Returning player here, kinda just looking for a list of staple Pokemon and Supporters these days, haven't played since HG/SS days so it's been a hot minute for me and I'd like to have a good idea of how to build a good deck.
Help Returning Player
- Thread starter imashbuttons
- Start date
Might be good to let us know what you know about "current events" in the TCG. Do you know what Expanded is? If so, are you going to participate in that Format? This year's rotation of sets (out of Standard) is happening early this year (a very rare occurrence)... so are you more worried about what you'll need for the next two or three months or what you'll need after?
Ah, good point. I know about the two formats, I plan on starting with Standard for the foreseeable future, so probably what I'll need now and later if that makes sense?
Okay.
As you know, there are different "Seasons" of the Championship Series of events for Organized Play. They're named for the year in which the World Championship takes place, so even though it began back in 2018, we are currently in the 2019 Season. In terms of qualifying for the World Championships, the 2020 Season starts in July however the set rotation associated with it will not occur until August 15th... which is the day before the World Championship. Official announcement here.
So... how worried are you about getting all the stuff you need to be competitive in Standard from now until August 15th? We are losing a lot of expensive cards (well, in Pokémon terms) due to rotation, so I'm hesitant to recommend too many of those to you unless you have money to burn. This also means we're all left speculating about what will be good post-rotation. With all that in mind, here are some recommendations that are common to many decks and either survive the rotation or aren't too pricey to get for only three months of play:
Keep in mind, the most recent set becomes tournament legal tomorrow.
As you know, there are different "Seasons" of the Championship Series of events for Organized Play. They're named for the year in which the World Championship takes place, so even though it began back in 2018, we are currently in the 2019 Season. In terms of qualifying for the World Championships, the 2020 Season starts in July however the set rotation associated with it will not occur until August 15th... which is the day before the World Championship. Official announcement here.
So... how worried are you about getting all the stuff you need to be competitive in Standard from now until August 15th? We are losing a lot of expensive cards (well, in Pokémon terms) due to rotation, so I'm hesitant to recommend too many of those to you unless you have money to burn. This also means we're all left speculating about what will be good post-rotation. With all that in mind, here are some recommendations that are common to many decks and either survive the rotation or aren't too pricey to get for only three months of play:
- Cynthia
- Choice Band
- Dedenne-GX
- Ditto {*}
- Escape Board
- Guzma
- Lillie
- Jirachi (SM - Team Up 99/181, SM - Black Star Promos SM161)
- Magcargo (SM - Celestial Storm 24/168)
- Nest Ball
- Oranguru (Sun & Moon 113/149; SM - Black Star Promos SM13)
- Pokémon Communication
- Power Plant
- Shrine of Punishment
- Tate & Liza
- Welder
- Ultra Ball
Keep in mind, the most recent set becomes tournament legal tomorrow.
Awesome, awesome. You've been super helpful, thank you.
Unfortunately, most of these cards rotate this August. If you’d rather wait for the rotation and not spend money on cards that rotate soon, here’s what’s rotating:
- Choice Band
- Guzma
- Nest Ball
- Oranguru
- Ultra Ball
- Ultra Prism
- Forbidden Light
- Dragon Majesty
- Celestial Storm
- Lost Thunder
- Team Up
- Unbroken Bonds
- Unified Minds (yet to come out in the West)
- And SM Promo cards numbered SM94 and up.
- And Detective Pikachu, but there isn’t much from that.
I bought a bunch of singles today, all stuff that's not gonna be rotating out, so I'm gonna take these next few months to gather up stuff for decks so I'm ready for the next set and rotation.
