Hi! I used to play Pkmntcg in college 10 years ago. I have a complete "Base Set 2", some "Base Set" and Jungle cards (A little over 200 cards). And I just ordered the Battle Arena Decks: Mega Charizard X and Mega Blastoise. I know nothing of the new cards or generations and haven't played a match since 2006. Are there any old cards that could make for fun decks and competing against this new decks? Where could I find deck recepies for old sets?
Welcome back!
1) The first thing to do is to re-read the rules, as they have been many revisions over the years.
Here is a link to the
official page where you can download the latest rules book. If you do
not want to have to read those, at least ask around and watch some Youtube videos from within the last two to three years.
2) Though you said you used to play the game in college 10 years ago, you cited cards that were nearly 20 years old. When using older cards, you often need to know
when they came out to properly understand their effects. I don't just mean how older mechanics are often abandoned, but because even what is meant by certain words change. Some things even
change back.
3a) You
can use modern cards with older cards, but see point #2; playing it according to the rules will require research.
3b) The short(ish) version is that you can first divide the Constructed Formats (the ones where you bring a deck built from your own collection) into three card pools:
- Unlimited (all English language North American releases legal)
- Expanded (all English language, North American releases from Black & White and after legal other than cards on the Ban List
- Standard (all English language, North American releases from Sun & Moon and after are legal other than cards on the Ban List
4) Older cards tend to be obscenely powerful or incredibly weak when compared with modern cards. Ask for details if you want to see them; I don't want to overwhelm you if you don't need the depth.
5a) I haven't played using the Unlimited Format in nearly 10 years, and haven't read anything credible about it in nearly that long. My understanding, for what it is worth, is that it is a metagame dominated by First Turn Win or First Turn Lock decks.
5b) M Blastoise-EX or M Charizard-EX are
not good Pokémon; the rest of the decks may contain something worthwhile, but those two are Johnny Bait at best and probably Timmy Bait instead. So, some older cards may make them better
but not as good as
other Pokémon could become backed by those same cards, and nothing compared to what dominates the Unlimited Format.
6) Your final request is worded a bit oddly. Are you looking for card lists for sets, showing what they contain (and maybe what the cards do or are you looking for decklists (sometimes, but rarely in English, referred to as deck recipes) or both? Keep in mind, Pokebeach doesn't like us linking to rival, commercial websites so even after you explain what you want, folks might need to take it to PM. The thing is, older lists are easy as there are a couple websites - the official website has a Card Database
but it lacks cards from the WotC years. Older decklists? Finding accurate ones is tricky, as exact competitive decklists weren't always widely distributed. Nowadays, it is easier - the officialy website even posts the Top 8 for larger events. Older lists have the problem of not always actually being the best. There are folks still discovering things about the game from its earliest days.