Help The "What Should I Buy?" Thread

Tokunaga Minoru said:
Hello PokeBeach!

My college friends invited me to play TCG with them, so I need some suggestions about what deck I should build. I saw in several places that the best option for beginners is a Double Starter Deck, but at the same time, I saw that they are not worth the investment. So... What do you guys suggest?
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I suggest one of the Battle Arena Kits. These contain two decks like what you are looking for, but unlike most double starter decks (which I think you mean "Trainer Kits"), these Battle Arena Kits contain powerful cards that are used prominently in competitive play. Unfortunately there are only two Battle Arena Kits released, but I would recommend the Mewtwo-EX vs Darkrai-EX Kit if you can find it, as it is superior in both Pokemon and staple Trainers.
 
Sorry, I meant "Theme Deck", not "Starter Deck". The point was take the best cards from the theme deck copy, remove some cards from the original, and tweak it, like a 4-4-4 Greninja BREAK chain (I heard somewhere that Wave Slasher and Dark Hammer are the best Themes to buy).

Unfortunately, I didn't find the Mewtwo VS Darkai anywhere in my country, and import it is out of hand. Any other suggestion?
 
Theme Decks aren't really that great then. You probably could do well with the Wave Slasher deck, otherwise there isn't one I can see that is particularly good.
 
hai!!! i am having the problem of theme deck !!! i already have the following 1. resilient life 2. brilliant thunder 3. enchanted echo and destruction rush all are from 6th generation and now i want to buy a new one ......any suggestion ( expecting some powerful pokemons and different ones than in normal theme decks.... pokemons of type except fire,water and grass would be appreciated ) thank u in advance;););)
 
The Wave Slasher theme deck seems like a possible option, since it features both Grass and Water, and if you ever obtain a Greninja BREAK, you'll be able to upgrade your deck superbly.
 
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As you can see I have most of the cards for Greninja, but I still have a dilemma.

I have enough money to buy a Shaymin right now, but Greninja lists usually don't use Shaymin but opt for Octillery. I have enough money to buy two Octillery. and staples needed to complete Greninja.

What should I buy?
 
Do you think you are going to be playing Greninja for a while? Or do you think that Greninja can be successful even if Night March becomes less popular? You need to think ahead - what is the likelihood that you'll continue playing Greninja, and not change decks too soon and wishing you had a Shaymin. It may be worthwhile to ask around the competitive forum about the longevity of Greninja decks and discussing exactly what is keeping them competitive.

The staples seem to the more optimal choice in the short run eitherway, both because you likely will need the staples you collect for other decks, and also because Octillery can be used instead of Shaymin in decks if necessary. Also, it is possible that Shaymin-EX will be reprinted in a Legendary Treasures like reprint set like the one revealed for Japan, which would probably assist in dropping price.
 
So, I have been out of the TCG since the Neo Series. I am getting back into it now with the 20th anniversary, so I am looking to get my first Elite Trainer Box. So the questrion is... Fates Collide or BreakPoint? Does either of these series have better pulls? better competitive cards? I feel like a total noob since I knew the game in and out back in the day, haha.
 
Pupnasty said:
So, I have been out of the TCG since the Neo Series. I am getting back into it now with the 20th anniversary, so I am looking to get my first Elite Trainer Box. So the questrion is... Fates Collide or BreakPoint? Does either of these series have better pulls? better competitive cards? I feel like a total newbie since I knew the game in and out back in the day, haha.
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I'd say that BREAKPoint has more competitive cards, particularly with Greninja BREAK, water toolboxes (Palkia-EX, Manaphy-EX), a reprint of the powerful Garbotoxin Garbodor, Trevenant BREAK, Garchomp, Darkrai-EX, Delinquent, Fighting Fury Belt, Bursting Balloon, Max Elixir, Professor Sycamore and Puzzle of Time. I reckon its probably one of the most competitive sets in a while. I'm too sure what particularly competitive cards have come out of Fates Collide. I presume that there is Serperior, Barbaracle, Alakazam-EX, Mew, Marowak, Regirock-EX, Carbink, Zygarde-EX, Devolution Spray, N, Ultra Ball, DCE and Strong Energy; but not many of these may end up being tiered; unlike Greninja BREAK and Trevenant BREAK that are roughly tier 1 at present.

tl;dr I personally would recommend BREAKPoint over Fates Collide.
 
bbninjas said:
I'd say that BREAKPoint has more competitive cards, particularly with Greninja BREAK, water toolboxes (Palkia-EX, Manaphy-EX), a reprint of the powerful Garbotoxin Garbodor, Trevenant BREAK, Garchomp, Darkrai-EX, Delinquent, Fighting Fury Belt, Bursting Balloon, Max Elixir, Professor Sycamore and Puzzle of Time. I reckon its probably one of the most competitive sets in a while. I'm too sure what particularly competitive cards have come out of Fates Collide. I presume that there is Serperior, Barbaracle, Alakazam-EX, Mew, Marowak, Regirock-EX, Carbink, Zygarde-EX, Devolution Spray, N, Ultra Ball, DCE and Strong Energy; but not many of these may end up being tiered; unlike Greninja BREAK and Trevenant BREAK that are roughly tier 1 at present.

tl;dr I personally would recommend BREAKPoint over Fates Collide.
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Sigh, I bought the Fates Collide moments before you posted.... Guess Ill have to go and buy a BreakPoint one now too.... Haha
 
Sorry, I just made a thread, hadn't see this one, so I'll copy paste here and delete it.

Hello guys,

I'm currently playing Pokémon TCG Online, and considering that there's a new rotation incoming, I feel this is the best timming to go to physical cards.

I intend to go competitive, however I want some advice on what should I do. first What's the best option?
  1. Buy a deck with most of the competitive cards, then go little by little buying boosters to increase my colection;
  2. Spend all in boosters and try to trade RR pulls to cards in the deck;
  3. Buy trainers boxes;
  4. Buy opened cards and build from there
I can't spend much at once, so I'll build my collection as possible but I do prefer building a competitive deck.

I'm able to spend about about R$ 150,00 /month (this may be variable), a 5 cards booster is R$ 6,00, Generations box is about R$ 100,00 and some cards price for reference:

  • Shaymin EX FA about R$ 240,00
  • Greninja Break about R$ 55,00
  • Darkrai EX about R$ 50,00
  • Giratina EX about R$65,00
  • Sycamore about R$ 4,00
(Using all from same store, can find it a bit cheaper, I believe)

Many Thanks!


Edit: Can't delete it. Sorry for that.
 
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I'm a bit late but thanks for opening this topic ! :)

Price range : 25$-50$ per month.
What are you thinking to buy ? : I'll start with a basic themed deck like the "blue basic" wich I already play with and understand pretty well on the online version of the game, if it exists on paper of course. Then something like a 'booster box' or the Pokémon equivalent to start a collection and have stuff to trade of the most recent set (wich should Fates Collide if I'm not mistaken).
 
LifeSword3 said:
I'm a bit late but thanks for opening this topic ! :)

Price range : 25$-50$ per month.
What are you thinking to buy ? : I'll start with a basic themed deck like the "blue basic" wich I already play with and understand pretty well on the online version of the game, if it exists on paper of course. Then something like a 'booster box' or the Pokémon equivalent to start a collection and have stuff to trade of the most recent set (wich should Fates Collide if I'm not mistaken).
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If you want a booster box of the latest set, the most recent is Steam Siege, which just came out last week. Keep in mind that booster boxes are typically between $80-120 USD, depending where you buy one, which is out of your price range; sets release every 3 months, though, so it won't be a monthly commitment at least.

If you're still looking for a theme deck (and I personally agree they are the best way to start playing), remember that the next Standard rotation occurs in just a few weeks, so unless you're looking to play Expanded, you should pick one up that's from Primal Clash or later. I recommend Sky Guardian (based on Lugia from Fates Collide). Not only is Lugia better than most other Standard theme decks' Pokemon, but it has pretty good Trainer line as well as a 3-2 Braixen line which can help give you a start on a Delphox deck, which are fun.

Or, as I usually recommend to newer players, pick up a theme deck of a Pokemon you like. :p Learning how to utilize card interactions and establishing a plan of play that fits your style are important first steps, and you might as well use some Pokemon you like while doing it. Don't feel like you have to jump into meta decks right away (or ever, if you don't want to :p).
 
@Purrloin : Thank you very much for your advice, I think I'll just wait until christmas to get a booster box lol. Anyway, is there anything that could help me start a collection in my price range outside of simple boosters ? By the way, could you tell me wich sets are rotating out of standard I don't want to buy something that I won't be able to play in a few weeks ^^
 
LifeSword3 said:
@Purrloin : Thank you very much for your advice, I think I'll just wait until christmas to get a booster box lol. Anyway, is there anything that could help me start a collection in my price range outside of simple boosters ? By the way, could you tell me wich sets are rotating out of standard I don't want to buy something that I won't be able to play in a few weeks ^^
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You may want to consider buying singles. Generally it's significantly cheaper (outside of the occasional very expensive card) and you have a bit more control over what's in your collection, which is especially useful if there's a particular deck you're interested in making. If you're looking to collect in addition to compete, though, keep in mind that buying singles obviously runs the risk of getting a non-mint card.

As for what's rotating out of Standard:

Kalos Starter Set
XY base
Flashfire
Furious Fists
Phantom Forces
and all promos under XY36
 
Good day,

i am fairly new to the game .. (only been playing the online TCG version for about a month) there is a local league starting up this month in town, but i am not ready to actually play in it, so likely will go to talk with others while deciding for sure what i want to try to build.

so i guess i am debating on what to get in the mean time, i already have picked up an ETB for Steam Siege and Generations for the energy cards and some packs to open to get me started .. and now i will be going for single cards for the most part other then the occasional urge to open stuff.

i have read various threads about staples and such, but not sure what is rotating out and what is staying (from what the local group says they will mostly be playing standard and then of course casual games as well)

since i am still getting a grasp on some mechanics and stuff, i am wanting to build something fairly simple (i am a former mtg player so i understand the basics already from that and from the tcgo) with the ETB's i bought i have a decent set of fire based EX cards so far (3 flarion, 1 charazard, 2 ninetails from generations i think)

a budget for me would be 20 to 40 a month, maybe a little more once bills are paid
 
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SilenzZzz said:
Good day,

i am fairly new to the game .. (only been playing the online TCG version for about a month) there is a local league starting up this month in town, but i am not ready to actually play in it, so likely will go to talk with others while deciding for sure what i want to try to build.

so i guess i am debating on what to get in the mean time, i already have picked up an ETB for Steam Siege and Generations for the energy cards and some packs to open to get me started .. and now i will be going for single cards for the most part other then the occasional urge to open stuff.

i have read various threads about staples and such, but not sure what is rotating out and what is staying (from what the local group says they will mostly be playing standard and then of course casual games as well)

since i am still getting a grasp on some mechanics and stuff, i am wanting to build something fairly simple (i am a former mtg player so i understand the basics already from that and from the tcgo) with the ETB's i bought i have a decent set of fire based EX cards so far (3 flarion, 1 charazard, 2 ninetails from generations i think)

a budget for me would be 20 to 40 a month, maybe a little more once bills are paid
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Welcome to the game! First off, the sets that are rotating is anything older than Phantom Forces and promo cards under XY36. As for staples, cards such as Ultra Ball, Professor Sycamore, and VS seekers are probably the three biggest trainers right now. VS seekers are the most expensive, at around $10 usd each.

Shaymin ex is the best Pokemon in the format now and pretty much every competitive deck uses at least one or two. However, they are really expensive, at around $50 apiece.

The battle arena decks are a great way to get into the game. A new one, featuring Rayquaza and Keldeo ex is coming out this month. It will have some staple cards, but be aware that the Exs are not standard legal.

If you want to jump in and start making a deck, Volcanion Ex from the new Steam Siege set is a good one. You already have the Flareon Exs, and maybe you got some regular rare Volcanions from those packs? Anyways, I'm not an expert on deck building but some members have written articles on this deck on the free blog, which I highly recommend you check out.

Feel free to pm me with any questions, but I'm sure other members know more than me.
 
Digital Dragon said:
Welcome to the game! First off, the sets that are rotating is anything older than Phantom Forces and promo cards under XY36. As for staples, cards such as Ultra Ball, Professor Sycamore, and VS seekers are probably the three biggest trainers right now. VS seekers are the most expensive, at around $10 usd each.

Shaymin ex is the best Pokemon in the format now and pretty much every competitive deck uses at least one or two. However, they are really expensive, at around $50 apiece.

The battle arena decks are a great way to get into the game. A new one, featuring Rayquaza and Keldeo ex is coming out this month. It will have some staple cards, but be aware that the Exs are not standard legal.

If you want to jump in and start making a deck, Volcanion Ex from the new Steam Siege set is a good one. You already have the Flareon Exs, and maybe you got some regular rare Volcanions from those packs? Anyways, I'm not an expert on deck building but some members have written articles on this deck on the free blog, which I highly recommend you check out.

Feel free to pm me with any questions, but I'm sure other members know more than me.
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thanks! yes there was one normal Volcanion in the packs but no EX version ... and i have that arena deck box set on my list to watch for .. looks like it will be a good price to get a handle on some of the needed cards.

i have been looking at various decklists and posts over the past few weeks and will continue to do so ... now to find some dealing with a deck that contains the cards that i already have.
 
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