Help Need Advice Building a Low Budget Standard Deck

Terben

Aspiring Trainer
Member
So I've been using the Keldeo deck from Keldeo vs Rayquaza Battle Arena. It's worked very well for me so far and I've won every match. I don't wanna play with it as often anymore since I feel like it's pay to win, so I'm wanting to build my own standard deck. I am gonna be opening up an Ancient Origins Booster Box soon and buying a generations elite trainer box. Thought that might help a bit with suggesting what type of deck I will be able to build. I have a low budget but I'm willing to invest decently into single cards for a good, very competitive deck. So if anyone could help me with this and give a list or suggest videos to watch, that'd be awesome. Like I said, I have a kinda low budget but I don't mind investing money into this because I want to start playing a lot more serious. Thanks guys :D
 
Are you looking to play online, casually with friends, in a league, at local tournaments, or compete at higher levels? Depending what your goals and expectations are may change what a good recommendation is. Also, what's the estimated budget you're looking to spend? Is $20, 50 or 100 low to you to spend on a card game? Typically low means no Shaymins, which can limit your deck options so I'll mention the one tournament placing deck I know of without the little guy.

You mention you have the battle arena deck, which gives good water support like Dive Ball and Rough Seas, in addition to a few key cards like VS Seeker. Look into building Greninja Break. That deck does not need Shaymin. The most expensive card is the Break, which goes for about $12 last I checked. I play mine with two Breaks, but many people want three. That's going to total $36 if you want three. There are two common versions, Talonflame and Octillery, which both go for $3. Just call it another $10 as you'll want at least three Talonflame if you go with that version, or two Octillery if you go with that version, but you'll also need two Remoraids (Common card, .25 each).

The other pieces of the Greninja line are not expensive, should be less than $1 each.

Can you list out what Trainer cards you already have, at least the ones that would fit into this deck if you're interested in it? You'll want a full four count of Dive Ball .50 and VS Seeker $4 for sure, past that you have some flexibility in your counts of Sycamore and N, many players use Bursting Ballons and Wally also. Other things can be subbed in like you can use Shauna for N or Birch for Sycamore, not considered perfect substitutes, but can work when you're first starting out. Look at a full deck list in the garage section and find one that interests you.

Overall I think you could get the entire deck from singles for $75 or less if you started from nothing, which you are not since you already have some of the supporter cards. I didn't take the time to add up the cost of any lists so that's just a rough estimate.

Greninja Break is the only tournament placing deck I can think of that does not run Shaymin, looking at London results there was one that placed in the top 8. Other non-Shaymin decks include Riachu-Bats, Magnazone variants, and a few others, but they are not considered as competitive as Greninja Break.

Also, if you're just playing with friends or at a league, (Not a mutually exclusive scenario!) ask if you can use proxies. Put on a slip of paper what the "Fake" card is, sleeve it with a backwards card so you can shuffle, and play as if you had that card. It's a good way to see if you would like the deck before dropping money on it, but it's never allowed in formal tournaments, and even some leagues discourage it so check first.

(All my prices estimates came from TCGplayer.com as of this morning, they can and do vary as stock changes)
 
Are you looking to play online, casually with friends, in a league, at local tournaments, or compete at higher levels? Depending what your goals and expectations are may change what a good recommendation is. Also, what's the estimated budget you're looking to spend? Is $20, 50 or 100 low to you to spend on a card game? Typically low means no Shaymins, which can limit your deck options so I'll mention the one tournament placing deck I know of without the little guy.

You mention you have the battle arena deck, which gives good water support like Dive Ball and Rough Seas, in addition to a few key cards like VS Seeker. Look into building Greninja Break. That deck does not need Shaymin. The most expensive card is the Break, which goes for about $12 last I checked. I play mine with two Breaks, but many people want three. That's going to total $36 if you want three. There are two common versions, Talonflame and Octillery, which both go for $3. Just call it another $10 as you'll want at least three Talonflame if you go with that version, or two Octillery if you go with that version, but you'll also need two Remoraids (Common card, .25 each).

The other pieces of the Greninja line are not expensive, should be less than $1 each.

Can you list out what Trainer cards you already have, at least the ones that would fit into this deck if you're interested in it? You'll want a full four count of Dive Ball .50 and VS Seeker $4 for sure, past that you have some flexibility in your counts of Sycamore and N, many players use Bursting Ballons and Wally also. Other things can be subbed in like you can use Shauna for N or Birch for Sycamore, not considered perfect substitutes, but can work when you're first starting out. Look at a full deck list in the garage section and find one that interests you.

Overall I think you could get the entire deck from singles for $75 or less if you started from nothing, which you are not since you already have some of the supporter cards. I didn't take the time to add up the cost of any lists so that's just a rough estimate.

Greninja Break is the only tournament placing deck I can think of that does not run Shaymin, looking at London results there was one that placed in the top 8. Other non-Shaymin decks include Riachu-Bats, Magnazone variants, and a few others, but they are not considered as competitive as Greninja Break.

Also, if you're just playing with friends or at a league, (Not a mutually exclusive scenario!) ask if you can use proxies. Put on a slip of paper what the "Fake" card is, sleeve it with a backwards card so you can shuffle, and play as if you had that card. It's a good way to see if you would like the deck before dropping money on it, but it's never allowed in formal tournaments, and even some leagues discourage it so check first.

(All my prices estimates came from TCGplayer.com as of this morning, they can and do vary as stock changes)
That sounds like a good idea. I plan to play at my local shop in small tournaments with about 4 to 5 people usually but I still want it to be decently competitive. My budget would probably be around 50-80 or so until summer when I get a job. I have been watching a few videos on decks that might work well and I have some of the cards listed. I'll list the 2 decks I'm interested in to see if they'd be any good. But I have heard a lot about greninja and talonflame so I might try that. I'll look into it more and see the prices.


Regice Lugia Deck
##Pokémon - 13

* 2 Lugia FAC 78
* 2 Articuno ROS 17
* 1 Manaphy-EX BKP 116
* 2 Golduck BREAK BKP 18
* 2 Psyduck BKP 16
* 2 Golduck BKP 17
* 2 Regice AOR 24

##Trainer Cards - 35

* 4 Fighting Fury Belt BKP 99
* 3 Rough Seas PRC 137
* 4 VS Seeker PHF 109
* 1 Professor Birch's Observations PRC 159
* 4 Dive Ball PRC 161
* 1 Lysandre FLF 90
* 1 Super Rod NVI 95
* 3 Professor Sycamore XY 122
* 1 Escape Rope PLS 120
* 4 Max Elixir BKP 102
* 1 Teammates PRC 160
* 4 N NVI 92
* 2 Max Potion BKP 103
* 2 Trainers' Mail AOR 100

##Energy - 12

* 9 Water Energy Energy 3
* 3 Double Colorless Energy XY 130
--------------------------------------------------

Lock Down Regice / Glaceon Ex
##Pokémon - 10

* 2 Glaceon-EX FAC 20
* 1 Manaphy-EX BKP 116
* 3 Regice AOR 24
* 2 Remoraid BKT 32
* 2 Octillery BKT 33

##Trainer Cards - 38

* 3 Professor Sycamore STS 114
* 4 Rough Seas PRC 137
* 3 Dive Ball PRC 161
* 1 Pokémon Ranger STS 113
* 2 Super Rod BKT 149
* 2 Ultra Ball PLB 90
* 2 Escape Rope PRC 127
* 3 Max Elixir BKP 102
* 1 Shauna GEN 72
* 4 Fighting Fury Belt BKP 99
* 3 VS Seeker ROS 110
* 4 N NVI 101
* 1 Lysandre FLF 104
* 1 Town Map BCR 136
* 2 Enhanced Hammer PHF 94
* 2 Trainers' Mail AOR 100

##Energy - 12

* 4 Double Colorless Energy FAC 114
* 8 Water Energy Energy 3
-------------------------------------------------
I just thought these sounded like very useful decks especially because I run the keldeo deck and the Regice helped me a lot with its attack ability.
 
Hehe... I recognize those builds from Donald.

I'll throw in a list from Chris Derocher's top 4 (technically the original list came from Chris Schemanske) result. It's a Greninja BREAK deck, but it doesn't use Talonflame nor Octillery. I have personally played this list for a while and I have taken plenty of PTCGO Events with it as well as positive Ladder results. In other words... the list works and is very inexpensive IRL.

Pokémon – 16
4 Froakie BKP
4 Frogadier BKP
4 Greninja BKP
3 Greninja BREAK
1 Jirachi XY67

Trainers – 34
4 Professor Sycamore
3 N
1 Ace Trainer
1 Fisherman
1 Lysandre

4 VS Seeker
4 Bursting Balloon
4 Dive Ball
3 Trainers’ Mail
2 Super Rod
2 Ultra Ball
1 Professor’s Letter

4 Faded Town

Energy – 10
6 Water Energy
4 Splash Energy

If you cannot find the Promo Jirachi, you can sub it out for anything you would think useful (I even went so far as to run a single copy of Ratata EVO, which was useful in a lot of regards). The main strategy is to set up Greninja BREAK and use its ability along with Greninja's attacks to hit hard. 4 Splash Energy is to ensure you can keep your Greninja Line for multiple uses. Everything else is fairly standard for a Greninja Deck except for the 4 Faded Town, in which you could run some Rough Seas instead.

Regardless, the deck fits within your budget and has a top result, so I would personally strive for that. I hope this has helped!

-Asmer
 
Hehe... I recognize those builds from Donald.

I'll throw in a list from Chris Derocher's top 4 (technically the original list came from Chris Schemanske) result. It's a Greninja BREAK deck, but it doesn't use Talonflame nor Octillery. I have personally played this list for a while and I have taken plenty of PTCGO Events with it as well as positive Ladder results. In other words... the list works and is very inexpensive IRL.

Pokémon – 16
4 Froakie BKP
4 Frogadier BKP
4 Greninja BKP
3 Greninja BREAK
1 Jirachi XY67

Trainers – 34
4 Professor Sycamore
3 N
1 Ace Trainer
1 Fisherman
1 Lysandre

4 VS Seeker
4 Bursting Balloon
4 Dive Ball
3 Trainers’ Mail
2 Super Rod
2 Ultra Ball
1 Professor’s Letter

4 Faded Town

Energy – 10
6 Water Energy
4 Splash Energy

If you cannot find the Promo Jirachi, you can sub it out for anything you would think useful (I even went so far as to run a single copy of Ratata EVO, which was useful in a lot of regards). The main strategy is to set up Greninja BREAK and use its ability along with Greninja's attacks to hit hard. 4 Splash Energy is to ensure you can keep your Greninja Line for multiple uses. Everything else is fairly standard for a Greninja Deck except for the 4 Faded Town, in which you could run some Rough Seas instead.

Regardless, the deck fits within your budget and has a top result, so I would personally strive for that. I hope this has helped!

-Asmer
Ok so I got all of these card on Troll and Toad except the Jirachi and VS Seeker. I don't know what set to get the VS Seeker from since it's going out of rotation, and the Jirachi doesn't make any sense to me. I just don't know how a steel type would help with this deck.
 
Ok so I got all of these card on Troll and Toad except the Jirachi and VS Seeker. I don't know what set to get the VS Seeker from since it's going out of rotation, and the Jirachi doesn't make any sense to me. I just don't know how a steel type would help with this deck.

Oh, the Jirachi is actually for its first attack, Stardust. It allows you to discard any Special Energy (mainly Double Colorless Energy) from Pokemon like Yveltal-EX, M Mewtwo Y, etc. and then it becomes immune from everything for a full turn. The reason this is also so exceptionally good is because your deck does require a little bit of time to set up, which Jirachi can provide. That said, you don't need it. It's just nice to have.

I would just grab VS Seekers from Phantom Forces since they're currently still legal until next rotation, though you don't have to buy them if you truly don't want them (I will say use any you have now, though. Also, they aren't too expensive right now...3 or 4 each, and they'll still be playable in Expanded where Greninja BREAK is also, ironically, an extremely strong deck. This means that you can keep the Frogs for a long time.). If you don't use them, I would probably put in something to maintain your hand advantage and another Lysandre (Shauna comes to mind).

Besides that, sounds like you're good to go! Enjoy the game and let us know if you have any more questions!

-Asmer
 
Oh, the Jirachi is actually for its first attack, Stardust. It allows you to discard any Special Energy (mainly Double Colorless Energy) from Pokemon like Yveltal-EX, M Mewtwo Y, etc. and then it becomes immune from everything for a full turn. The reason this is also so exceptionally good is because your deck does require a little bit of time to set up, which Jirachi can provide. That said, you don't need it. It's just nice to have.

I would just grab VS Seekers from Phantom Forces since they're currently still legal until next rotation, though you don't have to buy them if you truly don't want them (I will say use any you have now, though. Also, they aren't too expensive right now...3 or 4 each, and they'll still be playable in Expanded where Greninja BREAK is also, ironically, an extremely strong deck. This means that you can keep the Frogs for a long time.). If you don't use them, I would probably put in something to maintain your hand advantage and another Lysandre (Shauna comes to mind).

Besides that, sounds like you're good to go! Enjoy the game and let us know if you have any more questions!

-Asmer
I see how that can be useful but I forgot greninja was going out of rotation. I'm looking to build a standard deck and since this rotation is about to be over I'd prefer it to be a 2017 standard deck besides the sun and moon obviously. Like I mentioned I'm getting an ancient origins booster box and a generations elite trainer box so if there's any good cards to build from those sets (both being in next rotation) could you list? I know I ask a lot sorry ;-; I'm just wanting to get serious about the TCG and learn a lot about it
 
I see how that can be useful but I forgot greninja was going out of rotation. I'm looking to build a standard deck and since this rotation is about to be over I'd prefer it to be a 2017 standard deck besides the sun and moon obviously. Like I mentioned I'm getting an ancient origins booster box and a generations elite trainer box so if there's any good cards to build from those sets (both being in next rotation) could you list? I know I ask a lot sorry ;-; I'm just wanting to get serious about the TCG and learn a lot about it

Greninja is a 2017 standard deck. The rotation that we're currently in will last until after Worlds of 2017, around September 1st usually. You'll have plenty of time to play this deck. :)

If what you're asking for is a deck to play in to 2018, well... you'd be better off asking that after we find out what the 2018 format will be like. xP

-Asmer
 
Greninja is a 2017 standard deck. The rotation that we're currently in will last until after Worlds of 2017, around September 1st usually. You'll have plenty of time to play this deck. :)

If what you're asking for is a deck to play in to 2018, well... you'd be better off asking that after we find out what the 2018 format will be like. xP

-Asmer
Ooooohhh ok haha sorry I thought we were in a different rotation and then would be going into the 2017 one. Sorry about that. Well thank you very much for the help! I will try this deck out and maybe make some of my own tweaks and see if they work :)
 
Ooooohhh ok haha sorry I thought we were in a different rotation and then would be going into the 2017 one. Sorry about that. Well thank you very much for the help! I will try this deck out and maybe make some of my own tweaks and see if they work :)

Sounds good! I hope you enjoy the deck and I hope you enjoy PTCG!

Take care!

-Asmer
 
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