There are several great decks to build inPokemon TCG Pocket, and even though not all of them will be the best of the bunch in high-ranking competitive battles, there are a select few that actively shape the meta for what it is. Eevee Grove didn’t add enough revolutionary cards for all types, but some decks old and new all benefit a lot from the new cards, such asSylveon Ex in Greninja decksor Flareon Ex in several Fire decks. Metal decks inPokemon TCG Pocketare not always very lucky with changes and new additions, and their meta remains rather stagnating until a big Ex card is released. Currently, the best Metal deck is the same as two sets ago.
One of the best Metal decks in the game was the Dialga Ex and Arceus Ex deck that ran around in Triumphant Light, and shortly thereafter, but it’s mostly a relic of the past now. The best Metal deck inPokemon TCG Pockethas mostly stayed the same over the past couple of months, and it revolves around Solgaleo Ex, introduced in Celestial Guardians. The deck used Solgaleo Ex and Skarmory at first, but now, it runs Shiinotic from Extradimensional Crisis.
Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Best Metal Deck is Solgaleo Ex/Shiinotic
Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Shiinoticadded a nice spin to the Solgaleo Ex deck, even if it’s not a Metal card, because it comes with the Illuminate ability, which allows players to fish for a Pokemon card in their deck once per turn. This not only thins the deck and makes it easier to get useful Item or Supporter cards, but also accelerates the Solgaleo Ex core of Cosmog, Rare Candy or Cosmoem, and then Solgaleo itself. Solgaleo Ex can then attack relatively quickly, with just two Energy required for its Sol Breaker attack, dealing 120 damage with a 10 damage recoil drawback.
This makesSolgaleo Ex decks inPokemon TCG Pocketextremely fast and reliable, hence why they are the best Metal decks around. Solgaleo Ex decks are often even addressed as annoying decks, because if Solgaleo is online on turn two or three, it’s hard to recover for the opponent. As different as this deck type is from that of Dialga Ex, it shares some similarities with it, and it’s proof that future Metal cards need some changes. The key points of Solgaleo Ex decks are:
Likewise, Dialga Ex was used in early turns of a game to accelerateEnergy for Dialga Exitself (a different copy) or a different Pokemon to become the carry for the game, making it a consistent and powerful deck. This relied on cards like Mew Ex, Yanmega Ex, and Arceus Ex to be the main attackers, which could all deal massive damage with three Energy each, two of which would normally be provided by Dialga Ex.
This creates a pattern for futureMetal cards inPokemon TCG Pocketto be strong, meaning they need to either have strong attacks or a form of Energy acceleration, if not both. However, it may not always be feasible.
Why Pokemon TCG Pocket Needs a New Metal Meta
The problem with this logic is that Solgaleo Ex is currently hard to top for Metal decks because Metal Pokemon cards typically have high Energy requirements to hit hard, whereas Solgaleo Ex’s main requirement is that it’s not a basic Pokemon and thus needs to fully evolve. Rare Candy makes this a non-issue, which is whySolgaleo Ex is so good in the metaand widely played. Its 120-damage Sol Breaker attack also helps, one-shotting a lot of good cards.
Future Metal decks inPokemon TCG Pocketwill have to either beat Solgaleo Ex in some regard or risk staying out of the meta, which is a big issue. IfPokemon TCG Pocket’s next setis dedicated to Johto, maybe cards like Scizor Ex or Steelix Ex could create some competition for Solgaleo Ex, but they should attempt to build a different playstyle for Metal decks, too.
