TCG Live comes to Canada, and we have the first look!
The Pokémon Trading Card Game Online is coming to an end and in it’s wake, a new era of TCG fun. It was teased in pre-release packs and later confirmed for launch in 2021. Delays are inevitable but we finally got word that a beta test was coming, and Canada was lucky enough to be chosen.
Show Us The Game
Now full transparency, I am not as in touch with the TCG as say, another writer on this site. So my knowledge of how things work aren’t the best. I’m here though to give you a first hand look at the game and what some of the feature are. All from the perspective of a new Pokemon TCG player.
Firstly, we have the game modes. You can choose between ranked and casual. Very obvious here, in ranked, you climb the ladder, and in casual, you play to have fun and learn how to use your deck.
You may be saying to yourself, “How long will it take to build a deck? How much will that cost?” Well worry not friend, the game starts you off with 9 decks to use. You are even given the chance to swap out cards and make it your own.
In-Game Currency
As far as cost goes, there are no micro transactions. The game does not want your money. That’s very comforting to know, that others can’t just pay to have the best cards. There is three different in-game currencies that you can acquire through game play.
Coins
Coins are for buying avatar items and deck accessories. These can be earned by completing quests, leveling up and achieving new tiers in the battle pass.
That’s right, there is a battle pass system. As usual there is a free and paid pass which can be bought using Crystals.
Crystals
Crystals can also be used for purchasing booster packs and bundles. You will earn Crystals the same way you do Coins. You are also able to spend Crystals to buy Coins if you so choose.
Credits
Credits are used to purchase individual cards. These Credits can be obtained by achieving new tiers in the battle pass and leveling up. They are found in certain bundle packs too.
Also when acquiring a 5th copy of a card in your collection. The 5th card will automatically be traded for credits. If you want that Rainbow Rare Arceus VSTAR from the new Brilliant Stars set, it’s gonna set you back 1600 Credits.
The game does start you off with a small, but fair amount of currencies, so you are able to fiddle around with the various features.
Keep in mind, this is the beta so things may vary when the full game is released later. I know this was the case with Pokémon UNITE. I was able to obtain all the Licenses within a few hours of playing. Not so easy now is it.
Final Thoughts
Overall I’m very excited for Pokémon TCG Live as I will now have a reason to uses all those code cards I’ve been collecting. I hope you are just as pumped as I am and I can’t wait to battle some of you.
See you around, Genesect!
