All of the best Pokemon TCG Pocket decks include ex cards. While I’ve enjoyed some success with a Team Rocket-themed Weezing and Arbok deck and Dragonite continues to thrive, it’s rare to face an opponent not running Mewtwo ex, Articuno ex, Starmie ex, Venusaur ex, or Pikachu ex. They’re the biggest cards, the best cards, and the most exciting cards. We all feel great when we open up a Pokemon TCG Pocket pack and see a beautiful full art, and it feels just as good to flex that ex in battle.
I’ve spent a bit of cash on this game, and others have spent a lot more. But for free-to-play players, their budget decks struggle to compete with the most powerful cards in others’ collections.
How To Join The No Ex Queue In Pokemon TCG Pocket
Players have figured out a clever way to avoid playing against ex cards. Simply enter a private battle with the code noex. Make sure your deck doesn’t include any ex cards, and enjoy.
This system isn’t perfect. Some people still join with ex cards just for ‘banter’ or because their mothers didn’t love them, but you can just quit out of those matches. There’s no experience on the line, these are just friendly matches between players wanting to try out off-meta decks, budget decks, and fun decks.
Let’s face it, this game isn’t fun when you’re facing the same deck in every match. There aren’t enough incentives to try off-meta decks, so you’ll see three Mewtwo exes in a row and struggle as Gardevoir generates infinite energy. It’s infuriating. My one redeeming feature as a human is that I have never used a Mewtwo ex deck, and I plan to continue that way in perpetuity. Not even the immersive rare in my collection could convince me.
Are Ex Pokemon Overpowered?
While Pokemon TCG Pocket’s no ex queue is a great community invention, it’s a solution to a problem. The problem is ex cards. So how could we balance them?
Should ex cards be worth three prizes when knocked out, so you can’t risk losing a single one? Should there be a limit to how many you can use in your deck? Is it the trainers or support Pokemon that are too strong, would nerfing Misty and Gardevoir balance the game? Or should Pokemon just take a look at the overpowered ex cards themselves, tuning down Mewtwo and Pikachu but leaving Gengar untouched?
There’s no real answer. The real-life TCG doesn’t have a banlist, but it does have a lot more cards. More cards means more strategies, more counters, and more options for any player. I wonder if Pokemon TCG Pocket’s meta will stabilise and certain cards will feel less overpowered when it releases new sets. It’s a gamble, and we’ll be waiting until January for the next set if datamines are to be believed. Will one more set be enough to fix the ex meta? I doubt it.
What can players do? Well, they’re already doing it. The no ex queue is a brilliant invention to inject some fun into a game that’s quickly becoming stale – in the battling, at least. Personally I’d like some effort from the developers to balance the meta but in the meantime, you’ll be able to find me in the no ex queue. Just don’t ruin it all by bringing your strongest deck.
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Pokemon TCG Pocket Is Not Friendly To My Completionist Pathology
Pokemon TCG Pocket is the Pokemon card game for collectors, but it’s still not giving me what I need.