While Pokémon TCG Pocket‘s success and recognition has earned the app a nomination for Best Mobile Game in Game Awards 2024, the community tournament scene is thriving more than ever. Ursiiday’s Pocket Weekly 3rd of the series has broken a new attendance record again, and an unprecedented number of tournaments were organized in this third week after the launch. We will analyze the results of three of the biggest competitions organized on week 3 of TCG Pocket.
Pocket Legends League #7
This is now the 7th edition of the longest-standing series of Pokémon TCG Pocket tournaments, where 519 players competed for a $50 prize pool in this two-day event. It was also the first tournament of the weekend.
As a result, Pikachu ex was well represented thanks to its outstanding performance from last weekend. But it started to face some resistance, an omen for what would happen for the rest of the weekend.
Deck | Number in day 2 | Number in top 8 |
|---|---|---|
Mewtwo ex | 13 | 3 |
Pikachu ex | 11 | 4 |
Charizard ex | 3 | 0 |
Machamp Primeape | 1 | 1 |
Arcanine ex | 1 | 0 |
Although Pikachu ex was the most represented deck in the top 8, EQkws ultimately claimed the trophy with the same list that brought es602howtolose to victory in the previous Pocket Legends League tournament. This is the first time a tournament of this caliber is won back-to-back with the exact same decklist!
The surprise of this tournament is definitely Lowbattz’s Machamp ex Primeape deck, which capitalized on Pikachu ex’s weakness to F to tear through the bracket. Six of his wins out of eleven were against Pikachu ex decks, and it somehow managed to perform well against Mewtwo ex decks despite the P weakness (being 2-1 against it), before ultimately falling to Myungjoon Kim‘s Pikachu ex deck in the semifinals.
Ursiiday's Pocket Weekly #3
Are we even surprised anymore? Ursiiday’s Pocket Weekly #3 broke a new record for the largest Pokémon TCG Pocket tournament, with 1,368 players, and the biggest prizepool as well: the top 16 shared a total $400 in prizes, thanks to the sponsorship from XPCollect. The event was so big, in fact, that it was also the first time it was split into two days, with a top 32 on Sunday after 10 rounds of Swiss on Saturday.
Confirming the trend observed in the previous edition, Pikachu ex was the most represented deck. Following Tauros’s performance from last week at Legends League #6, Arcanine ex decks entered the competition, and although shy in representation, TheJackOfSpades managed to pilot his Arcanine ex deck all the way to the top 8, where it was surrounded by Pikachu ex and Mewtwo ex decks.
Deck | Number in top 32 | Number in top 8 |
|---|---|---|
Mewtwo ex | 15 | 4 |
Pikachu ex | 13 | 3 |
Starmie ex | 2 | 0 |
Arcanine ex | 1 | 1 |
Charizard ex | 1 | 0 |
It was unfortunately not enough to overcome the top-tier decks in the top 8, and Hanamon claimed the victory with a very bona fide Mewtwo ex deck with no other Pokémon than Mewtwo ex and the Gardevoir line—an impressive performance of 14 wins and only 1 loss.
Pikaverse Pocket Cup #2
Following a sizable first edition hosting more than 500 players, the streamer Pikaverse hosted a very successful second edition of his cup on Sunday, with 663 players attending for a $100 prize pool, making it the second-biggest tournament of the weekend.
Perhaps encouraged by the good performances of Mewtwo ex in the other tournaments, players massively brought the deck to the cup. To say that it dominated is an understatement: it absolutely wiped out the competition, to the point that no Pikachu ex deck made it to the top 8! This left more opportunities for Charizard ex decks, a traditionally good deck versus Mewtwo ex, to shine by placing two representatives in the top 16.
Deck | Number in top 16 | Number in top 8 |
|---|---|---|
Mewtwo ex | 12 | 6 |
Charizard ex | 2 | 1 |
Marowak Primeape | 1 | 1 |
Pikachu ex | 1 | 0 |
Unsurprisingly, a Mewtwo ex deck piloted by ARAIAN took first place in a complete mirror match in the finals against Agapepae. And again, both used es602howtolose’s list with the now iconic “baby Mewtwo.”
The most impressive and original feat of the tournament was achieved by Bodi, who piloted a F deck all the way to the top 4, despite the overwhelming presence of Mewtwo ex decks against which Primeape, the latest novelty of the deck, is weak. Unlike Lowbattz’s F deck, Bodi pairs it with Marowak ex which doesn’t share the same weaknesses against Psychic Pokémon. Bodi was able to take out two of them in the top 16 before ultimately falling to Agapepae in the semifinals.
Where is the Genetic Apex metagame at?
Initially thought to have a favorable matchup against Mewtwo ex, Pikachu ex decks were completely short-circuited by the figurehead of the Genetic Apex set. The recent inclusion of the non-ex Mewtwo not only dramatically slows down the pace of the game—as it needs two Circle Circuit attacks to be felled while only trading for a point—but it’s also a credible attacker when Gardevoir is online, as it can one-shot Pikachu ex with its Power Blast attack. As hardly any L Pokémon is capable of one-shotting any Mewtwo, this time saving is often critical to get an extra turn, which can translate into drawing the needed Gardevoir that will carry the deck to victory. We’re now in a comical situation where the metagame has shifted from a Pikachu domination to a Mewtwo domination.
So what to expect this week? As Mewtwo ex is claiming the number one spot, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more Charizard, as the deck has a naturally favorable matchup against it, to the detriment of the other R deck Arcanine ex. Arbok decks remain a very good budget pick against Mewtwo ex, although their actual performances are rather on the average side.
Charizard ex - Leelove (top 8 Pikaverse Pocket Cup #2)
