Haha, true! Correct me if I'm wrong though, but the PTCGO does not support Unlimited for the versus ladder, right? Thing is the only place where I can play with physical cards nearby does Pokémon games when I'm at work and thus the only place where I can really play is online. Physical it's more a collection (though I'm trying to get more friends to be into it, but that's a bit hard XD)Six of one, half a dozen of the other.
Expanded lets you use anything from Black & White or later but not only is the metagame composed only maybe 20% of all the cards from the allowed sets, but it has a Ban List. Standard only allows the most recent expansions, but not only is there no Ban List, many cards that aren't worth using in Expanded have a purpose here.
If we take your logic and run with it to its logical conclusion, shouldn't you be an Unlimited Format player?
Heh, and the PTCGO Unlimited Format may be better balanced than the real Unlimited Format, owing to the former lacking anything older than HearGold SoulSilver. @_@ I believe the Legacy Format, while no longer supported for On Demand Events (tournaments), is still an option for the Reward Ladder.Wow, thank you so much for your detailed response! It indeed sounds complicated, but don't most things you know little about? I'm sure you're right and once I get into Standard it'll be easy to understand in no time.Correct, the PTCGO does not have a Reward Ladder for a Format where basically, the coin toss to decide who goes first also decides who wins.
Understood; though I began playing back in 1999, I've been PTCGO-only since... 2014, I think.
The "previous printings" rule is that, if an older release of a card is not significantly different from the most recent release, you may use the older release in any formats containing the more recent release. "Significant" means anything that affects actual gameplay, barring
I believe the former means that you can still Switch from "Base Set" in Expanded or Standard (at least, with the physical cards). The original version of Switch released as a "normal Trainer", and general rule updates means we know to treat all such cards as "Items". Similarly, you can use even a copy of Potion from Base Set because an erratum was issued, overwriting the original effect with the modern one. If there hasn't been an erratum but the newer version is significantly different, you can't use older copies of the card. For example, Dunsparce (EX - Sandstorm 60/100) is mostly the same as Dunsparce (SM - Celestial Storm 110/168), but there are tiny (but gameplay significant) differences in both attacks that keep the new version from counting as a true reprint of the older one, so the older one is not legal for Standard or Expanded Format play.
- Things covered by general rulings or rule changes
- Cards covered by errata
It isn't just about having a "recent" reprint, however; the most recent printing still needs to be legal in that Format. Here is a copy/paste of the official announcement of the 2020 Standard and Expanded Formats... which go into effect as off August 15.
Tapu Lele-GX has currently released as SM - Guardians Rising 60/145, 60a/145, 137/145, 155/145. Four releases, all treated as being from the same set. The "promo" version is actually what is referred to as an Alternate Art, and exists specifically so they can re-release stuff without extending its time being Standard-legal. Which sounds bad, but it means important Expanded Format cards can "safely" be re-released, and if the powers-that-be cared to, even Unlimited Format cards. The only confusion is fans have been using Alternate Art to refer to cards with... uh... different (alternate) art for years, but now it refers to stuff that has that the same Set/Card Number as the previous release, but with a little letter after the first number. Looks like most sources are referring to them as Yellow A Alternate Art cards, but I can't find the original announcement, which I thought said they had the option of using other letters if something needed such a reprint more than once.
I know this sounds complicated, but it mostly becomes straightforward after a bit. ^^'
Wow, thank you so much for your detailed response! It indeed sounds complicated, but don't most things you know little about? I'm sure you're right and once I get into Standard it'll be easy to understand in no time.
You started playing in 1999, that's awesome. I remember I got a few cards and a deck and I did not know how to play the game. Everyone just collected it at my school and we all thought energy was useless so we traded it away or scribbled on it, or whatever have you XD (though now I have so much energy I hardly know what to do with it either...).
Speaking of Base Set, one thing that stings is that I found back all of my Pokémon and trainer cards (albeit in bad shape), EXCEPT for my Blastoise and Poliwrath and movie promo Mewtwo. I did find my other Mewtwo. But that Blastoise was my favorite as a kid. I wonder what happened to it...
(all 3 of these non-promo cards were from Base Set, so you probably know which ones I mean).
Sometimes we did play though, but we made up our own rules.