Thanks so much!!! I truly despise not being able to "get" this game... little kids play it, for Pete's sake!! *sigh*
OK, so I was "poking" around (bad pun, I know), and have tried putting some Pokemon decks together. I haven't gotten any Trainers with them yet, which might make this whole post null & void, but here goes. Everything is Primal Clash (as far as I know)...
Kyogre EX
Spheal
- Sealeo
- Walrein
Clauncher
Corsola
Clamperl
- Gorebyss
Barboach
- Whiscash 40/160
Barboach
- Whiscash 41/160
I have seen decks with multiples of some cards... apparently I don't fully understand that, but I tried.
How far off am I with this deck? Or does not having Trainers yet make it useless??
Thx...
Multiples are necessary to make sure you can ensure you have the Pokemon you want in your hand by increasing the odds you draw it simply by having more, though the cap on Pokemon that share a name (not each unique card, but the name itself) is 4. In fact, outside of Basic Energy cards, the cap for each type of card is 4, and some cards are limited to even less (though they'll say that on the card itself). This will be something you'll want to make sure your boys know before you play them, as many kids my age back when the craze first hit actually never learned to play properly (I was one of the few, and I was basically self-taught).
Anyway, onto the deck. Okay, so, you have Pokemon, but you still need some energy. Water types are what I see here, so you'd need some basic Water Energy. For most decks beginners work with, between 15 and 20 energy is a good number. Preferably closer to 15 Water Energy than 20.
You'll need to find somewhere to get that much Energy, like either via a theme deck with the type of energy you need (I genuinely do not pay attention to the contents of the ones that are currently available as they don't interest me - their best purpose for me was giving me energy, something I have a ton of now) or via an Elite Trainer Box (a box that costs around $40 that contains 8 booster packs, 5 of each type of energy, 5 six sided dice to use as damage counters, a larger six sided die to use as a coin, poison and burn counters, and sleeves themed around the Pokemon on the outside of the box, plus the box itself, which is very sturdy and makes for a nice card box with the separators that are also in the box).
Trainers are not necessary to play the game at its most basic level, but beyond that they are a big help. Potion is a trainer that helps new players get familiar with how Trainers work. Switch is also in that tier of Trainer.
Not having trainers will still probably do okay against your kids, but I recommend going with a ratio of something like 15 Energy, 20 Pokemon, and 25 Trainers if at all possible.
Kyogre EX is a slow and expensive Pokemon to play (it takes 4 turns to set up its best attack, plus another 2 after that to set it up again). It's probably good for casual play, but your opponent takes 2 of their prize cards when they knock it out, which means you're a third of the way to losing if it ever gets knocked out.
Walrein has a first attack that can be pretty good for its cost, but it's also a Stage 2 Pokemon, meaning it will take at least a few turns. to get it in play.
Clauncher isn't very useful without its evolved form, Clawitzer, which isn't very good, either.
...and the site I was using for reference on each card has inexplicably gotten hung up on searching, so that's it on those for now.
I'd pick a couple with attacks that look good among those and start from there. None of those really combo together all that well, IMO, but most of the good combo cards have already been figured out by the competitive playerbase and can cost a pretty decent sticker-shocking sum for someone new to trading card games.
There are a couple better water types to use than the ones you've picked, but they're kind of on the expensive side right now. Keldeo EX is very good, but very expensive. Blastoise from Boundaries Crossed is very good, but is also expensive.
An aside on something that confuses some people when playing: Prize cards are not cards that you give up to your opponent. Those are cards that you pull from your deck and that you pick from to put in your hand when you knock out an opponent's Pokemon. The ones you set out at the beginning of the game are part of your playing field, and players only take from their own prize cards when they knock out an opposing Pokemon. No card EVER change ownership during a game. If your kids or someone else's kids say otherwise, they are wrong. IIRC, it's stated somewhere in the rulebook, but I can't remember where.
Also, take a look at some of my past decklists for ideas on both what to do and what not to do (most of these are several years old, but looking up the cards might give you an idea of what generally works with what).
https://www.pokecommunity.com/threads/276636
https://www.pokecommunity.com/threads/222759
https://www.pokecommunity.com/threads/317691
https://www.pokecommunity.com/threads/219989