Fighting-type cards in Pokémon TCG Pocket come in all shapes and sizes, with some offering a slow but heavy-hitting style of play and others prioritizing control. If you’ve got Pack Hourglasses to spare and want to tackle an ongoing event, you need a solid Fighting-type deck.
Below, we’ve listed the best Fighting decks in Pocket, looking at both solo gameplay and competitive PvP gameplay to help you find the best fit for your personal play style.
Best solo Fighting-type deck in Pocket
The best solo Fighting-type deck in Pocket right now is a Golem deck featuring Druddigon, Hitmonlee, and Brock. This deck can take some time to set up and get rolling, but it’s almost unstoppable once it’s in play.
In the example trio above, we’ve used the Golem from the Mythical Island set, which has a 160 HP stat and a damage-mitigating attack: Guard Press. But the Genetic Apex version is also viable. This version has the same HP and deals 150 damage per pop while hitting itself for 50.
Despite hitting for less damage, we found the Mythical Island Golem more reliable during the higher-difficulty solo battles. Getting it set up takes time, but once it’s in play, the combination of its high HP stat and the ability to mitigate 30 damage after using Guard Press makes it hard to get rid of.
An essential pairing for a Golem deck is Druddigon, also from Mythical Island. This Dragon-type critter is the perfect set up support piece thanks to its Rough Skin Ability, dealing 20 damage each time an opponent’s attack hits it.
Hitmonlee and Marshadow are two other must-haves for a strong Golem deck in a solo battle. Hitmonlee helps with early-game sniping with its Stretch Kick attack, dealing 30 damage to one of your opponent’s Benched critters.
Marshadow is more of an equalizer thanks to its Revenge attack. If any of your critters get Knocked Out in the previous round by an opponent’s attack, Revenge hops up from 40 damage to 100 damage. This can help you swing the game back in your favor.
In terms of Supporters, having a couple of copies of Brock is essential to help Energize Golem and get the expensive attacks into play as quickly as possible. Dawn is another viable option for Energy Token management, and Mars can work alongside Marshadow to rebalance a tricky game.
Best Pocket Fighting-type deck for PvP
While Gallade ex might be getting a fair amount of attention thanks to Space-Time Smackdown coming out, the most viable Fighting deck in Pocket right now is Aerodactyl ex.
The star of the show is, of course, Aerodactyl ex. The Fossil Pokémon has the Primeval Law Ability, which prevents the opponent from playing any Pokemon from their hand to evolve their Active. This can be incredibly disruptive against opponents playing decks like Scolipede Weezing.
Alongside this, Aerodactyl ex has the Land Crush attack. It deals 80 damage, which isn’t a late-game Knock Out, but for only two Energy, it’s a supremely useful early to mid-game tool. It can prevent your opponent from ever setting up, working alongside Primeval Law nicely.
Key cards Marshadow and Hitmonlee help with rebalancing difficult games and sniping Basic critters in this deck, just like in the Golem deck above.
The Primeape line is a popular inclusion in an Aerodactyl ex list. Mankey is somewhat unreliable, needing a successful coin flip to connect with an attack, but Primeape can deal 50 damage for just one Energy Token, making it a deadly early-game pick.
Some players may enjoy using a copy or two of Mew ex in an Aerodactyl ex deck list to gain access to a wider variety of moves via the Genome Hacking attack. In theory, Genome Hacking can help to mitigate an unfavorable type match-up by using an opponent’s moves against them.
Supporters for this deck should prioritize disruption and control, so look at cards like Cyrus, Sabrina, and Mars to ensure that you’re putting yourself in the best position possible. Cards like Leaf can help to get your key players out of harm’s way.
Having two copies of Giant Cape is worth considering. Aerodactyl ex doesn’t have much HP compared to other ex cards in the game, and cards like Gyarados ex can take it out in one hit if they can set up in time. 20 extra HP will always come in handy here.
If you’re unsure about sinking the time into building an Aerodactyl ex deck list, there is an Aerodactyl ex Rental Deck in Pocket that could help you get a feel for the cards. It’s not quite the same as the list we’ve outlined above, but it’ll help you see the Fossil Pokémon in action.
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