For the past few months, Pokémon TCG Pocket players have mulled over the question: Is it better to go first in the mobile game, or second? Many players have collectively agreed that the player going second has a distinct advantage over the player going first. But, how often is that the case? In this article, we’ll look at the pros and cons of both sides of that distinctive coin flip.
The Basic Facts of Pokémon TCG Pocket Turn Order
To start, let’s go over the hard empirical truths of how things are determined. Simply put, and largely a disclaimer, turn order is never decided by a player. Instead, a coin flip determines turn order, with a random chance of heads deciding it for you both.
Therefore, we want specifically and solely to try to discern what’s better or even if there is a “better.” However, we can’t go about this without stressing that what you get will always be up to the random generation of heads on a virtual coin. Whether this is truly random or not is up for even more debate than the discussion we’re having within this article. And, because of the conspiratorial nature of that debate, we truly don’t want to go there. There’s nothing concrete on the predetermination of Pokémon TCG Pocket matches yet, so we can’t speak on it.
Finally, in PTCGP, when players flip coins, they don’t call the coin flip. The cards, so far, always explain what happens on heads or tails. There is no calling a coin, meaning there is no shady business with that either. Many have tried to skew the outcome of their flips by manipulating the strength or speed of their manual flip. There is no proof that that makes a difference. Furthermore, if you flip multiple coins in one instance of an effect, every coin after the first will be automatically flipped. This further removes any human effort or interference from the flips.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about something everyone (almost) always wants to see on their side in-game: heads.
Heads Means You’re First
Ah, heads, the face that most players want to see, except when determining turn order. So many players are already conditioned to believe that going first is a recipe for potential gameplay disaster. However, there are positives and negatives alike to spearheading the match.
Pros of Going First
- You can evolve your Pokémon before your opponent can. This provides you with greater defensive backing by allowing your Pokémon to have greater Hit Points sooner than your opponent can. Plus, in a fair few cases, evolution won’t put as much of a strain on your Energy demands. Evolved Pokémon tend to have more expensive attacks and Retreat costs. This is not always the case, and a skilled deckbuilder will take this issue into account.
- You still get to draw a card at the top of the first turn. Card advantage is always a major part of trading card games. PTCGP is no exception. And, with only 20 cards in a deck, the acceleration granted through early drawing is heightened that much more. Plus, in many trading card games, drawing from an empty deck will lose a player the game. Pokémon TCG Pocket does not adhere to such frivolities, so drawing early is only an upside.
- You can mess with your opponent’s setup before they can do the same to you. In instances where a first-turn Professor’s Research isn’t handy or available, it’s remarkably devious, even fun, to use Sabrina on your opponent’s Active Pokémon and make their game that much more skewed. This is especially true if the Pokémon they switch in has a high Retreat cost. And, for those using a deck with Water-types, Misty on the first turn can net you an early Prize Point, or even the match on the whole if their Bench is empty. Misty’s done that to many a player caught unawares. If you win through a turn-one Misty, it’s undoubtedly oppressive, but at least the opponent can move on.
Tails Means You’re Second
On the literal flipside of attaining a flipped heads and going first, going second on tails has positives and negatives. The negatives are merely the missed positives of the previous section. As such, we can safely skim past those as they’ve been discussed. What we will discuss here are the positives of going second. These are the negatives of going first, as you may have guessed. Let’s take a peek!
Pros of Going Second
- You can attach Energy to your Pokémon first (usually). Misty aside as the only outlier at this time, going second allows you to attain an offensive front early. It’s no surprise that attacking and retreating both require Energy. Most Basic Pokémon have a simple attack that does 20 damage at the cost of having one Energy of their type attached. While others have a bit more nuance or complexity to them, it’s nice to get that first tiny pot-shot in on an opponent’s Pokémon.
- You can see what your opponent is setting up during their first turn. While it doesn’t give you a lot of additional control to know that your opponent has something strong in the Active Spot, war favors the informed. For this reason, seasoned Pokémon TCG Pocket players will be able to use their opponent’s first turn against them with countermeasures solidly in hand. A well-timed Red Card might permanently ruin the game plan of the first player, for instance.
- You can plan your game ahead of the first turn. There are plenty of ways to mitigate the potential tempo loss of going second. For example, if you’re worried about your first-turn opponent using Sabrina on their debut turn, you can protect yourself. To do that, you don’t put any Pokémon on your Bench unless you have a second copy of your Active Pokémon in your opening hand. It also really jars opponents in many cases to see an empty Bench suddenly fill up when they previously felt secure in a preemptive win by single knockout. Psychological gameplay is some of the most riveting, and in PTCGP it can be backbreaking.
Heads, I Win, Tails, You Lose
Ultimately, the short answer is that the debate has no discernible answer at this time. The long-form answer is that it’s extremely meta-dependent and can shift around at any time. For the longest time, going second was correct; Energy is super helpful to attach to your Pokémon for a variety of reasons. However, new card options from sets like Mythical Island put that firm answer into doubt.
A big reason that the Pikachu ex deck was so dominant throughout the Genetic Apex-only metagame was not just that the electric rodent was strong, or fast, but rather because it was both. I catered the Pikachu ex deck I still use to this day to adapt to going first or second. Whenever I see the outcome of turn order, I recognize the plays I need to make almost immediately. If I’m first, I’ll play a Voltorb in the Active Spot if I can, in hopes that I can freely retreat via evolution into Electrode. If I’m second, that broadcasts to me that Pikachu ex must be my initial Active Pokémon. While I may draw none of these immediately, I use my knowledge of the turn order’s significance to turn that around as best as I can.
Many other top-performing decks succeed because their pilots do the same or similar. Strong players won’t cater their deck to going first or going second. This would only weaken their response to turn order going the opposite way. This dual-adapted practice will only widen as more sets come out for Pokémon TCG Pocket, and as more players recognize that it’s vital to adapt to the turn order.
Want more Pokémon TCG Pocket content? Check out our deck techs for Celebi Ex (Energetic Onion) or Mew ex & Mewtwo ex (ESPain).
