The best cards in Genshin Impact’s TCG mini game

Good card games are all about playing the board, sure, but they’re also about crafting solid decks. Genshin Impact’s Genius Invokation TCG — a mini-game added as part of Genshin’s update 3.3 — is no different.

As our local kitten-turned-card-dealer Prince can confirm, building the perfect Genius Invokation deck in Genshin Impact doesn’t come cheap. You need victories — lots and lots of victories — before you have enough lucky coins to spend on new action cards and character invitations.

Naturally, you don’t want to waste those hard-earned coins on bad cards. To that end, here’s an overview of the best character cards, the best action cards, and some suggestions for your the best beginners decks in Genshin Impact’s Genius Invokation TCG.

Best Genshin Impact Genius Invokation TCG Character Cards

All the best Genius Invokation TCG decks are built on a foundation of three amazing character cards. We’ll dive into the best combos later, but these characters are among the best options:

• Sucrose, whose elemental skill forces a character switch. Even better, her burst allows for extra elemental reactions by dealing anemo damage at the end of the current phase.
• Keqing, because of her burst’s massive piercing damage and het ability to create a free event card with her elemental skill.
• Yoimiya, as her low-cost elemental skill converts her normal attacks to pyro, thereby dealing extra damage. On top of that, her burst deals extra pyro damage when her allies use elemental skills, which is great for reactions.
• Barbara, because of her amazing healing abilities and her hydro application support role.
• Xingqiu, who can use his elemental burst to deal additional hydro damage after a normal attack.
• Chongyun, as his elemental skill converts physical damage dealt by sword, polearm, or claymore users to cryo, which is very useful for reactions.
• Ganyu, whose strong elemental burst and extra normal attack can target passive characters besides the active one.
• Kaeya, whose elemental burst deals cryo damage upon switching characters.

Image: MiHoYo

Best Genshin Impact Genius Invokation TCG Action Cards

Here’s a list of the best action cards in Genius Invokation TCG. Whatever deck you decide to use, these action cards are almost always very strong additions:

• Katheryne. Once per round, you can switch characters as a ‘fast action’ instead of a combat action. You won’t lose your turn, and your opponents has much less opportunity to interfere with your plans.
• Liben. Our favorite shady merchant collects unused elemental dice (one per element) until he has three, then gives you two action cards and two omni dice in return. Thank you, Liben!
• Jade Chamber. Guarantees that two of the dice you roll match your active character’s element, saving you from having to switch immediately.
• Knights of Favonius Library. Allows you to reroll your elemental dice when played, and adds an additional reroll for every dice-rolling phase.
• Strategize. In return for just one dice, you may draw two extra action cards.
• Changing Shifts. Switch your character for one less elemental die, basically giving you a free character switch.
• Leave it to Me! Switch a character as a fast action, saving you a turn. Unlike the Katheryne card, it doesn’t cost dice, but it only has one use.
• Iron Tongue Tian. At the end of your phase, a character without max energy gains one energy. Active characters are prioritized. This card has two usages.
• I Haven’t Lost Yet! This is the ultimate comeback card. If you lose a character, you can gain an omni die and an energy point for free.
• Any Elemental Resonance card. They’re super helpful as long as they match your characters’ elements. Especially the ‘woven’ cards that give you a free elemental die when you’ve got at least two characters of that element in your team.

Now that we’ve figured out which character cards and action cards are worth buying, here are some amazing character combos to build the strongest Genius Invokation TCG decks.

Image: MiHoYo

Genshin Impact Genius Invokation TCG Freeze Card Deck

Let’s kick off with a freeze team. Freezing opponents deals +1 damage and prevents them from using skills this round. A frozen character who receives pyro or physical damage suffers +2 damage, after which the frozen status is removed.

Pairing Chongyun with Xingqiu works great, as Chongyun can activate cryo infusion while Xingqiu applies hydro. Ganyu is a good third character card for a more aggressive deck, while Barbara is a great defensive option.

Genshin Impact Genius Invokation TCG Vaporize and Melt Card Deck

Perhaps the most dangerous duo in Genius Invokation TCG, Xingqiu and Yoimiya are the perfect basis for a vaporize team that deals +2 damage upon triggering a reaction. Here’s how it works: Xingqiu uses his elemental burst to automatically apply hydro damage following Yoimiya’s normal attacks. Yoimiya then uses her elemental skill to grant pyro infusion to her normal attacks.

Yoimiya’s normal attacks will charge her elemental burst, which can be used to automatically attack with pyro whenever an ally uses a skill. Equip a third character card to trigger additional reactions, such as Mona (more Vaporize) or Ayaka (Melt).

Genshin Impact Genius Invokation TCG Forced Switch Card Deck

Want a card deck that drives your opponents to insanity? Try using the overloaded reaction, which deals high damage and forcibly switches enemy characters, in combination with Sucrose, who can force-switch characters with her skill. Yoimiya and Keqing are great options to fill out the pyro and electro character card slots respectively.