How to Play the My Little Pony Trading Card Game

What you need to play the My Little Pony TCG

Each player needs one complete deck, and a complete deck has four parts:

• A Main Deck of exactly 50 cards. Characters, Events and Items.
• A Scene Deck of exactly 15 Scene cards. This is where your energy comes from.
• 4 Story cards that belong together, numbered Stage I to Stage IV.
• 1 Main Character card. This is your marker on the Story track. Lost it? A coin or counter will do, as long as you both agree.

The easy way to get all of that is a Friendships Begin starter deck. There are six, one for each of the Mane 6: Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy. Each one has the full 70-card deck (50 + 15 + 4 + 1), three 5-card bonus packs and a paper play sheet with the rules printed on the back.

Honestly, the best way in is two different starters, one each. One box is one player's deck, not a set for two. Our examples all use Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash.

You'll also want some small tokens (beads, glass counters, anything) for the game's Treat and Present tokens, and card sleeves if the decks are going to get played a lot.

Two ways to win, and no life points

Your four Story cards sit in a row, Stage I to Stage IV. Your Main Character starts beside them and moves along one Stage at a time. When it reaches Stage IV, you win on the spot. The Stage IV card even says so: "When promoted to this stage, you win the game."

There's a second way to win. If your opponent has to draw a card and their Main Deck is empty, they lose. That covers the normal draw at the start of a turn and any card that says "draw".

Wiping out your opponent's ponies doesn't win the game by itself. It just clears the way for your Story. If both players would win at the same moment, it's a draw.

One thing that doesn't lose you the game: running out of Scenes. If your Scene Deck is empty you simply stop getting new ones.

The card types, and how to read one

Your Main Deck holds three kinds of card (Characters, Events and Items). Scenes live in their own deck. The Main Character and the Story cards sit outside both decks and start the game on the table.

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Story cards are printed sideways. Each starter's four Stories share one title. Twilight Sparkle's, for example, is "Searching for Elements of Harmony", and each Stage gives you a small reward when you reach it.

Reading a Character card

1. Cost: the Force of Harmony it takes to play, which means how many Scenes you tap.
2. Card type icon: tells you it's a Character, Event, Item or Scene.
3. Name: the pony (there are lots of different Twilight Sparkles).
4. Keywords: traits like Unicorn or Pet that other cards look for.
5. Ability: what it does. The red Appear tag means it goes off when the card arrives in your Adventure Area.
6. Inspiration: its strength in a Contact. Higher wins.
7. Card ID: the number used for the four-copy limit.
8. Rarity mark: no effect on play.

When ability text puts a name in corner brackets, like 「Twilight Sparkle」, it means any card with that keyword. So "choose 1 「Twilight Sparkle」" can pick any version of Twilight you have out.

The play sheet, zone by zone

Every starter comes with a paper play sheet that shows where everything goes. Here's one player's side, laid out from the zones in the rules.

How to set up a game of My Little Pony TCG

1. Shuffle Shuffle your Main Deck and your Scene Deck, then shuffle or cut your opponent's. Put them face down in their spaces.
2. Lay out your Story Main Character on the left of the Story Area, then Stage I, II, III and IV in order, left to right.
3. Pick who goes first Any way you like. The rules suggest rock, paper, scissors.
4. Draw 5 Both players draw five cards.
5. Mulligan if you want Once each, first player decides first. Put your whole hand on the bottom of your Main Deck in any order and draw five new cards. No shuffle.
6. Set your Plans Take the top four cards of your Main Deck and put one face down and sideways on each Story card, Stage I first. You don't choose them and you don't look at them.
7. Put out a starting Scene The first player puts the top card of their Scene Deck into the Scene Area face down. The second player puts theirs face up. That's the small price for going first: the face-down one still pays for cards but can't give a boost.

How a turn works

A turn has four phases, always in this order.

1. StartingUntap everything, draw a card, add a Scene, then deal with start-of-turn effects.
2. MainPlay Characters, Events and Items, and use abilities, as long as you can pay.
3. ContactCheck each lane in turn: fight, take an Action, or skip.
4. End"Until the end of turn" effects stop, and you discard down to 10 cards.

Starting Phase

Four quick steps. Untap all your tapped Scenes and Characters. Draw one card (skipped on the first turn of the game, and if you can't draw, you lose). Add a Scene: the top card of your Scene Deck goes into your Scene Area face up and untapped. Nobody chooses it. It just happens. Then Upkeep, where start-of-turn effects happen, such as unwrapping Present tokens. The player whose turn it is says what they're doing first, then the opponent, but the opponent's effects resolve first.

Main Phase

Here's where you spend. To play any card you tap exactly as many Scenes as its cost, not one more or fewer. You can only tap Scenes to pay for something, so there's no tapping "to save for later". Face-down Scenes still pay.

In any order, as many times as you can afford:

• play a Character into an empty Slot (if all three are full, you can't play another, and a new one can't replace an old one)
• play an Event, do what it says, and put it in the Retirement Area
• play an Item onto one of your Characters that meets its condition (Guiding Tome, for instance, says "Only adorn 「Twilight Sparkle」")
• use "Tap:" abilities on your Characters
• use a Scene's Explore ability by turning that Scene face down

Contact Phase

This is the phase that decides games, so it gets two sections of its own below. In short, each lane is checked in a fixed order. If both players have a Character there, they have a Contact. If only you do, your Character takes an Action. If you don't, nothing happens in that lane on your turn.

End Phase

Effects that last "until the end of turn" wear off. Then, if you're holding 11 or more cards, discard down to 10. Only the player whose turn it is checks this.

What you can do on your opponent's turn

Not much. You can't play cards or use normal activated abilities. You can boost in their Contact Phase, unwrap your own Presents in their Upkeep Step, and your triggered abilities still go off (a Farewell when your pony loses a Contact, for example).

How Contact works in the My Little Pony card game

Contact is the game's word for a fight. It happens in the Contact Phase, lane by lane, and the lane order never changes: the first player's left lane, then the middle, then the first player's right lane. That's the same on both players' turns, which catches people out on the second player's turn because it runs right to left from where they're sitting.

When a lane has a Character on both sides, it goes like this:

1. You boost. The player whose turn it is may turn face-up Scenes face down, one at a time, to use their Inspo Boost. As many as you like.
2. They boost. Then your opponent does the same, having seen what you did.
3. Compare. Add up printed Inspiration plus every bonus. Higher wins. If it's a tie, both Characters Retire. Inspiration never drops below 0.
4. The loser Retires. It goes to the Retirement Area and takes its Item with it. Any Treat or Present on it is simply removed. Its Farewell ability, if it has one, goes off now.
5. Tidy up. "Until the end of Contact" effects end, and you move on to the next lane.

If a Scene's boost names a pony, it only works when that pony is the one in the Contact. Golden Oak Library reads "Your 「Twilight Sparkle」 gets +1 Inspiration until the end of this Contact", so it's useless when Spike is the one fighting. And once a Scene is face down, its boost is spent for good. That's the real decision in this game: every Scene you flip now is one less boost for the next fight.

Contact doesn't tap anything, and the rules don't stop a tapped Character from taking part.

Promote or Intervene: moving your Story on

When your Character has an empty Slot opposite it during your Contact Phase, you choose one Action for that lane:

• Promote the Story. Move your Main Character onto your next Story card and do what that card says. If it's Stage IV, you win.
• Intervene the Plan. Take away your opponent's Plan from their lowest Stage and turn it face up. If the card has a Pre-plan ability, that ability resolves and the card goes to their Retirement Area. If it hasn't, your opponent adds it to their hand.

Here's the catch. You can't Promote to a Stage while your opponent still has a Plan on their Story card of that same Stage. So at the start, with four Plans sitting on their Stories, you can't Promote at all. You have to Intervene first to clear the way, and every Intervene hands them a card (or triggers a Pre-plan). That's the push and pull of the whole game.

Back to Amy. She'd love to Promote to Stage I, but Ben still has a Plan on his Stage I Story, so she can't. She Intervenes instead. Ben's Stage I Plan turns out to be Training Accident, an Event with no Pre-plan, so it goes into Ben's hand. Ouch: Training Accident Retires a Character with Inspiration 3 or less, and Owlowiscious has exactly 3. If the owl survives Ben's turn, is still unopposed, and Ben hasn't put a new Plan on Stage I, Amy can Promote and draw a card from "Consulting the Guide".

That "new Plan" bit matters. Some cards say a card "Becomes Plan". It goes face down onto its owner's highest Stage that has no Plan on it. With Ben's Stages II to IV still covered, that means Stage I again, and Amy is blocked once more.

Each unopposed Character gets its own Action. So with two open lanes you can Intervene with one Character and then Promote with the other, if the order of the lanes lets you.

A few more Plan rules:

• Plans only block Promoting. They don't protect your Characters from anything.
• Nobody may look at Plans whenever they fancy, not even their owner, unless a card lets them.
• You can't reorder your Stories or Plans.
• If a card effect just puts a Plan in the Retirement Area, its Pre-plan doesn't go off. Pre-plan only fires when a Plan is Removed, which is what Intervening does.
• If a Pre-plan has nothing it can target, the card still goes to the Retirement Area, not back to hand.

MLP TCG keywords you'll meet first

• Force of HarmonyThe cost in the top-left corner. Pay it by tapping exactly that many Scenes.
• InspirationA Character's strength, bottom corner. Higher wins a Contact.
• Inspo BoostTurn a face-up Scene face down during a Contact for its bonus. Once per Scene.
• ExploreA Scene ability you use in your Main Phase, also by turning it face down.
• EverydayA label on some Scenes, like Golden Oak Library. You can run any number of them.
• AppearGoes off when the Character is played or moved into your Adventure Area.
• FarewellGoes off when the Character leaves your Adventure Area.
• Pre-planGoes off only when the card is removed as a Plan. Never when you play it from hand.
• RetireLeave the Adventure Area for the Retirement Area.
• AdornAn Item attaching to a Character. A new Item sends the old one to the Retirement Area.
• Become PlanThe card goes face down onto your highest Stage without a Plan.
• TreatA token. One per Character at most. It does nothing on its own, but some cards check for it.
• PresentA token, one type per Mane 6 pony. Unwrap it at the start of any turn, yours or theirs, for its effect.
• Shining ※A flashier version of a card. Same card ID, so it shares the four-copy limit.
• RivalCard text's word for your opponent.

Twilight Sparkle's Present reveals your top two cards and puts one in your hand. Rainbow Dash's lets that Character move to an empty Slot, one of the few ways to change lanes.

MLP TCG deck building rules for your first deck

The rules are short:

There are no colour or faction rules, so you can mix ponies from different starters. Just remember that plenty of Scene boosts name one pony, as Golden Oak Library and Cloudominium do. A deck that's half Twilight and half Rainbow Dash will keep finding Scenes it can't use in a fight.

While you tinker, keep plenty of cheap Characters (an empty Slot hands your opponent a free Action) and keep the Scenes that boost the ponies you actually run.

Mistakes everyone makes once

1. Buying Friendship Eternal packs to upgrade a deck. They're a separate collect-only range. None of those cards work in the TCG.
2. Shuffling on a mulligan. Your old hand goes on the bottom of the deck in any order. No shuffle.
3. Skipping too much at the start. Only the first player's first draw is skipped, and Contact is skipped only on each player's first turn.
4. Forgetting Intervening feeds your opponent. A Plan without a Pre-plan goes straight into their hand.
5. Ignoring ties. Equal Inspiration means both ponies Retire. Sometimes a tie is exactly what you want.
6. Boosting the wrong pony. Cloudominium only helps Rainbow Dash. Check the name before you flip.
7. Checking lanes from the wrong side. Lanes always start at the first player's left, whoever's turn it is.
8. Forgetting Presents on your opponent's turn. You can unwrap yours at the start of their turn too.

Your first game will probably take longer than the 20 to 30 minutes Kayou quotes. That's normal. After a few games you'll check the lanes without thinking about it.

Formats, ban lists and the old MLP CCG

As of September 2026 there's no official English format list, rotation policy or ban list for this game. Kayou's rules page links one document, the full rules at version 1.3.0, and nothing else. So any card from this game can go in your deck, as long as the deck follows the building rules above. Kayou and Hasbro have said a tournament programme would start in the US during 2026, but we haven't found any UK organised play yet.

If you search for an "MLP ban list" you'll find one for the old My Little Pony Collectible Card Game by Enterplay (2013 to 2019). That's a completely different game, and none of it applies here.

The rules say an official Q&A beats card text, and card text beats the rules. We haven't found an English Q&A yet, so when a card and this page disagree, go with the card. The full text is in Kayou's My Little Pony Card Game rules (PDF).

Questions people ask

Is Kayou My Little Pony a real card game you can play?

Yes, but only one range. The My Little Pony Trading Card Game (Friendships Begin starter decks, Fantasy Wonderland and Discord!!! boosters) has proper rules. Kayou's My Little Pony Friendship Eternal Cards are collect-only and have no game.

Can I use Friendship Eternal cards in the My Little Pony TCG?

No. Friendship Eternal is a separate collect-only range with no play text, so none of it can go in a deck. Our Kayou collectible cards guide covers those.

How many cards are in a My Little Pony TCG deck?

70 in total: a 50-card Main Deck, a 15-card Scene Deck, 4 Story cards and 1 Main Character. A Friendships Begin starter gives you exactly that, ready to play.

How many starter decks do I need to play?

Two, one per player. Each Friendships Begin starter is a single complete deck for one person. Picking two different ponies makes the first games more interesting.

Is the My Little Pony TCG out in the UK?

As of September 2026 we haven't found an official UK release. The English cards are the North American edition, so UK shops that have them are importing them. We don't stock it yet, so ask us if you'd like it.

Is this the same as the old My Little Pony CCG?

No. The old My Little Pony Collectible Card Game was made by Enterplay and ran 2013 to 2019. Kayou's game is new, with different rules and cards, and the two don't mix.

What happens if both ponies have the same Inspiration?

Both lose the Contact, so both Retire to their owners' Retirement Areas. Any Farewell abilities on them still go off.

Can I look at my own Plans?

Not whenever you like. Plans stay face down and secret from both players unless a card effect lets someone look.

What happens when my Scene Deck runs out?

Nothing bad. You just skip adding a Scene each turn and carry on with the ones you have. Only an empty Main Deck can lose you the game.

Is there a ban list for the My Little Pony TCG?

Not as of September 2026. Kayou hasn't published a ban list, format list or rotation for the English game. Ban lists you find online belong to the old Enterplay game.

Where these rules come from

Checked against Kayou's My Little Pony Card Game Comprehensive Rules v1.3.0 (the only rules document on Kayou's rules page on 24 September 2026) and the English card lists on Kayou's starter deck pages.

• My Little Pony Card Game Comprehensive Rules v1.3.0 (Kayou, PDF)
• Trading Card Game Introduction: My Little Pony (Kayou)
• My Little Pony TCG Friendships Begin: Twilight Sparkle card list (Kayou)
• My Little Pony TCG Friendships Begin: Rainbow Dash card list (Kayou)
• My Little Pony TCG Fantasy Wonderland booster (Kayou)
• My Little Pony TCG Discord!!! booster (Kayou)
• Kayou and Hasbro introduce the My Little Pony Trading Card Game (press release, 9 October 2025)