How To Play The Yanmega And Exeggutor ex Deck In Pokemon TCG Pocket

Being one of the many Pokemon that got an evolution in Sinnoh, Yanmega has also received the honors of being one of the big stars in the Time-Space Smackdown expansion for Pokemon TCG Pocket. And thanks to its versatility, there are many viable strategies you can use to put this swift and powerful bug into play.

One of them involves pairing it with another well-known Grass Pokemon. Exeggutor is another big winner of this expansion, making an amazing duo with Yanmega when played correctly. Both cards can be an unexpected threat to Meta decks when paired with the right Tools.

Sample Decklist

A very standard card list, with common cards you usually want to ensure a safe and controlled match. The main downside is that it needs cards from many different expansions, which might be difficult for newer players.

Genetic Apex Exeggute is preferred, but Mythical Island’s version is great for getting some extra Energy on the field. It’s also particularly better when running Dawn (as mentioned in Alternative Cards).

Yanmega is the main attacker here, but it needs a lot of Energy to get it going. That’s why you’re also bringing Exeggutor ex here, a faster and very tanky attacker that works perfectly while you get your other attacker ready for combat. Erika makes it even more annoying to deal with.

Pokemon Communication is one of the best cards for this deck, as you’ll need the right Pokemon as quickly as possible. Sometimes getting a Poke Ball instead of an evolution is not as bad as it seems. One copy is enough, though, as there are only four Pokemon in the deck.

Alternative Cards

Yanmega is often paired with Dialga ex for many reasons. Both are obtained in the same pack, and Yanmega can use the Steel Energy provided by Dialga for attacks. Dialga replaces Exeggutor, but the structure of the deck remains mostly the same. Mew continues to be one of the best cards released into the game and makes for a great alternative attacker. You can slot one or two copies in to copy Yanmega’s move. Budding Expeditioner is also a good choice to preserve your Mew.

Dawn is a great (but situational) Supporter, as she ensures you’ll have Energy in the right Pokemon when you need it. You can use it to make Yanmega attack earlier or to ensure that Exeggutor can Retreat safely. Rocky Helmet is a good alternative to the Giant Cape. The Cape is preferred for avoiding 1-hit-KOs from certain matchups, but you. It can also be combined with Cyrus (instead of Sabrina) for some more aggressive plays. When in doubt, you can run one of each.

Deck Strategy

You’ll have a clear goal during all of your matches: set up Yanma, evolve it into Yanmega, and get it on the field as soon as possible. Exeggutor is your secondary attacker, with a 1-cost attack that can hit for 80 damage if you’re lucky. Yanmega ex is only a Stage 1 evolution, but you can only attack with it at Turn 6 at the earliest. Exeggutor will have to hold the fort until then.

When it finally joins the fight, it’ll be ready to clean up the battlefield with its attacks, at the cost of constantly reapplying one Energy every turn. The perfect starting hand consists of Exeggcute, Exeggutor, Yanma, Yanmega, and Giant Cape. Exeggcute is the most needed, as its evolution is the perfect lead for the start of the game.

Pokemon Communication is also great for starting hands. Aim for getting your evolutions out first, sending any unneeded Basic Pokemon back to the deck.

Once you get Exeggutor out, Yanma/Yanmega should get all of your Energy. The Giant Cap ensures that Exeggutor will last for enough Turns (unless it’s a Fire deck, of course). You’ll need Leaf to Retreat Exeggutor unless you’re fine with it being knocked out early.

One of the benefits of running Exeggutor instead of Dialga is getting early KOs by hitting Heads on weaker Lead Pokemon (like Magnemite when fighting a Magnezone deck). If you’re lucky enough, it can deal up to 160 damage in two Turns at the cost of one Energy. This is rare, but happens a lot.

Yanmega is a decent attacker by itself, and can be very useful for dealing with cards weak against Grass. The downside is not being able to properly build another Yanmega if you want to keep attacking. Starting with Yanma can also be problematic, but it might be better to keep it in front if you can evolve it quickly. Yanmega will be in the front quickly, and you can swap to Exeggutor when needed.

This deck rarely one-shots anyone, but its unexpected tankyness is its biggest advantage. You can outlast your opponents instead of swiftly killing them, as Potions and other sources of healing have been much rarer since the introduction of Tools. It’s not unusual for Exeggutor to take three big hits to die.

This deck has two main weaknesses: being an easy target for Sabrina and being slow. Sabrina can take out your Yanmas or Exeggutes in the background, or even trap you with an Exeggutor in the front. While many decks are slow by nature, you have no true way of enhancing your Energy gain. And you need three Energies to make a Yanmega attack, which takes a lot of time.

Dialga’s variation is undoubtedly faster, but this deck iteration brings a different, more controlled, and somewhat safer way to play Yanmega. We recommend trying both of them (if you have the cards) to find your favorite partner for the Ogre Darner Pokemon.

Matchups And Counters

The Yanmega/Exeggutor duo has some interesting advantages in the current meta. While it’s slow to charge, it has some interesting damage potential early into the match, making it very aggressive against some equally slower opponents.

Darkrai ex

One of the main reasons for running the grass duo is to defeat Darkrai easily. Its grass weakness makes it so that Yanmega can always one-shot it, assuming it’s not using a Giant Cape. If not, Exeggutor knocks it out in two hits if you flip Heads once, even if it does have a Cape.

The popular Magnezone variant can be a bigger problem, as Yanmega is weak to Electric. Yanmega cannot be one-shot by Magnezone, though, so you can take a hit if it means you can kill it next turn (if it’s already damaged or if running Rocky Helmet). Alternatively, save your Sabrina/Cyrus to finish the match on another Darkrai.

Dialga ex

Dialga sets up much faster than you, so this won’t be an easy match. Exeggutor can take a big hit, though, so use your Erikas to ensure it’ll be at full HP when it’s time to take it. If Dialga’s already damaged enough, let Yanmega take the lead to take it out.

Yanmega cannot take a full hit without a Giant Cape, though, so save one for it. Alternatively, you can retreat it and bring Exeggutor back for some chip damage. Sacrificing it might be your only option, as this is not an easy matchup in any way.

Palkia ex

Very similar to Dialga as both have the same HP and Damage, but you’re constantly threatened by Misty and Manaphy. The same tips apply to this matchup but know that it’ll be much more difficult to get yourself out of this. Manaphy and Eevee are good targets for Sabrina, with Exeggutor being able to one-shot both of them. However, if Misty hits two or more Heads, you’re probably done for, unless you hit two Heads yourself against Dialga.

Gyarados ex

This matchup has the same problems as Palkia, but Magikarp is even more fragile. It rarely runs Manaphy too, so you only have to worry about Misty. Exeggutor can take a hit and survive even without Giant Cape, so you have a much better chance here. Yanmega should take the lead as soon as possible to finish the battle. It has enough damage to take out Druddigons if needed, so any non-Gyarados Pokemon is a good target for it.

Other Matchups

As with basically every deck, mirror matches will mostly be determined by luck. Whoever gets the best lead usually wins, but you can always hope for a misplay on your opponent’s part.

Electric decks (such as Pikachu ex) can also be a nuisance for your endgame. Yanmega has a decent HP, but Giovanni can always be there to ruin your day. The same can be said by Fire decks in general, as they melt Exeggutor. Infernape can one-shot both Pokemon, for example.

Non-ex decks are popular, but Yanmega/Exeggutor has no particularly terrible matchup against them. As long as you don’t let them set up properly, they shouldn’t present you with any kind of threat.