Table of Contents
Best Pokémon TCG Pocket decks in the Space-Time Smackdown (A2) metagame! Click on the deck names to view the deck, as well as the latest explanation and report on how the decks were placed here.
We're still early into the meta, I'm updating this page as we get more tournament results.
| Tier | Deck |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | ⚫🟡 Darkrai ex Megnezone 🔼 🔵 Palkia ex 🆕 ⚫ Weavile ex Darkrai ex 🆕 |
| Tier 2 | 🔵 Gyarados ex Greninja 🟣 Mewtwo ex Gardevoir ⚪️ Dialga ex Melmetal 🆕 🟡 Pikachu ex Zebstrika 🔴 Charizard ex Moltres 🟢 Celebi ex Serperior 🔽 |
| Tier 3 | 🔴 Infernape ex Moltres ex 🆕 🟤 Gallade ex Lucario 🆕 🟤 Aerodactyle ex Primeape 🟤 Golem Druddigon |
Tier Explanation
To create this Meta Tier list, I used data from tournaments and my expertise and opinions of respected players. This tier list will hold meta-staple decks that you'll likely encounter in tournament play and will be updated as the meta changes up.
The decklists shared here have found success in tournament events but can be tweaked depending on meta shifts or players' preferences.
Tier 1: The top performers and most represented decks in the meta. They have good matchups in the current meta and can adapt to different game scenarios. Expect to encounter these decks frequently in tournaments, with players strategizing specifically to counter them.
Tier 2: Popular Meta decks that have solid matchup tables. Tier 2 decks can rival Tier 1 decks in performance, but may have weaknesses and less representation, holding them back from joining Tier 1.
Tier 3: Comprising less popular decks or those experiencing a decline in performance, Tier 3 includes options that may still yield respectable results in tournaments. However, they often struggle against certain prevalent matchups. Additionally, this tier encompasses decks with limited data, making it challenging to accurately assess their placement in higher tiers.
Tier 4: The less popular off-meta decks or have fallen out of the meta. They might still show up in tournament top cuts but are less likely to perform against the top meta decks.
Tier 1
Darkrai ex Magnezone
The a2-53-magnezone a2-110-darkrai-ex deck has three ways of dealing damage to the opponent's Active Pokemon. Early in the game, we'll have a1a-56-druddigon to tank hits, pushing 20 damage with Rough Skin every time it's attacked, this isn't enough to get a knockout, but will weaken an opponent's Pokemon so your other damage dealers can finish it off.
a2-110-darkrai-ex's Nightmare Aura deals 20 damage to the opponent's Active Pokemon whenever you attach a Darkness Energy to it, so when building the deck, it's important we only choose Darkness Energy. This acts as passive damage, backing up Rough Skin or any of your other attacks. a2-110-darkrai-ex can later attack with Dark Prism, dealing 80 damage to the opponent's Active Pokemon.
As for a2-53-magnezone, it's a Lightning-type Stage 2 Pokemon, that needs 1 Lighting Energy and 2 Colorless Energy to attack with Thunder Blast. To get the Lightning Energy, we'll use a1-98-magneton's Volt Charge to attach a Lightning Energy to itself, ramping up Energy without having to attach to it, allowing us to attach our Energy mainly on a2-110-darkrai-ex.
a2-53-magnezone's Thunder Blast deals 110 damage, but forces you to discard 1 Lightning Energy, so ideally, you want to activate Voilt Charge at least twice to ensure you can attack twice with Thunder Blast.
Palkia ex
a2-49-palkia-ex is the win condition in this list, dealing 150 damage with Dimensional Storm to the opponent's Active Pokemon and 20 damage to each of your opponent's Bench. You are though forced to discard 3 Energy from a2-49-palkia-ex, making it harder for you to activate it on the upcoming turn.
Since we'll need a lot of Water Energy, we have a2-50-manaphy and a1-220-misty to ramp Water Energy, speeding up our strategy. a1a-19-vaporeon moves Water Energy from your Bench to the Active Pokemon, helping you get Energy on a2-49-palkia-ex to attack with Dimensional Storm.
Weavile ex Darkrai ex
This deck can play aggressively, using a2-99-weavile-ex as an early damage deal with Scratching Nails. However, your opponent's Active Pokemon has to be damaged for Scratching Nail to push 70 damage per attack. This is where a2-110-darkrai-ex's Nightmare Aura ability comes to use, allowing you to deal 20 damage to the opponent's Active Pokemon without passing the turn, and then following it up with a2-99-weavile-ex's attack.
Tier 2
Gyarados ex Greninja
The Water deck uses a1a-18-gyarados-ex as its main damage dealer, but its attacks are a bit costly, so we're using a1-220-misty to speed up our attacks.
a1a-18-gyarados-ex deals 140 damage and discards 1 Energy from a random Pokemon in play. If it hits one of the opponent's Pokemon, we can slow the opponent's strategy and even prevent them from attacking.
If lucky, a1-220-misty can give us extra Water Energy, enabling us to attack on earlier turns. As for a1-89-greninja, its Water Shuriken offers an extra 20 damage to back up a1a-18-gyarados-ex Rampaging Whirlpool, allowing to push up 160 damage in one turn. Water Shuriken can also target opponent's Benched Pokémon, meaning we can snipe low-health Pokémon and get Match Points.
Mewtwo ex Gardevoir
The Mewtwo ex Gardevoir deck relies heavily on a1-129-mewtwoex as the main damage dealer, using its early Psychic Sphere as an early damage dealer to threaten to knock out most Pokemon with two attacks. However, a1-129-mewtwoex's Psydrive is where things start kicking off, allowing you to damage the opponent's Pokemon by 150, knocking out almost any Pokemon with 1 hit.
To activate Psydrive, you need to attach 4 Energy to a1-129-mewtwoex, which can be a tad tough to get, on top of that, every time you activate Psydrive, you're forced to discard two Psychic Energy from a1-129-mewtwoex, stopping you from reactivating it on the upcoming turn. This is where a1-132-gardevoir comes to use, allowing you to attach 1 Psychic Energy to a Psychic Pokemon in the active spot through Psy Shadow, ensuring you get the most out of a1-129-mewtwoex's heavy attack.
Dialga ex Melmetal
a2-119-dialga-ex's Metalic Turbo deals 30 damage and ramps up 2 Metal Energy and attaches them to one of your Benched Pokemon. So as a2-119-dialga-ex deals damage and takes early hits, you'll be ramping Energy on your win condition on the Bench.
a1-182-melmetal's Heavy Impact deals 120 damage, capable of getting a knockout, especially if the opponent's Pokemon is damaged through one of your attacks or a2-148-rocky-helmet. a1-182-melmetal's Hard Coat makes him a tougher target for opponent to one-shot, giving you an extra turn to attack and win the game.
This list has a2-111-skarmory as an early attacker, needing only 1 Energy to start attacking with Metal Arms. You will though have to attach a tool to a2-111-skarmory to deal more damage with Metal Arms.
Pikachu ex Zebstrika
a1-96-pikachuex plays aggressively, for only 2 Lightning Energy we can start pushing up to 90 damage on the opponent's Active Pokemon, potentially ruining their strategy by knocking out a valuable Pokemon. a1-96-pikachuex's Circle Circuit is tied to the number of benched Pokemon we have, so we're dealing an extra 30 damage for each Pokemon on our bench. Filling up the bench is a must to get the most out of our attack.
a1-104-zapdosex is another heavy attacker with Thundering Hurricane, dealing 50 damage for each head you get after flipping a coin 4 times. a1-106-zebstrika can damage Pokemon on the bench, so he works best if you're trying to get a knockout on a low-health Pokemon.
The new a2-61-pachirisu-ex deals 40 damage with Sparking Gadget, but that damage goes up to 80 if you attach a tool card]a2-61-pachirisu-ex[/card]. So attaching Giant Cape ensures you deal 80 damage early in the game, with Sparking Gadget only needing 2 Lightning Energy to activate.
All your Pokemon have low retreat costs, so moving them back to the bench and preventing the opponent from getting a knockout is part of your strategy. This prolongs the game and gives you the chance to go for more attacks with your Pokemon.
a1a-28-joltik and a1a-29-galvantula are considerations to add to your list, giving you an alternative attacker that deals 70 damage to the opponent's Active Pokemon and prevents it from retreating.
Charizard ex Moltress
This deck uses a1-47-moltresex's Inferno Dance to give your Benched Pokemon Fire Energy. There is a randomness to it, having to flip 3 coins and for each head, you can attach a Fire Energy to a benched Pokemon.
Since the main carry in this deck is a1-36-charizardex, we want to focus on attaching Energy to him, even as we are evolving it from a1-33-charmander and a1-34-charmeleon. a1-36-charizardex's Slash deals 60 damage, capable of knocking out Basic Pokemon and requiring two attacks to knock out high-health Pokemon. Crimson Storm pushing a whooping 200 damage on the opponent's Pokemon, knocking out anything in its path. However, with great strength comes a downside, forcing you to discard two Fire Energy, so you can't reactivate it on the upcoming turn. We want to try to have 5 Energy on a1-36-charizardex so we get to activate Crimson Storm twice in a row.
a1-41-arcanineex plays faster than a1-36-charizardex since it's a Stage 1 Pokemon that needs 3 Energy to start attacking. Inferno Onrush deals 120 damage, but a1-41-arcanineex will deal 20 damage to itself whenever activated. Many a1-36-charizardex lists don't include a1-41-arcanineex, so he isn't a must to add.
Celebi ex Serperior
a1a-3-celebi-ex is the main win condition in this deck, flipping a coin equal to the number Energy attached to a1a-3-celebi-ex. For each heads, a1a-3-celebi-ex will deal 50 damage, so having 2 Energy cards means you can push up to 100 damage. The more Energy you have on a1a-3-celebi-ex, the more damage you threaten and can knock out higher health Pokemon. This is where a1a-6-serperior plays a vital role in this deck, with its Jungle Totem ability, each Grass Energy attached to your Grass-type Pokemon will count as 2 Grass Energy. This doubles the number of Coin flips we make, turning a1a-3-celebi-ex into a monster.
a1a-9-dhelmise can tank early hits but also synergizes with a1a-6-serperior's Jungle Totem. By itself, a1a-9-dhelmise needs 4 Energy to deal 90 damage with Energy Whip, but if a1a-6-serperior is in play, you'll only need to attach 2 Energy to get the 90-damage out of your attack.
Another version runs a1a-1-exeggcute and a1-23-exeggutorex, having an early win condition to play aggressively as you build up your a1a-3-celebi-ex + a1a-6-serperior combo carry.
Tier 3
Infernape ex Moltres ex
a2-29-infernape-ex is a Stage 2 Fire Pokémon, requiring only 2 Fire Energy to activate Flare Blitz and start dealing 140 damage. You're dealing a lot of damage for only 2 Energy, however, you will have to discard all your Energy attached to a2-29-infernape-ex whenever you activate Flare Blitz.
We want to have a1-47-moltresex in the Active spot early into the game and use Inferno Dance to attach Fire Energy on a2-27-chimchar and a2-28-monferno. Once we evolve a2-28-monferno into a2-29-infernape-ex we get to start dealing damage.
However, on our upcoming turn, we won't have any Energy on a2-29-infernape-ex, and this is where Supporter card a2-154-dawn comes to use, allowing us to move one Energy from our benched Pokémon, for example a1-47-moltresex, and attach it to a2-29-infernape-ex + the Energy we attach from our Energy Zone, we're now able to attack with a2-29-infernape-ex immediately for another 140 damage.
Gallade ex Lucario
This deck makes use of a2-92-lucario's Fighting Coach ability to increase the damage of your Fighting-type Pokemon by 20. This means both a2-92-lucario and a2-95-gallade-ex will be dealing 20 more damage when they attack, making it easier for you to knock out higher-health Pokemon.
a2-95-gallade-ex is a Stage 2 Pokemon, so it can take a few steps to get it into play as you evolve 2-68-ralts and a2-69-kirlia/. a2-95-gallade-ex's Energized Blade deals 70 damage, and with a2-92-lucario's Fighting Coachm it becomes a 90 damage attack. On top of that, Energized Blade will deal 20 more damage for each Energy attached to the opponent's Active Pokemon.
Aerodactyl ex Primeape
This deck wants to have a1a-46-aerodactyl-ex in play as quickly as possible for his Primeval Law ability, preventing the opponent from evolving their Active Pokemon. This might force the other player to take different approaches to their plan, slowing them down and buying you time to get more attacks through. a1-225-sabrina synergizes with your game plan, potentially moving a key Pokemon on their Bench to the Active spot and preventing it from evolving.
a1-142-primeape is a Single Point Pokemon that can deal up to 100 damage with Fight Back, perfect for posing aggression, especially if the opponent can't evolve to the Pokemon they need.
Golem Druddigon
a1a-45-golem being a Stage 2 Pokemon means we need early Pokemon to stall in the early game, and a1a-56-druddigon is perfect for the job. It uses Rough Skin ability to dish out damage back to the opponent's attacking Pokemon, making it weaker to your attacks later in the game.
Once a1a-45-golem is in play, he'll carry with Guard Press attacks dealing 120 damage and weakening the opponent's upcoming turn, taking 30 less damage when they attack a1a-45-golem. This makes it harder for them to knock out a1a-45-golem and allows you to attack more to win the game.
This list also uses a1a-47-marshadow and a1-154-hitmonlee for the extra damage. a1a-47-marshadow is perfect if one of your Pokemon was knocked out on the opponent's previous turn, increasing Revenge attack's damage to 100. As for a1-154-hitmonlee, you can target the opponent's Benched Pokemon, allowing you to knockout damaged Pokemon for the Match Points.
