Pokemon TCG Pocket: Aerodactyl Ex And Marshadow Deck Guide

Pokemon TCG Pocket may not have seen as many days as the other popular card games in the TCG genre, but its combination of adorable Pokemon and well-thought-out yet simple-to-grasp cards makes it the perfect game for both newcomers and TCG enthusiasts alike.

In the current meta, the way to compete turns out to be a hyper-aggressive deck that focuses on bursting down your opponent's cards before they can ever ignite their engine. One card that lets you do this is Aerodactyl ex with its Primeval Law ability, making the Aerodactyl ex and Marshadow combo the best Aerodactyl ex deck in Pokemon Pocket.

Aerodactyl Ex And Marshadow Sample Decklist

Aerodactyl ex And Marshadow Deck
Aerodactyl ex x2	Old Amber x2	Kangaskhan x2	Marshadow x2
Red Card x2	Sabrina x2	Poke Ball x2	Professor's Research x2
			Giovanni x2	X Speed x2

Important Cards

Aerodactyl Ex

Aerodactyl ex is the theme card of this deck, being the core of the entire game plan you'll be implementing with an Aerodactyl ex and Marshadow deck. It's a stage one Pokemon that doesn't evolve from a basic Pokemon, but rather the item card, Old Amber.

Depending on your luck, this distinction results in a few intricacies that can either benefit or harm you. First, since Old Amber isn't a Pokemon, your opponent can't force you to switch to it with Sabrina to kill it before it can evolve.

Second, this lets you get more of your necessary pieces on board earlier, since you are guaranteed to draw one basic Pokemon at the start of the game. Old Amber doesn't qualify as a basic Pokemon, so you'll always draw your Kangaskhan or Marshadow early on.

Perhaps the most important part, though, is Aerodactyl ex's Primeval Law ability, which stops your opponent's active Pokemon from evolving. Since the deck idea is based on bursting your opponent down early on, the low base HP of basic Pokemon lets you deal enough damage to one-shot them, and not letting them evolve means they can't just mindlessly tank your hits.

Mashadow

Marshadow is the deuteragonist of this deck, being just as important as Aerodactyl ex but in an entirely different way. In this deck, both copies of your Marshadows will serve as conditional kamikaze bombs that take enemy Pokemon with them.

This is due to Marshadow's Revenge ability that can deal upwards of 100 damage if an allied Pokemon died to an attack the previous turn. Since you'll be using basic Pokemon with aggressive attacks in your active spot, your opponent won't have a Hard Time defeating them, activating your Marshadow.

Revenge's 100 damage is enough to one-shot almost every basic Pokemon in the game since they usually range from 50-100 HP.

However, they can't just ignore your Kangaskhan either, since it deals enough damage to end games by itself. This creates a situation where, unless they have a Sabrina, they don't exactly have a good option.

Kangaskhan

Kangaskhan is your ideal opener, having a decent HP stat and arguably the strongest turn-one attack. With a single Colorless Energy, Kangaskhan can use the Dizzy Punch attack. This lets you flip two coins and deal 30 damage for each heads.

The randomization can mess up your plan at times, but the potential 60 damage is enough to one-shot most basic Pokemon. Paired with Aerodactyl ex's Primeval Law, this is enough to get three points before your opponent ever gets a chance to build up their bench.

Giovanni

The Aerodactyl ex and Marshadow deck is extremely reliant on bursting your opponent down early, since it cannot compete with combo-heavy decks like a Celebi ex or Mewtwo ex deck once they have all their pieces. However, not every Pokemon is within one-shot range of Kangaskhan, even if you roll two heads.

For this reason, a Giovanni can help you dish out 70 damage for those pesky, tanky starter Pokemon. However, even if you don't find a use for the card early, it can be the one card that wins you games when you're only ten damage away from lethal.

Red Card

Aerodactyl ex's Primeval Law stops the opponent's active Pokemon from evolving, which means that they can't simply use any card they have in hand immediately. This can cause their hand size to clog up as they get ready for a single turn where they Retreat to evolve their active Pokemon.

In such cases, the Red Card becomes an even more dangerous tech card than it normally is, further stopping your opponent from even playing the game.

If the Red Card hits a card that they need to evolve into, the chances of them drawing it again while also having the Energy (or other resources) to switch out your active Pokemon to the backline become minuscule. This will let you defeat all their basic Pokemon before they can fight back.

Alternative Card Options

Farfetch'd

Farfetch'd is a splendid alternative to Kangaskhan if you don't have the card, or if you don't trust in your luck at coin flips. It has a lower HP, but the more consistent 40 damage can still pressure your opponent to act, or risk losing that first point before they can ever make a decision.

Aerodactyl Ex And Marshadow Deck Strategy

Most Pokemon TCG Pocket decks work by slowly getting your pieces together, creating a system of sorts that, when completed, can make you win games. The Aerodactyl ex and Marshadow deck not only betrays this trend but goes completely against it.

The deck functions around a high-risk, high-reward sort of game plan by using basic Pokemon that have low HP to start the game with. In return for this low HP and the inability to evolve, Kangaskhan and Farfetch'd both have ways of dealing the highest early-game damage in Pokemon Pocket.

These, paired with Marshadow making the most of your basic Pokemon dying, as well as your Aerodactyl ex stopping the opponent from evolving their pieces, lets you win games before the opposing player has a chance at establishing their board.

Opening

Your ideal opening would be to get your Kangaskhan on the active spot, and then two Marshadows on your bench. Getting an Old Amber on your bench and an Aerodactyl ex to evolve it into also helps.

Once you've got your pieces, the plan is relatively simple. Invest one Energy into your Kangaskhan or Farfetch'd and then continue attacking each turn, using Sabrina if necessary to confirm a kill.

If your opponent realizes how dangerous Marshadow can be and is refusing to deal damage to your Pokemon to defeat them, you can swap out to Aerodactyl ex and deal 80 damage with two Energy.

All that remains is activating your Aerodactyl ex to ensure no enemy Pokemon can evolve while on the active spot, letting you Burst them down with your Marshadow pair and Kangaskhan.

Your turns after your Kangaskhan dies are even easier. Keep one Energy each on your Marshadows so you can switch to either after your opening Kangaskhan or Farfetch'd dies. Once it does, switch to a Marshadow and burst the opponent's active Pokemon with 100 damage. Then, since the Pokemon would likely be able to kill your Marshadow, chain into your other Marshadow to deal another 100 damage.

Alternative Opening

If you don't get your active piece in your opening draw, making Marshadow temporarily the active Pokemon can be fine as well. It has 80 HP, which is on the higher end of basic Pokemon. This saves it from being one-shot, letting you tank a few turns until you draw your more aggressive pieces.

Since Marshadow only has one Retreat cost, you can use an X Speed to retreat for free in order to give your Kangaskhan the Energy it needs to function.

Late Game

The Aerodactyl ex and Marshadow deck isn't made for the late game since other decks simply scale better. If it's reached the later stages, chances are your opponent has already evolved their pieces, making Aerodactyl ex's Primeval Law useless.

However, so long as you've got two points (or two Marshadows at one point) you can still win, barely. Use your Marshadow to get a kill whenever an allied Pokemon dies, and then use your low Retreat costs to your advantage to tank hits.

In such a case, Aerodactyl ex's Land Crush attack becomes your best friend, letting you deal 80 damage each turn. This should hopefully be enough to end games, even if you haven't had the best start.

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