Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Best Road To Worlds?

Paperfairy

Paperfairy

New Member
My goal this format is to play in Worlds 2009. In order to conserve funds, I will not be buying booster packs, but rather, lots of singles, and I most likely won't buy said cards until the night before each tournament - so that I am sure that I will playing those particular cards. Which of the following methods would be more prudent?

$ - (original plan) Play with proxies the entire season and grind into Worlds 2009

$$ - Play in lots of ranked touraments (which means buying new cards with each tournament, as the format is never constant) and work for an invite to Worlds 2009

$$$ - Stop being cheap and buy boosters/singles all season, whilst playing in lots of tournaments (least favorite option, cards are expensive)

I need to know which option to take seeing as how Battle Roads are next week.
 
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Playing in BRs is warm up now

the best bet is to be consistent all season. You dont have to win all yout tourneys you attend,but place high and steal points. BRs have some points,but its more losing them than gaining really.

So do well at States and Regionals and Nats,and u should be fine,and also dominate Cities as they are gonna be many.
 
Buying cards the night before a tournament will leave you without cards until they are shipped to you. That's one thing to consider.

Another is that the Grinder is wildly unpredictable. You might think you have the winner deck and then Scizor/Toxicroak walks right over you. It happens. I wouldn't rely on grinding in because there is a huge chance you won't make it.

The smartest thing to do would be to play in as many premiere events as you can, and be conservative with your spending. I don't think you'll NEED to buy boosters, but trades are often easier on the wallet than buying singles.
 
It depends on what your funds are BUT DON'T buy booster packs.

Booster Boxes are the way to go. They give you a wide array of trainers, uncommon pokemon, rares and holos and a much better deal than single boosters.
Singles are also a good route to go.

IF you have the money.
You can save up for a box every set I am sure. You can get em for like 80 bucks or so. It seems like a lot, but the average American Teenage consumer usually can find a way to make this money by saving, mowing lawns, getting a job, hitting up parents, birthdays, special occasions etc.

Money is a problem for a lot of us, BUT this game really isn't that expensive compared to most card games, so you should be happy with that. Testing with proxies always works great.

OH, and possibly the most vital tool. BORROW FROM FRIENDS. Friends are good! If you need that Gliscor Lv. X for a big tournament, don't go out and spend 20 bucks on it when you know your friend has one he's not using. Countless times I've been short maybe 1 or 2 cards for my deck, but all my Poke-friends help me out.

Just be glad you aren't playing Yu-Gi-Oh.
 
Enjoy yourself.
have fun.
Don't bankrupt yourself - whatever plan you go for make sure you can afford it.
Grinding in is tough.
 
Elm is right, the people who play this game are great at helping each other out. You wont find that in Magic or Yugioh.
 
It's all about sucking up other people's points. Don't play until a 32k event (States, Regis, Nats); you'll go into the event with a 1600, which means you'll bring down anybody in the 1700-1800 range after Cities. That levels the playing field to get you an invite.
 
Best chance? Nationals. Ratings are hard to do, and less than 1% out of Masters get invited through ratings in NA. At least at Nationals, you have a chance to make top 8 and get an invite, and it doesn't take a full year of spending money and traveling to get there, either. But it will require work getting ready for Nationals.

edit: Actually, you might have a better chance at the Grinder in California since many of the good players will be in already and there should be less players in the Grinder than at Nationals (in Masters). Not by much, but a little less.
 
Nationals is definitely not the easiest.

The Grinder isn't easy but would be the best single event to qualify from.

Rating isn't easy but is doable. Depends where you live and/or how much you're willing to spend. It is possible to qualify with one spectacular finish at a State or Regional and top cut showing at Nationals. I should know considering I did it.
 
Having grindered in myself, I feel comfortable saying THE GRINDER IS NEVER A GUARANTEE.

Yamato failed to grinder in (other speculations about his list that year aside).

Not playing Cities, States, or Regionals is sacrificing your chance to practice. Getting into worlds is tough, don't forget that.
 
I got my invite this past year on ratings by getting first in my Regional and winning a bunch of cities and Battle Roads. I didn't play in States or Nats (I was judging both).

If you can judge some smaller events, that'll cut back on your costs.

Really, play. It's difficult, especially in our age group, to sit out for so long and then jump into a major qualifier (Nats, Grinder). Battle Roads and Cities are free, so even if you don't have the best arche-type deck, go for it. Learning how people play decks and understanding trainer engines will help you out, and the trainer engines have changed this format.
 
Lil_Magma said:
Grinding is a bad Idea
Click to expand...

I would 100% agree with you.

mrdraz07 said:
It's all about sucking up other people's points. Don't play until a 32k event (States, Regis, Nats); you'll go into the event with a 1600, which means you'll bring down anybody in the 1700-1800 range after Cities. That levels the playing field to get you an invite.
Click to expand...

That is a horrible plan, I'd rather be at 1700-1800 rather then try to beat players who already up that high. First off you have to be paired against them and secondly you have to actaully win. I think that isn't the best solution. I think playing in as many tournaments (if you can) or just doing well at a majority of them will go a long way to helping you get an invite.

Prime said:
Best chance? Nationals. Ratings are hard to do, and less than 1% out of Masters get invited through ratings in NA. At least at Nationals, you have a chance to make top 8 and get an invite, and it doesn't take a full year of spending money and traveling to get there, either. But it will require work getting ready for Nationals.

edit: Actually, you might have a better chance at the Grinder in California since many of the good players will be in already and there should be less players in the Grinder than at Nationals (in Masters). Not by much, but a little less.
Click to expand...

Grinder is a crap shoot. I think that Nationals is almost as big of one as well. None of them are easy to do and it would be a poor choice to try to compare which is easy because your goal should be the following. Rating Invite (which would include trying to do well at Nationals), Nationals, and if you then still haven't made it then you Grind. It is called the Last Chance Qualifier for a reason. :tongue:

ChaosJim said:
Having grindered in myself, I feel comfortable saying THE GRINDER IS NEVER A GUARANTEE.

Yamato failed to grinder in (other speculations about his list that year aside).

Not playing Cities, States, or Regionals is sacrificing your chance to practice. Getting into worlds is tough, don't forget that.
Click to expand...

See, I also grinded in, I can promise you that it is NOT easy at all. Until you actually "Grind In" you can't really respect how hard it really is. I mean sure someone who didn't make it could say that same thing, but I feel it has more legitimacy coming from a player who has actually suceeded in doing it.

DreamChaser AJ said:
I got my invite this past year on ratings by getting first in my Regional and winning a bunch of cities and Battle Roads. I didn't play in States or Nats (I was judging both).

If you can judge some smaller events, that'll cut back on your costs.

Really, play. It's difficult, especially in our age group, to sit out for so long and then jump into a major qualifier (Nats, Grinder). Battle Roads and Cities are free, so even if you don't have the best arche-type deck, go for it. Learning how people play decks and understanding trainer engines will help you out, and the trainer engines have changed this format.
Click to expand...

I actually like this plan. It is a very smart and if your a good enough player it would definately work to your advantage. :thumb:

Drew
 
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"Best" IMO is an incorrect way to phrase what you're doing. What you are really asking is "What is the most effective way to earn an invite to worlds 2009?"

Anyways, having been in your shoes (more by circumstance than deliberate planning), I can give some strong commentary on this issue:

-Battle Roads, while not that significant, "are" valuable in the long run. I would not invest much time into these if I were YOU, but they are still an opportunity go get your feet wet, and possibly earn a few crucial points to really put you over the edge in points.

-Cities are where a ranking invitee will make his or her killing. If your goal is nothing beyond the invitation, then invest the VAST majority of your time, effort, and money into cities. If you do really well during this portion of the season, you WILL get an invite.

-I would never sit out states, regionals, or nationals "just" for an invite, but since we're talking about your goal, I would advise that you sit on your ranking after having earned a ton of points through cities. If your points are not comfortably high enough, then play until they are.
 
I grinded in and I still think it is statistically ridiculously hard. If you're a good player and can play in lots of tournaments, ratings is your easiest (though still very hard) chance.
 
The best way seriously, is the best way you can be yourself in and you'll not have to anger yourself in what way or another.

I started almost a year ago now, and on my first Championship I ended 4th (Played G&G, but my deck did not include call energy or double rainbow as I did not own them or had the money for them atm)

And I have to say again, the best way that suits you is the way to go. I was the one who playtested alot against numbers of decks with all kinds of proxies in it. It gives you a huge advantage if you know what to expect. So proxy-play is supported by me.

Also entering some Battleroads can give you some player advantage, familiar faces you probably don't want to end up first game in your Championship. But appart from that this isn't the best way to learn the whole gaming curve.

Buying all you can (a stadium I'm now suffering in :O) Isn't the way to go either, you'll see so many deck options you don't even spend time in 1. And knowing your own deck (weaknessess and pro's) leads to victory.
 
ALthough I am pretty curious about the BEST way to get in. I mean I know the local PTO and such but I am stranded carless at college and am forced to bum rides. I can hit uo like 2 BRs, prob make a City, maybe states, def a regional, not sure about nats. So what is the BEST way to get in. How easy is it to get rating over nats success? IDK cause the last time i was at worlds the current invite system was no in place

Ror
 
Thank you all for your help. I am assuming (since some of you did not directly answer) that the most efficent method for me is to simply buy cards before a tournament, and play consistently in tournaments, rather than JUST play at one tournament and spend the least amount of money, or compile a massive, expensive, collection.

Correct?
 
I disagree that Ratings is easier than Nationals/Grinder. I think people underestimate how many events you have to attend and how many events you have to do well at to keep a high rating. If your like Scizor, and just do well at 2 big events, isn't that just like doing well at one big event like Nationals or the Grinder? At least in those two cases, you get your invite right then. It's almost worse having to do well at States/Regionals since that is multiple chances that you can be messed over by bad luck/matchups/skill.

If your like some who go to a ton of Battle Roads and Cities, what if you don't have a ton in your area? What if you don't do well at all of them?

I feel it would be silly to suggest to anyone who might not have the funds to travel thousands of miles each year to shoot for ratings.

My advice is focus on Nationals, and hope to do well at the events you can attend. After regionals are over, you can guess if you have a chance to earn enough points at Nationals to get a ratings invite, and if you don't, like 99% of the rest of the players in the nation, then just do your best in Nationals.
 
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