Improved decks from Legendary Island in Pokemon TCG Pocket

Mythical Island is a much needed expansion to revitalize the current meta before the next major set is released. Its theme focuses on smaller legendary Pokemon like Mew and Celebi, while offering solid support for a variety of decks.

Many decks have seen improvements to basic Pokemon with more damage or abilities that match through the deck. While not all decks benefited equally, Mythical Island overall made more decks viable in Pokemon Pocket.

10

Pikachu East

While Pikachu EX didn't see as much improvement as its top-tier rival, Mewtwo EX, it still received significant benefits from the new expansion. Pikachu EX now has access to Dedenne, a low cost electric type capable of paralyzing. While Pikachu EX decks don't rely heavily on stalling, the ability to buy turns and pivot to another strategy is a welcome improvement for a deck that was previously very defensively weak.

The addition of Trainer Card Blue also gave Pikachu EX a fighting chance against the popular Arcanine EX. The extra ten defenses now allow Pikachu EX to out-hit Arcanine EX – a feat that was nearly impossible before, as Arcanine EX could one-shot Pikachu EX in earlier matchups.

9

Dragonite

Dragon types received minimal support in Genetic Apex, with only three Dragon Pokémon and no cards directly coordinating with them. While the legendary island wasn't particularly generous to dragons, it did introduce a new dragon Pokémon, Drudigan. Druddigon uses water and fire energy, which doesn't synergize well with the lightning- and water-oriented Dragonite. However, it is a 100 HP basic Pokemon that deals 20 damage to any Pokemon that attacks it.

Druddigon is finding a place in many stall-centric decks. At the very least, pairing Druddigan with Leaf provides a strong alternative to the Weezing-and-Koga combination commonly seen in Dragonite decks. Mew EX combined with Budding Expeditioner also works as a stall upgrade on Weezing, though it comes with a tradeoff — you lose two points if Mew EX is knocked out, compared to just one with Weezing.

8

Pidgeot Arbok

One of the better mid-tier decks, Pidgeot and Arbok demonstrated excellent synergy. Their combined effects provided strong board control by forcing weak bench Pokemon into the active position and trapping them there. However, the Pidgeot and Arbok combo suffers from a notable weakness: a lack of late-game offensive power.

Pidgeot EX significantly enhances the Pidgey line and fits into many decks due to its colorless energy requirement. It deals 80 damage, which is paltry, but its attacks go up to 140 damage with your opponent's bench size. A well-timed PokeFlute can supply the extra power Pidgeot EX needs. Pairing Pidgeot EX with Pidgeot is also a flexible strategy, enabling you to react effectively to different game scenarios.

7

Blastoise Ex

Water has the highest population of Pokemon and the highest quality Pokemon cards of any type. Many good water monsters saw niche play due to the excellence of great genetic Apex cards like Starmy X and Articuno. Blastoise Ex has been slowly seeing good tournament results, carving out its place.

New and better versions of Eevee and Vaporean exist, and Vaporean's effect allows you to reallocate your energy. Blastoise's biggest problem is its damage which can be solved if you put 5 energy on it, a weakness Vaporeon can easily solve.

6

Executor Ex

In the early stages of Pokemon Pocket, Exeggutor EX caused problems for players due to its early-game tankiness. However, Exeggutor EX and grass types in general were limited by their lack of firepower. The new Exeggutor scales its damage based on your opponent's Energy, giving Exeggutor EX a late-game answer to Energy-heavy Pokemon like Mew EX.

Additionally, Celebi is a common partner for Exeggutor. Celebi can accumulate significant damage output, especially when paired with Serperior lane. Another variant involves combining Exeggutor EX with Mew EX and Budding Expeditioner to form a defensive wall, allowing Exeggutor to safely build up its required Char Energy.

5

Koga Weezing

Koga and Weezing was the most versatile combination from Genetic Apex, but it lacked a heavy hitter, as Grimer and Mook are too energy-intensive to be effective. Whirlipede and Scolipede offer superior stats compared to Mook and Grimer with lower retreat cost. While Koga doesn't synergize with Whirlipede and Scolipede, the newly introduced Leaf card gives them the option to retreat when needed.

Legendary Island also features new versions of Weezing and Koffing. The new Koffing can seek out another Koffing and shuffle your deck, while the updated Weezing does more damage than the original but doesn't apply poison. To upgrade your Weezing deck, it's best to stick with Genetic Apex Weezing, as it retains a valuable poison effect.

4

Arcanine East

Whether you're playing a niche Arcanine EX deck or a more common hybrid of Arcanine and Charizard, Arcanine EX will be a valuable card going forward. This is largely due to the meta shift with Celebi EX emerging as one of the most popular and powerful cards. Fortunately, Celebi is weak to fire, allowing Arcanine EX to defeat it with a single blow.

As Pokemon Pocket evolves, speed is becoming an increasingly important factor. Arcanine EX's speed is much greater than Charizard EX's, making it a viable option to completely cut off the Charizard EX line. In addition, including Giovanni in your deck enables Arcanine EX to knock out threats like the new Mew EX and other problematic cards from Genetic Apex like Starmie EX.

3

Starmie East

The new Vaporeon is a significant boost for all water-themed decks. Starmie EX, known as an early-game powerhouse, can now efficiently team up with a late-game monster like Gyarados EX without the loss of slowly building energy for Gyarados EX.

Vaporeon's ability to transfer energy works especially well with Starmie EX. Since Starmie EX has no retreat cost, it can effectively keep any Pokemon within two points of it from retaliating with ease. Cards like Leaf further increase the flexibility of the deck, providing more options for retreat strategy and overall board control.

2

Blaine

Ninetales and Rapidash were the backbone of the best decks that didn't have an EX monster. Their ability to generate enough power while requiring minimal energy made them a nightmare for decks with weak early-game setups. With the rise of Celebi, Serperior and Exeggutor, the Ninetales become even more valuable, as combined with Blaine they can easily beat them all.

Additionally, Legendary Island offers unique versions of Ponyta and Rapidas that deal more damage on average than their Genetic Apex counterparts. Magmar, who also works with Blaine, has received an upgrade, dealing 30 more damage than its previous iteration at the cost of sacrificing energy.

1

Mewtwo East

Of course, the best decks have only improved with Legendary Island. Mewtwo EX and Gardevoir offer a great combination of consistent energy engine and high damage output. One of Mewtwo EX's major weaknesses is its lack of options in the early game, often forcing players to rely on defensive options like standard Mewtwo or Hypno Line.

Mew EX offers more HP and the ability to deal 20 damage, giving players more tactical flexibility. Legendary Slabs mix up your deck, allowing you to access key Psychic Pokemon more efficiently while giving you insight into which Trainer cards you might struggle to draw on.