Fun Ultra Rare Pokemon Cards

[poke4trade]

There are times I just don't understand this game. OK, here is the scenario, a card company pays an artist to make a half and full art cards for a game. Game designers spend countless labor hours on designing these cards into the game. Marketers spends ton of money on marketing these cards. And ontop of that, the production cost of the cards are more expensive.

My question: After so much investment and time put into building Rare's and Ultra Rares, why does Pokemon tear them down so quickly in competitive play?

I was going through my binder last night, and I felt a bit sad. Maybe because I'm a bit of a Toy Story guy. I like actually playing with my expensive toys. But because of the meta I didn't really get to play much of Ultra Rare's. And now they are shipped off to another format where I still won't be able to play them in competitive play. I guess I'm sort of bummed.

 

[Otaku]

There are times I just don't understand this game. OK, here is the scenario, a card company pays an artist to make a half and full art cards for a game. Game designers spend countless labor hours on designing these cards into the game. Marketers spends ton of money on marketing these cards. And ontop of that, the production cost of the cards are more expensive.

My question: After so much investment and time put into building Rare's and Ultra Rares, why does Pokemon tear them down so quickly in competitive play?

I was going through my binder last night, and I felt a bit sad. Maybe because I'm a bit of a Toy Story guy. I like actually playing with my expensive toys. But because of the meta I didn't really get to play much of Ultra Rare's. And now they are shipped off to another format where I still won't be able to play them in competitive play. I guess I'm sort of bummed.

Ugh, almost did an essay again.

Short version:

These cards likely were meant to sit in a binder. Now if we shift to the PTCGO where I can play these cards without any wear or tear, I am with you except the powers-that-be are really terrible about using Ultra Rares right. They should not be awesome game ending cards you can't get any other way. They should be stuff like Holos, Full Arts, etc. but of cards available at a lower rarity. Nothing should be released in a set that lacks any use in competitive play, at least not intentionally.

Okay, there we go.

 

[PMJ]

Ironically, this meta has been defined by two common cards and two uncommon cards.

 

[poke4trade]

@Otaku You and your essays. You would probably know better than I since you have a strong historical knowledge on the game, but, for the most part, has the game always been defined by common and uncommon cards? I'm just wondering if there is a trend? Honestly, the cards would be playable if you didn't loose two on the prize exchange.

@PMJ That is completely my point. I mean if the meta was not so down trotted against them -- Would you play the rare's and ultra rares for competitive play, or would like them to be developed more as binder candy cards?

 

[Draaka]

Ugh, almost did an essay again.

<3 you otaku. But this should be your signature XD

 

[PMJ]

@PMJ That is completely my point. I mean if the meta was not so down trotted against them -- Would you play the rare's and ultra rares for competitive play, or would like them to be developed more as binder candy cards?

Well, it's ironic because the meta does not usually revolve around cards you can buy for a quarter. I don't think that PCL realized how much of a terror Night March would become. It was a twist on an existing attack mechanic and it was refreshing to see when it first came out. Then with every set it just ballooned into this beast.

The beauty of ultra rare cards is that none of them are unique prints and that shifts the blame for not using them to the player. Don't have a playset of that gold Ultra Ball, but still want to use it in your deck? Go ahead, there are like half a dozen other sets where you can get it for pennies. If you do, then you need to shell out cash or trade for them.

Not every card, regardless of its rarity, will be competitively viable, and that's okay. Fortunately there is no one metric as to what determines when or if a card will ever become useful competitively. The meta can change at a moment's notice and what may be viable in one set can get ruined when the next set drops. Unfortunately, some cards go through their entire Standard life cycle as being binder fodder, and that's a little unfortunate, but there's nothing you can do about that. You can always use it in league or in friendlies.

 

[Otaku]

@Otaku You and your essays. You would probably know better than I since you have a strong historical knowledge on the game, but, for the most part, has the game always been defined by common and uncommon cards? I'm just wondering if there is a trend? Honestly, the cards would be playable if you didn't loose two on the prize exchange.

@PMJ That is completely my point. I mean if the meta was not so down trotted against them -- Would you play the rare's and ultra rares for competitive play, or would like them to be developed more as binder candy cards?

Historically it has varied. Like I said though, it is bad when you must have hard to acquire rares to be competitive and its annoying when your "lucky" premium card in a booster is barely worth it even as trade bait. Most of what is really bothering you is what I complain explain about all the time. It is the game's pacing/general design that makes so much not worth it, as opposed to say being a Pokémon-EX. The only Pokémon Stage/mechanic I can think of right now that has no direct successful examples is what, Restored Pokémon? For everything else the best of the best make up the best of our metagame.

Ugh, almost did an essay again.

<3 you otaku. But this should be your signature XD

Wouldn't I be lying though since usually I don't "almost" but simply do? XD Though its ultimately my fault, I like to share credit with all the teachers that insisted I explain my answer as if "They didn't know anything about the subject at all." and later over on the Allspark message boards where anytime I would make a semi-controversial post, what I said would quickly be taken another way and by the time I could get back to rebut (even if just later that day), it was too late. Everyone would judge me by what another poster claimed I meant, discussed it, and moved on before I had a chance to set the record straight and no one cared to fix it by that point. ^^'

 

[poke4trade]

@otuka Thanks. :0) That makes sense. I really wish restored pokemon will get some love. But I'm glad you pointed that out. I didn't think of it.

 

[Not Cool!]

@Otaku You and your essays. You would probably know better than I since you have a strong historical knowledge on the game, but, for the most part, has the game always been defined by common and uncommon cards? I'm just wondering if there is a trend? Honestly, the cards would be playable if you didn't loose two on the prize exchange.

@PMJ That is completely my point. I mean if the meta was not so down trotted against them -- Would you play the rare's and ultra rares for competitive play, or would like them to be developed more as binder candy cards?

Back in the day (and I mean around the Classic format time, which is Base-Jungle-Fossil), all good Trainer cards were Uncommons, Commons or easy to access. Professor Oak (imagine Sycamore without the once per turn rule), Bill, Energy Removal and it's bigger cousin, Super Energy Removal, were also Common and Uncommon, respectively. In the Classic era, the most popular cards were Scyther, Electabuzz, Hitmonchan, Blastoise, Wigglytuff and maybe Venusaur. Those were the most popular, and most powerful, cards. The Blackout theme deck cotained one Hitmonchan, Squirtle and Wartortle for your Blastoise needs, four Energy Removal and one Super Energy Removal, along with superior Trainers compared to the others. It wasn't until Gym 1 that No Removal Gym was introduced, which made ER and SER obsolete. These cards, despite the fact that they were fairly common, controlled the metagame until Rocket-on.

I could go on, but historically, a lot of good cards (during the times we had internet, at least) were easily accessible. If the Pokemon weren't accessible, good Trainer cards were. I can't really think of any noteworthy Trainers that take up a Rare slot in a booster pack. Sure, we might have Full Art/Secret Rares or box toppers from earlier formats, but they usually were of no competitive significance or were already printed once before in the set or in a previous one.

 

[Sevus]

Back in the day (and I mean around the Classic format time, which is Base-Jungle-Fossil), all good Trainer cards were Uncommons, Commons or easy to access. Professor Oak (imagine Sycamore without the once per turn rule), Bill, Energy Removal and it's bigger cousin, Super Energy Removal, were also Common and Uncommon, respectively. In the Classic era, the most popular cards were Scyther, Electabuzz, Hitmonchan, Blastoise, Wigglytuff and maybe Venusaur. Those were the most popular, and most powerful, cards. The Blackout theme deck cotained one Hitmonchan, Squirtle and Wartortle for your Blastoise needs, four Energy Removal and one Super Energy Removal, along with superior Trainers compared to the others. It wasn't until Gym 1 that No Removal Gym was introduced, which made ER and SER obsolete. These cards, despite the fact that they were fairly common, controlled the metagame until Rocket-on.

I could go on, but historically, a lot of good cards (during the times we had internet, at least) were easily accessible. If the Pokemon weren't accessible, good Trainer cards were. I can't really think of any noteworthy Trainers that take up a Rare slot in a booster pack. Sure, we might have Full Art/Secret Rares or box toppers from earlier formats, but they usually were of no competitive significance or were already printed once before in the set or in a previous one.

This isn't quite accurate. While Oak was an uncommon and Bill, Energy Removal, and Gust of Wind common, Pokémon Breeder (a necessity in Rain Dance), Lass (Haymaker's answer to Moltres), Scoop Up (used in Haymaker and Damage Swap), Super Energy Removal, Computer Search, and Item Finder were all rare cards. Beyond the Base Set, Rocket gave us Rocket's Sneak Attack, and Gym Heroes gave us The Rocket's Trap, which was a Rare Holo card on top of being a tremendously powerful Trainer card.

 

[Otaku]

Still I can understand why @Not Cool! thought it was just an Uncommon, @Sevus; as long as you were able to locate and buy a copy of the "Blackout" Theme Deck that released alongside Base Set, you got one. If you were like me, you kept buying until you had four Blackout decks. Actually I spent as much as I could and I think I also managed three or four copies of every other set... which meant I had four Computer Search and spares of several other potent Trainer cards which I was able to trade. ^_^

In the early days of the game prices could get pretty crazy due to the collector/speculation boom when it seemed like everyone was collecting or had a family member collecting. The mixed blessing was this scarcity meant cards I would later identify as filler or flawed instead were functional. I will point out that Team Rocket was the fifth expansion released in North America, the second (Jungle) and the third (Fossil) didn't have any powerhouse Trainer cards as rares. The fourth did but that was Base Set 2 so it just made some of the top Trainers from Base Set easier to get.