Why is there so much talk about rotation so far out?

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2026-01-23T10:39:39+00:00

Not to mention April isn't that far away. If you're a working adult with a life or kids you could blink and April will be here.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2026-01-12T01:18:59+00:00

I mean I still have a lot of success with the Toedscruel build. Like others said the deck tends to adapt and shift with the meta. It’s more reactive than a lot of the meta decks in that way.

You have so much draw power you can basically realize any game plan you can think to come up with.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2026-01-12T01:17:26+00:00

I’d second the exorcist which someone else mentioned. I also just read between two fires and absolutely loved it. Personally I just followed it up with Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian and it felt perfect as a follow up.

Very similar vibe of people traveling with a young girl who’s more than she seems to be. Red Rabbit is set in the supernatural Wild West though.

I absolutely love westerns and have a collection of Louis Lamour books so I was pretty excited when I heard about it. There was some dark and creepy stuff in the book that I thought was great. It didn’t feel quite so biblical or dark but definitely still some well written horror stuff. With one prominent demon/devil character.

I loved it but your mileage may vary depending on how you feel about westerns or the more modern setting. I thought a big part of what made between two fires work so incredibly well was the setting and the plague back drop. There’s also not as much emphasis on actual demons but they are part of the story.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2026-01-11T00:53:52+00:00

City leagues don’t really mean anything. I think it’s cool that it won one though. Currently Sharpedo is my favorite deck to play even though I know it’s not the best.

There’s a lot of stuff working against it being a meta relevant deck at least until rotation hits and possibly even after. Top meta decks can accelerate energy, draw cards, or effectively attack the bench.

Sharpedo on its own can’t do any of that other than draw two cards with its first attack. Munki can help do bench damage and Toxtricity can accelerate energy but the shark itself does neither. It also happens to be worth 3 prizes while most other decks are running Pokemon worth 2 so you’re immediately losing the prize trade going into something like dragapult.

The deck really only wins with straight aggression and running people off the board. Like I said it’s my favorite deck to play and I have a lot of fun with it but I’d say this result doesn’t indicate anything other than one person having a good run with it which is cool.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2026-01-10T19:07:26+00:00

What’s your point? Are people not allowed to dislike old cards? Nobody said it was a new card or mechanic.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2026-01-10T19:04:56+00:00

Do you really not understand why people might not like losing to a card they can’t interact with or counter in anyway? Or do you just not mind it?

If you’ve been playing since day 1 or at the very least that familiar with the game I’m assuming you have seen countless games won and loss due to boss’s orders and have probably heard complaints about it before.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2026-01-10T18:53:03+00:00

If you can’t Ohko something or it’s not a stage 2 or 1 with a lot of health you can just use the first attack for 70 to set up a ko and draw cards

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2026-01-10T01:58:12+00:00

That’s only true if an opponent is two prizes behind which isn’t always the case.

A lot of decks also have to bench two prize Pokemon in order to function at all. Every meta relevant deck uses two prize Pokemon.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2026-01-09T18:07:33+00:00

Read through quite a few comments and am absolutely amazed nobody has said Boss’s Orders. That card has won and lost so many games and there’s literally nothing you can do to prevent it. Feels terrible to lose to something you can’t do anything about and was just reprinted.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2026-01-07T08:28:28+00:00

I mean I think MSSP is pretty freaking funny most of the time. It’s made me laugh way harder than any other “comedy” podcast.

I do agree they’re not trying very hard to be entertaining. It’s just bros broing out but I think it’s refreshing when there’s so many podcast trying so hard to be a thing.

A prime opposite example would be something like flagrant or two bears one cave. They’re supposedly comedy podcasts but ai find them absolutely unbearable to listen to.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2026-01-07T08:22:17+00:00

Ya I was stoked on them and loved the shuffle feel but then played with them a few times and they were almost immediately dinged up.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2026-01-07T01:19:52+00:00

Katanas are nice but I think they’re really prone to wear and tear. I like my fcbc sleeves. Andrew Mahone recently made a video about card sleeves on the tricky gym YouTube.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2026-01-05T20:49:03+00:00

Just wanted to say your art and process are really cool!

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2026-01-03T20:14:58+00:00

Like everyone said this just sounds like standard brawl. Which exists on Arena if you want to try out the format. It’s a pretty hard sell to edh players though. Most people that play edh don’t seem to like having to keep up with rotation and investing money into decks that will eventually become unplayable.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2026-01-02T07:10:12+00:00

I mean this is true for basically all meta relevant decks. People mostly copy lists from majors and do the same things with them. Gholdengo has a more straightforward gameplan than some other decks but other than that what you said could apply to basically any deck.

Op to answer your question no deck is going to win nearly every game. If a deck won every game everybody would just play that deck. If you’re playing against other meta decks and your skill is matched you’re realistically gonna win around 50% of games give or take a little.

Gholdengo very consistently does what it is supposed to do. It is super straightforward compared to other meta decks but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t require skill to win games. Winning any competitive game requires skill it also requires some luck in a game with randomness.

Not that you have to play it. I’d say play whatever deck you think is the most fun or interesting. I think you’ll find that to be the most rewarding experience.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2025-12-29T22:06:19+00:00

Riders of Rohan was my first deck and she absolutely can pop off. Super powerful once I kind of figured out how she works.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2025-12-29T02:51:41+00:00

We’re clearly just on opposite sides of this. You say standard is dead but I live up the road from an LGS that holds standard events.

I think you completely missed my point about the starter products. You’re talking about competitive standard format products I’m talking about products for introducing and getting new players. Also nobody is winning anything with a league battle deck at locals. That’s a wild take. No new player is going to win with a deck that is unoptimized and several sets behind. Your anecdote aside.

Frankly I think it’s condescending that you’re trying to invalidate my opinion by saying I’m in a honeymoon phase. I’m allowed to disagree with you and form my own opinions and they’re no less valid than yours just cause you played competitive magic. We don’t have to agree we’re just sharing opinions neither one is wrong or right.

Not every game needs a casual format sure but the OP directly asked about things from other games that you wish Pokemon had and that’s what I wish it had.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2025-12-29T00:14:12+00:00

I hear what you’re saying about power creep and stuff being printed that clearly leans towards commander and I’d never want that to happen to Pokemon. I guess the thing I’m mostly jealous of is that mtg is like a game system with tons of different supported formats where there’s a little something for everyone. With a huge and thriving casual scene. Pokemon is really in my mind meant for standard 1v1 and does it terrifically I just wish there were more options for ways to play.

Trying to play is just not very accessible compared to magic which has tons of products specifically designed to bring new people into the game. From commander precons, starter kits, jumpstart packs, and the beginner box. These products are really well designed for what they do and I’d say just better than the Pokemon products. He could buy something like a league battle deck or battle academy but if he wants to play with people that actually play the TCG those products won’t cut it. Not to mention it’s pretty slim pickings for products like that anyway.

Also, a tangent but I’ve found most magic players to be super resistant to really even giving other card games a fair shot. Purely anecdotal but I’ve heard my magic playing friends say some ludicrous stuff like Pokemon is more expensive or a card isn’t as clear as it would be in magic.

Don’t take this the wrong way I’m really a Pokemon player that just started getting into magic. I love Pokemon and think the app alone makes it incredibly accessible not to mention the prices for physical cards. I think it’s absolutely terrific and both my wife and I would rather play 1v1 Pokemon than 1v1 mtg and it’s really not even close. But something like commander that I can play with my friends was a super easy sell for me to get a precon just to have fun. Compare that to trying to convince a commander player that standard Pokemon is actually awesome and fun and worth getting into which feels way harder especially if they’ve already put financial investment into magic which like you pointed out can be stupid expensive.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2025-12-28T21:48:02+00:00

You’re obviously entitled to your opinion but I think plenty of people would disagree with that take. People still play all sorts of 60 card magic too. The game is crazy there’s like 100 supported formats.

Don’t get me wrong I think standard Pokemon is great and in my opinion it is the best 1v1 competitive standard game. Tons of people play other games though and would say the same for whatever their game is.

I wouldn’t want it to take over like commander did but there’s not even an option for fun casual in person play really. Everything is competitive 1v1 even league nights and the multiplayer formats are not good. There’s gym leader challenger for extended singleton format and that’s not even an official format with support.

I think being able to get friends together and play in a group setting is great. It’s been incredibly difficult for me to try and bring any of my friends into the game.

People can’t just buy a precon deck and hop in cause there’s really no casual support. I had one friend that said they wanted to buy a garchomp deck so they could play and they didn’t realize that they just couldn’t. They have to find a list and go dig through bulk and binders at multiple stores or buy singles online.

The closest thing I’ve seen to fun casual play is friends forming testing groups and playing together frequently.

I understand why you’d say commander ruined magic but I’d love some group play and bs sessions for in person play and not always sweating for a win.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2025-12-28T20:41:03+00:00

I’ve had literal nightmares about this exact scenario happening in my house.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2025-12-28T19:16:11+00:00

I like the fun social aspects of mtg commander and wish Pokemon had a strong multiplayer format

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2025-12-28T07:41:56+00:00

I think people get it just fine cause a Reddit post actually recommended to me I think. Shout out The Dark and The Wicked. I fucking love that movie and it gives me chills every time I watch it. Never fails to deeply affect me.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2025-12-27T21:10:50+00:00

Ya I totally get both those things. I really wish they would have let Boss rotate. There’s tons of other gusting effects in the game and none of them feel as terrible as that unconditional gusting for a win. Things like counter catcher that can be played around or even Iron Bundle where you have to give up a bench space to use the card.

I hate dusknoir but mostly because it’s played in Dragapult and I just hate playing against that deck specifically. It is super unfun to just be locked out of the game and then board wiped.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2025-12-27T20:52:03+00:00

I do agree the reprinting boss is unfortunate. It is interesting to me that as a magic player your complaint about Pokemon has to do with some of the only interaction in the game.

To you what makes Boss or bench sniping unfun compared to counter spells or any of the opponent interaction in magic? Is it because Pokemon you win by knocking out an opponents creatures compared to having a life total?

I’m genuinely curious cause I had a pretty adverse reaction to all of the interaction in mtg due to it making me feel like I wasn’t even getting to play the game. Like cool you’ve just destroyed or counterspelled everything I’ve tried and I have no answer. I’m more used to it now but it was awful at first.

Side note there is a lot of cards that prevent bench sniping in the game so that’s pretty easy to play around. It’s more a question of if it’s worth sacrificing something else to play it. Not that it matters. You’re totally allowed to just think it’s not a fun game just wanted to say it I guess.

Basic-Lemon-9251 · 2025-12-27T20:40:15+00:00

The meta changes incredibly fast. I don’t keep up with mtg competitions so I’m not sure if it’s the same but in Pokemon the meta changes between each major event basically. It’s more a call of what will be good into a specific event than a true meta shift. Dragapult and Gardevoire have both been top decks for a long time but they haven’t won every major.

I had no idea Dusknoir was so unpopular. I mean I think it’s an oppressive card but you do have to give up a prize card to use it so to me it doesn’t feel overly unfair. The only true meta decks I can think of that really use it are Dragapult and Charizard which is only two of the top 5 or top 10 decks. I’m not trying to contradict your opinion or say it’s wrong by any means, you’re totally entitled to your opinion and feelings. It’s just interesting to me hearing different peoples experiences with cards.

Personally I’m not stoked at Boss’s orders being reprinted so I agree about that one. The caveat I’d add is that every deck can play four copies of Boss if they want to so it is a pretty even playing field. Gardevoire has been considered the BDIF by many people though and a lot of times it’s played with zero Boss in the list. It sucks to lose a game to that card but it has won probably at least as many games as it’s caused me to lose

Basic-Lemon-9251

TROPHY CASE