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There have been enough Eevee variants inPokemon TCG Pocketto account for at least one per prospective evolution, but it’s taken until the release of Triumphant Light for us to get our first glimpse of Leafeon ex. “Eeveelution” cards can vary dramatically in competitive value - and Leafeon ex stands right up there with Mythical Island’s Vaporeon for the best of the bunch thus far.
Leafeon ex’s natural bulk, as well as its stellar Ability, give it enough of an edge to easily slot into the upper echelons all on their own. But the card’s delightful versatility has positioned it ever higher. Our version of Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Leafeon ex deck is just one among several, though it’s certainly our favourite, and we’ll discuss alternatives, too.
Leafeon ex and Yanmega ex Deck
(MI) Eevee x2
Leafeon ex x2
Yanma x2
Yanmega ex x2
Erika x2
Irida x2
Cyrus x1
Sabrina x1
Professor’s Research x2
Poke Ball x2
While any Eevee can be used here,you’ll find that the overwhelming majority of players use Mythical Island’s Eevee. And for good reason, as itsContinuous Stepsattack, which, while luck-based, cantheoreticallydeal loads of damage with one Energy, puts it above every other kind.
Our preferred approach to theLeafeon exdeck is to pair it with another ex -Yanmega ex. This meansa pair of single-evolution Basic Pokemoncomprise the entirety of your creature stockpile, leaving12 Trainer cardsat your disposal.
That’s a lot to work with, of course, and this decklist makes the most of it. The lovely thing about the deck is that, despite all appearances to the contrary,we’re running Water Energy on it rather than Grass Energy.
This gives us a singularly outstanding chance to use a whoppingfour healing-based Supporter Cards,asthe only specifically-Grass Energy that you’ll need can come from Leafeon ex itself. Everything else runs on Colourless, so Water slots in just fine.
Put plainly, then, this is unparalleled bulk. You’re not mixingErikawith a pair of Potions. You’re mixing her withIrida, who willheal all your Pokemon with Water Energy attached to them for 40 HP. \Toss in thoseGiant Capesto shore up Eevee’s and Yanma’s low health, and tomake Leafeon ex and Yanmega ex even bulkier, and it’s a lot to handle if you’re in the line of fire here.
Alternative Cards
There are plenty of other viable builds for Leafeon ex. The most popular among them pairs Leafeon ex withCelebi ex. Some suggest just one Celebi ex, while others roll with two. Either way,you’ll have even more Trainer Card slots available than our favourite version does.
If you don’t mind the need to rely on chance, there’s no two ways about it:Leafeon ex will be able to use its Ability(which we’ll get into shortly)to fuel Celebi ex with heaps of Grass Energy, at which point there is a distinct statistical likelihood that Celebi will dish serious damage.
Personally, we tend to avoid chance-based attacks. (Yes, this makes our choice of Mythical Island Eevee curious, but that version still trumps its peers.) It’s just that Celebi ex’s relentless coin-flipping could just as easily end up with a string of eight tails as eight heads. That’s just us, though.There’s no denying that Celebi extypicallyperforms quite strongly with Leafeon ex.
Some players also useShaymin. Not just one kind, either.Mythical IslandShaymin grants youeven more healingwith its Ability, which canheal all of your Pokemon for 10 HP per turn. The newer Shaymin, fromTriumphant Light, instead reduces yourActive Pokemon’s retreat cost by oneso long as it’s on the board.
And here’s the thing:Eevee, Yanma, Leafeon ex, Yanmega ex, and Celebi all have a single retreat cost, making Triumphant Light Shaymin essentially a permanently-online Leaf. Well, you know. Unless it’s knocked out. Therein lies the rub, really.
You could add Potions to press your healing capabilities even further, but at a certain point, we feel like it’s overkill relative to what you’ll lose out on by eating up those card slots.
Deck Strategy
The Setup
If you follow our decklist, you’re either going to end up placing anEeveeor a Yanmain the Active Spot when the match begins.
The former’sContinuous Stepscosts one Colourless Energy and will task you with flipping a coin until you get tails, dealing 20 damage for each heads. In other words, you’re 50/50 on even landing a single blow, but you could end up doing far more. Yanma’sFlapinstead hits fora guaranteed 20 damage.
Should you wind up with the chance to choose between the two,checkyour opponent’s Energy typebefore making your decision.Eevee is weak to Fighting, andYanma is weak to Lightning.Our best advice if the opponent’s Energy type isn’t helpful is togo with Eevee.You’ll need Leafeon ex in the Active Spotin order to use its Ability, so it’s better to get Eevee out there from the get-go.
Hook aGiant Capeto your opener. You’ve got two of them, after all, and only four “sets” of Pokemon the entire match. If you have Eevee, and you go first, you’ll probably want tosacrifice the chance to attack on turn three (your second turn) in favour of evolving Eevee if possible.
This is becauseLeafeon ex’s all-important Ability, Forest Breath, allows you to hook one Grass Energy to one of your Pokemon per turn, so long as it’s in the Active Spot. On turn three, you will able to attach Energy for the first time.
Have Leafeon use Forest Breath on itselfin conjunction with the Energy attachment. This will put it two-thirds of the way to using its 70-damage attack,Solar Beam.From turn five onward, you can attach one more Energy to Leafeon ex while using Forest Breath on your Benched Pokemon from hereon out.
Suffice it to say, you may go second. Or you may have Yanma to start out with. Or both. Whatever the case may be,work on getting Leafeon ex out there ASAP. The deck truly comes online once Leafeon is out there; that’s the crux here.
The Goal
Once Leafeon ex is in prime position, the magic happens. It’s undeniable thatSolar Beam’s 70 damage isn’t impressivein its own right. But think of it this way. That’s70 guaranteed damage every round while you’re setting up your Yanmega(s) and even your other Leafeon ex.
Yanmega ex is your heavy hitter. Forthree Colourless Energy, its attack,Air Slash, deals an eye-opening120 damage. Youdoneed to discard an Energy after each usage, but that’s hardly going to be a problem, because you’re able to justattach another to it whenever necessaryon subsequent turns.
Along the way to hopeful victory, you’re going to be “watering your plants” as required.Erika heals any Grass Pokemon for 50 HP, making her a mainstay in Grass-type decks ever since Pokemon TCG Pocket’s grand debut.Irida, introduced in Triumphant Light,heals all Pokemon with Water Energy attached for 40 HP.
And that’s the beauty of it, as we’ve previously mentioned -your Leafeon ex and Yanmega ex will qualify for both. Armed with Giant Capes, they’re going to make for able tanks against all but their worst match-ups, and you’re going to overwhelm your opponents in due course unless things go terribly sideways. Which can always happen, but you’ll be prepared for plenty of problems.
For every solid deck, there are dreams and disasters.
Best Matches
If you’re lucky,you’ll be up against a Darkrai ex deck. Darkrai ex dominated the scene during the heyday ofSpace-Time Smackdown, with several mighty variants, ultimately culminating with the spectacularDarkrai ex and Magnezone deck.
The thing is, Darkrai ex, like severalDarkness-type Pokemonintroduced in Space-Time Smackdown, isnot weak to Fighting. It is, in fact,weak to Grass. That gave Grass-types a handsome comeback, but there wasn’t a fresh frontrunnerto pit against the Pitch-Black Pokemon.
Indeed, Leafeon ex has fulfilled that role.Solar Beam hits for 90against Darkrai ex, which willtwo-shot Darkrai ex even if it’s got a Giant Cape equipped. It’ll do the same toWeavile ex, one of Darkrai ex’s boon companions.
And that’s not even getting into Yanmega ex, of course.Air Slash will dish 140 damage to them, whichknocks them out in a single-shot. Even if they have Giant Capes, they’re perilously close to incapacitation afterward.
There are other great match-ups to consider. Two of the current heavyweights include:
Worst Matches
On the flip side, you’re going to have a tough time againstFire-type decksandLightning-type decks. The former becauseLeafeon ex is weak to Fire; the latter becauseYanmega ex is weak to Lightning. It’s nice that they don’t share a weakness -Celebi ex, for the record,doesshare Leafeon ex’s weakness- but it’s still an issue.
Of the two potential troubles,it’s arguably better to be up against a Lightning deck than a Fire deck. This is becauseLeafeon ex is the one who will need to spend more time in the Active Spot, building up your ambitions through Forest Breath.
While it’s not the strongest deck to ever hit the meta, theInfernape ex deckis possibly Leafeon ex’s greatest nightmare. Though Infernape ex is a Stage 2 Pokemon, both Chimchar and Monferno will be capable of hurting Leafeon ex aplenty, eating up your healing cards.
Infernape ex’s own attack, which costs just two Fire Energy, will flat-out K.O. Leafeon ex even with a Giant Cape attached.
As we often stress, you’re not going to win every single match with any deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket. That’d rather spoil the fun, besides. But Leafeon ex, as of this writing, numbers among the best of the best.
