Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Current State of the game… As seen by Jimmy Ballard

Even with all the card drawing and stuff present in a Machamp deck, it's still only 50-50 to have the *chance* to donk based on the initial coin flip, and then once they have the opportunity to go second, it's still 90% at best to complete the donk.
 
^ Just for the record... Machamp donks wouldn't be all that bad if we had an optional mulligan. It would improve your chances at that extra basic by quite a lot.
 
^ and improve the other player's chances of starting with Machamp-Rare Candy-Machop-Fighting Energy.
 
Obviously, the mulligan rule would have to be: "If you only have 1 Basic in hand, you may have an extra mulligan"

That would prevent most players for going for the ideal hand.
 
Or just make the mulligans to 6 cards instead of 7 and allow it only once. Like i've been suggesting for awhile.
 
yoyofsho16 said:
I don't really like the idea of choosing 3 "Starter" Pokemon. It would ruin a lot of concepts and deck building ideas, such as only needing to have 1 Pachirisu, 1 Sableye, etc. Not a way I want the game to go.

An alternative concept for me is that there should be a rule stating that you can not win by benching your opponent if it is your first prize you have taken. There would be a requirement of it at least being your second prize that you have taken before your opponent loses from having no bench.
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I'm pretty new to the game, so this idea might not work well, but here it is. Why not change the rule so that if a player has no active Pokemon at the beginning of his/her turn, instead of the game ending, the opposing player draws a prize card. That would ensure that each game has a minimum of six turns, and give the players some "start-up" time.
 
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I just signed up for these forms. I'm an old school player from the WotC days. This disturbs me. I was hoping to get back into the game and have as much fun as when I was a kid.

There are always the archetypes, and a lot of people playing them. It was riptide Feraligatr in my day. Most people want to win, so they go with these proven winners. Understandable. Heck, I remember seeing match after match of the same decks. How boring. This game has a lot of untapped strategical plays that could be made, but only if you make it past the first turn!

Since I'm new to the forums, maybe someone can enlighten me as to if Nintendo gives a Hoothoot about this game? I see there have been a lot of expansion sets made in the last 5 years. It appears as if the tournament environment has improved since I last played, meaning it's a little more appealing and available, but the game itself appears to be in a rut.

I can always play against my friends and have interesting battles, but a tournament environment of that caliber would be even more welcome.
 
Ultimately, Pokemon Trading Card Game designers probably shouldn't define such powerful, game ending, one energy attacks...

Jimmy's solution is ok, just not enough. Lose the no bench win.

At the end of you opponents turn, if he or she has no Pokes, take prize. Guaranteed six turns.
 
I say leave benched wins in. But, like my favorite TCG (Lord of the Rings), you get to pick your 1-to-3 starters, up to some acceptable cumulative HP limit (ie., 120 HP).

Benched wins need to remain for the sole purpose that playing only zero-to-one Pokemon at a time can become abusive (ie., no retreat costs, don't like the basic Poke in your hand, Magikarp start).
 
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I see the possibility of a player trying to play without a bench, if they are not getting the pokemon they want. I don`t think it would be very effective. Being on the bench, or in play, would still be the only way to get your pokemon powered up for the bigger attacks. I think it would be very hard to win a game without the support of pokemon on the bench.
 
To be honost with you all guys, what the author of this article say is exactly my point I'm not playing pokemon TCG anymore, the further the expansion is the uniqueness of this TCG is fading away. Instead of banned the cards that overpowered and make the new one that more balance they just keep making the new one more powerful, so what's the point holding the old cards?

I like this TCG because the old cards still can be a competitive card in the current state of the game, but when condition is like this, what use of it? and I lost my passion playing this game. I don't get the fun anymore. So I go to another TCG card that still can bring fun to me.

If they changed the rule like other TCG just what's differences?

Bring back the old one please, I used to love playing this game, I used to enjoy playing this game, but what can I do when the condition still like this?
 
Supporters on the first turn IS the answer. Okay, so there are a few supporters which can assist in a donk (but very few, and not many that are actually playable), but for each first turn supporter-assisted donk that happens, there will be around 25 possible turn 1 wins that were saved by a Roseanne's or Bebe's on the first turn.

The game WAS like this before. It DID work. It did, and still doesn't, have a major flaw.

2/3 is stupid. The donk player gets such an advantage anyway, and think of how much longer events would take logistically. It makes no sense. With 2/3, we'd have to play less rounds, meaning we'd basically get in the same number of games in total, meaning the impact of any given donk is basically the same.
 
While I think it does suck getting donked, 1st turned, etc. I think its all part of the natural evolution of the game (no pun intended).

Look back to the days of Professor Oak, Item Finder, Computer Search, Bill, and the wonderous HAYMAKER. The G/SP deck(s) reminds me a lot of the haymaker deck where the point was to get the quick & fast KO before the opponent could get their setups. On the opposite side, the Kingdra and Machamp decks remind me of the Blastoise and other big evolution decks.

While the current format is fast, I don't think the answer lies in rules changes. The answer lies in either speeding up the "slower" control-ish decks and/or slowing down the faster T1 decks. However, this is likely to happen naturally when sets rotate. I'm sure the game will slow down again, but probably in a year or two. For the time being, we'll have to just deal with these decks as we have the haymaker, Sneasel, and Blaziken ex decks in their time.

Eventually someone will break them, its only a matter of time.
 
ShopCCNC said:
Current State of the game… As seen by Jimmy Ballard​

Hello to all Pokemon players,

First, I would like to say it has truly been a while since I have posted anything here outside the tournaments I host. I am sorry. Life has taken a firm grip and will not let go. I will try to participate more frequently in the future. Also note, Banginbox will no longer be posting here. ShopCCNC is the name that better suits my current mission for the game and life.

so will you be doing any tournies?
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I believe he's got 3-4 BRs in the Chicago area this time around. I know there's one this Saturday and another next Sunday, but I don't know where else he's got them going right now...
 
Yeah I got a problem with Auto Pilots too. I said in a previous post that there was an eccentric 5 year old running Dialga G Lock that his dad (A Master) made for him. He mopped up the tournament with the totally custom decks little kids like to run. I say custom because unlike rogues, customs usually have no strategy, as little children lack the knowledge to construct something like that. Also, I was playing one of the best (Top 4) Seniors in Delaware (Forgot his name) and he ran a deck that constantly recycled Infernape 4 Lv X and Luxray G Lv X. I have never seen a build like that or even using the same strategy. This was a fun deck to play against. Not so much for the Dialga G Lock deck.

This is why I don't believe in Meta-Game. There is no skill required. I remember back in the day (1999- Early 2000s) when a deck was quite literally your personal preferences, favorite Pokemon, how you want to play, Luck, Etc. An embodiment of your personality, so to speak. (I liked Venusaur because it seemed like it was slow and easy going, like me. You'll see where I'm going, just read on). Now, PUI is still trying to instill that quality in starter guides and tutorials, but in the large scale competitive environment, this doesn't exist. It doesn't seem like the Pokemon I used to know and love, since I was 3 and got my very first pack of Base Set in 1998. My first deck was Venusaur, because it was my starter in the games. I loved Venusaur. Now, no one would really think to build a deck around him. So, the main point of the TCG, which is repeated a lot by PUI, is defeated by PUI's trying to be like YuGiOh. I know, I play Yugioh. To relate, a Dialga G Lock deck is the Pokemon equivalent of Monarchs (Which I run) but insanely unfair. They're both fast, aggressive, and difficult to play against. The difference is that Monarchs have tons of variations and possible combinations, enough to make a Deck unique. Dialga, on the other hand, is usually the same or a very similar build. Dialga also requires no skill to use, while the Monarch's variations in Deck build requires tons of skill to make a deck that works. They both dominate the Meta-Game, but Pokemon is insanely cheap. Why is it so cheap? Monarchs lock, like Dialga G, but there are 7 of 'em. So getting the right one for the situation is purely luck. Dialga, there's only one, and it does the job of all or most of the Monarchs. Plus, Dialga is easier to play. The Monarchs are like Stage 1s, but Dialga's a basic. See what I mean? Dialga G Lock is pretty much an exponentially broken type of deck in Pokemon compared to the Monarchs is YuGiOh.

Wow. That was quite a rant. I guess I REALLY hate Dialga G.
 
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I feel T1 Donk decks should have been addressed back in D/P with the release of Infercatty. It really is unfair to the game. In other TCGs, let's use Yu-gi-oh as an example, when enough players abuse a combo, the administration bans the more broken of the cards used. Pokemon has never taken this approach, and i do not feel they should. But their counter to the T1 decks were even more broken combos. Big Heavy basics with enough support to easily enter the top tiers of the format. There's really nothing more frustrating to bear than a Dialga with 4 sp. metals on it, 10 hp away from getting KO'd, and your opponent has a guarenteed SSU in their hand. IMO, the next sets to come out should be below average in all the cards, that way, when SP blows over the game itself will slow down, like the speed of the decks in the Delta cycle. They take more thought, more skill, and there were still a couple "auto-pilot decks" as you describe them, a very accurate description.

To relate, a Dialga G Lock deck is the Pokemon equivalent of Monarchs (Which I run) but insanely unfair. They're both fast, aggressive, and difficult to play against.
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we also don't have an equivalent of Pulling the Rug, or Intercept for SP pokemon to counter-balance it.
 
Im going to post my opinion not as a Pokemon tcg Player, but as a general tcg player.
In other games, I quite enjoyed using these "Donk" decks that you claim to have such a problem with. I would agree, that decks like Speedrill and kingdra, are fast, and effective, and can shovel out a donk quite easily. They are also very inconsistent.
My biggest problem with threads like this is that, instead of adapting to the new meta game, instead they try and take steps backwards, removing any "threats" along the way. That is one of the bigger complaints people have with yugioh, is the constant need for Konami to change card texts, rulings and banlists...all BKSS.
Does your region have alot of donk decks? Try teching 2-3 Mr.Mime instead of complaining about how "cheap" or "unSOTG" it is. OP is Survival of the Fittest imo, Either evolve with the metagame, or be left 0-5.
@ People who claim donk decks take no skill/call them "Auto Pilot" decks. I have to disagree. Deck construction in donk decks, BECAUSE they are so inconsistant, is more important than in decks that plan on winning in 6 turns+. As for actually playing the deck. How is playing speedrill any different then playing any other deck? I could argue that it is no different then playing a Mother Gengar or Ge-Champ deck.

TL:DR
Before we all start going ban happy, take a step back and think about how we can adapt to the increasing meta game instead of taking the easy way out.

~Jin+

And I do not play a donk deck in Pokemon TCG :D
 
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