Pokemon TCG Pocket currently boasts over 200 cards for players to collect, and with enough of those — and plenty of duplicates — players can build some impressive decks to battle with. Consisting of just 20 cards, these decks don’t require all that much on paper, but the best decks in the casual, mobile TCG require a lot of good luck given the rare cards they feature.
Most of the best decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket are built around rare ex cards, such as Mewtwo ex or Charizard ex, and even if you’ve only one of these to spare, there are still plenty of alternative ‘mons to use alongside them while you wait for the luck of the draw to be on your side. Here are some of the best Pokemon TCG Pocket decks to build and play with, with suggestions of alternate free-to-play friendly cards you can use while you continue your hunt for rare cards.
Best Pokemon TCG Pocket decks to play with
The best Pokemon TCG Pocket decks can be quite costly to build, with many requiring you to have multiple of the same rare cards to really make the most of it. Take the below Charizard ex and Blastoise ex decks, for example, which both require you to have two Charizard ex’s or two Blastoise ex’s respectively, among other cards you may not already have.
With this in mind, we have attempted to offer alternative free-to-play friendly cards in these deck build guides, so that you can experiment with these decks while waiting to pull the remaining cards you need.
On top of that, we’ve also worked on providing some free-to-play friendly deck guides with our Rapidash/Ninetales deck, but these still require that you have many duplicates of Common/Uncommon cards. If you have any other suggestions for free-to-play friendly decks and cards, do let us know in the comments!
Don’t forget that you can also craft cards you need using Pack Points, but be careful not to spend all of these at once; they’re best spent on Trainer Cards before you start saving up for the Pokemon you want.
Pokemon TCG Pocket Charizard ex deck
The best Charizard ex deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket is currently one of the best decks in the game, largely due to the fact that Charizard ex’s Crimson Storm attack is one of the only attacks that can knock out opposing ex Pokemon in a single turn.
- 2x Charizard ex
- 2x Charmeleon
- 2x Charizard
- 2x Moltres ex OR 2x alternative Pokemon
- 1x Meowth
- 2x Professor’s Research
- 2x Poke Ball
- 2x Sabrina
- 2x X Speed
- 1x Red Card
- 2x Potion
Given that Charizard ex is so powerful, he does require a lot of setting up, and a lot of Energy. If you happen to have Moltres ex and get the cards you require early on in the battle, the victory is pretty much all yours unless something goes horribly wrong.
Charizard ex can also be played with other Fire-types that aren’t Moltres ex, but attaching the Energy that Charizard ex requires will take significantly longer, so bear that in mind.
Pokemon TCG Pocket Mewtwo ex deck
The best Mewtwo ex deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket relies on Gardevoir to consistently stack Energy on Mewtwo ex, so they can continuously use their Psydrive attack.
- 2x Mewtwo ex
- 2x Ralts
- 2x Kirlia
- 2x Gardevoir
- 1x Meowth
- 2x Poke Ball
- 2x Potion
- 2x X Speed
- 2x Professor’s Research
- 2 x Sabrina
- 1x Red Card
A free-to-play alternative to this deck, outlined in the above guide, swaps the Gardevoir evolution chain for Weezing. While this deck is not as powerful and will take longer to set up, it’s worth trying if you want to put your Mewtwo ex to work.
Pokemon TCG Pocket Venusaur ex deck
The best Venusaur ex deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket is a personal favorite of mine. This Grass-type deck uses Lilligant to stack Energy onto our primary Pokemon, Venusaur ex, who can attack while healing itself, making it quite the annoying opponent.
- 2x Venusaur ex
- 2x Ivysaur
- 2x Bulbasaur
- 2x Lilligant (can be swapped for 2x Exeggutor ex, or 1x Butterfree)
- 2x Petilil (can be swapped for 2x Exeggcute, or 2x Caterpie and 1x Metapod)
- 2x Poke Ball
- 2x X Speed
- 2x Professor’s Research
- 2x Sabrina
- 2x Erika (can be swapped for 2x Potion)
Accompanying this deck with Erika means you can regularly heal up your Pokemon, making Venusaur ex hard to knock out. You can also attempt this deck with the likes of Exeggutor or Butterfree if you do not have Lilligant, but ultimately, Lilligant is the best ‘mon to use alongside Venusaur ex right now.
Pokemon TCG Pocket Blastoise ex deck
The best Blastoise ex deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket focuses solely on the Water-type ‘mon, but brings along Lapras ex — a high damage, high HP, self-healing Water-type — to tank damage for us while we set Blastoise up.
- 2x Squirtle
- 2x Wartortle
- 2x Blastoise ex
- 1x Lapras ex
- 1x Meowth
- 2x X Speed
- 2x Misty
- 2x Sabrina
- 2x Professor’s Research
- 1x Potion
- 1x Poke Ball
We also bring along Meowth in case worst comes to worst and we need to draw more cards to complete the Blastoise evolution chain. Though, with Professor’s Research and Poke Balls to hand, you could always swap this for another Lapras ex if you’ve got one, or even Articuno ex.
Pokemon TCG Pocket Gengar ex deck
The best Gengar ex deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket isn’t too costly to build provided you have at least two Gengar ex’s already. Paired with Hypno or an alternate Pokemon capable of messing with opponents — be it Jigglypuff, Pigeot, or Weezing — this Gengar ex deck is anti-supporter, and will put many opposing decks in an awkward spot.
- 2x Gengar ex
- 2x Haunter
- 2x Gastly
- 2x Drowzee
- 2x Hypno – you can swap Drowzee/Hypno for Weezing OR Pidgeot evolution chains
- 2x Poke Ball
- 2x Professor’s Research
- 2x Sabrina
- 2x X Speed
- 2x Potion OR 2x Giovanni
Even if you only have one Gengar ex, you can use standard Gengar cards in the meantime. This will make the deck less powerful given that Gengar has less attack power and HP than Gengar ex, but you will still be preventing opposing players from using the likes of Sabrina, Blaine, Misty, and more, which is
Pokemon TCG Pocket Ninetales/Rapidash deck
The best Rapidash/Ninetales deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket is the most free-to-play friendly deck on this list. It transforms the Rapidash deck given to you at the beginning of your time in Pocket and turns it into a relatively strong Fire-type deck. Though, this arguably has nothing on the Charizard ex deck listed above.
- 2x Ninetales
- 2x Vulpix
- 2x Ponyta
- 2x Rapidash
- 1x Growlithe and 1x Arcanine ex OR 2x Magmar – or you can use Fossil Cards instead
- 2x Poke Ball
- 2x X Speed
- 2x Professor’s Research
- 2x Blaine
- 2x Sabrina
Ninetales and Rapidash are your main damage-dealers here, with Blaine able to bolster their damage even further. There’s plenty of opportunity to customise this deck too. Have Moltres ex to hand? Use them over Arcanine ex. Have neither? Use Magmar to make the most of the Blaine Trainer Card, or even Fossil Cards to keep your main ‘mons safe while you set up.
For more on Pokemon TCG Pocket, take a look at how to add Flair to your cards, as well as what the rarest cards in the game are.