Mythical Island is out and has shaken up the format! Welcome to the first tier list of TCG Pocket for this new format, featuring seasoned players.
Panelists
Genetic Apex format December - Top players Tier list
Top tiers
I think most people would say Mewtwo ex is a likely candidate for best deck in the game, but it's also a deck with a MASSIVE target on its back. The Gyarados decks building specifically around Druddigon AND Greninja to hit the 150 hp breakpoint and deal with Mewtwo EX is a bit of a tell for how much the metagame is warped around this guy. That's to say nothing of the Scolipede-Weezing deck, which is prominent largely due to the matchup against this list, or all the decks splashing a Mew EX to revenge kill a Mewtwo EX. Despite ALL OF THAT, this deck is still the metagame baseline. 150 hp, 150 damage, an immense energy battery in Gardevoir, the addition of Mew EX and Mythical Slab - it's powerful, consistent and strong.
- KMBest
Mewtwo ex has always been a strong deck, but now with the additions from Mystical Island, this deck is even more consistent. It puts out 150 every single turn once Gardevoir gets set up, and that Mythical Slab gets you one card closer every time you use it.
- Ursiiday
G-Dos was a big winner over the weekend, with multiple different builds. 180 HP and hitting for 140 positions him as the biggest of the middle range of EX pokemon - he lives through almost everything, and KO's almost everything. Right now, a lot of decks are running 120-130 HP EX mons (or Arcanine, which G-Dos has type advantage over), such as Celebi EX and Mew EX, as well as Pikachu EX and Zapdos Ex. He crushes them. Full stop. His decks are still a bit in flux - many are playing Greninja to allow him to get up to the 150 breakpoint that is so important to deal with Mewtwo EX, as well as Druddigon. I'm a bit iffy on the Greninja line, but Drudd has made a name for himself as a mighty early game tank. Another weakness of G-Dos is that Magikarp flat out sucks. Look for more Electabuzz (Mythical Island) and Hitmonlee to blow them up in the backline.
- KMBest
Gyarados ex being the only deck in the format that is successfully doing 3 types of damage across the board is quite refreshing. 1 passive via Druddigon's ability, another from the bench with greninja's ability, and Gyarados high damage attack from the active spot. Almost like a trifecta of overwhelming your opponents if you find all the right pieces.
- Xatumi
High tiers
Pikachu EX is still one of the mosts consistent and aggressive decks in the format, along with the new Dedenne who I am convinced is biased towards flipping heads, makes this a strong deck in the format.
- Xatumi
I've personally struggled with finding the right build for the deck - Pikachu EX's strength was that it always had a lot of tools to adapt to various metagame scenarios, but the one it finds itself in right now is remarkably hostile - a lot of pokemon that just straight up live through your attacks! The metagame has started to move towards beefy Stage 1 and Basic EX pokemon, all of whom deal about 120-140 damage, and all of whom live through your attacks very easily. Don't even get me started on Golem. This has led to a lot of attempts at figuring out what the heck the deck is supposed to look like. Me personally, I think netdecking Gqqq is very rarely incorrect.
- KMBest
Charizard is in a really good spot this meta. It does have some difficult match ups now that Mew ex can 1HKO it, and Gyarados can essentially 1HKO with a greninja snipe, but Charizard is the only Pokemon that can consistently 1HKO every deck. Not even Mewtwo can do that to Gyarados or Golem, but Charizard can.
Arcanine had a bit of a rough match up last set into Mewtwo ex, but with the addition of Mew ex, this deck has gotten EVEN STRONGER.
- Ursiiday
Arcanine EX, or Arcanine/Charizard... I prefer just Arcanine right now. Really, its just "The Moltres EX Deck". With the rise of Celebi EX and Mew EX, Arcanine is a uniquely well positioned pokemon. In fact, if Gyarados didn't exist - and even now that he does - I'd say Arcanine/Moltres would be my pick for a genuinely elite deck. The real strength of the deck is Moltres EX - one of the strongest cards in the entire game. He is effectively a more efficient and useful Misty, allowing you to have a MASSIVE energy advantage. With Charizard EX being weak to opposing Mew EX, the deck gets more streamlined by cutting it - although that's not necessarily a permanent state of affairs - for simply the Arcanine package and your own splash of Mew EX, giving you an out to Mewtwo EX.
- KMBest
The Poison archetype is so much stronger now with Scolipede's potential do deal massive damage. That along with the EX Destroyer Tauros, and we're starting to see the first non ex deck in the format do really well!
- Xatumi
While it would be correct to attribute a lot of Koga deck's power and success to Mewtwo EX existing, I think Scolipede is a genuine upgrade for the archetype, which was previously playing Arbok. Weezing/Koga is really strong, and any upgrade over Arbok/Muk is meaningful, even if it's a stage 2 evolution that needs poison in order to do damage. There's some slick stuff that Koga and Leaf enable with Weezing retreating or returning to hand after using the pokemon power into Scolipede hitting for 120 immediately. The type matchup means you have a good time against Mewtwo EX, but be warned - this is a tough deck to play!
- KMBest
Middle tiers
Brock is a slow and steady deck. With multiple attackers, players get to think out their turns and have a number of options for how they want to take the game, and once Golem is set up and swinging he has an effective 190 health pool. This deck is AWESOME, but it can faulter in the set up stages.
- Ursiiday
Golem was the surprise winner of Ursiiday's Pocket Weekly, and I think a lot of credit should go to the new Graveler from Mythical Island. One of the major weaknesses of Brock decks was that Brock only worked on Golem itself, and the Graveler from Genetic Apex needed THREE WHOLE ENERGY to attack! New Graveler lets you attack with each stage of the evolution as long as you have a Brock - one energy on Geodude, a second on Graveler, and then a third + Brock to enable Golem. Note that this is another deck using the power of Druddigon - a card that has really shown its value in these decks that don't have anything big enough to OHKO some of the larger EX mons in the game. I almost wonder if this shell can support Machamp EX.
- KMBest
Celebi EX I still think has the best potential to scale, however the data is showing that either people are just super unlucky with their coin flips or there seems to be a huge learning curve with this deck and how to play it effectively for wins. Either way, it's kinda mid. (Even though I won a tournament with it lol)
- Xatumi
Celebi EX got a ton of hype, and deservedly so - but I also think it's got some really big problems as far as longevity is concerned. When you look at the other decks on this list, you see a LOT of pokemon that simply OHKO Celebi EX. It's getting one shot by Mewtwo, Arcanine, Gyarados, you name it. This deck has game against anything, but the meta is very hostile to it at the moment. When this deck gets rolling downhill, it's hard to beat, but one revenge kill on a Celebi EX can leave you without many threats with which to finish the game.
- KMBest
Promising decks
Aerodactyl ex is really cool. This deck runs the new primeape and marshadow as well, giving players a number of options for how they want to play their game. It's consistent, and between Aerodactyl ex and Marshadow, really makes your opponent think too!
- Ursiiday
Thanks to them for their rating! Check their latest video:
- KMBest: The BEST DECK Is BACK In Mythical Island! - Once a top tier, always a top tier: Pikachu claims its crown back!
- Ursiiday: Finals - URSIIDAY PKMN POCKET WEEKLY #9 - the day 2 of the biggest Pokémon TCG Pocket tournament ever
- Xatumi: Top 8 CURRENT META Decks In Pokemon Pocket - a more personal and elaborate tier list by Xatumi