Discussion Prize card idea.

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Paige

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Hi guys I've always had an issue with the Random nature of Prize cards and was thinking if a player, instead of randomly drawing their prizes what if they could instead pick their prizes from their deck pregame (not showing opponent of course) so at least you know you won't get screwed by have key cards randomly stuck in the prize cards. Do you think this would work better or not? All opinions are welcome :).
 
hey Paige - this is dealing in the extremely hypothetical, but it almost certainly would never happen. People would just tech in an additional 6 energy cards and put those all in as prizes. A huge part of the game is the unknown factor of what lies within those 6 cards. It adds a significant level of variability.

If you haven't tried it yet, I recommend town map. I try to put it in as many decks as I can. Especially in evolution decks or decks that cut corners on draw support or energy, it can be a huge advantage to pick a card or two that you need the most.
 
Yeah. I have to agree with 21times. You would probably just put 6 Cards you can need as a late game thing in there and have everything important in your deck. I think the game would be kinda stale then. Besides. Since we have Rotom Dex you shouldnt have that big issue regarding "urgh" the one card i need is priced.

Also if the plan with planning your prices would be happening you would just stack your deck with these bad bois http://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-tcg/pokemon-cards/xy-series/xy11/102/
 
Oh that's even better, yeah you'd just put your VS seekers, energy retrieval, puzzles of time in there. Das ist good thinking mirdo!
 
I thought about it a few times. It would be nice if you could choose what go there. I know people say you can just choose what goes there and then win based on them but that too is part of the game as well. You choose what goes there. I know it doesn't happen all the time but if you happen to prize all of your boss Pokemon, then you lose. Its too random and no one wants to hears "that's just part of the game" when they prize both their Remoraid or Shaymin-EX.
 
danimal01 said:
I'd always put in "Greedy Dice" from STS and run at least x4 copies.

~Danimal
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I mean, yeah, cards like Greedy Dice don't fit this hypothetical model of Pokemon TCG and would be banned/rotated as soon as the announcement for the rule change was made.

This idea has been talked about here on Pokebeach many times before. Some people will think it's a good idea and some think it will make every match too samey.
 
danimal01 said:
I'd always put in "Greedy Dice" from STS and run at least x4 copies.

~Danimal
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Cool, gives me a reason to run Here Comes Team Rocket! instead of Town Map or Rotom Pokédex. ;)

For the record, I like this idea. Do I think it will ever happen as an official core rule change? Unfortunately, no I don't. The Prize mechanic adds an unneeded variable into the TCG. This is already a card game following the usual card game structure of having cards drawn from the top of a sufficiently randomized deck. That adds enough [insert choice expletive] moments; we don't need more. ;)

Coping with these added variables is a way to demonstrate one's skill, but it is also a chance to win or lose due to pure luck. I believe there is a net gain in skill from selecting one's Prizes beforehand. Even with current draw/search/recycling power, there is still enough variance, enough luck, from drawing. The additional variance caused by coin flips, Prize cards, and the x2 Weakness mechanic are totally unneeded for the usual goals of something like the Pokémon TCG. It goes from there being a little luck so that the less skilled player might win, to me wondering how many of my wins and losses I "earned" and how many I should credit to acts of God (to use the insurance terminology).

Those who want a sideboard pay attention; this might be the best way to implement one in Pokémon; just consider your deck to be 54 cards and insert your would-be sideboard/sidedeck into your Prizes. Town Map still remains useful as a way to ensure you get your desired sideboard option as the correct time. Unfortunately, as a PTCGO-only player, I can't test this out.
 
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21times said:
Agree as usual Otaku - the 6 random prize cards add a huge randomness factor.
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I also realize that it was probably intended to balance out running cards in a low count, but especially grinding away on the PTCGO, you realize how with proper randomization, you get plenty of matches where too many vital cards are locked away. Plus, it isn't like the designers are doing anything but rewarding crazy, low count combos that have to worry about this. You know, like the multiple swarm decks that work on just four Double Colorless Energy. ;)
 
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In a monthly box tournament, my friend prized all four of his Xerneas BREAK, a Yanmega and a Shaymin-EX. He ran the forth one just for the chance he prized three of them.

As for side decks, I think this requires a whole other thread.
 
crystal_pidgeot said:
As for side decks, I think this requires a whole other thread.
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If we do a full on discussion of the sideboard/side deck mechanic, yes, it does warrant a separate thread.

To just contemplate whether picking your Prize cards from your deck, either at the usual point you'd randomly place them from the top of your remaining deck or chosen from your entire deck before any other aspect of setup, is even remotely akin to having up to a six-card sideboard/side deck, that I think is within bounds. I was not arguing that it was a perfect match, just that even the tiny bit of overlap should intrigue proponents of giving Pokémon a sideboard/side deck. Considering I am an opponent of such a thing, you may not want me to think too deeply on the matter. ;)

(If the winking emoticon isn't an obvious enough sign, I actually am contemplating the larger ramifications, but that really is a conversation for a separate thread)
 
Otaku said:
If we do a full on discussion of the sideboard/side deck mechanic, yes, it does warrant a separate thread.

To just contemplate whether picking your Prize cards from your deck, either at the usual point you'd randomly place them from the top of your remaining deck or chosen from your entire deck before any other aspect of setup, is even remotely akin to having up to a six-card sideboard/side deck, that I think is within bounds. I was not arguing that it was a perfect match, just that even the tiny bit of overlap should intrigue proponents of giving Pokémon a sideboard/side deck. Considering I am an opponent of such a thing, you may not want me to think too deeply on the matter. ;)

(If the winking emoticon isn't an obvious enough sign, I actually am contemplating the larger ramifications, but that really is a conversation for a separate thread)
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For the Prize cards, it would have to be before the any setup since its less intrusive on it and removes these cards from any mulligans that happen, making a close system but they would have to redesign cards or ban some, like Greedy Dice. It's still the same 60 card deck but with no chance of prizing you four of attackers.
 
crystal_pidgeot said:
For the Prize cards, it would have to be before the any setup since its less intrusive on it and removes these cards from any mulligans that happen, making a close system but they would have to redesign cards or ban some, like Greedy Dice. It's still the same 60 card deck but with no chance of prizing you four of attackers
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The catch there is if we do Prizes first, we'll have to adjust the rule that you need at least one Pokémon that may serve as your opening Active after Prizes have been set aside. That isn't a major thing, just pointing it out.

Also, I'm not kidding: Here Comes Team Rocket! punishes anyone trying to rely on the Greedy Dice trick. Greedy Dice only triggers if revealed while facedown, so flipping them all face-up makes them 100% dead cards. If taking a Prize off of one was guaranteed, I could still see it being a bit of a problem, but even if you burn four of your six Prize slots on them, each has a 50% chance of failing. It might require a ban or erratum, but for now it might be worth testing to see.
 
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