New Player - Tips in Building a Deck

[TrainerShaq]

Hello everyone.

I recently got into to pokemon tcg. I was a heavy magic the gathering player for some time and the last time I played pokemon the card game was when the first charizard was released like 18 years ago. Yeah its been that long

Currently I play the card game online. It's pretty awesome.
But transitioning from magic to pokemon I have a few questions..

1. What's a decent amount of energy to have ?
In magic mostly around 20 mana was good. Not sure how that works for pokemon.

2. I want to build a water deck, any tips? My main focus is stacking my energy for lapras.

3. What's an average number of pokemon in a deck and how many different ones? I normally run like.... 16 pokemon and like 9 are different.

4. Best trainer cards ? And what's a good number for those as well.

Lastly , is the card switch good because I freaking love that card but curious if there is something better

Thanks to anyone who can answer me
See ya guys

 

[TuxedoBlack]

Hello everyone.

I recently got into to pokemon tcg. I was a heavy magic the gathering player for some time and the last time I played pokemon the card game was when the first charizard was released like 18 years ago. Yeah its been that long

Currently I play the card game online. It's pretty awesome.
But transitioning from magic to pokemon I have a few questions..

1. What's a decent amount of energy to have ?
In magic mostly around 20 mana was good. Not sure how that works for pokemon.

2. I want to build a water deck, any tips? My main focus is stacking my energy for lapras.

3. What's an average number of pokemon in a deck and how many different ones? I normally run like.... 16 pokemon and like 9 are different.

4. Best trainer cards ? And what's a good number for those as well.

Lastly , is the card switch good because I freaking love that card but curious if there is something better

Thanks to anyone who can answer me
See ya guys

Welcome back to Pokemon TCG! Like you, I started playing 18 years ago too. Following are responses to your questions:

1. The amount of energy one has in a deck greatly depends upon the deck and deck strategy. Some decks play as little as 4 whereas others may use 12-14. Unfortunately, there is no straightforward or "standard" answer to your question.
2. There are a other good Water Pokemon you might want to consider also, like Articuno, Manaphy EX, Octillery, Palkia EX and Regice. You can also incorporate Colorless Pokemon too which can use Water energy too, or other Pokemon that have a Colorless energy attack requirement. so, you are not limited to just using Water Pokemon in your deck. Note that a set rotation (some older sets will not longer be "legal" for sanctioned, Standard format, tournaments) is pending real soon.
3. In many cases, decks will be built around a "core" group of Pokemon, usually of the same type in most cases. Again one has flexibility should the player want to incorporate other Pokemon that are either Colorless type and/or have Colorless energy attack requirements. The decks I currently run have 12 - 15 Pokemon of which most are the same type. Utilizing the same type of Pokemon in a deck has a variety advantages one of which is efficient energy utilization since there is perhaps only 1 type of energy ("color"). However, you can still run different types of energy in the same deck; it just may require that you need to run particular energy search and/or recovery cards in order for the deck to function effectively and efficiently. On the other hand, there is at least 1 deck, Xerneas, that will run multiple types (i.e., "color") of Pokemon since its attack is fueled or its damage output is boosted based upon the number of different Pokemon types are on the player's bench.
4. The "best" Trainers are perhaps those used by most players in their decks. Again, the Trainers utilized MUST/NEED to compliment the deck's strategy and Pokemon, but some of the most popular Trainers you'll see in decks "most" often include:
   1. Brigette - to help setup your bench when running "lots" of non-EX Basic Pokemon
   2. Crushing and/or Enhanced Hammer - to remove energy from opponent's Pokemon
   3. Giovanni's Scheme - to either provide card-draw support or additional damage output boost
   4. Hex Maniac - to temporarily shuttoff Pokemon Abilities
   5. Judge - to have both players shuffle their hands into their decks and draw 4 cards
   6. Lysandre - to "gust" an opponent's benched Pokemon to the active position
   7. Max Elixir - for Item-based energy-attachment acceleration
   8. N - for card-draw support (and possible opponent's hand disruption since it affect both players)
   9. Ninja Boy - to search (in deck) and replace Basic (already in play) Pokemon
   10. Parallel City - Stadium that provides useful advantages
   11. Professor Sycamore - card-draw support
   12. Trainer's Mail - Item that allows you to view several cards and choose 1 Trainer (excluding another Trainer's Mail item)
   13. Ultra Ball - to search for any Pokemon
   14. VS Seeker - to recover Supporters from the discard pile

As far as the "number" of each Trainer goes, the game rule restricts you to a maximum of 4 for any card, except for Basic energy. In many cases, you would see 2-4 copies of the above-listed Trainers in many players' decks. But again, it will still come down to properly supporting the deck's strategy which will strongly affect the number of and mix of Trainers.​

5. Switch is still available, but a few other cards may better serve one's purposes, depending upon the situation. Also review Escape Rope, Float Stone, and Ninja Boy.
​

I'd also suggest you review different decks in the Deck Garage Forum to also review different deck structures and their associated strategy. Afterwards, design your own deck draft and submit it for feedback and comments.

I hope you find these comments helpful.