The Hobbies + Happiness Podcast: A Disney Lorcana Podcast · hobbies + happiness, LLC

Ep. 108 - Four Awesome TCGs to Check Out with MainDeck Dan

·1 hr 43 min·5 clips

Dan calls Universes one of the most insanely complex board states in any card game he has played.

Dan and Jim kick things off with a warm, informal welcome and introduce Main Deck Dan as their guest. The episode settles into the show’s usual card-game conversation quickly, with the hosts moving through their sponsor message before getting to the main talk. The center of the episode is modern TCG design. They spend time on the idea that today’s games draw from a much wider toolbox than older ones did, pulling from board games, card games, video games, digital CCGs, and other trading card games. That leads into a broader point about originality. The hosts push back on the easy habit of calling every new game a clone, and they make the case that strong mechanics get reused because they work. Lorkana comes up as an example of a game with a distinct enough core to stand out while still learning from the rest of the genre. The conversation then shifts toward Grand Archive. The hosts ask who would enjoy it right now and what kind of TCG player would be most likely to connect with it. That gives the episode a more practical feel, since it is not just about design theory anymore but about player fit and taste. The exchange stays laid-back and conversational, with quick agreement and clarifying questions keeping things moving. The episode also touches on Altered before returning to Grand Archive, which keeps the scope broad without losing the hobby focus. It ends with the hosts sharing where listeners can find them online and noting that more topics are coming in the weeks ahead.

As heard by us

An easy, thoughtful TCG conversation about copying, mechanics, and what makes a game worth playing.

Episode 108 offers a relaxed, roomy card-game conversation that keeps circling one useful question: when do shared mechanics in TCGs feel like copying, and when are they simply strong ideas that show up again in a different form?

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a laid-back card-game conversation about what makes newer TCGs feel distinct.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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