When first approaching online battles in Pokémon TCGP it might seem a bit intimidating. There are plenty of options for which cards to bring into battle and which Pokémon will be your best bet for winning. But it doesn’t have to be so scary! Here are some Do’s and Don’ts for battles that will help you in the future!
DO: Have at least 2 Basic Pokémon in your deck:
Some decks will only focus on one Pokémon and its evolution line, the idea being that they want to build up one Pokémon as quickly as possible and while this can work with a select few Pokémon it won’t work for all of them. Basic Pokémon and even some Stage 1 Pokémon are relatively weak compared to other Pokémon that they might go up against and if that Pokémon goes down it’s game over! Having at least 2 Basic Pokémon in your deck allows you to vary your strategy and guarantee that the game won’t end in 2 turns! Also the more Pokémon you have in your deck the more complex strategies you will be able to create. However, on that point;
DON’T: Overload your deck with Pokémon cards:
Putting too many Pokémon in your deck will cause you spread yourself too thin, especially Basic Pokémon. Imagine the feeling of needing a specific evolution card to give your Pokémon more power and health or needing a Sabrina Supporter card to give yourself a little more breathing room but instead you get your 5th Basic Pokémon card. Make sure you put in Pokémon that fit with your strategy but don’t put too many in there!
DO: Put Sabrina and Cyrus cards in your deck:
When it comes to cards that are lifesavers in a battle 2 of the most popular cards around are the Sabrina and Cyrus Supporter cards. Sabrina cards force the other player to replace their Active Pokémon with one of their Benched Pokémon (they can choose which Pokémon to put in the Active spot) while Cyrus allows you to take an opponent’s Benched Pokémon with damage on it and put it in the Active spot. The power that this grants you is incredible; it can either give you more breathing room from a powerful Pokémon or it can put a weak Pokémon right in front of you to eliminate it from the game. Putting at least one of each card in your deck can be the difference between winning and losing!
DON’T: Create a deck with no health regeneration:
Health is arguably the most important stat for a Pokémon card; if your health runs out that Pokémon is out of the game! So health regeneration is incredibly important. There are 2 ways of regaining health; using an Item or Supporter card or using a Pokémon’s ability. If your deck has neither of these options then you’re playing a very risky game. There are a large variety of options to regain health in the game so make sure you have a couple of these options open in your deck when you go into battle!
DO: Form decks around Pokémon Abilities:
A Pokémon’s Abilities are very important for battle strategies. Not all Pokémon will have them but when they do have them they will have all sorts of effects. These can range from doing 20 damage to your opponent’s Active Pokémon when they attack you to healing 20 health to your Active Pokémon. These can pair well with different moves and strategies and if you research your card collection you’ll see that different Pokémon will work well with each other as long as they have an ability that works with your strategy. Knowing your Abilities and taking advantage of them can be a huge bonus for your games!
DON’T: Include multiple types of Energy unless you have a plan:
When you create a new deck you will have the option to place multiple Energy types into your Energy Zone. This will automatically happen if you have multiple types of Pokémon in your deck but while you gain access to powerful moves that require multiple Energy types this is a blessing and a curse. When you have multiple Energy types each Energy that spawns in the Energy Zone will be random each time. That means if you need a specific Energy you could be waiting a long time for it to appear if you don’t build your deck carefully. Only include multiple Energy types if your deck is built around the idea so you’re not caught off guard and unable to do any moves!