Edinburgh Spring Battle Roads - Sunday, May 26th, 11AM

I have now sanctioned our Edinburgh Spring Battle Roads Tournament, so I'm going to post a brief guide to help new players prepare for the tournament and so everyone knows what to expect. This information is for new players, and as such might be a repetition of information some of you are already aware of.

First of all, to participate in the tournament each player will require a 60-card deck of cards that are in the Modified Format, so only cards from Black & White onwards will be legal to play. Card sleeves can be helpful to prevent damage to your deck, and in case a card becomes damaged or marked in some way which could preclude it's use.

Each player needs to have a deck list, which is a detailed listing of every card that is in that player's deck. You may want to print out a deck list before the tournament using an online resource such as Steve P's Deck List Program atPokéGym, as it will save you hassle on the day. However, if you are unable to make a list before the tournament, there will be people to help write up deck lists at the tournament during registration. Obviously all of this means that you can't change or alter the cards in your deck in any way after you are registered for the tournament.

Registration for the tournament costs £5. Registration is open between 11AM and 11:30AM, so understand that if you arrive later than 11:30 you may not be able to participate in the tournament. Depending on the number of participants that attend, players will usually be paired in their age divisions. After registration I will announce the number of rounds, and the pairings for the first round. If you finish your match before the round is over it is imperative that you do not interfere with the matches that other players are participating in, as doing so could result in penalties or even a disqualification.

It might be a good plan to bring your DS, snacks, or even a book to read between rounds. Sometimes one match will lag behind the others, and while there is a round time limit you can still end up with a lot of free time between games. It is better to have ways to entertain yourself than to be bored! However you are allowed to have practice matches between rounds, as long as you immediately put that game aside as soon as the next round is announced.

The tournament will be done in Swiss Rounds, so the number of rounds and length of the tournament depends highly on the number of participants.

Prizes will be awarded based on performance in the tournament. I believe that Limited edition Victory Cup TCG cards will be awarded to the top three competitors in each age division – they aren't intended to be incredibly powerful cards, rather they are collector's items and they have cute artwork on them, as you can see! We will hopefully be getting additional prize support from our sponsors, and I will give details on that when I know more.

I may have missed out on some information here, or some of this might be vague. If you have absolutely any questions about the Battle Roads Tournament or the League in general, please feel free to ask.

I hope you're all looking forward to the Tournament!

Plasma Freeze Prerelease: 5th May, 11AM

Hello trainers!

On the 5th of May is our next Prerelease Event - for the new TCG set, Plasma Freeze For those who are new to the League or TCG in general, this is a great opportunity to pick up cards from the new set before they are officially released, and below regular retail price. The entry fee on the day will be £22.50, which covers the cost of the eight boosters each participant receives and venue rental. All participants will take part in a Limited Format Tournament using a deck made up from cards they get from six boosters and energy supplied by the League. After the tournament is complete, each player then receives two additional booster packs, for a total of eight.

If you wish to participate in the Prerelease Event, you'll need to arrive at the IPCSC between 11AM and 11:30AM. Anyone that arrives after 11:30 may not be able to join in, so please be prompt! Also, please note that if you do not stay for the entire tournament you will not receive the final two booster packs that the other participants receive.

If you attend the League but don't want to participate in the prerelease, that's no problem - you can still come and have regular League play at the venue as usual!

Hope to see you there!