The world of Pokemon is filled with creatures both big and small, strong and weak. However, at the peak of all that exists stands is the one Pokemon behind creation itself, Arceus. With the God of the Pokemon universe finally making an appearance inPokemon Pocket, many are wondering what the best Arceus ex deck is.

With enough time having gone past and multiple tournaments concluded using Triumphant Light cards, one of Arceus ex’s best decks seems to be the Arceus ex and Dialga ex deck, boasting a winrate so high it might very well be one of the best Pokemon Pocket decks in the game.

The golden immersive Arceus ex card in Pokemon Pocket.

Arceus Ex And Dialga Ex Deck

Arceus ex x2

The Arceus ex card from Pokemon Pocket’s Triumphant Light set.

Dialga ex x2

Mew x1

The Dialga ex card in Pokemon TCG Pocket.

Shaymin x2

Giovanni x1

Mew EX Mythical Island

Sabrina x1

Cyrus x1

The Sky Support Shaymin card from Pokemon Pocket’s Triumphant Light set.

Rocky Helmet x1

What Are The Important Cards?

The Arceus ex and Dialga ex deck has a very straightforward core thatincludes Arceus ex, Dialga ex, and a Shaymin.

Since these areall Basic Pokemon, their evolutionswon’t clog up deck space, allowing you torun a lot of different cards for different deck variations.

PokeBall Item card in Pokemon TCG Pocket.

Arceus Ex

Arceus ex is the card that gives this deck its identity. It’s a Basic Pokemon, whichincreases your chance of drawing it early.If you may’t get it on time, yourPokeballs are almost guaranteedto fetch one.

Since Arceus ex is a Basic Pokemon, this also means youdon’t need a setup that involves multiple turnsto evolve it. Simply playing it from hand gives you ahigh 140 HP Pokemon that can start dealing damage early.

Professor’s Research Supporter card in Pokemon TCG Pocket.

Arceus ex is your main damage dealerin the Arceus ex and Dialga ex deck. On just three Colorless-Type Energy, Arceus ex can useUltimate Force to do 130 damage each turn, so long as you have afull bench.

For added tankiness and consistency, Arceus ex also has theFabled Luster ability.This passivelyprotects Arceus ex from any status effects.This includes Sleep, Poison, Paralysis, Burn, Confusion, etc.

X-Speed Item card in Pokemon TCG Pocket.

Dialga Ex

Dialga ex is just as important as Arceus ex in this deck, having similar roles as it does in a Dialga ex and Yanmega ex deck.

First, Dialga ex functions as anice opening tank with its high 150 HPdespite being a Basic Pokemon. This lets your Dialga extank hits without worrying about dyingto a Farfetch’d or Skarmory too early.

Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket Giovanni two star card.

With Metallic Turbo, you can enable your Arceus ex and Mew ex as soon as turn three since they both need only three Energies to function, two of which can be given with Metallic Turbo.

The main reason for Dialga ex being in this deck is theMetallic Turbo attack that lets you put two Metal-Type Energies to your benched Pokemon.

The Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket Sabrina two diamond card.

If push comes to shove, Dialga ex’sHeavy Impact can also deal 100 damageto either force your opponent to retreat or as a finisher.

This also lets you run Shaymin for its Sky Support ability, since it can make Dialga ex retreat for less.

You’d almostalways want to start the game with a Dialga ex. The card being a Basic Pokemonincreases your chances of doing so.

Sky Support Shaymin

One problem you may face with this deck is itshigh retreat costs. Both Arceus ex and Dialga exretreat for two Energies.This can be a problem thatforces you into unfavorable tradesdue to your inability to retreat.

Using Triumphant Light’s version of Shaymin isone of the best ways to combat this weaknessdue to its Sky Support ability.

Shaymin’sSky Support lets you retreat your Basic Pokemon for one less Energyeach turn. This usually isn’t that strong, sinceBasic Pokemon usually have low HP poolsand aren’t the greatest threats.

However,with Legendary Pokemon like Arceus ex and Dialga ex, it becomes an amazing card that lets you play riskierwithout worrying about not being able to retreat on time.

If you’re playing Dawn in the deck or plan on putting a retreated Pokemon back on the active spot later on, Shaymin also lets you be more efficient in Energy by saving one.

Lastly, sinceArceus ex needs a full bench of Pokemonto deal full damage, Shaymin acts as asplendid bench fillerdue to it being a Basic Pokemon and having apassive ability that works from the bench.

Other Cards

While the Arceus ex and Dialga ex core is extremely strong by itself, you’llneed a proper set of cards to go along with them. Here are some options thatsynergize well with the two Legendary Pokemon.

Mew ex

Arceus ex is a strong attacker by itself, but having abackup for when you don’t draw your Arceus exin time or if itdies to an early Misty Palkia combohelps you win more often.Mew ex is the Pokemon that fits best here.

First, Mew ex is a Basic Pokemon like the other two. This means it can benefit from all thesame advantages as them, including more consistency, lack of setup time, andShaymin’s discounted retreat costs.

This means adding Mew ex to the deck makes your Dialga ex more consistent as well, since no Energy is being wasted.

Mew ex also requiresthree Colorless-Type Energies for its Genome Hacking.This means thatDialga ex’s Metallic Turbo can help ramp up your Mew exalongside your Arceus ex.

Furthermore, Mew ex is a strongcounter against many Meta Pokemon, especially those with strong one-hit KO attacks.

This is because of Genome Hackingletting Mew ex copy their attacksand use them against themselves, oftentimes quicker and at a cheaper cost,such as when facing aCharizard ex.

Mew ex being a Psychic-Type Pokemon gives you another Type advantage to make use of. This lets you hit many Darkness-Type decks, such as Darkrai ex decks, for +20 damage.

X-Speed

X-Speed is one of Pokemon Pocket’sstrongest item cards, letting youretreat for cheaper, oftentimes for no Energyat all.

However, the cardworks best with decks that retreat a lotandhave single-Energy retreat costs, since using both your copies of X-Speed to retreat a Dialga ex is rarely worth it.

Using X-Speed lets you save up Energy and keep your Arceus ex’s Ultimate Force and Dialga ex’s Heavy Impact prepared for a game-ending turn.

The reason we’re using X-Speed in this deck is due toits combo with Shaymin’s Sky Support ability. Since Sky Support already lowers the retreat cost to one,a single X-Speed can let you retreat for free.

Cyrus

Arceus ex hits for quite a bit, butthe 130 damage is not enough to one-shot tankier foes.This allows your opponent toretreat their injured ex Pokemon, stopping you from gaining those sweet double points.

For this reason, adding Cyrus to your deck lets yousnipe away high-priority targets by pulling them backto the active spot.

Alternative Card Options

Arceus ex and Dialga ex make a solid core by themselves. As such, you havea lot of freedom on what cards to put around the two.

Here are some other cards that you’re able to use toreplace the ones in our sample deck.

Shaymin

Whilenot as strong as its Triumphant Light counterpart, the Leaf-Type Shaymin is still a decent option that fillsArceus’s need for a full bench.

Furthermore, while the healing isn’t as great as aVenusaur ex and Butterfree deck, thehigh HP values of Dialga ex and Arceus ex make the 10-20 HP heal each turn a nice bonus.

Leaf

Without Sky Support,you’ll need some other way of retreating your Dialga ex and Arceus exwhen needed. Unfortunately, justtwo copies of X-Speed won’t make much of a difference.

You can take out the X-Speeds altogether andreplace them with two copies of Leaf.This is less-versatile than the Sky Support Shaymin since youcan only use one Trainer card per turn, but it’s still a decent option.

Arceus Ex And Dialga Ex Deck Strategy

If you start with a Dialga ex in hand,put it in the active spot. If you have to use any other Pokemon on the active,try to pull for Dialga ex to swap to it as soon as possible.

Try to draw all your necessary cards whileinvesting Energy into Dialga ex the first two turns. You only need Dialga ex on the active spot and anArceus ex on the bench to get your engine going.

The Arceus ex and Dialga ex deck works best when you have a Dialga ex in your active spot and are going second.

Put a Giant Cape or Rocky Helmet on your Dialga ex anduse Metallic Turbo to ramp either your Arceus ex, Mew ex, or another Dialga ex. By the third turn, you shouldhave an Arceus ex or Mew ex readyto start hitting.

You canspend Dialga ex’s Energies to retreat to Arceus ex,or use Shaymin’s ability or X-Speed to retreat for cheaperif you plan on making Dialga ex the active Pokemon at a later time.

Once your Arceus ex is on the active spot,continue using Ultimate Force each turn to deal 130 damage.This should be enough toend most opposing Pokemon in 1-2 hits.

While you’re doing this,invest the extra Energies into any of your benched Pokemonwith strong attacks. This can be another Arceus ex, a Mew ex, or if you don’t have those, even a Dialga ex.

Since the deck is filled with ex Pokemon, you can add a copy of Mars to your deck. Then, if any of your ex Pokemon dies, you can use Mars to reshuffle the opponent’s entire hand into their deck.

WhenArceus ex is low on healthand can be one-shot,retreat to a benched Dialga ex(or another Pokemon if Dialga ex isn’t available). You can then continue using their attacks orretreat to Arceus ex for a surprise KO.