Monday, September 28, 2009

Things to Pack for a TCG Tournament

The excellent Pokemon TCG blog SixPrizes.com (a very good place to go for deck-building advice) has this article detailing essential items to pack for a tournament. I pretty much agree with all of them (except for the Battle Dictionary, which is only really needed for an international event such as Worlds or if you're attending a tournament in a foreign country), but I can also think of a number of other good things to take with you:

Hand sanitizer. When you're in a room with 30+ people who often handle each other's goods, you're bound to catch some weird bugs. Better to be safe than sorry.

Gum or mints - for you and for others. Proper hygiene is greatly appreciated.

Spare decklists, pre-printed or otherwise. Saves you registration time.

A good luck charm, if you wish. Nothing too adult, however.

Healthy snacks like trail mix or carrot sticks and a refillable bottle of water. Big tournaments can often go on into the night, especially if you're in top cuts or the side event.

Money. Quite possibly the most important thing of all. Most tournament venues have vendors on site, and a lunch break is often provided mid-tournament.

If you have any more suggestions, feel free to leave a comment!

Oak's Letter Wi-Fi download starts today!

From today until November 8 , owners of Pokemon Platinum will be able to obtain an Oak's Letter via Nintendo Wi-Fi! Here's how to get it:

Select "Mystery Gift" from the main menu.
From there, select "Get Via Nintendo WFC"
If there's a Wi-Fi connection in your area, you should get the Oak's Letter event, assuming you don't aready have three Wonder Cards. If you do, delete one to make room for this.

Once you get the Mystery Gift, go to any Poke Mart and talk to the man in green. He'll give you Oak's Letter.

From there, go through Victory Road to Route 224. Professor Oak will be waiting for you at the end near a white rock. He will tell you to write down what you're thankful for on the white rock. Do so and you will hear Shaymin's cry (it's so cute!), the area around you will bloom beautifully and a new path will appear to the north. Follow that path to the Flower Paradise (save your game beforehand!) to capture Shaymin. He's at Level 30.

One you've captured Shaymin, you can take him to Floaroma Town to obtain the Gracidea Flower. This Key Item allows Shaymin to trasform into his Sky Forme during daylight hours.

Friday, September 25, 2009

On the (Battle) Road again...

I'll be on the Battle Road circuit next week and in mid-October, so I won't be running League on the weeks I have tournaments. The Battle Roads I hope to attend are:

Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009:

Outland Station
12540 SW 120 St
Miami, FL 33186

Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009:

BRADS Sports Cards
10548 Wiles Rd
Coral Springs, FL 33076

Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009

Tate's Gaming Satellite (one very cool place!)
4588 University Dr
Lauderhill, FL 33351

To find a Battle Road near your town, check out http://www.go-pokemon.com/op/premierevents/championshipseries/battleroad/autumn/.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Worlds 2010 info

The 2010 Pokemon TCG and Video Game World championships will be held in sunny Hawaii, in the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island itself! The Last Chance Qualifier (aka the "Grinder") will be held on August 13, while the main event will be on August 14-15.

I can't afford to travel that far, so I probably won't be there. It's still worth a try.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

New Pokemon League Promos are here!

The scorecards and promos for the Rival season have arrived, and I must say they look great! The scorecards are bigger than in previous years, and fold up in the middle for some reason. The front has separate tracks for the TCG and the video game, and you can obtain a set of promos for both! The back contains a space for writing one's name and POP ID, as well as a picture of a notable Pokemon trainer and one of his/her favorite Pokemon.

The promos have a special shiny foil treatment as well as a Pokeball watermark in the text box. There are two types of promos for each season: one nice-to-have promo representing one of the featured Trainer's favorite Pokemon, and the other a have-to-have card that's a staple in many tournament-level decks.

In addition to promos, every other season players who finish one side of their scorecards in two consecutive seasons will be able to earn a special League-themed Nintendo DS skin.

The 2009-2010 League Seasons and their associated promos are:

Season 1 (Rival): Snorlax (Rising Rivals, rare) and Uxie (Legends Awakened)

Season 2 (Cyrus): Arcanine G (Supreme Victors), Dialga G (Platinum)

Season 3 (Cynthia): Milotic C (Supreme Victors), Claydol (Great Encounters - a must-have!)

Season 4 (Palmer): Dragonite FB (Supreme Victors), Roseanne's Research (Secret Wonders)

Season 5 (Thorton): Skarmory FB (Supreme Victors), Felicity's Drawing (Great Encounters)

Season 6 (Dahlia): Dusknoir FB (Supreme Victors), Bebe's Search (Mysterious Treasures)

Season 7 (Darach): Empoleon FB (Supreme Victors), Underground Expedition (Rising Rivals)

Season 8 (Argenta): Butterfree FB (Supreme Victors), Warp Point (Majestic Dawn)

As you can see, there's a definite Battle Frontier theme going on here. Aside from some of the later-season promos and the timing of the Claydol season, I'm quite happy with it. It's going to be a great League year for sure!

For more information go to: http://www.go-pokemon.com/op/leagues/.