Step into a card game where you build your deck and draft your lineup. In this fantasy campaign, Guardians baseball becomes a collectible quest.
Guardians: The Gathering – Cleveland Guardians Roster Strategy as a Fantasy Card Game
— by Mario Crescibene
In your hands you hold a shiny, new pack of baseball cards…
You feel the excitement of not knowing what lies inside, while dreaming of the endless possibilities. But this isn’t just any ordinary pack of baseball cards.
No. This is the T-POPS Adventure Deck – Guardians: The Gathering.
Welcome to a land where baseball and fantasy collide—where heroes are forged on the field, and legends are written in the stat sheet. This is the T-Pops Adventure Deck: Guardians the Gathering, an exploration into the strategy behind the Guardians’ roster flexibility.
Imagine that in each T-Pops Adventure Deck, you receive 9 baseball cards. But unlike the boring, static cards we’ve seen for decades, these cards are different. Like cards in Magic: The Gathering, each player possesses unique abilities alongside their usual stats. You build your team not just based on numbers, but on how each player’s traits interact with the rest of your deck. And as your deck grows, so does your strategy.
The Guardians have been collecting these kinds of cards for years—players whose flexibility gives them the ability to adapt to matchups, cover slumps, and mix and match lineups like no other team in the league. It’s a hidden strength, and one that’s often overlooked.
And today, brave hero, you shall begin your journey into the world of T-POPS.
But before you play the game, you must choose your champions.
So, let us set the field.
And so, adventurer, you can see the vast possibilities that await when building your lineup using the Guardians deck.
Imagine, then, adding C.J. Kayfus, who can flex between right field and first, or Petey Halpin, a speedster who can patrol any outfield position. There is true power in a team that can be tailored to its opponent, and prospects who can play where needed.
Congratulations, you’ve crafted your first lineup, brave strategist. But remember: a deck is only as strong as the way it’s played…
In our next adventure, we’ll uncover the sacred rules for how T-POPS is played —and discover what happens when two decks go head-to-head.
Part II will also unveil the remaining player cards for your roster: Bo Naylor, David Fry, Carlos Santana, Gabriel Arias, Daniel Schneemann, and Nolan Jones.
Until then, here’s a teaser: An Art Deco rendering of David Fry…
Full Text Transcript:
In your hands you hold a shiny, new pack of baseball cards…
You feel the excitement of not knowing what lies inside, while dreaming of the endless possibilities. But this isn’t just any ordinary pack of baseball cards.
No. This is the T-Pops Adventure Deck – Guardians: The Gathering.
Welcome to a land where baseball and fantasy collide—where heroes are forged on the field, and legends are written in the stat sheet. This is the T-Pops Adventure Deck: Guardians the Gathering, an exploration into the strategy behind the Guardians’ roster flexibility.
Imagine that in each T-Pops Adventure Deck, you receive 9 baseball cards. But unlike the boring, static cards we’ve seen for decades, these cards are different. Like cards in Magic: The Gathering, each player possesses unique abilities alongside their usual stats. You build your team not just based on numbers, but on how each player’s traits interact with the rest of your deck. And as your deck grows, so does your strategy.
The Guardians have been collecting these kinds of cards for years—players whose flexibility gives them the ability to adapt to matchups, cover slumps, and mix and match lineups like no other team in the league. It’s a hidden strength, and one that’s often overlooked.
And today, brave hero, you shall begin your journey into the world of T-Pops.
But before you play the game, you must choose your champions.
So, let us set the field.
For this fantasy baseball game of T-POPS, we have the usual positions on the field. Each side must also select one starting pitcher, one relief pitcher, and one designated hitter.
For the Guardians, we have our obvious starters when setting our lineup. We will have Steven Kwan in left field, Jose Ramirez at third base.
We will use Shane Bieber as our starting pitcher, and Emmanuel Clase for our reliever.
And then, we have our x-factor players. Players like Ángel Martínez whose special ability is being able to play at multiple positions. We’ll use him later.
And so that gives us the following lineup:
So now, brave strategist, it’s time to complete your lineup. You’ve chosen your champions—now you must build your deck.
First, you must select your Catcher.
For this campaign, we’ll go with Bo. But as you play, you’re free to forge your own path.
Next, you must determine your First Baseman.
With Santana’s recent hitting it’s easy to pick him here. That leaves Manzardo and Fry to battle for the DH slot.
For this example, we’ll pick David Fry as our DH. But the possibilities are already multiplying, and now we need to make one of the more consequential decisions with selecting our shortstop and second baseman.
For this build, we’ll go with Gabriel Arias at short and Daniel Schneemann at Short and Second, respectively.
Only two spots remain: Center Field and Right Field.
Let’s choose Ángel Martínez to patrol Center, and Nolan Jones in Right. But don’t forget: Jhonkensy Noel, Lane Thomas, or Johnathan Jones could each be viable swaps, depending on the matchup.
With that, our lineup is complete.
And so, adventurer, you can see the vast possibilities that await when building your lineup using the Guardians deck.
Imagine, then, adding C.J. Kayfus, who can flex between right field and first, or Petey Halpin, a speedster who can patrol any outfield position. There is true power in a team that can be tailored to its opponent.
You’ve crafted your first lineup, brave strategist. But remember: a deck is only as strong as the way it’s played…
In our next adventure, we’ll uncover the sacred rules for how T-POPS is played —and discover what happens when two decks go head-to-head.
Part II will also unveil the remaining player cards for your roster: Bo Naylor, David Fry, Carlos Santana, Gabriel Arias, Daniel Schneemann, and Nolan Jones.
Until then, here’s a teaser: An Art Deco rendering of David Fry…