It’s a new year of MLB The Show. As expected, Diamond Dynasty, the game mode where individuals can obtain player cards & build dream teams of current and former players, is back for MLB The Show 26. For those new to Diamond Dynasty, all of it can be daunting. However, we can help. Here’s our guide for the game mode.
Contents
Online
In online play, individuals can compete against others. And, also earn rewards through the Multiplayer Program, where individuals can make progress through Ranked, Battle Royale, Events, and Weekend Classic.
Ranked
The primary way to play online Diamond Dynasty is in Ranked Seasons.
Here, players can bring their best squads constructed in the ‘Build’ section, and then take those teams into online action. There are no team restrictions in Ranked, so, hypothetically, the best teams have a better chance on paper. However, MLB The Show is far from a “pay-to-win” game, just based on how the game works.
Ranked Seasons resets usually every four weeks. At the end of each season, players will be lowered in rank based on where they finished previously. Those who finish 800+ will finish at 700 in the next season. After that, things get a little different. Anyone within the 700-799 rank starts at 550, and so on.
All play from 199 and lower is on Veteran difficulty. From 200-699, it’s on All-Star. Hall of Fame encapsulates the 700-899 rank, and everything at 900 and up is Legend. This, by the way, goes for 1v1 Ranked.
There’s also 2v2 and 3v3 co-op Ranked ladder, as well.
To reach the World Series, one must hit at least an 800 rank.
Battle Royale
Battle Royale is a mode where players must draft a 26-player team. Each round is separated on a card tier (i.e., Diamond, Gold, etc.), and players will see more Golds and Silvers than Diamonds.
All games are on All-Star difficulty. Each run ends at two losses. And throughout the way, players can earn rewards based on the number of wins obtained.
- Guaranteed: MLB The Show 26 pack
- 2 Wins: 75-79 OVR player
- 5 Wins: 80-84 OVR player
- 8 Wins: 85-86 OVR player
- 10 Wins: 87+ OVR player
- 10-0: Flawless 10-0 pack (50,000 Stubs reward)
There are no players in the Flawless 10-0 pack, a departure from past years.
Events
Events have changed for MLB The Show 26.
For those who don’t know what Events are, this mode is a three-inning game mode, much like Battle Royale, and players must build a team based on a curated theme.
One, Events do not follow one right after the other. There will be times when no Event will be run. Two, there will be Event-exclusive Programs where individuals can play games and earn progress towards sellable rewards, including cards.
These Programs expire once the Events attached to it expires.
Weekend Classic
Weekend Classic is the signature competition in Diamond Dynasty, run through Ranked play.
Every few weeks – generally four – the MLB The Show 26 team will run it as a special event, designed to give players heightened competition and the chance to receive special cards. These cards are tradeable but can be earned for free just by winning games.
At the start of Weekend Classic, each player is assigned a tier. Much like from ‘25, the tiers are Bronze I, Bronze II, Silver I, Silver II, Gold I, Gold II, Diamond, and Immortal. How one gets assigned a tier depends on the highest-attained Ranked rating throughout the active Ranked Season.
When Weekend Classic starts, the first six games matter more than anything else. Because there is a win reward path that tracks from those six games. Get six wins, and get all the rewards within that path.
To give yourself a better chance at getting the new Weekend Classic cards, it’s best to try to push towards the 700 and 800 range. The reason because at 500, players can only get one Weekend Classic-exclusive player pack at six wins. But at the 800 rank, the first pack appears at three wins, and the second at four.
These, however, can vary throughout the year.
The highest rating is Immortal, which is 1000+ Rank. Individuals who can get there can unlock a 6-0 Flawless Icon for winning the first six games.
Single-Player
Now, we take a look at the single-player modes within Diamond Dynasty. Aside from Moments and Showdown, which is essentially a much larger Moment, there are Conquests, Mini Seasons, and Diamond Quest to play through.
Conquest
Conquest is a mode where teams must conquer all Territories and Strongholds. Strongholds are indicated by a team logo, while Territories are denoted by a number. That number, by the way, is not unimportant, as it denotes how many Fans are in each one.
The Fans are important. This is because when one attacks a Stronghold with another that has a large amount of Fans, the difficulty can be lowered.
All Conquests will net rewards, whether obtainable through Goals or hidden rewards found in territories and/or Strongholds.
Diamond Quest
Diamond Quest is back for MLB The Show 26.
This is a board game-like game mode where players must complete Showdowns and Moments encountered on the map. Complete them successfully, and the odds of getting the Rare and Epic rewards in the home increase more and more.
Cards acquired from Diamond Quest are generally sellable, unless otherwise stated.
We wrote a much longer, comprehensive explainer last year on Diamond Quest (which still applies to ‘26, since virtually nothing has changed year-to-year).
Mini Seasons
Mini Seasons is exactly what is implied in the name.
Here, players can jump into either a seven-game or 28-game season of three-inning games against the CPU. Each Mini Season includes goals that can be completed to earn additional rewards.
Those who win a Mini Season get a Championship Banner, 10 MLB The Show 26 packs, and a Ballin’ is a Habit pack. And, this reward is repeatable. Meaning, it can be earned each time you win a Mini Seasons championship.
Realistically, one should grind through all the single-player modes first in Diamond Dynasty. Why? It’ll allow you to test out the game at different difficulties and play through in a stress-free manner.
Plus, it’ll allow players to build the right squads to get through Programs faster. Which can also help with the all-important Collections.
Collecting & Building Teams
Obviously, the goal is to collect “all” the cards. After all, this is a card-collecting game mode.
The truth is that it’s not easy, and outright impossible unless completely dedicated to the game mode.
Before we get into some tips, let’s go over the basics of Programs and Collections.
Programs are where players can earn rewards, like packs and Program-exclusive cards. Collections are either ones based on a specific Series (i.e., collect a certain amount of WBC, All-Star cards, etc.) or the Live Series Collection. The Live Series Collection is built on a Major League team’s real 40-man roster.
Complete all 30 teams, and you’ll get a 99 OVR Troy Tulowitzki. There are also two secondary big Live Series Collections, one for the American League (99 OVR Felix Hernandez) and one for the National League (National League).
Some tips on collecting cards:
- Do not lock cards into Collections unless you’re ready to do so. This is because once a card is locked into a collection, it can’t be sold on the Marketplace.
- Work with the “free” cards in single-player modes as much as possible when getting started in Diamond Dynasty.
- Do the cheapest Live Series Collections first. Generally, you should be able to make Stubs back on the cheapest ones, like the Marlins and Rockies.
Customization
Players can download custom logos and create custom jerseys for their Diamond Dynasty teams. Or, purchase official MLB and MiLB jerseys to use in-game via Stubs.
We’ll get to Stubs in a second. But before then, some customization tips:
- To change team names, go to “Build,” then “Customize.”
- This is also where players can add team equipment, audio unlockables, and customize the home/road jerseys.
- If you want to change the team logo (which appears on the scorebug), change the logo on the cap of the custom Home jersey. This logo will still carry over, even if you use MLB/MiLB jerseys.
Stubs
Stubs are the virtual in-game currency of Diamond Dynasty.
To get Stubs, players can buy & sell cards on the Marketplace and unlock Stub rewards in programs. Buying Stubs, unless you’re a masochist, is not advised.
You can also buy Live Series cards of players who are trending up in the real world of Major League Baseball. This is because Live Series cards can be positively or negatively boosted via roster & ratings updates. These happen every three to five weeks, generally.
Once a player’s Live Series overall is increased, the minimum Quick Sell jumps up, and ergo, it becomes more valuable.
However, in MLB The Show 26, there is a cap on how many of each card can be purchased. This cap is 20.
Paralleling Cards
New to MLB The Show 26 are Mods, which can either positively or negatively affect a card. These Mods are attached to the PXP earned.
Read more on what these mods do, plus how PXP works in MLB The Show.
Best Cards
For those who want an edge, we will keep an updated list of the best cards in MLB The Show 26 Diamond Dynasty, based on attributes, the meta, and our experiences.
Check out more of our gaming coverage.