Looking to update deck

[jerseyjon34]

I am looking to update the first deck I build and am seeking some expert advice. The currently contains:

Pokemon Cards:
2 Blastoise
3 Wartotle
4 Squirtle

2 Torterra
3 Grotle
4 Turtwig

2 Raticate
3Rattata

1Simisage
2 Pansage

2 Scyther

Energy Cards:
9 Water
9 Grass
2 Blend WLFM

Trainer Cards:
2 Bill
2 Potion
2 Energy Retrieval
2 Energy Search
2 Great Ball
2 Professor Oak's Visit

I am planning to switch out the Blastoise and Torterra for EX versions, but is there anything else I should swap out?

Also, are there any particular Trainer cards I should replace? I have 2 Lucian's Assignment cards handy that I can swap in.

Thanks for the input.

 

[PaulTheProtist]

No offense, but that deck has a few problems. One is that it uses too many evolution lines to be truly viable. Generally a deck can only have two at most in today's meta, and that's really only if the two evolutionary lines compliment each other well. Additionally, you should generally have three or four of each Pokémon (including fully-evolved ones), unless they're not particularly important.

A second large issue is the amount of energy. You should generally use more special energies, with maybe 5-8 basic energies. This of course depends on which Pokémon you are running.

Finally, you should use the rest of the space for trainer cards.

Can I ask two questions about your deck?

1. What sets are the cards from?
2. What strategies are you trying to utilize?

 

[jerseyjon34]

No offense, but that deck has a few problems. One is that it uses too many evolution lines to be truly viable. Generally a deck can only have two at most in today's meta, and that's really only if the two evolutionary lines compliment each other well. Additionally, you should generally have three or four of each Pokémon (including fully-evolved ones), unless they're not particularly important.

A second large issue is the amount of energy. You should generally use more special energies, with maybe 5-8 basic energies. This of course depends on which Pokémon you are running.

Finally, you should use the rest of the space for trainer cards.

Can I ask two questions about your deck?

1. What sets are the cards from?
2. What strategies are you trying to utilize?

No offense taken.

The Scyther are there because they are a relatively strong basic that I can battle with while I evolve the Squirtle and Turtwig lines. I will be switching the Scyther out for Tropius (Roaring Skies).

The Ratata line is there to cover for the grass and water types weaknesses ( I know grass and water do not have the same weaknesses, so I guess this is unnecessary).

Since the Ratata and Pansage lines each only have 1 level evolutions, they can be battle ready sooner than my two main lines (in case the Scyther don't last long enough).