Aerodactyl ex is one of the most feared new creatures in Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Mythical Island expansion, thanks to its ability to completely shut down evolution decks. With the right support, it can be one of the best decks in the meta.
Fossil Pokemon suffered during the Genetic Apex era of Pokemon Pocket. Not only did they require the summoning of useless Fossils during their initial phase, but their evolutions (Aerodactyl and the Omanyte/Kabuto lines) weren’t worth the effort to bring out.
The Mythical Island expansion has given Fossil Pokemon a shot in the arm, thanks to the mighty Aerodactyl ex and its game-changing Ability.
Pokemon TCG Pocket Aerodactyl ex Best Deck
The Aerodactyl ex deck relies on powerful Fighting Pokemon, along with some draw and retreat-based Items and Supporter cards. These are the best cards for an Aerodactyl ex deck:
| Pokemon | Number of Cards | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Aerodactyl ex | 2 | Fighting |
| Old Amber | 2 | Item |
| Mankey | 2 | Fighting |
| Primeape | 2 | Fighting |
| Marshadow | 2 | Fighting |
| Diglett | 2 | Fighting |
| Dugtrio | 2 | Fighting |
| X-Speed | 2 | Item |
| Poke Ball | 2 | Item |
| Professor’s Research | 2 | Supporter |
Aerodactyl ex deck strategies
The intention with an Aerodactyl ex deck is to get Old Amber on the Bench and evolve it as soon as possible. Once Aerodactyl ex is on the field, its Primeval Law Ability will activate, preventing the opponent from evolving their Active Pokemon.
This effect can be extremely detrimental to decks that rely on Stage 1 Pokemon, such as the Vaporeon deck, which uses Gyarados ex and Starmie ex as its main tools. The opponent can still evolve on the Bench, but it can slow them down considerably and force them to lose a Pokemon if they don’t have the Energy for a retreat.
For the other Pokemon, it bears mentioning that the Promo Mankey is the best choice for this deck, as it has a chance to injure itself when it attacks. Once it evolves into Primeape, the damage taken will max out its Fight Back attack, letting it deal 80 damage for two Energy.
Marshadow is another great situational Pokemon, as if it’s brought in after one of your Pokemon is KO’d, its 2 Energy Revenge attack will deal 100 points of damage, which can one-shot a lot of things.
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Finally, there is Diglett, which isn’t that impressive, but it evolves into Dugtrio, which has the Dig attack. Not only does Dig do 40 damage for one Energy, but if it gets a Heads on a Coin Flip, it takes no damage next turn.
For items and Supporters, you have the standard draw effects, like Poke Ball and Professor’s Research, which are staples of all decks. The other vital card is X-Speed, as every Pokemon in this deck has a one Energy Retreat Cost. This means X-Speed gives you free retreats.
The Aerodactyl ex deck is all about getting the mighty dinosaur on the Bench, using Mankey/Primeape or Diglett/Dugtrio as a screen to take out Pokemon. Once it’s ready, throw out Aerodactyl ex to the Active spot, and if the enemy somehow takes it down, use Marshadow as the follow-up.
Weaknesses
The biggest threat to Aerodactyl ex is a Pikachu ex deck, which is still a prominent threat in the meta. Not only does Pikachu ex not require any evolutions to get onto the field, but its attacks deal extra damage to Aerodactyl ex, thanks to its Electric weakness.
The other Pokemon in the deck are also susceptible to another competitive deck: Mew ex and Mewtwo ex. This is due to Mankey, Primeape, and Marshadow being weak to Psychic attacks, with both Mew ex and Mewtwo being Basic Pokemon that can’t be locked out by Primeval Law.
The final threat is Celebi ex, which is one of the strongest decks in the game. While Aerodactyl ex can slow down Serperior, it cannot influence Celebi ex itself, which is notoriously powerful for a Basic Pokemon.
For more information about Pokemon TCG Pocket, check out our guide on trading, or head over and read about every promo card currently available in the game.