It’s always invigorating swiping your finger and opening a new booster pack in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, but collecting is only half the fun—you can use those same cards to battle, too! And with plenty of events focused on both solo and versus battles, it’s good to have a couple decks lined up to make sure you can complete your missions.

We’ve broken down three decks featuring the star Pokémon ex from each booster pack in Genetic Apex, complete with deck lists and gameplay tips for your next battle. You might not have all the cards on each list, but we’ve provided a few replacement options while you continue to build up your collection. Are you looking to shock your opponents with Pikachu ex, burn them to a crisp with Charizard ex, or psyche them out with Mewtwo ex? Read on to find out how!

Pikachu ex

Pikachu ex is a Basic Pokémon ex, so it doesn’t rely on Evolution to reach its maximum potential—it can hit the board running with its Circle Circuit attack, which, for just two Energy, can do up to 90 damage with a full Bench of Pokémon. With that in mind, a Pikachu ex deck needs a decent stable of Pokémon to take full advantage of Circle Circuit.

There are a variety of complementary Pokémon that can charge up any Pikachu ex deck, but we’re going to focus on two mainstays: Raichu and Zapdos ex. While Pikachu ex is strong, its damage is capped at 90 without any additional modifiers, making it difficult for it to Knock Out Pokémon with high HP. Raichu can save the day with its Thunderbolt attack, which deals a shocking 140 damage for three . Similarly, Zapdos ex’s Thundering Hurricane attack can do up to 200 damage depending on the results of your coin flips—but hitting three or four heads sometimes feels less likely than a lightning strike.

Your Supporter lineup should shift based on the Pokémon you choose to take, but Professor’s Research and Sabrina are strong Supporter cards to include in just about any deck. Lt. Surge is ideal if you’re playing Pikachu ex alongside Raichu, since it grants extra flexibility to Energy attachment, and Giovanni can increase damage numbers in a pinch.

When it comes to Items, Poké Ball is a must-have in every deck, allowing you to put a random Basic Pokémon into your hand. X Speed is a strong option since it can preserve Energy attachments and help you pivot into Raichu, while Potion and Red Card can disrupt your opponent’s game plan.

Game plan: Attach Energy to Pikachu ex, fill your bench with Pokémon, and swing hard. Set up Raichu for when your opponent has high-HP Pokémon or play around Lt. Surge.

Alternate cards: If you’re missing the two Raichu cards or want an approach that doesn’t rely so much on Lt. Surge, we’ve seen players successfully use Zebstrika, Electrode, and even Pincurchin instead.

Deck List

Mewtwo ex

Despite its incredible damage output, the Mewtwo ex deck has a simple game play strategy. With only two basic Pokémon in the deck—Mewtwo ex and Ralts—and two Poké Ball Item cards to help you find them, the initial setup of getting Mewtwo ex into the Active Spot and Ralts onto the Bench should be simple.

This deck’s titular Pokémon, Mewtwo ex, is a Basic Pokémon ex that deals Knock Out levels of damage with its Psydrive attack. While its Psychic Sphere attack does a respectable amount of damage, the real goal of this deck is to leverage Psydrive, which requires four Energy with the caveat that you must discard two from Mewtwo ex each time you use it. Luckily, Gardevoir’s Psy Shadow Ability allows you to attach one to your Active Pokémon once per turn. Between this Ability and the Energy you receive each turn, you can keep Mewtwo ex powered up to continuously deliver Knock Outs to your opponent’s Active Pokémon.

In terms of Item cards, Poké Ball is once again key to finding your Basic Pokémon, Ralts and Mewtwo ex. If you’re struggling to get Mewtwo ex into the Active Spot, X Speed can make it easier to replace Ralts with Mewtwo ex. A Potion can help keep Mewtwo ex in fighting shape for as long as possible. For Trainer cards, Sabrina is always helpful when an opponent’s Active Pokémon is loaded on Energy and ready to go for the Knock Out against your Mewtwo ex.

Game plan: Get Mewtwo ex into your Active Spot, supply it with Energy using Gardevoir’s Psy Shadow Ability from the Bench, and unleash Mewtwo ex’s psychic fury with Psydrive.

Alternate cards: Looking to spice up your Mewtwo ex deck? We’ve seen some savvy players improve their matchups with other popular decks by using Mewtwo (non-Pokémon ex), Jynx, or a combination of both.

Deck List

Charizard ex

Charizard ex requires a bit of setup before it reaches its full potential, but when it does, it’s a phenomenally heavy hitter. Its Crimson Storm attack, which requires two and two Colorless Energy, hits for an incredible 200 damage, making it capable of Knocking Out any currently-available Pokémon in one shot. The trade-off for this power, however, is the time it takes to evolve into a Stage 2 Pokémon ex and Crimson Storm’s requirement of discarding two when using the attack.

That’s where Moltres ex comes into play. As a Basic Pokémon ex, you can get this Legendary Pokémon into your Active Spot right away and begin using its Inferno Dance attack, which requires only one , to begin powering up a Benched Charmander. With 140 HP, Moltres ex should be able to hold out for a while before needing to retreat. By then, you should hopefully have a fully evolved Charizard ex that’s flush with to tear through your opponent’s team by unleashing consecutive Crimson Storm attacks.

As always, you’ll want Professor’s Research in your deck to help get the cards you need into your hand as soon as possible. Sabrina is good for disrupting your opponents’ strategy, and Giovanni will give a useful boost of strength if you need to use attacks that aren’t as powerful as Crimson Storm.

Poké Balls are a good addition for any deck, but they’re especially useful here to help get Moltres ex and Charmander into play as soon as possible. It’s worthwhile to have a couple of Potions on hand in case you need to extend Moltres ex’s stay in the Active Spot, and you’ll want X Speed so that when Charizard ex is prepared for battle, Moltres ex can easily be recalled back to the Bench. Like Sabrina, Red Card can be useful for throwing your opponent’s game plan into disarray, giving you more time to prepare Charizard ex for the Active Spot.

Game plan: Use Moltres ex’s Inferno Dance to power up your Benched Charmander. Once Charmander has fully evolved into Charizard ex, use X Speed to bring Moltres ex back onto the Bench and put Charizard ex in the Active Spot. Start cleaning house with Charizard’s Crimson Storm attack.

Alternate cards: While we’ve selected this deck to highlight the powerful Charizard ex, more and more players have added Arcanine ex to their decks as a speedier attacker. Deck space is tight with Arcanine ex, Moltres ex, and Charizard ex, so it’s common to see decks with just one Growlithe and two Arcanine ex to make it more likely to start the game with Moltres ex!

Deck List