It also has the second-best win rate of all deck archetypes.
One of them involves pairing it with another well-known Grass Pokemon.
Exeggutor is another big winner of this expansion, making an amazing duo with Yanmega when played correctly.
Both cards can be an unexpected threat to Meta decks when paired with the right Tools.
The main downside is thatit needs cards from many different expansions, which might be difficult for newer players.
It’s also particularly better when running Dawn (as mentioned in Alternative Cards).
Yanmega is the main attacker here, butit needs a lot of Energy to get it going.
Erika makes it even more annoying to deal with.
Sometimes getting a Poke Ball instead of an evolution is not as bad as it seems.
One copy is enough, though, as there are only four Pokemon in the deck.
Alternative Cards
Yanmega is often paired withDialga exfor many reasons.
Both are obtained in the same pack, andYanmega can use the Steel Energy provided by Dialga for attacks.
The Cape is preferred for avoiding 1-hit-KOs from certain matchups, but you.
It can also be combined with Cyrus (instead of Sabrina) for some more aggressive plays.
When in doubt,you might run one of each.
The perfect starting hand consists ofExeggcute, Exeggutor, Yanma, Yanmega, and Giant Cape.
Exeggcute is the most needed, as its evolution is the perfect lead for the start of the game.
Pokemon Communication is also great for starting hands.
Aim for getting your evolutions out first, sendingany unneeded Basic Pokemon back to the deck.
Once you get Exeggutor out,Yanma/Yanmega should get all of your Energy.
You’ll need Leaf to Retreat Exeggutor unless you’re fine with it being knocked out early.
This is rare, but happens a lot.
The downside isnot being able to properly build another Yanmegaif you want to keep attacking.
Yanmega will be in the front quickly, and you’re able to swap to Exeggutor when needed.
This deckrarely one-shots anyone, but its unexpected tankyness is its biggest advantage.
It’s not unusual for Exeggutor to take three big hits to die.
This deck has two main weaknesses:being an easy target for Sabrina and being slow.
While many decks are slow by nature,you have no true way of enhancing your Energy gain.
And you need three Energies to make a Yanmega attack, which takes a lot of time.
Matchups And Counters
The Yanmega/Exeggutor duo has some interesting advantages in the current meta.
Darkrai ex
One of the main reasons for running the grass duo isto defeat Darkrai easily.
Alternatively,back up your Sabrina/Cyrus to finish the matchon another Darkrai.
Dialga ex
Dialga sets up much faster than you, sothis won’t be an easy match.
If Dialga’s already damaged enough, let Yanmega take the lead to take it out.
Yanmega cannot take a full hit without a Giant Cape, though, so save one for it.
Gyarados ex
This matchup has the same problems as Palkia, butMagikarp is even more fragile.
It rarely runs Manaphy too, so you only have to worry about Misty.
Other Matchups
As with basically every deck,mirror matches will mostly be determined by luck.
Electric decks(such as Pikachu ex) can also be a nuisance for your endgame.
Yanmega has a decent HP, but Giovanni can always be there to ruin your day.
Non-ex decks are popular, butYanmega/Exeggutor has no particularly terrible matchup against them.
Aerodactyl Ex and Marshadow can become a deadly duo that doesn’t let your enemy’s Pokemon evolve.
Learn more about this Pokemon TCG Pocket deck.
