Yo!
PoJo!
What's up!

This is Ryan Madison, and this is the first of many articles that I will be
writing for the experienced pokemon player. I am trying to become a deck
mech, and I'd appreciate any help that the PoJo staff can give me in
reaching that goal.

This article will deal with the 10 steps that you can go throught to make a
good deck. Before I go on, I wanted to comment on the Pokemon Lady's latest
articles. I think that those two new articles were awesome, and you players
should check them out. On with the show.

Step 1 - Choose your energy

Many people fail to win in tournaments because of this tiny thing. You need
to have the right amount of energy in a deck. There are no if's, and's, or
but's. The basic amount of energy for a mono-color deck is about 24-26. If
you have a raindance deck, you should have about 26-30, due to the high
amount of energy needed to make that deck work.

Step 2 - Choose your strategy

Decide what you want to do with your deck. Is it going to be a Haymaker? a
Raindance? A Damage Swap? CHOOSE! It may not be a commonly used strategy,
but that is all the better, because people won't be ready for it.

Step 3 - Choose Pokemon that work well with your strategy

If you have a fast haymaker deck, some machops and Hitmonchans and
Hitmonlees would be good. If you have a raindance, you obviously need
Blastoise, and maybe, an Articuno or Lapras. In any event, choose your
pokemon.

Step 4 - Choose trainers

This is very important. Your last few card slots need to be your lifeline
when you need help. They are also good for your original strategy. For
example, in a raindancs, an energy retrieval is good for strategy, while the
Prof Oak is good for help.

Step 5 - Check card ratios

Your ratios should be like 2 pokemon to 3 energy, and about 2 pokemon for
every trainer.

Step 6 - Weed out the hosers of your deck.

If you rely upon only stage two pokemon, Aerodactyl is definitely a hoser
for your deck.(not to mention anyone who relies only on stage two pokemon is
messed up)

Step 7 - Fix your deck to destroy the hosers

Don't go so far that you change the whole deck, just change a third of your
pokemon, and that kind of thing. If you completely change your deck, you
will have new hosers.

Step 8 - Repeat Step 5

Step 9 - Practice by yourself

Play a game with no opponent, and make a list of what goes wrong and what
goes right. That way, you know what to change and what to leave alone. Make
the necessary changes, and proceed to Step 10.

Step 10 - Win a tounament (just joking)

You don't have to win a tounament, just go to one, see how your deck does,
and don't let anybody know your Deck List. If they do, as pokemon lady
stated, your deck will become an archetype, which really sux, because all
the new players will never learn strategy.

Thanks for reading my article!
e-mail me with questions or concerns at cardplayer@hotmail.com
Ryan Madison [ChanseyMan]

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