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Pokemon TCG Live Beginners Guide and Tips

Gotta Catch ‘Em All!

The Pokemon company‘s latest addition to the gaming industry is now The Pokemon Trading Card Game for Android mobiles. The physical card game with a lot of nostalgic feelings became digitized a while ago, however, it was available for only Android Tablets. Now the game can well be played on mobiles too. In this Pokemon TCG Live Beginners Guide piece, we’d be talking about the basics of the game’s mobile version. In case you’re not accustomed to the physical Pokemon card game, do read till the end, Pokemaniacs.

Introducing the Basics of Pokemon TCG Live

The Pokemon TCG involves 2 players battling it out with their own deck of 60 cards. The said cards can be of many types, which are discussed in the latter part of this piece. The goal is to damage and knock out the Pokemon cards of your opponents and win the Prize cards (discussed later) for victory. Here are some basic points to know about the game:

Each player would have an individual deck of 60 cards consisting of Pokemon Cards, Trainer Cards, and Energy Cards. These 3 types of cards have their respective varieties, which would be discussed later. The deck would be as per the user’s choice and modified or upgraded.

Pokemon TCG Live App
Image via the Pokemon Company

On the card mat or the space where the card battles would happen, there would be 1 Active Pokemon in the Active Zone and berths for 5 Bench Pokemon. The Active Pokemon would be the one who would deal damage to the opposition with its move or abilities. The bench Pokemon’s role is to replace the Active Pokemon whenever required.

Hence, just like an anime Pokemon battle (where trainers can keep a maximum of 6 Pokemon with them), there would be the main Pokemon fighting a battle, while the other 5 are kept in reserve. However, it should be noted that bench Pokemon may be susceptible to receiving damage, despite their inability to deal damage.

Understanding the Card types in Pokemon TCG Live

There are several types of cards in the game, which you ought to know in this Pokemon TCG Live Beginners guide. The following section would introduce you to such types of cards.

1. Pokemon Cards

To start with the basics, there are Basic Pokemon Cards that come into the Active or Bench Zone to play. After that, based on the number of evolutions it undergoes, it may have stage 2 and 3 cards. Consider the example given here, the Charmander card is the basic one and can move into the Active Zone rightfully. The successive two evolutions can only come into play if Charmander is already there.

Pokemon TCG evolution-Cards
Image via the Pokemon Company

To evolve Charmander, just place the Charmeleon card on its top, and Charmeleon takes the game from there, and so on. Place a Charizard card on top of it to bring Charizard into the battle. Remember that any item card attached to the previous Pokemon, stays after its evolution, and so does the damage sustained. It is only the moves, HP, and the Pokemon itself which upgrade.

2. Trainer Cards

Item Cards and Pokemon Tools

The most basic type of Trainer Cards, which gets along with Pokemon cards. One may attach as many Item cards to their Pokemon before they attack. It’s really important to read with patience, what is written on each Item Card, to plan the strategies accordingly. A Pokemon Tool Card is a special type of Item Card, which when attached to a Pokemon, stays with it till the end of the game, boosting its powers accordingly. When the Pokemon is knocked out, the tool card goes into the discard pile along with it.

Item-Cards Pokemon TCG Live
Image via the Pokemon Company

Supporter Cards

They are named after characters from the anime and are very powerful types of Trainer Cards. Players may play only 1 Supporter card per turn.

Stadium Cards

Stadium cards are the ones that affect the playing area and influence both the players. Only 1 Stadium Card can be placed at a time. If placed once, it stays till the end of the game, until another Stadium card replaces it.

3. Energy Cards

There are Nine types of Energy Cards available in the game. They are Grass, Fire, Water, Electric, Psychic, Fighting, Dark, Steel, and Fairy. These Cards are to be attached to the Pokemon to unleash moves.

energy-cards Pokemon TCG Live
Image via the Pokemon Company

Each Pokemon card has the required number of Energy Cards written on them besides the respective moves. In case there is a colorless Energy sign on the Pokemon card, it means any type of Energy Card may be used there. Note that, you may attach only 1 Energy Card to the Pokemon per turn, and are discarded when the Pokemon retreats.

Starting out your game in Pokemon TCG Live

The game starts with a coin toss, and the winner decides who goes first. Then both the players draw 7 cards each from their own deck of 60 after shuffling and looking for a Pokemon BASIC card. The term BASIC is inscribed on the top left corner of a Pokemon card and only such Basic cards have the eligibility to be played first on the Active zone.

  • In case you have lifted more than 1 Basic card, place the other Basic cards on the bench area. If you haven’t drawn any Basic Cards, you must do a Mulligan. A Mulligan is an action to take if you haven’t lifted any basic card. In such a case, reveal your 7 drawn cards to your opponent, and shuffle them back into your deck. Repeat Mulligans until you draw a Basic card. The opponent would then have to draw the same number of cards from his deck, the number of times you had a mulligan. These functions are all automated in the game, so you don’t have to take extra trouble, just make sure that you know the basic rules.
  • Now with 1 Active Basic Pokemon in play, and the Bench cards (if any) all placed upside down on the table for both the players, the players now have to pick up the next 6 cards from their deck and keep them aside as Prize Cards. These reward cards can be won after knocking the opponent’s Pokemon. For each knocking out of the opposing Pokemon, you win 1 Prize card.

Once all these formalities are complete, reveal your Active and Bench Pokemon and let the match begin.

Taking your Turns

Irrespective of who has the first turn, in each turn a player may have 3 possible actions during their own turn:

  • Draw a card.
  • Take some actions, like evolving, adding items or
  • Attack the opponent.

Players may keep as many cards at hand, as per the situation (excluding the 1 Active Pokemon and Maximum of 5 Bench Pokemon). After drawing a card in each turn, the following Actions are available for a player:

  • Play a Basic Pokemon
  • Evolve a Pokemon
  • Attach an Energy Card
  • Play a Trainer Card
  • Retreat your Active Pokemon, or,
  • Use the Pokemon’s Ability.

After these actions, the Player may attack the opponent with the active Pokemon, or End the turn. Also, it should be kept in mind that, if going first, in the very first round, one can do as many actions as they want, but cannot play Trainer Cards, evolve their Pokemon, or attack the opponent in the first turn.

Pokemon TCG Live Beginners Guide: Tips and Tricks

The game totally is based on individual strategies. This basic guide is just for beginners, who are wondering what to do in Pokemon TCG Live. Here is a gist of tips and tricks that beginners should keep in mind.

  • A player wins the match if they win all 6 Prize Cards. In case a player has no Active or Bench Pokemon remaining at all, the opposition may win too. Also, if any player has no cards to draw from their deck, i.e., their deck is cardless, their opposition would be the winner of the match.
  • To win Prize cards, knock out your opposition. Some cards also have instructions on whether the winner takes 1 or more Prize Cards, hence act accordingly.
  • The HP or Hit Points on the top right of every Pokemon Card is the maximum amount of damage it can receive before it gets knocked out.
  • Instead of trying to attack with weaker Pokemon, try to attach as many Item cards as possible, evolve your Pokemon, stack Energy cards, and attack with a powerful move at once.
  • Take screenshots and study the cards of your deck in your free time. If possible, memorize the functions of all the cards for the best results.

Final Thoughts

The already successful Pokemon Company is now attempting to bring the Pokemon TCG to mobiles. Gradually, we hope that it would be available all over the world. No Poke fan should be devoid of playing this fantastic strategic game. In case you are new, hope this article helped. So go ahead and give it a try! If you find trouble, don’t hesitate to fall back on this Pokemon TCG Live Beginners Guide for tips.

That’s all from us for the Pokemon TCG Live Beginners Guide! Did you find our Pokemon TCG Live beginners guide helpful? Do let us know in the comments!

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