Pokemon TCG Pocket best decks and meta tier list (April 2025)

Our Pokemon TCG Pocket best decks and meta deck tier list for April 2025 are still being shaken after the Shining Revelry expansion, with plenty of new decks based around newcomers like Giratina, Clodsire, Meowscarada, Charizard and Wugtrio.

Basically the PTCGP meta has been upended, but I've been keeping careful track of things, especially now that the Pokemon TCG Pocket ranked rewards have given players a motivation to play better than ever. If you want to become a Pokemon master, we've got all the best decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket, with a tier list for the meta and how you can build those decks yourself.

Best decks tier list for the Pokemon TCG Pocket meta

The current best decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket are laid out in the following tier list.

• S-tier decks
  • Arceus ex / Dialga (Steel): The legendary God Pokemon works wonders in conjunction with Dialga and Shaymin, using Dialga to empower the others early.
  • Giratina ex / Darkrai ex (Dark): Despite Giratina being Psychic type, this slower deck runs Dark energy only, as the Poke-devil can generate its own energy.
  • Clodsire ex (Dark): A poison-focused deck that hits hard in the early game.
  • Leafeon ex / Celebi ex (Grass): This modified version of the Celebi deck with Triumphant Light cards uses Leafeon's energy generation abilities to deadly effect.
  • Rampardos / Sudowoodo (Fighting): A deck basically designed to bring down all those decks that focus on Ex Pokemon, this glass cannon comes out swinging but struggles for late-game survivability.
  • Gholdengo / Dialga (Steel): Similar to Arceus and almost as good, Gholdengo gets quickly powered up by Dialga to lay down a powerful assault.
• A-tier decks
  • Meowscarada (Grass): An anti-ex deck that hits hard, early, designed as a glass cannon.
  • Wugtrio ex (Water): Backed by Palkia and Manaphy, this build sacrifices accuracy for raw power.
  • Weavile ex / Darkrai ex (Dark): Space-Time Smackdown has opened up the meta to include this incredibly powerful Dark-type deck, with a strong early game and high damage level.
  • Shining Revelry Charizard ex (Fire / Water): Charizard's Stoke allows this card to set up its own high energy costs relatively quickly.
  • Mewtwo ex (Psychic): This deck focuses on Mewtwo ex up front and having Gardevoir on the bench, using the latter to rapidly power up the former to do massive damage.
  • Pikachu ex (Electric): A high-speed deck designed to do rapid damage before the opponent can set up their own play.
  • Palkia ex (Water): Water decks are thriving in the Meta, and the new Palkia card is a high-power force for destruction. The high energy cost is quickly mitigated by a supporting deck of Vaporeon, Manaphy and of course, Misty.
• B-tier decks
  • Starmie ex / Articuno ex (Water): A diverse deck that combines speed and power through a mix of rare cards, using Misty to (sometimes) provide energy to the team.
  • Gyarados ex (Water/Fire): The Mythical Island Gyarados is incredibly powerful and durable, so if you can charge it up with Misty, you'll probably win.
• C-tier decks
  • Venusaur ex (Grass): A deck that uses healing powers to sustain itself, but struggles in the early game.
  • Marowak ex (Fighting): A cheap, quick fighting deck that risks a lot on coin flips.
  • Poison/Koga (Dark): Arbok and Weezing control and poison the opponent while Koga allows you to return Weezing to your hand. Lacks raw power, though a good budget deck with a strong early game.

We'll go into these decks further on, and there's plenty of the Pokemon TCG Pocket best cards that aren't necessarily represented in the decks above, but keep in mind that the meta and the best decks in Pocket aren't so unstoppable that you'll always be guaranteed a 100% win rate. Type disadvantage, a bad opening hand, clever plays by your opponent - all these things can bring even the most powerful deck down, and metas being what they are, we'll likely see some counter-decks for these two popping up soon, especially as more cards are added.

Now, admittedly these decks all tend to include some of the rarest cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket, and that's something to keep in mind - you won't be able to build these straight off the bat unless you're willing to sync a lot of money into gold, or just are very lucky in your pack draws.

S-tier

Below we've got the best of the best decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket, capable of winning multiple games in a row and having a superb win rate overall.

Best Arceus ex deck

This Arceus ex deck is about rapid energy generation in collaboration with the other deity, Dialga ex.

• Arceus ex x2
• Dialga ex x2
• Shaymin (Space-Time Smackdown) x1
• Shaymin (Triumphant Light) x1
• Poke Ball x2
• Potion x2
• Giant Cape x2
• Rocky Helmet x1
• Adaman x1
• Cyrus x1
• Giovanni x1
• Sabrina x2
• Professor's Research x2

The headliner of the Pokemon TCG Pocket Triumphant Light expansion, Arceus ex, has many different variants of decks that are strong contenders right now, but the strongest that we can see is a working relationship with its child Dialga ex. For this deck, you send out Dialga ex first, and quickly send back energy to a benched Arceus to quickly power it up. At the same time, the two Shaymin provide passive buffs of health and reduced retreat costs, giving you a lot more flexibility and health.

The downside is a slow start and poor early game, especially if you don't get Dialga soon enough. You're basically just trying to stay alive until the mid-game, using trainer cards, tools and healing to keep your team alive until Arceus and Dialga are ready to bring out their high-power moves. Get through that rough early section, and you'll be very hard to stop.

• Pros
  • Arceus' attack can do 130 damage with a full bench
  • Dialga is a strong opening play
  • High health and survival power
• Cons
  • Weak to the common fighting deck
  • Poor early game as a rule
  • Vulnerable to control decks

Best Giratina ex deck

The Shining Revelry Charizard ex in Pokemon TCG Pocket has revitalised the Fire-type build. Here's how you can make the deck yourself:

• Giratina ex x2
• Darkrai ex x2
• Druddigon x2
• Cyrus x1
• Sabrina x1
• Leaf x2
• Red x2
• Professor's Research x2
• Giant Cape x2
• Poke Ball x2
• Potion x2

The first thing to know is that you only want dark-type energy running on this deck. Yes, Giratina and Druddigon use other energies, but forget those: there's a very particular strategy at play here. Namely, send Druddigon out first as a wall, while Darkrai and Giratina build energy behind that wall. Darkrai will hurt the enemy Pokemon when you fix energy to it, while Giratina is self-charging. Once you're done, you use Leaf to instantly bring out either of the two ex Pokemon and lay the smackdown!

The downsides are that this deck is slow, and if you don't draw Druddigon and an ex card early on, it can be a little tricky to improvise. Giratina also really can't do anything until it's ready to go. However, play for time and keep whittling at them, or building up the tanky Giratina's 130 damage attack. Once you're set up to lash back, there'll be little that can stop you.

• Pros
  • Tanky Pokemon make it hard to get knocked out quick
  • Giratina can do 130 damage every turn when ready to go
  • Red, Cyrus, Sabrina and Leaf all can disrupt enemy strategies nicely.
• Cons
  • Slow set-up that's somewhat luck dependant
  • Giratina's ability does end your turn, while its attack damages itself

Best Clodsire ex deck

This Dark-type poison-focused deck is very strong in Pokemon TCG Pocket right now.

• Paldean Wooper x2
• Paldean Clodsire x2
• Shroodle x2
• Grafaiai x2
• Sabrina x1
• Cyrus x1
• Iono x1
• Professor's Research x2
• Red x1
• X Speed x2
• Giant Cape x2
• Poke Ball x2

Having emerged from the Pokemon TCG Pocket Shining Revelry expansion, the basics of this deck are pretty straightforward - poison the foe early on, then focus on survival and control, while also using Clodsire's 120 damage attack to hammer through foes. The fact that you can hit with that attack on your second turn is an outrageous advantage, and Grafaiai ensures a steady supply of poison to whittle enemies down.

The downside is that there's clearly a bit of set-up involved here. Not much, admittedly, but not none, and it leaves you vulnerable to rapid fighting type decks like the Rampardos / Sudowoodo build you can also find on this page. Likewise, Arceus ex - a popular card - is poison immune. However, that doesn't mean you can't win, you just need to ensure you control the battlefield enough to negate that advantage.

• Pros
  • Clodsire can potentially do 120 damage by turn 4
  • Should be up and running by the mid-game
  • Good control and survivability
• Cons
  • Vulnerable against certain common deck builds
  • Fast decks can defeat Wooper and Shroodle too early
  • Only Clodsire provides pure offensive power

Best Leafeon ex / Celebi ex deck

This modified Celebi ex deck includes the Triumphant Light Leafeon ex to increase energy production for higher damage output.

• Eevee (Continuous Steps variant) x2
• Leafeon ex x2
• Celebi ex x2
• Shaymin (Triumphant Light) x1
• Giant Cape x2
• Poke Ball x2
• X Speed x2
• Potion x1
• Professor's Research x2
• Cyrus x1
• Dawn x1
• Erika x2

Celebi ex gaining power from how much energy it has attached to it means that a pairing with an energy generation card like Leafeon is only natural. Leafeon's main ability is to give a free energy to any other card you have (if it's in the active slot), but this means if you have two of them in play, you can use Forest Breath, have Leafeon retreat, then use the other Leafeon's Forest Breath. This means Celebi can potentially get three energy applied to it in a single turn; a devastasting ramp up.

The downsides are pretty apparent - Fire is your big threat, and if you can't find Celebi in the deck, Leafeon's power won't help you much. Still, Shaymin's passive ability to spark rapid retreats will help you improvise in a pinch.

• Pros
  • Rapid energy gives you a strong early/mid game
  • Celebi ex can do more damage than any other card if set up right
  • Good survivability and healing
• Cons
  • Dependant on drawing Celebi for best effect
  • Weak to Fire decks

Best Rampardos / Sudowoodo deck

This fighting-type deck seems unassuming, but is getting startling results in the wake of Triumphant Light. You can build it yourself with:

• Sudowoodo x1
• Marshadow x1
• Riolu x2
• Lucario x2
• Skull Fossil x2
• Cranidos x2
• Rampardos x2
• Poke Ball x2
• Pokemon Communication x2
• Professor's Research x2
• Sabrina x1
• Cyrus x1

I've been playing this deck a lot at the moment and getting far more wins than losses overall. The pitch here is that this is a kind of anti-Ex deck, designed to take down all the more high-power decks that tend to dominate the meta. Sudowoodo can do 50 damage to an ex card with one energy right off the bat, while Rampardos can do 130 damage! Not only that, but the presence of Lucario means everything will get a permanent +20 damage boost, raised to +40 if you can get them both onto the board.

The downsides of this deck are pretty straightforward - it's a glass cannon build focused on the early game, without much in survival power. You can readdress that with some tweaks, but ultimately its smarter just to double down on what's good, and outpace your opponents. Send out Sudowoodo early on if possible, while building up towards Rampardos and Lucario on the bench.

• Pros
  • Low energy costs across the board
  • Very strong early game
  • Rampardos buffed by Lucario can one-shot many ex Pokemon for one energy!
• Cons
  • It's hard to get that Skull Fossil to start the Rampardos line
  • Low survival power generally
  • Weakens in the late game

Best Gholdengo / Dialga ex deck

Dialga ex has found its niche in PTCGP as a way to rapidly fuel other cards with Steel energy - and Shining Revelry's Gholdengo is a great contender for that.

• Gimmighoul x2
• Gholdengo x2
• Dialga ex x2
• Mew ex x1
• Sabrina x1
• Leaf x2
• Dawn x2
• Adaman x1
• Professor's Research x2
• Pokemon Communication x1
• Giant Cape x1
• Rocky Helmet x1
• Poke Ball x2

Despite having two Psychic type Pokemon, make sure that you only allow for Steel Energy. Otherwise, the plan here is a pretty straightforward one - you send out Dialga first while building up Gholdengo on the bench, and using control/defense cards to keep Dialga alive in the process. Once Gholdengo has a lot of energy on it, you bring out the big string cheese for a massive attack.

Gholdengo basically works like Celebi, in that its damage scales according to how much energy is on it, but with the random factor of coin flips. With that in mind, assuming the usual 50% success rate, a very achievable six energy should result in 150 damage, enough to beat most cards in one strike. Still, this deck struggles against Fire decks, and if you don't get Dialga early on, it can be hard to build up to that power. However, survive into the mid-game and you're probably going to win.

• Pros
  • Dialga ex is a great tank and hard to beat in the early game
  • Weak to Fire type decks, but they don't have a strong footing in the meta
  • Gholdengo can do massive damage when set up right
• Cons
  • Without Dialga, it's hard to build up
  • Vulnerable to unlucky coin flips
  • Gimmighoul can't do damage at all

A-tier

A-tier decks can still perform incredibly strongly, but may be slightly more dependent on luck or setting up complex strategies than those above.

Best Meowscarada deck

A fast(ish) grass deck, Meowscarada teams up with Arceus and Carnavine to hit hard at ex cards.

• Sprigatito x2
• Floragato x2
• Meowscarada x2
• Arceus ex x2
• Carnavine x2
• Professor's Research x2
• Erika x2
• Red x2
• Giant Cape x2
• Poke Ball x2

This is a deck that's all about countering the prevalence of ex decks, especially those that take a little time to set up. Meowscarada can do a whopping 130 damage to ex Pokemon, up to 170 if you exploit a weakness and trigger Red at the same time. You can potentially KO an ex card in a single devastating blow...

But it requires some setup to get there. Meowscarada only requires two energy, but it's a Stage 2 Pokemon that you'll need to filter your deck to find. Otherwise, you'll be dependent on the Arceus and Carnavine accordingly - both of whom are powerful and can be deployed quickly. Still, going up against a non-ex deck can leave you flailing slightly.

• Pros
  • Ruins the very common ex deck builds
  • Fire decks aren't that common
  • Sprigatito lets you search your deck early on
• Cons
  • Weaker against non-ex decks
  • Stage 2 evolutions are hard to set up

Best Wugtrio ex deck

This Wugtrio ex deck takes the raw, random power of Wugtrio, backed by none less than the god of space.

• Wiglett x2
• Wugtrio ex x2
• Palkia ex x1
• Manaphy x2
• Professor's Research x2
• Misty x2
• Irida x2
• Iona x1
• Giant Cape x1
• Pokemon Communication x1
• Poke Ball x2
• X Speed x2

Wugtrio's high power is, of course, offset by the randomness of it, wherein you do 3 lots of 50 damage to random targets. Just to double down on that randomness, we include the ever-fickle Misty to make or break your setup.

Beyond that, this a deck that's pretty simple: deploy Manaphy to quickly fuel either Palkia or Wugtrio, then swap out to deliver a series of devastating blows that even the benched Pokemon aren't safe from. If you're in danger, Irida will hopefully buy you the time to counteract it.

• Pros
  • Ruins Pokemon on the back bench too
  • Wugtrio builds quickly and does high damage
  • Manaphy and Misty generate rapid energ
• Cons
  • Failure of Misty is always dangerous
  • Wugtrio's unpredictability can play against you
  • Only Palkia is particularly tanky

Best Weavile ex / Darkrai ex deck

The Pokemon TCG Pocket Space-Time Smackdown expansion has added a bunch of strong new cards and opened up this Dark-type deck based around Weavile ex and Darkrai ex.

• Sneasel x2
• Weavile ex x2
• Darkrai ex x2
• Spiritomb x2
• Dawn x2
• Cyrus x2
• Professor's Research x2
• Pokemon Communication x2
• X Speed x2
• Poke Ball x2

This is a high-power deck based around unrelenting offensive power from the off, as well as some energy control to keep Darkrai ex's ability going. Meanwhile, a supporting hand of control cards like Cyrus and Pokemon Communication mean that you can keep that offense maintained, dragging damaged Pokemon back into play or even damaging benched Pokemon directly with Spiritomb.

The downside here is a lack of any real killer attacks - a big tanky Blastoise will survive anything you have for at least a while, so you need to ensure it never reaches the late-game phase. If something can survive your barrage, like Mewtwo ex, nothing you have is durable enough to stand up to a long assault. Still, a powerful early game has been a staple of the meta from the beginning, and Weavile ex being so potent off the bat (not to mention Dawn's energy control) means you can really come out swinging here.

• Pros
  • Very strong early game
  • Strong against the relatively common psychic decks
  • Good board control
• Cons
  • Weak to grass decks (and Celebi ex as a result)
  • No real late-game powerhouse attacks
  • Lower health pools

If you're looking for more detail on strategies and ways to play this build, we've got a more comprehensive guide on the Pokemon TCG Pocket Darkrai ex and Weavile ex deck here!

Best Charizard ex deck

The new Shining Revelry Charizard ex has empowered Pokemon TCG Pocket fire decks again. To make this deck, build the following:

• Charmander (Shining Revelry) x2
• Charmeleon (Shining Revelry) x2
• Charizard ex (Shining Revelry) x2
• Druddigon x2
• Leaf x2
• Irida x2
• Professor's Research x2
• Pokemon Communication x1
• Giant Cape x2
• Rocky Helmet x1
• Poke Ball x2

You'll want to run both Fire and Water energy on this deck, as a result of both Druddigon and Irida. Strategy-wise, this is a simpler build - Druddigon holds down the active spot while you build up to Charizard ex and fuel it with energy, then swap them around and burn through the opponent's line up.

Until that point, you're playing for time - like any deck that requires two evolutions, it's on the slower side. Use Irida, the Cape and the Helmet to buy yourself time, while filtering through your deck for the Charmander line. Quicker decks can put you in danger, so disrupt them as much as possible along the way. If you're inclined, trying swapping in Moltres ex to see if you can charge Charizard all the quicker.

• Pros
  • Charizard's damage is massive
  • Good durability and survival power
  • Stoke allows Charizard to fuel itself in a pinch
• Cons
  • Weak to water decks, which are common
  • Slow to set up and risks disruption along the way
  • Dual type energy risks a run of unusable water.

Best Mewtwo ex deck

The Mewtwo ex deck is one of the best decks in the meta right now, and is composed of the following:

• Mewtwo ex x2
• Ralts x2
• Kirlia x2
• Gardevoir x2
• Potion x2
• X Speed x2
• Poke Ball x2
• Red Card x1
• Professor's Research x2
• Mythical Slab x1
• Giovanni x2

Getting Mewtwo EX onto the battlefield has never been easier thanks to the new Mythical Slab card, which allows you to cycle through your monsters more effectively. Mythical Slab takes the top card of your deck; if it’s a psychic Pokemon, it goes into your hand. Anything else gets pulled to the bottom of your deck.

Once you’ve got Mewtwo on the active slot, you can rely on Gardevoir's "Psy Shadow" Ability to give it free energy every turn. Set it up right, and you can use Mewtwo's Psydrive attack to do 150 damage every turn, at no cost to yourself.

Before, setting up two Ralts evolutions was a risky proposition. Now, though, you’ve got multiple options for getting the card you need beyond Mythical Slab, like Professor’s Research and Pokeball.

We've also got a dedicated guide to looking at all versions of the Pokemon TCG Pocket Mewtwo ex deck.

• Pros
  • Massive, continuous damage when set up
  • Gardevoir and Mewtwo have decent HP
  • An arguably OP deck is now even stronger
• Cons
  • Your best bet for Mythical Slab is Wonder Pick
  • If you lose Mewtwo, it's all over
  • The new booster set introduces more counters

Best Pikachu ex deck

With new Mythical Island decks seemling targeting Pikachu, the ex deck has lost it's edge a little. It's still one of the best decks in play right now, with a strong early game, it just lost its unchallenged dominance. You can make it from the following cards:

• Pikachu ex x2
• Zapdos ex x2
• Voltorb x2
• Electrode x2
• Poke Ball x2
• Potion x2
• Red Card x1
• X Speed x2
• Sabrina x2
• Giovanni x1
• Professor's Research x2

This is a massively aggressive "glass cannon" deck, based around getting powerful Pokemon on the field and doing high damage ASAP. Pikachu ex and Zapdos ex cards both can do major damage in their first few turns on the field, and it means you can secure a victory as early as turn six, if you're lucky.

However, if you haven't won by that point and give your opponent time to set up, things will get harder. Both are comparatively low health for "ex" cards, and obviously if one gets taken out, you lose two points instead of one. Not only that, but there's some luck involved here: Pikachu deals damage that scales to the number of Pokemon you have benched, and Zapdos' big attack is based on a series of coin flips, so you might end up doing nothing. With new options like Pidgeot EX and even Tauros now posing a viable threat, it's all a much riskier play now.

If you want more info on building and playing this, as well as some alternative builds, here's our full guide to the perfect Pokemon TCG Pocket Pikachu ex deck.

• Pros
  • Fast set-up and high damage, great early game
  • Not complex or dependent on evolution
  • Good against water decks, late-game decks, and the legendary birds, all of which are common
• Cons
  • Best attacks are somewhat circumstantial and not always relaiable
  • Low health pools
  • Expensive, high budget deck

Best Palkia ex deck

We predicted Palkia ex would be a meta-winner in Pokemon TCG Pocket after the Space-Time Smackdown, and sure enough one of the best water decks is now headlined by it. To make this Palkia ex deck, you'll need:

• Palkia ex x2
• Manaphy x2
• Eevee (Mythical Island/Continuous Steps Variant) x2
• Vaporeon (Mythical Island/Wash Out ability Variant) x2
• Misty x2
• Cyrus x2
• Professor's Research x2
• Giant Cape x2
• Pokemon Communication x2
• Poke Ball x2

Water decks have always been a high contender in the meta since the beginning (largely due to Misty), and Palkia ex is leaping on that trend. Everything here is about setting up Palkia's devastating Dimensional Storm attack, where it does 150 damage to the active enemy Pokemon and 20 damage to all the benched ones. The downside is that it costs you 4 energy and you discard three in the process.

Fortunately, your supporting team is here to help with that - Misty and Manaphy supplying a deluge of energy, while Vaporeon lets you control that energy placement. This is a deck that'll probably struggle in the early game to get a footing and you'll be very vulnerable to Pikachu and Electric decks, but items like Giant Cape and Pokemon Communication are designed to help with that.

• Pros
  • Devastating late game
  • Great energy control
  • Misty can win you the game on your first turn (if you're lucky)
• Cons
  • Can struggle in the early game
  • Weak to the common electric decks
  • A lot of set-up means many things that can go wrong

For more info on how to build a great Pokemon TCG Pocket Palkia ex deck, check out our dedicated guide!

B-tier

B-tier decks might be a little antiquated, highly-focused, or utilise strategies that are easy for opponents to disrupt. Success is wholly possible, but might require some luck or clever thinking.

Best Starmie ex / Articuno ex deck

Just below the top two decks, the Starmie ex deck is about getting powerful water Pokemon on the field and doing damage ASAP. Here's the most widely-used and effective version:

• Staryu x2
• Starmie ex x2
• Articuno ex x2
• Poke Ball x2
• Potion x2
• X Speed x1
• Red Card x1
• Misty x2
• Giovanni x2
• Sabrina x1
• Vaporeon x1
• Professor's Research x2

This mix of Starmie and Articuno ex can potentially win you the game on turn one, if you're lucky with your draws. Getting Articuno and a good result with Misty means you can cast Blizzard for 80 damage the moment the game starts, potentially wiping the foe's board and securing the earliest of early victories. Admittedly Misty is based on chance, so there's no guarantees, but when it works, it's devastating.

The new Vaporeon variant also beefs up Misty in the rare cases that you land more coin tosses than you need. Wash Out allows you to move water energy from your benched Pokemon to your Active Pokemon as many times as you like during your turn. You can use X speed to swap out a monster stacked with energy which needs healing and replace it with something that could attack immediately once you move some energy around.

• Pros
  • Low/no retreat costs
  • Powerful early game
  • Misty/Articuno is a potential turn-one win
• Cons
  • Lacks really powerful "finisher" attacks
  • Weak to the very common Electric deck builds

Best Gyarados ex deck

This Gyarados ex deck focuses on defensive play, keeping Magikarp on the bench while you use Druddigon and Greninja to hold back foes.

• Magikarp (Mythical Island Variant) x2
• Gyarados ex x2
• Froakie x2
• Frogadier x2
• Greninja x2
• Druddigon x2
• Poke Ball x2
• Professor's Research x2
• Misty x2
• Leaf x2

There's a real argument to be made for removing the dragon type Druddigon, as this immediately makes this a dual-fire/water type deck for that card alone. However, we think it's worth the risk, as it's a superb tank that damages Pokemon that attack it. Keep Druddigon as the active Pokemon while keeping Froakie and Magikarp on the bench, fueling and evolving them both as fast as possible.

Once you're ready to counterattack, use Leaf to bring Druddigon off the field and bring in Gyarados ex. There'll be very few attacks that can defeat it, and its attack strips a random Pokemon of energy while doing a massive 140 damage - which is no issue for Greninja's active ability. If the enemy tries to pull damaged Pokemon back to safety, you can use those same Greninja to snipe them.

• Pros
  • Misty can potentially supercharge Magikarp early on for a quick win
  • Greninja is a great support Pokemon and Druddigon is a great tank
  • Gyarados ex can strip enemies of energy (though can also get your own team)
• Cons
  • Vulnerable to the very common electric deck archetypes
  • Can potentially be slow to prepare Gyarados if Misty doesn't work
  • Druddigon means you might keep drawing Fire energy

C-tier

C-tier decks will let you claim victory in Solo battles in PTCGP, and might give you some victories in matchmaking (we wouldn't put them on this list if they weren't at least viable). However, you'll probably struggle when it comes to the decks in the tiers above this.

Best Venusaur ex deck

Venusaur ex and grass decks are the only options in Pokemon TCG Pocket for healing and recovery on a major level. If that appeals to you, here's the build:

• Bulbasaur x2
• Ivysaur x2
• Venusaur ex x2
• Petilil x2
• Lilligant x2
• Poke Ball x2
• Potion x1
• X Speed x2
• Erika x2
• Professor's Research x2
• Sabrina x1

You can shuffle around the exact numbers of items to taste, but ultimately the goal here is to get Lilligant active on the field so it can then provide energy to the Bulbasaur on the bench. You play defensively, healing and controlling, all the while evolving Bulbasaur to the Venusaur ex. Once you're done, swap them around and bring in the big grass frog.

Venusaur ex's Giant Bloom does 100 damage while healing it for 30 every turn - not to mention the fact that it's pretty tanky at 190 HP. Unless your opponent is running a Charizard deck as shown above, it should be impossible to one-shot your team mascot. If you want some alternate variants for the deck, try bringing in Exeggutor ex early on, or having Caterpie to more quickly draw Pokemon cards.

• Pros
  • Venusaur is a sturdy tank
  • Erika is a powerful healing card
  • Lilligant is a good energy provider
• Cons
  • Lacks major firepower
  • Dependent on good draws
  • Fire decks are common right now

Best Marowak ex deck

A good budget and beginner deck for Pokemon TCG Pocket, this fighting-type Marowak ex deck is simple in concept and execution.

• Cubone x2
• Marowak ex x2
• Diglett x2
• Dugtrio x2
• Poke Ball x2
• Potion x2
• X Speed x2
• Sabrina x2
• Giovanni x2
• Professor's Research x2

There's been a few variants of this deck floating around, using regular Marowaks, Kabutops, Primeape and Hitmonlee (among others), but this is our preferred build. Both Dugtrio and Marowak ex have strong early game performances, but are also pretty reliant on chance, with a lot of coin flips. Marowak ex does 80 damage for each head in two coin flips (meaning somewhere between 0 and 160), while Dugtrio has a 50% chance to become invulnerable to all damage and effects for a turn, every turn. I've won games on the strength of that latter ability alone. Not to mention that with so many people running Pikachu ex and electric type decks, this serves as a good counter.

It's not perfect though. Marowak ex's reliance on chance means that you can get ruined by some bad coin flips, and the deck lacks heavy, dependable firepower. The key here is to do heavy damage in the early game, and hope your opponent can't recover.

• Pros
  • Strong early game
  • Good counter against the common electric decks
  • When coin flips go your way, you're unstoppable!
• Cons
  • Weak late game
  • Lacks massive damage options
  • When coin flips don't go your way, you're in trouble...

Best Koga deck

This dark-type poison deck budget friendly, yet demands a veteran's experience, all about control and careful manipulation of the battlefield, poisoning the opponent and whittling them down instead of utilizing single-hit super-attacks. Here's the most commonly used deck build in the meta right now:

• Koffing x2
• Weezing x2
• Ekans x2
• Arbok x2
• Poke Ball x2
• Potion x2
• X Speed x2
• Koga x2
• Sabrina x2
• Professor's Research x2

This one is a little tricky to learn and get the hang of, but there's a lot of potential, especially to counter the common Mewtwo psychic deck that's dominating the meta. You bring out Koffing and Weezing for a strong, cheap early game tank that poisons the enemy, then use Koga to pull them back to your hand for free when you're ready (healing them in the process). With the enemy poisoned, you bring in Arbok, forcing them to stay on the battlefield as the active Pokemon, as Arbok's "Corner" attack disables the ability to retreat.

It's very based on control, and if the opponent does manage to bring their wounded Pokemon back to the bench, you use Sabrina to get them back out. It's a deck that's good at disrupting strategies, though it lacks heavy damage and usually falters in the late game. We've also seen some people doing a variant where they take out Koga, Weezing and Koffing and swap them with Pidgey, Pidgeotto and Pidgeot, controlling the field with the latter's ability and locking Pokemon into place with Arbok.

• Pros
  • Budget friendly, no ex cards requires
  • Powerful early game
  • Counters the psychic Mewtwo meta
• Cons
  • No heavy firepower
  • Struggles against tanky cards
  • Weak late game

Of course, if you're focused more on form over function, find out how the Pokemon TCG Pocket flair system works and how to add cosmetics to your cards here!

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