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The release of Space-Time Smackdown hit the metagame like a tsunami, with the old guard losing significant ground to the flashy new contenders from the latest expansion. We asked three experienced Pokémon TCG Pocket players and content creators to rank the archetypes they believe are on top of the competitive scene.
Panelists
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Top tiers
Darkrai ex is such a strong card—and a unique one with the fact that it puts 20 damage into the opponent's active pokemon when an Energy is attached to Darkrai from the energy zone—and it can honestly be slotted in with so many variants. I think Magnezone might be one of its stronger ones, but Weavile ex and Darkrai ex add up for a very hyper aggro deck as well. Furthermore, because of that additional 20 damage for each attachment, Darkrai ex is essentially doing 140 damage during its first attach assuming you only attached 3 energies.
-Ursiiday
Darkrai ex Magnezone has 2 key passives that have made it sit on top of the meta for the early stages of the format. Darkrai allows you to put pressure on the opponents active whilst loading it up to attack with energy every turn. Then there is the Genetic Apex Magneton which allows you to build up a second attacker for free without needing to include energy in the deck. This had made the deck have very few counters and be incredibly reliable. However, be prepared for some long games if you run into the mirror match.
-Volkin
Whether it is the Magnezone variant or the Greninja variant, both variants of Darkrai ex are extremely strong and force other players to gameplan against them. By now, I am sure you have heard of or at least played against the Magnezone variant that can stall with Druddigon as they attach energies with Darkrai & Magneton. The Greninja variant tends to have a very good matchup against the Magnezone variant being able to go around the Druddigon wall or stacking pressure on the active Pokemon. We are witnessing what may be the most powerful deck up until this point in the game.
-NothingButBangers
Fighting box now takes advantage of the free damage dealer ramp with Magnezone along with the fighting core of Hitmonlee and Marshadow, and the magic piece of this deck in Cyrus, making it a real threat to a lot of decks including Darkrai variants. Hitmonlees 30 damages to add to Magnezone's 110, allowing you to poke enemy Darkrai ex then drag them out and finish them the turn after. On top of that, we still have the Marshadow to get some early Revenge kills if Magnezone isn't yet ready. Also, this is a non EX deck meaning your oponent is forced to make 3KOs
-Volkin
The Magnezone & Fighting Toolbox variant has successfully taken a spot near the top of the meta. The deck is full of one point Pokemon that can pressure the bench or the active while boasting two types that can effectively counter a lot of other cards like Gyarados EX, Pikachu EX, and the occasional normal type Pokemon as well. Although these decks are not invincible, each are formidable against almost every other deck in the game currently.
-NothingButBangers
High tiers
Gyarados ex is still such a strong card this meta, and in my opinion is a huge meta-changing card. While originally there was a dip in the performance of this deck, the lack of bench sniping pokemon mean Gyarados ex was able to come back strong and take some big wins. The meta will definitely change to re-add bench sniping 'mons to specifically keep Gyarados in check, but if they miss them or you hit a match up that doesn't have the bench snipers in their deck, then this deck is crazy
-Ursiiday
The absence of Zebstrika and Hitmonleee opened the door for Gyradados ex to shine. The fact snipers like the two I just mentioned along with Luxray & Electabuzz line up well into the top tier, will most likely be caught in the crossfire.
-NothingButBangers
Charizard ex got a big buff this format with the addition of Pokemon Communication allowing you to find those combo pieces much more reliably. Also Giant Cape is another great addition allowing Moltres ex to reach 160HP and avoid some key knockouts. There is also the tech option of Dawn which allows Moltres to swing on turn 2 if you managed to land some heads on its first attack. At its core, Charizard ex with 180HP bulk and 200 damage can live most hits in the game and destroy almost anything, so the consistency buff with PC from this set just made a good deck even better—which unfortunately cant be said for Mewtwo.
-Volkin
Charizard ex seems to have gotten a lot of the pieces it needed this set to become dominant again. One of the main pit falls pre-STS was that you couldn't always complete the evolutions needed to reach Charizard, but with the addition of Pokemon Commuication, this deck seems to be able to hit all of its evolutions and ensure at least one 200 damage swing. Furthermore, with the addition of Giant cape, it can survive at least one hit from most of the big Pokémon ex and with Blue, Charizard can even survive its own attack. Honestly, this is one of my favorite decks right now, and I can't wait to test it out more.
-Ursiiday
Palkia ex is a thick body that can apply pressure early with 30 damage and clean games up with 150. The real magic though comes from the addition of Manaphy allowing you to +2 energy with every attack. It is low HP at 50, however Giant cape can allow it to live that extra turn. All that ramp when paired with Vaporeon to consolidate all those energies onto the Palkia to swing hard early is what makes this deck a massive threat. On top of that, you also have the high roll Misty chance for free wins, which is always a thing for high damage decks. You can also play it with other lines besides Vaporeon like Starmie ex, however at this stage Vaporeon feels the most consistent.
-Volkin
There have been multiple first place finishes with Exeggutor ex decks featuring as low as 4 Pokemon and up to 7. Players are choosing to run a 2-4 Exeggcute & Exeggutor lineup or they focus on using Pokemon Communications to increase their chances of playing Exeggutor on curve. The synergy with Rocky Helmet & Erika can make Exeggutor EX a boss type Pokemon with the potential to grind out a sweep. Celebi ex is often paired in these decks as a possible finisher
-NothingButBangers
The fighting toolbox does not need Lucario to be successful at the highest levels of tournaments, but there have been some successful top cuts including Lucario. I would always ask the question “Does Lucario make my deck win more or is it necessary for damage breakpoints?” Even with Aerodactyl EX, the top decks typically evolve on the bench and hide behind Druddigon. Personally, I think this is the weakest of the decks in this tier and arguably overrated.
-NothingButBangers
Middle tiers
Dialga ex has been somewhat underwhelming due to the two energy attack it has. There are games where going first and opening up Dialga ex is too big of a hill to overcome and with Cyrus in the meta, there is nowhere to hide. Despite the fact Melmetal is not an EX, I would stick to Yanmega EX as the partner along with Mew EX.
-NothingButBangers
The mouse just will not go away! Although Pikachu ex is not having as much success this meta, there is an argument to be made as cards like Cyrus & Sabrina can help Pikachu reach around Druddigon walls and disrupt a lot of current meta decks. Dawn, Electabuzz, and even Pachirisu EX all have valid use cases for the iconic yellow mascot.
-NothingButBangers
Along with being a potential partner with Pikachu EX, Pachirisu ex in 18 Trainers seems to be the new barometer outclassing the original Articuno 18T. Being able to pressure for 80 damage early along with the use of Sabrina, Cyrus, and a myriad of tools like Potion & Giant cape have made this deck possible.
-NothingButBangers
Promising decks
The verdict is still out on where Gallade ex will eventually land, but the ability to be paired with the Fighting Toolbox cannot be ignored and most likely is the best variant.
-NothingButBangers
Infernape ex looks really strong; however, because it discards all of its energies, this deck relies a little too heavily on Dawn to be able to attack turn after turn to be consistent, and when compared to Charizard ex it just doesn't swing hard enough.
-Ursiiday
Out of all of the new decks, Infernape ex has been one of the most fun decks to play. Synergy with Spiritomb & Cyrus works very well, but for now players seem to still be cooking and trying to decide the best partners for the Sun Wukong lookalike.
-NothingButBangers
Special thanks
To all three of them for their time and analysis! Don't miss them out:
- Ursiiday, live on Twitch everyday: https://www.twitch.tv/ursiiday
- NothingButBangers's own latest tier list rating: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdfppDGNV5c
- Volkin's latest gameplay video with the top tiers Fighting Box Magnezone deck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYOIg6_v-Co