Neopets are magically appearing on cards that you can collect and play with. You’ll also discover all sorts of Petpets, Potions, Neggs, Books, Faerie tokens, Weapons, and Food from all over Neopia. Visit the NeoDeck Cards page on Neopets. (You must view this page in English so we can properly process it.) Right click on the page and select 'View Page Source.' In the coding that pops up, press CTRL + A on your keyboard to select all of the text, and then CTRL + C to copy it.
| Designer(s) | Mike Elliott |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Wizards of the Coast |
| Players | 2 |
| Playing time | Approx 20 min |
| Random chance | Some |
| Skill(s) required | Card playing Arithmetic Basic Reading Ability |
The 'Neopets TCG' is a collectible card game and a spin-off of the popular virtual pet website, Neopets. Launched in 2003, this game is produced by Wizards of the Coast, a large trading card company that produces a variety of other trading card games. Neopets is aimed at a slightly younger audience than other Wizards of the Coast offerings such as Magic: The Gathering.[1] As with many other trading card games, there are two purposes of the trading cards; the first to collect the cards, and the second to play a devised game using the cards.
The card game was discontinued in 2006.
Gameplay overview[edit]
Neopets TCG is a two-player game, where each player has a play deck of at least 40 cards and a separate deck of at least 10 Basic Neopets. Most deck-building articles suggest a limit of 2-3 species for the Basic Neopets, along with a minimum of 20 Item and/or Equipment cards (essentially half of the deck).[citation needed] Each card may have only 3 copies included. Players start with a single Neopet on the first turn, moving up to three by the third turn. These Neopets compete against opposing Neopets in four different arenas: Strength, Agility, Intelligence, and Magic. Winning a competition during a player's own turn allows the player to bank or draw a card; banking enough cards of sufficient value eventually leads to victory.
Types of cards[edit]
The various Neopets cards are divided into categories that affect gameplay in different ways. The different card types are as follows:
- Basic Neopet
- Experienced Neopet
- Item
- Equipment
- Hero
- Villain
- Something Has Happened!
- Location
- Fate (Curse and Quest)
- Constellation
Basic Neopet (Yellow)[edit]
The Basic Neopet cards are the foundation of the game, and are based upon fictional Neopets taken from the Neopets website, including the species and color of the Neopet. The cards list four abilities or attributes, which are: strength, agility, intelligence, and magic. Each of these is given a value, with a higher number denoting a greater power or skill in a given category. Basic Neopets never have a printed score higher than 10, or lower than 1.
Experienced Neopet (Grey)[edit]
The Experienced Neopet is much like an evolved Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. An Experienced Neopet has higher attributes, and often has helpful side effects that influence various part of the game. The Experienced Neopet cards consist of a Neopet species, and an adjective describing that Neopet's advanced occupation, e.g. Jubjub Engineer. However, only Neopets of the matching base species can transform into the Experienced Neopet role, so, for example, only a Jubjub could turn into a Jubjub Engineer, while a Mynci could not.
Item & Equipment (Red and Blue)[edit]
Item and Equipment cards both increase a Neopet's abilities, by adding points onto the printed base number in one or more categories, and frequently have certain side effects that affect gameplay. Whereas Items can only be used once before being discarded, Equipment is attached to the Neopet and remains there until it is removed by another card. The advantage to Items is that they can be sprung upon an opponent unexpectedly.
Item and Equipment cards are also the only cards worth points, ranging from 0 to 8. A player needs to 'bank' 21 points worth of Items and Equipment cards to win the game.
Hero & Villain (White and Black)[edit]
Villain cards and Hero cards both have extremely high ability numbers, and are designed to oppose one another. If a villain is played, the arena in which the villain is located is effectively sealed off until the villain is confronted and beaten, until which point the players cannot start contests against their opponent in that arena, only the villain. A Hero card can be used to fight a difficult battle (often against a villain), but can be used only once before being discarded.
Something Has Happened! (Purple)[edit]
Something Has Happened! cards usually cause a one-time, instantaneous event or effect to occur. These cards often are used to influence the outcome of a battle, and are then discarded. Because one can discover that 'Something has Happened!' at virtually any time, such cards can introduce a heavy element of surprise.
Location (Green)[edit]
Location cards can be played in one area to affect all future battles taking place there (until they get replaced by another Location). The Location can give an advantage to a certain kind of Neopet, or can cause some side effect to any battles occurring there. Location cards are typically based upon fantasy locations on the Neopets website.
Fate (orange)[edit]
Fate cards are divided into two sub-categories: Curse and Quest. Curses are usually placed on a Neopet belonging to the opponent, and have a negative or detrimental effect on that Neopet. Because Curse cards typically remain in play, they can cripple a given Neopet's ability to perform effectively. Quest cards affect all parts of the game, and are (usually) neutral.
Constellation[edit]
Constellation cards represent constellations in the sky which impact play in some way. For example, a given Constellation might confer an additional power to the Neopets in play, or otherwise might change the game in some fashion. Wizards of the Coast has not given any official ruling as to the rules regarding constellations, but popular rule sets online (most notably in player-created 'guilds' on the Neopets website) considered them similar to Magic's enchantments.
Expansions[edit]
The Neopets Trading Card Game has seen a series of expansions, with each release including new cards and in many cases, new categories of cards. Only three Neopets species did not make it into the TCG, as produced by Wizards of the Coast: Gnorbu, Ogrin, and Xweetok. Checklists can be accessed if players have a Neopets user account.
Base set[edit]
The first Neopets card set was simply an introductory 234-card set, with no prevailing theme whatsoever. This set introduced the card types Basic Neopet, Experienced Neopet, Hero, Villain, Item, Equipment, and 'Something Has Happened!'. The Basic Neopet types that were introduced were Aishas, Korbats, Myncis, Scorchios, Shoyrus, Kacheeks, Acaras, Lupes, Wockies, Poogles, Eyries, and Grarrls.
Battle For Meridell[edit]
This expansion's release was coordinated with an online plot/war, which was set in the virtual feudal-themed land of Meridell. Thus, the 140 cards in this set were designed with a Middle Ages-like style. This expansion introduced ten new species of Neopets, (Basic Type: Blumaroo, Draik, Gelert, Ixi, Meerca, Quiggle, Skeith, Uni, Usul, and Zafara) in addition to the Location card type.
The Return of Sloth[edit]
Intending to be tied into an online plot, this set was released in 2004 & the online tie-in was delayed until early 2008 due to workload.[2] This set totaled 100 cards. This expansion's theme was space, providing players with futuristic and robotic items and equipment. Six new Neopet species made their debut in this expansion (Basic Type: Cybunny, Grundo, Jetsam, Jubjub, and Kougra).
Mystery Island[edit]
Based upon a tropical island locale, this 100-card expansion provided no new card types, but did introduce four new Neopet species, including the Pteri and Techo (other Basic Type: Krawk and Peophin). The related plot was the Secret of the Volcano mystery plot in Fall 2003, but the plot and the expansion were not released together.
Hannah and the Ice Caves[edit]
Revolving around a central popular game character known as Hannah the Usul, a substantial plot was released on the Neopets website along with this 150-card set; it was also the first set to have 'secret' cards (5 Jelly cards 151/150-Jelly Poogle, 152/150-Jelly Shoyru, 153/150-Jelly World, 154/150-Jelly Puppyblew, and 155/150-Orange Jelly). The locale for this expansion, released in October 2004, was a wintry, icy environment. A game is also based upon the plot of this expansion of the same name, and is currently online at the Neopets website. This expansion introduced the Basic Neopets known as the Bori, and the Bruce (other Basic Type: Elephante, Flotsam, Kyrii, and Moehog). One new card type was released: Fates.
Curse of Maraqua[edit]
This 120-card expansion revolved around the underwater city of Maraqua, which was rebuilt during the plot of the same name on the Neopets website. Four new Neopet species were released with this set, including the Yurble (other Basic Type: Chomby, Lenny, and Tuskaninny).
Lost Desert[edit]
This 100-card expansion took players to the shifting sands of the Lost Desert. Basic Neopets released in this expansion are the Ruki, the Kau, and the Tonu. Site-wise, there was a plot and war revolving around this expansion.
The Darkest Faerie[edit]
This 150-card expansion (with 5 secret cards) featured several cards relating to the PlayStation 2 game, including several familiar characters from previous sets. The most notable of these were the Darkest Faerie, the Dark Faerie Sisters, and the Werelupe King. This expansion also introduced another new type of card, the Constellation (Basic Type: Buzz, Koi, and Nimmo). Oddly, this expansion was absent of any Fates.
Secret cards: 151- Amulet of Thilg, 152- Bewitched Ring, 153- Fyora, Tower Guardian, 154- The Hidden Tower, 155- Wand of Ultanova.
Travels in Neopia[edit]
This Neopets card 'expansion' is actually a re-packaging of 200 cards from previous card sets. This includes favorite cards, as well as Neopets from each and every known Neopet species; 3 exceptions from the list of 54- Gnorbu, Ogrin, and Xweetok (introduced Basic Type: Hissi, Kiko, and Lutari). Only one color for each Basic species was included. The general theme of this set is about encouraging fans to re-live past plots, or, for those new to Neopets, catch up to them with some of the more well-known aspects of the series. There was barely any publicity at all related to this expansion.
The Haunted Woods[edit]
The newest expansion, featuring 100 cards with a spooky theme. Cards are related to ghosts, werewolves, and zombies, among others. This deck is associated with the plot, Tale of Woe; where a village has fallen under a curse, and only the Neopets can determine what happened to the townsfolk. There are no new Basic Type cards, although they did fill out the basic 4 colors for the Lenny and Tonu. Special color versions are included for Acara, Aisha, Cybunny, and Korbat. As with previous recent releases, this release appears to be been done with a minimum amount of publicity. This is the last expansion produced by Wizards of the Coast.
Hubrid's Hero Heist[edit]
A game was created to tie in with the TCG, and it was named Hubrid's Hero Heist. It features several Neopian heroes being captured by Hubrid Nox and the player, as the Poogle Apprentice, is tasked to save these heroes. The heroes which the player saves are, in order of saving, Magnus the Torch, Jeran, Master Vex, Illusen, Jerdana, and finally, Fyora the Faerie Queen.[3]
References[edit]
- ^Kaufeld, John; Smith, Jeremy (2006). Trading Card Games For Dummies. For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN0470044071.
- ^'Neopian Museum: The Return of Dr. Sloth'. Jellyneo. Dreamhost. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
- ^'Your Friendly Walkthrough to Hubrid's Hero Heist'. Neopian Times.
Neopets Tcg Database
External links[edit]
- Wizards of the Coast Neopets product page[dead link]
- Neopets Trading Card Game at BoardGameGeek
The Grundo Warehouse, located at the Space Station, is a massively large warehouse that contains virtual items waiting to be claimed by Neopians. Most real life Neopets merchandise comes complete with a Rare Item Code (often referred to as RICs). These codes can be entered into the Grundo Warehouse and you'll get an item in return! Most of the item prizes are only available from codes, so they can fetch a nice amount of Neopoints.
Where Can I Get A Rare Item Code?
Rare Item Codes are printed on the tags of Neopets merchandise; to check what merchandise is available in your area then take a look at the shopping catalogue (just make sure that you have the correct country listed in your user info, as this may affect which items will show up for you - some items are only available in certain countries!). The main source at the moment are plushies, but they also come in packs of Neopets TCG. To redeem a TCG code, you need to go here.
Codes also come from certain mystery capsules from the NC Mall. To see which ones offer a code, click here.
Note: A Rare Item Code can only be redeemed once and once only. There have been scams floating around the Neoboards where users would try and 'sell' Rare Item Codes to others in exchange for Neopoints. In most of these cases, the scammer had already redeemed the code themselves and claimed the item from it, thereby making it useless, and the hapless Neopian who 'bought' the code from them was left with nothing but a string of random letters and numbers and the feeling of being cheated.
So Are All People Giving Away Codes Scammers?
Neopets Tcg Prizes
Not all of them, no. Some people do genuinely give out codes on the Neoboards to other users who can't purchase one for themselves (usually because the merchandise isn't sold in their country); this is most commonly seen on the Avatar & Neosignatures Board. However, these people won't ask you to pay them for the code, mainly because asking for such a payment is against Neopets' rules. They will, though, ask you to send them the item you received from redeeming the code, which is just good manners really since they paid for the merchandise the code came with. Why would you want to redeem a code if you don't get to keep the item? Read on and all will be revealed!
What Do I Get When I Redeem My Code?
For the first code (from real life merchandise or mystery capsules) that you redeem, you'll get the Space Faerie as a Battledome challenger! This is the only way to get her as an opponent, and you definitely want her because defeating her earns you a spiffy avatar as well.
For every other code you redeem, you will receive a random prize.
Promotional Rare Item Codes
Neopets will sometimes have special promo codes that can be entered into the Warehouse. Since these codes are not attached to Neopets merchandise, you cannot get the Space Faerie challenger from them. But you can get some cool items.
The most notable promo codes are from Neopets' Facebook page, given out as a reward for reaching a certain number of fans. Other special occasions (the Altador Cup, San Diego Comic-Con, etc.) might also prompt the giving away of codes.
Neopets Trading Cards
To view the prizes and their codes, use this Item Database search.
Isn't There Another Avatar I Can Get From Here?
Yes, yes there is; go to the top of the class. :) The avatar directly available from the Grundo Warehouse can be achieved by entering the code A384J-228P1 into the Virtual Prize Code box.
Once you have entered the code, hit 'Get your virtual item' and you will receive the avatar. In case you were wondering (because I know that you were), the code comes from the Grundo Warehouse TCG card, as was discovered by a couple of very avid avatar collectors.
Neopets Tcg List
How on earth they ever spotted that I'll never know...
Space Faerie / Guide
Defeat the Space Faerie in the Battledome.
Released: September 17, 2003
Grundo Warehouse
Visit the Grundo Warehouse and submit the code A384J-228P1.
This avatar is obtainable from the 2019 Charity Corner perk, In a New Avatar.
Released: May 1, 2004
This article was written by: Weepit