If you’re looking to supercharge your Pokemon TCG Online experience with more cards or better cards, there are online retailers out there that sell codes to unlock booster packs, cards, and accessories among other digital goods. I regularly buy codes from Potown Store and some of my purchases have greatly increased my enjoyment of the game.
That being said, not all of the items available for purchase are going to provide the bang-for-your-buck that you might be looking for. While everyone’s wants and needs are different, I’m going to make recommendations for new players just starting out, as well as those who are looking to get foundational pieces for great custom decks that are otherwise difficult to pull from booster packs.
Without further ado, here’s my list of Pokemon TCG Online codes to purchase (and which ones to avoid)!
(NOTE: Prices will vary depending on where you purchase these items from and at what time you’re looking at them. These screenshots showcase the prices during the time I wrote this post)
BUY: Inteleon VMAX League Battle Deck
If you want to go from having nothing to having a strong deck that will allow you to compete against the wolves in Standard and Expanded play, look no further than the Inteleon VMAX League Battle deck. Everything about this deck slaps, from the pair of Inteleon V and VMAX cards, to support Pokemon that can really change the complexion of battle, to excellent trainer cards that can work well in almost any deck you make afterwards. Getting this one deck is going to be your best one-stop solution to being able to compete right away.
Also worth noting that while there are other League Battle decks out there, the Inteleon VMAX version is the only one to fully-survive the 2022 rotation. You don’t have to worry about swapping cards in to make it Standard legal until August/September 2022. That said, feel free to modify this one with other cards to make it even stronger!
AVOID: Marnie Premium Tournament Collection Box
Don’t get me wrong. I stan for Marnie and her trainer cards are must-haves in my custom decks. This one comes with a full playset of Marnie cards, including one full-art version that’s exclusive to this set. However, you’re paying a massive premium for four Marnie cards, a Marnie coin, Marnie sleeves, and a Marnie deck box. You’ll get three Marnie cards in the Inteleon League Battle deck plus a full competitive-level deck for half the price. You’ll get two Marnie cards and a whole host of other trainer cards in the Trainer’s Toolkit for less than half the price. Unless you really need those Marnie accessories, there are better investments you can make first.
BUY: Trainer’s Toolkit (Crobat V version)
Trainer cards are monumentally important to playing the game. For just a few bucks, you’re getting a large selection of staple cards that everyone is going to want in their decks. It is way easier to just buy this set and get everything rather than trying to pull these from booster packs.
You’ll also get a pair of Crobat V. Even if you’re not running a dark deck, Crobat V’s Dark Asset ability allows you to draw up to six cards the moment it’s played. Its ability to draw cards makes it invaluable in basically any deck. For the purposes of having a foundation to build custom decks upon, the Trainer’s Toolkit may very well be the single best investment you make!
AVOID: Booster packs for whatever the current set is
Hot new releases are always sold at hot new release prices. This holds true for Pokemon TCG Online booster pack codes. The latest sets are oftentimes sold for three-to-four times more expensive than older sets. Unless you need booster packs from the current set right now, I would instead leverage your in-game coins for whatever the latest set is.
If you’re looking to buy booster packs, you may get more mileage out of cheaper sets that have more meta-relevant cards. The safest bet is likely Battle Styles, which is a set that sells for less because it’s not as popular from a collector’s standpoint but has a lot of meta-relevant cards, such as the Urshifu VMAX, to all of the Single Strike/Rapid Strike cards to make decks within those specific archetypes. Otherwise, check sites like Pokecollector and see which sets have cards that you want before buying any boosters.
BUY: Eternatus V/VMAX
Eternatus VMAX is an absolute monster of a card in dark decks. When all of your Pokemon in play are dark types, the bench expands to hold eight Pokemon instead of five and Eternatus does 30 damage for each Pokemon on the bench. It has the potential to hit for a devastating 270 damage off of just two energy! I personally use two sets of these in my dark deck and would love to get a third someday to make it even stronger.
If you have any interest in building a dark type deck, a few copies of this pair is going to dramatically improve whatever you’ve got going. Heck, if you pair this with the Crobat V’s from the Trainer’s Toolkit, you’re well on your way to building a sick dark deck!
And just in case you plan on building a dark deck with Eternatus VMAX, you may want to consider grabbing the Crobat V/Crobat VMAX bundle to round out your deck.
AVOID: Any Theme Decks in the Old Format
Theme decks make for a fantastic introduction to the game and are the only decks eligible for Theme matchmaking and Theme tournaments. However, you don’t need to spend real money on these. Instead, you can unlock all of the theme decks through the in-game store for 500 coins apiece. Save your real money for other stuff!
NOTE: V Battle and League Battle decks aren’t the same as theme decks. Those are much easier to justify buying in the secondary market, as they’re not available for purchase through the in-game store.
BUY: Zacian V
Zacian V may not be quite the meta-defining stud it once was due to the 2022 rotation taking out many of its buddies. However, Zacian V is still an excellent card to build around thanks to its drawing ability and Brave Blade attack, which allows it to KO every single prize Pokemon and most Pokemon V in one hit. With the help of sites like Limitless TCG, you can see what types of decks you can build that work with Zacian V.
AVOID*: Shadow Rider Calyrex V or Ice Rider Calyrex V
(Shadow Rider Calyrex Link)
(Ice Rider Calyrex Link)
This one is a weird one. Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX and Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX are absolute monsters in the current Pokemon TCG meta. However, their V versions are not great on their own. More importantly, the versions available through online codes are different from those in Chilling Reign, as they feature different – and worse – moves.
On their own, these cards won’t do a lot for you, even if you can get a full set for a few bucks. However, if you happen to be sitting on a VMAX for either Calyrex, then getting an equivalent number of V’s is a no-brainer. Even if the moves are worse, you’ll only be using them as vessels to evolve to their VMAX forms anyway.
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In Third Person 