Favorite Theme Deck.

[Ledgetheorc]

Barring anything Pre-Neo, taking in actually effective cards and visual aesthetics of cards gained, what are your favorites? Just getting back into the game I'm seeking to buy some, though I'm worried about blowing 15$ only to get a pile of random basics, a few stage twos and a useless and not pretty holo (They seem to gimp out on trainer cards these days).

As for playability I'm looking for current tourny play, as for aesthetics, any after Neo (As I have 99% of those cards already).

So. Any suggestions appreciated, and links too if you have the chance. (Especially if posting based on looks).

 

[donavannj]

Theme deck wise, nothing stands out to me at all in the theme decks because, quite honestly, they've been pretty useless for their release year's modified format for a long time now.

 

[Ledgetheorc]

Well, that's depressing. I don't have any energies or anything at this point. Do you have any recommendation on any form of starting packs or something? Is there a Deckbuilder kit like in MTG with mostly lands and a few packs? I can't seem to find anything like it.

 

[donavannj]

There's the Elite Trainer Box if you're looking to get some energy in addition to 7 packs of cards and some other goodies. It comes with 40 total Basic energy. That's about $34.99, iirc.

Some theme decks are decent for trainers, though I'm fairly certain most of them of late are lacking as the format has been shifting away from Pokemon-fetching supporters and to Pokemon-fetching trainers.

The upside of theme decks is they all come with around 20 energy, and that usually means 10 of each of whatever type is in there.

 

[Renpuu]

Base Set theme decks were awesome ! You got a decent playable holofoil, plenty of good trainers and energy !
Nowadays the theme decks come with like 1 good supporter, some filler Pokemon and a barely playable holofoil for tournament play. They're almost as expensive as a EX tin which is way more beneficial for tournament play.
If you're looking to play casually with a friend to learn the game and basics, you can pick up 2 and have fun. That's how I got back into the game.
I would second donavannj's recommended trainer kit and grab 2 of them, meaning you have all the basic energy you'll need.

 

[Ledgetheorc]

I was thinking about the Tins, since I can recall the days of playing YuGiOh and being all about tin boxes. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[donavannj]

The Elite Trainer Box is basically just a super tin without the promo, so I'd definitely pick up two of those (which should cover all of your basic energy needs) and then focus on tins and booster boxes for collecting and competitive play, since tins don't come with any guaranteed basic energy and neither do booster boxes.

 

[Ledgetheorc]

I just got massive loot from a Toys R Us nearby having a Moving sale, 50% off everything! I got a few tins and a ton of packs. Couldn't find the trainer kit, but I did get a few theme decks... Couldn't be 5-6$ For one... I'll try and hunt down some of those Trainer boxes. Are they like the slide boxes from Magic The Gathering Fatpacks?

 

[donavannj]

They're basically like the MTG deckbuilder kits. They look like this:

 

[Ledgetheorc]

I was hoping it'd be like the fatpacks, the art looks so boss, and I love the fatpack boxes to store decks in. Can't say I've ever needed a deckbuilder kit for MTG, so I'm not 100% on what it was like on the inside.

 

[donavannj]

Well, it's like the deckbuilder kits in that it gives you a bunch of basic energy, but I suppose it's like the fatpacks in that it contains boosters, an official coin flip die, damage counters, status counters, and a booklet.