The Pokémon Trading Card Game can feel overwhelming in terms of the options players have when making a deck, so it’s important to narrow down which cards are the best for competitive play. The Pokémon Trading Card Game has matured over its two-decade existence, allowing those familiar with the rules to know how to optimize their decks for battle. However, those trying to enter the Pokémon Trading Card Game from the video games may not know which strategies they should employ, nor which cards are best in such strategies.
For those unfamiliar with the rules, there are a few ways players can win in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. One way is to run through the six prize cards pulled from the deck at the beginning of the game, which players get to do by defeating their opponent’s Pokémon. The other is to make your opponent run out of cards to draw or Pokémon to battle with, which is no small feat considering that a Pokémon Trading Card Game deck has 60 cards in it.
Many strategies are based around winning in one of these two ways while preventing one’s self from running out of Pokémon. GX, EX, and V cards are always valuable as they can deliver hard-hitting attacks, which is what often earns them spots on the strongest Pokémon Trading Card Game teams. However, Trainer and Basic cards that recycle cards or allow players to draw more can be equally if not more useful than the rarest, most powerful Pokémon.
Stalling & Defense Can Be Equally Important As Strong Attacks In The Pokémon Trading Card Game
A deck is incomplete without cards that can be used with low levels of energy expenditure or can keep other cards in the deck. The Switch Trainer card is perhaps one of the most important cards in the Pokémon Trading Card Game for this reason. The Switch card allows players to switch an active Pokémon with one of their benched Pokémon without expending energy. Having a strong Basic Pokémon like Prism Star Diancie from the Forbidden Light collection is also crucial for a similar reason in that players need strong Pokémon they can use immediately without expending too much energy or evolving. Similar cards to this would be Boltund-V from Rebel Clash or Tyranitar-V, one of most expensive Battle Styles cards in Pokémon.
Inversely, players can also focus stalling opponents out and making them lose all of their cards. The best card for this used to be Lysandre’s Trump Card, one of the Pokémon Trading Card Game’s most overpowered items. Lysandre’s Trump Card shuffled all cards in a player’s discard pile back into their deck except for the Lysandre card itself. This card is no longer tournament-legal given that it basically made running out of cards impossible, but there are other ways players can force their opponents to run out of usable cards. Wailord-EX is a primary example of a Pokémon card that can stall an opponent out. Its high HP mixed with strong defensive cards can make knocking it out a near impossible task, leaving opponents with very few options to take it out before running out of cards themselves.
Of course, players could and should opt to use their favorite Pokémon Trading Card Game cards. If a player prefers the strong attacking Tag Team Mew and Mewtwo over Wailord-EX, it is absolutely their choice to utilize that card in a more aggressive play style. After all, while stalling and defending are viable strategies, having cards that can blow an enemy out of the water is the fastest was to ensure victory. Regardless of one’s strategy, though, there are plenty of viable options when it comes to selecting cards in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.