# Trainer Draft and Popular Combinations Welcome back! Today we’re diving straight into one of the most important aspects of competitive **World Championships (WCS)** play for **Pokémon Deckbuilding Game**: the **Trainer Draft**. Trainer selection doesn’t just shape your strategy—it practically *defines* it. Smart drafting can enable explosive openings, consistent engines, or late-game inevitability, while a poor draft can leave even the best players scrambling to catch up. Below are some high-level drafting insights, followed by several **popular and proven Trainer combinations** to help you start strong. --- ## Draft Position Is Important As players become more familiar and more competitive with WCS, **draft position** becomes increasingly relevant. Drafting first gives you access to the **first overall Trainer**, but it comes with a significant drawback: you are also the **last player to select your second Trainer**. This creates two major risks: - Your ideal follow-up Trainer may be **banned** after your first pick. - Another player may **select a key combo piece** before the draft comes back around to you. Understanding this tradeoff is critical. A powerful first pick can lose much of its value if you can’t secure supporting Trainers later. ### Read the Table Drafting isn’t done in isolation. Use your awareness of other players’ picks to your advantage. > **Example:** > If the player to your right is clearly drafting a heavy **Route manipulation** strategy, consider pivoting toward builds that benefit from specific card types *being available* in the Route. Information is power. The more you pay attention during the draft, the more effectively you can adapt. --- ## Bans, Bans, and More Bans In WCS, there are **at least two rounds of bans**, with tournament play often using **three**. These bans are just as important as your picks. ### Smart Ban Priorities - If a specific Trainer **hard-counters your strategy**, ban it immediately. - If an opponent selects a powerful Trainer early, look for your **one chance** to ban out a critical combo piece before it’s too late. - Watch for players attempting to force a well-known, high-ceiling combo—timely bans can completely dismantle their plan. > **Draft Tip:** > If you are drafting first or second and want to guarantee access to one of the highest Tier Trainers, avoid banning from the highest Tier yourself. Let other players spend their bans while you secure your pick. --- ## Popular and Powerful Combinations Below are several Trainer team archetypes that have proven effective across many WCS games. These are not the *only* viable strategies, but they provide a strong foundation for newer and experienced players alike. --- ## Pokémon Cost Reduction Pokémon are typically the **strongest card type** in the game, and reducing their cost can dramatically alter the pace of building a powerful deck. Stacking multiple **Pokémon cost-reduction Trainers** enables: - Explosive opening turns - Early access to high-impact Pokémon - The ability to make meaningful purchases when you would otherwise be forced to pass Even a single extra Pokémon purchase early can snowball into a substantial advantage over the course of the game. --- ## Challenge Cards Matter While **Challenge cards** don’t directly improve your deck’s power, they offer the **best XP-to-cost ratio** of any card type in the game. ### Aggressive XP Strategy - [[JOJ-002]] + [[WCS-007]] This pairing excels at rushing early Challenge cards, aiming to build an overwhelming XP lead and end the game quickly before opponents can counter. ### Reactive XP Engine - [[JOJ-072]] + [[THC-084]] This combo often guarantees to be the starting player and continuously benefits from opponents buying Challenge cards. With **3 XP left over during the draft**, this team can easily slot in a strong 3-Cost Trainer- potentially even doubling down with [[JOJ-002]] for maximum pressure. --- ## On-Demand Energy Some Trainers provide consistency. Others provide inevitability. [[TSR-008]] offers one of the strongest generic Trainer effects in the format. By the mid-game, he effectively guarantees **+1 Energy every turn**. When combined with [[S&M-057]] and her [[S&M-029]], things quickly escalate: - Accessing Energy directly from the discard pile for **+2 Energy on demand** - Functioning as early as **turn two** This Energy acceleration allows players to reach powerful cards far ahead of schedule—and that’s before considering that [[S&M-029]] can evolve into a highly impactful card in its own right. --- ## Destroy All the Things
Notice a trend among high-cost Trainers? Many of them come with **destruction effects**, and for good reason. Destroying cards is arguably the **most effective way to improve your deck**. Key benefits include: - Removing Starter cards that provide **0 XP** - Eliminating Poisons, Status Conditions, and other end-game score penalties - Thinning your deck to repeatedly loop powerful hands If you thin early enough, it’s possible to cycle the same high-impact cards turn after turn—buying stronger cards and Challenges while opponents struggle to keep up. ### Rounding Out the Build There’s a wide variety of **2-Cost and 3-Cost Trainers** that complement destruction-focused strategies: - [[KAQ-104]] – Excellent for drawing back into destruction effects quickly - [[WCS-009]] and [[TSR-089]] – Provide limited but highly effective Route manipulation These smaller picks often make the difference between a good deck and a great one. --- ## Wrap-Up That’s all we have time for today! Trainer drafting is a deep and nuanced process, and mastery comes with experience. Hopefully, these insights and example combinations give you a strong starting point as you refine your WCS strategy. Future articles will explore: - More specialized Trainer combinations - Advanced draft theory - Matchup-specific adjustments Want to discuss this article—or maybe even write your own? Join the Discord community: 👉 https://discord.gg/PrYZPJ2