Help Advice for a New Player

Remokon

Remokon

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Hi there everyone! I am interested in starting playing the TGC and have used a friend's deck a couple of times so I understand how to play for the most part, but I do not, however, have many ideas on how to build a deck. I found this thread earlier on these forums discussing main trainer staples (http://www.pokebeach.com/forums/threads/main-staple-trainers-in-the-2017-standard-format.135804/) which is very useful assuming it is still valid advice for the game at the moment, but I don't know how to go about filling in the meat of the deck, such as the Pokemon to use, the energies to choose, or any specific trainer cards that might be useful for particular strategies for specific Pokemon.

In terms of building the deck, I am open to anything regarding strategies and Pokemon! The only real limit is my budget ($60 dollars or less for the whole deck if possible). If anyone has any suggestions I would be incredibly grateful! Advice is very welcome and needed (even if the advice is waiting for a new set to be released! I'm in no rush.)

Thank you very much!
 
Hello and welcome to the pokemon tcg! First thing I would say is to pick a Pokemon card that you really like and build around it. It could be one with a strong attack (like Yveltal EX), something with a good ability (like Decidueye GX), or just your favorite Pokemon!

warning: kinda lengthy lol

Deckbuilding step 1
Once you have the Pokemon you want to build around (I'll use the Golduck from the Sun & Moon Base Set as an example) you'll want to make sure that you can reliably play it. For a stage one like our example you'll want 4 Psyducks and 4 Golducks to maximize your chances of playing several in a game. If you're focusing on a stage 2 then a 4-1-4 with 3 rare candies is the best way to go (unless it's a grass type with Forest of Giant plants, then you'll want a thick 4-4-4 line.... That satadium is OP).

Next, it's time to see what works well with the Golduck. Looking around we find that the Starmie from Evolutions has an ability that works really well with Golduck. Perfect! Since the Starmie is more of a back-up, we don't need as many copies - a simple 2-2 line will do.

This gives us 12 pokemon so far which isn't quite enough for this style of deck (some decks run this amount and some run even less!) Now is where you have some freedom. Some decklists will add in Eevee and one copy each of the Flareon and Jolteon from Ancient Origins (since their abilities makes Golduck count as a fire and electric type). Personally, I'm experimenting with Bruxish to quickly get energy in my hand.

(Card images in spoiler)
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Deckbuilding step 2!
Okay, now that you have about 14-16 pokemon it's time to build out the bulk of the deck. One golden rule to remember is that drawpower is king (which is why everyone and their grandma runs Shaymin EX) My typical "core" for a deck is as follows:

x3 Professor Sycamore
x3 N
x2 Lysandre
x1 Skyla
x4 Trainer's Mail
x4 Ultra Ball
x1 Energy Retrieval
[EDIT] x4 Vs Seekers (thx for reminding me @TheGuardian118 )

Wow, that's 26 trainers, and we're not even done yet! For Golduck since they are expected to get knocked out quickly Teammates is amazing in this deck. Another solid addition is a Karen since she can shuffle back in our used up Golducks and anything we dumped with the Starmie. I'm also running one Fisherman as a backup Starmie and some Bursting Balloons to make them think twice about attacking. So that adds the following to our trainer list:

x2 Teammates
x1 Karen
x1 Fisherman
x3 Bursting Balloons

Bringing us to 33 trainers. The rest of this deck is simply basic Water Energies. Nothing fancy here. If the pokemon you selected has low energy specifics then running 4 Double Colorless Energy is a good idea. Some other great energies are Splash Energy for a water deck and Strong Energy for a fighting deck. We aren't running the Splash Energy because Golduck can't pitch it with a Double Jet.... though a 1-of couldn't hurt.

And there you have it, I guess? At least this is how I plan out and build my Pokemon decks. There's other ways you could go about it too, and the numbers of trainers are really down to preference/what type of deck you're running. Something you can do is look at the decklists for established decks to get an idea of how they're put together.

One last tip I can give is to check out the Pokemon Trading Card Game Online (Pokemon TCGO for short). It's a pretty good way to get into the game and it gives you a great way to look at all the cards out there. Good luck and have fun!

(edited for formatting, typos, and adding a link)
 
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Thank you so much, this is invaluable to me! This was exactly what I was looking for.
 
Also, consider what your goals are for the game. $60 will get you a decent amount of things, but not necessarily a Tier 1 deck. (Due to no Shaymins) Do you just want to play causually at a weekly league or with friends? Do you want to compete at Worlds? Or somewhere in between? Do you also want to collect while playing?

Buying singles is generally better once you know specifically what you want, but sealed products can be good to when just starting out. The Battle Arena decks are around $30, and while they are decent expanded decks the Keldio/Rayquaza one gives you a decent set of staple trainers, many of which are still standard. Also, depending on your goals, if you don't plan on playing in tournaments anytime soon the World Championship decks are around $15 and give you a full T1 deck. (as of last rotation) Most of the cards in them are still standard legal, but be aware that the WC decks have a different back and therefore are NOT allowed to be played in formal tournaments. If sleeved they are ok for casual play. They are a great way to get those expensive Shaymins, VS Seekers, and other cards without spending tons of money. Only downside is you can't take it to a tournament, which is a nonissue if that wasn't your goal anyway. I bought one just to have some extra Shaymin/VS Seeker so I could have an extra couple decks built for causal play.

One other thing to be aware of, what's the activity level around your area? If you have access to regular tournaments, those players might be able to trade away staples that they have tons of. Even just casual league players probably have a lot of extra cards. I'm lucky and in my area the are four places to play a week, one of which is a small formal tournament. One of the places sells singles, and another is looking to once they grow their Pokémon scene a little more. Knowing what you have access to might help you make better local trades.

Also, if you do go with that Golduck deck posted above, don't forget about Ace Trainer. It's a really good draw/disruption when you don't expect to take the first prize. Oh and 4 VS seekers are a must, but those are like $4-5 each normally so may eat up a bit of your budget. Depending on the trades you can do you might find you have some extra available budget though.



Since I mentioned World Championship decks in this post, I'm going to do my normal disclaimer again. World Championship decks are NOT legal for tournament play. Just causal and they must be sleeved in a sleeve that does not show the back if the deck is mixed with normal cards. (Which will probably need to happen to make it standard)
 
I think there are 1 or 2 leagues near me that meet up once a week. That's a great idea, asking for some spares no one needs! I think I'll do that his weekend :) As for level of play I really have no idea yet, but it probably wouldn't hurt to make a viable deck in case I do end up wanting to go more hardcore with it. I also have one quick question about the post by Vulpixy, they wrote 4 trainer mails twice. Does that mean I need 8?
 
TheGuardian118 said:
Also, if you do go with that Golduck deck posted above, don't forget about Ace Trainer. It's a really good draw/disruption when you don't expect to take the first prize. Oh and 4 VS seekers are a must, but those are like $4-5 each normally so may eat up a bit of your budget. Depending on the trades you can do you might find you have some extra available budget though.
Click to expand...

Wow, I can't believe that I actually missed the vs seekers in that list. I was thinking back on it and realized that the trainers seemed a little low for what I mentioned. Guess that's what happens when you try to slam out a decklist while tired lol.

Also: I like the idea of the Ace Trainer. May see about adding one to my deck :)

[EDIT] trainer's mail twice on the list... that's the last time I post while half-asleep lol
 
Remokon said:
I also have one quick question about the post by Vulpixy, they wrote 4 trainer mails twice. Does that mean I need 8?
Click to expand...

Just a typo. You only ever need at most 4 of a specific card (minus basic energies) since you can only have a maximum of 4 of any card with the same name in your deck.
 
Remokon said:
I think there are 1 or 2 leagues near me that meet up once a week. That's a great idea, asking for some spares no one needs! I think I'll do that his weekend :) As for level of play I really have no idea yet, but it probably wouldn't hurt to make a viable deck in case I do end up wanting to go more hardcore with it. I also have one quick question about the post by Vulpixy, they wrote 4 trainer mails twice. Does that mean I need 8?
Click to expand...

Looks like it was just an error as mentioned, it was supposed to be 4 Trainers Mail and 4 VS Seeker.
 
Oh I see, I do that all the time. Thank y'all so much! I will mull all this over and then suggest a build for critique. Thank you again!
 
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