One of Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Best Decks Finally Has a Way Out Against Its Worst Matchup

With over 1,000 in the collection so far, Pokemon TCG Pocket is an ever-growing colossus of a mobile game, with amazing sales so far despite its relatively short lifespan of just over seven months. The game has yet to announce details regarding its next expansion, which will presumably launch sometime at the end of June, but Extradimensional Crisis has proven to be a great set for both collectors and competitive players. Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s best decks in Extradimensional Crisis are quite different from those of previous metas, though some big performers remain, such as Darkrai Ex, Giratina Ex, and Rampardos. Right now, though, one deck has gotten even better thanks to the promo cards added with the Ultra Necrozma Ex event.

Buzzwole Ex is an S-tier deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket now, and it’s even getting better results with tailor-crafted lists that make it more competitive in tournaments, but some other decks are still very good. Silvally has proven to be a great card in just about any aggressive deck, excelling when combined with Rampardos, whereas Darktina remains one of the best-performing decks in the game despite being made three sets ago. Now, Solgaleo Ex / Shiinotic decks are on the rise, and the new Dusk Mane Necrozma helps them beat their biggest counter.

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How Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Best Deck is Adapting to Win Even More

Pokemon TCG Pocket has one deck that stands taller than the rest, and its best lists are changing to make it even stronger and more consistent.

Solgaleo Ex / Shiinotic decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket became one of the best meta decks thanks to their very aggressive nature, with players generally needing one copy of Cosmog and Solgaleo Ex with Rare Candy or one of Morelull and Shiinotic to get started. Shiinotic makes evolving Cosmog extremely easy and consistent, and with Solgaleo Ex only needing two Energy to attack, the deck can be very fast. However, its original iteration essentially auto-lost against Oricorio due to its Safeguard ability, preventing all damage from Ex sources.

With Shiinotic only attacking if all else fails, given that Energy will always go to Solgaleo Ex first and foremost, Oricorio decks were basically a loss from the get-go for this deck. However, the new Dusk Mane Necrozma changes this entirely. This card has a three-Energy attack for 100 damage, which is more than enough to destroy Oricorio, and it can get online faster with a copy of Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s Lusamine. Even then, its 110 HP makes it a relatively bulky basic Pokemon, meaning it can stand a couple of small-scale attacks while it builds Energy if it can’t stay on the bench.

Drawing a single copy of Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s Dusk Mane Necrozoma is not hard either, with the deck running two copies of Poke Ball and Professor’s Research alongside Pokemon Communication and Shiinotic itself. As such, it’s relatively easy to start setting Dusk Mane Necrozma up, which can take two hits from Oricorio and still live. This is also a good card to have against Silvally, which deals 100 damage if a Supporter card was used that turn, meaning that a full-HP Dusk Mane Necrozma survives the hit and can then hit back for 100 damage or even KO Silvally if it’s equipped with Poison Barb or Rocky Helmet, and also if one uses a copy of Giovanni.

Why Pokemon TCG Pocket Players Shouldn’t Sleep on Dusk Mane Necrozma

Solgaleo Ex decks are very much still meta in Pokemon TCG Pocket, and with Dusk Mane Necrozma, it’s easy to see how they will retain this status until the next expansion comes out, or even beyond that. This card can be slow compared to Solgaleo Ex with Shiinotic, but it’s still a very powerful asset in most matchups in the meta, so even using one in the deck works wonders. On top of that, Dusk Mane Necrozma is finding its way in Ultra Beast-themed decks with Celesteela and Stakataka, as well as Silvally decks, proving to be a perfect all-rounder that beats some of the big threats in the meta.