We've made no secret of our love of MTG and so many other CCGs out there, and this is a passion we doubt will ever go away. The competition, the companionship, and the feel of a perfect deck in your hand are all aspects of card gaming that make it something special. Like any true fans, however, we all understand that what we love isn't flawless, especially when it comes to the physical nature of cards.

No matter the quality of the cards' production, and no matter how well we take care of them, complications can arise. An accidental spill from some other player, a freak accident, wear and tear, and even theft can hurt our cards and our decks. In some cases, we might love some powerful cards so much that we refuse to play them.

So, what if we adopted a new approach in allowing every single card to be registered to an online account, letting us scan and print our decks as necessary to mitigate physical limitations?

New Possibilities

The potential available in a new approach could be found in attaching a simple encrypted number or scannable section of each card like a QR code. These cards could then be tracked through an online database. This database would allow players to check a physical deck they play against the cards in their online account. If there was a mismatch, a deck would be invalid, and trades through online systems could ensure the history of each card is recorded as real.

The core of this idea ties into existing online CCGs like Hearthstone, but just as importantly, in the arena of online casinos. These casinos exist as a billion-dollar industry that integrates the highest safety standards to protect their players. They also integrate bonuses, remember player accounts, and offer a huge variety of games like slots, blackjack roulette, and more. For interested players, this link explains more about one of these platforms, Fanatics Casino, but the general idea is that the technology to support steps forward that could apply to card game tech already exists.

If card games created a dual online-physical system, original cards could be kept safe if the players wanted, and reprints could be played freely. Travel security and damage could be a thing of the past, as competition cards might be printed directly at tournaments as a kind of temporary replacement.

Challenges in the Way

While this idea would solve some issues, it also introduces some serious overhead for the game developers. Keeping track of every card and transaction would be difficult for smaller developers, and security threats outside of their control would also be a concern. Having to scan decks at tournaments would also draw in DDOS attacks from negative forces, running the risk of having events shut down. Printing duplicates freely would also complicate the collectibles market, with some players undoubtedly selling rare replacement printed cards and their ownership codes while holding onto the original.

Applying these ideas to a CCG would be a risk, and it would require a lot of hard work from a lot of intelligent people, but for the sake of trying something new, we'd like to see it tried. While it might not be possible to implement in existing card games, newer titles taking a newer approach could prove a prime testing ground.  And before you ask, yes, we are still salty about that time our deck was ruined by a rogue can of Monster at our local scene.