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Pokémon TCG Pocket took everybody by surprise when it was announced in early 2024. This mobile game promises to deliver a new and accessible experience to the Pokémon TCG, featuring new gameplay mechanics and new cards that appeal to players, collectors, and nostalgic Pokémon fans alike. But will it be able to do better than established TCG mobile apps, and more importantly, not reproduce their mistakes?
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links
Duel Links is a Yu-Gi-Oh! mobile app launched in 2016, later complemented by a Steam client. It uses real Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, including some from the anime that were never released before, but follows a unique release schedule that creates a new metagame, initially of a much slower pace than the traditional Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. In Duel Links, players immerse themselves in the world of the anime, personifying one of many anime characters.
The game features a new gameplay with 20 to 30 card decks, three Spell/Trap zones, three Monster zones, a reduced Extra Deck, and 4000 Life Points instead of the usual 8000. This makes Duel Links the most similar concept to TCG Pocket: based on an existing license, it uses familiar assets to offer a mobile experience with simplified gameplay and a custom format. Duel Links also has a competitive circuit with a world championship at its top.
Duel Links has a lot of things that made it a recipe for success : the biggest selling point is definitely the world built around anime themes. Playing as Yugi, Kaiba, Jaden, etc. while not new in Yu-Gi-Oh themed video games, has certainly never been done on this scale. The game features a plethora of characters from all anime arcs, each with their iconic decks and unique, character-specific skills that can be triggered during a duel : the nostalgia appeal has been spot on. Weekly events often aim to recreate certain scenes from the anime for extra immersion.
"Screw the rules, I have money"
However, Duel Links has drawbacks that we hope TCG Pocket will avoid. While the initial limited card pool enabled slower gameplay compared to the high-energy Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, the sustained release schedule eventually raised power creep levels, making it harder for newcomers to catch up. This is even more glaring of a flaw in Duel Links as the game is very expensive. Resources are costly, there’s no dusting or trading, and some packs are only purchasable with real money. Duel Links is the definition of pay-to-win. The free experience makes it difficult to catch up, and more importantly, it’s very grindy and repetitive with generally underwhelming quests.
Finally, the competitive environment is limited to a ranked system with no ladder and a quarterly 3-day streak grind with no respite. The game doesn’t include sideboarding or best-of-3 matches (only best of 1). It’s a rather shallow competitive experience.
Conclusion: While we hope TCG Pocket can build a world as immersive as Duel Links with an initially contained power level, we also wish it proposes a more diverse solo experience, better rewards and less entry barrier to play multiple decks.
Magic the Gathering : Arena
Magic the Gathering Arena, referred as MTG Arena, was launched in 2018 on multiple platforms, including mobile, Steam, Epic, its own executable, etc. While Magic the Gathering already had an online client (MTG Online), it’s a very antiquated one that would be unfit for mobile play and modern standards. MTG Arena offers a more elaborate platform with a sleek interface and special animations for cards. Initially starting with releases from the Ixalan set and following the Standard release schedule, it progressively started to include special and older releases, creating new formats including one where real cards are modified to either nerf or buff them.
Magic Arena, while not including all of the vast card pool of Magic the Gathering, offers a wide diversity of formats to play. Following the notorious competitive landscape of MTG, Arena offers various ways to qualify for prestigious events (including the sought-after Pro Tour in real life) and to earn money, thanks to the ladder and regular events.
MTG Arena draws its strength from the established strength of MTG: various casual and competitive formats, a competitive circuit, and a better immersion into the fantasy world. The main draw is to train for real-life MTG, but it offers enough events to stand strong by itself. The game also has multiple customization options (alternative art, extra effects, new avatars) to appeal to each player’s tastes.
Dueling interface of MTG Arena
Unfortunately, the monetization of the game is rather bad, and playing multiple decks in multiple formats is very difficult in general. There’s no dusting (a shallow vault system replaces it), no trading, and the wild cards are very expensive. You’re generally forced to play formats to afford others (Limited for Standard, Standard for Historic). While it fits the original format design philosophy of MTG, the biggest gripe is spending a lot of money for cards you can’t trade, unlike in real life where they keep at least some value, sometimes actually rising as time goes on. Also, the daily quests are long for a complex and strategic game such as MTG (15 games to win daily to get full value).
Conclusion: MTG Arena is first and foremost meant to emulate the real-life MTG experience, something TCG Pocket doesn’t aim to do. We hope Pocket will offer multiple formats, both casual and competitive, to diversify the gaming experience and bring more challenges. We certainly hope it’ll be much more accessible than MTG Arena in the long run, something that the “free 2 packs per day” can help to achieve.
Pokemon TCG Live
Pokémon TCG Live, the current software for playing Pokémon TCG on mobile and desktop, was launched in June 2023, replacing Pokémon TCG Online. Starting with the Scarlet & Violet cards, it aims to replicate the current state of the TCG by offering the same cards available in the physical game. The game features both a “serious” mode and a “casual” mode, allowing players to duel each other in different settings.
A big draw to TCG Live is its very affordable economic model: the starter decks are already competitive, and upgrading them is possible with the base resources provided. Players can earn more resources by participating in the “competitive” PvP mode and completing daily quests. The rewards system is generous, making this a very accessible platform for new players.
It’s sadly all there is to it. While the deck-building interface is decent, the rest of the software leaves much to be desired. The avatars are cheesy, the playing ground design is bizarre, and the soundtrack is almost non-existent. The game delivers a disappointing experience for a Pokémon title, and the surprise announcement of TCG Pocket, while TCG Live remains barely acknowledged by officials, could indicate that The Pokémon Company is aware of these shortcomings.
No solo mode, no ladder, no competitive circuit… The software is useful for testing a current deck in the metagame, but fails to offer depth beyond this. Competitive play is largely driven by community events on websites like Limitless, rather than by the officials (no world championship). On the casual side, the software doesn’t provide a convincing enough experience, with some players voicing regret over the more immersive TCG Online. Additionally, the game is plagued with regular bugs.
Conclusion: The complexity of the TCG on a mobile interface, combined with flaws in general design, makes it challenging for TCG Live to find its footing despite its generous card-sourcing policies for newcomers. We hope the more mobile-friendly TCG Pocket will maintain this accessibility while also delivering engaging solo and competitive options. Robust technical performances and a visually appealing user interface will be crucial for its success.
Vox populi, vox dei
When comparing the ratings of these applications on the Play Store, it's evident that Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Links and Magic: The Gathering Arena have met players' expectations more successfully than Pokémon TCG Live. One key takeaway from analyzing the reviews is that developers should always respect the original material. Many negative reviews for Pokémon TCG Live stem from its perceived regression from Pokémon TCG Online, the software people used to play Pokémon TCG before Live took over in 2023. The loss of features such as trading, AI battles, and progression were not adequately compensated by the new additions. Worse still, the avatars, interface, frequent bugs, and poor mobile optimization further deterred users.
Meanwhile, Duel Links capitalized on Yu-Gi-Oh's rich anime legacy to create an environment appealing to casual players. MTG Arena, while seemingly less successful, caters to a complex game with high player expectations. The final product met these expectations by offering multiple formats that players can play casually or competitively, a rich card pool, and a fantasy-inspired setting for both casual and competitive play.
Pokémon TCG Pocket must consider what draws players to the Pokémon TCG and meet these high standards, while also appealing to general Pokémon fans by delivering an engaging and fun environment. A promising first step has been the commitment to allowing players to open two booster packs daily for free and the reuse of iconic artworks. Hopefully, more thoughtful features will be implemented for a successfull collecting and gaming experience.