Collecting..Playing. One or the other?

V

v3rdict

Aspiring Breeder / TCG Competitor
Member
Hey guys, I thought I'd post a nice boring section here.

So, I got into Pokemon at a pretty young age, like most of us have (when it came out--about 3rd grade for me?). I guess the problem I'm having now, that's preventing me from playing too competitively (especially in VGC), is the fact that the games are dominated by specific decks and specific (or mostly top tier) teams.

I used to think I was pretty bad ass, you might say. I beat the Elite Four waaay back when using my Pidgeotto and a few other unevolved Pokemon. I got a couple shiny cards in some booster packs, and I thought I was amazing.

And then I went to my first league. I felt even more bad ass, because no one was above lvl--err, age 12 or 14. And then I had my first battle. I think I actually cried a little bit when I found that my Green Tornado deck couldn't stand a chance against...well, any number of decks this kid threw at me. Adding card after card, and then eventually rebuilding another leaf deck of my own yielded only more pain. Except for an experimental deck of his-- something about Mew and Gengar, and the way for him to win was to attempt to banish my Pokemon into the void or something.

VG battles, though not too common at my last League, were similar. While the 6 or 7 year olds used their legendaries, I still found the slightly older kids using key Pokemon usually meant for competitive gaming (such as the decks that are always talked about and used by a majority of players) and kicking my ass.

So after doing minimal research, I've found out I've spent...ehh...too much money on all of these cards.
If you're still reading this, I congratulate you with a few questions:

Do you competitive players collect the cards at all or pawn them off like your girlfriend's Gucchi purse?
Can those extra cards, even the older, out-dated cards mean anything to you?
Do you do anything special with them, or keep them in a thick binder like I do?
Or do you just buy what you need, give Luck a chance and get a booster and sell the rest?

I personally have a collection HG/SS+ in my binder. I fit four of the same card in one pocket, anymore go into this small tub I also use for dice, trainers and energy, for 'easy trading'. Then I realized no one wants 50 extras of Pansage, Minccino or any other of those basics. I'm considering reducing four to three and keeping the collection, and selling any extras that none of these awesome decks even use (aside from trainers...perfect trading fodder!)
 
Not a competitive player or even a general player in any regard, but I like to say stuff:

v3rdict said:
And then I went to my first league. I felt even more bad grass, because no one was above lvl--err, age 12 or 14. And then I had my first battle. I think I actually cried a little bit when I found that my Green Tornado deck couldn't stand a chance against...well, any number of decks this kid threw at me. Adding card after card, and then eventually rebuilding another leaf deck of my own yielded only more pain. Except for an experimental deck of his-- something about Mew and Gengar, and the way for him to win was to attempt to banish my Pokemon into the void or something.

VG battles, though not too common at my last League, were similar. While the 6 or 7 year olds used their legendaries, I still found the slightly older kids using key Pokemon usually meant for meta gaming and kicking my grass.
Click to expand...

I know that feel.

Can those extra cards, even the older, out-dated cards mean anything to you?
Click to expand...

I'll never part with a single one.

Do you do anything special with them, or keep them in a thick binder like I do?
Click to expand...

Two thick binders.
 
Get your terms straight. Calling any competitive gamers "metagamers" is an absolute insult. The phrases are not interchangeable. A metagamer is one who uses strategies beyond the rulebook to gain an advantage in a game. For example, metagamers use knowledge of which cards are good and which cards are bad to gain an advantage in the next tournament. Competitive players can enter a tournament with no knowledge of the format and win out due to being skillful. Metagamers seek out the win and achieve it through any means necessary (short of cheating) while competitive gamers are just skillful and often play in a certain way to demonstrate their skills.

Now that that game theory is out of the way... ;P I'll approach this from a competitive gamer's point of view. Cards are meant to be played. When they can no longer be played, they are effectively worthless to me. Know what is worth something? MONEY! As long as people will be willing to buy bad cards, I'll be able to stay in the business of playing Pokemon TCG competitively with very little overhead costs. I'm very frugal with my money. I'm currently typing this message on a $15 keyboard connected to a computer that I built by hand with the cheapest parts I could find. In order to consistently play without dumping tons of money, you have to have a good sense of the markets and know what to buy and sell. I would NEVER consider buying a booster pack... it is an absolute waste of money and it is akin to playing Keno. You might win, but you probably won't. There is a guaranteed winner every so-often, but why bother with that chance when you can go straight to the prize. I'll often get boosters from winning events, but I would never open them. Instead, if you value them at $3 a pop, you can trade them off to kids who are willing to give good cards for 6 packs. They get zero value after opening their packs while I get good cards. Fair deal... everyone is happy until the kids realize they're playing with random chance.

Shortly before a format rotates, many players will sell and trade cards that are rotating. The cards will immediately lose value, so why hang onto them? Rotation time is usually the best time for cashing out. Moreover, the upcoming tins signal a great time to cash out on mewtwo and darkrai EX.

Some players hold sentimental value in cards. For example, I still have my Metanite deck fully built and playable. That was my favorite deck and I love it. Otherwise, I would never consider spending time, money, and resources to collect all the metagross and dragonite that I could find. That would be a waste :/

I speak for myself, obviously, but most competitive players I know would agree with what I have posted here.
 
Fixed. Though I still don't see the difference. But that raises the question of...what are formats, and format rotation? I thought you have to give only one deck list, and that's that, and if you entered the initial tourny with those cards, won't you use them again (eventually)? What if you can't find anyone to trade back your card you won't use for the new format, but in a later time?

Sorry, still fairly new -.-;. More examples for my Slowpoke mind would be wonderful!
 
Typically, when people talk about the format, it is the sets that are allowed to be use. Currently, our format is HGSS-on. In August, it will rotate to BW-on. Every august, our format rotates to remove old sets.

You do only have one deck/tournament, but once that tournament is over, you can do anything you care to with your deck. Once a card becomes bad, there is no reason to keep it. with the release of new sets, cards become good or bad depending on the other cards being released.

There is always someone who wants to trade or buy cards. Ebay is a great resource, and troll&toad will buy bulk.
 
Do you competitive players collect the cards at all or pawn them off like your girlfriend's Gucchi purse?
I don't collect anything. The only cards I have are what I pull from boxes that I win. I trade those towards things for future decks, or I just end up selling them.

Can those extra cards, even the older, out-dated cards mean anything to you?
Not really, since I sell them pretty much right away, haha.

Do you do anything special with them, or keep them in a thick binder like I do?
I sell anything I have to buy right after the tournament, and even leave with a profit sometimes.

Or do you just buy what you need, give Luck a chance and get a booster and sell the rest?
I don't buy packs. The chances of pulling something good are way to low to waste $4 a piece. I will buy cards that I need for decks before a tournament, though. That is, if I can't just borrow them from a friend.
 
Well I am a collector always have been, playing just isn't something that interests me. I will go to pre releases for fun, I have all my Korean cards in binders, Japanese cards toploaders and sleeves. English cards in sleeves in deck boxes. I like to know where everything Is. I collect

Korean
Japanese
Pikachu's
Pichu's
Raichu's
Mew's
Gold Stars
Shinings
Crystals
Ex's
 
Let me attempt to answer this from another perspective. From a person that both collects and plays.

As for the cards, the first copy I get I keep and that has been my policy since I got into the game way back in Base Set. Anything else that I can't use in any decks I'm more than willing to trade or sell. They are organized mostly by set and promos but I also have a 'Pokedex' set aside. I also have a seperate binder for Shiny/EX/Prime/Legend/(insert specials that I have missed mentioning). More often than not I'll buy a booster box if I expect to need alot of things like BW-Noble Victories. Otherwise I usually just buy what I need or still want directly. Sometimes if I feel like gambling I'll buy a few packs but in all honesty it's rare as it is hard to get anything good, even when the standards I work with are more lienent that most..

By the way the experimental deck you were talking about was a deck based on a card called Lost World, where it gives you an alternate way to win the game other than taking prizes or decking out. It's not the most reliable way of winning the game though.
 
Here's my answers to your questions.

Do you competitive players collect the cards at all or pawn them off like your girlfriend's Gucchi purse?
I don't collect.

Can those extra cards, even the older, out-dated cards mean anything to you?
Not to me.

Do you do anything special with them, or keep them in a thick binder like I do?
Not really. I organize the good cards in a box, but that's about it.

Or do you just buy what you need, give Luck a chance and get a booster and sell the rest?
I just buy what I need.
 
v3rdict said:
Do you competitive players collect the cards at all or pawn them off like your girlfriend's Gucchi purse?
*Gucci. I don't really have a collection of a certain Pokemon, I just keep cards that look cool or bring back memories.

Can those extra cards, even the older, out-dated cards mean anything to you?
Not really.

Do you do anything special with them, or keep them in a thick binder like I do?
I only keep good cards, so I keep them in a small binder. I sell most of the stuff I'm not using.

Or do you just buy what you need, give Luck a chance and get a booster and sell the rest?
It's a mixture of both. I mostly buy/trade for what I need. Sometimes I buy packs just for lolz. I don't expect to pull anything good, which is what happens most of the time anyways.
Click to expand...
 
While I like to consider myself both a player and a collector... I guess at heart I'm more of the latter than the former. I don't really trade cards away unless I have multiples or the cards don't interest me. I also spend a decent amount of money on cards that I can't even use competitively (such as foreign cards or cards from older sets).

I am, however, much more likely to buy singles than individual booster packs. While I love the thrill of opening boosters, I do that by buying boxes, which also give me plenty of bulk cards and a good head start on a full set (or even sometimes a whole full set, like in the earlier BW days). When I'm putting together a deck and I need cards, I'll trade for them, or buy them as singles.
 
That generally seams to be the norm if your a players singles is the way to go, though if you have the money for both then why not. I have gotten to the stage many have gotten to where holo's are just worthless I keep my holo's in sleeves in deckboxes. Japanese and Korean cards are where my collection is at.
 
Really just a Japanese collector. I don't have any interest in the card game itself - for me, the pursuit of a full set and the anticipation of new cards will do the trick. Usually I'll buy a single box of each new set, and I'll wait for a good deal on eBay for single cards to flesh the rest of it out, rather than risk the much more luck-based booster pack approach.

Cards stay on display in medium-sized binders, and I cherish them all. I even make sure all the duplicates stay sleeved.
 
wakeruncollapse said:
Really just a Japanese collector. I don't have any interest in the card game itself - for me, the pursuit of a full set and the anticipation of new cards will do the trick. Usually I'll buy a single box of each new set, and I'll wait for a good deal on eBay for single cards to flesh the rest of it out, rather than risk the much more luck-based booster pack approach.

Cards stay on display in medium-sized binders, and I cherish them all. I even make sure all the duplicates stay sleeved.
Click to expand...

You may be interested in http://www.pokebeach.com/forums/thread-non-english-card-traders-please-read-if-you-have-foreign-cards
 
Do you competitive players collect the cards at all or pawn them off like your girlfriend's Gucchi purse?

I do a fair amount of collecting. I like older cards, and picking up things of value, especially if they look cool and have good art. I get more into collecting when I am unsure about the format. For instance, who knows how much a Full Art Tornadus EX will be worth in a couple of months? Older collectable cards maintain their value a lot better than things that are useful in competitive play.

Can those extra cards, even the older, out-dated cards mean anything to you?

A lot of my older cards have sentimental value. Older cards definitely mean stuff to me. They are very fun to collect and often times valuable.

Do you do anything special with them, or keep them in a thick binder like I do?

I mostly have my older stuff in one thick binder. This binder is in no way trash however, I carry it with me most of the time I take my cards anywhere. Some of the more valuable old stuff I put in my trade binders.

Or do you just buy what you need, give Luck a chance and get a booster and sell the rest?

I sell stuff when I feel it is about to drop in value. I buy booster packs, and rarely buy deck materials. I like to keep a lot of my older stuff, I will sometimes trade older cards for legal cards if it is a good deal, and if I need the new cards for a deck or something.
 
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