Help Playing PTCG Casually

[Duke Erebus]

I really enjoy playing this game, but as a poor college student, I'm not quite sure I'm ready to spend the money to actually play competitively. Most of the fun for me is just playing with other people who also enjoy Pokemon; is there a way/place to play where I could meet new people and not have to worry about whether or not my deck is super viable? I've heard local tournaments are usually pretty casual -- would those be a good place to start?

 

[Lord Goomy]

I really enjoy playing this game, but as a poor college student, I'm not quite sure I'm ready to spend the money to actually play competitively. Most of the fun for me is just playing with other people who also enjoy Pokemon; is there a way/place to play where I could meet new people and not have to worry about whether or not my deck is super viable? I've heard local tournaments are usually pretty casual -- would those be a good place to start?

This just may be my league, but casual decks in league tournaments are pretty rare. I'd start at just going to the league whenever they meet and try to ask for a battle. If there's nothing at stake, they're not worrying too much about winning and might play a less than meta deck... if that's what you're looking for?

 

[GamePhoenix]

If you don't mind not being in the same room as your opponent, then the PTCGO might be a good way to go. Its cheap, you will almost always find a battle, and you can use whatever deck you want and no one will care.

 

[Otaku]

1) Consider the PTCGO is you have more time than money. Of course, it does demand a lot of time until you have a decent cardpool.

2) Unless you stick to the Theme Deck mode. Which is an option for the physical TCG as well.

3) Another option, if you've got fellow casual friends, is to focus on either the Battle Arena Decks or the World Championship Decks (the commemorative ones). Treat them like "Board Games" instead of TCG materials, and leave them as is, with each player selecting a deck and going at it. Bearing in mind that I'm not talking about mix and matching the two; you might be able to have Battle Arena Decks face off against other Battle Arena decks other than the one with which they were sold, and you can have World Championship Decks face off against the other three from the year they represent.

4) Pokémon League is an option, but your mileage may vary. Some are quite casual, others quite competitive. I haven't been able to attend a Pokémon League in over 10 years, but when I was a regular and semi-regular, there were both kinds of players.