Genius Invokation Best Cards Guide

Ever since Genius Invokation TCG launched in Genshin Impact, I’ve been hooked. I’ve been furiously challenging players to matches and testing various decks. Despite some losses, I discovered flaws in my strategies and kept improvising.

As the Bear Grylls meme says, improvise, adapt, and overcome. I’ve skipped a few nights’ sleep to gather character cards and dueled players all over Teyvat to sharpen my techniques.

As a meta-player, nothing makes me happier than seeing colorful reactions. Having brought the same concept to TCG in the game, Genshin Impact has got my brain juices flowing, and I’ve been trying to devise new strategies in co-op battles.

The joy of defeating a tough opponent is exhilarating, and I can’t get enough. I’m a competitive player when it comes to multiplayer. With a combination of unique trading cards in my deck, I try my best to formulate a foolproof plan.

However, the TCG game mode isn’t as easy as it seems. You need to know the cards’ effects to execute a precise combination to defeat an opponent. One wrong move, and you might lose the battle. TCG relies on strong decision-making and critical analysis skills to test players’ mental toughness.

In this Genius Invokation Best Cards guide, I will share the best cards to help you ace challenging battles. Having gone through hundreds of challenges, I will discuss unique strategies to help you institute the path to victory.

Genshin TCG Glossary – Terms to Know Before You Go

TCG is a special game format in Genshin impact that comes with its own set of rules and standards. To secure a victory in a match, you need to have a proper understanding of the system. There are a few terminologies that you need to know before you can dive into a battle.

• Usage: Once the card’s effect triggers, its usage reduces by one. If the card’s usage reaches zero, it is discarded.
• Omni Element: A die that can be used with any combination of Elemental Dice and is compatible with all Elemental Dice.
• Unaligned Element: A die from any Elemental type can be used to pay for a card’s cost.
• Energy: Characters use units of Energy to trigger their Elemental bursts. Once a character uses an Elemental Skill or performs a Normal attack, they acquire 1 unit of Energy.
• Combat action: Playing a card from your hand or performing a turn is termed a Combat action; the turn shifts to the other player.
• Fast action: The turn doesn’t pass over to the opponent, and you can continue your turn until you perform a Combat action.
• Charged attack: The Normal attack is considered a Charged attack if the total number of Elemental Dice is even.

Choosing Cards: A Hand-Picked Selection Criteria

Before I present my best TCG card picks, there were a few parameters that I kept in mind:

• I’ve categorized the cards based on their types in the commodities shop.
• Cards that help in a niche playstyle, reaction-based or one-turn-kill setups are selected.
• I’ve hand-picked cards that can be good in specific setups like Summon meta, Food meta, etc.

I’ve briefly summarized how you can use that specific card. Though the flow of battle heavily depends on your opponent’s cards, I would try my best to give an unbiased opinion.

Character Cards

I’m in love with these character cards. I’ve been using them in most of my decks, and I’ve been racking up victories so far. Time for me to tell you my secret sauce for using these characters. Besides Catalyst characters, all other characters will deal Physical damage with their Normal attacks unless they have an elemental infusion.

Xiangling

Skill: Xiangling summons Gouba, who lasts two rounds to deal two units of Pyro damage at the End phase.

Burst: Pyronado deals two units of Pyro damage and summons an instance of it, which deals two units of Pyro damage after a character uses their skill and can be used twice.

I love reactions. Xiangling’s Gouba and burst helped me to apply the Pyro element on enemies to trigger Pyro-related reactions on them. Her burst costs two Energy, so you can easily use her as a supporting character for a Cryo or Hydro character to trigger Melt or Vaporize, respectively.

Sucrose

Skill: Astable Anemohypostasis Creation – 6308 deals three units of Anemo damage and forces the opponent to switch to their previous character. The attack can also swirl an element.

Burst: Forbidden Creation – Isomer 75 / Type II deals one unit of Anemo damage and summons a Large Wind Spirit that deals two units of Anemo damage at the End phase. The spirit can be used thrice and absorbs the Swirled element to deal the same elemental damage. Your character or Summon needs to trigger a Swirl reaction to benefit from the elemental absorption.

Sucrose is underrated! Using her Normal attack, I can trigger the Swirl reaction to damage all enemies. Her elemental skill can break the enemy’s flow and stop them from creating a reaction-based setup. I love to annoy opponents with these moves.

Rhodeia of Loch

Skill: Oceanid Mimic Summoning summons an Oceanid Mimic, Ferret, Frog, or Raptor to deal Hydro damage. The specific abilities of an Oceanid Mimic will depend on its type.

Skill: The Myriad Wilds summons two random Oceanid Mimics that will deal Hydro damage.

Burst: Tide and Torrent deals two units of Hydro damage, and the damage scales with each friendly summon on the field.

Call me a madman; I won’t do normal damage with this card. I will summon an army of Oceanid Mimics to haunt the opposing player and hear their screams in agony with Electro-charged reactions.

A really good card for a Summon meta that can overwhelm your enemy with a combination of Hydro-related reactions at the End phase.

Cyno

Passive: Lawful Enforcer grants the character Pactsworn Pathclearer status, increasing the level of Indwelling by one unit.

You get the following effects based on the Indwelling level:

• If equal or greater than two: Physical damage is converted to Electro damage
• If equal or greater than four: The damage dealt increases by two units
• If equal or greater than six: The indwelling level decrease by four units

Skill: Secret Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer deals three units of Electro damage

Burst: Sacred Rite: Wolf’s Swiftness deals four units of Electro damage and increases Pactsworn Pathclearer’s Indwelling level by two units

Cyno’s passive is really good for triggering Electro-related reactions. Not only do you deal better damage, but you also have his Normals converted to Electro damage with his passive’s Indwelling level.

Cyno will only become available once you reach a higher player level, but he’s worth the wait, plus his two-unit burst cost makes him an efficient Electro DPS character.

Fischl

Skill: Nightrider deals one unit of Electro damage and summons Oz to deal one unit of Electro damage at the End phase. Unless refreshed or destroyed, Oz lasts up to two rounds.

Burst: Midnight Phantasmagoria deals four units of Electro damage to the target character and two units of Piecing damage to all opposing stand characters.

Another Summon meta card. You can summon her Oz to deal damage at the End phase and combine it with Oceanid’s mimics to trigger an Electro-charged reaction. If you have plenty of Support cards to feed Energy to Fischl, then using her burst might kill one or two enemy characters.

Ganyu

Normal attack: Frostflake Arrow deals two units of Cryo damage to the target character and two units of Piercing damage to opposing characters on standby.

Skill: Trail of Qilin deals one unit of Cryo damage to create an Ice Lotus that reduces incoming damage to the active character by one unit. It can be used up to two times.

Burst: Celestial Shower deals one unit of Cryo damage to the target character and one unit of Piercing damage to opposing characters on standby to summon a Sacred Cryo Pearl. The Sacred Cryo Pearl deals one unit of Cryo damage to the opponent’s active character and one unit of Piercing damage to opposing characters on standby. Unless refreshed or destroyed, the summon lasts up to two rounds.

Insanely valuable character card. Ganyu’s ability to deal Piercing damage hurts all characters on the opposite side and requires two units of Energy to summon an Icicle to deal damage at the End phase.

You can use her elemental skill to summon a light shield and apply Cryo on the enemy. In my opinion, Ganyu is one of the best DPS characters in the game.

Bennett

Skill: Passion Overload deals three units of Pyro damage

Burst: Fantastic Voyage deals two units of Pyro damage and creates an Inspiration field for two rounds. In the field, when the character uses a skill, If the character’s health is more than 7 HP, they deal extra two units of damage. Once the skill finishes, if the character’s health is not greater than six health points, they are healed for two health points.

A really good supporting character enhances your character’s damage. I’ve been using him in Melt or Vaporize setups. Bennett helps you to avoid Food cards that otherwise would be necessary for a deck without a healer.

Kaeya

Skill: Frostgnaw deals three units of Cryo damage

Burst: Glacial Walt deals one unit of Cryo damage and creates an Icicle. Switching characters deal two units of Cryo damage to the target character and can be used up to three times.

I usually use him in Electro-charged teams with Fischl to trigger reactions by swapping characters. Kaeya’s amazing in decks that prioritize character-switching for reactions like Superconduct, Electro-charged, or Swirl to deal party-wide damage to opponent’s characters.

Maguu Kenki

Skill: Blustering Blade summons one Shadowsword: Lone Gale that deals one unit of Anemo damage at the End phase and can last up to two rounds.

Skill: Frosty Assault summons one Shadowsword: Galloping Frost that deals one unit of Cryo damage at the End phase and can last up to two rounds.

Burst: Pseudo Tengo Sweeper deals four units of Anemo damage and triggers the effect of all your Shadowsword summons without consuming their usage.

Maguu Kenki is an underrated character. I use Maggu Kenki with Fischl and Rhodeia of Loch to go with a heavy-summon Meta deck. Imagine Fischl, Oceanid Mimics, and Shadowsword summons triggering reactions at the End phase.

Your enemy might not make it to the next round. Another thing that I like about Maguu Kenki is his ability to use Cryo and Anemo dice. You can either summon a Cryo Shadowsword or an Anemo one.

Mona

Passive: Illusory Torrent can be used once per round to turn the “Switch character” action to a Fast action while Mona is your active character.

Skill: Mirror Reflection of Doom deals one unit of Hydro damage and summons a Reflection. The reflection reduces the incoming damage by one unit on the active character, but the card won’t be discarded if used. The card is discarded at the End phase to deal one unit of Hydro damage.

Burst: Stellaris Phantasm deals four units of Hydro damage and grants one Illusory Bubble. The Bubble doubles the skill damage of a character it’s attached to.

I love her passive. You can start with her elemental skill to switch to another character to trigger a reaction. Having an in-built Fast action utility is invaluable, making Mona a good supporting character. Her burst can double your attack’s damage and one-shot enemies. I’ve been using her in a lot of decks to get outstanding results.

Keqing

Skill: Stellar Restoration deals three units of Electro damage to create a Lightning Stiletto. You will obtain a card that can be used to switch to Keqing as the active character to recast her elemental skill and grant her Electro infusion that lasts up to two rounds. If Keqing is the active character while this card is used, she will gain Electro infusion, and the card is discarded.

Burst: Starword Sword deals four units of Electro damage to the target and three units of Piercing damage to standby characters on the opposing side.

Keqing allows me to trigger an Electro-related reaction at will. Bring out her elemental skill to get a Lightning Stiletto card and use it when you can trigger a reaction. Fischl’s Oz provides an Electro application at the End Phase, and Keqing helps you trigger an Electro reaction at a precise moment.

Klee

Skill: Jumpty Dumpty deals three units of Pyro damage and grants the character an Explosive Spark. The character’s charged attack with the Explosive Spark status consumes one less Pyro Die to deal one extra instance of damage.

Burst: Sparks ‘n’ Splash deals three units of Pyro damage to create one Sparks ‘n’ Splash status at the other player’s play area. The status deals two units of Pyro damage to the target character after your character uses a Skill. It can be used up to two times.

Klee is my favorite character in the game. Her skills in the TCG go the extra mile. You can use her with Mona to trigger Vaporize reactions with Charged attacks and benefit from less Elemental Dice cost.

Mona, Klee, and Bennett would be a good combination, provided you have good Support cards to sustain Mona through rounds.

Equipment Cards

A character can equip only one artifact at a time. I don’t see any value in changing artifacts mid-battle, so it’s better to devise a strategy before you use these cards.

Gambler’s Earrings

Effect: If the active character equipped with this artifact set defeats a character on the opposing side, you receive two Omni Element dice.

Dice cost: One

PvP battles are focused on defeating enemies. Unlike bot games, which are predictable and slow paced, human battles are fast-paced and require a solid strategy. I suggest using this card on a DPS character in your deck to benefit from extra dice. You can utilize them to play a card, use a skill or switch characters.

Instructor’s Cup

Effect: After a character triggers an Elemental reaction, an Elemental die is rewarded that matches the character’s elemental type.

Dice cost: Two

Usage: Three times a round

Characters like Fischl, Mona, Klee, Kamisato Ayaka, or Rhodeia of Loch are solid contenders. Anyone whom you want to trigger reactions would be a suitable pick here. I’m a fan of this artifact for its ability to produce an Elemental die.

Exile’s Circlet

Effect: All characters on standby gain one unit of Energy when a character uses their elemental burst

Dice cost: Two

Usage: Once per round

I prefer to use this artifact on supporting characters with two energy burst cost. Their bursts are easy to charge, and you can use a Support card to provide them with more Energy. Equipping your supporting characters with this artifact set might turn the tables on your opponent in a couple of rounds.

Event Cards

Changing Shifts

Effect: The “Switch character” action consumes one less Elemental Dice

Dice cost: Zero

A really good card in reaction setups where you can efficiently switch to another character. I occasionally run reaction-based decks, so this card is handy to swap to a DPS character like Klee, Keqing, or Diluc.

Strategize

Effect: Draw two cards from your deck

Dice cost: One

If you come from a Yu-Gi-Oh background, you might have heard of the Pot of Greed card, which could summon two cards. Strategize is a similar version of that card in Genshin Impact.

If your deck has good cards, it might bring a card that could ensure you a victory. Another way could be to use it for elemental tuning by feeding the extra card along with it. In a nutshell, the pros outweigh the RNG for bad cards if your deck is good.

I Haven’t Lost Yet!

Effect: If your character is defeated in the current round, you can play the card to create one Omni Element Dice and grant your active character one unit of Energy

Dice cost: Zero

It’s quite likely that one of your characters will perish in a PvP battle. I use characters whose bursts cost two units of Energy, so with this card in hand, I can instantly use their elemental burst to tear down an opposing character.

Leave It to Me!

Effect: The “Switch character” action is considered a Fast action instead of a Combat action.

Dice cost: Zero

I often put this card in my active deck. I can easily switch to another character without using a Combat action and trigger an elemental reaction. You can corner your enemy with good reactions, which is why a card like this proves immensely valuable.

When the Crane Returned

Effect: Using a skill switches your active character to the next one in the lineup

Dice cost: One

What a lovely card. I can deploy a Summon and automatically switch to another character to set up a reaction. Ensure that the switched character doesn’t have an element applied to them; otherwise, they would be vulnerable to a reaction.

Calx’s Arts

Effect: The card shifts one unit of Energy from at most two of your characters on standby to your active character.

Dice cost: One

Thanks to its low cost, you can easily get that last energy unit to use a character’s elemental burst. Frequently characters like Fischl are used for summons, and you can use this card to shift their Energy to your main DPS character.

Quick Knit

Effect: Grant one extra life to a summon on your side

Dice cost: One

Sometimes you cannot switch to a character, so using this card is better to increase a summon’s life. Sometimes my Fischl was on one health and could be wiped out before I could use her skill to summon Oz.

So, it was better to use this card to grant one extra life to the summon and use the “I Haven’t Lost Yet!” card when a character perished.

Send Off

Effect: Select and destroy a summon on the other player’s side.

Dice cost: Two

A really good card if your opponent is running a Summon-heavy deck. With this card, you can potentially ruin the opponent’s summon strategy and secure your characters against reactions at the End phase.

The Bestest Travel Companion!

Effect: Converts the spent Elemental dice to Omni Element Dice.

Dice cost: Two

Just like every other aspect of the game, RNG is alive and well in Genius Invokation. I’ve been a victim of RNG in the roll phase and ended up with incompatible Dice rolls for my characters.

I could use some of them on cards, but at least one skill could help apply an element to the opponent to initiate a reaction in the next phase. That is why having this card in your deck can allow you to play a turn and continue the setup in the next round.

Support Cards

Jade Chamber

Roll Phase: You will receive two Elemental Dice whose Elemental type would be guaranteed to match your active character’s element.

Dice cost: One

A really good card if you are playing two characters of the same element. You can benefit from Elemental resonance cards and use the Jade chamber to guarantee the same elemental dice.

You can use the card two times in niche situations. For example, in a Fischl, Kamisato Ayaka, and Kaeya deck, you can summon Oz and proceed with Cryo attacks for a round or two. Depending on your strategy, you can deploy one or multiple cards.

Timmie

Effect: Once the card reaches a value of three pigeons, it is discarded to create one Omni Element dice and draws one card from your deck.

Dice cost: Zero

Usage: Automatically triggers once per round to give one Pigeon to the card

At least Timmie and his pigeons have a use here. I like to deploy the card to get an extra die and card in the last remaining rounds. The card is good for slow-paced strategies where you focus on tearing down an opponent with elemental bursts.

Liben

End Phase: Amasses unused Elemental Dice with a maximum of one from each Elemental type.

Dice cost: Zero

Action Phase: Once the action phase begins, if the card has collected three Elemental Dice, the card is discarded to produce two Omni element Dice and draws two cards.

Sometimes dice rolls don’t go in your favor, and you end up with random dice. There’s no use in wasting the dice to switch between characters, which brings an opportunity to use the Liben card. The card grants you good rewards that can be put to use in late rounds.

Chang the Ninth

Effect: The card gains one point of Inspiration if either player’s side uses a skill to deal Physical or Piercing damage or trigger an Elemental reaction. Once the card gains three units of Inspiration status, the card is discarded to draw two cards.

Dice cost: Zero

Unlike Timmie’s card, this card is suitable for fast-paced rounds. The card considers both players’ sides and grants you extra rewards.

Iron Tongue Tian

End Phase: Prioritizing the active character, the card grants one unit of Energy to one of the characters without maximum Energy.

Dice cost: Two

Usage: Two times

Another good card for fast-paced battles where you need to ramp up Energy on your characters to use their elemental bursts. I would highly recommend prioritizing energy-efficient cards.

Liu Su

Effect: Applicable once per round, the card grants 1 unit of Energy to a switched character if they don’t have Energy.

Dice cost: One

Usage: Two times

Characters with two units of Energy burst cost can benefit from this card. I prefer to use characters with low burst costs to utilize their ultimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

You Dare Challenge Me, Mortal?

The trading card game is a new experience for Genshin Impact players; however, not all are beginners. Some veterans from other card games, like Yugioh Duel Links, are joining the ranks of TCG.

Our team’s Callum had made it into the world rankings for Duel links back in the day. Winning a battle against him is really an achievement in itself.

I know I’m good, but there are always better players. We’ve played some heated matches against each other, and I admit I lost some of them. Well, he won’t know because I never admitted a loss. It’s a silly prank, but I’m having fun. I hope I can trust you to keep this secret between us.

That said, the time’s come to wrap up the guide and play some TCG with my friends. Take care of yourself and stay hydrated.

• About
• Latest Posts

Himanshu Verkiya

Himanshu is a passionate writer who loves to write about open-world games featuring anime style characters. He admits that his love for interesting anime stories and characters were a major reason he started playing Open world role playing games.Having played different Open world games in the past, now he prefers to play casual role playing games which feature beautiful sceneries and vast worlds to roam in.
Besides writing about his favourite games, Himanshu prefers to keep himself up-to-date with the latest happenings in the financial world, watching anime, cooking and listening to music from all around the world.

Latest posts by Himanshu Verkiya (see all)

• Genshin Impact Fontaine Region Guide - January 5, 2024
• Genshin Impact Wild Fairies of Erinnyes Guide - December 17, 2023
• Genshin Impact All Dendroculus Locations - December 12, 2023