Making your first deck

What Is a Deck?

In Pokémon TCG, you battle using a “deck” with 60 cards

In a battle, each player chooses one deck made out of cards of their choice.
Playstyle and strengths will change drastically depending on the deck.

How to Make a Deck 1: Make a deck out of the cards you currently own

Since you have a lot of cards, you should try making your own deck. We’ll explain some important points when making a deck.

There are 3 main types of cards

This is the recommended number of cards for each type!

First, let’s try making a deck with this amount.

Try battling with the deck and adjust the numbers.

Use Trainer Cards to get an upperhand in battle!

There are various types of Trainer Cards.
Use them well to get an upperhand in battle.

Item

One-time use cards with useful effects

Supporter

Powerful cards that can only be played once per turn

Stadium

Cards that affect entire area of both players

Let’s actually put together a deck!

1Add your favorite Pokémon

First choose your favorite Pokémon!

  • You can have up to 4 cards of the same name.
  • To evolve a Pokémon, you need the Basic Pokémon that comes before.
  • You need at least one Basic Pokémon card in your deck.
2Add Energy Cards of the same type

Let’s add 15 Energy cards for now.

3Add Trainers

Here are some recommended cards!

  • ★Cards that increase your hand by drawing cards from your deck: Marnie, Hop, etc
  • ★Cards that bring Pokémon from your deck: Quick Ball, Great Ball, etc
4Add Pokémon with the same type as your favorite Pokémon

You should have room for a few more cards.

Add Pokémon of the same type as the Pokémon you chose in (1) and now you have a 60-card deck!

5You’re done!

How to Make a Deck 2: Get a pre-constructed deck

It’s okay if you don’t have cards yet!
You can buy a ready-to-play 60-card deck at stores.

Pokémon Trading Card Game Battle Academy

For a beginner like you, we recommend the “Battle Academy”!
The “Battle Academy” includes a 60-card deck that you can use to battle immediately!

How to Make a Deck 3: Upgrade your deck into a stronger deck

If you got cards you want to use, switch out the cards in your deck!
This is deck upgrading!
Keep making your deck stronger by switching cards out!

Let’s Look at Some Decklists!

The Trainers Website showcases a wide range of decks from strong decks that won tournaments to decks that are easy to construct for beginners.
Use it as a reference for deck making!