There is an amusingPokémon TCG Pocketdeck that isn’t affecting the meta all that much, but it may still have exposed a serious flaw in the game. For the most part,Pokémon TCG Pocketis a fun, streamlined version of thePokémon TCG. SomePokémon TCGrules have been removedto help make the game a more casual and quick experience for players.
WhilePokémon TCG Pockethas mostly been successful in its streamlining of the game, it haspotentially done away with one feature that is important for deck building. Now, a unique deck is shedding light on why this feature perhaps shouldn’t have been removed. It’s not atop-tier deck like Mewtwo ex, but it could lead to some problematic builds in future sets.
This Pokémon TCG Pocket Deck Only Runs One Pokémon
Players Run 18 Trainer Cards And Two Copies Of A Single Pokémon
The deck in question is known as the 18 Trainers deck. This deck uses two copies of nine different Trainer cards including staples like Poké Ball, Professor’s Research, and X Speed. Some builds even run the rarely used Hand Scope just to round out the 18 cards needed. In addition to these Trainer cards,the deck also runs a single Pokémon: Articuno ex.
New Pokémon TCG Pocket Deck Turns Heads With Strong Tournament Appearance
A new Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket deck that uses Articuno ex and Greninja had a very strong showing in a recent online tournament.
While there is a version of this deckthat runs Zapdos exinstead, Articuno ex is the better choice for this type of build. For starters,it can use the Misty Supporter card to add additional energyand speed up the use of its more powerful attack. In contrast, there are no Trainer cards that give Zapdos extra energy, so Zapdos builds typically run the less-optimal Pokédex card instead of Misty. Having extra dead draws holds back a deck that already has spotty performance.
TraditionalPokémon TCGplayers may be wondering how a deck can get along with just two copies of one Pokémon. Typically,having so few chances to draw a Pokémon would be a serious disadvantage in the TCGwhere, every time a player doesn’t draw a basic Pokémon, they are forced to take a mulligan. This grants their opponent an extra card at the beginning of the game, which can be a big advantage. Well, this isn’t an issue inPokémon TCG Pocket.
The 18 Trainers Deck Exposes An Exploit Of Pocket’s Programming
Players Use Pokémon TCG Pocket’s Hand Smoothing To Fix Their Opening Draw
Pokémon TCG Pocketdoesn’t have a mulligan rule. Instead,players are guaranteed to draw at least one basic Pokémon in their opening hand. This means that by including only a single basic Pokémon, players can guarantee they draw that card in their opening hand. While this hasn’t caused a huge issue yet — neither version of the 18 Trainers deck is all that competitive — it will likely pose an issue with future sets.
One Missing Pokémon TCG Pocket Feature Makes Using Pack Points Way Too Frustrating
There is a missing feature in Pokémon TCG Pocket that makes using Pack Points much more frustrating than it has to be, but one change would fix it.
Not only willPokémon TCG Pocketbe releasing new, potentially more powerful, basic Pokémon, but it will also presumably add new Trainer cards in upcoming sets. Withmore effective Trainer cards, players can abuse this exploit without having to run dead draws like Pokédex. Even if 18-Trainer builds don’t become the norm,there could be a serious shift away from running Pokémon and toward Trainer-heavy builds.
Not only would it be a shame to see an even smaller variety of Pokémon than is already present in thePokémon TCG Pocketmeta currently, but games where players are using a lot of Trainer cards each turn could also make the experience somewhat dull.Pokémon TCG Pocketshould consider implementing the forced-mulligan rule fromPokémon TCG. This could help promote running at least a few basic Pokémon in each deck and avoid further manipulation of the game’s hand-smoothing program.
