How to play the Pokemon TCG competitively

Back in Grade 2, everyone at my elementary school LOVED to collect and trade Pokemon cards. I was one of those everyone people.

And on the night of January 19, 2012 (yes, I remember the exact date... because I'm magical) I had a dream about... Pokemon cards! I had not been collecting them for a while, and I had noticed a couple of days back that there was a Pokemon League at a local game store called Curious Comics and games. The day I woke up (Jan. 20) I made a last-minute Unlimited format deck (because I was not at all competitive) and I had so much fun playing Pokemon. Nobody else that went there was all that competitive either, until I heard about the League over at Skyhaven Games.

Everyone was so competitive with their cards and I got pwn'd in the face a ton (except for 1 donk because that was when Tyrogue was a fairly good card) and it hit me. I should start playing competitively like these people!

So I did.

I made a Zekrom / Eelektrik / Thundurus deck and I actually became a decent Pokemon player. Playing competitive is really fun because you get to travel a lot (I have to go to Vancouver for tournaments) and you get to meet and trade with so many new people. So for those of you that would like to get a head start on competitive play in the Pokemon TCG, you're at the right place!

Getting Started - Pokemon League

First of all, start off with the basics. Have a 60-card deck of Pokemon cards. I recommend for beginners to buy a Theme Deck. Next, find a local Pokemon League in your area. There's an event locator on Pokemon.com to make finding a league easy. At the league, there will probably be at least someone there who has lots of competitive experience with the game (maybe the organizer?) that can help you learn how to play.

Usually, a Pokemon League runs once a week. Where I live, the closest league is in Victoria. There's a League every Saturday, and a Tournament every Sunday. Most likely, your local League will happen every weekend.

Pokemon League is a great place for new players to begin their competitive run, because before you start playing, the league's organizer will give you a POP (Pokemon Organized Play) ID number so that you can enter tournaments and stuff. You can also do this online, but doing it at league is the better option. Create an account on Pokemon.com - you need to do this so that tournament judges can award you Play/Championship points after a tournament. Register your POP ID there, and you're done!

So now that you can actually play in tournaments, you're going to need to keep up with the current format - make sure your deck is legal. The current format is Next Destinies and newer sets, so when entering a tournament, you are allowed to use any cards from that format. Any card from a set that is older than Next Destinies is illegal unless an older version of a reprinted card is still legal (eg. Switch)

Google is a wonderful thing

Use Google to find out about meta decks and what cards you will need. The sites I recommend for decks are either the Deck Garage forum on PokeBeach.com or The Deck Dumpster here on TCG 101. These will be helpful for building your deck and not getting pwn'd by competitive players.

The supplies

If you want to get competitive, you're going to need some playing supplies. First of all, you need some card sleeves. 60 of the exact same sleeve for each card in your deck. Next, you need dice for 2 different things - some smaller dice one larger die.

For the smaller dice, buy a set of 36 Chessex dice to use as damage counters. Here's an example: my Xerneas EX has 100 damage on it. So, it should have 1 die with the 6 side facing up and another with the 4 side facing up. Each dot on a die represents 10 damage on a Pokemon.

The larger die is used as a coin, as you need to flip a coin to go first, on some Trainer cards, or on a crap load of Pokemon's attacks. To get a rolling die, just get a regular D6. The way I got mine is from a Plasma Storm Elite Trainer Box. Rolling an even number on the die means heads, and an odd numbered-roll means tails.

You'll need a Deck Box to keep your deck in while you're not playing a game. Deck Boxes are really cheap and they are not hard to find at all, so this step should not be a problem.

The last thing you will need is a playmat. It makes dice rolling easier, it makes the cards easier to pick up (eg. your Pokemon gets knocked out) and they are just plain amazing to have around.

Picture Examples:

Deck sleeves

Set of 36 Chessex "damage counter" dice

Dice that come with a Plasma Storm (or any other set) Elite Trainer Box. The one to the far left is a good "coin flip" die. It also comes with 6 damage counter dice, but you will need more than that.

Deck Box (#TeamFennekin)

Playmat

Buy Pokemon Cards!!!

I recommend Troll and Toad for buying cards when you need them. Or, you could trade cards with others if you have something you don't need but that they do need. Buying cards from them is another option, and it is also better because when buying from someone else, there's no taxes (or in the case of Troll and Toad, shipping) but only buy cards from another player you trust. If you are still missing a certain card you need for your deck, the last option is to use a proxy until you get a real version of the card. However, proxied cards are not tournament legal, and when playing at a league, your opponent can choose not to play against you. If you don't have a card for a tournament, your best option is to borrow them from someone else - don't be afraid to ask, and I also recommend to make plans in advance, but just remember to return the card(s) to whoever you borrowed from after the tournament is over.

I once lent someone a Secret Rare Rayquaza from Dragons Exalted and didn't get it back until about 3 weeks after, but that's a whole different story. The guy's a World Champion, after all.

Enter a Premier Tournament

The options are Battle Roads, City, Provincial, Regional, National, and of course World Championships. They are very competitive, and it shouldn't be that hard for you to do fine at a Premier event if you have successfully completed all the things listed above.

The Pokemon Trading Card Game is a VERY expensive game to play and keep up with, but it's full of fun strategies that will never bore you. And remember these words before you enter your first tournament:

"Win or lose, all that matters is how much fun you had." <------ New world famous intelligent quote

Have fun playing the Pokemon TCG :)

 - The TCG 101 team of 1 person