Theme deck questions

[heathen]

Hey, so I played during base set up to whatever the first team-rocket themed set was, then kinda drifted out during school
Recently been playing MTG for a few years, but me and a friend jammed the XY Evolutions theme decks and I realised how much I've missed this game!

Im not looking to get back to competitive play, but enjoy casual games.
My question is, whats the deal with theme decks, are they all about balanced enough to play each other (obviously without upgrading)?
I saw both XY Phantom Forces theme decks as a bundle online for cheap, but I was hesitant to buy them if:
a) they are massively OP or UP compared to the XY Evolutions decks
b) are just generally bad decks and thats why they're cheap

TL ; DR I get that theme decks wont ever be great, but are they generally playable against each other, regardless of standard legality?

Thank you for any help or advice!

 

[donavannj]

Hey, so I played during base set up to whatever the first team-rocket themed set was, then kinda drifted out during school
Recently been playing MTG for a few years, but me and a friend jammed the XY Evolutions theme decks and I realised how much I've missed this game!

Im not looking to get back to competitive play, but enjoy casual games.
My question is, whats the deal with theme decks, are they all about balanced enough to play each other (obviously without upgrading)?
I saw both XY Phantom Forces theme decks as a bundle online for cheap, but I was hesitant to buy them if:
a) they are massively OP or UP compared to the XY Evolutions decks
b) are just generally bad decks and thats why they're cheap

TL ; DR I get that theme decks wont ever be great, but are they generally playable against each other, regardless of standard legality?

Thank you for any help or advice!

By and large they're roughly balanced with each other. At least if they're within the same generation (IE, any set that has XY in its name has theme decks roughly comparable to another XY set), or if they're within a year of release of each other (like a theme deck from BW Plasma Blast will be roughly comparable to a theme deck from the XY base set).

They're cheap because theme decks aren't really sought after by competitive players other than maybe the ones that come with 1 or 2 of a really useful trainer card.

The Battle/VS decks that have been released in the last two years are a different story, however. Those are generally more powerful than the standard theme deck, as reflected by their price points.

 

[heathen]

Hey , thanks a lot for the reply :)
That's cool, I was just after some casual games at the moment and wanted some variety, but without anything being unfairly balanced.
I'm not too worried about financial value or competitive play; MTG scratches that itch, I just missed the flavour and general fun of playing pokémon - especially with the XY Evolutions stuff, so much nostalgia

That being said, I will keep an eye out for the battle decks, but by the time I got to play a sanctioned event they will be out of rotation most likely and not useful for expanded (I'm guessing)

 

[ddrox13]

That being said, I will keep an eye out for the battle decks, but by the time I got to play a sanctioned event they will be out of rotation most likely and not useful for expanded (I'm guessing)

They actually are already out of rotation (except for the ones that got reprinted). They will remain in Expanded until no earlier than September.

 

[heathen]

Hey thanks so much for the input -
So expanded isn't like Modern in MTG then, expanded is just like standard but with a slightly longer cycle?
As I said, I'm starting out casual, but would be cool to get something that isn't totally worthless (even a few generic staples would be beneficial at this point)

 

[ddrox13]

Hey thanks so much for the input -
So expanded isn't like Modern in MTG then, expanded is just like standard but with a slightly longer cycle?
As I said, I'm starting out casual, but would be cool to get something that isn't totally worthless (even a few generic staples would be beneficial at this point)

Yeah, we rotate on a different schedule than MTG. Every September 1st (except in 2009 for reasons), we rotate out one year's worth of sets. Right now Standard is "PRC on", which is to say cards released since January 1, 2015. So yeah, we keep stuff in standard way longer than MTG.

Expanded, on the other hand, is a new enough format that we just don't know. It has only existed for 3 seasons (including the current one). Since it's creation, the format has been "BW on", which means cards released (in english) after March 2011. There are currently three things that could happen to it.

1. We keep 1 generation back in Standard. This would mean we have rotations about every 3-4 years. In September, the format would become "XY on", or cards released after January 1, 2014. (For reference, 2015-2016 Standard was XY on)
2. We start rotating every year, keeping Expanded lagging 5 years behind Standard. This would result in an "NXD on" format. I think the Keldeo/RayRay Duel decks would still be in Expanded.
3. We just hold Expanded as BW-on forever, which would be unbalanced as hell.

I forget what Modern is in MTG, so I can't compare them. Sorry.

As far as staples and general deck building tactics, Try reading this wonderful article by user Hands for a bit of a jump start.

 

[heathen]

Yeah, we rotate on a different schedule than MTG. Every September 1st (except in 2009 for reasons), we rotate out one year's worth of sets. Right now Standard is "PRC on", which is to say cards released since January 1, 2015. So yeah, we keep stuff in standard way longer than MTG.

Expanded, on the other hand, is a new enough format that we just don't know. It has only existed for 3 seasons (including the current one). Since it's creation, the format has been "BW on", which means cards released (in english) after March 2011. There are currently three things that could happen to it.

1. We keep 1 generation back in Standard. This would mean we have rotations about every 3-4 years. In September, the format would become "XY on", or cards released after January 1, 2014. (For reference, 2015-2016 Standard was XY on)
2. We start rotating every year, keeping Expanded lagging 5 years behind Standard. This would result in an "NXD on" format. I think the Keldeo/RayRay Duel decks would still be in Expanded.
3. We just hold Expanded as BW-on forever, which would be unbalanced as hell.

I forget what Modern is in MTG, so I can't compare them. Sorry.

As far as staples and general deck building tactics, Try reading this wonderful article by user Hands for a bit of a jump start.

Ah man, thanks for all the info ! - The pokemon community seem way more friendly than the MTG online-community, you guys are all great help.
I was assuming that Expanded would be option 3, simply because thats pretty much what Modern is in MTG, it's; all sets legal since 2003, with some cards banned that broke the format

Cool article too, thanks

 

[Hands]

Ah man, thanks for all the info ! - The pokemon community seem way more friendly than the MTG online-community, you guys are all great help.
I was assuming that Expanded would be option 3, simply because thats pretty much what Modern is in MTG, it's; all sets legal since 2003, with some cards banned that broke the format

Cool article too, thanks

We also have Legacy Format and an unsanctioned but fairly popular fourth format called "151 format" which you might like as it essentially allows every set, but has limits on card count, banned cards and restrictions on things like the current EX cards that are all basics.

 

[heathen]

We also have Legacy Format and an unsanctioned but fairly popular fourth format called "151 format" which you might like as it essentially allows every set, but has limits on card count, banned cards and restrictions on things like the current EX cards that are all basics.

Sadly I sold all my legacy rares, but 151 sounds sick! Shame thats not supported online (yet)
Thanks

 

[Hands]

Sadly I sold all my legacy rares, but 151 sounds sick! Shame thats not supported online (yet)
Thanks

I don't think it'll ever get online support tbh, it's a niche, unsanctioned format. Which is a bother because there's some seriously cool old cards I'd love to mix with current formats.