Top Trumps - Fantasy Set

Before Pokémon cards ruled the playground and Magic: The Gathering enchanted gamers, there was a different kind of power struggle happening in the schoolyard — and it was fought with a deck of stats and steel. Enter Waddington’s Top Trumps Fantasy set, a cult gem from the late 1970s to early '80s, when dragons, knights, and undead horrors could be defeated with nothing more than a higher "Fighting Power" score.

Published by the iconic British gamesmaker Waddingtons, best known for Monopoly and Cluedo, this particular Top Trumps set ditched racing cars and tanks for something far more thrilling: goblins, warlocks, and fire-breathing beasts. With gloriously gaudy artwork that screamed pulp paperback and Dungeons & Dragons in equal measure, the cards brought fantasy to the fingertips of a generation raised on Tolkien and early TSR.

The artwork, iconic in its own right, was created by Geoff Taylor — a British illustrator whose bold lines and eerie atmosphere perfectly captured the wild, unfiltered energy of late-70s fantasy. Taylor would go on to become a prolific fantasy artist, illustrating for authors like Raymond E. Feist and Robert Holdstock, but for many, Top Trumps Fantasy remains their unforgettable first encounter with his work.

Today, the Fantasy set is a prized relic, beloved by nostalgic collectors and retro gamers alike. It’s more than cardboard and numbers — it’s a portal to a simpler time, when fantasy wasn’t franchised, and victory came from knowing exactly when to drop your Dragon.