Marowak ex has been rising through the Pokémon TCG Pocket rankings as of late to counteract the biggest meta decks from Genetic Apex.
It’s a simple and cheap deck to put together and has become the bane of every competitive player’s existence. It begs the question: Why isn’t it considered one of the best decks in the game despite being great against the usual suspects?
There are many reasons, but for those wanting to run the risk, here is one of the best decklists you can run to make the most out of Marowak ex.
The best Marowak ex Pokémon TCG Pocket decklist
| Image | Card name | Amount | Set | Set number | Craft amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Cubone | x2 | Genetic Apex (Mewtwo) | 151/226 | 35 Pack Points |
 | Marowak ex | x2 | Genetic Apex (Mewtwo) | 153/226 | 500 Pack Points |
 | Sandshrew | x2 | Genetic Apex (Any) | 137/226 | 35 Pack Points |
 | Sandslash | x2 | Genetic Apex (Any) | 138/226 | 70 Pack Points |
 | Giovanni | x2 | Genetic Apex (Mewtwo) | 223/226 | 70 Pack Points |
 | Sabrina | x2 | Genetic Apex (Charizard) | 225/226 | 70 Pack Points |
 | X Speed | x2 | Promo-A | 2/P-A | Shop |
 | Poké Ball | x2 | Promo-A | 5/P-A | Shop |
 | Professor’s Research | x2 | Promo-A | 7/P-A | Shop |
You might notice that there are only 18 cards in the 20-card deck above, and that’s on purpose. While most trainers like to run 2x Potion to keep their Marowaks alive longer, we have discovered different variations of the deck that also work. You could also add in a Hitmonlee to deal damage to the backline.
For example, using a single copy of Makey and Primeape or changing out Sandslash for the Primeape line instead creates an alternative way to deal a lot of damage using basic Pokémon cards. This is especially powerful when using the Promo-A version of Mankey, which can deal damage to itself ahead of evolving to take advantage of Primeape’ #’s attack ability that deals additional damage if it has a Damage Counter on it.
Feel free to add whichever card works for you to make a variation of the deck that plays to your style, but if you want something that everyone is using, two Potions are likely the way forward.
How the Marowak ex deck works in Pokémon TCG Pocket
As the deck’s name suggests, you’ll mainly use Marowak ex in Pokémon TCG Pocket against the current meta decks of Pikachu ex and Mewtwo ex.
Pikachu ex is weak to fighting types, so the deck is perfect in tournaments with many Pikachu ex-players. With a potential base damage of 160 using Marowak’s ex’s Boomerang, you can also one-hit KO Mewtwo ex before it can stack energy or use the Gardevoir trick.
If you can get it to work, it’s brutal. But that is the main issue— getting it to work. Marowak ex relies on flipping coins to deal damage, and you need to get consecutive Heads to deal 80x each head that is flipped. So, depending on your luck, you can have an insane pop-off game or deal no damage at all.
It means the deck is inconsistent and inefficient, but if you can get luck, you’ll get far in the competition.
Marowak ex Pokémon TCG Pocket deck weaknesses
The entire deck is a gamble to secure substantial damage, but it’s mainly for countering meta decks. If you come across a Starmie ex deck or something that can quickly get energy together to deal damage, you won’t be able to set it up.
Equally, Cubone can’t deal damage, so unless you draw the Marowak ex early or any of your other base Pokémon cards, you could be a sitting duck and lose the match before it even began.
It’s a lot of risk to play the deck in any variant, and you’ll find yourself raging at your coin flips most of the time before returning to a consistent deck. You are in for a good time if you can make it work.
