How Power Creep Destroys the Pokémon TCG

Today's video covers some history and controversy of Power Creep in the Pokémon TCG, with the why and how the game has gotten so crazy!

Let me know your opinions in the comments.

Subscribe for more Retro Content :)

Follow My Twitter/X for Retro Deck Updates:

[joekerins]

As someone who came from Yugioh, you have no idea how lovely and balanced Pokemon is in comparison

[justsomekirbowithoutamusta]

Having rotation AND power creep is so weird. Everyone plays standard anyway, power creep in stats is so unnecessary

[LynnLyns]

" How powercreep destroys the Pokemon TCG "

Yugioh: First time?

[sunset]

You have no idea how good it is to play pokemon after quitting competitive Yugioh you guys have it so good you have no idea it's like a breath of fresh air and I'm not leaving

[kered]

Power creep aside, the meta is in an incredibly good place right now, with at least a dozen decks capable of winning tournaments, and the best decks all having a good level of complexity that makes them very fun to play.

[matthewdaley]

I think about what would happen if Pokemon were to do some sort of reset when it comes to hp, scaling the numbers back to how they were back around 2010 or even 2005. How would people respond to that?

[goldenarmour]

As someone who has played yugioh before pokémon. This game has it so good it's crazy. Sure, stats are getting bigger and bigger, but it kind of seems like a non-issue since rotation makes old cards (almost) irrelevant anyway. In fact, powercreep seems almost like not a real thing if you consider that some pokémon are still played in expanded today after many many years. As for abilities getting stronger, I honestly see it entirely as a good thing. I like playing with powerful cards, it's fun and makes games more explosive and gameplans more consistent, and to say that luck has no impact on a more complicated game, is dishonest, luck is as bad in a simple game as a complex one, and possibly worse when the game is complex. That being said I do enjoy my fair share of EX Block, 2010 and Sum-Lot games, and I hate BW with a passion as well as Tag team pokémon in general.

[MarkLogna]

I have played both MtG and Pokemon (Admittedly way more Magic) and the biggest problem I have with the Pokemon TCG is the lack of communication between the game developers and the player. For all of WotC issues, I can read articles on bannings, things they've learned from past sets, employee interviews, and so much more. The designers are on social media and interacting with the content creators and you really feel like the people making the game care a ton about it. I know Pokemon is developed in another country, but it's always felt to me cards were just randomly spit out from this void with no rhyme or reason, and the players were just left to go "Why is the format like this?" It could 100% be a me thing, but I'm curious what others think who have played both.

[shumbojrimp]

There is already a term for the “special cards” you talk about in the video, being Rulebox cards. Named for the rulebox on each card specifying their unique mechanics, either relating to prize cards or the amount of that card you may have in your deck.

[Kuro恵]

Ngl I find this better than other card games because I see yugioh players suffer through 10 minute turns before doing anything

[ZackeroniAndCheese]

I prefer a long game with many attacks and keeping track of deck resources while hoping for epic draws!

This has pushed me to playing historical formats and ignoring newer cards.

Although my interest as of late has been cube drafting where cards that were never played competitively can be given a chance to shine!

I wish there was a tier system for the TCG similar to Smogon for the videogames. Maybe even with newer cards I'd enjoy lower tiers of play.

Overall excellent video

[EugeneKurlikin]

7:53.. Less thinking, less bluffing, less any human interaction.. just get as sweaty as possible then rage on Reddit. What can go wrong 🤷

[LunaDachi]

I haven’t played much longer than right before the Battle VIP/Path rotation, but Pokémon for me is just the right speed. Not too slow, not too fast at times like my main TCG, Yugioh.

I TOTALLY get the opinion of powercreep making the game more unfun since games last less turns, but I think the quality of each turn is still very high

Edit: There are definitely clear exceptions where they pushed things a bit too far, but I obviously didn’t get to experience any of those beyond Mew VMax/Genesect which I did admittedly hate. Decks like ADP, prime Lugia VStar, and even Regidrago now to an extent seem like a bit much for their times, so from your WAY more experienced perspective I get it

[UltimatePhantasm]

Compare to modern ygo, this is *_NOTHING._*

[fawfulmark]

Or: how Triple Prizers ruined the HP/Damage Curve of the game in the last 5 years.

Imagine if the HP çurve was kept roughly the same as the pre-Tag Team GX years, with the only Triple Prizers ever released being V-UNIONs...we would have a lot less damage curve issues than we do now.

And while the current ex years are trying to remedy it a bit, the aftermath has led to the standard of Stage 2 Ruleboxes being 300+ now...and we might even hit around the 400 range once Z-A brings Mega Evolutions back. Sigh.

[blastchaos]

1:40 "a couple of years later"
2004 to 2017 💀

[justsomekirbowithoutamusta]

The Drampa and Zacian comparison doesn't work well because there were Tag Teams in between that were so broken, all numbers had to change drastically just to keep up. It just isn't a fair comparison. I don't want to be devil's advocate and I agree with what you are saying but some things aren't comparable

[MindofInstincts]

You should make a Lv X Tier list! Would love to see that!

[tonyabbott]

New player (August 2024 start) and if Pokemon designed their philosophy to make it easy for me to pick up the game relatively quickly and have fun being competitive at tournaments… mission accomplished. Having a blast.

[DarkRebellion]

Even though I don't play anymore, I've found your videos to be very fun to watch and always learn something about this game i didn't know. Keep up the amazing work.