Pokémon TCG Pocket's initial meta was quickly dominated by a few powerful decks, notably the Misty water-type deck. Its reliance on coin flips made victories feel unfair, leading to player frustration. Despite the release of three subsequent expansions, instead of being countered, Misty decks have only grown stronger.
The issue isn't necessarily Misty's inherent power, but the frustrating luck-based nature of its gameplay. Misty, a Supporter card, lets players flip coins to attach water-type energy to a chosen water Pokémon. The number of heads determines the energy attached, leading to wildly varying outcomes—from a wasted turn to an overwhelming early game advantage. This can result in instant victories before opponents even establish a defense.
Subsequent expansions exacerbated the problem. Mythical Island introduced Vaporeon, enabling easy energy movement between water Pokémon. Space-Time Smackdown added Manaphy, further boosting energy availability. Both expansions also featured powerful water Pokémon like Palkia ex and Gyarados ex, solidifying water decks' meta dominance.
Triumphant Light introduced Irida, another Supporter card that heals 40 damage from water-type Pokémon. This effectively counters a common weakness of water decks, previously held by grass-type decks. Combined with Misty, Manaphy, and Vaporeon, Irida makes water decks incredibly resilient.
Some TCG experts suggest Irida was intended to diversify the meta by forcing players to choose between Misty and Irida due to deck size limitations (20 cards). However, many players have found ways to use both cards effectively, maintaining the water deck's dominance.
The upcoming scheduled event, offering rewards for win streaks in online competitive mode, will likely be dominated by water decks. The difficulty of achieving a five-match win streak is significantly increased when facing these potentially overwhelming decks, even with Irida's healing capabilities mitigating bad luck. The prevalence of water decks makes playing one a viable, perhaps even necessary, strategy for success.
