Help The "What Should I Buy?" Thread

Sorry, I just made a thread, hadn't see this one, so I'll copy paste here and delete it.

Hello guys,

I'm currently playing Pokémon TCG Online, and considering that there's a new rotation incoming, I feel this is the best timming to go to physical cards.

I intend to go competitive, however I want some advice on what should I do. first What's the best option?
  1. Buy a deck with most of the competitive cards, then go little by little buying boosters to increase my colection;
  2. Spend all in boosters and try to trade RR pulls to cards in the deck;
  3. Buy trainers boxes;
  4. Buy opened cards and build from there
I can't spend much at once, so I'll build my collection as possible but I do prefer building a competitive deck.

I'm able to spend about about R$ 150,00 /month (this may be variable), a 5 cards booster is R$ 6,00, Generations box is about R$ 100,00 and some cards price for reference:

  • Shaymin EX FA about R$ 240,00
  • Greninja Break about R$ 55,00
  • Darkrai EX about R$ 50,00
  • Giratina EX about R$65,00
  • Sycamore about R$ 4,00
(Using all from same store, can find it a bit cheaper, I believe)

Many Thanks!


Edit: Can't delete it. Sorry for that.
 
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I'm a bit late but thanks for opening this topic ! :)

Price range : 25$-50$ per month.
What are you thinking to buy ? : I'll start with a basic themed deck like the "blue basic" wich I already play with and understand pretty well on the online version of the game, if it exists on paper of course. Then something like a 'booster box' or the Pokémon equivalent to start a collection and have stuff to trade of the most recent set (wich should Fates Collide if I'm not mistaken).
 
LifeSword3 said:
I'm a bit late but thanks for opening this topic ! :)

Price range : 25$-50$ per month.
What are you thinking to buy ? : I'll start with a basic themed deck like the "blue basic" wich I already play with and understand pretty well on the online version of the game, if it exists on paper of course. Then something like a 'booster box' or the Pokémon equivalent to start a collection and have stuff to trade of the most recent set (wich should Fates Collide if I'm not mistaken).
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If you want a booster box of the latest set, the most recent is Steam Siege, which just came out last week. Keep in mind that booster boxes are typically between $80-120 USD, depending where you buy one, which is out of your price range; sets release every 3 months, though, so it won't be a monthly commitment at least.

If you're still looking for a theme deck (and I personally agree they are the best way to start playing), remember that the next Standard rotation occurs in just a few weeks, so unless you're looking to play Expanded, you should pick one up that's from Primal Clash or later. I recommend Sky Guardian (based on Lugia from Fates Collide). Not only is Lugia better than most other Standard theme decks' Pokemon, but it has pretty good Trainer line as well as a 3-2 Braixen line which can help give you a start on a Delphox deck, which are fun.

Or, as I usually recommend to newer players, pick up a theme deck of a Pokemon you like. :p Learning how to utilize card interactions and establishing a plan of play that fits your style are important first steps, and you might as well use some Pokemon you like while doing it. Don't feel like you have to jump into meta decks right away (or ever, if you don't want to :p).
 
@Purrloin : Thank you very much for your advice, I think I'll just wait until christmas to get a booster box lol. Anyway, is there anything that could help me start a collection in my price range outside of simple boosters ? By the way, could you tell me wich sets are rotating out of standard I don't want to buy something that I won't be able to play in a few weeks ^^
 
LifeSword3 said:
@Purrloin : Thank you very much for your advice, I think I'll just wait until christmas to get a booster box lol. Anyway, is there anything that could help me start a collection in my price range outside of simple boosters ? By the way, could you tell me wich sets are rotating out of standard I don't want to buy something that I won't be able to play in a few weeks ^^
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You may want to consider buying singles. Generally it's significantly cheaper (outside of the occasional very expensive card) and you have a bit more control over what's in your collection, which is especially useful if there's a particular deck you're interested in making. If you're looking to collect in addition to compete, though, keep in mind that buying singles obviously runs the risk of getting a non-mint card.

As for what's rotating out of Standard:

Kalos Starter Set
XY base
Flashfire
Furious Fists
Phantom Forces
and all promos under XY36
 
Good day,

i am fairly new to the game .. (only been playing the online TCG version for about a month) there is a local league starting up this month in town, but i am not ready to actually play in it, so likely will go to talk with others while deciding for sure what i want to try to build.

so i guess i am debating on what to get in the mean time, i already have picked up an ETB for Steam Siege and Generations for the energy cards and some packs to open to get me started .. and now i will be going for single cards for the most part other then the occasional urge to open stuff.

i have read various threads about staples and such, but not sure what is rotating out and what is staying (from what the local group says they will mostly be playing standard and then of course casual games as well)

since i am still getting a grasp on some mechanics and stuff, i am wanting to build something fairly simple (i am a former mtg player so i understand the basics already from that and from the tcgo) with the ETB's i bought i have a decent set of fire based EX cards so far (3 flarion, 1 charazard, 2 ninetails from generations i think)

a budget for me would be 20 to 40 a month, maybe a little more once bills are paid
 
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SilenzZzz said:
Good day,

i am fairly new to the game .. (only been playing the online TCG version for about a month) there is a local league starting up this month in town, but i am not ready to actually play in it, so likely will go to talk with others while deciding for sure what i want to try to build.

so i guess i am debating on what to get in the mean time, i already have picked up an ETB for Steam Siege and Generations for the energy cards and some packs to open to get me started .. and now i will be going for single cards for the most part other then the occasional urge to open stuff.

i have read various threads about staples and such, but not sure what is rotating out and what is staying (from what the local group says they will mostly be playing standard and then of course casual games as well)

since i am still getting a grasp on some mechanics and stuff, i am wanting to build something fairly simple (i am a former mtg player so i understand the basics already from that and from the tcgo) with the ETB's i bought i have a decent set of fire based EX cards so far (3 flarion, 1 charazard, 2 ninetails from generations i think)

a budget for me would be 20 to 40 a month, maybe a little more once bills are paid
Click to expand...

Welcome to the game! First off, the sets that are rotating is anything older than Phantom Forces and promo cards under XY36. As for staples, cards such as Ultra Ball, Professor Sycamore, and VS seekers are probably the three biggest trainers right now. VS seekers are the most expensive, at around $10 usd each.

Shaymin ex is the best Pokemon in the format now and pretty much every competitive deck uses at least one or two. However, they are really expensive, at around $50 apiece.

The battle arena decks are a great way to get into the game. A new one, featuring Rayquaza and Keldeo ex is coming out this month. It will have some staple cards, but be aware that the Exs are not standard legal.

If you want to jump in and start making a deck, Volcanion Ex from the new Steam Siege set is a good one. You already have the Flareon Exs, and maybe you got some regular rare Volcanions from those packs? Anyways, I'm not an expert on deck building but some members have written articles on this deck on the free blog, which I highly recommend you check out.

Feel free to pm me with any questions, but I'm sure other members know more than me.
 
Digital Dragon said:
Welcome to the game! First off, the sets that are rotating is anything older than Phantom Forces and promo cards under XY36. As for staples, cards such as Ultra Ball, Professor Sycamore, and VS seekers are probably the three biggest trainers right now. VS seekers are the most expensive, at around $10 usd each.

Shaymin ex is the best Pokemon in the format now and pretty much every competitive deck uses at least one or two. However, they are really expensive, at around $50 apiece.

The battle arena decks are a great way to get into the game. A new one, featuring Rayquaza and Keldeo ex is coming out this month. It will have some staple cards, but be aware that the Exs are not standard legal.

If you want to jump in and start making a deck, Volcanion Ex from the new Steam Siege set is a good one. You already have the Flareon Exs, and maybe you got some regular rare Volcanions from those packs? Anyways, I'm not an expert on deck building but some members have written articles on this deck on the free blog, which I highly recommend you check out.

Feel free to pm me with any questions, but I'm sure other members know more than me.
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thanks! yes there was one normal Volcanion in the packs but no EX version ... and i have that arena deck box set on my list to watch for .. looks like it will be a good price to get a handle on some of the needed cards.

i have been looking at various decklists and posts over the past few weeks and will continue to do so ... now to find some dealing with a deck that contains the cards that i already have.
 
Volcanion Exs should be going for relatively cheap soon because there is a tin wth the promo coming out in a couple weeks I think. My recommendation would be to just slowly buy singles that are within your budget over time. Coming up with a good deck list is really fun! Good luck with your Pokemon journey!
 
Hello Pokebeach! I am going into this new format with absolutely 0 cards, and was wondering what I coupd do with around sixty dollars. I have been considering xerneas and yveltal, but don't know what I want yet. What do you think I could get with around sixty dollars on Trollandtoad? Thanks for all the help!

Edit: looking for standard only please
 
tyjthomas333 said:
Hello Pokebeach! I am going into this new format with absolutely 0 cards, and was wondering what I coupd do with around sixty dollars. I have been considering xerneas and yveltal, but don't know what I want yet. What do you think I could get with around sixty dollars on Trollandtoad? Thanks for all the help!

Edit: looking for standard only please
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Many decks will use many of the same cards that are dubbed 'staples', so I recommend obtaining these first. Check out this recent thread for a list of common Standard format staples. Battle Arena Decks would probably be the best use of your money, as they contain two 60 card decks containing many of the staple cards (including two of the expensive VS Seeker) as well as powerful EX cards. There's two Battle Arena Decks that I would recommend: Mewtwo vs Darkrai, which has been released for a while now, or Keldeo vs Rayquaza, which will be released officially in a couple of days. Unfortunately, both kits are tailored for the Expanded format, so things like a lot of the Pokemon contained cannot be used in the Standard format. However, most of the staples are usable in the Standard format.

If you don't want to get a Battle Arena Kit, then I would recommend buying the singles off somewhere like TCG Player or TrollandToad. You could also find a league and look around for anyone who is willing to sell or give away their unneeded staples. I would recommend staying away from things like theme decks, since those are under-powered and generally don't contain many cards usable in a competitive metagame. As for finding a deck, the format is relatively new meaning their isn't necessarily established archetypes. However, you could check out some PB Articles, which give great insight into the current Standard meta and even tested decklists, or the community's Deck Garage decks for some ideas. If you like a deck idea, you may like to test it out on PTCG Online or another PTCG simulator to make sure you like it before you buy the singles.
 
Hey guys, I'm a returning player looking to get back into the competitive scene. Ive been out of the game for a while now, my last set was furious fists, and as such I'm at a bit of a loss as to which decks are worth looking into for this rotation. I've been doing a bit of research, and notice that yveltal is hanging around, and seeing as I still have one or two from xy, I figured it would be the easiest way of getting straight back into it. My question is, do you think that yveltal is a reasonable starting point, and what cards would you say are the must buys to get a relatively solid yveltal deck going asap?
 
How does one obtain a Tropical Beach or Jirachi promo (with stardust) online?
I almost never see them for trade and I certainly never see them for trade at a reasonable price.
 
Hello everyone! I'm new to collecting pokémon cards. I bought an Evolutions Elite Trainer Box, a whole bunch of loose evolutions boosters and a mix of some other packs that I can't remember the names of. I would like to buy my first booster box and I was wondering, is Sun & Moon is a good set to buy a booster box for? I'm already planning to buy the Elite Trainer Box for Sun & Moon.

I also have a question related to play and playing competitively. I bought the RayQuaza and Keldeo Battle Arena decks because I read it was a necessity if you wanted to get into competitive play. I was wondering what cards should I look out for other than the ones I got from the Battle Arena decks? I know I'd probably be best looking out for a couple more vs seekers but I'm not sure what other cards are commonly used in competitive play, other than Shaymin-EX.
 
cregavitch said:
Hello everyone! I'm new to collecting pokémon cards. I bought an Evolutions Elite Trainer Box, a whole bunch of loose evolutions boosters and a mix of some other packs that I can't remember the names of. I would like to buy my first booster box and I was wondering, is Sun & Moon is a good set to buy a booster box for? I'm already planning to buy the Elite Trainer Box for Sun & Moon.

I also have a question related to play and playing competitively. I bought the RayQuaza and Keldeo Battle Arena decks because I read it was a necessity if you wanted to get into competitive play. I was wondering what cards should I look out for other than the ones I got from the Battle Arena decks? I know I'd probably be best looking out for a couple more vs seekers but I'm not sure what other cards are commonly used in competitive play, other than Shaymin-EX.
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Hey, I've loved opening the sun and moon booster. You never know tho since the pulls are always random. My only suggestion would be to play the game, and watch others play. The Rayquaza/Keldeo does give you a good idea on which trainers are good trainers but the trainers only make sense when you are the midst of playing. Good luck..

Here's the first part of my booster box opening...
 
100% new player here, want to start collecting cards for play in my LGS and online play. What is the best stuff to pick up?
 
@ImaMoFoTheif You want to get entirely separate things for both RL and online. If you only wanted to play online I would recommend buying packs to trade with, but if you play irl you should buy singles.
 
lkmdude said:
@ImaMoFoTheif You want to get entirely separate things for both RL and online. If you only wanted to play online I would recommend buying packs to trade with, but if you play irl you should buy singles.
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are there any good deck building kits similar to the magic kits?
 
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