Top non-EX decks to try in Pokémon TCG Pocket

EX cards are the strongest cards in Pokémon TCG Pocket but they also come with the flipside of giving the opponent +2 points on being KO’d.

What if you could use cards that are also could enough to earn you wins and can even KO your opponent’s EX cards?! That’s where the decks highlighted in this article fit into the picture. They don’t have a single EX card and are still tough to beat. 

Moreover, they also spice up the game! So if you are looking for some fun decks to take the air out of EX sets and bring you victories, read on!

New Blaine Fire deck

The Blaine deck from Genetic Apex was notorious for its Ninetales Rapidash shenanigans, and this deck is back, with new cards from Mythical Island in tow.

Rapidash is the fiery lead of this deck, being able to deal 40 DMG with the 2-Energy Rising Lunge + 30 additional damage with Blaine. But guess what? Flip a coin and if you get heads, do 60 more damage! That’s a whopping 120 DMG, enough to OHKO Celebi EX, Pikachu EX and weaken other EX cards. Even its pre-evolution Ponyta can do 40 DMG if you get heads. 

If that wasn’t enough, the new Magmar is a surprisingly powerful attacker. At 2 Energy, it does 80 DMG which can go to 110 DMG with Blaine. This can throw any starting cards out of the window and even OHKO the dreaded Celebi EX!

And then there’s the Ninetales from Genetic Apex again. Add Blaine, do 120 DMG, and… you guessed it… OHKO Celebi EX! The Vulpix card is also great as its move doesn’t let the opponent n their next turn if you get heads on a coin flip.

So wait, did we just count three cards, where each of them can OHKO Celebi EX?! 😯 

Folks, we have a full-on anti-Celebi EX deck on our hands!


Weezing, Scolipede & Koga Darkness deck

Hello Darkness, my old friend. The TCG Pocket community’s penchant for using Darkness decks is toxic, quite literally! After all, this deck’s main agenda is to poison the opponent.

Weezing is the protagonist, having a decent 110 HP, and poisoning the opponent with its Ability Gas Leak. It also does 30 DMG with Tackle, equaling the net damage to 40. And if the poisoned Pokémon remains in the Active Spot, it will keep losing 10 HP every turn.

But there are more problems after the release of Mythical Island! Because Scolipede, a non-EX card with 140 HP does 120 DMG if the target is poisoned! Yikes, Pikachu and Celebi EX! 

And if your opponent withdraws their poisoned EX card back to the Bench, you can use Koga to recall a weakened Weezing to your Hand whether it gets fully healed and then put it back to the Bench again. Then what? Reinstate a cool 110 HP Weezing to the Active Spot and poison them again!

The toxic traits are not limited to Weezing alone though. Whirlipede, Scolipede’s pre-evolution can poison targets with Poison Sting, and Salandit does an overall 50 DMG with Venoshock.

Also, you can opt for an alternative Darkness deck by substituting the Scolipede family with the Greninja family for chip damage of 20 via Water Shuriken. An excellent means to cut down poisoned targets to size, including those running back to the Bench to heal.

This Darkness deck is extremely unpredictable and your opponent, even with the best EX cards, would find it challenging to create a strategy against you. A ruthless way to secure the win!


Golem & Brock Fighting deck

The new Golem from Mythical Island is an absolute unit, featuring a jaw-dropping 160 HP and a 120 DMG attack in Guard Press, which also makes your opponent do 30 less damage the next turn! 😮 

You technically need to give Golem just 2 Energy as Brock gifts 1 free Energy to Golem. It destroys Pikachu EX and even OHKOs Celebi EX with Giovanni. Taking 30 next damage the following turn is tremendous for a 160 HP Pokémon as you can tank Mewtwo EX’s Psydrive. You can even add Blue to take 10 lower damage.

Druddigon is one of the best Pokémon to take the Active Spit thanks to its daunting Rough Skin Ability that does chip damage of 20 each time it’s attacked. This dragon is the buff that evolution cards needed and it doesn’t even need to attack! Just stand there and take hits while the opponent gets slowly cut down to size. Perfect setup to build your Golem on the Bench!

Hitmonlee weakens cards on the Bench and it’s quite handy but if you would like to deal with the Active Spot directly, use Farfetch’d/Kangaskhan instead. 

And of course, Marshadow is your revenge killer. If any of your Pokémon got KO’d by damage from any attack (real damage, not poison), Marshadow would arrive and do 100 DMG. 


It’s funny how the strength of a deck is based on its ability to OHKO Celebi EX and these builds achieve that without using any EX cards. Also, all of them thrive due to Supporter cards like Blaine, Koga, and Brock! The Supporter meta, eh? 😀 

Take advantage of the fact that your opponent can’t score +2 and build your primary attacker as they try to get all the points. And then, boom!

Happy collecting and battling, TCG Pocket-ers!

Author & tags

MeteorAsh15
MeteorAsh15https://www.charlieintel.com/author/niladrisarkar/
Niladri Sarkar is a vastly experienced Content Writer who specializes in Pokémon competitive battles, combat mechanics, design, and lore. Having previously worked with reputed organizations like Dexerto and Smogon, Niladri has immense knowledge in Pokémon GO, TCG Pocket, VGC, Unite, and mainline games like Scarlet & Violet. He has been with GO Hub since September 2019 and is known as their resident Dragon Master. You can reach out to Niladri at [email protected].

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