Pokemon Team Up Themed Decks

Each time we review a new expansion for The Pokemon Trading Card Game, the  Pokemon Company International is usually kind enough to send along a few Themed Decks for us to try. In the past, my son Logan and I have pitted the two themed decks against each other, and talked about the values and considerations for each. We did that again, so let’s dive into our experiences!

Team-Up launched with two themed decks centred around Charizard and Blastoise. The art on both boxes is phenomenal, as are the premier cards included in each. The holographic Charizard and the holographic Blastoise carry forward all the love in charm from the original 151 cards, but ads a nice flare to make them pop! When it comes to the artwork of their bigger stars, the Pokemon Company International does a good job with the designs.

Whether you play as Relentless Flame (Charizard) or the Torrential Cannon (Blastoise) you are in for a real treat in terms of what comes in the box. Unlike most themed deck companions (usually release in pairs with each new expansion), Logan and I quickly realized it wasn’t fair to pit our decks against each other to determine their value as standalone products. In every situation, the water deck came out on top because of the type advantage of water over fire. And while some may try to argue that the Relentless Flame deck isn’t put together well and hence why it always loses in this scenario, I’d argue the opposite.

Whenever we look at these themed decks we often come to the conclusion that they aren’t really all that good. Sure, the cards are nice to add to your collection, but the decks themselves won’t generally hold up to a well made custom deck. I feel a bit of a shift with these two decks. Both are incredibly powerful and well thought out, allowing you to get more cards in your hand, and more Pokemon down on the table, more efficiently. The Nidoqueen card, for example, will allow players to, once per turn, find a Pokemon in their deck that is not an EX or GX card, and put it into their hand. This is an incredibly powerful ability, and one that helped me move the necessary Pokemon into place to get my Charizard on the table.

While I’ve always been more partial to fire type Pokemon  I can quickly say the water Blastoise deck is built just as well, allowing the quick movement of Pokemon and energy to be as efficient as possible. I still argue that neither of these decks can compete over 10 matches with a strong custom deck, they are the closets The Pokemon Company International has come in a long time.

If you are looking to get started in competitive play, either of these decks would be a good starting point. They are easy to play and understand, and more powerful than your typical themed deck you’d buy at the store. Have you picked up any Tag-Team products yet? Let us know!