Pokemon deck size is the first rule every new player meets, and the official Japanese page states it in one line: 「60枚のカードを組み合わせた「デッキ」を、ひとり1個使います。」 (each player uses one deck built from 60 cards). This guide reads that line and the other official deck-building statements one at a time, using the cards inside ポケモンカードゲーム MEGA スタートデッキ100 バトルコレクション as worked examples, and it adds no house rules of our own.
Every rule below is quoted from a page on pokemon-card.com, with the address of that page, and every card example comes from the official Japanese card database. Where the official pages do not give a reason for a rule, this article says so instead of inventing one. For anything not quoted here, the official rules pages are the authority.
- Deck size: 60 cards, one deck per player, as the official how-to-play page states. Every starter product in the official lineage contains a 60-card deck, including the MEGA Start Deck 100 Battle Collection.
- Same-name limit: 4 cards of the same name, except basic Energy, which can be included in any number. ピカチュウ and ピカチュウex count as different names.
- Prize cards: 6 per player; taking all 6 wins. Some cards take more than one Prize when knocked out, and the card text says how many.
- Regulation: Standard currently means regulation marks H, I and J, in force since Friday, January 23, 2026.
The 60-Card Deck: What the Official Page Says
The statement quoted in the introduction comes from the official how-to-play page, pokemon-card.com/howtoplay. The beginner page, pokemon-card.com/about, says the same thing in an invitation: 「60枚のカードを組み合わせた「デッキ」を使って対戦してみましょう！」 (try battling with a “deck” built from 60 cards). The official City League 2027 Season 1 notice, pokemon-card.com/info/005608, describes the tournament format as 「60枚デッキ／サイド6枚戦 スタンダードレギュレーション」 — a 60-card deck, six-Prize games, Standard regulation.
That is the whole official position on size. None of the pages we quoted explains why the number is 60, so this article does not either. What the pages do show is consistency: the number is the same in the beginner invitation, in the how-to-play page and in the tournament notice.
| Rule | Official wording | Official page |
|---|---|---|
| Deck size | 「60枚のカードを組み合わせた「デッキ」を、ひとり1個使います。」 | howtoplay |
| Same-name limit | 「同じ名前のカードは4枚まで。」 | howtoplay |
| Basic Energy exception | 「基本エネルギーカードはデッキに何枚でも入れることができます。」 | howtoplay |
| Basic Pokémon | 「たねポケモンは、デッキに1枚以上入れないといけないよ。」 | howtoplay |
| Prize cards | 「先にサイドを6枚とれば勝ち！」 | howtoplay |
| Starting hand | 「山札を上から7枚引いて、手に持ちます。」 | howtoplay |
| Bench | 「ベンチは5匹まで置けます。」 | howtoplay |
The product pictured is useful because its official page, pokemon-card.com/ex/mc, is explicit: it was released on Friday, December 19, 2025 at an official price of ¥891, it contains one 60-card deck, and the deck is one of 「全100種類」 (100 kinds). It is a random product, so which deck a buyer gets is chance.
The 4-Copy Rule and the Basic Energy Exception
The how-to-play page puts the limit in five characters of rule and one of exception. 「同じ名前のカードは4枚まで。」 means “no more than 4 cards with the same name”. The page adds, for clarity, that ピカチュウ and ピカチュウex count as different names. The check is therefore on the name printed on the card, not on the Pokémon species behind it.
The MEGA Start Deck 100 Battle Collection contains a clean example. The official database lists ピカチュウex numbered 764/742, illustrated by booota, HP 200, with the attack 10まんボルト (rendering: “100,000 Volts”) for 120. The same database lists a regular print of the card as 227/742, illustrated by takuyoa. Both are named ピカチュウex, so under the quoted rule they count together toward the same limit of four, even though the artwork differs. A plain ピカチュウ, by contrast, is a different name and counts separately from either.
Our own listing names the 764/742 print “SAR Style”; that label is market terminology and is not printed in the official database, which carries no rarity field. Readers who want to see the card graded can find it as a PSA 10 back order at ¥212,853 (~$1,382) — sourced to order; the product page shows the current terms. The Normal Style print, 227/742 (as our listing names it), is offered as a PSA 10 back order at ¥7,550 (~$49), on the same terms. Both are named ピカチュウex, so a deck may hold four cards between them, not four of each.
The exception is stated in the next line of the page: 「基本エネルギーカードはデッキに何枚でも入れることができます。」 Basic Energy cards may be included in any number. The page also notes that there is no colorless basic Energy card (「無色タイプの基本エネルギーはありません。」). It does not mention a basic Energy for the Dragon type, so that point is not covered here.
Two prints with different card numbers can still share a name. Under the quoted rule it is the name that is counted, so ピカチュウex 764/742 and ピカチュウex 227/742 count together.
Basic Pokémon, Evolution, Hand and Bench
Three further statements on the how-to-play page shape what a legal 60-card list needs. The first is 「たねポケモンは、デッキに1枚以上入れないといけないよ。」 — a deck must contain at least one Basic Pokémon (たね). The second explains why: 「進化ポケモンを使うためには、進化前のたねポケモンが必要だよ。」 — to use an Evolution Pokémon you need its pre-evolution Basic Pokémon. The third and fourth are the table rows already quoted: a starting hand of seven cards drawn from the top of the deck, and a Bench of up to five Pokémon.
Two cards from the same product show Basic Pokémon in the database. エリカのモンジャラ 743/742 is listed as たね with HP 80, an ability named ひゃっかりょうらん (rendering: “Hundred Flowers in Bloom”) that searches the deck for Erika’s Pokémon, and an attack that flips a coin for paralysis; the illustrator is buchi. イーブイ 755/742 is also たね, with HP 50, the ability ブーストしんか (rendering: “Boost Evolution”) and an attack that deals 30 damage and 10 to itself; the illustrator is Makura Tami.
The Erika’s Tangela print is available to look at in graded form: the PSA 10 copy is currently listed at ¥16,566 (~$108), and our listing names it “AR Style”. The Eevee print is offered as a PSA 10 back order at ¥39,590 (~$257) — sourced to order; the product page shows the current terms.
The how-to-play page also lists the three ways a game can end, and they all revolve around the same structure: take all six Prize cards, leave the opponent with no Pokémon in play, or leave the opponent unable to draw a card at the start of their turn. The next section looks at the first of the three.
Prize Cards: Six to Win, and What the Card Text Adds
The official page puts the Prize rule in two places. The set-up line describes six Prize cards (サイド 6枚), and the win line reads 「先にサイドを6枚とれば勝ち！」 — the first player to take 6 Prize cards wins. That is the rule at the level of the game.
The number of Prize cards taken is not always one per knockout, and the place where that is stated is the card itself. The official database text of エンテイV (S12a 019/172, HP 230, illustrator PLANETA Mochizuki) ends with the rule box 「ポケモンVがきぜつしたとき、相手はサイドを2枚とる。」 — rendering: when a Pokémon V is knocked out, the opponent takes 2 Prize cards. That sentence is quoted here as an example of a card text changing the count; it is the text of this card.
The Start Deck 100 Battle Collection example goes one step further. The official database lists メガリザードンYex numbered 766/742, HP 360, a Stage 2 Pokémon (2進化) illustrated by aky CG Works. Its attack プロージョンY (rendering: “Explosion Y”) discards 3 Energy and deals 280 damage to 1 Pokémon, and the card’s text gives the opponent 3 Prize cards when it is knocked out. That is a statement about this card; it is not generalized here to other cards.
Our listing names the 766/742 print “MUR Style”. That label is also market terminology rather than an official database field. The PSA 10 copy is offered as a PSA 10 back order at ¥997,109 (~$6,475) — sourced to order; the product page shows the current terms.
| Card (official database) | HP | Prize cards the opponent takes when it is knocked out |
|---|---|---|
| エンテイV S12a 019/172 | 230 | 2 (card text: ポケモンVがきぜつしたとき、相手はサイドを2枚とる) |
| メガリザードンYex MC 766/742 | 360 | 3 (verified text of this card) |
A card’s own text says how many Prize cards its knockout is worth. The full interaction rules sit in the official rulebook; the advanced rule guide on the rules page (Ruleguide ver3.4, 74 pages, file dated July 31, 2025) is not quoted here.
The Official Beginner Ratio: 15, 30 and 15
One part of the how-to-play page is advice rather than a rule, and it is worth separating the two. In the section on building a deck (「デッキのつくりかた」) the page suggests a starting point: 「まずは15枚エネルギーを入れてみよう。」 (first try putting in 15 Energy) and 「バトルを有利にできるトレーナーズを、30枚を目安に入れよう！」 (put in about 30 Trainers cards that can help the battle). The figure’s alt text gives the full split: 15 Pokémon, 30 Trainers and 15 Energy, which adds up to 60.
That 15-30-15 recipe is a beginner suggestion from the official page, not a requirement. Official starter products show how far real decks sit from it. The official pages for the two MEGA starter sets give the exact splits:
| Deck | Pokémon | Trainers | Energy | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How-to-play beginner ratio | 15 | 30 | 15 | 60 |
| スターターセットMEGA メガゲンガーex | 18 | 27 | 15 | 60 |
| スターターセットMEGA メガディアンシーex | 16 | 29 | 15 | 60 |
Both starter decks hold 15 Energy, and both total 60. The Pokémon and Trainers counts differ from the 15-30 split by one to three cards each. The source is the official announcement for the set, pokemon-card.com/info/005175, which lists the Mega Gengar ex deck at 18 Pokémon, 27 Trainers and 15 Energy, and the Mega Diancie ex deck at 16, 29 and 15. Both decks also hold four copies each of ハイパーボール, アイリスの闘志 and リーリエの決心, the maximum the same-name rule allows, which shows the 4-copy limit in a real list.
For readers choosing between the starter sets, our Starter Set ex comparison guide goes through what each deck contains, and the beginner guide to how to play covers the turn flow.
Regulation Marks: What Counts as a Legal Card
A 60-card list also has to use legal cards. The how-to-play page introduces the idea: 「このデッキにいれることのできるカードを決めているルールは「レギュレーション」というよ。」 (the rule that decides which cards can go into this deck is called “regulation”). There are three kinds: スタンダード (Standard), エクストラ (Extra) and 殿堂 (a literal rendering is “Hall of Fame”). The detailed pages are pokemon-card.com/rules and pokemon-card.com/rules/regulation.
For Standard, the regulation page reads 「カードの左下に表示されたレギュレーションマークに、H・I・Jと書かれたカード」 (cards whose regulation mark at the lower left shows H, I or J), in force 「2026年1月23日（金）から」 — from Friday, January 23, 2026. The rotation was announced on Friday, November 7, 2025 at pokemon-card.com/info/005262.
| Period | Standard marks | Note on the official notice |
|---|---|---|
| Until Thursday, December 18, 2025 | G, H, I | Schedule announced Friday, November 7, 2025 |
| Friday, December 19, 2025 to Thursday, January 22, 2026 | G, H, I, J | J debuts in the スタートデッキ100 バトルコレクション |
| From Friday, January 23, 2026 | H, I, J | 「Gと書かれたカードは、スタンダードレギュレーションから外れます。」 |
The J mark debuts in this very product, the MEGA Start Deck 100 Battle Collection. Separately, the cards named in this article from the older S12a set, such as エンテイV, are not part of the table at all, because the official database pages show the regulation mark only as a set-logo image, so no mark letter is stated for them here. This article therefore makes no statement about whether any particular older card is legal in Standard.
The other two regulations are described on the same page. Extra is 「BW」 series cards up to the latest, with the page updated on February 19, 2026. 殿堂 covers 「DP」 up to 「MEGA」 and uses a points rule: 「60枚の殿堂ポイントの合計が4ポイント以下」, meaning the total Hall points across the 60 cards must be 4 or less. As of October 29, 2026 pokemon-card.com carries no official notice of a further rotation (for example, removing H or adding a K mark), so the next change is not announced.
Starter Decks as Ready-Made 60-Card Templates
The practical use of all these rules is that every official starter product is a legal-size deck out of the box. The table below lists the products in the official lineage, taken from their official pages, with release dates, official prices and what each page says about the deck. All of them are 60-card decks; where a product has more than one deck, the table says so.
| Product (official name) | Release | Official price | Deck contents |
|---|---|---|---|
| スタートデッキ100 | Friday, December 17, 2021 | ¥790 | 1 × 60 cards; 100 kinds, random |
| スターターセットex (ニャオハ&ルカリオex and others) | Friday, January 20, 2023 | ¥1,800 each | 1 × 60 cards, plus one random promo pack |
| exスタートデッキ (8 types) | Friday, July 7, 2023 | ¥550 | 1 × 60 cards; all cards normal (non-holo) |
| バトルアカデミー | Friday, March 8, 2024 | ¥3,290 | 4 × 60 cards |
| スターターセットMEGA (メガゲンガーex / メガディアンシーex) | Friday, September 5, 2025 | ¥1,800 each | 1 × 60 cards |
| MEGA スタートデッキ100 バトルコレクション | Friday, December 19, 2025 | ¥891 | 1 × 60 cards; 100 kinds, random; 2 or more Pokémon ex included in every deck |
| MEGA スターターセットex (3 types) | Friday, July 31, 2026 | ¥1,800 each | 1 × 60 cards |
Two product-page statements matter for a buyer who wants to play, not only to collect. The MEGA Start Deck 100 Battle Collection page says 「対戦には2つ以上のデッキが必要です。」 (a battle needs two or more decks), and the MEGA Starter Set ex page repeats the same line. A single-deck product is therefore a half of a game. The Starter Set ex page, pokemon-card.com/ex/sva, also notes that its promo card can be swapped into the deck of 60 for customizing: 「デッキ60枚と組み替えて改造に使える」.
For comparisons of the released products, the Start Deck 100 Battle Collection guide and the MEGA Premium Trainer Box versus Start Deck 100 guide cover the differences, and the best Japanese Pokémon sets for beginners article takes the wider view. Our companion article on how to build a Pokémon deck uses these same rules in a build walkthrough, and what ex means on Pokémon cards explains the card marker that appears in several examples above.
Where the Battle Start Deck Trademark Fits
On October 29, 2026 fan sites reported a Japanese trademark filing for 「バトルスタートデッキ」 (working English translation: Battle Start Deck; no official English name exists), which collectors read as a possible new starter product; nothing is announced. Our Battle Start Deck article explains what is confirmed and what is not, and the round-up of the four reported names puts it beside the others.
The deck-building rules above come from official pages, and none of them was changed by a trademark report. If a product called バトルスタートデッキ is ever announced, its official page is where its contents, price and deck count would first appear.
Where to Buy Starter Decks and Example Cards
The released starter products we currently list are the MEGA Start Deck 100 Battle Collection at ¥1,097 (~$7), the Starter Set ex Zorua & Zoroark ex at ¥1,584 (~$10) and the Starter Set ex Sprigatito & Meowscarada ex at ¥1,796 (~$12). The Starter Set ex Eevee ex has no listed price on October 29, 2026; sourcing requests for it go through Quick Order.
Readers who want an example card from this article in graded form can look at the Erika’s Tangela AR Style PSA 10 at ¥16,566 (~$108), plus the PSA 10 back orders named above for the Pikachu ex, Eevee and Mega Charizard Y ex prints, each sourced to order with the current terms on its product page. The card list hub links every set page we keep, and for a card or set that is not listed, sourcing requests go through Quick Order.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cards are in a Pokémon deck under the official Japanese rules?
60. The official how-to-play page at pokemon-card.com/howtoplay states that each player uses one deck built from 60 cards, and the City League 2027 Season 1 notice describes the format as a 60-card deck with six-Prize games under Standard regulation. The pages we quoted do not explain why the number is 60.
How many copies of the same card can a deck contain?
Up to 4 cards with the same name, with one exception: basic Energy cards can be included in any number. The official page notes that Pikachu and Pikachu ex count as different names, so the limit is applied to the name printed on the card, not to the Pokémon species.
How many Prize cards are there, and how many does a knockout take?
Each player has 6 Prize cards, and the first player to take 6 wins. The number taken for a knockout is printed on the card: the Entei V in the official database gives the opponent 2 Prize cards, and the Mega Charizard Y ex 766/742 gives 3. Each card’s own text governs its own count.
Do I need two decks to play with a Start Deck 100?
Yes. The official page for the MEGA Start Deck 100 Battle Collection states that a battle needs two or more decks, and the MEGA Starter Set ex page repeats the line. A single product contains one 60-card deck, and the Start Deck 100 lineage is random within 100 kinds, so a second deck means a second product or another deck.
Which regulation marks are legal in Standard as of October 29, 2026?
H, I and J, in force since Friday, January 23, 2026, when cards marked G rotated out. As of October 29, 2026 pokemon-card.com carries no official notice of a further rotation, so the next change is not announced.
Does the Battle Start Deck trademark report change any deck-building rule?
No. On October 29, 2026 fan sites reported a trademark filing for バトルスタートデッキ, but nothing is announced, and the rules in this article come from official pages that were not changed by that report. A new product would be described on its own official product page.
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