Pokemon TCG

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motleyslayer
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Post by motleyslayer » 3 years ago

the Pokemon TCG has been something I've toyed about getting into for a bit, just never actually gotten into it.

Does anyone on Nexus also play the Pokemon TCG? if so, where do you go for decklists and strategy and whatnot?

also what's the game like now?

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Post by BeneTleilax » 3 years ago

it is a game for smal children.
Warning for trolling. - v_n

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Post by The Fluff » 3 years ago

@motleyslayer

used to play it years ago. Even gave a Moltres as b-day gift to someone. :)

it was around the same time almost all my cousins had a gameboy with Pokemon, so the tcg was fun to us as well.

the only problem is we don't know much of the rules... tried playing the cards like how the the pocket monsters fought each other in the gameboy games. It worked to an extent, but we could not find a way to properly use status effects... for example, if Bulbasaur put someone to sleep, we did not know how to "wake up" the monster that got put to sleep, so it counts as already "fainted".
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want to play a uw control deck in modern, but don't have Jace or snapcaster? please come visit us at the Emeria thread

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Post by motleyslayer » 3 years ago

I feel that's similar to how I played a lot of card games as a kid, kinda made stuff up as we went along because we didn't know the rules. Status conditions were super weird as kids especially

I had a fair bit of cards as a kid that I wish I still had

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Post by The Fluff » 3 years ago

I had a fair bit of cards as a kid that I wish I still had
same here

probably at the time I lost most of my toys. All our pokemon cards were either thrown away, or given to victims of a volcanic eruption. The few I was able to hold on to, and still have today, are toys given by my dad.

as for lost cards. I really enjoyed those "Super Trump" cards that we played a lot with more than 10 years ago. They were fun. At some point, I lost them, just like the pokemon cards.
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AnimEVO 2020 - EFZ Tournament (english commentary) // Clearing 4 domain with Qiqi
want to play a uw control deck in modern, but don't have Jace or snapcaster? please come visit us at the Emeria thread

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Post by Card Slinger J » 3 years ago

I played Pokémon TCG from Gen 4 with Diamond/Pearl/Platinum up until XY in Gen 6 with Furious Fists (back when Stage 2 decks were no longer competitive due to Basic EX's) where I went on hiatus from the game to see If it would make another big comeback with Pokémon Sword & Shield in Gen 8. I even got a Nintendo Switch last year for Christmas as well as Pokémon Shield to prepare for what could've been another Pokémon Renaissance like what I experienced in the late 2000's and early 2010's. By the time the pandemic hit my hopes of participating for VGC tournaments at my LGS as well as getting back into the Paper TCG again were crushed. At the time I was too pre-occupied with Paper Magic and Cardfight!! Vanguard at my locals while just getting into Final Fantasy TCG and the Dragon Ball Super CCG so it was to be expected I suppose. I did keep up from time to time waiting for a chance to come back though.

Most of the Pokémon TCG players that were once prominent on message board forums like PokéBeach, PokéGym.net, and HeyTrainer.org, have mostly migrated over to Social Media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram while some have remained to stay on the forums due to the communication being a lot better. Some of my friends who used to play Pokémon TCG have either moved on with their lives or were just hanging around at my LGS before the pandemic hit and I haven't really heard from them in the last 4 months since it happened. I know SixPrizes is a good website to check out for Pokémon TCG Strategies and whatnot however it's become more of a paid subscription service to access their info. Even the Pokémon TCG message board forums I used to go to are becoming more like Social Media platforms nowadays which kinda disturbs me. Pokémon TCG has gained a tremendous cult following in the U.K. so that could explain why me and other members don't see eye to eye at times.

As to what the Pokémon TCG is like now? It's hard for me to say since I've been on hiatus from the game since 2016 I wanna say though I have gotten some information from my friends that Stage 2 decks seem to be making more of a comeback competitively compared to the days of Black / White in Gen 5 where we saw a surge of Basic EX's dominating at all fronts with Mewtwo EX and his X-Ball attack being one of the most popular at the time when Double Colorless Energy got reprinted. Then came Darkrai EX among other Basic EX's with high HP so the meta's nowhere near as balanced as it was back in Gen 4. One of the last decks I remember doing really well with was a Stage 2 Empoleon deck that did +10 damage for each benched Pokémon as well as a RayEels deck that ran Rayquaza EX and Eelektrik (a Stage 1 Pokémon that allowed you to attach Electric Energy from your Discard Pile to one of your Benched Pokémon.)
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Post by The Fluff » 3 years ago

forgot to say.. some months ago. I was still seeing active Pokemon tournaments with decent turnouts in one of our lgs, the store is very small but there were still about 8-12 people there playing on little tables. Those tourneys are also surely cancelled these days though, just like how mtg tournaments are cancelled..
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want to play a uw control deck in modern, but don't have Jace or snapcaster? please come visit us at the Emeria thread

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Post by Card Slinger J » 3 years ago

The Fluff wrote:
3 years ago
forgot to say.. some months ago. I was still seeing active Pokemon tournaments with decent turnouts in one of our lgs, the store is very small but there were still about 8-12 people there playing on little tables. Those tourneys are also surely cancelled these days though, just like how mtg tournaments are cancelled..
There were actually two different types of tournaments you could enter for Pokémon at your Local Game Store: One being the Paper Trading Card Game / Collectible Card Game and the other being Video Game Championships (VGC) where players would bring their own handhelds to do Double Battles with other players as an eSport event. One time we actually got to run eSport events for Pokémon Battle Revolution on the Nintendo Wii at our LGS and it was a blast! We were hoping to sort of replicate that experience with Pokémon Sword & Shield on the Nintendo Switch with big flat screen TV's but then the pandemic happened and well the rest is history. Who knows? Maybe one day that dream may become a reality but until then all we can do is hope for the best which is really all we can do right now.

Now that I think about it I wonder If eSports could've saved Local Game Stores (LGSs) If there was a way to pay entry fees from home without having to be at the store given current circumstances with the ongoing pandemic? Kinda like paying through a chip reader when paying through your credit / debt card. I know one of my LGSs would have Fighting Game Tournaments on Saturday nights where they would play Tekken, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, King of Fighters, etc. though they never seem to give tournament reports on it during closing time. It's probably just practice for those real eSport events held in other places I assume. It's sad that no one treats the main series Pokémon video games as a real eSport cause I've witnessed first hand just how much the power of nostalgia can REALLY motivate people especially in Dragon Ball.
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Post by motleyslayer » 3 years ago

The Fluff wrote:
3 years ago
forgot to say.. some months ago. I was still seeing active Pokemon tournaments with decent turnouts in one of our lgs, the store is very small but there were still about 8-12 people there playing on little tables. Those tourneys are also surely cancelled these days though, just like how mtg tournaments are cancelled..
Even before the pandemic, I barely saw anyone playing the Pokemon TCG at main LGS. However I had a few buddies that had a small paper collection and played a bit online

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Post by The Fluff » 3 years ago

oh, I see. Pokemon tourney play is not done much in the US?

anyway, the lgs I'm referring to is named "Courtside" it's at the third floor of a shopping mall here. As I recall, have been seeing people playing pokemon tournament there as far back as 2016 or 2017.. so it must have been going for quite awhile.

The reason I see them often, is because that store also sells mtg and hard to find Kancolle tcg by Bushiroad that I collect. That lgs is also my source of perfect fit sleeves and ultra pro deck box.
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want to play a uw control deck in modern, but don't have Jace or snapcaster? please come visit us at the Emeria thread

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Post by motleyslayer » 3 years ago

in Canada, I think it depends on what city you live in, which I think is sort of happening with Magic too now. I think there are communities in larger cities but not much of competitive scenes outside of larger cities

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Post by Card Slinger J » 3 years ago

motleyslayer wrote:
3 years ago
in Canada, I think it depends on what city you live in, which I think is sort of happening with Magic too now. I think there are communities in larger cities but not much of competitive scenes outside of larger cities
I'm not sure If this is still the case due to COVID-19 however Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games are much bigger in Japan than they are in Western countries due to having more space for In-Store Play / Organized Play as their Top 3 Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games are much different from ours. I know that Duel Masters was still doing pretty well over in Japan after it was discontinued by Wizards of the Coast in the U.S. before it got relaunched as Kaijudo in 2011 which ironically was the same year Bushiroad released Cardfight!! Vanguard for those who were looking for an alternative to Yu-Gi-Oh! at the time.

But yeah these Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games tend to thrive more in coastal areas within the Continental U.S. for the same reason why certain U.S. National Sports teams win more than others. It's really all about ease of access and location for how they market certain brands as well as transporting goods overseas. If you're someone who doesn't live within a popular coastal area then you'd be considered lucky to get the kind of substantial support for a Paper Trading Card Game / Collectible Card Game that isn't MTG, Yu-Gi-Oh!, or Pokémon TCG.
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Post by wildfire393 » 3 years ago

I got into it a bit last year. I mostly played on the online client, and mostly stopped playing because the online client kind of sucks hard.

It's a cool game. There's some interesting approaches to resource management that set it apart from something like M:tG. Card draw in particular is much more plentiful. It feels kind of like you're playing a storm deck a lot of the time.

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Post by The Fluff » 3 years ago

on a little more description on the store I visited. I think one reason for them being able to host pokemon tourney for years is.. because the place is nice to play in, the third floor of the mall is very cold, so it's cool and comfortable inside the store. I think the only limiting factor is the place is small, can only hold 8-12 people + the owner.

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do you also own a deck in paper? If yes, how much do you think it would cost to build a reasonable deck for casual play? thanks.

someday, me and some friends might pick up this game again.. once corona is over.
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want to play a uw control deck in modern, but don't have Jace or snapcaster? please come visit us at the Emeria thread

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Post by motleyslayer » 3 years ago

wildfire393 wrote:
3 years ago
I got into it a bit last year. I mostly played on the online client, and mostly stopped playing because the online client kind of sucks hard.

It's a cool game. There's some interesting approaches to resource management that set it apart from something like M:tG. Card draw in particular is much more plentiful. It feels kind of like you're playing a storm deck a lot of the time.
One thing I have noticed is that card draw is super easy to get.

is there any easy way to find event decklists or meta decks? I couldn't find it on the pokemon website

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Post by wildfire393 » 3 years ago

motleyslayer wrote:
3 years ago
wildfire393 wrote:
3 years ago
I got into it a bit last year. I mostly played on the online client, and mostly stopped playing because the online client kind of sucks hard.

It's a cool game. There's some interesting approaches to resource management that set it apart from something like M:tG. Card draw in particular is much more plentiful. It feels kind of like you're playing a storm deck a lot of the time.
One thing I have noticed is that card draw is super easy to get.

is there any easy way to find event decklists or meta decks? I couldn't find it on the pokemon website
https://limitlesstcg.com/decks/ - This is basically mtgtop8 for Pokemon.

For sure card draw is super accessible in Pokemon. There's generally a few soft limits - the strongest draw cards are Supporters which are restricted to one per turn, and many Card Draw abilities like that on Dedenne-GX or Crobat V are limited to only using one of them per turn as well. But we're still talking it being fairly easy to see 10 or more new cards in a single turn, basically every turn, if you've built your deck correctly. And that's not even taking into account the various and sundry tutor effects, many of which are Item trainers that have no limits on number of copies played. This shifts a lot of the focus from incremental card advantage and attrition like you see in Magic, and instead emphasizes different aspects. Deck construction becomes a very big deal, because a single copy of an impactful Pokemon is extremely accessible 90% of the time (occasionally it'll get stuck in your prizes). It also becomes extremely important to plan several turns ahead and anticipate what your opponent is trying to do. You have to figure out which Pokemon can be sacrificed to set up your key attackers, identify your opponent's attempts to set up and head them off at the pass, etc.

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Post by motleyslayer » 3 years ago

@wildfire393 thanks for the link and overview, super helpful info.

are there any "must read" type articles for strategy and are there similar archetypes like control or aggro?

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Post by wildfire393 » 3 years ago

motleyslayer wrote:
3 years ago
@wildfire393 thanks for the link and overview, super helpful info.

are there any "must read" type articles for strategy and are there similar archetypes like control or aggro?
The Pokemon community is definitely much less organized than the Magic one is. There's some articles and deck guides out there, but they're much more spread out.

There are a few specific archetypes that roughly map to Magic archetypes, but they tend to be pretty fringe. For instance, there's "Donk" decks that aim at going first, using a Pokemon who can attack on the first turn of the game, and knocking out your sole Pokemon before you get a chance to take a turn and dig for more, which is kind of like Aggro. There's "Stall" decks that use high HP Pokemon and those with abilities that prevent specific types of Pokemon from attacking or from dealing damage to them, combined with healing and energy removal type effects to grind the opponent into a position where they can't collect all of their prizes and will deck out, which is kind of like Control.

In general though, most decks play like some sort of Midrange-Combo hybrid. You generally pick a main attacker and then build your deck around it. Most good attacking Pokemon either have a high-energy-cost attack that requires support to pull off quickly (a good example of this would be the Charizard & Reshirom Tag Team deck which uses cards like Welder and Kiawe to ramp energies onto ReshiZard to use Flare Strike and Double Blaze from the early turns) or a low-energy scalable attack, and you build your deck around enabling that scaling (a good example of this is Eternatus VMax, which deals damage based on the number of Dark type Pokemon you have in play, so it runs ways to fill up your bench with those, or Blacephelon-GX, who lets you exile fire energies from play for extra damage, so you use ways to ramp a lot of fire energy into play). Supporting these cards are generally Pokemon with card draw and other utility abilities like Crobat V, Dedenne GX, and similar.

The main decisions you generally make are whether you are supporting basic Pokemon (generally "big basics" like GX and V pokemon), stage 1 with more search, or stage 2 with things like Rare Candy to accelerate into the evolution. There's also decisions as to whether to play a bunch of Pokemon with abilities, or to forgo that in order to be able to use Green's Search. Some decks will avoid playing GX and V/V-Max Pokemon in order to use cards that punish those Pokemon, and try to make up for the fact that your cards are weaker by taking more prizes per knockout. Etc.

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Post by motleyslayer » 3 years ago

I noticed that Channel Fireball has a Pokemon section in their content section now, with a few articles up for anyone that cares. I'll give some articles a read to familiarize myself with content

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