Pokemon the Gathering

Remember when Wizards of the Coast didn't screw things up on the regular?

The Pokemon TCG was originally created by Wizards of the Coast in 1998, after finding huge success with Magic the Gathering. Eventually, control of the game's design went to a team specific to Game Freak and Nintendo. But the influence Magic had on the Pokemon TCG is still felt to this day. In fact, both games have grown in parallel to one another in certain ways. Let's take a look:

Power Creep Parallel

Power creep can be seen in Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon cards, which both introduced more and more powerful cards with each set. But beyond the simple existence of power creep, certain types of cards in both games have shifted with each other. In Magic, creatures started as very weak, and by today's standards are mostly obsolete. However, non-creature spells, especially instants and sorceries, were often much more powerful than any that could be made today. Not a single member of Magic's Power 9 is a creature, and none of these cards have ever been outclassed. Similarly, most Pokemon in the TCG started out fairly weak and slow, but since have grown to 300-HP behemoths on the regular for higher rarities. But as that is occurring, Trainer cards are becoming less and less powerful individually, often needing the benefit of synergy with other cards.

Ramping Growth

As both games grew, "cheating" on the one land (or energy) per turn rule became more important. Very few Pokemon cards could attach an extra energy in the early days of the game. Now, it's a common staple of almost every meta deck. Similarly, mana-ramp was a feature exclusive to green cards and artifacts in Magic. However, especially with the advent of the Commander format, other colors have gotten excellent mana accelerants as well.

Expanding the Horizon

After both games got a big enough card pool, a bigger format than standard was released, allowing players to use older cards in competitive play. These are Expanded in Pokemon, and Modern in Magic. This allowed for players to try new strategies and use favorites of old. Both formats don't rotate, allowing one deck to often be legal forever. Even banned cards rarely completely kill a deck, even if a ban can hinder competitive success. Furthermore, both formats feature a blend of new and old cards, often working to form interesting combos.

Conclusion

Pokemon as a whole, and the TCG in specific, is a game that has a lot of history behind it. Even as the game shifts towards bigger, better things, it's often cool to look at the past and see what led us to this moment.