Starmie ex is a Fast Offense Deck Archetype featuring Starmie ex and Articuno ex from the Genetic Apex Set in Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket (PTCG Pocket). Read on for the complete list of cards in this deck, basic information on the deck, how to play the deck, and optimal matchups for it!

Related Decks

Starmie ex Deck Guide

Deck Evaluation

Ace Pokemon						Tier Ranking
Starmie ex Genetic Apex (A1)			Articuno ex Genetic Apex (A1)
						Energy Type(s)
						F2P Friendly?
						❌
						Deck Difficulty
						★
Deck Strengths
Starmie has an inexpensive and strong Attack and has free Retreat Articuno ex is a strong offensive Basic Pokemon Has valuable new tools from Mythical Island like Vaporeon and Leaf.
Deck Weaknesses
Cards are difficult to acquire Weak to Lightning-type Pokemon.

Best Meta Decks Tier List

List of Cards

Starmie and Articuno Deck List
Pokemon Cards
Staryu ×2				Starmie ex ×2				Articuno ex ×2				Vaporeon ×2
Eevee ×2
Trainer Cards
Misty ×2				Giovanni ×1				Sabrina ×1				Leaf ×2
Poke Ball ×2				Professor's Research ×2

Deck Building Guide

Packs Required for Starmie ex and Articuno ex Deck

Pack	Featured Card

Mythical Island Updates

New Mythical Island Cards
Vaporeon	・Energy transfering with Wash Out can make for efficient use of Energy througout the game.
Leaf	・Synergizes with Vaporeon, Leaf can reduce the cost of Articuno ex's Retreat Cost to 0, while Wash Out can move the Energy to a fresh Pokemon .

Mythical Island gives this deck a new Pokemon that can improve it even further. Above are the new cards that Pikachu ex can use.

Mythical Island Card List

How to Play Starmie ex Deck

How to Play Starmie and Articuno Deck
Core Combos and Interactions Starting Hand Deck Strategies Game Phases

Starmie ex Core Combos and Interactions

Main Attacker	Secondary Attacker	Description
Starmie ex	Articuno ex	・Starmie ex is the main attacker of the deck. It is the deck's main objective to set up Starmie ex quickly. ・Articuno ex can sweep after a successful Misty

Best Starting Hand

Best Starting Hand

This starting hand is good whether you're going first or second, as it allows Staryu or Articuno to load up on Energy using Misty and attack as soon as possible, while an early Eevee can evolve into Vaporeon on a later turn. Professor's Research the following turn allows you to dig two cards deeper for an evolution.

Other Good Starting Cards

Recommended Starting Hand

Articuno ex is the ideal starting Pokemon for the deck. Try your luck out with Misty, as one heads flip will allow you to T1 Ice Wing and T2 Blizzard.

Having Staryu or Eevee benched early is always a good thing, as they can evolve the following turn should you draw into their evolutions.

Best Cards Tier List

Starmie and Articuno Deck Strategies

Strategy 1: T1 Misty

T1 Misty

A successful T1 Misty can often spell victory for Articuno ex decks, creating an advantage that's difficult to catch up to. Use Misty and turn attachments to power up Articuno ex and Starmie ex as quick as possible.

Best Misty Decks

Vaporeon's Wash Out

Vaporeon and Leaf can be used in tandem to be more efficient with your attached Energy and also for paying for Articuno ex's energy costs.

Use Leaf to reduce the Retreat Cost of your active pokemon and bring them to the Bench. Afterwards, you can use Vaporeon's Wash Out Ability to take the energy of your Benched Pokemon and transfer them to your new Active Pokemon.

Game Phases

Early Game

Key Card(s) Required
Step	Description
1	Have Articuno ex active and attempt to ramp with Misty.
2	Bench your Staryu and Eevee.

Mid-Game

Key Card(s) Required
Step	Description
1	Continue offensive pressure with Starmie ex and Articuno ex.

Late Game

Key Card(s) Required
1	Evolve Eevee into Vaporeon and move Energy around with Wash Out.

Starmie ex Deck Best and Worst Matchups

Best Matchups

Deck	Commentary
Fire Decks	Type: ・Water Decks naturally match up favorably against Fire decks. ・+20 damage is meaningful, even if it's just from Staryu's Smack hitting for 40

Worst Matchups

Deck	Commentary
Pikachu ex Decks	Type: ・ Pokemon in the deck are all weak to Lightning. ・ Difficult counterplay to disadvantageous damage trades.

Overall Consistency

Starmie ex and Articuno ex gain powerful new tools from Mythical Island. Vaporeon and Leaf add a lot to the deck's consistency, allowing it to be more efficient with Energy because you would no longer have to discard from retreating.

Pokemon TCG Pocket Meta Guide

Starmie ex Deck F2P & Substitutes

Starmie ex Deck Card Substitutes

Card	Explanation
Golduck	・ Golduck can work as a substitute for Starmie ex if you don't have access to it. ・ Can deal a very respectable 70 damage with Aqua Edge.
Lapras	・ Lapras can be substituted for Articuno and can be loaded up with lots of Energy to deal more damage. ・ Can deal good damage with Hydro Pump.

Starmie ex Deck Other Viable Options

Card	Possible Cuts
Helix Fossil	・ A Fossil can help you with point trades, making opponents have to KO it instead of your Pokemon exl.

F2P Starmie ex Deck List

F2P Starmie and Golduck Deck List
Pokemon Cards
Staryu x2	Starmie x1	Starmie ex x1	Psyduck x2
Golduck x2	Bruxish x2
Trainer Cards
Potion x2	X Speed x2	Professor's Research x2	Giovanni x2
Sabrina x2

This list makes use of lower rarity Water-type attackers in place of the rarer and more expensive Articuno ex.

It opts to not use Misty, but instead make use of Giovanni to boost damage output. Golduck and Starmie can be used to score 2HKOs on most Pokemon, with Bruxish ready to take out already damaged Pokemon.

Good damage management and switching will help you find success with this version of the deck!

Pokemon TCG Pocket Beginner's Guide

Pokemon TCG Pocket Related Guides

Deck Building Guide

All Deck Tier Lists

All Tier Lists
Best Cards Tier List	Best Meta Deck Tier List
Best Rental Deck Tier List	Best F2P Beginner Decks

Deck Articles

Deck Articles
How Rental Decks Work	Staple Cards for Decks
Aggro Decks Explained	Deck Matchup Statistics
Best 18 Trainers Decks	Best Misty Decks
Best Erika Decks	10 Match Tests vs Pikachu ex Deck - Statistics
List of Non-ex Decks

Meta Decks

Best Meta Decks
Mewtwo ex	Celebi ex and Serperior	Pikachu ex
Gyarados ex and Greninja	Vaporeon and Articuno ex	Volcarona and Arcanine ex
Scolipede and Weezing	Starmie ex and Articuno ex	Arcanine ex
Blaine	Pikachu ex and Raichu	Gyarados ex and Vaporeon
Pidgeot ex	Charizard ex	Aerodactyl ex and Primeape
Exeggutor ex	Lt. Surge	Dragonite
Alakazam and Jynx	Mew ex and Weezing	Golem

Off Meta Decks

Articuno ex	Venusaur ex	Dragonite and Weezing
Lapras ex	Greninja	Mewtwo ex and Weezing
Marowak ex	Primeape	Venusaur and Weezing
Arbok Lock	Zapdos ex	Blastoise ex
Gengar ex	Machamp ex	Wigglytuff ex
Melmetal	Koga	Omastar and Articuno ex
Kingler and Articuno ex	Frosmoth	Lapras ex and Butterfree
Poliwrath	Tentacruel and Greninja	Victreebel and Exeggutor ex
Gengar ex and Golbat	Persian and Mawile	Lickitung and Primeape
Exeggutor ex and Alakazam	Frosmoth and Articuno ex	Gyarados
Centiskorch and Moltres ex	Grapploct	Cinccino and Weezing
Brock	Kabutops	Aerodactyl and Dragonite
Eeveelutions and Ditto	Lickitung	Articuno
Zapdos	Moltres	Venusaur
Charizard	Blastoise

Rental Decks

All Rental Decks
Venusaur ex Rental Deck	Charizard ex Rental Deck	Blastoise ex Rental Deck
Pikachu ex Rental Deck	Mewtwo ex Rental Deck	Machamp ex Rental Deck
Nidoking and Nidoqueen Rental Deck	Kanto Fossils Rental Deck	Koga Rental Deck
Brock Rental Deck	Blaine Rental Deck	Lt. Surge Rental Deck

Starter Decks

All Starter Decks
Pinsir Starter Deck	Rapidash Starter Deck	Sandslash Starter Deck