About the format:
Worlds: Reversal was bad and very luck based, but it allowed the format to be a little bit more skillfull, because your bench was quite save.
It allowed people to believe their bench was safe, and if the person running
Pokemon Reversal was unfortunate, your Bench was safe. There was a reason decks often ran high on
Pokemon Reversal and
Junk Arm: some decks could afford to use
Pokemon Reversal eight times.
After Worlds: Catcher now allows speedy decks that profit from the turn1 ruling and don't even need skill to play them.
Wasn't this kind of already happening before Worlds? If it wasn't, it was more due to the format being "fresh" than anything. Plus,
Pokemon Catcher/
Pokemon Reversal/
Junk Arm aren't responsible alone: look at the basic Pokemon we've got! Even before Pokemon EX were released, we has Basic Pokemon that would have made fair Stage 2 Pokemon!
For me there are 4 things to do, if we want to have a more balanced and skillbased format:
1. Remove the Turn1 Ruling
2. Ban Catcher
3. Ban Reversal in order to remove a highly played luck-card with same effect as catcher has
4. Probably ban Mewtwo to ensure, that there are less donks
1. Designing balanced cards would solve this as well, plus it would be better in the long run. In the short term, however, altering the Turn 1 rules
yet again sadly is more than likely the only option. So it really comes down to long term versus short term. After all, the reason the rules
reverted back to what they used to be was because of the desire to simplify and steam-line the game.
2 & 3. Be cautious. When formats lack good Bench disruption, we get a different set of problems. If the Bench becomes totally safe except for Snipers, expect everyone to pack a 2-1-2 line of something like Magnezone Prime (e.g. a useful Bench sitter) and if running another Stage 2, just run a competent line for it and max out on
Rare Candy. We've have several formats where "the useful Bench sitter" was almost universal. We really need a more balanced form of Bench Disruption before this could happen.
Plus I just dislike banning cards.
4) What about other donks? Remember a certain amount of "donk" potential is thought to be for the benefit of the game. When there is no real threat of it, players can get really reckless with their deck designs. Before I sound like I really want it happening, a while ago several people proposed alternatives. Most revising the rules.
I liked the idea of your opponent just taking a Prize at the beginning of each of his/her turns when you lack any Pokemon in play. The player who does score a donk/player who gets donked isn't out of the game, but if s/he can't recover fast s/he is still probably a goner.
For me Dark Explorers doesn't change anything. We get strong EX basics again, get a new energy engine together with some stage1s that can deal enormous damage in turn2. Still fast, still luck based, still decided by a flip at the beginning of the game. Not healthy for the game to be serious. ;D
Talking about being serious then using a big, grinning wink (;D) makes your statement confusing. It's like that guy who ends everything with "just kidding". Praise or insult, you just don't know if he is serious and lying or doesn't get you aren't supposed to do that.
Of course, I suppose the emoticon could mean something different I am unaware of.
You've almost hit the real problem. Damage is way to high for the HP scores we have. There are a lot of fundamental aspects of the game I think that power creep has finally exposed as problematic. Before there was usually something more pressing hiding it... which indeed there almost is now (see your earlier list of grievances).
The TCG doesn't translate directly to the video game and vice versa, but that means HP, for example, is about the only way to represent video game HP, DEF, and S. DEF. Plus levels are fairly meaningless, so on average, a fully Evolved Pokemon should be close to the max HP, regardless of Stage (but excepting mechanics like Pokemon EX). From there, adjust attack damage so that we don't have blazing fast decks. :biggrin:
