Reply to Folly of Legendary Collection and such

 

 First off, for the record I just want to say that I am not one of the top 10 or top 20 DCI players, I am only top 200 and I know for a fact that none of you guys know who I am. Despite my top 200 record right now I still think of myself as knowing enough to put a voice out there that is somewhat accurate. For everybody who doesn't know me, I'm Steve Miller from Tennessee (I'm not a redneck, I was born in Michigan so I still consider myself a Yankee--just letting you know).

 

Now that that's out of the way I can get to the article. There has been a lot of fuss over the Legendary Collection and I have heard from both sides of the argument and I can really relate to both.

 

The most concern that people seem to have is whether or not the set hurts the game.

     I don't see how it could hurt the game. Before the set came out we all knew that it was going to be a set of reprints, which will not affect unlimited play no matter what was reprinted and there's still people whining about that. Besides, there are plans for the new Expedition set in September so if the unlimited players could just wait a few months they'll get there new cards.

     As far as modified goes, I see the format definitely more equal instead of 1 or 2 decks totally dominating the format. This I find a lot more challenging and requires more thinking from the players when they construct their deck and when they play the game. With this said I fail to see how the set makes the game more mind-numbing and boring, or even slow for that matter because I am consistently getting out my Stage 2's within the first four turns along with my opponent and after that point it's a test to see which can deck can take the early beating the most and which can recover; again getting back to the skill now required to build the deck in modified. I'm glad to be challenged like this now because now it's not about who has the most cards (don't get me wrong cards help), but now it's about who has the most skill as a player, and not the most money in his/her wallet. This I think balances out the game which I can see only helps it and not hurt it.

     When it comes to drafting, this is what the set was made for! Drafting decks will be more easier now and it's not necessarily based on luck. Whether or not this is the least popular format or not, the set was created to boost the popularity more by making it easier to build decks and a more equal environment.

    This said I don't see how the set hurts the game. The only format the set doesn't affect is unlimited, and right from the get-go we all knew that was going to happen when Wizards threw out the rumor that vending cards were going to be included and they announced it was a set of reprints.

 

I only bought two booster packs simply because I wanted to see what was in there and what the reverse holos were like, but I'll be honest, I won't buy anymore because yes I do see it as a waste of money--FOR ME, not for the newer players who can't get the older cards anymore, and since the booster packs are more deck-friendly they can get going on decks sooner and easier.

 

Now whether or not it was a waste of ink and time and money for Wizards to create this set I am not really sure. By making this set they definitely equalized and balanced out most of the game, but I really don't think many people are going to buy the booster packs because it's like base set 2, there's no reason to unless you're a collector or you're new to the game. So, profit wise, yes I think it would have been better for Wizards to not make the set, but I think that balancing out the game for the players makes up for it.

 

When it comes to the cards in the set, I'm really glad I don't have to put up with Electabuzz, Scyther or Energy Removals of any kind because only then would it be mind numbing and boring. Everyone would play the old classic haymakers and games would be finished in 10 minutes max and none of the other pokemon would see play anymore. When people whine and complain that they don't get to play their old favorites or any of the broken cards 'back in the day' that just sounds like plain laziness because they are unwilling to put thought into the game and give the less popular Pokes a chance.

 

I honestly wish that people would let this set go, no matter what side of the argument you're on because the set is really getting more attention than it needs and than it should. Everyone knew it was going to be a set of reprints so unlimited people need to get over it. Modified players, those that are angry with the set, need to take what Wizards gives them and turn it into something good. For once, look past the 'broken' cards and use the secondary cards and think up ways to make them better than they are in unlimited. Play Dark Blastoise for once instead of old Papa Turtle, learn to use Venusaur again and forget about Sneasel and all of those other haymaker Pokes.

 

In the words of Forrest Gump, 'And that's all I have to say about that.' I love that movie.

 

Anyways, I know that Wizards hasn't always done things that we like or agree on, but I think they did a good job here and should be congratulated or thanked instead of ridiculed and scolded by whiny, greedy players, who really don't understand what they have to go through to get clearance for the cards they do want in the set.

 

Thank you for hearing me out.

 

Scuba Steve

scubasteve123@msn.com

 

Please E-Mail me about this or anything else regarding Pokemon and I'll tell ya what I know or think.

    

---------------------------------------

 

I'm sorry, absolutely sorry to say...

You all are right.

 

Some like the modified format, and some hate it. For obvious reasons, the people who like

the dim-Witted Sneasel decks, or the talantless Haymaker decks, it's nothing more than a waste of money (Just think about the cost of a Haymaker deck comparing to the cost of a modified Steelix/Slowking deck).

 

Modified was supposed to let us players think further, and let us create our own decks that would somehow requier skill.

 

Why won't we look at a Gatr deck, and ask ourselves if it takes a minimum of skill to play.

that's right, zero.

Just dump some water in the discard, and attack.

 

Crobat? Wow.. Now that's lovely.. We flip coins!What els? We flip coins! Skill? Sure, why  ot?Luck? You'll be losing every match if you have mykind of luck in coin flips.

 

The modified format is everything but slow,but it's definatly not anything we've never seen before.

 

Ooohh... they didn't add big old Blastoise into the LC!!

How...

It was the only good thing they ever did in this set.

(Even though that Dark Ampharos would butcher it mercilessly)

Let's all vote and see who wants a brand new, reprint of

Bill? A trainer we all have doezens of times.

Going once...*Hit by a rock thrown by an angry mob of 15+ players*

Easy, now, it's not the best part yet!

We allready have all of the cards that are reprinted, and

we can use the old prints just as though they were new! So.. Let's waste the best of our hard earned money on junk that found its way to the stores and our professor booster prizes for modified tourneys!

 

Let's all win a rare Jynx and rejoice!

 

First they screwed us with the professor program, and now they are doing it again by boring us to death with old reprints. Sheesh...

 

If you want us to move to Magic, why won't you just ask,

Wizards? I'm sure that we are eager to spend our money AGAIN

on products that will eventually dissapoint us! The new Type2 tourneys, anybody?

 

 

Mind numbing? Modified?? How can you tell? Because everybody's using the same decks? Because it'sthe coin flip for Focus Band? Well.. Yeah, it's numb alright. But does it even compare to Sneasel? Don't tell me that you are happy to lose with your well routed, strategy deck to an eight year old that beat the crap out of you with his or her Sneasel deck. Dear John, dear Ness, I officially announce that WOTC

are burying us all under this vast dune of BS

 

I play my modified Umbreon deck- It's fun, fast, and full of strategy. Now.. Who cares?? Nobody. no strategy is going to work aginst a 120HP beheamoth that does enough damage to K.O my poor Umbreon twice in a single attack.

 

So, wer'e all sticking to pokemon and letting WOTC laugh at us and at the money we spent on all those boosters? We lose, Wizards become richer. This is the way it works, people.

 

By Jeni Bolotovski

 

 

For comments, replies and burns-

zealot131@hotmail.com

 

-------------------------

 

 

I agree with John on the fact that modified was a mistake.  I believe that a good player should use a "cheap" deck and should be able to get around someone elses "cheap" deck.  Wizards really shouldn't have a say in how cheap decks can be they're our cards and we payed for them, also whos to say a new player should play in the sts-if you suck dont come.  Who wants to play against a kid who doesnt know the rules and has a sorry deck.  Also what was Wizards thinking when they dropped the 15+ program for a "professor program".  We bought cards too and we should get the same chances as a five year old.  Thats all I had to say.

Ps:If you could would you please post this in the featured section.

Kjsrc@wmconnect.com
Ryan Sheets, 14

\

-----------------------

 

I was looking over the recent articles concerning the Legendary Collection set, and I felt I must raise my voice and give my opinion. I am just your standard run-of-the-mill player, but I figure that if only the pros give their opinions, then no one will hear from the real players. So here is my veiw on LC, New Modified, and Pokémon in general

 

I first started playing modified a couple of months ago. I really felt the format was too archetypical compared to standard, where anything goes if you can survive the Hays. I really disliked the format at first, but came to appreciate it in its own way: free of removals and Haymakers.

 

When I learned of the plans for new modified, I almost renounced the card game on the spot. Cutting out Rocket and the Gym sets from Modified would be like cutting the claws off a Krabby. The format would become a slave to the archetypes. It would be basically, building a Gatr or Crobat, playing a double gust, and flipping for focus band. That's it. No strategy whatsoever. This really had me ready to quit Pokémon, or at least any league that played under the new modified rules.

 

Then I heard about Legendary Collection. It was like a sign in the tunnel, telling me not to go into the light. Now I'm not actually planning on buying any of the set (Except for drafting), but I can finally use those base set cards I have tons of. It also tips the balance away from Crobat and Gatr. It really balances out the powers, and opens Modified into an environment even less archeypical than standard is. The Standard Player in me dismisses the set as useless, like John put it, but the Modified Player can hardly contain his glee.

 

I thank you for reading this, the opinion of a lowly player such as myself.

 

(Shadow__Assassin@Hotmail.com)

 

 

Dear Pojo,

 

     I am 14 years old, getting ready to turn 15 in August. I have been

collecting and playing the Pokemon TCG ever since it came out here in the good ol' U.S. of A. I am just now getting to have enough time on my hands to finally think about going to a tournament, which I have never done before.

     And it infuriated me when Wizards was no longer going to allow 15+ to compete in tournaments, because that just ruins my chances. I think that the "Professor Program" sucks. I believe, and I hope somebody agrees, that players that are 15+ should get to choose between if they wanted to play in tournaments, or join the "Professor Program".

     And about Wizards LEGENDARY COLLECTION, at first I thought it was an ok set. But after I read those articles and saw how Wizards further more screwed up the playing environment, I had a change of mind about the set.

Basically, Wizards is trying to SCREW all Pokemon players! And I believe it is so they will decide to go to Magic instead. I totally agree with Ness on everything he covered. And he is telling the truth. People may not want to believe it, but if we(us players) do not

do something about Wizards, we will just keep getting screwed over and over again.

 

                                              Sincerely,

                                              Blake Meade

                                       shaokahn_6969@hotmail.com

 

-------------------

 

Well guys.  This is Howard.  You 100% most likely don’t know me because I’m a serious lamer but I’m speaking for all the random lamers out there so :P

 

John Hornberg:  I can agree with most of the statements in your article, yet some are a tad bit ridiculous. =\  Let me sort these into some sort of organized chart or something ;x.

 

Good Points:

Wizards sacrificed player satisfaction for a fair format, something they have done time in and time out going back into Magic and Pokemon. It_s time that they think of the advanced player for once in their time as a company and throw us a real bone, in this case, they should have reprinted at least some of the greats from way back when.

 

(You are pretty much right on this.  It is truly not fair that a player with exceptionally well playing ability has to be limited to let others play.  It’s the fault of the producer of the card for making them so “broken.”  Also, most cards weren’t “broken” from the get go.  Intelligent players manifested these brilliant combos aka the “Trap Combo”)

 

A few bones were thrown, I must admit. Bill and Scoop Up are both awesome cards that got reprinted in Legendary Collection. Ninetails could easily have been lumped into the Pokemon_s Power Nine, but of course modified needs a replacement to the exiting Blaine_s Arcanine. This little one fills the position quite well, if not even better, with the ability to deal 80 every turn, virtually

(Indeed.  They were quite smart to release most cards like Bill and Scoop Up to give life to some decks, but there still isn’t an even balance between different types.  Fire is completely dominated by Kabutops, yet grass doesn’t stand a chance against it when Steelix is molded into the deck.  Lighting variants do pop up here and there, but they were made to counter a deck that counters a deck that’s hugely played online.  Lightning decks counter water which counter fire decks.  The idea of building a deck to counter a counter is just ridiculous.)

 

Unfortunately, when looked at in a true retrospective, Legendary Collection does more harm to the game of Pokemon than it does help. It fails to help Unlimited in any one way, thus giving old school players yet another set to shrug off as useless.

 

(Yes that’s true.  This comment relates to the advanced players not receiving any new cards to help create new archaetypes.  Also, the players who first quit pokemon back in the Base-Team Rocket days would have no chance of renewing their interest in Pokemon as they see the same old cards.)

 

People had big expectations for Wizards second try at producing a reprint of the original Base Set. It was rumored that the Legendary Collection as Wizards dubbed it, was going to bring back cards from the original Base Set through Rocket, except it was going to be different from all the versions of the cards before it.

 

(This is also true in my opinion.  I thought Legendary collection would remake our favorite old time classic cards such as Blastoise, Venusaur, and other “power” evolutions.  Yet, they simply pulled a Base3 out their hats to boost their sales a bit more.  You are also correct when you say the reverse holo boost their sales.  That was quite ingenious of them do create that idea.)

 

Bad Points:

New card art was rumored to be part of the new set, giving these geriatric cards from sets past a new, updated coat of paint.  Rumors also said that the set was supposed to be huge, pushing almost 200 cards.  Rumors even went as far as to suggest that Wizards would be printing jumbo vending cards in the set, providing more variety to Modified format.

 

(This comment just makes no sense.  Unless you are a die hard collector of the game, NO ONE will go out just to buy the cards for the new art.  I mean...  unless your parents are quite well of in the financial department, they won’t buy you multiple 2.99 packs for you to just put them in a binder to look at.  Honestly, that’s just stupid.  You can go over the internet and find several pictures of Pokemon to print and post on your walls. =/  Also, who really cares if the set is small?  I mean, wow it isn’t 200 cards.  I don’t here constant rants and raves from people about the number of the cards in the set.  There could have been a few more cards re-released, but WOTC must have felt that those cards you wanted back weren’t popular enough to the targeted audience.)

 

Chansey, Hitmonchan, Double Colorless Energy, Jungle Scyther, Base Electabuzz, Super Energy Removal, Clefable, Itemfinder, and Computer Search were most likely the first nine cards R&D threw outEven powerful, but remarkably fair cards like Base Blastoise and Base Clefairy were passed up for other, weaker versions either to put in the set, or in past sets that are still in modified.

 

(Others have already made this point.  Re-releasing those cards without remaking them would have been pointless.  It would just kill off the already dying off environment.  God, do you even realize cards like Professor Oak, Super Energy Removal, and Buzz-Scy-Chan would do to MMF? It would flat out murder it.  It would just be a US Standard of the old base-tr days.  Clefairy would be pointless in LS.  Who runs Clefairy without Clefable in their decks?  That’s like playing Slowpoke without Slowking.  Blastoise would have been a nice idea in MMF, but Muk variants and Ampharos thrash that idea quite nicely.  Plus, no Lass to help Blastoise means dead raindance deck. =/)

 

Gone are the real days of casual matches that could rage for a half hour or more, with more thinking required than with a Pre Calculus test. Welcome, folks, to the dull format of modified, where 99.9% of all the decks are slow, evolution decks, who all share a common goal: get a powerhouse on the bench, build him up, and let him loose on your opponent.

 

(Uh that statement is so stupid.  No Pokemon match required that much thinking.  Honestly, the format that did require the most thinking would most likely be modified format.  Knowing when to play a Misty’s Wrath, Double Gust, other trainers, etc is quite essential to the game.  Also, your statement about slow powerhouse decks is stupid.  The targeted audience (KIDS) would rather play their favorite Pokemon (Pikachu, Charizard, Noctowl, whatever)safely than get turn 3 Electroburned, turn 2 Double Edged, turn 2 Beat up, etc etc.)

 

I’m not taking sides to this arguement.  This is just a random lamer who is bringing light to both sides of the story =/.  Well if you read this, you most likely feel a lot more stupid but that’s ok.  More power to random lamers like you :O

Howard - [howardsdragonite@yahoo.com]

 

-------------

 

 

Hey what’s up Jason. I just wanted to tell you your right on. LOL, hopefully that opinion wont get my DCI banned. The Legendary Collection is a glorified BS3. If WOTC would have payed attention, they could have done this with BS2, and maybe the WOTC made set would already be released.

But hey, me and you shouldn’t have an opinion on this matter. It’s only affects the 14 and under format.

 

The professor program is just crazy. First I had to pass some test a few times, then I was basically on some huge mailing list where people asked a series of pointless questions. I personally had to turn it off.

Then there is Worlds. We get to judge for 4 hours in order to play in a standard tournement with any other professors that did the same. So wth minimum wage being something like $7, its pretty much costing us $28 to play in this tourney.

Wait, aren’t professors supposed to JUMP at that oppertunity? We sould NOT be allowed to look at this in a negative fassion. :roll eyes:

Before I get anymore people mad, I just want to say I realize WOTC OWNES us nothing. But don’t think they organize these events out of the kindness of their hearts. These events keep competitive players playing.  And with these competetive players, price is no object. So stop fuming, and remember this is a GAME with a company that needs to make a profit.

The state of the game? It’s at the BOTTOM of the hill.  Pokemon was incredibly huge for a long while. I’d say it was at it’s peak around the time of jungle/fossil.  By the time rocket came around, the game was dying, and to keep it alive, WOTC gave us the STS.

 

Then there was the ecsts, lol, 15/3 format :-/.  Nothing can last forever, especially a fad. By the second ECSTS we could see a series of serious players.  SoCal, Mossy, Ness, the Brooks,and Fulop to name just a few. These players and those that look up to them alone could have supported the game.

 

Unfortunatly we aren’t exactly Wizpog material. WOTC, or TPC didn’t seem to acknowlege how important these players were. So they scrapped together the professor program.

I played this game for one reason alone. In order to be acknowleged as the best. And with the professor program, I see no real hope in that ever happening.

 

As for the impersonations, well I dont want to express my whole opinion on the matter right now. I’m glad you see things the way you do Ness, and I hope others do as well.

Again, this is just my opinion, and I hope my DCI isn’t banned because I think the way I do. But hey, if I do get banned, I’ll take it like a man. Like Ness said, nobody could ever stop me from enjoying myself while playing this game.

 

I do find it funny though. If I’m banned, my pokemon internet life would be just like Tony Montana’s life in Scarface. :’-)

 

Andr_s Rodriguez - [bomi3ster@yahoo.com] aka:

Bomiester

Evil_Bill_Gates

Occult_Mastermind

Chino_Moreno ;)

DM... wait, um, nevermind that.

------------------------------

 

Hello. My name's matthewssandslash (from the WotC chats, and the Pojo boards, and Matthew on the TCG tips and Killer Deck Reports), and I read all of these rants and rebuttals on LC. I thought I'd reply to them. First, though, I think most people mistake LC with MMF, in that they think that LC marks the coming of MMF. It doesn't, and it was coming anyway. But...

 

I think that John makes some points. Just not very good ones.

 

He opens up by saying that all the rumors were false and that he was disappointed. Well John, that's why they're RUMORS! They're not nessecarily true! I heard a lot of rumors, too... but I didn't get my hopes up.

 

He then talks about Pokémon's "Power Nine". 'Scuse me, but the "power nine" were all from Base, and included Oak and Blastoise. Blastoise is a card they COULDN'T print. Clefairy is a pathetic excuse for cardboard, seriously.

 

Why would we want all these "power cards" in Modified? Isn't the point to make it so that it's DIFFERENT then Unlimited?

 

Sneasel in Modified... I'm not a fan of Modified, at all, but I applaud Wizards for banning him. Not that he's unstoppable, or anything, but he WOULD be without Ditto/DCE, ER, and SER.

 

Scoop Up was a shocker to me (that it was reprinted), I thought that there was no way it would be reprinted. Bill, obviously was reprinted, and Trader was a gimme. Breeder was helpful.

 

LC was made as a "filler" so that we'd at least have SOMETHING before Expedition. It was never made for Unlimited. =/

 

I *COULD* argue about how BBPs do NOT dominate Unlimited (Clefable, Wiggly, Muk, Typhlo, Steelix... I could go on and on), but are a nessecary device for eliminating "hyper-rouge" decks (like Dark Blastoise/Venusaur/Lt. Surge's Jolteon/Girafarig all in the same deck), but that's off subject. The fact that Modified is dominated by evolutions is no surprise, since WotC has banned all the tools that BBP decks need to use to survive.

 

John wasn't the only one whom I thought went a little beyond the grasp of reason. Steven Reich seems to think that CCC to copy any attack when placed on a 40HP Basic (that has a retreat cost!) is too powerful. He also fails to realize that Modified is about 50% luck, 40% deck advantage, and maybe 10% skill.

 

"As for Clefairy, without a coin flip, Metronome will always be too powerful of an attack."

 

"Unlimited, in my opinion, is what has been dumbed down. In fact, I find it so mind-numbingly dull that I can't play it anymore, win or lose."

Please. Unlimited is not as mind-numbing as you think. Unless you and your friends both suck, and *only* use Speed Sneasel decks such as Snichu (arguably the simplest deck on the market).

 

Unlimited isn't corrupted. If it was, then there would be 2, maybe 3 decks winning. There would be so much luck, that it and deck advantage would be about all that mattered in a match, with tiny portions of skill. There would be decks that ALL had the same idea, just in different ways. There would be some decks with EXTREME power, which could be as careless as they pleased (such as Wrathing 3-4 times on the first turn) because they knew that they'd be okay, since Riptide and Trash Exchange would get back all of their cards. =/ There is no way that Unlimited is "corrupted". There are so many decks, all of which win major tournaments: Clefable/Chansey. Clefable/Muk. Hay/Muk. Hay. Wiggly/Chansey. Wiggly/Muk. Typhlosion. Typhlosion/Blaine's Arcanine. Slowking/Sneasel/Murkrow. Sneasel. Sneasel/TRT. Steelix/Chansey. How about that. Modified... Gatr. Crobat. Heck, Dark Muk. But I'll move on.

 

Satoshi... we've banged heads on the boards more then once. Here we go again...

 

"I really, really don't follow what the point of this flame towards Legendary Collection was. It seems to me that you’d rather have the speed dependent Unlimited environment where you would be laughed at if you even THINK about playing an evolution outside of Typhlosion, Steelix or Slowking. Seems like you find it more fun. Well, guess what? The rest of us don't.

 

From reading this, I highly suspect that you’ve never played a game of Modified in your life, Mr. Hornberg. No disrespect, but calling the current Modified Environment “slow” or “mind-numbing” is nothing short of ignorance. Gatr, Bat, Big Fires, and all of the other decks that will soon show up in the upcoming Neo Modified are anything but slow and stupid.

 

In fact, I simply cannot see how anyone who’s EVER played a game of Pokémon in their lives can say that this set HURTS the game. It’s NOT FOR Unlimited, so don’t whine about how there’s nothing new. It only ADDS to Modified, no hurt there. Where is all of this hatred towards LC coming from?"

 

Please reread my rant about how evolutions are still formidable in Unlimited above.

 

Gatr, of course, will be dead as a doornail in MMF, and without Gatr, Crobat will fall, too. But we can forgive Satoshi that, right?

 

LC doesn't HURT the game, MMF does. LC doesn't change anything for Unlimited (AKA the REAL game), and it only adds options in Modified. There.

 

Ness again shows his dominating pessimisticness. Augh. =/ I find myself mostly agreeing with him, though. I do think that LC could've been better, a lot better. A whole lot better. Specifically, a certain card should've been included. The card that is the only thing that gives evos a chance in Unlimited. One of the top cards period. Ooh ya. Comp. Search. I can't tell you how much of a difference that one card would've made, I think you all know.

 

I disagree, strongly, with Ness on one point. He seems to think that he should have the RIGHT to have trips. If he bought a car, he'd probably expect free gas.

 

While I'm on a roll, I'll say another thing that bugs me. I hate it when people say that Pokémon is going downhill. It's not. At least not the video game. There's more to life then the cards, ya know.

 

You know what the only thing that could save the cards would be? A new expansion, with an incredibly innovative special feature that would work WITH the GBA, introduce a new special condition, coming out no later then September. The expansion would have a funky name, and would have seriously sweet artwork, at least on the Pichu card, and be able to provide LONG-lasting replay value.

 

Man, who am I kidding. It'll never happen...

This is matthewssandslash. You can AIM me at matthews028 (Sandslash is #028 =/) or E-mail me (politely) at yeagers@urx.com

 

I hope that I've somehow opened your eyes or something like that. =/

 

----------------------

 

Hi, my name is John Doudican.  I have ventured off from the game of Pokemon for a while to catch up on school...actually its more than a while.  More like a year and a half.  I have recently returned to the game and have noticed a dramatic decrease in the number of 15+ participants.  I don't know if I came back at a bad time or what...I don't even know how this whole new way of playing works(the draft, what is that?).

 

My time off has proved to not be in my favor.  If you could possibly fill me in on exactly what this draft thing is, then perhaps I could compare it to the old format. 

 

If the old format has indeed changed, then I will miss it.  Consequently, I stopped after the Oklahoma State Championships of 2000.  I heard that changes occured after that...I believe it was late August/early September. 

 

Responces are very welcome, and a brief explanation of the draft is too(unless you dont have time).

 

Good day,

John Doudican [Deftubus298@msn.com]

 

--------------------------

 

Reply to John Hornberg's Folly Article

Legendary Collection is just pathetic. Seriously, it didn't offer anything to unlimited or modified. As Jason said, there is like NO good cards availble in the set.

And then this new format is gonna start, MMF. What is this for? Why did they make this? If you have played any games of MMF, you should know what I mean. The game moves SO slow and it relies on coin flips more so that regular modified.

Oh wow, drafting. Not many people like to draft. Although its a change from constucted, its not worth it. Its too expensive to draft and most draft games aren't balanced at all. If someone gets a big hitter up faster that you can, you will most likely lose.

Major flaws in the set, besides the lack of card drawing power, is the lack of powerful pokemon. It seems like if a card was really good, it is to not be played. Electabuzz, Clefable, Blastoise wouldn't be reprinted cause they were in decks that could win. Instead, we get Nidoqueen, Ratattata, base Zapdos, and Magneton. Uh OH! Those are so playable in any format.

Lets just wait for card e where theres the energy removal and gust of wind that requiere a flip to use. Thats gonna help out unlimited so much(sarcasm).

Lets see what others have to say.

-Vince
someperson02@aol.com

 

-------------------------

 

 

Okay, so John made some decent points about the LC set, but he looked at it from an UNLIMITED player’s point of view. The whole point of this article is to show what WotC did RIGHT with the set, and how it could (and more than likely will) effect Neo Modified.

First off, here is my top ten list of single cards/ evo lines that have the potential to make it big

1. Doduo/Dodrio (Jungle). Evolution lines have big retreat costs, but Dodrio's Pokemon Power helps a LOT! With one of these on a bench, several Poke's suddenly become playable. Heck, with 2 of the, Dark Gengar can retreat for free, and with only one of the, the Fossil Gengar has a free retreat cost too.

2. Gastly/Haunter (Fossil). These guys may not be heavy hitters, but if you have ever had to play against a Haunter stall deck, you know why these are going to be good. Makes a GREAT combo with dark Gengar (that's 2 heads to wake up, and 1 tails to even HIT the Haunter!!). The Gastly makes Steel/Dark decks better, and use an Energy Flow to get it back in to your hand.

3. Bill (Base Set). Its Bill. Nothing more needs to be said on this one.

4. Snorlax (Jungle) and Drowzee (TR). This combo is WRONG! You can use Long Distance Hypnosis with out worrying about a tails flip. The only problem is the Snorlax's retreat cost.... but that is fixable.

5. Ninetails (Base Set). This is going to be the best replacement for Blane's Arcanine. That is, of course, if that other Arcanine doesn't catch on faster ;).

6. Nidoking (Base Set). Poison decks could become big, and this card is going to help. I can see this being played with Crobat, but you might run in to energy problems.

7. The Boss's Way (TR). With so many Dark Pokemon being played, I wonder why this card hasn't hit yet. It works a lot like a Computer Search, just with a restriction.

8. Alakazam (Base Set). Ya, Chansey is gone, but you have other damage sponges. Alakazam could be comboed with Venusaur to make a hyper energy removal deck, considering they both of decent attacks.

9. Venusaur (Base Set). He's big, bad, and ugly, but he works. Use him with Nidoking or some other big Poke, and Pokemon Center, and you have a deck.

10. Challenge! (TR). Sure, your opponent gets to benefit from it too, but the pay off can get that Evo line out a turn sooner for you. And, if they say no, you still get 2 cards.

Now, on to the important stuff!

LC is AWESOME for Sealed play.... or so I've heard and assumed. The set up of the packs is nice, and I really think Wizards got that right. Although, a lot of players (and their parents) have been complaining about the doubles. All I have to say to that, is don’t buy it then.

The reverse holo cards are nice, but I think they are just a bit too holo -_-. However, it would be amusing to make a deck of colorless reverse holo pokemon, holo promo energy, and reverse holo potion and FH energies :D *starts blinding people at his league*.

Is the set good? I have to say yes, because it will hopefully bring some changes to MMF and create some new decks. That's not to say it doesn't have its bad cards, but really, what CCG doesn't? *looks at Magic's Evasive Maneuvers and Draco*.

Anyway, I guess that's all for now.

Gwgtrunks

E-mail: gwgtrunks@hotmail.com

 

---------------------

 

I have read the article John Hornberg posted and Steven Reich’s, Satoshi’s,  and Ness’s responses, and, quite frankly, I agree with Steve and Satoshi on  most points.

 

John, no offense, but you’re part of the M:TG section of Pojo, and I see  nothing wrong in voicing your opinion, but please just don’t ever write a  whole freaking article about a subject you don’t know about.

 

LC was meant to change people’s view of draft (if fact, that’s why they made 2 Basic/ 1 Stage 1 combos in the boosters, just for draft) and was meant to

replenish Modified with new deck ideas. It also lets new players get the old cards and let regular collectors show off their reverse holo Magikarp and

Weedle!!!(I have 1 of each, but that’s beside the point)

 

Think about it, though. If they bring back the 4 Haymaker Pokemon, Base Blastoise, and Wiggly, at tourneys you’d see 1/3 Hay, 1/3 Raindance, and 1/3

Wiggly, and, well, that’s never any fun.

 

I do agree that they should have brought back some cards, like Base ‘Buzz to replace TR Zappy once MMF starts, Chansey for stall and for those who use

Blissey, because who likes the Destiny Chansey anyway? I think Computer Search and Iter Finder could have been brought back as rares, because 2 for 1

of your choice is fair, and Ditto, because a Special Condition makes him a sitting duck, so he wouldn’t be as big a threat.

 

On the flipside, though, Charizard, Ninetales, Flareon, and Moltres become playable with Entei, and other faves can be comboed, like Venusaur and

Meganium, or Drowzee and Snorlax/Dark Gengar, and some other good trainer  cards return, like Breeder, Trader, Bill, and Potion. And, as already

mentioned, you can get a holo Weedle!! You could also go showing off with an  all Holo deck(Imagine your opponent’s face when he/she sees that)

Like I said, LC could have used 3-4 cards to replace some like Dark Persian or all of the Fossil Poke’s and Mysterious Fossil, and some different

versions of twice made Pokemon could have been used(like TR ‘Karp over Base, same with Machop, etc.), but overall, I think LC really helps out Modified,

draft, and the TCG overall.

 

David Scharff(Steelchansey123)

David11887@aol.com

----------------------------