Best Decks: Extradimensional Crisis (A3a) Meta Tier List

Check out the best Pokémon TCG Pocket decks for the Extradimensional Crisis (A3a) expansion! Each deck comes with a description and a full guide where available. In addition, check out our meta reports for our analysis on the best performing decks of the week.

• Expansion: Extradimensional Crisis (A3a)
• Updated: June 16, 2025

Tier	Deck
S Tier	🟢 Buzzwole ex Celesteela 🔼
S Tier	🟡 Silvally Oricorio 🔼
S Tier	⚪️ Shiinotic Solgaleo ex 🔽
A Tier	⚫ Guzzlord ex Nihilego 🔼
A Tier	⚫ Darkrai ex Giratina 🔼
A Tier	⚫ Guzzlord ex Naganadel 🔼
A Tier	🔴 Silvally Charizard
A Tier	🟡 Magnezone Shiinotic 🆕
A Tier	🔴 Silvally Blacephalon
A Tier	🟤 Silvally Rampardos
A Tier	🟣 Tapu Lele Giratina ex Stoutland 🆕
B Tier	🔵🟡 Greninja Oricorio
B Tier	⚫ Arceus ex Crobat Darkrai ex Giratina ex
B Tier	🟤 Gallade Stoutland 🆕
B Tier	🟡 Oricorio Magnezone
B Tier	🔴 Charizard ex Turtonator 🔽

S Tier

Buzzwole ex Celesteela

The game plan usually starts with A3a-007 or A3a-008, chipping away while you set up A3a-006 to swing with Big Beat for 120 damage. A3a-069 helps accelerate this if needed. Once you’ve attacked, you’ll typically switch out A3a-006 with A3a-062, then retreat back to A3a-006 to attack again. A3a-062 also gives you the flexibility to switch out itself or A3a-006 if you open with them, letting you pivot cleanly into A3a-007 early on.

Silvally Oricorio

Going second: Ideally start with A3a-060, evolve into A3a-061, and start swinging for 100 damage on Turn 2 by simply playing a Supporter.

Going first: Lead with A3a-021—its Ability gives you a free Energy when played, and with one manual attachment, it can attack by Turn 2. Even if you don’t start with it, A2-154 can transfer that Energy to your Active Pokémon, letting A3a-061 or A3-066 attack as early as your second turn.

Shiinotic Solgaleo ex

This deck runs on a hyper-consistent setup engine, with A3a-027 chaining search after search to assemble your A3-122 line. The goal is to get A3-122 into play as early as possible—ideally by Turn 2—and start dealing 120 damage every turn. We run only Metal Energy, since A3-122 is your sole attacker and A3a-027’s attack only requires Colorless.

A Tier

Guzzlord ex Nihelego

A3a-042 is your ideal starter to start spreading Poison early. If you open with A3a-043 or A3a-062, use A3a-062’s ability to pivot into Nihilego. From there, build up Guzzlord to disrupt with Grindcore or hit hard with Tyrannical Hole.

Giratina ex Darkrai ex

The deck sets up two staggering win conditions by fully charging A2b-035 with its Ability and manually attaching to A2-110. With only Darkness Energy, A2b-035 powers itself while A2-110 chips away each turn — once both are online, the pressure becomes overwhelming. This version uses A3a-042 to boost the deck’s chip damage potential. With A3-146 adding 20 damage per turn and A2-110’s pings stacking on top, you’re looking at 40 damage a turn before your main attacker even swings.

Guzzlord ex Naganadel

Starting with A3a-044 is ideal for dealing early damage, evolving into A3a-045 for poison, and stacking poison ticks with help from A3a-042. You focus more on early pressure while relying on A3a-069 to eventually charge up A3a-042 or A3a-043 later on.

Silvally Charizard

As for the gameplan—it depends on your opener. If you start with A2b-008 and have A3-144 ready, you can evolve quickly into A2b-010, which is ideal for early pressure. But most of the time, you’ll prefer to open with A3a-060, evolve into A3a-061, and start swinging for 100 damage by Turn 2. From there, A2b-010 becomes your late-game sweeper, letting you finish off whatever A3a-061 has softened up.

Magnezone Shiinotic

The core idea is to use A3a-027 to search out pieces for A2-053 and A3-066, who serve as your main attackers. You evolve from A2-051 into A1-098, then into Magnezone, which self-charges using Lightning Energy.

Once set up, Magnezone becomes a massive threat, able to dish out consistent damage turn after turn without running out of Energy—unless your opponent manages to knock it out directly.

Silvally Blacephalon

Ideally start with A3a-060, evolve into A3a-061, and start swinging for 100 every turn as long as you play a Supporter. If A3a-061 goes down, follow up with A3a-009, using A3a-069 to recover the Fire Energy discarded earlier—letting you hit for 130 and keep the pressure going.

Silvally Rampardos

Since A3a-060 is your only Basic, you’ll always start with it and evolve into A3a-061 to deal 100 per turn as long as you play a Supporter. A2-089 hits for 130 but takes 50 recoil, so it’s best used as a finisher alongside Silvally.

Tapu Lele Giratina ex Stoutland

You can start with almost anything, but A3-084 is ideal if you don’t have A3-144 yet. A3a-056 stalls your opponent with its Ability while you charge up A2b-035. Meanwhile, A3-084 chips away from the bench and helps fuel your board.

B Tier

Greninja Oricorio

We run Water and Lightning Energy to fuel A1-089 or A3-066, while also enabling healing from A2a-072. Evolve A1-087 early to start dealing 20 each turn. A3a-040 helps with chip damage while you charge up A2b-035 or A3-066, depending on the matchup. A2-150 picks off damaged targets, working perfectly with A1-089’s spread.

Arceus ex Crobat Darkrai ex Giratina ex

The deck runs exclusively Dark Energy, and your opener is typically either A2-110 or A2a-071, depending on the matchup. While they pressure early, you evolve A1-172 into A2a-050 to deal 30 damage every turn—as long as Arceus is in play. Behind the scenes, you charge up A2b-035 to serve as your powerful secondary attacker once the board is set.

Gallade ex Stoutland

A2-068, which evolves into A2-095, allowing you to hit hard for just 2 Energy—especially as your opponent builds up Energy.

Or A3a-054, which evolves into A3a-056. Its Ability forces your opponent to pay 1 more Energy to attack, directly slowing down decks like A3a-061.

Oricorio Magnezone

A3-066 shines against EX-heavy decks thanks to its Safeguard Ability, which blocks all damage from Pokémon ex—forcing opponents to adjust their strategy. You’ll evolve A2-051 into A1-098, then into A2-053 to ramp up Energy and take control of the board. Once A2-053 is fully set up, it delivers consistent pressure, while A3-066 keeps EX attackers at bay. A2-022 provides backup healing, helping keep key threats like A3-066 in play even longer.

Charizard ex Turtonator

This Fire deck runs two strong attackers — A2b-010 and A3-037.

Your main goal is to open with A2b-008, evolve into A2b-010, and use Stoke to ramp up 3 Energy. On your next turn, you’ll be set to hit for 150 damage with Steam Artillery.

Alternatively, A3-037 can deal 90 damage with 3 Energy. With the help of A3-150, you can attach 2 Energy immediately—setting up that 90 damage swing by your second turn. It also serves as your go-to answer against A3-066, giving you coverage in tougher matchups.

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.