Pokémon TCG: Arcanine - Top 10 Best Cards

In this article, we'll show you the top 10 strongest and most interesting Arcanines in Pokémon TCG - considering cards from the Wizards of the Coast era until today.

The focus of this article is Arcanine, one of Kanto's Fire Pokémon. Many fans love Arcanine because of its design and because of how it symbolizes a lot of the mythology around the Pokémon world. Many also remember this Pokémon because it is in Blue's team in the games, and Gary's team in the anime series, in the Pokémon Journeys season.

Note: in this article, I won't consider the Hisui version of this Pokémon, Hisuian Arcanine, because there aren't enough of them to write a whole top 10 just for them.

10 - Arcanine ex (Ruby/Sapphire: Legend Maker)

This Arcanine conquered its spot on our list because of its ability, Fire Remedy, which is a "passive ability": any time you attach a Fire energy card in your hand to Arcanine ex, you'll remove one damage counter and remove any special conditions it may have.

Imagine a reprint of this Arcanine in 2024 or a nearby future with Welder UNB 189a in Expanded, how cool would it be!

9 - Arcanine (Sun/Moon: Detective Pikachu)

This Arcanine plays a recursive role in our decks and gives us more resilience in our games. Its ability, Security Gard, tells us the following: if we put it as our active Pokémon, all our Pokémon will be dealt 30 less damage from any enemy attack.

This mechanic is more efficient against opponents that deal "sniper" damage to multiple Pokémon on our board or to specific Pokémon. The downside is that Arcanine has to be our active Pokémon.

8 - Arcanine (Wizards of the Coast Era: Neo Destiny)

Straight from the Wizards of the Coast era, this Arcanine fills our 8th spot because of its ability, Drive Off: as long as it is your active Pokémon, once during your turn, your opponent will have to choose one of their benched Pokémon to swap with their active Pokémon.

It wasn't great, but it was, in a certain way, useful to disrupt your opponent.

And the most curious detail about it is that, as it is a "Light" Pokémon, its attack is very gentlemanly. Its description tells us that, if your opponent's defending Pokémon is a "baby Pokémon" (common Pokémon in the Johto era, such as Pichu, Cleffa, Smoochum, Tyrogue, Magby, Elekid), instead of dealing 50 damage, it will deal 10. If your opponent's defending Pokémon is a basic Pokémon, it will deal only 30 damage.

7 - Arcanine (Diamond/Pearl: Rising Rivals)

The greatest detail about its Diamond/Pearl version is its ability, which tells us: as long as this Arcanine has a Fire energy card attached, it has no weakness!

This Arcanine also deals damage based on how many damage counters it has. Its first attack deals 30 + 30 damage, but it will make Arcanine "Burned", on the other side.

If it survives this "recoil", you'll use its second attack, which deals 60 + 10 damage for each damage counter this Arcanine has, and, like so, you can deal up to 150 damage.

6 - Arcanine (X/Y: Evolutions)

This Pokémon was "reprinted" in the Evolutions set from block X/Y. Compared to its predecessor, Arcanine BS 23, from Wizards of the Coast's Base Set, it is significantly different.

In its original version, it only had two attacks, and now, in the updated Expanded version, it lost one attack and gained an ability called Burning Road. This ability tells us that if Arcanine is moved from the bench to the active position, you can move all Fire energy cards from your other Pokémon to it.

Additionally, its attack doesn't have a "downside" like its Take Down attack in its previous version. Now, it can use Scorching Breath, which deals a lot more damage - but you won't be able to use this attack again next turn.

As I explained before in several other articles, for these types of effects, there are several strategies we can use to retreat these Pokémon and "reset" negative effects.

5 - Arcanine "BREAK" (X/Y: Promo Card)

Still in the X/Y block, we have this card, which came in a promo set in a box that celebrated and featured a few "BREAK" Pokémon.

This Arcanine is a support card. Its attack deals a "reasonable" amount of damage for the time it was released, and it has the additional effect of getting two basic energy cards from the discard pile and attaching them to one of your benched Pokémon, regardless of what type of energy card they are, which was great.

Note: as it is a "BREAK" card (even if this is considered a sort of "evolution" - it is more like an upgrade to this Pokémon), this Arcanine BREAK can use buffs, abilities, and attacks from the Arcanine it "evolved" from, so, depending on which cards you use, it can become quite useful.

4 - Arcanine (Sun/Moon: Base Set)

Imagine a damage-heavy Pokémon! This Arcanine is exactly that.

Its first attack is quite useful, considering it gives your opponent Burned and also deals 60 damage. Its second attack deals 190 damage, which is absurd for a stage 1 Pokémon, even if you do need to discard three Fire energy cards that are attached to it. This attack is incredibly valuable, as along as you know how to use the right Trainer cards to add energy cards to your "Fire Box" archetype Pokémon, like Welder UNB 189a or Blacksmith FLF 88, and as long as you use Charizard PGO 10 as a support card.

This is only valid in Expanded, however!

3 - Arcanine (Sun/Moon: Unbroken Bonds)

In our third spot, we have this Arcanine, which is, at the same time, a recursive Pokémon, and a damage-heavy Pokémon for the Fire archetype:

1) Its first attack, besides dealing an excellent amount of base damage (120 damage), also moves two Fire energy cards from the discard pile to one of your benched Pokémon. This is critical for Pokémon that need more energy cards.

2) Its second attack is its offensive side, considering it deals 190 damage. The downside is that it will be dealt 50 damage in the process.

2 - Arcanine (Scarlet/Violet: Obsidian Flames)

If you thought the Arcanine in our 3rd and 4th spot were damage-heavy, it's because you haven't seen this one yet!

Straight from the Obsidian Flames set, this Pokémon's second attack can deal up to 240 damage, even if you do need to discard two Fire energy cards in the process.

But don't be afraid: if you play it in Expanded, it is much easier to move energy cards to it with the Fire Crystal UNB 173 + Welder UNB 189a combo!

1 - Arcanine ex (Scarlet/Violet: Base Set)

In our first place, we have Arcanine's ex version, also from the Scarlet & Violet block, more precisely from this block's Base Set!

What is impressive about this Pokémon is its first attack, Raging Claws, which deals 30 + 10 extra damage for each damage counter this Pokémon has.

Does this remind you of anything? If you answered Reshiram & Charizard-GX UNB 20's Outrage, you're absolutely right!

So, we can use any item that boosts this Pokémon's HP, like Big Charm SSH 158 or even Heat Fire Energy DAA 174, to make it stronger and deal a lot of damage with its first attack. Considering this attack only costs two Fire energy cards, it is much easier to use it with Welder UNB 189a and Blacksmith FLF 88.

Arcanine (Sword/Shield: Silver Tempest)

Its attack, Fighting Tackle, is incredibly efficient against "V" Pokémon, and can deal up to 200 damage.

It is a viable option for Zoroark EVS 103 players in Expanded.

Arcanine (Sword/Shield: Rebel Clash)

Finally, we have this Arcanine, which is a better version of Arcanine NXD 12, from Black/White: Next Destinies, because of its ability, which gives it more HP. If you use Burning Scarf RCL 155, this Arcanine will get an extra 100 HP, which will give it a total of 230 HP!

What did you think of this list? What would your top 10 best Arcanine list look like? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section.

Thank you for reading! See you next time.