Introduction
This article will give you some ideas of fun tournaments you can play at home. Many people get a little bored of playing the same type of deck for months on end or get sick of one person winning all the games because their deck is more powerful than everyone elses, so this article aims to give some ideas about different ways of playing that may change things up a bit and make for some fun games.
Draft / Sealed
This is a classic format that means everyone starts off on even ground. The idea of a sealed tournament is you each buy a few booster packs (generally 6) and create a deck of 40 cards. You can use energy cards you already have in these decks.
This type of game is played with 4 prize cards, instead of the regular 6, which seems like it would make it a little faster but because you generally don't get many trainer and supporter cards from boosters, you won't be drawing heaps of cards at once, so these games don't end up being much faster than a regular game.
The pros of this type of game is that everyone starts on an even level because everyone gets the same amount of boosters. You can also end up making some decks with pretty funny strategies, so it can be a lot of fun.
The main problem with this format is that it is reasonably expensive compared to other ways of playing. Each time you want to do a draft, it will cost around $40, so this is a great format to play every now and then as a fun little change, or it's good to play if you and some friends were planning on buying boosters anyway.
No EXs
This is another popular format for those who play at home. The idea of this format is that you're not allowed to play EXs in your deck. This means you have to rely a lot more on setting up strong Pokemon and there is much more incentive to run Pokemon that evolve, because they're not as likely to get knocked out fast by an opponents EX. This is also a cheap format to play because non-EX cards are relatively cheap and easy to find.
A variation on this is allowing EX cards, but not being allowed to attack with them . So for example, you can run Hoopa EX and use its ability, but you can't attack with it.
One Copy Only
This is where you can only run 1 copy of a card in your deck (instead of the regular 4). This obviously excludes regular energy cards (unless you want to make it super difficult and limit those to 1 of each too!). This means you have to create a deck that can work in a variety of ways, instead of just relying on one or two strong Pokemon to set everything up. This type of deck can be a heap of fun because you end up trying out cards you would't usually use, especially trainers and supporters. It gives you a chance to try out these cards in a fun way and you might even find some new favourites!
Theme Deck Challenge
This is a little similar to a draft because you buy sealed product which you then battle with. So the idea is that everyone buys a theme deck and battles with that. It ensures that everyone has a similar level deck so no one gets a huge advantage.
If you want to mix it up even more, you can decide on rules such as:
- Each player may change out 5 cards to any other 5 cards they want
- Play with 40 card decks and take out 20 cards you don't like
This has many of the perks of a draft because everyone has an equal chance but again, it costs to buy the deck. As decks are only around $20, this does work out much cheaper than a draft and you can choose a deck that has cards in it you'd like.
Sudden Death
This is a type of game that used to be used quite a lot in big tournaments when players tied. The idea is that you start the game with only 1 prize card each, the first person to knock out an opponents Pokemon wins! You can vary this up a bit by choosing to play with 2 or 3 prize cards, but the idea is that this creates super fast games so you can play lots of games.
Rainbow Pokemon
The idea of this type of game is that you are only allowed to run one evolution line of each type of Pokemon. By evolution line, I mean that you can put in Raichu and Pikachu because Raichu evolves from Pikachu. If you put in a Raichu though, you can't play any other electric Pokemon! It's a way of changing up your deck from the standard one or two types and gives you a chance to play lots of different types of Pokemon. If you're a really good player, this means that whatever your opponent sends out, you can have something ready to attack them for weakness and do double damage!
Conclusion
So there's a bunch of new ideas for fun new tournaments you can try out with your friends at home. If you're starting to find playing with your regular deck a little boring, try out one of these to change up your game! These fun formats prove that home is still one of the best places to play Pokemon!
