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Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Pokemon Week Day 3: Starting Hands

What is a good starting hand in Pokemon? Well, this question has many slightly different answers, but we are going to just going to focus on a generally good starting hand. So, here we go!

In the Pokemon TCG, you are allowed to draw 7 cards to start with, AND you must have at least 1 basic Pokemon or you must mulligan. This is slightly more problematic than other card games, because you can't choose to mulligan and you can't choose which cards you get rid of (you have to shuffle your whole hand back into your deck). However, because you also draw 1 card at the start of your turn we are going to say that your starting hand is 8 cards. Confused yet? Don't worry, it gets easier to understand from now on!

In the optimal starting hand, you would have 3 or 4 Pokemon, usually 2 basics and a stage 1 that evolves from one of those basic Pokemon. This gives you a nice boost of power on the second or third turn, so you can start the game hitting hard!

Next is the energies. Assuming you started with 3 Pokemon in your hand, you would want at least 2, but probably 3 energies in your starting hand. This way, you can power up your Pokemon for those first, usually slow, turns.

Finally we have the Trainer cards. Normally, it is bad if you have to play these on the first or second turn, but it is always good to have cards that allow you to manipulate your hand and field as you wish.

So, there you go! Now you know how to recognize a balanced starting hand! Try and use this knowledge to start your games strong!


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