Card Game Starter Gifts 2026: What to Buy a New Player

Pick the game first

The best first card game is usually the one set in a world they already like, because the characters are what keep a new player coming back while the rules settle in. Someone who grew up with Pokémon, watches One Piece, plays League of Legends or loves Disney films already has an answer: Pokémon, the One Piece Card Game, Riftbound or Disney Lorcana. Star Wars fans have Star Wars: Unlimited, and anyone who remembers the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime has Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Magic: The Gathering is the one to choose for someone whose friends already play it. The starter below is a Commander deck, and Commander is usually played by four people who each bring their own deck, so a new player learns fastest at a table that already exists.

If they already play one of these games, the gift is different: start with the guide for players and collectors.

The starter for each game

Each of these comes with complete decks, so the person receiving it can play without buying anything else. The last column is the sleeve size the cards take, which matters if you add sleeves.

For two people, or a group

A card game needs an opponent, so think about who they'll play with. Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Star Wars: Unlimited and Lorcana each have a box with at least two decks in it, which covers a pair learning together, such as siblings or a parent and child.

A One Piece starter or a Foundations Commander Deck is one deck. For One Piece, two starters make a two-player gift. For Magic, a single deck suits someone joining friends who already have theirs, and a group starting together needs a deck for each person.

For three or four people at once, Riftbound's Proving Grounds is the only box here built for it, with four decks in one box.

What to add

Sleeves are the most useful add-on, because they protect the cards from the first game on. Every game on this page uses standard-size sleeves except Yu-Gi-Oh!, whose cards are smaller and need Japanese-size sleeves. A 60-card deck needs one pack of 65 or more; a 100-card Commander deck needs a pack of 100.

A deck box is the next addition, unless the starter already has one, as the Star Wars: Unlimited Two-Player Starter does. A sleeved deck takes more room than an unsleeved one, so check the box's capacity against the deck size: a Commander deck needs a box marked 100+, not 100.

Keeping score costs nothing. TurnZero HQ tracks a game for all seven games, from Pokémon Prize cards to Lorcana lore, and records who won. It's worth showing a new player along with the deck.

Save these for later

Booster packs and booster boxes are better second gifts. Packs hold random cards, and someone without a deck can't build one from a handful of packs, so the fun of opening them lands better once they know what they're looking for.

Expensive single cards are the same. The right card depends on the deck they end up building, and the same card is often printed in several versions at very different prices. Once they have a deck, ask what it's missing.

Older starters can also cost more than they should. A starter that has gone out of print can sell above its original price, which is why the picks on this page are current products. If a listing is well above retail, a local game store may have it for less.

If you're not sure which game

A TCGplayer gift card covers every game on this page and lets them choose for themselves, which is the safe choice when you don't know what they would play.

Frequently Asked Questions