The History of Minecraft Cards

There have been a number of Minecraft cards and sets released since the games debut. While officially released in 2011, the game was immensely popular for over two years before as a publicly available Beta. The earliest cards featuring Minecraft and its characters are all either obscure non-trading cards such as prepaid code cards or unofficial spoof cards.

It took until 2015 before Mojang released an official Minecraft collectible “Sticker card” set. This pioneering set includes the debut card of Steve, the Ender Dragon and 22 other foundational Minecraft characters. However the waiting was not over, after the 2015 release, apart from a couple of licensed magazine promo cards it would be another six years before we would see a new Minecraft card set.

In 2021 Panini obtained the rights to publish Minecraft cards and delivered a much more substantial Minecraft card set with “Minecraft Adventure Trading Cards”, since then they have continued to release frequent and ever expanding sets on an annual basis

Minecraft Card Timeline

Card/Set	Year	Type
Top Trumps: Digital Heroes 'Markus Persson'	2012	Card Game
Topps Wacky Packages ANS10 'Mimecraft'	2013	(Spoof) Trading Card
Topps GPK BNS3 'Mike Craft' & 'Avalanche Albert'	2013	(Spoof) Trading Card
Mojang JINX Minecraft Collectible Sticker Cards	2015	Trading Card
Official Xbox Magazine Heroes of Xbox, 'Steve'	2015	Promo Card
GamesMaster Legends Combat Cards, 'Steve'	2016	Promo Card
WOTC Magic the Gathering DLC Promo Card	2017	Promo Card
Panini Minecraft Adventure Trading Cards	2021	Trading Card
Minecraft Dungeons Arcade Cards	2021	Arcade Game Card
Panini Minecraft Time To Mine	2022	Trading Card
CAMILII Super Smash Bros Trading Cards	2023	Trading Card
Panini Create Explore Survive	2023	Trading Card
LEGO Minecraft Trading Cards Series 1	2024	Trading Card
Panini Minecraft	2024	Trading Card
Panini Minecraft Special Edition	2025	Trading Card
Panini Minecraft Challenges	2025	Trading Card

Pre-Official Trading Card Era (2012-2015)

Markus Persson (Notch), Top Trumps Digital Heroes (2012)

Card Details:

Card: Markus Persson
Set: Top Trumps: Digital Heroes
Publisher: Winning Moves
Type: Top Trumps Card Game
Release Date: 2012
Regions: Europe

Variants: (None)

Notes: Only known Notch card

Topps 'Mimecraft' Wacky Packages (March 2013)

Card Details:

Card: Mimecraft #50
Set: Wacky Packages: All New Series 10
Publisher: Topps
Type: (Spoof) Trading Card
Release Date: March 2013
Regions: North America

Variants:

Base
Blue/Silver/Black/Red/Gold Border
Black/White Cloth
Black/Red Ludlow
Artists Autographs (Numbered /15)
Printing Plate (1/1)
(also has a Magnet #10 version in a Subset)

Notes: First pop culture trading card depicting Minecraft

Topps 'Mike Craft' & "Avalanche Albert" GPK (October 2013)

Card Details:

Cards: Mike Craft #153a and Avalanche Albert #153b
Set: Garbage Pail Kids: Brand New Series 3
Publisher: Topps
Type: (Spoof) Trading Card
Release Date: October 2013
Regions: North America

Variants:

Base
Silver/Black Border
Gold (Limited to 85)
Printing Plate (1/1)
(also has a Magnet #10 version in a Subset)

There is a separate 2013 Topps Garbage Pail Kids Mini Cards set that includes the BNS3 cards (including 153a and 153b, in this send there is Base, Black, Gold (limited to 10), Printing Plates (1/1), Artist Autographs and Sketch Cards).

Notes: First pop culture trading cards depicting a character resembling Steve

Pre Panini Card Era (2015-2021)

Mojang / JINX Minecraft Collectible Sticker Cards (2015)

Set Details:

Publisher: Mojang AB, JINX and Just Toys Int
Type: Trading Card
No of Cards: 24
Release Date: 2015
Regions: Europe

Card Types:

Base
Foil

Retail Options:

Pack (3 Sticker Cards)
Booster Box (24 Pack Box)
Blister Pack (3 Pack Blister, 9 Pack Blister)

Notes: First official Minecraft cards. Steve, Ender Dragon and 22 other Debut Cards. Each of the 24 cards has a Foil variant. 2 Regular and 1 Foil Card per pack

Official Xbox Magazine Heroes of Xbox Combat Card (2015)

Card Details:

Card: Steve, Minecraft
Set: Heroes of Xbox Combat Cards
Publisher: Official Xbox Magazine (Futera)
Type: Promo “Top Trumps” style card game
Release Date: 2015
Regions: Europe

Variants: (None)

Notes: First Steve card to display his name alongside his image

GamesMaster Legends Combat Card (2016)

Card Details:

Card: Steve, Minecraft
Set: Legends Combat Cards
Publisher: GamesMaster (Futera)
Type: Promo “Top Trumps” style card game
Release Date: 2016
Regions: Europe

Variants: (None)

Notes: Features the same artwork as the 2015 Heroes of Xbox Steve card.

WOTC Magic the Gathering Minecraft DLC Promo Card (2017)

Card Details:

Card: Pyromantic Pixels
Set: NA (Promo Card)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (WOTC)
Type: Promo Card for Downloadable Content
Release Date: 2017
Regions: Europe and North America

Variants: (None)

Notes: Only Wizards of the Coast Minecraft card. Only Magic the Gathering Minecraft card

Panini Era (2021-2026)

Panini Minecraft Adventure Trading Cards (2021)

Set Details:

Publisher: Panini
Type: Trading Cards
No of Cards: 236 (including 6 Limited Editions)
Release Date: 2021
Regions: Europe

Card Types:

Base
Foil
Glow in the Dark
Limited Edition (6)

Retail Options:

Pack (8 Cards)
Premium Pack (24 Cards + 2 Bonus Cards)
Booster Box (18 Packs Box & 36 Pack Box)
Blaster Box (5 Packs, 2 Bonus Cards)
Starter Pack (3 Packs, 1 Limited Edition Card, Album/Binder)
Collector Tin (6 Packs, 3 Limited Edition Cards)
Tin (4 Packs, 1 Limited Edition Card)

Notes: First full trading card set, and first Panini set. Limited Editions are not found in packs.

Minecraft Dungeons Arcade Cards Series 1 (2021)

Set Details:

Publisher: Raw Thrills
Type: Arcade Game Cards
No of Cards: 60 cards (in Series 1)
Release Date: 2021
Regions: North America (a small number of machines outside NA)

Card Types:

Common (Base)
Rare (Holo)

Retail Options:

1 Card is dispensed each time you play the arcade game
Cards of purchased by operators in mixed boxes

Notes: First Minecraft Dungeons cards. All cards have a Common and Rare variant. An error card exists with mismatched sides (‘Adriene’ obverse ‘Soul Fists’ reverse)