Are you a Pokemon trainer who’s looking to branch out and explore the tactical world of the Pokemon Trading Card Game? If you answered yes, make sure to stick around as I’m about to tell you how to play Pokemon TCG like a pro.
Okay, so maybe I don’t have a professional skill set just yet, but I can still teach you the basics.
Pokemon TCG has been around since 1996, making it 27 years old (and counting). There’s a lot of reasons why it’s become as popular as it has – the cards look good, the TCG adds another dynamic to the franchise, and it’s accessible.
Whatever your individual reasons, Pokemon TCG is definitely here to stay. Now, without further ado, let’s start learning how to play Pokemon TCG!
Learn How To Play Pokemon TCG
I want to reiterate that these are the basics of Pokemon TCG, designed to help you get started and/or reacquainted with the game.
What Do I Need To Play Pokemon TCG?
Every player will start with a 60 card deck – no more, no less – with your deck consisting of three main card types:
- Energy – think of this like the video games’ PP, designed to ensure your ‘mon has enough energy to attack.
- Pokemon – this is your team. Every ‘mon has a Basic, Stage 1, and Stage 2 card (Stage 1 and 2 act as evolutions). There are also Special Cards, such as EX and GX, which are essentially the TCG’s Dynamax/Mega Evolution equivalent.
- Trainer – the most varied of the cards, these include Items, Stadium, and Supporter. Items are anything from potions to reshuffling your deck, while Stadium Cards trigger environmental elements. Lastly, Supporter cards showcase characters from the video games and anime, with each character able to help you in a unique way.
To help ease you in gently, you can buy a pre-built TCG deck that includes everything you need. It might not be as personalised as building your own deck, but once you know what you’re doing, you can play around with your unique style.
How Do I Get Started?
Typically, players flip a coin to see who will go first. However, you can decide by any means necessary.
Afterwards, it’s time to give your decks a good shuffle before drawing seven cards each; the first six of these cards will be become Prize Cards. Each time you take down your opponent’s Pokemon, you pick up one of these cards.
Now you need to play your first active Pokemon Card, making sure that it’s a Basic Card rather than an evolution, like Stage 1 or 2.
If you don’t have a Basic Pokemon Card, you’ll need to show your opponent your deck, then draw another card until you get one. Just an FYI: every time you redraw, your opponent will collect an extra card. I know that sucks, but unfortunately you can’t play evolutions to begin with.
Only your active ‘mon can attack, like in the video games, with the remaining five left on the Bench.
How Do I Attack In Pokemon TCG?
Energy, energy, energy – if you’re going to attack, you need to place one Energy Card per turn.
If a move requires more than one Energy Card, you’ll need to wait until your next turn to place it down. Furthermore, you need to use the right type of Energy Card, e.g. you need Grass Energy or Grass Type ‘mon. Some moves will accept any energy type, so check your Pokemon care for details.
HP is shown using Damage Counters, with each attack doing a certain amount of damage; like in the game, when your HP runs out, your ‘mon faints and you lose. When this happens, you replace it with one of your benched Pokemon.
When you or your opponent have no more Pokemon on the Bench, a winner will be crowned.
What Else Can I Do During My Turn?
Although attacking your opponent is the obvious choice, you can do so much more to gain the advantage:
- Evolve your Pokemon
- Use an Item Card (as many as you like)
- Use Pokemon Abilities
- Retreat
- Play Trainer Cards (as many as you like)
Evolving your ‘mon is a great way to unlock better moves. However, sometimes it’s not viable for you to do that, which is why you might need to Retreat and swap in another Pokemon.
Just remember that retreating will cost you Energy, which you might want to save for those hard hitting moves. Moreover, you can only swap in a ‘mon from your Bench.
When it comes to using Abilities, they come in two types: ones you have to activate, and those that automatically trigger once a condition is met, e.g. you use a specific item. If you intend to use your Pokemon’s abilities, you need to announce it during your turn.
How Do I Evolve My Pokemon?
Evolutions play a huge role in Pokemon TCG; all you need to do is play a Stage 1 or 2 Card atop your Basic Pokemon and it’ll evolve. However, there’s a few caveats you need to keep in mind.
Firstly, you have to evolve your ‘mon in stages, like you do in the video games. For example, you can’t jump from Basic to Stage 2 without evolving to Stage 1 first. The only time this rule doesn’t apply is when using EX Cards.
Secondly, you can’t use the previous evolution’s attacks or abilities. Unlike in the video games, where you’ll get to keep some of its original attacks, Pokemon TCG forces you to only use the attacks of your ‘mon’s current evolution.
On the plus side, any Status Conditions will be cured. Hurray!
How Do I Use And Treat Status Conditions In Pokemon TCG?
If you’re an avid Pokemon player, you’ll know that there are five main Status Conditions (referred to as Special Conditions in TCG) that can affect your ‘mon:
- Burned
- Confused
- Paralyzed
- Poisoned
- Asleep
Should your Pokemon get hit with a move that has one of these effects, it’ll be shown in play by either turning your card or by placing a counter on your card.
When Asleep, Confused, or Paralyzed, your Pokemon Card will be turned to indicate which condition is in affect, as shown in the above video.
Your ‘mon can’t have all three of these Special Conditions in effect, only the last one inflicted upon them. However, your Pokemon can be Asleep and then get Burned; this is because Burned and Poisoned use damage counters.
For burns, you will receive a 20 HP Damage Counter at the end of every turn. A poisoned Pokemon will also gain Damage Counters, gaining 10 HP damage each turn the poison isn’t cured.
How Do I Win?
The “traditional” way to win Pokemon TCG is to defeat your opponent’s six Pokemon and claim all of the Prize Cards.
However, you can also win if your opponent’s active ‘mon loses and they have no Pokemon left on the Bench. Another way to become the victor is to “deck” your rival, which is when they have no cards left to draw on their turn, leaving you the winner.
What Is the Difference Between Pokemon TCG And Pokemon TCG Live?
As I mentioned earlier, there’s an online version of Pokemon TCG called Pokemon TCG Live.
The only real difference between the two types is that you don’t have physical cards. Otherwise, Pokemon TCG Live functions in the same way, with you needing to purchase decks and trade cards with friends.
Should you wish to play online (which I do a lot), I suggest you stick with the PC version rather than download the app – the app is quite janky, freezing and crashing often. Nevertheless, while the app has some issues to iron out, it’s a great intro to Pokemon TCG.
And that’s how to play Pokemon TCG!
I know this is a lot of information to take in, and it may still sound like a daunting task, but Pokemon TCG is pretty easy to pick up. My final piece of advice is to just give it ago. You’ll likely discover that, once you’ve started, a lot of these rules come naturally to you – I know they did for me.
Still curious about Pokemon TCG? Check out the complete list of all Pokemon TCG set symbols over at our sister site, Retro Dodo. Oh, and you might want to read about the 5 best Pokemon theme decks of 2023 as well.
