time people are less willing to engage if they have the money or don't want to spend the money if they have the time. Magic and Pokemon will probably still survive because of IP recognition and speculative purchasing, but the road is paved with the bodies of the fallen.

[hanshartmann]

Thanks for the content. Besides of Rudy there is nobody covering strategic industry questions on this plattform, but he is focused to much on MTG for my taste. I like your broader approach much more. Also I would be very interested in more in deep economic and market analysis, but I guess it's hard to collect reliable global data.

[Mycatz]

Great video.
Would like to see an updated video of this and what your current opinion on lorcana and the Star Wars TCG.
I’ve been really enjoying Star Wars unlimited.

[xRising]

Imho, i have no idea why Bandai is pushing so much product onto the TCG market. The market is saturated and unsustainable for all card games. The big 3 will survive, but games with poor community support will die out within the next 2 years.

My predictions:
- BSS will become Bandai's main focus, since it is their own IP. The fact theyre willing to push money tourneys shows you how bad they want it to last.
- OP and Digi's fate will be dictated by the strength of their community. OP has a lot of fans but ive heard some fans are disgruntled over how the game is developed in relations to the source material, i.e. minor characters having major importance in the TCG and strange card design decisions regarding major characters. Also, product is an issue. Digi, while fun, is finally obtaining balance changes in areas that should have been immediate. It may be too little too late.
- DBS feels like its at its deathbed for IRL play. Ive heard its popular in the east coast but relatively dead in the west. That said, the digital game might breathe new life into it and turn IRL cards into collector's items.
- FAB seems to be doing well but ive heard it has a huge balancing problem. Where i live, its not a main game but there is a dedicated group that plays.
- Lorcana will fail as a tcg but will having staying power as a collector's item. After hearing its gameplay mechanics, it just sounds like a reskin of Keyforge.
- Idk what to think of Grand Archive TCG and Sorcery. Both are good games. Theyre both fun with interesting and unique mechanics. Idk if they're strong enough to establish staying power against the current market.
- Sol Forge. Good attempt but i dont know anyone around who plays it.

Overall, its a great time to be a fan of TCGs. There is a huge variety and accessible ways to play. However, the market is saturated and the economy is weak. Consumer will need to be convinced that a game is worth it based on gameplay, community, and resellability. If those three traits arent strong for a game, that game is guaranteed to be DoA and gone within 1-2 years.

[moxrelated]

The issue is the speculation bubble that has been growing since 2018.the moment a card in fab is 400 and every other card in the set is under 0.30 $ means the prices a inflated. Nothing against investors but you print cards to be played. Hoarding a product at the start of the run for a new tcg hurts the market and warps the prices

[tyrant]

Seeing the pile of L5R boxes triggered my nostalgia. Miss that game

[yoko_bby]

Idk if I can afford to play all these games. Vanguard is getting more expensive, friends play pokemon and magic. Can the average player juggle 4-5 card games at once?