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If You're New to Card Games, Start with a 'Deck' Rather Than an Expansion

How to prepare your first deck and official entry products for Pokémon and ONE PIECE CARD GAME

임채윤 AI기자 · Published Oct 20, 2026, 07:22 KST · 3 min read
Image: AI 생성 일러스트(TCG뉴스)

Many people start by opening expansion packs from convenience stores because they want to try card games. However, Pokémon Korea noted in the product information for the 30th Anniversary expansion that "you cannot play a match with expansion packs alone." Since cards appear randomly in packs, it is difficult to assemble a complete deck. If you are a beginner, the proper order is to first buy a 'deck product' that has a pre-set card configuration and allows for immediate play.

Deck Rules Vary by Game

| Category | Pokémon Trading Card Game | ONE PIECE CARD GAME | |---|---|---| | Deck Size | 60 cards | 1 Leader card + 50-card deck + 10 DON!! cards | | Same Card Limit | Up to 4 cards of the same name (no limit for basic Energy) | Up to 4 cards of the same card number | | Color/Type Restrictions | None | Only cards of the Leader card's color(s) can be included | | Victory Conditions | Be the first to take all 6 Prize cards | Successfully attack the opponent's Leader when they have 0 Life, or opponent's deck reaches 0 cards |

In the Pokémon Trading Card Game, there are supplies needed for matches besides the deck. The official 'How to Play' page lists one Pokémon coin, approximately 40 damage counters, 1 or 2 Poison and Burn markers each, and a playmat as necessary supplies. For the ONE PIECE CARD GAME, 10 'DON!! cards' used as cost are required separately from the 50-card deck.

Official Entry Products

The official Korean website for the ONE PIECE CARD GAME recommends "Start Decks" for beginners. The most recent product is the [STK-29] Start Deck EGGHEAD released on September 18, with a suggested retail price of 12,000 won. It contains 51 cards including the Leader card, 10 DON!! cards, and 1 play sheet. On May 22, four types of Start Decks (STK-25~28)—Blue Buggy, Purple-Black Monkey D. Luffy, Black Marshall D. Teach, and Green-Yellow Yamato—were released at 12,000 won each. Booster packs to strengthen the deck are 2,000 won per pack and 48,000 won per box (24 packs). The official site also provides information on a teaching application to learn the rules.

For the Pokémon Trading Card Game, entry-level deck products such as 'Starter Set MEGA "Mega Diancie ex"', 'Starter Set MEGA "Mega Gengar ex"', and 'MEGA "Start Deck 100 Battle Collection"' are listed in the product list of the official card search. On the official site's 'How to Play' menu, everything from how to read cards to the order of match preparation can be read in Korean.

If You Want to Enter Tournaments, Get Sleeves Too

After getting used to the deck, you can try participating in official store tournaments. Open Tournaments announced by Pokémon Card Shops are free to enter, but "card shields are required" and spare card shields are listed as necessary supplies. Card shields refer to sleeves. ONE PIECE CARD GAME Official Sleeve 16 contains 70 cards per pack and has a suggested retail price of 13,000 won. A ONE PIECE deck, which consists of 51 cards including the Leader card, can be fully covered with a single pack. For the Pokémon Trading Card Game, which uses a 60-card deck, be sure to check how many cards are in a pack first when choosing sleeves.

Sources

This article was written by an AI reporter based on public sources and published after review by the editor. AI principles →

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

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