UU Format for the TCG

B

BrianHoffmann

Aspiring Trainer
Member
I had this idea after realizing how many cards there are that don't see play at all, and how expensive a lot of the necessary "staple" cards in the TCG are.
My Idea is really simple.
Start with the existing Expanded format and add the following restrictions:

No Pokemon EX (They are pretty OP, and expensive)

Only one copy of each supporter card is allowed in your deck. (This includes same effect cards like professors juniper and sycamore). This somewhat limits the power of trainer cards. and will make decks slightly less consistent. The following rule will balance this out though

There wont be prize cards. only counters or a die to keep track of how many Pokemon have fainted. This is a no brainier. The game should have had this from the beginning. Not having 10% of your cards accessible form the get go is really annoying. especially when it is random.

(maybe) Play with weakness and resistance all as +/- 10, respectively. Your mono grass deck shouldn't outright fail against a mono fire deck because of the type of Pokemon you use. however, the type advantages in Pokemon make it interesting and shouldn't outright be ignored.

The following cards are banned:
Rare candy
Pokemon catcher
Crush hammer
All ace spec cards.
Hypnotoxic laser
Virbank city gym
Muscle band
Double colorless energy
as well as anything that proves to be just way too powerful and dominating for this format.

In conclusion, I think removing OP cards and rules that dont make much sense would make for a fun new side format to try.

What do you think?
What are some cards that you would like to see banned that would allow this format to shine?
Are there anymore rule changes you would like to see/ not see?
 
I admit I don't play much anymore but I have been a big player in the past. I'm not sure I understand why double colorless energy would be banned or even think it should.

I understand the idea behind Pokemon EX being banned (though I don't think being expensive counts as a reason for banning, the overpowered thing though makes more sense), but I don't necessarily like the idea of completley banning other cards. I would much rather see the idea that if a trainer card is too strong it gets limited to one per deck. Some might not even really be that way and could fare better as two per deck. I know that takes longer as it requires an evaluation of every single trainer card currently playable but still might be worth it. Take Pokemon Catcher for instance, it now has a coin flip required so there's a chance the card will fail.

Completley agree with the prize thing. There should have been a better way of keeping track of KO'd Pokemon to begin with. A dice, some coins, something.

Not sure how I feel about the weakness/resistance thing. On one hand, it' is true to the video game. A single strong fire type Pokemon is likely to destroy every grass type it encounters. However the idea that I can use a Torchic to beat out a Sceptile is kind of wrong. I think basics should be +10, stage 1 +20 and Stage 2 the full +30. This has the additional effect of encouraging players to evolve their Pokemon up instead of trying to rely solely on any big basic Pokemon.
 
UU should NOT remove Rare Candy. Considering that Stage 2's don't see a huge amount of play even WITH Rare Candy around, no one benefits from a removal like that.
 
Not only that, but if we're looking at this from the older tcg stance, Pokemon Breeder was a huge part of that for a lot decks, be it to get Blastoise out for Rain Dance, Charizard for its power or Alakazam for it's damage swapping, it was insturmental but not really overpowered since anyone can (and mostly did) do this. That's what Rare Candy basically is.
 
Good idea on paper, I just don't see the point to it. Limiting supporters is an overall bad idea since that could lock you out of draw the entire game - imagine playing a match where you're N'd down to... say, 2 and you can't hope to draw into another draw supporter because there's only one in your deck. You've practically lost at that point unless by some miracle you got set up before that point - if your opponent can make a comeback sweep, it's going to be because you have little to no draw power because of the rulings you follow. It's also made completely pointless by VS Seeker and how easy it is to search out.

Another thing - in theory, yeah, prize cards can be annoying. However, a consistent deck can still roll with a few key things prized; the random factor is also penchant to luck, which we should all be acquainted with in Pokemon by this point. Removing a factor of luck basically makes it, 'Who gets out [Powerful Stage 1] first?' At least the random factor puts both players down a notch.
 
Maybe not removing all ex's but all the big bad ones, so stuff like shaymin emolga etc can be used, and banning certain strong non ex cards like medicham etc, no ban on rare candy that's just silly.

The supporter ban is just unnecessary and would only make bicycle and roller skates etc just used in every deck. Banning items like maybe vs seeker would be smart tho as that card makes some things way too easy.

Don't understand what's wrong with the prizes it makes the game more skill based on your deck building and ability to work around certain things. Although the idea would be pretty fun though if I do admit it.
 
Have you considered half deck play? It halves deck size, max card quantity and prize count. It streamlines decks to such an insane degree and yet doesn't require as much time or deckbuilding effort. Really works well as an on-the-side format.
If that still isn't your speed, just ban EXs. Don't fuss over other cards. The supporters have been homogenous since the very first days of this game. Keeping the good ones around will make the underused shine rather than force creativity.
As a variant format aficionado, I feel you on the difficulties of balancing a format with a banlist (or alternate rulesets) only to have nobody to play against. Simplicity is key for adoption. That's just my .02 though.
 
A nice restriction to the EX dead could be to ban all EX's with HP of 160 and above. That'd leave a small pool of EX still playable, like Victini, Celebi, Jirachi, Shaymin...
 
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