Genius Invokation TCG is a trading card game originating from Sumeru.
History[]
The game was invented by Garvipidam and Gulab as a means of spending time while the latter was afflicted with Eleazar. The game became popular in the hospital that Gulab was staying in, but he died before the card game could become famous outside of the hospital.[1][2]
Garvipidam became depressed after Gulab's death,[2] and he never appeared in public since then and lived in seclusion.[3] He likely yielded the copyright to another group of researchers, who went on to flesh out the rules and even wanted to create a new version of the TCG.[1]
It was an unspecified Sumeru researcher who commissioned Liben to bring the prototype TCG to Yae Publishing House in Inazuma.[4] Since then, the TCG has quickly spread through Inazuma and become popular all over Teyvat.[5] Puspa Café in Sumeru City is a common spot for players of the TCG to play.[6] In Mondstadt City, players gravitated to The Cat's Tail tavern to play, so much that owner Margaret decided to have dedicated staff for catering to her new clients.[7]
Genius Invokation TCG has become quite fashionable among those that would play Ningguang's Liyue Millennial chess game with her. This has made it far more difficult for her to get a game going.[8]
Genius Invokation TCG Society[]
The Genius Invokation TCG Society is the society that keeps a register of official players, manages Lucky Coins, and creates cards.[7][9] They also invite qualified players to complete Ascension Challenges once they deem those players ready.[10]
King of Invokations[]
The first book
Development[]
The book series King of Invokations was written by the Inazuman author Fukumoto at the request of Sumeru Akademiya researchers in order to promote Genius Invokation TCG. Asagiri provided the illustrations for the series. Pose references were provided by the Traveler for the second book[1] and Cyno for the third book.[11]
When he first began work on the book, the rules of the game had not been finalized, and since communication between Sumeru and Inazuma was slow, he struggled with the writing process.[1] After he finished the first novel and published it through Yae Publishing House, it drove the sales of Genius Invokation TCG. The Akademiya researchers came up with a new version of the game, and Fukumoto was asked to write a sequel based on this. After attending a meeting with the researchers at the Akademiya, he stayed in Sumeru to work on the sequel and gather inspiration.[1]
Even after finishing the first novel and learning the rules of the TCG, Fukumoto still struggled to find ways to make the novel more exciting, especially as it was centered around a card game.[1] While working on the third novel in the series, Fukumoto became frustrated with the development process of the game and the behavior of the researchers; he came up with new mechanics entirely instead of writing about traditional TCG gameplay.[11]
The bow Ibis Piercer was created to promote the final volume of King of Invokations, though the Yae Publishing House had only intended to order a sample bow, not a real weapon. Even though the weapon's existence was a mistake, Fukumoto was inspired by it, and added an excerpt to the book explaining the story behind the bow.[12]
Story[]
The premise of the story is that a young man from Sumeru named Abu[13] discovers an ancient Casket of Tomes in his attic. Inside, he finds the soul of the Crocodile King, the viceroy of King Deshret and a player of Genius Invokation TCG. The Crocodile King was sealed inside the Casket of Tomes by an opponent called the Ibis King due to his desire for war.[7]
Abu is possessed by the Crocodile King, who transforms him into a legendary Genius Invokation TCG player.[7] At some point, the Crocodile King stopped possessing Abu and got his own body.[14] King of Invokations #1 concludes with Abu defeating the Crocodile King in a duel with all of Abu's allies watching from afar. However, at the end of the duel when the Crocodile King was on the verge of death, Abu reflected on how boring the world would be without him, and made an uncharacteristic wish for a bloody war, allowing the Crocodile King to continue to live.[13]
The protagonist of the game is said to use a slower deck that continuously accumulates resources, rather than a deck that quickly eliminates other characters.[11] The opponent used a powerful deck featuring Mirror Maiden, Mona, and Bennett.
Due to a desire to make the story more exciting, various elements were included in the story which are not present in typical Genius Invokation TCG gameplay:
- In the second novel, the characters play cards while riding on horses.[1]
- In the first two novels, the main character often wins only because he somehow gets a card that wasn't originally in his deck.[11]
- In the third book, actual Genius Invokation TCG gameplay is not included; rather, the characters collect cards that are suspended in midair.[11]
Trivia[]
- Dragon-themed decks exist in the TCG.[15]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Commission: King of Invokations
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Event Duel! The Summoners' Summit! Quest: Round 4, Part 1: Culminate! Chatter of Joyous Dreams
- ↑ Event Duel! The Summoners' Summit! Quest: Round 1, Part 1: Commence! A Suspect Genesis
- ↑ NPC Dialogue, during Marvelous Merchandise/2021-12-27: Liben
- ↑ NPC Dialogue: Iris (Sumeru City)
- ↑ NPC Dialogue: Nayab
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 World Quest, Battlefield of Dice, Cats, and Cards: Come Try Genius Invokation TCG!
- ↑ Mail, Ningguang: Chess Mates Are Hard to Find.
- ↑ Gadget: Casket of Tomes
- ↑ Ascension Challenge Quest: Ascension Challenge I
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 World Quest: Next Time, On King of Invokations...
- ↑ Weapon: Ibis Piercer
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Book: King of Invokations
- ↑ Weapon: Ibis Piercer
He heard the sound of the table being activated again in the "Room of Duels", and guessed that the young man whose his remnant soul had once possessed was eagerly waiting for a duel. - ↑ YouTube: Collected Miscellany - "Cyno: Path of the Lone Wolf"