When did you first get into the TCG?

Sheep

A lot of us were fans of the TCG since our early days of being a Pokémon fan, with a chunk of fans probably still holding onto those old cards (like me). When did you first dabble in to the TCG, and are you still collecting or playing in any way now?

Regnum

Technically I've had cards since the first generation 3 set, but the releases in Spain were scarce, to say the least. Up until generation 5, we had complete sets missing. The last unreleased thing was Double Crisis from generation 6.

The first time I got into it for real was around 2014 when my mother got me an Yveltal EX tin. I started playing after buying the Pangoro theme deck and learnt to deck-build using it as a base. I always played tournaments every Saturday in a local store but also in an online unofficial simulator. I do have many stories from that time, and I remember most of the decks with a lot of nostalgia. My favourite deck I played was probably one with Mienshao (FFI #57), but there are so many other fun ones that it's a tough choice. I even have some of the decklists still.

I'd say my favourite set is Plasma Freeze, but I am also very interested in the sets revolving around Holon. I really like collecting the metal tins, and I wish to someday have the Team Plasma Thundurus EX one. I think the last one I got was the shiny Great Tusk tin from Paldean Fates, but I haven't been able to get anything else lately, and I have been losing interest in general.

Darren

I couldn't get cards right away, and some of my first were ones I were given, and stole from someone (I am truly sorry). I eventually got my own cards when the Fossil set arrived, and I believe I bought some boosters from Gym Heroes and some Theme Decks.

I started to really collect when the Neo Genesis set hit, and for the majority of the Neo era, which is where most of my cards are from.

More recently I attempted to complete Pokémon Scarlet & Violet 151, but struggled to complete it. I even wrote up a feature on it, for anyone interested!

My current goal is to complete my Southern Islands Collection set, which I never had as a kid, but picked up a folder for earlier this year. My goal now is to try and finish the set, which I'm closing in on!

Regnum

Darren SV 151 seems to have become one of the most commonly collected sets of modern times. Goes to show how much attraction power the original 151 still have. I believe choosing to complete an older set like the Southern Islands instead is much cooler, though. I would like to collect some cards from generation 3, but I don't know if I'd be all in for an entire set yet.

I couldn't get cards right away, and some of my first were ones I were given, and stole from someone (I am truly sorry).

Oh man, we're only a few days in to the forum's life and we already got the admin exposed. I'm gonna have to call officer Jenny /j

tkarispe

I first learned about the TCG about the time Jungle came out. Pretty much all the sports trading card stores in my city had started selling Pokémon cards, so my family took my cousin and I to get some booster packs. I still remember when I pulled a Base Set Blastoise and my cousin begged me to trade him for it, and he was so happy when I did.

It wasn't long after that when I learned that my local Toys R Us had a Pokémon League that met every Saturday morning, and that was my jam for a good few years. I ran a Psychic/Fire semi-Haymaker deck that performed pretty well... although that may partly have been due to the fact that I was one of the older kids at the league and understood the intricacies of the TCG a bit better than the elementary schoolers. The Gym Leader was a super nice and friendly guy and I really enjoyed my time there.

Around the start of Gen III, though, my interest in the TCG waned significantly for several reasons. First, my local Pokémon League shut down entirely, and it was a bit devastating to witness the disappearance of a community that had been such a big part of my life through junior high. Also, I had honestly become tired of the constant release of new sets--and that was around the time when they started banning older expansions from tournament play, so earning new Gym Badges meant having to constantly keep up on the newest releases, which was not only burning a hole in my family's finances, but also meant having to internalize each new gimmick or rule change. It all became a bit much, so I stopped collecting.

I kept my collection lying around in my closet until college, when I was going through a "get rid of things" phase and sold all of my cards to aforementioned cousin for a measly $20. That's a decision I really regret now, because my niece loves collecting the cards and I would much rather them have gone to her so she could have a bunch of cool vintage cards. Well, live and learn, I guess. I did keep my Badges and some of my old preconstructed deck coins and recently gave them to her, and she was really excited about it.

I'm not sure I'll ever really get back into the TCG, but it did provide me with some great memories, and it's fun to watch my niece enjoy collecting.

Darren

Regnum Oh man, we're only a few days in to the forum's life and we already got the admin exposed. I'm gonna have to call officer Jenny /j

Now listen here you 🤣

I will have to write up a feature about this at some point. I am thankful to say that I apologised to a friend I did this to, and he forgave me for it.