Pokémon TCG: Standard Deck Guide - Tinkaton EX

Tinkaton is one of the most beloved Pokémon from Gen 9, the most recent generation, so, naturally, it is quite strong in Pokémon TCG as well.

Recently, a well-stablished rogue list featuring this cutiepie with a giant hammer won a few tournaments in Japan, and Tinkaton even dealt the finishing blow in a few of them. The best thing about this list is that it can catch unprepared meta lists off-guard. Particularly because it plays a lot of card draw, and, as such, Tinkaton ex PR-SV 31 often deals 300+ damage, which is devastating!

Our main attacker is Tinkaton ex PR-SV 31. Its attack, "Big Hammer", deals a lot of damage if you have a lot of cards in hand, so the more cards you draw, the better.

This list also plays a 2-2 line with Tinkaton PR-SV 20 and its ability, "Gather Materials", which draws 3 cards per turn and, as such, supports the main attacker. Furthermore, this list plays an entire base of card draw Pokémon to make sure Tinkaton ex PR-SV 31 will always deal a lot of damage.

The main engine includes Dudunsparce PRE 80's ability, "Run Away Draw", which draws 3 cards and shuffles this Pokémon back into the deck. It essentially prevents you from ever losing by deckout, so it's a very solid strategy. Another great strategy is keeping at least 2 Dunsparce PRE 79 on your bench every turn so you can evolve them on the following turns, use Dudunsparce's effect again to draw cards, and shuffle it back into the deck.

This list also plays 1 Dudunsparce ex JTG 121, which, unsurprisingly, is a very efficient attacker in this Pokémon ex meta because of its attack, "Tenacious Tail". Because this list also plays many stage 2 Pokémon, it also plays 3 Rare Candy sv4pt5 89.

Tinkaton EX Standard List

This list doesn't play card draw that disrupts your hand in any way, so it doesn't play Ultra Ball sv4pt5 91. After all, this card forces you to discard 2 cards in your hand to draw.

However, this list does play 4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin PRE 101, 2 Great Ball sv2 183, 1 Nest Ball sv4pt5 84, and 2 Technical Machine: Evolution sv4 178, which, ideally, you should play on turn 1 so you can use its attack on the next turn.

Tinkaton is the main attacker, so the faster you evolve it, the better. This list also plays Crispin PRE 105 because "Big Hammer" costs two energies. This is also why it plays 2 Basic Lightning Energy SVE 12.

Luxray definitely stands out in this list, considering it can enter play directly on your bench (so you don't need to evolve it) and can be a lot of help whenever your opponent plays disruption. With one Reversal Energy, you can attack with it on the same turn you put it in play and deal a reasonable 180 damage, which is enough to Knock Out Mew ex sv3pt5 151, for instance.

Finally, this list plays 2 Jacq sv1 175, which can get Dudunsparce and Tinkaton from your deck for you, 2 Boss's Orders (Ghetsis) sv2 172 to target enemy support Pokémon, and Brassius sv3 187, which renews your entire hand. Considering you'll often have over 10 cards in hand at the end of every turn, Brassius is a great card. A single copy of Iono sv4pt5 80 is your only way to disrupt your opponent, so use it carefully.

Enriching Energy SSP 191 is slightly exotic for an ACE SPEC, but it works really well in this list. You can get it with Colress's Tenacity SFA 57 and recycle it back into your deck with Dudunsparce's ability. This way, you'll be able to draw cards with it several times throughout the match.

Dragapult EX - Even

Before we go over each matchup, please note that this deck is really vulnerable to Iono sv4pt5 80, as she destroys the large hand you worked so hard to build. If you think the opponent plays this card (and 80% of the current meta does), try to keep at least 1 Dudunsparce in play already set up so you can always add cards to your hand. This will be particularly useful when you end up with just a few cards in your hand after the opponent plays Iono.

Dragapult EX plays 4 Iono, for instance, and if you're against the version with Unfair Stamp TWM 165, you'll struggle even more. That being said, this matchup is actually pretty balanced because your main attacker (if they don't disrupt it in any way) Knocks Out Dragapult ex PRE 73 very easily. Once again, try to keep card draw engine Pokémon ready on your bench at all times.

Raging Bolt EX - Unfavorable

Bellowing Thunder Knocks Out any Pokémon in your list very easily, which makes things harder. At the same time, Raging Bolt doesn't usually play Iono, so you might just be able to attack them turn after turn. Please note that you must use Luxray sv2 71 to prevent them from drawing 2 Prize cards at once when they Knock Out your Pokémon and, as such, force them to keep an odd number of Prize cards. This way, you'll have a bit more freedom to set up attackers.

Gardevoir EX - Unfavorable

This list only plays 2 Boss's Orders (Ghetsis) sv2 172, so use them carefully. This opponent will always try to attack with single prize Pokémon like Drifloon sv1 89, and Scream Tail PRE 42 can easily Knock Out your benched support Pokémon. Your only hope is Knocking Out Gardevoir ex sv4pt5 29 early on, when they haven't discarded many energies yet. Otherwise, this matchup can turn unfavorable quite fast.

Grimmsnarl EX - Favorable

Your main attacker has a lot of HP, and you also play more than a few support Pokémon on your bench. This opponent also doesn't draw a lot of cards, so they can easily end up not playing their Iono, which would be your biggest issue. Please be careful with Technical Machine: Devolution sv4 177, as it's very useful against your list.

Pros

It draws cards consistently and deals a lot of damage.

Cons

It struggles a lot against Iono and Gardevoir.

Despite its clear weak spots, Tinkaton performed really well in tournaments not that long ago. You can definitely take it to your local tournaments, particularly if you know how to play it well. Tinkaton itself also supports the main strategy, so this list even has some space for techs against specific matchups.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!