Which TCG/CCG is the best?

[RangerWickett]

I played old school Battletech, Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Legend of the Five Rings, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Jan-Ken-Po, and Shadowfist.

Magic was the most fun.

I haven't played Warlords, though I've heard good things about it. The thing is, Magic has the most money backing it, so it's the prettiest game, the most well-researched and playtested game, and overall best-designed game. And by 'design,' I mean how well it does what it tries to do. And what Magic tries to do is to make a fun game of spell dueling that requires tactical gameplay, strategic deckbuilding, and a Poker-esque ability to read your opponent and anticipate his moves.

If you're asking what computer is the best, it's probably going to be the one with the most money put into R&D. Card games aren't much different.

 

[Romnipotent]

Shadowfist.

YEAH! Shaolin Monks for the gardening win!

and Lunch Money

 

[Zootcat@aol.com]

Thanks, guys, for all the input. You guys are great!

 

[Welverin]

The Middle Earth CCG by ICE was cool, but died many moons ago.

Lunch money, I don't recall if that is collectible or not, is another really fun on.

It is not, though there was an expansion and a Beer Money, which is stand alone, but compatible.

 

[Seonaid]

I personally like the 7th Sea CCG because of the combat system. I like Vampire (Jyhad) because of the idea behind it. Babylon 5 (again, it comes down to mechanics, many ways of winning). Rifts (don't remember it well, just remember liking it). Battletech (I always lost, but it was always fun).

There are others I've played (such as Pokemon and Deadlands--or whatever that Western one was called--Star Trek, Star Wars, that one that looks like anime, L5R...), but those are the ones I enjoyed (though possibly because of the people or the situation).

Magic, as it has been said, is probably the "best" (whatever that means). And I do like it.

Spellfire, while a very dear friend of mine, is a horrible, horrible game.

 

[Captain Tagon]

I'm going to put my vote for "best" in for Upper Deck's Versus System game. The game is based off of super heroes from both DC and Marvel lines and plays like a dream.

Not as quick to play as a round of Yu-Gi-Oh, but not nearly as complicated as getting into Magic these days can be.

 

[Geoff Watson]

YEAH! Shaolin Monks for the gardening win!

I agree with Shadowfist.

Now, I just need to find some local opponents.

Geoff.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

I personally like the 7th Sea CCG because of the combat system.

7th Seas CCG was a blast.

 

[Elric]

Legend of the Five Rings had the best flavor of any of the CCGs I played. I stopped playing a number of years ago (I stopped playing all of the card games on a regular basis and L5R isn't the same when you only play once a month or less). You can join clans, win swords at tournaments, influence the game's storyline, and enjoy the world of the game.

That said, the only game I still play at all is Magic. Magic has become very well designed in recent years but has none of the storyline aspects of L5R. That makes it a better game for an occasional player. I don’t know how good L5R is at this point, but if you live in an area with a sizeable L5R presence, you should definitely check it out.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

MTG has always been an overall fave of mine, but I have quit playing because of costs and the accumulation of idiotic (IMHO) card rulings. Still, its the first and the best.

That said, I agree that Shadowfist was excellent. BattleTech was cool, but I prefer the WizKidz minis game, despite its expense. Middle Earth was pretty cool, went out of print, anc came back virtually unchanged as LOTR- I think they even used some of the same cards. Illuminati was a RIOT! However, my favorite non-MTG CCG was Doom Trooper. Its been OOP for some time, but it was printed in such mass quantities that I can still find unopened boosters and decks in good stores.

While not TECHNICALLY CCGs, I also have to give a reccomendation to Nuclear War- a real classic, and this game I just found recently, Star Fleet Battle Force- OOP, but pretty damn fun!