The best Arceus ex PVP decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket

M Alzamora Published 28/02/2025

Move over, Charizard and Palkia – the newly released Arceus ex in Pokemon TCG Pocket may introduce another strong competitive deck to watch out for in the popular game.

With over 100 million downloads already accrued, Pokemon TCG Pocket has become incredibly popular for players whether they like to collect or to do battle. Developers have just released the newest set, Triumphant Light, which focuses on Arceus and other Gen 4 Pokemon. With any booster, some cards immediately jump out as competitive favorites. Arceus ex may now become Pokemon TCG Pocket’s latest darling anchoring its strong new decks.

Given how new Arceus ex is, the meta isn’t yet stabilized as players test out the card’s best deck combinations for competitive play. Here are some options to get you started.

Best Arceus ex deck options after Triumphant Light set

After Pokemon TCG Pocket introduced Arceus and Arceus ex with the new Triumphant Light set, there are plenty of strong potential decks for players to explore.

Arceus ex by itself is a highly competitive card. For starters, it has 140 HP and can tank most attacks, especially with a giant cape card attack. It isn’t affected by special conditions due to its ability Fabled Luster. Arceus ex deals up to 130 damage per turn provided a full bench. As the cherry on top, the new booster also introduced features that make the card even better in certain situations.

Arceus ex is one of the best cards to pull in Triumphant Light, Pokemon TCG Pocket's new mini-set.

Some Triumphant Light cards have a new ability called “Link,” which allows them to access extra features when Arceus or Arceus ex are on the bench. The exact nature of the link varies between cards. One ability can deal an extra 30 damage, while others have their retreat cost reduced. There are eight Arceus-linked cards in total:

Abomasnow [Vigor Link]: Moves cost one less colorless energy
Carnevine and Tyranitar [Power Link]: Moves deal an extra 30 damage to the opponent’s active Pokemon
Crobat [Cunning Link]: Can do 30 damage once per turn to the opponent’s active Pokemon
Heatran and Rotom [Speed Link]: No retreat cost
Magnezone and Raichu [Resilience Link]: Takes 30 less damage from attacks

Arceus ex + Crobat deck

Crobat in particular seems to be a promising option for an Arceus ex deck because of its ability to deal damage from the bench as well as extra damage during its turn. Though it is a Stage 2 card, it can deal 50 damage for just one dark energy. This makes it quick to get going as an attacker once it’s on the board. Notably, Golbat from Genetic Apex deals more damage than the new version in Triumphant Light, but either works fine.

Arceus ex and Crobat make a formidable Pokemon TCG Pocket deck.

The other Pokemon cards in an Arceus ex/Crobat deck depend on strategy. For instance, Darkrai ex is a difficult card to pull from Space-Time Smackdown but can do 100 damage in a turn with its ability. It also provides a different weakness type to reduce deck vulnerabilities. For players who haven’t yet gotten Darkrai ex, playing Spiritomb early deals damage across the opponent’s bench. Using Cyrus then forces the opponent to swap in a card that has already been weakened.

Arceus ex x 2
Zubat x 2
Golbat (Genetic Apex) x 2
Crobat x 2
Spiritomb x 2
Cyrus x 2
Dawn x 2
Giant cape x 2
Pokeball x 2
Professor’s Research x 2

Arceus ex + Tyrannitar deck

Arceus ex may be beneficial in an anti-Darkrai ex + Weavile ex specific deck as well, particularly when combined with Tyranitar. This Pokemon is a 160 HP powerhouse that, with Arceus on the bench, can do an equivalent amount of damage. This is easily enough to knock out Darkrai ex, although the strategy takes time to build up.

To beat Darkrai ex, Pokemon TCG Pocket players may benefit from an Arceus ex/Tyranitar deck.

Marowak ex is a good card to include with Arceus ex and Tyranitar because it’s only a stage 2 and can hold the line while building up energy. While Dugtrio has less HP, it only needs one energy to deal a decent amount of damage.

Arceus ex x 2
Larvitar x 2
Pupitar x 2
Tyranitar x 2
Diglet (Genetic Apex) x 2
Dugtrio (Genetic Apex) x 2
Cyrus
Dawn
Rocky Helmet x 2
Pokeball x 2
Professor’s Research x 2

Other options

Because Arceus is colorless, it can fit into most decks similarly to how Mew ex might. Players may find use adding it to their Vaporeon/Misty deck, their Charizard ex/Moltres ex deck, or in any deck that bases its strategy around cards that accumulate energy. It can also be added as a powerful way to help take out meta-dominating cards like Palkia ex or Celebi ex.

No matter what deck it’s in, Arceus ex is sure to start appearing in casual and competitive matches alike. Just be sure to have a good fighting-type counter on hand, especially if running a dark deck.

M Alzamora

About M Alzamora

There are few things that writer M Alzamora loves more in life than Pokemon. And there are even fewer things that she loves more than her favorite Pokemon, Eevee. But M’s appreciation for gaming isn’t just limited to Nintendo’s famous pocket monsters. She’s interested in every type of game across every genre of gaming, and she has the credentials to prove it. M’s work has also been seen on Working Classicists and gaming sites.

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