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The Pokémon Trading Card Game Online has announced a special testing period in order to test out the new Tournaments feature that will take place from now until Monday, January 12th at 12:00pm PST. This will allows players a chance to experience tournament play on the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online from their PC, Mac, or iPad. The Tournaments feature is not yet released in full, which is why this testing period is a chance to try it out early — don't worry, though, as all prizes earned will carry over after the test concludes!
There are four different styles of tournaments that you can choose to participate in.
- The Theme Deck format requires you to use a preconstructed theme deck and that's it! You'll be facing off against other players who are using preconstructed theme decks. This should be rather straightforward, as you don't need to worry about making any modifications to your deck!
- The Unlimited format allows you to use cards from any expansion on the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online in your deck. Those old cards from your HeartGold and SoulSilver sets? Yep, you can use 'em. Of course, so can all of your opponents!
- The Expanded format allows you to use cards from the Black & White set onwards and promo cards numbered BW01 and on as well as XY01 and on. This matches up with the Expanded format in the offline Pokémon Trading Card Game tournaments.
- The Standard format is, as the name suggests, the standard format for the Pokémon Trading Card Game, where only the most recent block of expansion sets can be used to build your deck with. Only cards from Black & White—Boundaries Crossed set and on, as well as promo cards numbered BW51 and on as well as XY01 and on can be used in deck construction.
Each tournament that runs will be an 8 person, single-elimination tournament, and as soon as one fills up, another will start.
In order to enter these tournaments, you'll need either Tournament Tickets or Trainer Tokens, depending on the tournament you wish to participate in. Some tournaments will require Tournament Tickets in order to enter while others can be entered using Trainer Tokens, which are earned simply by playing the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online.
Tournament Tickets are the main prizes for Trainer Token tournaments, while by entering in the Tournament Ticket tournaments (which costs one Tournament Ticket to enter), players can receive digital booster packs, promo cards, and potentially other in-game items for their Pokémon Trading Card Game Online experience (prizes vary depending on the tournament). Everyone that participates in a tournament, regardless of the entry method, will receive some Trainer Tokens as well.
In addition to winning Tournament Tickets from the Trainer Token tournaments, Bonus Wheel, or Daily Login Rewards, you can also buy bundles containing multiple Tournament Tickets for the following prices (USD; price may vary by country) either as in-app purchases for the iPad app or by visiting pokemontcg.com/us/purchase:
- 10 Tournament Tickets for $9.99
- 25 Tournament Tickets for $24.99
- 50 Tournament Tickets for $49.99
- 100 Tournament Tickets for $99.99
Buying Tournament Tickets isn't the only way to receive them, but they are definitely easier to obtain that way. Additionally, all tickets purchased or won during this test period will carry over once the Tournaments feature is live, so don't worry!
The Tournaments feature, as well as the test, is available worldwide, so regardless of where you're from, if you're a fan of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, you'll be able to play tournaments online against other players and hopefully score some cool digital prizes! You can read the official announcement on the Pokémon TCGO forum.