The Triumphant Light mini-set made significant changes to the Pokemon TCG Pocket's metagame.

The expansion's impact has been so pronounced that it makes the previous mini-set, Mythical Island, almost insignificant.

The Triumphant Light mini-set brought several changes to the Pokemon TCG Pocket’s metagame. In fact, this expansion had such a huge impact that it almost completely overshadowed the previous mini-set, Mythical Island. Now, after Triumphant Light triggered major shifts in PvP, one question remains: how can players counter the new meta?

Pokemon TCG Pocket Decks Boosted By Triumphant Light

Among the mini-sets released for Pokemon TCG Pocket, Triumphant Light had the biggest impact as it brought several strong decks to a dominant position in the meta.

Fortunately, the Triumphant Light mini-set also brought some of the best anti-meta and counter decks to Pokemon TCG Pocket, with the best examples listed below. (Some of these builds will probably survive the changes brought by the Shining Revelry set.)

List Criteria

The following decks were selected based on their performance (i.e., tournament appearances, meta share, and matchup data). Basically, we’ve included emerging decks that perform well against the currently dominant setups, ranking them from least to most effective.

The statistics provided for each deck were collected from recent TCG Pocket tournaments tracked by the Limitless TCG website.

5 Mew ex & Dialga ex

Perfect For Countering Unexpected Encounters

Mew ex became the most popular tech card back in the Mythical Island era. But with the release of Triumphant Light, it has returned to the meta as a counter to Arceus ex's dominance. This counter setup closely follows the Arceus ex & Dialga ex lineup, with the key difference being the inclusion of Mew ex.

Mew ex's Genome Hack ability allows it to copy the opponent's move with three Colorless Energy. This means that the player may sometimes copy the enemy's most devastating attack, such as Arceus ex's Ultimate Force, before the opponent can use it.

It is worth noting that the Mew ex & Dialga ex decks have generally been favored against the popular decks from the previous expansion. As a result, they achieved the highest success rates against decks like Charizard ex and Moltres ex, Exeggutor ex and Celebi ex, as well as Darkrai ex and Magnezone.

4 Palkia ex & Origin Forme Palkia

An Easy-to-Draw Setup For A Fast Build-up

One surprising counter deck that emerged with the release of Triumphant Light was the combination of Palkia ex and its Origin Forme. The logic behind this lineup is simple: the player aims to ramp up either Palkia ex or Origin Forme Palkia using Manaphy while utilizing the Zone Energy to power up the other. However, what makes the deck an effective counter to the meta is the inclusion of a new Supporter: Irida.

Irida plays a crucial role in the Palkia ex & Origin Forme Palkia deck as she can provide the board with up to 160 HP, extending the damage dealer's active time for at least another round. This is particularly important for Palkia ex as it possesses an Energy-discarding effect, making it susceptible to knockout if its first strike fails to defeat the opponent. But with Irida's assistance, Palkia ex can withstand one more hit and hopefully resume dealing damage after a round or two.

5 Triumphant Light Cards That Changed The Pokemon TCG Pocket Meta

These cards from the Triumphant Light mini-set managed to shake up TCG Pocket's meta shortly after their release—here's why.

In terms of matchups, Palkia ex & Origin Forme Palkia has been one of the best options against Arceus ex & Dialga ex decks. Recent PvP data confirms that the Water-type duo has won 54% of the matches against this meta-dominating duo. But it’s also been a strong response to Leafeon ex & Celebi ex (61.5% win rate) and Articuno ex’s 18-Trainer decks (55.5% win rate).

One advantage of running a Palkia ex & Origin Forme Palkia decks in the current meta is that their weakness to Lightning-type Pokemon won’t cause a significant threat, as Lightning decks have lost their popularity after the A2a mini-set release.

3 Palkia ex (18-Trainer)

A Basic Strategy With Incredible Consistency

The Water archetype in Pokemon TCG Pocket is gaining momentum thanks to the addition of Irida. One of the decks that has leveraged this new Supporter to its fullest is the 18-Trainer Palkia ex lineup. It utilizes Irida to buy time for the Active Palkia ex while using Misty to ramp it up.

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