MTG vs Pokémon – which TCG is better?

Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon are two of the biggest trading card games in the world, both a part of “the big three” alongside Yu-Gi-Oh! Both Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon share a bit of similarities (and both have been handled by Wizards Of The Coast), but there are key differences that make each game stand out on its own. The enjoyment of the TCGs varies depending on what you are looking for, and this guide will go over the games and how they function and compare against each other. Magic: The Gathering vs Pokemon is a common comparison, and if either of the games has interested you, this guide will help you see which one is a better fit for you. We might also suggest you read up on how Pokemon TCG compares against the Yu Gi Oh trading card game.

Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering is the most varied trading card game, with an emphasis on colors. Each card had a color (including colorless) and each color has things it can and can’t do. As such, there are trade-offs for using one color that might be good at something such as blue’s ability to counter spells at the cost of lower creature presence. While there are no limits to the colors you can use, the more colors you include in your deck the harder it is to consistently cast spells as you need to produce mana of specific colors to play them all. 

One big positive to Magic: The Gathering is that there are a ton of different formats that are actively supported you can play. If you don’t enjoy one format, there is likely another one you will like too. Each format has its own rules and legal cards, making them easy to differentiate and enjoy different aspects of Magic. The most popular is Commander, which is a multiplayer format, something many other card games lack. 

Games of Magic: The Gathering are very back and fourth. Due to the mana system, it’s very rare for decks to get out of hand early in the game, and require a few turns before things start to stabilize. There is about every style of TCG available, with meta aggro, control, tempo, and combo decks all being present in almost every Magic format. 

Spells that can be cast on either turn add a layer of strategy to the game, making playing spells intricate and tempo a major part of a game of Magic. The interactions that each player is constantly having with their opponents’ are the game’s biggest draws mechanically. 

✓ Johnny’s Annotation:

The Reserved List:

While in most formats it is easy to get any card you need, Magic does have the Reserved List, which are cards that will never be reprinted. For the most part, these are only legal in the highest-power formats that let every card ever released by played, so unless you are playing those formats you do not need to worry about them. But if you are interested, be prepared to reach deep into your wallet. 

Pokemon

Pokemon, like Magic, utilizes a resource system. Though instead of mana use Energy cards. Energy cards can only be played once a turn, but some cards let you put multiple Energy cards on a Pokemon. In Pokemon, you can only have one active Pokemon and up to five Pokemon on your bench, but if you ever run out of Pokemon there you lose the game. 

To win a game of Pokemon, you have to draw all of your prize cards, which is done by knocking out your opponent’s Pokemon. Alternatively, if your opponent can’t draw a card because there are no more in their deck they will lose the game. 

One thing about Pokemon is there is no interactions during your opponent’s turn. You can only play cards during your own turn, so everything you do you don’t have to worry about getting interrupted. Pokemon is more focused on playing your own deck as opposed to answering your opponent’s. There are few cards that can interact with Pokemon on the bench, but for the most part, you can only attack your opponent’s active Pokemon, so cards that force Pokemon to switch places are key cards of the meta and one of the few ways to directly interact with your opponent. 

Deck in Pokemon are often built around a small handful of Pokemon. There tend to be one or two “main” Pokemon the deck is built around, with a few utility Pokemon you use for their abilities. With how easy it is to dig through decks in Pokemon, they can get away with deep focus on a few specific Pokemon. 

Which One Is Better? MTG or Pokemon TCG

Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering are similar in that they are built around a resource system that prevents players from going too aggressive so no one gets to play (barring some very rare combo decks). 

If you enjoy the ability to build around your favourite card, Pokemon is a bit more appealing as Magic decks are built around a more generic strategy rather than a specific creature. Pokemon decks are heavily focused on one or two Pokemon whereas Magic just doesn’t have this going for it. However, if you want to be interacting with what your opponent is doing, Pokemon is going to be more frustrating to you as you are helpless to stop whatever your opponent does on their turn. 

For Magic: The Gathering, there is a lot more variance. If you love constant back and fourths between you and your opponent, you’ll have fun in the game. You’ll also be able to enjoy multiple formats, and while Pokemon has a few, most of them aren’t supported or actively played whereas Magic has professional-level events for varying formats as well as casual play. You may not enjoy Magic if you want to know how games are going to go. With how many decks are in Magic, Pokemon decks are much more streamlined so if you want a simpler game then Pokemon is going to be better for you. 

Both Magic (Magic: Arena and Magic: Online) and Pokemon (Pokemon TCG Live, soon Pokemon TCG Pocket) have official online simulators, so you can test the waters out before you commit to buying into either of the games to see which one is right for you.