The new Mythical Island Themed Booster Set has just launched in Pokemon TCG Pocket, adding over 80 new cards for Trainers to collect and battle with. Some of the most interesting new cards for deck building include five new ex Pokemon, each of which is special in one way or another. Whether it’s Mew ex’s ability to copy the moves of opposing Pokemon, Gyarados ex’s massive health pool and damage output, or Aerodactyl ex’s unique Ability to shut down evolution in the Active, there’s a ton of new options with the introduction of Mythical Island. Perhaps the strongest and most interesting card in the entire set is another ex Pokemon, Celebi ex.
Celebi ex is the core of a new mono-Grass deck which is looking to shake up the meta. While luck and landing coin flips are key cornerstones of this deck, Celebi ex also relies on the strength of several new Pokemon from Mythical Island to create a fast, fierce and efficient deck which can stand toe-to-toe with some of the strongest Pokemon in the format like Mewtwo ex and Pikachu ex. If you’d like to try a new type of Grass deck which isn’t about stalling out your opponent and is instead about dominating them with some of the highest damage in the game, Celebi ex is the deck for you.
Here’s how to make the Celebi ex deck from the new Mythical Island expansion in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
If you’d like some other Pokemon TCG Pocket articles, including deck guides for Pikachu ex and Mewtwo ex, you can find more here on KeenGamer:
- Pokémon TCG Pocket | Pikachu EX Deck Guide
- Pokémon TCG Pocket | Mewtwo EX Deck Guide
- Pokémon TCG Pocket | Articuno EX Deck Guide
- Pokémon TCG Pocket | Best Cards from Each Genetic Apex Pack
- 10 Best and Most Expensive Pokemon Stellar Crown Cards
Pokemon TCG Pocket
Pokemon TCG Pocket Celebi ex Deck List
The Celebi ex deck is a mono-Grass deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket and it plays unlike any other Grass deck we’ve seen before. Instead of a slow stall playstyle built around lots of healing and high HP Pokemon, the Celebi ex deck can hit as hard as Mewtwo ex and just as fast as Pikachu ex. Thanks to Celebi ex’s strong and cheap main attack (which has some of the highest potential damage in the whole game) as well as some incredibly powerful supporter Pokemon, this deck is amazing but it is far more luck-reliant than most of the top-tier decks currently being played. However, thanks to the sheer power of the new Pokemon in this deck, many already fear that Celebi ex will completely take over the meta.
First and foremost, here is the list of essential cards you’ll need to build the Celebi ex deck effectively in Pokemon TCG Pocket. This deck contains a lot of Pokemon from the new Mythical Island set and, while you can substitute some of them for older Genetic Apex cards, the deck won’t work quite the same way so keep that in mind when building.
- Celebi ex x2 (Mythical Island 003)
- Snivy x2 (Mythical Island 004)
- Servine x2 (Mythical Island 005)
- Serperior x2 (Mythical Island 006)
- Poke Ball x2 (Promo-A 005)
- Erika x2 (Genetic Apex 219)
- Professor’s Research x2 (Promo-A 007)
Celebi ex Essential Cards
Now that you have the core essential part of the deck built, you can begin adding the last few non-essential cards. In general, these cards won’t change the way the deck is played but they will augment it by either adding new Pokemon who will synergise well with Celebi ex or by adding specialist Supporters who may help in certain niche scenarios.
- Dhelmise x2 (Mythical Island 009)
- Exeggcute x1 (Mythical Island 001)
- Exeggutor ex x1 (Genetic Apex 023)
- Potion x2 (Promo-A 001)
- Giovanni x2 (Genetic Apex 223)
- Sabrina x2 (Genetic Apex 225)
Celebi ex Non-Essential Cards
Card Breakdown
Celebi ex
The star of this deck, and perhaps of the entire Mythical Island expansion, is Celebi ex. This is the first Johto Pokemon to make it to Pokemon TCG Pocket and, as a Mythical Pokemon, it certainly hasn’t disappointed. Celebi ex has quickly become one of the strongest offensive Pokemon for both Grass type and the game in general thanks to its low level of commitment, excellent synergy with fellow Grass types, and an easy-to-understand effect which relies much more on luck than it does on pure mechanic or technical skill.
Celebi ex is a Basic ex Grass Pokemon with 130 HP, making it one of the weakest ex Pokemon in PTCGP behind Pikachu ex. Its only move is Powerful Blossom, a two Energy cost attack which has you flip a coin for each Energy attached to this Pokemon. For every head you get, Celebi ex does 50 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokemon. So, for example, if Celebi ex had three Energy attached to it, you would flip three coins and deal 50 damage for each head.
While some players may not want to rely so much on luck and coin flips for their big damage, Celebi ex has easily the highest damage potential in the game, especially when you combine it with Serperior, the other standout Grass-type from Mythical Island. When these Pokemon are on the field together, Celebi can suddenly start hitting insane numbers, as each Grass Energy attached to it will count as two Energy thanks to Serperior’s Jungle Totem. This allows it to flip double the coins and potentially get double the damage each turn, making Celebi ex cheaper and faster to build than a powerhouse deck like Mewtwo ex while retaining comparable, or even heightened, levels of power.
The main downside to Celebi ex is just how frail it is. Similar to Pikachu ex, an unlucky match-up against a tanky foe can see Celebi really struggle, especially if the coin flips don’t go your way. There are so many Pokemon which just outright one-shot Celebi ex: Charizard ex, Mewtwo ex, Blastoise ex, Gyarados ex, Pidegot ex when you have a full Bench, Ninetails with a Blaine buff, Mythical Island Rapidash with a Blaine buff, and so many others. This frailty is what will keep Celebi ex in check because, outside of it, it is ridiculously strong. Celebi has extreme potential for success, but just as much potential for failure and you need to keep that in mind when choosing to run this deck.
Celebi ex, Lucky Grass Attacker
Serperior
One of the major reasons why Celebi ex is so good and has so much potential in the current meta is because of another Grass-type Pokemon which arrived in PTCGP with the Mythical Island update. That Pokemon is Serperior, the final evolution of the Generation 5 Grass starter line. Serperior plays a support role for Grass decks in TCG Pocket and it is adept at doing so, opening the door to more fast and aggressive play from a type previously stuck to slower, stall decks.
The Mythical Island Serperior is a Stage 2 Pokemon with 110 HP, making it one of the weaker final-stage Grass types defensively. Fortunately, you’ll rarely want to play Serperior into the Active, especially because its only offensive move, Solar Beam, costs four Energy for only 70 damage. Instead, what makes Serperior shine and stand out amongst the newly introduced cards is its unique Ability, Jungle Totem. While Serperior is in play, each Grass Energy attached to your Grass-type Pokemon provides two Grass Energy instead of just one.
This Ability is just absurd. Remember that four Energy Solar Beam which only did 70 damage? Well, in reality, you only need two Energy to get off that move, giving Serperior some offensive value as a lower-cost attacker. However, the real value of Jungle Totem is what it does for offensive Grass types like Celebi ex. With Serperior in play, each Grass Energy attached to Celebi ex counts as two, which means you get to flip two coins for the cost of a single Energy and potentially get off 100 damage: this can snowball really easily, to the point where three Grass Energy can see a lucky Celebi land 250, 300, or even 350 damage.
Serperior single-handedly makes Grass into a fast, sweeper-like type, allowing cards like Celebi to hit stupid amounts of damage with their newfound speed. Previously, Grass was bulky and could heal away most damage, but it was fairly weak compared to other hard-hitting types like Fire, Fighting or even Psychic. Now? Celebi can come out the gate on its first turn with one Energy and hit you for 100 damage. Then it has the chance to hit you for 200 on the next turn, then 300 on the next. Serperior gives Celebi the speed and resources to become a Mewtwo ex-adjacent powerhouse and it is absolutely the star of this entire deck.
Serperior, Amazing Grass Support
Dhelmise
Aside from Celebi ex and the Serperior line, there’s one other Basic Pokemon you’ll want to consider adding to the Celebi ex deck and that’s Dhelmise, another new addition courtesy of Mythical Island. Dhelmise is interesting because, under optimal circumstances, you don’t want it as your main attacker and you don’t want to waste a ton of Energy on it. Instead, Dhelmise is there to be annoying in the early and mid-game, acting as a thorny wall in the Active so that you can build up your better, stronger Pokemon on the Bench.
Mythical Island Dhelmise is a Basic Grass Pokemon with 100 HP and a single move, Energy Whip. This attack costs one Grass Energy and deals a measly 20 damage at base but, if you have at least three extra Grass Energy attached to it, it will deal 90 damage, instead. At first glance, a Basic Pokemon who needs four Energy to deal above 20 damage is pretty lacklustre, especially when compared to a game-winning card like Exeggutor ex.
However, as mentioned previously, Dhelmise is there to be a frustrating wall in the opening stages of a game. It only needs one Energy to do its job, allowing you to focus your efforts on powering up Celebi ex, and 20 damage is enough to chip away at weaker Basic or Stage 1 Pokemon. Then, when you get Serperior onto the field, you have the choice of retreating Dhelmise for your stronger Celebi ex (who should be stuffed with three or so Energy by that point) or you can start swinging for 90 until it gets taken out. Sure, you could just put Celebi ex straight into the Active on turn one but, with a relatively low health pool and the possibility of missing damage, Dhelmise is a much safer option, especially because your opponent will only take one point for a KO.
Dhelmise, Early Game Frustration
Erika
Up to this point, stall and healing have been the main draw of Grass decks and one of the cards that made that type of playstyle possible is Erika. This is simultaneously one of the simplest and one of the most effective Supporters in all of Pokemon TCG Pocket, with its only weakness being that it’s limited to Grass types and Grass decks which, fortunately, the Celebi ex deck is. When played, Erika heals 50 HP off of one of your Grass-type Pokemon.
The best way to think about Erika in the Celebi ex deck is to think of its closest competition, the Mewtwo ex deck. In that deck, Mewtwo hits hard and Gardevoir can generate a ton of Energy, sure, but it cannot reliably survive against a potent counter. Mewtwo ex’s strategy is to kill before it is killed and, while Celebi ex is in a similar predicament, Erika allows it to tough things out a little longer than it should. You get the same potential for damage alongside the healing Grass as a type is known for.
Essentially, Erika lets you get away with mistakes that other similar decks could not get away with or survive things you certainly shouldn’t have survived. Compared to other Grass-type decks, the Celebi ex deck has relatively low health and a distinct lack of healing, allowing it to be a lot faster and more aggressive at the cost of defence: one wrong move or one unlucky coin flip and you might be out of luck. Erika lets you avoid, or at least dampen, some of that misfortune, allowing you to heal Celebi ex from a nasty hit or protect a weak Serperior after it’s pulled to the Active by a Sabrina.
Erika, Mistake Eraser
How to Play the Celebi ex Deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket
Although it isn’t an ideal lead, Celebi ex into the Active early on isn’t a horrible start. As an ex Pokemon, it has higher base health than most early-game Pokemon and you have the potential to start stacking damage early, especially if you can land two heads on turn two as not many Basic or Stage 1 Pokemon can survive 100 damage. However, because of how frail it is, all of that can change in one moment, especially if the coin flips don’t go your way. Instead, the best opening hand for the Celebi ex deck is to put one of your early-game attackers like Exeggutor ex or Dhelmise into the Active and let them stall the opponent while you build up Serperior and Celebi.
The priority is to get Serperior built and onto the field, which is where getting early Poke Balls and Professor’s Research is key as they let you search out key Pokemon like Snivy and Serperior. Once Serperior hits the field, you can begin working your magic and go on offence. At that point, all of your Grass Energy will count as two Energy when attached to a Pokemon, so keep your Serperior safe on the Bench and lead Celebi ex into the active.
With multiple Energy on Celebi (preferably at least three so that you can get off six coin flips and potentially up to 300 damage), you can begin launching Powerful Blossom confident in the knowledge that, most of the time, you’ll hit something. Once you reach this point, you just keep swinging and hope that your absurd amount of coinflips will land enough damage to take out your opponent’s biggest threats. Each round, make sure to add another Energy to Celebi ex so that you get another two coinflips, adding an extra 100 damage to the hypothetical total every round: eventually, the odds will just be so crazily in your favour that there’s very little your opponent can do about it.
Celebi ex’s biggest threats are honestly other ex Pokemon. As we mentioned earlier, there is a long list of Pokemon which will KO Celebi ex in a single hit and the majority of them are other exs. Fortunately, Celebi tends to be faster than the hardest-hitting Pokemon and has higher average damage than the quick ones, letting it escape most of those brawls unscathed… if it gets lucky. Like any coin flip-centric deck, the stars need to be in your favour for a victory and, while it is unlikely that you’ll fail often with so many coins being flipped, it can happen so prepare for the worst. Additionally, watch out for sneaky Sabrina’s trying to pull your Serperior into the active as that can cause your whole strategy to crumble.
Celebi ex Deck
That was how to make the Celebi ex deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
