Pokémon TCG Pocket has been out for less than two weeks and continues to break records. Alongside surpassing 30 million downloads in just 10 days, community tournaments have drawn over 3,000 players, with Ursiiday’s Pocket Weekly #2 alone attracting more than 1,000 participants. In this report, we’ll provide a detailed breakdown of the two biggest weekend events and look at what they mean about the metagame.
Ursiiday's Pocket Weekly #2
Ursiiday’s Pocket Weekly #2 was not only the largest Pokémon TCG Pocket tournament for the second time in a row, but also the biggest event ever held on LimitlessTCG, the main tournament platform for TCG Pocket. This tournament also had the largest prize pool to date, with $350 in prizes, made possible by sponsorship from XPCollect. Ultimately, 1,101 players competed for the top prize.
For the first time, Pikachu ex surpassed Mewtwo ex in deck representation, by a huge margin. In fact, Pikachu ex decks made up a full third of the event. And despite having a big target on its back, Pikachu ex decks didn’t disappoint: it claimed 11 of the top 16 spots and went on to win the tournament, proving the deck’s consistency in tournament setups.
Deck | Number in top 16 | Number in top 8 |
|---|---|---|
Pikachu ex | 11 | 4 |
Mewtwo ex | 2 | 2 |
Charizard ex | 2 | 2 |
Blaine | 1 | 0 |
Saitama claimed the victory with a Pikachu ex Zebstrika deck featuring 1 Pincurchin, now a regular sight in winning Pikachu ex lists. His deck is very similar to iLoveQueijo‘s list from PLL#4, with the addition of a 2nd Potion. As Zebstrika becomes more common in Pikachu ex decks, this is certainly a very good tool for preventing bench KOs in the mirror match.
Pikachu ex Zebstrika - saitama
Pocket Legends League #6
The second largest tournament of the weekend was the sixth edition of the Pocket Legends League, with 601 players competing for a $50 prize pool. Mirroring the competitive structure of official Pokémon TCG events, this tournament spanned two days: day 1 with 10 Swiss rounds, day 2 with an asymmetrical top cut for players with a two-loss (x-2) record or better.
Once again, Pikachu ex dominated in representation, with more than a third of decks built around the popular Pokémon. But this time, the competitive players didn’t let the deck run loose and “only” 3 Pikachu ex decks made it to top 8.
Some unexpected decks, like Arcanine ex and Arbok Weezing, gave it a run for its money and ultimately made it to top 8 as well. Mewtwo ex also made a good run, with two lists running a Jynx and a Kangaskhan in the top 8, taking after R1nneganTCG’s fundamentals from last week’s PTCGP League tournament.
Deck | Number in day 2 | Number in top 8 |
|---|---|---|
Pikachu ex | 14 | 3 |
Mewtwo ex | 7 | 3 |
Arbok Weezing | 2 | 1 |
Arcanine ex | 1 | 1 |
Charizard ex | 1 | 0 |
Machamp Marowak | 1 | 0 |
And for once, the finals didn’t feature a single Pikachu ex deck! es602hotolose went undefeated through 15 rounds with a Mewtwo ex deck, which included one of the non-ex, “baby” Mewtwo. Not only it serves as a better tank than Kangaskhan with a lower retreat cost, but also poses a threat with its Power Blast attack, all while trading for just a single point.
But that’s not all: his opponent Tauros piloted an Arcanine ex deck, a deck that was basically nonexistent until this weekend, while Charizard ex claiming supremacy over R type Pokémon. But in the face of a Pikachu ex metagame, Arcanine ex coming online one turn before Charizard and hitting for exactly 120 damage (130 damage with Giovanni against Zapdos ex) makes it the right meta call, and it certainly paid off until this fateful finals.
Where is the metagame at?
Unsurprisingly, Pikachu ex decks continue to outperform the rest of the field in single-deck tournaments. As a Basic Pokémon that can hit for 90 from turn 2 onward with minimal setup, Pikachu ex is hard to surpass in sheer efficiency. This power level sidelines otherwise strong decks in matchmaking, such as Starmie ex.
Due to this polarization around Pikachu ex, the metagame is shifting toward solutions that may generally be considered weaker but are specifically strong against it. For instance, Arcanine ex has become a credible choice despite the presence of Charizard ex. These tournament also saw a noticeable rise in Arbok Weezing decks, with Kuriank making it to the top 8 of the Legends League #6.
Weezing and Arbok can withstand a fully charged Circle Circuit (with Weezing even out of Giovanni’s KO range), while Arbok can two-shot Pikachu and trap it on the field; Koga denying a point after Weezing has weakened a Pokémon; all the while hitting another top-tier deck, Mewtwo ex, on its weakness… Altogether, this budget deck stands as a strong option to Corner more than half the metagame in tournaments.
We’re also seeing more individual cards being played in established decks specifically to stand against Pikachu ex, such as Kangaskhan, whose 100 HP is just above the maximum damage output of Circle Circuit.
To keep in touch with the upcoming tournaments, visit our tournament page.
