Wondering what the difference is between Standard and Expanded in the Pokemon Trading Card Game? I take a moment to explain each format and why you might lean towards one over the other! Justin Basil Rotation Guide: www.justinbasi...
Standard good for tournaments Expanded good for casual gaming. I used to have both Standard is like strict gaming Expanded is like a freestyle.. And I love both.. 😅
Thank you, helpful for a new player. In versus mode online is there any difference between standard and expanded for the amount of point you get for a win?
So the card Rare Candy has a couple of versions from different set, one with a D and one with a F when the cards with D rotate out, will you still be able to use the Rare Candy with a D on it in standard or will it have to only be the one with F? Thanks :D
Yes. Cards with older markings can still be used if at least one print of the card is in Standard rotation with the exact same wording. Your old Rare Candy cards are just as Standard legal post-rotation!
If you have a Pikachu from a different collection and it has the same letter as a Pikachu from current collection, are you able to play it? Or are old sets all just useless for standard.
Regardless of what the Pokemon is or what set it’s from, Standard legality is always determined by the marking. Currently letters “E” onward are legal. Once rotation hits in March in Pokemon TCG Live and April for in-person play, Standard format will be letters “F” onward. For example, there are currently 3 Standard legal Gimmighoul cards. www.tcgplayer.com/search/all/product?q=gimmighoul&view=grid 2 of them came out in Paradox Rift while 1 came out in Paldean Fates. Just because 1 came out from a newer set doesn’t make the older 2 obsolete. All 3 have the same tournament marking of “G” and thus all share the same expiration date.
I'm new to Pokemon because my nephew is forcing me. But listening you explain why you don't play expanded. I'm confused because that makes sense for someone like me who is new but also don't. I can buy box sets even from a year plus ago from any store. But also for someone like you it makes no sense you literally buy new cards every year to play standard. So if anyone has shit ton of cards over the years to choose from their collection, then building expanded decks should be nothing. Because let's be honest most y'all don't sell all your old Pokemon cards. You literally have binders full. Idk just seemed odd how you explained it.
Everyone has their reasons for playing one, or the other, or both. I’m not gonna judge how one chooses to enjoy these cards, or make assumptions on what cards people have or don’t. For example, I started playing in 2021. Expanded dates all the way back to 2011. I started with nothing and was already behind by 10 years. Anyone starting now is even farther behind. Not everyone started collecting in 98 with a competitive lens in mind, making sure to get 4 copies of every competitive card ever to build decks for Expanded, a format that Pokemon only created in 2014. Products from a year plus ago are still readily available and that’s by design. Standard format encapsulates the last 2-3 years worth of cards and Pokemon tries its best to make sure that Standard format cards are readily available in stores. Being able to readily buy these cards in store has made it much easier for me to ramp up into Standard. It also makes it easy for me to keep up with new sets because those cards are also readily available upon release. However, in order to keep up with printing Standard legal cards, older sets stop being printed. We’re coming up on Brilliant Stars, Astral Radiance, Pokemon Go, Lost Origin, and Silver Tempest rotating out this week and Pokemon has already stopped printing those. Supply for those will dry up soon, at which point these cards will be difficult to get just like any other Expanded cards. Meanwhile, I’ve literally only seen the Computer Search Ace Spec (a staple of Expanded) once in my life in person for way more than I was willing to pay. And that’s one card out of many that are years out of print and hard-to-find that I may never have the opportunity to buy. Another factor that keeps me in Standard is that it’s the only format Pokemon officially supports. None of the cards are designed with Expanded play in mind. The entire tournament scene from weekly locals to the world championships is played in Standard only. Even Expanded isn’t properly supported in Pokemon TCG Live, as its version of Expanded is missing years worth of cards and doesn’t feature Ranked play like Standard does. Pokemon itself does not see Expanded format as a primary focus. The active scene revolves almost entirely around Standard, which is also why the majority of content on RU-vid is related to playing the game in Standard format. On top of all that, I personally just like playing Standard format. I like playing where all of the official tournament support and where all the players are. I like playing with a smaller pool of cards that’s constantly evolving. I like not having to search out for decade-old cards online or in store and like either buying singles or packs when I go to the store. I like playing with new cards and exploring new play possibilities that come with each new set. I don’t mind spending money on new cards every few months because I like buying and playing with new cards. I like Standard so much that I’m okay letting some of my fave cards go when they rotate. Having gone through a few rotations now, I’ve seen a bunch of my faves go away. This week, my all-time favourite deck Mew VMAX rotates in its entirely. It’s cool to have the option to play it again in Expanded and I’m going to miss using it in Standard play, but I still prefer to keep current with the competitive scene over holding onto cards I can’t play with in my preferred format. Some will continue to rock their favourite decks when they rotate out and that option is available to them through Expanded and it’s awesome and totally valid if they choose to do so. Even if I had all the cards, I probably would still prefer playing Standard for the competitive support, fresher meta, and more balanced meta that doesn’t have to deal with the degenerate combos and decks that are possible by combining 10+ years of cards in in one deck. Here are a few examples of Expanded decks that can take 6 prizes in 1 turn. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wMyxt-R9BqY.htmlsi=a2_pJwtVTKaU3hLd ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-38wokjdv5A8.htmlsi=8Hu--EjOq_8s8Xn9 Some people love that level of deck-building freedom. Some just want to keep using their old cards. All of that is fine. It’s just not for me. It’s awesome that Pokemon has created rule sets for people to enjoy these cards in multiple ways, whether it’s Standard, Expanded, Gym Leader Challenge, or any number of alternate rule sets that allow more people to enjoy their cards however they want. I just outlined a few reasons for why I like to play the way I play. Others will have any number of reasons for enjoying the game the way they want and those are equally as valid.