Help What have I missed?

[lozdyck]

Hey y'all,

I'm new to these forums and all of that. I used to be an avid Pokemon TCG player back in the day. I played from the end of the Platinum (I think, I was really young when I started and I didn't care about the sets and all of that lol) and I stopped around Black and White. I remember the 3DS had just come out because someone had Black and White, I thought it was weird it wasn't a 3D game (I could be remembering all this wrong so bare with me haha).

I'm getting back into the TCG here, went and bought a Forbidden Light Elite Trainer box and some Celestial Storm packs to get some cards that are Standard legal.


There are just some things that I don't understand. I've been attempting to play online, but I keep losing because everyone has tons of GX cards. I remember when it was a rarity for someone to have any sort of card like that. Am I just having the worst of luck being placed with people who have these cards or am I just going to need to plop down some serious $$ to stay competitive?

 

[Otaku]

Welcome back!

The less-long-than-it-could-be version is you probably remember things incorrectly. Your profile says you're 16; the Platinum expansion released nearly 10 years ago. The Black & White set released about seven years ago. So, depending on exactly when you started and stopped, you at most played for four years. Oh, and Pokémon Black and Pokémon White (the video games) released for the Nintendo DS, not the Nintendo 3DS.

I'm not knocking the younger players who are competitive, but you described yourself as a casual player even if you didn't realize it.

I think, I was really young when I started and I didn't care about the sets and all of that lol

When it comes to playing Pokémon competitively, tournaments are organized by "format", and only one format that is notoriously brutal when played competitively (Unlimited) allows cards from all sets. More on that if you need to know.

Pokémon-GX are a TCG mechanic; some Pokémon-GX are terrible while Tapu Lele-GX is pretty much a staple. Plenty fall somewhere in between, and when you're still learning (or re-learning) the game they look amazing. XD Thanks to Tapu Lele-GX, few decks are going to lack any Pokémon-GX, and I think right now most of the top decks do use multiple Pokémon-GX, but that's partially your timing. A few years ago, we were all living in fear of a crazy strong deck built primarily around Joltik, Pumpkaboo, and Lampent from XY - Phantom Forces.

Anyway, you need to specify what "serious $$" means to you. I only play via the PTCGO - and I've never spent any money directly or indirectly on it, unless you count time spent grinding - because any money is "serious" to me right now due to "reasons". >.> If you don't want to spend any money on the PTCGO, it requires you learn how to trade and learn how to grind. You start with the Theme Deck mode, earn the various in game rewards, eventually compete in Theme Deck tournaments to earn tradeable booster packs, and then you trade those booster packs to build "real" decks.

Hint: The PTCGO has booster packs you can trade and those you can't; the ones you can't trade have a "Lock" symbol under them. The ones you can trade are essentially money on the PTCGO. Trades require patience unless you want to overpay.

...and I'm outta time. Okay, if this makes no sense, sorry, I tried. Hopefully you can at least get a chuckle over me sounding like an idiot if that is the case. If you understand at least some of what I'm saying, let me know.

 

[Oddish22]

In summary:

If you only want to play online - no money is needed. But you need to trade or earn booster packs. A GX is about 1/6 packs. A pack costs 300 coins on the TCG online or you earn some as rewards for finishing top 3 in some tournament. So it will take hours and days to get the deck with the GXs you want. And almost everyone plays GXs.
A good way to earn more points, is to complete daily challenges.

If you want to play physically in tournaments, then you will probably need a few 100 dollars to make a top deck. As you either need to open lots of booster packs or buy some single cards and GXs are between ~$5-50 of value. And the $5 ones are not that playable.

Did you already use the online code cards from your Elite Trainer Box and Celestial Storm packs?

 

[lozdyck]

Did you already use the online code cards from your Elite Trainer Box and Celestial Storm packs?

Yes I did. I'm working on deck stuff for online and physical. I got some GXs and was able to make a deck that can hold its own (I've almost won a couple of times lol).

Okay, if this makes no sense, sorry, I tried. Hopefully you can at least get a chuckle over me sounding like an idiot if that is the case. If you understand at least some of what I'm saying, let me know.

No you make a lot of sense here. So it's mainly just a matter of trading and getting packs. I want to play physical as well as online so I'll have to work with that.

By serious money, I mean that I can put aside some money every few weeks for some booster packs (I play MTG too) but anything beyond the $20 or so dollars is something I have to really figure out lol. So I can't just drop $30 on a card without some sort of way I can justify taking it out of my bank account. I guess its just a journey then huh?

 

[Otaku]

@lozdyck Pokémon singles are usually less expensive than MtG singles... I think. XP I don't play MtG so I'm going by what others state; I cannot even do a quick Google search and compare the prices directly, since I don't know how rarities, deck importance, etc. compare

Anyway, if you are not splurging for things like Secret Rare versions of a card, most singles will run less than $25 USD a piece. There are a few that get higher, but the only general usage card I can think of that was more expensive than that is Tapu Lele-GX. I say "was" because not too long ago, we learned a promo reprint of Tapu Lele-GX would be released in an upcoming collector's tin. The price might go back up after the tins are long off store shelves, but they shouldn't reach their former height even with most decks running 2-4 copies of Tapu Lele-GX. The price might even drop a little more after the tins officially release.

The main trick with most TCG's isn't sticking to budget cards, but learning how to spot good cards before their prices shoot up. Most folks realized Zoroark-GX was going to be a good, maybe even a great card. Shining Legends was not a normal expansion; it was a "bonus" one whose packs you can only get by buying the gift sets and other stuff that comes with them. There were no Pre-Releases (that I am aware of) and the PTCGO never had them in the online shop or gave them away in-game (well, maybe they did the latter, but I missed it when it happened).

Didn't matter. I saw Zoroark-GX was going to be good so I made sure to trade for four copies ASAP. I don't remember how many packs per card I had to trade, but whatever the "going" rate was, I didn't exceed it and often underbid it by a little. Did the same thing with Tapu Lele-GX but only managed to snag two. Did the same with Shaymin-EX and got three before the prices (in the PTCGO) skyrocketed (and pulled a fourth from a virtual booster early on).