While reading Doc Crash's new think-tank articles, I got to thinking
.... (good stuff, Doc. Funny, but it makes you think.)

A lot of us *do* end up with a lot of extra cards that we don't play
with. What do you do with them?

The first answer is of course, as Crash said, to find a deck to build
around them. It can be very entertaining, and much more challenging than
your typical archetype clone. I've had wonderful success with
Victreebel, and also with Zubat/Golbat. I'm working on a Cubone solution
as I write, though it has an annoying tendency to slip into
Marowak-Tuff. q: (If anyone comes up with a good Shellder deck, email
me. I find it impossible.)

Even so, you really only need to own four Cubones. (: So what can you
do with all those extra commons and uncommons?

A very practical solution to the too-many-cards problem is simply to
give them away. One of the things I do is put together a box full of my
extra cards and take it with me to the Pokémon League every week. I
offer the box to any players who have little money for cards, or who are
new to the game. They get my extras for free, no trading required. This
does two good things -- it hooks new people into the game, and helps
people who don't have lots of money build more solid decks. All-around,
it makes for a bigger, better play environment! (:

If you feel industrious (and I do, sometimes) you could even build
decks out of the extra cards and give the decks away. For new players,
this is even better than just giving the cards away. The person who gets
the deck is getting a quality-built custom deck that should function
well for casual play, and can use it as a solid base to build more decks
on later. Again, it's good for your play environment! (:

==Leanne
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Leanne Opaskar                  lopaskar@san.rr.com