Welcome to the wonderful world of the Pokemon Trading Card Game.
Some call us the Pokemon Professors.
Other card games, likeMagic: The Gathering, introduce new sets and mechanics through drafting.
But since Pokemon TCG has more energy types and relies heavily on evolution chains, drafting can be difficult.
But the Ditto Draft format has you covered!
What Is Drafting?
Art via The Pokémon Company International
While a standard Pokemon deck contains 60 cards,a draft deck only contains 40.
Thankfully, basic energy isn’t drafted, but should be provided by the Event Organizer.
For a Ditto Draft,each player receives one Build & Battle Box and four booster packs.
You will not use any Pokemon from your Build & Battle Box.
Four players are ideal, but Ditto Draft can also be played with two or three players.
Alternate passing packs left and right until all cards have been drafted from every pack.
Art via The Pokémon Company International
You may have a few less if you drafted any Trainer cards, but that’s okay!
Rather than worrying about rarity, worry about cards that work well together.
For Evolution Pokemon,give a shot to stick to one or two types of Energy.
Research what Pokemon are in the expansions you’re opening prior to beginning the draft.
Avoid cards that require other specific cards.
Remember,your deck should be exactly 40 cards, and contain at least one basic Pokemon.
Cards with a rule box stating a limit on how many can be included still follow the same rule.
That means you could only use one Radiant Greninja, even if you managed to draft three.
You won’t have room for all the cards, so pick the ones that will work best.
For a single jot down deck, you’re probably fine with 10.
A big difference between Ditto Draft and other formats is thatevolution does not require the previous stage.
You cant use this Ability during your first turn or the turn this Pokemon was put into play.
If you put a Stage 2 card onto this Pokemon, your turn ends.
Each Pokemon can use only 1 Evolutionary Advantage Ability per game.
This ability allows you toevolve any Basic Pokemon into any Stage 1 or Stage 2 Pokemon.
