PTCGO New trainer here!

TheGuardian118 said:
yeah those aren't as difficult to get or trade for.

Also, if you are into spending money on the physical card game, the Keldio/Rayquaza Battle Arena deck gives you two 60 card expanded decks and a code card to get all those cards online! Many of the trainers are still standard legal, lots of water support and two VS Seekers also. it's the only way to get Karen, if that trainer interests you.
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That's exactly the one I was looking at which gives so many different trainers and what not. HAHA thanks man!
 
Nice. lol. Yeah the battle arena decks are great. I don't think the oldest one has online codes (Xerneas/Yvetal I believe), but the cards are still good if you play the physical card game. The second one (Mewtwo/Darkrai) does have an online code if I recall. The third and newest, Keldio/Ray has it for sure. If you're interested in the older ones double check before you buy if you're getting them for the code cards.
 
TheGuardian118 said:
...then you can take the packs and trade 8 of them for Johnny's Mewtwo and open 4 yourself.
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My advice is never (well, hardly ever ;) ) open tradeable booster packs. Yes, sometimes you will get lucky and pull something valuable but the odds are very much against it. Most of the time you'll whiff on anything particularly good. This bartering system makes it trickier to "redeem" low demand and/or value cards, so near misses where you get something kind of good but that you don't need? Takes work (and some luck!) to convert it into something you actually do want.

@TheGuardian118 is right about Battle Arena Decks. The Keldeo Vs Rayquaza one is the most recent and so the one you're most likely to find for the MSRP. If you can find the Darkrai Vs Mewtwo one without a huge market up, it may be worth it. Literally do the math and see, remembering to factor in the values of both the physical and virtual cards. If you can find it, and it isn't being marked up, the original Xerneas Vs Yveltal Battle Arena Deck may also be worth it. Pretty sure all of them have online redemption codes, but I never picked any of them up so I wouldn't know. I may not have an exhaustive PTCGO collection, but everything I've got is from grinding and trading.
 
Ah yeah, probably should have brought that up. Many people don't open the tradable packs AT ALL and save them exclusively as currency.

Personally, I open them for the first couple weeks then save them. That way I get a good pool of cards from the set, then start saving them for trading. The first two or three weeks gives me a good number, like the Prerelease kit, a few weeks of league packs (I always buy 2 a week), plus either the ETB or Booster box, depending which one I picked up. Depending on the early pulls sometimes I save some for trading if I get a full booster box. Past that I usually just open untradeable packs from coins and save the tradable packs for trading.

I find that to be the best balance between saving enough for trading in the long run versus getting a decent part of the set out of the way while enjoying the experience of opening a new set. Plus I just enjoy opening them! YMMV and there are different opinions on what's the best way to build your collection. It might be different when you have several playable decks as opposed to just starting out.
 
That leads me to my next question, if I buy the packs physically, does the redeem code allow those packs to be trade-able?

I just don't seem to get many packs, like ever, so not really sure how to go about getting online packs. Unless everyone usually buys them?

I don't think I have a deck to win any within a tournament so mainly you have to buy these im guessing?
 
Yes, anything bought with real money is tradable. The only things that aren't tradable are the freebies.

You'd be surprised what decks can win one of the in-game tournaments. They are usually eight players best of 1, three rounds so if you win they take about an hour, maybe a little more. If you have some tickets and a deck you are comfortable with, give them a try even if it's not a "Tier 1" deck. Sometimes it's a bit of luck with what you go against, but even second place gets some packs. Everyone gets a small consolation prize for participating.
 
Yeah, I skew towards not opening tradeable packs because my experience backs the numbers. The Pokémon TCG is better than many other contemporary games about having good cards at all rarities and such... but it is still maybe 10% of the card pool that makes up the competitive side of things. I get enough stuff for my card pool from the locked booster packs, the one you cannot trade. You can earn these in a couple of ways:

  • Daily Log In Bonus (once every five days)
  • Daily Challenges. Specifically the KO Daily Challenge, and possibly it will be Unlocked if you do most or all of it without any losses.
  • Reward Ladder. I think by the end of it you'll have earned what, a total of 8 to 10 boosters of the latest expansion?
  • Redeeming in game tokens
@AwakenedVoid117 another thing to remember is buying Starter decks. Not all are going to be worth it due to time constraints, but remember that each is a different option for Theme Deck mode, and the ever-shifting metagame (as well as Daily Challenges) can make you wish you had an otherwise "bad" Theme Deck. They also can get you a bonus pack. Even if you buy your theme deck via tokens in the PTCGO store, if you go to the single player mode and win 12 games, you get a booster pack from that deck's home set. It used to just be the latest expansion, but they changed it. This means if you get an old HS-era Theme Deck, you can get a (locked) booster from its set!

As for buying stuff with Tokens, I recommend saving up for Theme Decks and Bundles. Buying individual boosters is usually a waste because again the odds are so low you'll get something good. Bundles usually include a promo or in-game item you might want anyway so even if you strike out, it isn't a total waste. The fact they usually include multiples improves your odds, at least a little.
 
Yeah, to add on to Otaku with the bundles, sometimes there are certain promos that are only available through them. Like there's the Greninja that does 20 to all opposing Pokémon, it's an XY promo card. I believe you could only get that when it was available for coins as a bundle.

Contrast that to Giriatina, which when you bought the blister in the store you would get a code card to unlock that one online.

Basically, pay attention to the bundles. Not all of them are playable, but if one is and it's a promo card, it might be the only way to get it now.

(@Otaku correct me if I'm wrong. I don't always pay as much attention to the promo bundles as I should)
 
TheGuardian118 said:
Yeah, to add on to Otaku with the bundles, sometimes there are certain promos that are only available through them. Like there's the Greninja that does 20 to all opposing Pokémon, it's an XY promo card. I believe you could only get that when it was available for coins as a bundle.

Contrast that to Giriatina, which when you bought the blister in the store you would get a code card to unlock that one online.

Basically, pay attention to the bundles. Not all of them are playable, but if one is and it's a promo card, it might be the only way to get it now.

(@Otaku correct me if I'm wrong. I don't always pay as much attention to the promo bundles as I should)
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I don't purchase physical product anymore, so I am uncertain. I believe both that Greninja and Giratina promo were available in stores, but I don't know if one, both, or neither came with redemption codes. I do know that you are correct, sometimes the PTCGO release of a card is only available through store bundles, and even if it isn't, sometimes they are just too good of a deal to pass up. Usually (but not always) any Legacy Format stuff is worth it. I think I bought the current one (with the promo Entei), five times, even though I already had one of those promo Entei. Since I am using Tokens, these are locked promos, and I'll have a spare or two I'll never even be able to use (even if I wanted to), but for those boosters? They aren't available as individual purchases anymore. Periodically old Theme Decks also are in the store, usually in a similar bundle.

In short, always check the store, always try to have some tokens in reserve!
 
You guys are super helpful, I took your advice and before bed last night, entered myself into a Tournament.
Here are the results BTW.
I played in a theme deck tournament, I have the Night Striker, with Zoroark, you can usually do a good amount of trickery!


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Since I'm so new, I looked at those packs and was like im gonna open them! HAHAH

Got this cool looking card as well!!!


I'm AwakenedVoid117 in case you didn't know. LOL

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Lol congrats! Just FYI those are tradable packs since you won them. That Umbreon is worth several packs since it's the fancy print. Not sure how many off hand, but if you're not going to use it then it's worth trading away.

An easy way to tell what's tradable and not is the number and if it's locked. So in your prizes you got 1 tradable PLC, 2 tradable SM, and 1 locked trophy (Not tradable).
 
TheGuardian118 said:
Lol congrats! Just FYI those are tradable packs since you won them. That Umbreon is worth several packs since it's the fancy print. Not sure how many off hand, but if you're not going to use it then it's worth trading away.

An easy way to tell what's tradable and not is the number and if it's locked. So in your prizes you got 1 tradable PLC, 2 tradable SM, and 1 locked trophy (Not tradable).
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It was a lot of fun, I was scared going into it, like i'm gonna get killed but thankfully my top cards were really nice with Noivern and Zoroark slamming people in the beginning.

I also played against someone last night in Versus with the Deck I built, has a Mewtwo EX and a Hoopa EX in it, and Zoroark. Well let's say they had an amazing deck with EX and GX cards for days. It came down to my Hoopa with two prize cards left, I easily KO'd his one pokemon which took away 2 energies, I was like crap i'm doomed but then my double energy came into play and Zoroark was sitting on the bench licking his lips since the other bench was full of pokemon. Last move I used Stand In, and Mind Jacked him and won the game, it was one play difference that won the game. I was lucky. But having so much fun!


I might want to try and alter my deck now to use this pokemon as well, with Hoopa it helps getting other EX pokemon out on the playing field.
My deck I won with:
****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 15

* 3 Noibat BKT 131
* 2 Zorua BKT 89
* 1 Zoroark BKT 91
* 2 Noivern BKT 112
* 2 Gastly BKT 58
* 2 Haunter BKT 59
* 1 Hoopa-EX AOR 36
* 1 Mewtwo-EX EVO 52
* 1 Wobbuffet BKT 67

##Trainer Cards - 28

* 2 Trainers' Mail ROS 92
* 2 Professor's Letter XY 123
* 1 Lass's Special FAC 103
* 2 Lysandre FLF 90
* 4 N DEX 96
* 1 Wally ROS 94
* 4 Professor Sycamore BKP 107
* 4 Ultra Ball FLF 99
* 2 Pokémon Center Lady FLF 93
* 2 Max Elixir BKP 102
* 1 Hex Maniac AOR 75
* 1 VS Seeker PHF 109
* 2 Switch BLW 104

##Energy - 17

* 2 Double Colorless Energy NXD 92
* 4 Darkness Energy XYEnergy 1
* 11 Psychic Energy XYEnergy 8

Total Cards - 60
 
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