Pokemon TCG History - 1999 Competitive Meta

Episode 1 of Pokemon TCG History

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Opening music by Alex Eiseman:

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Background music:
Music: Inspire by Wavecont

Here are the links for all the decklists utilized. First link is the decklist generator I like:

BASE SET ONLY

BASE - JUNGLE

BASE-FOSSIL

[fantasymonsters]

This video has finally come to my attention, and man was it a walk down memory lane. Thank you. I loved innovating at the time. New game, new possibilities, players not set on anything, it was fun to “break rules” with tri-color decks.

I will answer your question, though, Re: Gambler. This was basically a 5th Oak, though more importantly, it would allow me to finish off opponents, particularly stall decks, before I decked myself. Because of Item Finder and it really only being needed late game, Gambler gave me a way to shuffle cards back into my library, buying turns. More often than not, when I played it, I had the game reasonably in hand and wanted to flip tails. It was a tech card. Was it great? Not really, but it did it’s just when needed. It also had a 50% chance of being a Super Oak if I had just stalled and needed a prayer answered. 😁

[smithyjohns]

All of the true pokémon fans remember the original 151 pokémon, but seeing all those old trainer cards again that i never understood as a kid for the first time in 20+ years was an extreme blast of nostalgia. It takes me right back to 1999 begging my parents to buy me booster packs whenever we stopped at the grocery store near our house since there was a shop called "Cards & Comics" in the same plaza. Just this year i started playing pokémon tcg live at 31 years old and I can't believe what i've been missing. Now that i play the game and know the magic behind it, this makes the early years and this video that much more special. Thank you for this, this video hit me right in my childhood and is very fulfilling to watch. Awesome video.

[WinterShorts]

Wow, this was actually super good! It's nice to see more coverage on old unoptimized decklists from back then (like the list with 4x Machop in it). (Holden)

[esparobbin]

I was amazed when I saw the quality of this and then noticed your subscriber account. You definitely deserve far more if you keep making videos like this!

[ChefIcaroConceicao]

I went through all of this while playing every weekend in shopping malls. It was an amazing time

[shaunry]

Wow, I was just about to go see the next date to this series only to find out that this channel is fairly brand new. All I have to say is thank you and how amazing this video was. Straight to the point, not dragging the video on, amazing editing, and had an amazing flow to it. The only problem I have is that I’m way too early on to your channel. Thanks once again -new subscriber

[YaleStewartArt]

Phenomenal video. Already stoked for episode 2.

[hamburg]

Really well edited and researched. I've always heard about early decks like haymaker, but its cool to see the other fledging decks of the time get some spotlight. Looking forward to the next part 👍

[Cuez]

Its 4am, i have work tomorrow, and here i am watching a video essay on a 20+ year old meta. Your channel is amazing

[mandrewm]

I was very exited to see if their was a different video but this channel is new ! Definitely sticking around

[ericwells]

WOW! What an in-depth and accurate video! Super excited for what's coming next. Love that you do the installments by year and not set so we can get a bigger picture of what was going on during the era.

[LostMystics]

this was amazing!! thnk u ❤ this is the type of content i binge watch ❤ i look fwd to this

[kylenguyen]

28:55 While clearly displayed in the video, it may be helpful to vocally distinguish between variants of Mewtwo or other pokémon. Base set Mewtwo and the movie promo Mewtwo clearly served different functions. Similarly, there were two different iterations of Magmar playable and in circulation at the time.

[Drakken]

I used to compete at Books-a-million all the time. Every weekend they had Pokemon TCG official events. I would battle the gym leaders and collect the badges. Id then go to the snack counter and get a hot chocolate and buy a few packs of cards and open them up from all of the money I made doing yard work at 10-13 years old. So much fun and nostalgia. The smell of the card packs and books. Any time I hit up a book store like that I immediately think of those times. I still have the original set all boxed up 1st editions. several blastoise and like 3 charizards that have been sitting in protective cases for over 20 years now lmao wow time has flown

[CertifiedClapaholic]

I had a mono water deck with Gyarados, Blastoise, and Charizards. I was unstoppable.

[ZoeyCrimson]

This is a type of content I have wished was around on YouTube for a long time.
It is nostalgic for people like me for who were around during these glorious times. While being educative to what the game once was like for younger / newer players!

( Here’s hoping you stick to this series for a while to come! I would love to see content on the mid EX era such as Holon Phantoms! )

Sub well earned, stay awesome!

[TheGameHoard]

I really appreciate the way you present the information here! Some videos on TCG history are too dense or assume too much and expect you to keep track of a lot of elements, but this visualizes and explains things well so it's clear why things are popular even if you only have a basic understanding of the game!

[Kreezil]

This brings back memories. I can't believe this was over 20 years ago, I still remember pulling my holographic Charizard as a kid.

[HyveMindsGames]

This is a great video. Ever since Roobindale's history of yugioh I've been waiting for someone to make a video like this for pokemon! Can't wait to see more of this series

[vedran]

Great video! I really hope this channel grows. Rocket is definitely an intersting expansion, can't wait for the next video.