Friendships Begin Starter Decks Compared: Which My Little Pony TCG Deck to Buy First

Quick Answer

Friendships Begin is the starter range for the My Little Pony TCG: six ready-to-play decks, one each for Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity. Every deck has the same structure, a pre-built 70-card deck plus three booster packs and a playmat with the rules, so each one is a complete way into the game. What changes from deck to deck is the pony, her four-part Story, her support cast and her signature cards. Buy the pony you or your child loves most, and remember that a two-player game needs two decks. Further down this page every card of every deck is pictured, with its number, from KAYOU's official card lists.

What every deck contains

Open any of the six and you get the same things.

The 70 cards form a legal deck straight out of the box, so nobody has to build anything before the first game. Each deck's Scene Deck is 15 copies of one named Scene, and every deck includes an Uncommon card of its pony in her Winter Wrap-Up uniform. KAYOU's card list for each deck runs to 21 card types across six rarity tiers: one Ruby Rare, two Silver Rares, one Emerald Rare, nine Commons, four Sapphire Rares and four Uncommons, and the 70 cards are made up of copies of those 21.

The three booster packs all draw from one shared pool, so a Twilight Sparkle deck's packs can turn up cards for any of the six ponies. KAYOU lists that pool as a product of its own, the Friendships Begin Bonus Pack, and its 68 card types cover the Mane Six at several rarities, plus Zecora and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, ten Events and Items, the six location Scenes, and six more locations in day and night Shining versions. KAYOU's printed ratio puts two Commons, one Uncommon or Sapphire Rare and one Emerald Rare or Shining Emerald in every pack, with the fifth card a Silver Rare in two packs out of three and a Silver, Gold, Colorful or Shining Ruby Rare in the third. The six Shining Ruby Rares, one per pony (※SD01-RR01 to ※SD01-RR06), are the rarest cards in the pool. Any deck's packs can hold any pony's Shining Ruby Rare, and buying a pony's deck does not make her Shining card more likely. Treat the boosters as a bonus, not a way to pull a chase card. The whole pool is pictured below.

Deck by deck

KAYOU numbers the decks SD01A to SD01F, and each deck's own cards carry that prefix, so a card numbered SD01D is Applejack's. Each pairs its pony with her pet and one or two more familiar faces, gives her a four-part Story to climb, and adds four named Events and Items. The card names below are as KAYOU prints them on its official North American card lists.

Twilight Sparkle (SD01A)

• Support cast: Owlowiscious and Spike
• Story: Searching for Elements of Harmony, in four stages: Consulting the Guide, Through the Everfree Forest, Facing Nightmare Moon and Igniting the Sixth Element
• Signature cards: Field Reference, Search the Library, Experience Report and Guiding Tome
• Scene: Golden Oak Library

Choose Twilight for a fan of the Mane Six's leader, or for the story that builds to facing Nightmare Moon. See the Twilight Sparkle starter deck.

Fluttershy (SD01B)

• Support cast: Angel, Philomena and a Turtle
• Story: Dragonshy, in four stages: Ominous Black Smoke, Towards the Cliff, Over the Gorge and Facing the Dragon
• Signature cards: Aid for Moving Frogs Out, Flower Picking Day, Healthy Salad and Rabbit Pocket Watch
• Scene: Fluttershy's Cottage

A natural fit for anyone who loves Fluttershy and her animal friends, with a story that ends face to face with a dragon. See the Fluttershy starter deck.

Pinkie Pie (SD01C)

• Support cast: Gummy and Mrs. Cake
• Story: Feeling Pinkie Keen, in four stages: The Prediction, The Giant Hydra, Crisis Averted and The Real Doozy
• Signature cards: Blue Curse, Instrument Set, Head Umbrella and Pinkie's Flying Balloon
• Scene: Sugarcube Corner

Made for Pinkie Pie fans, with a story that starts with a prediction and meets a giant hydra along the way. See the Pinkie Pie starter deck.

Applejack (SD01D)

• Support cast: Winona, Apple Bloom and Big McIntosh
• Story: Applebuck Season, in four stages: Harvest of One, Stubborn Applejack, Asking for Help and Appreciation and Apology
• Signature cards: Dye Advertisement, Rope Trick, Lullaby for Apple Tree and Apple Bucket
• Scene: Sweet Apple Acres

Applejack's line-up adds three familiar faces from the farm, and her story is about harvesting an apple field and learning to ask for help. See the Applejack starter deck.

Rainbow Dash (SD01E)

• Support cast: Tank and Scootaloo
• Story: The Best Young Flyer, in four stages: Anxious Rainbow Dash, The Competition, Sonic RainBoom and Grand Prize
• Signature cards: Hoofshake Buzzer!, Rushing Rescue, Training Accident and Prank Sneeze Powder
• Scene: Cloudominium

For Rainbow Dash fans, with a story about getting past her nerves to win the Grand Prize. See the Rainbow Dash starter deck.

Rarity (SD01F)

• Support cast: Opal and Sweetie Belle
• Story: A Dog and Pony Show, in four stages: Hunt for Gems, Rarity Gets Ponynapped, Outwitting the Hounds and Back with Full Load
• Signature cards: Tailor-made, Dress for Competition, Steam Therapy and Dress Form
• Scene: Carousel Boutique

For Rarity fans, with a gem hunt that goes wrong when she is ponynapped. See the Rarity starter deck.

Which one to buy first

Pick the pony. That is the honest answer, and it is also the useful one. All six decks share the same structure, the same rules and the same booster pool, and any two of them can play each other. No official source or review we have found gives the six decks different playstyles, so we do not rank them as easier, stronger or faster.

The decks are also made to mix rather than to stay separate. The Geekiary's review of the range notes that "certain cards can be played across decks to create a custom deck", so a first deck is not a lifelong commitment. Once you know the game, cards from another pony's deck can join yours.

If you are still torn, these are the differences that do exist:

• The character. A child who loves Rarity will want Rarity on the playmat, and that matters more than anything else on this page.
• The story. Each deck's four Story cards are the path its Main Character climbs to win, so pick the story you would enjoy telling, from Twilight facing Nightmare Moon to Rainbow Dash chasing the Grand Prize.
• The support cast. Each deck brings in its pony's pet, and three of them add a Cutie Mark Crusader: Apple Bloom with Applejack, Scootaloo with Rainbow Dash and Sweetie Belle with Rarity.
• The collector angle. Each pony has her own Shining Ruby Rare, but those come from the shared booster pool, so they are not a reason to pick one deck over another.

Some shops sell the starter deck only as a random assortment, so you get whichever pony is in the box. We list every character separately, so you choose.

Two players need two decks

A starter deck is one player's complete deck. The game is written for two players, so a first game at home needs two decks, one per player, and any two of the six work together out of the box. Picking two different ponies means each player has a different Main Character and a different Story to race up.

If your household wants every pony, add all six decks to one order. We sell each character individually.

NA and SEA are the same game

We list every deck in two editions, the NA edition and the SEA edition, as separate listings. Both are English editions of the same game, both use the same rules, and an NA edition deck can play a SEA edition deck without any trouble. The two prints share the deck list and differ by item code (Applejack is MLP-KP-YYQH-AJ-001A-NA in the NA edition and MLP-KP-YYQH-001D-UV in the SEA edition), and the card images on this page are the North American print's, from KAYOU's official series pages.

If you collect by edition, pick the listing that matches your collection. If you just want to play, either edition does the job. Each character's SEA edition listing sits alongside the NA one, such as the SEA edition Rainbow Dash deck.

Every card in every deck

The six sheets below picture each deck's 21 card types in KAYOU's own tier order: the Ruby Rare Main Character, the two Silver Rares, the Emerald Rare Scene, the nine Commons, the four Sapphire Rare Events and Items and the four Uncommons. Each deck's four Story cards are landscape Commons, numbered C06 to C09, and get a sheet of their own. The six Scenes are numbered SD01-ER01 to ER06 without a deck letter, because the same six cards are also in the booster pool. KAYOU's page for the Rainbow Dash deck lists Cloudominium as SD01-ER03 and its Pinkie Pie page calls the third stage Crisis Ceased; the cards themselves are printed SD01-ER05 and Crisis Averted, and the lists below follow the print.

Twilight Sparkle deck, SD01A

Fluttershy deck, SD01B

Pinkie Pie deck, SD01C

Applejack deck, SD01D

Rainbow Dash deck, SD01E

Rarity deck, SD01F

The booster pool: the Friendships Begin Bonus Pack

The three packs in every deck draw from the pool KAYOU lists as the Friendships Begin Bonus Pack, item code MLP-KP-YYQH-AS-001A-NA. We do not stock the Bonus Pack as a product of its own, so the pool is pictured here in one sheet: 68 card types across nine tiers, in KAYOU's order.

The Mane Six run in the same order at every tier: Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, so ※SD01-RR04, SD01-CR04, SD01-GR04, SD01-SR04, SD01-C04 and SD01-U04 are all Applejack. The twelve Shining Emeralds are not foil versions of the six deck Scenes but six further locations, each printed twice, in daylight and at night, and both versions carry the same number. KAYOU's page lists Sweet Apple Acres in this pool as SD01-ER04-1; the card is printed SD01-ER04, the same Scene as the Applejack deck's.

After the starter

Play a few games with the decks as they come. Our how-to-play guide walks through setup, turns and both ways to win, and it is worth reading before the first game.

When you want more cards to build with, a booster box is the next step. The Discord NA booster box is Series 2 of the game: 20 packs of five cards, from the set that made Discord himself deck-buildable. Our DISCORD!!! card-list guide pictures that set tier by tier the way this page does, and if you are opening for collecting as well as play, the Discord most valuable cards guide covers its chase cards.

Nightmare Night, Series 3, is on the shelf too. It brings Treat tokens and ponies in Nightmare Night costume, and our Nightmare Night guide pictures its card list and rarities.

Every set shares one rulebook, so booster cards slot straight into a starter deck. Keep to four copies of any card ID, and remember that a Shining (※) version counts as the same card as its base version. The rest of the range is on our My Little Pony TCG range.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which My Little Pony TCG starter deck should I buy first?

The one with the pony you or your child loves most. All six decks share the same structure, rules and booster pool, and no official source or review we have found ranks one as stronger or easier than the others.

Can two people share one starter deck?

No. Each starter deck is one player's complete 70-card deck, so two players need two decks. Any two of the six decks can play each other.

What is inside a Friendships Begin starter deck?

A pre-built 70-card deck made up of a 50-card Main Deck, a 15-card Scene Deck, four Story cards and a Main Character card, plus three booster packs of five cards and a paper playmat with the rules printed on the reverse. The 70 cards are copies of 21 card types, all pictured on this page.

Are the NA and SEA starter decks the same game?

Yes. Both are English editions of the same game with the same rules, and they play against each other. The two prints share the deck list and differ by item code, and we list them separately so you can match your collection.

Can I mix cards from different starter decks?

Yes. Cards can be played across decks to build your own, as long as your deck keeps a 50-card Main Deck, a 15-card Scene Deck, four Story cards sharing one main title and a Main Character, with no more than four copies of any card ID. Everyday Scenes are the one exception to that limit.

What should I buy after a starter deck?

A booster box to widen your card pool. The Discord NA booster box is the natural next step, and Nightmare Night, Series 3, is in stock alongside it. The product pages show availability and dispatch dates.