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Today, I’m updating the A2-092 guide, but this time, the focus is on A2-089, since it’s the star of the deck.
A2-089 is the perfect counter to one of the strongest newcomers, A2a-071. With many A2a-071 decks appearing in the metagame, it’s always handy to have A2-089 as a reliable counter and A2-089 is one of the strongest decks in the game at the moment.
In this guide, we’ll be discussing:
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- How to Play
- Most Optimal Deck Build
Let’s dive into why A2-089 and A2-092 are a top-tier duo and how you can maximize their potential!
| Pros | Cons |
| +In a metagame full of A2a-071, A2-089 easily dismantles it due to A2a-071’s Fighting weakness. Meanwhile, A2-092 ensures that even A2-147 or A2a-071’s partner A2-119 can be dealt with efficiently. | - Retreat cost of 2 applies to all Stage evolutions, such as A2-088, A2-089, A2-092, and even A2a-036. Since we're not running any retreat cost reducers, you'll have to plan around this limitation. |
| + Non-EX deck, so you only lose 1 point for any Pokémon defeated. | - A2-089 is a Stage 2 Evolution, while A2-092 is a Stage 1, making the deck somewhat inconsistent. Even though A2-146 (Pokémon Communication) helps with this aspect, A2-144 (Skull Fossil) is not searchable, so it’s always something you have to keep in mind when planning your setup. |
| + Yes, it's really good if you hate A2a-071. |
General Strategy
The key to playing A2-089 effectively is quick setup. Since it evolves from A2-088, which requires a Fossil card (A2-144) to play, your first priority is to stall until we find Skull Fossil.
- Open with A2a-036 as your Active Pokémon to stall while setting up your board. A2a-036 can apply early chip damage with Fighting Headbutt while you prepare A2-089. Opening with A2-091 isn’t bad either, but you’ll need to find A2-092 quickly or retreat it for A2a-036.
- Immediately place A2-144 and A2-091 on the Bench to ensure quick evolutions if you already have A2-088 and A2-092 in hand, respectively.
- Use A2-146 if you need to fix your hand, especially when searching for a specific Pokémon. However, it’s best to delay using A2-146 unless necessary, as having more Pokémon in hand increases the chances of finding the exact card you need.
- Keep Energy flowing to your remaining Pokémon to ensure continuous attacks.
- Once A2-089 is on the field, it’s time to start swinging with Head Smash for 130+ damage. With A2-092 boosting Fighting-type attacks by +20 damage, A2-089 can one-shot A2a-071, A2-119 and other high-tier threats. Since Head Smash deals 50 recoil damage, keep track of A2-089’s HP and plan accordingly. Keep A2-092 on the Bench to boost Fighting damage and make A2-089 even stronger.
- If A2-089 goes down, use A2a-036, A1a-047 or another A2-089. Since A2-089 is a single-point Pokémon, trading it for an opponent’s ex Pokémon puts you at an advantage.
Optimal Deck
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- A2-088 – Although it might not be used as much, it deals 50 damage for 1 Energy, which can reach up to 70 damage with A2-092, making it still highly potent. Always keep this in mind if you're searching for 50 damage out of nowhere.
- A2-089 – Our true win condition, able to take down most Pokémon and truly shines in a meta where everything has high HP, especially EX Pokémon.
- A2-091 – Not an ideal starter, since we’d rather begin with A2a-036, but it’s not bad if you find A2-092 early.
- A2-092 – Helps with HP breakpoints in this meta, especially against A2-119, since A2-089 can now deal 150 damage. Having another A2-092 also lets you break through A2-147, making A2-089 a true terror to deal with.
- A2a-036 – Our ideal starter, thanks to its decent 80 HP and ability to deal 50 damage against EX Pokémon, giving us enough time to build A2-089.
- PROMO-007 PROMO-005 – Mandatory card draws for more consistency in the deck. Although promo-005 doesn’t find A2-144, I still recommend running two, but you could cut one if needed.
- A1-225 – Helps against threats hiding on the Bench and ensures you maximize A2-089’s damage output by avoiding wasting recoil damage on low-HP Pokémon.
- A2-150 – Some Pokémon will retreat after taking early damage from A2a-036 and A2-092, so this card helps you catch them and finish them off.
- A2-146 – Highly crucial for finding A2-089 or A2-092 consistently. However, it is the biggest candidate for replacement, as it doesn’t provide direct in-game impact outside of deck consistency.
Alternatives
- A1a-047 – Adding 1 A1a-047 is also an option to replace 1 A2a-036. While it strengthens your midgame and improves matchups against aggressive decks, it weakens your early game since you have to rely on evolving A2-091 or drawing your single A2a-036.
- A1-155 – If you think you are not making use of A2a-036 that much, A1-155 is, of course, the next best replacement, with 10 higher damage.
- PROMO-002 – A good card to consider, especially in the A1a-047 variant, as it allows for quick retreats. The hard part is deciding what to replace in the deck.
Final Thoughts
Thank you for reading this guide! I hope it helps you win against those pesky A2a-071 decks that are terrorizing the new Triumphant Light expansion!
