Play Pokémon TCG: 7 Simple Steps to Get Your Deck Battling Today
Playing Pokémon cards is like telling a story with your favorite Pokémon. You use a deck of 60 cards and try to win by getting Prize Cards. If you’ve never played before — don’t worry. This guide will show you everything, step by step, as if you’ve never touched a Pokémon card before. Your first game starts here!
First, What’s the Goal?
The main goal is simple: knock out your opponent’s Pokémon and take Prize Cards. The first person to take all their Prize Cards wins!
- Standard game: 6 Prize Cards
- Short game: 3 Prize Cards
You can also win if your opponent has no Pokémon left or no cards to draw.
Step 1: Build Your Deck
You always need exactly 60 cards. Here’s an example deck you can try — it’s full of Fire-type Pokémon and some helpful Trainers:
Pokémon — 21
- 3 Charmander (MEW 4)
- 2 Charmeleon (PAF 8)
- 3 Charizard ex (OBF 125)
- 2 Magmar (JTG 20)
- 2 Magmortar (JTG 21)
- 2 Mew ex (MEW 151)
- 2 Castform Sunny Form (SSP 20) — PH
- 2 Bombirdier ex (PAR 156)
- 2 Volcanion ex (JTG 31)
- 1 Volcanion ex (JTG 182)*
* This card is an alternate artwork version of "Volcanion ex (JTG 31)". They have the same attacks, HP, and abilities as the standard card but feature unique art styles and are considered “chase cards” by collectors.
Trainer — 21
- 2 Ultra Ball (SVI 196)
- 2 Switch (SVI 194)
- 2 Rare Candy (SVI 191)
- 1 Amulet of Hope (SSP 162)
- 2 Iono (PAL 185)
- 2 Energy Recycler (DRI 164)
- 2 Super Rod (PAL 188)
- 2 Nest Ball (SVI 181)
- 2 Potion (SVI 188)
- 2 Arven (SVI 166)
- 2 Boss's Orders (PAL 172)
Energy — 18
- 16 Basic {R} Energy (Energy 10)
- 2 Jet Energy (PAL 190)
Step 2: Shuffle, Draw, and Set Up
- Shuffle your deck.
- Draw 7 cards.
- If you don’t have a Basic Pokémon, show your hand, shuffle again, and draw 7 new cards. Your opponent gets to draw an extra card each time this happens.
- Put 1 Basic Pokémon in front of you — this is your Active Pokémon.
- You can put up to 5 more Basics on the Bench.
- Take 6 cards from the top of your deck and place them face-down — these are your Prize Cards.
Step 3: Learn the Card Parts
Each card has important parts to look at:
- Name & Stage: Shows if it’s Basic, Stage 1, or Stage 2.
- HP: How much damage it can take before being knocked out.
- Type: Tells you which Energy it uses.
- Attacks: Shows the cost, damage, and effects.
- Weakness/Resistance: Can make damage higher or lower.
- Retreat Cost: How much Energy you pay to switch it out.
Step 4: Take Your Turn
Each turn you:
- Draw 1 card.
- Play Basic Pokémon onto your Bench.
- Attach 1 Energy to any Pokémon.
- Evolve Pokémon that have been in play since last turn.
- Play Trainer cards (Supporters, Items, Stadiums).
- Use Abilities.
- Retreat your Active Pokémon if needed.
- Attack — then your turn ends.
Tip: If you go first, you can’t attack or play a Supporter card on your first turn. Nobody can evolve on their first turn.
Step 5: Watch Out for Beginner Traps
- Don’t mix too many Pokémon types — stick to one or two.
- Don’t add lots of big evolutions without enough Basics to evolve from.
- Always have cards that help you draw more cards — like Iono or Ultra Ball.
Step 6: Use a Simple Plan
With this deck, here’s the simple game plan:
- Start strong: Get Charmander, Magmar, or Mew ex in play quickly using Nest Ball or Ultra Ball.
- Build fast: Use Rare Candy to jump from Charmander straight to Charizard ex.
- Hit hard: Keep Fire Energy flowing, use Jet Energy to switch attackers if needed.
- Finish smart: Use Boss’s Orders to pick off easy Prize Cards.
Step 7: Win the Game
You win when you take all your Prize Cards, your opponent has no Pokémon left, or they can’t draw at the start of their turn.
Ready to Play?
Now you know the steps, the parts of your cards, and a full deck you can try right away. Get your cards, shuffle up, and start your first Pokémon TCG battle today!