Creating and henching up your deck

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Jackolas

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Am I being an ignoramus!?

Is there somewhere where we can discuss how to actually put together a deck that is the actual man. A deck that actually makes God weep!! - Maybe I'm bigging that up too much...

I keep looking around the internet and it's just the basics of things like. "You need 60 cards" and you need to "choose your deck type" etc.

I have just started playing again - after I forgot how legendary it was but I want to create a proper pro deck instead of just chucking together an assortment of cards I've bought from theme decks. Where should I start when making a masterful deck?

I expect this is a difficult thread to reply to - individual choice and all that but can someone just point me in the right direction moving from theme decks to creating my own custom deck.
 
Always happy to help. In this instance, very happy, since no one ever posts here and I'd really, really like for people to post here more, since I'm the resident TCG expert at Bulbagarden.

So... how do you build a pro deck, huh? I'm assuming that before, you were the kind of person who just threw random 1-1 or 2-1 or even ungodly 4-3-1 Pokémon lines into a deck, then tossed in some random trainers and several different types of energy. That's okay. Lots of people do it... but those people lose to people who actually know how to build a competitive deck, like me. It's not as hard as you'd think to build a good deck, but you have to have moderate resources.

First, let's talk about some restrictions on your deck and the current POP format. "POP" is Pokémon Organized Play, BTW. The current POP format for organized play (tournaments and premier events) is Diamond & Pearl-onward. That means you can only use these sets to play competitively. Any older cards you have are unusable unless reprinted. More information can be found here. Next, there are some restrictions on your deck; you can't use any amount of any card. You can use UP TO FOUR (4) of any Pokémon with the same name in your deck. For instance, you can use up to 4 cards named "Delcatty," regardless of whether or not they're the exact same card. Lv.X Pokémon count toward this limit. You cannot have 4 Darkrai and 4 Darkrai Lv.X. You can have 2 Darkrai and 2 Darkrai Lv.X, or 3 Darkrai and 1 Darkrai Lv.X, or... you get the point. The same rule applies to Trainer cards, Supporter cards, and Stadium cards. The rule DOES NOT apply to energy cards. I don't know why I'm going on about this... you probably already know this. Let's move on.

Now, there are some key components that go into a good deck: Pokémon, trainers/supporters/stadiums, and energy cards There are two main kinds of Pokémon: attacking Pokémon and supporting Pokémon. The attacking Pokes are the ones you attack with. The supporting Pokes tend to stay on your bench and offer you their effects, such as drawing extra cards. An example of an attacking Poke would be Kingdra LA (see the "set abbreviations" thread if you don't know what "LA" means.), while an example of a supporting Poke would be Claydol GE. Kingdra deals the opponent's Pokes damage while Claydol allows the player to draw extra cards with its effect. So, most traditionally built decks will consist of attacking Pokes and supporting Pokes. In addition to attacking and supporting Pokes, a deck needs trainers, supporters, and sometimes stadiums. Trainer cards usually have moderately good effects that can search for certain cards or allow the player to draw a minimal amount of extra cards. Supporter cards have powerful effects, like searching for a wide range of cards or drawing several cards, but you can only use one supporter card per turn. Stadiums are placed in play and can give mediocre effects to all Pokes in play. Often, stadiums aren't a good choice because they take up extra room in the deck that could go to something more important. However, sometimes stadiums are crucial to a deck's success, so they should always be considered when building a deck.

Now that the components of a deck have been explained, we'll get into the structure of a good deck. First, we'll look at the structure of a basic typical deck, which uses one stage-2 attacking line and one stage-1 support line. Often, more complex decks play more lines and several single Poke lines, but for now we'll look at the most basic of effective strategies... but not right now. I have to go right now.

:p I'll finish this epic post later. In the meantime, repeatedly read over the above until you've memorized it word-for-word.
 
Well I'm glad that my posting on here gives you such a sense of purpose! And thank you for such a, err, comprehensive response! So far I have just had some theme decks and swapped in some cards that I've had knocking around that fit the same type. So for example: I've got the Mind Game Theme Deck EX; the Shadow Blaze Theme Deck EX; and the Inferno Zone Theme Deck DP.

Because they're sort of psi, fire, fighting combos I'm just sort of messing about with different combos of those cards (pokes/trainers etc.../energy) and chucking in a few random pokemon I have lying about. Hitmonchan/Hitmonlee for example. I got rid of my masses of cards to friends and family and such. So basically, I'm just trying to build something with these decks as a start. I've also got a proper old skool Overgrowth deck somewhere lying about ^^ but if you can give me some sort of idea as how to start off.

This thing about lines is interesting - although I'm not sure I understand yet. I'm sure you will impart your knowledge onto me.

Also, just a quickie. If I have a delta species pokemon like Ekans - which is now a fire type - can I evolve that into a normal Arbok. Or even a dark Arbok. Can you point me in the right place to see which evolutions are allowed because I have Light Jolteons and Dark Vaporeons coming out of my ears and I dunno when/if I can evolve them :s

Cheers Man - Will keep reading and re-reading until I've learned it!
 
the original exeggcutor card from like jungle or something was a huge force in my deck when i still bothered to play
 
Are there any leagues in your area? Leagues are great places to meet players and discuss deck building while building friendships that lead to EVER more powerful decks through play-testing and seeing what works or not.

Peace
 
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I feel terrible for not finishing my explanation. However, I intend to write up a thread regarding how to build a good deck soon, so hold tight for that.
 
Politoed666 said:
I feel terrible for not finishing my explanation. However, I intend to write up a thread regarding how to build a good deck soon, so hold tight for that.
Click to expand...

My apologies for just jumping in this thread...I have been mulling some things about lately and this seemed like a good place to sticky them for a while.

I mean I have only been here for a few hours...;-)

There are a lot of holes in my post...and now there are even more. I took out the bulk of my post above.

Peace
 
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There is a league in my area but I'm not sure how it works. I don't know what the age ranges are etc... I should just get in touch really. I will await the "build a deck" thread with much anticipation!
 
I am really new to TCG from the playing perspective. I started a league in my hometown because my son wants to play. It is not hard to do.

I am 48 and I play Pokemon.

Poke players are really very nice - at least that is my experience.
 
Here are some of my thoughts on this topic. Please feel free to add to it or refine it as needed.

To build really great decks you will get a feel for the meta-game in your area. The meta-game is the archetype pokes and their techs that people in your area are playing.

Building a solid deck requires a full understanding of the cards and their respective powers/attacks/effects in order to fully realize the synergy that will occur when paired with certain cards.

Synergy is key. Deck description and strategy is key as well.

Ask yourself, Do I like to lock down my opponent and prevent them from taking actions or do I like to wail on them with a monster poke that hits for the big D? Do I like to use a combo of the two? Am I an aggressive player or more casual and fun. Am I in it to win it, or just to play and have fun and meet some new people?

The current format is cluttered with a host of what are called Archetype Decks. Kindra, AMU, Dusknoir, Scizor, Regigigas...etc. All of these deck see a lot of play at tournies and such for the past couple of seasons and they are fully realized and good (starting point) deck lists can be gleaned from the net articles and such (google is your friend).

Also, you will get a feel for the meta-game, which is the archetype pokes and their techs that people in your area are playing.

Building a solid deck requires a full understanding of the cards and their respective powers/attacks/effects in order to fully realize the synergy that will occur when paired with certain cards.

Synergy is key. Deck description and strategy is key as well.

Ask yourself, Do I like to lock down my opponent and prevent them from taking actions or do I like to wail on them with a monster poke that hits for the big D? Do I like to use a combo of the two? Am I an aggressive player or more casual and fun. Am I in it to win it, or just to play and have fun and meet some new people?

The current format is cluttered with a host of what are called Archetype Decks. Kindra, AMU, Dusknoir, Scizor, Regigigas...etc. All of these deck see a lot of play at tournies and such for the past couple of seasons and they are fully realized and good (starting point) deck lists can be gleaned from the net articles and such (google is your friend).

A new Archetype is emerging, Platinum SP Decks and with the upcoming release of Rising Rival even more SP decks will be added to the mix. In order to be competitive in tournies you will need to consider what wins and what does not in order to have a chance.

Rogue Decks are considerably more fun to play at tournies. A good rogue will use pokes that pair well but are not considered archetypes in the format. It takes a truely masterfull deck builder to create a valid rogue.

A good place to easily view current tournie legal cards is the http://www.pokegym.net/tower/

But to more fully address your post and possibly answer some questions, I will stop babbling and try to wrap this post up and I realize this is no where as in depth as the other poster, but I will do my best to give you some tips.

MAIN ATTACKERS:
Pick some good pokes that you like that have either a solid evolution line: basic, stage 1, stage 2 for your heavy hitter (for SP decks - Platinum this is all basics with LV.X as the heavy hitter) or that have strong basic and level-up pokes (LV.X). Once you have your decks MAIN hitters (1 or 2 max) commit their attacks, effects, powers, bodies to memory. Use this knowledge to look for other cards (using the tower) that might have synergy with your main hitters. Be sure to look at retreat cost and the cost for attacks. These are crucial elements for deciding NRG requirements and they also come into play when considering Supporter/Stadiums/Trainers.

TECHS:
These are your TECHS, they support your main attacker and provide the occasional effect, power or back up protection when needed. Some good techs in the current format allow you to draw cards http://pokegym.net/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=35717, search for stadiums, remove damage, hit for damage without attacking (a pokePower) http://pokegym.net/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=42277, or provide more HP for your main attackers (Shaymin LV.X for Scizor Decks) http://pokegym.net/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=42358. Sceptile is another TECH for a Scizor Deck allowing you to double the effective NRG on a poke. http://pokegym.net/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=33282

Hopefully you begin to see how this helps...

SUPPORTERS/STADIUMS/TRAINERS
This is a whole subject in and of itself. Needless to say without a proper SST engine your deck will fail to run properly and set ups will be slow and inconsistant. Searching out pokes, grabbing energy, getting good trainers in your hand all play an integral part in the synergy of your deck.

SUPPORTERS:
One per turn (although some techs will allow you to use a supporter from discard as your attack). These can search for pokes, NRG, other supporters, cause disruption for your opponent http://pokegym.net/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=31303

STADIUMS:
One per turn and it can not be the same as one that you already have in play. Stays in play until the other player or you decide to play another one. These change the way the field acts - Adding HP, reducing retreat, causing damage to pokes when they evolve are just some of the effects that a stadium will have while in play. not really useful for all decks, You must consider your strat before adding them into your deck.

TRAINERS:
You can always play more than one trainer. Some good trainers look for basic pokemon or LV.X and some can even evolve your main attacker from basic to Stage 2 in one step on your first turn (if you go second) http://pokegym.net/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=40061. Super Scoop Up allows you to return a poke to your hand if you flip heads and the new PokeTurn allows you to return an SP poke to your hand without the flip. http://pokegym.net/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=42350

ENERGY:
Compatible with your attackers, may not be necessary for your techs (some of the have no cost attacks that seacrh or hit for small amounts of damage or produce the desired effect) and should be enough to power your pokes for the game but so much as to overload your deck (10-16 NRG is usually enough). KEY POINT: SST's will help reduce your NRG requirements by allowing you to search for NRG or pull it back from Discard. Some techs will also allow you to move NRG around, thus making your overall NRG commitment smaller. http://pokegym.net/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=42271

I realize that I discussed some pretty basic stuff, but for a basic primer this is a pretty good start.

As for building the godly deck that is the killer of all decks and becomes BDIF, well, perhaps that is something we can all work on together.

Peace.
 
...you officially have more time than me! Epic post... epically long and epically awesome! Everything I read was pretty much what I'd have said.
 
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