Auckland Card Show 2025 Recap: New Zealand’s Biggest Card Event
- Card Show Company
- Sep 30, 2025
- 6 min read
The 2025 Auckland Card Show proved to be a landmark moment for the card culture scene in New Zealand. Held at Auckland Showgrounds from August 9th to 10th, this was only the second time the event has taken place, yet it drew an incredible 5,816 attendees, more than tripling the 1,718 who attended the debut in 2024. For the first time, the show expanded into two full halls: one dedicated entirely to tournaments and competitive play, and the other housing a buzzing show floor of vendors, exhibitors, and a main stage packed with live events. With this leap in both scale and attendance, Auckland Card Show has firmly established itself as one of the biggest card shows in the Southern Hemisphere.
Major sponsors including Dragon Shield, Legend Story Studios, Mighty Ape, and others helped bring the weekend to life. Dragon Shield, in particular, was unmissable as their branding appeared across the official lanyards and entry badges worn by all attendees. Their presence set the tone for what was a weekend filled with partnerships, community energy, and unforgettable trading card show moments.
A Weekend of Competitive Play
The action began on Friday, August 8, when the tournament hall opened its doors to hundreds of competitive players. Flesh and Blood, New Zealand’s homegrown trading card game, drew the largest crowd with 353 players competing across a series of events tied to the game’s World Tour. Disney Lorcana, still a relatively new TCG, made its mark with 90 players in its New Zealand Open, while Yu-Gi-Oh! added another 72 players to the mix with its national open. The Grand Archive Quicksilver Cup rounded out the slate, attracting 85 players to its first official event in New Zealand.
In total, 634 tournament passes were issued, accounting for around 11 percent of total attendees. This turnout underscored just how important TCG tournaments are in anchoring a major New Zealand card show. Beyond the numbers, the tournament hall provided a space for players from across New Zealand and Australia to test their skills, win prizing, and be part of a competitive community that continues to grow alongside the card collectors NZ scene.
Showtime Saturday
While the tournaments kept the competitive crowd engaged, the second hall came alive with vendors, collectors, and the main stage. The weekend kicked off on Saturday morning with a video message from Dragon Shield broadcast across the venue and livestreamed to the show’s YouTube channel. Asad from PokeCollection, one of the longest-running Pokémon content creators on YouTube, took the stage as co-host and MC for the weekend. He introduced show organisers Steve Guinee and Matt Rogers, alongside Melissa Zimmerman from Dragon Shield, to talk about how the partnership came together and to reflect on the show’s rapid growth in just 12 months.
From there, the main stage became the heartbeat of the show. Card Merchant made their presence felt with a giant spinning wheel activation opposite the stage, as well as sponsored box breaks including One Piece that had the crowd buzzing. Hobby Lords turned heads with a generous Prismatic Evolutions Super Premium Collection Box giveaway, awarded to the participant who pulled the most valuable card during Mr Tofu’s on-stage Pokémon 151 box break.
Later, Hobby Lords joined TCG Collector and Kirushi from Fetch for a panel discussion led by Mr Tofu, exploring the state of the sports cards and TCG market in New Zealand and answering audience questions about allocations, pre-orders, and stock levels. To keep things lively, the panel casually opened an Evolving Skies booster box while they talked, much to the crowd’s delight.
A Sunday to Remember
Sunday continued the high energy. One of the weekend’s most anticipated moments came when Kieran from the NZ Card Collectors Show in Wellington joined Steve on stage. Together they discussed the similarities and differences between New Zealand’s two major card shows NZ, before opening a box of Destined Rivals to give away to the crowd. Their box opening session escalated quickly when they cracked into Japanese Tag Team GX packs, pulling the gold Mew & Mewtwo Tag Team card live on stage.
The giveaways kept flowing. Mighty Ape sponsored a massive Pokémon card show segment, with 105 packs opened across a wide range of sets and products. Asad and Steve invited audience members on stage to join in, creating spontaneous and unforgettable moments for collectors young and old.
The day closed on a high with the Palms Off Gaming Podcast recording live on stage. While the podcast was underway, another roar erupted from the crowd: a lucky attendee who had purchased a PokéPulls mystery pack hit a vintage Jungle booster pack and pulled a holo Snorlax in front of a captivated audience. This was all part of the wild hour, but we'll get into that in a second.
Disney Lorcana and the Team Quest
One of the most family-friendly highlights of the weekend was the Disney Lorcana Team Quest, which ran four times across both days. Each activation gave up to 100 participants a free booster pack. After opening their packs, players were guided by Steve and Asad through the rules and card rarities before teaming up with others in the crowd to match four cards displayed on the big screen. Winning teams were quickly identified by Matt and then received exclusive Disney Lorcana promo cards, and the event introduced countless newcomers to one of the hobby’s newest and fastest-growing games.
The WILD Hour
The most talked-about segment of the weekend was the WILD Hour on Sunday afternoon. A lineup of well-known community figures including Mr Tofu, Jorge from Hobby Lords, Anya from PokeCollection, and Ramin from RMNTCG took the stage for a series of pack battles. Each battler was handed mystery packs from PokéPulls NZ, which could contain anything from modern boosters to vintage packs dating back to the Wizards of the Coast era.
The tension reached fever pitch when RMNTCG cracked open a pack containing a 1999 Base Set booster. The crowd held its breath as he opened it live on stage, revealing a holo Poliwrath. To make things even more dramatic, Hobby Lords followed up with a crowd pack battle, inviting over 100 attendees to open packs simultaneously. The winner of the most valuable pull received another Base Set pack, which turned out to contain a holo Gyarados. Within 20 minutes, the audience had witnessed not one but two Base Set holos being pulled, a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience for many collectors in the room. It was shortly after these packs were opened on stage that the Snorlax was pulled off stage at the PokePulls booth to reveal yet another holo Wizard's of the Coast era holo.
VIP Perks and ShowBook Challenge
The VIP experience was a hit, with 261 VIPs enjoying early entry, exclusive discounts, and a premium goodie bag valued at over $250. Inside were packs from Pokémon 151, Disney Lorcana boosters, Flesh and Blood decks, Yu-Gi-Oh! tins, accessories, and branded items, making it a must-have upgrade for dedicated collectors.
Every attendee also received a ShowBook, part exhibitor guide, part collectible, and part challenge. The ShowBook Challenge encouraged visitors to engage with key exhibitors or take part in fun challenges, unlocking rewards that included promo cards, booster packs, and grading vouchers. An exclusive Auckland Card Show Life TCG Kākā promo card was included with thousands being given out to New Zealand card collectors.
A Growing Community
The scale of the 2025 show wasn’t just about the numbers in the hall. Online, the event generated 1.1 million views across social media and reached over 145,000 people, while the website recorded 25,000 sessions, a 411% increase on the previous year. Vendors reported strong sales, players competed in world-class tournaments, and collectors found rare and exciting cards from around the globe. Overall, it's a positive sign for the hobby and it's future here in New Zealand.
What began as a single-day event in 2024 has now become an international destination for trading card shows. Auckland Card Show has grown into a must-attend event for sports card collectors, Pokémon card collectors, and players across every major TCG.
Get involved for 2026
The momentum is only building. Plans are already underway for Auckland Card Show 2026, with organisers in talks with publishers and partners to bring you the ultimate card experience. On top of that, we listened to the card collecors, aplayers and traders and we are expanding to the South Island in 2026!
The team behind Auckland Card Show are also orgnaising a smaller special event for December 2025. Details on this will drop shortly!
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