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A day or two afterPokemon TCG Pocketlaunched the Shining Revelry set, Giratina ex’s new deck with Darkrai ex appeared in PvP. The duo quickly took over the metagame, though they were initially countered by the Arceus ex & Dialga ex meta. Despite this, Giratina ex is currently considered the most prominent card in the Shining Revelry era, holding the highest win rate (around 55%) among top-tier decks.
This guide provides an overview of Giratina ex, analyzes its performance inTCG Pocket’s PvP, and explains how to build a solid deck around its synergies. Whether you’re looking to become a Giratina ex player or simply want to give it a try, you’ll find everything you need to know about this incredible Pokemon here.
The Best Deck for Giratina ex
The best deck for Giratina ex is a stall-and-snipe type of setup with Darkrai ex. The idea is to build up both Girtatina ex behind a staller card—usually Druddigun—while draining the enemy’s HP with Darkrai ex’s chip damage.
Giratina ex 18-Trainer Alternative Deck
Since Giratina ex is a Basic Pokemon and can generate its own Energy, it fits well in a self-sufficient 18-Trainer deck. The strategy is to leverage both the zone and Giratina ex’s Energy to ramp it up by turn three or four. The rest of the deck consists ofpractical Trainer Cardsthat support this approach, either by maximizing damage or stalling and disrupting the opponent.
Giratina ex’s 18-Trainer deck is particularly vulnerable tothe previous expansion’s Rampardos & Lucario with Sudowoodo. This counter setup has managed to win around 85% of matches against solo Giratina ex decks, which is an unexpectedly high win rate.
Here’s the ideal strategy:
How to Counter Giratina ex
Giratina ex faces two potent counters: Gyarados ex & Manaphy and Dialga ex & Gholdengo. Both setups have a win rate of around 65% against Giratina ex and Darkrai ex decks, highlighting their dominance. Additionally, theArceus ex & Dialga ex deck from the previous expansioncan also be considered a strong counter, with a win rate of about 50% against Giratina ex setups.
Giratina ex’s Performance Report
Currently, Giratina ex’s alliance with Darkrai ex has one of the highest win rates inTCG Pocket’s meta. The only other deck as popular as this duo is the Arceus ex & Dialga ex setup from the Triumphant Light era. However, this is expected to change in the coming days, as Giratina ex’s meta share is rapidly increasing.
It could be argued that Giratina ex has revived the dreaded Bench-damage meta, first popularized byDarkrai ex & Magnezone lineups. While Darkrai ex deals long-range damage, the player can build up Giratina ex on the Bench without worrying about Energy distribution. This is similar to the role Magnezone once played, but because Giratina ex is a Basic Pokemon—nota Stage Two like Magnezone—it makes for a superior choice.
