Pokemon TCG Pocket’s New S-Tier Deck Breaks The Game With a Hidden Combo

Even though it’s not the largest set in the game’s relatively short history, Extradimensional Crisis brings many good cards to Pokemon TCG Pocket alongside a massive meta shift that now favors a few specific decks over all others. Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s Darkrai Ex and Giratina Ex deck got a buff in the form of Nihilego and Poison being good (which is all the better now that Arceus Ex got power-crept out of the meta), but it also got a “nerf” in the form of Buzzwole Ex and Pheromosa decks that can wipe it with relative ease. Buzzwole Ex/Pheromosa and Silvally/Rampardos have proven to be the strongest new decks in the game, and one of them has an incredibly powerful hidden combo.

Combos in Pokemon TCG Pocket are nothing new, and many players are still discovering new ones by the day, such as the Blacephalon and Ninetales deck that uses both Blaine and Lusamine to lay waste to the opponent’s critters and close out with a bang. Not all decks are competitively viable or even among the best in their category, but as time goes on and new sets come out, the meta will inevitably change. Right now, though, players can abuse one OP strategy with Buzzwole Ex.

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Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Buzzwole Ex Deck Hidden Strategy Explained

Buzzwole Ex is currently one of the strongest cards in the game, even if it has a major drawback in the form of its 3-Energy attack, Big Beat, only being usable once every other turn. However, players can circumvent this restriction with the use of Celesteela, which has the Ultra Thrusters ability, allowing players to switch their active Ultra Beast with another Ultra Beast on the bench, then pay the retreat cost for that Ultra Beast and put Buzzwole Ex back in the active spot and ready to use Big Beat. This is a core part of the reason why Buzzwole Ex and Pheromosa decks are so powerful, especially with Pheromosa requiring just one Energy for its attacks and Retreat Cost.

Why Buzzwole Ex’s Big Beat Switch Strategy is Problematic

The game doesn’t really tell players that they can do something like this, so reading the text for Big Beat may make it seem like it’s a “permanent” effect, making it all the more frustrating to battle against in competitive. The workaround is also arguably overpowered, as it completely removes the drawback for Buzzwole Ex, making it all the more reliable and stronger overall. For this reason, some players also use one copy of Kartana to have even more Ultra Beasts in Pokemon TCG Pocket to trigger Celesteela’s ability with.

Not knowing about this combo can make Buzzwole Ex decks less powerful than they really are, both from the perspective of a potential user and that of someone running into this deck being used by an opponent in Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s Ranked Mode. It’s not exactly intended to work as it does, but at the same time, it is because of how moving a Pokemon from the active spot to the bench works. Much like one can remove all status conditions when moving a Pokemon to the bench, this also “refreshes” the status quo of the card, so Buzzwole Ex no longer has the limitation of not being able to use Big Beat – hence why the Celesteela cheese method works.

Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s best decks in Extradimensional Crisis are unlikely to shift in major ways because both Buzzwole Ex and Silvally are arguably broken cards, too powerful in their current state. As such, with a change to the gimmick brought by Celesteela’s Ultra Thrusters ability and its interaction with Big Beat being very unlikely, players should keep this in mind when building their decks and maybe use this strategy themselves, if possible.