With all the new meta-defining cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket’s latest minister, there isn’t much room for budget options like Tyranitar to shine. However, the new “Link Ability” might give Tyranitar a chance to compete for a spot in the meta.
Since Fighting-type Pokemon have an advantage against TCG Pocket‘s top card, Arceus ex, Tyranitar could be worth considering. With that in mind, here’s a deck that leverages Tyranitar’s potential.
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Link Abilities are unique powers that unlock when a condition is met. In the case of Tyranitar, it does +30 damage when Arceus or Arceus ex is in play.
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Tyranitar Card Overview
- Rarity: Three-diamond
- HP: 160
- ATK: 130 (up to 160)
- Text: [Power Link] If you have Arceus or Arceus ex in play, attacks used by this Pokemon do +30 damage to your opponent’s Active Pokemon.
- ATK Energy: Four (Three Fighting, one Colorless)
- Retreat Cost: Four
- Weakness: Grass
The Best Deck for Tyranitar
As a Stage Two Pokemon, Tyranitar takes up deck space and limits flexibility. For this reason, the best deck for it is a standard stall setup, using Druddigon or another tank to buy time. You can also deploy Sudowoodo as an alternative starter if you are looking for an aggressive build. However, the deck remains fully functional without Sudowoodo.
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Tyranitar Deck Synergies
- Tyranitar is the primary damage dealer. You need Larvitar and Pupitar for its evolution.
- Arceus activates Tyranitar’s Link Ability, which boosts its damage. But sometimes, when you can’t draw your tank, Arceus can also help stall the enemy.
- Sudowoodo is an optional early-game damage dealer. It is one of the best starters if you are going against Arceus ex decks.
- Pokemon Communication increases consistency. You need it to search for the needed evolution cards.
- Tournament Appearance: ~ 100
- Meta Share: Less than 1%
- Win Rate: ~ 45.5%
The Triumphant Light miniset indeed promoted the Fighting-type Rampardos & Lucario deck to the top of the meta. However, Tyranitar wasn’t lucky enough to share the same success and currently sits in the lower tier of the metagame with an unimpressive win rate of about forty percent.
In terms of matchups, Tyranitar has underperformed against most meta decks, with the possible exception of some Palkia ex setups. As a Grass-weak Pokemon, Tyranitar has had the worst matchups against the two dominant Grass lineups: Exeggutor ex & Celebi ex and Leafeon ex & Celebi ex.
Pros and Cons of Tyranitar Decks
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One of the biggest pros of running a Tyranitar deck is that it can work without ex cards. This is not to say that it can build one of the ideal no-ex decks in TCG Pocket. Still, losing only one point per knockout is a nice advantage. Tyranitar (especially when paired with Sudowoodo) can also be a viable counter to the Arceus ex meta since this formidable Pokemon is weak to the Fighting type.
Tyranitar suffers from the same drawback as most other Stage Two Pokemon in TCG Pocket: Slow buildup. You will likely need Pokemon Communication to draw the needed cards, making you heavily reliant on a stall strategy. Even worse, you must commit most of your Energy to only one card, as Tyranitar requires four Energy to attack.
Why It’s the Perfect Time to Try Out a Tyranitar Deck
If Tyranitar had been released in the Space-Time Smackdown era, it would have had no competitive edge. Darkrai ex meta would easily demolish this poor Pokemon, as it is quite vulnerable to Bench-sniping. Fortunately, the current metagame is less reliant on long-range damage, and the dreaded Magnezone & Darkrai ex decks are far less frequent, giving Tyranitar a chance to thrive.
Realistically, cards like Tyranitar are more of a meta-outlier option than an actual competitive card. But now that sniping decks are receding and PvP is getting repetitive, it’s the perfect time to give a less popular yet high-potential deck like Tyranitar a chance.
