Am I the only one who prefers the old school holographic cards over the EX's and EX Full arts? Just cannot seem to get into the EX cards and would rather just get regular holographics.
EX Cards
- Thread starter ArcanineKillz89
- Start date
FAs are the best things to ever come to the TCG. I don't really like the new XY (or BW) holo styles at all, so even though EXes are rather boring art-wise, I still like them better than holos in general. Though, a holo with particularly awesome art will still win over a boring/ugly EX.
Full arts are nice I guess just not my cup of tea. Ill take the old school base set holos any day!
GadgetJax
Traveling Storyteller and Card Faker
Full Arts are really great, but I honestly wish that the Pokemon Company didn't go back to doing EX's. Not only were EX's already a thing from the past, but now that the game has spanned 2 straight Generations with EX's as the Ultra Rare of choice, it really is starting to get grating because of how there will always be 'that one EX' that ends up breaking the game because it's a Basic.
I wish Next Destinies never introduced EX's and instead just continued the path that Black/White and Noble Victories set by having the Ultra Rares just be Full Art variants of the Holofoil Legendaries of that set. This would have been a lot nicer because it would mean that the best cards could still be obtained at a reasonable amount if you didn't want to bling out your deck, unlike these crazy Mewtwo-EX's that cost upwards to $11, ugh.
As for XY, I was really hoping that the Ultra Rares of that era would have been Mega Evolution cards that worked similarly to Lvl X's, so that way it would be easier to slowly get around to about 4 to 6 Megas per set, unlike the 2 to 4 that we see nowadays. It also would have allowed for some complex card design by allowing the root Pokemon to have some sort of cool effect that combines well with the Mega Evolution card it has. Think like Infernape Lvl X: Stage 2 Infernape did 90 for 2 and discarded all Energy, and Lvl X Infernape had an attack that shuffled Energy back into your deck. That kind of synergy.
Actually, I really like Sheen Holos. The pattern always add that nice touch to the card that makes it look nice without distracting attention away from the Pokemon featured. Also, it seems like the Holos in Primal Clash are a bit more reflective than usual. Maybe it's just me, but that's what it seems like.
I wish Next Destinies never introduced EX's and instead just continued the path that Black/White and Noble Victories set by having the Ultra Rares just be Full Art variants of the Holofoil Legendaries of that set. This would have been a lot nicer because it would mean that the best cards could still be obtained at a reasonable amount if you didn't want to bling out your deck, unlike these crazy Mewtwo-EX's that cost upwards to $11, ugh.
As for XY, I was really hoping that the Ultra Rares of that era would have been Mega Evolution cards that worked similarly to Lvl X's, so that way it would be easier to slowly get around to about 4 to 6 Megas per set, unlike the 2 to 4 that we see nowadays. It also would have allowed for some complex card design by allowing the root Pokemon to have some sort of cool effect that combines well with the Mega Evolution card it has. Think like Infernape Lvl X: Stage 2 Infernape did 90 for 2 and discarded all Energy, and Lvl X Infernape had an attack that shuffled Energy back into your deck. That kind of synergy.
Actually, I really like Sheen Holos. The pattern always add that nice touch to the card that makes it look nice without distracting attention away from the Pokemon featured. Also, it seems like the Holos in Primal Clash are a bit more reflective than usual. Maybe it's just me, but that's what it seems like.
I love FA's and EX's. The art is amazing and it's better than anything else that the Pokemon TCG have produced.
The full arts are very neat really, I do like them. But I think the EX thing is kind out of hand. I would much prefer just regular cards like what we had pre-EX. Going the full art route pre-Next Destinies would have been better I think.
I agree with GadgetJax that the Lv. X route would have been a much better way to go with mega evolution. Not to mention that as far as I know Lv. X prices never reached the same level as the EX ones.
I've never had much care on the holos. I kind of like them all. It's the reverse holos that are a bit more of a problem. I honestly kind of think those look horrible but it's better than a regular card.
I agree with GadgetJax that the Lv. X route would have been a much better way to go with mega evolution. Not to mention that as far as I know Lv. X prices never reached the same level as the EX ones.
I've never had much care on the holos. I kind of like them all. It's the reverse holos that are a bit more of a problem. I honestly kind of think those look horrible but it's better than a regular card.
Luxray GL Lv. X and Garchomp Lv X were two of the most expensive cards ever. Around 2010, Luxray could easily go for as high as $75 a copy, more expensive than any other card in format right now bar some of our Secret Rares. It doesn't matter what Pokemon decides to call it, any card with a special prefix or suffix and a glossy texture with bright and vibrant colors is always going to be more expensive. I'm not sure of anyone here played Pokemon back when WoTC controlled it, but back then there were no EXs, Lv Xs, Primes, or any of that. The most expensive decks were Haymakers, Sneasel Beat-Up decks, and Feraligatr decks all of which could be made for around $100 depending on how much you traded vs buying cards.Pikachu6319 said:
As a collector I honestly can't see a valid reason to collect the cards before the full art ex's post Next Destinies. Maybe because we didn't know the future of what the cards could become?
I think back to the early days, base set and jungle and fossil when I originally bought the cards and the best card you could get was just a holo and I'm actually wondering why I was interested in buying them at all, compared to the full arts we have now. Then they somehow surpassed the regular full arts with the full art megas and primals.
If I knew then what I know now I would have saved all the money the spent on the cards then and just waited for the full arts now.
They are the only reason I started buying the cards again. And they are the only reason I'm now collecting full sets.
I think back to the early days, base set and jungle and fossil when I originally bought the cards and the best card you could get was just a holo and I'm actually wondering why I was interested in buying them at all, compared to the full arts we have now. Then they somehow surpassed the regular full arts with the full art megas and primals.
If I knew then what I know now I would have saved all the money the spent on the cards then and just waited for the full arts now.
They are the only reason I started buying the cards again. And they are the only reason I'm now collecting full sets.
GadgetJax
Traveling Storyteller and Card Faker
thood said:
The reason Luxray Lvl X was so expensive was because it was not only the strongest card in that era, but it was a pretty splashable card overall, even outside of SP decks. The following Worlds Promo decks used it: Crowned Tiger, Luxdrill, LuxChomp of the Spirit, and Happy Luck.
I don't remember Garchomp Lv. X being that expensive honestly. I did forget about Luxray GL Lv. X though. I will say I paid more to get the FA Mewtwo EX than I did for Luxray GL Lv. X, but maybe I just lucked out when I purchased that card.
I actually played during the WoTC era, and things were way different back then. Not just in terms of how much a card cost but in how decks were even built. I don't even remember spending $100 on my rain dance deck that later incorporated Feraligatr too. I must say personally I miss those days.
I actually played during the WoTC era, and things were way different back then. Not just in terms of how much a card cost but in how decks were even built. I don't even remember spending $100 on my rain dance deck that later incorporated Feraligatr too. I must say personally I miss those days.
Pikachu6319 said:
Yeah. The fact that you could build a Top Tier deck for less than $100 is something that is simply not possible today. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but current Pokemon cards are just so much expensive now than they were. Not only that, but in my opinion, PTCG isn't even as fun as it was back in WoTC or DPPT era. These inflated prices and stale format really make me consider giving up the game sometimes...
It's because of the EX cards that it's impossible to build a cheap but top tier deck and because of the EX cards and secret rare stuff that makes Pokemon more expensive now than it was back in the WoTC era.
Really expense and the 'need' to be able to speed through every game as quickly as possible, ie little strategy beyond get an EX out as quickly as possible, that made me basically give up playing the game. I mean with my Rain Dance deck I had to get Blastoise out (which did require some speed obviously in the form of Oak and Bill) which often required the Breeder/Trader combo and then had to do the same thing to get out Feraligatr, especially in late game when if I had to pull water energy from the discard pile to the deck with its attack, and all the while having Articuno as an extra attacker. More complicated than slap Mewtwo EX on the bench and attack.
I'd rather spend the money to buy one (for example) Gardevoir EX for my live pokedex than to have to buy four of them for a deck.
Really expense and the 'need' to be able to speed through every game as quickly as possible, ie little strategy beyond get an EX out as quickly as possible, that made me basically give up playing the game. I mean with my Rain Dance deck I had to get Blastoise out (which did require some speed obviously in the form of Oak and Bill) which often required the Breeder/Trader combo and then had to do the same thing to get out Feraligatr, especially in late game when if I had to pull water energy from the discard pile to the deck with its attack, and all the while having Articuno as an extra attacker. More complicated than slap Mewtwo EX on the bench and attack.
I'd rather spend the money to buy one (for example) Gardevoir EX for my live pokedex than to have to buy four of them for a deck.
I like full art cards as well as EX cards but I wish when they make full art cards that they make the text readable. On some cards I have like Meloetta. I think I have Full art now the text is really hard to see. They should increase text size on full art cards. Why do they have to generate small text on every card. It does not need to be so small. They can go up one size on text. to make it readable or even like a highlighted text or something.
Yeah, I don't remember Uxie Lv. X being that expensive. Could be wrong though.
Six EX's out of 27 in the XY format are avaliable from main sets as promos with two more on the way (Xerneas, Yveltal, Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Kyogre, Groudon). Not all of them. Take Seismitoad EX for example, that seems to be pretty hot right now and that is not a promo card. Gardevoir EX is not a promo card, none of the megas bar M. Metagross and M. Diancie are promos and those aren't exactly cheap to come by one way or another right now. I'm sure someone more involved with the play scene might be able to point out more.
I suppose in truth there might be a way to build a deck these days under $100, but how good will it be? That seems to be the missing key in from what Thood and I were saying, the deck had to be top tier, and I'm pretty sure the top tier decks these days have EX's. Can you really make a top tier deck these days that would be able to win worlds? Win regionals? Even win a sanctioned tournament? How many of the St. Louis regionals top decks went without EX's? Again someone in the actual scene will have to fill in the gaps here but from what I've seen I would say not too likely.
The other part of that however might be a personal thing since a lot of people would prefer bling to their deck, like 4 copies of secret rare Dive Ball for example, and that isn't really necessary. Not to mention the obvious question here; what if you don't want to for Yveltal though I suppose that's a personal thing as well.
The first four BW sets proved though that we could have Full arts cards without them being EX cards and those cards were never that expensive even as full arts.
Six EX's out of 27 in the XY format are avaliable from main sets as promos with two more on the way (Xerneas, Yveltal, Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Kyogre, Groudon). Not all of them. Take Seismitoad EX for example, that seems to be pretty hot right now and that is not a promo card. Gardevoir EX is not a promo card, none of the megas bar M. Metagross and M. Diancie are promos and those aren't exactly cheap to come by one way or another right now. I'm sure someone more involved with the play scene might be able to point out more.
I suppose in truth there might be a way to build a deck these days under $100, but how good will it be? That seems to be the missing key in from what Thood and I were saying, the deck had to be top tier, and I'm pretty sure the top tier decks these days have EX's. Can you really make a top tier deck these days that would be able to win worlds? Win regionals? Even win a sanctioned tournament? How many of the St. Louis regionals top decks went without EX's? Again someone in the actual scene will have to fill in the gaps here but from what I've seen I would say not too likely.
The other part of that however might be a personal thing since a lot of people would prefer bling to their deck, like 4 copies of secret rare Dive Ball for example, and that isn't really necessary. Not to mention the obvious question here; what if you don't want to for Yveltal though I suppose that's a personal thing as well.
The first four BW sets proved though that we could have Full arts cards without them being EX cards and those cards were never that expensive even as full arts.
Pikachu6319 said:
While it may not be top tier, I've found that Night March is a very cheap deck to build, only costing ~$20 in terms of Pokemon, really the only issue I've found is in getting Computer Search and Jirachi-EX to improve my consistency. The nice part about Night March is that you aren't automatically worse than another deck, as I was able to 5-0 a League Challenge even with a somewhat unconsistent build of my deck.
You know what I want to come back in some form or fashion? The Prime Cards.
As for modern art and such for EX Pokemon... hit and miss; some are really cool, like FA Genesect EX and FA Lugia EX... and then some are kinda lame, like the Bird Trio. It varies by card, in my opinion.
As for modern art and such for EX Pokemon... hit and miss; some are really cool, like FA Genesect EX and FA Lugia EX... and then some are kinda lame, like the Bird Trio. It varies by card, in my opinion.