The best Pokemon TCG Pocket Pikachu ex deck and builds

The best Pokemon TCG Pocket Pikachu ex deck and builds are dominating the current meta. By pairing it with Zapdos ex, players are creating lean, pure-electric-type decks that focus on a powerful early game that can irreversibly damage the opponent before they have time to set up the combos and evolutions that they need.

The issues with a deck like is that firstly it's a glass cannon, with comparatively little health, and secondly it's an expensive deck to make, requiring two copies of two different "ex" cards. That's twice as many high-rarity cards as is required by the Pokemon TCG Pocket Mewtwo ex deck, with which Pikachu shares the S-tier ranking. That's why we'll be covering several versions of good Pikachu ex decks below, so you can build towards them no matter what.

The best Pikachu ex decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket

The best Pikachu ex decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket generally focus on speed, high damage, and a powerful early game to dominate the meta and stop players from setting up their own strategies. There's two builds to the Pikachu ex deck that are especially effective at time of writing:

• Pikachu ex / Zapdos ex (Focused damage build)
• Pikachu ex / Zebstrika (Control build)
• Pikachu ex / Lt Surge (Energy build)

We'll go through them all individually, but here's the essential upshot as to why Pikachu ex decks in any form rank highly in the Pokemon TCG Pocket best decks: Pikachu ex's attack is pretty overpowered. For 2 energy you can do an attack that does up to 90 damage, meaning you can start devastating opponents as early as turn 4, depending on whether you go first. 

Specifically, "Circle Circuit" does 30 damage for every Pokemon you have benched - so yes, there is a chance that you do 0 damage if Pikachu ex is the only Pokemon on your side of the field. Still, if you're making the deck correctly, that's not going to be an issue, and it doesn't take much thought to keep P.E. as one of the best cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket. 

The downside of Pikachu ex is that it's one of the weaker "ex" Pokemon in terms of health, and like all ex Pokemon, you lose twice as many points if it's defeated. Still, it's only 1 energy to retreat, meaning you can pull it back to the bench quickly in a pinch.

Pikachu ex / Zapdos ex deck

This Pikachu ex deck focuses on keeping a healthy balance between filling the deck with easy, powerful minions (so as to keep Circle Circuit fueled) without adding so many that it dilutes your chances of drawing the better cards.

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

The key to most Pikachu ex decks is quick damage done before your opponent can retaliate, and this one is no exception. Get the board filled and Pikachu up front with its attack fueled with energy as fast as possible. 

If you don't draw Pikachu early, you're basically using Zapdos and Electrode to whittle the enemy down and keep them off balance until you do draw Pikachu, at which point you can swap your mascot. There's also Sabrina and the Red Card to keep your opponent slightly off balance - remember, this is a deck that struggles in the late game, so if you can delay that late game for as long as possible, you'll be in the clear.

Pikachu ex / Zebstrika deck

This one is a minor modification of the existing deck above, but now we're swapping out the more direct Electrode cards for the more versatile (albeit less damaging) Zebstrika.

• Pikachu ex x2
• Zapdos ex x2
• Blitzle x2
• Zebstrika x2
• Pincurchin x1
• Poke Ball x2
• Potion x2
• X Speed x2
• Sabrina x2
• Professor's Research x2
• Giovanni x1

Zebstrika's ability to damage benched Pokemon is how we keep the pressure up even more so - meaning that even retreating can't keep them safe from this deck, though you're sacrificing firepower in the process. 

Likewise, the addition of Pincurchin allows for a cheap attack that inflicts paralysis, and can be a good way to throw off strategies for the sake of delaying that late-game. If a player is setting up Mewtwo or Charizard, Pincurchin can keep them frozen and buy you time to mill through your own deck until you get the cards you need. This is a deck that's recently had success in contests, and is arguably as good as the one above.

Pikachu ex / Lt. Surge deck

This build for the Pikachu ex deck is probably the least good of these three, but it's also the cheapest and isn't without success, or we wouldn't be recommending it. Here's how you make it:

• Pikachu ex x2
• Pikachu x2
• Raichu x2
• Magnemite x2
• Magneton x2
• Zapdos ex x1
• Poke Ball x2
• X Speed x2
• Lt. Surge x2
• Professor's Research x2
• Sabrina x1

Here the trick is energy generation, giving you an option for when Pikachu ex isn't on the field. You have Magneton create extra energy for itself with its Volt Charge ability, then you place Raichu up front and transfer all that energy over in one go with the Lt. Surge card.

Beyond that, the principles remain roughly the same. This is still a Pikachu ex deck and the above strategy is only for when the star won't come out of the deck. Press the advantage hard early on and make sure that your opponent stays on the ropes until you're ready to strike a definitive blow to end the match.

Want a special Pikachu to show off in that last deck? Find out how to get all the Pokemon TCG Pocket Promo cards here!

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission