POKEMON CLASSIC: Using only first two sets

[Clueless in Seattle]

Does anyone play games limited to the first two or so sets of cards?

My grandson introduced me to the Pokemon Trading Card Game a couple of years ago when he asked me to play it with him one time during a visit. Back then even he didn't really know how to play the game. He had a box of old cards and we'd each just a hand draw at randomout of the box. Then we would play by rules that he would make up as we went along. It turned out that he had the Gameboy versions of Pokemon, so he used the electronic version of the game as his model for how to play the card game.

Even though the rules changed from moment to moment at a nine-year-old's whim, I found the game to be an enjoyable way to spend time with my grandson, So I went to the SeattleFreeCycle web page and asked for some old Pokemon cards..

The cards I got were mostly from the Base and Jungle sets and I'm still fond of them because of their charming simplicity compared to the recent sets of increasingly complicated and complex cards.

So the other day while playing with my grandson I asked him what he thought of the idea of a game we could call "Pokemon Classic" in which we would limit ourselves to cards from the first two or so sets. He thought that would be a lot of fun.

So I'm wondering if there are any other old-timers out there who might be interested in trading notes on playing vintage cards from the early sets; sort of like stepping into a Pokemon Time Machine.

 

[Alazor]

Well if you include only Jungle and Base Set, then you could play a Haymaker deck based on basic pokemon...
Ellectabuzz and Hitmonchan being the most prominent, a deck based around Wigglytuff (Jungle) or Do the Wave Decks, Raindance-- based on Blastoise and Gyarados, Damage Swap-- based on Alakazam (Base Set) and Chansey (Base Set), and Venusaur along with Exeggutor (Jungle). I would say Fossil is also part of Classic... but these are the main decks Based off the first 2 sets.

Happy Independence day.

 

[Clueless in Seattle]

Well if you include only Jungle and Base Set, then you could play a Haymaker deck based on basic pokemon...

Cool! My first deck was a Haymaker. Back when I first started playing I found a web page called something like Pokemon Guide for Grandparents that showed how to build a Haymaker deck. I've still got the deck and looked at it last night as I was thinking about this idea for playing "Pokemon Classic."

Ellectabuzz and Hitmonchan being the most prominent, a deck based around Wigglytuff (Jungle) or Do the Wave Decks, Raindance-- based on Blastoise and Gyarados, Damage Swap-- based on Alakazam (Base Set) and Chansey (Base Set), and Venusaur along with Exeggutor (Jungle).

Thanks for all those suggestions, Alazor. I think this is going to be a lot of fun! (BTW, did I meet you a year or more ago over at Pojo.com?).

I would say Fossil is also part of Classic... but these are the main decks Based off the first 2 sets.

Thanks for that suggestion. That's one of the things I was going to ask, i.e., which sets should we include in our "legacy classic" list of legal sets. I've shied away from the Fossil cards because I could never understand how those Fossils worked. They seem pretty confusing to me.

Happy Independence day.

Likewise! We're having our first "mini-heatwave" of the summer out here in Seattle (four days in a row of sunshine with temps above 70 counts as a "heat wave" in Seattle). :wink:

 

[Alazor]

"Thanks for all those suggestions, Alazor. I think this is going to be a lot of fun! (BTW, did I meet you a year or more ago over at Pojo.com?)."

Yeah, that's me. You can either find me here or on POJO.

"Thanks for that suggestion. That's one of the things I was going to ask, i.e., which sets should we include in our "legacy classic" list of legal sets. I've shied away from the Fossil cards because I could never understand how those Fossils worked. They seem pretty confusing to me."

If you can understand how Clefairy Doll (Base Set) works, Mysterious Fossil should me no problem. Way back in the day we thought Clefairy Doll was invincible until we figured out how it really worked. Yes, Clefairy Doll used to be invincible. Now even Crobat G can beat it.

 

[yoyofsho16]

Haymaker would be the only playable deck...

Back to back posts merged. The following information has been added:

"Thanks for all those suggestions, Alazor. I think this is going to be a lot of fun! (BTW, did I meet you a year or more ago over at Pojo.com?)."

Yeah, that's me. You can either find me here or on POJO.

"Thanks for that suggestion. That's one of the things I was going to ask, i.e., which sets should we include in our "legacy classic" list of legal sets. I've shied away from the Fossil cards because I could never understand how those Fossils worked. They seem pretty confusing to me."

If you can understand how Clefairy Doll (Base Set) works, Mysterious Fossil should me no problem. Way back in the day we thought Clefairy Doll was invincible until we figured out how it really worked. Yes, Clefairy Doll used to be invincible. Now even Crobat G can beat it.

Clefairy Doll still has that prize denial though... <3

 

[tehmoe]

no way, you can totally play charstoise. with a bunch of ways to get energy and have a constant 100 damage a turn. make sure to run breeder and stuff. the deck would consist of at least 16 water energy and 2 fire energy. this deck is pwnage. or gengar/kazam and do damage control and with scoop ups you get a high hp basic like snorlax or onix in there with 4 scoop ups just start moving counters to onix and sccop him up its like free heals.

 

[Deoxys Cool Form]

no way, you can totally play charstoise. with a bunch of ways to get energy and have a constant 100 damage a turn. make sure to run breeder and stuff. the deck would consist of at least 16 water energy and 2 fire energy. this deck is pwnage. or gengar/kazam and do damage control and with scoop ups you get a high hp basic like snorlax or onix in there with 4 scoop ups just start moving counters to onix and sccop him up its like free heals.

Why the water energy?

 

[Shen]

I've always enjoyed the Pokemon TCG for the Gameboy. I still play it every so often, it features the first few sets of the TCG as well as exclusive promos to the game. The opponents more than often aren't all that challenging, but it's a fun game. You start out without many cards of your own... some may find it as a chore to collect enough to build a deck, but I found the challenge a bit fun. You're limited to your selection of cards at the beginning of the game because of your small collection, so you're encouraged to experiment with different ideas rather than just jumping into the game with an unstoppable deck. This also counteracts the sometimes dull intelligence of the early opponents, haha.

If that peaked your interest it may be worth looking into, that's really the only "classic" play I've ever done myself.

To contribute to the topic, I've tried many decks but the most successful would probably have to be Haymakers. I've also tried Exeggutor & Venusaur, Nidoqueen & Nidoking, Alakazam & Chansey, Wigglytuff and friends, Muk and friends, and various versions of Blastoise. Not all are perfect decks, but they're fun given the limits of the first few sets. I'm not sure which exactly the first two sets are, so I may have included all three.... (Base set, Fossil, and Jungle)

Back to back posts merged. The following information has been added:

no way, you can totally play charstoise. with a bunch of ways to get energy and have a constant 100 damage a turn. make sure to run breeder and stuff. the deck would consist of at least 16 water energy and 2 fire energy. this deck is pwnage. or gengar/kazam and do damage control and with scoop ups you get a high hp basic like snorlax or onix in there with 4 scoop ups just start moving counters to onix and sccop him up its like free heals.

Umm, Blastoise can only attach Water Energy to Water Pokemon

The only time I ever tried Charizard (In the Gameboy game, mind you), was in a failed Venusaur deck with a 1-0-1 Charizard... lol. When I needed a KO, I'd move all the Grass Energy to it and do 100. I found Chansey to be a better choice though. Pokemon Center works SO good with Venusaur, too, so you often removed the damage for another 80 if you didn't get KO'd (No discarding required).

The Gameboy game promotes a lot of "fun" play, you can easily get by with non-competitive decks.

 

[legotack]

^^So you can rain dance it onto Charizard, who can turn everything to fire energy.

 

[Shen]

Rain Dance reads:

Rain Dance - As often as you like during your turn (before your attack), you may attach 1 Water Energy Card to 1 of your Water Pokemon. (This doesn't use up your 1 Energy card attachment for the turn.) This power can't be used if Blastoise is Asleep, Confused, or Paralyzed.

 

[tehmoe]

i was trying to troll but i guess you guys didnt see where i was going lol.

 

[legotack]

^^I need to read better, sorry.

^Ha ha! I'm pretty slow.

 

[yoyofsho16]

No other decks were playable other than Basic decks, really.
I love the way it works:
Electabuzz is a main hitter.
Hitmonchan OHKO's it.
Scyther counters Hitmonchan with Resistance.
and some people even ran Magmar to counter Scyther.

 

[Articjedi]

I like articuno better than gyarados in rain dance, no crappy basic to mess you over when you get a bad start.