Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Trying to get back into the game and need a few questions answered...

S

Staf

Member
I used to collect up through generation 2, but I stopped after that. The only game playing that I did was with Pokemon Trading Card Game for the Game Boy Color. I've mastered all those rules and I can play like that. I know the game has changed since then, but there are a few things I need to know. I've been reading up on tournament rules and the such, but I haven't found anywhere that it says which cards are playable. I know they can't have defining marks and all the backs need to be the same, etc, but I don't know which sets can be used. Are only the DP sets used, or can you also use the EX cards? Can you use everything from after WotC on? My next question would be how to get back into the game. Should I buy starter packs from the current set? Wait until the 21st and then buy packs? Forget the starters and just get boosters? Things have changed since I last played. Booster Packs don't seem to be a very good value anymore.

One last question. I've seen these yellow packs at Walmart. They contain one Booster Pack and one Promo Card. The Promo is like an Entei from the 3rd movie. Are those promo cards legit?
 
1) The sets that are leagel are:

Holon Phantoms (HP)
Crystal Guardians (CG)
Dragon Frontiers (DF)
Power Keepers (PK)
Diamond & Pearl (DP)
Mysterious Treasures (MT)
Secret Wonders (SW)
Great Encounters (GE)

And, come May 21st...

Majestic Dawn (MD)

Also, if you want ot see a full list of what's leagel, then look around on the Gym... the thread's somewhere (I think on the front page). Also, anything on the Research Tower is leagel.

2) Well, first off, do you want to go to a tournament right now? If so, I'd go to a Prerelease. If you don't do very well, it won't count toward ratings, and you get packs early. If you go to something like Battle Roads Spring, and you don't do well, you'll be off to a bad start this season. If you are going to enter a tournament right now, buy Boosters or Singles. Buy whatever you need to complete your deck, trading is also a good idea. Get into a League, you can practice, test decks, buy packs, theme decks, trade, etc. However, if you're just going to go to League for now, buy a theme deck, and use that deck for now. It may not be good, but it will at least show you the basics of the game. Then, later, you can buy singles and boosters, to improve your deck, and eventually make it tournament-worthy.

3) That Entei isn't leagel... Anything from the WotC era isn't leagel, unless it's been reprinted.

Hope that helps!
 
That prerelease sounds good to start up. So that's $25 and you get 6 packs? Is that 6 packs of 10 cards each?
 
Some more info for a returning player:

The tournament format's legal cards change each year after Worlds. The actual cycle of cards is usually around September. While this is purely speculation, next season's legal sets will probably be Diamond and Pearl and later.

As for card purchases, depending on your money situation, buying a box of booster packs is the most cost efficient (usually). You will typically open almost the entire set, with the exception of the ultra rare cards (silver edged Lvl X cards). Typically there is 1 Lvl X card in a box. Another option is to use Ebay to buy singles or sets of cards. Ebay prices vary greatly and almost always have a shipping cost in addition to the card price. The last option to look out for in regards to purchasing cards is the Lvl X tins that have been released. Lvl X tins each have an alternate art Lvl X in them as well as 4 packs of cards. Tin prices are around $15 and Target, Walmart, Toys-R-Us, and some other stores carry them.

On the last question, it's best to stay away from the pack plus promo blister packs. The promo is usually not worth the extra money.
 
Alright. All this information has been helpful. As for the tournaments, what are the requirements to enter the Battle Road Spring Event. I looked up dates and locations. I would be able to attend a couple of them, but would POP allow me to do that, or do you just get to do it once?
 
In the prerelease you get 6 packs to play and then a bonus of two more packs at the end: A total of 8 packs.
Plus, you also get the promo card for the set and a set of promo sleeves.
 
You can go to as many Battle Roads as you want. I remember they had a cap on Gym Challenges, but that's only if you won one.

The prerelease is a great deal if you're starting fresh again. You get 6 packs for the tournament, and 2 extra packs at the end, and if your PTO is awesome like AZ's, you could get more based on other things in the event (bringing new players, being a new player, winning, etc.). 8 packs for $25 is nothing to sneeze at.

On that note, I wouldn't buy packs outside of a prerelease unless you're buying a box. There are very few cards in the newer sets that are worth more than $10, which is roughly what you'll spend on 2 packs after tax.
 
Staf said:
Alright. All this information has been helpful. As for the tournaments, what are the requirements to enter the Battle Road Spring Event. I looked up dates and locations. I would be able to attend a couple of them, but would POP allow me to do that, or do you just get to do it once?
Click to expand...

Requirements: Have a 60 card deck made up of cards from the Modified sets (see Arecus's list, but add Pop5, Pop6, and Pop7 cards to that list. If you can find a card on The Pokegym Researching Tower, then it's currently legal for modified.
You can attend as many of every tournament as you want (IIRC). The question is: Can you get to them? Bigger events like Regionals tend to take place on the same day, making multiples of those events impossible. Since Battle Roads are smaller, more local based tournaments, they won't all be on the same day, of course. Just keep in mind what level of tournament you're playing at. All tournaments but Worlds are open to the public.

If you have NOTHING from any of the current sets, picking up a starter deck or two is a good idea. This will give you guaranteed supporters, which you'll need to pull into your cards fast enough. Mysterious Treasures is a solid (though not particularly earth shattering) set, and Secret Wonders is probably the best Diamond/Pearl set (due to easy to find cards such as Magmortar being good, and handy supporters like Roseanne's Research. The packs for that set are pretty good too, with Gardevoir being a noteable card, as well as Absol), with Majestic Dawn trailing somewhere after it.
 
Alright. So I think the best way for me to start out is to hit the prerelease on Saturday, buy a box of booster packs when the set is released, then hit up the tournament when it comes end of May/beginning of June? Where is the best place to buy boxes of boosters. Also what do I need to bring to the prerelease event? They'll supply the cards. Do I need damage counters or anything? I picked up one set of cards back when it was Pokemon-e and that came with a set of 10 damage counters. Also a skull counter and a bandage counter. Are those fine? Other than that, I only have the pebble counters released with the first sets.
 
Try and find some six-sided dice for damage counters. Most card shops will have the ones in cube-shaped cases for less than $10. They also double as substitutes for coins. Use the skull and bandage counters for burn/poison markers. Other than that you'll be all set. MD actually won't come out until next Tuesday, so you'll have to wait to buy the box. I would check prices on various sites just to see what you're looking at...I haven't bought boxes recently, but I'm guessing a good price would be around $75-85.
 
The only boxes I've seen online are on smaller sites and on eBay. They go for around $80-100 with a $20 shipping cost. Do stores sell boxes?
 
Arceus999 said:
1) The sets that are leagel are:

Holon Phantoms (HP)
Crystal Guardians (CG)
Dragon Frontiers (DF)
Power Keepers (PK)
Diamond & Pearl (DP)
Mysterious Treasures (MT)
Secret Wonders (SW)
Great Encounters (GE)

And, come May 21st...

Majestic Dawn (MD)
Click to expand...

Dont forget:
Nintendo Black Star Promos: 38-40
Nintendo Black Star Promos: 1-20
POP Series: Sets 4-7
 
~Blazi-King~ said:
Dont forget:
Nintendo Black Star Promos: 38-40
Nintendo Black Star Promos: 1-20 Edit: DP1 - DP24
POP Series: Sets 4-7
Click to expand...
I believe Darkrai is promo DP24. So although you probably wouldn't use such a wierd card, it is legal.

Once you show up for the prerelease, the person running it will ask you to fill out a POP id form as well. If you get one of the newer forms, it will also sign you up for an online "my pokemon" account at go-pokemon.com. The organizer will use that number to put you in the tournament software, and once the event is over, your info will be uploaded to Pokemon Organized Play. Once you enter a premier tournament (Battle Roads/Nationals etc) you can even log into your "my pokemon" account and track who you played, and how well you did. However, if you already have a my pokemon account, then you should bring your POP id # from that site to the prerelease or Battle Road event - just so no one has to merge your accounts later. So that may very well be one other thing you may need to bring.
 
HI!

the cheapest i've seen on booster boxes is at gamingetcstore.com where you can order them including shipping for around $96. as for tournaments, go to prereleases and leagues ( if you have one) until you get the hang of deck-building, and then try states or something. be sure to post your decks on here, you can get a lot good tips. hope i helped!

~garchomper~
 
You all have helped a lot. About a week ago before I looked too much into it I signed up on the site and took the Professor test. I didn't pass, but the website did give me a POP ID. I think I'm all set for the prerelease.
 
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