Player Etiquette Can Wreck It

/
I finished a Battle Roads today (went 3/3) where I played with many different players. Of course everyone reacts differently under stressful situations, like meeting new people or confronting them competitively, but how you deal with your opponent on a social level very much contributes to how much you enjoy the game. The overall goal of the TCG and the VGC is simple, have fun. That was the original idea when developing them both and perhaps the idea that we need to focus on the most. 
Read More

AOTW: Plus and Minus

/

It’s interesting writing this article sometimes. Generation three is, by necessity, an important set of games to Ability of the Week, being the games that introduced the titular mechanic. Of course, many of us who are readers of this site and listeners of this podcast never played generation three. As such, it wouldn’t surprise me to find out that most of you have never heard of this week’s passive powers, because up until now, you could only find them on generation three’s Not-Pikachus, Plusle and Minun. (Look at me, I’m coining a phrase for the generation Pikachu knock-offs!) This is Ability of the Week: Plus AND Minus!

Read More

Rare Article: CTMs

/
I'm sure that there is a name for what I'm going to describe. Am I going to actively look to see what that is? No. I call them CTMs, or Common Threat Managers, Pokemon that, on their own, aren't fantastic but are able to take out a large number of the metagame's most common players, and especially threats that give the rest of your team trouble. I think people call those "techs." That's a dumb word. I'm going to call them CTMs. Wanna fight about it?
Read More

053 O as in Old Friends

/

[iTunes Link] [Zune Link] [RSS Link]

SBJ brings some old friends back to the show. We talk about Zoroark month, new downloadable stuff, new Pokémon Wii game, and more. We touch on a Featured Team, as well as, Pokémon of the Week. Also, new shirt stuff and store stuff news to add. Enjoy!

 

Vote for Nyan Shirt!

Host: SBJ | Guests: _______ , ________, and ________

Smeargle Wasn't Picaso But He Had Fun

/

I finished playing at league yesterday and realized I was playing decks that were printed offline. I played two match ups against two different players with almost identical decks. Another player playing the deck that dominated the top 8 at worlds and finally a player who ran a slight variation of a deck list I built after the Emerging Powers release. These players have developed the easily acquired talent of net decking. They use the online power of Google to discover the deck they think most likely to win at a Battleroads. They build it, they play it, and I would imagine they feel great winning as most people would. Anyone can do this. My eight year old cousin could build Beartic/Vileplume not because he has a strategic mind or he is some sort of Pokémon savant but because he is smart enough to use a computer. 

There are two different things that challenge a player in a deck building game, the ability to win and the ability to be creative. Unfortunately winning is more easily acquired and does not frequently match up with a creative mind. For me, the fun of the Pokemon card game doesn’t lie in winning the world championships or having a great record. I would rather lose nine out of ten games and win that one game with a crazed combination of Pokemon no one saw coming. I challenge you to use a net deck list not to build a winning deck but to build a better one. These cards are good for a reason, understand that reason and use it to build a deck that is new and exciting. The world of Pokemon is vast with options that people over look. Find them, exploit them and win with them.

Raging Ruby and Storming Sapphire

/

There has been a lot of rumors appearing on Tumblr about these two remakes finally coming in 2012.

We just wanted to take the time to confirm that Nintendo and/or the Pokémon Company has not confirmed anything of the sort. 

Besides, that box art could be better, right?

3DS support?

If anything, we would probably get a Grey Version first, right? What are your thoughts?