Pokemon TCG Pocket has an established meta, but that meta differs at different levels of play. Gyarados ex was considered the best deck in formal competition, but I didn’t see any in random matches. There, Celebi ex reigned supreme.
Since the release of Space-Time Smackdown however, we’ve seen everything shaken up. Darkrai ex emerged as an early favourite, before Magnezone was paired with every monster under the sun to get where we are today. But among all the gods of time and space emerges one creature of pure chaos. A man-made monster capable of messing up your opponent’s best-laid plans. No, I’m not talking about Mewtwo. This is Porygon-Z.
Pokemon TCG Pocket Porygon-Z Deck
You probably intimated that much from the headline, so I’ll get to the juicy details. Porygon-Z’s Buggy Beam deals 80 damage for three colourless energy, but its effect is one of the most disruptive in the game. When you land an attack, you randomly change the next type of energy that’s generated for your opponent. They’re one Fire-type energy away from launching a devastating attack from Infernape ex? Not any more.
It’s a brilliant attack, and forces more rage quits than any other deck I’ve used. Most importantly, it’s great fun. There are a few ways to build around Porygon, including a Magnezone variant (of course), but I’ve avoided that in order to show off my fancy cards and lean into the fun. Without further ado, here is my Dialga ex and Porygon-Z chaos deck.
- Mew ex
- 2x Dialga ex
- 2x Porygon
- 2x Porygon 2
- 2x Porygon-Z
- X Speed
- 2x Poke Ball
- 2x Pokemon Communication
- 2x Giant Cape
- 2x Professor’s Research
- Leaf
- Mars
There’s wiggle room here; I’m not sold on Mars, and perhaps a Cyrus could come in handy some time, although not to the extent that he excels in Darkrai ex decks. But it works. Dialga ex sets up Metal energy on Porygon and/or Mew, who then launch brutal attacks that either mimic your opponent or mess up their energy.
This deck isn’t consistent. If you want to beat Cresselia every time, or grab those 45 wins and the medal reward in the latest event, this might not be the deck for you. In those circumstances, pool together your Darkrai and get your hands on some Magneton. But if you want fun, if you want to embrace the chaos, then Porygon-Z is your guy.
There are also specific match-ups that Porygon-Z is straight-up bad in. If your opponent is running Misty, they can guarantee plenty of Water energy on their monsters, so Porygon should stay on the backline and let Dialga and Mew do the talking.
Magneton is also annoying, but P-Z only really struggles if your opponent is running Electivire. While Magneton can produce its own Lightning energy, changing their energy slows them down enough to neutralise a Magnezone threat. Lt Surge and Volkner can cause problems, but this requires your opponent to be running Electivire. And we all know only the coolest kids do this.
Mixing It Up
The most important thing about Pokemon TCG Pocket is having fun. If building the most powerful deck and stomping noobs is your way of having fun, then use Magneton and Darkrai ex. If you love Fire-types and specifically Ponyta, build a deck around that! And if you love chaos, use Porygon-Z.
That’s firmly where I sit, the chaos-lover. There’s nothing I enjoy more than testing out weird decks, trying out new cards, and pushing this game until it bends in half and forms a weird polygonal mutation that can change your opponent’s energy. I tend to only write about my most powerful creations (or other people’s most powerful creations), but this one is pure fun. Pure chaos. Pure chaotic fun.
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Pokemon Pocket: Darkrai ex Magnezone Deck Guide
Shock your opponent with Pokemon Pocket’s Darkrai ex/Magnezone deck.