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Pokémon Trading Card Game |OT| Gotta Collect them all!
- Thread starter Card Boy
- Start date
I now have 500 coins. Is this a good deck for me to buy?
Its good for the Lucario cards you get but i am not a fan of some the shit stuff they put in there. You can always take out some of the bad stuff and swap it with cards you have earned.
Yep, take it & get as far though the 'versus' campaign as you can before it resets.
It's well worth playing the basic trainer fights too - it's a great intro & easy 'trainer points'. Make sure to check in each day with the rattling pokeball on the main screen too - resets at 7pm Central Time for me - more easy points + a booster every 5 days.
Yeah okay. I guess I'll buy it. Zygarde is one of my favorite Pokemon anyway, although I already own the Snivy line and Hawlucha card it comes with.
And yup, already going through the trainer battles.
DeVeAn
Member
Starting to really enjoy this game. I got a few theme decks already and played with the wife. I have some questions though.
1. What are the best sleeves to protect the better cards and/or should I sleeve everything I play with? I do like to keep them nice a purdy.
2. Are theme decks a good option or is it better to got with boosters for a chance of a better cards?
3. Typically where are the best place to purchase cards?
Thanks!
1. What are the best sleeves to protect the better cards and/or should I sleeve everything I play with? I do like to keep them nice a purdy.
2. Are theme decks a good option or is it better to got with boosters for a chance of a better cards?
3. Typically where are the best place to purchase cards?
Thanks!
I JUUUUUST started playing the tcg haha, like honestly two weeks ago, lol (Glad to find this thread!) but I can answer these questions I think. Sorry for the long post!
1) That's honestly up to you but I'd personally recommend sleeving your better cards and your deck. I know Dragon Shield is a very reputable brand and Ultra Pro is pretty big as well but they are pretty cheap relatively. I've used Ultra Pro since they're really cheap in bulk on Amazon but I haven't used them for Pokemon, I used them for Dominion which I haven't played too often with friends so I can't really account for how durable they are. Imo what might be best is sleeving your deck and your in-rotation cards in binder sleeves like this. I've seen ultra rares go for over 30/40 dollars so I'd recommend that you do protect your better ones if reselling is of any interest.
2) Neither. Theme decks are good for starting the game and getting a starting assortment of cards + energies but if you wanted to play competitively they really aren't good decks. Good decks have a lot of consistency in their card choices so you generally see many multiples of trainer cards, for example, which theme decks do not give you many multiples of. I actually bought two theme decks for pretty cheap on Amazon about a week ago lmao which I don't really regret but I do find the lack of trainer cards as a big problem from what I've played so far with my friend. However since I bought two of them I ended up getting several multiples, but only copies of two. Theme decks do give you multiple copies of several evolutionary lines, like 3 ghastly, 2 haunter, 1 gengar. Mutiple gastlys are good, but you also want more than 1 gengar, so that's kind of another problem there. But I wouldn't dissuade you from getting one just starting out though.
With boosters you have no idea what you're getting. They're fun to open for the chance of a nice rare card, buuuut the majority of the cards are pretty useless, and you likely aren't even going to get the whole line of pokemon that you need, if you did decide to use them, from a single booster. Most decks, again, revolve around the fact that you have several copies of the same cards, so getting the cards you need for a well rounded deck will be difficult with just boosters. From the boosters I've gotten so far, you also only get one trainer, + 9 random pokemon from that expansion. You'll need wayyy more trainers than that.
If you have an idea for a deck, buying the cards single are WAYYYY cheaper. Way cheaper than trying your luck in boosters! But this requires knowledge on deck building and the meta game and etc etc. Again if you don't really plan on playing competitively, I wouldn't worry too much and get the theme deck, but I do think a more thoughtful deck that you constructed even just a little more is a lot more fun the decks in a theme deck, which dont provide the utilities you need to get your pokemon into the game and having a functional hand.
I suggest reading this reddit post which I've found really helpful so far, as well as other resources on reddit!!
3) I don't know too many but I've already bought a few cards from tcgplayer.com which were cheap and I know coolstuffinc sells them as well!
Yes I've only played for about two weeks but I think it's really fun and I enjoy reading about competitive pokemon lol. I hope I can make it into a hobby persists because I would love to meet people in a league to meet up with and play, since competitive pokemon (game) imo has a higher difficulty + too much time and effort to physically play the competitively.
DeVeAn
Member
Very informative thanks. I think I'll get some more theme decks to play with the wife. In the future I would loved to build a custom deck too. Thanks again!
Shotgun Kiss
Member
I played the TCG Online game a couple of years ago, and I really enjoyed it. I've been thinking about getting into the TCG scene, as I love how you can buy a card pack in real life, and also get cards in-game, giving them extra value.
However, I have no idea where to start. I don't know whether to collect one or two sets at once, and which ones.
Should I start by grabbing a bunch of booster packs, or some theme decks? Also, if you redeem a real-life theme deck in-game, do you get the same theme decks?
Also, what are some cheap ways of getting booster packs? I used to collect the original Base set for Pokemon TCG back in the day, and I know it's an expensive hobby.
Oh, and can you trade cards in the online game? Or are excess duplicates worthless?
However, I have no idea where to start. I don't know whether to collect one or two sets at once, and which ones.
Should I start by grabbing a bunch of booster packs, or some theme decks? Also, if you redeem a real-life theme deck in-game, do you get the same theme decks?
Also, what are some cheap ways of getting booster packs? I used to collect the original Base set for Pokemon TCG back in the day, and I know it's an expensive hobby.
Oh, and can you trade cards in the online game? Or are excess duplicates worthless?
You wait for the rotation when it won't be legal in standard.
Most EX decks have trouble keeping up with the prize card trade (2 for 1) against nightmarch.
The Greninja Break deck I posted can beat it because it sets up fast and only needs a single energy attachment to do damage.
Trevenant Break, Vileplume/Vespiquen and Seismitoad are all item lock decks that can work if they can stop or avoid nightmarch setting up.
The mirror match with nightmarch can be fun and might be the best way to stop nightmarch.
The Generations set is only available in box sets. Every month a new 2 pack box is released, so you cant just buy individual packs. There's also a nice Generations Elite Trainer Box out.
Shotgun Kiss
Member
As somebody looking to start getting into the TCG (see my post just above), this concerns me. I was thinking of starting with Generations, as I like how it's pretty much the 25th anniversary set. But based on what you just said, I started comparing eBay prices for Generations booster packs to booster packs for other sets, and Generations ones certainly seem to be more expensive.
Is there any particular (TCG Online compatible) set you'd recommend starting with that wouldn't be too hard to find/expensive to collect?
Steam Siege appears to be the most recent; is that a good one to go with? And if I wanted to also collect a second set alongside it, would Fates Collide be a good choice, seeing as it's the second most recent?
Thanks.
Generations is the 20th anniversary set and contains a lot of alternate art reprints and the Radiant Collection 2, which is a collection of "cute" cards. There are some playable cards in there, but it's not the best set to build a competitive deck off of. The artwork on the cards is very nice for collectors.
If your goal is to play competitively offline, your best bet is to buy singles.
If you are looking to buy packs anyway, Roaring Skies is an older set that will survive rotation (Sept. 1). Has quality ex's (Shaymin!), good trainers and the codes are worth more than other sets online.
So, uh... do you get a Psychic deck to use against the AI trainers later or something? It seems I don't have a Dark/Psychic/Fairy theme deck to use as a weakness counter for the AI's and I'm having fits trying to beat this last one.
Shotgun Kiss
Member
Great; thanks.
Dark Orchid
Member
A few pictures of the Evolutions cards are out in the wild (some from the official site, some from a TV commercial, no scans) and they're exactly what I was hoping for:
30 more HP, 100 more damage, one more discarded energy.
20 more HP.
Supporter now, art is zoomed out.
Lost Psychic resistance, exactly the same otherwise.
20 more HP, 30 more damage, 70 more damage.
30 more HP, 100 more damage, one more discarded energy.
20 more HP.
Supporter now, art is zoomed out.
Lost Psychic resistance, exactly the same otherwise.
20 more HP, 30 more damage, 70 more damage.
Rellik
Member
I definitely asked for this.
QisTopTier
XisBannedTier
Welp time to abuse blastoise again or alakazam
Dark Orchid
Member
They also mentioned that the Japanese set is getting a few Extended Sheet/Vending cards and our set is bigger so I assume that this will be the first time some of these will see an international release. I hope this Raichu gets in, was made as a direct counter to Blastoise back then and would work well against other Rain Dance-style decks now.
As soon as I say that, first opponent I knock out concedes, the second I had to drag their non-energy attached 50 out to quickly knock out. Much simpler when you're not facing numerous card draws out of the gate.
Dark Orchid
Member
November's set I think. They're out in Japan next month.
They're heavily based on the first set of cards released all the way back in the 90s, which people are heavily attached to as they were part of the craze/"fad" era of the franchise. Charizard in particular was incredibly sought after back then (despite not even really being that good) and to this day sells for higher than every other card in Base Set.As someone totally new to Pokemon cards, I have zero clue about the significance of emExplain!
Heavily based? Does that mean they wont be 1 to 1 in their art design of the whole card? cards today look terrible they have too much going on. I loved the first three gens of pokemon cards than they got too complicated in design.
I am still confused on what these release of base set are.
The new expansion, Generations, is a rerelease of the base set cards (the ones from the 90s). For the most part, the art and design of the cards are the same, but they differ in the strength of the pokemon attacks, hp, etc in order to be viable in the current metagame.
Dark Orchid
Member
Not 1 to 1, but pretty close I'm thinking. The only differences on the Japanese cards are the addition of a Basic identifier at the top and some changes to the bottom boxes. Japanese cards haven't looked like that in years, so TCPi will probably try to replicate the Wizards look as much as possible to match it. Worst-case scenario they end up looking like the Gym Heroes layout.
Another change in the international version is that there will be some non-reprint cards included, like EXes, but at least 87 of the cards in the set will be the classic ones.
It's just the next XY set, Evolutions. Follows Steam Siege and will be followed by the first Sun/Moon set in February.
Shotgun Kiss
Member
Do Breakpoint booster packs come with codes for use in the online game?
Like I said above, I'm trying to decide which set(s) to start with, and I've found that there are a ton of listings for booster boxes on eBay.co.uk (so 36 booster packs) for £13.99. That's fucking CRAZY cheap.
They're all by different sellers, and all have great feedback, so I'm wondering if there's something I'm missing.
Here's just one example.
Are bootleg/knockoff Pokemon TCG booster packs a thing? Even so, I find it strange that only Breakpoint seems to have this on eBay, and so many different sellers with high feedback are all selling at such a low price.
EDIT: Found one for £9.99, with free postage. Maybe a shitload of these things "fell off the back of a lorry" or something. In any case, figured it was worth a gamble for that, so I ordered one. If it doesn't arrive, or if it does and there's something wrong with it, I'll ask eBay for a refund.
Like I said above, I'm trying to decide which set(s) to start with, and I've found that there are a ton of listings for booster boxes on eBay.co.uk (so 36 booster packs) for £13.99. That's fucking CRAZY cheap.
They're all by different sellers, and all have great feedback, so I'm wondering if there's something I'm missing.
Here's just one example.
Are bootleg/knockoff Pokemon TCG booster packs a thing? Even so, I find it strange that only Breakpoint seems to have this on eBay, and so many different sellers with high feedback are all selling at such a low price.
EDIT: Found one for £9.99, with free postage. Maybe a shitload of these things "fell off the back of a lorry" or something. In any case, figured it was worth a gamble for that, so I ordered one. If it doesn't arrive, or if it does and there's something wrong with it, I'll ask eBay for a refund.
I am willing to bet that those booster packs are weighed. Meaning that the seller bought the booster boxes (of 36 packs each) and then weighed the packs with a scale. Packs that weigh more tend to have holo cards, whereas the lighter packs will have no holos (save for the reverse holo that comes in every pack). They would then bundle the non-holo packs and resell them on eBay. Chances are, you won't pull any Pokemon-EX's, full art cards, or secret rares from those packs you just bought.
Shotgun Kiss
Member
That would make sense. Could that be considered fraudulent? Especially since they're listed as "New", and if they've opened the box to do that, then it's not really new?
I'm wondering if it's worth waiting until they arrive, then weighing them, and if they're all identical, threatening to report them for fraudulent activity to eBay unless they replace it with an unopened box. I might record myself opening the parcel when it arrives so I can prove to eBay that they sent an opened booster box, and therefore it's not new. Maybe even record myself weighing the booster packs too.
Of course, I could send them an e-mail now insisting that they send me a sealed box, but I bet that they'd say that all their boxes are opened, and they'd issue a refund instead. I'm thinking that if I do the above instead, I might be able to screw them out of a proper box at a budget price (and I wouldn't need to feel bad, as they'd have attempted to screw me first).
Do you happen to know the weights of holo and non-holo packs?
Looking at the listing a bit more, I think they're fake cards. Maybe someone else can help chime in, because most if not all US/UK booster boxes do not have alternate box arts, yet in the listing you purchased, it says it'll come in one of four colors. Seller is also based in China.
sixprizes.com has a forum that covers current and future decks. (Beware the main website has a paywall)
thecharizardlounge.com is a nice site that posts tournament results, so you can see what decks are having the most success in real tournaments.
As a relative newcomer to the card game (my kids dragged me in two years ago) I found that listening to the podcast PTCGRadio has been an enjoyable way to keep up with new sets, decks and tourney info.
I personally never buy from users with anything below 99.8% positive feedback or if they're located out of China. 97% positive feedback sounds like a scam to me.
piratepwnsninja
Member
So my daughter is Gung ho about getting into the physical card game to play locally with friends, which means I have to play too. Is a starter of steam siege each, an elite trainer box, and a booster box enough to start with? Is there any reason to buy anything other than Steam Siege right now?
QisTopTier
XisBannedTier
That's a perfectly fine start
unlike most games each set has pretty good cards you can build around. They reprint older cards as well such as the first xy xerneas got re released in steam
I suggest playing the tcgo as well yourself to get deck ideas to share with her
Steam Siege is rotating out (or is it just X&Y?) if you care about competitive, if you don't: Forget that and get what you want. There's trainer decks out there that should have 2 like 30 card decks each for you to learn the game from if you don't do the online tutorial.
XY Base Set -> XY Phantom Forces is rotating out. XY Primal Clash and up is staying in rotation.
Shotgun Kiss
Member
I played the online game on my iPad Mini 2 yesterday, and it was damn near unplayable. Huge lag (in an offline game against the AI), slow response times, and ridiculously long sign-in/loading times.
Is it like this for all mobile devices, or just older ones?
Is it like this for all mobile devices, or just older ones?
