A Few Competitive Questions

[karimsoliman94]

Mods please excuse me if this doesn't belong here.

Hi everyone,

I used to play the game up from when dp platinum came out until black and white. I decided to take a break and in the mean time started playing Kaijudo. Now that game has died and I am looking to get back into pokemon.

I am aware that world champs just happened and I watched the matches to re-familiarize myself with the game. I am wondering what else I need to know to get competitive at it?

What is the current format? When is the next one? What decks are meta and what will be with the intro of furious fists? What's a deck I could get started with? When does the next set of competitions start?

Any information is much appreciated and thanks in advance.

I look forward to getting back into the game and talking to everyone!!

Thanks!

 

[Auride]

RE: Returning to the game. What should I know?

The current format (technically) is Next Destinies through Flashfire. It will change to Boundaries Crossed through Furious Fists on September 3rd. Popular decks that are expected to see a lot of play next season include Landorus-EX/Lucario-EX/Garbodor, Virizion-EX/Genesect-EX, Aromatisse/Big Basics, Seismitoad-EX Lock, and Thundurus-EX/Deoxys-EX/Kyurem or Lugia-Ex (a.k.a. Plasma). I may have missed some, but those are the major archetypes to look out for.

As for what to get started with, there's a ton of options besides the meta-decks. Ask yourself what you liked in the formats you played in, and see what modern decks play similarly to those (you can find a variety of lists at the Deck Garage forum. Once you find something that looks interesting try it out online before building it irl, just to be sure. I PlayTCG (a free simulator with a manual interface), but you can also use PTCGO (the official simulator, but you need to use codes from purchased packs/products to acquire cards for the most part; has an automatic interface) or TCGOne (a free, automatic simulator, but it lacks some of the newest modified card, including Furious Fists iirc).

The next set of competitions for next season will start with smaller tournaments, including League Challenges (new version of Battle Roads) and eventually City Championships.

Just remember to have fun!

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You can find official information on premier events like League Challenges and City Championships here, as well as some general information on Play! Pokemon (the new version of Pokemon Organized Play) in the linked pages. League Challenges happen at various times throughout the season, so you shouldn't worry too much about that. Just use the event locator to find a league near you and keep your eyes open for tournaments.

City Championships last year took place between November 23rd and January 5th, so I would expect them to take place at a similar time this year. Make sure you find out where the nearest one is to you ahead of time, as not every town has one.

As for card prices, the absolute best, most up to date source is eBay. Simply look up the name of the card you're interested in, and find the "Sold Listings" check box on the conditions bar at the left. This will give you real, up to date information on what people are actually paying for that card. Alternatively, you can check online stores like Troll and Toad or Collector's Cache to see more consistent, if somewhat marked-up, prices. Lastly, you can look at the marketplace forums for some smaller, potentially more cost-effective options.