"Basic Deck Building"- A Guide to Basic Deck Building!

     Hello fellow Pokemon players! My name is Evan Smith and today I am going to give a deck building guide for newer players or for players in general!

How to Start the Deck

     If you are an experienced player then skip this part. There are a few things you need to know before starting on a deck. You need to know that:

- There are 60 cards in a deck.

- You need at least one basic Pokemon.

     Make sure you know what kind of deck you want. Here are a few questions to get you started:

- How do you want your deck to perform?

- What Pokemon types do you want?

- What is going to counter your deck?

- How do you counter against that deck?



Deck Building Tips

     I have a few things that I put in my deck BEFORE I even start building my deck. These things are standard for me to put in my deck no matter what,these are called staples, to make sure that I have a consistent core in my deck. Here is the core of any of my decks:

- 3-4 Professor Sycamore. The bare minimum of Professor Sycamore is 3. This is the best draw supporter in the game and it would be wrong to have less than 3 in the deck.

- 3-4 Professor Birch's Observations/ Shauna/ Judge. This deck needs other draw supporters too. Use PBO / Shauna/ Judge at your own choice. They are all different supporters and should be used in different decks.

- 1-2 Lysandre. Lysandre is necessary in any deck. Its effect is too good to pass up, and it is a card that can win you the game.

- 2-4 Tech supporters. You need more supporters than the core. Make space for these and after you build your deck, fill in the spaces. Some good cards that I use are Hex Maniac, AZ, Korrina, Skyla, Brigette, Teammates, and Ace Trainer.

-4 VS Seeker. This is a major staple. You need VS Seeker to get your supporters back. This card pairs well with Battle Compressor.

- 4 Ultra Ball/ Level Ball. You need a maximum search for Pokemon. If your deck has Pokemon that have 90 HP or less, use Level Ball, if not use Ultra Ball.

     That is my core, no matter what. I highly recommend using this as your core before building your deck.

     So first, don't do the 20-20-20 method. It doesn't normally work. Plus, some decks use no energy, (Yeti, Wailord, to name a few.) and rely solely on trainers.

     Next, put in the Pokemon you need. I would recommend including at least 2 ShayminEXs for more draw power. I also recommend making at least 8 spaces for energy for your deck, and out in the energy after you make everything else.

     Finally, if you have some time to test your deck, and you have two cards you want to out in, but only one space left, put both cards in and test with a 61 card deck. Keep track of how many times you use one of those two cards, and after 10-20 testing rounds, put in the card that you used the most.

Thanks for reading, and until next time, test on!