RE: Wanting to Play Again.
The rotation is occurring on September 3rd, and only sets from Boundaries Crossed-On will be legal for standard play (note that some tournaments will allow a new format called "Extended", which includes sets from Black and White-On, so always check with the tournament organizer/staff before you sign up). The best time to get into the game, I feel, is just after worlds, preparing for the new rotation, so you're in luck.
I would start by figuring out the kind of deck you would like to play before you start building one. There's a lot of archetypes in the format right now (and that's not strictly just types: many archetypes include a variety of different types of Pokemon; it's not "grass decks" that are popular, it's a specific archetype, Virizion/Genesect, which is) and a lot of different ways to play.
I would start by looking through the
Deck Garage forum and just picking out a couple of lists that seem interesting. Then, use an online simulator like PlayTCG (free, but manual interface), PTCGO (official simulator; you need to use codes from purchased packs to trade or acquire most specific cards, automatic interface), or TCGOne (free, automatic interface, but lacks some of the latest modified-legal cards). From there, you'll start to get a feel for both the metagame and how the decks you chose play. You can refine your choices to better appeal to the sort of play-style you find most enjoyable.
Once you've found something you really like, then you build it for real, and start play-testing it for tournament play.
And since you're starting from scratch, you may as well just pick up the staples while you figure out a deck. Here's a rough list of some of the most popular staple cards in the format:
- 4x Professor Sycamore (Or Juniper, but you can't play both and Sycamore will be in the format longer)
- 4x N
- 2-4x Skyla
- 2-4x Colress
- 1-2x Shauna
- 1x Pokemon Fan Club (for evolution decks only, for the most part)
- 1-2x Lysandre
- 4x Ultra Ball
- 2-4x Muscle Band
- 2-4x Silver Bangle
- 1-2x Surprise Megaphone
- 1-2x Professor's Letter
- 1x Computer Search and/or Dowsing Machine
- 2-4x Rare Candy (again, evolution decks only, but it's always in the format so it can't hurt to pick it up)
- 2-4x Hypnotoxic Laser (only with Virbank City Gym)
- 2-3x Virbank City Gym (only with Hypnotoxic Laser)
Hope this helps. Have fun!
This Saturday I have off of work so I was planning on looking around for something to go to. Is it weird to visit leagues even if you don't participate in the actual games? Like say to check it out, watch games and maybe do trades. I'm not sure what exactly is proper to do. I've been to a yu-gi-oh league thing in the past (over 10 years ago) but, now I am an adult. Do a lot of adults participate? I guess i'm just super self-conscious about myself, is all. lol
