I honestly think that shaymin may not be the best investment right now. Without a reprint, shaymin will only stay in the format for another year. Shaymins usually go for 45+ dollars, is it really worth it?
For casual League play? No, definitely not.
For any form of competitive play? Adjust based on how often you play, level of the event, and your own level of play. This card really is
vital for most decks to operate at their optimum: yes you can run a version without them but you will see a net gain in losses that wouldn't have happened with the best build (that includes
Shaymin-EX). If you're not going to top cut
with Shaymin-EX, then even if you're playing every Championship series even you could plus some side events, not worth it.
This is unlikely. Instead you're going to find that $45 isn't as expensive as it looks. First subtract out the difference of whatever alternatives you would be using, and if it is a combination of multiple alternatives you do include them all; just because they aren't all in the same deck doesn't mean they don't tap the same budget (and yes, you share
Shaymin-EX between different decks). For the sake of argument, I'm going to call it $5. I'm also going to assume
three Shaymin-EX. So $135 - $5 is $130. If you're only going to one event, not worth it. FYI, this is why I don't consider the physical TCG to be worth it right now in general: competitive cards are too pricey. Now if you're hitting multiple Championship series events
and you have a real shot at winning? Once you get to three (or more) events, it still stings but the investment is justified.
Without a reprint, shaymin will only stay in the format for another year.
Quoted again to highlight and serve as a lead in:
Standard is not the only Format. Bold text not to sound angry, but keep it from blending into the rest of my lengthy text. ^^' Right now cards from the
Black & White expansion are going to be legal for their sixth year. The only reason the BW-era low HP Pokémon-EX pseudo-Supporter stopped being a near staple in Expanded play is because
Shaymin-EX replaced, it (and
Jirachi-EX do still see some use in Expanded).
Shaymin-EX has only been around for a little over one year, so
Jirachi-EX was good until then, and we've probably got a good two to three years before
Shaymin-EX is either completely gone or obsolete.
Plus
@PatriciaWagon22 seems to be specifically running a deck that
calls for
Shaymin-EX (ROS) (see first post). If one enjoys the game and plans on competing often at a high level, then the mistake is to
delay getting
Shaymin-EX. Get them now, treat them well but use them; if you're going to Worlds even once they probably pay for themselves, and if
not then you sell them off before Worlds. You'll even have a window of time to make
sure they are rotating. Someone heading to Worlds will almost surely want them (even if only as spares), so you should still get a decent price at this time, partially recouping your investment.
Just be aware of reprints. Even the possibility of those aren't deal breakers if you are careful.
