Pokemon TCG Pocket Tier List – Best Decks & Cards (November 2024)

Pokemon TCG Pocket is aiming to be a more casual and beginner-friendly version of the regular Trading Card Game, but you can bet there’s going to be a meta and cards that are just better than others. Here’s our Pokemon TCG Pocket tier list to help you determine the best cards to get.

Best Cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket

Keep in mind that this tier list is subject to change, especially as the game develops and the meta starts shifting towards specific cards or deck archetypes. For now, however, based on my time with the early access and pre-release versions of the game, the cards in the S and A tiers are extremely versatile and easy to slot into a lot of decks. Some of these cards offer a lot of utility as well, and are being evaluated based on both early and late-game value.

S Tier Cards Explained

The S Tier cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket are largely based on the value and utility they bring to the table. Let’s go over each one in this tier.

• Pidgeot: Pidgeot is a fantastic card that’s versatile, colorless, and can fit into any deck, assuming that you’re willing to invest in its evolution line. Its HP and damage baselines are great, making it just an all-around good card to play with.
• Pikachu Ex: I might be a little biased here, but I think Pikachu Ex is going to end up being one of the strongest meta cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket. As a Basic card, you don’t need much to get it going at all, and being able to deal additional damage based on the number of benched Electric Pokemon you have is huge. Pikachu Ex is a low investment, high damage card that can definitely end games quickly.
• Mewtwo Ex: Finally, we have Mewtwo Ex, who isn’t quite able to one-shot enemies like Charizard Ex can, but again, it’s important to keep in mind its investment cost. It packs a serious punch and it can synergize really well with Gardevoir to keep feeding it Energy.
• Sabrina: Easily the best tech card in Pokemon TCG Pocket, Sabrina allows you to force opponents to switch out their Active Pokemon for a Benched Pokemon. Just like Pidgeot, this can help to seriously disrupt your opponent’s playlines.
• Giovanni: Adding 10 extra damage to your attacks might not sound like much, but it can make all the difference in the world during your matches. Being able to get past certain HP breakpoints is crucial to sneaking out wins in Pokemon TCG Pocket, and Giovanni is one of those tech cards that can fit into virtually any deck, just like Sabrina.

A Tier Cards

The A Tier cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket are great as well, and they’re just a little bit below the S Tier cards in terms of performance. For instance, Moltres Ex is key in helping Fire decks ramp up, but it’s not necessarily an overly powerful card on its own.

Other utility cards in this tier include Meowth, who lets you draw a card with its basic attacks, and Gardevoir, who will be key in Psychic decks and Pokemon that just need a constant source of Energy. I’ve also included Machop and Tynamo, who are easily the best Basic Pokemon that can give you a lot of early game value, as well as Abra, who can help you switch out Pokemon quickly without losing any Energy.

B and C Tier Cards

The B Tier cards are generally filler cards that you may need to fill out the rest of your deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket. They’re not bad per se, but you’ll likely be using them to ramp up towards getting out your more powerful cards or deck definers.

The C Tier cards, however, are just plain awful or have no place in the current meta. No, not even Snorlax can get itself out of C Tier.

Best Decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket

Knowing which cards are good is one thing, but deck-building is another matter entirely. For now, these are the best decks to build in Pokemon TCG Pocket.

Pikachu Ex

• Pikachu Ex x2
• Zapdos Ex x2
• Blitzle x2
• Zebstrika x2
• Poke Ball x2
• Potion x2
• X Speed x2
• Professor’s Research x2
• Sabrina x2
• Giovanni x2

This is far and away the best deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket right now. The Pikachu Ex deck is very fast and aggressive, and Pikachu Ex lets you consistently put out 90 damage for just two Energy, which is insanely efficient.

Personally, I enjoy throwing Voltorb and Electrode into the mix, just for more attack options. Electrode’s free retreat cost shouldn’t be overlooked, and can save you in a lot of situations if you don’t have an X Speed handy.

Raichu Surge

• Pikachu Ex x2
• Pikachu x2
• Raichu x2
• Zapdos Ex x2
• Potion x2
• X Speed x2
• Poke Ball x2
• Professor’s Research x2
• Sabrina x2
• Lt. Surge x2

While it’s not quite as consistent as the main Pikachu Ex deck, Raichu and Lt. Surge can give you big bursts of surprise power as well. Zapdos Ex is a solid attacker on its own, but your main plays here are gonna be either Pikachu Ex or Raichu, depending on what your draws look like. Having to discard Energy from Raichu can sound like a pain, but Lt. Surge should be able to offset that easily. If all else fails, use X Speed for a quick retreat to put something else on the field.

Koga Poison

• Grimer x2
• Muk x2
• Koffing x2
• Weezing x2
• Doduo x2
• Dodrio x2
• Potion x2
• Poke Ball x2
• Koga x2
• Sabrina x2

The main idea is simple. Poison your enemies, then deal a devastating amount of damage to those poisoned enemies with Muk’s Venoshock. Your main play here is going to be to get Weezing online as quickly as possible, then use its ability to poison your foes. You can then use Koga to immediately switch out into Muk, who can use Venoshock to KO most poisoned enemies.

This deck works very well against Mewtwo Ex, which is easily the most popular deck list in the game right now.

Mewtwo Ex/Gardevoir Combo

• Mewtwo Ex x2
• Ralts x2
• Kirlia x2
• Gardevoir x2
• Jynx x2
• Potion x2
• X Speed x2
• Poke Ball x2
• Professor’s Research x2
• Sabrina x2
• Giovanni x2

Your main play here is going to be Mewtwo Ex getting backed up by Gardevoir. Your goal is to evolve Ralts and Kirlia as quickly as possible to get Gardevoir on the bench, then feed Mewtwo Ex all the Energy it needs to get Psydrive online. Jynx is really just there as a staller or early game attacker, and can help buy you time as you try to set up Gardevoir or wait for your Mewtwo Ex draws.

Colorless Pidgeot

• Pidgey x2
• Pidgeotto x2
• Pidgeot
• Poke Ball x2
• Professor’s Research x2
• Red Card
• Sabrina
• Potion x2
• Rattata x2
• Raticate x2
• Kangaskhan
• Farfetch’d x2

While this deck comprises of very basic Pokemon, they all give you a ton of value. Rattatas may be laughed at in the video games, but in Pokemon TCG Pocket, they offer good early game damage, and they become even more of a menace when evolved into Raticate.

The core of this deck is, of course, Pidgeot, who comes with a strong ability that forces your opponent to switch out their active Pokemon, which can cause some serious disruption.

And that does it for our Pokemon TCG Pocket tier list for now.

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