Pokemon TCG Online Tips and Tricks

Pokemon has been around for about a bazillion years. With the passing of time, more and more media has been released, encompassing almost every form you can imagine. But what of where it started? The game itself, played out on the punishing asphalt of playgrounds, the slick tables of pizza parlors, and the rough carpet of your friend's cousin's mom's basement for years. It has gone from a simple card game to an extremely complex endeavor, letting players build their decks and develop their strategies as they see fit, ensuring that every match will be unique and challenging. If you're looking to get started, here's a few tips. Pokemon is a complex game with many nuances and options, but if you abide by these rules, you'll be winning games in no time.
Know Your Limitations
The game can be as simple or complex as you choose. Your options are limited by three things: Your imagination, your wallet, and the rules. For instance, you must have exactly sixty cards in your playing deck, and you can have no more than four cards with the same name, excluding basic energy cards. This means you can't have fifty Charizards, as effective as that may sound. Knowing what you can and can't do going in is going to separate you from a lot of other beginners. Learn the rules, a and build your deck accordingly.
Build Your Deck Around A Theme
Pick your favorite Pokemon, the one that you feel is going to suit you the best. As you structure your deck, keep that Pokemon in mind. Anazlyze its strengths and weaknesses, and add support cards accordingly. A deck with direction is much stronger that one picked card by card. Put your main Pokemon in the center of your deck and begin layering around it in both directions, both offensively and defensively. This allows you to build a strong base, and will come in handy later in the game.
Find the Champ
The internet is a wonderful thing. Before you lay down card one, chase down some veterans. Long-time players have a wealth of knowledge, and many of them are more than willing to share. The difference between going in a newbie and going in a well-informed rookie are gigantic, and can save you from making beginner mistakes from the very moment the first card smacks against the table.
Don't Get Too Fancy
It may seem intuitive to stock your deck with as many different types of Pokemon as possible, but this could very likely end up coming back to bite you. Too many different energy types makes it far more difficult to get ahold of the energy card you need, often leaving you helpless in battle. Simple is better, at least until you really have a handle on the mechanics of the game.
Practice!
Sure, practice is kind of boring compared to throwing down cards against that punk outside the arcade, but it makes all the difference in the world. Get used to the deck you've built. Look for weaknesses, or superfluous cards. You want to be confident in what you've built out of the gate, and there's no way to know for sure without practice. Find a group to play with and lay it out. If you win, great. If you lose, you've got something to study. It's only truly a defeat if nothing is learned, after all.