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Despite their cute appearance, Fairy-types can be among the scariest Pokemon that you encounter. While thePokemon TCGhas retired Fairies as a type, strong Fairy-type Pokemon like Tinkaton are still available under the Psychic umbrella. Tinkaton may not be much to look at, but with a hammer that weighs more than a man and a reckless disregard for safety, she’s a force to be reckoned with.
Tinkaton can bring her Big Hammer to your next Pokemon TCG tournament with a little help from the unassuming Dudunsparce and some creative deckbuilding. It’s hammer time!
Dunsparce, TEF 128 (4)
Dudunsparce, TEF 129 (4)
Tinkatink, PAL 100 (3)
Tinkatink, PAL 101 (1)
Tinkatuff, PAL 104 (1)
Tinkaton ex, PAL 240 (3)
Tinkaton, PAL 105 (2)
Manaphy, BRS 41 (1)
Luxray, PAL 71 (1)
Reversal Energy (3)
Psychic Energy (1)
This decklist is based on the one played by Simone Torrente at the Special Event Bologna.
Tinkaton ex Deck Best Cards
Tinkaton ex decks follow a similar pattern with only minor variations, usually in the number of certain trainer cards in the list. A handful of cards are absolutely vital, however.
Dudunsparce is a powerful draw enginecapable of drawing three cards with the drawback of shuffling itself and any cards attached to it back into your deck. Drawing more cards will power up Tinkaton ex’s Big Hammer attack, and with a little luck you’ll be able to draw or search for more Dunsparces and Dudunsparces each turn.
Ideally, you want to use your Dudunsparces to draw into Dunsparces that you can play immediately,setting yourself up to evolve and use Run Away Draw againon the next turn.
Tinkaton ex has two attacks, butthe only one you should use is Big Hammer. It costs two colorless Energy and does damage equal to 30 x the number of cards in your hand. In the Pokemon TCG it’s relatively easy to get ten or more cards in your hand,enabling Tinkaton to one-hit Knock Out virtually anythingyour opponent puts in front of her.
Tinkaton ex’s reliance on the number of cards in your hand means thatit’s important to keep an eye on your hand sizeand assess what you can play. Playing a Nest Ball to fetch a couple of Dunsparces onto your bench may set you up for the next turn but leave you ten damage short of a Knock Out at the end of the current one.
Radiant Jirachi forces your opponent to reconsider attacking, since if it’s Knocked Out you’ll get to search for three cards to add to your hand, finding your most important missing pieces or increasing your hand size and the power of Big Hammer.
Radiant Jirachi also has the Astral Misfortune attack, which costs two colorless energy and can one-hit Knock Out your opponent’s active Pokemon if you win two coin flips. You only have a 25 percent chance of succeeding on that attack each time you use it, but that can lead to a pinch win, andif Radiant Jirachi is Knocked Out during the attempt, you only give up one Prize and search for three cardsof your own.
This deck can run entirely off of Double Turbo Energy and Reversal Energy, only including a single basic Psychic Energy in case you need to use Special Hammer in a pinch.
Double Turbo Energy counts as two Colorless Energy, whichpays for Big Hammer, your main attack, and Astral Misfortune, Radiant Jirachi’s attack. Reversal Energy counts as one Colorless Energy, unless you’re behind on Prize cards, when it counts as three of any color. In that situation, you can use Swelling Flash to drop Luxray into play, attach a Reversal Energy, and attack for asurprise Knock Outon an opponent’s Pidgeot ex or Lugia ex.
Tinkaton ex Deck Strategy
Tinkaton ex has several advantages: It’s fast, it’s mechanically straightforward, and it can recover quickly from disruption.
Since you want to evolve Tinkatink as soon as possible, you shouldgo first, if possible, setting Dunsparce as your Active Pokemonsince it has no retreat cost. This will protect your Tinkatink from being attacked on your opponent’s first turn while allowing you to switch it up on your second turn.
On your first turn,use Buddy-Buddy Poffins and Nest Balls to search for the rest of your Dunsparces. If you’re missing a Rare Candy and a Tinkaton ex,use Great Balls to search for Tinkaton ex and Dudunsparceand thin your deck and increase your chances of drawing your Rare Candy.
On your second turn, evolve your Dunsparce into Dudunsparce anduse Run Away Draw to advance your Tinkatink. Evolve to Tinkaton ex with a Rare Candy and attach a Double Turbo Energy. If you haven’t played any Buddy-Buddy Poffins or Nest Balls, you should have six cards in your hand and be ready to attack for 190 damage.
If your opponent’s Active Pokemon has more HP than you can deal with using Big Hammer,start evolving your Dunsparces and using Run Away Draw to draw more cards. Arezu and Morty’s Conviction can be used to fill your hand even more and get your Dudunsparces back to repeat next turn.
You might be tempted to build a giant hand for 400+ damage Big Hammers, but don’t get carried away: Supporters like Iono, Roxanne, and Judge can reset all of your progress.
Tinkaton ex Deck Common Threats
Tinkaton ex has the potential to sweep your opponent’s whole team before they have a chance to really set up, butshe can struggle against decks that force you to discardor punish you for holding a lot of cards in your hand.
Despite not being a Pokemon,Iono is the number-one threat to Tinkaton ex. She’s played in almost every deck and will reduce your hand from however many you built up for Big Hammer to a maximum of six, hurting you more the further ahead you are. While Roxanne might interfere more reliably,Iono is ubiquitousand will be a threat in any deck you’re matched against.
Pidgeot Control decks can compound that issue byattacking your hand more directly, using Eri or attacking with Luxray V’s Fang Snipe to further reduce your hand size while your opponent sets up. However, if you can get Luxray into play, you should be able to one-hit Knock Out your opponent’s Pidgeot ex.
Gardevoir ex can bypass the Bench protection offered by Manaphyby leveraging Munkidori’s Adrena-Brain to move damage counters onto your Benched Pokemon, healing your opponent’s Pokemon in the process. This allows your opponent to score Knock Outs on your Benched support Pokemon such as Radiant Jirachi and Dunsparce.
