The three top decks in Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket (PTCG Pocket) are Pikachu ex, Articuno ex and Starmie ex, and Mewtwo ex and Gardevoir. Read on to see our findings as we pit these three top decks against each other and how they compare!

Deck Matchup Statistics

Pikachu ex Deck

Deck	Commentary
Pikachu ex Deck Deck Type:	Strengths: • Easy to set up and attack with. • Efficient attack and retreat costs. • Positive matchup against Starmie ex and Articuno ex decks. Weaknesses: • Weak to Fighting-type decks. • May lack the necessary damage output against high-HP Pokemon.
Card List

Pikachu ex Deck Strategy Guide and Card List

Articuno ex Deck

Deck	Commentary
Articuno ex Deck Deck Type:	Strengths: • Can sweep through teams after a successful Misty. • Has access to all the best Trainer cards. Weaknesses: • Weak to Lightning-type decks. • Difficult to recover if Misty usage is unsuccessful.
Card List

Articuno ex Deck Strategy Guide and Card List

Mewtwo and Gardevoir Deck

Deck	Commentary
Mewtwo and Gardevoir Deck Deck Type:	Strengths: • Consistent and powerful. • Simple strategy to implement. Weaknesses: • Weak to Dark-type Pokemon. • Hard to set up Gardevoir
Card List

Mewtwo and Gardevoir Deck Strategy Guide and Card List

Results of 10-Game Round Robin

To summarize the results of our 10-game round robin between the three top decks, Pikachu ex won twice, Articuno ex and Starmie ex won 0 times, while Mewtwo ex and Gardevoir won once. With Pikachu ex leading the three decks in wins, it is a fair point to say that Pikachu ex is at the very top of the Genetic Apex format.

This does not mean that Articuno ex and Starmie ex is weak, however. It is still an effective and explosive deck. Based on our testing, if the Starmie deck's Misty had flipped heads more times, or if it went second more times, it is highly possible that it could beat Pikachu ex.

Mewtwo ex and Gardevoir appear to be at a disadvantage against Pikachu ex's tempo, but it is about 50/50 against Articuno ex and Starmie ex.

Pikachu ex vs Articuno ex and Starmie ex

VS

10 Match Tests vs Pikachu ex Deck - Matchup Statistics

This matchup ended with a 10-9 victory in Pikachu ex's favor. This is a very close set, considering Articuno ex and Starmie ex's type disadvantage.

Most of the games where the Starmie ex deck won were games where it scored lucky Misty flips, but there were also games when Zapdos ex worked as a wall that could also severely damage Articuno ex.

While the Pikachu ex deck's type advantage was also a deciding factor, the presence of Pincurchin allowed the Articuno ex and Starmie ex deck to OHKO it with a well-placed Sabrina. This allowed it to win the points race in some games.

Articuno ex and Starmie ex vs Mewtwo ex and Gardevoir

VS

Mewtwo ex takes a 9-10 victory over Starmie ex and Articuno ex, with Gardevoir being set up on three games allowing Mewtwo ex to attack freely.

The approach that Mewtwo ex has to take in this matchup is to first use one of its Mewtwo exs as a wall while a second one sets up on the Bench. It then uses Gardevoir to accelerate Energy onto Mewtwo ex letting it attack for multiple turns in succession.

Articuno ex must rely on lucky Misty flips to put the matchup in its favor, however it isn't always lucky and must pivot to Starmie ex's two-Energy Hydro Splash to reliably deal damage to Mewtwo ex.

Mewtwo ex and Gardevoir vs Pikachu ex

VS

This matchup ended with Mewtwo ex losing 6-10 to Pikachu ex. Mewtwo ex had more first turns, but the results still showed the overwhelming strength of Pikachu ex.

Both decks excel when going second but it can be said that Pikachu ex, a deck that doesn't rely on evolutions, is more consistent than Mewtwo ex and Gardevoir.

Mewtwo ex also has lots of requirements in order to gain maximum value out of the deck, such as completing the Gardevoir evolution line and getting multiple Energy on Mewtwo ex. Pikachu ex, on the other hand, requires significantly less. It requires only 3 Pokemon on your Bench and two Energy attachments. The lesser amount of conditions for an optimal board state swings the matchup in Pikachu ex's favor.

Pokemon TCG Pocket Related Guides

Deck Building Guide

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Deck Articles

Meta Decks

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

Off Meta Decks

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	Alakazam and Jynx	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