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Pokémon TCG Pocket is welcoming tons of new players to the game with it's official launch! With that comes a frequently asked question: Which card packs should I open? In this guide, we will break down what the different packs contain, which have the best cards, and which packs you should focus on opening.
What's Different Between Packs?
The game starts you off with the Apex collection, containing 3 packs to choose from: Pikachu, Charizard, and Mewtwo. Each pack contains some unique cards specific to that pack, as cards that are shared between packs. Each pack is themed to the featured Pokémon. For example: Charizard packs contain lots of important fire type Pokémon that enable Charizard decks to thrive. However, all 3 packs contain some basic fire type Pokémon.
There is an important distinction between the three packs. If you are interested in building specific decks, you may need to focus on opening specific packs. This will give you the best chance of building a competitive deck. To understand what each pack offers, let's break them down individually:
The Pikachu Pack
As the mascot for Pokémon, players naturally gravitate towards these packs when they play Pocket for the first time. The Pikachu Pack focuses on three types: Water, Fighting, and of course Electric. The most noteworthy cards in this pack are as follows:
- a1-96-pikachuex
- a1-104-zapdosex
- a1-56-blastoiseex
- a1-171-nidoking and a1-168-nidoqueen
- a1-193-jigglypuff and a1-195-wigglytuffex
- Trainers a1-220-misty, a1-224-brock, a1-226-lt-surge
There are obviously more cards in the deck, but these are your most important cards thay are specifically tied to the Pikachu pack. For the entire pack, Pikachu EX and Zapidos EX decks are by far the strongest decks you can build from this set. Blastoise EX isn't particularly powerful, but this Pack is the only way to get the iconic Pokémon. Trainer Misty is a key card in Water decks, and is notorious for single handedly winning matches from a high roll of her ability.
The pack also exclusively contains Arcanine EX, Gyarados, and Onyx. While the cards aren't very prominent in the meta, it's worth noting if you are aiming for these kinds of decks.
The Charizard Pack
Charizard is famously one of the original Pokémon starters, so it's fitting he is one of the featured Pokémon. The pack focuses on fire type, grass type, and fighting type primarily. These are the most noteworthy cards of the pack:
- a1-36-charizardex
- a1-47-moltresex
- a1-23-exeggutorex
- a1-76-starmieex
- a1-219-erika, a1-225-sabrina, a1-221-blaine
Charizard, Moltres, and Exeggutor are the stars of this pack. They fuel competitive meta decks for Fire and Grass types. Starmie EX also is very important for water type decks, as it allows you a powerful Pokémon that can retreat for free. Sabrina is a key card in a bunch of meta decks since she allows you to interrupt your opponent's gameplan. Erika has proven to be a strong healing option for grass types to tough out heavy hitters.
This pack also notably contains the following cards that aren't as strong, but are unique to the pack:
- a1-146-machampex
- a1-89-greninja
- a1-117-alakazam
- a1-79-lapras
- a1-61-poliwrath
Each of these have value in owning, but they aren't quite as strong as other cards.
The Mewtwo Pack
This pack contains, believe it or not, the famous Pokémon Mewtwo! This pack gives you a very wide range of Pokémon types. They range from Water, Grass, Pyscic, Dark, Fighting, and Dragon! The pack offers a beneficial set of of cards to each of these types:
- a1-129-mewtwoex
- a1-4-venusaurex
- a1-84-articunoex
- a1-123-gengarex
- a1-153-marowakex
- a1-132-gardevoir
- a1-185-dragonite
- a1-188-pidgeot
- Trainers a1-223-giovanni and a1-222-koga
This extensive list of cards create some of the best decks in the game. Mewtwo and Gardevoir make the top meta deck in the game currently. Marowak makes for an aggro fighting type deck. Venusaur is a staple the best grass decks. Pigeot makes for a powerful, repeating Sabrina effect, even when benched. Giovanni helps to push your attacks over the finish line to secure wins.
Even with this extensive list, there are still more noteworthy cards in this pack! Jynx, Koffling, and Muk are all unique to this pack and offer viable strategies.
Which Packs You Should Open
After breaking down the contents of each pack, I think the answer is pretty clear. The Mewtwo pack is the best pack by a landslide if you are looking for a quick way to make a competitive deck. Not only does it contain the best deck in the game (Mewtwo EX), it gives a wide range of strong cards that can get you a solid footing as you start the game.
Of course this doesn't mean you should exclusively open Mewtwo packs. After all, there are great cards in each pack you should collect! Mewtwo packs simply offer a stronger starting collection, which will make winning games easier (which gets you more XP to level up with).
Wrap Up
Hopefully this guide makes it a bit easier for you to build your dream deck quickly. If you have trouble making a viable deck after opening a bunch of packs, you may consider re-rolling your account for a chance at better card pulls. If you want to know the best and fastest way to do that, check out our re-roll guide!
That's all for now! What packs are you opening first? Is there a specific deck you want to build? Let us know in the comments!
