Table of Contents
- Expansion: Space-Time Smackdown (A2)
- Updated: February 17, 2025
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
Exeggutor ex Celebi ex
a1a-3-celebi-ex deck uses a1-23-exeggutorex's early pressure with its high health and Tropical Swing attack, potentially dealing a lot of damage to get early knockouts.
As your opponent is trying to deal with a1-23-exeggutorex[/card, you'll be getting [card]a1a-3-celebi-ex ready to join in the late game. a1a-3-celebi-ex flips a coin equal to the number of Energy attached to it. 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.
Some lists include a1a-32-mew-ex as an alternative win condition, capable of copying the attack of the opponent's Active Pokemon with Genome Hacking, perfect if your opponent has an attack worth copying. Another consideration is a2-22-shaymin healing each of your Pokemon for 10 damage with its Fragrant Flower Garden ability.
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.
Tier 2
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.
Magnezone Skarmory
Another variant of the lightning a2-53-magnezone deck, this one uses a2-111-skarmory for its early aggression. Attaching a tool to a2-111-skarmory increases its Metal Arms attack damage, becoming a 50-damage attack for just 1 Energy.
a2-120-heatran is another potential attacker, but it requires 3 Metal Energy to activate Steel Tackle. So it can take a couple of turns before it's ready, but the 110 damage is worth it!
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.
Darkrai ex Greninja
This deck uses multiple methods to deal chip-in damage, early into the game, we want to have a1a-56-druddigon in the Active spot, capable of dealing 20 damage back to the opponent's attacker with its Rough Skin ability.
Since a2-110-darkrai-ex's Nightmare Aura requires you to attach Darkness Energy to a2-110-darkrai-ex to activate it, this deck only runs Darkness Energy, which means a2-110-darkrai-ex is our only attacker. Getting to deal 20 damage with Nightmare Aura once every turn and on top of that a2-110-darkrai-ex's Dark Prism will put us on 100 damage a turn.
a1-89-greninja is a Stage 2 Pokemon, so it will take longer to get into play. a1-89-greninja's Water Shuriken deals 20 damage to one of the opponent's Pokemon, which means we can target their Bench. This will help get a knock out alongside a2-110-darkrai-ex attack, but it also means we can damage a Benched Pokemon and play a2-150-cyrus to force it to the Active spot for a2-110-darkrai-ex to knock out.
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.
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.
Palkia ex Vaporeon
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.
Tier 3
Pachirisu ex
This deck uses a2-61-pachirisu-ex as its only Pokemon, so it has a consistent strategy, relying on a2-61-pachirisu-ex's aggression. For only 2 Lightning Energy, you can start attacking with a2-61-pachirisu-ex's Sparking Gadget, dealing 40 damage with its attack.
If you attach a tool to a2-61-pachirisu-ex, Sparking Gadget becomes an 80-damage attack, making it easier for you to KO your opponent's Active Pokemon.
Fighting Magnezone
This deck uses a2-53-magnezone along side non-ex Fighting Pokemon, a1-154-hitmonlee, a1a-47-marshadow, and a1-155-hitmonchan, that help you out in the early game. They're capable of presenting offensive pressure you evolve into a1-98-magneton and start ramping up with Volt Charge.
a2-53-magnezone will go for heavy attacks, dealing 110 damage to the opponent's Active Pokemon. You are discarding a Lightning Energy from a2-53-magnezone, so ramping twice with Volt Charge should be enough to win you games.
When one of your Active Pokemon is knocked out, a1a-47-marshadow is a choice to move to the Active spot, capable of dealing 100 damage with its Revenge attack.
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.
Rampadros Lucario
This fighting-type deck uses a2-92-lucario's Fighting Coach to boost the damage of your Fighting-type Pokemon, dealing an extra 20 damage with each attack.
This makes it easier for you to knock out your opponent's Pokemon, with a2-92-lucario, a1-155-hitmonchan, a1-154-hitmonlee, and a1a-47-marshadow.
a2-89-rampardos is the late-game Stage 2 Pokemon to carry the game, dealing 130 damage with Head Smash, and becoming 150 damage with Fighting Coach ability. If a2-89-rampardos knocks out a Pokemon, it will deal 50 damage to itself, putting it in a vulnerable spot to the opponent's upcoming turn.
Dialga ex Yanmega ex
a2-119-dialga-ex's Metalic Turbo can ramp up your Benched Pokemon a2-7-yanmega-ex, a1a-32-mew-ex, and a1a-60-tauros. They all need Colorless Energy to attack, so attaching Metal Energy through a2-119-dialga-ex will allow you to attack with them later in the game.
a1a-60-tauros is a great option to knock out an ex type Pokemon, dealing 120 damage with Fighting Tackle. As for a2-7-yanmega-ex, Air Slash deals 120 damage but will discard an Energy, so you're forced to attach another Energy if you want to attack with it again.
a1a-32-mew-ex is as strong as opponent's Active Pokemon, copying its attack with Genome Hacking and attacking your opponent's Pokemon with it.
Bastiodon Skarmery
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.
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.
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.
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.