Pokémon TCG Pocket: Tier List & Best Decks

One of the most complicated parts of a new card game, digital or otherwise, is knowing which cards to pursue en route to building a competitive deck. For Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, what decks you should run highly depends on which cards you’ve pulled as there are so many.

To help you start building to be the very best, we’ve put together a tier list, along with a handful of budget-friendly and top-tier decks to help you get your PokéFooting.

Plenty of cards in these decks can be subbed out until you pull the cards required, so don’t fret. In other words, if you only have one Marowak EX rather than the suggested two – just sub in a regular Marowak or another set of Fighting-type cards until you pull the card you want.

Note: We're currently in the process of updating this guide following the release of the new Triumphant Light pack.

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket Tier List (Space-Time Smackdown)

Below are what we believe are the most viable decks in Pokémon TCG Pocket as of the Space-Time Smackdown expansion, ranked by Tiers. S Tier is obviously the best, followed by other extremely good decks in A-Tier and below.

For each deck, we've included the main win condition alongside a key support card or an alternate win condition to make it easier to understand what cards you’ll need and how the deck functions at a glance.

Note that this tier list will be updated following the release of Triumphant Light.

S Tier

The S Tier decks are the best decks right now in Pokémon TCG Pocket. The four we've listed are both consistent and powerful, proving tough to beat even with a perfect draw.

Much of the meta is centred around beating these decks, and if the list your running isn’t prepared for them, you won’t stand a chance unless you draw very well and they draw abysmally.

• Dialga EX & Yanma EX (Space-Time Smackdown)
• Gyarados EX & Greninja (Mythical Island)
• Mewtwo EX & Gardevoir
• Pikachu EX & Zapdos EX

A Tier

For the A Tier decks, these are close to S Tier in that they're either consistent or powerful, but they're not both. You may have to retreat early when you don’t get a key support card or flip heads and tails, or you may have lots of options but sometimes fall a little short when up against more aggressive lists.

In short, they can stand up against S Tier with a little bit of luck.

• Celebi EX & Serperior (Mythical Island)
• Darkrai EX & Weavile (Space-Time Smackdown)
• Palkia EX & Starmie EX (Space-Time Smackdown)
• Lucario & Fossils (Space-Time Smackdown)

B Tier

B Tier decks are strong but will often fall to S Tier decks before their game plan comes to fruition. They require several evolution stages or stalling tactics until you can fully power up your main win condition with multiple types of energy.

However, these B Tier decks can usually stand up against A Tier decks and have good matchups against some of them.

• Charizard EX & Moltres
• Infernape EX & Rapidash
• Mismagius EX & Togekiss (Space-Time Smackdown)

C Tier

Despite being bottom of our Tier List, the C Tier decks will find their fair share of wins but are hampered by more than one bad matchup from either the S or A Tiers.

Otherwise, they may provide direct counters to some of the most popular decks at the expense of losing against most others.

• Garchomp & Cynthia
• Ninetails & Blaine
• Mamoswine & Manaphy

Phased-Out

These decks have more or less become obsolete with the addition of new cards that greatly outpace them; however, if you do not have newer cards they’re proven enough to net some wins.

• Alakazam EX & Greninja
• Articuno EX & Misty
• Blastoise EX & Misty
• Dragonite & Weezing
• Marowak EX & Sandslash
• Mew EX & Alakazam (Mythical Island)
• Starmie EX & Articuno EX
• Venusaur EX & Exeggutor EX

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket - All Packs & Expansions

We have a list of all Booster Pack expansions added to Trading Card Game Pocket since its release. We've grouped these by title, and when they were released.

• Genetic Apex (Mewtwo, Pikachu, Charizard)
• Mythical Island (Mew)
• Space-Time Smackdown (Dialga, Palkia)

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket - Best TCG Pocket Budget Decks (Genetic Apex)

Below, we've got the best decks for those on a budget, or for those who perhaps don't want to spend money (understandably!) but still build a competitive deck.

You can also use the new Trading feature to help build some of these decks. We've got a comprehensive guide on how to trade cards, because it's not exactly straightforward!

Marowak EX/Sandslash Deck

The easiest way to put this deck together is to select the Mewtwo pack upon starting a new account as you’ll obtain several of the cards required, including one Marowak EX card.

With this deck, you want to get Marowak EX out early. Its attack, Bonemerang, requires only two Fighting Energy and deals 80 damage for each head you flip. It inherently makes this deck a gamble as you can hit two tails and deal no damage, but you can also burst down opposing EX Pokemon extremely quickly.

Want our recommendation for the best Marowak EX deck? Our guide will be able to help there.

Exeggutor EX/Pinsir Deck

Acting as an alternative to the Venusaur EX deck, Exeggutor EX is an incredibly cheap and powerful card as it can use Tropical Swing for only one Leaf Energy. Tropical Swing does 40 damage and 40 more damage if you flip heads. You'll want the Erika trainer card and the Pinsir card, too.

This is a great beginner's deck, especially if you want to work toward a Venusaur EX list, which is one of the better decks in the game. We've covered how to put this together in our Venusaur EX guide.

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket - Best Overall TCG Pocket Decks

Regardless of budget, below we've got a couple of the current best decks in Pokémon TCG Pocket.

Pikachu EX/Zapdos EX Deck

Stick to opening Genetic Apex Pikachu packs to pull Pikachu EX and Zapdos EX.

While debatable, many agree that the Pikachu EX/Zapdos EX Deck is the current best deck in the game. Pikachu EX will deal 90 damage if you have a full bench for only 2 energy with Circle Circuit. Zapdos EX, on the other hand, can deal 200 damage with Thundering Hurricane if you manage to flip heads four times. Voltorb and Electrode serve as great substitutes until you get the ball rolling with your EX cards.

For help putting this deck together, check out our guide on how to put together the Pikachu EX Deck.

Starmie EX/Articuno EX Deck

You’ll want to open Genetic Apex Charizard packs until you pull two Starmie EX before moving to Genetic Apex Mewtwo packs to hunt for two Articuno EX.

Starmie EX is very straightforward but powerful: with only two Water Energy you can deal 90 damage, two-shotting most opposing EX Pokemon while taking out most Basic Pokemon in a single hit. Articuno EX is a great backup as you can deal damage to your opponent’s bench with Blizzard in order to soften them up for Starmie.

If you want to try out the Starmie EX deck, we've got some tips, along with how to put together this fantastic deck, in our Starmie EX guide.

Dragonite/Articuno Deck

For this deck you’ll want to open Genetic Apex Mewtwo packs for both Dragonite and regular Articuno.

This is the only higher-tier deck that doesn’t utilize EX cards as Dragonite is powerful enough without an EX. Do note that you will want to have both Lightning Energy and Water Energy selected for this deck, as Dragonite requires one of each for Draco Meteor, which deals 50 damage randomly across your opponent’s entire board.

If you want to try something a bit different, then we've got a guide on how to build the best Dragonite deck in Pokémon TCG Pocket.

And those are the current best decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket. Furthermore, the game is relatively young and other more powerful decks may emerge before long – so don’t hesitate to experiment!