Returning Player - Staples and Placing High in Tournaments

Footballmaniac

Footballmaniac

Omega
Member
Hi everyone!

I used to go to my local Pokemon league back in 2010, but I never got fully into competitive/tournament. I recently graduated college and I am looking for a hobby to get into (Pokemon is always my go to when I am looking to get back into a hobby and I love the card game). My question is what are some staple cards that I more than likely will need for the upcoming season? Should I invest into getting 4- Shaymin EX's right now just in case prices go up later? Also, how difficult would it be for a new player to place well in bigger tournaments/qualify for Worlds?

Thanks for all the insight you can share with me
 
I got back into the game after college as well - it's a great time to do it :)

Heading into next season, I think it would be "safe" to pick up the following:

2-3x Shaymin-EX (very few decks use more than three, most can do just fine with two)
4x each Professor Sycamore, N, VS Seeker, Ultra Ball, Trainers' Mail, Double Colorless Energy
3x each Float Stone, Fighting Fury Belt
2x Lysandre
1x each Hex Maniac, Ninja Boy, Pokemon Ranger, Skyla, Teammates, Giovanni's Scheme, Super Rod

Additionally, 4x Max Elixir and 4x Puzzle of Time are good pickups even if they're not used in every deck.

It's tough to jump right in and compete at the highest level, so I'd allow yourself a good portion of the season to get your feet under you and see how things go. There's a learning curve, but it's fun at all levels :)
 
Some wide appeal Pokemon you may want to also consider:

Hoopa EX AOR, which is great for powering up EX focused decks fast
Zoroark BKT, as its DCE powered attack Mind Jack is super versatile
Garbodor BKP for garbotoxin, sure to be a treat in the coming season
 
@Footballmaniac

You're jumping into the TCG with the next set releasing August 3rd. If you're reading this the day I am posting, then that means tomorrow! The cards in this new set - XY: Steam Siege - won't be legal for sanctioned competitive play until the third Friday after that release date, which is August 19th.

...

August 19th through 21st is the 2016 Pokémon World Championships. September 1st will be the yearly set rotation for Standard play (what used to be called "Modified"), and while we only lose four sets, several important cards are in them. They will still be legal for Expanded play, which is a second official format for the Pokémon Championship series; some events will use Standard, some will use Expanded, and some two day events use both.

So...

1) The cards @Asclepius24 and @Frosstoise mention are good to pick up...

2) ...but the immediate future metagame is only a theory.
 
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