Popping up in the Lapras ex Drop Event in Pokémon TCG Pocket, Lapras ex is a powerful card worth paying attention to while deck-building. It holds competitive potential and can be used in various creative Pocket decks.
To help you make a splash in your next Pocket match, we’ve put together the best Lapras ex Pokémon TCG Pocket water deck build list, looking at each card you need, how the deck works, and overall strengths and weaknesses to be mindful of.
Best Lapras ex Pokémon Pocket deck list
There are plenty of strong Water-type decks to pick from when looking at the best lists in Pocket, with Blastoise ex and Starmie ex standing out as some of the best current choices.
Lapras ex is unassuming, but with the right list, it’s mighty. There are several variants of this deck floating around the community right now, each with its own merits and quirks, but we’ve focused on a Lapras ex and Frosmoth build to provide both damage and control.
Aside from Lapras ex itself (which came from the Lapras ex Drop Event in Nov. 2024), every card in this list is simple to get your hands on. Snom, Frosmoth, Sabrina, and Misty all come from Genetic Apex with relatively high drop rates, while the others are all Promo-A cards that can be found via the store.
Lapras ex is the main source of damage in this decklist, with Snom and Frosmoth acting as secondary damage dealers. Frosmoth has the added benefit of being able to inflict sleep on the opponent with its attack Powder Snow.
If you missed the event and don’t have any Lapras ex cards in your collection, you could swap in two regular Lapras cards instead, providing you make substitutions and change the playstyle.
The regular iteration of Lapras has the attack Hydro Pump, costing one Water Energy token and dealing 20 damage. If it has three or more Energies attached, Hydro Pump deals an extra 70 damage, making it viable with Misty’s Energy scaling.
It does lose the added bonus of Bubble Drain from Lapras ex, which deals 80 damage and heals 20 from Lapras, but it deals an extra 10 damage. If you choose to play with the standard Lapras, we’d suggest including another ex Pokemon to work alongside it, like Articuno ex.
There are several variations of the Lapras ex deck list kicking around the community right now, and they’re all worth taking a look at. Popular inclusions are:
- The Starmie ex line, for affordable, high damage output
- The Pidgeot ex line, for secondary damage and the Drive Off ability
- The Omastar line, for extra control and secondary Water-type damage
- Farfetch’d, for easy damage in the early game
- The Greninja line, for deck sniping and extra damage output
- The Butterfree line, for extra heals and damage
Other popular picks include Articuno ex and even just the Old Amber Fossil card as a substitute of sorts. Some of these are easier to pick up than others in terms of rarity/Pack Point cost, so experiment with what you have and see what you enjoy.
The main thing to remember—whether you’re using our Lapras ex deck list or a variation—is that a Lapras card in Pocket will always need Energy acceleration and secondary damage support.
You can swap most cards in a Lapras deck, but Misty and damage support are non-negotiable. Getting three Energy quickly for Bubble Drain without a successful coin flip via Misty can be too time-consuming for most Pocket matches, and 80 damage isn’t enough to deal with threats like Mewtwo ex.
How the Lapras ex water deck works
Lapras ex has two key selling points—it has 140 HP and Bubble Drain offers both damage and a small amount of self-healing in return for 3 Energy.
Having 140 HP means that most opponents won’t be able to easily one-shot it, especially at the start of a game. It’s not the tankiest Pokémon card in Pocket by any means, but it’s sturdy enough to take a few hits and survive.
Bubble Drain doesn’t deal enough to one-shot many late-game critters, but if you can get Lapras ex Energized and into the Active position early on, it can act as a wall and prevent your opponent from setting up any Energy-heavy cards or evolutions.
Snom doesn’t offer much in the way of damage or utility, so as soon as it’s on the field, get it evolved quickly. Frosmoth acts as the perfect backup Pokémon with Powder Snow, with a guaranteed Special Condition and 40 damage in return for two Energy.
There is an element of luck with this deck, with Misty being the main source of Energy draw. If you don’t land any Heads during the coin flip stage, it can be tough to get Lapras ex ready to go.
If the cards (or coins) fall in your favor, though, it can be a lose condition for your opponent. Lapras ex might not be able to take down a Mewtwo ex or Articuno ex in one go, for example, but it can prevent the opponent from setting up a Gardevoir or Greninja.
This is an incredibly Supporter-heavy deck. Your aim should be to get Lapras ex ready to go as quickly as possible with Bubble Drain while using Frosmoth and Supporter cards like Sabrina and Red Card to keep your opponent busy.
Make sure you utilize tools like the Potion, X Speed, and Professor’s Research when they come up during the match too, as keeping Lapras ex health and out of harm’s way if a big attack is incoming is crucial for success.
Strengths and weaknesses
Lapras ex thrives in the early game if it can get set up quickly with plenty of Water Energy from Misty. Being able to deal 80 damage a pop during the early stages of a match can prevent your opponent from setting up with any evolution Pokémon.
Bubble Drain also has the added bonus of healing Lapras ex for 20 HP each time it’s used. While this may not seem like a noticeable amount if you’re a regular Pokémon TCG player, it’s a meaningful amount in the Pocket match format and can help keep Lapras ex alive for longer.
Frosmoth has access to arguably the most broken Special Condition in the game, as sleep can put an enemy Pokémon out of action for several turns if you get lucky with the coin flips. It also deals 40 damage on top of this when using Powder Snow, which can be efficient chip damage.
While these elements are impactful and do make for a fun deck, Lapras ex does struggle in some areas, too. Most importantly, it can’t match the damage output of current heavy hitters like Mewtwo ex, Charizard ex, and Pikachu ex, meaning these pairings can be tricky.
Additionally, it can be too heavily reliant on RNG for some players’ preferences, thanks to Misty being a crucial part of both Lapras ex and Frosmoth’s playstyles.
As this is a monotype Water deck, it can also be difficult to face off against decks like Pikachu ex, Zapdos ex, or Lt. Surge because of the type disadvantage. These decks are all relatively popular in the current Pocket meta, so without adding any other types to the deck list, it can be an uphill battle.
Despite this, Lapras ex is still worth your time if you enjoy playing unique decks that have a luck-based element to them. It’s a fun and punchy Pocket deck, and it’s relatively accessible to pick up as a brand-new player, too. Build your own in-game today and see how it feels in a match.
