The Ultimate Guide to Start Playing Pokémon TCG in 2021

Hello everyone! This is Elena from Gaia Storm and it is a pleasure to be here once again! Whether it is because of the rising popularity of Trading Card Games because the 25th anniversary is almost here or any other reason, the reality is that there are a lot of new players that have been recently joining the Pokémon TCG community. However, starting in a new environment such as this is never easy and can be overwhelming as there are so many cards and options. What should my first steps be in order to become a Pokémon Master? That is precisely what we are going to cover today in this article: how to invest your time and money to start your journey with the best guarantees. Let's dive into it!

September 2021 is the perfect timing to start (or come back) playing Pokémon TCG. Why? Because of the Standard Rotation, of course. The rotation is an event that happens every year, after summer, just before the new season kicks in and it acts as a regulatory mechanism for the game. In order to keep new strategies flowing and create renewed conditions, old cards that were printed years ago are no longer legal (they “rotate” out). For example, in this 2021 rotation, we are losing cards from the following sets: Team Up, Unbroken Bonds, Unified Minds, and Cosmic Eclipse. This leaves us with cards that were printed from Sword and Shield base set onwards. If you are unsure of what cards are included in these, you can always check the Pokémon Sets Card List Section here at PoTown.

 

The implications of the rotation are always huge as entire decks become no longer playable while others suddenly rise in popularity as the counter can’t be used anymore. As such, the entire Standard format reshapes in a fresh new way, making it the perfect opportunity for new players to enter as they are in square one, just as everyone else. This 2021 era will be the time for V and big VMAXPokémonto shine and finally replace the good old GX cards that have been dominating the game since the Sun and Moon era.

If you’ve read my previous article about Trading in Pokémon TCGO you will know by now that code packs are the currency you can use in the Online platform to get specific cards you want. But even before that, the question is… how do I know what cards should I be getting first?

A typical mistake many newcomers make is investing a lot of resources in expensive V or VMAX Pokémon that, while good, are not enough to win a game on their own. One of the golden rules of any TCG is that your priority should always be boosting the consistency of your deck and that has one name: staple cards.

In a Trading Card Game glossary, a staple refers to these cards that, because of their power, are played in the majority of the strategies, mainly because they provide a generic and solid effect like searching or drawing. In Pokémon, we now clearly have a very well-defined list of staple cards that are the backbone of most of the top meta decks. Investing in staples first will not only help you immediately improve your game (even if you are using a theme deck!) but will allow you to build many different strategies from there.

Broadly speaking, there are two very good options: individually trading the cards or trying to get products where they are included.

If you are playing Pokémon Online and have some PTCGO codes, the first option sounds obvious as the most straightforward way of getting your hands on the cards above is by directly trading them one by one (friendly reminder: never open the packs you buy!).

But setting up trades is a time-consuming activity and takes a considerable amount of time so what you could do instead is to buy special, ready-to-use products that already contain tons of good cards. For example, a very cool item is the Trainers Toolkit 2. This special product is focused on providing players with a very solid base that includes the majority of the important staple cards (including 2 Crobat V) and many other useful items and trainers. If you get a couple of the Trainer's Tool Kit, you will have virtually all you need to start building any meta deck from scratch.

The only thing you might not get in the Trainers Toolkit 2 is the popular Inteleon line but worry not as there is another fantastic product that has you covered: Inteleon Battle League Deck. This is by far one of the most complete and competitive products we’ve received in the recent history of Pokemon TCG. It comes with a solid Inteleon Line, a ton of good trainers and other relevant Pokémon.

If you are an Inteleon fan or just want to have a solid deck to start with, I think there is no better and more efficient way of getting into the game than by getting the Inteleon Battle Deck as well as two copies of the Trainers Toolkit 2.

But always keep an eye on the upcoming products as we are constantly receiving very interesting releases that contain a very competitive base. For example, a new Urshifu Battle Deck will be released soon, giving players access to one of the most consistent decks in the entire format. Or, you can take a look at the Bunldes section here at PoTown to find special packages that will provide you with a deck almost ready to play.

Ok, so let’s say that now you have your staple cards after having purchased two copies of the Trainer's Toolikit and you also got yourself some code cards. Apart from perhaps improving a Theme deck (you can get these for free in the in-game shop), how do you know what competitive decks to build from here?

The good news is, since you’ve done your homework and got your staple cards you have a lot of options!, You will only need to change the Pokémon in your list while the base -that is, the engine- remains untouched. Let’s see some of the most popular pokemon online decks right now and you’ll easily identify all the similarities they share:

When starting in this format, I would recommend building one of the decks above as they are very simple to use and strong. Urshifu VMAX might be the most popular for the current environment but on the other hand, Dragapult is probably the easiest to be obtained thanks to its promo code.

What is interesting to note here is that, as we've already discussed, all these strategies share the same base so once you have the staple cards ready, the possibilities are just endless. You will maintain your core and only need to get different attackers each time you want to try a new strategy.

Starting playing a Trading Card game is not easy and we’ve all been there but I hope this guide has provided you with a good overview of how to best invest your resources in order to save time in your Pokémon Journey. Pokémon TCG is a great game with a very welcoming community and now it is the perfect time to start your own adventure! Thanks for reading!

Elena has been playing Pokémon TCG for years and leads one of the biggest TCG-dedicated channels in the world. You can find her on Youtube & Twitch (@gaiastormtcg) as well as in other social media channels. Don’t forget to check them out!