As a seasoned player with countless battles under my belt, I can attest to the electrifying power of the Pikachu EX deck! This electric-type powerhouse is particularly effective in the early rounds, disrupting opponents before they even get a chance to charge up their setup.
One way to rephrase the given text is: Among all Pokemons, Pikachu stands out as one of the most recognizable, and you can draw several forms of this character from the packs within the Pokemon Trading Card Game (TCG) Pocket. However, the most powerful version of the Pikachu card undeniably is the EX variant. Armed with a potent electric-type attack, it has immense potential. Utilizing it effectively in your deck can drastically alter the gameplay. Thus, here’s an optimal Pikachu EX deck for Pokemon TCG Pocket.
Pikachu EX Best Deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket
To construct the top-tier deck centered on the Pikachu EX card, here is an overview of the essential cards you should include:
| Card | Priority | No. of Copies | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pikachu EX | Necessary | 2 | Pikachu EX is the core of this deck. This card’s true potential lies in having electric Pokemon on the bench. It can deal up to 90 damage per move with the right setup and 120 damage with trainer cards. |
| Zapdos EX | Great | 2 | Zapdos EX provides a strong backup and synergizes with Pikachu EX well. In case your Pikachu faints, you can use your Zapdos as a substitute. |
| Voltorb | Replaceable | 2 | Voltorb works as a floater card that you can use as your initial attacker, or bench card to provide Pikachu with extra attack. |
| Electrode | Replaceable | 2 | Electrode is Voltorb’s evolution and provides a stronger attack, making them somewhat viable in the mid-game as well. |
As a gamer, I’ve tailored my deck to facilitate faster rotations towards my essential cards, primarily my Pikachu EX, allowing me to swiftly establish key bench cards such as Zapdos and Voltorb more efficiently in the game.
Best Budget Cards
If you’re missing some cards needed for the perfect Pikachu EX deck, here are some substitute cards to consider for your collection, which can serve as temporary replacements until you manage to acquire the remaining cards.
| Card | Replaces | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Magneton | Electrode | A viable substitute for Electrode, deals similar damage and can also attach extra energy orbs on itself when in the Active slot. The downside is that Magneton’s move requires four orbs instead of two. |
| Magnemite | Voltorb | Same as Voltorb, good as a starter, and can be used as a floater till you have Pikachu EX or Zapdos EX set up. |
| Pikachu | Zapdos | In case you don’t have Zapdos, you can use the regular Pikachu card as a viable support for your Pikachu EX. |
| Raichu | Zapdos | Used to evolve regular Pikachu in the mid-game, and can almost one-shot most opponent cards. But you’ll have to invest your energy orbs correct for the most value as they’ll get discarded after every move. |
Best Trainer cards
As a devoted Pokémon TCG player, I find myself constantly striving to optimize my decks. In this specific case, to effectively support my four primary Pokémon cards, I recommend incorporating 12 Trainer cards into your deck. Here are some top-tier Trainer cards that could significantly enhance your gameplay:
| Card | Priority | No. of Copies | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giovanni | Necessary | 2 | You need to use this trainer card in tandem with Pikachu’s move to almost one-shot any card, as it adds +10 damage to every attack. |
| Sabrina | Great | 2 | A strong trainer card that you can use to get rid of troublesome Pokemon from your opponent’s active slot. |
| X Speed | Great | 2 | Extremely important trainer card to help you switch out your Active Pokemon when you’ve built up your core card. |
| Potion | Good | 2 | A good option to have around that you can use to heal your important Pokemon. |
| Poke Ball | Replaceable | 2 | A floater support card that you can use to quickly rotate to your core Pokemon. |
| Professor’s Research | Replaceable | 2 | Similar to the Poke Ball, but draws two cards instead of one. |
How to play the Pikachu EX Deck
Just like any other Pokémon Trading Card Game (PTCG) stack, relying solely on your deck won’t guarantee victories. Instead, it’s crucial to strategically arrange your cards from the initial hand through to the late-game configuration. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to do that effectively.
Starting Hand
As a gamer, I find myself thriving on early-game supremacy with this particular deck. That means jumping right in and taking charge from the very start. When it comes to my opening hand of five cards, I’d aim to grab:
- Pikachu EX (important)
- Zapdos EX (recommended)
- Voltorb
Regarding the trainer cards, it’s beneficial to have many of them as they can be useful in various situations. However, it’s crucial to ensure you have at least one Potion card to prevent your floater from fainting prematurely, and an X Speed card for switching your Active slot when your setup is prepared.
Early Game Setup
As I kick off a battle at the initial stages (rounds one to five), it’s wise for me to position either my Pikachu EX or Zapdos EX on the active Pokémon spot, while keeping my other electric-type Pokémon ready and waiting in the bench slots.
With this setup, you’re able to establish pressure at the start of the game since either of your key cards can handle the majority of early Pokémon your opponent could put into play.
Late Game Setup
No matter how your opponent plans to set up their strategy, aim to eliminate any Active Pokemon they play during the first five rounds. Both Pikachu EX and Zapdos excel at dealing high damage early on, which allows them to disrupt most opposing strategies before they can fully develop.
Best and Worst Matchups
When employing this deck, you’ll find yourself competing against various other decks. Out of all the decks I’ve encountered while using the Pikachu EX deck, these are the most favorable and least favorable matchups:
- Fighting-type Decks: Fighting-type decks are by far the worst matchup against this deck. Since this deck is primarily based around Electric-type Pokemon, Fighting types like Marowak and Machamp deal additional damage and take reduced damage because of their type advantage. If you’re up against this type of deck, try to set up Pikachu EX as far as possible and keep switching your Pokemon to not get fainted.
- Water-type Decks: Electric types have an inherent type advantage against water-type Pokemon. Because of this, the Pikachu EX deck is exceptionally strong against water-type decks, especially against meta picks like Articuno EX and Blastoise.
- Other-type Decks: This deck fares well against the above two deck types. Because of its strong early damage attack potential, dealing with other deck types is relatively easy.
Pikachu EX Deck Weaknesses and Counters
In the world of Pokémon TCG Pocket, no single deck is invincible, even one as strong as the Pikachu EX deck, which does have a few vulnerabilities. However, with the right strategies and precautions, it can be effectively challenged. Here are some essential tips to help you counter this deck:
| Card | Reason | How To Counter |
|---|---|---|
| Machamp EX | Insanely strong move that can deal 120 damage with just three energy orbs. | Switch out Pikachu EX for Zapdos EX and potentially one-shot him, or disrupt the evolution. |
| Marowak EX | Similar to Machamp EX, can deal up to 240 damage in a single move. | Disrupt its evolution by targeting Cubone or using Zapdos EX in one shot. |
| Dragonite EX | Can attack the active as well as bench slots at the same time. | Try to disrupt the evolution by using Sabrina to force a switch in and get rid of Dragonair. |
| Dugtrio | 50% chance to negate all damage done in a round. | Has low HP, all you need is a lucky shot in the early game. Prone to getting one shot. |
| Machamp | A tad bit weaker than the EX version, but can deal significant damage because of type advantage. | Same as EX, target Machop or Machoke to stop the evolution or switch in Zapdos EX. |
For more on Pokemon TCG Pocket, check out Best Mewtwo EX Deck – Pokemon TCG Pocket on GamerTop!
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2024-10-31 23:21