Pokemon TCG: Best Decks Tier List for 2023

By / Pokemon TCG, Pokemon TCG Guides / November 16, 2023

In this tier list guide for Pokemon TCG in 2023, we share the best meta decks for the ranked based on power, ease, versatility, and more.

Best Decks Tier List for 2023 - Pokemon TCG

The Pokemon TCG meta is constantly changing, as new cards are released and old strategies are refined. To help players keep up with the latest trends, we have created a tier list of the best decks in the Pokemon TCG for 2023. We will base this rating on win rate, ease of play, matchup potential, and card rarity. This guide for 2023 will be for the standard edition rule set.

This tier list guide has been updated with the latest Expansion Paradox Rift.

Pokemon TCG Deck Tier List 2023

The best Pokemon TCG decks are:

What is the Best Deck in Pokemon TCG

The best deck-rated S tier for 2023 is Roaring Moon ex due to its ease of play, automatic Knockout, and matchup potential. With Roaring Moon ex, you won’t be required to evolve your Pokemon to Stage 2 like others in this tier list. That makes the deck more consistent, and less reliant on Rare Candy and other cards to find, locate, and evolve your Pokemon. Moreover, Roaring Moon ex can knock out any Pokemon with its Frenzied Gouging attack. Since this deck entered the meta, it has been dominating tournaments and making it the meta-changing S Tier deck for 2023.

Gardevoir ex (Tier B-)

Gardevoir ex Deck List - Pokemon TCG

The Gardevoir ex:

While very powerful, we rate the Gardevoir ex as B- tier. This deck in Pokemon TCG prioritizes using Pokemon and various evolution cards to power your deck.  Your goal is to quickly fill up your bench with Ralts, and evolve Gardevoir ex, and Kirlia.  Once you power these two up, the two Pokemon work in tandem to keep your hand full and attach energy from your discard pile.  While this might be a complex deck, it does offer multiple paths to victory.

The weakness of this deck is its reliance on evolution cards and getting a perfect start.  Moreover, Gardevoir’s ex doesn’t match up well against Darkness Pokemon due to weakness.  You will consistently counter Charizard ex and Roaring Moon ex, both with darkness damage.  This will double the damage taken on your primary card making it a hard matchup.  However, this deck is known to dominate the meta in the right hands, though it can be more difficult than others.

Miraidon ex (B+ Tier)

Pokemon TCG - Miraidon ex Deck List

The Miraidon ex deck:

Coming in at B+ tier is the Miraidon ex deck. With Miraidon ex, your deck strategy is to swarm the battlefield with powerful Pokemon that possess unique abilities. By keeping your bench full, you can amplify the damage inflicted by Raikou V. Additionally, this deck leverages your discard pile and Trainer cards to expedite energy attachment, enabling you to overwhelm your opponent with a barrage of fully powered-up Pokemon.

The weakness of this deck is reliance on having a max bench. Cards like Avery can reduce this to 3, hurting your overall deck strategy. Moreover, you need Flaaffy to retrieve discarded energy and keep other Pokemon topped off. However, Miraidon remains a simple, fun, and powerful deck. It’s notorious for getting out to a good start, and early knockouts.

Mew VMAX (A- Tier)

Mew VMAX Deck List - Pokemon TCG

Mew VMAX deck:

Coming in A- Tier is the Mew VMAX deck. Mew VMAX has the unique ability to replicate attacks from other Pokemon. The main goal of this deck is to load up your bench with Mew V and Genesect V and evolve Mew VMAX on turn two. By utilizing a Fusion Strike Deck and Double Turbo Energy, you can quickly mimic the attack of Genesect V, dealing a staggering 210 damage as early as turn two. This deck thrives on gaining an early lead and maintaining it through continuous knockouts.

Similar to Gardenvoir ex, Mew VMAX is weak to Darkness Pokemon. You often run into the same decks of Charizard ex and Roaring Moon ex. Both of these can knock out Mew VMAX quickly taking 3 prize cards. That is the weakness, the VMAX have high power but if knocked out, award a hefty 3 prize cards to the opponent. However, this deck archetype won a world championship recently and remains one of the tops in the meta.

Chien-Pao ex (A Tier)

Chien-Pao ex Deck List - Pokemon TCG

Chien-Pao ex deck:

Ranking as A Tier we have the Chien-Pao ex deck. This deck’s strategy revolves around efficiently retrieving energy, accelerating energy attachment, and unleashing massive damage. You’ll strategically discard energy with Chien-Pao ex’s attack and then retrieve it with Superior Energy Retrieval to maintain a consistently high damage output. If you’re a fan of fast-paced action and enjoy utilizing Pokemon abilities, the Chien-Pao ex Deck is an excellent choice for you.

The downside of this deck is, you struggle to do bigger knockouts. Against Stage 2 Pokemon with +300 HP, you will need to discard 5 energy or more. Moreover, the combo of accelerating energy doesn’t start until you get Baxcalibur on your bench. However, this deck is very cheap to assemble in real life and incredibly strong in 2023.

Lost Zone (A+ Tier)

Pokemon TCG - Lost Zone Deck List

Lost Zone (Giratina VSTAR) deck:

Reaching A+ Tier is the Girantina VSTAR Lost Zone deck. The overall premise behind the Lost Zone Girantina VSTAR deck is to quickly race to 10 Lost Zone cards.  Once you’ve reached 10 Lost Zone cards, Giratina VSTAR attack is capable of instantly knocking out an opponent’s Pokémon, regardless of their remaining HP. However, you will need to understand and constantly throw cards in the Lost Zone to unlock Girantina’s full potential.

The downside of this playstyle is the mechanic-heavy understanding of the Lost Zone. Moreover, your initial turns seem lackluster and uneventful. However, once you obtain Girantain, evolve to VSTAR, and flood your Lost Zone, the damage is incredible. This deck and playstyle can be difficult to understand and master, but one of the strongest decks in Pokemon TCG for 2023.

Charizard ex (S- Tier)

Pokemon TCG - Charizard ex Deck List

Charizard ex deck:

The second-best deck in Pokemon TCG for 2023 is Charizard Ex coming in at S- Tier. This deck strategy centers around discovering, evolving, and then unleashing the powerful attacks of Charizard ex. This Pokémon possesses a unique ability that enables it to locate and attach 3 basic Fire Energy cards from your deck upon evolution. This remarkable ability allows you to operate with a smaller number of Energy cards in your deck while still maintaining a reliable method of powering up your top damage dealer.

The downside of this deck is the attacks fade in power as the match progresses. With 180 damage, this is extremely strong early on. However, you will need Choice Belt or other strategies to take out higher health Pokemon later in the game. Moreover, a stadium card like Path to the Peak can shut down your energy retrieval combo or Pidgeot ex. However, Charizard ex remains extremely simple and powerful giving you early damage with a massive HP Pokemon.

Roaring Moon ex (S Tier)

Roaring Moon ex Deck List - Pokemon TCG

Roaring Moon ex deck:

The best deck of 2023 in Pokemon TCG is Roaring Moon ex, ranking S Tier. The main deck strategy with this deck is to bench Roaring Moon Ex and accelerate energy to it with items and supporters. Ideally, you should have three Darkness energy attached to it in the active spot by turn two. From there, you can either discard a Stadium to amplify damage or simply hit for 100 damage repeatedly. If you face a powerful opponent Pokémon, you can risk taking 200 self-inflicted damage to generate an immediate knockout.

The overall ease of play, damage, and lack of weaknesses makes the Roaring Moon ex deck so strong. Being a Darkness Pokemon, you rarely face off against a Grass type which is your weakness. You have plenty of opportunities to draw cards, discard them, and feed your bench Pokemon with power. Manaphy acts as a counter to bench-damage Pokemon, and Morpeko defeats Mimikyu the two bad matchups. We don’t know what 2024 will bring, but if you’re looking for the best Pokemon TCG deck of 2023, it’s Roaring Moon ex.

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