Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

How to Play Like a Pro

TheGeneral said:
Too much work with the tapping and the laying of energies, etc.

If a power is announced and used, both players should recognize and remember it for that turn. I would definitely remember when my opponent used Cosmic Power because I knew I didn't want them to use it again. I would like to assume that my opponent is somewhat intelligent and can remember whether he attached (not laying) an energy. And if he tries a second, I'll be there to say NOPE. Both players should be paying attention.

Also, what happens when my opponent forgets to reset his sideways supporter or tapped Poke-Power? That's just another way to confuse players, especially juniors. Having to do the moves, tap, lay, reset, draw, etc. gets to be a lot to do on top of playing.

Although I do agree with pile shuffling.
Click to expand...

I agree that the clean-up phase (when you reset the tapped pokemon and put the energy and supporters in the right place) can be hard to remember...but it's just a habit that you'll need to adapt and get used to.

While ideally it's great that some people can remember everything that they've done, some of us older folks can lose track of the number of times we've Roast Revealed or Afterburned or anything. I'd rather forget to clean up at the end of my turn and then discover that I forgot to clean up (at which point, I can just clean up quickly and reset everything) than to forget whether I've done something and my opponent will probably not be helpful, which means I have to not use a power or attach an energy just to be safe.
 
I like your tip about keeping the Supporter you played that turn turned sideways in the discard, as that change in how you deal with Supporters had to have been one of the most retarded rulings the officials have made out there (I still play mine out by the Active out of sheer habit). So your way of putting it in the discard would make it a lot easier to track per turn.
 
mosofor said:
Very handy article -- many thanks. I tend not to forget *most* of my moves during a turn, but I do sometimes forget if I've attached an energy or not. So I think laying the energy on top of the Pokémon is a habit I'm going to try to get into.
Click to expand...

I like this tip, but I'm not sure if it's legal to cover a pokemon that is in play. Shouldn't its information all be visible at all times while it is in play? Also how will you lay a card in top of a pokemon with damage counters on it?. That doesn't seem fair to your opponent, or legal (i'm not sure if it is), and if your damage counters are dice, it won't even work well. You'd have to move the damage counters on top of the energy, and honestly it seems like at that point the whole process would be simply frustrating for both players.

I suggest simply attaching the energy and letting it stick out about halfway from underneath the pokemon you attach it to, then just before you attack for your turn, slide the energy card down to where only the top bar is visible above your pokemon. I'm not sure I'd wait till after your attack to do it, because it might look like you just illegally attached an energy if your opponent fails to clearly see you do this. That seems like an easier and less potentially hazardous way to do it. I could see a Judge or opponent getting frustrated if you are covering up pokemon that are in play.

Another tip I'd offer is to leave your attached energies visible at all times while they are in play! I have had multiple opponents stack their energies underneath their Pokemon without even leaving the top bar showing, covering them completely so that I cannot readily see how many energy they have attached without asking. It is very frustrating (and I doubt it is legal).

Also, I agree on the damage and burn markers. Everyone should have these. It is annoying to have to loan them out. I usually only have one of each, and no tournament game should get clogged by a moment where someone has to scramble about to find some vague item to use as a damage counter. Also, turning the card indicates different special conditions, so I really do not like when people turn the card to indicate burn or poison, when turned card positions are supposed to designate asleep, confused, or paralyzed. That frustrates me (and once again is probably against the rules, lol). So yes, bringing your own burn and poison markers is as important as bringing damage counters. Every player should do it. A lot of players use a different color of dice from the rest of their damage counter dice in order to symbolize burn or poison, but I would not recommend that either, as it can make your pokemon appear to have a lot more damage on it than it does. It's sort of deceptive, and I think in order to be a professional player, it's important to be clear about everything you do and win the game fairly, not through confusion.
 
Last edited:
ShiningLion said:
I like this tip, but I'm not sure if it's legal to cover a pokemon that is in play. Shouldn't its information all be visible at all times while it is in play? Also how will you lay a card in top of a pokemon with damage counters on it?. That doesn't seem fair to your opponent, or legal (i'm not sure if it is), and if your damage counters are dice, it won't even work well. You'd have to move the damage counters on top of the energy, and honestly it seems like at that point the whole process would be simply frustrating for both players.
Click to expand...

Hm...I've never really had an issue with this and I use dice for damage. If you look at the picture that I provided in the article, I just lay the energy over the corner of the Pokemon card. I suppose it depends on how much playing space you have? Alternatively, you can also just play the energy above or below the Pokemon and move it under the Pokemon at the end of your turn. But again, that depends on how you arrange your play area. As long as it's clear where the energy is attached and your cards are visible, it should be fine.
 
I found this article to be extremely useful to me, and I have been playing in the competitive meta for 3 years. So no matter how much the experience, I find this can help anyone who just wants a few tips and tricks.
 
Regarding poison/burn markers, if you plan on poisoning or burning your opponents pokemon during a game, YOU should be able to provide a marker to correspond with that effect. And as far as damage counters are concerned, they should be a part of deckcheck. In my area, we have deckcheck for every event. The person(s) doing this could view the dice-counters-pebbles- whatever as part of checking the decklist. No valid counters or randomizers could qualify as an illegal deck. At league, it's no problem to loan someone some stuff, cause they didn't remember or can't buy them yet. At a tournament, you should be prepared, no excuses.
 
Last edited:
So, I managed to eek out a win at my local BRs this weekend: http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=155410

Practicing the sideways supporters tip helped a lot as I did often lose track of whether I played my supporter that turn and, indeed, the local judge was insistent that everyone discards their supporter immediately. I still forget to do the "clean phase" on occasion and I'm also not 100% with putting my deck in the middle at the start of each game, but the habits are building and I'm getting there.

A few of my friends were adapting some of the tricks as well. My fifth round opponent and I shared a laugh when we both put our decks in the active spot. :D
 
ShadowGuard said:
As far as I know, the randomization is slightly better if you have an uneven amount of cards that do not add up to 60. Like, 7 piles, 4 at the first "line" and 3 at the second, and you have all your cards when you end up completing your first line (8*7+4). That's how I and most other players I know do it.
Click to expand...

I always seven pile shuffle but I just wanted to say, no matter how many piles you make, there is nothing "random" about pile shuffling. If you start your deck in the same order, place on the piles in the same order, and stack the piles in the same order, your cards will always end up in the same order.

For this reason, I always riffle and shuffle my deck before and/or after pile shuffling.
 
shuffle the piles...

Very useful article! Thanks for putting it up. I'd like to add a little more to your hints.

I do a quick shuffle of the individual piles once all the cards are in the piles during a pile shuffle.

I also pick up the piles so that cards that were near each other before shouldn't be near each other again. So I pick up piles in this order 2,4,6,3,5,1 before shuffling them a few times as a whole pile.

As a judge I do not think it is ok to just name an amount of damage without at least pointing to the attack before saying the amount. I think it is even better practice to count it up aloud to be clear and to avoid mistakes. So with a dark pokémon with special dark I would point to the base attack, say the amount, and point to each special dark energy incrementing the count by 10 and then point to or name weakness/resistance to finish the tally.

Also, double check that your opponent agrees that their pokémon has been knocked out before taking your prize card. I usually put my hand near my prize cards as I attack to be sure I don't forget to take it if I am expecting to knock out their pokémon.
 
Awesome article. I tend to have a pretty bad memory, which is bad since I play Yanmega Magnezone, and I really think some of these simply plays will make it far easier to remember for the handmatch/Magnetic draw!
 
ogremarauder said:
Regarding poison/burn markers, if you plan on poisoning or burning your opponents pokemon during a game, YOU should be able to provide a marker to correspond with that effect. And as far as damage counters are concerned, they should be a part of deckcheck. In my area, we have deckcheck for every event. The person(s) doing this could view the dice-counters-pebbles- whatever as part of checking the decklist. No valid counters or randomizers could qualify as an illegal deck. At league, it's no problem to loan someone some stuff, cause they didn't remember or can't buy them yet. At a tournament, you should be prepared, no excuses.
Click to expand...

Just because someone doesn't use status in their deck it isn't an excuse not to have burn/poison markers. I do agree with the damage counters comment though, especially when someone plays a deck with Reuniclus and is moving damage all over the joint without counters, that should be a game loss right there.
 
I highly believe that the coins from starter decks should not be allowed to be used. This is coming from watching people essentially cheat the flip.

Your definition of a coin flip is nice but very few enforce that for some reason. This needs to be changed or ban the plastic coins.
 
Timespiral said:
I highly believe that the coins from starter decks should not be allowed to be used. This is coming from watching people essentially cheat the flip.

Your definition of a coin flip is nice but very few enforce that for some reason. This needs to be changed or ban the plastic coins.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with this. I hate them dang things.

This is really a great article and I learned a lot from it. There needs to be more like this. :smile:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top