Best Pikachu ex Tera Pokémon Trading Card Game deck builds

Out of all the Electric-types in existence, it’s hard to deny that Pikachu is one of the most iconic Pokémon—and thanks to Surging Sparks, it’s about to see a spike in popularity. Stellar Tera-type Pikachu ex is an impressive card and worth playing if you’re a fan of creative Pokémon TCG decks.

Here, we’ve listed the best Surging Sparks Pikachu ex Pokémon TCG deck builds, including both the standard list that you’ll find in Pokemon TCG Live and our spin on the deck. This deck does take some practice, but once you’ve got the core mechanics down, it’s incredibly fun.

Standard Pikachu ex Pokémon TCG deck

There’s a premade Pikachu ex Pokémon TCG deck available in Pokémon TCG Live for players to check out in their library. It’s a classic Live deck with staples like Mew ex and Lumineon V, and it’s fun to take into online matches.

Pokémon

This deck revolves around Pikachu ex, utilizing its Resolute Heart ability to tank heavy-hitting attacks and Topaz Bolt to Knock Out most opponents. With 200 HP and the usual Stellar Tera-type Bench immunity, Pikachu ex can be tricky to take out.

The Quaquaval line is in place to make use of two different abilities. The Surging Sparks Quaquaval can draw five cards, while the Scarlet & Violet Quaquaval can move Energy around easily. They both have access to relatively cheap attacks that hit hard, too.

Galvantula is an interesting ‘mon, offering the Shocking Web attack, which hops up from 50 damage to 130 damage if the Pokémon has Lightning Energy attached, and the Compound Eyes ability, which whacks an extra 50 damage on top of this if the opponent’s Active has an ability.

Trainers

This is a Trainer-heavy deck with plenty of tools to get Pikachu ex onto the battlefield. Without the right support, Pikachu ex can be swapped out and sniped by several popular decks, so it’s important to keep most of these Trainers in place if you’re making any list changes.

Ultra Ball and Nest Ball allow you to pick up desired Pokémon quickly, while Earthen Vessel and Crispin help with Energizing key players. Powerglass is another Energy-centric pick here, bringing Energy out of the Discard Pile consistently to make up for Pikachu ex having a steep Energy tax.

Professor’s Research, Carmine, and Iono allow you to reset if you end up with an unlucky hand, and Boss’s Orders helps offer some control over the opponent.

Energy

As there are several kinds of Pokémon in this deck, the required number of Energy is fairly high. Compared to other decks like Gardevoir ex, it might seem a little over the top, but having all four types of Energy is essential to make Pikachu ex shine.

Of course, you can alter the quantities of each Energy type somewhat if you find yourself running into the same types over and over. Experimentation is key in finding a Pokémon TCG deck that works for you.

How it works

The star of this deck is Pikachu ex. The Resolute Heart ability acts as a cheat-death mechanic, allowing the zappy mouse to tank a One Hit Knock Out and set up for Topaz Bolt, its star move.

The difficulty here is getting enough Energy to set up for Topaz Bolt and then getting said Energy back out of the Discard Pile, as the attack requires a triple Energy discard. There are plenty of Trainer cards like Earthen Vessel and Powerglass in this list to help with Energizing Pikachu ex.

Joltik is an unassuming hero, with Jolting Charge standing out as one of the most impressive Basic ‘mon tools in the Stellar Crown card list. Jolting Charge allows you to search for up to two Grass and two Lightning Energy cards, attach them however you like, and then shuffle your deck.

Additionally, the Quaquaval line helps with draw power and Energy, as the Surging Sparks iteration of Quaquaval offers a quintuple draw, and the Scarlet & Violet iteration allows for Energy movement during your turn. Both also act as secondary attackers, able to deal 120 and 140 damage, respectively.

Unlike most of the premade decks in Pokémon TCG Live, this is a fairly Energy-centric list, with four different types of Energy on offer. Lighting, Grass, and Steel are for Pikachu ex and supporting acts like Joltik, while the Water Energy is to help Quaquaval deliver an attack if needed.

Best Pikachu ex Pokémon TCG deck

The Pokémon TCG Live Pikachu ex list is fun to play, but we’ve put together a list that sets up quicker and has a more consistent damage output.

It still features useful critters like Joltik and plenty of Trainer cards, but other win conditions are available via a certain speedy bird and a change in draw mechanics.

Pokémon

Pokémon TCG Live‘s best Pikachu ex deck list heavily features ducks, but we decided to run with pigeons for our list instead. Pidgeot ex is arguably one of the most invaluable Pokémon in the game right now, with unparalleled utility and a relatively cheap attack that squishes Stadiums, too.

Manaphy and Jirachi are essential picks for the current meta to keep your Bench protected. As Pikachu ex doesn’t have extremely high HP when compared to other Stellar Tera-type critters in the game, this is a must-have based on our testing.

If you want to free up some space for other cards, there’s room to play with card quantities here, so do make sure to experiment and try out a few different iterations of the list to find one that suits your personal playstyle needs.

You could even drop Pidgeotto entirely and rely on Rare Candies to get Pidgeot ex in play if you prefer, freeing up three extra slots for more Joltiks or Trainers. It’s a little riskier, but if you bumped up the quantity of Arvens in the list, it would ensure easy access to the Rare Candies.

Trainers

The most important addition we’ve made in terms of Trainers is the Sparkling Crystal ACE SPEC card. This card lowers the cost of a Pokémon’s move Energy costs by one, and importantly, it can be any Energy type.

One tricky element you need to consider when playing Pikachu ex is the variety of Energies that it needs to use Topaz Bolt. Having to find enough Lightning, Grass, and Metal Energies can be hard, and keeping them out of the Discard Pile can be even harder.

Joltik helps with Lightning and Grass draw, and Crispin can set up two Energies at a time, but getting three in one go—which is sometimes necessary, depending on if you’re playing an opponent who can set up in a single turn—can be hard. Sparkling Crystal fills in the gaps.

We’ve also focused on Crispin over Earthen Vessel to avoid having to drop unnecessary cards and to help set up quicker, too. Pikachu ex can play incredibly quickly in theory, and the Crispin Supporter card lends itself naturally to a fast playstyle.

Energy

There are fewer Energies to pick up with our Pikachu ex Pokémon TCG deck list, thanks to the differences in Pokémon and featured Trainers. If you prefer having over 10 Energies to play with, you could lose a Rescue Board, Pidgeotto, or Rare Candy to make room.

How it works

Instead of relying on the Quaquaval line like the Pokémon TCG Live deck, our version of the best Pikachu ex deck list focuses on the Pidgeot ex line for extra draw power, Stadium control, and secondary damage. It’s more reliable, and Pidgeot ex has no Retreat Cost, which is an added bonus.

Alongside the addition of the angry pigeons, we included a copy of Manaphy and Jirachi for Bench protection. There are plenty of Bench sniping ‘mons in the current Pokémon TCG meta and these two critters add extra protection for your Joltiks, Pidgeys, and Pikachu ex cards when setting up.

We took out Mew ex and Lumineon V, as these cards felt too niche to be effective in the list. Mew ex does offer some value with its Restart ability, but the draw power can be covered with other options like Nemona or Pidgeot ex’s Quick Search ability instead.

In terms of Energy draw and Supporters, we opted to include the maximum number of Crispins, plenty of Ultra Balls and Nest Balls, and Rare Candies to quickly get Pidgeot ex on the field for the Quick Search ability.

With the removal of the Quaquaval line, the Water Energy felt redundant, so we cut those. Manaphy could benefit from them, but its main function in this list is to protect the Bench and the Rain Splash attack, which deals 20 damage, isn’t worth the space in the deck.

The main aim here is to still get Pikachu ex into position as quickly as possible, with at least two Pidgeot ex sat on the Bench for easy search, draw, and secondary damage. Jirachi and Manaphy protect the Bench, while Joltik helps to Energize Pikachu and act as a sacrifice if needed.

In terms of matchups, this deck performs well against current favorites like Greninja ex, Chien Pao ex, and Mewtwo ex. It can stand up to decks like Lost Zone Box if you draw well but struggles into matchups like Charizard-Pidgeot or Gholdengo ex, depending on how your opponent draws.

Pidgeot ex can take out Stadiums, making this deck a decent matchup for the popular Terapagos ex deck that’s been doing the rounds since Stellar Crown‘s release. Pikachu ex isn’t the tankiest Stellar Tera-type by any means, but it’s incredibly useful if you pair it with the right support.

Pikachu ex is a fun deck with a cheat-death mechanic that’s worth trying today. If you want to take our deck list for a spin, you can copy and paste our list directly into Pokémon TCG Live‘s deck creator to build it in your own library.