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Skylanders - How Many NFC Cards Do I Really Need?

A pragmatic guide to writing Skylanders on NFC cards

1. Spyro’s Adventure

1) Figures - 32 cards

2) Magic Items - 8 cards / 13 cards if you don’t re-use

For “Adventure Packs” and “Volcanic Vault” you can re-use 1 card for all 5 of them to unlock the levels.

3) In-Game Variants - 0 cards / 4 cards with Sidekicks

Potentially, you can replace some of the figures mentioned above with some of the 4 Legendary variants.
As for Sidekicks, only if you hvae extra cards.

4) Chase Variants - 0 cards

Nothing special here.

Spyro’s Adventure TOTAL CARDS :

Re-Use Cards: 40
Don’t Re-Use Cards and Sidekicks: 49

2. Giants

1) Giants - 8 cards

2) New (Series 1) - 8 cards

3) Returning (Series 2) - 0 cards

Potentially, you can replace some of the Spyro figures to get the ‘Wow Pow’ ability. They are all backward compatible.

5) LightCores - 0 cards

Real LightCore figures are cool since they light up; NFC cards don’t. But you can always replace some of the previous Skylanders with those LightCore dumps, since they are slightly stronger.

6) Magic Items - 4 cards

7) In-Game Variants - 0 cards / 4 cards with Sidekicks

Potentially, replace some of the previous dumps with Legendary variants.
As for Sidekicks, only if you hvae extra cards.

8) Chase Variants - 0 cards

Nope

Giants TOTAL CARDS :

No Sidekicks: 20
With Sidekicks: 24

3. Swap Force

1) Swappers - 16 X 2 = 32 cards

2) New (Series 1) - 16 cards

3) Returning (Series 2 and Series 3) - 0 cards

You can always use those and replace previous figures to get the ‘Wow Pow’ ability. They are all backward compatible.

4) LightCores - 0 cards

They are a bit stronger than normal Skylanders, so you can replace them, but I wouldn’t bother.

5) Magic Items - 6 cards / 9 cards if you don’t re-use

For “Adventure Packs” and “Promotional Items” you can re-use 1 card for “Sheep Wreck Island”, “Tower of Time” and “UFO Hat”.

6) In-Game Variants - 0 cards

Potentially, you can replace some previous dumps with Legendary variants from here.

7) Unreleased - 1 cards

Nothing that special about this “Gear Head VVind Up”, but why not?

8) Chase Variants - 0 cards

Nope

Swap Force TOTAL CARDS :

Re-Use Cards: 55
Don’t Re-Use Cards: 58

4. Trap Team

1) Trap Masters - 18 cards

2) New (Series 1) - 18 cards

3) Returning (Series 2, 3, and 4) - 0 cards

Same as before, replace previous dumps if you want to get the ‘Wow Pow’ ability.

4) Minis - 0 cards / 16 cards if you want minis

Now, those can actually help you in-game. If you have some extra cards, try them out, but I personally don’t care about them.

5) Magic Items - 4 cards / 8 cards if you don’t re-use

You can use either “Hand of Fate” or “Legendary Hand of Fate” - only the color is different.
For “Adventure/Expansion Packs” you can re-use 1 card for all 4 of them

7) In-Game Variants - 0 cards

Again, you can replace some previous figures with Legendaries from here.

8) Eon’s Elite - 8 cards

Now, those I like. You can replace previous figures with them, but I personally would write them separately just to have them.

9) Chase Variants - 0 cards

Nope

10) Traps - 46 cards / 52 cards with Trappable Villain Variants

There are 46 trappable villains in total. You can either write them already trapped or trap them yourself.
The 6 Trappable Villain Variants you cannot get in game, as they were part of a special promotion. You don’t need them, but if you have extra cards…

Trap Team TOTAL CARDS :

Re-Use Cards and no Minis: 94
Don’t Re-Use Cards, Minis and Trappable Villain Variants: 120

5. SuperChargers

1) SuperChargers - 20 cards

If you don’t have a Nintendo console, you can’t play as “Bowser” or “Donkey Kong”.

2) In-Game Variant SuperChargers - 0 cards

Potentially, replace some of the normal SuperChargers with the 3 legendary variants.

3) Vehicles - 20 cards

The same goes for the “Clown Cruiser” and “Barrel Blaster”, they works only on Nintendo consoles.

4) In-Game Variant Vehicles - 0 cards

Potentially replace regular “Sun Runner” with “Legendary Sun Runner”.

5) Magic Items - 4 cards

You will need all the trophies.

6) Eon’s Elite - 6 cards

Again, you don’t really need them since you already have the normal version, but they are cool.

7) Chase Variants - 0 cards

Nope

SuperChargers TOTAL CARDS : 50

6. Imaginators

1) Senseis - 20 cards

2) In-Game Variant Senseis - 0 cards

You can replace some of the previous Senseis with the “Legendaries” or “In-Game Variants” from here, since each different variant will also increase the max level for Imaginators.

3) Villain Senseis - 11 cards

4) In-Game Variant Villain Senseis - 0 cards

You can replace some of the previous Villain Senseis with the “In-Game Variant Villain Senseis” from here, since each different variant will also increase the max level for Imaginators.

6) Creation Crystals - 10 cards

It really depends on whether you want to mess around with creation crystals or not, but one of each type should be enough.

7) Magic Items - 5 cards / 7 cards if you don’t re-use

You can re-use one card for the ‘Adventure Packs’ and you can also re-use cards for different chest figures, since each figure can only be used once per save.

8) Unreleased - 1 card

Nothing that speicla about “Goldie”, but why not.