The Very Best

International rapper and manga author Shao Dow uncovers perspectives on the UK’s TCG scene

“I invented Pokémon cards!” is what I’ll often tell people when the conversation turns to the subject.

For legal reasons, I should probably say I can’t actually prove this. But as a kid, before the Pokémon TCG was a thing, I’d draw my favourite Mons from the TV, mount them onto cardboard and give them an appropriate moveset.

My brother and I would use these to battle each other and try to evolve them by winning a predetermined number of matches. At which point I’d then have to go away and draw the evolved form.

I’m not saying that the Pokémon Company copied my idea, but I’m pretty sure I saw a sibling-shaped Ditto hightailing it out of my front gate clutching a bunch of my drawings.

Fast-forward to today and I’ve somehow become a successful professional rapper. I’ve had the privilege of travelling the world and performing at some of the biggest anime and gaming events on offer. 

Recently, I hosted the Bandai Card Fest in Düsseldorf, an event featuring Bandai’s most successful TCGs, where players reconnect with friends and rivals, trade collections, aim to win rare cards and compete for the chance to attend the World Finals in Japan.

The energy was electric, the passion undeniable. As someone that’s always had an interest in the TCG scene but never fully understood the intricacies and after hearing so much about how valuable some of these cards are, I felt compelled to learn more. So I called up a few mates and asked them some questions.

This is what I found out. 

Ross Gilbert, aka Wossy (below), is considered one of the most respected and prolific figures in the TCG community. He’s on the official casting team for Pokémon, One Piece and Disney Lorcana and he casts all of the Star Wars Unlimited events.

I ask him his thoughts about the Pokémon TCG, which not only gave him a career, but is clearly something he really loves.

“I’m old man! I remember dancing around in a park celebrating that I’d bought Pokémon Blue before the officially release and then going home to sink a couple hundred hours into it,” he says.

“And now, a new game comes out, and I’ve got to clear a couple days in my schedule to play it. This is my job. I need to know about all these new Pokémon. But the fact that I’ve still got that passion 10 years on is wonderful.”

That feeling of nostalgia is what brings a lot of new people to the Pokémon TCG, they can share it with their kids, but they also have adult money that they can spend on the things they enjoy. Wossy agrees. “People don’t realise how much bigger than every other game combined the Pokémon TCG is. From a sales standpoint, nothing is competing with Pokémon,” he says. 

So what other games have the potential to go the distance?

“The One Piece Card Game, it seems to be Number Four in The West, behind Pokémon, Magic the Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh. In Japan though, it’s firmly entrenched behind Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh. 

“Outside of those, Disney Lorcana has got a hugely impressive licence. They have a European event coming up, they put 4,000 tickets on sale and that sold out very quickly.

“The Gundam Card Game is doing a lot better than expected, Star Wars Unlimited is one that I have a huge soft spot for and what Riot Games are doing with Riftbound is fascinating.

“It’s too early to crown Riftbound, but from everything I’ve seen, they’ve had a blistering start.”

This is an abridged version of Shao Dow’s article. To read the full version, join our membership and download the first issue for free. Scroll to the bottom of the page to enter your details.