TCG History

Timeline

1. 1993Aug
   Magic

   Magic: The Gathering debuts with Limited Edition Alpha, designed by Richard Garfield.

2. 1996Oct
   Pokémon

   The Pokémon Trading Card Game launches in Japan.

3. 1999Jan
   Pokémon

   Base Set brings the Pokémon TCG to English-speaking players through Wizards of the Coast.

4. 1999
   Yu-Gi-Oh!

   Konami releases the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game in Japan, based on the fictional card game in the manga.

5. 2000Dec
   Pokémon

   Neo Genesis begins the Neo block and introduces second-generation Pokémon to the card game.

6. 2002
   Yu-Gi-Oh!

   Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon begins the English-language TCG in North America.

7. 2003
   Pokémon

   The English-language game moves from Wizards of the Coast to the Pokémon company's U.S. arm.

8. 2003
   Magic

   Eighth Edition introduces a new card frame that stays in use for more than a decade.

9. 2005Oct
   Magic

   Ravnica: City of Guilds builds a whole set around ten two-color guilds.

10. 2007
    Magic

    Planeswalker cards appear for the first time.

11. 2008
    Magic

    Mythic Rare becomes a new rarity tier, first used in Shards of Alara.

12. 2008
    Yu-Gi-Oh!

    Konami begins taking control of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG from Upper Deck, a change that was settled in the courts into 2009.

13. 2011Sep
    Magic

    Innistrad brings double-faced cards and a gothic-horror setting.

14. 2019Aug
    Pokémon

    Hidden Fates puts shiny Pokémon in a special Shiny Vault subset.

15. 2021Jun
    Magic

    Modern Horizons 2 continues the line of sets designed for non-rotating formats.

16. 2023Sep
    Pokémon

    Scarlet & Violet—151 revisits the first 151 Pokémon in the modern card style.