Cryptid trading card game, MetaZoo, is blowing up the resale market

Mike Waddell, who was a hobbyist in 2020, spent his weekends packaging trading cards that featured Bigfoot, Mothman and other bizarre cryptids and shipping them to investors, collectors and companies. They might be interested to his brand new trading card game, MetaZoo. His prediction was correct. MetaZoo cards’ popularity has exploded over the years.

MetaZoo, a crowdfunding campaign to raise $18,249. was started in August 2020. The official first set, “Cryptid Nation,” launched July 2021. As of January this year, MetaZoo’s newest Kickstarter raised more than $1.8 million, and MetaZoo cards can be found in major retailers like Walmart.

Some investors and collectors have compared MetaZoo to products on par with a first-edition Pokémon Charizard hologram or unopened boxes of The Gathering is MagicBooster boxes. Limited runs of MetaZoo sample cards can be sold on the secondary marketplace for thousands. Red Ink First Secret Rare Box Topper is one example of a rare card that can fetch thousands. It’s listed for $22,000 on Ebay. MetaZoo also has attracted many big names in the collectibles industry, such as Steve Aoki.

MetaZoo

But MetaZoo’s popularity isn’t solely driven by its investment potential. MetaZoo’s popularity is not only driven by its investment potential. MetaZoo fans are quick to grab products once they become available. MetaZoo Discord has around 12100 members. Members can share fan-fic and tribute art as well as live gaming. MetaZoo tournaments can also be held in person, mostly through the MetaZoo Play Network.

MetaZoo cards are most easily compared to Pokémon, but these cards feature cryptids, which are mythical creatures that have never been proven to exist, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and the Chupacabra. Each card boasts a colorful illustration of a cryptid, reminiscent of Ken Sugimori’s initial Pokémon designs, and is based on United States folklore and strange tales. For example, the story of the snow snake comes from a Wisconsin mid-century lumberjack tale about how venomous serpents can become virtually invisible when they are coiled up on a snow drift.

Waddell was always fascinated by the cryptids. Waddell grew up hearing stories about Saci (a mythical creature that controlled the wind and smoked pipes, as well as tricks on locals) while growing up in Brazil. But it wasn’t until he saw the 2002 film Prophecies of the MothmanWaddell stated that the meaning of cryptids became more important to him and he started to think about making a trading card game out of them.

While MetaZoo might be aesthetically reminiscent of Pokémon, the game’s mechanics are much more similar to The Gathering is Magic. Play is focused on reducing your opponent’s life points to zero, with a combination of creatures, spells, and magic potions. MetaZoo also uses “fourth wall” effects, in which real-life actions and surroundings have an effect in-game. For example, if you have a water-based “beastie” card, you can amplify its powers by having a glass of water nearby.

“My favorite part of the game is the way outside objects can influence it,” said James Studley, a member of the Caster Society, a MetaZoo community focused on teaching and organizing gameplay. “It’s a rapidly changing and responsive card game.”

The fourth wall effects can get a little strange, especially if you’re playing face-to-face in a tournament. For instance, if you’re playing a Cactus Cat card, you can avoid damage by drinking a beverage when you throw down the card. If you’re at a MetaZoo tournament and you’re within eyesight of a radio, you lose a ton of attack points when playing the Metal Man of Alabama card. Maybe the most extreme example is the Jersey Devil card, which requires the user to unfurl a “blood-curdling scream” to avoid 50 damage when playing it.

The most committed players can take an exam, conducted monthly, to become recognized “Metazoologists,” with tests and study guides released through the MetaZoo Discord. “I’ve been a part of many different online communities, but the MetaZoo ones have been some of the most friendly and welcoming. It was very easy to become a part of the community and get into the game,” said Trey Tadpradel, a Metazoologist who is a volunteer judge for tournaments and gameplay.

First-time players may find it difficult to buy certain cards due to their high price. As a longtime collector and player of TCGs, YouTuber Ethan Pohl uses FourthStarTCG to primarily talk about Pokémon, but MetaZoo caught his eye upon its first Kickstarter campaign.

MetaZoo

“Upon release, a lot of the discussion was focused on the high prices that some of the cards were commanding,” Pohl said. “MetaZoo has fostered this money-making aspect by rolling out endless special limited promo cards, first editions, NFTs, and artificially limited products to maintain interest and hype.”

Pohl credits MetaZoo’s success to “right product, right marketing, right time,” adding that the company hasn’t been coy about positioning MetaZoo as “the next Pokémon” during the massive Pokémon hype of 2020 and 2021, which led to a large speculative bubble. He believes that marketing directly to collectors and borrowing Pokémon’s release style has helped boost MetaZoo’s popularity and visibility. Pohl is skeptical about the viability of the strategy over the long-term. “As a trading card game, not a collectible card game, I am very skeptical of MetaZoo,” Pohl said. “The cards do not seem to be balanced, and the ‘fourth-wall-breaking’ method of playing the game seems to take away from skill-based gameplay and limit feasibility.”

Waddell doesn’t seem too concerned, though. He plans to broaden the MetaZoo community beyond card games, with the goal of opening 56 verticals before the year’s end. It includes all figurines, shoes, pins T-shirts, NFTs, and even footwear. MetaZoo continues to produce expansion packs. Wilderness was launched in March, while UFO is scheduled to launch in July.

“My belief is you can’t just have TCG with just cards, and fandom likes to develop as a lifestyle,” Waddell said. “From a business and creative perspective, it just makes sense.”

Many MetaZoo users have taken to playing it virtually through a Tabletop Simulator mod. It is this way that Noah Hess (known as Peazful) has been playing MetaZoo. Alpha Investments is a YouTube channel that focuses on the collectible card industry. He was first to see MetaZoo on Alpha Investments. The Gathering is Magic.

“Initially I was not a fan of the artwork,” Hess said. “But now it has grown on me and I love it. Especially the new Wilderness artwork.” Hess has since jumped headfirst into MetaZoo analysis and competition. Hess was part of the thousands that flocked to Florida Collect-a-Con, where he participated in a large MetaZoo tournament.

But while he’s seen a massive increase in exposure for MetaZoo, as well as the number of collectors and investors, Hess said the player base hasn’t experienced the same expansive growth. With more in-person tournaments coming up — some of which attract players with large cash prizes — he hopes that changes.

“This year is all about the players,” Hess said.