Right before the official release, and after a week with several tournaments with consistently more than 100 players each, we figured it was a good time to ask prominent top players and content creators their opinion on the tier list to give better guidances to players who will discover Pokémon TCG Pocket for the first time this wednesday.
Introducing the polled players
New panelists
Returning panelists
Click on their profile to access to their platform!
Genetic Apex format pre-launch - Top players Tier list
Top tiers
The meta is really exciting as we head into the global release. Lots could change as we have 10,000 times as many players start to check the game out and build their decks. Right now it still feels like the power house decks are safely in that top spot. Pikachu Ex, followed closely by Mewtwo Ex. The only thing that could hurt Starmie is the fact that you see a LOT of Pikachu. The only deck I’m not super hot on (ironically) is Charizard EX. Feels very feast or famine with this deck and early aggressive decks shut it down quite hard.
The Pikachu EX archetype continues to evolve with multiple variants taking top finishes. The Raichu/Lt Surge variant can help dominate the mirror. The other variants include Electrode, Zebstrika and the “new” Zapdos & Zapdos EX with only 6 basics. One of the biggest perks are the “bricks” it has are often better than almost every other deck’s “bricks”.
The biggest issues Pikachu EX has are the low HP and if the opponent is able to make it to the midgame or late game there is potential for some Stage 2 EX’s to sweep. I think we will continue to see multiple variants of Pikachu EX decks top and perform at a high level, but the verdict is still to be determined which variant is the optimal build.
Pikachu ex is a top tier deck. It is super fast and reliable to get online and can start swinging hard early. The supportive lines it has are also very versatile. Zapdos as a chunky wall with high dmg ceiling in a pinch, Voltorb so you have the Electrode free swap, Zebstrika to snipe back row, Lt. Surge and Raichu to hit bigger threats. It also has elemental advantage over Starmie ex and Moltres ex which is a great bonus.
Mewtwo ex & Gardevoir continue to be one of the most stable and consistent deck partners. The biggest strength of this deck is arguably the biggest weakness which happens to be how linear this deck is. This deck is built to do roughly the same thing, with the same attacker every game but because there is no room for flexibility it can be walled off by another deck in the top tier.
Mewtwo ex is showing to be a very consistent deck. It has a higher floor than some of the other decks, which leads to its high ranking. The big-body Mewtwo, able to swing for 50 and ramp up, can punish any deck that doesn’t have a great starting hand. And if you get Gardevoir online early, then it is tough to deal with.
High tiers
Charizard is steadily climbing up the ranks from high tier to top tier decks. With slight tweaks of being able to sub in basic pokemon alongside Charmander like Vulpix into Ninetales, It essentially has its bases covered to swap out Moltres ex and do extreme damage at disadvantaged weaknesses. If anyone is looking for a super fun deck that will help you climb the ranks upon release, THIS IS THE ONE!
In a perfect world of flipping heads, Misty can easily catapult Starmie ex decks into the top tier. However, over the span of a tournament it is very hard to consistently get value out of Misty which is a problem. Greninja and Starmie EX are great in some matchups with Starmie EX having just enough HP to survive a lot of attacks and Greninja being able to finish off pokemon from the bench.
Starmie is a fantastic deck. Misty is great if it works but not required like it is for some other decks. Like pika it is fast and consistent, although it has an evolution requirement as oppose to the bench requirement of pika. Unfortunately its typing disadvantage to pikachu holds it down in the top of the meta
Although, the surge of R decks the past couple weekends has made me shy away from this deck being a solid meta call, Venusaur EX & Exeggutor also known as Venu Egg is a high tier deck. Exeggutor can matchup with almost every top tier deck and fight back even in games where you are going first. Venusaur ex continues to be an absolute tank when successfully evolved. If Charizard and Blaine start to drop in playrate, look for this deck to resurface at some point. The biggest weakness will be the close matchup between Mewtwo ex and the obvious mismatch against Charizard EX.
Marowak is basically live and die by the coinflip and feels super good when your luck is good, hitting for 80 or 160 being able to 1 shot most Ex cards in the game. On the other hand, the deck feels terrible when you land tails and end up tanking to much damage on Marowak or have it die for free without dealing out enough damage and giving your opponent a free 2 prize points.
Fighting continues to be one of the best counters to all of the Pikachu EX variants although Marowak EX can be very coin flip dependent. Marowak EX is similar to the water variants in the sense “if you’re flipping heads, you are probably winning” Sandslash continues to be a solid stage 1 but with Giovanni laying around there are quite a few pokemon that can still OHKO it.
Middle tiers
Blaine is the only 1 prize deck that I would say can somewhat compete against the big bad EX decks of the meta. A lot of players are choosing to play Charizard EX, but going first and being able to pressure with Rapidash is very solid. Going second and playing Vulpix into Ninetales can lead to big trouble against almost every deck in the meta. The biggest weakness of this deck is the low HP the Pokemon possess and depending on multiple stage 1’s to finish off opponents compared to EX decks that can sweep with one of their EX Pokemon in some cases.
A deck that I believe deserves a spot up here is what I like to call the Team Rocket’s Escape Room deck. Having Arbok and Weezing is such a deadly combo. Pair a poisonous weezing with pokemon like arbok that refuses to let their enemy escape…. Going up against decks like Moltres Charizard is one of the most satisfying things to watch as Moltres can no longer escape to switch in the big bad char.
18 Trainers Articuno is not necessarily going to win any tournaments any time soon, but something to keep an eye on as we get better trainers that could take the place of cards like Hand Scope and Pokedex. If you’re able to open Misty and flip heads, this deck is a true nightmare.
Dragonite is my most favorite Pokemon in any Pokemon game. Sadly, I feel that it’s dropped it's status from high to mid tier. While building up to use its Draco Meteor can be extremely strong and win you the late game, the progress to reach that stage is extremely risky. Additionally, the damage even though is massive, is too random to target specific pokemon to win you games and is extremely luck based. There are amazing decks now that has quick tempo to counter this and unfortunately for now, Dragonite can't keep up.
Promising decks
Melmetal is one of the “newest” partners of the Weezing Engine that features Koffing, Weezing, and Koga. The ability to OHKO Pikachu EX is great in that matchup. Against Mewtwo EX & Gardevoir, Weezing can chip damage via poison while Melmetal comes in and potentially finishes the job. The biggest weaknesses are bricking the Weezing Engine or having Melmetal get OHKO before being able to stabilize.
A really interesting deck is the combination of Melmetal and Hypno with Mawile and Bisharp. The MVP here is being able to fully evolve into Melmetal to do not only a decent amount of damage to the enemy but also tank some damage due to it’s passive Hard Coat ability. Hypno is there to delay with sleep while pokemon like Bisharp and Mawile serves as a stall and mid damage while focusing on your Melmetal.
A big thanks to all of them! Each one have a different take on the tier list, so check their platforms to know more about them.
