Hey guys!
My name's Dave and while I'm not new to Pokémon, this is my first time posting on PokéBeach! I've seen a lot of sweet articles and nice people on here so I chose this forum for my one-stop Pokémon TCG site!
So I'm finally returning to the Pokémon TCG after about a six year absence. I started playing the game like a lot of people on day one (Base Set, WotC), and in 2006 I stopped playing casually and started competing. I went to Regionals and World Qualifiers down in Colorado Springs (with a Machamp react {F} deck and Metanite {L}{M} deck respectively) and didn't do too bad (results are in my signature). Then I got out of the military, moved away, moved back, had kids, etc etc etc and now I'm back.
I have bought random starter decks going all the way back to Diamond/Pearl, and even got a couple copies of a starter that came with an Expert Belt because I thought I was going to start playing again, but I never felt enough of a draw to make the commitment. Then Heart Gold and Soul Silver came out for the DS and man, Pokémon boomed in popularity again. I started up a league, got a bunch of people to buy into the game, and then my schedule changed and I had to abandon the league, and I didn't have the time to play anymore.
Fast forward a little bit and now I've got a sweeeet schedule/job where I can afford to play again and I have time to play. My local game store is going to bring in a Pokémon Professor on Sundays and start up a league, so I want to get back into the game hard-core and play competitively.
Now, Mewtwo happens to be an old favorite of mine (back when I was nearly undefeated with my old Haymaker with the movie-promo Mewtwos with Energy Absorption), and seeing the new Mewtwo EX makes me smile ear-to-ear. I'm sorry, but mo-frakin Mewtwo SHOULD be crazy OP!
Anyways, despite how sexy that card is, I don't want to fork out $280 for a play set ($70 each) and THEN another $100-200 for the rest of the deck. I'm thinking of purchasing two boxes of Black & White, and two boxes of each expansion since (so 2 B&W, 2 EP, 2 NV, 2 ND, 2 DE when it releases). I know that ends up being about $800+, but I'll have options and trades. I'm sure I'll be able to build a deck right away and anything I can't build I could trade for stuff I need. It would also re-establish a "collection" as I really only have a ton of commons/uncommons for HG/SS-CoL that I got from a friend.
I don't want to build one of the meta-types that are over in the Deck Garage but I'm scared of being on the receiving end of a Mewtwo EX if I don't have one. Being a veteran to the game I see a LOT of potential in a lot of the colors/types from the little research I have done and I think I could come up with something unique that's also competitive. And honestly the upcoming dragons are nice; I'll probably get three boxes minimum of that set.
So what I came here to ask after saying "hi" was where do you guys think I should start? Should I just plunk down the $300-ish on a popular meta-type like Zek/Eels with Mewtwo EX, or should I buy the boxes of B&W+ like I said and create my own decks? Any other options or advice for a returning player that's not in that cool stickied thread?
See you around on the boards!
My name's Dave and while I'm not new to Pokémon, this is my first time posting on PokéBeach! I've seen a lot of sweet articles and nice people on here so I chose this forum for my one-stop Pokémon TCG site!
So I'm finally returning to the Pokémon TCG after about a six year absence. I started playing the game like a lot of people on day one (Base Set, WotC), and in 2006 I stopped playing casually and started competing. I went to Regionals and World Qualifiers down in Colorado Springs (with a Machamp react {F} deck and Metanite {L}{M} deck respectively) and didn't do too bad (results are in my signature). Then I got out of the military, moved away, moved back, had kids, etc etc etc and now I'm back.
I have bought random starter decks going all the way back to Diamond/Pearl, and even got a couple copies of a starter that came with an Expert Belt because I thought I was going to start playing again, but I never felt enough of a draw to make the commitment. Then Heart Gold and Soul Silver came out for the DS and man, Pokémon boomed in popularity again. I started up a league, got a bunch of people to buy into the game, and then my schedule changed and I had to abandon the league, and I didn't have the time to play anymore.
Fast forward a little bit and now I've got a sweeeet schedule/job where I can afford to play again and I have time to play. My local game store is going to bring in a Pokémon Professor on Sundays and start up a league, so I want to get back into the game hard-core and play competitively.
Now, Mewtwo happens to be an old favorite of mine (back when I was nearly undefeated with my old Haymaker with the movie-promo Mewtwos with Energy Absorption), and seeing the new Mewtwo EX makes me smile ear-to-ear. I'm sorry, but mo-frakin Mewtwo SHOULD be crazy OP!
Anyways, despite how sexy that card is, I don't want to fork out $280 for a play set ($70 each) and THEN another $100-200 for the rest of the deck. I'm thinking of purchasing two boxes of Black & White, and two boxes of each expansion since (so 2 B&W, 2 EP, 2 NV, 2 ND, 2 DE when it releases). I know that ends up being about $800+, but I'll have options and trades. I'm sure I'll be able to build a deck right away and anything I can't build I could trade for stuff I need. It would also re-establish a "collection" as I really only have a ton of commons/uncommons for HG/SS-CoL that I got from a friend.
I don't want to build one of the meta-types that are over in the Deck Garage but I'm scared of being on the receiving end of a Mewtwo EX if I don't have one. Being a veteran to the game I see a LOT of potential in a lot of the colors/types from the little research I have done and I think I could come up with something unique that's also competitive. And honestly the upcoming dragons are nice; I'll probably get three boxes minimum of that set.
So what I came here to ask after saying "hi" was where do you guys think I should start? Should I just plunk down the $300-ish on a popular meta-type like Zek/Eels with Mewtwo EX, or should I buy the boxes of B&W+ like I said and create my own decks? Any other options or advice for a returning player that's not in that cool stickied thread?
See you around on the boards!