Best Gengar Deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket

Pokemon TCG Pocket only has a handful of powerful decks in the Genetic Apex meta. However, if you are like me and just want to use one of your favorite Pokemon, like Gengar, in a deck, you’ll find a way to make it work, even if you are getting clowned by all those Pikachus, Mewtwos, and Charizards.

Your room for error is smaller, but Gengar still poses a big threat to all opposing Pokemon. So here’s the best Gengar Deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket.

Best Gengar and Gardevoir Partner Deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket

The Gengar Ex is in a unique position because of its stats. Gengar Ex has a 170 HP base and a single skill, Spooky Shot, that needs three Psychic energy cards to use and deals only 100 damage. It is pretty lackluster for a stage three Pokemon Ex.

The saving grace is its active ability called Shadowy Spellbind which prevents the opponent from using any Supporter cards from their hands as long as Gengar is in the active spot. Most decks rely on Supporter cards, especially the Professor’s Research, Sabrina, and some other cards.

Even water-type decks will have a problem since they can’t use Misty when Gengar is in play. However, the main problem is that it takes a few turns to actually get Gengar active. This is where we partner Gengar with Gardevoir as a support that can give multiple Pokemon energy while also being another potential carry.

X Speed will be mandatory for the deck since you will be swapping Pokemon often. Sabrina will either help you get some easy points or lower the HP of their potential Ex Pokemon.

Related: Which Starter Pack Should You Choose in Pokemon TCG Pocket?

How to Play the Gengar Deck

Most of the time, you’ll want to play 2nd and draw Gastly as your active Pokemon. When this happens, you have the ability to evolve Gastly to Haunter, put an energy card on it, and use Will-O-Wisp for 30 damage.

Your early goal is to delay the enemy for a few rounds, so if you have Sabrina, you can use the trainer card to disrupt your opponent if they have an active Mewtwo. Once they put an energy counter on Mewtwo, swap it out with their Ralts or someone else so they are forced to put an energy card on Ralts and retreat. Most of the time, they’ll draw an X Speed if they have it, but you’d want to delay all opponents this way.

Once you start getting the evolution cards, you want Gardevoir to use their ability and give energy to your active Pokemon at all times. You’ll also want to retreat as much as necessary to evenly distribute the opponent’s damage.

For example, if you have a Gengar with three energy that has taken some damage, it may be wise to retreat and take advantage of Gardevoir’s Psy Shadow ability to quickly regain energy for your new active Pokemon.

This is the main reason for having Gardevoir in the deck — to make sure you have the highest chance of playing both Gengars with full-energy cards in one match.

Gengar Deck Card Alternatives

There isn’t much you can do with your Gengar deck other than replacing Gardevoir with a Drowzee-Hypno combo and maybe a Mewtwo. You can also try out one non-Ex Gengar, but it really depends on what you have available. Gardevoir and Gengar are both pretty hard to pull.

Surprisingly, Hypno is also difficult to pull, so if you are thinking of going after these cards, make absolutely sure you’ll enjoy playing the deck. If you end up regretting it, at least Gardevoir is also a staple card in the Mewtwo meta deck, so it wouldn’t be a total waste.

If you are looking for more decks to play, you can check out our take on the best Charizard deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket, which has been scorching battlegrounds!