You got a set. Pokémon cards bought and now you are lying in front of you with a stack of Pokémon, Energy cards and Trainer cards. Recognizable: the rules seem more complicated than they are at first. After this article you understand what each card does, how a turn is built and how you win a game, so you can play your first game yourself.
What is Pokémon TCG?
Pokémon TCG stands for Pokémon Trading Card Game, a two player card game where you fight against each other with Pokémon. Each player builds a deck of 60 cards and tries to disable the opponent's Pokémon. Those who quickly collect six Prize Cards or turn the opponent without playable Pokémon win the match.
The game combines strategy with a bit of luck, by drawing a card each turn. You choose which Pokémon you wager, which attacks you use and when you play a Trainer card.
What do you need to play?
To play a game you need the following:
- A deck of exactly 60 cards, consisting of Pokémon cards, Energy cards and Trainer cards.
- Damage counters (small markers) to keep track of damage, or a leaf paper as an alternative.
- A coin to determine who starts and for effects that require a coin flip.
- Possible markings for special conditions such as poisoned or paralyzed.
- An opponent with his own 60 card deck.
If you do not already have a complete deck, it is best to start with a ready-made two-player product, about which further on. You'd rather take care of loose cards or a second hand supplement, then Cardmarket for beginners a convenient starting point.
What's the playing field like?
Each player has its own playing field with a number of fixed zones. The Active Spot is the place where your active Pokémon stands, the one that attacks and can be attacked. In addition, you have the Bench, with space for up to five Pokémon that are not active, but are ready for use behind hand.
Furthermore, you have a Deck (the cards you still have to draw), a Discard Pile (drawn cards), the Prize Cards (six cards that are separate) and sometimes a Lost Zone for cards that are removed from the game. Each player has its own version of all these zones, opposite each other on the table.
How do you start a game?
Before you can play, shake your deck and draw seven cards. If you don't have any Basic Pokémon on hand, then you show this to your opponent, shake that hand back in your deck and pull seven cards again. This is called a mulligan.
Once both players have a valid hand, secretly choose a Basic Pokémon as active Pokémon and put it down with the image down. You can also put extra Basic Pokémon on your Bench, also in reverse. Then put six cards of your deck separately as Prize Cards, also with the image down. Only when both players are ready, you turn the active Pokémon and start the game. With a coin throw or mutual agreement you decide who gets to go first.
An important exception: the player who is the first to strike will skip the draw phase of that first turn and may not attack in that turn either. This prevents the novice player from having too much advantage.
This is how a turn works
A turn consists of a fixed order. First you pull a card off your deck, except during the very first turn of the starting player. Then follows your main phase, in which you may do things in random order and as often as the rules allow.
In this main phase, you can put Pokémon on your Bench from your hand, play Trainer cards, connect an Energy card to a Pokémon, evolve, and switch your active Pokémon by responding. Once you're done, you can attack with your active Pokémon. An attack automatically ends your turn, unless the card text indicates otherwise.
Pokémon play and evolve
You play Basic Pokémon directly from your hand to your Active Spot of Bench. Some Pokémon evolve from a previous form, such as a Stage 1 that evolves from a Basic Pokémon. You can't evolve a Pokémon until it's been on the playing field for at least one complete turn, so not in the same turn you just laid it in.
You may also only evolve once per Pokémon. If you place an evolution map on top of the previous form, the new card takes over all the energy and any damage of the previous form.
Use energy cards
Energy cards give your Pokémon the fuel to attack. Each attack indicates how many Energy cards of any type are needed to use it. You connect Energy cards to a Pokémon by putting them from your hand under that Pokémon.
The basic rule is that you can play up to one Energy card per turn, no matter how much Pokémon you have. Some Trainer cards or card effects are an exception to this, but this is explicitly mentioned on the card.
Use trainer cards
Trainer cards give you additional options besides attacking yourself. There are three types: Item cards, Supporter cards and Stadium cards. Item cards can be played as often as you like in one turn, as long as you have the cards.
Supporter cards are more powerful, but that's why you can only play one per turn. Stadium cards apply to both players as long as they are in the game, and a new Stadium card replaces the previous one. Pay close attention to this distinction, because it is one of the rules that beginners often run into.
Attack
To attack has you active Pokémon needs the right combination of Energy Cards listed in the attack. Choose an attack, then perform the effect as shown on the card, usually in the form of damage to the opponent's active Pokémon.
Damage is calculated by placing damage counters on the attacked Pokémon, with each counter usually facing 10 damage points. If the opponent has an Pokémon with a weakness against the type of your attacking Pokémon, the damage is doubled. If the Pokémon is resistant to that type, the damage is reduced. Once the total damage on a Pokémon is equal to or higher than its HP (life points), it becomes knocked out and disappears from the playing field to the Discard Pile.
Retreates
Do you want your active Replace Pokémon without it being knocked out, then you can retreat. This means you pay the retreat cost, usually in the form of throwing away one or more Energy cards attached to that Pokémon, and then switching it with a Pokémon of your Bench.
You can only do this once a turn, and only during your own turn. A Pokémon with a special condition such as paralyzed or asleep can usually not react unless a card effect allows it.
Special conditions
Some attacks or Trainer cards give the opponent a special condition. The best known are poisoned, burned, paralyzed, asleep and confused. Poisoned and burned cause additional damage at the end of each turn. Paralyzed means that the Pokémon cannot attack or retreat during the next turn. A Pokémon who is asleep cannot attack or retreat until a coin throw determines that he wakes up. Confused means that in an attack attempt you have to throw a coin first to see if the attack succeeds.
These conditions apply only to the active Pokémon and automatically disappear as soon as that Pokémon changes the playing field, with the exception of poisoned and burnt, which remain until they are specifically removed.
Prize Cards
At the start of the game you put six cards separately as Prize Cards. Every time you knock out an opponent's Pokémon, you take one of your own Prize Cards and add it to your hand. Some more powerful Pokémon deliver more than one Prize Card for the opponent when knocked out, so always check the card text in case of doubt.
So Prize Cards are not punishment, but a reward: The more Pokémon you disable, the faster you move towards victory.
How do you win a game?
You win a game Pokémon TCG in one of three ways. The most common way is that you get first all your six Prize Cards picked up. A second way is that the opponent no longer has Pokémon on the playing field, for example because all Pokémon are knocked out and there is no replacement on the Bench. A third, less common way is that the opponent can't draw a card at the start of his turn because his deck is empty; that player loses immediately.
Example of first turn
Suppose you play with a simple deck and pull a valid hand with a Basic Pokémon type of Fire, a Fire-Energy and an Item card. You put the Basic Pokémon in your Active Spot and, if you pull it, put another Basic Pokémon on your Bench.
If you are the starting player, then you skip your pull phase. You connect the Fire Energy to your active Pokémon and play the Item card as it helps you to draw an extra card. Since you're the first player not to attack this turn, you close the turn here. Your opponent subsequently draws a card, puts down his own Basic Pokémon, connects an Energy card and may, depending on the Energy cards required for his attack, possibly directly attack.
Common Beginner Errors
A common error is playing multiple Energy cards in one turn, while the basic rule only allows one Energy card per turn. Also players often try to evolve a Basic Pokémon in the same turn in which it is laid down, which is not allowed.
Furthermore, beginners often forget that only one Supporter card can be played per turn, while Item cards can be played several times per turn. Another pitfall is the skipping of weakness and resistance when calculating damage, which makes the match different than expected. Finally, after a knockout, some players forget to take a Prize Card, which confuses the course of the game.
Which product is suitable to start with?
For your first batch, a ready-made two-player product is the easiest choice, because you have two ready-play decks in your hands without having to build a deck yourself. This type of product is often also provided with a short rule interpretation, which helps to put the basic steps of this guide into practice immediately.
If you want to continue building your own collection or buy more targeted individual tickets, it is useful to know where to place reliable orders. The Guide Ordering Pokemon Center in the Netherlands explains how to handle this from the Netherlands, and Pokémon cards set value helps you to estimate later which cards from your start set are worth saving.
Conclusion
With these basic rules you can play a first, simple game Pokémon TCG: You now know how to put on a hand, how a turn is built, how to wager and evolve Pokémon, how attacks and damage work and how to win eventually. Practice remains the best teacher, so play a few games with a simple deck before trying more complicated strategies. If you want to learn more about the back of the game, such as how players and traders deal with cards, read it interview about Pokémon TCG playing with Ancient Cards for extra context from the practice.
