I'm new, but this isn't an introductory topic

[JoeyP]

For starters, in some ways I guess you could consider this an introduction topic. I apologize as I couldn't find a sub-forum that would have been more suitable.

I have recently learned to play the Pokemon TCG. Like almost everyone I have experience with pokemon in general dating back to when it first hit big in western culture. I've played all the video games and even played competitively circa 2007 during the SkarmBliss era, so I'm not completely oblivious to the pokemon universe. I'm also fairly seasoned when it comes to card games. I played yugioh competitively for a couple years and managed to get a couple regional tops, and I also know how to play MTG, though not competitively. With all that said, I am looking to up my knowledge on the pokemon TCG, so it would be great if someone could answer some questions.

1. What exactly determines skill in this game? In YGO/MTG card presence theory and positive 1s are vital stepping stones towards becoming a better player. What exactly would you recommend as far as mechanics and overall play are concerned? Such as optimal energy management and the like.

2. What terminology would you consider to be the most integral? Just by browsing around I have already noticed words such as "judged" and "sniped." It would help a lot if someone could explain those as well as any others I might need to know.


3. What are the top decks at the moment, and why are they so good? Why are they strong in certain match-ups; etc etc

4. Is there a competitive Pokemon scene in or around North Carolina/South Carolina/Virginia?


Thanks in advance

[kwisdumb]

Firstly, welcome to the game!

1. What exactly determines skill in this game? In YGO/MTG card presence theory and positive 1s are vital stepping stones towards becoming a better player. What exactly would you recommend as far as mechanics and overall play are concerned? Such as optimal energy management and the like.

I think deckbuilding is the best skill a Pokemon player can have. With all the coin flips and turn one wins in the game right now there is so much luck involved that mastering the one aspect you can control can be very important. As far as in-game though, consistency matters more than anything in Pokemon, and right now getting set-up as fast as possible is the key to winning, as there are very few ways of making a comeback. Play consistent lists that allow you to get set-up and establish board control faster than your opponent and you will most likely do well.

2. What terminology would you consider to be the most integral? Just by browsing around I have already noticed words such as "judged" and "sniped." It would help a lot if someone could explain those as well as any others I might need to know.

I think there are a few topics that cover most of the terminology (I know the Gym used to have one, and Pokebeach has one as well that's decent). Overall, if you're concerned about something feel free to ask someone, as most people here are friendly and down to help.

To answer your question, Snipe means to be able to hit any Pokemon on the field. Most attacks target the Pokemon that's set as active (referred to as the 'Defending Pokemon') but there are a few attacks that can hit the bench, which is import for taking out support Pokemon.

Judge is a card that says both players shuffle their hands into their decks and draw 4. This is a great form of disruption, especially against a few fairly popular decks.

3. What are the top decks at the moment, and why are they so good? Why are they strong in certain match-ups; etc etc

The BDIFs right now are LuxChomp and Jumpluff.

LuxChomp utilizes the SP engine (basically a series of cards that benefit this one theme and only this one theme). Luxray (half of the combo piece that makes up LuxChomp) can force your opponent's benched Pokemon to become active, which helps for taking out support guys or guys they're setting up, as well as locking up a heavy retreat cost guy while you set up. Luxray is the best card in the game because of this power. Garchomp (the other half) has an attack for a double colorless than can snipe 80 (a magic number in the current format), and also has a Power that heals all of your SP Pokemon in play. There are also a number of tricks to the SP engine, including a card that lets you return one to your hand at no cost, a card that can be played as an interrupt to stop a Poke power, a card that makes attacks cheaper, and a few other things. It's a bit confusing but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it.

Jumpluff is a card that has an attack that costs a single Grass energy, and says for every Pokemon in play that attack does 10 damage. You couple this with the Luxray mentioned earlier, along with heavy draw power and it's a beast. It's a fragile card, but you should be scoring a KO every turn anyway so it doesn't really matter. Pro player Chris Fulop wrote an article about it that you can find by looking on the front page (maybe a few pages back) of this site. He explains the deck better than anyone else and really covers what makes it so great.

4. Is there a competitive Pokemon scene in or around North Carolina/South Carolina/Virginia?

I'm not certain, but I'm sure someone here will be able to help you out.

Again, welcome to the game and please let me know if you have any other questions!

[Argyris]

Kwisdumb covered a lot, but I'd like to add some to it.

2. Here's some of the terms you'll probably see a lot:

Donk: Knocking out a player's only Pokemon on the first turn of the game and winning turn 1 as a result.
Snipe: This term refers to attacks that can attack an opponent's benched Pokemon. Examples are Garchomp C LvX's Dragon Rush and Gengar SF's Shadow Room
Judge: Simply put... http://pokegym.net/gallery/displayim...?imageid=50179
Power Lock: When one player prevents the other from using Poke-Powers. Example: Mesprit LA's Psychic Bind
Trainer Lock: Same as above, except with trainers instead of powers. Example: Spiritomb AR's Keystone Seal
SP: SP Pokemon are labeled with an "SP" at the bottom left corner of the illustration. Despite the fact that most of them are fully evolved Pokemon (like Crobat), they're all basic Pokemon and have a multitude of trainers that are specific to them (Cyrus's Conspiracy and trainers with "Team Galactic's Invention" in their names).
Level X: A mechanic similar to evolving, following many of the same rules (no evolving on the turn you play a Pokemon, unless you have an exception). A Level X Pokemon may use the attacks, PokePowers, and PokeBodies of the Pokemon under it in addition to its own.

I'm sure there are others but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

3. While Kwisdumb explained this very well, I'd like to add something very important to consider... In September, there will be a rotation (the four oldest sets in the format will no longer be legal) that will likely change the game drastically. The only tournaments left in this season are Nationals and Worlds, so it's best to start focusing on the next format. For more information on this, check out this news topic.

4. Yep! There's a pretty decent competitive scene around here! I'd recommend using Pokemon.com's Event Locater to find which Pokemon League is closest to you as well as where Premier Events are being held. Leagues are, IMO, the best way to get acquainted with the game.

Good luck and welcome to the Pokemon TCG!

[baby mario]

Card advantage is not such a big deal in Pokemon as it is in YGO (I dunno Magic) because you have a ton of draw and search in Pokemon.

IMO opinion the two most important things (apart from actual in-game skill) are . . .

1. Deckbuilding (Kwisdumb covered this)
2. Knowing the metagame. You can have a brilliant, consistent build of a great deck, but if it has bad match ups against what everyone else is playing, then it is not likely to do well.

[Sandslash7]

Originally Posted by JoeyP

For starters, in some ways I guess you could consider this an introduction topic. I apologize as I couldn't find a sub-forum that would have been more suitable.

I have recently learned to play the Pokemon TCG. Like almost everyone I have experience with pokemon in general dating back to when it first hit big in western culture. I've played all the video games and even played competitively circa 2007 during the SkarmBliss era, so I'm not completely oblivious to the pokemon universe. I'm also fairly seasoned when it comes to card games. I played yugioh competitively for a couple years and managed to get a couple regional tops, and I also know how to play MTG, though not competitively. With all that said, I am looking to up my knowledge on the pokemon TCG, so it would be great if someone could answer some questions.

1. What exactly determines skill in this game? In YGO/MTG card presence theory and positive 1s are vital stepping stones towards becoming a better player. What exactly would you recommend as far as mechanics and overall play are concerned? Such as optimal energy management and the like.

2. What terminology would you consider to be the most integral? Just by browsing around I have already noticed words such as "judged" and "sniped." It would help a lot if someone could explain those as well as any others I might need to know.


3. What are the top decks at the moment, and why are they so good? Why are they strong in certain match-ups; etc etc

4. Is there a competitive Pokemon scene in or around North Carolina/South Carolina/Virginia?


Thanks in advance

For your first point: Deckbuilding, while key, I'd argue is not necessarily the primary strength one needs in Pokemon.(others have discusses deckbuilding, and theres also a series of articles on deckbuilding stickied in the deck help/strategies forum) Equally important is playing skill and game sense.
Playing skill involves choosing the right pokemon to attach energies to (because missing energy drops is very bad), what pokemon to attack and when, when to retreat and put up a wall/use a secondary attacker, etc.
Game sense includes thinking ahead into the game, trying to figure out what strategies your opponent is using(or if you know that already, how they are going to achieve that strategy), what possible threats they can bring to bear during the next turn/turn after that one (so watch what they are searching for with Bebe's, Roseanne's, etc), and being able to switch from a defensive style of play to offensive, and when its safe to go aggro and try to donk. Game sense and playing skill take many hours of practice, but its definitely worth it.

Those two have overlapping traits, but I think there might be enough room to make them two different topics.


The second point: The SLIGHTLY out of date Pokemon Terminology Thread should give you some of the terminology you need to learn. Though when I mean out of date, even the third page is sorely out of date, and needs to be redone soon. Helpful things are still in there though, like NRG = energy. donk, so forth. Others that aren't listed include things like: "bat" (n: Crobat G, v: to Place down a Crobat G on your bench and use it's Pokepower Flash Bite to place 1 damage counter on an opponents pokemon) ex: I'll bat your Grotle, KOing it.


People have covered the third point, but for your fourth: There is a competitive scene in VA/NC/SC, which has increased in size due to a Regionals now being held in Richmond, VA, which attracts more players to the game. The tournament attendance rates have been going up since 2007, but I can tell you its not yet as competitive as the "Big Metagames" such as CA, FL, OH, TX, but we do have a few extremely good players, including 3 in the top 45 in Masters in NA.

[JoeyP]

So would anyone care to go more in depth about the top decks? Also, aside from Jumpluff and LuxChomp what decks are viable in the format. If possible I guess just make a tier list and describe each deck and maybe link a deck list that did well at a tournament.

Thanks again

[Mewtral]

Originally Posted by JoeyP

So would anyone care to go more in depth about the top decks? Also, aside from Jumpluff and LuxChomp what decks are viable in the format. If possible I guess just make a tier list and describe each deck and maybe link a deck list that did well at a tournament.

Thanks again

Try the tournament and organized play section in Forums. It May help you grasp an idea of what is being played, and what is winning. For minute details of those decks, you'll have to find someone that shares the deck list.

[baby mario]

Originally Posted by JoeyP

So would anyone care to go more in depth about the top decks? Also, aside from Jumpluff and LuxChomp what decks are viable in the format. If possible I guess just make a tier list and describe each deck and maybe link a deck list that did well at a tournament.

Thanks again

Apart from Luxchomp and Jumpluff, you will probably see most if not all of these at a tournament . . .

Cursegar
http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=127100

Sablelock
http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=126331

Shuppet Donk
http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=112887

Gyarados
http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=117132

Kingdra/Machamp
New deck, so no article yet. It uses Machamp SF to counter SP decks and Kingdra Prime/Kingdra LA to hit fast and spread damage

Plox
New version of a very old deck using Gardevoir SW/Gallade SW, Spiritomb, and Judge. It aims to lock your powers with Gardy and hit hard when needed with Gallade.

Donphan
Fast deck with Donphan Prime that does well vs Luxchomp and less well vs everything else.

Flygon Varients
There's quite a few articles on them. Nowhere near as popular as they used to be but you still see them sometimes. Flygon can be used with just about anything. Machamp and Donphan are popular. Flygon/Torterra won German Nats.

Some of the articles are not too recent and they vary in quality, but they give you the general idea of the decks.

[JoeyP]

and finally, what exactly does it mean when a deck list is set up like this?

2-1-2-1 (Pokemon Name)
3-3(Pokemon Name)

[Arcanite]

Originally Posted by JoeyP

and finally, what exactly does it mean when a deck list is set up like this?

2-1-2-1 (Pokemon Name) 2 Basics, 1 stage 1 (Posible with rare candy) 2 stage 2 and a level X
3-3(Pokemon Name) 3 basics, 3 stage 1

Responses in Bold. I'm guessing that you saw this in a Flygon/Donphan Decklist? Right?

[JoeyP]

Originally Posted by Arcanite

Responses in Bold. I'm guessing that you saw this in a Flygon/Donphan Decklist? Right?

Nah, I was just lurking some random deck list and they had theirs set up like that.

[Sandslash7]

Originally Posted by JoeyP

and finally, what exactly does it mean when a deck list is set up like this?

2-1-2-1 (Pokemon Name)
3-3(Pokemon Name)

Arcanite covered this, but:

Rare Candy allows players to skip the middle stage of their evolution trees, enabling players to also remove one or two of those cards to open up spaces in their list. Generally a 4-3-4 route is common when playing a stage 2 that has no Lv X, though some might feel that a 4-2-4 could be pulled off as well. 4-1-4 is generally avoided due to the possibility of trainer lock stopping Rare Candy and therefore evolution AND due to TS-02 (devolver) and Omastar (though those are both not really played anymore).

One thing about saying 4-3-4 or 3-3 or 4-2-3-1-1 is denoting which pre-evolution one is using. Generally it doesn't matter, but sometimes one pre-evolution is vastly superior to another one, and therefore just saying 4-3-4 doesn't necessarily let people know that. Though, if there was a specific pre-evolution that they were using for a specific reason, they'd probably do this: 4-3(UL)-4, do designate that the UL stage one is central to the strategy/best choice. Another ex: 4(PL)-2(SW)-3(Gardy SW)-1(Gallade)-1(Gardy X) {probably one of the most complicated ones you'll see}

Plus, this type of notation is useful to cut time out of writing lists. Writing "4-3-4 'Ape'" is much easier than writing out "4 Chimchar, 3 Monferno, 4 Infernape."

[JoeyP]

What about the odd looking energy costs like Impersonate on this Sableye?

http://pokegym.net/gallery/displayim...?imageid=41059

Does that mean they are costless or...?

[Mewtral]

Basically If it says something like 2-1-2 (Pkmn Name) It is simply including the basic and stages/lvl x

[DragonClyne725]

Well the some other "Top Decks" would be Gyarados and Cursegar aka Switch-Gengar.

Gyarados

This deck utilizes Gyarados SF's attack "Tail Revenge"
For no energy-
This attack does 30 damage time the number of Magikarp in your discard pile.

The basic goal of the deck is to discard 3 of your 4 magikarps in order for your Gyarados to do a whooping 90 damage for no energy. Add Expert Belt to do even more damage, and to tank with 150 hp.
Expert Belt-
The Pokemon this card is attatched to gets +20 HP and that pokemon's attacks do 20 more damage to your opponent's active pokemon. When the pokemon this card is attached to is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 1 more Prize card.

You use cards like Felicity's Drawing and Regice's (LA) poke-power to discard cards from your hand (aka magikarps).

Once set-up, you have a 150 HP tank doing 110 damage a turn for no energy. You use Super Scoop Up to return a damaged G-dos to your hand, then you replay him to tank again.
The deck itself has a good T2 set-up rate when you use Sableye SF. But, all decks have their weaknesses. The Gyarados deck will pretty much auto-loss to Cursegar.
__________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

Cursegar aka Gengar-Switch

The main goal of Cursegar is to set-up a Gengar AR with 3 psychic energys in order to use "Shadow Skip", which does 60 damage (80 with an Expert Belt) and does 10 damage to 2 of your opponent's benched pokemon, AND lets Gengar switch with a benched pokemon. It also has a really niffty pokepower that lets you move 1 damage counter from one of your opponents pokemon to another.

Spiritomb AR, the other important feature in Cursegar, locks out all trainers as long as it is active. This shuts down SP decks and other decks that use heavy trainer power. This allows Gengar to safely set-up on the bench.
Its attack, for no energy, allows you to search your deck for a card that evolves from one of the pokemon you have in play and put it onto that pokemon, but Spiritomb then takes 1 damage. This attack super-speeds Gengar's set-up.

Mr.Mime MT is the key to Gengar-Switch. Gengar, after using Shadow Skip for 60 (80 if belted) damage and spreading damage to the opponent's bench, has the option to switch with a benched pokemon. Mr.Mime's poke-body states:
Airy Wall-
If your opponent's pokemon that has 2 or less energy cards attached to it attacks Mr.Mime, prevent all damage done to Mr.mime from the attack...
Basiclly, if the opponent doesn't have 3 or more energy on them, they can't hurt Mr. Mime. This DESTROYS decks that use little energy such as Gyarados, LuxPluff, Kingdra, etc.

In all, the goal of Cursegar is to set-up behind a Spiritomb trainer-lock, then use Shadow Skip to do damage and then hide behind a Mr. Mime shield. Its really cheap, but thats just because I play Gyarados :(

Hope it helps!

[StringOfFate]

Yes blank(sorta dark spots to be more accurate) spots mean no energy is needed to use the attack

[JoeyP]

What sets would be the best to invest in? What would have the most cards that go in current top tier decks?

[StringOfFate]

i'd go with these, they are in order of what i'd buy.

-Platinum(If you wanna run SP) OR StormFront(If you don't want to run SP)
-Legends Awakened
-Rising Rival (Only if you wanna play SP OR Arceus(If you don't want to play SP)