The Pokemon Company has enabled a Toxic Fanbase
Yep!! It's another complaining post, so suck it up!! Lol.
The Pokemon Company has enabled a Toxic Fanbase by the effects of the Cards they make…
Maybe if you play Standard you haven't noticed as much, but in Expanded, which is what I exclusively play, it's really bad.
Seriously, how can I say the words, "they're running thro over half their Deck in one turn," and have nobody care and even worse, they're against me??
It's because the vast majority of the Fanbase has become thusly Toxic…
Item Cards are not suppose to be abused in such a way and I will die on that hill!!
Item Cards, you're suppose to use one and then also be able to use a Supporter… or on a good turn, maybe 2 or even 3 Item Cards… not 10-15 Item Cards, come on now, you know that's Toxic.
The Cards themselves would only be slightly Toxic… it's the way in which Players use (or rather ABUSE) them that makes them so very Toxic.
As an example, a Bosses Orders can come in clutch… I usually play 1 (ONE) of them… but some Players seem to think it's okay to someone use Bosses Orders each and every single turn… they shouldn't be able to do that!! It shouldn't even be possible because you can only have 4 in a Deck, but they found a way.
Again, a little bit of Energy Denial can come in clutch… I usually play 1 (ONE) Giovanni's Charisma in a Deck… but when they build their entire Deck around it and make it so that the other Player cannot even attack once the whole game… that's Toxic.
I even had one match a long time ago where the other Player literally made it so I WASN'T ALLOWED to play any Cards at all…
Am I getting thro to you at all??
Comments
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I'm pretty sure that the point of Expanded is to go through your deck at an obscene rate.
Even in Standard, more than one or two item cards are often—if not usually—played each turn, although not 10 or 15. More than 1 Boss is usually played. This is why Pal Pad is good.
If you're tired of the extremity of Expanded, try playing Standard! :)
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In a competitive format, people will play the optimal cards to win the game as consistently and efficiently as possible. They are under no obligation to ensure that you are having fun. As long as they are not breaking the rules of the game, it's fair play.
The larger the card pool a format pulls from, the greater the power, consistency and sheer number of outright design mistakes exist among the available cards. Given that Expanded includes over a decade's worth of set releases, decks in that format are naturally going to be more powerful than those in Standard with only a couple of years or so of sets. And the best cards (and outright broken mistakes) never rotate. They can only be banned.
Players playing faster, more consistent and more powerful decks than those found in Standard isn't toxic. It is the nature of the beast. So long as they are not cheating or otherwise being rude or abusive, they are simply playing the game.
By all means, criticise the bans and rulings decisions the designers make for the format. Some cards and combos are going to be oppressive and lead to less than enjoyable gameplay patterns, and the designers should be called out to take action when these problems occur. But they will only increase in the format as new sets release and the card pool expands. The players are not at fault for taking advantage of this, and I would not call it "toxic" to do so.
For some players, that is part of the draw of the format. They want to play the game at its most powerful and see some of the absurd decks and combos that can be executed in the game that would not be feasible in the Standard card pool. Overcoming these oppressive decks is part of the challenge. What sounds miserable or boring for some is fun, intriguing or challenging for others.
That is the beauty of multiple formats. If one way of playing the game does not appeal, either in the state of its current meta or in its entirety, you can play another format.
Sadly in the Pokémon TCG's case pretty much your only options are Standard or Expanded, and the former is much more commonly available than the latter (stay on that rotation hamster wheel, consumer). But there is nothing to stop you modifying these formats with your own bans or rules changes for games with friends if you think that would make it more fun. You could even make your own entirely new format. If you do a good job, maybe it could become popular enough to have its own tournaments.
In short, you can criticise the design and ban decisions of the games designers that lead to problems in the format, but it is not fair to call players toxic for taking advantage of them.
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