Pokemon Pocket: How To Build A Pikachu Ex And Zebstrika Deck

There aren't a ton of options yet for imaginative deckbuilding in Pokemon TCG Pocket, which - as of this writing, at least - has only recently launched. Players have found the big-leagues decks: Mewtwo ex, Dragonite, Charizard ex, and even a couple of Pikachu ex decks.

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This Pikachu ex deck, however, comes with a twist - and in a meta where most of your opponents will expect something else, that twist can be helpful, indeed. Courtesy of an easy-to-obtain and quick-to-power-up Zebstrika, you can launch attacks into your opponent's bench while charging up Pikachu ex and relying upon Raichu's Thunderbolt as a backbone.

Pikachu Ex And Zebstrika Decklist

The Pikachu ex and Zebstrika deck is a bit of a twist on more standardized Pikachu ex decks, the most common of which is the Pikachu ex and Zapdox ex deck. Rather than relying upon a second set of ex cards, it makes use of Zebstrika instead.

One of the core advantages behind this shakeup is that, since Zebstrika is not an ex Pokemon, you'll only lose one point rather than two if/when it's knocked out. Of course, that's hardly the only incentive - we'll get into the weeds in a bit.

Giovanni for extra damage can truly come in clutch sometimes, since Pikachu ex's max non-weakness damage is a relatively modest 90. Bumping that up to 100 puts you in range to bring down more sizable threats, especially if they're weak to Electric.

Sabrina will help your Pokemon, none of whom have a great deal of HP, to steer clear of heavy-hitting threats to a degree, while X Speed aids your team's already-low retreat costs even further. Poke Ball and Professor's Research are standard-issue fare in the launch meta.

Which leaves your pairs of PIkachu and Raichu. Let me emphasize, you have room for experimentation here. What you want to ensure is that whichever you choose to fill in this gap, it's Electric-type, as Pikach uex relies upon other Electric Pokemon for its attacks.

Since Raichu can deliver a very solid 140 damage via Thunderbolt, he's used in the Pikachu ex/Zebstrika deck as insurance in case you end up requiring a bigger offensive blow at any given point.

Pikachu ex/Zebstrika

Pikachu ex x2

Pikachu x2

Raichu x2

Blitzle x2

Zebstrika x2

Sabrina x2

Giovanni x2

X Speed x2

Poke Ball x2

Professor's Research x2

How To Play A Pikachu Ex And Zebstrika Deck

Predictably, you want to get a Pikachu ex as soon as possible. But it's just as good to get a Blitzle - and since this deck has six Basic Pokemon in total, Poke Balls and Professor's Research ought to help get you situated.

If you're running this deck with the PIkachus and Raichus in ours, avoid placing the regular Pikachus in the active spot, as they're not going to stand up to much heat, and unlike Blitzle, their evolution won't serve an immediate purpose.

Although this deck lacks the energy-grabbing synergy that Zapdos ex can provide for Pikachu ex, it makes up for it with Zebstrika, who will serve as a sniper. Zebstrika, for a mere one Lightning energy, can use Thunder Spear to deal 30 damage to any of your foe's Pokemon.

Crucially, this includes benched Pokemon. The result is a card with a remarkably slim energy cost which can pick off weaker benched Pokemon, or even strategically shred a Pokemon ex's HP. Say goodbye to your opponents pulling their 10-HP Blastoise ex to the backline!

Be sure to fill your bench quickly, since Pikachu ex's Circle Circuit relies on a full bench in order to deal its top base damage of 90. That's not a lot, granted, but the beauty behind Pikachu ex is that it takes very little time to set up. It's swift.

Keeping with the swiftness, X Speed will get your PIkachu ex to safety when necessary. At 120 HP, that will probably happen at least once. This is when you send out Raichufor a Thunderbolt if needed, or else use Zebstrika for further sniping.

Since this deck has fewer ex cards than other Pikachu ex builds, your opponent won't have as many opportunities to earn two points at a time.

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