Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Questions about League Leading...

C

CoolTrainer2278

New Member
Hello everyone,

I started a league at the beginning of January, and we've been growing fairly consistently ever since, I had a few questions that I hope some more experienced league leaders can answer.

First, I purchased a few theme decks for the players who don't know about Pokemon to get a chance to play. However, there are a few players who consistently fail to bring cards and always end up borrowing a theme deck for the duration of our League session. To be honest, it's starting to bother me, but I try to supportive, since I don't know their financial situations, etc. Do you have any suggestions on how I can handle this?

Also, along those lines, some of my (younger) players bring in cards they've collected over the years and put together a deck (usually with holo cards that aren't legal) that isn't really effective. I try to explain how to put together a deck that's better for competitive play, but they don't really take my advice because their cards are "really powerful". Ideally, I'd like to stick with the modified format, but those players have very few legal cards. I've considered implementing a strictly-Modified format policy, but, again, I don't know how easy it is for them to obtain newer cards... I was wondering if you had any suggestions for sticking to the modified format, or encouraging the purchase of new cards... something that I think will be really important if we ever hold tournaments (once they get the deck-building down of course).

Finally, about the scorecards... I've been reading on the forums, etc, that some leagues let their players complete several scorecards at once... However, since we only meet once a week for three hours, I think that trying to complete several scorecards would be tough. I've told my players that if there are any prizes they don't get to (like the patches), then I'll offer them as prizes or participation gifts for any tournaments we might hold. Does anyone have any opinions on how to handle this?

Sorry for the wordy post, but I don't really have any other place to turn to with these questions. I'd appreciate any help in the matter. Thanks!
 
Completing several scorecards at once just means that we mark any game played for every scorecard that the player has. So, if one player has 4 scorecards and plays 3 games, they get 3 marks on all 4 of the scorecards. Do NOT use the League promos for anything other than League. I believe that the League FAQ says something to this effect.

It's completely your choice how you want to run your League. Some are Modified-only. Some are Unlimited. For the most part, it doesn't matter. Don't try and push competitive play on your players too hard. Simply mention that it's there and where and when to find it, and you're doing good.

Don't try and fix decks unless you're asked to. Players don't like being given advice unsolicited. And always try and keep the player's preferences in mind when making a deck. Let's say that a player really likes his Nidoking. So construct a deck for him around that Nidoking. If there's 2-3 beefy Pokemon that your player likes, tell them to choose one or two of them to build the deck.

If you're getting upset over League stalkers, then just institute limits and/or bans on points earnings when using a League PCD. I had to do something similar when my kids decided not to sign up on the TPCi website. I know other LOs that don't keep open PCDs around for borrowing. It's all up to how you want to run your League.
 
Thanks for the input!

I don't know why I didn't think of how to handle the scorecards -- and luckily, I haven't used the promos for anything else yet, and I've saved everyone's scorecards.

I suppose I'll just let things be as far as the format is concerned. Maybe as they get more experience they'll want to go out and get legal cards.
 
in my experience kids may start out playing unlimited, but as they continue attending league and see the shiny new cards others have, they'll start getting those. i still don't require that players conform to modified format though; those who want to play tourneys will do so. the players only interested in league play won't.

when i ran league at a borders ::cries:: i kept a few loaner decks in my league kit, along with some leftover PCDs from my prereleases for purchase. now that i'm running league in a game store, those are no longer necessary; i'm only bringing my trainer kits. those are not lent out, but used by a trusted player/parent for teaching purposes only.

i have kids who only get one or two stamps per league session, and who therefore have three or four scorecards going at a time. i used to even mark previous 'league year' scorecards, but now will only do so if the player has been continually attending league sessions. if a player has been absent for months and returns i've likely already shredded their previous year's card(s).

i feel your pain about the league members w/o their own decks. i'd start requiring that people bring their own decks; make an announcement that as of [DATE] league decks will no longer be available for use. look up the decklists for the trainer kits and build/modify those and keep them on hand for teaching brand new players.

i've also heard of league leaders who rubberstamp or otherwise mark the cards in their 'loaner' decks to prevent the 'good' cards from 'disappearing'; since tourney rules prohibit marked cards, those collectors/communicators etc. are now useless to anyone else...

hope this helps :)
'mom
 
Also, whenever a new player comes, I wait a week to see if they show up again before I hand out player IDs. Then, I withhold prizes until they sign up for a Trainer Club Account. However, I have a few players who stopped showing up before they even reached their first prize, and thus, never signed up for an account. Are those players just never going to be accounted for? Is there anything I can do? Is there a better way to go about handing out player IDs?

Secondly, there's one player who comes by occasionally, and, by her own admission, prefers playing the video game to the TCG. However, she doesn't own a DS. Instead, she borrows someone else's DS and plays the video game for a while. Not even battling -- just playing through the main story, starting over each time. I've tried to explain that League is about interacting with other Pokemon players/fans, but every time she comes, it's the same thing, although sometimes she'll play the TCG as well. I don't think she's shy, since she'll talk to most of the players before she asks someone if she can use their DS, but is there some way I can encourage her to stop playing by herself? Plus, whenever she borrows my DS, it comes back with fingerprints all over the screen :p

Anyway, thanks for the help that's already been provided. If anyone could oblige me with some more advice, I'd appreciate it!!
 
i don't hold back on issuing a player ID to new league members. all new league IDs get reported for that league season; after all, they DID participate in at least one session...

re: the DS 'borrower'...does she have her own game? how is she 'starting over' if not?

stop lending her your DS...'forget' to bring it with you. re-state to all that league VG play is for interaction, not solo play. imho she's not participating in league, but taking advantage of all the other players she 'borrows' from.

'mom
 
I suppose that handing out IDs right away could help with attendance.

She doesn't have her own game, and she said she hasn't since Red/Blue. She starts a new game on people's games, but is "nice" enough to not save over the game each time. I think I'll just have to put my foot down...
 
oh heck no: starting a new game on someone else's cart and hoping she remembers to *not* save?

no way...imagine the drama when someone's game gets saved over. stop this now :(

'mom
 
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