I recently decided to get into PTCGO to try and build up some decks to get some matches in when I can't travel to do it IRL, and I was hoping to learn some strats in terms of deck building online.
I plan on playing both Alolan Ninetales GX and Gardevoir GX.
1. What are the best booster packs/starter decks to pull from in order to build up outside of obviously Guardians Rising and Burning Shadows? Is there an efficient way to get things done, or do I just simply look up which set a card is in and grab that booster until I get the count I need?
2. Granted I probably won't be buying any booster packs/boxes IRL, what is the best method to earn shop points to even buy packs? Can I just continue to battle the AI decks until I can build my decks and go online?
3. Should I just expect to lose 100% of the time if I go online with a hodge podge deck made of pretty much all of the starter stuff, or will the match maker put me against people who also likely don't have much to work with? Even if I lose a ton, is that a faster way to build up points than doing AI battles?
I think those are my main 3 concerns, but if you have other advice to give on how to approach this, I'll gladly take it.
I wish to help you, but I must also warn you that you're already making some dangerous assumptions about the PTCGO. This game showers players with rewards, but using them well does require forethought. To begin with, just by getting an account, you'll get three or four Online Exclusive Theme Decks, and just logging in each day grants a Daily Log In Bonus. Rewards take on multiple forms:
Tokens - These are one form of in game currency. You may use these to purchase virtual products at the in-game shop or to pay for posting public trade requests.
Tickets - Tickets are the entry fee for Events a.k.a. tournaments
Chests - Contain some Tokens and a single card. These come in multiple rarities.
Boosters - Booster packs just like the physical TCG.
Chests, Booster Packs, and certain other product (like Preconstructed Decks and giftsets) come in two forms:
Unlocked - These can be traded freely with other players.
Locked - These are a permanent part of your collection.
Do not open Unlocked Booster Packs! They are the true currency of the game. Yes, there are exceptions; namely, once you're already well off in the PTCGO, so that you can "afford" to potentially waste them or if you're a master trader.
There is more, but I want to make sure this is being understood by you before we proceed.
Well I'm glad I asked before I went ahead and did very much.
I haven't done much in the game yet besides complete the tutorial, so to say the least I haven't had any room to make any big mistakes (I think). I've only heard vague talk about TCGO from some friends online, so these are really the only assumptions I can make at this point.
I'd love to hear more, and if I just deem it not worth my time, I'll just continue to play IRL.
Well I'm glad I asked before I went ahead and did very much.
I haven't done much in the game yet besides complete the tutorial, so to say the least I haven't had any room to make any big mistakes (I think). I've only heard vague talk about TCGO from some friends online, so these are really the only assumptions I can make at this point.
I'd love to hear more, and if I just deem it not worth my time, I'll just continue to play IRL.
The Trainer Challenge is good to complete; one of the details I [strike]forgot to mention[/strike] didn't wish to overwhelm you with is that the free Online only decks require you win a certain amount of games with them in the Trainer Challenge to fully unlock them. To give you an idea, I've spent $0.00 USD on the PTCGO. My decks are a little shakey right now because I'm lazy and its near set rotation; I've just been focusing on the Legacy Format (HS-era releases + BW-era releases) in the mean time. As I played earlier in the game's life, there are some advantages I enjoyed that you won't (as they aren't around anymore), but even if you've only got time and no money, you can probably grind your way to something half-decent in a few weeks. Oh, and I am rushing to write this, so if I get a term wrong, I'm sorry. ^^' If you listen to nothing else I say, at least know you ought to familiarize yourself with the official PTCGO forums here; you'll find announcements on things like program updates, glitches, etc. plus the In Game Item Exchange Subforum (you've got to be signed in to see that) is essential for good trading (more on that later). This response already looks scary long, so I'm going to put the next bits behind spoiler tags; to be less overwhelming. XP
So, picking up where we left off, once you finish grinding out the Trainer Challenge with each of those decks (again, at least enough to fully unlock them), the next step is to focus on the various in game rewards. You get a Log In bonus just for signing into the PTCGO each day; it can be Tokens, Tickets, and (once ever five days) a booster pack (trade-locked). While trade-locked stuff can't be traded (hence the term), you can still use it for play, so when you finally luck out and get something worthwhile, that's one less card you have to trade for later or it frees up something for which you already traded (so go trade away that spare!). I recommend saving Tokens for Public Trading costs, buying Theme Decks, and buying bundles from the in-game shop. If you own at least one copy of a Theme Deck, you may use it in Theme Deck mode, and that is where you're going to start the grind.
Besides the Daily Log-In bonus, there are Daily Challenges. These will build your Player Level, which only really matters in that you'll earn some nice virtual assets as you maxe out your level with each non-Colorless-Type: A deck box, sleeves, and coins belonging to that particular Type, with designs different from what you're provided at the beginning. Wait! Those the the rewards for level; the Daily Challenges themselves award either Tokens or a booster pack (sometimes tradeable). There are three challenges repeated (with different names) across all Types other than Colorless. The damage challenge requires you do 1000 damage to your opponent's Pokémon using Pokémon of the appropriate Type. The Evolution Challenge requires you Evolve into Pokémon of the appropriate Type (I think) 10 times. The KO challenge requires you actually KO16 opposing Pokémon using Pokémon of the correct Type. You do not need to do any of these in a single match nor do you need to actually win these matches. Just be warned that the KO challenge is the only one that awards a booster and it tends to be a pain to complete as people are likely to concede when you have an obvious advantage. You may have up to three Daily Challenges going at the same time. Periodically, there will also be Special Challenges that have varying time limits, and often extreme requirements. You'll know them when you see them.
The Rewards Ladder is something that lasts three weeks. Every time you win a game in Ranked VS Mode. you'll earn 10 points for the Reward Ladder. The ladder contains Tokens, Tickets, Booster Packs, and singles. It takes 2000 points to complete it, and at the very end is a FA Trainer (tradelocked). Along the way are some regular Trainer cards, an Evolution line or two, and usually two copies of a Pokémon-EX. The ladder will follow a Type-based theme, though the final card doesn't always fit; I can't remember what was on the rest of the current Ladder, but it ends with Teammates. Now, 200 wins in three weeks is hard, so the designers added two others ways of receiving points on this Ladder. If you lose, you get one Rewards Ladder point for each Prize you took before losing. You get five bonus points if the game feels your opponent had the "Advantage" in the match-up, but this is based on win records, not how the decks being used stack up to each other. Finally, each consecutive win past the first adds another five points, until you reach 30 per win.
There is also a Daily Rewards Ladder. Its fairly new, but again, you can win Tokens, Trade-locked boosters, and I think a few other things: its late where I am, and my brain is fading fast. XP It is "Daily" because it resets each day; it technically never ends, but once you've exhausted the good stuff, I think you win a flat Tokens per victory.
The above are mostly details; the general thing is you'll use the Theme Deck mode to earn rewards, including Tickets. Tickets allow you to enter tournaments, and tournaments allow you to win tradeable booster packs. The In-Game Item Exchange subforum on the official message board contains threads by "trading companies"; the are groups of players that organized to improve their ability to trade. If you're bad at trading, just use them like a card shop. Most only want booster packs, and the best will have someone online all the time, which is why they command a premium. If you're in a hurry, they can also be a valuable resource. Even if you never wish to trade with them, their rates serve as price guides. They let you know how well each booster pack is trading (not all boosters are worth the same), and how many "generic" booster packs a card is worth. Since you're not providing the same level of service, do not expect to receive as many boosters for a card if you put it up for trade, and don't pay that price when you're the one looking to trade. The rule of thumb is to start out offering about half the listed price, and if no one bites, adjust accordingly and try again. "Rule of thumb" means it doesn't always work; some things you can try for an even better deal, others you'll have to come very close to the list price to find a trade.
Remember, don't get ahead of yourself. You can try your luck with tournaments as soon as you can afford to enter, you can try to grind things out Formats other than "Theme" long before you have a budget deck but it takes a lot of luck and usually ends up with someone rage quitting the entire PTCGO, or making an embarrasing rant thread on the forums. XP Take your time, and work your way up via the Theme Decks. Really sorry for the wall'o text. I might be able to clean it up and clear some things up tomorrow.
I'll take my time with it and treat it as a side project relative to playing IRL, and if I feel the desire to do so I'll probably buy a handful of boosters to give myself a..well..boost.
I just don't want to get locked into the addiction mode of buying booster after booster thinking "this is the one," so I wanted to resort to free methods only first.
I just don't want to get locked into the addiction mode of buying booster after booster thinking "this is the one," so I wanted to resort to free methods only first.
Yeah. Brings up another point of clarification, though; when you cash in on booster codes, they simply give you an Unlocked (tradeable) booster pack from the same set in-game; the contents are still randomized... and as I said, you should really avoid opening those packs. Even the ones that have terrible trade ratios are still good for buying inexpensive Commons or Uncommons. Actually, they can sometimes get decent stuff so long as you are willing to "pay extra". For example, those Chests I've mentioned, sometimes you get Unlocked (Tradeable) ones; they're worth about 0.25 generic packs. The thing is, someone that needs an infusion of Tokens (usually for a good, short time deal at the store) may find that the easiest method with which to obtain them. So I've seen people offer good cards for a massive amount of Chests for this reason; you'll technically overpay as they'll ask for 50 Chests for a 10-pack card, but obtaining those Chests isn't too hard, so most still consider it a good deal. More on topic, I've used some packs that have even worse trade ratios, so that one of said booster is only worth 0.2 generic booster packs, but by technically overpaying, I'll still manage to get what I want.
Still short on time, but expanding just a tiny bit on trading: there are people who play the PTCGO primarily (even exclusively) to trade and/or collect. I understand why; it actually can be really fun. The thing is, doing it well is time-consuming. They'll start out making offers at about 1/3 the going rate (sometimes even less) and just slowly come up if they don't make a successful trade. They use spreadsheets to track all the trades they have going, currently, including the ones that expire without anyone accepting. The other thing I'll mention is if you find you want to take the PTCGO kind-of seriously, look into buying codes. Stick to reputable dealers; it is a violation of the EULA to buy virtual PTCGO assets directly but selling the codes/code cards is not. Trading for them is also possible. As they are only good for one use, that is why I said find someone reputable and competent. You don't want some scammer or someone sincere but sloppy where a few, some, or most of the codes work but others have already been redeemed. Finally (for now), with the PTCGO you have the option of receiving the official Pokémon Newsletter in your email; do this as it contains a code for the latest booster pack about once per month.
Otaku did a brilliant job explaining it, but just wanted to add a couple tips:
Save up your tickets, because big events come around every once and a while with great prizes. But in order to participate you will have to pay a pretty hefty price.
I couldn't emphasize more what Otaku said about don't open tradeable packs. As you get to the point where you need to "buy" decks, packs are really the only way to go, especially from recent sets.
Try and do the daily challenges whenever they are given to you, because the rewards begin adding up surprisingly fast. I would recommend using theme decks to complete them, because a lot of challenges require you to take a certain number of knockout or evolve a certain number of Pokémon. So naturally the theme decks you verse will require you to take 6 prizes in order to win because they don't have GX or EX Pokémon, plus theme decks usually run a lot of stage 2 and stage 1 Pokémon as well.
Try and complete the versus ladderif possible. I know this naturally comes with playing, but there are ways to speed up the rate at which you complete it. For example, you should try and get a winning streak going because this increase the amount of "charge" you get for winning each game. The versus ladder reallly does give great rewards, and usually offer EX Pokémon which you can use to build a deck. One of the recent ladders had Volcanion EX for example so you could build a Volcanion deck.
As I said Otaku probably mentioned or discussed most of these points, but just wanted to give some helpful tips. Good luck!
To give you an idea, I've spent $0.00 USD on the PTCGO. My decks are a little shakey right now because I'm lazy and its near set rotation; I've just been focusing on the Legacy Format (HS-era releases + BW-era releases) in the mean time. As I played earlier in the game's life, there are some advantages I enjoyed that you won't (as they aren't around anymore), but even if you've only got time and no money, you can probably grind your way to something half-decent in a few weeks. Oh, and I am rushing to write this, so if I get a term wrong, I'm sorry. ^^' If you listen to nothing else I say, at least know you ought to familiarize yourself with the official PTCGO forums 