Hello Pokemon Crossroads readers! Today I’m bringing you a series of articles aimed towards Pokemon Fans who are not well versed in the Trading Card Game, but would like to learn! The question of how to get started with the Pokemon TCG (or many other card games) is often asked by parents who want to support their children. It is also something to be expected from long-time collectors or Pokemon fans that simply do not want to hassle with learning all of the ins-and-outs of the game. This beginning article was written with the interests of your wallet, because knowing what to buy is intrinsically connected to the value you get out of your hard earned cash! Any card game can be hard to come into alone, but it can be done successfully and with a minimal monetary investment; just read on to find out!
What any new player will want to do initially is find a deck that they want to play, and try to get a hold of all of the cards needed to play make their deck unstoppable. This can be done in a variety of ways, including trading and straight out buying singles through an online retailer or your friendly local game store. There needs to be at least one goal that you want to achieve before you start buying full sets of Pokemon. This article will present a number of choices that the beginning player has in order to , and break down my views on its value to you, and if I recommend the item for a first-time buyer.
The first thing that someone wanting to get into the card game should do is consider what they want out of the Pokemon TCG. Many players want only to make friends and play with a deck of cute Pokemon whom they adore, which is a fine way to play the game if they just want it as a social impetus. These players would do well to simply purchase a theme deck that includes a number of their favorite Pokemon to start playing with as soon as possible. But I will assume that you are not one of these people, since you are still reading. For you, the die-hard Pokemon fan who want to learn the ins-and-outs of the game that keep players coming back again and again, I will do my best to help you get the most bang for your buck when jumping into the scary world of competitive card games. Let’s go!
The point of these articles is to help you to build a competitive deck that you want to enjoy playing with as little investment as possible. If you have a friend who is already playing the game then feel free to skip this article over completely to ask them for a loaner deck or some help in cobbling together your first Pokemon deck. If you come from another card game, most of your accessories like binders and playmats obviously carry over; but a note about card sleeves is that the Pokemon TCG’s size is the same as Magic: The Gathering, so any card sleeves that fit a Magic card will also fit a Pokemon card. With those two points out of the way, I’ll say a word about Theme Decks, Pokemon’s way of helping new players get in the game.
Theme Decks are hard for me to recommend, though they do have a purpose. The only time that I could honestly recommend a Theme Deck to a new player is when they have no other options, and simply don’t care. Though Theme Decks are fun and easy to use, they are often not a very fun experience for those playing them. The sum of the parts does not add up to what you pay for the Theme Deck, if you buy each single card individually from a local game shop or an online retailer. For example, many Theme Decks like to include two copies of a few Supporter-type cards that allow you to draw a few more cards when you play them, a number of items that vary in usefulness, a dozen or so Pokemon to use and a handful of Energy to round out the deck. For the price that you pay to grab one of these Theme Decks, you could be well on your way to constructing a deck of your choosing with sets of cards that you actually want to play, instead of hoping to draw into your useful cards. While Theme Decks can be fun in a sealed environment where everyone is on an equal playing field, they are not especially conducive to a fun game for either party if your opponent is playing their own deck, and are ultimately not for the average player who wants to learn the game.
So what options are there for a new player? How do you get started in the game when all that you have is a Base Set Rattata to your name? The best recommendation for building a deck that I can give is to pick a tempo you would like your deck to run at,
from fast to slow, and look at a number of options that suit that desire. The Pokemon TCG is relatively cheap to pick up and play, though rare gold variants can easily burn a hole in your wallet if you let them. Your first major purchase when building a deck should probably be a few playsets (4 count) of some key trainer cards. These cards are included in nearly every deck, and are very healthy for your game, no matter what your strategy is. Because of their effects, these can be included in any deck that you play, and are super cheap due to being reprinted in a number of sets. The total for four of each of these should not reach above $5, as each can be found online at 0.50 cents each. If you are the type of person to want to play a number of decks, buying multiple sets of these may be worth your while as they will undoubtedly make their way into all of your decks. It goes without saying, but if you are in the market for singles, you should try to maximize your orders with online retailers in order to minimize the cost to you in shipping. Some sites like Troll and Toad reduce shipping to free if you buy a certain monetary amount of singles, so I would recommend making a list of cards to look out for before you commit to a purchase. For example, I would probably also pick up a set of Double Colorless Energy, which runs about a dollar and change for a single copy. This is a more specialized purchase, but many Pokemon attacks are fueled by Colorless Energy, which makes them very valuable to players.
If you know for a fact what type of deck you want to play, the best advice I can give is to simply purchase singles or trade what you may already have. Many non-EX Pokemon are under a dollar each, while many Trainer cards can be used in a variety of decks to support a number of Pokemon. This makes it easier to buy a set of cards that cover a variety of needs, and then mix and match to build a deck you might have an idea about. Examples of cards I would recommend buying a playset of (4 copies) would be Professor Sycamore, Ultra Ball, Escape Rope/Switch, Trainer’s Mail, Muscle Band, and VS Seeker. These cards are all relatively cheap and will help out most any deck, though the most important on this list to double check would be VS Seeker and Muscle Band. Both of these cards fetch a higher price than most Trainer cards, and are less likely to be reprinted, as many of the other cards have historically.
What do I mean by reprint? With the exception of Muscle Band and VS Seeker, these cards are very commonly included in new sets, “reprinted,” and are almost guaranteed to stay tournament legal for the 2015-2016 season. While Pokemon cards do vary in legality, many old cards with the same name may be used in place of newer cards; this means you can still play with Potion, Rare Candy, Rainbow Energy and more, though you may be asked to bring a reference card at a tournament. A list of legal sets and legal cards from older sets can be found here!
Cards that I would recommend grabbing in lesser numbers are Lysandre, Teammates, Professor’s Letter, Steven, Pokemon Center Lady, Xerosic, Super Scoop Up and AZ. These are all powerful cards that are definitely worth considering if your deck needs them, but are often only included in minimal numbers for options.
Finally, cards that are worth picking up if you know what deck you want to play would include specific Stadium Cards, type-specific Energy Cards, Rare Candy, Korrina, Dive Ball, Blacksmith, Rainbow Energy, and Energy Switch, among many other Trainer Cards that fit into more specific decks. These cards will not always be useful to you, but are often very valuable to specific deck strategies, while remaining light on cost. Remember that while gold rare cards have the same effect when played, they carry a much higher value. If you manage to rip into a gold card in a pack, know that it could kickstart your Pokemon TCG collection if you choose to trade it!
Lastly, with card games comes a ton of accessories to play and keep your collection safe, which leads me to the Elite Trainer Box. The current Elite Trainer Box (ETB) comes with a number of packs from a single set (currently Roaring Skies), a pack of 65 card sleeves, a set of small dice and one large die, a number of basic energy cards, all packaged in a shoebox which doubles as a container for your collection. I simply cannot recommend this item enough for new players. It solves every problem that a new player faces; including starting a small collection, having card sleeves to use as protection for their playing deck, having gameplay items, and having a box to keep everything
neatly together in. These can be found for as cheap as $30 in some locations, but don’t be surprised to see $40 price tags. It is up to you to decide whether or not it is worth the investment, but it is a purchase that you will likely not regret, as they tend to go out of print before the set itself. The packs that come included in the ETB will include a number of Pokemon and Trainer cards that you can use to build a deck straight away, or you can sit on them and see if anyone wants to trade with you. Either way, the box and gameplay accessories are very cool and essential to new players which makes this a great buy in my book.
The next step on this journey starts to become more tailored to the individual player, as you will have to make a lot of decisions. The main choices that you must make is what type of Pokemon do you want to play in your deck, and which Pokemon of that type do you want to include in your deck to support your game plan? Once you figure out what type of cards you want to play, you will be easily set up to make a big jump into the game! In my coming articles I will review a number of deck choices to suit a number of play styles, so keep your eyes peeled!
