I got the Pokémon My First Battle kit because I have a young nephew who collects Pokémon, and I thought it would be fun to teach him how to play. I haven’t had the chance to play with him yet, but since I bought both kits, I decided to try it with my wife. She doesn’t know anything about Pokémon and has never played a TCG.
The first thing you should know before getting this kit is that it is meant to teach young kids. It’s not going to have any value other than getting someone started with the Pokémon TCG. It is a very stripped-down version of the game that focuses on teaching the absolute fundamentals of the game. There are no abilities or supporters, and the rules and phases have been simplified to reduce randomness. I only say this because I already see scalpers selling it for twice what it’s worth.
The set comes with two 17-card-themed mini decks. The cards aren’t standard legal and have the My First Battle logo printed on the back. It comes with two laminated playmats specifically designed for its simplified format. You also get 1 large metallic coin to flip, a sheet of damage counters, six prize cards, and a rulebook to get you started.
The rulebook is clear and easy to follow. I like that it has clear examples with detailed pictures. The playmats feel sturdy and have the actions a player can take per turn printed on them. The setup is incredibly easy. The kit focuses on teaching players the basic phases of the games such as drawing, attacking, evolving, and using item cards. Both players start with a basic Pokémon in the active spot and an energy attached. The rest of the deck is shuffled, and you play the game like normal till one player wins three prize tokens.
Other significant changes include:
- Players start with a three-card hand
- You can only bench three Pokémon at a time
- You don’t lose energy when your active Pokémon is knocked out
- You can’t deck out
My only suggestion for people getting this kit is to grab dice to use as damage counters and coin flips. I have never liked counters, and coin flips make things messy. If you are only getting this for your kids to play with, then the counters should suffice. Just note that it will be messy.
If you have kids you want to get into the hobby, this is a great product. If you are trying to teach someone older, there are better options. The kits are at a great price point, and have everything you need to get started. I like that the cards aren’t standard legal, and the mats are sturdy because these cards will most definitely get beat up. My cards came a bit warped, but they weren’t meant to be graded anyway.
I loved this as a tool to teach my wife how to play the game. She has never played a TCG, and only reluctantly agreed to play if the game was easy. With how complicated and luck-based Pokémon can get, I was relieved to have a simplified and streamlined version to get her started. I only needed to explain the rules to her once before she started going through the phases on her own. She had fun and beat me all the times we played. It’ll probably take more convincing to get her to something harder, but I’ll take what I can get.
The kits are $9.99 and come in two flavors: Pikachu v. Bulbasaur or Squirtle v. Charmander. I got them at GameNerdz as a set, but you can pick them up at Best Buy or GameStop while supplies last. I wouldn’t pay more than MSRP for these since you aren’t even getting real cards. With how much Pokémon overprints, I would wait for the restock.
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