FFXIV Triple Triad: deck building rules, getting cards and comparing decks

Triple Triad is played on a 3 by 3 board with five cards per player. Each card carries a number on its four sides; a card placed next to an opponent's card with a higher number on the touching side turns that card to your colour, and whoever owns more cards at the end wins. The Triple Triad deck comparison builds two decks side by side, checks them against the game's rules and shows where every card comes from.

How do I start playing?

Complete the quest Triple Triad Trial at the Gold Saucer. It gives you starter cards, among them the Dodo, and opens Card List and Card Decks in the Gold Saucer menu. From then on you can challenge NPCs marked as Triple Triad players and enter tournaments at the Gold Saucer.

What are the Deck Building Rules?

A deck holds five cards. The game limits rarity: one card of ★★★★★, and no more than two cards of ★★★★ or more, so a ★★★★★ card uses one of those two places. Cards of ★★★ or less have no limit. Card Decks keeps up to five decks. The comparison checks these limits as you build and shows the game's own warning when a deck breaks them.

How are NPC matches different?

Every NPC opponent plays with its own rules, such as Three Open, which shows three random cards of each deck, or Same and Plus, which flip cards by matching numbers. NPC decks mix cards they always play with cards they sometimes play, and many NPCs give a card when you win. Picking an opponent in the comparison shows those rules, both parts of its deck and the cards it can give.

Where do cards come from?

Cards come from NPC wins, card packs bought with MGP at the Gold Saucer, duties, achievements and other content. Each card in your decks is listed with its sources, linked to the NPC, duty or quest, and its card item page, which shows its vendors and sale value. A Bahamut card, for example, comes from one NPC opponent.

Worked example

Open a deck of Dodo, Tonberry and Sabotender against Mother Miounne. The three cards add up to 10 on top, 7 on the right, 13 at the bottom and 9 on the left: the deck is strongest downward. Mother Miounne in New Gridania plays Three Open, always brings three cards and adds two of five others, and can give the Goobbue and Mother Miounne cards. Fill the second deck with replacements and the difference row shows, side by side, what each change gains or loses.