Questions about 3-2-3(-1) lines

F

FireWheel

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Hello Pokébeach! I just started playing the Pokémon TCG a couple of weeks ago and I'm loving it, and reading through a number of deck buildling posts here I have some questions that I'm hoping you all can help me with. :) (I read through the several pages of rules, FAQ, newbie guide, etc. and I hope that I don't break any of your rules. If I do by accident please PM me and I'll make sure to fix whatever needs fixing!)


Main question: Why do many people recommend 3-2-3 and 3-2-3-1 evolution lines?

First off, I hope that I'm understanding the notation correctly. I'm guessing that 3-2-3 means having 3 Basics, 2 Stage 1's, and 3 Stage 2's of a particular line of pokémon, yes? (With possibly 1 copy of a "Level X" if the line has one.)

Why have only two of the Stage 1 pokémon? That doesn't seem like enough to make sure that you're going to make it to Stage 2 in a reasonable amount of time. There are definitely cards which allow you to search through your deck to find what you want, but 2 just feels ... small to me. Also, if one of them turns out to be one of your prizes, then you only have one left to upgrade to Stage 2, meaning that two of your Stage 2 pokémon are useless to you.

Hand in hand with the above paragraph, why have more Stage 2 pokémon in a line than Stage 1? One of your Stage 2 pokémon is guaranteed to be useless because you don't have a Stage 1 for it to upgrade from. Also, you have to find one of your Stage 1's before you can even play your Stage 2, so wouldn't you want to make sure that you can find a Stage 1 before you start worrying about finding a Stage 2?

What am I missing here? I doubt that you guys would keep recommending it if it wasn't effective. Is there a card that I don't know about which allows you to jump straight from a Basic to a Stage 2 perhaps? Is it a bad idea to risk having too many Stage 1 pokémon on your bench?


Thanks in advance to helping to enlighten me! :)
 
Really, its quite a simple reason.

Most decks with Stage 2 lines run Rare Candies. Rare Candy is basically a trainer card that allows you to skip that Stage 1. They are typically run in mostly every deck that runs any form of Stage 2 line. This is usually done because of possible Turn 1 stage 2's, and the use of them doesnt require as many Stage 1's. I usually run 3 in my decks, 4 if I run multiple stage 2's.
 
Aha! That would definitely explain it. Thanks for the information! :)

What lineups would you recommend if you didn't have any rare candies, as I don't have any at the moment and probably won't for quite some time?
 
If you DOn'T have rare candy, well, it depends what you play!

If you play Empoleon, than 4-4-3-/1 make use of Prinpup.

If you play Infernape, then 3-3-3-1.

It all depends if the Stage 1 is any good, really. But, try to get some candies ;)
 
Guess I'll have to think about it a bit more, then.

Thanks very much for the information about the candies!
 
If you max out a card, try running 4-4-4. Do you have any Nidoqueen d? If so, you really could make use of extra pokemon to discard t power her up.
 
ya, if you don't have any candies I'd say run either some nidoqueen d, meganium d, or in an all delta deck, fearow d, to make up for the loss of speed
 
Ketchup and Mustard said:
If you DOn'T have rare candy, well, it depends what you play!

If you play Empoleon, than 4-4-3-/1 make use of Prinpup.

If you play Infernape, then 3-3-3-1.

It all depends if the Stage 1 is any good, really. But, try to get some candies ;)
Click to expand...

in infercatty, u can even play 3-1-3-1.....
 
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