Back to Academy
Guide

Build

How to construct a competitive deck — card roles, ratios, structure, and testing.

  1. 1

    What Makes a Deck Work

    The philosophy behind competitive deck construction — why 60 cards is a constraint that demands focus, and how consistency beats raw power.

  2. 2

    Your Attack Plan

    Choosing your main attacker, supporting it with secondary attackers, and understanding the prize trade that determines who wins.

  3. 3

    Draw and Search

    Building a draw engine that keeps cards flowing and a search package that finds the right pieces at the right time.

  4. 4

    Energy and Acceleration

    How to power your attacks on time — energy counts, acceleration methods, special energy, and the math behind hitting attachments.

  5. 5

    Consistency and Setup

    Making your deck do the same thing every game — ball counts, evolution lines, bench setup, and the cards that tie your strategy together.

  6. 6

    Gusting and Prize Targeting

    Choosing your knockouts instead of taking what your opponent gives you — gust effects, target selection, and controlling the prize trade.

  7. 7

    Switching and Mobility

    Getting your Pokémon in and out of the Active spot — switch cards, pivot Pokémon, retreat cost, and denying prizes through mobility.

  8. 8

    Disruption and Control

    Slowing your opponent down — hand disruption, ability lock, resource removal, and when disruption earns its deck slots.

  9. 9

    Recovery and Tech

    Getting resources back after they're used or discarded — recovery cards, tech slots, flex picks, and adapting your list to the metagame.

  10. 10

    The Deck Stencil

    A starting template for building any competitive deck — standard ratios, the skeleton approach, and how to fill your 60 cards with purpose.

  11. 11

    Testing and Iteration

    How to refine your deck through deliberate testing — goldfishing, live play, what to track, when to cut cards, and learning from established lists.