Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

New poke-dad, suggestions would be great (long)

M

mochi

New Member
Hi there. I'm a new pokemon dad and have been trolling this and other forums quite a bit the past couple of weeks since my two kids (5 & 7) just got into Pokemon about 3 weeks ago. In short, we were on a vacation to LA and all of their cousins and other friends met were playing and collecting and my kids had no clue what was going on. They really seemed interested so when we got back home I did the following:

- web search to find out what the heck pokemon was, how to play the game, how to start, etc...
- checked craig's list and found a person selling about 800 cards for $50 (mix from all generations, several holo, good number of rares but not much that could be played in MD-on format). none the less, was a great start to have the kids just look at the cards and get used to the information on it and how games were played.
- couldn't put together a competitive deck (at least I thought) from the cards so went to target and purchased an Unleashed and a Tyranitar starter deck to get the playmats and damage counters (so helpful)
- wasn't sold on the decks so bought two 2009 champ decks (crowned tiger & luxdrill)
- kid's loved the charizard and garchomp tins so bought one of each (plus another garchomp for myself :wink:)
- found some local leagues in the area but didn't want my kids to get slaughtered their first time out so printed out a number of proxy decks for them to try out first (luxchomp, cursegar, luxpluff, kingdra/champ, donphan/ursaring)
- purchased a number of booster boxes b/c the kids absolutely love opening packs (rising rivals case, platinum case, supreme victors 3, legends awakened 3) - should be arriving later this week. it was much cheaper to buy the cases and we may just sell/trade some of the boxes once I read up on the trading section of the forum. i'm thinking of definitely opening at least 2 RR, 2 Plat, 1 SV and 2 LA - comments?

It seems like they have much better success with the straight forward power decks like donphan/ursaring rather than some of the more calculating decks with multiple options (they also really like the ursaring artwork). I'll let them figure out what deck they like the most and then purchase the individual cards on ebay that they don't pull out of the boxes. My wife thinks I'm absolutely crazy but I collected baseball cards when I was young and still love opening blister packs. With work hours I figure I spend only a few hours per day with the kids and anything that we can dive into together is a good thing.

So would it be really creepy if I went to the league with my kids and actually played myself? Also, my kids have a really hard time mixing their decks since the cards are sleeved - any suggestions?

Any other suggestions or thoughts would be great...especially from other poke-dads.
 
Well, point-by-point.

For starting out, it seems that a simple but powerful deck (if you have the resources) is best. Even if it can't do all the fancy things that a deck like Lux-chomp or Sable-lock can do, it's better than starting with a theme deck that is likely to get beaten in again & again (although if you do want to use a theme deck, I recommend buying 2 of the same deck (preferably from Undaunted when it is released shortly) and mixing the best cards to form a 60-card deck (probably trying to get a distribution of 20 Pokemon, 20 Energy, and 20 Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums to start, and then adjusting thereforth).

There are plenty of older people who play the game, and not all of them are Poke-Parents. It wouldn't be awkward at all.

For shuffling with sleeves, I don't have any special technique (although I tend to shuffle them at an angle, which helps when they're the heavy-duty sleeves. It isn't very effective with penny sleeves, though). You can always ask your opponent or a judge (or League Leader or bystander if not in a tournament) to help you shuffle.
 
First off: Good job on getting Garchomp tins. Garchomp C Lv X is one of the best cards in the format right now (and will be legal for 2 more years probably).

Platinum has many of the SP stuff you want to make those archetypical decks, (RR and SV have a few tech support and other essentials). SF, LA, and MD have good non-SP cards, but have less of a lifetime. (one year left probably)


I'd recommend going with straight power decks for them for now. Its easy to think linearly with those type of decks. "Set up one big baddie, attack, repeat." Gradually they can be introduced to different strategies and learn what they like to play.

About creepy: Not necessarily, I've seen a few families (a few kids and usually one parent) all come play at league and its a fun experience for everyone.

Shuffling is just one of those things that takes time, practice, and large hands. Penny sleeves may help since they are softer and thinner. (the translucent slim ones)


Rogue_Archetype would be a great person to talk to, as he and his family just started a few years ago. He's got a bunch of knowledge about this topic.
 
The leagues all differ. I surmise the ones in comic shops have a fair number of senior and master level players hanging around, while the ones in libraries tend to attract the junior players. As for adults playing, it might be creepy if you didn't have a child there! But the way I see it, these kids need to learn strategy from someone. More than likely the league organizer will welcome your participation.

As for riffle shuffling, it is difficult for smaller hands. Just teach them to mix up the cards by cutting into itself over and over again. And in between games they can do a couple of six-pile shuffles to adequately randomize them.

You've certainly purchased plenty of cards to stock your collection so you can trade to build the deck you want. Don't worry about getting clobbered at league play. It's just for fun, and you will encounter just as many non-competitive players there as you do competitive. (Meaning the non-competitive decks don't stand a chance at the competitively built ones.)

I imagine if you're investing this much into cards, you'll want to begin competitive play in the fall. Your kids will have time to figure out what they're doing before the first Battle Roads tournaments.
 
When i first started i had trouble shuffling aswell.

the best way IMO is by putting the cards into 6 different piles and repeat the process,
then just stack them to make the deck.

[] [] []
[] [] [] Looks kinda like that. with 10 cards in each slot.
 
Ahhh, great idea about the six small deck shuffling! I didn't think about that at all but will try that tomorrow. It makes perfect sense.

The 7 year old beat me again with his donphan/ursaring deck. Very close one - down to the last prize card. He is slowly learning to use black belt situationally, only when necessary...

There are two leagues close by (both w/in 10 miles) held at card shops and it looks like both have over 30 participants each weekly session. Not sure if that's a lot. The organizers seem very welcoming - both replied right away to my emails.

We're thinking about attending the pre-release event this Saturday and will report how it goes.

Thanks for the comments :)
 
Firstly, welcome to the game. It's always great to see people getting into the game, especially when it's a parent w/ their kids.

And no, it's not weird at all for you to go to your league and play. :)

Oh, and as far as the sleeve issue, I'd just get them all different colored sleeves, if I'm understanding correctly.

Please let us know if you need any additional help!
 
Just got your pm, and thought I'd do a bit of research as well! I noticed your thread here, and yeah, for sure .... Welcome to the game! It looks like you came into the game at a good time - just right before a change in the modified environment, so you can get introduced to stuff that can be used all year. It's nice to see that you are getting yourself and the kids all set up with a diversified amount of cards. I echo the sentiments of Sandslash - all of them. In fact I don't think I could say it better.

You're right, now is the perfect time to go to a prerelease. They are a great opportunity for both you and your kids to learn about the strategies behind building a deck, at an event that is fun and not very competitive. It doesn't matter how well you do (or not do) at the event, you end up with 8 packs worth of cards, or in the case of a preconstructed theme deck challenge (which I would recommend for new players) you end up with a theme deck and 5 packs of the newest set before they are released to the public. Then while you are there on Saturday, try a game or two yourself - after the prerelease is over, with the deck you built that day. Learn all you can about that set since you'll be seeing more of it in the future, along with any other new sets that come along. Don't worry, many parents have gotten into this game due to trying to spend time with their kids in a fun activity - I'm one of them. See my blogs for info about that. As for getting creamed ... it's a learnign experience. One thing that it affords both you and the kids is time to learn some new strategies, and what will work in different situations. You'll be surprised how much you will learn from a few losses. Don't let them get you down. learnign from them will help make you all better players. Also don't forget to have the kids watch some good games as well. It won't be long before you start having great games together as well.

And yes, if there's anything we can do to help, by all means give a shout. By the way, I'll take you up on your offer! Pm coming your way later today.
 
P_A said:
Just got your pm, and thought I'd do a bit of research as well! I noticed your thread here, and yeah, for sure .... Welcome to the game! It looks like you came into the game at a good time - just right before a change in the modified environment, so you can get introduced to stuff that can be used all year. It's nice to see that you are getting yourself and the kids all set up with a diversified amount of cards. I echo the sentiments of Sandslash - all of them. In fact I don't think I could say it better.

You're right, now is the perfect time to go to a prerelease. They are a great opportunity for both you and your kids to learn about the strategies behind building a deck, at an event that is fun and not very competitive. It doesn't matter how well you do (or not do) at the event, you end up with 8 packs worth of cards, or in the case of a preconstructed theme deck challenge (which I would recommend for new players) you end up with a theme deck and 5 packs of the newest set before they are released to the public. Then while you are there on Saturday, try a game or two yourself - after the prerelease is over, with the deck you built that day. Learn all you can about that set since you'll be seeing more of it in the future, along with any other new sets that come along. Don't worry, many parents have gotten into this game due to trying to spend time with their kids in a fun activity - I'm one of them. See my blogs for info about that. As for getting creamed ... it's a learnign experience. One thing that it affords both you and the kids is time to learn some new strategies, and what will work in different situations. You'll be surprised how much you will learn from a few losses. Don't let them get you down. learnign from them will help make you all better players. Also don't forget to have the kids watch some good games as well. It won't be long before you start having great games together as well.

And yes, if there's anything we can do to help, by all means give a shout. By the way, I'll take you up on your offer! Pm coming your way later today.
Click to expand...

We passed on the opportunity to go to a pre-release last Saturday because I had no idea what a 'limited' format was but now that I've read up on it and the theme deck challenge you mentioned it seems a bit less daunting (no pun intended). There is another one coming this Saturday so we will most likely have a boys day out at the event. It's great that we don't have to bring our own decks since they won't be ready by the weekend.

I play pretty aggressively against my 7 year old so that he is used to losing every now and then. Hopefully that will make him not feel so bad when he loses to strangers... The 5 year old is another story!

---------- Post added 08/11/2010 at 09:11 AM ----------

@ P_A : by the way, from your blog ...

'Well, since my parents were dirt poor and never allowed me to have hockey or baseball cards when I was a kid, I was determined that I was at least going to share this hobby with my kids - even if I had to sell my shoes to do it'

I couldn't have said it better myself - that's EXACTLY the way I feel.
 
Another idea is to research the "I Play Theme Decks" challenge put on by Rogue Archtype here on the forum. It included a wealth of great info for those who are new. In fact, it looks like he's working on another one coming up shortly.
 
mochi said:
I play pretty aggressively against my 7 year old so that he is used to losing every now and then. Hopefully that will make him not feel so bad when he loses to strangers... The 5 year old is another story!
Click to expand...

Here is one way to think about it: out of 5 games, the typical competitive player in a tournament can only expect to win 3! Even if they are the better player, those two losses can come from bad dice rolls, slow set up, or unfavorable match ups. So to be a champion, the player must do everything possible to turn those two losses into one or two wins.

Said another way, being undefeated is nearly impossible. Unlike golf and chess, Pokemon has an aspect of luck to it. So losing is part of the game. The point is to learn from those losses and make your deck and your style of play better.
 
My son and I play at a League where several other parents are the League Leaders and a good part of the staple players (and several of them are also here on the board /wave). I don't think it's weird at all to sleeve 'em up and play. Most of the kids there also play relatively competitive decks, my son is probably on of the most casual ones.

If/when they get more involved, you're probably going to want to get them closer to tournament legal. My son used to love finding random old cards in people's trade binders, but they just became a burden when it came time for me to try to build a consistent deck for him. I also started with some pre-constructed decks and modified, but after a while as his collection grew, I would try to work with his requests to use this new awesome card. He was 5 when we started, and is now 8, and somewhere in the middle of that is where he started to understand when I stressed the concepts of consistency and theme to him; don't just tell me to build a deck around one Level X or Prime, that's not enough for a whole deck, but if we have Magmortar X and Infernape X and enough of the rest of the line ... that's something I can do (and that's what he plays right now, which will be rotating out btw -sigh-).

Little tip for the packs: when he was starting and the collection was smaller, I bought a box of packs of a new set and stashed it away, and used a couple of packs each time as his "reward" type thing for chores and such. Much cheaper than going to the store for a toy that ends up being $15, the cards are smaller, I'd much rather him use his brain in Pokemon than swinging around yet another plastic sword, and as you already pointed out .. kids love opening packs. I gave them to him somewhat regularly and a box still lasted a few months, usually until just about the time the next set was out. I even had enough leftover by December to put a bunch together as a "stocking stuffer/extra Hannukah day" type gift. See if you can find a place, or look online, for a place to get a deal on a full box. Sounds like you've already spent at least that much as it is :D
 
I'd like to mention that you were lurking on the forums, not trolling them. ;)

But with that out of the way, you seem to be on a sound start. Straightforward decks are great for the kids because they learn. I'd also advice letting them make some choices in their actual lists, so they are more personal with their deck, and then if they make bad choices, YOU make the right choice in your deck, and over the course of a few games actually use the card to show why it's a better choice. Don't explain it explicitly. Just demonstrate. When it clicks for them, it will stick for them.

There are tons of very supportive individuals in the community, on this forum and strewn across the nation. There is nothing wrong with adults playing at league, just don't come dressed in a priest's smock and robe. HGSS is probably a great set to buy a box of for your children -- Collector is good, Communication is good, Copycat is alright, Professor Oak's New theory is alright, Donphan Prime is solid, Ursaring isn't too good but for their age group it can be good, etc. Oh, and DCE!

Most League Leaders are LLs because they love the game, and because they love the game, they're looking to grow it, and should be more than welcoming to your family. Hopefully your kids enjoy it.
 
Thanks for the suggestions!

Great idea about stashing the decks away. I'll definitely do this...I may need someone to stash them away from me though...I still love opening packs lol.

I'll also check out the HGSS deck. The donphan deck is definitely tops on the list. I'll also be sure to leave my priest robe at home when I attend our first league. :thumb:
 
what 2 say first........

1 welcome 2 the game/forum try not to get werided out*looks 2 pikamaster/darthpika and there respective pika armys massing somewhere/cheeseex* *shiver* lol

2your doing good so far

i suggest looking into decks like luxchomp sablelock donphan i think mewtwo decks will rock the format

or you can do what i do and make what pepole call rogue decks where you dont take other pepole deck and use them i find this funner but a 5 year old might find this hard 7 year old might you depends on how creative you are

and lastly goodluck in the game
 
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