Here in the Customer Service department at Wizards of the Coast, we get asked all sorts of questions. There is one question in particular that many new TCG players ask: What is the best possible TCG card to play for so-and-so game? At first, the answer seems so obvious -- the rare cards, of course! Well, this isn't really true. Rare cards may be more collectible and valuable, but they aren't necessarily better in game play than other cards. In the Harry Potter Trading Card Game (and most other TCGs) game balance is very important, so cards are created to be pretty much equal.
"But I can think of a lot of cards that are better than others!" you're probably saying right now. Let me explain.
Trading card games are different than other types of games in a lot of ways. One difference is the importance of game balance between all of the cards. In a regular, non-trading card game some cards can be better than others (like the Jack card in "Slap Jack"). This is because all players have the same chance at getting the better cards -- the cards are shuffled together and all of the cards are dealt from the same deck. So, if you were playing "Slap Jack" and you got lots of Jacks, good for you! The next time around, your opponent might be the one to get all of the Jacks. It's pure luck.
In a trading card game, though, players design and play with their own decks. The cards a player chooses to put into his or her deck can play a large part in whether that player wins or loses. If a card or group of cards were better than the rest, why would anyone bother playing with the other cards at all?
So the answer to the question "what is the best Harry Potter card?" is this: There is no best card. True, there are some cards that deal a lot of damage or have really strong powers or abilities, but they'll also have something to balance them out. For instance, one card might require more Lessons than normal, making it much harder to play. Cards that don't seem very powerful usually have a low cost. This means that these "weaker" cards can be used when the more powerful cards are stuck in your hand! Lesson cards might not be flashy, but you can't play Creatures, Spells, or Items without them. In a way, Lessons are the most important cards in the game.
While there is no overall best card, there can be best cards for a particular strategy or deck idea. In other words, there are best cards for you and your deck. When building a deck you should always ask yourself how each card contributes to your overall strategy and/or theme. (For more Harry Potter deck-building tips and ideas, be sure to read "How to Build a Deck.")
By keeping the cards balanced, trading card games can be a lot more interesting than regular card games. If no single card is more powerful than any other, there's a better chance that your opponent will have different cards in his or her deck than you have in your deck. Which is what makes TCGs so cool. After all, it's much more challenging and a lot more fun when you don't know what card your opponent will play next!
Rare cards might not be the "best" cards in the game, but if you are starting a Harry Potter TCG collection, you'll definitely want to get your hands on some of them. See our card list for the Harry Potter TCG; it lists the relative rarities of the first set's cards!
