getting started

[Paperfairy]

I am a teenager living in Connecticut, and I want to get back into playing the TCG competitvely. I used to play up until Neo Genesis, and I have recently been going to the local league for about a month now. I do not possess enough legal cards to participate in anything, and I understand the basic concepts of deck building. I want to start playing more competitively, and hopefully, place at National's or World's in the near future.

How do I get started? I suppose I first, need to learn of all the decktypes in the current metagame, and after constructing a decklist, buying booster packs from the sets I need cards from. However, I still do not understand how one can transcend the level from casual to competitive.... could anyone explain it?

 

[Geometric-sama]

Well, you've made a good start by going to league. Play often and as much as you can; decktest a lot so you get a feel for what works. Proxy cards if you need to until you decide on a deck, and then you can buy singles or trade for cards you need. That way you don't waste money building a heap of decks you won't use. As for going casual->competitive, just play in tournaments! States and Battle Roads should be coming up soon, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Tentacruel13]

Cool! Another player in the advanced metagame! You should first get cards that will work well in your deck. Then put them all together and make a deck. I suggest buying a booster box of the latest set, Great Encounters. You should first be familiar with the cards. For card scans goHERE Once you have a deck put together go HERE to download Redshark and Hamachi. Redshark lets you play online with other players and Hamachi lets you join and create private networks. If you join Hamachi and Redhark just chat with me and I will battle you if I am not busy. NOW GO MAKE A DECK!

 

[Paperfairy]

I have numerous decks built on RedShark, but I have only battled once. Little to nobody plays RedShark, from what I can see. I am already familar with all cards DP-GE.

Proxying an entire deck sounds somewhat obnoxious.

 

[Geometric-sama]

You don't have to proxy the entire deck - I assume you'd have a trainer engine, and if you don't you should get yourself a bunch of stock trainers since you'll need them in any deck anyway (things like Rare Candy, Celio's for search, TVR/Felicity's for draw... TGW is pretty popular at the moment, etc, etc). Proxy rares and stuff you don't have/can't get easily/cheaply, it saves you money while you're playtesting.