Pokemon's Prerelease Pathfinder:
Everything You Need To Know About Constructed
By: Kennan M (Celebi23)
Table of Contents:
- Introduction
- Preparation
- Deckbuilding
- Playing
- Preconstructed/Booster Drafting
- Conclusion
Introduction:
A Prerelease is a unique event because players build their decks as part of the event, not before the event. Decks consist of 40 cards instead of 60, and consequently players start with four prizes instead of six. Players are not only restricted not only to using cards from one set, but also to using the cards they pull in six packs (note that basic energy are provided.) All of these factors combined make for a very unique and fun experience. Prereleases aren’t premier rated because there tends to be a lot of luck involved in both deck construction and actual playing. However, it still takes a decent amount of skill and understanding of the prerelease format to be able to do well.
Players get two extra packs and various other promotional items after the Prerelease is over regardless of how well they do. Generally there is no physical benefit to winning a Prerelease. However, occasionally, if there are extra products left over, the players who finish best get them. Regardless of what’s at stake, everybody knows it’s more fun to win. Those interested in doing well at Prereleases will want to read this article, as it contains some good tips for doing so.
Preparation:
It’s easy to remember to pack a lunch, bring the money necessary to play in a Prerelease ($25 but some places charge tax), bring sleeves to put your deck/ultra rares in, etc. However, it’s harder to figure out how to prepare for the actual deckbuilding and playing in the event since it is impossible to predict what cards you will pull.
The card pool for a Prerelease is very small. Furthermore, cards that are good in a Prerelease often differ from cards that are good in competitive play. For example, Pidgey and Audino were both very good cards in their respective Prereleases yet saw little to no competitive play. Therefore, it the best way to be prepared for a Prerelease is to have most of the cards in the set memorized and know which ones are threats.
Normally, I would consider it tedious and pointless to memorize an entire set of cards just for an event that has no affect on my rating. However, knowing the cards in the “normal” format is very important as well, and all of the cards in a Prerelease bleed into modified a couple weeks later.
There are three basic categories of Pokémon that can be good in a Prerelease.
Attackers: These cards are generally Stage 1’s or Basics as they are the easiest cards to get out with limited search and draw. Attackers capable of healing themselves and your field are especially good in Prereleases since the average damage output per turn is generally very low. Audino is a great example of a good attacker. It does big damage if given time to setup, it’s a Basic, it can heal itself, it doesn’t require type specific energy, and as an added bonus it’s an Uncommon, making it fairly easy to pull.
Most sets have their Audino. Indentifying these one or two exceptionally good attackers before the Prerelease is a huge advantage. For example, if you went to an Emerging Powers Prerelease now, with the knowledge Audino is amazing, you may opt to include a few Fighting types just to counter it. Being able to take out a “staple” attacker is huge.
Searchers: Search and draw is scarce in Prereleases. Therefore, any card capable of giving you more cards is almost automatically good. Pidgey is a great example, as is Mawile. Being able to do big damage to these cards is also important, since it can prevent your opponent from setting up.
Cards with Abilities: Most Abilities are exceptionally good in Prereleases. Being able to move damage around your field or attach extra energy each turn can be huge. Take note of what all of the cards with Abilities do so you can be prepared if your opponent drops one of these cards.
While planning your “counter cards”, look mostly at the Commons and Uncommons. You’re much more likely to pull these rarities than the Holofoil Mewtwo-EX.
Additionally, make sure you’ve memorized all of the Trainer cards in the set. Trainers are very popular since any card that gives you extra options during a game is especially important in a Prerelease game. Memorizing the Special Energy, if any, never hurts either.
Deckbuilding:
Designing a deck in a Prerelease is unique because you only get one shot at doing it. You get little to no time to playtest, so you either build a good deck or you don’t. Hence, it’s important to know how to build a 40-card deck before the tournament starts.
After opening all your packs, it’s best to sort all the cards by type. Make one pile with all of the Grass cards, one pile with all the Fire cards, one pile with all the Trainer cards, one pile with the Energy, etc. Once this is done, remove any evolution cards you didn’t get the Basic form of.
A deck in a Prerelease should generally consist of two types. There will be one primary type, one secondary type, and a few Colorless attackers. This should total 17-20 Pokémon. Trainers usually take up 3-5 spaces (depending on how many you pull), so Energy make up the remaining 15-20 spots.
Look at the piles of Pokémon that have the most cards in them. Choose one type that has strong attackers and a large number of attackers. These attackers should generally be Stage 1 or Basic, since they are the easiest to get out with minimal search or draw.
An important factor to consider when choosing your types is which types have support cards. Any card that lets you search or draw cards should be included if it doesn’t conflict with the energy. Even an attack as simple as “Collect – Draw 1 Card” can win you Prerelease games. It’s often best to choose types that have support cards, if they’re any good.
Similarly to support cards, if you pull a brokenly good attacker like Reshiram-EX, it might be a good idea to base your deck around the Fire type even if it’s not your strongest. In a Prerelease, getting a fully charged power attacker like Reshiram-EX can easily give you the win. It’s generally better to have one or two powerful attackers of the same type than four or five weak ones of the same type.
Another important factor to consider is Weakness. If possible, your secondary type should cover the primary type’s Weakness. For example, using a Grass/Steel deck would be a bad idea since they’re both weak to Fire. However, using a Grass/Water deck is a great idea. For reference, here is a list of each type’s general weakness (note that Weakness varies card by card, not type by type):
Grass – Fire
Fire – Water
Water – Electric
Electric – Fighting
Fighting – Psychic/Water
Psychic – Psychic
Darkness – Fighting
Steel – Fire
Colorless – Fighting
Choosing your secondary type based on your first type’s Weakness is a great idea, provided it doesn’t sacrifice too much power or support.
After deciding which Pokémon of your primary and secondary types belong in the deck, add in the best Colorless types/attackers you pulled until your deck has 17+ Pokémon.
Include all the Trainers you get unless you pull some that would have no effect. For example, using a Beginning Door if you didn’t get any Arceus would be a terrible idea. Any way to make additional moves on your turn is good in any format, but especially in a Prerelease. Therefore, it’s important to include all of your Trainers. Similarly, include any Special Energy that could have an effect during a match.
This should leave you with 15-20 spots for Basic Energies, which are provided. It makes the most sense to use energy colors proportionate to the colors of your Pokémon. This means whatever the primary type of your deck is should have the most energy. I tend to favor a 12/8 split between your primary type and your secondary type if you’re running 20 energy. If you’re running 15, something like an 8/7 split is best since you want to have the right type of energy when you need it.
Playing:
Actually playing in a Prerelease is very simple since you get very few options in a turn. The moves you make are generally very straightforward. You should almost always evolve if you’re given the opportunity to, you should always attach for your turn if it offers any benefit, etc. There generally aren’t any resources to conserve.
The complicated part about playing is managing the prize count. Prereleases generally have very few bench manipulators/snipers. A card like Pokémon Catcher is very unlikely to plague you. In other words, the bench is a safe haven of sorts. Furthermore, OHKOs are rare in most Prereleases, since big damage is harder to set up consistently without support. This makes prize denial very easy, yet very important since there are only four prizes.
Early game, it’s best to start searching/drawing cards any way possible. This increases the chance you’ll draw your trainers, and gives you more options mid to late game. Make sure you don’t draw too many cards, however, because it’s fairly easy to deck out in a close game given the format is slow and contains 40-card decks. If you aren’t given any search/draw options, just start hammering away with whatever cheap attacker you can.
While doing this, attach as many energy as you can to benched attackers, building them up for mid to late game. Try not to let your starter get Knocked Out. Giving your opponent one of their four prizes before you’ve damaged their board at all can put you at a huge disadvantage. When your starter gets heavily damaged, retreat it and start attacking with something you’ve built on the bench.
This rule generally applies throughout the game. If something starts to take too much damage, move it to the Bench. Of course, don’t do this if it means giving up a key Knock Out or if you don’t have another attacker to promote.
Lastly, be prepared for your opponent’s Trainers. An unexpected Max Potion can be devastating. With only five or six Trainers in the average set, it’s easy to keep all of their effects in the back of your mind.
Preconstructed/Booster Drafting:
Note that not all Prereleases offer Preconstructed or Booster Draft tournaments.
Preconstructed is a very simple format. Basically, you are given a 60-card theme deck from the set to play with. You play against other opponents also using a theme deck from the set. In Preconstructed, if you simply memorize each theme deck’s list, you’re at a big advantage since decks are only played with, not built. Most of the playing tips listed above apply to Preconstructed as well.
Booster Drafting, on the other hand, is much more complicated and (in my opinion) much more fun. Just like in a Prerelease, players are given six packs to build a 40-card deck with. However, the packs are not just opened. After a pack is opened, you take one card from it, and pass it to the person next to you. Everybody does the same, and you end up with a new pack (now of nine cards). You take one card from this pack as well, then pass it. This cycle continues until there are no more cards left. This process is done for all six packs. There is actually a lot of skill in deciding what to take.
Note that some people just draft for money, pulling out all the rare cards they see. This is generally what I do, since winning a tournament that doesn’t go onto my ranking means very little to me in comparison to permanently owning valuable cards.
Those who do want to draft to win are looking at a tough challenge. While choosing cards to take in a draft, it’s important to think not only about making your deck as strong as possible, but also about making your opponent’s deck as weak as possible.
It’s important to have a fairly good idea of what you want your deck to look like before you start the draft. The two-type rule still applies, as does pretty much everything listed in the Deckbuilding section.
Pulling any good Trainer you see is generally a good idea, since having a deck of 10 Trainers puts you at a huge advantage, especially when it means your opponents end up with less Trainers.
While drafting, also pay attention to the types you’re seeing go by. If you notice very few cards of one type, say Water, pull out any cards of that type when given the chance. This “starves” whatever player is building their deck around that type of important cards, making their deck worse. Because there are usually only two or players in the draft who are drafting to win, weakening one of them can put you at a big advantage.
Also, pull out any powerful Basics you can. These cards are incredibly powerful in Prereleases and drafts since they require very little setup and generally very little support. Even if you won’t be able to supply it with the necessary energy to attack, prevent an opponent from using it can be a huge advantage.
Playing games in the draft is usually very similar to games you’ll play in a Prerelease. However, the deck you’re using, and the decks you’re playing against are much more focused in a Prerelease. All of a sudden, it might not be unreasonable to assume your opponent has that Pokémon Catcher, or that second Reuniclus. For this reason, games played in a draft are often much more interesting than those played in a Prerelease.
Conclusion:
Hopefully you picked up a few useful tips throughout the article. This article was a little shorter and briefer than my standard article, but for a good reason. About a week ago, I was half done with a much more detailed version. Unfortunately, my computer crashed and I stupidly didn’t save any of it, forcing me to start over completely. I had to rush to get a new version out while it was still relevant (with only one weekend of Prereleases left, I just got done in time.) Hopefully this version was still satisfactory. Thanks for reading!
Also, if you haven’t already, be sure to check out our Pre-States Article Run information page. That should be great! Zorua's article about the EX cards will be coming out next week as well. Stay tuned!
