The Neopets TCG in Modern Times

     But just because the cards are no longer being released doesn’t mean they can’t still be found by scouring the internet! One day after coming back to Neopets, I happened to come across my ancient Neopets cards, which I had collected when I was younger but had never played the game with. Feeling inspired, I decided to explore the various potential sources of TCG cards and purchase more.

     I play the Neopets TCG pretty regularly now, and I enjoy continuing to collect the cards and build new decks. While it is a little difficult to find some specific cards to buy, it is still possible to create a decent deck entirely from scratch based off of what is available on the internet today. The cards themselves might be dated, but the numerous items and Villains depicted therein remain relevant to Neopian culture. And since I found the original rules to be too simple, I’ve come up with alternative rules that I follow when playing with my friends. For these reasons, I encourage everyone to join me in promoting a Neopets TCG renaissance! Here are some of my tips for anyone wishing to start playing this fun, familiar card game - ten years after its publishing ceased.

     Buy cards from different expansion packs for your deck. While many grab bags available online feature mixed cards, it is ideal to purchase cards from the numerous expansion packs in order to have many cards to pick from. Otherwise, a pack of 100 random base set cards might contain 5 Stale Bread cards! Each expansion offered new and exciting characters and equipment to utilize. So unless you’re into having 7 of the same Petpet or book, which you definitely don’t need, look for a good variety of cards to build your decks with!

     Consider purchasing single cards. Once you’ve settled on a theme, or if you just really like a few particular cards, you can fill in gaps and make your deck more powerful with single cards. Available for purchase from a variety of sites, this option is pricier than simply buying grab bags of cards, but the price is well worth it when you know exactly what card you’re receiving and what that card does.

     Introduce friends to the game. This task serves not only to increase the number of people you can play against, but also the number of people you can trade cards with! The more cards you trade, the fewer you have to buy. Ideally, your friends will also introduce their friends to the wonders of the Neopets TCG.

     Be sure to edit your deck(s) often to make them the most competitive. Pay attention to what cards prove to be useful and which are a waste to have in a deck during each TCG game you play. After a game, you may want to switch out some cards for others. Constantly updating your deck keeps the game refreshing and interesting, and allows you to rotate cards into your deck that you might not have otherwise gotten to use.

     Switch up the rules for more fun! The default winning score is 21, but I usually play to 29 for a slightly longer game. Consider implementing such a change in your personal Neopets TCG rules. Another alteration to make would be to discard Neopets (and their equipment) which lose a contest on your opponent’s turn. When you reach the end of your Neopet stack, shuffle your Neopet cards and continue playing.

     For a fun personal challenge, build themed decks. The Neopets TCG has many cards which involve the use of other cards. For instance, when you bank a Beyond Neopia card, you may draw a card. Other cards, like the Blue Doglefox, give extra stat bonuses if attached to a Neopet or Hero with “blue” in their name. Be it colour, food, or faeries, building a deck centered around one theme is interesting to do and will also likely provide additional benefits to you than an unthemed deck. Below are a few themed deck ideas to get you started.

     Negg Deck: Even if you only use Negg cards from the base set to build this deck, there are ten different Neggs you could include. Some are better suited to be played during contests, while others are great for banking. The Brown Negg card gives an astonishing +8 to agility, for instance, though it is only worth 2 points. Several Negg cards, like Blue Negg and Yellow Negg, are worth extra points if you have at least four Neggs in your bank. Yet other Negg cards, like Cackling Negg, give additional stat bonuses based on the number of Neggs in your bank - its base bonus is +3 to agility, but it gives another +3 to agility for each Negg in your bank. Including a solid amount of Negg cards in a deck may prove helpful to quickly rack up points, but don’t neglect the number of equipment cards you have in your deck!

     Petpet Deck: Generally, Petpets are a cute equipment option which provides stat bonuses to most, if not all, skills. They can also be good for banking since most Petpet cards are worth 2 or 3 points. Additionally, many Petpet cards allow you to do additional actions. For example, Ona gives +3 to all stats when equipped, but if you play an item in a contest, its Neopet gets another +3 to all stats. Scamander only gives +1 to strength and agility and is only worth 1 point when banked, but when its Neopet wins a contest, you may bank a Petpet from your hand (in addition to the card you can bank for winning a contest). Besides stat bonuses and extra powers, some item cards exist which are useful when you have many Petpets. The Petpetnip item card doubles all Petpet stats for that contest. And Petpet Growth Syrup gives +5 to all stats, but can only be played in contests with Neopets that have Petpets attached.

     Paint Brush Deck: Usually, Paint Brush cards are worth two points, so a deck based around them isn’t the best for quickly accumulating points. However, upon banking, each Paint Brush allows you to make a special move, often centered on picking particular cards out of your deck. The Darigan Paint Brush and Lost Desert Paint Brush cards let you search through your deck to look for, respectively, a dark or fire Experienced Neopet, Hero, or Villain card, and put it in your hand. The four basic colour Paint Brush cards (blue, green, red, and yellow), all allow you to switch out a Basic Neopet in play with one from your Neopet stack. A Paint Brush-heavy deck might then be best paired with many Experienced Neopet, Hero, and Villain cards, as well as a well-varied set of Basic Neopets.