PTCG Pastebin/FAQ
Updated July 20th 2017

Q: I'M NEW, HOW TO POKEMON CARD???

1. Download the PTCGO client from http://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-tcg/play-online/download/

2. Go to the 'Redeem codes' page under the shop and enter the codes 'flashfire' 'furiousfists' and 'phantomforces', these will give you copies of the Rallying Cry theme deck, which gives you a bunch of shit cards but also some useful trainers, some of which are no longer in print as well as a playset of double colorless energy (DCE). If you would like a complimentary fedora for your avatar, enter 'dragonsexalted'.

3. Go to the Trainer Challenge page and complete those battles (YES, ALL OF THEM) with each of your starter theme decks. Beating the trainer challenge will unlock cards for your three starting theme decks, allowing you to use them online as well as granting you tokens.

4. Once you have earned 500 tokens from competing in the trainer challenge, purchase ONE theme deck from the shop. Most people recommend the Lunala deck, the Incineroar and Decidueye themedecks are solid by theme standards, and the Steam Siege ones are also pretty good.

5. Complete the trainer challenge battles again with this themedeck. Upon beating each trainer with the fourth different theme deck, you will be awarded one pack. There are a total of 45 packs to be gained this way.

6. Once you have completed the trainer challenge, begin playing versus matches to clear out your bonus wheel as much as you can each day. You also earn versus ladder rewards which often include very good cards.

Q: OKAY, THEN WHAT?
After this, progression becomes more open ended. Your goal is to accumulate TRADABLE value. All packs and cards purchased with tokens or awarded by the trainer challenge/bonus wheel are no-trade.

You can acquire TRADABLE value by
1. Reaching trainer level 16 and completing daily challenges that award packs (pack awarded before lv16 are no-trade)
2. Entering ticketed tournaments, even if you lose, you get at least one tradable item
3. Purchasing PTCG paper products and redeeming code cards, or purchasing second hand code cards from these products.
4. Playing the market

On the third option, you will usually find the best prices for code cards on ebay. Beware of mixed code card lots that do not list exactly which packs you are getting, people will generally try to inflate pack count with low value packs. Pack value, as of July 2017 is approximately as follows

Plasma Freeze/HS-Triumphant                    2
Guardians Rising                               1
Most BW era packs, Roaring Skies               0.75
Sun and Moon, Generations, most HS era packs   0.5
Other current standard sets, Phantom Forces    0.33
Evolutions, Fates Collide, early XY sets       0.25

Every trading site varies a little bit in what they're willing to give for each pack but the difference in value is about the same. Keep in mind, for high value cards like Tapu Lele-GX this ratio becomes even more distorted.

OPENING TRADABLE PACKS IS GAMBLING, since packs are the primary currency of this game and chances are pretty high you will get less than one pack's value by opening a pack. Sometimes you will hit it big, most of the time you're just burning money.

When it comes to playing the market, http://www.ou7c4st.com/card-values.html is a pretty decent guide of what cards cost and generally reflect what prices you should expect in public trades. Unless you find a reasonable trade listed, it's almost always worth listing your own since people will list looking for more than what they're selling is worth.

Q: OKAY BUT WHAT DO I DO WITH THESE FUCKING TOKENS?
1. Enter token tournaments to convert your tokens to tickets, then convert tickets to tradable value through ticketed tournaments
2. Purchase Guardians Rising packs in the store and hope for the god pull of Tapu Lele-GX so you don't have to trade for it
3. Purchase bundles in the shop if they have promos that are worth buying (ask in the thread if you're not sure)
4. Purchase a themedeck if it has cards you need for building a standard deck, saves you tradable value

Q: WHY DOES THIS GAME PLAY SO SLOW
Theme plays very slow compared to standard and expanded, trust me, it gets better.

Q: WHAT THE FUCK ARE STANDARD AND EXPANDED?
Standard format is the format with the most online players. It includes every set newer than Primal Clash. Standard format will rotate out old sets in September of 2017. From then until rotation in 2018, it will include every set from Breakthrough onward.

Expanded format includes all sets newer than Black and White base set. Expanded should be avoided as a new player due to the cost of acquiring playsets of key cards for the format. At some point, older black and white sets may be rotated into Legacy, but TPCI has stated they aren't doing it yet.

Legacy is the third PTCG format which includes only cards from the HGSS era and BW era, no XY/SM cards allowed. It incorporates special game mechanics that no longer exist in PTCG's other formats such as the lost zone. This format is the hardest to get into since none of the cards that can be used in it are in print or available in the store except as promo bundles.

Q: OKAY I GOT ALL OF THAT AND HAVE SOME PACKS TO TRADE, WHAT NOW?
Build a decklist, post it in the general, get criticism. Either build a memedeck that doesn't use Shaymin-EX/Lele-GX (Lucario-STS and Typhlosion-BKT function without them) to get started in standard or take a competitive decklist (see http://thecharizardlounge.com/decklists/ for some examples) and strip out the expensive cards for cheaper alternatives (ie, trade Shaymin-EX for some combination of Octillery BKT/Oranguru). Rainbow Road (Xerneas-STS) is probably the most easily budget-ized deck, though your no-trade pulls may give you cards that make other decks more attractive.

For best results, post your decklist as an image. The image FAQ is a bit outdated but generally holds true. Most decks will want most of:
x4 Ultra Ball
x4 VS seeker
x2-3 Choice Band
x1-2 Field Blower
x4 Sycamore
x2-4 N
x2-3 Lysandre

Aside from VS seeker and Lysandre, which are leaving standard in September, these cards are all quite common and you should have a playset of them just from pulling your trainer challenge packs.

Q: JUST SPOONFEED ME, WHICH DECKS ARE GOOD? WHAT'S STANDARD META RIGHT NOW (2/24/17)

Tier 1: Drampa GX/Espeon/Trashalanche Garbodor, Darkrai Turbo, Darkrai/Dragons, Vespiquen
Tier 2: Mega Gardevoir (Despair Ray), Volcanion, Xerneas (Rainbow Force), Mega Rayquaza (Emerald Break), Gyarados AT, Greninja BREAK, Quad Metagross
Tier 3: Vileplume Toolbox, Decidueye/Vileplume, Decidueye/Alolan Ninetales, Lurantis/Vileplume, Raikou/Electrode, Sylveon, Mega Gardevoir (Brilliant Arrow), Lapras-GX, Xerneas BREAK, Carbink BREAK/Zygarde, Lurantis/Solgaleo

Right now, being able to pass the 180 damage mark is very important due to Tauros-GX and Drampa-GX so energy scaling OHKO centric decks have a major advantage. Bench scaling OHKO is also good, but more vulnerable to counterplay.