Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Rising HP Scores and how to track them

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Otaku

Otaku

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Power creep simply "is"; it is true that the-powers-that-be can intentionally try to lower HP scores across the board, but we already have some Pokémon that can need 3d6 (three six-sided dice) to keep track of damage... with combos that don't see regular play capable of generating 300 HP (soon to be up to 310 HP) scores. Even if the-powers-that-be do force HP scores back down again (and I've seen nothing suggesting that yet from the XY reveals), eventually it seems like we'll see cards that require four or five standard six-sided dice to keep track of things... and if we ever started seeing max HP scores like the video games have (but expressed in increments of 10) we could see cards that require 12d6 for tracking damage.

Right now it hasn't been a huge issue because how the last few formats have played; only a few decks regularly got HP scores above 180, and with games often focusing on OHKOs or 2HKOs, players weren't stuck with a full three dice to deal with retreating, Evolving etc. The standard d6 is fairly stable, so it isn't as easy to accidentally flip as dice with more sides.

Maybe this isn't an issue for most... but I'm clumsy and I know it. So I was just pondering if there were better ideas for tracking damage. The original, damage counters... actually wouldn't be that bad if damage counters basically followed U.S. coinage. Pennies for 10 points, nickels for 50, dimes for 10, etc. If you've never worked a cashier job (or one where you are expected to be fast and efficient with the coins)... its a good skill to have. If I had some huge Pokémon with 500 max HP... there are only a few scores that would involve a lot of coins. 410 damage? Just four coins; one each of a quarter, dime, nickel, and penny. 450 points of damage to track on a Pokémon with over 450 points of HP? Okay, that becomes a bit of a pain with One quarter, dime, and nickel plus four pennies... but using d6 isn't much better as you would need eight of them!

So... this an issue for anyone else? Do you have ideas for better record keeping? Think my suggestion is terrible or seems sound? Let's discuss.
 
I like using D20s to keep track of because its less items on the play field but most people like to call judges when something other then a D6 comes in. I really like the idea of using one dice to keep track of 200 damage since most Pokemon in just about anytime in the game will have no more then 170 damage before going down. D20 seems like the best option for using less to do more.
 
Interesting... I tried d20 but found them too "delicate"; a small bump and they would shift facings on me. Perhaps size matters?
 
I have some d20 that are rather large with sharp edges. Another thing I like using are the 20 life Magic counters. They can be a bit bulky but are easy to keep track of. Plus they look nice.
 
d8's I found would be the highest level of dice you can use without them getting knocked over and such.
 
I suspect the Mega Evolutions will top 300hp during its lifetime. Anything more, then things will start to get out of hand.
 
LuMaga1 said:
d8's I found would be the highest level of dice you can use without them getting knocked over and such.
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My own experience with d8 does not match that, in that I don't find them more stable than a d12. I never did careful, scientific analysis but based on casual observation, and if someone actually knows of someone that has, a link would be wonderful. The d8 and d10 don't have the weight above whatever side is functioning as the base of the shape (while it is resting) evenly distributed. So while more sides usually means "less stable", the d8 and d10 are exceptions because of how they sit. A d8, for example, just needs the elevated half "bumped down" to change what number is now facing up.

This is why I reconsidered coins (or coin-like counters); the main problem with them in the past was standardizing what they meant and choosing useful units. The are otherwise wonderful for stability. When the game began and we received glass beads... well those weren't labeled and they didn't follow that logical of a pattern (I seem to recall they originally suggested unites of 10 and 30 for different colors). Following the more common modern U.S. coins provides a pretty comprehensive system, and should be even easier for those in the U.S. to pick up.

I'll have to look up the Magic Life counters mentioned by vaporeon. How big are they? Remember that what brought this about was how printed HP scores are now going to exceed 200 (and thus a single 20 point Magic Life counter won't be enough). The only other option, which is horribly messy, would be using paper and pencil to record HP for each Pokémon. If one can figure out a simple to follow system, it would be inherently superior (you'd be able to track so much data)... but I don't think such a system is possible. XD
 
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I agree which is why I try to bring as many d6s as possible. Since all the pokemon I run in my deck(s) have high amounts of HP, I prefer using these. I'm not sure if someone had the time to experiment with such an topic, but I'll be looking for that as well.

The glass beads...I miss those days of Pokemon when the HPs weren't as crazy as now.
 
Canadians don't use pennies anymore in their transactions, but I'm sure that there's trillions of them out there somewhere - just not in my house, so that wouldn't work with everyone. Mind you, we use loonies ($1) and Toonies ($2) which could easily take the place of 100 and 200 damage.

I haven't played in a while, but I always liked the glass Japanese counters with the little orange 10's and the larger red 50's. Nowadays that might mean you need a second set of them to properly show the damage on multiple cards, but still I'd say they were the best - in my opinion.
 
P_A said:
Canadians don't use pennies anymore in their transactions...
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While it may seem like a conflict of interest, I favor removing them from the U.S. money supply (especially given how likely inflation is to make them even more trivial), at least based on my present understanding.

Part of the idea was that the freebie counters in starter decks would just be patterned after U.S. currency to some degree or another, so that outside of the U.S. there wouldn't be a mad rush to find equivalents... or for that matter in the U.S. as some of us shouldn't be trusted with a few dollars in change as damage counters. If using U.S. coinage is really a problem, just revisiting older concepts like the Japanese counters you mentioned but making them cover more increments (just 10s, 50s, and 100s would be a big help).

Of course I still recognize that in the immediate future, this still isn't a huge deal and some would rather just use 4d6.
 
If it matters to any of you, the kalos starter set decks have 10's 50's and 100 damage counters made from that cheap cardboard paper that is even flimsier than the ones used from Heartgold Soulsilver to Plasma Blast theme decks.

Sigh, if only elite trainer boxes came with plastic damage counters, but I don't mind the paper ones.

Do you know of anyone who used poker chips?
 
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