Water Decks Get Powerful Boost from Triumphant Light Expansion in Pokemon TCG Pocket

When Pokemon TCG Pocket first launched, the meta quickly came to be dominated by a very small handful of decks. One of those, centered around Misty and water-type Pokemon, came to be hated early on due to its potential to overpower opponents early on based entirely on how well some coin flips went. The luck-based nature of Misty makes losing to these decks feel particularly frustrating.

Now, three expansions later, you might expect other cards to have emerged to counter or replace Misty decks. However, the latest expansion has only intensified the issue by introducing a new card that makes Misty decks even more formidable. Many players are growing weary of the persistent dominance of these decks.

Misty is a Supporter card with a unique ability that allows the user to select a water-type Pokemon and flip a coin until they land on tails. For every heads flipped, a water-type energy is attached to the chosen Pokemon. This mechanic can lead to attaching zero energy, rendering the card useless, or it could result in attaching multiple energies, potentially enabling a first-turn win or powering up strong cards before the opponent can respond.

Subsequent expansions have only made Misty more powerful. Mythical Island introduced Vaporeon, allowing players to redistribute the bonus energy among their water-type Pokemon. Space-Time Smackdown added Manaphy, which increases the amount of water energy on the board. Both expansions also introduced potent water-type Pokemon like Palkia ex and Gyarados ex, solidifying water decks' position at the top of the meta.

The latest expansion, Triumphant Light, has introduced another card, Irida, which further enhances Misty decks. Irida, also a Supporter card, heals 40 damage from each Pokemon with water-type energy attached. This addition allows water decks to stage significant comebacks, leveraging the energy distribution facilitated by Misty, Manaphy, and Vaporeon.

Some Pokemon TCG experts suggest that Irida was introduced to force players to make strategic choices about their deck composition, given the 20-card limit in TCG Pocket. The idea is to potentially crowd out Misty, but savvy players have found ways to incorporate both cards, maintaining the deck's strength.

With a scheduled event approaching, where rewards like a gold profile badge are up for grabs for achieving a five-match win streak, the prevalence of water decks is expected to be even more pronounced. This event underscores the challenge of competing against decks that can dominate early and recover from setbacks with cards like Irida.

Given the current meta, players may find it advantageous to consider playing a water deck themselves to stay competitive in the upcoming event and beyond.