Whether you are new to the Pokémon Trading Card Game or you’ve been collecting for years, learning how to build a good deck is the most important step when you’re ready to jump into competitive or friendly play. There’s a lot to consider, from learning which cards play well together to figuring out which Trainer cards are best to support your primary Pokémon cards.
There were more than 100 extensions in the Pokémon Trading Card Game and tens of thousands of cards to collect, meaning that building a deck can seem pretty intimidating. However, once you understand the basics, it’s relatively straightforward, especially if you use a finished, championship-winning deck as a template. Here’s everything you need to know about the Pokémon Trading Card Game to get started.
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Understanding the individual Pokémon card types
Pokémon, Energy and Trainer Cards
There are three types of cards you need to know in the Pokémon Trading Card Game: Pokémon cards, energy cards and trainer cards. Pokémon cards are the heart and soul of your deck, as you’ll use them on the front lines of battle to attack (or defend). Energy cards are necessary to power up a Pokémon’s attacks, but you need the right kind of Energy. For example, the Grass-type Pokémon Bulbasaur typically requires Grass Energy to attack.
Trainer cards provide a range of support options in battle. These generally fall into one of four main categories: Items, Supporters, Tools, or Stadiums. Item cards are classic Pokémon items like potions and Poké Balls, and you can use as many of them as you like during your turn. Supporter cards are more useful, but limited to one per turn. Tools can be attached to your Pokémon cards to provide buffs. Finally, only one Stadium card can be in play at a time, and its effects apply to both you and your opponent.
One of the most important rules in Pokémon Trading Card Game is that you can you only have four copies of each card in your deck. You may have different variants of Pikachu cards with different attacks or stats, but if they’re all named Pikachu, you can only have four of them in total. The same goes for Trainer cards, so you’re only allowed four Potion cards in your deck. The exception to this rule is Energy cards; you can have as many of those in your deck as you need.
Another important rule is that each deck must contain exactly 60 cards. This means you need to find a good balance between Pokémon cards, Energy cards, and Trainer cards so that you don’t keep drawing the same type of card. The number you need of each card type really depends on the type of deck you’re building, but a good place to start is with a 15 Pokémon, 15 Energy and 30 Trainers dividedand then you can work your way out of it.
How to build a Pokémon Trading Card Game deck
Top tips for getting started
The best place to start when building a deck is to figure out which Pokémon you want to use. In general, it’s a good idea to take a look at the current meta to see which Pokémon cards are doing well. You can do this by looking at the top performers from recent Regional Championships and World Championships, or by talking to people at your local card shop for advice on which decks are currently best.
At the moment, some of the top decks are based on
Charizard ex
from the
Obsidian Flames
expansion,
Lugia VSTAR
from the
Silver Storm
expansion,
Regidrago VSTAR
from the
Silver Storm
Expansion and
Gardevoir ex
from the
Scarlet & Violet
Base Set. These are good archetypes to look at when you’re ready for competitive play.
However, if you don’t plan on competing in tournaments and just want to have fun building a deck, it’s perfectly fine to just pick your favorite Pokémon from the cards you already have! You can always rework your deck later once you’ve mastered the basics of battling.
Although this is not a hard and fast rule, Most decks are limited to one or two energy types. For example, the popular Regidrago VSTAR deck includes Fire Energy and Grass Energy because these two Energy cards are required to use Regidrago VSTAR’s attack Apex Dragon as well as Ogrepon ex’s attack Myriad Leaf Shower. Limiting yourself to two Energy types also helps you focus better when looking for Pokémon cards to add to your deck.
Ideally, your deck will have a primary attacker, the Pokémon you want to bring into battle as quickly as possible. This is often a Pokémon Ex card or a Pokémon V cardwhich are usually stronger than standard cards. The downside to these cards is that if they are knocked out, your opponent gets two Prize cards instead of one. However, their strength is quite important if you want to take home a win in the current competitive scene.
If you include stage 1 or 2 Pokémon cards in your deck, you must have the previous evolution cards in your deck. For example, if you want to play the stage 2 Charizard ex, you will also need a basic Charmander and a stage 1 Charmeleon in your deck. The only exception to this rule would be if you have Rarity Candy cards in your deck, as these allow you to jump directly from a basic Pokémon to a stage 2 Pokémon.
Add Trainer cards to your Pokémon Trading Card Game deck
The next step on your deck building journey
Once you’ve decided which Pokémon cards you want to use, it’s time to add Trainer cards to your deck. Before diving into this part of deck building, it’s important to know how each Trainer card type works:
|
Trainer card type |
What they do |
restrictions |
|---|---|---|
|
Article |
Provides an instant effect, such as searching for a Pokémon in your deck or healing damage from one of your Benched Pokémon. |
No restrictions. |
|
fan |
Provides an instant effect, such as drawing more cards, switching the opponent’s active Pokémon for another, or |
Only one supporter card can be played per turn. |
|
Tool |
Gives the Pokémon it’s attached to a buff, such as giving it extra HP or dealing damage to your opponent when it’s Knocked Out. |
Only one Tool card can be placed on each Pokémon. |
|
stadium |
Provides an effect for both players, such as reducing the active Pokémon’s retreat cost or reducing the damage done to certain Pokémon types. |
Only one stadium can be in play at a time. When a new stadium is played, the existing stadium card is placed in the discard pile. |
|
Technical Machine (TM) |
Gives the Pokémon it is attached to a new attack. |
Only one Technical Machine card can be placed on each Pokémon. |
|
ACE SPECIFICATION |
This is the most powerful Trainer card type and can provide instant game-changing effects. |
A deck can only contain one ACE SPEC. |
The most common Trainer cards in a Pokémon TCG deck are Item cards and Supporter cards. Not only are they easier to draw from booster packs, but they are generally the most helpful when it comes to successfully preparing your Pokémon cards. Item cards like Great Balls and Ultra Balls can help you find a Pokémon card you need in your deck, while Supporter cards like Nemona and Youngster help you draw more cards.
That’s not to say you can’t have other types of Trainer cards in your deck, it just depends on what you’re planning to do with your deck. For example, if you have Pokémon cards that require Water or Fighting Energy to attack, a Stadium card like Lake Acuity would be a good addition to your hand. When this Stadium card is in play, all Pokémon that have Water or Fighting Energy attached to them take 20 less damage from attacks.
Some popular Trainer cards you can add to your deck are
Nest Ball, Ultra Ball, Rare Candy, Switch, Pine Tree, Iono and Professor’s Research
These should prove effective for pretty much any deck.
Which cards are currently in circulation?
Make sure your deck is approved for competitive play
If you plan to Pokémon Trading Card Game When you compete at your local card shop or at a championship event, all of your cards must be in rotation. If you look at the bottom of your cards, you will notice a small letter in a box. Currently, cards marked “F”, “G” and “H” are allowed for competitive play.This changes from time to time, so be sure to read the official rules before putting a deck into play.
In addition, you may not use fake cards or proxy cards in competitive play. It is important to make sure that all of your cards are genuine Pokémon Trading Card Game products before entering a competition. That’s why it’s important to only buy cards from reputable sellers you trust. You’ll also usually have to use Pokémon cards in the language of the tournament you’re participating in.
Try out your new Pokémon Trading Card Game deck
Practice makes perfect!
Once you’ve put together a deck, it’s time to try it out. The best way to do this is to play against friends at home or visit a local card shop that hosts Pokémon Trading Card Game events to get a feel for real-life battling. However, if that’s not possible, there’s another great option is to play the Pokémon TCG Live app which is available for download on mobile devices (iOS and Android) or desktops (Mac and Windows).
This app lets you test your deck in live battles against other players at any time of the day. While you’ll still need to get the cards you need, this is easily done through regular play, as there are plenty of free digital booster packs you can get for completing challenges or leveling up. You can also redeem code cards from physical booster packs to complete your collection.
If you’ve built your own custom deck rather than rebuilding a meta deck, you’ll probably want to rework it over time. Going through a few battles and figuring out which cards work well and which aren’t very useful is the best way to refine your deck. Keep swapping out cards and trying new strategies until you’re happy with your own. Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck.
