Which TCG Should You Start?
A real, honest comparison of every trading card game ExBurst supports - deck rules, formats, and what makes each one different.
ExBurst is a neutral, multi-game platform that doesn't pick a favorite. Here's what each game actually offers, so you can pick the one that fits how you like to play.
Six of the eight games below are live and buyable right now; Cyberpunk TCG reaches full retail in November 2026, and Bandai's own Naruto Card Game isn't out until summer 2027. A starter deck runs from $11.99 (One Piece Card Game, Union Arena) up to $29.99 (Cyberpunk TCG), and the learning curve spreads just as wide. Players and reviewers consistently point to One Piece, Union Arena, Gundam, and Naruto Mythos TCG as the simplest to pick up, while Riftbound's battlefield-commitment reads and Cyberpunk TCG's dice-and-Eddie economy ask for more patience before they click. There's no universal best pick: it comes down to your budget, how much rules complexity you want on day one, and which universe you'd rather spend your evenings in.
What each game is about
- Gundam Card Game
Pilot mobile suits and clash for bases in Gundam Card Game.
Turns are simple on paper (untap, draw, add exactly one Resource), but combat rewards precision: your EX Base absorbs early hits before six face-down shields take over, and each shield pops from exactly one point of damage, no overkill, so a small well-timed attack matters as much as a big one. The real hook is Pilot/Unit Link: pairing a Pilot under a Unit boosts its stats and can create a Link Unit that attacks the turn it's deployed. Rarities run Common to Legend Rare, plus alt-art chase tiers up to LR++ (an alt-art Aerial Rebuild lists over $1,000). A starter deck is $15.99.
See all Gundam Card Game cards - Union Arena (English)
Union Arena in English, the global release.
A turn means benching cards face-down for AP, resting your energy line to fund Character deploys, then attacking; blocking is mandatory and Life cards flip with Triggers, so games play as an all-out slugfest where the losing player stays dangerous until the last hit. Rarities run Common to Union Rare plus Special, with parallel-foil tiers up to three stars; English sets ship hand-signed voice-actor cards too, and a serialized 1-of-100 parallel (a Yuji Itadori) has resold for $1,500 or more graded. Solo Leveling's "Shadow Army" and Kagurabachi are the decks to know right now.
See all Union Arena (English) cards - Union Arena
Bandai's anime crossover battler, Japanese edition.
Same ruleset as the English release above: AP-funded energy sequencing, mandatory blocks, Trigger-flipping Life cards. What's different here is the collecting culture: hand-signed voice-actor cards go for serious money (a Natsuki Hanae-signed Tanjiro Kamado has listed around ¥398,000, roughly $2,600), and being the JP original means first access to new titles and mechanics before they reach English. A Start Deck is ¥1,650.
See all Union Arena cards - One Piece TCG
Leaders, life and Don!!: the One Piece Card Game.
A turn runs Refresh, Draw, DON!! (attach for +1000 Power or hold DON active), Main, End, and the real skill test is Counter: it's the only moment you can boost a blocker, so players bluff by leaving DON open or read what an opponent plays to guess what they're missing. The meta is fast and aggressive (Trafalgar Law's deck gets called "relentlessly oppressive"). Rarities run Common to Secret Rare plus Manga Rare, the format's true chase card, styled like an Oda manga panel (a Manga Rare Luffy sold for $24,100 graded). A starter deck is $11.99.
See all One Piece TCG cards - Riftbound TCG
The League of Legends TCG: legends, runes and battlefields.
Each round: untap, score a point per Battlefield you hold, draw 2 Runes, then spend them to deploy units and fight for the map's three Battlefields, claiming one scores a point, holding it scores again next round. Reviewers call the commit-or-hold decisions "razor thin." Packs run Common through Epic with a foil slot and premium Alternate Art/Signature pulls; the current chase cards (Ahri, Kai'Sa, Jinx signatures) resell for $1,100 to $2,900. Champions to know right now: Irelia leads the meta, Ezreal is the late-game pick. A starter deck is $19.99.
See all Riftbound TCG cards - Cyberpunk TCG
Netrunners and chrome: the TCG set in Night City.
Each turn you sell a card for an Eddie, spend Eddies to play Units and Gear, then fight, and combat can straight-up steal an opponent's Gig dice; control 7 of them at the start of your turn and you win. Reception is mixed: some reviewers call dueling "heart-pounding," others found the early game slow while you're starved for Eddies. Rarities run Common to the alt-art-only Iconic Rare and the pack-excluded Nova Rare; Set 1 totals 140 unique cards plus 31 alt arts. RAM caps your deck's colors, Eddies are what you actually spend. No results yet, it isn't at retail until November 6, 2026.
See all Cyberpunk TCG cards - Naruto Mythos TCG
Shinobi duels from the village, Naruto Mythos TCG.
Rounds run 4 total, missions rank from D up to A for more points, and the signature move is Hidden Deployment: pay a flat 1 Chakra to place a character face-down, so your opponent can't tell a cheap filler from a real threat until it flips. That bluffing layer sits on top of the flat, round-reset Chakra budget (5, plus one per character in play). Rarities climb from Common through a numbered 22-karat-gold Legendary tier, plus event-exclusive Mythos cards; the set spans roughly 200 to 260 cards depending how variants are counted. It's live now in Europe, the UK, and MENA, expanding to North America this year.
See all Naruto Mythos TCG cards - Naruto TCG Bandai
The official Bandai Naruto Card Game: gear up for the 2027 set.
Still unreleased, so there's no hands-on account of how a match actually plays. What's confirmed is the shape: a Leader sets your win condition, Characters fight on the front line, EX Characters are stronger but gated, Chakra cards fund your plays, and a Summon card is required to deploy a Character at all. One detail from Bandai's own preview text hints at a Mythos-like bluff layer: Chakra cards turn face-down when spent. No rarity structure or pack odds have been announced. Revealed at Gen Con 2026, it's not launching until summer 2027.
See all Naruto TCG Bandai cards
How to actually choose
A few concrete angles to sort the eight by, instead of guessing.
- Budget
- $11.99 gets you into One Piece Card Game or Union Arena; Riftbound and Gundam sit around $16–20; Cyberpunk TCG's two starter decks are $29.99 each. Booster packs cluster tightly around $4.99–5 across every game except Union Arena Japan (¥385, roughly on par).
- Learning curve
- One Piece Card Game, Union Arena, Gundam, and Naruto Mythos TCG have the simplest core loops, playable within 10–60 minutes of opening the box. Riftbound's rules read fast too, but its battlefield-commitment decisions carry real depth, and Cyberpunk TCG's early game runs slower while you're starved for Eddies, so both reward a longer first session before they click.
- Availability today
- Six are on shelves now. Cyberpunk TCG's first set ships to retail November 6, 2026. Bandai's Naruto Card Game won't exist as a purchasable product until summer 2027. Everything about it beyond the rules preview is still unconfirmed.
- Competitive scene
- One Piece Card Game has the deepest, largest scene (regionals routinely top 1,000 players). Riftbound already runs cash-prize regionals ($25K) toward a first World Championship. Gundam and Naruto Mythos TCG have organized play, but it's newer and smaller. Bandai's Naruto Card Game has none yet.
- The world you want to play in
- One Piece, Union Arena's 30-plus-anime crossover, League of Legends (Riftbound), Cyberpunk 2077's Night City, Gundam's mecha universe, or Naruto (in two unrelated card games): start with the IP that'll make you want to open the next pack.
Deck rules at a glance
| Game | Deck size | Sideboard | Formats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gundam Card Game | 50 | Yes | 1 |
| Union Arena (English) | 50 | No | 1 |
| Union Arena | 50 | No | 1 |
| One Piece TCG | 50 | No | 1 |
| Riftbound TCG | 40 | Yes | 2 |
| Cyberpunk TCG | 50 | No | 1 |
| Naruto Mythos TCG | 50 | No | 1 |
| Naruto TCG Bandai | 40–50 | No | 1 |
Prices, release dates, and format details verified against official sources and trade press, August 2026.
