23 (or more?) Arbitrary TCG Questions

A

ArrEmmDee

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Okay, so.

I used to buy TCG packs all the time as a casual collector from about 2003-2006. I have dealt with the TCG since its North American introduction, but 2003-2006 was when I was actively paying more attention to things rather than just buying two packs a year and getting ripped off on the playground and then just forgetting about them. After 2006 I sort of slowed down and even skipped a few sets here and there, and by the time the DP expansion rolled out I decided to stop buying cards.

However I got some TCG cards for Christmas, and bought myself a tin in mid-January, and I've been perplexed at several of the changes that have been made, and after checking with two members here, they said it sounded okay to post a thread effectively asking "trivia" questions encompassing several questions. I have no doubt I could find the answers to all these questions with a bit of Google searches and forum lurking, but this saves me more time and gives me more exact answers, and hopefully provides an interesting thread.

The idea was set off for the purpose of asking about DP-series threads, but I'm going to get a bit carried away and ask about the entire TCG, and its relation to various other forms. I've personally never gotten to go to any tournaments and my competence at actually playing the game has never actually been put into practice beyond playing with some EX Ruby & Sapphire pre-constructed decks with my sister, so perspectives from people as both players, collectors, and both are welcome. Any answer you're actually able to answer/provide input on, please do. I wish I could say this was for some greater glory of some sort of study or website report or anything, but it's mostly feeding my own curiosities. I'm basically going to list them off randomly as they come to my mind, and your answers might inspire more questions.

I'm not necessarily looking for straight yes or no answers for most of these. Consider them prompts to discuss facts and your opinions rather than answer one question and move on. You don't have to answer every single question, so just answer the ones that really interest you and you have things to say. If I've made any incorrect assumptions (as I'm sure I have), please point them out.

Thanks in advance both for reading and for answering.

1. The most immediate thing apparent is that DP series cards boost the card count per pack from 9 to 10. Why was this done, and how did people respond? (Identically, how did people respond when the e-card series dropped the count from 11 to 9, and why didn't the DP series restore it to 11?)

2. The mid to later EX series sets had really nice reverse/alternate holographic cards. Perhaps this is subjective, but why did they switch back to the less appealing rainbow reflective reverse holographic style?

3. This one genuinely bothers me. Why was the 120 HP limit broken without some sort of detriment? i.e. only Pokémon-ex had been allowed to break the limit previously, and that was presumably justifiable due to the two prize draw for knocking any Pokémon-ex out. How is this justifiable, if at all?

4. How did old players, new players, and collectors react to the 120 HP limit being broken?

5. Repeat questions 3 and 4, but with the adjustment to Weakness and Resistance systems.

6. If the Unlimited format is even played at all, has the DP series completely outclassed all previous expansion sets? Again, I've always been nothing more than a casual collector, but my impression has been that Base series cards still stood a chance when Neo series came out, and Base and Neo still stood a chance when the EX cards came out, but the DP series has broken HP caps and in some cases are a lot harder to tally up damage against them with less of an Achilles heel regarding Weakness. Do I have the wrong impression, or has the DP series completely and utterly outclassed all older series?

7. This ties in with the last question and several others, but my favorite card sets to collect were Team Rocket, Neo Destiny, and EX Team Rocket Returns. I don't know how Team Rocket was received by the competitive community, but I read Light Pokémon in the Neo Destiny set were mostly ignored, and EX TRR didn't necessarily shake things up.
- In Team Rocket, Dark Pokémon all had exceptionally low HP (if memory serves, so did the Fossil expansion as a whole beforehand) to justify extremely powerful attacks. Were they competitive then? Do they even stand a chance now?
- In Neo Destiny, the trend for Dark Pokémon was identical. Light Pokémon did the reverse, with high HP and a focus on weaker damage attacks instead (doing tech-like things and healing instead). Maybe I simply read some idiot reviewer back in 2000whenever, but why were they snubbed? Would they still be useless?
- EX TRR, from my impression, ignored the HP and attack trends, solely focusing on the idea of being dual-typed Pokémon. Was this due to a trend towards higher HP in the TCG? (One that evidently continued into DP?)

8. What is the general sort of gameplay employed in the current format? The last time I payed attention, Haymaker (re: no evolution, do moderate damage ASAP and then worry about building up later) was the way to go, but nowadays I really only notice tech-style things for non-evolving Pokémon and heavy hits come from higher-evolutions and EX/Lv. X. Is the TCG about evolution as soon as possible now?
- If so/if not, there have been weird changes like Pokémon (usually Basic) being able to attack for zero Energy, and it's usually only Basics being given these sorts of built-in items (not familiar with the mechanic). Depending on your answer to Q8, do these factor into the game at all?

9. Tied in with 8: is the current format faster or slower than previous formats?

10. Tied in with 8 and 9: in some cases, Lv.X can be seen almost as a Stage 3 evolution of sorts. Does this speed up/slow down the game, and how has that changed the format?

11. If you've been playing the TCG for a while, what have been your favorite game mechanics and changes added (eg Pokémon ex/Lv. X, Dark/Light/Shning Pokémon, Pokémon-SP, Delta Species, Metal and Dark Energy finally being made available as basic Energy cards). What have been your least favorite?
- If you only started playing the TCG recently/relatively recently, is there anything from earlier sets you wish they would bring back? Anything you find absolutely insane? Interesting? Boring? etc?

12. What have been your favorite expansions? Least favorite expansions? And in both cases, why?

13. How much is my EX Unseen Forces Lugia ex worth? I'm just kidding, I'll Google that. But in general, I remember Base Set Charizards being worth 100 dollars. Does that sort of hysterical overvalue still occur? How do you feel about it? Personally, aside from some of those extremely rare Japanese promos, I don't understand why anyone would ever pay anything approaching or exceeding 50 dollars for any individual card.

14. Everyone said in 10 years, all their Pokémon cards would be worth 100 dollars. It's been 10 (or more??) years. What happened?

15. Something that made me discouraged from continuing to collect TCG cards was the fact it seemed a lot easier to amass more cards for less money as an actual tournament player, what with Prereleases, POP series cards, arbitrary promos, etc. where I'd throw 50 dollars max at any individual expansion and end up with bundles of doubles and nobody to trade with. There have typically never been any local tournaments, etc. within the city I live so not going to these things is a decision more or less out of my hands and a practical consideration more than anything. Was this a faulty assumption? Comment regarding this to some degree, I'm interested.

16. How much does the average collector throw at any given individual expansion? How much does the average person who plays at tournaments?

17. Has the TCG gotten more or less expensive as time has gone on?

18. I've read you can spend money on entire booster pack boxes and not have any chance at collecting the entire set, because they actively limit how many Pokémon-ex/Lv.X/Star/SH are in any given box. Does this discourage anyone from buying booster pack boxes?

19. Compare Japanese booster pack distribution, theme decks, promos, etc. to American equivalents. Does Japan have an unfair advantage in getting the cards they want/need for their decks?

20. I'm familiar with PokéGym (maybe other sites) and their apparent connection to TCG officials, etc. I don't really have any particular question, but just wondering if that has any impact if at all on anything I might have asked before, if officials go there for feedback to implement into the metagame/rulings/card production, if you feel obligated to go there, etc. Anything like that at all? (Sorry if it's a taboo to mention PokéGym, btw.)

21. Is there any instance where you could evolve your Pokémon into one with less HP? (For example, in early sets, Charmander usually had 40 ~ 50 HP, since Charmeleon usually had 60 ~ 80 HP, and in Dark Charmeleon's case, he only had 50 HP. Has there been a Charmander with 60 HP released, so that evolution into Dark Charmeleon would actually lose you 10 HP? I know the answer to that one is no, but it's a hypothetical and I'm wondering if anything similar is actually in place. And I'm not asking about things like evolution from Oddish -> Dark Gloom -> Erika's Vileplume, since that actively goes against the rules.)

22. Kadabra hasn't been available since the e-card series for legal reasons. Is that ever going to get undone.

23. Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres weren't available as themselves in any EX expansion. They were only available as Pokémon-ex. Which means, for example, there was a giant gap (from Skyridge to Majestic Dawn) between which you could get two cards named "Articuno" (or "Zapdos", or "Moltres"). Has there been any other exceptionally large gap for the availability of a Pokémon species?
- Again, the three birds weren't available ~as themselves~ for the whole EX expansion. Not including them and Kadabra, was there anyone else not available in the EX expansion as ~themselves~?

24. I read "Delta" species referred to the idea of being the 'fourth' variation, after Dark, Light, and Shining Pokémon. Is that right?

25. Next month, there's actually going to be a tournament (for those curious, the Ontario provincials) that will actually be close to where I am for once (since I'm away for university). I'm 19 and have a modest collection of mostly older cards. I'm going to maybe e-mail the people in charge of the tournament, but what's the general atmosphere of these sorts of things? Is there anyone else my age? Can I go to these to just watch, maybe throw a pre-constructed deck around for fun, or is this serious stuff for serious people and I'd be sitting around bored?


I definitely have a lot more questions, but I have class in half an hour anyways. More questions are definitely floating around in my head, but I'll take this as a convenient prompt to see how the reception of this thread and these questions go. (Also, treading on Q20's material, would this thread take off well on PokéGym? No offense to Pokébeach, I went here first because THIS was the site I followed from 2003-2006 and continued to follow, but I'm really aiming to get as many answers as I can.)

Again, thanks in advance in all regards.
 
17. In my opinion, no. I still think this is an expensive hobby, and until they allow past sets to be used, it will always be like that. As far as the Ex series being more or less expensive, it was severely more before. Lv.X are a lot, but some are in tins, and therefore cheaper, not every deck uses Lv.X like every deck used Ex before, and most cards are very cheap. This is exluding Uxie Lv.X, Claydol, and Shaymin Ground Lv.X, some I consider to be the most expensive cards as of now.

22. Nope. Expect no Kadabra ever. At least, I'm not praying any time soon.

24. Yes, delta is the fourth. I've heard that before many times.

dmaster out.
 
Woo... Long list.
ArrEmmDee said:
3. This one genuinely bothers me. Why was the 120 HP limit broken without some sort of detriment? I.e. only Pokémon-ex had been allowed to break the limit previously, and that was presumably justifiable due to the two prize draw for knocking any Pokémon-ex out. How is this justifiable, if at all?
Note that damage output is also raised, easily making the norm at least 70 and making Pokemon capable of 2 shooting most Pokemon.

4. How did old players, new players, and collectors react to the 120 HP limit being broken?
I believe we reacted more to the damage output. When DP was released, though, I sure didn't approve of it.

5. Repeat questions 3 and 4, but with the adjustment to Weakness and Resistance systems.
The system became better this way, IMO, since x2 weakness could easily be taken advantage of with the increased damage output.

6. If the Unlimited format is even played at all, has the DP series completely outclassed all previous expansion sets? Again, I've always been nothing more than a casual collector, but my impression has been that Base series cards still stood a chance when Neo series came out, and Base and Neo still stood a chance when the EX cards came out, but the DP series has broken HP caps and in some cases are a lot harder to tally up damage against them with less of an Achilles heel regarding Weakness. Do I have the wrong impression, or has the DP series completely and utterly outclassed all older series?
Far from it. Most of the best cards in DP are Stage Twos, and you should know that the best cards in Unlimited aren't (besides that darned Blastoise).

8. What is the general sort of gameplay employed in the current format? The last time I payed attention, Haymaker (re: no evolution, do moderate damage ASAP and then worry about building up later) was the way to go, but nowadays I really only notice tech-style things for non-evolving Pokémon and heavy hits come from higher-evolutions and EX/Lv. X. Is the TCG about evolution as soon as possible now?
- If so/if not, there have been weird changes like Pokémon (usually Basic) being able to attack for zero Energy, and it's usually only Basics being given these sorts of built-in items (not familiar with the mechanic). Depending on your answer to Q8, do these factor into the game at all?
There are a few preferences among people, but it is basically dealing high damage by the second turn, just as it was in the EX Era, where T2 Decks dominated. Donk decks now exist in dealing major damage the first turn as well. Not much really changed besides the different cards, the be honest.

9. Tied in with 8: is the current format faster or slower than previous formats?
T2 Decks are the most popular type of decks. Is that a good answer for you?

10. Tied in with 8 and 9: in some cases, Lv.X can be seen almost as a Stage 3 evolution of sorts. Does this speed up/slow down the game, and how has that changed the format?
Most people only play one LV.X per line unless we're talking about a tech. Now Warp Point becomes even more useful with leveling up a tech quickly, along with our new Level Max. The speed is not affected by this majorly

14. Everyone said in 10 years, all their Pokémon cards would be worth 100 dollars. It's been 10 (or more??) years. What happened?
Nothing. That's the problem.

17. Has the TCG gotten more or less expensive as time has gone on?
LV.X cards are not cheap. Claydol is starting to drop in value by that Uxie, from Legends Awakened (about $15 now last time I checked).

18. I've read you can spend money on entire booster pack boxes and not have any chance at collecting the entire set, because they actively limit how many Pokémon-ex/Lv.X/Star/SH are in any given box. Does this discourage anyone from buying booster pack boxes?
Not at all.

22. Kadabra hasn't been available since the e-card series for legal reasons. Is that ever going to get undone.
Not now, and I don't know when.

24. I read "Delta" species referred to the idea of being the 'fourth' variation, after Dark, Light, and Shining Pokémon. Is that right?
Yeah. Now we have SP-Pokemon on our hands too.
Click to expand...
I answered to as much as I could. I'm sure someone on PokeBeach has all the answers.
 
ArrEmmDee said:
Okay, so.

I used to buy TCG packs all the time as a casual collector from about 2003-2006. I have dealt with the TCG since its North American introduction, but 2003-2006 was when I was actively paying more attention to things rather than just buying two packs a year and getting ripped off on the playground and then just forgetting about them. After 2006 I sort of slowed down and even skipped a few sets here and there, and by the time the DP expansion rolled out I decided to stop buying cards.

However I got some TCG cards for Christmas, and bought myself a tin in mid-January, and I've been perplexed at several of the changes that have been made, and after checking with two members here, they said it sounded okay to post a thread effectively asking "trivia" questions encompassing several questions. I have no doubt I could find the answers to all these questions with a bit of Google searches and forum lurking, but this saves me more time and gives me more exact answers, and hopefully provides an interesting thread.

The idea was set off for the purpose of asking about DP-series threads, but I'm going to get a bit carried away and ask about the entire TCG, and its relation to various other forms. I've personally never gotten to go to any tournaments and my competence at actually playing the game has never actually been put into practice beyond playing with some EX Ruby & Sapphire pre-constructed decks with my sister, so perspectives from people as both players, collectors, and both are welcome. Any answer you're actually able to answer/provide input on, please do. I wish I could say this was for some greater glory of some sort of study or website report or anything, but it's mostly feeding my own curiosities. I'm basically going to list them off randomly as they come to my mind, and your answers might inspire more questions.

I'm not necessarily looking for straight yes or no answers for most of these. Consider them prompts to discuss facts and your opinions rather than answer one question and move on. You don't have to answer every single question, so just answer the ones that really interest you and you have things to say. If I've made any incorrect assumptions (as I'm sure I have), please point them out.

Thanks in advance both for reading and for answering.

1. The most immediate thing apparent is that DP series cards boost the card count per pack from 9 to 10. Why was this done, and how did people respond? (Identically, how did people respond when the e-card series dropped the count from 11 to 9, and why didn't the DP series restore it to 11?) Money. Nintendo is trying to make money, and therefore, they either rip you off, or they try to make you think you're getting a good deal (or both!).

2. The mid to later EX series sets had really nice reverse/alternate holographic cards. Perhaps this is subjective, but why did they switch back to the less appealing rainbow reflective reverse holographic style? The same answer as number question number one.

3. This one genuinely bothers me. Why was the 120 HP limit broken without some sort of detriment? I.e. only Pokémon-ex had been allowed to break the limit previously, and that was presumably justifiable due to the two prize draw for knocking any Pokémon-ex out. How is this justifiable, if at all? It is because the game is constantly shifting, and the cards get better, and better, every set. Also, it makes n00bs go out of there way to by that Torterra starter deck (OMG, I is gonna buy a Torterra, with 140 HP!11)

4. How did old players, new players, and collectors react to the 120 HP limit being broken? I don't think they minded much, but I could be wrong (I know I didn't mind).

5. Repeat questions 3 and 4, but with the adjustment to Weakness and Resistance systems. Nintendo is trying new things, because they what? Want to make money!

6. If the Unlimited format is even played at all, has the DP series completely outclassed all previous expansion sets? Again, I've always been nothing more than a casual collector, but my impression has been that Base series cards still stood a chance when Neo series came out, and Base and Neo still stood a chance when the EX cards came out, but the DP series has broken HP caps and in some cases are a lot harder to tally up damage against them with less of an Achilles heel regarding Weakness. Do I have the wrong impression, or has the DP series completely and utterly outclassed all older series? Not completely, but they do have an advantage, most of the time.

7. This ties in with the last question and several others, but my favorite card sets to collect were Team Rocket, Neo Destiny, and EX Team Rocket Returns. I don't know how Team Rocket was received by the competitive community, but I read Light Pokémon in the Neo Destiny set were mostly ignored, and EX TRR didn't necessarily shake things up.
- In Team Rocket, Dark Pokémon all had exceptionally low HP (if memory serves, so did the Fossil expansion as a whole beforehand) to justify extremely powerful attacks. Were they competitive then? Do they even stand a chance now? I am not sure.
- In Neo Destiny, the trend for Dark Pokémon was identical. Light Pokémon did the reverse, with high HP and a focus on weaker damage attacks instead (doing tech-like things and healing instead). Maybe I simply read some idiot reviewer back in 2000whenever, but why were they snubbed? Would they still be useless? Light Pokemon had barley any use than, and they still don't.
- EX TRR, from my impression, ignored the HP and attack trends, solely focusing on the idea of being dual-typed Pokémon. Was this due to a trend towards higher HP in the TCG? (One that evidently continued into DP?) Like I said before, Nintendo is trying new things, and they had already used this gimmick before, so they axed the low HP (otherwise people might have gotten bored with this game).

8. What is the general sort of gameplay employed in the current format? The last time I payed attention, Haymaker (re: no evolution, do moderate damage ASAP and then worry about building up later) was the way to go, but nowadays I really only notice tech-style things for non-evolving Pokémon and heavy hits come from higher-evolutions and EX/Lv. X. Is the TCG about evolution as soon as possible now? It depends. To quote Lou Cypher, this is the "originality format".
- If so/if not, there have been weird changes like Pokémon (usually Basic) being able to attack for zero Energy, and it's usually only Basics being given these sorts of built-in items (not familiar with the mechanic). Depending on your answer to Q8, do these factor into the game at all? Not really, but it does matter sometimes.

9. Tied in with 8: is the current format faster or slower than previous formats? Faster by far.

10. Tied in with 8 and 9: in some cases, Lv.X can be seen almost as a Stage 3 evolution of sorts. Does this speed up/slow down the game, and how has that changed the format? It is just Nintendo mixing things up, doesn't change the game too much. Lv.X's do not impact the speed of the game, most of the time.

11. If you've been playing the TCG for a while, what have been your favorite game mechanics and changes added (eg Pokémon ex/Lv. X, Dark/Light/Shning Pokémon, Pokémon-SP, Delta Species, Metal and Dark Energy finally being made available as basic Energy cards). What have been your least favorite? Pokemon-SP is, by far, my favorite game mechanic.
- If you only started playing the TCG recently/relatively recently, is there anything from earlier sets you wish they would bring back? Anything you find absolutely insane? Interesting? Boring? etc?

12. What have been your favorite expansions? Least favorite expansions? And in both cases, why? Dragon Frontiers was my favorite set. Least favorite, would have to DP.

13. How much is my EX Unseen Forces Lugia ex worth? I'm just kidding, I'll Google that. But in general, I remember Base Set Charizards being worth 100 dollars. Does that sort of hysterical overvalue still occur? How do you feel about it? Personally, aside from some of those extremely rare Japanese promos, I don't understand why anyone would ever pay anything approaching or exceeding 50 dollars for any individual card. I don't understand either. BTW, Charizard's value has fallen way down, he is now only worth 50-60 dollars, and that price is decreasing every month!

14. Everyone said in 10 years, all their Pokémon cards would be worth 100 dollars. It's been 10 (or more??) years. What happened? The failed LOL.

15. Something that made me discouraged from continuing to collect TCG cards was the fact it seemed a lot easier to amass more cards for less money as an actual tournament player, what with Prereleases, POP series cards, arbitrary promos, etc. where I'd throw 50 dollars max at any individual expansion and end up with bundles of doubles and nobody to trade with. There have typically never been any local tournaments, etc. within the city I live so not going to these things is a decision more or less out of my hands and a practical consideration more than anything. Was this a faulty assumption? Comment regarding this to some degree, I'm interested. Not sure, maybe you just lived in a bad area (trading-wise).

16. How much does the average collector throw at any given individual expansion? How much does the average person who plays at tournaments? Tournaments, except for the cards of course, are free.

17. Has the TCG gotten more or less expensive as time has gone on? I'd say less, but I can't confirm this.

18. I've read you can spend money on entire booster pack boxes and not have any chance at collecting the entire set, because they actively limit how many Pokémon-ex/Lv.X/Star/SH are in any given box. Does this discourage anyone from buying booster pack boxes? I don't think so.

19. Compare Japanese booster pack distribution, theme decks, promos, etc. to American equivalents. Does Japan have an unfair advantage in getting the cards they want/need for their decks? Yes.

20. I'm familiar with PokéGym (maybe other sites) and their apparent connection to TCG officials, etc. I don't really have any particular question, but just wondering if that has any impact if at all on anything I might have asked before, if officials go there for feedback to implement into the metagame/rulings/card production, if you feel obligated to go there, etc. Anything like that at all? (Sorry if it's a taboo to mention PokéGym, btw.) Don't understand the question.

21. Is there any instance where you could evolve your Pokémon into one with less HP? (For example, in early sets, Charmander usually had 40 ~ 50 HP, since Charmeleon usually had 60 ~ 80 HP, and in Dark Charmeleon's case, he only had 50 HP. Has there been a Charmander with 60 HP released, so that evolution into Dark Charmeleon would actually lose you 10 HP? I know the answer to that one is no, but it's a hypothetical and I'm wondering if anything similar is actually in place. And I'm not asking about things like evolution from Oddish -> Dark Gloom -> Erika's Vileplume, since that actively goes against the rules.) I believe so, but only in the unlimited format.

22. Kadabra hasn't been available since the e-card series for legal reasons. Is that ever going to get undone. I have no idea. In the future, perhaps.

23. Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres weren't available as themselves in any EX expansion. They were only available as Pokémon-ex. Which means, for example, there was a giant gap (from Skyridge to Majestic Dawn) between which you could get two cards named "Articuno" (or "Zapdos", or "Moltres"). Has there been any other exceptionally large gap for the availability of a Pokémon species?
- Again, the three birds weren't available ~as themselves~ for the whole EX expansion. Not including them and Kadabra, was there anyone else not available in the EX expansion as ~themselves~? I don't understand the question.

24. I read "Delta" species referred to the idea of being the 'fourth' variation, after Dark, Light, and Shining Pokémon. Is that right? Yes.

25. Next month, there's actually going to be a tournament (for those curious, the Ontario provincials) that will actually be close to where I am for once (since I'm away for university). I'm 19 and have a modest collection of mostly older cards. I'm going to maybe e-mail the people in charge of the tournament, but what's the general atmosphere of these sorts of things? Is there anyone else my age? Can I go to these to just watch, maybe throw a pre-constructed deck around for fun, or is this serious stuff for serious people and I'd be sitting around bored? I'm not sure if you'd you like the tournaments, or not, but they may not let you play with old cards. Check into it.


I definitely have a lot more questions, but I have class in half an hour anyways. More questions are definitely floating around in my head, but I'll take this as a convenient prompt to see how the reception of this thread and these questions go. (Also, treading on Q20's material, would this thread take off well on PokéGym? No offense to Pokébeach, I went here first because THIS was the site I followed from 2003-2006 and continued to follow, but I'm really aiming to get as many answers as I can.)

Again, thanks in advance in all regards.
Click to expand...
 
1. The most immediate thing apparent is that DP series cards boost the card count per pack from 9 to 10. Why was this done, and how did people respond? (Identically, how did people respond when the e-card series dropped the count from 11 to 9, and why didn't the DP series restore it to 11?)
The total number of cards added was to make money, the TCG needed a way to boost the price of a pack, so they added in an extra card. When the number dropped from 11 to 9, people were unhappy, but eventually got over it. The E series was a trying time for the TCG, and they needed a way to make the same amount of money per pack, whilst reducing the amount of production cost. The DP series didn't return the number to 11 because there was no need to make more cards, as long as they were making decent money.

2. The mid to later EX series sets had really nice reverse/alternate holographic cards. Perhaps this is subjective, but why did they switch back to the less appealing rainbow reflective reverse holographic style?
The Ex series cards had a tendancy to bend to a ridiculous extent when the air was humid, instead of making the cards which many people hated (and some got disqualified for the bends) the TCG just decided to go back to the ugly cards, for the sake of card quality.

3. This one genuinely bothers me. Why was the 120 HP limit broken without some sort of detriment? I.e. only Pokémon-ex had been allowed to break the limit previously, and that was presumably justifiable due to the two prize draw for knocking any Pokémon-ex out. How is this justifiable, if at all?
As the TCG goes on the cards are going to have to get stronger and stronger, otherwise a single good card could win for eons without anyone having to buy new cards. So the TCG decided to break that so that they could get people to buy packs from every new set. The reason that they are breaking 120 is because the cards just got too powerful for the 120 HP cap. So they broke it (for more money).

4. How did old players, new players, and collectors react to the 120 HP limit being broken?
They got the cards with more HP. They didn't really care, they just got the cards and continued to play.

5. Repeat questions 3 and 4, but with the adjustment to Weakness and Resistance systems.
They changed the weakness so that decks wouldn't have an auto loss against decks that they were weak to. The players got over this quickly too, as it wasn't a very radical change.

6. If the Unlimited format is even played at all, has the DP series completely outclassed all previous expansion sets? Again, I've always been nothing more than a casual collector, but my impression has been that Base series cards still stood a chance when Neo series came out, and Base and Neo still stood a chance when the EX cards came out, but the DP series has broken HP caps and in some cases are a lot harder to tally up damage against them with less of an Achilles heel regarding Weakness. Do I have the wrong impression, or has the DP series completely and utterly outclassed all older series?
I would say that you are wrong, the older cards have interesting powers and some PokePowers are just broken (Blastoise BS) although the HP caps have been broken I would still say that the Ex series have the best cards in unlimited. Unlimited is just played by some, not everybody likes to play in a format where there are only a few really good annoying decks.
 
1. The most immediate thing apparent is that DP series cards boost the card count per pack from 9 to 10. Why was this done, and how did people respond? (Identically, how did people respond when the e-card series dropped the count from 11 to 9, and why didn't the DP series restore it to 11?)

The reasoning why is unknown, but its a development I can live with (Going to 10). People seemed to be pretty happy with it, although that one extra card doesn't make a HUGE difference. As for the E-Ex switch, I can't tell, I can imagine people didn't really like it back then.

2. The mid to later EX series sets had really nice reverse/alternate holographic cards. Perhaps this is subjective, but why did they switch back to the less appealing rainbow reflective reverse holographic style?

Nobody will ever know WHY they did it. Fact is that some of those reverses were prone to damage (Refer to Ex: Deoxys mainly) and they didn't really have a foil feeling over them later on, during the Delta series.

3. This one genuinely bothers me. Why was the 120 HP limit broken without some sort of detriment? I.e. only Pokémon-ex had been allowed to break the limit previously, and that was presumably justifiable due to the two prize draw for knocking any Pokémon-ex out. How is this justifiable, if at all?

120 HP used to be rough to 2-shot by Non-Ex's. Nowadays, 120 HP is laughable by stuff like Kingdra, Rampardos etc etc who reach 60 or more damage for 1 energy,

4. How did old players, new players, and collectors react to the 120 HP limit being broken?

People were a bit surprised at first, but got used to it pretty fast as it turned out to work pretty well.

5. Repeat questions 3 and 4, but with the adjustment to Weakness and Resistance systems.

Again, it was a matter of adjustment. The current system of weak/resist is a lot more fair as an autoloss (Such as playing Gardevoir Ex vs. Banette Ex) is now more like a rough match, but not unwinnable by any means.

6. If the Unlimited format is even played at all, has the DP series completely outclassed all previous expansion sets? Again, I've always been nothing more than a casual collector, but my impression has been that Base series cards still stood a chance when Neo series came out, and Base and Neo still stood a chance when the EX cards came out, but the DP series has broken HP caps and in some cases are a lot harder to tally up damage against them with less of an Achilles heel regarding Weakness. Do I have the wrong impression, or has the DP series completely and utterly outclassed all older series?

You're slightly wrong. The DP cards are strong, yes, but the most broken COMBOS are still using old series cards (BS Blastoise, Fossil Muk, Dark Vileplume, Suicune Ex, just to name a few). Most powerful trainers are also found in the older sets. In Unlimited, DP isn't all that strong.

7. This ties in with the last question and several others, but my favorite card sets to collect were Team Rocket, Neo Destiny, and EX Team Rocket Returns. I don't know how Team Rocket was received by the competitive community, but I read Light Pokémon in the Neo Destiny set were mostly ignored, and EX TRR didn't necessarily shake things up.
- In Team Rocket, Dark Pokémon all had exceptionally low HP (if memory serves, so did the Fossil expansion as a whole beforehand) to justify extremely powerful attacks. Were they competitive then? Do they even stand a chance now?
- In Neo Destiny, the trend for Dark Pokémon was identical. Light Pokémon did the reverse, with high HP and a focus on weaker damage attacks instead (doing tech-like things and healing instead). Maybe I simply read some idiot reviewer back in 2000whenever, but why were they snubbed? Would they still be useless?
- EX TRR, from my impression, ignored the HP and attack trends, solely focusing on the idea of being dual-typed Pokémon. Was this due to a trend towards higher HP in the TCG? (One that evidently continued into DP?)

Dark Pokes...weren't all that great. Some of them were very useable but nowadays, only Rockets Zapdos sees use in Unlimited, IIRC.
Light Pokes were pretty useless and will always be. In Unlimited, you want to dish out big damage fast, no questions asked. Light Pokes gameplan doesn't work with that.
Don't know, TRR was a pretty stand-out set. It was a good set, having a lot of stuff that saw big use, but it didn't really fit any trend.

8. What is the general sort of gameplay employed in the current format? The last time I payed attention, Haymaker (re: no evolution, do moderate damage ASAP and then worry about building up later) was the way to go, but nowadays I really only notice tech-style things for non-evolving Pokémon and heavy hits come from higher-evolutions and EX/Lv. X. Is the TCG about evolution as soon as possible now?
- If so/if not, there have been weird changes like Pokémon (usually Basic) being able to attack for zero Energy, and it's usually only Basics being given these sorts of built-in items (not familiar with the mechanic). Depending on your answer to Q8, do these factor into the game at all?

Well, the format is wide and diverse. You have Basics attacking for 100 damage by Turn 2 (Regigigas Level X) in exchange for giving up prizes, Stage 2's locking (Ampharos) and a lot in between. The built-in items rarely factor in, only the auto-evolution of Duskull has really seen play. The No-Energy-Attacks are mainly there to help a card the first turn of the game but aren't a huge factor either (Except with Kingdra).
Also, about Basics, they're trying to push up Basics right now with the SP-Pokemon; think back to the Gym Leaders pokes but all being Basic with specific support.

9. Tied in with 8: is the current format faster or slower than previous formats?

Faster. Much faster. Although the very first formats were even faster due to the trainers.

10. Tied in with 8 and 9: in some cases, Lv.X can be seen almost as a Stage 3 evolution of sorts. Does this speed up/slow down the game, and how has that changed the format?

Level X's are in 2 catagories - techs and attackers. The techs are usually the basic X's, who you try to put out, warp point back to your bench and let them do their thing. The higher ones should be seen as an extension - rarely is the X the main attacker, its just a lovely add-on that helps in making a deck stronger. If the X is the main attacker, a deck is likely to be a bit slower, but also pretty powerful. X's aren't gamebreaking like Ex's were, but they do have a certain impact.

11. If you've been playing the TCG for a while, what have been your favorite game mechanics and changes added (eg Pokémon ex/Lv. X, Dark/Light/Shning Pokémon, Pokémon-SP, Delta Species, Metal and Dark Energy finally being made available as basic Energy cards). What have been your least favorite?
- If you only started playing the TCG recently/relatively recently, is there anything from earlier sets you wish they would bring back? Anything you find absolutely insane? Interesting? Boring? etc?

My favorite is probably Level X's. I like their system. I also liked the Pokemon-Star we had from TRR to Power Keepers. My least favorite is the new Shinies. They're junk.

12. What have been your favorite expansions? Least favorite expansions? And in both cases, why?

Favorite: Dragon Frontier. I really liked a lot of the options available from that set. Least: Mysterious Treasures. That set never really latched on to me.

13. How much is my EX Unseen Forces Lugia ex worth? I'm just kidding, I'll Google that. But in general, I remember Base Set Charizards being worth 100 dollars. Does that sort of hysterical overvalue still occur? How do you feel about it? Personally, aside from some of those extremely rare Japanese promos, I don't understand why anyone would ever pay anything approaching or exceeding 50 dollars for any individual card.

Yeah, it happens. For instance, when Darkrai LVX came out, some kid paid 100 bucks for 2 copies of it, despite general knowledge that they would come out in a tin soon. Its often corrected pretty fast though.
And the answer to your second part is simple: Collectors would.

14. Everyone said in 10 years, all their Pokémon cards would be worth 100 dollars. It's been 10 (or more??) years. What happened?

Pokemon cards stayed popular and thus in print. People thought they'd become extremely rare. NOT.

15. Something that made me discouraged from continuing to collect TCG cards was the fact it seemed a lot easier to amass more cards for less money as an actual tournament player, what with Prereleases, POP series cards, arbitrary promos, etc. where I'd throw 50 dollars max at any individual expansion and end up with bundles of doubles and nobody to trade with. There have typically never been any local tournaments, etc. within the city I live so not going to these things is a decision more or less out of my hands and a practical consideration more than anything. Was this a faulty assumption? Comment regarding this to some degree, I'm interested.

I don't know which city you live in, but you should check to see if there's a league around. If so, you should have an easy time finding people to trade with. Leagues are good.

16. How much does the average collector throw at any given individual expansion? How much does the average person who plays at tournaments?

It really differs per person. I myself have made a deal involving boosterboxes so I can't speak for myself, but I know a guy who buys 10 boosterboxes a set (AKA 1000 dollars right there), whilst another guy I know just borrows cards. It really differs.

17. Has the TCG gotten more or less expensive as time has gone on?

I'd say the value is still roughly the same, depending on your deck ofcourse.

18. I've read you can spend money on entire booster pack boxes and not have any chance at collecting the entire set, because they actively limit how many Pokémon-ex/Lv.X/Star/SH are in any given box. Does this discourage anyone from buying booster pack boxes?

Not at all. You know it happens so you just try to get as much as possible and then trade for the rest. I'm not a collector though, but most collectors seem to be willing to spend more dough on it.

19. Compare Japanese booster pack distribution, theme decks, promos, etc. to American equivalents. Does Japan have an unfair advantage in getting the cards they want/need for their decks?

Yes.

20. I'm familiar with PokéGym (maybe other sites) and their apparent connection to TCG officials, etc. I don't really have any particular question, but just wondering if that has any impact if at all on anything I might have asked before, if officials go there for feedback to implement into the metagame/rulings/card production, if you feel obligated to go there, etc. Anything like that at all? (Sorry if it's a taboo to mention PokéGym, btw.)

Its not a taboo but its frowned upon (Just kidding). Anyway, while Pokegym has a higher concentration of judges and the likes (And therefore often accurate answers to questions), officials have their own forum as a matter of fact (I should know, I am one sometimes). That is where we discuss most our stuff. We have no impact whatsoever on card production though, but rulings and stuff are mainly talked over on there.

21. Is there any instance where you could evolve your Pokémon into one with less HP? (For example, in early sets, Charmander usually had 40 ~ 50 HP, since Charmeleon usually had 60 ~ 80 HP, and in Dark Charmeleon's case, he only had 50 HP. Has there been a Charmander with 60 HP released, so that evolution into Dark Charmeleon would actually lose you 10 HP? I know the answer to that one is no, but it's a hypothetical and I'm wondering if anything similar is actually in place. And I'm not asking about things like evolution from Oddish -> Dark Gloom -> Erika's Vileplume, since that actively goes against the rules.)

I believe there was a Shedinja with 30 HP, with Nincada having more HP. So yes, you can actually lose HP upon evolution.

22. Kadabra hasn't been available since the e-card series for legal reasons. Is that ever going to get undone.

Probably not. They're finding more and more ways to make Alakazam playable though (Alakazam*, Ultra Evolution Abra, Alakazam SP). Kadabra probably won't ever return.

23. Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres weren't available as themselves in any EX expansion. They were only available as Pokémon-ex. Which means, for example, there was a giant gap (from Skyridge to Majestic Dawn) between which you could get two cards named "Articuno" (or "Zapdos", or "Moltres"). Has there been any other exceptionally large gap for the availability of a Pokémon species?
- Again, the three birds weren't available ~as themselves~ for the whole EX expansion. Not including them and Kadabra, was there anyone else not available in the EX expansion as ~themselves~?

I believe Entei, Raikou and Suicune were in the same boat as well. Not 100% sure but I recall them only being as Ex's and *'s.

24. I read "Delta" species referred to the idea of being the 'fourth' variation, after Dark, Light, and Shining Pokémon. Is that right?

If you'd like to call it that way, you could, although there are also the Crystal types to consider.

25. Next month, there's actually going to be a tournament (for those curious, the Ontario provincials) that will actually be close to where I am for once (since I'm away for university). I'm 19 and have a modest collection of mostly older cards. I'm going to maybe e-mail the people in charge of the tournament, but what's the general atmosphere of these sorts of things? Is there anyone else my age? Can I go to these to just watch, maybe throw a pre-constructed deck around for fun, or is this serious stuff for serious people and I'd be sitting around bored?

Usually, the atmosphere is pretty relaxed around these tournaments. Around the top tables the atmosphere may be a bit cut-throat, but aside from that it should definitely be a good time. Collectors tend to flock there too so maybe you can find some over there who could help your collection out a bit. And there are plenty people your age - People aged 4 to 55 I've seen only here, so I imagine thats the case there too. In fact, most COMPETIVE players are around your age, and most collectors are above yours. Just go and have fun, I'd say.






There you have my answers to your questions. If you have any more questions, feel free to add me on MSN if you want. I'm always happy to help new and returning players/collectors alike :)
 
Lou Cypher said:
Nobody will ever know WHY they did it. Fact is that some of those reverses were prone to damage (Refer to Ex: Deoxys mainly) and they didn't really have a foil feeling over them later on, during the Delta series.
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I already told you guys, it's money. Nintendo is trying to double their profits (which is quite selfish, I mean, after all, they are a multi-million dollar company).
 
Between all of you, I think I've pretty much gotten everything answered. Thanks a lot, I was sort of holding my breath and this was overwhelmingly successful!

One more kinda throw-away thing I remembered this morning;
http://pokebeach.com/scans/skyridge/26-poliwrath.jpg
That's (meant to be) extremely reminiscent to Neo Destiny's Shining Charizard.

And, coincidentally [?], http://pokebeach.com/scans/legends-awakened/115-poliwhirl.jpg immediately reminded me of http://pokebeach.com/scans/neo-discovery/44-poliwhirl.jpg

I know within sets (Neo Discovery, Aquapolis, Skyridge, the Holon/Delta Species sets) there are often intentional similarities in card art/background locations, and sometimes there are even artwork panoramas similar to what was implemented in the Rainbow Islands set, but Poliwrath/Shining Charizard and Poliwhirl/Poliwhirl are the only instances I can think of that reference artwork from other sets. Am I oblivious and this is actually extremely common, or are these special little 'easter eggs' meant for the obsessive-compulsive 10 year collector such as myself? Are there any other instances like this?

Thanks for all of the replies!
 
well yeah there is an instance i can think of: the promo plusle/minun from i think, Dragon Frontiers.
that is the onley one i can think of now. :p
 
Look around at the Delta Species scans. You'll see a lot of the same buildings in the background - the Holon islands.
 
Like I said, I've definitely noticed similarities *within sets*, and as you and I pointed out, the Holon sets are really good examples of this common theme. I was just wondering if there were more commonalities in seperate sets as a sort of throwback/reference to older sets vs. self-contained themes.
 
Oh, in that way. Sorry, didnt read it properly.
Anyway, I can't recall that stuff really. What you might notice though is more of a commonplace in powers/bodies/attacks compared to older versions. Just look through several Jumpluff scans, for instance, and look at the scary similarities in bodies...
 
That's alright, I just wanted to clarify that I wasn't asking an entirely basic question.

The other cool thing about Jumpluff and its evolution line is how the most energy it's ever needed to attack is 2 Grass in the Secret Wonders set, and before that it never exceeded one. Commonalities in Pokémon attacks and Powers/Bodies/etc. have definitely been some of my favorite things to look for when I've collected cards from various sets.
 
6: I think that DP has out-classed all other sets as well, but how else will they make money if they don't make the cards over-powered, and "worth buying"?

12: Platinum by far as my favorite, because they finally released Shaymin. ^^ For the worst I'd have to say the first DP set, I had to have bought easily 20 packs before I pulled anything good. :/ Not to mention there wasn't any good cards in it, all Lv.Xs were reprinted, all Holos were worthless (except Magnezone, who still isn't all that great), all-in-all I just didn't like it. :p

14: The way I see it so far, is that people don't like 'em because as said earlier, DP over-powers everything else. :/

16: I ensure I never spend more than a booster box's worth of money into 1 expansion.

17: In so many levels it has gotten more expensive. What's that? You want a Shaymin Lv.X? That'll be $50. Oh what you said Rampardos? That will be $6.
 
"3. This one genuinely bothers me. Why was the 120 HP limit broken without some sort of detriment? I.e. only Pokémon-ex had been allowed to break the limit previously, and that was presumably justifiable due to the two prize draw for knocking any Pokémon-ex out. How is this justifiable, if at all?"

Well it seems for now, and hopefully forever, they don't have ANY card with more than BASE 200 HP (So far only Wailord ex from Ex SS and Wailord from GE have 200.)I stressed base HP because with combos like Torterra Lv.X + Garchomp Lv.X+Shaymin(Land Forme) Lv.X+ Snowpoint temple, you could end up with 220 HP. Or a simpler version is Wailord GE, Garchomp Lv.X, and Snowpoint Temple.
 
This might be the wrong place to ask this question, but what's the deal with Kadabra?

On Subject: Yes, I don't think a lot of people were happy with the breaking of the Sacred 120 HP Limit. And the cards have only gotten more expensive... T_T
 
Uri Geller claimed Kadabra was based on him (Yungeller in Japanese, phonetically a lot alike). Then we got Evil Yungeller and he got mad, sued Nintendo for a huge sum of dough, lost but did manage to prevent them from printing Kadabras.
Thats how the story goes.
 
One little note, since most people already said what I was about to say.
I liked the older sets better (up and until Neo 4, that was when I played it for the first years) because all cards were somehow playable and as you already said, there weren't that many broken cards. Sure, cards like Feraligatr and Slowking were good, but winnable because there was also Muk and Aerodactyl/Haymaker. It felt way more balanced.
In comparison: if someone asks you what set (either the whole set or a display box) to buy now, what do people do? They name maybe 5 cards that are worth buying from that particular set. With DP, only Dusknoir DP is still used. From MT, nothing stood out enough to be around still. With GE, only Claydol. These sets now are just pretty much filled with entirely useless Pokemon (especially the non-rares, there are little playable uncommons and commons. Now with Platinum, they've changed that a bit again. But DP-SF was pretty horrible in terms of uncommons, other than needed uncommons because they were prevolutions of strong rares.) so in that way, the TCG has indeed gotten more expensive since the actually playable cards are very scarce. It has also become way more worthwhile to buy single cards rather than packs. They've probably noticed that since Pt had a few playable commons/uncommons again.
And about the broken-ness: the older cards had more balancing support acts (most likely Pokepowers, but in terms of trainers as well) and less good attacks than the newer cards. Basically, I like the newer cards more because the game has gotten faster but it sometimes feels as if the support to win against certain matchups is severely lacking, again because some cards are just broken. That's also why I'd want a ban list for Pokemon, but that's probably not going to happen any time soon. Oh well.
 
I know they've been answered, but I'll cheap my 2 cents in

ArrEmmDee said:
Okay, so.

1. The most immediate thing apparent is that DP series cards boost the card count per pack from 9 to 10. Why was this done, and how did people respond? (Identically, how did people respond when the e-card series dropped the count from 11 to 9, and why didn't the DP series restore it to 11?)

Well, for me, I wasn't overly fussed, I did get used to it though. However, I think the old sets had a guarenteed Trainer in it, but I could be wrong. I wasn't around all that much when they only had 9 cards, So I didn't mind. I geuss to make more money by doing less, that or to have it you got one less common, so you would have more chance of getting all the cards you needed first, although I could be wrong.

2. The mid to later EX series sets had really nice reverse/alternate holographic cards. Perhaps this is subjective, but why did they switch back to the less appealing rainbow reflective reverse holographic style?

Eh, I'm not sure. Maybe to save money?

3. This one genuinely bothers me. Why was the 120 HP limit broken without some sort of detriment? I.e. only Pokémon-ex had been allowed to break the limit previously, and that was presumably justifiable due to the two prize draw for knocking any Pokémon-ex out. How is this justifiable, if at all?

To make those really strong 120HP cards not as strong? I'm not sure

4. How did old players, new players, and collectors react to the 120 HP limit being broken?
I got over it, I was more shocked at the amount of damage being done

5. Repeat questions 3 and 4, but with the adjustment to Weakness and Resistance systems.
This was the hardest shock for me to get over. Thats how I used to play; I played on the weakness and resistance of the cards. Now, there's almost no need due to the change (but with SP Pokemon, it suddenly becomes more interesting)

6. If the Unlimited format is even played at all, has the DP series completely outclassed all previous expansion sets? Again, I've always been nothing more than a casual collector, but my impression has been that Base series cards still stood a chance when Neo series came out, and Base and Neo still stood a chance when the EX cards came out, but the DP series has broken HP caps and in some cases are a lot harder to tally up damage against them with less of an Achilles heel regarding Weakness. Do I have the wrong impression, or has the DP series completely and utterly outclassed all older series?
I'm not sure how to answer this. I would say that some of the old cards such as Charizard are outclassed, but trainers in the old sets and Poke Powers were far more useful (Blastoise BS is a prime example, as well as Professor Oak), so I geuss that balances it out, although DP does do more damage faster

7. This ties in with the last question and several others, but my favorite card sets to collect were Team Rocket, Neo Destiny, and EX Team Rocket Returns. I don't know how Team Rocket was received by the competitive community, but I read Light Pokémon in the Neo Destiny set were mostly ignored, and EX TRR didn't necessarily shake things up.
- In Team Rocket, Dark Pokémon all had exceptionally low HP (if memory serves, so did the Fossil expansion as a whole beforehand) to justify extremely powerful attacks. Were they competitive then? Do they even stand a chance now?
- In Neo Destiny, the trend for Dark Pokémon was identical. Light Pokémon did the reverse, with high HP and a focus on weaker damage attacks instead (doing tech-like things and healing instead). Maybe I simply read some idiot reviewer back in 2000whenever, but why were they snubbed? Would they still be useless?
- EX TRR, from my impression, ignored the HP and attack trends, solely focusing on the idea of being dual-typed Pokémon. Was this due to a trend towards higher HP in the TCG? (One that evidently continued into DP?)
I think Dark Pokemon in their true form (low hp, high damage) wouldn't stand much of a chance. That high damage is no more, and they are more vunerable then they used to be, instantly rendering them not so good.

8. What is the general sort of gameplay employed in the current format? The last time I payed attention, Haymaker (re: no evolution, do moderate damage ASAP and then worry about building up later) was the way to go, but nowadays I really only notice tech-style things for non-evolving Pokémon and heavy hits come from higher-evolutions and EX/Lv. X. Is the TCG about evolution as soon as possible now?
- If so/if not, there have been weird changes like Pokémon (usually Basic) being able to attack for zero Energy, and it's usually only Basics being given these sorts of built-in items (not familiar with the mechanic). Depending on your answer to Q8, do these factor into the game at all?
Without a doubt, evolution is a far more suitable thing to do, but speed is necessary, so cards like Rare Candy dominate. The 0 energy is useful, but the items not so much I believe.

9. Tied in with 8: is the current format faster or slower than previous formats?
Faster, this is due to the sheer amount of trainers and supporters which help find you the cards to set up quickly. They may need to evolve, but they still go much faster

10. Tied in with 8 and 9: in some cases, Lv.X can be seen almost as a Stage 3 evolution of sorts. Does this speed up/slow down the game, and how has that changed the format?
I think its added a slight blip, but LV.X's make the old trainer Recall and Devolution Spray fall in usefulness, whilst being uber powerful. I think they haven't made as big an impact as Ex cards, but still do get used. They're certainly rarer and much more sought after.

11. If you've been playing the TCG for a while, what have been your favorite game mechanics and changes added (eg Pokémon ex/Lv. X, Dark/Light/Shning Pokémon, Pokémon-SP, Delta Species, Metal and Dark Energy finally being made available as basic Energy cards). What have been your least favorite?
- If you only started playing the TCG recently/relatively recently, is there anything from earlier sets you wish they would bring back? Anything you find absolutely insane? Interesting? Boring? etc?
I think Metal and Dark being made into Basic was a good change, but this was due to the increase of those 2 types. My favourite change...hmm, I do like the idea of "Owned Pokemon" and Pokemon Tools/Stadiums. However, I hate the Delta Species and have very few fond thoughts of Ex cards.

12. What have been your favorite expansions? Least favorite expansions? And in both cases, why?
Favourite in the old days was the Gym Set. By far, followed by Neo. Least Favourite was Legendary Collection. Since I was only collecting this, wasn't a very exciting prospect. In recent Times, favourite would be Great Encounters because it was the first I got into, least would be...hmm, I don't particulary have one, but Legends Awakened felt a little tacked on and needlessly big, although I do like it.

13. How much is my EX Unseen Forces Lugia ex worth? I'm just kidding, I'll Google that. But in general, I remember Base Set Charizards being worth 100 dollars. Does that sort of hysterical overvalue still occur? How do you feel about it? Personally, aside from some of those extremely rare Japanese promos, I don't understand why anyone would ever pay anything approaching or exceeding 50 dollars for any individual card.
I agree some cards are overpriced, but I don't like it all that much to be honest. I agree, rarer cards should be worth more, but there's no need to spend more then 50USD on a single card (unless its an uber Rare Japan, in which case go for it)

14. Everyone said in 10 years, all their Pokémon cards would be worth 100 dollars. It's been 10 (or more??) years. What happened?
That didn't happen. The hype died

15. Something that made me discouraged from continuing to collect TCG cards was the fact it seemed a lot easier to amass more cards for less money as an actual tournament player, what with Prereleases, POP series cards, arbitrary promos, etc. where I'd throw 50 dollars max at any individual expansion and end up with bundles of doubles and nobody to trade with. There have typically never been any local tournaments, etc. within the city I live so not going to these things is a decision more or less out of my hands and a practical consideration more than anything. Was this a faulty assumption? Comment regarding this to some degree, I'm interested.
Well, I live in Australia, in a fairly dry area. We get all the big events but we don't have a big base, or at least in my area we don't. Although I'm more of a collector and I like doubles, I still find it hard to trade doubles for some peculier reason

16. How much does the average collector throw at any given individual expansion? How much does the average person who plays at tournaments?
I usually get about 2 boosters per set on minimum, sometimes more if the set is good. I'm more of a collector as said prior, so I don't think like a competitor, I buy cards to increase my collection, not to build the best deck. I would say people who collect properly spend more, because they're looking for more cards

17. Has the TCG gotten more or less expensive as time has gone on?
I would say it probably has, although not by much. In Australia, boosters I think are a little more expensive then they were a few years ago, but they changed distributors, so that could be it.

18. I've read you can spend money on entire booster pack boxes and not have any chance at collecting the entire set, because they actively limit how many Pokémon-ex/Lv.X/Star/SH are in any given box. Does this discourage anyone from buying booster pack boxes?
I've never bought a booster box, I think its a little excessive to buy so many at that point. Although I would say it makes them spend more money to get all of those cards, not stop spending.

19. Compare Japanese booster pack distribution, theme decks, promos, etc. to American equivalents. Does Japan have an unfair advantage in getting the cards they want/need for their decks?
Yes, they don't put up with Reverse Holo's (I think) and they have smaller sets on average, maximising they're chance at that elusive card.

20. I'm familiar with PokéGym (maybe other sites) and their apparent connection to TCG officials, etc. I don't really have any particular question, but just wondering if that has any impact if at all on anything I might have asked before, if officials go there for feedback to implement into the metagame/rulings/card production, if you feel obligated to go there, etc. Anything like that at all? (Sorry if it's a taboo to mention PokéGym, btw.)I'm not all that aware of that

21. Is there any instance where you could evolve your Pokémon into one with less HP? (For example, in early sets, Charmander usually had 40 ~ 50 HP, since Charmeleon usually had 60 ~ 80 HP, and in Dark Charmeleon's case, he only had 50 HP. Has there been a Charmander with 60 HP released, so that evolution into Dark Charmeleon would actually lose you 10 HP? I know the answer to that one is no, but it's a hypothetical and I'm wondering if anything similar is actually in place. And I'm not asking about things like evolution from Oddish -> Dark Gloom -> Erika's Vileplume, since that actively goes against the rules.)
Not anymore I don't think, but I think it might happen in conjunction with Snowpoint Temple, but I'm not sure.
22. Kadabra hasn't been available since the e-card series for legal reasons. Is that ever going to get undone.
I don't know, I doubt it

23. Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres weren't available as themselves in any EX expansion. They were only available as Pokémon-ex. Which means, for example, there was a giant gap (from Skyridge to Majestic Dawn) between which you could get two cards named "Articuno" (or "Zapdos", or "Moltres"). Has there been any other exceptionally large gap for the availability of a Pokémon species?
- Again, the three birds weren't available ~as themselves~ for the whole EX expansion. Not including them and Kadabra, was there anyone else not available in the EX expansion as ~themselves~?
Not sure, I geuss some legendaries, maybe

24. I read "Delta" species referred to the idea of being the 'fourth' variation, after Dark, Light, and Shining Pokémon. Is that right?
Not sure, but I think very little of Delta species. Mostly because I think of it as a filler set

25. Next month, there's actually going to be a tournament (for those curious, the Ontario provincials) that will actually be close to where I am for once (since I'm away for university). I'm 19 and have a modest collection of mostly older cards. I'm going to maybe e-mail the people in charge of the tournament, but what's the general atmosphere of these sorts of things? Is there anyone else my age? Can I go to these to just watch, maybe throw a pre-constructed deck around for fun, or is this serious stuff for serious people and I'd be sitting around bored?
Well, I think its a fun atmosphere, but where I come from we're laid back about it. I think the competitive side is far more serious because in the end, there's more at stake, but the people are friendly and not all that mean.
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