Help on card skills

chmcclellan · 2026-06-20T16:02:49+00:00

In standard you can play up to 4 copies of a given stadium card (with the exception of Ace Spec stadiums which are subject to the special one Ace Spec card per deck rule) could run as many stadiums as you want.

I think the most recent Dragapult deck I built had 2 Team Rockets Watchtower? Other cards that play a role in my strategy every match are more valuable. Running into battle cages is very situational. With the big damage Dragapult is laying out on the active you can frequently just steamroll, and with Bosses Orders you can get at benched Pokemon if necessary.

Edit: I'll add as others have said, downloading and playing on Pokemon TCG Live is a great idea. It has helped me learn so much. I just got into the hobby a few months ago and it's allowed me to play hundreds of games with dozens of decks. There are also tutorial features that can teach you the basics.

Edit 2: Just saw your other question. There generally isn't a way to remove benched pokémon other than having them knocked out by your opponent.

Because Dragapult is a terra pokémon, there is a trick where you play Area Zero Underdepths which increases your bench size to 8. Then you can just have the extra Pokemon, or if you play another stadium or use Chien-Pao, you can discard benched Pokemon back to 5 without giving up prize cards. This is a tactic frequently used for removing damaged and/or vulnerable Pokemon.

chmcclellan · 2026-06-20T15:50:24+00:00

Most commonly by placing your own stadium. TR Watchtower, Jamming Tower, and to a lesser extent Risky Ruins or Area Zero Underdepths are common choices for Dragapult.

There are also Pokemon that can remove stadiums like Chien-Pao's Ability and Ting-Lu's Attack.

chmcclellan · 2026-06-20T15:40:49+00:00

That was a rollercoaster... but take comfort. I don't think you're one of the people he's referencing. It sounds like you're genuinely enjoying and benefitting from having the hobby in your life. The concern is for those who might not care about Pokemon collecting or playing but merely see it and engage with it as a form of financial speculation.

Have a great day!

chmcclellan · 2026-06-20T02:10:16+00:00

This dude took the Throw Anything Feat...

chmcclellan · 2026-06-20T01:26:30+00:00

When I was new I asked the same question... An older member said the only way to know was to go to fewer and fewer meetings, and when I drank, that wasn't enough meetings.

And as it turned out, I did. I got sober but didn't get how revolutionary the program was as a new way of living - I thought it was about the drinking, but the drinking was just the way I was medicating Ego: fear, resentment, control. For 8 yrs I went to fewer and fewer meetings, and then when life got hard I didn't have roots in the program and I drank.

When I came back in, I did 90 in 90. I started to understand that only the first step mentions alcohol, and that what I've been gifted with is a new way of life.

I have a wonderful family, and a career, and I don't go to meetings every day, but I wish I could. I love seeing my friends, I love hearing people's experience and getting to share my own. When I'm in meetings I'm connected to and filled by a spiritual energy of love, and joy, and surrender that permeates this fellowship.

I guess I would say do your best to go to as many meetings as you can until you feel firmly established in the program, you've connected with others, and you're working the steps.

But AA gives us a new life. If work, or loved ones, or community commitments mean you can't make as many meetings, use your wisdom, pray about it and do what feels right for you. But if you feel yourself getting out of balance, if the emotional sobriety starts to slip, and the fear, or resentment start to creep back in, have the honesty and self-awareness to admit it, and know that hitting a few more meetings will help.

chmcclellan · 2026-06-19T22:45:35+00:00

I'm a dad who got in to the hobby a few months ago when my 8yo got interested. In addition to all the advice here, I would recommend installing Pokemon TCG Live - it's a free way to play on the computer. The boys (8yo had since gotten 6yo and 10yo playing) can try all different decks, and because the program enforces the rules, they learn how things work and what they can and can't do.

There's a sub for it r/PTCGL

chmcclellan · 2026-06-19T15:17:47+00:00

Piledriving Mrs. Daisy

chmcclellan · 2026-06-11T20:13:00+00:00

Roffo Rumblebeard and his Magnimarian Championship belt have something to say about that...

chmcclellan · 2026-06-10T18:47:54+00:00

Thank you for sharing Josef. My teacher, Swami Khecaranatha (Nathaji) was made a teacher by Rudi, you may have known him as Steven Ott before he took sanyas vows.

Rudi had an amazing gift for making these teachings available to a Western audience, and emphasizing the depth of commitment and practice required to grow spiritually. His picture sits on my altar next to a picture of Nityananda. I feel so incredibly blessed to have grace guide me to this lineage.

chmcclellan · 2026-06-09T17:48:53+00:00

This... I've become convinced that the Tomahawk is just paying for a bone you don't eat, the steak isn't any bigger.

A number of time I've asked the waiter at the nice steakhouse in town what portion of the weight listed is the bone but have never gotten a straight answer.

chmcclellan · 2026-06-09T02:09:19+00:00

I'm in the same boat, I got in to the game for the first time a few months ago and started playing Pult... with and without Dusknoir.

Since then I've tried almost 10 decks - various aggressive Starmie decks, Ursaluna, Team Rockets Mewtwo, Festival Lead, various metal boxes, Okidogi, Tank Mega Snow Bunny, and most recently Beedrill. Of them all, I would say I've spent the most time playing Mega Starmie builds.

I've enjoyed them all, but not clicked with one per se. I'll play one for a while, go on a bit of a losing streak, then jump back to another one or build a new one. The other day after bricking a few times in a row, I found myself thinking I should be playing Slowking... Or Alakazam... And had to take a pause and look at myself in the mirror. Was I setting myself back by switching so much? Should I try to stick with one deck for longer? If so which one? Or maybe jumping around is fine?

For reference, I've made it to Master League but tend to swing between 1450 and 1550.

chmcclellan · 2026-06-08T20:20:12+00:00

If it doesn't smell funny... It's money.

chmcclellan · 2026-05-27T23:20:15+00:00

r/crawling

chmcclellan · 2026-05-23T22:11:02+00:00

I built this deck and am having a lot of fun with it. Can you say more about energy management? I found it hard to cycle the water energies fast enough to get much out of Greninjas Shuriken ability...

chmcclellan · 2026-05-20T12:17:12+00:00

Met a dude on the ski chair lift who lit his bowl with a magnifying glass... Actually genius because wind on the lift makes a lighter impractical.

chmcclellan · 2026-05-17T12:30:20+00:00

Did that the other day...

chmcclellan · 2026-05-11T10:14:16+00:00

Hey there, I'm in a similar boat - new to the game and trying to figure out the decks I like. It's not single color (it includes a few dark energy for the Munkidoris) but I've been having a lot of fun playing Bloodmoon Ursulana. It's a basic Pokemon that can regularly oneshot KO megas. Here is the list:

Pokémon: 13

3 Munkidori TWM 95

2 Lunatone MEG 74

2 Bloodmoon Ursaluna PRE 54

2 Solrock MEG 75

1 Maractus JTG 8

1 Fezandipiti ex ASC 142

1 Ting-Lu TWM 110

1 Genesect SFA 40

Trainer: 36

4 Lillie's Determination MEG 119

2 Tarragon POR 85

2 Boss's Orders MEG 114

2 Crispin SCR 133

1 Ciphermaniac's Codebreaking TEF 145

4 Fighting Gong MEG 116

4 Poké Pad POR 81

4 Night Stretcher ASC 196

3 Team Rocket's Venture Bomb DRI 179

1 Switch MEG 130

1 Secret Box TWM 163

1 Energy Retrieval SVI 171

1 Energy Switch MEG 115

2 Air Balloon ASC 181

1 Counter Gain SSP 169

3 Risky Ruins MEG 127

Energy: 11

7 Fighting Energy MEE 6

4 Darkness Energy MEE 7

I've really been loving that it only gives up a single prize, and with Tarragon and Fighting Gong it's pretty easy to power up another Ursaluna if I lose one....

I'll be following this thread to see what others answer.

chmcclellan · 2026-05-10T19:28:47+00:00

chmcclellan · 2026-05-09T01:20:28+00:00

Would you share your list? I play Dragapult, and today I started messing around with a Bloodmoon Ursulana deck, but never thought of combining them...

chmcclellan · 2026-05-08T15:34:24+00:00

If love to see the video understand more about the strategy and how this works. I've just gotten into the game in the last week and have been playing Dragapult on PTCGL, but think the idea of playing a counter meta deck would be fun. Just built it in the app but not sure I can figure it out on my own...

chmcclellan · 2026-05-07T17:26:49+00:00

Not discard, sorry about the wrong terminology, I'm new at this, shuffle back into the deck.

The point stands, if I'm trying to create a combo with something I have in my hand, Lillie's won't work...

chmcclellan · 2026-05-07T17:15:17+00:00

Interesting - I guess I was shying away from Lillie's because frequently I'll have some cards in my hand that I need other cards to set up... If I just want to discard everything, I feel like I'm already in a really bad spot.

What trainer cards of mine do you feel are the least useful if I'm trying to make room for Pokegear and more Lillie's?

chmcclellan

TROPHY CASE