With its limited Beta Release already rolling since February 22, Pokemon TCG Live (further abbreviated as PTCGL) will be our upcoming online platform for playing Pokemon TCG replacing Pokemon TCG Online (further abbreviated as PTCGO). However, there is still no official date for its official release until now.
Pokemon themselves already have an FAQ page that you can visit with a bunch of information, especially about transferring your account from PTCGO to PTCGL. You guys can check it here:
In today's article, I'm going to walk you guys through what will you get when you're opening this app for the first time and is it worth it to migrate your account right now.
Table of Contents
Please note that when this article was created, I only have access to the smartphone app, not the PC app.
If you are on PC, you can try to Right-Click the Image and choose 'Open Image in New Tab' for the bigger picture.
If you are on Smartphone, you can hold the picture and choose 'Preview Picture'
Loading & Login Screen
As always, the first time you open the app, you will need to choose a language first. After that, you will be introduced to the loading screen. It features Pikachu VMAX and some flipping card animation at the bottom as a sign of loading.
Before the loading is finished, you are moved to a login screen that will ask you to log in with your Pokemon Trainer Club account. If you don’t have one, you can register by clicking the button on the bottom of the screen.
If you fail to log in with your account, there will be a sentence stating that you will have 4 attempts left. If you fail to log in here, your account will be locked for 15 minutes.
After you successfully log in, you will be moved back to the loading screen. As it states, it will load 35 parts and from what I experienced, the longest part will be the ‘Loading assets’ part.
After you finished loading, there will be a terms and privacy agreement notice that you must read and check the boxes. If you don’t check those boxes, you cannot continue the screen. Then, there’s an information usage notice that you also need to agree with.
After these 2 screens, if you are using your old PTCGO account, there will be a migration notification. Remember! Once you migrate your account to PTCGL, you can’t access PTCGO with the same account.
If you choose to migrate your account, there will be a loading screen stating that PTCGL is migrating your account. After you successfully migrate the account, you will be moved to the character creation screen. Here you can customize your character from the head, hair, hats/cap, outfit, catchphrases and even poses.
After you finish all of that stuff, you will be going through a tutorial.
Tutorial
Before you can start exploring the game, you will be asked to follow a tutorial. There are a total of 6 tutorials for you to play. You can skip this one and not play any tutorial at all. I suggest you follow the tutorial if it is your first time playing this game.
Tutorial 1
In your first tutorial, you will be learning basic stuff like how to read a Pokemon card, attaching energy to attack, and of course, attacking while taking prize cards.
In this tutorial, you will be facing a Grimmsnarl V while using Charizard V to attack.
Tutorial 2
In the second tutorial, you will be learning how to use a Trainer card while attaching energy to meet up the colourless requirement and combine those plays to attack the opponent’s Pokemon.
You will be playing a Scorbunny and evolving it into Raboot.
Tutorial 3
Third, you will be learning about Special Conditions, especially Poison.
You will be playing an Inteleon while facing Beedrill.
Tutorial 4
The next tutorial will be learning abilities on Pokemon. You will be using an Amazing Rare Jirachi to use its ‘Dreamy Revelation’ and find a Boss’s Orders. After that, you will be attacking with Cincerace to the enemy Rillaboom.
Tutorial 5
In this tutorial, you will be learning how to utilize cards in your hand in order to maximize your gameplay.
You will be playing Zacian V and try to attack every single turn while switching with other Pokemon on the bench.
Tutorial 6
The last tutorial will be a full match with 4 prize cards at stake. You will be using Zacian V decks while the opponent is using the Inteleon VMAX deck.
After you finish the tutorial, you will be moved to the Battle Pass tutorial section for a brief explanation, buying a pack at the shop, tinkering the Zacian V deck, and you are good to go.
Home Screen
On the Home Screen, you can choose whether you want to play Ranked or Casual. In the upper section, you can see all of your currencies. On the bottom left, you can click your avatar and you will be moved to the character customization screen. While on the bottom centre, you can change your active deck and you will be moved to the deck screen. Also on the bottom centre, you can click the square button and you will be moved to the settings screen. On the bottom right, you can go to the shops and you will be redirected to the shops' screen if you click the icon.
Shops
The shops will be divided into 4 sections which are Bundles, Expansions, Currency, and Redeem.
In the ‘Bundles’ section, you will see bundles like Jolteon V/VMAX alternate art bundle, Glaceon V/VSTAR bundle, Leafeon VSTAR bundle, or even pre-made decks. All of the items here can be bought with Crystals.
The ‘Expansions’ section will be filled with booster packs from sets that have been released (only Sword-Shield era). In this section, you can also find some bundles but for the packs only and some premade decks too. There’s also an indicator where you can see how many cards you have obtained in the set.
In the ‘Currency’ area, you can change a fixed amount of crystal to coins. You can use that coins to buy deck accessories like sleeves, deck boxes, or coin flips.
Then the last section is the ‘Redeem’ section. Here you can scan your code to redeem it. The limit for this function is still 10 codes, so you may need to take a bit more of your time if you have a bunch of codes to scan.
Decks
If you are new to the game, this game is a very good starting point for you to play because in PTCGL you are given 9 premade decks and some of them have really good staples. When you select one of the decks, you can set it to ‘active’ so you will be playing with that deck. You can also set it to favourite so you can instantly see them in the ‘Favorites’ section.
Please note that if you already have some cards in PTCGO and want to migrate. If you obtain the same cards in PTCGL and already have more than 4 copies of them, they will be converted to Credits. You can use Credits to craft any cards that you want. As of now, the converting system is not that good because the number of Credits that you will be getting is not accurate. If you are in the final screen when opening packs, you can see that there will be a number of Credits converted. But you can see at the top of the screen that the amount you get is different. I don’t know if this will be fixed or explained further.
Zacian & Zamazenta
In this premade deck, you will get 2 copies of Zacian and Zamazenta with an additional 2-2 line of Galarian Perrserker. You will also get a copy of Crobat V. Then you will get 4 copies of Metal Saucer, Switch, Quick Ball, Professor’s Research, and Marnie. You also get 3 copies of Boss’s Orders and Air Balloon. In the Energy section, you will get 3 copies of Coating Energy and 12 copies of Metal Energy.
I think this is a great start if you guys want to make a Zacian Turbo deck. All the trainers seem OK to me. You just need to craft/find 2 more Zacian V, Rotom Phone, Cross Switcher, and maybe Rusted Sword.
Blissey V
In the Blissey V deck, you will get 4 copies of Blissey V and 2 copies of Dunsparce. Then you will get 4 copies of Pokegear, Cape of Toughness, Lucky Ice Pop, Professor’s Research, Suspicious Food Tin, and Hyper Potion. Also, you are getting 3 copies of Allister, 3 copies of Path to the Peak, 2 copies of Zinnia’s Resolve, and 2 copies of Boss’s Orders. While in the Energy section, you will get 4 copies each of Psychic Energy, Powerful Energy, Capture Energy, and Lucky Energy.
This card already looks very solid if you look at its composition. But you may want to tweak it a little more if you want to compete with the ongoing format. Cheren’s Care and Double Turbo Energy are both good examples of cards that you may consider in this deck if you want to tweak it further.
Decidueye & Inteleon
In this deck, you will get a 4-2-4 line of Decidueye pair with a 4-4-4(3-1) line of Inteleon and 1 Snorlax. Its Trainer composition is also looking solid where you get 4 Marnie, 4 Level Ball, 4 Rare Candy, and 4 Evolution Incense. Bird Keeper, Raihan, Scoop Up Net, Big Parasol, and Tool Jammer is also included in the deck. In the energy section, you will get 3 Capture Energy, 4 Grass Energy, and 1 Water Energy.
I think this deck is also pretty solid. You guys may want to add more copies of Bird Keeper and Quick Ball. This is a great deck if you want to start playing a Decidueye wall deck.
Inteleon VMAX
Now, this deck is quite underwhelming because you only get a 2-2 line of Inteleon VMAX. However, getting a 3-3 line of Frosmoth is not a bad thing while having Snorlax, Oranguru, and Crobat V. In the Trainers section you will be getting the 4-3-3 composition of Professor’s Research, Marnie, and Boss’s Orders. You will also get 2 copies of Bird Keeper and Telescopic Sight. You also get a good amount of searchers with 4 copies of Quick Ball, 3 copies of Great Ball, and 3 copies of Evolution Incense. You will also get 1 copy of Training Court
I personally think this is a good deck to start with if you have at least 4-3 lines of Inteleon VMAX. You may want to craft it and try to tweak the deck a little bit.
Rapid Strike Malamar
In this deck, you will get a full evolution line of Malamar and Octillery, 1 Crobat V, and 2-2 line of Cinccino. In the Trainers section, you will also get full copies of Korrina’s Focus, Professor’s Research, Quick Ball, Level Ball, Great Ball, and Evolution Incense. Also, you are getting 3 Tower of Waters, 2 Bruno, 2 Ordinary Rod, and 1 Pokemon Catcher. In the Energy section, you will get 4 copies of Spiral Energy and 2 copy of Psychic Energy.
I think this can be your choice if you want to start with a very competitive deck. The deck itself is already pretty solid. You only need to tweak it a little bit or even change the Cinccino engine to the Inteleon engine if you prefer it that way.
Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX
Now, this is also a great decklist if only you get a 3-3 line of Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX. In this deck, you will also get a 4-4-4(3-1) line of the Inteleon engine and a 1-1 line of the Octillery engine. You will also get a bunch of great Trainer compositions with 4-3-2 lines of Professor’s Research, Marnie, and Boss’s Orders while you also get 2 copies of Raihan. Its built-in searchers are also great because you are having full copies of Quick Ball, Level Ball, and Evolution Incense. You will also get Air Balloon, Escape Rope, Tower of Waters, and Telescopic Sight. Its Energy is also great because you get full copies of Rapid Strike Energy and 4 copies of Fighting Energy.
I think this is also a great deck to start with. You just need to find 1 more copy of Rapid Strike Urshifu V and VMAX then you can tweak this deck to your liking.
Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX
The same with this deck, it’s quite underwhelming. But hey, you get it for free, you can just grind some matches and craft another copy of the card that you need.
In this deck, you will be getting only a 2-2 line of Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX while having 4 copies of Crescelia and 2 copies of Galarian Articuno. In the Trainers section, you will be getting full copies of Marnie, Professor’s Research, Fog Crystal, Quick Ball, and Training Court. You are also getting 3 copies of Boss’s Orders and Evolution Incense followed by 2 copies of Ordinary Rod, Switch, Air Balloon, and Great Ball. Then the rest of the deck are filled with basic energy.
I think this deck is also pretty solid, to begin with, because you already have a solid composition of trainer cards. You just need to craft a full 2-2 line of Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX and you are good to go.
Single Strike Urshifu VMAX
In this deck, you are getting a 2-2 line of Single Strike Urshifu VMAX and non-V, while having a full line of Houndoom. You also get full copies of Professor’s Research, Marnie, Tower of Darkness, Quick Ball, and Urn of Vitality. Also, the deck is filled with 1 copy of Zinnia’s Resolve, 1 Ordinary Rod, 2 copies of Switch and Air Balloon, 2 copies of Boss’s Orders, and 1 copy of Rapid Strike Scroll of Scorn. In the Energy section, you will be getting 4 copies of Single Strike Energy and Fighting Energy followed by 2 copies of Capture Energy.
Like most of the decks, this deck is also a very great starting point for you who want to start playing competitively. You just need to craft another 1-1 line of Single Strike Urshifu VMAX in order to make the deck more consistent.
Suicune V
This is the last premade deck, in here you will be getting a 4-3-3 line of Ludicolo, 2 copies of Suicune V, 1-1 line of Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX, 1-1 line of Altaria, 1 copy each of Galarian Zigzagoon, Pumpkaboo, and Crobat V. In the Trainers section you are getting 3 copies of Marnie, Melony, Level Ball, and Evolution Incense, while also having 4 copies of Quick Ball. You are also getting 2 copies of Cape of Toughness, Air Balloon, Professor’s Research, Boss’s Orders, and Scoop Up Net. Oh, and don’t forget, you are also getting 1 copy each of Raihan, Bird Keeper, Ordinary Rod, and Capacious Bucket. In the Energy section, you will be getting 3 copies of Capture Energy and the rest is filled with Water Energy.
I personally don’t know too much about Suicune V/Ludicolo decks, but from what I see here, you can just cut the Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX line and craft 2 more copies and Suicune V and I think you are good to go.
Battle Pass
In the battle pass section, as always there will be 2 sections, 1 for the normal user and 1 for the premium user. However, as of right now, you can’t buy the premium battle pass with IRL money as there’s no top-up option available. You can grind your crystal to buy the premium crystal and also you can skip tiers by using those crystals.
Here, there are 2 daily quests that you can do to earn the Battle Pass Exp and Coin/Crystal. There are various quests starting from using a stadium, evolving your V Pokemon into VSTAR Pokemon, or even dealing certain damage to the opponent.
There are a total of 70 levels and you can either skip them or grind the levels until you reach level 70. There are also rewards in each level but, in my opinion, the rewards are not that good because of how much time you put into grinding that level.
There’s one thing you may want to take note of here. Please be careful when scrolling through the battle pass because you can accidentally press a skip tier button as sometimes double-clicking can result in buying a skip tier.
Conclusion
Looking at the UI, PTCGL feels really fresh and more modern than PTCGO. But some UX in this app seems a bit worse compared to PTCGO. However, crafting/making decks in PTCGL is far better than PTCGO. Your cards also will be converted to Credits if it already exceeds 4 copies (normal and reverse holo is still counted as different cards). With that credits, you can craft some cards that you want although sometimes it is a bit expensive if you want to craft a full 4 copies of cards.
For you guys who already play PTCGO and want to try PTCGL my suggestion is just to wait until PTCGO is fully closed. Why? Because all online event is still in PTCGO and as of right now, there are still some errors, especially when redeeming code where sometimes you can’t get what you redeemed for. You can try to close and open the app again, but if the problem is still there, you may contact Pokemon for some help.
But, if you are totally new to the game and want to try playing online, you can go for PTCGL because the premade decks that are available are very good and can be used to make a competitive deck right from the start. You may need to craft some cards but you can farm some credits when you are levelling up the battle pass.
Until now, there is still no official information on when the official release will be, but if I want to take a wild prediction, I will predict that the official release will be around the next ‘Astral Radiance’ set release date or when the ‘Pokemon GO’ set is released.
Comment down below to share your thoughts!
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