Reddit reviews TCG Battle Arena Decks: Mewtwo vs. Darkrai Card Game (Discontinued by manufacturer)

The Mewtwo vs Darkrai Battle Arena Deck is my favorite by far. It's balanced and fun, but not so advanced that it'd be intimidating for a newcomer. Plus if you decide you'd like to build your own competitive decks, you can use many of the cards in this deck to construct it, as it includes many necessary supporters. It's a little pricey on Amazon, but I've seen it for $30 at Barnes and Nobles and Target.

1. The next best step is to start buying singles and build competitive decks. You could take a half measure and look for the Mewtwo vs Darkrai Structure Decks which are the best theme decks available at the moment. You won't win any events with these, but they're a huge step above normal theme decks.
   
   A good starter deck is Greninja BREAK, as it's one of the few (if only) competitive decks that can be bought for ~$100 total. Every other competitive deck is easily $200+
   
   
2. Cards are typically legal in standard for 2-ish years. Sometimes 3, but never less than 2. It's also important to recognize that Expanded format is not a place where cards go to die. It's played at many competitive events still! The competitive season starts after US Nationals in July, when qualifying points for the World Championships in August can no longer be earned. Competitive events for the new season start around September/October.
   
   
3. A pokemon's attack type is determined by the type printed on the card, in the upper right corner. Not by the type of the energy required for each attack, or by the type of energy attached to a pokemon. Each pokemon only attacks for a single type, unless explicitly stated otherwise on the card.
   
   
4. One of the biggest misconceptions of pokemon is that you build "colored" decks. Typically when building a deck you don't consider the type insomuch as what cards are good. You ask "what do I want my main strategy to be?" and then you build around that. This leaves typing out of the equation for the most part. Typically you will see 3-4 types in a single deck. With the majority of pokemon being 1 type for energy consistency, and then 3-4 other pokemon types that may have 1-2 pokemon each for support. A popular deck in Expanded uses 5 different types (dark, fighting, water, steel, and colorless) because each pokemon supports the strategy of the deck, regardless of their type!

Not a theme deck, but this is probably the best thing for new players to learn on. Theme decks are really crummy and slow and don't give a good "feel" for what the game is actually like. This Mewtwo vs. Darkrai pack is straightforward enough that new players can learn on it but also well-built enough that it won't be boring.

I would definitely, definitely suggest getting enough sleeves for the decks though since the cards that come in there are worth more resale than the $30 you'll spend on the decks. One pack of these for the Darkrai deck and another of these for Mewtwo would work if you like color-coordination :)

TCG Battle Arena Decks: Mewtwo vs. Darkrai Card Game https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0125L5AQA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_T.1FwbC95CF32

These two decks are probably the best two starting decks you can buy open up and play right off the bat.

If I had to choose, I would actually recommend this Darkrai/Mewtwo Battle Arena Set. The Mewtwo and Darkrai are good cards in themselves, but the sets have a LOT of nice cards that you will use in a LOT of decks such as VS Seeker, Prof Sycamore, Muscle Band, Lysandre, Level Ball, etc.

Here is the full set list: Ta-Dah!

For me, the main draw is that it is a set that will help you learn the game really well AND they are easily recyclable cards for a huge variety of decks.

TCG Battle Arena Decks: Mewtwo vs. Darkrai Card Game https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0125L5AQA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_eNDExb53NMRZA

That's the Amazon link but it's expensive on there. Best bet is the Walmart one the other guy posted.