Alternative ... what?

Greetings, dear community!

Today, we're talking about alternative formats of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. These offer more ways to make the most of your collection beyond the Standard and Expanded formats, while still enjoying fun moments in the game.

At Play!Pokémon @ Merchfox, we offer the following formats during league play:

• Gym Leader Challenge (GLC)
• Boosterbattle
• Epic Splash!

In the Footsteps of the Gym Leaders

Feeling like a Gym Leader for once would be cool! That's why the Gym Leader Challenge (GLC) format was created by Andrew Mahone (TrickyGym). This format is a Singleton format, meaning you can only play one copy of each card, except for basic Energy cards. Such a deck might look like this:

Additionally, the following rules apply:

• The deck must contain 60 cards, and you play with 6 Prize cards.
• All Pokémon must be of the same type (e.g., only Fire).
• All cards in the Expanded format (from the Black & White base set onward) are allowed.
• Banlist

GLC is also a very cost-effective format since you can build strong decks with non-rare non-Holo cards, which can be obtained cheaply.

A variation of GLC, as used in our community, is the Crazy Championship. Our professors have prepared 20 GLC decks, which are randomly assigned to players at the start of the tournament using a D20 dice. The person who has the best adaptability will win. It's been a huge success within the community.

For more information about the GLC format, you can find it here (or in the GLC section on Guilded)!

Ditto? Ditto. DITTO!

Boosterbattle is a very simple format that can be played without much deck-building knowledge. It is also quick to set up and you are ready to play immediately. You need the following:

- One booster pack of the Pokémon Trading Card Game per trainer
- A set of any Energy cards
- 20 card sleeves per trainer

And that’s it!

So, how does it work?

Each player opens their booster pack and looks at the cards. Any ACE Spec and rulebox cards should be removed. Then, you add Energy cards until your deck has 20 cards. That’s all for the deck-building! You play with 2 Prize cards.

Basic Energy cards have the rainbow effect, meaning each Basic Energy counts as an Energy of any type (but only one type per Energy card at a time).

Additionally, as shown in the image above, there are Ditto markers, which come into play with the following rule:
Once during your turn, you can place one Ditto marker on one of your Basic Pokémon that does not have a Rulebox. It gains the following ability:

Ability: EVOLUTIONARY ADVANTAGE
Once during your turn, you may play any Phase 1 or Phase 2 card from your hand onto this Pokémon to evolve it. You cannot use this ability on your first turn or during the turn this Pokémon was played. If you evolve this Pokémon with a Phase 2 card, your turn ends. Each Pokémon can only use the Evolutionary Advantage ability once per game.

At Merchfox, you can play this format affordably with Mystery Boosters.

A Magikarp Never Comes Alone!

Ahhhhh, Epic Splash! A format that might make you pull your hair out, but you’ll still have fun. The theme: Experience as many coin flips as possible! In this format, decks are built from a special card pool that reflects the history of the Pokémon TCG. Each deck has 60 cards and you play with 6 Prize cards.

The main actor: Magikarp! This is the only Pokémon you can play in these decks. But rest assured, your opponent has nothing else.
With Epic Splash, you’ll quickly get the concept for the deck: Coin flips!
In Epic Splash, both dice are rolled at the same time.

These decks also include a special card that you can use once per game: Outside of the deck is a Magikarp Break card, which allows you to evolve your Magikarp into Magikarp Break once per game. This means your Magikarp still only has the move Epic Splash, but now it has 40 HP instead of 30!

Additionally, there are a few special additional rules to the standard ruleset:

- Antiquity: Old Trainer cards (that do not have an extra designation like Supporter or Item) are treated as Supporters for the turn.
- Eevee Pentagram: Each deck includes 5 Eeveelutions. These act as an alternate win condition. If a player holds all 5 evolutions in hand, they win the game.
- Epic Search: If both dice show the number 1 during Epic Splash, the player may search their deck for an Eeveelution.
- Epic Knockout: If you defeat a Magikarp while your own Magikarp is confused, you may draw another Prize card.
- BREAK: Each player may evolve their Magikarp into Magikarp Break once during the game, as long as it could evolve according to the game rules. Magikarp Break is outside of the deck and is always available.

At Play!Pokémon @ Merchfox, we offer 2 Epic Splash decks as rental decks as part of the league!

Credits: Steffen Eriksen, Document (also for recreating): Epic Splash

Outlook

Even though alternative formats are not strictly necessary, they provide a welcome break from the standard and competitive tournament formats. We’re glad there are such dedicated community members who are always coming up with new ideas!

Yours,

Professor Stardust