Quick Questions Thread! [OLD]

google123 said:

since when do cards start being illegal?

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What do you mean by that? Do you mean when they typically are rotated out of the play-legal format? Or when they first started rotating cards out of official play?

Typically, a card is rotated out of the modified format in August of the year that is 2 years after its last printing. Typically. So, presently, cards from Black & White onward currently compose the modified format.

The earliest banned card to my knowledge was Birthday Pikachu (the Pikachu with the _____ at the beginning of its name). The earliest format rotation happened in 2001, rotating the 4 sets released before Team Rocket.

i mean when they can't be played on tournament. can we use this one from 2007?

If they're not reprinted in the current rotation, then no, and I haven't seen that card in the current rotation so high chances are that that's not playable.

That card is not allowed at official tournaments because only sets in the Black & White era are allowed currently, and that card does not have a reprint copy in the Black & White era (though the format could certainly use a balancer card like that to counter all the EX Pokemon that are rampant).

Few question about these card protectors i picked up




Anybody have experience with them? I put my absolute rarest cards in sleeves and top loaders, so im pretty much wondering whether i should replace the sleeves and top loaders with these. Do they work well?
Any edge wear? The card ive put in one seems to stay put, no movement at all, so im just wondering if anyone else has used them.

Those are very sturdy and good. If you just wanna keep your cards at home for showcase, those are the ones I recommend. If you wanna show them off to your friends and such when you go out, a binder with card sleeves is better since it's more portable.

But those are very very good protector, nothing gets pass them! :P
I got some of those too and I like 'em.

Thanks for the quick response! They were like a buck fifty a piece at hastings, and i thought they were pretty cool, like a psa case without being nearly impossible to get open. I plan on getting more and using them for all of my full arts and shinys and some of the older, more expensive holos. So i just wanted to make sure they wont mess up my cards.


One last question, i understand there are different sizes for different card thicknesses? 35 pt, 100pt, 130pt, how much of a difference do these make? I dont remember what size i got.

I am personally not familiar with those at all.

I would assume getting a case that is closest in size to a Pokemon card would cause the least amount of bouncing around inside the case, though. It matters because the cards can still suffer damage inside of those things.

Just got some cards from a relative and not sure what this symbol under the image of the pokemon stands for. http://prntscr.com/12mcqw
(To the right)
http://prntscr.com/12mcqw

That's from Base Set 2 if I recall correctly.

Yep, it's from Base Set 2.

Is it possible that they'll add a moltres full art and a zapdos full art to a later set?

Hey, guys! I have a very quick question and I hope someone will be able to help.

I haven't bought Pokémon cards in years and, to be honest, I haven't even played any TCG since around '08 or so, but I'd really like to start collecting and playing Pokémon. I plan on being a collector primarily, but I'd also like to learn to play so I could partake in some games with friends and maybe enter friendly competitions at my local Coliseum of Comics.

I'm going to be heading down to Coliseum of Comics tomorrow afternoon to buy a few comics, but I'm thinking about also buying a Pokémon deck. Is there any theme deck(s) that you guys would recommend for absolute beginners? I've heard that the theme decks aren't very good, but I figured that they'd be the easiest way to quickly start playing while I learn the rules. If I have enough case left over, I'm thinking about buying two decks and some sleeves so I can start practicing with my cousin.

I don't have too much money at the moment to go out and buy a box or anything like that, which is why I'm not going that route right away. I plan on buying a Monster Protectors binder a few weeks later and start buying boxes and tins from there, when I'll start really collecting.

And one last thing; where's a good site to buy cards? The Ancient Mew card looks pretty cool and I would love to have one of those! I see them all over Amazon for $6, but I'd like to get one that's in perfect condition; even sealed if possible. It might not be too expensive of a card, but I just want that to be the first card in my collection. Unless I'm fortunate enough to pull any good cards from a pack in the mean time.

TL;DR - What is a good theme deck that you'd recommend for a beginner to learn the rules? What is a good site to buy cards?

Well, I would suggest buying a theme deck from a set that you know you want to collect, since you primarily want to be a collector. A theme deck is definitely a good idea if you want to play also, since boosters no longer carry energy.

Personally, I think PlasmaShadow is a cool Theme Deck. It has Giratina and some other cool cards, that if you can find the final form for can round the deck out better. Instead of buying 2 theme decks, maybe you should buy a deck and a few boosters, so you can get some stuff to customize your deck a little more. Again, I would suggest that to start off you buy from the same set as the deck, just so you know whatever you get will have a chance of matching up with what's in your theme deck. Once you start collecting full time, start branching off and such to give your deck more variety.

Sorry if I was a little over the top in my response, but it's what I was thinking. I only just started back into PTCG about 2 months ago, so we're in a similar boat, and I'll be happy if this helps at all!

EDIT: http://www.trollandtoad.com/ is a pretty nice online card store. You may try checking Ebay for an Ancient Mew as well.

Well, from a collectors standpoint, it would definitely make sense to buy boosters that would be within the same set as the theme deck. That wouldn't even have crossed my mind and I probably would've ended up buying random different boosters.

I was only thinking about buying two theme decks so I could practice with my cousin. Perhaps switch decks so we could try them both out while we learn the rules. Though, I'll probably buy a deck and a few boosters instead. That definitely seems like the better option and I'm sure he'd buy his own deck later on when he gets paid.

Is there a specific website that I can use to know all the sets and which cards are in those sets? I know that there are numbers at the bottom of the cards (like "112/120") and I'd like to know which cards are in a set. I plan on organizing my cards by set and placing them in order by their number, so that would be a useful resource.

Also, I've watched a few videos and I've seen people using dice instead of the Damage Counters when battling and rolling dice instead of flipping a coin. Is that a widely accepted thing and should I also invest in a few dice while I'm at Coliseum of Comics?

I would recommend the Black & White Trainer Kit for learning the rules, personally. It's got the current rules and it walks you through how to play the game for a bit.

Pokegym.net/tower/uindex.html is my preferred site for checking what cards are in English sets, personally. Easily searchable if you're looking for a specific card as well.

The dice are widely accepted, but they have to be in a certain style and of a certain size to be used for the coin-flip from a rules standpoint.
I'd recommend getting card sleeves for your decks if you're planning on being a collector so the cards don't suffer as much damage from play.

Oh, I plan on buying one of those deck boxes that come with sleeves (or two, if I get two decks). I don't plan on ever buying cards if they don't have a sleeve and/or book to get into! I know what cards are worth now that I'm older and, wanting to be a collector, I'll be sure to take care of all of 'em.

The Trainer Kit is the box that comes with two decks, correct? I totally forgot about those, but I'll definitely keep an eye out for it while I'm driving around tomorrow. Thanks for the tip!

Thank you for all the tips!

It's the box that comes with two "half-decks" (two decks of 30 cards). The Black & White one features Zoroark and Excadrill. I'd also look into buying an Elite Trainer Box as that comes with 7 Boundaries Crossed boosters, 40 Basic Energy cards (spread across all 8 TCG basic energy types) a play legal coin flip die, damage counter dice, a pair of status tokens (for Burn and Poison) and cardboard deck box as well as the sturdy outer box called the "collection box" by the packaging of the Elite Trainer Box.

The Trainer kit didn't even cross my mind for some reason, lol. I agree, that's a great jumping off point.

EDIT: Elite Trainer Box is Plasma Storm, not Boundaries Crossed.

Whoops, you're right about the Elite Trainer Box.

Totally had the Plasma Storm set symbol in my mind and for some reason associated it with Boundaries Crossed instead.