Version 3.3 of Genshin Impact brings with it a new permanent game mode called Genius Invokation TCG. Let’s take a look at Genshin’s own spin on the Trading Card Game genre and how to play it.
Genius Invokation TCG is a permanent turn-based card game added in Version 3.3 of Genshin Impact. The game is Genshin’s own light-hearted take on the Trading Card Game (TCG) genre and utilizes many familiar elements from the rest of the game. To unlock Genius Invokation, players must be Adventure Rank 32 and must have completed Act III of the Archon Quest Prologue. Players will then automatically receive the tutorial quest called ‘Come Try Genius Invokation TCG!’. The game mode is quite fun and allows for plenty of replayability, as players can match against both NPCs and other players. Let’s take a look at the rules for Genius Invokation and start collecting some cards!
Players may access their deck with the Gadget, ‘Casket of Tomes’, that they receive after completing the introductory quest. A deck consists of three Character Cards and 30 Action Cards, which include Event Cards, Support Cards, and Equipment Cards.
Genius Invokation gameplay centers around the three Character Cards that players must have in their deck. The Character Cards are placed on the Game Area at the start of the game and act as both the player’s total ‘health pool’ and means of attacking the opponent. A Character Card’s health is shown at the top left corner. Each Character Card generally possesses a Normal Attack, an Elemental Skill, and an Elemental Burst, while some may even have a Passive Skill. There are a few exceptions such as Ganyu possessing an additional Normal Attack and Rhodeia of Loch having two different Elemental Skills.
Players will routinely draw from their deck of 30 Action Cards to use throughout the game. Action Cards aim to assist or hinder Character Cards across both player’s Game Area. The three types of Action Cards are Event Cards, Support Cards, and Equipment Cards.
These types of cards trigger their effects immediately when they are played.
Support Cards are placed on the left of the Character Cards when they are played. They continuously provide supporting effects at specific phases of each Round, until their total Usages or Durations are depleted. Some Support Cards do not have Usage or Duration limits, meaning they can stay in the Game Area permanently.
Equipment Cards are used to attach various items on Character Cards to provide them with additional effects and buffs. The three types of Equipment Cards are Weapons, Artifacts, and Talents. A Character Card may only have one of each type of Equipment Card attached to them at a time. Attaching additional Equipment Cards of the same type will replace the existing equipment. Weapon Cards may only be used by Characters that can wield that specific Weapon type, for example Catalyst users may not equip Swords. Furthermore, a Talent Card may only be used by the Character it belongs to.
A duel in Genius Invokation centers around two participants taking turns using their Character and Action Cards to try and eliminate the opposition’s Character Cards. Victory is achieved once a player eliminates all their opponent’s Character Cards. Each duel follows a simple flow of Preparation Phase, Rounds, and Victory Results.
The Preparation Phase will begin at the start of the duel, with each side drawing five Action Cards from their decks for their starting hand. The players will then have one opportunity to replace and re-draw any number of those five cards. Once the starting hands have been finalized, both sides will set one of their Character Cards as the Active Character. Only the current Active Character may use their various abilities and be directly targeted by the opponent’s Active Character.
Once the Preparation Phase is done, the first Round will start. Each Round will begin with the Roll Phase, followed by the Action Phase, and then the End Phase. Players will roll eight Elemental Dice during the Roll Phase and they will be given a chance to reroll any number of those eight dice. Elemental Dice is the main resource used when playing Action Cards and Character Card abilities. Players can view their current Round Dice on the right side of the Game Area and the remaining dice count for both players on the left, by the ‘End Round’ icon.
The Action Phase is where the bulk of the gameplay occurs and when players can take turns using their cards and abilities. The start order will be randomized between two players, while the player will always start first against an NPC. For this phase there are two main types of Actions: Fast Action and Combat Action.
Performing a Fast Action will not end a player’s turn and can be done continuously, as long as there are enough Elemental Dice. Playing Action Cards and performing Elemental Tuning are considered Fast Actions. Certain Talent Cards are exceptions to this rule as playing some of them will automatically trigger a Character Ability, which is considered a Combat Action. Elemental Tuning allows players to discard any Action Card to convert an existing Elemental Dice to the same Element as the current Active Character. Players can perform Elemental Tuning by dragging the desired card towards the right edge of the Game Area.
Combat Actions, on the other hand, will end the player’s turn and pass it to the opponent. Using a Character’s Normal Attack, Elemental Skill, or Elemental Burst is considered a Combat Action, thus ending one’s turn. Switching the current Active Character will also count as a Combat Action. The exception is when an Active Character is defeated during an opponent's turn and the player must switch in another Character, in which case it will not count as a Combat Action. Certain Action Cards, such as ‘Leave it to Me!’, can turn Character Switches to a Fast Action, which can lead to some interesting plays. Lastly, when players are out of actions to perform, they can select End Round, which will also pass the turn to the opponent, assuming they have yet to select it themselves.
Once both players have opted to End Round, it will transition to the End Phase. This is when End Phase effects activate, such as from Support Cards or Summons, beginning with the player that started the Round. Once all effects have been completed, both players will draw two cards from their deck, thus ending the Round. Keep in mind, players can only hold up to 10 cards in their hand, with any surplus cards from draws being discarded.
The game then proceeds to the next Round, with the player that opted to End Round first starting it off. Players will continue this pattern until one has all their Character Cards eliminated.
In addition to the basic rules of Genius Invokation, there are of course some core mechanics that players will need to know.
As mentioned before, most actions in Genius Invokation cost Elemental Dice to perform. The cost of Action Cards is located on the top left corner of each card, symbolized by a colored hexagonal dice icon. Active Character Card’s ability costs are shown at the bottom right-hand corner. Switching Active Characters also cost one Elemental Dice of any type.
If the color of the icon is white, it indicates Matching Element. Players must pay the specified amount with the same type of Elemental Dice. If the color is black, it indicates Unaligned Element, meaning players can pay the specified cost with any types of Elemental Dice. If the color matches that of any specific Element, then players must pay the respective Element’s dice. For Instance, light blue would indicate that players must pay with Cryo Dice.
Omni Elemental Dice can act as any Element, meaning they are incredibly versatile and desirable. Certain Action Cards may help create more Elemental Dice during the Round, so players can technically have more than the eight initial Dice rolled. Any Elemental Dice left unused at the end of each Round will not carry over to the next.
A secondary resource cost tied mainly to the Elemental Burst ability of each Character Card, as well as certain Talent Cards. Players can view the Energy cost of an Elemental Burst in the ability area, indicated by a brownish-orange star icon. This symbol is located right below the Dice cost on Talent Cards. Character Cards also carry the symbols on the right side of each card to indicate Burst cost and their current Energy levels. Each time a character uses a Normal Attack or an Elemental Skill they gain one Energy, lighting up a star symbol as indication. Certain Support and Event Cards can also provide Characters with Energy.
Similar to the core gameplay of Genshin, Elemental Applications and Reactions are important here as well. When Character Cards receive Elemental Damage, the corresponding Element will be applied to them, appearing above the cards. The exceptions to this are Anemo and Geo, which can only react to existing applied Elements. Various Elemental Reactions may be created by using different Elements on Characters with existing Elemental Applications. These reactions include dealing additional damage, AoE damage, creating shields, and more. The list of reactions can be viewed during duels, using the cogwheel icon on the top right and clicking ‘Check Rules’.
Attachments are various Equipment Cards and Statuses that are attached to Character Cards. Attached Weapons, Artifacts, and Talents will show on the left side of the Character Card.
There are two types of Statuses that can be attached to Character Cards: Character Status and Team Combat Status. Character Statuses are individual effects that the card currently has, which are located at the lower left-hand corner of the card. These can include buffs like Shields and Elemental damage or ailments like being Frozen and Satiated. Team Combat Statuses are buffs, such as Shields and damage effects, that the current Active Character Card has. This type of Status carries over to the next Active Character if a Character Switch happens.
Certain Character abilities may create Summons, which are placed on the right side of the Game Area. Summons provide various effects such as Shields or End Phase damage. Only four Summons may exist at any given time, preventing additional Summons from being made if the area is full. The Summons’ effects will happen based on the order they were summoned in.
Shield effects provide damage reduction from incoming attacks. Different sources of Shield effects can stack, blocking damage equivalent to the total amount of Shield points. For example, the Ganyu’s Trail of the Qilin and Ningguang’s Jade Screen together can block two damage.
Piercing DMG is a damage type that can ignore Shields, although the damage amount cannot be modified by effects.
Some cards, statuses, and effects will have Usage and Duration limits. Effects with Usage limits will deplete one Usage every time the effect is triggered. Once it reaches zero Usages, the effect or card will disappear. Usage limits are marked on the top right corner of Support Cards and Summons when they are in the Game Area, and lower right corner of Statuses. Cards with Duration limits, like Support Cards, will lose one Duration during each End Phase. Similarly, once Duration is depleted, the card disappears. Support Cards with no Usage or Duration limit can stay in the Game Area until the game is over.
It is important to increase Player Level to obtain various rewards and perks. These include Cards, Match Invitation Letters, Primogems, Card Backs, Deck Slots, and more. There are a total of 10 Player Levels and each level requires players to earn EXP and complete an Ascension Challenge. Players can talk to Prince in The Cat’s Tail in Mondstadt to check information on Player Levels and to access Ascension Challenges.
Players can earn EXP by beating various NPCs throughout each major city, starting with Mondstadt. Casket of Tomes can help locate all the available NPCs on the map. To challenge players in other cities, players will need to unlock them at higher Player Levels. Players can also complete four Guest Challenges each week at The Cat’s Tail for EXP and Lucky Coins.
There are various ways to earn cards for your deck, including dueling NPCs and purchasing them from Prince with Lucky Coins. The higher one’s Player Level is, the more NPCs they can duel and win rewards from. Lucky Coins and cards can be earned not only by dueling NPCs but also by completing objectives in the ‘TCG Player’s Manual’.
For Character Cards specifically, players will need to send out Match Invitation Letters at the board near Prince. After choosing a character to challenge, players will need to win the duel to earn their Character Card and accompanying Talent Cards. Match Invitation Letters can be earned from level up rewards or purchased from Prince. Character Cards can also be earned by completing Tavern Card Challenges, which are locked behind Player Levels.
Genius Invokation is a simple yet incredibly fun game mode addition to the world of Genshin. Although still in its infancy, the game has a lot of potential, especially with more updates on the way. Hopefully this guide has been helpful in teaching the basics of Genius Invokation. Have fun dueling!
