Version 3.3 of Genshin Impact brought with it Genius Invokation TCG as a permanent fixture of the game. Though once a piece of lore that popped up in dialog or flavor text every once in a while, players can now engage in exciting card game action and collecting fun. You can play against NPCs (with rewards the first time you win against them) or against friends. It’s a surprisingly addicting feature that, in its current format, feels balanced in its simplicity.
What is Genius Invokation TCG?
For those who have not yet experienced Genius Invokation TCG firsthand, here is a very simple breakdown of the rules and flow. Your deck must have 3 character cards, as well as 30 other ones. Those 30 cards can consist of Event Cards, Location Cards, and such. At the start of each round, you roll your Elemental Dice and then pull two cards. You can play as many cards as you want per turn, so long as you have the Elemental Dice to expend, and attacking with your characters require you to pay Dice as well. You win when you defeat all of your opponent’s Character Cards.
Despite all the Yu-Gi-Oh references, the Genshin Impact Genius Invokation TCG honestly feels a bit more like a mix of Hearthstone and a poor man’s Magic: The Gathering. It uses the same elemental reaction system in actual Genshin Impact combat. However, there are some alterations for the card game format. Overloaded, for example, will cause damage and then forcibly switch your opponent’s Character Card. There are so many deck possibilities to run that it reminds me of when Genshin Impact first came out in 2020. It has been too long since I felt the excitement of discovering various character combinations and elemental reactions, and Genius Invokation is responsible for reviving that spark.
So Far, the Genshin Impact TCG Feels Balanced and Fair
I’ve seen some players claim that the game is “broken.” because of cards that can make you draw more per turn (like Liyue Harbor Wharf or Strategize) or grant you more Elemental Dice (like Paimon). However, there are no search cards in this game. If you get those cards, then it’s the luck of the draw. You can also have two of the same card in your deck to increase your chances of getting them. If you know exactly what is missing from your deck, you can always just purchase the necessary cards from Prince. Though the current “meta” seems to focus on Yoimiya and Ayaka, running that combination does not always guarantee a win. So much of Genius Invokation TCG falls onto your resource management and tactics.
Prior to the Genius Invokation TCG update in Genshin Impact, I spent quite a bit of time playing Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel. I have played Yu-Gi-Oh since the early 2000s and have seen it transform as Konami introduced new summoning methods and archetypes. While it was never a particular slow-paced game, it was nothing like it is now. Each turn drags on forever as you summon and sacrifice a veritable horde of monsters, rifling through your deck to get the perfect Spell Card you need to complete your combo. My love for how simple Genius Invokation TCG is might be due to the mind-boggling mess that modern Yu-Gi-Oh now is.
However, time will tell if Genius Invokation TCG can retain its game balance in Genshin Impact. So long as all players have access to the same pool of cards, then it should remain fair. Hopefully, HoYoVerse focuses on introducing more Character Cards for now. I think that adding more powerful Action Cards could easily topple over the balance it has achieved.
Genshin Impact is readily available for the PS4, PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices. You can play Genius Invokation TCG at the Cat’s Tail in Mondstadt.
