The first-ever Ranked battles have set the tone for highly competitive bouts in Pokémon TCG Pocket and with each loss leading to a drop in points, getting more wins is crucial. If you’re struggling to stick to decks or create them, fret not as here are five of the best decks you can try in these matches and enjoy more wins than losses as you climb up the ladder.
Note: I won’t be stating the Trainer cards as there are too many in the game now and it’s up to you to pick what you want to use. You can opt for 2 Red cards to put more pressure on EX cards, Iono to make it easier to find the card you want, or more Potions and Pokémon Center Lady for healing.
With that said, let’s begin!
This duo has terrorized the Pokémon TCG Pocket meta and is a seriously OP deck! Featuring 2x Giratina EX and 1x Mewtwo EX, the remainder of the deck is 17 Trainer cards and you’re spoilt for choice. Tools, Potions, 2x Red, Iono… you can have it all!
The strategy is quite simple actually. Have Giratina EX use its ability Broken-Space Bellow to gain free Energy while you supply each turn’s Energy to Mewtwo EX. Since you’re more likely to draw Giratina EX (there are two cards), you can have it ready to use its 130 DMG move Chatic Impact (150 DMG with Red against EX cards) in your third turn (since the deck is based on Psychic Energy anyway). With Dawn’s support, you can even have Mewtwo EX ready to blast 150 DMG (170 DMG with Red, vs EX) in no time.
You can pack 2x Team Rocket Grunt cards to possibly cripple the opposition in a mirror match. Dawn is a great addition as the opponent using Sabrina can be sort of a hindrance. Plus, Dawn keeps the Mewtwo EX threat open.
Consider using Pokémon Tools like Giant Cape and Rocky Helmet. What to put on Giratina EX and Mewtwo EX can be decided based on the opponent. Usually, Rocky Helmet fits Giratina better while Mewtwo likes being Caped. However, this is no thumb rule and it’s often situational.
Remember that Giratina EX loses 20 HP every time it uses Chaotic Impact. To keep it as safe as possible from Red-infused hits, consider adding Potion and/or Pokémon Center Lady to the mix.
Keep in mind that when you use Giratina EX’s ability to add Energy, your turn ends.
This deck is kind of like a nuclear reactor as it can go to massive levels of burst damage in a few turns and is bound to get you plenty of wins, even against Darkrai EX decks.
Druddigon is back and how! With its notorious Rough Skin + Ricky Helmet tactics intact, the dragon serves as a scary wall in the Active Spot while Giratina EX farms Energy on its own accord and Darkrai EX hits the opponent’s Active card for 20 DMG each time Darkness Energy is attached to it.
Druddigon is technically the sacrificial pawn while the two nightmarish EX cards get ready backstage. You can fill the third spot in the Bench with another Druddigon to safeguard the EXs from any damage after Savrina forces either to come over. That’s why, another Druddigon helps.
Having Leaf is vital to ensure smooth retreats as you tank, retreat, bring in a convenient EX to deal damage, possibly retreat to tank with another card, and repeat the process. Remember that the deck is ideally only Darkness Energy, so you can’t add more than 1 Darkness Energy to quicken Giratina’s full 4 Energy mode.
All the chip damage from Druddigon and Darkrai’s constant 20 DMG hits helps weaken even the mightiest opponents, so Cyrus is a bonus. Red is a savior as well since it buffs up Darkrai EX’s damage output against EX cards. Overall, you aim to cripple your opponents with constant shots from Darkrai EX and leave them no option but to take damage from Druddigon. You can choose to bring in a second Darkrai EX instead of a second Giratona EX if the opponent uses healing decks like Grass (Erika) or Water (Irida).
It is worth repeating that when you use Giratina EX’s ability to add Energy, your turn ends.
This is another all-Basic deck (like Giratina EX | Mewtwo EX) so rest assured that each Pokémon cards bring value to the table.
Take the top Pokémon in the Ranked meta: Giratina EX, Mewtwo EX, and Darkrai EX. All of them have at least 3 Energy (Giratina and Mewtwo have 4) when executing their main/strongest attacks.
What if there was a Pokémon that could punish these stalwarts for all that Energy stacking? Enter Gallade EX.
What was touted to be an average card during its debut in Space-Time Smackdown has become the assassin in Ranked mode! You see, Gallade EX’s Energized Blade requires only 2 Energy and deals 70 DMG + 20 DMG for each Energy the opponent has.
Say, you’re up against a Giratina EX that has 4 Energy. Bring in Gallade EX and inflict 70 + (20*4) = 150 DMG, enough to OHKO Giratina EX! With Red, you do 170 DMG, enough to OHKO even a Giant Cape Giratina EX or Mewtwo EX for that matter. Gallade does 130 DMG to Darkrai EX (150 with Red).
Hitmonlee is equally important as it snipes the Bench for 30 DMG. This can OHKO Magikarp and do decent damage to Benched EX cards, making it easier for Gallade EX to eliminate the said card. Marshadow is a backup to revenge-kill with 100 DMG, paving the way for quicker Gallade EX kills.
Pokémon Communication and/or Iono are great for fishing out the Gallade EX evolution line quickly. Also, use Ralts and Kirlia from the Space-Time Smackdown set, not Genetic Apex. You may also consider dropping either Hitmonlee or Marshadow for the Lucario line from Space-Time Smackdown, whose Fighting Coach ability adds +20 DMG to Gallade EX’s already powerful attack.
It is strongly recommended to attach Giant Cape to Gallade EX and ramp up its already high 170 HP to 190 HP. Honestly, once Gallade EX is live in the Active Spot, it’s lights out for nearly any opponent.
You can never count out Water-type decks from the meta, can you? The fearsome Gyarados EX is back, taking advantage of its massive 180 HP (200 HP with Giant Cape) and consistent damage output to put all decks on notice.
Manaphy is the Energy engine, supplying 1 Water Energy each to Magikarp and Palkia Origin every turn. The aim is obviously to evolve Magikarp to Gyarados EX ASAP and also have all 4 Energy gathered. So, Misty and Pokémon Communication are quite necessary. Add in Irida to heal the cards whenever required.
Now, be wary of Hitmonlee as it can wipe out Magikarp instantly. So if you see a Fighting deck across the battlefield, be very careful and Giant Cape + evolve Magikarp as soon as possible. Till then, it’s good to have Palkia Origin at the Active Spot to neutralize Hitmonlee and tank hits if there’s a different Pokémon deck. This Palkia Origin card is no slouch as it can deal 60 to 120 DMG (the latter if you get heads on flipping a coin).
Once Gyarados EX is ready to roll, take Red’s help to dish out 160 DMG against those pesky EX cards. You can opt for Rocky Helmet to make OHKOs possible since nothing except Charizard EX (Genetic Apex) or maybe Gallade EX (with Red and Lucario’s Fighting Coach) is OHKOing Gyarados EX.
A classic card from Mythical Island returns to wreak havoc in the Ranked meta and in most cases, an instant match-winner!
This deck uses Pokémon cards exclusively found in the Shining Revelry set. For one, Meowscarada is the ultimate EX hater, doing a whopping 130 DMG for only 2 Energy. Add in Red, and that’s 150 DMG at such a low Energy requirement! Even its pre-evolutions are good as Sprigatito’s Cry for Help draws 1 Grass card from your deck to your Hand, serving as an auto Pokémon Communication.
Dancing alongside Meowscarada is Beedrill EX, another card with resourceful pre-evolutions. Weedle’s Multiply draws another Weedle from your deck, leaving room to draw other cards quickly. Then, Kakuna deals 20 DMG for 1 Energy and if a coin flip results in heads, you paralyze the opponent. Finally, Beedrill EX does 80 DMG (100 DMG to Darkrai since it’s super-effective) and also drops 1 Energy from the opponent (a nightmare for Giratina EX in a non-Psychic deck). With Beedrill EX going for a massive 190 HP with Giant Cape, it can comfortably come in and 2OHKO most opponents.
This card relies on getting all evolutions live quickly (which Sprigatito and Weedle help) and you should add 2x Red, 1x Iono, 1x Erika (two aren’t required generally), and maybe Pokémon Communication to help the cause.
Note that while I’ve mentioned 2 copies of the Meowscarada and Beedrill EX lines, you can also opt for singles of the two Pokémon lines and equip the other slots with Trainer cards.
Ultimately, this is a solid deck that can destroy the strongest decks in the Pokémon TCG Pocket meta.
All the best, TCG Pocket-ers!
