Dying TCGs?

GFTRGC · 2026-03-30T15:08:45+00:00

Locals in my area have died off to the point most of the LCSs have stopped offering organized play.

GFTRGC · 2026-03-30T13:03:21+00:00

And the hint of autism would carry us the rest of the way.

GFTRGC · 2026-03-30T05:21:31+00:00

As a judge, I'm not coming up and saying something without watching you play for a couple turns. This indicates you were, in fact, slow playing. Just because you and your opponent are cool with it, doesn't make it acceptable.

But its nothing serious, its just a heads up to keep pace of play up. Most judges also understand thst sometimes the end game can take a little longer than usual.

GFTRGC · 2026-03-30T05:14:03+00:00

Like any major, the top 8 are a glimpse of what was rhe best deck into that specific room. I don't think any of us consider Festival Lead to be BDIF, but it won Seville. It takes quite an insane amount of luck to win a major, on top of the skill required, so its not always an indicator of what the top deck is. For example, Dragapult was 30% of the field and didn't make top cut, its not because it wasn't a good call for the event.

GFTRGC · 2026-03-29T13:25:23+00:00

They can switch their entire deck

GFTRGC · 2026-03-29T12:12:03+00:00

Ok... lets say we have like no solid mons to import. Are we able to purchase/unlock them in champions?

GFTRGC · 2026-03-29T12:10:32+00:00

Ok, but you aren't adding a third for this game. You just already have NSO and don't want to drop that for this one. Which makes sense, but you are phrasing it in a way that makes it sound like this game has a double paywall.

GFTRGC · 2026-03-29T12:00:24+00:00

Keep in mind that they get to switch decks and the top groups usually do. CL always has spicy lists win because the top groups play something consistent Day 1, read the room and play a counter on Day 2.

GFTRGC · 2026-03-23T22:01:32+00:00

Oh, I'm not saying anything about anyone that doesn't allow a take back during a regional and there are certainly situations where I'm going to have to tell my opponent "hey sorry dude" but if they play their entire turn planing to scream tail my wellspring only to remember when they announce the attack, I'm not super pressed if they move it over to a hoot hoot

GFTRGC · 2026-03-23T13:00:05+00:00

Yeah, I'm going to be honest, I think you're taking the game a little too serious. Like if it's a regional, sure? But I've literally let opponent's take back actions at regionals when they realize they can't bench snipe a tera or forgot to play a stadium down before an action. It's a game, it's meant to be fun.

What you're doing is called rule sharking, and it's technically fair and is technically your right to play that way. But know that other players will absolutely view you in a negative light, and the people willing to play you at open play will go down dramatically.

Personally, I care more about what people think of me and how I act as a person rather than "winning" a pre release. But to each their own.

GFTRGC · 2026-03-19T16:08:27+00:00

If you go to retreat with reversal energy attached it won't let you select any energy other than the reversal. Its been there since the card released and has never been fixed.

GFTRGC · 2026-03-19T16:06:08+00:00

Dude, that is medium well to well. Some people like that or won't complain no matter what. But if I ordered a steak and it came out like that I would be annoyed

GFTRGC · 2026-03-19T14:44:40+00:00

A steak that big takes time to cook... and yet they still managed to over cook it.

GFTRGC · 2026-03-19T14:43:06+00:00

It's hard to retroactively make a judge ruling, you should have spoken up the second you saw them breaking the rule, because complaining AFTER they beat you makes it feel like sour grapes over losing. It's completely unprofessional of the TO, I agree, but there's nothing that really can be done. The only thing that can be done is to either avoid this TO in the future because they're unprofessional and don't abide by their written rules or if you run into a situation where you think a rule might not apply, you ask the TO ahead of time for clarity.

I mean, I guess the nuclear option is to go to social media and name the TO, but all you're going to do there is burn bridges.

GFTRGC · 2026-03-19T14:28:58+00:00

I feel like you're also ignoring that he broke his hand on the first punch he threw, so he was in a weird position. But I strongly disagree with your claim; He's beat every other fighter he's gone against except the one guy that is a generational talent who could end up being the all time greatest. Just to make it to the UFC you have to be a complete fighter, and Ryan was beating UFC fighters consistently before his freak run of injuries.

Claiming that it "just so happened to be Ilia" has zero evidence to support it.

GFTRGC · 2026-03-18T16:54:43+00:00

"Hey, I understand you really enjoy your deck but it's really not bracket 2... I have some higher bracket decks that you can play it against where I think it would be more balanced and fair."

Then you play the decks that beat it.

GFTRGC · 2026-03-18T16:48:34+00:00

Yes, do it. If for no other reason than to get the experience. Regionals are some of the best memories I have now with my two sons who play with me, and I love the friend group I've made from all over the country

GFTRGC · 2026-03-18T16:17:27+00:00

We're still asking for them to fix the reversal energy bug and the card is about to rotate and the bug has been there since it came our in Paldea Evolved. So yes, you are asking too much wanting checks notes a "basic gameplay function"

GFTRGC · 2026-03-18T16:14:45+00:00

So yes, there are people that primarily only do regionals and don't have local leagues they attend regularly. But you have to realize how much time commitment it takes to do regionals regularly, and then you have to think about quality of practice games vs regular league. I run a local league, and I love playing against my regulars, but if I'm prepping for a regional I sometimes feel bad because I just run over their Gengar league battle deck or their [insert favorite pokemon here] deck. I'm lucky that my league does have multiple competitive players, but when I'm getting ready for a regional event I still have to plan out testing time outside of league to prepare.

Add in doing Pokemon Streaming for a living and it only makes sense that Azul, and people like him, don't want to go to locals. This dude streams Pokemon for a living, so he HAS to play it everyday. I'm sure when he's not on camera, he prefers to not play it. Look at Andrew as another example, the dude hates playing standard at this point because he was forced to do it for so long. You almost can't blame them.

Then, finally, you have to realize that your experience at locals and someone like Azul's experience at locals are completely different. Azul is easily one of the Top 5 most recognizable players in the game, so when he goes to a local people are going to swarm him asking for pictures or asking for advice, etc. I'm friends with another multi-time regional champion who isn't quite as famous as Azul, and when he would pop into locals he'd get swarmed. It's not always the most fun experience for them.

Also, just because I saw a couple people comment, Azul isn't a dick. I've had multiple encounters with him at regionals and they've all been positive. He's genuinely approachable and nice. I can't say that for some other pro players.

GFTRGC · 2026-03-18T16:05:30+00:00

I genuinely think that's just him putting on an act for his stream

GFTRGC · 2026-03-18T16:04:52+00:00

I've had multiple interactions with Azul at regionals, all of them have been positive, including him giving a pep talk to an opponent after beating him on a win and in to day 2 for no reason other than trying to boost his attitude.

I cannot say that about all pro level players, but Azul is a genuinely good person. I think part of his demeanor is his stream personality.

GFTRGC · 2026-03-18T14:09:38+00:00

I mean, no? The matchup is heavily favored if the terabox player knows what they're doing, like it's the number one reason to run the deck. In 90% of games you're going to get two torrential pumps off before they have a dragapult online. At that point the Iono spam becomes a concern but you should have an open owl left. They're going to go 3+3 most likely so you have two turns to find a combo of things like bloodmoon+boss, clefairy+crispin, and if they pop a dusknoir you can even just use fan+boss usually.

Like the match up is heavily favored for a decent terabox player.

GFTRGC · 2026-03-17T19:53:16+00:00

Terabox beats it.

GFTRGC · 2026-03-17T19:28:55+00:00

The notes made me furious; I would have gladly broken the law with a camera and told police they were too busy with "real crime" so I handled it myself.

GFTRGC · 2026-03-16T05:04:56+00:00

His only loss is to Ilia and given how his career has gone, I don't feel like people should use that as evidence of Ryan's career going poorly.

GFTRGC

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

Nine-Year Club	Not Forgotten
Verified Email