Pokemon TCG lingo

Dunjohn · 08/22/2003, 12:33 PM

Back when I quit the game a couple of years ago, it was all very simple - you had normal cards, you had holos, and, if you were lucky, you had a "reverse-holo" Entei. Now, though, as I rifle through my small-but-expanding pile of Ex-R&S cards, it's all gone horribly befuddling. What the heck am I supposed to call all this stuff? Here's what I have been saying; can someone give me the accepted jargon?

Holos. The standard extra-rare, with a sparkly background in the picture.

Reverse Holos. The opposite of a Holo, where the picture is plain but the rest of the card blinds you.

Premiums. You get one of these in a pack, and it's a funkified version of a random normal card.

Shnazzies. The coolest of the cool, with holo bits twisting and slicing through normal bits. Like my Scyther-Ex.

Baboon · 08/22/2003, 12:47 PM

Well, here's what I refer to them as...
Holo, as the standard 1-in-3 packs. Like Base Blastoise.
Reverse Holo, the card you get in every pack that the whole card except the artwork is shiny/sparkly
And the ex's, are... just ex's.

*Turbo Blastoise* · 08/22/2003, 12:55 PM

Well it depends if you are either talking about rarities or deck-building. If you're talking about rarities, the one's that I know are:

Commons- The easiest most accessible cards to find in the game

Uncommons- Slightly more difficult cards to get a hold of then commons

Rare- Standard rare cards that are much harder to get a hold of. Most standard booster packs have about a 3 to 4% chance of drawing any particular card.

Holos- Same rarity as Rares but have a shiny background in the picture

Reverse Holos- Same as Holo except the whole front of the card is shiny

Promos- Cards that you can't get in a regular booster pack. Most of the time these cards can be obtained in a premier event or as prizes in tournament play.

In terms of deck-building here's some deck-building lingo:

Tech- Cards that are used sparingly to counter other decks or to metagame other deck types

Archetype- A particular deck or deck type that is commonly found and played regularly in the tournament scene and is among the "top-tier" of decks played in tournaments.

Staple- A card (usually a trainer card) that is essential in most every kind of deck. A card that you pretty much "can't live without".

Metagame- The general tournament scene that usually consists of what everyone is playing in any given area.

Joke types- These usually consists of Electric and Fighting-based decks. LOL!!! (Just kidding!)

That's all I know of and I hope that helps!!!

Dunjohn · 08/22/2003, 01:31 PM

I know about the rarities and all; it's just what to call the various foil types that was confounding me. Cheers for that though!

Hey, back on the Wizards Board, in the Magic section, they had a special thread where each and every bit of slang associated with the game was encyclopaedified in one handy, moderated thread. We should start one.

Which reminds me, what do you call a player who prefers not to use established archetypes at tournaments? Is it still "Maverick", or is it "Rogue", like in Magic?

)v(ajin_ipg21 · 08/22/2003, 01:55 PM

ANYONE kept any of the OLD threads? Thre were a few on thedojo & I think also @ WizPog?

I don't no about re-creating it BUT it would ALSO be a GREAT reference!!!

ANYONE have any of these PREVIOUS posts???

**SD PokeMom** · 08/22/2003, 02:11 PM

A lot of things are in the 'legendary posts' forum on WizPoG...and since it's still read-only, it should be available for view...

'mom

Tails · 08/22/2003, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dunjohn

Which reminds me, what do you call a player who prefers not to use established archetypes at tournaments? Is it still "Maverick", or is it "Rogue", like in Magic?

I've never heard them called Mav's before... I've heard Rogue, but not too often...

Used to use Trick, referring to Trick Decks, but I think Rogue's the new standard...

Tyranitar666 · 08/22/2003, 05:49 PM

Yeah, the term is rogue decks. Very common termonology by alot of players. I have never heard the term mavericks before either.

BPM · 08/22/2003, 06:43 PM

Heh. I like the term "Maverick". But that's also probably due the fact I like Megaman games...
(Death to all humans! Robot freedom!)
:P

Kyogre · 08/22/2003, 06:43 PM

I think "Flippy" its a Poke-only slang word. You know, refering to cards that rely on major coin flips.

That and "BBP", well that can only be in Poke I guess.

IndigoMaster · 08/22/2003, 07:17 PM

mise

sorta stolen from mtg though...

NoPoke · 08/23/2003, 01:15 AM

Its always bugged me.... Why are they called Holos...there doesn't seem to be anything holographic about the foil.

Someone enlighten me please.

Also what is 'mise'

MonkeyMan · 08/23/2003, 01:34 AM

NoPoke if you wanna know what MISE is click on the link below

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x...d/askpros/0503

Check May 13 ;\

*Red5bv06* · 08/24/2003, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BPM

Heh. I like the term "Maverick". But that's also probably due the fact I like Megaman games...
(Death to all humans! Robot freedom!)
:P

Or Top Gun
:)

Ultramew · 08/25/2003, 12:12 AM

Lol @ the hidden 'death to all humans' message! ^_^

Prof|l0ne · 08/25/2003, 03:35 AM

Well... there's also all the abbreviations, you know...

DCE = Double Colorless Energy
CPU Search = Base Set's Computer Search
GoW = Gust of Wind
promote = to take a Pokémon out of the Bench in the Active spot
bench hitter/bench hitting = A Pokémon or a move that severely weakens your Bench.
combo = A combination of cards that have synergy while used together (as in CPU Search and Oak, or Sneasel and Ecogym).
(mostly Italian only) [any card name here]-ing, or to [any card name here] = to use that card, especially to gain an advantage or to hinder an opponent (as in, "Are you copycat'ing?" "Just let me Volounteer this out of my discards" "I only need to Oracle and then you're dead").
dead = Pokémon do not die! Otherwise, a slang synonym of "Knocked Out"
TMP = Team Multiplayer (a format of play)
Open = Old jargon for the Unlimited format
broken = Any card or combination of cards whose unbalancement leads to a player easily winning a game with no chance to keep him from doing so. Also see 'combo', 'Sneasel', 'Ecogym' (while in the same set as Sneasel), 'Slowking', 'Rocket's Zapdos', and others.
Archetype = (in its most general sense) a well-estabilished deck that's widely recognized; usually a deck capable of winning consistently and/or with a strong phylosophy beneath it.
BBP = Big Basic Pokémon (a Basic Pokémon able to hold his own with low or none extra assistance)
Haymaker = One of the first archetypes, it used big Basic Pokémon to deal damage without sacrificing speed. See (Magic) 'aggro', 'beatdown'; (Pokémon) BBP.
Wigglytuff, The Wave, Wiggly = (Wigglytuff only) a Pokémon; (all words) also an archetype using Jungle's Wigglytuff card to deal massive damage in a very short time. See Sneasel, broken, archetype.
Slowking, Purple Haze = A deck abusing Neo: Genesis' Slowking's Pokémon Power. Also see archetype, broken.
Sneasel = A Pokémon. Also the name of an extremely unbalanced card in the Neo: Genesis set, which managed to win games without a chance to stop it. See broken.
InSaNiTy = THE way to play in Unlimited; also a deck, an archetype, a style of play and a style of life.
Professor, Prof = me. Also anybody who was actually registered as part of WotC's Professor Program (including me). Also anybody that will be registered in Nintendo's Professor Program.
Europeans = people like me. Also people who don't get the Pokémon products as swiftly as the U.S. does.
NOA = Nintendo of America.
PUI = Pokémon U.S.A., Inc. (seldom used)
TPC = The Pokémon Company. Also see PUI
WotC = Wizards of the Coast. We'll miss you.

Italian people have quite a slang for Pokémon, but I'm sorry I really can't manage to translate it! :'(

- Prof|l0ne
also known as TheTa, TheThinker and a Thousand other Names

Tails · 08/25/2003, 03:01 PM

There's not too many to my knowledge, as far as Poké goes, but there's also "Bombs," which are cards that win the game most any time they're played. Most of these are broken in Poké, but still...

There's also the "Staples," which are usually included in every serious deck, "Lines..."

Dunjohn · 08/28/2003, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyranitar666

Yeah, the term is rogue decks. Very common termonology by alot of players. I have never heard the term mavericks before either.

I know that, in Magic, the term is Rogue, but I'd always heard Pokemon users online say "Maverick". Wasn't there a group of posters on the old boards calling themselves the "Maverick Hunters"? Apparently, they were Mavericks who deliberately hunted down the biggest archetype-user in their local areas and tried to beat them. Or, so went the claim.

That's a nifty list, prof :) I'd never heard "promote" before, I always say "put out". But, I never really understood the idea behind InSaNiTy and, if you don't mind me saying, your explanation doesn't enlighten me. As I understand it, it's made up mainly of tech cards. That right?

*scours list again*

Tech: A card that should be automatically considered in or against certain strategies.

Maverick Hunter Zero · 08/28/2003, 03:39 PM

Good Lord, someone remembers my old "Maverick Hunter Corps."

The idea wasn't to beat the largest archtype in the area, but to make new deck types. Although I guess that kind of goes hand in hand.

I still carry the name and the idea, but I disbanded the team... I think about two years ago, simply because it was hard to try and keep everything going. Still like the concept though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BPM

Heh. I like the term "Maverick". But that's also probably due the fact I like Megaman games...
(Death to all humans! Robot freedom!)
:P

....Does this mean I have to try and kill you now? ;)

Anyway, putting all these definitions into a .txt file seems like a good idea. Hm.

Prof|l0ne · 08/29/2003, 10:32 AM

My explanation of InSaNiTy was, you know, quite ironic. :D
That is, InSaNiTy's a bit zen-like: you really don't know how it feels to play InSaNe until you actually do.
On the techincal side: InSaNiTy is a deck that is mainly composed of TecH Trainer cards (up to 46 in one of its versions!). The real InSaNiTy uses some mathematical formulas to calculate the effectiveness of the TecHs it uses; other InSaNe-like decks out there don't use the formulas. Almost all decks in Unlimited, however, follow many of InSaNiTy's principles (especially having more Trainers than everything else).

You can read all about it @ http://www.ipgeek21.com/articles/ref...typroject.html

***Big Daddy Snorlax*** · 08/29/2003, 10:42 AM

Prof|l0ne,

I don't think this looks like a post that was meant to stand on its own. Was this supposed to be a reply to something?

BDS

Prof|l0ne · 08/29/2003, 11:44 PM

Whoops :'( It was supposed to be a reply to the Pokémon TCG lingo topic :'(.
/me stupid didn't check :'(

- l0ne

)v(ajin_ipg21 · 08/30/2003, 12:21 AM

NO PROBLEM, with this new board we CAN CORRECT this kind of thing

*honored my site was cited BUT i am only a safeguard of POKEMON theories of days gone-by*

Prof|l0ne · 08/30/2003, 01:53 AM

Ooooooh. Thank you thousand :D
- l0ne

mossy2k4 · 09/03/2003, 07:57 AM

Insanity is a deck that was basically a modern version of Haymaker, but was killed when Neo Genesis came out. In fact, the deck had enormous diffaculties dealing with trapper, FTKO, and trainer disruption/heavy chaos gym and lass decks. In my opinion it stopped being good as soon as heroes hit the shelves, which is when it expanded past 30ish trainers. Lurili used poor analogies and formulas that were misleading because although cards like Bill made sense mathmatically (2 for 1), the deck space was unneeded. The deck simply lossed to a first turn lass/choas gym. You'd often find your hand full of unneeded tech cards-- most of which got discarded from an oak or CPU search, leading to poor card advantage. Even more often, the card you need is prized.

You can buy into lurili's theories all you want, but I can't remember any tournaments that his deck won.. and I know plenty that good decks have. Playtesting reveals what's good and what's not.

More terms...

Suicune: Best fattie ever printed.
Random: Someone who is terrible at the game / Unknown player.

08/22/2003, 12:47 PM	#2
Baboon Images: 1	Well, here's what I refer to them as... Holo, as the standard 1-in-3 packs. Like Base Blastoise. Reverse Holo, the card you get in every pack that the whole card except the artwork is shiny/sparkly And the ex's, are... just ex's. __________________ 500 Articles - Pokeschool's Baboon's Archives March 3, 2002 - January 1, 2006 www.xanga.com/baboonskin (non-Pokemon related)

08/22/2003, 02:11 PM	#6
SD PokeMom Mod Supervisor Blog Entries: 1 Images: 150	A lot of things are in the 'legendary posts' forum on WizPoG...and since it's still read-only, it should be available for view... 'mom __________________ SD area players: join the Play! Pokemon San Diego facebook group for local event info! League Leader, San Diego Games and Comics / PTO, San Diego CA My eyes being hindered by blind passions, I cannot perceive the light that grasps me; Yet the great compassion, without tiring, Illumines me always. Namuamidabutsu...

08/22/2003, 06:43 PM	#10
Kyogre Avatar Creator Images: 6	I think "Flippy" its a Poke-only slang word. You know, refering to cards that rely on major coin flips. That and "BBP", well that can only be in Poke I guess. __________________ ooooooo ooooooooooo ooooooooooooo ooooooooooo ooooooo

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08/22/2003, 12:33 PM	#1
Dunjohn	Pokemon TCG lingo Back when I quit the game a couple of years ago, it was all very simple - you had normal cards, you had holos, and, if you were lucky, you had a "reverse-holo" Entei. Now, though, as I rifle through my small-but-expanding pile of Ex-R&S cards, it's all gone horribly befuddling. What the heck am I supposed to call all this stuff? Here's what I have been saying; can someone give me the accepted jargon? Holos. The standard extra-rare, with a sparkly background in the picture. Reverse Holos. The opposite of a Holo, where the picture is plain but the rest of the card blinds you. Premiums. You get one of these in a pack, and it's a funkified version of a random normal card. Shnazzies. The coolest of the cool, with holo bits twisting and slicing through normal bits. Like my Scyther-Ex.

08/22/2003, 12:55 PM	#3
Turbo Blastoise	Well it depends if you are either talking about rarities or deck-building. If you're talking about rarities, the one's that I know are: Commons- The easiest most accessible cards to find in the game Uncommons- Slightly more difficult cards to get a hold of then commons Rare- Standard rare cards that are much harder to get a hold of. Most standard booster packs have about a 3 to 4% chance of drawing any particular card. Holos- Same rarity as Rares but have a shiny background in the picture Reverse Holos- Same as Holo except the whole front of the card is shiny Promos- Cards that you can't get in a regular booster pack. Most of the time these cards can be obtained in a premier event or as prizes in tournament play. In terms of deck-building here's some deck-building lingo: Tech- Cards that are used sparingly to counter other decks or to metagame other deck types Archetype- A particular deck or deck type that is commonly found and played regularly in the tournament scene and is among the "top-tier" of decks played in tournaments. Staple- A card (usually a trainer card) that is essential in most every kind of deck. A card that you pretty much "can't live without". Metagame- The general tournament scene that usually consists of what everyone is playing in any given area. Joke types- These usually consists of Electric and Fighting-based decks. LOL!!! (Just kidding!) That's all I know of and I hope that helps!!! Last edited by Turbo Blastoise; 08/22/2003 at 12:56 PM.

08/22/2003, 01:31 PM	#4
Dunjohn	I know about the rarities and all; it's just what to call the various foil types that was confounding me. Cheers for that though! Hey, back on the Wizards Board, in the Magic section, they had a special thread where each and every bit of slang associated with the game was encyclopaedified in one handy, moderated thread. We should start one. Which reminds me, what do you call a player who prefers not to use established archetypes at tournaments? Is it still "Maverick", or is it "Rogue", like in Magic?

08/22/2003, 01:55 PM	#5
)v(ajin_ipg21	ANYONE kept any of the OLD threads? Thre were a few on thedojo & I think also @ WizPog? I don't no about re-creating it BUT it would ALSO be a GREAT reference!!! ANYONE have any of these PREVIOUS posts??? __________________ Former TC / MOD / Admin -=-=- ipgeek21.com IM: m4j1n ipg21 or m4j1n_ipg21

08/22/2003, 05:49 PM	#8
Tyranitar666	Yeah, the term is rogue decks. Very common termonology by alot of players. I have never heard the term mavericks before either.

08/22/2003, 07:17 PM	#11
IndigoMaster	mise sorta stolen from mtg though...

08/23/2003, 01:15 AM	#12
NoPoke Images: 6	Its always bugged me.... Why are they called Holos...there doesn't seem to be anything holographic about the foil. Someone enlighten me please. Also what is 'mise'

08/23/2003, 01:34 AM	#13
MonkeyMan	NoPoke if you wanna know what MISE is click on the link below http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x...d/askpros/0503 Check May 13 ;\

08/25/2003, 12:12 AM	#15
Ultramew	Lol @ the hidden 'death to all humans' message! ^_^ __________________ The Ultramew All But My Opinion

08/25/2003, 03:35 AM	#16
Prof\|l0ne	Well... there's also all the abbreviations, you know... DCE = Double Colorless Energy CPU Search = Base Set's Computer Search GoW = Gust of Wind promote = to take a Pokémon out of the Bench in the Active spot bench hitter/bench hitting = A Pokémon or a move that severely weakens your Bench. combo = A combination of cards that have synergy while used together (as in CPU Search and Oak, or Sneasel and Ecogym). (mostly Italian only) [any card name here]-ing, or to [any card name here] = to use that card, especially to gain an advantage or to hinder an opponent (as in, "Are you copycat'ing?" "Just let me Volounteer this out of my discards" "I only need to Oracle and then you're dead"). dead = Pokémon do not die! Otherwise, a slang synonym of "Knocked Out" TMP = Team Multiplayer (a format of play) Open = Old jargon for the Unlimited format broken = Any card or combination of cards whose unbalancement leads to a player easily winning a game with no chance to keep him from doing so. Also see 'combo', 'Sneasel', 'Ecogym' (while in the same set as Sneasel), 'Slowking', 'Rocket's Zapdos', and others. Archetype = (in its most general sense) a well-estabilished deck that's widely recognized; usually a deck capable of winning consistently and/or with a strong phylosophy beneath it. BBP = Big Basic Pokémon (a Basic Pokémon able to hold his own with low or none extra assistance) Haymaker = One of the first archetypes, it used big Basic Pokémon to deal damage without sacrificing speed. See (Magic) 'aggro', 'beatdown'; (Pokémon) BBP. Wigglytuff, The Wave, Wiggly = (Wigglytuff only) a Pokémon; (all words) also an archetype using Jungle's Wigglytuff card to deal massive damage in a very short time. See Sneasel, broken, archetype. Slowking, Purple Haze = A deck abusing Neo: Genesis' Slowking's Pokémon Power. Also see archetype, broken. Sneasel = A Pokémon. Also the name of an extremely unbalanced card in the Neo: Genesis set, which managed to win games without a chance to stop it. See broken. InSaNiTy = THE way to play in Unlimited; also a deck, an archetype, a style of play and a style of life. Professor, Prof = me. Also anybody who was actually registered as part of WotC's Professor Program (including me). Also anybody that will be registered in Nintendo's Professor Program. Europeans = people like me. Also people who don't get the Pokémon products as swiftly as the U.S. does. NOA = Nintendo of America. PUI = Pokémon U.S.A., Inc. (seldom used) TPC = The Pokémon Company. Also see PUI WotC = Wizards of the Coast. We'll miss you. Italian people have quite a slang for Pokémon, but I'm sorry I really can't manage to translate it! :'( - Prof\|l0ne also known as TheTa, TheThinker and a Thousand other Names Last edited by Prof\|l0ne; 08/25/2003 at 03:37 AM.

08/25/2003, 03:01 PM	#17
Tails	There's not too many to my knowledge, as far as Poké goes, but there's also "Bombs," which are cards that win the game most any time they're played. Most of these are broken in Poké, but still... There's also the "Staples," which are usually included in every serious deck, "Lines..." __________________ .. and the young apprentice must learn patience, and balance. The strongest of enemies can be defeated by only the steadiest of hands.

08/29/2003, 10:32 AM	#20
Prof\|l0ne	Re: above My explanation of InSaNiTy was, you know, quite ironic. :D That is, InSaNiTy's a bit zen-like: you really don't know how it feels to play InSaNe until you actually do. On the techincal side: InSaNiTy is a deck that is mainly composed of TecH Trainer cards (up to 46 in one of its versions!). The real InSaNiTy uses some mathematical formulas to calculate the effectiveness of the TecHs it uses; other InSaNe-like decks out there don't use the formulas. Almost all decks in Unlimited, however, follow many of InSaNiTy's principles (especially having more Trainers than everything else). You can read all about it @ http://www.ipgeek21.com/articles/ref...typroject.html

08/29/2003, 10:42 AM	#21
*Big Daddy Snorlax* Administrator Images: 325	Prof\|l0ne, I don't think this looks like a post that was meant to stand on its own. Was this supposed to be a reply to something? BDS

08/29/2003, 11:44 PM	#22
Prof\|l0ne	Whoops :'( It was supposed to be a reply to the Pokémon TCG lingo topic :'(. /me stupid didn't check :'( - l0ne

08/30/2003, 12:21 AM	#23
)v(ajin_ipg21	NO PROBLEM, with this new board we CAN CORRECT this kind of thing honored my site was cited BUT i am only a safeguard of POKEMON theories of days gone-by __________________ Former TC / MOD / Admin -=-=- ipgeek21.com IM: m4j1n ipg21 or m4j1n_ipg21

08/30/2003, 01:53 AM	#24
Prof\|l0ne	Ooooooh. Thank you thousand :D - l0ne

09/03/2003, 07:57 AM	#25
mossy2k4	Insanity is a deck that was basically a modern version of Haymaker, but was killed when Neo Genesis came out. In fact, the deck had enormous diffaculties dealing with trapper, FTKO, and trainer disruption/heavy chaos gym and lass decks. In my opinion it stopped being good as soon as heroes hit the shelves, which is when it expanded past 30ish trainers. Lurili used poor analogies and formulas that were misleading because although cards like Bill made sense mathmatically (2 for 1), the deck space was unneeded. The deck simply lossed to a first turn lass/choas gym. You'd often find your hand full of unneeded tech cards-- most of which got discarded from an oak or CPU search, leading to poor card advantage. Even more often, the card you need is prized. You can buy into lurili's theories all you want, but I can't remember any tournaments that his deck won.. and I know plenty that good decks have. Playtesting reveals what's good and what's not. More terms... Suicune: Best fattie ever printed. Random: Someone who is terrible at the game / Unknown player.