[Top 10] Pokemon TCG Best Theme Deck 2021 That Wreck Hard!

Updated:

26 May 2021

In Pokémon: The Card Game (TCG), there are plenty of Themed Tournaments for you to join if you’d like to give yourself a challenge and work with a pre-defined box of cards. Let’s take a look at the decks you should consider if you want to show the world you have the skills to be a Theme Deck Master too.

1) Soaring Storm

A picture of the Soaring Storm theme deck.

Soaring Storm is the sleeper hit of theme decks. Although it took a while for players to warm up to it, Soaring Storm rose up as one of the golden theme decks. You’ll find no shortage of glowing reviews for Soaring Storm.

Why don’t we glimpse at what made this deck earn so many passionate fans? Maybe you could become one of them!

How to play this deck:

Depending on the type matchups, bench either Thundurus or Tornadus and let the other one be active. Either of them will be your main attacker. The reason you should bench one of them is that benching Thundurus or Tornadus while the other is active increases their attack. Thundurus or Tornadus will be your main combatants, as your other ‘mons act as support.
Alternatively, you can use Dragonite as your main attacker. Dragonite is bulky, with attacks that can easily OHKO your enemy’s Pokemon.
Send out your Alolan Grimer so you can withdraw two cards for free. (Chinchou will work if your enemy has Pokemon that are weak to Electric types.)

What makes this deck so great?

The Theme Tournament meta lacks hard counters against or decks that are super effective against Soaring Storm. Compare this to Relentless Flame, a normally incredible Fire deck which can easily be doused by strong Water decks like Kyogre-led Unseen Depths.
Every card counts. There are very few, if at all, filler cards from this deck.
Your attack options are pretty damn amazing. You can use two Legendaries in tandem and/or Dragonite, an absolute beast of a Dragon ‘mon.

Deck list:

3 Pidgey
2 Tornadus
2 Pidgeotto
1 Pidgeot
2 Alolan Grimer
3 Dratini
3 Dragonair
2 Dragonite
2 Chinchou
2 Thundurus
2 Lanturn
2 Bug Catcher
2 Cynthia
1 Energy Recycle System
1 Fisherman
2 Hau
2 Lillie
2 Pokémon Communication
2 Pokémon Fan Club
1 Switch
1 Tate & Liza
11 Lightning Energy
9 Water Energy

2) Relentless Flame

A picture of the theme deck Relentless Flame.

This deck is what you could call expensive. But maybe that should tell you why you shouldn’t write off 2019’s Relentless Flame — players have decided it’s worth the cost, and it remains one of the most popular theme decks to this day. Perhaps even the.

How to play this deck:

As early as… oh, more or less right away, you can use Charizard to swing at your enemy Pokemon via Continuous Blaze Ball. Just discard the two Fire Energy that you may have already attached to it. You can inflict up to 180 Damage with a single Blaze Ball.
You have some great support Pokemon there. Radipash is nearly perfect. For only two damage, Rapidash’s Agility move can deal 60 damage upon your enemy’s Pokemon. But the best part is this: flip a coin and your Rapidash can avoid being attacked. Only 2 Energy, 60 damage, 180 HP, and your enemy’s ‘mon may not even have the chance to strike at all? However, you’d of course have to get lucky with the coin-flipping.
If you can, make sure to evolve all your Pokemon in this deck (except for Farfetch’d, which doesn’t evolve). This will strengthen both Nidoqueen’s Power Lariat (an offense move) and its Queen’s Call (a neat Ability that lets you search your deck for any Evolution). Set up deck with Queen’s Call.

What’s so great about this deck?

Unlike its rival Soaring Storm, Relentless Flame isn’t so complicated. Even if you’re still a noob, you could probably learn to crush your enemies using Relentless Flame.
This deck only requires Fire Energy, even for Poison-Ground types like Nidoqueen, so you don’t have to fret over having bad or wrong Energy cards in your hand.
Nidoqueen’s Ability, Queen’s Call, can be utilized later in a game to find the exact Pokemon you need. No Fan Club or Computer Search required!

Deck list:

2 Charizard
2 Charmeleon
3 Charmander
2 Nidoqueen
2 Nidorina
3 Nidoran♀
2 Rapidash
3 Ponyta
3 Farfetch'd
2 Brock's Grit
2 Copycat
2 Cynthia
2 Hau
2 Nest Ball
2 Pokémon Fan Club
2 Professor Kukui
2 Switch
2 Timer Ball
20 Fire Energy

3) Laser Focus

Ultra Necrozma may as well be royalty in most Formats; no “Best Dragon Decks” list truly feels complete without it. But regular Necrozma is the one lording over Themed Tournaments, via the fantastic Laser Focus deck.

How to play this deck:

Send out a Pokemon that can help you with Trainer or Energy cards first, like the trusty Dedenne. Dedenne is always good for keeping your hands full with the cards you need.
Audino can function as a card helper too. However, Audino can also be a decent attacker as well as a defense machine thanks to Drain Slap. While Drain Slap isn’t bound to OHKO anyone, it’s a great balance of offense and defense.
Tauros is a wall of meat. Though it’s obviously going to hurt itself as it launches an attack on your enemy, this ‘mon can easily withstand its self-inflicted damage.
Of course, make use of that Necrozma. Special Laser can inflict 100 to 160 damage upon your foe’s Pokémon.

What’s so great about this deck?

Although this deck doesn’t possess the same raw, aggressive power of decks like Relentless Flame, there’s plenty to love. Most of the Pokemon in this deck are some fine balance of offense and defense. There’s absolutely nothing stopping you from bagging KOs with this deck.

Deck list:

2 Necrozma
1 Malamar
1 Inkay
2 Gumshoos
3 Yungoos
2 Silvally
3 Type: Null
2 Audino
2 Mesprit
2 Dedenne
2 Tauros
2 Bug Catcher
2 Cynthia
2 Hau
2 Lillie
2 Mysterious Treasure
2 Pokémon Fan Club
1 Switch
1 Tate & Liza
2 U-Turn Board
18 Psychic Energy
2 Weakness Guard Energy

4) Towering Heights

Hoenn’s Groudon stars in Towering Heights. This theme deck is bulky and brash, much like Groudon itself. It’s not as elegant as the Kyogre-centered Unseen Depths, but if you’re looking for hard-hitters, Towering Heights is an excellent choice.

How to play this deck:

Your Starter can be Passimian. His 110 HP makes him sturdy. His Spike Draw move may seem unappealing at first glance due to its measly 20 damage, but it lets you draw 2 cards. Passimian’s Seismic Toss isn’t shabby either; it inflicts 70 damage.
Its biggest hitters are (not Groudon): Garchomp, Palpitoad, and Seismitoad. As for Garchomp, you can use Over Slice. Over Slice has a base damage of 80, but with that little plus sign next to it, you can ramp up the damage to 200!
Sacrifice a bit of HP for your Benched Pokemon to get the Palpitoad/Seismitoad pay-off. First, use Palpitoad’s Earthquake (which will reduce 10 HP from each of your Benched). Then, use Seismitoad’s Tremulous Fist. Tremulous Fist’s 80 base damage increases by 30 for each Pokemon of yours with a damage counter…. Do the math. (Okay, we’ll do it for you: you could wind up inflicting an insane 200 damage on your opponent!)

What’s so great about this deck?

In contrast to Unseen Depths (naturally), Towering Heights encourages you to play fast and play aggressively. If that’s your style, you’ll love Towering Heights.
Aside from hard-hitting, the Pokemon on this deck are bulky due to their HPs.
You’ll flex your strategizing skills with this one, as its famous Palpitoad/Seismitoad combo requires patience.

Deck list:

2 Groudon
2 Garchomp
3 Gabite
3 Gible
2 Seismitoad
3 Palpitoad
3 Tympole
2 Passimian
2 Throh
1 Mew
2 Bug Catcher
2 Cynthia
2 Hau
1 Lady
2 Lillie
2 Pokémon Communication
2 Pokémon Fan Club
2 Switch
2 Tate & Liza
18 Fighting Energy
2 Draw Energy

5) Unseen Depths

Who better to lead an ocean-themed deck than Kyogre? Unseen Depths does its title justice. Though its cards aren’t as hard-hitting as the Groudon counterpart, Unseen Depths bears an elegant and sturdy lineup.

How to play this deck:

Empoleon does incredible work in this deck. Empoleon’s move Recall lets you use its previous evolutions’ (Piplup and Prinplup) moves for only one Energy. That means you can OKHO Benched opponents with Prinplup’s Direct Dive and stop Basic Pokemon from attacking with Piplup’s Bubble Hold (also dealing 80 damage, not too shabby at all).
Use Ambipom’s amazing Bye-Bye Throw to annihilate your enemy’s Pokemon.
Thwart your opponent’s strategy with the marvellous Ability, Whirlpool Suction. Courtesy of Phione, Whirlpool Suction allows you to switch someone’s Active Pokemon with a Benched one. Though Phione’s other move is lousy (Rain Splash, dealing barely 10 damage), Whirlpool Suction turns Phione from a bad Pokémon to practically indispensable.

What’s so great about this deck?

Although Kyogre is the face of this deck, the other ‘mons (e.g. Empoleon paired with Piplup and Prinplup, Ambipom, Golduck with Psyduck, etc.) in your list do the heavy lifting. You have a fantastic lineup here. Compare this to certain decks, which only really shine in terms of their main Pokemon. Nope! Unseen Depths is a consistent deck filled with fierce attackers.

Deck list:

2 Kyogre
2 Empoleon
3 Prinplup
3 Piplup
2 Golduck
3 Psyduck
2 Ambipom
3 Aipom
2 Pyukumuku
1 Phione
2 Cynthia
2 Hau
2 Lillie
2 Pokémon Communication
2 Pokémon Fan Club
2 Roller Skater
2 Switch
2 Tate & Liza
1 Viridian Forest
18 Water Energy
2 Draw Energy

6) Mach Strike

Mach Strike is known by some as “the Garchomp deck.” That’s because Garchomp is the obvious star here; its Royal Blades attack could potentially do 200 damage, if you play Cynthia in the same deck. Cynthia cards are built into Mach Strike, so imagine that!

How to play this deck:

Set up as many Garchomps as you can on your deck. Why not all four? This will enable your Lucario to use Precognitive Aura.
Once Lucario is free to help you find your Cynthia and Colorless Energy cards, you can go on a rampage with Garchomp.
Use Alolan Vulpix, Pokemon Fan Club, Nest Ball, Timer Ball, and Ultra Ball to build your perfect lineup during the match.

What’s so great about this deck?

Although 3 Energy isn’t the most cost-effective, the 200 damage totally makes up for it.
Garchomp and Lucario work together wonderfully.

Deck list:

4 Garchomp
4 Gabite
4 Gible
2 Lucario
4 Riolu
2 Alolan Vulpix
10 Fighting Energy
4 Double Colorless Energy
4 Cynthia
2 Hau
2 Lillie
2 Pokémon Fan Club
2 Sophocles
3 Nest Ball
3 Timer Ball
2 Pal Pad
2 Ultra Ball
2 Rescue Stretcher
1 Escape Board
1 Escape Rope

7) Charizard Theme Deck - Vivid Voltage

How does Vivid Voltage Charizard hold up against the classic ‘Zard-centered Relentless Flame? Pretty alright! As far as theme decks go, this won’t surpass Relentless Flame any time soon, but it has some good qualities. Let’s take a look.

How to play this deck:

Sudowoodo can knock out some of your opponent’s weaker Starter ‘mons.
Sudowoodo will be good for helping your Charizard wipe the floor later in the game, when your foe brings out their star Pokemon. Use Sudowoodo’s Double Draw to take out your Leons, which will bring your Charizard’s Royal Blaze damage from a nice 100 to a whopping 200 damage.
Lugia can knock out some Pokemon, but unfortunately this is (for some reason) an older version of Lugia. Energy Loop can deal 120 damage on this edition, but it’ll need 3 Energy, so it’s not super cost-effective.

What’s so great about this deck?

It’s not as robust as Relentless Flame, but does have more cards that’ll fare much better when recycled outside of Themed. The exceptions are Magcargo and Slugma; they’ll be only slightly more useful to you than the puny Splash move is to some poor Magikarp trainer.

Deck list:

2 Charizard (Vivid Voltage)
6 Charmander
2 Yanmega
3 Yanma
2 Magcargo
3 Slugma
2 Sudowoodo
1 Lugia
2 Bede
2 Dan
1 Evolution Incense
2 Great Ball
4 Hop
2 Leon
2 Ordinary Rod
2 Professor's Research
2 Sonia
2 Switch
18 Fire Energy

8) Zamazenta Theme Deck (Rebel Clash)

Zamazenta is one of the newer decks, having been released in May of 2020. It’s also one of the stronger theme decks. Though Charizard is beloved for a good reason, as a theme deck I would say it’s a lot better than Vivid Voltage’s Charizard theme deck. One downside to the Zamazenta Theme Deck is that its most powerful moves are not cost-effective (at least three Energy). Nonetheless, it’s a solid buy.

How to play this deck:

Duralodon, Corviknight, and Zamazenta can work well in tandem. Duralodon’s Metal Sharpener may only inflict slight damage (30), but it can also attach 2 Energy from your Discard Pile to one of your Pokemon.
You can use that to your advantage by re-using Energy for Corviknight, but Zamazenta is your strongest attacker.
Power Rush is a good move that could potentially OHKO average-HP/weak Pokémon or 2HKO bigger ones, so try using it via Zamazenta. It deals 120 damage, but you have to flip a coin. If you get tails, you can’t attack for one turn. Switch/retreat, in such an instance.

What’s so great about its deck?

The lineup is both considerably more harmonious and individually good than theme decks like Charizard, even though there’s obviously more buzz surrounding any Charizard deck.
Although the attacks are expensive, Duralodon’s Metal Sharpener offsets it (though it isn’t perfect by any means).

Deck list:

2 Zamazenta
2 Corviknight
3 Corvisquire
3 Rookidee
2 Bisharp
3 Pawniard
2 Ferrothorn
3 Ferroseed
2 Duraludon
2 Dan
2 Great Ball
4 Hop
2 Metal Saucer
2 Poké Kid
2 Potion
2 Professor’s Research
2 Sonia Su
2 Switch
18 Metal Energy

9) Zacian V (League Battle)

Though Zacian V is the face of this deck, the combo of Arceus, Dialga, Pialka Tag Team + Zacian V will probably be what catches your eye. Yes! The famed APD/Z combo! Yes! It’s super good! Be careful not to confuse this with previous Zacian theme decks, however, which are weaker. You wouldn’t want to waste money on the wrong purchase, right?

How to play this deck:

Use Altered Creation GX as soon as possible to increase your Pokemon’s attack by 30.

Destroy your opponents with Zacian V’s famed Brave Blade (230 damage).

What’s so great about this deck?

ADP/Z is one of the most successful combos across all Formats for a reason. Both the ADP tag team and Zacian V are immensely powerful, or “OP” (overpowered) as those who have fallen under ADP/Z have protested.
It’s linear. Especially if you’ve already heard of ADP/Z outside Themed, you most likely have some idea about the core strategy for ADP/Z.
Though the base product is not an ideal iteration of ADP/Z, in theme deck-exclusive tournaments, this will still be robust.

Deck list:

2 Zacian V
1 Arceus & Dialga & Palkia
4 Jirachi
2 Oranguru
1 Galarian Perrserker
1 Galarian Meowth
1 Galarian Zigzagoon
1 Mewtwo
1 Big Charm
2 Boss's Orders
1 Energy Spinner
3 Energy Switch
1 Great Catcher
1 Guzma & Hala
1 Mallow & Lana
4 Marnie
4 Metal Saucer
1 Ordinary Rod
4 Professor’s Research
4 Quick Ball
3 Scoop Up Net
4 Switch
1 Tag Call
1 Viridian Forest
1 Aurora Energy
8 Metal Energy
2 Water Energy

10) Rillaboom

The fact alone that Rillaboom has 190 HP should have grabbed your attention a few years ago, though lately there are many 'mons with much heftier HPs. Still, this is a nicely structured theme deck and has lots to offer.

How to play this deck:

Use Gossifleur to pull your Basic ‘mons (e.g. Grookey, Snorlax) on to your deck.
Use Eldegoss’s Blessing of Fluff to attach 3 Energy to your Benched, preferably the hard-hitters like Snorlax and of course, Rillaboom.

What’s so great about this deck?

Its ways of making up for the cost-expensive attacks are efficient.
Even the weaker Pokemon on its roster, like Whimsicott, can be utilized as clutch Pokemon and help you when you’re on your last legs during a battle. (Don’t count on Cottonee for much of anything, still.)
Rillaboom has 190 HP, making it pretty bulky. But beyond that, this deck has multiple ‘mons with appealingly high levels of HP!