head to head
vs
Pokémon Trading Card GamevsTharsis
Pokémon Trading Card Game leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); Tharsis leans Variance (Systems & Chaos).
Pokémon Trading Card GameTharsis
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 0
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads1 vs 0
Pokémon Trading Card Game leans harder on reads: AI duelists play fixed strategies
Variance6 vs 8
Tharsis leans harder on variance: Dice rolls and event draws brutally dominate each turn
Optimization7 vs 7
Even - both lean on optimization about the same.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.