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Oct 2nd, 2017
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  1. PTCG Pastebin/FAQ
  2. Updated October 2nd 2017
  3.  
  4. Q: I'M NEW, HOW TO POKEMON CARD???
  5.  
  6. 1. Download the PTCGO client from http://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-tcg/play-online/download/
  7.  
  8. 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'.
  9.  
  10. 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.
  11.  
  12. 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.
  13.  
  14. 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.
  15.  
  16. 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.
  17.  
  18. Q: OKAY, THEN WHAT?
  19. 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.
  20.  
  21. You can acquire TRADABLE value by
  22. 1. Reaching trainer level 16 and completing daily challenges that award packs (pack awarded before lv16 are no-trade)
  23. 2. Entering ticketed tournaments, even if you lose, you get at least one tradable item
  24. 3. Purchasing PTCG paper products and redeeming code cards, or purchasing second hand code cards from these products.
  25. 4. Playing the market
  26.  
  27. 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 October 2017 looks like this
  28.  
  29. HS-Triumphant, Dragons Vault 3x
  30. Plasma Freeze, Noble Victories, Dark Explorers, Call of Legends, HS-Undaunted, HS-Base 2x
  31. Double Crisis, Plasma Blast, Boundaries Crossed, Dragons Exalted, 1.5x
  32. Burning Shadows, Guardians Rising, Plasma Storm, HS-Unleashed 1x (base value, staple trading packs)
  33. Sun & Moon Base, Generations, Roaring Skies, Legendary Treasures, Next Destines, BW Base 0.75x
  34. All other XY era sets with a few exceptions (see below) 0.5x
  35. Evolutions, Fates Collide, Furious Fists, Emerging Powers, Uncommon Chests 0.25x
  36.  
  37. 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. When trading for high value cards like popular full arts or Tapu Lele-GX, people often won't even accept shit packs like Evolutions as part of a trade even if it's a 'fair' trade.
  38.  
  39. 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.
  40.  
  41. 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.
  42.  
  43. Q: OKAY BUT WHAT DO I DO WITH THESE FUCKING TOKENS?
  44.  
  45. 1. Buy Pikachu cosmetic packs and flip them for playsets of useful commons, flip commons for rares, ect (don't ask why people trade for pika packs, nobody really knows) - If you are willing to put in the time doing trades, this is by far the most efficient use of tokens.
  46.  
  47. 2. Enter token tournaments to convert your tokens to tickets, then convert tickets to tradable value through ticketed tournaments
  48. 3. 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
  49. 4. Purchase bundles in the shop if they have promos that are worth buying (ask in the thread if you're not sure)
  50. 5. Purchase a themedeck if it has cards you need for building a standard deck, saves you tradable value
  51.  
  52. Q: WHY DOES THIS GAME PLAY SO SLOW
  53.  
  54. Theme plays very slow compared to standard and expanded, trust me, it gets better.
  55.  
  56. Q: WHAT THE FUCK ARE STANDARD AND EXPANDED?
  57.  
  58. Standard format is the format with the most online players. It includes every set newer than BREAKthrough. Standard rotates every year after worlds. Worlds happens in late August, so it will be awhile.
  59.  
  60. 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 out of expanded, but TPCI has stated they aren't doing it yet.
  61.  
  62. 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. The format is mostly a meme but the meta literally never changes so if you don't like change this is the format for you.
  63.  
  64. Q: OKAY I GOT ALL OF THAT AND HAVE SOME PACKS TO TRADE, WHAT NOW?
  65.  
  66. Build a decklist, post it in the general, get criticism. Most non-shit decks will want to run x2 Tapu Lele-GX which is the main barrier to entry, IRL they're at about $60 each, in game 25-30 packs each. Greninja BREAK is one of the few decks that doesn't need Lele and as such is a good choice for new players. There are a few memes like Lucario FAC and Typhlosion that don't need Lele but they tend to be inconsistent regardless.
  67.  
  68. (almost) any deck that can run with Lele can run without Lele, you will just be significantly less consistent. There is no good replacement for what the card does so don't bother asking.
  69.  
  70. For best results, post your decklist as an image. The image FAQ is a bit outdated but generally holds true. Most decks will want
  71.  
  72. x4 Ultra Ball
  73. x1-2 Rescue Stretcher
  74. x2-3 Choice Band
  75. x1-2 Field Blower
  76. x4 Sycamore
  77. x4 N
  78. x2-4 Guzma
  79. x2 Tapu Lele-GX
  80.  
  81. Aside from Tapu Lele these cards are all common and easily obtainable.
  82.  
  83. Q: JUST SPOONFEED ME, WHICH DECKS ARE GOOD? WHAT'S STANDARD META RIGHT NOW (Oct 17)
  84.  
  85. Commonly played top/high tier decks:
  86. Gardevoir-GX
  87. Golisopod/Garbodor (Espeon/Garbodor and Drampa/Garbodor are both still out there but Golisopod has become dominant)
  88. Greninja BREAK
  89. Volcanion-EX
  90. Tapu Bulu-GX/Vikavolt
  91. Ho-oh/Salazzle-GX
  92. Metagross-GX
  93.  
  94. Less common but still out there:
  95. Solgaleo/Rayquaza
  96. Rainbow Road
  97. Zoroark BREAK
  98. Darkrai-EX
  99.  
  100. Expect to see these decks spammed as you climb standard ladder and at any paper event. Expect to see people trying Raichu-GX, Venusaur/Shining Genesect and Zoroark/Zoroark-GX with Shining Legends. There are a few neat cards like Shining Mew, Shining Celebi, Shaymin and Warp Energy that will see play at some point as well.
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