Help How to get started again (competitively)

[Ruddy Kitty]

Hello everyone. I've been out of the tcg for 4..? something years and am wanting to get back in. The problem is I don't know what the rules are anymore or where to even start with packs/boxes/etc, let alone what's competitive or anything. Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance!

 

[LightningSpence836]

A brief overview of the current meta:
Origin Forme Palkia Vstar, probably the #1 deck right now, attack can hit for up to 260 damage and a pretty op Vstar power where you get to attach 3 water energies from your discard pile to your pokemon. Usually partnered with the Inteleon engine from sw/sh base set.
Arceus Vstar is probably the most versatile mon in the meta right now, attack hits for 200, searches for 3 basic energy to attach to your pokemon Vs. Oh, and did I forget to mention the Vstar power that lets you search for ANY TWO CARDS in your deck! Can be partnered with so many cards, such as the aforementioned Inteleon line or Flying Pikachu Vmax as a counter to Palkia.
Mex Vmax is insanely aggressive and fast to set up, using Genesect Vs ability to draw tons of cards, and it can copy usually Genesect Vs Techno Break for 210 damage or Meloetta's attack (blanking on the name) for up to 280 damage!
Anyway, you can find lots more info about the current meta, budget decks, upcoming sets and other stuff at www.justinbasil.com. Hope this helps!

 

[DocRoggers]

A brief overview of the current meta:
Origin Forme Palkia Vstar, probably the #1 deck right now, attack can hit for up to 260 damage and a pretty op Vstar power where you get to attach 3 water energies from your discard pile to your pokemon. Usually partnered with the Inteleon engine from sw/sh base set.
Arceus Vstar is probably the most versatile mon in the meta right now, attack hits for 200, searches for 3 basic energy to attach to your pokemon Vs. Oh, and did I forget to mention the Vstar power that lets you search for ANY TWO CARDS in your deck! Can be partnered with so many cards, such as the aforementioned Inteleon line or Flying Pikachu Vmax as a counter to Palkia.
Mex Vmax is insanely aggressive and fast to set up, using Genesect Vs ability to draw tons of cards, and it can copy usually Genesect Vs Techno Break for 210 damage or Meloetta's attack (blanking on the name) for up to 280 damage!
Anyway, you can find lots more info about the current meta, budget decks, upcoming sets and other stuff at www.justinbasil.com. Hope this helps!

Woah, this is a great site!!

My advice to you Ruddy Kitty would be to start watching top content creators, and specifically the videos usually posted every 2-3 weeks that are "Top X decks in Standard Format" . Great way to 1. Learn about what the Meta decks are and 2. See the trends in Meta so that you actually understand why certain decks are good. Some good creators for this are: Celio's Network, Zach Lesage, Ninecard TCG. Its a little bit of a learning curve but watching videos will help you learn 3 times faster then simply playing at a local league every now and then.