Just a few questions from someone getting back into the game..

[DrkrZen]

Even though I played from the release of Base Set to Gym Challenge.. I haven't played for 6 years or so. And, during that time, the TCG has really changed a lot.

I started playing again about 3-4 months ago and I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things, but I've still got a few questions that could probably help make my good decks great ones.

First of all.. what does the term 'consistancy' mean with the card placement of a deck in mind?

Because that's one of my main problems with decks.. is inconsistancy. I seem to be able to always manage to draw the wrong card in a certain situation, or all the cards (i.e. every Pokemon Reversal in the deck) when I don't need them.

Other than that, how many draw cards should one aim to have? Draw cards being Cozmo, Mary, Bill, Fieldworker, etc. I usually do 4 of a certain card (that fits my deck better), but I see others run 2 diff. types. Should I aim 4-6 for these cards?

And, finally.. are there certain Pokemon that are just good starters that can be used in most decks? I've tried Jirachi DX, but my decks seem slow.. I'm thinking about Dunsparce LM for draw power early game, or Yanma UF, even.

Also, while I'm not terrible, I could always use some tips to help out. I think my main tip is KISS, 'Keep it simple, stupid.' ..lol 'cuz I always put in what I think can help, but it ends up being too much.

Anyway, thanks!

 

[moza]

Welcome back to the game!

Consistency refers to how often a deck does what it was made to do.

The amount of draw cards really depends on the kind of deck, and how many you want to have in it.

There are good starters that fit most decks, like Jirachi and Mawile(CG), but some starters are better than others in certain decks. Take Poli-Stall for example, Dunsparce works well because you Draw 2 cards AND switch with a fossil so not to get KO'd. Very useful in that deck, but almost unheard of in every other non-stall based deck.

 

[DrkrZen]

Ahh, okay.. and card counts will heavily determine consistancy, no doubt.

Thanks for that, moza. I appreciate the help!

 

[Tagrineth]

If you have bad luck with Jirachi DX, like I always have (I could never understand how those T2 control decks could be so consistent, my Jirachi wishing stars have always sucked), you can try a more specific starter.

Right now I'm a big fan of Mawile from CG, which guarantees any Trainer in your deck to your hand.

You can also boost turn 1-2 consistency with a Transceiver engine, also referred to as a Holon engine. The way it works is, there's a Trainer in exelta Species "Holon Transceiver" which lets you search your deck, OR your discard pile, for a Supporter card with Holon in its name. This can search for Holon Mentor (search for 3 basic pokemon), Holon Adventurer (discard 1, draw 3), Holon Farmer (return 3 pokemon *AND* 3 Energy from your discard to your deck), Holon Scientist (draw until your hand is the same size as your opponent's), or Holon Researcher (search deck for either a Metal Energy or any Delta pokemon).

Basically you can play four Transceivers, and get easy access to search from your deck AND retrieve from your discard pile whichever supporter you need. It's incredibly powerful.