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Basic Rules of Pokémon TCG Deck Building… 60 Cards, 4 of the Same Name, 1 ACE SPEC

No limit on Basic Energy, at least 1 Basic Pokémon… Official guide starts with 15 Energy and 30 Trainers

김태희 기자 · Published Oct 28, 2026, 08:21 KST · 4 min read
Photo: 株式会社ポケモン(포켓몬카드게임 일본 공식)

A Pokémon Trading Card Game deck is built with 60 cards. The "How to Play" page on Pokémon Korea's official website states, "A 'deck' consists of 60 cards, and each player uses 1." Violating this deck construction rule in official tournaments results in penalties. Pokémon Korea's Battle Regulations (ver.1.5.1) state that using a deck that breaks the "60-Card Deck Construction Rule" can result in penalties of "Loss" or higher. Decks and their constituent cards cannot be changed during a tournament.

Which cards can be used is determined by the regulation mark. Based on the Battle Regulations, the current official regulation uses Korean-version cards with marks H, I, and J. How to read the regulation mark was covered in this outlet's 137th article.

Five Deck Construction Rules

| Rule | Content | Source | |---|---|---| | Deck Size | Exactly 60 cards | Pokémon Korea How to Play / Battle Regulations | | Same Name | Up to 4 cards | Pokémon Korea How to Play | | Basic Energy | No limit on quantity | Pokémon Korea How to Play / Advanced Player's Rule Guide | | Basic Pokémon | At least 1 required | Pokémon Korea How to Play | | ACE SPEC | 1 card in the entire deck | Official Japanese Card Information |

The limit of 4 cards with the same name is counted based on the card name. Even if the artwork is different, cards with the same name are treated as a single set. The Battle Regulations explicitly note that "Boss's Orders" is treated as the same card name regardless of the character name or illustration.

Energy rules vary depending on the type. Pokémon Korea's Rule Guide for Advanced Players explains that Basic Energy can be included in any quantity regardless of the "up to 4 cards with the same name in a deck" rule. In contrast, the 4-card limit applies to Special Energy as usual.

At least 1 Basic Pokémon must be included. If you do not have a Basic Pokémon in your initial 7-card hand when starting a battle, you must reveal your hand to your opponent, return it to the deck, and draw again. According to the Advanced Player's Rule Guide, the opponent places their Prize cards and then can draw additional cards equal to the number of times you redrew your hand.

ACE SPEC Is Limited to 1 Even with Different Names

The restriction on ACE SPEC cards is stricter than the 4-same-name rule. The official Japanese website explains that "only 1 'ACE SPEC' card can be put in a deck, including 'ACE SPEC' cards with different names." This means two different types of ACE SPEC cards cannot be included together. The "Prime Catcher" page on the official Japanese card search also lists the special rule stating, "Only 1 ACE SPEC card can be included in a deck."

The official Japanese Standard Regulation page (updated January 22, 2026) states that an "ACE SPEC" card cannot be substituted with a non-ACE SPEC Trainer card of the same name released in the past, and they are treated as distinct cards.

The Starting Point for Deck Ratios: 15 Energy, 30 Trainers

There is no single correct deck ratio. However, official guides provide a starting point. The "Let's Make a Deck" section on Pokémon Korea's How to Play page instructs players to pick their favorite Pokémon, then "first try putting in 15 Energy cards," and for Trainers, "try putting in 30 cards as a standard." It states that remaining slots should be filled with Pokémon of the same type to reach 60 cards, and if it exceeds 60 cards, adjust the quantities.

Official pre-constructed decks follow a similar composition. The official deck lists for the two Starter Set MEGA products released in Japan on September 5, 2025, are as follows:

| Deck | Pokémon | Trainers | Energy | |---|---|---|---| | Mega Gengar ex | 18 cards | 27 cards | 15 Basic Darkness Energy | | Mega Diancie ex | 16 cards | 29 cards | 15 Basic Psychic Energy |

Both decks contain 15 Energy cards and a maximum of 4 cards with the same name. The Mega Gengar ex deck includes 1 copy of the ACE SPEC card "Prime Catcher".

Sources

This article was written with the help of AI based on public sources. Responsible: 김태희 기자 AI principles →

This article was machine-translated from Korean with AI. Original →

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