New? Check the pastebin for advice on starting the game, client information, a guide on the various theme decks/products you can redeem in-game and more.
>http://pastebin.com/gPEnw6GW (embed)
You can also check this FAQ:
http://i.imgur.com/HoY1IaG.jpg (embed)
How to progress in PTCGO, tl;dr edition:
>complete all Trainer Challenges (Cheat Engine's speedhack strongly recommended to speed up AI games)
>play through using Basic decks to unlock them for versus play
>farm Versus Mode theme ladder for Tokens and Tournament Tickets
>Enter Theme format tournaments whenever possible
>enter Standard/Expanded ticket tournaments and accept that you'll lose
>you'll get tradable tournament chests and sometimes tradable packs
>DON'T OPEN THEM
>Instead, trade them for the cards you actually want for a deck you want to build, most cards go for like 1-3 packs each.
>Public trade is like the GTS, if you want proper results, put up your own offers.
>if you don't know what deck you want to build yet, see http://www.pokebeach.com/forums/forum/tcg-competitive-play.156/ or check out tournament results for a list of viable decks http://www.pokemon.com/us/play-pokemon/state-province-championships-2016/decks/week-four/
To see what your PTCGO stuff is worth, look on the PTCGO forums in the trading section. Top Cut & other big trading companies will typically overprice cards, expect to get lower
>http://forums.pokemontcg.com/forum/33-in-game-item-exchange/
Tips for Code Giveaways:
>Post them as an image with the QR code covered. Don't just post it as plain text because of bots lurking threads
>Your Old Cards
No one wants them
OLD >>26661904
TotT: What's your favorite card of the new set so far?
>>26684121
Shiftry is the only dual type that looks cool
new favorite trainer is the ninja boy card
I like Avalugg, because DAT POTENTIAL 9 CARD MILL
>[W][W][W] Ice Break: Discard the top 3 cards of your deck. For each [W] Energy discarded in this way, discard 3 cards from the top of your opponent’s deck.
Too bad the energy cost is that high, probably will still make for a fun league deck with the other millers.
These battle decks are fucking amazing. I already placed an order for a second one through Walmart.
If you go to Walmart, find one of these and don't buy it, then you are a fucking retard.
>>26684121
Did they ask the designers from CoroCoro to make this card?
Seriously, I think there is no other card with so many elements crammed onto it.
>>26684121
>TotT: What's your favorite card of the new set so far?
None. There is no waifumon, no waifu trainer FA, nothing...KUSO!
>>26684313
5ban Graphics my boy (the best designer team in the Pokémon TCG), are you new in this or something?
>>26684498
Pokemon Ranger has a waifu and is FA
>>26684639
Has a waifu, yes...but there is a fucking guy too, so it's RUINED.
>>26684121
>TotT: What's your favorite card of the new set so far?
Yanmega/break
Ok, because there is a lot of debate over the issues with clumping, I'm going to start to keep track of my opening hand for 30 or more games and use that data to either prove or disprove how bad the problem is.
I will only count the hand I draw at the start of each game since that is the only time where all 60 cards are sill in the deck. However, if I don't have any basic Pokemon and have to redraw my hand, I''ll count both times. I won't be keeping track of prize card clumping since that is more time consuming and not worth my time since the hand clumping is what people focus on. I'll be using the deck in the image.
Now, does anyone have something to say? I want this to be as good as possible and will try to adjust my method to minimize any arguments in opposition to whatever findings are.
>>26684710
You are a hero, you are MY hero.
YOU CAN DO IT!!!!
Your theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TUTJ0klnKk
>>26684710
the clumping opinions are heavily biased because the retards forget that the hand cards are automatically sorted
not realising that you actually drew into vs seeker then a pokemon then another pokemon then two vs seekers then an energy
and will still claim "YEAH DUDE I DREW INTO THREE VS SEEKERS AGAIN"
there is no way the ptcgo monkey devs would even be able to simulate bad shuffling or anything in the like without boasting about it, I advise you to not waste any time because no matter what the result is you'll get the same answer you've gotten before from the people bitching,
>>26684710
I think you should count no basic hands separately. Since this one is actually easier to calculate.
>>26684754
>>26684758
For the record, I believe there is a problem, BUT I don't think that it is anywhere near as bad as people say and most of the people who complain just suck at the game.
I just want mathematical proof to end this stupid thing once and for all.
>>26684810
If I remove the no basic hands then there is a high chance that the data will suggest that the odds of drawing a basic are much higher than other cards.
>Client keeps crashing every time I try to battle Otis, Rika, or the other bitch
I just want my free packs.
>>26684931
I estimated that the chances of not drawing a basic on the first hand is 34,64% with 8 basics in a 60 card deck.
I calculated it like this:
(52/60) * (51/59) * (50/58) * (49/57) * (48/56) * (47/55) * (46/54)
52/60 is the chances of not drawing any of the 8 basics in a deck of 60, for every other draw, I reduce the amount of cards that can't be the 8 basics by 1 and the amount of cards in the deck.
Here's the early sages if anyone is wondering. The pie chat is just the number of each card I've drawn so far. I'll add stuff to calculate the number of clumps later.
Also, if I find that there isn't a clumping issue, I know that someone will accuse me of being a shill and providing false data. To prevent that I'm keeping screen caps of all my hands and will be willing to post all 30 as proof.
>>26685056
I probably should save your post for when it's time to crunch the numbers.
If they're going to give us shitty promos for EX and Mega boxes they should at least make then full art so it feels at least a little bit worth it to buy them
>Canyon Axe
I don't into TCG but some of the move names they slap in the card art these days are pretty rad
I mainly wrote this for myself because I thought it'd be cool to see if my opinions were hit or miss months from now, but I might as well post it here and see your opinions too.
Good:
Volcanion EX
The damage boost that Volcanion EX provides is not only extremely powerful, but extremely flexible thanks to Steam Up's ability to stack. It doesn't have a world beating attack itself, but with the ideal partner this card could become a contender in the meta. Having water support and fire support makes the card flexible as well, although there aren't an incredible number applications yet. You aren't likely to run water energy to gain free retreat from Manaphy. You aren't likely to use Rough Seas and start healing Volcanions. The card is weak to itself, which is an important note. If the card becomes popular enough that mirror matches happen, then you might see some good ole knockout trades reminiscent of the Mewtwo wars.
Volcanion
He'd be a good pokemon if he didn't have Volcanion EX. He's a little redundant with the existence of Blacksmith, but with FlF surely getting rotated, fire types will miss the acceleration. Volcanion will be there to pick up the slack. It's damage output thanks to Volcanion EX isn't bad, Steam Up synergizes perfectly with Power Heater. Explosive flame may suffice when it comes to taking knockouts, with 2 Steam Ups + FFB = 170 damage, but it's unlikely to be a main attacker in a successful deck, I think.
Special Charge
Getting special energy out of the discard required lining up two Puzzles of Time, wasting a turn attacking with Bunnelby, or running a line or two of Milotic. None of these options will be as easy as Special Charge. That isn't to say the others won't see play. Milotic and Bunnelby bypass item locks, which are a huge part of the format. PoT in combination with special charge may be the strongest option for some decks. Toad variants and dragon variants should get a little stronger thanks to this card.
continued -
- good cards continued -
Cobalion
The second attack is functionally Shaymin EXs from Next Destinies. It's got 20 more HP than that card, and that's without the EX tag. 4 prize cards taken is going to net you 150 damage, knocking out much of the meta. 5 prize cards taken will knock out most EXs. Obviously the passing of time has made the attack weaker, but a big benefit that Cobalion has is the fact that it isn't prize bait. You can bench it early in the game and make use of Fast Guard, which may buy you a turn. And if it doesn't, your Revenge Burst probably just got stronger. Naturally, the card will get no use as long as Steel sucks dick as a type, and with fire potentially seeing play, steel may be less alive then it's ever been.
Yanmega & Yanmega BREAK
This deck has the potential to go fast. Not unlike Yanmega Prime, the deck is boom or bust when it comes to damage. The support it has will determine which of those happen. Currently we have Judge, which is the obvious paring. Cards like Octillery can also help regulate hand size. Forest of the Giant Plants is what's going to make this deck a potential nightmare, though. It's going to be fast thanks to the stadium, and the damage is often going to come out of nowhere. It's damage is likely good enough, capable of two-shotting nearly everything that matters. The BREAK not OHKOing Greninja is a bit of a buzzkill.
Spiritomb
This is a real sleeper of a card. Nightmare is generally just a shit attack that is going to make people cry occasionally, but Play With Wounds is insane. It's essentially Meowstic's Ear Influence from Flashfire, which saw a tiny bit of play, and that was essentially Dusknoir's Sinister Hand in attack form. But this is a basic, which is a huge deal. A PWW could come out of nowhere, allowing you to snipe pokemon your opponent thought safe. This was the card that Yveltal BREAK needed to make it have any sort of potential.
>>26684498
Actually, quite the opposite, I played from Base Set until Skyridge.
So, you can imagine my horror with how many changes they accumulated over the years...
Not that I don't like the new designs, most of the time, they look way better. But this one specifically makes my eyes sore.
- good cards continued -
Xerneas
We already know what this card can do. If a fairy based deck is ever going to see play, it'll at least consider playing this card.
Yveltal
Yea, it's still a good card. Not much to say here. It's been around for a long time and will continue to do well.
POTENTIALLY GOOD CARDS:
Greedy Die
RNG gods save us all. I imagine this card will see play in decks that like to get prizes in spurts and end games quickly. With Battle Compressor in the format, finding them in your deck isn't the end of the world either.
Pyroar BREAK
The damage is great, but the recoil damage is ass and all of its support is getting rotated soon aside from the non-ex Volcanion being released alongside it. Overall, there's going to be better options for fire attackers.
Clawitzer
The power is fantastic, but is a stage 1 worth setting up for such a specific type of acceleration? I don't know. Ultimately we'll see, which is why I have this as a card with potential. But fighting decks have Carbink, Giratina decks usually don't need the speed thanks to Toad, and DCE is fast in and of itself. I'm positive it will be in some deck at some time, I just don't know when and where.
Druddigon
If BREAK was ever weak to Dragon types, this would be a good card. This'll never happen, though. It's inclusion in this category is admittedly wishful thinking.
Talonflame
There will be some cheesy ass deck that finds success with this card, it's just too deliciously cheesy not to happen. 40 damage on that attack is great, free retreat, that HP, it's all great, even if it only happens in a portion of your games.
Klefki
The card is insane, but Megas aren't strong enough to warrant its existence. If this card blocked damage from BREAK pokemon, I would imagine you'd see it played sparingly.
- potentially good cards continued -
Ninja Boy
The ability to start with one pokemon, potentially walling your opponent from attacking/using powers/utilizing tools and then switch to something more offensive, or the other way around, is great. Decks here and there will likely run one of them if they have a set strategy for the card.
Pokemon Ranger
It'll be a one of, if any, because of its situational nature. And then you have to hope to draw it. It's like a Hex Maniac in terms of how you want to play it, but it has so much less utility. Fuck Jolteon EX.
Jumpluff
120 damage T1? Sounds good. But it's overshadowed pretty heavily by Yanmega, who also has a much, much better lategame. But who knows, maybe one day there will be a Ying to Jumpluff's early game Yang. Maybe Vespiquen?
Weavile
It's Masquerain again. That's to say it'll probably be useless, but it's power is strong enough to be featured in a deck someday if tools are strong enough.
Yveltal BREAK
I originally thought this card was on the same level as Xerneas BREAK. Sure, the BREAK gives it more HP and a stronger attack, but to what end? But then Spiritomb emerged. All of a sudden this card has an outside shot at forming a deck. Perhaps dark decks will run it either way, but the HP increase and the inclusion of Night of Disaster doesn't seem hugely important if you're not doing some spread damage.
And that's it. Those are all the cards that I think have the potential to make an impact.
>>26685456
I'm sure the Full Art will look better
who /gettingFAjuniper/ here?
I never played the TCG before, what's the equivalent of something like a Blue counter deck from MtG or a heavy trap deck from yugioh in the pokemon tcg?
I like to slow down games and control things
>>26686244
trevenant break
vespiqueen vileplume
vileplume giratina ex (this is the most blue-ish)
seismitoad ex
>>26686244
Pokemon doesn't have the same kind or level of player interaction as you find in MtG and YGO. There's literally nothing you can do on your opponent's turn, so things like traps and counters just don't exist. It's a much simpler game.
The closest you'd get to a control deck would be something like Trevenant, Seismitoad, or Vileplume that locks your opponent out of a type of card. Or some kind of energy denial deck that keeps your opponent behind.
>>26685957
I came close, but close isn't good enough.
>>26685117
It's still early, but so far things aren't looking good for people who say clumping is a major issue.
Still, I must stress that we can't take this data seriously yet.
Oh yeah someone from the last thread gave away their email code in a screenshot (and it finally appeared in the my collection) here is the contents.
>>26686930
The thing I have noticed with clumping is that it comes in clumps which makes it even more frustrating I have had days of nothing but bad shitty pulls usual after days where I could almost predict my pulls they were that good if I needed an ultraball and a turn later a double dragon it would appear etc.
>>26687121
Well, I'll keep it up for a around a week.
>>26686930
>>26687121
I think it's exaggerated but it happens some of the stuff in ptcgo I have never seen with the same decks in the physical game, I mean sure they can happen but the chances are so low that it's almost impossible and then you witness it happen two times in a week or even within a day and it makes you question exactly what odds you are looking at.
>>26687121
>now that objective data is coming in he's backtracking and setting up a specific goalpost
>literally implying the rng is sentient
>>26687256
Who are you talking about?
>>26687274
last thread
>>26687256
Boy if that's the amount of data it requires to convince you I have some studies that say you are being raped right now.
Just opened the pack I got from the email code.
How did I do?
>>26687287
So you don't know who I am got it glad I can trust your terrible judgement.
YIIIIIIISSSSS
>>26687121
Translation: "I have weeks where I'm feeling good and weeks where I'm feeling down, and I'm projecting that onto my game of random chance, despite that it makes literally no sense for the game to be able to know what cards I want".
H4J-GCXQ-7TC-2NQ
33/40 for this dragon challenge
I want to fucking die.
>need one scoop up to win
>all 4 have failed
>puzzle of time for 2 more
>they both fail
Why does this happen so fucking often.
>>26687542
>not just using reshiram/giratina
you will like half the games instantly because even is playing their ebin night march deck
>>26686930
In most studies, a pool of 30 random samples are needed before the data can be considered a reliable reflection of reality. Although I am not done collecting data, I am at the point where I can safely come to a conclusion. I have collected data from 31 times I drew my hand at the start of the game. From the data I have collected, it can be conclude that although it is common to have 2 of the same card at the start. It is statistically unlikely that you would end up with 3 of the same card and 4 is too low to consider a reasonable possibility. I admit that more date could be useful and I will continue to gather more until I hit 2000 VS points.
In sort, clumping is a myth, anyone who believes in it is wrong, and >>26676985 is most likely an awful player/underage.
>>26687988
Oh, and ignore the pie chart, it's just there for me to keep track of how many of each card I draw and to make sure it is close to a proper reflection of the deck.
The red cells are the only points that matter since they are when my opening hand had more than one of the same card. I never got more than 2 of the same card aside from energies.
>>26687988
>>26688088
Nothing is actually proven that is evidence pointing towards it but not proven, multiple people would have to do testing and make sure there isn't tampering for something to be proven.
>>26688235
>still being in denial
There is nothing wrong with the game.
>>26688251
m8 you will never ever EVER get through to those shitters
it's impossible
>>26687988
>From the data I have collected, it can be conclude that although it is common to have 2 of the same card at the start.
Isn't that still bad though? If that happens two times in a row for cards you don't specifically want, that makes 4/6 of your hand dead.
>>26688834
There is nothing wrong with the game.
>>26688875
I dunno, we could re-institute burn as a status condition and have a side deck.
Here's a free code ya gay queer fagosexuals
NJY-JGC7-KKV-DH2
>>26689010
>This promotions limit has been reached.
>>26688235
Make a thread on /wsr/ and I will post EVERY screen cap that wasn't marked lost.
I will however edit them to remove my name since people that much in denial will try to attack me.
>>26689010
>4th Lucario
Neat.
>>26688834
Yes, but that seems more like a statistical possibility than any fault of the game's coding.
YJP-4C4N-4QX-7XN
Well mine's useless now. Have it.
>>26688905
>side deck.
No
>>26689336
Not him, but a side deck sounds like something this game desperately needs, especially considering how specific some of the counters are.
What's the argument against it?
>>26689366
Mostly it would make night march even more powerful.
Although there are some counters to NM, if given a side deck, NM would have access to counters for every possible counter.
>>26689432
Are you sure about that?
Being able to side in 4x Karen against Night March sounds like it would invalidate the deck completely with no downside.
I mean, what would a Night March player's side deck even look like? That's a serious question, by the way; assuming a side deck is 10 or 15 cards, what would a Night March player run? What would he swap out against popular decks?
>>26689493
Well Karen isn't out yet.
After it comes out, then you're probably right.
>>26689522
Even before that, what options would make Night March that much stronger?
Obviously adding in an extra 1-3 copies of Hex, Lysandre, Xerosic/Megaphone, and maybe a 2-2 Garbodor line sounds like a starting point, but I'm pretty sure none of those options would do what you say they would. Am I missing something?
Meanwhile other decks can have a playset of Toads sitting in the side specifically for the NM matchup. Or extra Jirachi, Aegislash, Pyroar, Jolteon, etc.
anyone checking out the scans for explosive fighter/cruel traitor?
nothing really jumps as crazy good, but it seems like an interesting set and they are at least trying to be a little more creative with abilities and whatnot
I really like the infernape and yanmega, probably shit in meta but still neat
Talón is great. Where do I put it?
>>26690267
Weavile is a big buff to Alakazam if it really is Masquerian 2.0. Losing Scoop Up was going to impact it significantly but now you can just use Devolution Spray and pass around a single spirit link to do so.
>>26690267
Check last thread, there was some discussion.
This is a horrible set, and I'm saying this as a casual player who's only interested in fun cards.
>>26690348
Vespiquen so you can either start with them or Compress them away if you don't
Are there scans of the new cards?
>>26690906
In the last thread.
> Great Tier
- Xerneas BREAK
- Yanmega and its BREAK
- Both Volcanions
- Both supporters
>Nice Tier
- Yveltal BREAK
- Hawlucha
- Croak
- Talonflame
- Clawtizer
>Rogue Tier
- Volcarona
- Infernape
- Spiritomb
- Chandelure
Everything else goes to trash.
>>26691237
>Talonflame
How so?
I don't see what's so good about it.
>>26691407
Good for Archie/Maxie decks on expanded, may be good for standart soon.
>>26691423
It's terrible in every way, shape and form.
>>26691423
Ok, but what would be a Archie/Maxie deck worth using?
I can't really think of any in this meta.
>>26691237
The only worthwhile mons are the Volcanions, Yanmega and Weavile for Alakazam. This is the worst set since Flashfire.
Bisharp has some niche use as well but only as a Druddigon replacement.
Good luck!
>>26691237
>>26691726
Why the fuck is everyone suddenly hyping this shitty Yanmega
120 damage off of 0/1 energy isn't anything new, and it's made even worse by the fact that you NEED to run garbage like Judge or Octillery to even get it to be free
On top of that, the Break is absolute shit and has a garbage attack
I wouldn't even put it at interesting tier, it's pure filler.
>>26691802
Another EX to throw into the pile. If only the format wasn't so EX hostile.
The climb always seem to turn into a living hell around this point. I guess I have to sell my soul to night cancer or something to get that professor milf FA.
as expected Genesect is making an appearance at nationals I just didn't manage to build it myself
this makes it a little bit easier to netdeck and then improve I guess....
already disagreeing with the assault vest
Good luck guys
>>26693213
Iron Defense + Iron Fortress OP
>>26693236
thanks :)
I just played the TCG on the Gameboy Color, I collected cards back then but never played.
and after seeing some images in this general, I'm amazed, the powercreep is real...
>>26687337
Naisu desu
>>26693519
Not really. The game is pretty balanced for the most part. Its just that pokemon have more HP and also deal more damage to compensate for the HP.
It shouldn't be an issue since the old sets are not even legal to play.
This night march player, Discards 10 NM's turn one.
Attacks with one, leaving a lone joltik and mew.
His opponent kills his last nightmarcher and he has no puzzle left
Now he's doing a Sky Return loop because he's a fucking idiot playing Night March his first day.
There was an opportunity where he could of recovered the game but just Fucked up so hard.
I hope he looses because he should of scooped 3/5 turns ago.
0-1 currently
>>26693997
Also game two,
>first compressor 3 Laments
>Get a shaymin for 4
>Dead hand
>Az for 2
>Dead hand
Its funnier when he's holding a VS seeker I hope he looses again.
Good luck!
Post pulls, please.
These commentators are so braindead
anyone who actually bothered with the meta knew that metal was a good call for the first real fates collide event.
This is why metagaming is so retarded.
Man it must be fun to be at enough championship points for worlds, and then just dick around these low-end events with a random red list getting favorable matchups against metal and things that run vespiquen.
>the card on the right is worth more than the card on the left
Why?
>>26696516
The card on the right is harder to pull and the set its in is more sought after
>leave TCG for a few months
>come back
>there's some new Legacy Format on PTCGO
what is this shit? Something where you can play every card? How is it different from expanded?
>>26696566
Legacy consists of all the HGSS sets and BW sets. Expanded consists of all the BW sets and XY sets.
>>26696516
theta max mega ray is absolute ass
>>26696566
a fun format to get tradable old gen packs
the best decks are virgen, TDK and anything dark really
>>26696516
It's a piece of cardboard with a children's character printed on it. It isn't worth anything
>>26696655
They're both absolute ass. The theta one is arguably better though.
What do you guys think will be included in the eventual 2016 Battle Arena Decks?
>>26696820
http://www.pokebeach.com/2016/05/rayquaza-vs-keldeo-battle-arena-deck-in-september
4 EXs and some staple trainers
>>26696883
Oh my fuck that's great.
I was hoping to build an expanded deck and I need some Keldeos. this will be a good chance to get a few.
These Battle Decks are so fucking worth it. Like, you get so much bang for your buck.
>>26696920
Keldeo EX is like a $3 card
>my opponent is four prizes up with a fighting deck and I have my weak-to-fighting Malamar fuckery deck
>begins to advise me on how to better build my deck
>it's cool brah, just setting up still
>pull out his heavy guys and confuse
>hammer away every energy he has
>continually recycle hammers with malamar
>wtf your deck is stupid ur gonn deck out before me anyway
>recycle my super rod with malamar
>mfw
>make a detailed list of the good cards in xy11 with explanations
>0 responses
>some guy makes a super shitty tier list
>people discuss it
Feels bad man
>>26697308
The explanations are all obvious, we're not fucking five. And then you have to consider most people aren't even going to bother reading your walls of text.
>>26697184
Those moments are the fucking best.
>Using my Greninja BREAK deck
>Facing off against a Wailord stall fucknugget
>He keeps healing all the damage I do
>Keeps fucking my shit up
>The retard decks out and I still have a Greninja Break with full health
Fuck that match was intense.
>>26697546
With some of the opinions about these cards, I can't be too sure these people aren't 5.
>>26689432
That seems like a very flimsy rationalization. Just because one type of deck would be powerful with a side board doesn't mean that side boards are too powerful, but that specific deck is too powerful.
I'm all for side-boards. It would allow some more niche cards to actually get use.
So what exactly is a side deck just a smaller deck which you can choose to draw from rather than your normal deck? Or is it a deck which you would need special cards to draw from.
>>26697846
No, it's a small, small deck of cards that, between games in a match, you're allowed to swap 1:1 with cards in your actual deck. It's used to make your deck more flexible and prevent auto-losses.
I don't agree with it for PTCG, but yeah, that's the idea
Side decks would kind of trivialize a lot of deck building in Pokemon. It would make the decisions that go into choosing the right deck for the meta less important as well.
>>26697944
This is why I'm glad PTCG doesn't do side-decking. It just doesn't work with this card game the way it does with others.
I dont understand expanded and standard format. Ive read the rule book
No im not retarded i get that expanded uses older sets but what i dont understand is what tournaments allow standard?. I want to play standard next season. Are city/regionals/nationals standard or expanded? is worlds standard or expanded?
I dont understand.
>>26698137
Regionals are expanded.
Cities, states, nationals, and worlds are standard.
>>26698296
Its as simple as that anon?. Thank you.
>>26697661
I hate those Wailord shits so much
>see Wailord-EX
>know exactly what's going on
>two can play this game fag
>play no cards and always have 1 more card than them in deck at all times
>they deck out before I do
It was so satisfying
They even messaged me asking why I wasn't playing cards, it was hilarious
>>26698137
Standart has a smaller pool of cards than Expanded.
>>26693213
>>26693997
Link to stream? I didn't know Nats were this weekend.
jesus buttfucking christ, I'm done collecting cards. i used to get fun out not knowing what I'd get, but i've gotten not a single fucking EX or FA in that last 40 packs I've opened out of tins and blister packs. fuck this fucking shit I'm so fucking pissed. at least I have all the cards i need for my competitive deck
>>26700218
Git gud
>>26700218
Thats why you buy singles.
>be complete beginner
>use Mental Might deck
>play first game against someone real
>I'm about to lose
>just stalling until I draw something useful
>have to switch in Kirlia from the bench when Miltank dies
>draw Gallade
>he rapes everything
Thanks for reading my blog, I like this card now
>>26700218
>go to target
>they got some clearance packs in, XY through Roaring Skies
>get all the heavier ones
>FA Xerosic, Trevenant, Heatran, 2 Battle Compressors and a shitty holo Gogoat out of 6 packs
This is why you weigh every pack you buy.
>>26700218
I had bought a ton of boosters lately and no EX, FA or even Break in sight.
Last pack I opened last night, pulled a Jolteon-EX from Generations.
Never give up! trust your instincts!
Am I gonna make it boys?
>>26691869
Someone wasn't around for Yanmega Prime. The only support it had to match hand size was Judge and Magnezone Prime, yet it was still a consistent and fast deck.
Now it has Forest of Giant Plants, Judge, N, Shaymin, Octillery, and a better ability that doesn't require your opponent's hand. Most decks won't be able to keep up with its speed, and it can become more consistent than other decks by cutting its energy for more trainers cards.
>>26701588
?
The difference is that Yanmega didn't exist in a format where Basics swing for 180 off a single DCE
>>26701613
With FOGP, Yanmega might as well be Basic. And when those Pokemon, who swing for 180 for a DCE, get one-shot by Yanmega all the same, it doesn't matter.
>>26701647
>With FOGP, Yanmega might as well be Basic.
But that's still a whole Stage 1 line and a mandatory stadium that other decks do not need to run, all to deal less damage than those other decks. Yes, it matters.
>And when those Pokemon, who swing for 180 for a DCE, get one-shot by Yanmega all the same, it doesn't matter.
I would be absolutely concerned if you couldn't one-shot a 30 HP Joltik or a 50 HP Mew after all that setup.
Night March is likely rotating anyway, so the 'but the bdif does more damage for less setup' meme can finally die
>>26701682
Well, NM requires a stadium, unless it's lucky enough to get Joltik, in addition to energy. And in addition to that, it needs to connect with at least one BC to start doing some damage.
The existence of NM in the next format is also worth calling into question if PHF gets rotated.
Is the Night Striker theme deck ok for getting back?
I haven't played this game in years and that deck looks edgy enough for my soul
>>26701588
A BIG reason Yanmega Prime saw so much play was that it could snipe babies, which were common as fuck in that format. It probably wouldn't have seen nearly as much play otherwise.
>>26701726
Even without Night March, a below-curve gimmick deck like Yanmega won't magically become good.
It's not like swinging for 120 off of one attaching turn is a new concept.
>>26701730
>lucky
Nothing about Night March is lucky. The deck wouldn't have over three times the winrate of the next best deck if it were down to luck.
>>26701682
The difference that Yanmega has is that it sets up faster. It can be setup on turn 1, or already swinging if you go second. Big basics are good, but none of them are as fast as that.
>>26701760
It's not below curve though. 100 damage for 0 energy is so far off the curve that it's not even on the graph.
It two shots the vast majority of the meta, which is all that matters.
>>26701760
NM is by all means consistent. But to use Pumpkaboo or Mew you have to dig for your stadium, in addition to digging for your energy.
If you were to build a consistent enough deck, you could probably, with similar frequency, grab Yanmega and FOGP.
>>26701801
You need Forest, basic and stage 1, judge -or luck- to get a Yanmega attacking in one turn, and something similar every other turn you need to set one up too.
That's doable at the start of a game, maybe, but streaming them well trying to keep a 4 cards hand seems too much to be a consistent deck.
>>26701404
>tfw at 1020
JUST
Is 1000 the cap for coins in TCGO?
I'm quite new to it, and I'm sitting on a perfect 1k. I'm afraid of doing some battles not getting more coins.
>>26703119
Revitalizer is quite literally the best conceivable answer to the problem you're suggesting it'll have. If the deck is going to have any problem, it's going to be with item locks fucking with its hand size.
>>26701744
Please respond
>>26703177
25k is the cap apparently.
>>26684280
I found one at TRU the other day. Knew about its existence ahead of time, but forgot that it included a VS Seeker which was a lovely surprise.
Anything with holo energies is a buy in my book. Pic related, it was a fantastic value. Whole deck was reverse holo, and it included multiple N.
Total noob here, stopped buying cards during late gen III.
Which are the strongest power creeps during the meta's history? I heard that gen IV and VI are the biggest one, but I'd like to know more about the situation.
>>26704874
In terms of Pokemon?
Because the game will never be as power creeped as the initial base set in terms of trainers, and trainers make up the majority of decks.
Pokemon wise it's probably late in gen 3, where just about everything had a pokepower or pokebody. It made deckbuilding incredibly fun, though. Since HGSS the pokemon have been made very simple, with numbers just getting bigger.
>>26704874
It's been gradual throughout history. I mean, when the game started, having more than 40 HP on a Basic was considered above-curve and swinging for 40 off 3 energies was the standard. If you've played until Gen III, you should know that that stopped being the case very quickly.
But there was a bigger than average jump around the end of Gen IV with HGSS. Pic related is the picture everyone shows off, but it's not entirely fair. Despite that, it shows an example of the difference Gen V brought along. The end of Gen IV and the start of V also gave us Oak's New Theory and Juniper, the first reprintings of the original Base Set Oak, which radically changed the trainer metagame.
The real instance of creep, though, was with EX Pokemon. They're like the Gen III EXs, but they're all Basics with 50 more HP than the Stage 2s of the time and even more damage. The mechanic could have been balanced without introducing creep, but the implementation was poor. We're only just now recovering. As of RIGHT NOW, there hasn't been any creep at all over the past 2-4 years.
All of this only really deals with the printed numbers on cards. Things do more damage and have more HP, but the game's been mechanically simplified and trainers have regressed significantly (other than Juniper/Sycamore). If there were a serious format that allowed you to use any card ever printed, a majority of decks would feature pre-Gen V trainers and support Pokemon. Base Set trainers were easily the strongest ever printed.Don't forget that Pokemon's been using a Rotation system since Gen I, making terms like "power creep" completely irrelevant. It doesn't matter how weak older cards are if you literally can't use them anyways.
You know you're fucked when the trainer challenge npcs get in on a tourney.
>>26704990
>making terms like "power creep" completely irrelevant
Power creep is when they make stronger cards to sell. And Pokemon has both Power Creep and Rotation, to make sure you buy the new cards, or you will never win or be able to play the game.
>>26705273
Except creep within a format rarely invalidates older cards within the same format. Seriously, look at the meta today for an example of what I mean; Night March, Yveltal, Toad, Trevenant, and Manectric are two years old and on the cusp of being rotated, yet they're still extremely viable and on the tier list after all this time. And this isn't unique to 2016's format, we saw cards like Genesect, Mewtwo, Blastoise, Landorus, and more used up until the very last second last year, and this trend goes back for a very, very long while.
So "power creep" is pretty irrelevant in Pokemon. Pokemon today deal more damage and have more HP than 5+ years ago, but cards from 5+ years ago can't be used, meaning there's no actual relevant creep.
It's actually one of the few nice things about Pokemon. In games like YGO, they do exactly what you said; they print new archtypes every few months that invalidate the last, just to push product and sell the new pack. That doesn't really happen here.
>>26705273
>bought an Yveltal deck in 2013
>three (3) years and eleven (11) packs later it's still Tier 1
Yeah, I can't believe they printed all those strong cards to make me buy a new deck! It's so hard to win against these new decks like M Altaria!
hey guys, today me and my friend were bored of yugioh and we bought a trainer ready deck ( pikachu libre and suicine). We really enjoy learning and playing the game. What should we buy to get better decks and such.
>>26705431
To be fair, the number of cards that the original Yveltal and today's Yveltal share is like only ~20-25, and that includes energy.
Virbank, lasers, darkrai ex, keldeo ex, jirachi ex, garbodor/trubbish, comp search/dowsing machine, sableye, colress, and some other cards I'm sure I'm forgetting is stuff you've ditched for shaymin exs, gallade, zoroark/zorua, fright night yveltal, toad, jirachi, compressors, trainers mails, seekers, az, maxies, that dumbass sycamore instead of juniper, whatever stadium you care to run, and ffb.
As you can see it hasn't been one big jump. It's been a lot of little jumps in dark decks throughout it's evolution that has allowed it to keep up.
>>26705540
Unlike in Yugioh, Pokemon premade decks are garbage and will get you fucked at locals. I don't just mean that they're bad, I mean that they're purposely gimped and filled with worthless filler cards.
If you're only going to be playing with friends, try these:
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/World_Championships_Deck_%28TCG%29
They're fully-constructed decks that topped at Worlds, priced at $10~$20 each. It's a really good way of getting introduced into the meta via a deck that isn't garbage. The only catch is that you can't bring them to tournaments since they have a different card back.
If you want to build an actual deck, just buy singles like you would with any other card game. A casual rogue that can win locals shouldn't cost you more than $30~$50 depending on what you go with. Or just play online, shit's cheap and easy.
>>26705649
ah, I might try to go to locals and such after playing around. I might just buy single if thats the case. Can you scale packs like yugioh? And do you get participation prize when you join local tournaments?
>>26705335
>>26705431
Are you trying to tell me that if the new cards aren't 100% win rate against the older ones, there isn't power creep?
As you used Ygo as an example, Dragon Rulers are really strong cards, and would probably dominate the meta if you could use them, but Ygo bans older strong cards, to make the ones relevant. Ygo prints cards that fucks up the older meta, and from time to time they ban some cards to make the new cards good. And to make sure, they rarely take a card out of ban, they shift between limited/semi-limited/banned, but rarely gets out of the list.
Also, your T1 Yveltal deck from 2013 is not even legal to play right now, so M Altaria would win by default.
>>26700889
>go to Gamestop
>weight some roaring skies packs
>end up buying 6 heaviest
>pull FA Shaymin and SR VS Seeker.
>>26705724
Yes, you can weight packs. And most tournaments have participation prizes.
>>26705607
>>26705764
>New packs contain staples that old decks can take advantage of, therefore proving power creep
I don't think I can explain why that's an incorrect line of thinking in under 2000 characters.
What do you expect new packs to contain in a card game without power creep? Cards that get objectively worse or unusable as more packs are released?
Yeah, there have been a slew of new staples and techs over the course of the 18 different sets that are currently legal. Sometimes, a new Pokemon that gets printed that makes it into the tier list, like Greninja or Vespiquen. How does that represent power creep, especially when you see so many antiquated decks still topping regularly?
And the thing is, we actually have Expanded format to prove what I mean. All (and I do mean all) the cards >>26705607 listed as being "ditched" are still being used in spades there. And it's not just the staples, Pokemon like Accelgor, Flareon, Darkrai/Sableye, Keldeo/Blastoise, the Safeguard Pokemon, and even Mewtwo find their way into topping decks. Shouldn't the power creep invalidate those cards?
>Are you trying to tell me that if the new cards aren't 100% win rate against the older ones
But that's exactly what's happening. Night March's core is from 2014 which makes it one of the oldest Standard-legal decks, and it's currently the best deck in Standard, for example. Obviously decks get updated with newer cards, and changes are made to reflect shifts in the meta, but how is any of that related to power creep? Remember that my original statement was that Pokemon's in-format power creep is irrelevant, and decks like NM/Yveltal/Toad prove that. Am I wrong?
Maybe I'm misunderstanding something. Can you give me a concrete example of a modern card objectively invalidating previous cards within the same format? And I do really mean invalidating.
CODE. HERE. NOW.
4pt us9a bpk w56
>>26696717
nice meme
>>26705956
As I said, power creep doesn't need to 100% invalidate the older card, as long as it is better, it already counts.
In every set, there are weaker cards and stronger cards, and simply comparing two consecutive sets is hard to see any big difference(this counts for most tcgs), but when you look at the bigger picture, the difference is clear, but since you want to talk exclusively about big differences in a short term, there are some examples. As many have already said, pokemon took a huge power creep hit with the introduction of EX pokemons(honorable mention to Mewtwo), and only recently they started backing down, mostly because the nonEX cards managed to keep up with the pace, and not that EX cards got weaker.
Ace Specs is another example of power creep so huge, it probably won't be topped for many years to come, there was no reason to not run an Ace Spec in the deck, almost any deck can profit from changing one of its trainers for an Ace Spec, this is the epitomy of power creep.
I'm not saying that right now these recent editions have showed clear power creep, but that pokemon has power creep, and telling a newbie that power creep is irrelevant in pokemon is bullshit. They already showed us that they can simply print a new type of cards that is much stronger than almost anything we had before, because it already happened many times in the past.
>>26706373
Again, my post specifically said that power creep is irrelevant within a format.
Cards printed from XY, FF, FUF, and especially PHF are not only winning tournaments, but literally topping the tier lists.
These cards are beating out cards from every other Standard set, including the newest cards. Fates Collide didn't dethrone NM or bump down Yveltal or kick out Trev or Toad. Neither did Gen, BP, BT, AO, RS, PC, or DC. If this game had power creep, the opposite would be true.
>I'm not saying that right now these recent editions have showed clear power creep
Okay, then let's look at 2015 where Genesect, Mewtwo, Blastoise, Landorus, Keldeo, and many other now-Expanded staples were still used despite being the oldest cards in the format.
Or let's look at 2014 where Accelgor and Plasma were literally at Worlds despite being the oldest cards in the format.
Or let's look at 2013 where Mewtwo and Darkrai were at Worlds despite being the oldest decks in the format.
2012 was a special year because like my original post said, it's where we saw one of the two biggest moments of actual power creep via Mewtwo and EX in general. But you still saw cards like Celebi, Smeargle, and Shaymin fit into every deck that took them.
Or 2011, which introduced the buffed Reshiram which was part of the other power creep I mentioned, which still had Magnezone, Yanmega, Kingdra, babies, and even LEGEND cards topping tournaments. Again, these were all cards that were about to rotate out.
No matter what format you look at, there's still a huge chunk of old cards that were defining the meta up until the very last moment.
>They already showed us that they can simply print a new type of cards that is much stronger than almost anything we had before, because it already happened many times in the past.
Give me an example other than EX in 2012. Pokemon is a 20-year-old card game, you should be able to back up that up.
The rotation system keeps power creep irrelevant in Pokemon.
