Summary
- Triumphant Light miniset dominates the meta by enhancing multiple established decks significantly.
- Cards like Crobat and Sudowoodo introduce new synergies and counter strategies, reshaping the meta.
- Impactful new cards like Irida and Arceus ex from Triumphant Light usher in new successful deck archetypes.
Pokemon TCG Pocket' s Triumphant Light could be considered the most impactful miniset since the game's launch. To put that in perspective, the previous miniset, Mythical Island, only managed to improve a couple of already successful decks. And none of those enhanced decklists were significantly promoted or demoted.
Pokemon TCG Pocket Decks Enhanced by Triumphant Light
TCG Pocket’s Triumphant Light has been the most impactful miniset so far, elevating several established decks to a dominant position in the meta.
This isn't the case with the Triumphant Light miniset, as its release has done it all: It has relegated some dominant setups, has pushed a few low-ranking decks to the top, and has opened up new synergies that were not possible before.
TCG Pocket players may wonder which cards from Triumphant Light have had the biggest impact on the metagame. The following list points out some of them and explains why they are the most influential cards in the A2a set.
The List Criteria and Stat Calculations
Any Pokemon, Supporter, Item, or Tool card that has somehow enhanced a deck or introduced strong new synergies has been selected for this list and ranked by its impact on the metagame.
The stats shown under each entry have been extracted from recent TCG Pocket tournaments. These numbers may change and could differ slightly from those on tournament-tracking sites like Limitless TCG.
5 Crobat
A Darkrai ex That Needs No Energy
- Top Deck's Meta Share: ~ 2%
- Top Deck's Win Rate: ~ 48.5%
Darkrai ex in the Space-Time Smackdown expansion introduced long-range damage as a meta strategy. With its unique ability, Darkrai ex dealt 20 damage to the enemy's Active Pokemon whenever a Dark-type Energy was attached to it—an ideal move for inflicting Bench damage. However, Triumphant Light's Crobat proved that there's a better way to do the same.
A2a Crobat comes with a Link Ability that is activated when Arceus or Arceus ex is in play. When activated, Crobat deals 30 chip damage to the enemy's Active Pokemon from either the Bench or Active Spot, without needing extra Energy.
Crobat's alliance with Arceus ex illustrates its significant impact on the metagame, contributing to one of the top-performing decks in the game, with an impressive 48.5% win rate.
4 Sudowoodo
The New Anti-Meta Card
- Top Deck's Meta Share: ~ 9.5%
- Top Deck's Win Rate: ~ 52.5%
Sudowoodo has undoubtedly been one of the most influential cards in the Triumphant Light era. This anti-meta Pokemon has perfect synergy with the previous set's overlooked Fighting-type duo—Rampardos & Lucario—making it the best response to the current top-performing decks, especially Arcues ex lineups.
Pokemon TCG Pocket: Sudowoodo & Rampardos Meta, Explained
Pokemon TCG Pocket has a new anti-meta deck poised to shut down Arceus ex’s dominance in PvP—here’s what you need to know.
What makes Sudowoodo an excellent counter card is its 30-damage advantage against ex cards. Since its base damage is 20, Sudowoodo does 50 damage to ex cards, which goes up to 70 if the defending Pokemon is weak to the Fighting type. But that's not all. As a Fighting Pokemon, Sudowoodo also synergizes with Lucario's buff, increasing its potential damage output to 110 with just one Energy!
Sudowoodo's addition to the game boosted Rampardos & Lucario's setup to the top of the meta, making it the second-best in PvP and tournaments. For context, Sudowoodo increased the duo's meta share by +500%.
During the Space-Time Smackdown era, Rampardos and Lucario accounted for just 1.17% of the metagame, while Sudowoodo helped expand that to 7.47%.
3 Irida
The Best Healer of the Current Meta
- Top Deck's Meta Share: ~ 3.5%
- Top Deck's Win Rate: ~ 47%
Pokemon TCG Pocket' s Supporter cards are known to shake up the meta, As demonstrated by Cyrus in the Space-Time Smackdown set— Which led many to call it overpowered. It's no surprise, then, that one of the most influential cards from Triumphant Light is the new healer support card, Irida.
There are a couple of unique things about Irida that enable her to build creative synergies (e.g., her synergy with Leafeon ex & Celebi ex). For one, Irida heals any Pokemon with at least one Water-type Energy attached, regardless of its type. Secondly, Irida's healing effect is not limited to a single card, unlike most previous healers. Instead, she heals all Pokemon in play that meet her requirements. For example, if the player has four Pokemon with Water-type Energy, Irida will heal 40 damage from each, totaling up to 160 HP.
2 Leafeon ex
A Grass-type with Water-type Synergy
- Top Deck's Meta Share: ~ 3.5%
- Top Deck's Win Rate: ~ 47%
Leafeon ex took the place of Exeggutor ex in Celebi ex setups. But there's more to it: Leafeon ex's Energy-generating ability actually led to the formation of a new Grass-type meta that's surprisingly powered with Water-type Energy.
Currently, players are pairing up Leafeon ex with Celebi ex, but instead of the usual Grass-type Energy, they use Water-type. This is because both Leafeon ex and Celebi ex need only one Grass-type Energy to function, with the rest of their requirements being Colorless. Additionally, Leafeon ex can easily supplement this need by using its ability and freeing up the Energy Zone for another Energy type—in this case, Water.
Pokemon TCG Pocket: The Best Leafeon ex Deck
Leafeon ex is the standout card of Pokemon TCG Pocket's Triumphant Light expansion, and here's its optimal deck based on the latest meta trends.
Ramping Leafeon ex and Celebi ex with Water-type Energy allows the new healer, Irida, to synergize with them. Irida enhances the main Pokemon's longevity, keeping them on the board long enough to outlast opponents.
1 Arceus ex
The Destroyer of Darkrai
- Top Deck's Meta Share: ~ 20%
- Top Deck's Win Rate: ~ 53.5%
Unsurprisingly, the most meta-breaking card from the Triumphant Light has been the miniset's face: Arceus ex. This Pokemon ended Darkrai ex and Magnezon's reign over Pokemon TCG Pocket's meta in a few days, becoming the most popular deck with a 54% win rate.
Arceus ex owes its success to two factors. As a Colorless Pokemon, it has a broad range of synergies, and Dialga ex's Energy-generating ability perfectly complements its ultimate attack. With the ability to discount retreats, Shaymin has also played a critical role in Arceus ex's rise to the top. But the duo of Dialga ex and Arceus ex has proven effective even without this practical Pokemon.
Once the player puts Dialga ex in the Active Spot and places Arceus ex on the Bench, only two Steel-type Energies are needed to start dealing damage and ramping Arceus ex. Dialga ex's ability, Metallic Turbo, allows the player to deal 30 damage and generate two Energies for another Pokemon—which is clearly going to be Arceus ex.
- Released
- October 30, 2024
- Developer(s)
- DeNA, Creatures Inc.
- Publisher(s)
- The Pokemon Company
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- Yes
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Digital Card Game
