Pokémon Pocket - Best Lists With Celestial Guardians!

The Celestial Guardians meta is finally stabilizing, so the best decks in the format are now quite clear to most of us in the Pokémon Pocket community.

Though the new cards seemed quite strong and game-changing in a very drastic way, the meta didn't change all that much compared to Shining Revelry, the pervious set. Some old archetypes are still great in tournaments and the ranked queue, and just a few new lists have popped up under our competitive radar.

This set basically improved the old lists, as it brought support cards that made these archetypes, which were already strong, even stronger.

In any case, a few new lists still conquered some space among the best decks in the format.

Please note that all the lists we'll discuss today were played by the best players in the biggest grassroot Pokémon Pocket tournaments quite recently.

Let's go!

Solgaleo ex and Skarmory

Let's start with the new Solgaleo ex / Skarmory list. This is one of the most popular lists in the ranked queue nowadays because it is one of the fastest "stage 2 Pokémon" lists.

Now that we have Rare Candy, these types of decks are a bit stronger. However, the archetype that benefitted the most from this new card is also the new Solgaleo ex deck.

Solgaleo ex does deal damage to itself when it attacks - and deals 120 damage for just two energies - but it is the best stage 2 Pokémon because it is the fastest. It also has a lot of HP and, as such, can handle practically all Pokémon in the meta.

One of Solgaleo ex's biggest strengths is also its ability, which lets you put it in the active spot for free if it is on your bench. It doesn't seem that strong on paper, but, in practice, it is incredibly useful because it lets you save resources. Without this ability, you'd be forced to play a Trainer or Item to swap your active Pokémon, or even discard energies, which isn't ideal.

The main idea behind this list is to begin with Skarmory, at least while you set up Solgaleo ex on your bench. Currently, Skarmory is the Pokémon that deals the most damage for just 1 energy out of all the Pokémon in the game, so it's one of the best frontline, aggressive Pokémon in the entire game.

As you'll easily be able to set up Solgaleo ex, you can consider this a fast list whose win condition is putting your main Pokémon in the active spot as early as possible. This will already be enough to win the match.

Evil Spirits - Darkrai ex and Giratina ex

Some things never change. Darkrai ex / Giratina ex, from the last set, is still one of the best strategies in the game, and changed very little.

The meta also didn't evolve enough to beat this archetype, as it still has great matchups. It is also extremely easy to pilot, and one of the fastest, most dynamic lists in the current meta.

Snorlax Giratina ex and Greninja

Let's see something new! The list that won the biggest grassroot tournament in Pokémon Pocket was so unusual it actually changed the meta a bit.

Habuver, the champion, brought Snorlax A2a-063, which deals 100 damage for 4 energies of any color. Up to this point, the Snorlax we had weren't that strong and very few players experimented using them as their frontline Pokémon.

However, the last set brought us Barry, which discounts the cost of your Snorlax's attacks by two energies for one turn. This made Snorlax a tank Pokémon that also deals damage when it is your active Pokémon.

This list only uses Psychic energies. You'll attach energies to your Snorlax, all while you use Giratina ex's ability to attach energies to your Benched Greninja, and deal damage to enemy Pokémon this way.

This setup is simple, efficient, and very easy to learn. And, as you can attack with your Snorlax, your opponent's active Pokémon will never be safe.

Oricorio and Magnezone

The most exciting Pokémon from this set, Oricorio A3-066, doesn't take damage from Pokémon ex due to its passive ability, and has finally found a deck.

This card, despite its incredibly broken ability, has taken a while to find its own archetype. The old Electric decks didn't work all that well with it, but then we finally found the perfect list.

This deck is a combination of Magnezone's old package with Magneton A1-098, which attaches Electric energies to itself.

The idea behind this list is simple: you'll start the game with Oricorio in the active spot, and your opponent won't be able to do anything about it if they're playing a strategy centered around Pokémon ex.

This card, by itself, makes all 18T lists weaker, as well as most popular decks in the format.

If everything goes wrong, you can use your Magnezone as an alternative win condition.

The Evolution of the Fighting Archetype - Lycanroc and Rampardos

Fighting decks have been popular for quite some time, and, whenever a new set comes along, these lists get even better.

As the meta can't seem to evolve to fight this type of deck, Fighting Pokémon have never had to face a real challenge, even in the very early days of the game, when Mewtwo ex decks were dominant. Giratina ex might be incredibly popular, but Fighting Pokémon are extremely fast and aren't all that worried about this matchup.

This season, this Rampardos list got an update: Lycanroc. It is now one of the most consistent decks in the format thanks to Rockruff's attack, which draws a card that evolves it. With this effect, you'll always have Lycanroc at the right time, particularly when you get a second energy to attach to it. This way, it'll be ready to attack whenever you need.

If your opponent manages to stop Lycanroc, you can always play Rampardos as an alternative win condition, just like Fighting archetypes have always done with Lucario. Because it doesn't need many energies, you'll easily be able to set up Rampardos on your Bench while you attack with Lycanroc.

Togekiss and Tapu Lele

Another great surprise in this meta was how the Togekiss archetype changed. In the past, this list was very weak - it only showed up in a few tournaments, and rarely performed well.

Now that we have Rare Candy and Tapu Lele, this deck is a lot more consistent, and it is, currently, the list that deals most damage for less energies.

If you attack twice with Togekiss through Cynthia, your Pokémon will deal 170 damage, which is enough to Knock Out most Pokémon in the format.

Tapu Lele is one of the best aggressive, frontline Psychic Pokémon, and fits this list like a glove. Before, our best option was Mew ex, which is decent enough, but not a real threat to any opponent. On the other side, Tapu Lele can deal damage to any enemy Pokémon, Benched or not, and deals more damage for each energy attached to the Pokémon you attack. This is extremely strong, as it prevents your opponent from setting up a strong Pokémon on their Bench, and forces them to spend resources to heal their own Pokémon. No one is safe from Tapu Lele.

Furthermore, this list also plays Farfetch'd, which is considered one of the best aggressive, frontline Pokémon in the entire game.

All of this makes up an extremely strong, consistent list that deals a lot of damage, but is still efficient against Fighting decks.

If you read this far, thank you! I hope you had fun, and enjoyed reading this article.

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See you next time!