What is the best trading card game of all time?

Cardboard that people build decks, tournaments and collections around. From the game that invented the format to the ones that took it worldwide.

1
Pokemon Trading Card Game
Launched in 1996 and still the best-selling collectible card game; its 30th Celebration set arrives worldwide on 16 September 2026.
2
Magic: The Gathering
Richard Garfield's 1993 game that invented the collectible card game as a format.
3
Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game
The 1999 Konami game built out of a manga about a card game.
4
Hearthstone
Blizzard's 2014 digital-only card game set in the Warcraft universe.
5
Disney Lorcana
Ravensburger's 2023 Disney-licensed game that sold out on launch week.
6
One Piece Card Game
Bandai's 2022 game that became the fastest-growing new card game in years.
7
Flesh and Blood
A 2019 tabletop-first game designed around single-player combat and no digital client.
8
Digimon Card Game
Bandai's 2020 relaunch of the Digimon card line with a memory-gauge system.
9
Marvel Snap
The 2022 digital card game built around 6-turn matches and location effects.
10
Netrunner
Richard Garfield's 1996 asymmetric hacking card game, still played in a community-run form.
11
Cardfight!! Vanguard
Bushiroad's 2011 game with no resource cost system, big in Japan and Southeast Asia.
12
Star Wars: Unlimited
Fantasy Flight's 2024 Star Wars card game with a two-resource system.
13
Weiss Schwarz
Bushiroad's 2007 crossover game that mixes anime franchises in one deck.
14
KeyForge
The 2018 game where every deck is unique and cannot be built or traded into.

Comments 1

Magic: The Gathering shipped in 1993, three years earlier, and every mechanic the category takes for granted came out of Richard Garfield's design: https://youpick.best/articles/pokemon-ranked-many-ways