We are working on new trainer engines and can't wait to see what the other players come up with. There are still lots of Heart Gold Soul Silver Undaunted events around to do. Looking forward to building new decks with new cards and getting ready for Fall Battle Roads. Go to www.pokemon.com for details. Dates and registration times.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
New season starting, time to clean out the cards...
Well we have a new season starting September. New league promos are coming out and 4 sets are being rotated out. We can no longer use (for modified tournaments) cards from Diamond and Pearl, DP Mysterious Treasures, DP Secret Wonders, DP Great Encounters. No more Psychic Lock Gardivoir or Gallade, and bye, bye Claydol. I am going through all of our cards and taking all those sets out of our deck building collection.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
HGSS - Undaunted Pre-Release Events Start This Weekend!
There are new and exciting Pokemon Cards coming to town. Be sure and visit www.pokemon.com to find a pre-release event near you. Whether you are a beginner or experienced player a pre-release is a great way to get cards from the new set before they are available in stores and meet other players. See my earlier post about pre-release events for more information.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
After Worlds a New Season Begins...
Well, well, well, I stopped posting for a while. I wasn’t sure if anyone would ever see it so I sort of dropped it. Since my son has won his spot at the world championship tournament in Hawaii, lots of people have been asking me to explain the game of Pokemon. So I thought since I already wrote it all out I would just update my blog.
All the information about Organized Play, tournaments and leagues is still valid. Please read the earlier posts.
There are some format changes coming in September. All card sets that came out prior to Diamond and Pearl “Majestic Dawn” will be retired and only sets from Legends Awakened on will be “legal “ for tournament play. Level X’s are no longer being made and now there are new “Prime” Pokemon and 2 card legendary Pokemon. On a personal note my 15 year old will now be a master, not a senior so now instead of having to play his brother in every tournament he will probably have to play me. Since he beats me most of the time, I don’t think he minds very much.
Pokemon League is the best place for your child (and yourself) to learn about the game, the rules, how to play and find out how to build a deck. In the coming weeks I will be posting information about decks we have built, why we built them and how they work…or not. Your positive input, comments and questions are always welcome.
Going to Worlds!!!
Going to Worlds…
Well after 4 years of playing in tournaments all over the tri-state area, hours at league and practicing at home my 14 year old son finished top 4 in the US National Championship tournament. Now we get a free trip to the World Championship in Hawaii. I am so happy.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Spring Battle Roads are Here!
What is a Battle Road? - Battle Road is a Pokemon Organized Play Premier Event. They are held twice a year in the Spring and Fall.
I like the Battle Road Tournaments for beginning players because they are usually smaller tournaments. There is a link below that will let you find a Battle Road Tournament near you.
They are not part of the Championship series like Cities, States, Regionals, Nationals and Worlds, they have a lower point value and therefore attract fewer players and are not as pressure filled.
It is a great opportunity for a child or a beginning player to get used to the Pokemon Tournament format and all that goes with it.
The set up and play is the same as the larger tournaments so it is great for practice.
To play in a Battle Road tournament you will need.
1.A 60 Card Deck - Modified Format - That means the cards can only be from the Diamond & Pearl Booster Sets through the Rising Rival Booster Sets. Any cards printed before those sets are not eligible for a Modified Format Tournament.
2.A Deck list - You can print these out online (link below) or you can get one at the tournament.
3.Damage Counters and a coin for flipping or dice.
Good sportsmanship is key. Players are expected to play honestly and shake hands with their opponent before the game and after. See the link below for "Spirit of the Game."
Link to deck lists.
Link to information on Battle Road Tournaments.
Link to find a Battle Road Tournament near you.
Link to Spirit of the Game.
I like the Battle Road Tournaments for beginning players because they are usually smaller tournaments. There is a link below that will let you find a Battle Road Tournament near you.
They are not part of the Championship series like Cities, States, Regionals, Nationals and Worlds, they have a lower point value and therefore attract fewer players and are not as pressure filled.
It is a great opportunity for a child or a beginning player to get used to the Pokemon Tournament format and all that goes with it.
The set up and play is the same as the larger tournaments so it is great for practice.
To play in a Battle Road tournament you will need.
1.A 60 Card Deck - Modified Format - That means the cards can only be from the Diamond & Pearl Booster Sets through the Rising Rival Booster Sets. Any cards printed before those sets are not eligible for a Modified Format Tournament.
2.A Deck list - You can print these out online (link below) or you can get one at the tournament.
3.Damage Counters and a coin for flipping or dice.
Good sportsmanship is key. Players are expected to play honestly and shake hands with their opponent before the game and after. See the link below for "Spirit of the Game."
Link to deck lists.
Link to information on Battle Road Tournaments.
Link to find a Battle Road Tournament near you.
Link to Spirit of the Game.
Friday, May 22, 2009
How to Pokemon Booster Drafts - How do I know what to draft?
As I mentioned there are several reasons to participate in a booster draft.
1.To acquire specific cards to complete a modified format deck or collection.
2.To win the draft.
Sometime these two things are compatible, sometimes they are not. You have to have a clear objective going in, then you will know what to take and what to pass.
Remember when you open your first pack you get to take 1 card, the rest gets passed to your neighbor on either the left or the right.
When you open your pack that is the time you will get the "best" card because there is a rare card in every pack.
If you are lucky enough to get a pack that contains a Level X just take that one and pass the rest immediately.
If you open your pack and there is nothing there that you want for yourself, but something that other players are looking for, TAKE IT, you can trade it after the draft for something you do want.
After the first or second pass, the rare cards will be gone and then drafting becomes more difficult. If there is still a really great Pokemon that you want to build your draft deck around and it is uncommon take it, if it is a common, let it go, they will keep coming around over and over. What I do is take any supporter or helpful trainer that might be in the pack because we always need them and in a draft they can win you a game.
If you are serious about playing Pokemon you need a good variety of Trainers, supporters, and stadiums. If you are a beginning player I would urge you to take all you can get your hands on. Once you have those, building decks is a whole lot easier.
When I am drafting I like to keep my Pokemon lines to no more than 1 or 2 types. Because there is limited searching capabilities in any draft deck and most sets do not provide a method for accelerating evolution I like to stick with strong basics or stage 1 Pokemon.
If you get a really good stage 2 and multiple basics and stage 1 evolutions of that Pokemon, I say go for it. As a rule don't count on getting a 1 - 1 - 1 line in play, it never turns out well.
There is no 4 card limit in a booster draft. If you draft 6 of one Pokemon you may use them all in a booster draft.
When I do a booster draft I like to have 14 to 16 Pokemon, 5 to 6 Trainers, Supporters, and Stadiums and 20 energy cards. That will usually work out well. You are building a 40 card deck.
I don't like to have too many different types of Pokemon in a booster draft deck. That makes it more difficult to get the right energy and Pokemon matched up. Keep an eye on the energy requirements of any Pokemon you put in your deck. If that Pokemon uses colorless energies but is a different type than the other Pokemon that you will be using that will work, but as I said stick with 1 or 2 specific types and fill in with Colorless Pokemon.
Don't forget - 40 card deck - 4 Prize cards. Rule of thumb 1 Prize cards for every 10 cards in a deck.
It's great to see that folks are following this blog. It gives me a good reason to continue, but I would love to hear from you. Please leave any questions or suggestions for future discussions.
Next Time: Battle Roads are Coming - Good tournaments for starting Players.
1.To acquire specific cards to complete a modified format deck or collection.
2.To win the draft.
Sometime these two things are compatible, sometimes they are not. You have to have a clear objective going in, then you will know what to take and what to pass.
Remember when you open your first pack you get to take 1 card, the rest gets passed to your neighbor on either the left or the right.
When you open your pack that is the time you will get the "best" card because there is a rare card in every pack.
If you are lucky enough to get a pack that contains a Level X just take that one and pass the rest immediately.
If you open your pack and there is nothing there that you want for yourself, but something that other players are looking for, TAKE IT, you can trade it after the draft for something you do want.
After the first or second pass, the rare cards will be gone and then drafting becomes more difficult. If there is still a really great Pokemon that you want to build your draft deck around and it is uncommon take it, if it is a common, let it go, they will keep coming around over and over. What I do is take any supporter or helpful trainer that might be in the pack because we always need them and in a draft they can win you a game.
If you are serious about playing Pokemon you need a good variety of Trainers, supporters, and stadiums. If you are a beginning player I would urge you to take all you can get your hands on. Once you have those, building decks is a whole lot easier.
When I am drafting I like to keep my Pokemon lines to no more than 1 or 2 types. Because there is limited searching capabilities in any draft deck and most sets do not provide a method for accelerating evolution I like to stick with strong basics or stage 1 Pokemon.
If you get a really good stage 2 and multiple basics and stage 1 evolutions of that Pokemon, I say go for it. As a rule don't count on getting a 1 - 1 - 1 line in play, it never turns out well.
There is no 4 card limit in a booster draft. If you draft 6 of one Pokemon you may use them all in a booster draft.
When I do a booster draft I like to have 14 to 16 Pokemon, 5 to 6 Trainers, Supporters, and Stadiums and 20 energy cards. That will usually work out well. You are building a 40 card deck.
I don't like to have too many different types of Pokemon in a booster draft deck. That makes it more difficult to get the right energy and Pokemon matched up. Keep an eye on the energy requirements of any Pokemon you put in your deck. If that Pokemon uses colorless energies but is a different type than the other Pokemon that you will be using that will work, but as I said stick with 1 or 2 specific types and fill in with Colorless Pokemon.
Don't forget - 40 card deck - 4 Prize cards. Rule of thumb 1 Prize cards for every 10 cards in a deck.
It's great to see that folks are following this blog. It gives me a good reason to continue, but I would love to hear from you. Please leave any questions or suggestions for future discussions.
Next Time: Battle Roads are Coming - Good tournaments for starting Players.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Pokemon Booster Drafts - How they work
Pokemon Booster Drafts are a lot of fun. Everyone really seems to enjoy them. Booster Drafts are very low pressure events, and you get some valuable experience building a deck, with a very limited pool of cards to choose from plus very little time to do it. It is also a great way to get your feet wet in competitive play in a venue that isn't too competitive.
There are a couple of reasons I participate in a booster draft.
1.There are cards from the set I hope to get, to make decks or fill out my collection. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, but you will always get something good that you might be able to use or trade later.
2.It's a really great way to improve deck building and playing skills, and no matter who you are there is always room for improvement.
How they work:
There are different types of Booster Drafts, I am going to focus on the most common type of draft today.
Well, how it works is simple, you pay your money and then you are assigned a seat. Normally Booster Drafts are broken into "Pods" (small groups.) The people in your pod are the folks you are going to be "drafting with." A pod normally will consist of 8 players and if there is a large group the group will be split into several pods for drafting and then be combined for playing.
Each drafter will be given their packs of cards. Which will remain on the table until they are directed to open the first pack by the Judge or the "Pod Leader" (one person at the table that will give instructions as to when to open a pack or pass the cards.)
Once everyone is ready all the players will open their first pack, pick a card from that pack and pass the rest. It is important to wait until everyone has chosen their card and is ready to move on. This is done until all the cards are passed out. First pack will pass in one direction and the second will pass in the other. This will continue until all of the packs are opened and all the cards passed out.
After that, each player will build a 40 card deck (including basic energies) which will be provided by whomever is organizing the draft. The standard time for building a deck is 30 minutes. After everyone is done building their decks players will be paired for playing and the tournament will continue to conclusion. Number of rounds will be determined by the number of players.
As a rule booster drafts are not age separated so juniors can end up playing masters or seniors.
Next: Building a Draft Deck - How do I pick cards.
There are a couple of reasons I participate in a booster draft.
1.There are cards from the set I hope to get, to make decks or fill out my collection. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, but you will always get something good that you might be able to use or trade later.
2.It's a really great way to improve deck building and playing skills, and no matter who you are there is always room for improvement.
How they work:
There are different types of Booster Drafts, I am going to focus on the most common type of draft today.
Well, how it works is simple, you pay your money and then you are assigned a seat. Normally Booster Drafts are broken into "Pods" (small groups.) The people in your pod are the folks you are going to be "drafting with." A pod normally will consist of 8 players and if there is a large group the group will be split into several pods for drafting and then be combined for playing.
Each drafter will be given their packs of cards. Which will remain on the table until they are directed to open the first pack by the Judge or the "Pod Leader" (one person at the table that will give instructions as to when to open a pack or pass the cards.)
Once everyone is ready all the players will open their first pack, pick a card from that pack and pass the rest. It is important to wait until everyone has chosen their card and is ready to move on. This is done until all the cards are passed out. First pack will pass in one direction and the second will pass in the other. This will continue until all of the packs are opened and all the cards passed out.
After that, each player will build a 40 card deck (including basic energies) which will be provided by whomever is organizing the draft. The standard time for building a deck is 30 minutes. After everyone is done building their decks players will be paired for playing and the tournament will continue to conclusion. Number of rounds will be determined by the number of players.
As a rule booster drafts are not age separated so juniors can end up playing masters or seniors.
Next: Building a Draft Deck - How do I pick cards.
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