In thePokemon TCG, nearly every Pokemon has a weakness. Some of these are strategic, where certain cards may not do well in certain situations. However, others are true Weaknesses, which cause a Pokemon to take double the damage from certain attacks.
The Future Box deck focuses on targeting a variety of Weaknesses by pairing the high-tempoFuture mechanicwith a diverse selection of Pokemon of different types. With several cards increasing damage, this deck is able to provide high-damage attacks early on in the game. In this guide, learn how to build and play the Future Box Deck.
Pokegear 3.0 (x3)
Iono (x3)
Arven (x4)
Basic Metal Energy (x10
Future Box Deck Best Cards
The Future Box deck is overall anarchetypethat focuses onutilizing various attackers within the Future mechanic. As a result, there are various Pokemon and Trainer cards that can be useful, depending on what you wish to accomplish in each game.
However, there are somecards that have shown to be useful, whether as anessential additionor atech cardwith game-altering potential.
Iron Crown ex
So long as your goal is not to create a deck revolving solely around single-Prize Pokemon, Iron Crown ex can be a significant addition toany Future deck. As a result, for many variants, it is consideredessential.
This is because of Iron Crown ex’sCobalt Command Ability. This unique Ability allows for attacks from your Future Pokemon (all of those except any Iron Crown ex) to do anadditional 20 damage. Theeffect of this Ability also stacks,meaning that if you have two Iron Crown ex cards in play, your other Future Pokemon will be able to do an extra 40 damage.
Cobalt Command can never apply to an Iron Crown ex. This is true even if you have two Iron Crown ex cards in play: they cannot bolster each other’s attack damage.
The additional damage applied using Iron Crown ex is done sobeforeWeakness and Resistance is applied. As a result, if you are attacking Tera Charizard ex with Iron Leaves ex with a single Iron Crown ex in play, you’ll do anadditional 40 damage instead of just 20through Cobalt Command.
Miraidon
In a deck full of high-power Pokemon ex, Miraidon may not seem like a viable card at first. However, Miraidon can trulyalter the success of your gameplay, especially if you are given the opportunity to go second.
Miraidon’s attack, Peak Acceleration, does not do a large amount of damage. In fact, its base damage is just 40, which may fail to Knock Out almost all Pokemon except for a handful of single-Prize Basic Pokemon. However, a quick look at howMiraidon affects the strategy of the Future Box deckcements it as an essential card.
First,Miraidon’s damage can be bolsteredby both Iron Crown ex and Future Booster Energy Capsule. As a result, with all conditions met, Peak Acceleration can do up to 140 damage for the cost of a single Energy.This, paired with its ability to distribute Energy from your deck to your Bench, helps make it asignificant card for your early game strategy.
Future Box Deck Strategy
There aretwo main goalswhen you are playing the Future Box deck.
First, you’ll want toaccelerate Energywhere it needs to be as quickly and effectively as possible. This can be done through the use of cards such as Energy Switch, Exp. Share, Energy Search, and Miraidon. Second, you’ll want tofocus on dealing the most amount of damage possiblethrough the use of Weakness. This deck utilizes various Future Pokemon of different types, allowing you to tailor your gameplay based on the opposing deck.
Overall, in the majority of games, you’ll want to choose togo second whenever possible. This is because going second will allow you to distribute Energies across your Bench while also targeting your opponent’s Defending Pokemon.
On the ideal first turn, you’ll want toend your turn by attacking with Miraidon’s Peak Acceleration. This is because itdeals a small amount of damagewhile also letting youattach Energies to your Pokemon. Depending on your Bench, Peak Acceleration may even do enough to secure at least asingle Prize Card.
With at least one Iron Crown ex in play, as well as a Future Energy Booster Capsule attached to Miraidon, you can do an additional 40 damage with Peak Acceleration. This Knocks Out most non-Rule Box Basic Pokemon.
Attacking with Miraidon will also ensure that you have a single-Prize Pokemon in your Active Spot going into the third turn of the game. As a result, if your opponent is able to Knock Out your Defending Pokemon, you’ll only lose one Prize Card compared to two, since many of the Pokemon in the Future Box deck sport the Pokemon ex Rule.
After your first turn, you’ll want tofocus on distributing Energy as neededandpivoting to attack with the most damge possible. You’ll most likely want to avoid attacking with Miraidon again, as most of the other attackers in this deck would be better suited.
However, an exception to this is if you need extra Energy attachments for the next turn and can gust out a lower HP Pokemon that you may Knock Out with Miraidon. This may be beneficial after suffering from anunexpected Knock Outorencountering a Trainer card or attack the removes Energyfrom your Pokemon.
It can also help return the Knock Out on Pokemon with high HPs after losing your Iron Hands ex or other two-Prize attacker.
There are various cards that can have a direct impact on your Pokemon’s Energy attachments, either by removing them or requiring extra Energy to attack. This includes cards such as Pokemon League Headquarters, Espathra ex, and Bouffalant.
When possible,Iron Hands excan be used totake an extra Prize Cardusing its Amp You Very Much attack. If Manaphy is not in play,Iron Crown ex’s attack can be benefical for striking the Bench, either for a quick Knock Out or to set up an attack from Iron Hands ex. Iron Leaves ex is less common butvital against many Dark-type decks.
In many matches, you’ll want tofocus on gusting as much as you do pivoting. This deck employs various cards to help move your opponent’s Pokemon from the Active Spot.
Not all gusting options in this deck, such as Iron Bundle, will allow you to choose your opponent’s new Active Pokemon.
Regardless, pivoting and gusting will help to ensure you have the opportunity to do the most damage possible each turn,maximizing your ability to take Prize Cards.
Future Box Deck Common Threats
With its ability toaccelerate rapidlyand deal large amounts of damage, the Future Box deck is quiteflexible in adjusting to threats. However, that isn’t to say there are no threats to worry about.
Many of the Pokemon played in the Future Box deck require high Energy costs to attack. For some, this can look like three to four Energies before an attack is possible. As a result,a deck like theEspathra ex deckcan pose a large threat to Future Box.
Between the namesake Espathra ex itself as well as Trainer cards like Pokemon League Headquarters, it can bedifficult to get enough Energy to attack. Not only will you need to pile on more Energy, though, but you’ll find that Espathra ex’s scaling damage alsopunishes high Energy attachments.
