Can I build a deck together with friends on TCGSwap?

Yes. Every deck on TCGSwap has a Collaboration Space. You can invite up to 5 friends; they can suggest card changes, discuss ideas, and playtest proposals. You review and apply suggestions before anything changes in your deck.

How does deck collaboration work?

It works like a pull request for your deck. Collaborators open the deck editor, make their proposed changes, and submit a suggestion with a note. You get notified, open the comparison view to see exactly what they changed, and choose to apply all, cherry-pick individual cards, or decline. Nothing changes in your deck until you approve it.

Can collaborators chat and discuss the deck?

Yes. The Collaboration Space has a shared group discussion thread for the whole deck, plus a per-suggestion Q&A thread for each proposal. You can @mention teammates and link specific cards inline.

Is collaborative deck building free?

Yes, collaboration is free for all TCGSwap users during beta. You can invite up to 5 collaborators per deck.

Does TCGSwap work for MTG, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh and One Piece collaboration?

Yes. The Collaboration Space supports all four games — Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon TCG, Yu-Gi-Oh and One Piece. Format validation and card prices are included for each game.

All guides · 2026-09-28 · TCGSwap

Pokémon TCG deck-building rules

A Pokémon deck is built from three kinds of card — Pokémon, Trainers and Energy. These are the rules it has to follow, and what TCGSwap's deck builder checks for you.

The core rules

Exactly 60 cards. Not 59, not 61.
Up to 4 copies of any card by name. Four "Pikachu ex" in total, however many printings you mix.
Basic Energy is the exception — any number of copies.
Evolution needs its line. To play a Stage 1 or Stage 2 Pokémon, you need the cards it evolves from.

Formats

Standard — only cards with a current regulation mark are legal. This is the main competitive format.
Expanded — a much larger pool of older sets.
Unlimited — every card ever printed.

What the builder checks

The deck builder groups your list into Pokémon, Trainers and Energy as you add cards, and flags deck size, copy-limit and legality problems. Validation is advisory — it warns you but never stops you saving a deck you're still working on.

Stats adds:

your Pokémon / Trainer / Energy ratio
an evolution-stage breakdown, flagging lines with more evolved copies than basics to support them
the probability of opening with at least one Basic Pokémon — you need one to start the game

Test it

Once a deck is legal, the playtest tools tell you how it actually draws — including Prize Check, which shows how often each card gets stuck in your six prize cards. See how to playtest your deck.

For the complete official rules, see the Pokémon TCG Rules & Resources on pokemon.com.