Going first in Pokémon TCG Pocket sucks. You can’t equip any energy (unless you happen to have Misty). You can’t evolve. You kind of just put a Pokémon in the active spot and hope that your opponent doesn’t wallop you too hard on the second turn. It’s pretty rough — that is, until Giratina ex showed up to alleviate your woes.
Introduced in the Shining Revelry expansion, the new Giratina ex card appears to have an ability that is specifically tailored for people who go first. As far as new cards go, Giratina ex is one of the more interesting Pokémon added in the recent expansion. So here is why Giratina ex decks could become one of the stronger decks at the moment in Pokémon TCG Pocket.
Why use a Giratina ex deck in Pokémon TCG Pocket
Giratina ex is a basic psychic-type Pokémon that has 150 HP and a retreat cost of two. Its ability, Broken-Space Bellow, allows you to take attach a bonus psychic energy to Giratina ex. Once you use this ability, though, your turn immediately ends. Giratina ex has one attack, Chaotic Impact, that deals 130 damage, but also does 20 damage to Giratina ex. You need to attach four energy to Giratina ex to use it.
Broken-Space Bellow is fantastic if you go first in a battle. Just play it Giratina ex right away and use its ability to attach an additional energy on, turning a curse into a blessing.
Chaotic Impact is strong enough to clear through many basic, early evolution Pokémon. If you pair Giratina ex with a Rocky Helmet, Druddigon, or Darkrai ex, it can easily threaten heavy hitters like Arceus ex or Dialga ex. Those three cards can help you shave off just enough HP so that Giratina ex can clear through the remaining HP (so they are all great additions if you want to build a deck).
Trainer cards like Poké Ball can help you fish your Giratina ex out of your deck more quickly while Giant Cape can help you mitigate some of the recoil damage. Otherwise, other standard support cards like Leaf and Cyrus will be your friend here.
The flip side of using a Giratina ex deck is that it could be a drag if you aren’t able to play a Giratina ex early in the game. Broken-Space Bellow doesn’t allow you to attack, so it’s less than optimal if you’re at a point in the battle when you need to be dealing damage consistently. (Also, losing 20 damage per attack isn’t always the safest strategy when there are so many other strong cards out there.)
If you want to start building a Giratina ex deck, now is the perfect chance. You can get a free Giratina ex card as part of a time-limited event giving away free starter ex decks running at the time of publication.
