Table of Contents 64q43
TCG Pokémon ou Trading Card Game is the card game of the franchise Pokémon which was first released in 1996 and has since been released alongside games for the consoles of the Nintendo with the addition of new cards and mechanics. With the launch of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, much has been speculated about the arrival of a new collection incorporating the ninth generation with the new mechanics terastal and, recently, it was announced that on March 31, the first expansion of Scarlet and Violet, brought to Brazil by Copag. 360m
Showmetech produced this text so that you understand everything that we will have in this new collection and how now is perhaps the ideal time for those who have never played it to test it for the first time and start their journey. If you've never played before and want to know the basic rules of TCG Pokémon, we made another one text explaining about how to play.
Is now the time to start playing? 253p3j
The short answer to this question is: yes, now is the ideal time for anyone who wants to start playing or has stayed away from the hobby for years and wants to return to the game. card game. However, the reason for this answer may be a little more complicated and let's understand now.
Imagine a situation in a card game where there is a deck that has a strategy above the others and is winning all tournaments. Soon, all players will create that same deck to have a chance to compete, and as a result, people will stop drawing any other cards or trying different strategies. Quickly, people tend to lose interest in the game, which can even cause a reduction in the profits of the company that manufactures and distributes the products.
There are some ways to solve this type of problem: the simplest of all is to banish a specific card that is crucial for that strategy, which is not a good way out, as it puts at risk the confidence of the players who spent money to obtain that one. product; the second is to create even more powerful cards that can beat the dominant deck, which can be a dangerous way out, since the tendency is that the next expansion will always have to be better and will cause an increase in the scale of forces in an indeterminate way; and lastly is the use of rotation which is the real reason why now is the ideal time to start playing TCG Pokémon.
Rotation is a rule that applies to other card games like Magic The Gathering and, in the context of TCG Pokémon, we have new expansions being released every 2 or 3 months adding new cards, that is, a new block of cards and strategies is always being added to the game. As a way to improve balance, with the release of new collections, older ones are removed from the format Standard, which is the official game format of TCG Pokémon.
A set of expansions is always released with an indicator of its rotation block. In 2020 we had the launch of the D block, in 2021 the E block cards came out and in 2022 collections were launched with cards belonging to the F block. The current rule is that we have a maximum of 3 blocks present in the standard format of the game. That is, now in 2023 we will have the release of block G and, as a consequence, all cards belonging to D will be removed from tournaments. The only exception to this rule is if a card has been re-released, so any old versions of the card can be used.
The current scenario is that in April 2023 we will have the rotation to enter the new generation of Pokémon and a set of cards will be removed and new ones will be added. Will this have an impact on the game? Yes, significant. The vast majority of decks that are winning official tournaments today, such as Lugia V-Astro and Lost Box, will lose important cards and players will have to reinvent their strategies. Therefore, those who start playing at this moment will be able to follow the new strategies more easily, in addition to being able to buy the new products from the Scarlet and Violet collection.
What's new about the new format? 3qv4a
One of the complaints from the Pokémon in recent years is in relation to the pace of matches. One of the basic principles of the game is that you need to evolve your creatures on the field so that they can become more powerful, that is, if you want to put a Charizard in the game, you must first place a Charmander and evolve it during the game. Over the years, several cards have been released with the aim of facilitating these evolutions, such as, for example, the Candy Rare card, which allows the player to evolve a Basic Pokémon directly to its last evolutionary stage without having to evolve to a Stage. 1, which streamlined the pace of the game.
However, during generation Sword and shield, Pokémon V were released, which are powerful versions of the creatures we have in the game and that break the basic rule of evolution, as any V is obligatorily a basic Pokémon. From this mechanic, a player could start the game already using a Charizard-V and the use of these cards became essential for the strategies of most decks.
for the new collection Scarlet and Violet, this mechanic will be replaced by Pokémon ex – a term that was previously used in the game and is returning – and, in this case, a Stage 2 Pokémon ex will continue to be a Stage 2, with the need for an evolution during the course of the game so that the player can use the card. That is, the fact that the Pokémon is ex does not change its stage, only its strength and abilities.
In addition, a new mechanic introduced is called the Terastal effect. For those who played pokemon scarlet ou pokemon violet, you already know what that means and card game the effect will work similarly. A Pokémon that underwent terastalization may have its powers amplified and its typing changed. For example, a Pikachu that has been Terastalized will be able to become a Grass-type Pokémon and will no longer be weak to Ground-type attacks.
In the card game this will work similarly, as we will have Arcanine and Gyarados in Terastal form. Initially, there will be no typing changes, only their strengths increased. However, there is confirmation that in the future expansion called Ruler of the Black Flame, in Japan, will have a Dark-type Charizard coming to the game and, later, new typing modifications allowing different strategies. In addition, cards with a Terastal effect will receive an extra ability, such as being protected from damage while it is not the player's Active Pokémon.
In addition to the game's mechanical changes, there will also be changes in the design of the cards. With the standardization of the edges, the new cards released here will have a gray outline – just like in Japan – and a new holofoil will be added. 258 cards will be released, with a total of 198 cards from the main set and 60 cards with alternative arts known as "Rare Secrets" for those who want to collect.
For the United States, it was also revealed that there will be a readjustment in the price and a modification in the configuration of the boost pack. From $3,99 to $4,49, the new pack will have 2 reverse holo cards and 1 effect card holofoil. At the time of writing this article, it had not been announced by Copag whether there will be a change in the price of cards in Brazilian territory.
The best decks and strategies in Scarlet and Violet 475w4x
With the release of new cards, decks will undergo modifications and new archetypes and strategies will appear in tournaments. To help you break into the competitive world of TCG Pokémon, we list here the decks that will appear the most in official competitions, which you should use as a reference base and keep an eye on them because they will come your way!
The decks presented below were the most used in official tournaments in Japan, where the Scarlet and Violet collection has already been released and we have performance data and which cards are being used the most.
miraidon ex 5m3269
The new archetype involving the miraidon ex consists of using the special ability Tandem Unit, which searches for two other Electric-type Pokémon for the game, and can even search for another Miraidon ex and a Regieleki-V. The main strategy consists of fielding the Regieleki-VMAX for an increase in electricity attacks and using the Electric Generator to fetch its energies from the deck to power up potential attackers. The Beach Court stadium is used to remove the Retreat cost from your Pokémon and allow a new powerful attack each turn.
former guard 1p2l52
on the deck of former guard, we'll use Klefki with its Mischievous Lock ability to remove abilities from the opponent, while evolving a Ralts into Kirlia or straight into Gardevoir using the Rare Candy card. Gardevoir ex's ability is to attach psychic energies from the discard pile to your Pokemon readying attackers on the field, such as Zacian-V.
Lost Box 4f5g29
the deck of Lost Box will be one of the most used in 2023 and consists of sending letters to the Lost Zone using Colress and Comfey Experiment. With 4 cards, it is already possible to enter the field attacking with Cramorant without energy cost and, from 10 cards in the Lost Zone, the player can use Sableye to distribute 12 damage counters on any opponent's Pokémon. The Beach Court stadium will be essential to remove Comfey's recoil cost, allowing the use of more than one ability per turn.
Giratina V-Astro 191i1i
the deck of Giratina V-Astro works similarly to Lost Box and uses the same strategies to add cards in the Lost Zone using Comfey and Colress Experiment. The big difference is in relation to the addition of Giratina with its Lost Impact and Astral Requiem attacks, which manage to defeat any opponents with just 1 blow, the latter being only usable once during the match. In both decks, the Mirage Gate card is essential for powering up your attacks in an easy way.
Lugia V-Astro 6o6x5f
the deck of Lugia was the big star of the second half of 2022 and should lose strength in 2023 due to cards that cannot be used after rotation. However, it remains a strong option with Lugia V-Astro's strategy of sending Archeops to the graveyard and bringing them back to the bench with Lugia V-Astro's Astral Summoning ability, removing the need for evolution. Through Archeops' Turbo Primal ability, it is possible to connect any special energies to its attackers to defeat its opponent, one of them being Tyranitar-V which has an attack of 240 damage and is a weakness to Mew and Gardevoir.
Mew VMAX 1s55
Finally, the deck Mew is one of those that will suffer the least losses after rotation and maintains its strategy, which consists of using the Genesect-V Fusion Strike System to draw cards until you have the same number in your hand as the Fusion Strike Pokémon you have in play. In this way, it is possible to quickly assemble two Mew V-MAX to attack their opponents with no recoil cost and using the Cross Fusion Blow, choosing Genesect's Technological Blast as an attack or using Meloetta's Melodious Echo. This deck is one of the most powerful, but it constantly suffers from Drapion-V, which is its natural weakness, partially losing its competitiveness.
To access the complete list of decks mentioned above, access the Limitless, which is one of the main sources of information about decklists and strategies of TCG Pokémon.
How to start playing Pokémon TCG? iv2z
The official distributor of products from TCG Pokémon in Brazil is the Copag, which has its official website with a store where can you buy booster with assorted cards, booster box and cans with cards. However, the easiest way to learn to play with a friend is to buy a Starter Decks, which consists of a ready-to-play closed product and has Pokémon, trainers and energies that will give new players the whole base of how the basic rules of the game work.
If you are looking for something closer to what is used in official tournaments and want something that has a slightly more complex strategy, we highly recommend the product Dealho Batalha De Liga. This type of deck involves V- and VMAX-type Pokémon with abilities that can change the course of matches. The great advantage of this product is that you can later use it as a basis for building a competitive deck to enter your first tournaments.
Currently, we have some options on the market such as Zacian, Calyrex, Urshifu and Inteleon, however, the best product in of cost benefit is the Mew VMAX League Battle Deck, a sealed product sold by Copag, which provides the entire foundation of one of the best decks in the game at an affordable price.
An unofficial way to learn to play with your friends is through proxy. A very common practice in the scenario today, due to the high price of some cards, is their use for fun or to test new strategies without a cost. The proxy is nothing more than printing cards at home using A4 paper to play with your friends, being able to acquire extremely expensive copies of cards for your decks.
On site Limitless, we have a dedicated page for printing proxies, where you can place all the cards you want to print and a .pdf file will be generated in the correct size for printing. From there, you must place the proxy on the front of some other original letter to have the correct consistency wrapped in a protective plastic called sleeve ou Shield.
It is important to that proxies are not accepted in official tournaments and should only be used for testing and fun with friends. Using a tournament proxy will result in tournament elimination.
Finally, we have the Pokemon TCG Live. The recently released card game video game is available for Android, iOS (iPhone) e PC. In it you will receive some initial decks to learn the main strategies of the game.
Sources: justinbasil, PokeBeach, Limitless e Pokémon.
Text proofread by: Pedro Bomfim (23 / 03 / 23)
