Also being one of those folks who can't spend a lot on cards, I'll
concur with a lot that MattJ has said. However, there are some things to
think about ...

> Base Mewtwo

Not a bad card, I'll grant. But tricky to play with. You don't want to
start him in front, as his attack requires two energy. Also, once
Mewtwo's facing someone he can put a serious hurt on, that someone can
usually put a serious hurt right back on Mewtwo. It's not like Psychic
has a 50% Paralyze attached to it (don't I wish!), so when you're
staring down a Blastoise or other large nasty, it's very likely that
Mewtwo won't last more than a turn or two. He usually can't do quite
enough damage and he's a little small -- only 60 HP and a high retreat cost.

> Jynx
> <snip> Not good as an opening Pokemon. Bring him in half-way through.

I disagree. Jynx makes a good turn-1 blocker when everything else in
your hand is too small or the wrong stage -- and with Psychic, that can
happen pretty easily. Doubleslap isn't a great attack since it requires
coin flipping, but it is cheap and will keep you from getting too far
down on the curve while you're powering up Kadabra. Meditate is always
good -- and one of the few ways Psychic has to punch through Colorless,
requiring only that you've managed to damage the Colorless guy first.

> Abra/Kadabra

Without question, the best bang for your buck in Psychic, and very easy
to get ahold of. Kadabra's Recover attack is often underrated by new
players, and it helps him fight off those frustrating Colorless guys.
SuperPsy-SuperPsy-Recover will eventually bash through even a strong
Colorless lineup.

> Professor Oak

A pretty good card if you're playing Bash-Psychic as opposed to
Stall-Psychic. Stall-Psychic would rather play with Gamblers, I think. I
prefer Bash-Psychic, so Prof. Oak's a great card. Round out with a
couple of Bills for a bit faster flow.

> Energy Removal

Good in almost any deck, but ER is particularly helpful for Psychic
because their Pokemon are small. ER staves off that heavy hitter for at
least one more turn.


I really like that you've pointed out that all of these good cards are
available in the Zap! deck. There are a couple other relatively cheap
things you can do to improve on these as well ...

Fossil Gastly
An uncommon, and quite a bargain. 50 HP, a good one-cost attack, and
against a strong ER deck, he can fetch you a couple more energies for
your Kadabra. He's easy to get ahold of and fills that
who-goes-in-front-first slot in your deck better than Jynx. He's also
resistant to Fighting and retreats for free. Great card.

Fossil Haunter
At least in my play area, he's underrated and gets traded for easily.
While he's rare, he is both a holo and non-holo, so he's easier to find.
If there are only two rares in your Psychic deck (and in mine, there are
only two (: ), Fossil Haunter is the way to go. With his Transparency
power he effectively has 75-100 HP instead of the 50 he's listed as
having, and his Nightmare attack is appropriately named - P1 for 10
damage and a guaranteed Sleep is good in my book. Great card. Plus, like
Fossil Gastly, he's resistant to Fighting and retreats for FREE!
(Haunter, come back here. Kadabra, sic 'em!) Can't beat that!

While those cards are not found in the Zap! deck, they're pretty easily
found in Fossil boosters or traded for.

==Leanne
(who reminds folks to always splash Colorless into a Psychic deck ...
Lickitung and Meowth/Persian work well and are good for those of us on a
budget as well.)