Is the TCG for Me?

darkpulse24

darkpulse24

Aspiring Trainer
Member
I've been into Pokemon cards for about two weeks now. The last time was in 1999 when they just came out, but I never played it, just collected cards and traded for a short time. I've already spent a lot on cards (2 booster boxes, a theme deck, 2 elite trainer boxes and upwards of 40 individual booster packs) and have a few deck ideas whirling about. I want to find a group in my city who plays the game and I'd also be interested in tournaments. But before I commit further I have a few questions....

  • I like being original and playing around my favourite Pokemon. 99% of the time these are Pokemon that would be competitively not viable in the video games in the current meta (basically what Smogon classifies as NU, and some UU). For that reason I gave up on the video games, rather than follow the crowd and use the same Pokemon everybody else uses in tournaments. Will I be allowed to be original and go with my favourite Pokemon in the TCG and be competitively viable? Yes I know that's a broad question, but surely someone who understands what I wrote before will know what I mean.
  • I hate EX Pokemon and don't want anything to do with them. Don't even get me started on Mega evolutions. I don't get why EX cards had to be made. It doesn't seem fair. What's the point in investing in Stage 2 evolutions when someone can just whack down an EX on their first turn and GG it all? I know that's a generalisation but still... So if I don't want to have any EX Pokemon in my deck is it still possible to be competitively viable?
  • The whole 'competitively viable' is very broad yes, but basically I want to be able to use my imagination and have fun in making unique decks and compete in tournaments and not be overshadowed and outgunned the instant an EX walks into the room. I don't want to duplicate 'good' decks out there and be like everyone else.

Thanks, I welcome all suggestions and feedback.
 
darkpulse24 said:
I've been into Pokemon cards for about two weeks now. The last time was in 1999 when they just came out, but I never played it, just collected cards and traded for a short time. I've already spent a lot on cards (2 booster boxes, a theme deck, 2 elite trainer boxes and upwards of 40 individual booster packs) and have a few deck ideas whirling about. I want to find a group in my city who plays the game and I'd also be interested in tournaments. But before I commit further I have a few questions....

  • I like being original and playing around my favourite Pokemon. 99% of the time these are Pokemon that would be competitively not viable in the video games in the current meta (basically what Smogon classifies as NU, and some UU). For that reason I gave up on the video games, rather than follow the crowd and use the same Pokemon everybody else uses in tournaments. Will I be allowed to be original and go with my favourite Pokemon in the TCG and be competitively viable? Yes I know that's a broad question, but surely someone who understands what I wrote before will know what I mean.
  • I hate EX Pokemon and don't want anything to do with them. Don't even get me started on Mega evolutions. I don't get why EX cards had to be made. It doesn't seem fair. What's the point in investing in Stage 2 evolutions when someone can just whack down an EX on their first turn and GG it all? I know that's a generalisation but still... So if I don't want to have any EX Pokemon in my deck is it still possible to be competitively viable?
  • The whole 'competitively viable' is very broad yes, but basically I want to be able to use my imagination and have fun in making unique decks and compete in tournaments and not be overshadowed and outgunned the instant an EX walks into the room. I don't want to duplicate 'good' decks out there and be like everyone else.

Thanks, I welcome all suggestions and feedback.
Click to expand...

  • Not exactly. Just like there is a meta-game in the video games, there is a meta in the TCG. This means there are still cards that are very viable, and cards that are basically never used. They're different, but the meta is still there.

    What I might advise to you is to lean away from just using whatever your favorite Pokemon is (which, while it is not inherently a bad thing, simply won't get you far in competitive play) and start by playing the game with fun in mind. Pick a strategy or archetype that perhaps isn't meta, but isn't terrible either. In our current TCG format, there are a lot of options for deck archetypes, and you can pretty creative if you put the effort in. Look in the Deck Garage to get an idea of the kinds of strategies available to you.
  • EX Pokemon are a central mechanic but there's no essential reason to hate them. EX's can allow for cool mechanics, strong attacks, and fast gameplay that is lacking without them (and having played decks with AND without EX's, I don't really mind them existing). You exaggerate their capability to just "GG it all", because it's not the card or the mechanic alone that makes certain EXs very strong; it's the strategy. And just like there are a number of strategies centralized on attackers that are EXs, there are strategies centralized on supporting, and even attacking Stage 1s and 2s.

    One of the strongest archetypes of the 2011-12 season was Accelgor/Gothitelle, a deck whose name already includes 2 evolution cards, and often included more yet. The only EXs often added were Mew-EX for it's ability and sometimes Mewtwo-EX for revenge KOs or closing a game. In 2013 a deck based around Flareon PLF and around 4 other Pokemon, including some stage 1s, made it to the top 4 at World, and that was back when evolution cards had none of the support they do now. At the 2013 US nationals, the second place deck was based around Pyroar, and the first majorly focused on Raichu and Garbodor.

    My point is, success is not in the cards you use, exactly. It's in the overall strategy of your deck, and your skill as a player. Don't avoid fun or strong archetypes just because you don't like one or two cards in them.
  • And lastly, don't be a contrarian just for the sake of being a contrarian. Just because "everyone else" is using a good deck doesn't exclude you from using it and still having fun. As I've said before, using a good deck, does give you an advantage, does not guarantee you a win. You have to pilot your deck expertly to expect to win a tournament, regardless of your list. Playing meta decks with small variations can make a huge difference, and the intense thought that goes into a mirror match can be really engaging. Just remember: you're playing the game for fun before all else.
 
It's pretty hard to play tcg without at least some sort of meta inclusion. My advice there is to use what you're comfortable with and forget what you don't. First and foremost this is just a game. There is the point that while we have Charizard EX which is a basic of an otherwise stage 2 Pokemon there are still Pokemon like Mew EX, Mewtwo EX, and Virizion EX which are basics regardless of regular or EX.

There is still the idea of collecting rather than playing, which is alot of what I do. There are even different ways to go about it. I have a Pokemon card dex, promos, and multi arts of same Pokemon. Likewise I play the Pokemon video game for fun rather than competitive things.
 
My advice, as someone who shares your opinions and your hate of EXs (most) is to find people willing to play non-competitively, for fun, on the same ground as you. If you have to meet them half-way, do it. It's okay compromising a little, but try to be fair. The best part of TCG for me is to use my favourite pokemon and evolve and charge them as they should be, no rare candy, no DCE, no draw engines or turn-one annihilating EXs. just old-fashioned play and fun.

So that's my advice. Competitive playing is fine for some, but it forces you to play by rules that on some level go against many things we old players enjoyed back in the day, and the new formats may seem daunting. Just try to find people who don't mind a game for fun, to use silly decks or to just use whatever pokemon, old or new, they want, even if they also play competitively.

However, if it's competitive TCG what you're looking for, yes, you can't compare to those decks without EXs, DCE, draw engines, and such.
 
Actually DCE is old fashioned play and fun, at least as far as I'm concerned. It was released way back in the first set with Base Set. Really Rare Candy is just like Pokemon Breeder which my original rain dance deck used and was really one of the principles of the deck. The old draw engines were Bill and Professor Oak, something else my original rain dance deck ran to death. Finally of course was Base Set Blastoise who let as much water energy come into play as you could draw.

EX's didn't hit play until Ruby and Sapphire, which was long after my prime play days and it did indeed change the game but it all honesty I don't necessarily think it was for the better. Even then though it took a few more sets for EX's to become really broken and that trend only continued as the game progressed from there. They're cool to look at and (at least in imo) collect but I do think they get way overdone.
 
First thing is you need to know how to build a deck. You might not like this part though. You to have some EX cards because that is the format and if you don't have those you will loose every time. Plus I think the staff checks all your cards in your deck. Depending on your tournament rules you may or may not be able to enter a deck without them. I could be wrong but I have heard some places don't allow players to enter unless you have the current format and everyone will have at least 1 EX card in their deck if not more. Not sure how many is allowed per deck but it is best to be prepared.:)
 
Wow thanks for all the replies! Quite a variety of advice from both sides of the fence. I think I'm willing to give EX a go. Auride you put it into perspective for me. I already have 3x Lucario EX on hand that I got from getting lucky in my FF boosters. So I will give them a go. Not that I like Lucario though...

Today I pulled a Black Kyurem EX and I sort of fell for it. Even though I'm new to Pokemon TCG I can instantly tell that as far as EX cards go, this would be at the bottom of the pack (high energy costs and the only special effect is coin toss paralysis). Am I right, or is this a decent card? But I still fell for it because of the artwork and it's one of the few legendaries I like. So I'm going to buy 2 more of this card regardless and maybe build a water-electric deck.

Edit: Black Kyurem EX = bad. As much as I want to use it as my first EX Pokemon... = bad. = so bad.
 
xxashxx said:
I could be wrong but I have heard some places don't allow players to enter unless you have the current format and everyone will have at least 1 EX card in their deck if not more. Not sure how many is allowed per deck but it is best to be prepared.:)
Click to expand...

I have never heard of a tournament requiring you to have EX cards in your deck.
 
As they say go for Mewtwo EX, it's a good (and basic regardless) card that is pretty good all around. It's easy to get through a tin.

You could use Boundaries Crossed/Plasma Blast Blastoise to recreate a Rain Dance deck and then add Keldeo EX (another basic regardless) as a heavy hitter, kind of like the original with Blastoise and Articuno (at least I did). This one is found easily in tins and non holo Blastoise cards can be found in one of the Boundaries Crossed theme decks.

Regigigas EX (another basic regardless) can hit pretty hard and can be in absolutely any deck you want. It pair well with Eviloite.

These are a few examples of putting in a few minor EX's without it contradicting the idea of using real stage 2 Pokemon instead of 'basic' stage 2's.

In short I think a good 'compromise' for EX cards would be to only use the ones that are basic in both reality and tcg, which in all fairness includes a lot of legendaries that because of that status tend to work decently well.
 
To play competitively you will most likely need to use EX's in your deck. Even in decks like Pyroar or Eevee where the centrel Pokemon is not an EX, EX's are run as backup attackers and/ or support. Ex's tend to more possess powerful and efficient abilities and attacks than non-EX basic Pokemon. Your three Lucario-EX wll do you a lot of good as the centerpiece to a Fighting deck- personally I prefer Landorus-EX, but Lucario should not be understimated. If you pulled Garbodor from Dragons Exalted or Legendary Treasures (reprint of the same card) in any of your packs, that's a great card to use for support (it shuts off all other abilties, both yours and your opponent's).

As for Black Kyurem-Ex, it sounds like you pulled the Boundaries Crossed one, which yes, isn't very good. The Plasma Storm one is good in a Blastoise deck, which leads me to my second point about the competitive metagame. The other Black Kyurem-EX can hit for 200 damage, but requires you to discard three emergies to use that attack, Black Ballista. Normally that would be bad, but Blastoise (Boundaries Crossed, Plasma Blast) allows you to attach as many water energy from you hand as you'd like without using up your one energy card per turn. Add in Superior Energy Retrieval (pretty much does just what it sounds like), and you've just taken three situatioal cards and turned them into an efficient machine. Sadly, Blastoise isn't competitive right now because of the prevelance of Garbodor and the difficulty setting up the combo in a fast-paced metagame. The point I'm making though is to keep an eye out for combos like that. With the right support, a "bad" card can potentailly be pretty dangerous.

Lastly, I would sugges taking a look at the tournament winning decks out there to get an idea of the metagame. If you want to build an original deck, your goal is to counter them. Study the weaknesses of the meta decks like Fighting, VirGen, and Toad, and look for cards that exploit them. Eeveelutions are great at this, for example. Best of luck to you!
 
Is Regigigas EX still legal though? And Registeel EX? I thought only cards from Boundaries Crossed onwards were allowed in the current format.

Thanks for the tips! Yes the Black Kyurem EX is the BC one, pulled from Legendary Treasures.
 
Jeremy1026 said:
xxashxx said:
I could be wrong but I have heard some places don't allow players to enter unless you have the current format and everyone will have at least 1 EX card in their deck if not more. Not sure how many is allowed per deck but it is best to be prepared.:)
Click to expand...

I have never heard of a tournament requiring you to have EX cards in your deck.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree with this, they can't limit a deck to those specific things in Sanctioned Tournaments.

darkpulse24 said:
Is Regigigas EX still legal though? And Registeel EX? I thought only cards from Boundaries Crossed onwards were allowed in the current format.
Click to expand...

Yes, for the Standard format only cards from Boundaries Crossed-on are allowed. For the Expanded format, though, you can use cards all the way back to Black and White Base Set.
 
It depends on the rules on Where you apply. Might not happen here but most likely does somewhere in the world. Not everyone goes by the standard rules. Some create their own rules and not sure what rules do what but be prepared for anything that comes your way.:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top