Pokemon Auto Chess Synergy System Guide (Part 1): Beginner's Guide and Race Recommendations

Hello everyone! Welcome to our brand-new Pokemon Auto Chess synergy system guide series. As the first installment, I'll be introducing the game's fundamental concepts and providing race recommendations for newcomers.

Series Introduction

This comprehensive guide series draws all its information from the official Discord tutorial "PAC Synergy Guides (Patch 5.10)" masterfully crafted by @AppleJuice. While the game has received updates since then, the core strategies and theoretical frameworks remain incredibly valuable and relevant for today's players. The original guide is impressively detailed, spanning 98 pages in PDF format, which speaks to its thoroughness.

I should mention that I've utilized AI assistance during the translation and writing process, so there may be occasional errors or inaccuracies. If you spot any issues while reading, please don't hesitate to reach out—I'll be happy to make corrections promptly.

Disclaimer

Before diving into the main content, I need to clarify several important aspects:

Writing Perspective

I'm approaching these guides from a beginner's standpoint, assuming you might think: "I really love this particular synergy... how do I get started with it?" Each article will thoroughly cover a specific synergy's overall game plan, key units, and important supporting traits. I'm assuming you're planning to use that synergy as your primary vertical build. Traits that shouldn't be used as primary verticals will have slightly simplified layouts. Experienced players will find that many of these strategies aren't as rigid as I suggest—there's plenty of room for creativity. However, covering all those variations would double the article length.

Item Recommendations

I'll only mention specific item builds when I believe they're crucial to a unit's effectiveness. Otherwise, I'll stick to general item categories. This approach serves two purposes:

1. Time and Energy Efficiency: I'm planning to discuss a vast number of units

2. Avoiding Rigid Thinking: I don't want new players expecting cookie-cutter item builds to be common or essential in PAC

This is especially important for players coming from Teamfight Tactics (TFT). You need to understand that PAC items are far more flexible and diverse, having transformative effects on unit power and roles. You can turn almost any ranged unit into a carry with Ruby and Scope. Most units can tank at some point with Doll and Rocky Helmet.

The best approach is learning items naturally through hands-on experience. There are other Discord resources covering items in detail, and I might create my own version if there's demand.

Game Phase Breakdown

You'll see strategies divided into early, mid, or late game phases. I've tried to maintain consistent timing, but since I wrote this over several days, there might be some variation in expression or timing. These concepts are naturally fluid in-game anyway—you might get lucky with "mid-game units" early, or snag an ultra-rare on turn 14.

Early Game: Typically involves Common, Uncommon, and first-stage Rare Pokemon at levels 3-6
Mid Game: Begins with turn 10 Unique picks, including evolved Rare Pokemon or first-stage Epic acquisitions
Late Game: Starts with turn 20 Legendary selections, featuring important Epic evolutions and relevant Ultra-rare usage

I'm assuming the standard experience involves saving to 50 gold and spending excess on leveling or refreshing. I'll note when different approaches are needed, but generally, you shouldn't aggressively waste money on refreshes and three-star evolutions early on.

Hatched Pokemon

For added interest, I've decided to include commentary on potential hatched Pokemon and how they impact synergy builds. For detailed information on optimal egg acquisition, check the Baby page.

Final Composition Examples

You'll see examples of end-game compositions featuring at least 8, but usually 9 Pokemon—because 99% of well-played games should reach level 8+. I'll only include items when they're crucial for synergy activation. I won't show proper positioning either; 3x3 grids make cleaner screenshots. Don't treat these compositions as gospel—final states are much more diverse than in TFT since available units vary each game.

Meme Builds

Finally, I'll comment on potential "meme builds" for any given synergy. For me, meme builds fall into two categories: either extremely challenging due to multiple RNG requirements (synergy items, add picks, specific uniques/legendaries, regional evolutions, etc.), or completely ridiculous attempts at unusual synergy combinations. They might be secretly powerful or utterly terrible. Either way, they're screenshot-worthy for Discord sharing. Regardless of outcome, this celebrates what makes PAC truly wonderful and fun: creative team-building opportunities. I hope newcomers will develop their own meme builds after mastering the basics.

Advanced Beginner Suggestions

I want to expand beyond the "beginner-friendly" synergies and suggest options for players who've become more familiar with game systems. These aren't ranked within their categories.

Beginner Race Recommendation Chart

Difficulty Level	Race	Characteristics
Beginner Friendly	Fire	Buy and play immediately, strong at 4+
	Grass/Flora	Flora units can be tricky to find, but easy to buy and use
	Poison	Buy and play immediately, excellent at 5+
	Ground	Buy and play immediately, great early-game boost for newcomers
	Fighting	Solid choice if the region supports it
Intermediate	Dragon	Few ranged dragons, harder to acquire, requires leveling
	Field	Can be fragile early/mid without proper items. Easy to buy and use, but add picks make huge differences
	Normal	Easy to buy and use, but requires specific item knowledge
	Light	Need to understand maximizing a single carry unit. Beginners can transition from Fire
Advanced Beginner	Electric	Limited unit pool, average units are either weak or fragile. Requires understanding of proper itemization and unit selection. Can also build alongside Light
	Dark	Requires positioning knowledge, good items, and specific shop understanding
	Wild	Has very unique shop strategies but otherwise straightforward. Can't force every game—must learn signal recognition
	Flying	Requires learning specific reroll strategies. Must maximize Flying 8

Race Characteristics Explained

Beginner Friendly races typically feature:

• Easy shop acquisition with low unit difficulty

• Decent performance even without perfect items

• Relatively low synergy activation thresholds

Intermediate races require some foundational knowledge:

• Understanding basic item synergies

• Decent grasp of game pacing

• Ability to recognize transition timing

Advanced Beginner races demand deeper understanding:

• Mastery of positioning mechanics

• In-depth shop system knowledge

• Skill in reading game signals and timing

Conclusion

This concludes the first article in our Pokemon Auto Chess synergy system guide series. By understanding these fundamental concepts and race recommendations, new players can begin their PAC journey with confidence.

In upcoming articles, we'll dive deep into specific race strategies, covering core units, item recommendations, pacing control, and much more. Stay tuned!

Pro Tip: For detailed synergy effects and mechanics, you can check the Synergy section at the top of our website, or visit https://www.pokemon-auto-chess.org/en/synergies directly to explore all available synergies and their interactions.

If you have questions or suggestions about this article, feel free to leave comments below. Let's continue growing together in the Pokemon Auto Chess world!