Pokemon TCG Pocket: Best Pikachu ex deck guide
A Pikachu ex deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket offers a fun and aggressive playstyle that can catch your opponents off-guard. Although this is not the easiest deck to play with, it can put pressure right from the beginning and potentially start dealing damage from the second round. If done correctly, the deck can wipe off most supporting cards before your opponent has managed to fully set up their board.
In this guide, we will discuss the strategy behind the Pikachu ex deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket and how you can use it to easily win some PvP matches.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinions.
Pikachu ex deck guide: Which cards should you use?
Each deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket consists of 20 cards. That said, here are the cards you should put in the Pikachu ex deck for TCG Pocket:
Alternate choices:
Voltorb and Electrode mainly act as supporting cards to populate the board and increase Pikachu ex's damage. You can also use Blitzle and Zebstrika here as alternatives.
Pikachu ex deck guide: Strategy and how to play
The primary strategy of this Pokemon TCG Pocket Pikachu ex deck is to have three lightning-type cards on the bench to enable maximum damage from Pikachu ex's Circle Circuit attack.
The most interesting aspect about lightning-type cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket is that most cards have only one-energy retreat cost. This is a massive advantage for setting up and switching, especially if you pair it with Ex Speed. This Item Card reduces the retreat cost by one energy, making most lightning-type cards have free retreats.
Pokemon TCG Pocket Pikachu ex deck: Best starting hand
Your best starting hand would be a Pikachu ex, Zapdos ex, any supporting Pokemon card, and Professor's Research. You should not play Pikachu ex in the active spot right off the bat, since other popular starting cards like Farfetch'd can do a decent amount of chip damage.
Zapdos ex is one of the best choices for the early-game active slot since it has 130 HP and can tank a lot of damage while you set up the board. Professor's Research is the best Trainer Card during this time as it can draw more cards and let you set up the board better.
Also read: Pokemon TCG Pocket: How to open card packs for free
How to play the Pikachu ex deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket?
Pikachu ex needs only two energy, so you can ideally set it up to attack right from round two. Initially, this card will only do 30 damage and will increase to a maximum hit of 90 if there are three lightning-type cards in your deck. However, putting Pikachu ex in the active spot too early might not be the best idea in all scenarios, since this will allow opponents to counter-play and knock out this card.
During the normal game, this is the flow that you should look to achieve:
- Put Zapdos ex or any other Pokemon card in the active slot.
- Put Pikachu ex on the bench and look to build its energy.
- If the opponent has cards that have lightning-type weakness, you can also attach energy to your active card to deal damage.
- Once you have three lightning-type cards and have the right setup for Pikachu ex, use Ex Speed for a free swap and attack with Pikachu ex.
- Use Giovanni if you want to deal more than 90 damage. This buff might seem insignificant but can be a game-changer if used in the right scenario.
- Use Sabrina to save your Pikachu ex card, or to force a win condition.*
*Sabrina can be used to swap the card in the active slot of your opponent to any benched card of their choice. If you already have a win condition where your next attack will knock out any benched Pokemon, use it to force this swap from your opponent and win the game instantly.
The other scenario during which you can use Sabrina is to save your Pikachu ex or Zapdos ex from being knocked out during the subsequent opponent's turn. In such cases, use Sabrina to bring a weaker card in the active slot and save yourself instead.
Read more: Pokemon TCG Pocket card tier list
Counters to Pikachu ex decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket
Pikachu ex decks are weak against Fighting-type decks in general. Machamp ex decks in particular can easily counter Pikachu ex decks since all lightning-types will always take +20 damage from Fighting-types.
Venusaur ex decks, although not particularly a counter, can also pose a serious threat once Venusaur ex is in the active slot. This is because the 180 HP and healing potential on Venusaur ex can be hard to kill for a fast and chip-damage attacker like Pikachu ex. Against this deck, your best bet would be to finish the match before a fully set up Venusaur ex can take the active slot.
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