DECK BUILDING
David St Bernard


When you build a deck, the first and foremost thing that you must look for
is the energy that you have to work with.  Forget the Pokemon and forget the
Trainers; you'll get nowhere unless you have energy to back it up.  Doing
this will also help you with the technique in which you use your deck.  Each
colour has to be used in a different way.
For example,
FIRE need a lot more energy than you'd usually give
FIGHTING and PSYCHIC should be used in a 2+colour deck due to the amount of
cards with resistance to them.
ELECTRIC hurt themselves with their stronger moves so the trainers should be
picked more carefully
GRASS and WATER both have two weaknesses so one should mix the cards up

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Then, you should organise the Pokemon lines.  (But now how many cards of
each line yet.  You should do that after the Trainers have been organised)
You can fit in some Two-Stage lines, and few good Basics and sometimes one
or two Three-Stage lines.  Some good lines are:-

  ELECTRIC: -
  Electabuzz
  Pikachu:Raichu

  FIRE: -
  Charmander:Charmeleon:Charizard  *
  Ponyta:Rapidash
  Growlithe:Arcanine
  Magmar(Fossil)                   *

  FIGHTING: -
  Hitmonchan
  Sandshrew:Sandslash
  Diglett:Dugtrio

  GRASS: -
  Weedle:Kakuna:Beedrill           *
  Venonat:Venomoth    *
  Nidoran(F):Nidorina:Nidoqueen
  Bulbasaur:Ivysaur:Venusaur

  PSYCHIC: -
  Jynx
  Mewtwo(Promo)    *
  Abra:Kadabra:Alakazam    *

  WATER: -
  Squirtle:Wartortle:Blastoise
  Seel:Dewgong
  Staryu:Starmie
  Poliwag:Poliwhirl:Poliwrath    *

  COLOURLESS: -
  Jigglpuff:Wigglytuff    *
  Kangashkan
  Ditto

  * - My favorite lines.  (Blast-line and Venu-line have less that decent
starting Pokemon and a       good Basic is better than a good Stage 2)

To help you choose what lines you should use without taking too many of
them, you can do some quick math.  If you choose a One-Stage line, add 1;
choose a Two-Stage line, add 3; a Three-Stage will add 5.  Try to get your
deck to add up between 9 and 12.  Any more or less, change which lines you
picked.

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After you have your pokemon and energy, you need to get the BASIC TRAINERS. 
You shouldn't bother about what your Pokemon need right now.  Get the basic
Trainers first; worry about the other trainers later.

Your first ten should deal with your SIX Basic Trainers: Bill, Potion, S.
Potion, Switch, Gust Of Wind and ProfOak/Gambler.  You should have two Bills
and either the ProfOak or Gambler (I prefer the Gambler, for the
non-discard).  Then fill the other seven spaces with the Switches, Potions,
S. Potions and GOWs, keeping in mind the Pokemon you are using.

Now you may add in the Trainer dealing for the Pokemon.  Plus Powers and
Energy Removals can be added to any type of deck.  Then, look for cards that
suit your Pokemons needs.  Defenders for ELECTRIC's problem.  Energy
Retrieval for FIRE.  And so on...

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Finally, you must get your Pokemon and Energy cards organised.  A example of
a poorly organized Pokemon:Energy ratio is Power Reserve's own.  17 Grass
Pokemon:16 Grass Energy.  A good way to get the right amount of energy for
your cards is to have eight more energy than your Pokemon.  For example, you
have 15 Fighting Pokemon?  have (15+8) 22 Fighting Energy Cards.  You have 4
Grass Pokemon and 8 Water Pokemon? get  (4+8) 12 Grass Energy and (8+8) 16
Water Energy Cards.

If you end up not being able to use this technique because you have too many
cards, then you have way too many Pokemon.  You should, instead, break down
a line from 1-3-4 to 1-2-3 or take out a Two-Stage line for a couple of
Basic Pokemon.

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Well, just to make sure you understand what I just said, I'll put it into a
few steps:

1.  Find out what Energy you have to know what types you'll be using.
2.  Decide what lines you'll be using
3.  Get your Basic and Additional Trainer Organised
4.  Get the Energy:Pokemon Ratio Organised.

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