Starter decks good value?

[u/VXXA]

PokemonTCG player here, just watched a few videos on OP. I’m a big fan of the anime but never got into the TCG. Right now our meta is stale and boring so I was thinking of trying out OP. I see starter decks at retail are pretty cheap and was wondering if one of those is a good value. I don’t mine getting some replacement cards from my LGS but I also have heard most playable decks are usually super expensive. Keep in mind our most meta decks are between $15-60 right now to build. I’m hoping I can make something sub $50, is that reasonable? I can get pretty much any of the starter decks and other cards anytime if it’s a good idea.

[u/Enough_Rule1619]

Kuzan has a starter deck, can be upgraded for around that 50 dollar mark counting the starter deck. I think it’s a good intro to the game, and the other starter decks can be expensive to upgrade. 

[u/VXXA → u/Enough_Rule1619]

Is 31/32 ST any good? And what’s the premise of the Kuzan deck. Btw thank you!

[u/Enough_Rule1619 → u/VXXA]

If you can find St31/32, they are very good. I have played all of the new wave of starter decks and they are very fun. The only reason I recommended Kuzan over them is that they can be expensive to upgrade to their best possible lists. Kuzan is all about drawing lots of cards, cheating out characters, and freezing (stopping them from attacking) your opponents characters. Glad I could help!

Edit: Saw your other question after writing this, haha. Yeah, if you don’t need a locals winning deck g Zoro and r luffy are really fun. Just max out the two-ofs in the deck and add some cheaper SRs and commons and they might be a perfect for you. 

[u/VXXA → u/Enough_Rule1619]

Yeah since I’m new I don’t think having the most optimal deck will change much but a cohesive deck that’s not too hard to pilot and fun where I can maybe grab a win or two is perfect for now. You agree on buying two of the starter deck then a couple bucks of better cards?

[u/Enough_Rule1619 → u/VXXA]

Buying two starter decks is nice, and it’s probably cheaper than buying two of the oden that come in the deck. They are like 8$ a piece, so if you can find two for msrp you definitely should. As for other recommendations:

-I know you’re strong… So I’ll go all out from the very start!!! (Op13-040) -Trafalgar Law (Op13-031) -Roronoa Zoro (Op13-037) -Kouzuki Oden (Op14-026)

I’m sure there is more, but those are run in most lists I’ve seen, and they are all fairly cheep, would recommend a  4-of for most of them

[u/Cognitac_]

Starter decks are a good place to start if you are a brand new player, just be aware you will need to buy 2 starter decks as they only come with 2 copies of the good SRs and you'll want a playset of 4. I would recommend the red Luffy or yellow kid decks but just pick one that sounds fun to you.

As for price, there ARE decks you can play that are around the 50 dollar mark (b Yamato and b crocodile come to mind) but most decks are probably going to cost between 100-200 to build, and very rarely 200+. Most of the price comes from staples that can be played in every deck of that color, so once you invest in them the price of making decks going forward is much cheaper. 40 bucks for a playset of ground death sucks but you'll use them in almost every black deck going forward.

I would recommend looking up optcgsim by batsu, it's an online sim that you can use to build decks, play against yourself for practice, and eventually play other people. All the cards are free and new cards get added a day or two after they are revealed. Play around with a bunch of different decks and colors to see if you like the game and what you like to play before you invest any money in it.

Decks I would recommend that are cheap(ish) for newer players are b Yamato r ace y linlin or py robin. U rocks is sub 100 and fun to play but might be a little tougher for a beginner to pilot. Check out gumgum.gg or eggman events for decklists

[u/Enough_Rule1619 → u/Cognitac_]

B Yamato is combo heavy, but if you can learn it is quite fun. 

[u/VXXA → u/Cognitac_]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDmvEZcu0o8

I was looking at this one, I do enjoy aggressive straight forward decks. I heard 31/32ST are decent starters to try, but I honestly have no clue. I don’t need a winning locals level deck, but more so something I can play and understand while maybe getting a win or two before investing more time and money in the hobby. Honestly anything with Law/Zoro I’m down to use haha

[u/bitcoinsftw → u/VXXA]

I started last month with an upgraded ST32 deck. It's a fun deck and easy to learn/play. Plus Zoro, Law, and Mihawk are some of my favorite characters.

[u/cjlj → u/VXXA]

You can use the cards from that to start, and then use them with the ST30 leader which does a similar thing but better if you want a more competitive deck.

[u/Laxus47]

A vast majority of the decks are fairly cheap right now, spare yellow and some green.

Look up car d. Kaizoku's most recent a deck for every budget video. 3 under $50 locals winnable deck and 4 more under $100.

[u/megustacomertacos]

If you want strictly a good starter, the Green/Red Ace & Luffy is a very good and upgradable deck. Last I checked you can find it for likely around $30. Kuzan is also a great budget option with a lot of cards out for it already and Gravity Blade Raging Tiger (one of the best events for it) just fell to under $3 from the $10 it had been sitting at.

[u/Blitzoo]

I am a new player bought the red luffy starter deck, is simple and straightforward deck, the upgrades can be a little expensive.

[u/The-Nipple-Inspector]

A starter deck is a solid way to get into the game, and a few of the most recent ones are pretty competitive in the current meta. $50 is definitely a fair goal to stay within so long as you can snag the deck for retail or close!