Harry Potter Trading Card Game RULES

Basic Rules From the PlaymatYou and your opponent are wizards duelling at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Many spells and magical creatures you play will 'damage' your opponent, which means your opponent has to discard cards from his or her deck. You win the game when your opponent's deck runs out of cards. When you have no more cards in your deck -- even if you have some cards left in your hand or in play -- you lose immediately. Before You Play 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Pick which deck you want. Both play your starting Wizard or Witch card on the table at the same time. Shuffle your deck and place it on the table faces down. Draw 7 cards from your deck for your starting hand. Decide who goes first. Steps Of Your Turn (Your turn begins when the other player ends their turn.) 1. 2. 3. Before you draw a card. If a card tells you to do something before your turn, do it now. You draw a card [Each player must draw a card at the beginning of his or her turn. There are no exceptions to this rule. If you draw the last card from your deck you lose immediately.] Your creature cards that do damage, damage your opponent now. [Damage your opponent with your Creatures that are already on the table. (Don't worry about this on your first turn -- you won't have any Creatures on the table yet.)] You use 2 Actions. (You can do the same action twice instead of doing two different actions.) You can use an action to: • • • • • • • • • • • Play a lesson card; or Play a creature card [you'll need enough Lesson cards on the table -- see 'Types of Cards' on p. 12)], or Play a spell card [(you'll need enough Lesson cards on the table -- see 'Types of Cards' on p. 12);]; or Play an item card; or Play a match card; or Play a location card; or Draw an extra card; or Use 2 actions to play a character card; or Use 2 actions to play an adventures card. (Character and adventure cards require 2 actions to be played.) Q: Do I have to use all of my Actions each turn? A: No. You can use all, some, or none of your Actions. However, once your turn is over, those Actions are gone. For example, if you used only 1 Action on your last turn, you can't use the second Action from that turn on your next turn. 4. 5. 6. If a card tells you to do something at the end of your turn, do it now. End of your turn. You can solve Adventures and use your Characters' special abilities any time during your turn, after you draw your first card. Types of Cards Lesson CardsLessons give you the power you need to play other cards. When you play a Lesson card, all you need to do is take it from your hand and put it on the table. Lessons stay on the table ('in play') after you play them. Lesson cards have lesson symbols on them (Care of Magical Creatures = foot, Charms = heart, Potions = cauldron, Transfiguration = butterfly, Quidditch = snitch) Don't worry if you don't have any Lessons in your opening hand. Just keep playing with the hand that you have. If you use both of your actions to draw three cards every turn, you will soon be able to find your Lessons. Q: When I use Lesson cards to put other cards into play, are those Lesson cards "used up?" A: No. Lesson cards stay on the table and can be used again, even on the same turn. One exception to this rule is if you have a card that specifically tells you to discard Lessons. For example, if you have 4 Lessons on the table, and 2 cards in your hand that require 4 Power (each) to play, you can use your 2 Actions to play them both. Creature Cards Creatures damage your opponent's deck -- and not other creatures unless their card states it.. They stay on the table ('in play') after you play them. Power Needed: In one corner of the card, you will see a number and a lesson symbol. You must have this many lessons on the table to play this card, and ONLY ONE OF THEM HAS TO MATCH the lesson symbol. For example, Surly Hound has a cost of 3 'Care of Magical Creatures' (foot). To play it, you'd need 3 lessons in play, and at least one of them would have to be a Care of Magical Creatures lesson. Damage Each Turn: Your opponent discards this many cards from his or her deck every turn. This damage happens on step 3 of your turn, so your creature DOESN'T do damage on the turn that you play it. Health: If your opponent's card does this much damage or more to your creature, discard it. Damage To A creature: If you do less damage to a creature than its health, you'll need to mark the damage somehow. You can use counters or markers of any kind. For example, if you have a creature on the table with 6 health and it takes 2 damage, put 2 counters on it. If it later takes 4 or more damage, discard it. Spell Cards To play a Spell card, show it to your opponent, do what it says and put it in your discard pile. Spell cards don't stay on the table like the other cards do. Power Needed: You must have this many lessons in play to cast this spell card, but ONLY ONE OF THEM HAS TO MATCH the symbol on the card. What The Card Does: This is what happens when you play the card. Some cards do damage to your opponent or to creatures on the table. (You need to be able to complete the required steps that the card tells you to do in order to play it. If a card tells you to do something and then says you 'may' do something else, that part is not required.) Item Cards- Items are a lot like creatures. Once you play them they stay on the table (unless some card tells you or a condition is met to discard them). Some items (Wands and Cauldrons) give you extra power - just like lessons, but even better. Other items have all sorts of different effects. Power Needed: You must have this many lessons in play to cast this spell card, but ONLY ONE OF THEM HAS TO MATCH the symbol on the card. Match Cards- To play a match card, you need the required amount of power and you use up 1 of your actions. There can be only one match on the table In Play at a time. So if you or your opponent already has a neither of you can play another one. To Win: This is what a player needs to do to win the match. It does not all have to be done at once. So a player might win by doing some damage on each turn. (This means each player needs to keep track of how much damage he or she has done towards winning the match.) Also, either player can win the match. Prize: The winner gets the prize explained on the card. When a player wins a match, the match is put in the discard pile of the person who played it. Location CardsThese represent different places in Harry's world. You'll find location cards for each different lesson type. To play a location card, you need the required amount of power and you use up one of your actions. When you play a location card, it stays on the table. Since you can be in only one place at a time, only one location can be in play at a time. When you play a location card, check to see if your opponent already has a location in play. If there is one, discard the old location from play. Adventure Cards- Adventure cards are a kind of card you can play to give your opponent a challenge to overcome. You don't need any lessons on the table to play adventure cards, but you do have to use 2 Actions to play them instead of 1. Each player can only have one adventure in play at a time, so if you already have an adventure in play, you can't play another one. An adventure card has three parts. Effect: This is what the adventure does as long as it's in play. To Solve: This is what your opponent needs to do to solve the adventure. They can do this any time during their turn after they have drawn their first card, but they have to solve the adventure all at once, not one piece at a time (unless the card specifically says otherwise). Opponent's Reward: If your opponent solves the adventure, they're the school hero! The adventure card will say what their reward is. Then you put the adventure in your discard pile. Q: When you are required to discard cards in order to solve an Adventure, does it take any Actions to discard those cards? A: No. You can discard cards as a "free action" to solve an Adventure during your turn. Character Cards- When you play the Harry Potter TCG, you always start with a character in play that represents you (this is your starting character). Your starting character is special in another important way: it can never be discarded from play for any reason. For example, if a card tells you to discard three cards from play, you can't pick your starting character as one of those three. As long as the game is still going, your starting character is there - because it's you! Using Other Character Cards: In the game, you can also have other character cards in your deck. Just like adventure cards, you play a character card by using up 2 Actions, and it doesn't matter if you have any lessons or not. Ability: Once you've played a character card, you can use its special ability. Whether it's the character you started with or one you played during the game, you can use the ability any time during your turn after you've drawn your first card. Q: What does it mean when a Character card says "Provides " A: It means that it counts just like that Lesson. For example, if you have 4 Lesson cards, and that Character card in play, you could use cards that require 5 Lessons. Q: I have a Character card that isn't either a Witch or a Wizard. Can I use it as my starting Character anyway? A: No. Your starting Character has to be able to cast spells, so it needs to be a Witch or a Wizard. Any Characters that aren't Witches or Wizards (like Hagrid or Nearly Headless Nick for example) need to be played in your deck and not as a starting Character. Remember that you don't need any Lessons to play a Character card, but it takes 2 Actions. If you and your opponent both have the same starting character that's fine. and Adventures). Nobody else can play another copy of that same 'Unique' card unless it has been discarded from play. The only exceptions are adventures (only one can be in play on each side at a time) and cards that are 'Unique. say Unique on them. and 3 (or more) Lessons. Otherwise. and you have Boil Cure in your hand. In general. These keywords come right after the type of card. cards that can't be in play are printed vertically (Spells). Creatures. For most keywords. KeywordsSome cards have special words on them that other cards. Wizard. there are cards that give you more than 1 Power each. everything you need to know is on the cards. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff). Items. and discard pile are not in play. Cards that can be in play are printed sideways (Lessons.Playing And Card Information Cards In PlayCards are described as In Play when they're on the table. you'd have to discard it. Power Needed Spell. If some other card makes you discard all Healing cards from your hand. refer to. you would be able to play the card.' Cards That Are UniqueAll character cards. For example. Slytherin. the card Boil Cure has the keyword 'Healing' after 'Spell'. Each Lesson gives you 1 Power. a Cauldron that provides 2 Power. or the rules. Witch and House keywords (Gryffindor. whatever is written on the 'sideways' cards happens only while that card is in play. only one Power has to match the symbol underneath the Power needed number on the card you wish to play. this 'Unique' rule does apply to two different 'Unique' cards that represent the same character. only one of each Unique card can be 'in play. deck. and some other special cards. In the advanced game. This means there can be only one of them In Play at a time. For example. The cards in your hand. Also.' at one time. you can just count the number of Lessons you have in play to see if you have enough Power to play a card. or any other Harry Potter character card for that matter. Harry the Seeker. if Harry the Seeker is in play. and you have in play a Wand that provides 3 Power. but there are special rules for the Unique. Characters. there's no limit to how many cards you can have in play. nobody can play Harry Potter. So in the basic game. Power Symbol Lesson Type Care of Magical Creatures Charms Potions Transfiguration . There is one exception. Locations. Item and Creature cards have a 'Power needed' number that tells you how much Power you need in play if you want to play the card. Other keywords are there for fun or for other cards to refer to. Just like in the basic game. Keep in mind that starting characters can never be removed from play. Unless the card says otherwise. So if a card needs 8 Power to play it. you can build a 'House deck'. Pick a House. Adjust cards in your deck by swapping out certain cards that you need to make your deck play the way you want it too. Your deck must have exactly 60 cards. but don't use cards from any of the other Houses. Decide what kind of spells. locations. GOOD LUCK! . Remember to add adventure or other character cards if you want to use them too. Select a starting character that best supports your idea. 14 charms. 2. 2. items. You must ALSO have 1 card that's your starting character (which has to be a Witch or Wizard). All you have to do now is take time playing out a few hands by yourself to see how it's working. you will have 61 cards total. 22 care Draco's Deck = 1 Draco Malfoy 10 Lesson 9 Lesson 2 Accio 2 Boa Constrictor 3 Curious Raven 2 Hagrid and the Stranger 4 Magical Mishap 2 Stupefy 2 Surly Hound 4 Vermillious Hermione's Deck = 1 Hermione Granger 12 Lesson 7 Lesson 2 Avifors 4 Curious Raven 2 Epoximise 3 Forest Troll 2 Hagrid and the Stranger 3 Incarcifors 2 Take Root 3 Vicious Wolf ================================== Building Your Own Deck One of the most exciting parts of the Harry Potter TCG is building your own personal deck! You can build your deck however you want. Ravenclaw.com's House of Pain). and or creatures you want to use to beat your opponent. items. Your deck can have. 5. Try thinking of cards that would make a good combo or just work well together. at most. Keeping in mind what types of lessons you chose. How To Build A Deck Like The Harry Potter Pojo Deck Mech's1. Optional Deck Building RuleIf you want. or creatures. fill in the remaining room with spells. Slytherin. Hufflepuff or Pojo. 3. as long as you follow these simple rules: 1. Pick out your lesson cards and items you will need to support your deck idea. 4.Harry Potter Starter Deck Card List We have = 13 trans. 3 potions. and use cards that have keywords from that House or that have no House keywords at all. except for lesson cards (you can have any number of those). This means that all the cards you choose are from a single House (Gryffindor. So. 4 copies of any card. Spell cards don't stay in play. It can never be discarded from play. card type: There are currently six different card types in the game: Adventure. which needs to be a Wizard or a Witch. Lesson and Spell. Creature. in play: Cards that have been played and are still on the table. Item card: A card that. and the reward your opponent gets if he or she does. =================================================== Playing the Harry Potter Trading Card Game: FAQs . It's fine if both players have the same starting Character.GLOSSARY Action: You have 2 Actions on each of your turns.it's just there for fun. flavour text: This text appears in italics on the bottom of some cards. it's discarded. You can also damage a Creature in play. Witch and House keywords (Gryffindor.usually Lessons. No matter where the cards came from. Spell card: A card that you play from your hand. It takes 2 Actions to play an Adventure card. discard pile: This is where all discarded cards go. or from someone's hand. Creature card: A card that. but sometimes Items or other cards. Item. Witch: A keyword found on some Character cards. The card tells you what effect it has on your opponent.) discard: To remove a card from play. they go to the discard pile of the person they belong to. Your discard pile is always face up. You'll also have one as your starting Character. House deck: A deck made with cards all having the same House keyword. usually Character cards. Lesson card: A card that gives you the Power you need to play other types of cards. Wizard.like the Unique. You are still considered to have a hand even if there are no cards in it. Character card: A card that represents a specific Harry Potter character. from someone's deck. It's usually a quote from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Character. Keywords are sometimes referred to by other cards or by the rules. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff). but it doesn't need any Power. Charms . Only a Wizard or a Witch can be a starting Character. hand: The cards you are holding but haven't played yet. You can use an Action to draw a card or to play a card. That Power comes from the cards you already have in play -. Flavour text has no effect on the play of the game -. may give you extra Power or have some other ongoing effect. damages your opponent's deck turn after turn. You don't have to use all your Actions. keyword: These words are found on some cards after the card type. what he or she needs to do to solve it. Slytherin. Each Lesson provides 1 Power. and either player can look at it whenever he or she likes. It can include cards with no House keyword at all. Spell and Item cards that tells you how much Power you need to play them. when in play. Only a Wizard or a Witch can be a starting Character. Unique: A keyword found on some cards. (Use counters to keep track of damage that's less than the Creature's Health. draw: To take the top card of your deck and put it into your hand. You can't play a Unique card if there's already a copy of that card in play. special ability: The text on a Character card that says what the card can do if it's in play. Your deck and your discard pile are not in play. when in play. You play Character cards from your hand (they take 2 Actions to play but don't need any Power). Power needed: The number found on the upper-left corner of Creature. Each player can have only one Adventure in play at a time. damage: You can do damage to your opponent. If the total damage a Creature takes during the game is greater than or equal to its Health. Your starting Character must be a Wizard or a Witch. Health: The amount of damage a Creature can take before it gets discarded. Adventure card: A card you can play to present a challenging situation for your opponent. Potions and Transfiguration . Wizard: A keyword found on some Character cards. and then put in your discard pile. The current kinds of Lessons are Care of Magical Creatures . starting Character: The Character you have in play at the start of the game. which forces him or her to discard cards from the top of his or her deck. do what it says. though. Some keywords have special rules -. Premium cards (cards with holographic images) are also rare and have the star on them. Q: I didn't get any Lessons in my opening hand. Draco's Trick basically changes it so that you get the reward instead of your opponent. Do I have to let him or her count them? A: Yes. Your opponent is allowed to count how many cards you have left in your deck at any time. So. you do not get to draw a new hand. your opponent isn't allowed to look at what those cards are. When a card gets returned to your hand it forgets that it was ever in play before. As you might expect. Knowing how to tell the rarity of a card is very important when you or your kids start trading cards. If it said you take 3 damage. holographic-like image. What can I do? Can I draw a new hand? A: No.Q: If I use the Draco's Trick card on an Adventure card like Human Chess Game. can I use the ability again? A: Yes. If your opening hand has no Lessons. Cards in your deck and in your hand are secret! How do you tell the rarity of a card? To tell the rarity of a Harry Potter card. A circle appears on common cards. which says for the opponent's Reward "Your opponent may draw 3 cards. it's a new Creature with no damage counters on it. Only character cards receive the holoportrait treatment ============================================= . Q: My opponent wants to know how many cards I have left in my deck. However. Remember though. that you can use an Action to draw a card. it would be your opponent that would take that damage. look at the symbol in the lower right corner of the card. In the same way." who gets to draw the cards? Me? Or my opponent? A: You do. A star appears on rare cards. you just might get the Lessons you need! Q: I have a card with an ability that can be used only once per game. Foil cards are non-character cards that feature a lightning bolt foil pattern. and then you play it again. What are premium cards? Premium cards come in two types: foils and holoportraits. If the card gets returned to my hand and then I play it again. if a Creature with damage counters on it gets returned to your hand. Holoportrait cards will be the most sought-after (and most expensive) Harry Potter TCG cards. You can recognize a holoportrait card by its shiny. these cards are harder to find than non-foil cards. by using both of your Actions to draw cards. A diamond appears on uncommon cards. or. This step is extremely important. and these abilities can be vital to your deck. Well. you may want to include as many as 30. you could lose due to a lack of studying! After you've figured out all of these things and built your deck. You also want to look at the available Spell cards and Creature cards. of course! If you put a lot of high cost Spells and Creatures in your deck. choose 1 starting Character to play. Since you can't be sure what cards your opponent has in his or her deck until the game starts. Finally. you can't have more then 4 copies of any card in your deck -except for Lesson cards. try to think about what will work well for your deck. This can be a good strategy to use because without any cards in your opponent's hand. It's all up to you. perhaps you are really good at Transfiguration and want to show off your skills. you just need to find someone to play against and show them how well you have learned your lessons! =========================================== . what type of cards you want to use in your deck. and think about what you want to do. in "real world" language. If you have lots of high cost cards. you need to decide how many Lesson cards to include in your deck. it's a good idea to include 2 different Lesson types in your deck.decide which Adventure cards you want to include in your deck. And remember.How to Build a Deck for the Harry Potter Trading Card Game By Steve Warner If you've played a few matches of the Harry Potter TCG using the beginning rules on the playmat. you might want to consider adding some Wands or Cauldrons to your deck as well. Usually you will want about 25 out of the 60 cards in your deck to be Lessons. Remember though. Next. This will give you more flexibility in dealing with whatever Lessons your opponent plays. each player can have only 1 Adventure card in play at a time. Or.which add a lot of fun to the game -. Perhaps you want to play Spells and Items to make your opponent discard the cards in his or her hand. and how you want to win. If you plan on running some Adventures -. you may now be wondering how you can take your game to the next level. why don't you design your own customized deck and show people just how good you really are at the game? The first thing you want to do when building a deck is to decide what classes you want to specialize in -. These could be crucial to allowing you to get out the Lessons you need quickly enough to play your high cost cards. If you have less than 25-30 Lessons. Each Character has a different ability. Do you want to teach your opponent about Creatures? Maybe you want to practice some Potions or Charms on your opponent. (Adventure cards are cards you can play to give your opponent a challenge to overcome.) When choosing which Adventures you want to use. he or she can't play any cards that will hurt you! Or maybe you want to use Potion cards to damage your opponent directly. Even if you have 12 Potion Lessons in play. you need to put more of those Lessons into your deck to account for that. If you include too few Lesson cards in your deck. If most of your cards are very low cost. Another important thing to think about is that sometimes Spells and Creatures will make you discard Lesson cards. and you will be on your way to victory! ============================================ . I suggest that you have at least 27 Lessons total in your deck. you can probably get away with 24 Lesson cards. learn your lessons about the number of Lesson cards to include in your deck by going through these simple steps. The first thing you should do is decide how many different types of Lessons you want to have in your deck. it's not worth it to include Wands and Cauldrons in your deck. these Lessons won't help if you draw a Creature card and don't have any Creature Lesson cards in play. and just a handful of high-cost cards.Strategy: Lesson Cards By Steve Warner How many Lesson cards should I include in my deck? If you are playing the Harry Potter Trading Card Game (TCG). you probably won't draw enough of them to put the cards that you do draw into play. Next you want to decide if you are going to use Wands or Cauldrons. chances are you'll probably draw them too often. and one that can greatly affect your game. If you mostly have really low-cost Spells and Creatures. Wands and Cauldrons are great Item cards that provide you with extra power. It's usually a good idea to have no more than 3 different types of Lessons. look at how many of each kind of card you have. If many of your cards are high cost. that's a good question to ask. If you have Spells and Creatures that have high costs. Too much power won't do you any good in that case. Finally. figure out how many of each Lesson type you need. for example. Ask yourself. you also need to consider how many of each type you should have. Besides thinking about how many Lessons you should include. Once that's decided. If you have too many Lesson cards. these Item cards are extremely useful. "Do I have any cards in my deck that make me discard my Lesson cards?" If you do. keeping you from getting other important cards you might need. consider upping that to about 30 Lessons. but no less! So. then you'll want to add more Creature Lessons and keep just a few Potions Lessons. If you have 17 Creature cards and only 8 Potions cards. or 7 damage if you use Hagrid's ability! The only downside to Norbert is that you do have to discard 2 Creature Lessons. (including the turn that you bring Unicorn into play). For the "Double Trouble Boil and Bubble" deck. those Creatures would get to do their damage again! Now do you understand the name of the deck? Steelclaw doubles the damage! The Creature cards Pet Toad and Kelpie are also very good at preventing direct damage and keeping you from discarding cards. Here's another thing to watch: Since both Rubeus Hagrid and Norbert are unique cards. you want to have 7 Lessons in play as quickly as possible (which the starting Character card Hermione Granger does well!). once you play a Norbert.Deck Check: "Double Trouble Boil and Bubble" By Steve Warner "Double Trouble Boil and Bubble" isn't the name of a Spell. you'd want to use Mysterious Egg to find the Creature card Norbert and put it into your hand. Also. and then you play Steelclaw. it does 2 more damage than it normally would. lies with Steelclaw. when 1 of your Creatures does 3 or more damage. you can't play another until the first one leaves play. But give this card a chance -. or even play more Creatures then your opponent can handle! The real strength of the "Double Trouble Boil and Bubble" deck. if you have Creatures in play that do damage to your opponent at the start of your turn. Steelclaw has all of your creatures deal their damage to your opponent again. if your opponent plays one first. This ability is especially strong when combined with the Spell card Steelclaw. So. With Hagrid's ability. you can have only one in play at a time. You want to play Norbert and then use Steelclaw immediately afterward.Unicorn is actually very helpful! Using the extra Action Unicorn provides can allow you to draw extra cards. So. Guard Dog is a strong card because not only does it do 3 damage. it's a new deck I designed for the Harry Potter Trading Card Game (TCG)! The main goal of this deck is to overwhelm your opponent with strong Creatures that become even stronger using Hagrid's Character ability. so that you can play the Creature card Guard Dog. This will make Norbert do 7 damage to your opponent twice and let him or her know that you've been paying attention during class! "Double Trouble Boil and Bubble" deck Starting Character (1) = Hermione Granger Characters (3) = 3 Rubeus Hagrid Creatures (23) 2 Baby Dragon . but it also has 5 Health! Its high Health makes Guard Dog a very hard card for your opponent to get rid of. At first. This is because you can let them take the damage from a Spell card instead of letting it affect you! Mysterious Egg is a Spell card that allows you to search your deck. Unicorn is another great Creature card to use in your deck because you get to take an extra Action each turn. you can't play yours until you get rid of their card! When using the "Double Trouble" deck. it might be easy to overlook Unicorn because it deals no damage. though. Norbert is an extremely powerful dragon that does 5 damage -. 4 Guard Dog 2 Kelpie 2 Mountain Troll 3 Norbert 2 Pet Toad 2 Scottish Stag 2 Unicorn 4 Vicious Wolf Items (3) = 3 Cage Spells (7) 1 Hagrid and the Stranger 2 Mysterious Egg 4 SteelClaw Lessons (24) 9 Transfiguration 15 Care of Magical Creatures ========================================== . Opponent's Reward: Your opponent may draw a card. but they have a drawback -. (Apparate allows a player to discard the Adventure that his or her opponent just played. Don't worry! If you have Reptile House in your deck you definitely want to include Lost Notes. your opponent is limited to just 1 Lesson per turn! Plus. then you'll quickly gain the upper hand because you will have more Lessons in play and can therefore play more Creatures. but it won't win the game for you by itself.) Now that you have the advantage of being able to play more Lesson cards than your opponent. You might be reluctant to add Lost Notes to your deck because it has a cost of 5 Lessons. Epoximise allows you to discard a Charms Lesson. Because of this. Normally in the Harry Potter TCG. with a little luck. and you want to make sure you can keep up the strong offense in the middle of the game. If you can make your opponent discard at least 1 Lesson every turn from the start of the game. and the Harry Potter TCG is no exception. Spells. Lesson cards allow you to put other cards into play. your opponent's deck will include cards that force him or her to discard his or her own cards. Item. This is because Reptile House is really only helpful at the beginning of the game.Single Card Strategies: Reptile House By Adam Conus Putting cards quickly into play is a huge advantage in any trading card game. Restricted Section allows you to discard a Flying Lesson. However. and Creature cards. your opponent will be in a serious world of hurt! Keeping your opponent from playing Lessons by using cards like Reptile House can be an effective tactic. so decide what sort of cards you want to use to deal damage to your opponent. This will prevent your opponent from playing more Lessons very quickly. To Solve: Your opponent chooses 4 of his or her Lessons in play and discards them. when you play the Adventure card Reptile House.like with the Spell card Apparate. and Cauldron to Sieve allows you to discard a Potions Lesson. while cards like . If this is the case. and Items! And. your opponent is playing his or her Lessons just as fast! This is where the Adventure card Reptile House comes in. your opponent will probably simply choose to endure the effect unless he or she can get rid of Reptile House some other way -. Reptile House Adventure Effect: Your opponent can't use more than 1 Action to play Lesson cards during each of his or her turns. Still.each one can discard only 1 specific type of Lesson. Since your opponent can play only 1 Lesson per turn thanks to Reptile House. you want to make things even more difficult for him or her. maybe you can make him or her discard that Lesson! The Spell card Lost Notes is an easy way to do this as it allows you to choose 1 of your opponent's Items or Lessons and discard it. solving Reptile House is very difficult for your opponent because your opponent must choose 4 of his or her Lessons in play and discard them. To win the game you need to make your opponent discard more than just Lessons. the sooner you'll be able to play your Spell. too! There are other Spell cards that work well with Reptile House and allow you to discard your opponent's Lessons from play. as well. These Spells cost less than Lost Notes and can be played earlier in the game. and each action can be spent playing a Lesson. It's for this reason that players spend the first few turns of the game putting Lesson cards into play as quickly as possible (when they are lucky enough to have them in their hand). a player gets 2 Actions per turn. so it might take a bit longer to put into play. while you are playing your Lessons as quickly as you can get them. Avifors allows you to discard a Care of Magical Creatures Lesson. Thus. so the quicker you get your Lessons on the table. Reptile House won't win the game single handedly. they go a long way toward giving you the advantage! ========================================== . Further cards are available in booster sets each containing 11 cards. The Base Set Card List is divided into five categories: Holo-portrait premium Dean Thomas (card #1) Draco Malfoy (card #2) Hannah Abbott (card #7) Harry Potter (card #8) Hermione Granger (card #9) Nearly Headless Nick (card #13) Professor Filius Flitwick (card #15) Professor Severus Snape (card #16) Ron Weasley (card #17) Rubeus Hagrid (card #18) Foil premium Draco Malfoy (card #3) Dragon's Escape (card #4) Elixir of Life (card #5) Gringotts Cart Ride (card #6) Hermoine Granger (card #10) Human Chess Game (card #11) Invisibility Cloak (card #12) Obliviate (card #14) Troll in the Bathroom (card #19) Unicorn (card #20) Rare • Delivery Owl (card #21) • Draught of the Living Death (card #22) • Harry Hunting (card #23) • History of Magic (card #24) • Incendio (card #25) • Malevolent Mixture (card #26) • Meet the Centaurs (card #27) • Mountain Troll (card #28) • Mrs.Card Lists The following cards are featured in the Harry Potter TCG Base Set Card Game. Norris (card #29) • Norbert (card #30) • Phoenix Feather Wand (card #31) • Platform 9¾ (card #32) • Potion Ingredients (card #33) • Raven to Writing Desk (card #34) • Shrinking Potion (card #35) • Titillando (card #36) • Transfiguration Exam (card #37) • Transfiguration Test (card #38) Uncommon • Privet Drive (card #39) • Alchemy (card #40) • Apothecary (card #41) • Apparate (card #42) • Baby Dragon (card #43) • Bluebell Flames (card #44) • Burning Bitterroot Balm (card #45) • Cage (card #46) • Confundus (card #47) . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Diagon Alley (card # 48) Dogbreath Potion (card #49) Draco's Trick (card #50) Dragon Heart Wand (card #51) Fumos (card #52) Guard Dog (card #53) Hiding from Snape (card #54) Kelpie (card #55) Logic Puzzle (card #56) Mysterious Egg (card #57) Nurture (card #58) Ollivanders (card #59) Peeves Cause Trouble (card #60) Pet Toad (card #61) Pomfrey's Pick-Me-Up (card #62) Potions Exam (card #63) Reptile House (card #64) Silver Cauldron (card # 65) Snuffling Potion (card #66) Stupefy (card #67) Take Root (card #68) Transmogrify (card #69) Unusual Pets (card #70) Vanishing Glass (card #71) Winged Keys (card#72) Common Accio (card #73) Avifors (card #74) Baubillious (card #75) Boa Constrictor (card #76) Boil Cure (card #77) Borrowed Wand (card #78) Cauldron to Sieve (card #79) Curious Raven (card #80) Dungbomb (card #81) Epoximise (card #82) Erumpent Potion (card #83) Fluffy Falls Asleep (card #84) Forest Troll (card #85) Forgetfulness Potion (card #86) Foul Brew (card #87) Giant Tarantula (card #88) Hagrid and the Stranger (card #89) Homework (card #90) Hospital Wing (card #91) Illegibilus (card #92) Incarcifors (card #93) Lost Notes (card #94) Magical Mishap (card #95) Noxious Poison (card #96) Out of the Woods (card #97) Pet Rat (card #98) Pewter Cauldron (card #99) . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Potions Mistake (card #100) Remembrall (card #101) Restricted Section (card #102) Scottish Stag (card #103) Snape's Question (card #104) Squiggle Quill (card #105) Steelclaw (card (#106) Surly Hound (card #107) Toe Biter (card #108) Vermillious (card #109) Vicious Wolf (card #110) Wingaredium Leviosa! (card #111) Wizard Crackers (card #112) Other Cards Care of Magical Creatures (card# 113) Charms (card #114) Potions (card #115) Transfiguration (card #116) ========================= . Harry Potter Trading Card Game Card List 1 Dean Thomas: Holo-portrait premium 2 Draco Malfoy: Holo-portrait premium 3 Draco Malfoy: Foil premium 4 Dragon's Escape: Foil premium 5 Elixir of Life: Foil premium 6 Gringotts Cart Ride: Foil premium 7 Hannah Abbott: Holo-portrait premium 8 Harry Potter: Holo-portrait premium 9 Hermione Granger: Holo-portrait premium 10 Hermione Granger: Foil premium 11 Human Chess Game: Foil premium 12 Invisibility Cloak : Foil premium 13 Nearly Headless Nick: Holo-portrait premium 14 Obliviate: Foil premium 15 Professor Filius Flitwick: Holo-portrait premium 16 Professor Severus Snape: Holo-portrait premium 17 Ron Weasley: Holo-portrait premium 18 Rubeus Hagrid: Holo-portrait premium 19 Troll in the Bathroom: Foil premium 20 Unicorn: Foil premium 21 Delivery Owl: Rare 22 Draught of Living Death: Rare 23 Harry Hunting: Rare 24 History of Magic: Rare 25 Incendio: Rare 26 Malevolent Mixture: Rare 27 Meet the Centaurs: Rare 28 Mountain Troll: Rare 29 Mrs Norris: Rare 30 Norbert: Rare 31 Phoenix Feather Wand: Rare 32 Platform 9 3/4: Rare 33 Potion Ingredients: Rare 34 Raven to Writing Desk: Rare 35 Shrinking Potion: Rare 36 Titillando: Rare 37 Transfiguration Exam: Rare 38 Transfiguration Test: Rare 39 Privet Drive: Uncommon 40 Alchemy: Uncommon 41 Apothecary: Uncommon 42 Apparate: Uncommon 43 Baby Dragon: Uncommon 44 Bluebell: Flames: Uncommon 45 Burning Bitterroot Balm: Uncommon 46 Cage: Uncommon 47 Confundus: Uncommon 48 Diagon Alley: Uncommon 49 Dogbreath Potion: Uncommon 50 Draco's Trick: Uncommon 51 Dragon Heart Wand: Uncommon 52 Fumos: Uncommon 53 Guard Dog: Uncommon 54 Hiding From Snape: Uncommon 55 Kelpie: Uncommon 56 Logic Puzzle: Uncommon 57 Mysterious Egg: Uncommon 58 Nurture: Uncommon 59 Ollivanders: Uncommon 60 Peeves Causes Trouble: Uncommon 61 Pet Toad: Uncommon 62 Pomfrey's Pick-Me-Up: Uncommon . 63 Potions Exam: Uncommon 64 Reptile House: Uncommon 65 Silver Cauldron: Uncommon 66 Snuffling Potion: Uncommon 67 Stupefy: Uncommon 68 Take Root: Uncommon 69 Transmogrify: Uncommon 70 Unusual Pets: Uncommon 71 Vanishing Glass: Uncommon 72 Winged Keys: Uncommon 73 Accio: Common 74 Avifors: Common 75 Baubillious: Common 76 Boa Constrictor: Common 77 Boil Cure: Common 78 Borrowed Wand: Common 79 Cauldron to Sieve: Common 80 Curious Raven: Common 81 Dungbomb: Common 82 Epoximise: Common 83 Erumpent Potion: Common 84 Fluffy Falls Asleep: Common 85 Forest Troll: Common 86 Forgetfulness Potion: Common 87 Foul Brew: Common 88 Giant Tarantula: Common 89 Hagrid and the Stranger: Common 90 Homework: Common 91 Hospital Wing: Common 92 Illegibilus: Common 93 Incarcifors: Common 94 Lost Notes: Common 95 Magical Mishap: Common 96 Noxious Poison: Common 97 Out of the Woods: Common 98 Pet Rat: Common 99 Pewter Cauldron: Common 100 Potions Mistake: Common 101 Remembrall: Common 102 Restricted Section: Common 103 Scottish Stag: Common 104 Snape's Question: Common 105 Squiggle Quill: Common 106 Steelclaw: Common 107 Surly Hound: Common 108 Toe Biter: Common 109 Vermillious: Common 110 Vicious Wolf: Common 111 Wingardium Leviosa!: Common 112 Wizard Crackers: Common 113 Care of Magical Creatures 114 Charms 115 Potions 116 Transfiguration ===================================== . So. Choosing Lessons The first step in building a Harry Potter deck is to choose which types of Lessons you want to use. Alchemy allows you to search your deck for up to 2 Lesson cards and put them in your hand. such as Shrinking Potion and Snuffling Potion. which can be used to damage your opponent or a Creature that is damaging you. It is possible to build a deck without Creatures. Putting Potions in your deck will give you many ways to hurt your opponent and his or her Creatures. Some of the best Spells for pulling cards from your deck are also Transfiguration cards. There are many ways to build a TCG deck. and I would suggest you limit yourself to no more than three types of Lessons in a single deck. As I said. Part One Welcome to Harry Potter Trading Card Game 101 where we're learning basic strategies for playing and winning the Harry Potter trading card game (TCG). Potions cards have most of the versatile damage Spells. In the first two lessons. I will show you a simple way to build your first Harry Potter TCG deck. Care of Magical Creatures is an obvious choice for almost every deck. Incarcifors. is a Charms Spell. we'll look at how to make your own Harry Potter TCG deck. and a lot of strategy. some thought. This will help insure that you always have the right Lessons for the cards you want to play. Transfiguration is the route to go. These Spells allow you to strip cards out of your opponent's hand before he or she even gets a chance to use them.Harry Potter Trading Card Game Strategy 101: Basic Deck-Building. because you need this Lesson to play any Creature card in your deck. as well as many cards like Magical Mishap that deal damage only to opponents. So. choosing which two or three types of Lessons to put into your deck should be based on which strategies you wish to use. And you don't have to give up versatility with Charms either. and start playing. The guidelines . This choice should be based on the offensive and defensive strategies you want to use. for manipulating your deck and destroying cards in play. You can use this as a guide when you choose which Lessons to create your deck around. letting you recover key cards you have lost to damage or even use the same Spell twice in the same duel. so most decks will use Care of Magical Creatures Lessons. Transfiguration is equally powerful in its own right. use Charms if you really like to disrupt your opponent or reuse cards in your own discard pile. You don't need to do damage when you can use Incarcifors to easily destroy any Creature. it's time to put them to work in your own deck. and Squiggle Quill allow you to choose cards your opponent has in play (Care of Magical Creatures Lessons. so you can have more time to build up your offense. So. shuffle them together. like Erumpent Potion and Foul Brew. you can tweak these decks or look for brand new strategies that no other Wizard or Witch has imagined. let you heal yourself. Perhaps the best damage Spell. While there aren't any Transfiguration direct damage Spells. for a more reliable deck. though. as all of the other Lesson types have ways to deal damage to your opponent's deck. Some Charms Spells also allow you to reuse cards from your discard pile. You also need Potions Lessons for any Healing cards in your deck as well as some of the best damage prevention and disruption Spells. But you can't just take a handful of cards. In fact. especially in the early parts of the game. and give you some good ways to slow down your opponent's game. In these two articles. Half of the fun of a trading card game is building new decks to play with against your friends. Now that you understand those concepts a little better. we discussed the basics of both offense and defense. Items) and discard them. After you start to master the game. This is called "deck manipulation" because these Spells allow you to go into your deck and manipulate it in such a way that you get the cards you need when you need them. For example. starting with how to choose the Lessons and the Creatures for your deck. Transmogrify lets you discard a Creature you have in play to go into your deck and find a better Creature. This is a great way to disrupt your opponent's strategy. use only two types of Lessons. But these strategies will often depend on which way you like to play the game. Creatures. Cards like Avifors. Creatures are the most potent offensive weapons. Building a deck takes time. Vermillious. this class does have most of the card destruction Spells in the basic set. for the next two lessons. Here is a very basic rundown of the strengths of each Lesson type. Charms cards are the home of most of the discard effects in the Harry Potter TCG. If you have a bunch of Mountain Troll. or you can use some of the Charms Spells that allow you to get cards back out of your discard pile to reuse those Lessons. the more Lessons you need to put it into play. and Vicious Wolf cards in your deck. If you like to use Creatures for offense. And if you want to destroy every card your opponent plays. You also need some way to keep your big Creatures in the game long enough to deal those big blows.above can help you decide on the Lessons to use depending on which strategy you like. based on how much Power you need to put into play. you can start playing Creatures on the first or second turn and keep putting bigger and better Creatures into play every turn as you add more Lessons. You sacrifice early damage to deal a lot of damage later in the game. giving you more room for the disruption and Healing cards you'll need. Guard Dog. you'll want some smaller Creatures like Curious Raven and Pet Rat that you can put into play early as well. The second strategy is to use only the cheapest. and look at some advanced topics such as how to speed up your deck and some ways to add a few surprises for your opponent. Charms and Potions are strong contenders. it's important to pick the right mix of Creatures for your deck. This gives you great momentum throughout the game and keeps pressure on your opponent to do something about your Creatures. To pull this off you need a couple things. or destroying the cards your opponent has already put into play. That might work if you have a very defensive deck or some way to get Lessons into play quickly (and we'll talk about that in part two). Until then. get back to your lessons! ============================= . Creatures like Forest Troll and Giant Tarantula are great for this strategy because they do as much or more damage than the Power you need to put them into play. The bigger the Creature. you'll want to look at Charms. which remove all damage counters from your Creatures. So. just don't put any big-cost Spells in your deck. hoping to defeat your opponent quickly in the middle to later parts of the game with a lot of Creature damage. you'll have to rely on Transfiguration. destruction) cards in your deck. but otherwise. I would use about 15 to 20 Creatures. For the slow buildup strategy and the hit 'em fast and hard strategies. Having said that. If Creatures are going to be a big part of your offense. Choosing Creatures If you do plan to use Creatures as one of your primary offensive weapons. forcing him or her to discard cards. The first strategy. What's Next? Next time we'll talk about choosing Spells and Adventures to help your strategy. you don't need to find your Creatures until later in the game. disruption. as I said. if you like to deal damage. If you like to remove cards from your opponent's hand. This can be a very strong strategy if you build your deck correctly. In addition. so you can go with as few as 10 Creatures. which give all your Creatures another chance to deal damage. For the big Creature strategy. The downside is that most of these Creatures make you discard a Lesson to put them into play. either damaging his or her Creatures. The third strategy is the "big" Creature strategy I discussed above. is to have a variety of Creature sizes. so you can't build up to larger Creatures and Spells because all of your extra Lesson cards end up in your discard pile. Just remember to have a balance of both offensive (damage dealing) and defensive (Healing. I will say that there are three basic strategies to use in a Creature-based deck. it can be very powerful. This strategy is the toughest to pull off. This strategy gets your offense going very quickly because you can start doing lots of damage in the first few turns of the game. To get around this. you'll need to decide which of these strategies you want to use and then pick the Creatures for the job. so you may want some Nurture cards. you won't start dealing damage until many turns into the game. I might add some Healing Spells to keep you in the game late and give you another chance to draw some of your big Creatures that you might have lost. so you don't just sit there drawing cards and playing Lessons every turn. but with the right mix of cards. you'll definitely need Care of Magical Creatures. You need some way to disrupt your opponent early. which should mean that he or she won't have time to get going on his or her own strategy. This way. most damaging Creatures you can find. and Steelclaw cards. discuss how many Lesson cards to include in your deck. Deck Check: Fred and George's Excellent Adventure Sometimes we'd see Fred and George doing something in all innocence only to find that they'd actually set up something less innocent. So. He acts just like a Pet Toad. Use this particular Adventure card early on or when your opponent is holding a lot of cards in his or her hand. that he is Unique. That's 2 for 1. Although this sneaky little frog gets lost a lot. One day Professor Snape found a live baby boa constrictor in a glass jar that was supposed to hold dried roots. they also get an empty hand and YOU get a smile on your face. the boys had been seen nearby just after Snape had dismissed his class and left the day before. You need only one Action to play the Adventure card (instead of the normal turn). Nobody could prove that they'd been there. let me explain some of these Adventure cards. while the Cunning Fox would be easy to take out normally. Hagrid Needs Help. Now. "Fred and George's Excellent Adventure" deck Starting Character Fred & George Weasley Adventures (16) 4 4 Privet Drive 4 Hagrid Needs Help 4 Peeves Causes Trouble 2 Snape's Bias 2 Sticking Up for Neville Creatures (10) 4 Boa Constrictor 3 Cunning Fox 3 Trevor Spells (16) 4 Stream of Flames 4 Toe Biter . and it gave Snape quite a start by immediately wrapping itself around his hand as he reached in. Cunning Fox does 3 damage. which I always like to use because it does 2 damage to either a Creature card or player and lets you draw a card. For longer games I have a couple Creature cards. thanks to you! I also have some Boa Constrictor cards in there because they are fairly cheap (costing only 4 Power) and do 2 damage each round. Now for defense! What better defense can you have than a few Charms Spell cards? Stream of Flames. That covers a couple of the Adventures you might set up. Of course. by deciding to stick up for Neville. is simply a great Adventure. Well. after all. your opponent should be quite busy trying to deal with all the Adventure cards that Fred and George have sprung on them. At the start of each of your turns. One of my favorites from this set. he is very useful when you have him with you. To keep some of the damage down. and with this deck. where you may have all damage dealt to you by a Spell card be dealt to him instead. which costs 1 more than Vermillious. So. but it has only 1 Health. we have Sticking Up for Neville. and I always like that! When added with Toe Biter. and they are determined to have a good time. To stop that damage and solve this Adventure. I have 3 Trevor cards. I also have Rope Bind. They always seek the next big adventure or joke. Their reward is a little nice -. (See Prefect Conus's Single Card Strategy: Hagrid Need Help article for this week for more about the card!) Next. Strangely enough. nobody told Snape or any of those Slytherins. so only 1 can be in play at a time. Perhaps we will look at a game of Quidditch next! The class that witnessed Snape reaction had a pop quiz that day to distract them. does 3 damage to your opponent AND a Creature card. However. you get that added little bonus of 2 damage instead of drawing just a card. your opponent has to discard his or her hand. but he also lets you get a Lesson card from your discard and put it in your hand when you play him. you can cause your opponent a fair amount of chagrin.they get to "heal" 4 cards back to the bottom of their deck in any order. The snake had quite enough air to breath because the lid had holes in it. Keep in mind. your opponent takes 4 damage. though. you'll find that they like to drag everyone else with them along for the ride. First off. Ron's brothers are here. so that means that you can play it and still get 1 more Action to play something else. that is the adventure that Fred and George have in store for you and your opponent. Fred & George Weasley have a great ability when it comes to Adventure cards. you can do 3 damage and make them discard 3 cards. you can use Transfiguration Test to knock your opponent's Creatures down really quick. Your opponent has to discard 6 cards to get rid of it. Draco's ability assists this process by allowing you to discard anything in your opponent's hand that he or she might find useful. With the aid of his father's guard dog and a nifty Wand. you can get rid of some of those very powerful attack Spells. Next comes lockdown! Adventures like 4 Privet Drive. which states that your opponent cannot cast Spells. you can discard a card to look at your opponent's hand and make him or her discard a card of your choice. So be careful not to cross Draco. As a result. Also. because the people that do tend to come into some very bad luck! "Draco's Special" deck Starting Character (1) Draco Malfoy Adventures (6) 4 4 Privet Drive 2 Human Chess Game Creatures (4) 4 Guard Dog Items (2) 2 Dragon Heart Wand . The great thing about the combo of this Adventure and Draco's ability is that you don't play a card to use Draco's ability. simply work on keeping your opponent's hand down and keep making it hard to build up enough cards to get rid of the Adventure.4 Rope Bind 4 Stupefy Lessons (18) 9 Care of Magical Creatures 9 Charms ============================================== Deck Check: Draco's Special Draco learned a few tricks from his father long before he entered Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. which also makes it so they have a hard time to solve the Adventure. This is very useful. Draco becomes a hard challenge to beat. which allows you to keep his or her hand down. Human Chess Game requires that your opponent discard a Character (other then his or her starting Character) or 8 cards. which is great when your opponent is building his or her hand up to get rid of 4 Privet Drive. This deck gives you an idea of what he has learned and allows you to use his knowledge to your advantage! First. Since you'll probably have only 1 Guard Dog out anyway. Transfiguration Test cards are wonderful because they make everyone go down to 1 Creature. these are the lessons Draco's father taught him. If your opponent is not running Creatures. Well. are just great. then you can hit him or her with the Spells. The Dragon Heart Wand cards allow you to get started quickly if you can get them out on the table. all of the Charms and Transfiguration Spells get rid of pesky Creatures. Once you get out 4 Privet Drive or Human Chess Game. you start with his ability to disrupt opponent's hands! With his ability. especially for getting rid of any of your opponent's Healing Spells. You can send out another Guard Dog out to chomp at your opponent while you keep his or her hand clear of anything useful. or you can discard the Spells to make your opponent discard some of those cards that he or she might be saving up. Another Adventure called Human Chess Game states that your opponent can't play any cards if you did not play any on your last turn. Also. Use Transfiguration Test in combination with another card (like Bluebell Flames) to get rid of your opponent's last Creature. This trick is really nice if you get a Guard Dog out. like Draught of Living Death. making it so that you have the only Creature left. you can keep your opponent's hand down. because you do 3 damage a round. while your opponent can't play any Spells to get rid of it. With Spells like Titillando. " --Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. particularly if a Wizard like Draco Malfoy appears and threatens the cards in your hand with his sneaky ways. Dean Thomas. While you certainly can do fine with Characters like Dean in play at the start of the game. This means you don't want to overdo it with card-drawing effects. about football. as if from afar. and Alchemy cards in there as well. Dean's ability may also be saved until later. Each time they appear. rather than starting with them. playing them when I draw them. if you like. if you draw a second (or third. the safest time to use Dean's ability is at the beginning of your turn. Rowling The fog settles thickly on the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "Choose me!" Then I wake up. Delivery Owl. safe and sound in my bed at Hogwarts. I hear them say. In general. For this reason I'd never recommend including more than 2 of any Unique Character in your deck. As there is no way for you to remove a Character card once you've put it into play.she likes to stick around and finish the duel that she begins! As it takes 2 Actions to put a Character into play. You can get away with more copies of Unique Creatures. you've lost. I can recognize some of the people: Harry Potter. those extras will simply be taking up space in your hand. as Character abilities don't take Actions unless the ability says otherwise. You may use Dean's ability on the turn you put him into play. who shared their dormitory. Without any cards at all. you might find that you're weakening yourself against the onslaught of your opponent. When your deck is out of cards. Dean Thomas is a great example of someone who can help you after you being your adventures! Dean allows you to draw 3 cards once per game. But. Including Dean Thomas as your starting Wizard or just putting him in your deck is fine. Hermione Granger. some Characters might be more useful if you include them in your deck. what you are effectively doing with Dean Thomas is exchanging 2 Actions for 3 cards. Harry can spend 2 Actions to draw 4 cards where taking the 2 Actions to play Dean Thomas nets you only 3. Once you've drawn those cards. Also note that it doesn't make sense to play Dean Thomas in your deck if you're starting with Harry Potter. you don't have to start with a Character to have him or her help you! In fact. which wizard or witch should I choose to be on my side during my adventures? The obvious thing to consider when giving thought to which Witch or Wizard to include in your deck is how you would build a deck around that card using it as your starting Character. I prefer to use the Characters with one-use abilities in my deck. While drawing cards is usually a good thing. like . muffling every sound. Professor Flitwick.K. Forms appear briefly. This allows me to use the ongoing powers of someone like Hermione to my best advantage -. Putting more than 1 of any Character card in your deck is a risk. while you still have your full set of Actions left.Spells (26) 4 Bluebell Flames 4 Fumos 4 Incarcifors 2 Obliviate 4 Titillando 4 Toe Biter 1 Transfiguration Exam 3 Transfiguration Test Lessons (22) 5 Care of Magical Creatures 10 Charms 7 Transfiguration ====================================== Single Card Strategies: Dean Thomas By Prefect Adam Conus "Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas. then sink back into the dank bank of fog. he has helped you as much as he can. or fourth) Dean Thomas after you've played your first one. remember that the cards in your deck also represent how much damage you can take. The thing is. but if you've also got Harry Potter. Norbert doubly so. rush about throwing on my clothes and robe. Those Potions Exams don't happen every day. thankfully! Otherwise you'd be studying all the time! Hermione calls out from downstairs. ========================== . because Creatures are frequently discarded from play. "It's almost time for classes! Get out of bed.I hear Dean Thomas laughing loudly. you can call on Dean's assistance again and draw another 3 cards. (Norbert is. If this happens. I'm not quite sure. a bit of a nuisance to your opponent in the duel!) The only way you'll ever get Dean Thomas (or any Character) out of play is if your opponent plays a card like Potions Exam that causes any sort of card in play to be discarded. However. silly!" As I jump out of bed. just because it's possible.Norbert. after all. and head downstairs. don't count on it happening. but I think he was laughing at something someone said about Slytherin students. Now. you can draw 2 cards any time you use an Action to draw cards. or even cards in your deck (if you have some way to get at them quickly and easily). There are also Spells that get you extra cards. Of course. The limitations of the other could cause you to lose the duel because of your lack of choices and inability to adapt to your foe's style of dueling. Cards like Mysterious Egg.Harry Potter Trading Card Game Strategy 101: Basics of Card Advantage. or you can walk the middle road between these two extremes. Then next time. you start to run out of cards in your deck? Quite simply. There are many ways to draw extra cards during a Harry Potter TCG duel. which gives you an advantage on cards in play. or Items. Part One I learned today that it's sometimes a very good idea to have several options when you're in a duel. You can come to the duel having a lot of spells ready to go. There are several ways to gain card advantage in the Harry Potter trading card game. The Unicorn Creature card is great for this purpose. hands down. Simply put. In this lesson. Card drawing is a balancing act between . you get an extra Action every turn. Plus Unicorn has a health of 6. you might just come out on top like I did! Just be careful that you don't get so distracted by what you could do that you don't do anything or waste your spells and lose the duel because your opponent outlasted or outsmarted you! One of the first advances in trading card game strategy came when players realized that more cards give you more options. Drawing Cards for Fun and Advantage There is a balancing act involved with how many and what kinds of spells to use against your opponent in a duel. you can soon have a hand full of cards -. we'll take a brief look at drawing extra cards and getting a jump on your Lessons for a fast start. we'll take a look at the darker side of card advantage: destroying your opponent's cards and forcing your opponent to discard cards from his or her hand. or Spells. Alchemy can be pretty useful. While this can help you. giving you an advantage by limiting your opponent's choices. especially when it comes to drawing cards. that brings me to the downside of the all this card drawing. The method you choose will depend on your style of dueling. allow you to search your deck for specific cards (in this case 2 Lesson cards) and put them in your hand. giving you a jump on your opponent in the first few turns of the game.and options -. You can put Lessons into play quickly. but it is also one of the most dangerous. The versatility of the one might lead to you wasting your energies on choosing which one to use (or digging for just the right potion!). But if you need Lessons. let's look at some of the better card-drawing cards in the game that can help you win. You can destroy your opponent's Lesson. cards on the table. like Alchemy. You can simply draw more cards than your opponent. Remember. Once you have it in play. perhaps. Creatures. which lets you search your deck for a Creature card. this ability doesn't affect your 1 free draw at the beginning of your turn. the easiest path to card advantage. Your opponent might have something for you that you never expected and that disrupts your usual spells.for the later parts of the game. Some of these. What happens if you draw so many cards. The middle ground is always to be sought after. if you come prepared with a variety of options and the knowledge (and studying) to back up those options. and what Lessons you tend to excel at. Use the Unicorn Creature card with the Harry Potter Character card and you'll never run out of cards in your hand. Just by playing Harry Potter as your starting Character. Harry Potter is the best card in the game. However. giving you more cards in your hand with which to play. This can be cards in hand. which in turn might lead to your foe winning due to you squandering your thought and energy. so it is hard to destroy with damage. The trick is balancing your card drawing with the knowledge that every card you take from your deck puts you one step closer to losing the game. you can limit yourself to a special few. which gives you an advantage over your opponents. this only nets you 1 extra card because you used 1 card to get 1. you lose. But before we discuss how to avoid losing. Creatures. And you can force your opponent to discard cards from his or her hand. do not give you card advantage because you are just trading the Mysterious Egg card for a Creature card. card advantage is the edge you get when you have more cards you can use than your opponent has. often just having another Creature card in your deck works just as well. but if you use several Actions to draw cards during the first few turns of the game. One last way to get more cards into your hand is to get more Actions during your turn so you can draw extra cards without losing momentum playing Lessons. which Character you like to ally yourself with. but it can be a most difficult thing to achieve and retain! Drawing cards is. just like Hermione's ability. Jump Start Your Lessons Studying is the key to learning new spells. Be sure that your efforts gain you more than you give! That's a quick rundown on some basic ways to gain card advantage through drawing more cards or playing more Lessons than your opponent can. This is why we stress putting enough Lessons in your deck. But having extra Wands in your deck will give you a better chance of finding one early in the game. These Characters can get you a head start right from the beginning of the game. and there's no rule against having both Borrowed Wands and Phoenix Feather Wands in your deck. If you study hard enough. which can be very important if you run up against an opponent who likes to destroy your Lessons to gain his or her own card advantage. Sure. which could mean the difference between winning and losing the duel. For extra Lessons. Homework is a Spell that gives you the ability to put 2 Lessons into play. you're going to lose. Obviously the best Wand is the Phoenix Feather Wand. but you can also use Accio to get Lesson cards back out of your discard pile and reuse them later in the game. The other way you can gain Lesson advantage over your opponent is to use Items like Wands or Cauldrons or certain Characters. It's like putting 2 Lesson cards down at once. if your opponent puts down a Lesson once per turn for the first 6 turns. The basic Wand card. But in those close duels where both players get enough Lessons. you can't have more than one Wand in play at a time. Getting the first large Creature on the table and starting to do 2 or 3 damage every turn can force your opponent into a defensive game. Hermione lets you play 2 Lesson cards instead of just 1.getting more options and running the risk of drawing yourself out of the game. The best one is the Hermione Granger Character card. If you don't study hard enough. but you can still use those 3 Lessons. In many duels. Borrowed Wand. you can turn to Cauldrons and Characters like Professor Filius Flitwick and Professor Severus Snape. Just remember. This gives you more time to use all those cards and you run less risk of losing from drawing too many cards. those Lessons can never be taken away from you. Plus. gives you 2 Charms Lessons at the cost of 1 Action. The best time to draw extra cards is in the early turns of the game. There are certain cards in the Harry Potter TCG that can give you an early Lesson advantage over your opponent. the winner is decided in the first few turns by the player who can get the most Lessons in play. you can use the Unicorn Creature card to give you extra Actions for putting Lessons into play without slowing down the rest of your game. or you'll quickly run out of Lessons to play. When you need a specific card to win. the ultimate difference could still come in the first few turns. you will retain what you learn in your classes! Your lessons might even become second nature to you. The main thing to remember with card advantage with any of the methods is . you have to weigh the chances of finding just the right card with the chances of losing when your opponent's Creatures attack you on his or her next turn. so you can get them out as early as the second turn. Later in the game. having the option of searching your deck for that card is invaluable. plus if you play them as your main Character. and you can find only 2 Lessons throughout the entire duel. There are Spell cards that help you get more Lessons into your hand. Hermione's ability helps you get the 6 Lessons you need to bring the Unicorn into play. which can sometimes fail you at the most inopportune times! Never forget that you can sometimes cause your foe to founder just by showing your superior knowledge. you are left to the whims of your memory. Obviously. We already talked about Alchemy. Once you have 2 or more Lessons in play. you need 3 Lessons on the table to put the Borrowed Wand into play. Another way to minimize the effects of drawing too many cards is by using the Healing Spells to put discarded cards back into your deck. but that rare card may be hard to find. Again. And both the Borrowed Wand and the Phoenix Feather Wand require only 3 Lessons to put into play. Not only can you then get to these cards quickly if you are using the Harry Potter/Unicorn combo I mentioned above. making him or her change strategies and never allowing him or her to get into the flow of the game. Card Advantage Versus Just Extra Cards Your choice of spell is very important. Each Wand card tells you to discard any other Wand you have in play. so you now have 5 Lessons in play and 1 more Action this turn to use them. which both provide 1 Lesson you can use. This is where targeted search cards like Mysterious Egg for Creatures and Alchemy for Lessons can come in handy. but those extra cards give you extra time. in addition to their once-per-game abilities. and you'll need these if you use Hermione as your Character. This would be a good card to use if you want to play with Harry Potter as your Character but still want to get a Lesson advantage on your opponent. ================================== . which is what we're discussing today. and I'm not saying Transmogrify is a bad card. There may be times when this is a great play. Transmogrify forces you to discard 1 of your Creatures from play to take a Creature card from your deck and put it into your hand. but it does not give you card advantage.that it isn't card advantage if you use as many or more cards than you gain. You have now used 2 cards (the Transmogrify and the discarded Creature) to gain 1 card in your hand. For example. Ahhh. The other way is to use Professor Flitwick as your starting Character. ===================== . too!) Other less obvious advantages to grabbing Lessons out of your discard pile include keeping a defense against the Exam cards. In a close game. you can decide what other sorts of Lessons you can include for the best possible deck. You might even try using all 5 Lesson types as you duel. It had been an exciting day. I still recommend playing with only 3 Lesson types. Joining forces with Professor Flitwick or any of the professors that provide Power allows you to reliably play with 3 Lesson types instead of the usual 2. then into the discard pile. you'll normally watch your Lesson cards rapidly go from your hand. after all!) Having an extra 4 Lessons in your hand will also help against the new and also nasty Potions Class Disaster. that can certainly be the difference between winning and losing. With Start-of-Term Feast. you can't go wrong with discarding extra Lessons and then playing Start-of-Term Feast to bring them back later if needed. particularly the extra-nasty Potions Exam. There are 2 ways to play Charms. Start-of-Term Feast. You can do it the normal way by including a good number of Charms Lessons in your deck and playing them like any other sort of Lesson. giving me energy for the work ahead of me. because that's some good eatin'! The card. Once you've decided how you're going to be playing with Charms. Homework. instead of wasting Actions drawing cards to get more Lessons. (It never hurts to study hard for those pop quizzes. If you don't want Hermione's assistance. This keeps cards in your deck where they can keep you playing. is a Charms Spell that allows you to put up to 4 Lesson cards from your discard pile into your hand. I felt quite refreshed and ready to tackle the upcoming academic year! But first some sleep was in order. In general. the mouth-watering food filled my stomach. Having Hermione in your deck.Single Card Strategies: Start-of-Term Feast It's a shame Harry and Ron missed the feast at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. but you can be. the cards go directly into your hand rather than into the deck. Start-of-Term Feast is almost like a Healing Spell. will help ensure you can get those Lessons back into play as quickly as possible. When playing with the more powerful Creatures or Potions Spells. In a certain sense. either as an extra Character or as your starting Character. and even then only if 1 Lesson type is provided by your starting Character. and I sure didn't want to be unprepared for all of the things I'd be learning shortly. Start-of-Term Feast is a Spell that can really come in handy if you find your Lessons headed into your discard pile a lot. provided you have the correct number of Lessons in play. you can recycle them from your discard pile. however. you can also use the Transfiguration Spell. which allows you to take 1 Action to put 2 Lessons into play. If you are using any Spells that require you to discard. Cards like Start-of-Term Feast may even allow you to get away with playing more Lesson types. If your opponent is playing with Lesson-discarding Spells. The most obvious use for Start-of-Term Feast is in conjunction with the many cards that require you to discard Lessons when you play them. (We all know that Hermione is all about homework. into play. He provides the Charms Power you need to play any Charms Spell you like. The ability to pull any sort of Lesson you like from the discard pile greatly increases the odds of getting just the sort of Lesson you need. If Lessons are what you need. You can safely include at least 4 more Lesson-discarding Creatures or Lessondiscarding Potions Spells when you've got Start-of-Term Feast cards in your deck. it can be even worse. ==================================== . My favorite Adventure card in Quidditch Cup is Hagrid Needs Help. your opponent will lose a minimum of 1 Action and 8 cards out of their deck. As it turned out. and that is usually pretty painful. Lastly. for the 2 Actions it takes to play Hagrid Needs Help.Single Card Strategies: Hagrid Needs Help I love Adventure cards. you may be in for a long (or rather short) game. it is never long before you get to the second part -. If you add this all together. The best way to deal with Hagrid Needs Help is to either just take the damage and have Healing spells to repair it or simply include anti-Adventure spells. Even if your opponent does solve it right away. First.solving it. be prepared to use Hagrid Needs Help as a damagedealing card more than for its Action-stealing effect. To solve Hagrid Needs Help. As Hagrid Needs Help gets solved so quickly. Because of this. I originally planned on using Hagrid Needs Help with Unicorn cards so that I can really get a big advantage over my opponent Action-wise. however. If you're concerned about this. Every turn Hagrid Needs Help is in play is a turn where you are gaining a significant advantage over your opponent. This effectively halves your opponent's game. this is likely to come in handy. Your opponent gets one fewer Actions on each of his or her turns. If you're caught without such Spells. Either way. To even further increase your ability to put Hagrid Needs Help into play. They are also somewhat difficult to get rid of. the Effect. and he or she will probably draw the additional 3 for a total of 11 cards depleted. my opponents take the damage to get rid of Hagrid Needs Help almost immediately every time. who allow you to play Adventure cards for one Action rather than the usual two. other than solving them. the reward further depletes your opponent's deck as he or she has the option to draw an additional 3 cards. Hagrid Needs Help has three parts. Not bad at all! Because of the effectiveness of Hagrid Needs Help as well as a lot of the other Adventure cards. you'll probably be seeing more things that discard your Adventure cards. It's also vulnerable to the hard to cast but extremely effective Potion spells that have you discard cards from play. like Potions Exam and Potions Class Disaster. This is because no matter what you are playing. Like all Adventure cards. you might keep playing them over and over again. you can always drop an Adventure card in your deck and there's an excellent chance it'll come in handy when you draw it. your opponent has to take 8 damage. It's an extremely useful card that'll fit nicely into just about any deck. you should add Healing cards into your deck or just play with 4 copies of each Adventure card. you might consider playing with Fred and George Weasley. he or she will still lose at least 1 Action because you still lose an Action on the turn you solve it. Because of this. That's a Good Deck!" Starting Character (1) Harry Potter Characters (1) 1 Hermione Granger Adventures (2) 1 Peeves Causes Trouble 1 Unusual Pets .courtesy of Harrypotterville..Decks Check out these hot new decks..com "Alchemy" Starting Character Seamus Finnigan Character (2) 1 Hermione Granger 1 Professor Severus Snape Adventures (2) 1 Hagrid Needs Help 1 Human Chess Game Items (4) 1 Invisibility Cloak 2 Pewter Cauldron 1 Remembrall Spells (27) 2 Alchemy 4 Avifors 1 Bloodroot Poison 1 Boil Cure 1 Bruisewort Balm 1 Burning Bitterroot Balm 1 Draught of the Living Death 1 Elixir of Life 1 Hospital Wing 4 Incarcifors 2 Noxious Poison 1 Potions Exam 2 Snape's Question 4 Take Root 1 Transfiguration Test Lessons (25) 14 Potions 11 Transfiguration ========================= "Holy Snap. Creatures (8) 1 Baby Dragon 1 Forest Troll 1 Mountain Troll 1 Norbert 4 Vicious Wolf Items (2) 1 Pewter Cauldron 1 Silver Cauldron Spells (30) 1 Accio 2 Dungbomb 1 Elixir of Life 2 Hagrid and the Stranger 2 Hospital Wing 1 Illegibilus 2 Incarcifors 1 Logic Puzzle 2 Lost Notes 2 Magical Mishap 1 Mysterious Egg 1 Noxious Potion 2 Squiggle Quill 1 Steelclaw 3 Stupefy 1 Take Root 1 Titillando 1 Toe Biter 1 Transfiguration Exam 1 Vermillious 1 Wingardium Leviosa! Lessons (18) 5 Care of Magical Creatures 5 Charms 4 Potions 4 Transfiguration ======================== Obliviate Starting Character (1) Dean Thomas Items (3) 1 Borrowed Wand 1 Dragon Heart Wand 1 Remembrall Spells (34) 1 Apparate 3 Avifors 2 Baubillious 2 Epoximise 1 History of Magic 3 Incarcifors 1 Incendio 2 Logic Puzzle 4 Magical Mishap 1 Obliviate 2 Restricted Section 3 Stupefy 1 Titillando 1 Toe Biter 1 Transfiguration Exam 4 Vermillious 2 Wizard Crackers Lessons (23) . 12 Charms 11 Transfiguration ============================== .