Trainer Spencer- I'm on MSN if you've got that!
I'll do a quick do's and don'ts list!
Do's-
Be consistent!- Run enough copies of the cards you need (particularly cards you will need to set up such as Holons Mentor to grab basics) to ensure you get a good start/draw into what you want throughout the game. For example- many decks this season have run 4 holon transceiver (which grabs "Holons" supporter trainer cards) and 3/4 Holon mentor to grab basic pokemon. Thats effectively 7/8 cards that grab basics, so you should start with either mentor, or transceiver to grab mentor!
Have deck focus!- Your deck should have a clear FOCUS- every card should have a role, nothing in it should be in there cos "it might come in useful, in the odd game against person x" (that example links to CONSISTENCY). If you DO play the odd 1 card- for example, a big basic pokemon with a beefy attack, or a tool, it should be chosen carefully, and have a purpose. Often, these cards are called "Tech".
Have Definition!- Your deck should have DEFINED ROLES (who's your main attacker? who's your best starting basic? who's your best support pokemon and when is best to get him out?) and DEFINED STRATEGY (you should know what your deck aims to do every single time- if i start with X basic, I know i have to do X. If i'm against an X deck, i should do X)
Play around!- try out different things! Maybe a combination of pokemon powers that you think might work? Although you might go with an established deck for a tournament, theres nothing wrong with a bit of creativity for practicing with!
--->The don'ts would obviously be opposites of the above-
DON'T be inconsistent.
DON'T throw in cards for the heck of it.
DON'T throw a deck together with no idea what it's going to do in battle.
Other Don'ts-
DON'T ignore advice! Take it all on board, even if you don't agree with it- you might end up changing your mind/finding some great new ways to tweak your deck!
DON'T play with cards you don't understand yet! When I started out, someone lent me a deck to play at a tournament. I had no idea what anything did and bombed, not to mention annoying my opponents with slow play! :frown:
A final word of advice- DOOOOO read the articles that come up on the gym! They're very informative!!!!!! Always good to have a look in the deck help section as well- people post decks, other people try to fix them/discuss the best plays for the deck--> YOU LEARN WHAT WORKS :biggrin:
Hope thats helped!
Edit: theres probably already something like what I've posted above, but I hope that's helped anyway.............