Pokeballing: September

As we approach the last weekend of June, September is fast approaching and thus a new format is upon us. By now every competitive player knows what this means to them, but what about the players who havent moved on to professional play yet. If you have been contemplating playing pokemon at the competitive level (Battle roads, Cities, etc.) then September 2012 is your year for sure.

This September the landscape of Pokemon TCG will change drastically. A set rotation will bring us only six sets, the smallest in the time i have been playing competitively. Not only does a smaller set mean less buying for those of use without tons of cash, but the fall also brings reprints of three powerhouse EX Pokemon.

September will mark the release of the fall tins, which this time around happen to be The Three Kings (Mewtwo EX,Darkrai EX,Rayquaza EX). Mewtwo and Darkrai are already proven powerhouses in most decks, and Rayquaza EX will also be just as dominate if used right.

So now that i have gotten your attention, how can one make the transition to a BW-On format.

1. Buy starter decks- With the exception of the Black&White and Emerging Powers Starter Decks, every set has had pretty decent Starter Decks. As i said in a earlier blog the Zekeel deck can be aquired through some Starter Decks and the Forces of Nature Collection. Now you can add on to that even more with the Mewtwo EX tin. The Dark Explorers Shadows Theme Deck can give you access to Zoroark and its brutual bash attack that when combined with the Darkrai EX tin can give you a hard hitting Dark deck.

2. Buy packs- Only having a six set rotation means less sets to choose from. In the last format if you wanted to get into a competitive play you needed so many cards from so many sets. A six set format makes getting a tournament ready deck easier and cheaper. The smaller format also means that if you dont get a card for your deck then you might get cards that other people need which you can then trade for what you need.

3. BUY THOSE TINS- I myself am aiming to buy a couple of boxes worth of these tins. The fact that a entire meta is going to have easy access to these three particular cards is amazing and a big kudos should be given to Pokemon International for the reprints.

4. Knowing what to build- This format is gonna be new for everyone and as we start testing. Some decks to be on the look out for are

Gothitelle/Gardevoir/Mewtwo
Empoleon Variants
Terrakion Variants
Zekeels
Darkrai Variants

Spend this time looking into all decks and what we have to work with. Playtesting is key to getting into the competitive portion of this game and now is the best time to experiment with the upcoming format.