Pokemon Card Tournaments: A Beginners Guide to Competing

Playing at a Pokémon tournament is very exciting and is a great chance to compete and test your deck against others. It can also be a great opportunity to win some prizes and maybe even Championship Points. But maybe you’ve never been to a tourney before and want to know a little more before jumping in. Well then you’re in the right place! Today we are going to look at competing at a tournament on both a local and a regional scale, what you’ll need to compete and some tournament etiquette that is important. Let’s start at the beginning;

There are a few things you will need to sort out beforehand when going to a tournament. You need to check the format, is it Standard or Expanded? This is important because you need to take the correct deck and be prepared for what you might face. Also remember to register beforehand! This is usually done through the store website or via RK9 for major tournaments.

There is also a good chance that you will need to submit a decklist at this time. Your decklist will need to be completely accurate with the cards and card numbers/sets. Any discrepancies in your decklist could lead to penalties or even disqualification in some cases.

There are a few things that you need to take with you to every tournament, both big and small.

Firstly, it’s your deck. This might sound stupid, but it is important to have settled on a deck in advance and practised as much as possible beforehand. Choosing a deck the night before and not playing it at all is a recipe for disaster! Also make sure you have put fresh sleeves on before the tournament as your deck is likely to get checked. It’s a good idea to take some spare sleeves with you as well just in case.

Don’t forget your dice and damage counters, VSTAR markers and any other markers and counters you may need. You will also need a playmat, some local stores provide them but for bigger tournaments you will definitely need to take your own.

If you are planning on heading to a tournament I will assume you have an understanding of the basic game rules. If not then it is important to familiarise yourself with them and make sure you understand them.

Tournaments are usually sanctioned events with official judges and so any gameplay errors could result in a penalty. This can be anything from a double prize loss, meaning your opponent has to take less prize cards, or you may simply be handed a game loss, depending on the severity of the infraction.

Most tournaments follow the structure of between 4 and 9 rounds, depending on how many players there are. Each round then consists of a best of 3 match with a 50 minute time limit. The top 4 or top 8 players after the rounds are completed will play in the top cut which is a series of knockout rounds to determine the eventual winner. A win in the rounds will get you 3 points, a draw will score you 1 point and a loss will get you 0 points.

Some tournaments may also have tournament specific rules which will either be announced to you in a player briefing before the tournament starts or it will be in the rules when you sign up. Make sure you have read and understood all of the rules before you start competing.

You’ve got your deck and you’ve been practising. You understand your strategy and how the deck wins games. All you need to do now is put it into action! Putting the preparation in ahead of time will pay off massively at the tournament. It is a good idea to read up on the meta decks at the time as well and get a feel for what you are likely to be playing against. That can also help you decide on any techs to include in your deck which could help counter the meta.

Hopefully you will have played lots of practice games against different decks and so understand how your opponents will be thinking, what each deck's strategy is and how you can beat them. No matter how many practice games you play, there will always be someone with a weird and wacky deck which you had not even considered let alone planned for.

In these scenarios just play the matchup as best you can. Use the first game in the round to see what sort of cards they are playing and what their general strategy is so that you have a better plan for game 2 and 3. Being able to adapt your strategy to counter opponents is a great skill but it only comes with time and practice.

There are lots of generally accepted, unwritten etiquette rules at Pokémon tournaments but it is important to respect your opponents and aim to have a good time. There will be other people there who have never competed before and people will be nervous. It’s ok to make mistakes and the judges are there to help you with any questions you may have about rules interactions.

Be polite and friendly, offer your opponent a handshake or a fist bump at the start of the game and wish them good luck. You will see most tables doing this and it is widely accepted as the best way to begin each game.

Make sure that you play at a reasonable speed as well. Sometimes people will slow play in certain situations. If you feel that your opponent is playing slowly in an attempt to stop you from winning then you are within your rights to ask them to speed up or in extreme cases you can call a judge to ask them to hurry up a bit.

Any disputes over rules, gameplay interactions or suspected cheating should be dealt with by a judge. They are there for that reason and so make sure you use them if in doubt. If the judges rule against you and impose a penalty then you have the right to appeal that decision, so if you feel that it was incorrect then appeal and the head judge will assess the situation and make a final ruling.

Everyone has rulings against them so if that happens then try not to get too eaten up about it, move on and concentrate on winning the rest of the games in front of you.

The Tournament

If you have followed all the steps above then the actual tournament will be a breeze. What’s better than battling against people with the chance to win some prizes? Once you arrive at the tournament, make sure you check in, if necessary, and make sure you arrive on time for round one.

Pairings are done by the judges and are either posted online for you to see or will be called out by a judge at smaller tournaments. Each table is numbered and you will just have to go to the corresponding table to meet your opponent.

As we said, the rounds are usually 50 minutes, best of 3. Playing 9 rounds in a day can be extremely tiring so make sure you have plenty of snacks and bottles of water to keep you hydrated, there’s nothing worse than sitting down to round 5 with a banging headache because you didn’t bring any drinks with you!

After each round you will fill in a match slip which tells the judges who won and it is signed by both players to confirm the result. These can be handed to a judge or dropped off at the drop off point at bigger tournaments.

There is a lot to think about when travelling to a tournament, particularly a larger one. But if you have your deck submitted properly with fresh sleeves, you concentrate on playing the game and making sure you check in beforehand then you will be fine.

Your first tournament is always a nerve wracking experience, until round 2 when you feel like an old hand at it! They are fun and rewarding and there is no better feeling than winning your first Championship Points, or the booster box that may be on offer for the winner!

Hopefully our little guide has helped with any questions you might have had about attending a tournament and given you the confidence to get out there and start competing. After all, you can’t win those Gym Badges sitting at home!

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