I thought it would be a good idea to expand on my article about teams from last week and tell you how to get on an existing team instead of creating one yourself.
The truth is, you don’t have to be a great player to get on a good Pokemon TCG team or find a well accomplished testing partner. While it can help to have the reputation of being a solid player, it is not the biggest reason people choose their teammates.
The main factor that plays into whether you will be accepted into a team is trust. I eluded to this in my first article about this topic, but in all this is what it boils down to. The two questions to think about are “How well do you know the persons you want to work with?” and “How well do they know you?” It’s all about familiarity.
In the past, I have worked with players who were world class (Jeremy and Pablo), but I have also been part of teams with players who are/were not recognized outside of my area (bendingspoons, quaziko, and Xicious among others). After working with such well regarded players, why did I choose to collaborate with these “lesser” players?
These were people who I saw at tournaments all the time and hung out with. I was friends with all of these people before I started to work on Pokemon TCG ideas with them. I used to be considered one of the better players out there (maybe I still am, not sure anymore haha), but I chose to make these players part of my team only because I thought they were cool people.
I think all of the lesser known people that I’ve worked with started off as maybe not great players, but rapidly improved and I would definitely call those teams successful.
If you want to become part of the inner circle of Pokemon TCG gurus, all you have to do is becomes friends with them; it’s not all that difficult.
Through Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and message boards (or even simply in person), it’s easier than ever to get in contact with these people. Get to know them! Becomes friends with them! I advise against bringing up the subject of Pokemon right away. I would only bring up the topic once you know the person well enough. You don’t want to come off as someone who just wants to get Pokemon TCG info; you should genuinely want to learn about the person and develop a friendship.
Nobody, especially good players, want random people asking them for deck help or to playtest. It’s not rocket science; just put yourself in their position.
Let me know what you guys think about this. If you disagree, feel free to let me know. :)
