Unlike ever before, the World Championship TCG promo is... PLAYABLE!
Tropical Beach is a Stadium card that reads:
"Once during each player's turn, that player may draw cards until he or she has 7 cards in his or her hand. If he or she does, that player's turn ends."
It's playability and exclusivity has drove it up to $140 (Staff print), and to over $500 (Top Cut print). With Staff prints quickly becoming scarce, it is estimated that they, (the most abundant copy), will soar up to $250 by the new year.
Rewarding wealthy players with access to cards that put them at an advantage does not bode will for the company, and is already creating quite a bit of stir in the tight-knit community.
One possible solution is to print the card as a playable copy in the Ross Cawthorne 2011 World Championship deck. Another idea is to just ban the card altogether.
I have another idea.
Create a general gameplay mechanic in the US with the same effect as Tropical Beach. No extra cards necessary. Just end your turn (before you attack), to draw until you have 7 cards.
This proposal not only solves the Tropical Beach dilemma, but it gives players the chance to get out of terrible draws. Pokemon is full of luck, and being Judged into 4 dead cards should never be the end-all deciding factor of a game the way it often is. We can only work with the cards we are dealt, and being forced to 'Draw, Pass' the first few turns of a game almost always seals your fate. It will continue to give slow, set up decks (The Truth, Gothitelle) a fighting chance in our format.
It also adds an interesting "worst case scenario" to effects of Status Conditions and Beartic's "Sheer Cold" or other such lock attacks. Now, instead of being forced to pass, you can, at the very least, draw 2 or 3 cards and be given a chance to play through the lock.
Obviously this is extremely wishful thinking, but just running it over in my head, I can't think of any downside to a gameplay rule with the same effect as Tropical Beach. I'm curious as to what everyone else thinks.
Tropical Beach is a Stadium card that reads:
"Once during each player's turn, that player may draw cards until he or she has 7 cards in his or her hand. If he or she does, that player's turn ends."
It's playability and exclusivity has drove it up to $140 (Staff print), and to over $500 (Top Cut print). With Staff prints quickly becoming scarce, it is estimated that they, (the most abundant copy), will soar up to $250 by the new year.
Rewarding wealthy players with access to cards that put them at an advantage does not bode will for the company, and is already creating quite a bit of stir in the tight-knit community.
One possible solution is to print the card as a playable copy in the Ross Cawthorne 2011 World Championship deck. Another idea is to just ban the card altogether.
I have another idea.
Create a general gameplay mechanic in the US with the same effect as Tropical Beach. No extra cards necessary. Just end your turn (before you attack), to draw until you have 7 cards.
This proposal not only solves the Tropical Beach dilemma, but it gives players the chance to get out of terrible draws. Pokemon is full of luck, and being Judged into 4 dead cards should never be the end-all deciding factor of a game the way it often is. We can only work with the cards we are dealt, and being forced to 'Draw, Pass' the first few turns of a game almost always seals your fate. It will continue to give slow, set up decks (The Truth, Gothitelle) a fighting chance in our format.
It also adds an interesting "worst case scenario" to effects of Status Conditions and Beartic's "Sheer Cold" or other such lock attacks. Now, instead of being forced to pass, you can, at the very least, draw 2 or 3 cards and be given a chance to play through the lock.
Obviously this is extremely wishful thinking, but just running it over in my head, I can't think of any downside to a gameplay rule with the same effect as Tropical Beach. I'm curious as to what everyone else thinks.
maybe they should hold worlds in every state of every country then..... right?