Help Online play other than PTCGO?

FaithTruthWisdom

FaithTruthWisdom

Aspiring Trainer
Member
So, I'm an old fart from the days when we had to modify Apprentice (a program designed to play MTG online) to play PTCG (anyone else remember the PTCO and Pojo ladders?). I know RedShark took its place at some point, but doesn't seem to have been updated since 2015. Google search has yielded nothing other than the official PTCGO for online play, which leaves me curious: what is being used these days to playtest decks online?

I haven't played since 2009, but nostalgia has bitten me hard. Now I'm teaching my wife how to play and, eventually, will teach my daughter.
 
Some people use http://www.lackeyccg.com/ but I think most people do use PTCGO.

Is there a reason you don't want to use it? It is free, has all cards that are legal, and actually has a pretty slick interface. It takes either some money or some level of active playing in order to get the cards you want, but to me it's worth the time investment. Otherwise I'd probably just stick to IRL play-testing.
 
FaithTruthWisdom said:
So, I'm an old fart from the days when we had to modify Apprentice (a program designed to play MTG online) to play PTCG (anyone else remember the PTCO and Pojo ladders?). I know RedShark took its place at some point, but doesn't seem to have been updated since 2015. Google search has yielded nothing other than the official PTCGO for online play, which leaves me curious: what is being used these days to playtest decks online?

I haven't played since 2009, but nostalgia has bitten me hard. Now I'm teaching my wife how to play and, eventually, will teach my daughter.
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Honestly, unless it's really an issue for you, I would just use PTCGO. Not only is the most efficient and official place to play Pokémon online, but stuff like private matches, Pokebeach tournaments, etc., are held there. Plus, I might be mistaken but I believe the Pokémon company itself actually made it. I don't know about any other popular sites, so you might want to go ahead and get a head start on collecting cards because it isn't easy.
 
Like everyone is saying, the PTCGO is really the way to go. The only issue I personally have with it is most of the community, but that's not something you HAVE to deal with, so it's not like it's a huge deal. It's a pretty solid PTCG simulator, even if the UI changes in recent years have sometimes been a bit questionable. I've been using it since '14 and it's worked just fine for me.
 
The only other interface I've ever heard of is TCGONE and it was difficult to use. It did allow you access to every card though, you didn't have to worry about pulling from packs or trades. But I simply found it too hard to use.
 
Yeah, the collection aspect of PTCGO is my main concern. I'm "peeking" out of retirement at this point, and I don't necessarily want to make a monetary investment just yet; whether that be buying packs or outright buying code cards, not to mention the time investment of having to trade around. Unlimited card access is appealing because I can just dive right in, brush up on my deckbuilding, test the metagame waters, and really get a taste of what's being played at tournaments.
 
FaithTruthWisdom said:
Yeah, the collection aspect of PTCGO is my main concern. I'm "peeking" out of retirement at this point, and I don't necessarily want to make a monetary investment just yet; whether that be buying packs or outright buying code cards, not to mention the time investment of having to trade around. Unlimited card access is appealing because I can just dive right in, brush up on my deckbuilding, test the metagame waters, and really get a taste of what's being played at tournaments.
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For that purpose, using another medium to play on may be the best option. On the contrary, in order to "test the metagame waters" and "get a taste of what's being played at tournaments" you are gonna wanna go where the best players and most players actually play (PTCGO). Plus, it might feel like a huge time investment but trust me your collection will grow very quickly, especially at the beginning.
 
Did I miss something for obtaining cards early on? I tried PTCGO back in beta when it first came out, which was around the same time I retired. All I've got are the trio of theme decks and a handful of packs, most of which are trade locked.
 
FaithTruthWisdom said:
Did I miss something for obtaining cards early on? I tried PTCGO back in beta when it first came out, which was around the same time I retired. All I've got are the trio of theme decks and a handful of packs, most of which are trade locked.
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I don't think you missed much in terms of early on, unless there is something I'm forgetting. Pokémon did add a lot of new mechanics which don't apply early on in particular though like more rewards, tournaments, etc.
 
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