Genshin Impact TCG guide – decks, cards, and more

Hoyoverse is always surprising us with new ways to keep their hit open world title fresh, and the Genshin Impact TCG is a testament to that. Added in Version 3.3, the TCG is a permanent new game mode where players can battle NPCs or each other with a finely crafted deck of cards. The good news? There are absolutely no pay-to-win strategies here, and all cards are attainable for free.

If you’re a serious Genshin player and want to keep up to date with all the freebies, check out our Genshin Impact codes page to grab the latest Primogems on offer. We’ve also got our regularly updated Genshin Impact tier list to see how your team is doing, and a Genshin Impact event guide for what’s coming up next!

How do I play the Genshin Impact TCG?

The Genius Invokation card game is available to all players that are Adventure Rank 32 or above. You also need to have completed Mondstadt’s Archon Quest Prologue. A quest introducing you to the new game mode appears and sets you on your card master journey.  The introductory quest takes you to the Cat’s Tail in Mondstadt, which is now open for characters to convene and duel with their decks. 

So, how do you actually play the card game? You’re given an in-depth tutorial by Diona and then set on your way to go and duel whoever you like. 

The basics of the game are as follows: choose three character cards and 30 action cards to create your deck, and then begin the first round against your battle partner. The round begins with a selection of five action cards, where you can swap as many out as you choose – though both choices are random. Then, it’s the roll phase, where you get a selection of 8 elemental dice. These can also be rerolled but again, the selection is random.

There can be as many rounds as you like – your goal is to knock out all of your opponent’s character cards to win. To do this, you need to attack using your action cards and elemental dice. Elemental reactions apply in the card game, so don’t neglect that! You can end the round whenever you choose, but we recommend doing so when your elemental dice run out. If you end the round before your opponent, you get to move first in the next round. 

As you get to grips with how the game works, you can bring more types of attack and supporting action cards into the mix, like using a healing character, or summoning characters for extra help.

How do I unlock Genius Invokation TCG character cards?

As we begin our foray into the TCG, we get three character cards to begin: Kaeya, Diluc, and Sucrose. But there are plenty more to get.

A ton of cards are available for purchase from Prince in the Cat’s Tail – the black cat sat on the counter wearing a tiny hat. He sells action cards like artifacts, weapons, food items and more. There are also card-back designs and dynamic skins to buy, too. 

You can also invite characters to play cards with you, and once you beat them, they give you their character card and a supporting action card to go with it. To invite a character, you need a Match Invitation Letter that you can either earn through level rewards or purchase from Prince. Then, head to the notice board in the Cat’s Tail and invite the character of your choice! 

Here are all the Genius Invokation TCG character cards currently available in the game:

You can obtain all of these character cards by duelling the character in question, aside from the first four on the list, as you get them during the tutorial. More will be coming in the future, so we assume this means there will be two or more playable character cards added in each update. 

What are the 3.6 Genshin Impact TCG cards?

Some leaks have popped up regarding which cards will be in the next round of releases, and it looks like a good set: Tighnari, Arataki Itto, and Genshin Impact’s Ayato are likely to come in version 3.6, along with their supporting cards.

What are the best Genshin Impact TCG decks?

Really, the best deck for each player will vary, as we all play the game differently and will get different cards first. There do, however, seem to be some preferred decks and card combinations that players are leaning towards. Freeze, Overload, and Melt are currently the most popular elemental reactions that players are building their decks around, but really, whichever you play in the overworld will probably be your chosen deck. 

Some combinations that we recommend for character cards are:

• Ayaka, Yoimiya, Fatui Pyro Agent
• Ayaka, Xingqiu, Chongyun 
• Oceanid, Ganyu, Mona
• Collei, Keqing, Fischl 
• Xiangling, Fischl, Mona 
• Noelle, Ningguang, Mona 
• Diluc, Bennett, Razor
• Klee, Bennett, Mona

What are the best Genshin Impact TCG cards?

Picking the best cards is fairly subjective, like the best decks. Some characters’ cards are really strong, but not versatile, whereas others are very versatile but don’t pack much of a punch. For instance, Yoimiya and Noelle’s cards are great additions to a deck, but may not have much resonance with others. For now, Collei is the only Dendro character included in the deck, so takes the prize as the best Dendro card. As more cards come out, our choices may change. 

Our top picks for character cards are:

• Ayaka
• Xiangling
• Fischl 
• Yoimiya
• Collei
• Bennett
• Mona
• Klee

As for the action cards, you get to choose 30 to be in your deck, which can include multiple of the same card providing you purchase more copies. We have some recommendations for the best action cards to use, and these include: 

• Timmy – Each round he gains a pigeon. When he gains three pigeons, you gain an Omni-Element die
• Katheryne – When switching a character, it counts as a Fast Action, so will not use up a turn
• Liben – Collects unused Elemental Dice at the end of a round, and can draw two extra cards and create two Omni-Elemental dice at the start of a round
• Strategize – Draw two new cards
• Guardian’s Oath – This costs four dice to use, but destroys all summons on the board

That’s all we know about the Genshin Impact TCG at the moment, but we’ll be sure to update with any new decks we find, and when new characters release. In the meantime, keep an eye on our Genshin Impact update and Genshin Impact events guide to keep on top of everything happening in Teyvat.