My family and I have been playing for less than a year but we are quite seriously hooked. We attended the last two prereleases, DP and PK, and I have to say as relatively new players that the DP set is wonderful to latecomers such as us in terms of catching up with powerful/archetype deck.
Some of this is strictly timing and probably not inherent to this DP set, but starting to play late last year meant coming in at the end of two things which have dominated TCG for awhile: EX's and delta pokemon. With the last two sets being non delta and the addition of level X we feel that we have a chance to really get our footing and may be able to build decks which can hold their own against any other.
Secondly though, some of it is specific to this new set. Because of the discontinuation of EXs it seems to us that the stage 2 pokemon overall are considerably more useful in DP than in previous (EX) sets. For example, there is nothing anywhere near as pathetic as Charizard PK in DP. Stage 2s may be slightly more rare now than in the EX series but many of them (Infernape, Luxray, Rhyperior) are destined for big things.
We also recognize that the real seachange of what dominates the format won't happen til the Mystery of the Lakes set comes out and there will be Stage 1 level X guys (which will make Level X much more playable) but right now, until the fall, while there are 10 series legal in modified play and such momentous rules changes, for the first time since we started attending organized play, things feel wide open, that our little group won't have to play archetypes or McDecks to have a chance to win. I am sure that much of what we are building now will become the archetypes of the near future (Infernape & Delcatty for example) but something is different this time. There was no similar corresponding feeling amongst us after the Power Keepers release.
Some of this is strictly timing and probably not inherent to this DP set, but starting to play late last year meant coming in at the end of two things which have dominated TCG for awhile: EX's and delta pokemon. With the last two sets being non delta and the addition of level X we feel that we have a chance to really get our footing and may be able to build decks which can hold their own against any other.
Secondly though, some of it is specific to this new set. Because of the discontinuation of EXs it seems to us that the stage 2 pokemon overall are considerably more useful in DP than in previous (EX) sets. For example, there is nothing anywhere near as pathetic as Charizard PK in DP. Stage 2s may be slightly more rare now than in the EX series but many of them (Infernape, Luxray, Rhyperior) are destined for big things.
We also recognize that the real seachange of what dominates the format won't happen til the Mystery of the Lakes set comes out and there will be Stage 1 level X guys (which will make Level X much more playable) but right now, until the fall, while there are 10 series legal in modified play and such momentous rules changes, for the first time since we started attending organized play, things feel wide open, that our little group won't have to play archetypes or McDecks to have a chance to win. I am sure that much of what we are building now will become the archetypes of the near future (Infernape & Delcatty for example) but something is different this time. There was no similar corresponding feeling amongst us after the Power Keepers release.