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Some see her as an underrated Supporter, while others think she’s too niche to matter in the meta. Still, Cynthia managed to leave her mark onPokemon TCG Pocket’s metagame—at least for a while.
Right after her release, Garchomp dominated tournaments, only to fizzle out days later. This hurt Cynthia’s reputation, leading many to believe Garchomp’s downfall proved she had no place inTCG Pocket’s meta.
But after reviewing recent tournaments and testing different synergies, we’ve identified three deck shells where Cynthia shines. If you’re looking to make her work, these are the decks you’ll want to use. But before exploring them, here’s a quick look at her card.
An Overview of Cynthia
Cynthia is one of six new Supporter cards introduced in the Space-Time Smackdown set. Her unique ability boosts the attack damage of two specific Pokemon by 50, which sounds great on paper. However, since her beneficiaries—Togekiss and Garchomp—are struggling to secure wins, Cynthia’s presence in the meta has also taken a hit.
It’s also worth noting that Cynthia was ranked #4 in our recent ranking of the Space-Time Smackdown Supporters. And the reason she couldn’t enter the top three was her niche effect.
“It’s unlikely that both Garchomp and Togekiss will maintain a strong presence in Pokemon TCG Pocket’s metagame, meaning Cynthia could fade away as new expansions are released.”
The Best-Performing Cynthia Deck
RecentPokemon TCG Pockettournamentsconfirm that Cynthia’s strongest deck shell pairs her with Garchomp. This build uses Druddigon as the tank and Garchomp as the main damage dealer.
The strategy is simple: keep a tank in the Active Spot—Druddigon, in this case—whilesetting up one or two Garchomp on the Bench. With Cynthia’s support, this allows for back-to-back 150-damage attacks.
Some players have experimented with replacing Druddigon with Manaphy or Marshadow to take advantage of the deck’s dual-Energy nature. However, this approach compromises the consistency of the primary evolution line and is not recommended.
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Best Trainer Cards for the Shell
The Highest-Damage Cynthia Deck
To fully capitalize on Cynthia’s buff, pairing her with Togekiss is the way to go. By default, Togekiss’s second attack gains a +60 boost, bringing its total damage to 120. Now, if you play Cynthia before that attack, it skyrockets to a massive 170-damage hit—all with just two Psychic Energies.
A powerful strategy involves having a ready-to-attack Togekiss in the Active Spot and two Cynthia cards in hand. You can use the first Cynthia to boost Togekiss’s initial attack, dealing 110 damage. Then, on the next turn, play the second Cynthia to unleash a 170-damage hit, enough to take down even the most bulky Pokemon.
Thiscombo becomes even deadlier with the addition of Cyrus. If your opponent retreats after Togekiss’s first attack, you don’t have to waste the buffed second attack on a fresh Pokemon. Instead, you play Cyrus to bring back their damaged Pokemon and finish them off.
The biggest drawback of this setup isTogekiss being a Stage Two Pokemon, which makes it difficult to consistently build two Togekiss cards. This can be a problem against fast-paced decks. However, you can mitigate the drawback by leveraging Druddigon’s synergy with Togekiss, which you can use to stall opponents long enough to set up your main damage dealers.
The Best Trainer Cards for the Deck Shell
The Best Cynthia Deck for Stalling
If you’re up for a risky but fun Cynthia setup, the Togekiss-Mismagius ex shell is worth a shot. This lineup gained popularity when Misdreavus Promo-A, with itsConfusion Ability, was released. While it’s not a top-tier meta pick, it still holds some relevance as a meme/troll setup.
The goal of this deck is toget Promo-A Misdreavusinto the Active Spot early. Its Confusion-inflicting attack helps stall the opponent, giving you time to set up Togekiss on the Bench. Once evolved, Mismagius ex can reinforce the Confusion effect, buying even more time to build another Togekiss.
A key advantage of this variant is having two damage dealers. Mismagius ex can dish out 80 damage, softening up opponents for Togekiss to finish them off. However, the downside lies in the deck’s fragile evolution lines and attack-cost management. Evolving both attackers and supplying them with Energy before the opponent applies pressure can be a major challenge.
Mismagius ex
Cynthia’s Performance in Pocket’s Metagame
Since Cynthia is primarily used in Togekiss or Garchomp decks, their meta performance is an indicator of her viability. Currently, these two Pokemon collectively make up about 2% of the metagame, with an average win rate of 41.4%. More importantly, decks featuring them have appeared in fewer than 2,000 matches in recent tournaments, which shows a decline in popularity.
Between the two, Garchomp has been the stronger pick, holding a higher meta share (1.22%) and a slightly better win rate of 42.25%. However, neither synergy has managed to compete with the top-tier decks.
Cynthia’sTogekiss decks struggle heavily against Darkrai exand Exeggutor ex, the two best-performing lineups in the current meta. Meanwhile, her Garchomp setups aren’t faring much better. Unless she gains stronger synergies in future expansions, Cynthia’s relevance is unlikely to improve—especially since her effect is locked to Togekiss and Garchomp, two Pokemon with no long-term viability.
