What?!?! Noooo I hope they're not standard again.
New 'Battle Arena Deck: Mewtwo vs. Darkrai'
- Thread starter Water Pokémon Master
- Start date
Since the previous Battle Arena Deck consisted almost entirely of cards from (older) expansion sets, I strongly believe these EX-cards are from Legendary Treasures. I don't believe any of these cards will be reprinted for the new standard format. That would be stupid. The rotation every year keeps the game fresh and challenges players to rethink their strategies and build new decks. If they would keep reprinting older cards the game would get boring and old.
And I was looking forward to the new standard format. 
But this is amazing news for new players! To start playing with good cards instead of crappy theme decks. And this may be a cheaper way to get competitive cards for existing players.
But this is amazing news for new players! To start playing with good cards instead of crappy theme decks. And this may be a cheaper way to get competitive cards for existing players.
godd when was the last time a decent verity of holo energy types were printed and accessible? been dying for some holo lightning energy I don't have to pay silly prices for...
I'd love for these to be different prints with different attacks but it seems pretty clear from the wording that they will be reprints or just LT copies (hopefully the latter, Pokemon is already screwing with the rotation enough this year)
I still have yet to find information about whats happening in the UK and whether any tournaments are following after the US regionals and switching to pure expanded, if they are I will probably grab these.
I'd love for these to be different prints with different attacks but it seems pretty clear from the wording that they will be reprints or just LT copies (hopefully the latter, Pokemon is already screwing with the rotation enough this year)
I still have yet to find information about whats happening in the UK and whether any tournaments are following after the US regionals and switching to pure expanded, if they are I will probably grab these.
Well, do you consider XY an older expansion?
I don't think this site has a list of the cards that are contained in non-main-expansion TCG products, even multi-expansion theme decks like the previous Battle Arena deck, but this site might(for reference, not advertising)
Anyway, I hope the upcoming BA deck does NOT revive all contained pre-XY cards via Red Star Promos w/ BAxx as the numbering label or something like that, or else, come S/P/Ts, players might have to deal w/ a revived N, a card that has already went past its time in the spotlight in a manner that is cancerous to the planning part of the game that was dominant before DEX came out. Please get out of standard, you lingering meddler card. N, you don't deserve another reprint in the near future, as you gave strategy a slap in the face. Time for the XY cards to shine, rather than face the dinosaur cards of BW-LTR... Players do not want Unova-era cards to linger past their welcome in a new standard format, as they want something fresh and creative, rather than a bland, stale formula that comes from the should-be bygone cards of BW-LTR, as a new standard... Nowadays, Expanded should be the only format where N should be allowed to meddle in...
Last edited:
This is going to kill the growth of pokemon tcg if they are reprints and bring them back into standard. And even if they don't, the way it is looking with pokemon going for expanded, how are New players going to be able to get enough old cards to be able to go toe to toe with more experienced players that have older cards already at their disposal. It just doesn't look good for the newcomers to the tcg, however I would totally enjoy a reprint of N back in standard (even if it is just a hope!).
The only cards that have always been legal for Standard play are the original Basic Energy cards. Both Potion and Switch temporarily rotated out of the game when the very first Modified Format became the Standard Format (under WotC, "Standard" referred to the default format for Organized Play). They were later re-released and thus returned to Standard play but after spending the last 30 minutes trying to pinpoint things, I only know the sets in which they returned: the Legendary Collection for Potion and Expedition for Switch.
Finding correct, precise dates for the rotations as well as major events is proving difficult. The latter is relevant as due to the very different tournament structure, among the semi-competitive players (re: the only ones that cared about a rotating format at the time) most were already using the 2002-2003 format sets (Neo-On or "Neon" Modified) instead of the 2001-2002 rotation (Rocket-On). I can find some information but it is unsupported and sometimes contradict what I recall actually happening (my memory could easily be wrong, but so can Bulbapedia on these matters
). Still, even assuming the rotation occurred after Expedition released (and thus both Potion and Switch were again Modified legal)... it was still a pretty significant gap.A bit more on topic... I don't mind if Darkrai-EX and Mewtwo-EX remain in Standard via a surprise reprint, but that is because they just aren't the presence they once were and the-powers-that-be have shown few signs of fighting power creep, so I don't expect them to get any better. Basically unless there is an M Mewtwo-EX released that becomes broken by Mega Evolving from the current Mewtwo-EX or some combo with Darkrai-EX, it isn't going to make much of a difference. Now if N is reprinted, it becomes a huge deal; it will remain one of the best draw cards and unfortunately that means we will continue being stuck in a format where you're an idiot for trying to plan ahead or cultivate a good hand... strategies that are normally integral to TCG play. We will retain a card designed to punish competent players and reward those who are not; while sometimes "luck" can result in you being down even the full five Prizes (so that it is 6-1 in your opponent's favor) the solution to that is to minimize variance in the game, not provide a source of yet more luck. ¬_¬
Maybe we'll be lucky and N is a typo if these cards end up counting as an official "new" release with XY-era numbering.
The only cards that have always been legal for Standard play are the original Basic Energy cards. Both Potion and Switch temporarily rotated out of the game when the very first Modified Format became the Standard Format (under WotC, "Standard" referred to the default format for Organized Play). They were later re-released and thus returned to Standard play but after spending the last 30 minutes trying to pinpoint things, I only know the sets in which they returned: the Legendary Collection for Potion and Expedition for Switch.
Finding correct, precise dates for the rotations as well as major events is proving difficult. The latter is relevant as due to the very different tournament structure, among the semi-competitive players (re: the only ones that cared about a rotating format at the time) most were already using the 2002-2003 format sets (Neo-On or "Neon" Modified) instead of the 2001-2002 rotation (Rocket-On). I can find some information but it is unsupported and sometimes contradict what I recall actually happening (my memory could easily be wrong, but so can Bulbapedia on these matters
A bit more on topic... I don't mind if Darkrai-EX and Mewtwo-EX remain in Standard via a surprise reprint, but that is because they just aren't the presence they once were and the-powers-that-be have shown few signs of fighting power creep, so I don't expect them to get any better. Basically unless there is an M Mewtwo-EX released that becomes broken by Mega Evolving from the current Mewtwo-EX or some combo with Darkrai-EX, it isn't going to make much of a difference. Now if N is reprinted, it becomes a huge deal; it will remain one of the best draw cards and unfortunately that means we will continue being stuck in a format where you're an idiot for trying to plan ahead or cultivate a good hand... strategies that are normally integral to TCG play. We will retain a card designed to punish competent players and reward those who are not; while sometimes "luck" can result in you being down even the full five Prizes (so that it is 6-1 in your opponent's favor) the solution to that is to minimize variance in the game, not provide a source of yet more luck. ¬_¬
Maybe we'll be lucky and N is a typo if these cards end up counting as an official "new" release with XY-era numbering.
While I certainly don't feel that Mewtwo and Darkrai are any kind of powerful these days, I do think they need to go as otherwise a 3/4 year strategy still exists in this game, which I think is just far too old (yes, Lugia is an effective reprint, but with a whole host of downsides that make it a shadow of Mewtwo). Same reason N and really, all the BW-series cards should be gone as well. To usher in new life in the TCG.
It's not really about power to me. It's something new and not the same old strats.
I like this! Great way for newer players to get older cards like N. People were complaining about the all Expanded for Regionals but now I hope it will put some players at ease.
I found a close-to-equivalent Japanese "cousin" of this "new" deck set. Yet, I'm afraid that if the BA deck has its own numbering system like its aforementioned close-to-equivalent Japanese "cousin", and/or if it almost matches that, most likely with all cards in the "cousin" deck that are unrelated to the strategies revolving around Mewtwo-EX and/or Darkrai-EX taken out of the BA version(such as Rayquaza-EX, Fire/Water/Electric Energies, some excess cards in order to make the deck involved w/ the strategy fit the 60-card rules(meaning in this case, two 60-card decks), etc.), N, as well as some other cards like Dark Patch, might become Standard-tournament-legal again in the English market only on Veterans' Day 2015(21 days after October 21st, 2015, if they become Standard-legal on the BA decks' release date), but stay Expanded-only in languages outside that market, unless other languages get the BA deck too, of course...
^ Guess I'll have to wait and see if this deck nearly mirrors the reference(or, if you don't like to click on links, the "Master Deck Build Box EX" that was released in Japan-only in 2012, long before the XY-era in that market, which I don't think is listed on Pokebeach, which is why I hyperlinked to the setlist, which I know goes away from Pokebeach, but again, since I don't know if the setlist was listed in-site anywhere... )
^ Guess I'll have to wait and see if this deck nearly mirrors the reference(or, if you don't like to click on links, the "Master Deck Build Box EX" that was released in Japan-only in 2012, long before the XY-era in that market, which I don't think is listed on Pokebeach, which is why I hyperlinked to the setlist, which I know goes away from Pokebeach, but again, since I don't know if the setlist was listed in-site anywhere... )
Last edited:
That means nothing until we see the actual product in person. There's been plenty of times where they use placeholder images of old cards, especially when they're reprints.
I personally think that these will be new cards. but even if they are, I'd be happy to get some more
N's for primal groudon and giratina/ vileplume.
N's for primal groudon and giratina/ vileplume.
From my understanding, the cards will be able to be used in expanded, not standard. All cards will be printed with their original format symbol. So if there is a darkria, its' symbol won't say promo at the bottom right of the card, instead, it will have the original symbol of dark explorers. If there is an N, and I believe that came out in Dark Explorers too, it will have the symbol of dark explorers. Because of this, the cards are not considered promo cards, but legal expanded cards.
My conspiracy theory: I think they are flooding the market on some of the trainers to lower price on aftermarket cards to get more people involved in the game for expanded play. From a marketing standpoint, that is brilliant. From a players standpoint, a tad annoying.
My conspiracy theory: I think they are flooding the market on some of the trainers to lower price on aftermarket cards to get more people involved in the game for expanded play. From a marketing standpoint, that is brilliant. From a players standpoint, a tad annoying.
Somebody spoiled the contents.
Highlights:
2x Mewtwo-EX
2x Darkrai-EX
3-2-2 Crobat line (with Free Retreat Zubat)
2x Rainbow Energy
2x Double Colorless Energy
1x Xerosic
2x Ultra Ball
2x Skyarrow Bridge
4x Professor Sycamore
2x PlusPower
2x N
2x Muscle Bands
1x Lysandre
2x Level Ball
2x Dark Patch
1x VS Seeker
1x Max Potion
1x Devolution Spray
All of which are the last printing, so no N or Dark Patch in Standard!
edit: I plan on buying one ASAP, and probably a second one later.
Highlights:
2x Mewtwo-EX
2x Darkrai-EX
3-2-2 Crobat line (with Free Retreat Zubat)
2x Rainbow Energy
2x Double Colorless Energy
1x Xerosic
2x Ultra Ball
2x Skyarrow Bridge
4x Professor Sycamore
2x PlusPower
2x N
2x Muscle Bands
1x Lysandre
2x Level Ball
2x Dark Patch
1x VS Seeker
1x Max Potion
1x Devolution Spray
All of which are the last printing, so no N or Dark Patch in Standard!
edit: I plan on buying one ASAP, and probably a second one later.
Last edited:
Yup. Looks like half an hour after you posted it was made into an official News Item post with new thread here.
Glad they aren't official... um... is "reprint" or "re-release" less confusing? Ugh, whatever one means they have the old set IDs and thus aren't Standard Legal but are Expanded legal (barring cards that are already Standard legal regardless of this release).
I also am glad they appear to have a good build to them. I'm totally broke still and that doesn't appear to be changing anytime in the future, but if I could buy some product, this would be a pretty high priority unless I had everything in them. Wait, is the Energy something distinct?
It is on the Pokemon Center Store.