The Arcanine ex Deck is a High-damage Fire-type deck Deck featuring Arcanine ex and Moltres ex from the Genetic Apex Set in Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket (PTCG Pocket), and is currently updated for the Mythical Island Update. 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

Arcanine ex Deck Guide

Deck Evaluation

Ace Pokemon						Tier Ranking
Arcanine ex Genetic Apex (A1)			Moltres ex Genetic Apex (A1)
						Energy Type(s)
						F2P Friendly?
						✔️
						Deck Difficulty
						★★★
Deck Strengths
Can deal high damage with only 1 evolution line, even against other ex Pokemon. Compared to other Fire-type Pokemon, Arcanine can use its moves without worrying about energy.
Deck Weaknesses
Weak against decks that can't be OHKOed like Mewtwo ex, Charizard ex, and Blastoise ex. Low durability

Best Meta Decks Tier List

List of Cards

Arcanine ex Deck List
Pokemon Cards
Growlithe ×2				Arcanine ex ×2				Moltres ex ×2				Mew ex ×2
Trainer Cards
Giovanni ×2				Sabrina ×1				Budding Expeditioner ×1				Leaf ×2
X Speed ×2				Poke Ball ×2				Professor's Research ×2

Deck Building Guide

Packs Required for Arcanine ex Deck

Packs Needed for Arcanine ex Deck

Mythical Island Updates

New Mythical Island Cards
Mew ex	・Gives the deck a way to OHKO Mewtwo ex and Charizard ex.
Budding Expeditioner	・Allows you to scoop up Mew ex after it has taken damage.
Leaf	・Helps with Moltres ex's 2 Retreat Cost.

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

Mythical Island Card List

How to Play Arcanine ex Deck

How to Play Arcanine ex Deck
Core Combos and Interactions Starting Hand Deck Strategies Game Phases

Arcanine ex Deck Core Combos and Interactions

Energy Accelerator	Primary Attacker	Description
Moltres ex	Arcanine ex	・Moltres ex can use Inferno Dance to attach Fire Energy to Growlithe while it's on the bench. ・Arcanine ex can deal huge damage once it's set up.

Best Starting Hand

Best Starting Hand

Having Moltres ex right away allows you to set up a powerful attack with Arcanine ex when it evolves from Growlithe thanks to its Inferno Dance. Use X Speed to allow Moltres ex to retreat with minimal cost.

Other Good Starting Cards

Recommended Starting Hand

If Moltres ex isn't in your hand right away, using Professor's Research increases your chances of obtaining the card. Starting with Mew ex is also a good option, since you can return it to your hand with Budding Expeditioner later in the game after it has taken damage.

Best Cards Tier List

Arcanine ex Deck Strategies

Arcanine ex Deck Strategies
Inferno Dance Setup Arcanine ex Offense

Strategy 1: Inferno Dance Setup

Inferno Dance Setup

Put Moltres ex as the active card right away and use Inferno Dance. Attach 2 Fire Energy you get from the Inferno Dance coin flip to Growlithe. Then, evolve Growlithe to Arcanine ex and use X Speed to allow Moltres ex to retreat with minimal cost. Afterwards, attach 1 Fire Energy to Arcanine ex for a quick attack.

Strategy 2: Arcanine ex Offense

Arcanine ex has high HP and can deal a whooping 120 damage per turn. You can use Potion to keep Arcanine ex alive given that it also deals 20 damage itself whenever it attacks.

Game Phases

Early Game

Key Card(s) Required
Step	Description
1	Put Moltres ex as your active card and use Inferno Dance.
2	Attach Fire Energy you get from Inferno Dance to Growlithe on the bench.
3	Evolve Growlithe into Arcanine ex, then use X Speed to swap out Moltres ex for Arcanine ex.
4	Attach 1 Fire Energy to Arcanine ex for an attack.

Mid-Game

Key Card(s) Required
Step	Description
1	Use Potion to keep Arcanine ex healthy and Sabrina to avoid unfavorable matchups.

Late Game

Key Card(s) Required
1	Use Leaf to retreat your Pokemon without using up Energy.
2	Since Moltres ex sets up Arcanine ex with Inferno Dance, you can assign your turn attachments to Mew for a big KO on Mewtwo ex or Charizard ex.

Arcanine ex Deck Best and Worst Matchups

Best Matchups

Deck	Commentary
Pikachu ex Decks	Type: ・Arcanine ex can easily get a OHKO against Pikachu ex decks, but be sure to protect your Moltres ex in this matchup.
Venusaur ex Decks	Type: ・Venusaur ex decks are weak to Fire-type Pokemon like Arcanine ex.

Worst Matchups

Deck	Commentary
Blastoise ex Decks	Type: ・Arcanine ex can't OHKO Blastoise ex due to its high HP. ・Arcanine ex also takes +20 more damage against Blastoise due to its elemental weakness.

Overall Consistency

Having Moltres ex in the deck as another viable attacker already gives the deck consistency. Although Growlithe needs to evolve into Arcanine ex for the deck to work, it's only a stage 1 evolution, so the setup doesn't take too long.

Arcanine ex Deck F2P & Substitutes

Arcanine ex Deck Card Substitutes

Card	Explanation
Blue	・ Blue can cause opponents to miss important KOs on our Pokemon.

Pokemon TCG Pocket Meta Guide

Arcanine ex Deck Other Viable Options

Card	Possible Cuts
Arcanine	・Swapping out 1 Leaf for a non-ex Arcanine gives the deck a non-ex option for Growlithe to evolve into.

Ninetales and Arcanine ex Deck Options

Ninetales and Arcanine ex Deck List
Pokemon Cards
Vulpix x2	Ninetales x2	Growlithe x2	Arcanine ex x2
Moltres ex x2
Trainer Cards
Blaine x2	Professor's Research x2	Sabrina x2	X Speed x2
Poke Ball x2

Having NInetales' evolution line and Blaine gives the deck another reliable attack option that deals the same damage but doesn't damage the Pokemon in return when it attacks.

Pokemon TCG Pocket Beginner's Guide

Pokemon TCG Pocket Related Guides

Best Meta Decks Tier List

Meta Decks

S Tier Decks
Arceus ex
A+ Tier Decks
Carnivine	Rampardos	Crobat
Magnezone and Skarmory	Exeggutor ex	Heatran
Charizard ex	Palkia ex	Darkrai ex
Weavile ex	Yanmega ex	Origin Forme Palkia
A Tier Decks
Leafeon ex	Garchomp ex	Probopass ex
Infernape ex	Pachirisu ex	Gyarados ex and Greninja
Pikachu ex	Dialga ex	Articuno ex
Gallade ex	Abomasnow	Celebi ex
B Tier Decks
Glaceon ex	Bronzong	Tyranitar
Staraptor	Donphan	Starmie ex and Articuno ex
Mewtwo ex and Gardevoir	Golem	Pidgeot ex
Scolipede and Weezing	Garchomp	Porygon-Z
Arcanine ex	Dialga ex and Bastiodon	-
C Tier Decks
・Houndoom Deck ・Snorlax Deck ・Lucario Deck ・Pikachu ex and Raichu Deck ・Venusaur ex Deck ・Volkner Deck ・Togekiss Deck ・Aerodactyl ex Deck ・Alakazam and Jynx Deck ・Dragonite Deck ・Machamp ex Deck ・Blastoise ex Deck ・Marowak ex Deck ・Torterra Deck ・Empoleon Deck ・Mismagius ex Deck ・Volcarona and Arcanine ex Deck ・Wigglytuff ex Deck ・Gengar ex Deck

Off Meta Decks

(A2)
・Dialga ex and Lickilicky ex Deck ・Lake Trio Deck ・Rhyperior Deck ・Togekiss Deck
(A1)	(A1a)
・Arbok Lock Deck ・Brock Deck ・Cinccino Deck ・Frosmoth Deck ・Kingler and Articuno ex Deck ・Lt. Surge Deck ・Melmetal Deck ・Mewtwo ex and Weezing Deck ・Primeape Deck ・Venusaur ex and Weezing Deck ・Victreebel and Exeggutor ex Deck	・Gyarados ex and Vaporeon Deck ・Mew ex and Weezing Deck ・Vaporeon and Articuno ex Deck

Deck-Building Guides and Articles