IntroductionIt's time to talk about Lucario, one of the most popular Pokémon in the entire franchise. In fact, since it was released, it has become one of the most coveted Pokémon around and now stands alongside other popular names such as Pikachu, Charizard, Gengar, Snorlax, and Eeveelutions.With that in mind, let's go over the 10 best Lucarios in the game. Please note that this article only reflects my personal opinion, and even that is based on how efficient each attack is and certain combos that support this Pokémon in the Standard, Expanded, and GLC formats.Pokémon TCG: Top 10 Best Lucario10 - Lucario (Black & White: Plasma Storm)Our first Pokémon features Dual Armor, a very interesting ability: if Lucario has Metal energies attached to it, it is also a Metal Pokémon, that is, a hybrid.Its attack, Hurricane Quick, is also relevant. It deals 60 damage plus 30 more for each Prize card the opponent has already taken. Considering the opponent can take up to 5 Prize cards, Lucario can deal an extra 150 damage, for a total of an impressive 210 damage!9 - Lucario (Sun/Moon: Ultraprism)It stands out because of its ability, Precognitive Aura, which states, "If you have a Garchomp in play, you may search your deck for any card and put it into your hand."This card was very useful in the Sun & Moon era because of the combos with Garchomp UPR 99 (the Dragon version from Ultraprism) and Garchomp FLI 62 (the Fighting version from Forbidden Light). Both Garchomp relied heavily on Cynthia UPR 119, which you could easily get with this Lucario.In addition, these Pokémon were easy to get through the Mach Strike theme Deck, which also came with Lucario UPR 67 and Garchomp UPR 99 (Dragon).8 - Lucario (Sword & Shield: Brilliant Stars)Because of its ability, Roaring Resolve, this Lucario basically acts as energy support. You can attach 1 basic Fighting energy from your deck directly to Lucario, but in return, you'll also have to put 2 damage counters on it.Its attack, Aura Sphere Volley, deals 10 damage plus an additional 60 for each Fighting energy you discard from this Pokémon!This card was critical in Sword & Shield's Standard format and remains highly relevant in Expanded. It enables interesting combos, such as the one with Machamp VMAX, which we discussed before in this article.7 - Lucario & Melmetal-GX (Sun & Moon: Unbroken Bonds)In the TAG TEAM Pokémon era (a mechanic featuring pairs or trios of Pokémon), this card stood out for how defensive it was. It made the Metal archetype “nearly impenetrable” when you also played Metal Core Barrier UNB 180 from the same set (Sun & Moon: Unbroken Bonds).Its first attack, Steel Fist, deals 50 damage and lets you attach 1 basic Metal energy from your deck to this pair (Lucario & Melmetal). This gives you the energy you need for its second attack, which is a bit more expensive.Heavy Impact deals 150 damage. At the time, using this attack twice was enough to knock out the main TAG TEAM Pokémon in the format, which had, on average, 270 to 280 HP.The icing on the cake is its GX attack, Full Metal Wall. This mechanic was exclusive to Pokémon-GX, and you could only activate it once per game.This attack has two effects: the first reduces damage from enemy attacks by 30 points for the rest of the game. The second states that, if the Pokémon has extra energies attached, you can discard all energies attached to the opponent's active Pokémon. It's essentially a way to sabotage the opponent.In the Expanded format, this card is even more effective with Metal Frying Pan FLI 112. It makes it immune to Fire Pokémon and reduces damage from enemy attacks by an extra 30 points, which, when combined with its GX attack, reduces damage from enemy attacks by a total of 60 points!Its biggest problem is that Heavy Impact is a bit heavy, considering it needs 4 energies to deal just 150 damage. Today, in 2026, there are Metal Pokémon that deal a lot more damage and need less energies, such as Zacian V SSH 138.In addition, if this pair is knocked out, the opponent takes 3 Prize cards. This is a huge setback in the Prize card race. However, if you enjoy defensive Pokémon, playing at least 2 copies of this Lucario in Expanded is a very interesting idea!6 - Lucario ex (Scarlet & Violet: Promo Cards)It stands out because of its attack, Aura Sphere, which not only deals 160 damage to the opponent's active Pokémon but also deals 50 damage to 1 of their benched Pokémon.5 - Lucario ex (Scarlet & Violet: Prismatic Evolutions)This Pokémon stands out because of its attack, Tornado Rush. It deals 100 damage as well as another 100 extra damage on the following turn, for a total of 200 damage. It only needs 2 energies (F)(C), so it's very fast and easy to use!4 - Lucario-EX (X & Y: Furious Fists)This is one of the best EX Lucario.It offers you a wide variety of attacks, each playing highly relevant roles:Its first attack, Missile Jab, goes through resistance. In other words, it deals flat damage, although it still takes weaknesses into account. In this case, Colorless and Lightning Pokémon take 60 damage from this attack.Corkscrew Smash deals damage and lets you draw cards until you have 6 in your hand.Somersault Kick centers around knocking out Pokémon through raw damage. During the X & Y era, 100 damage was a significant amount. Mega Pokémon-EX had around 230 HP, after all. Basically cutting down these giants in half in a single attack was quite relevant.3 - M Lucario-EX (X & Y: Furious Fists)Its attack, Rising Fist, discards an energy from the opponent's active Pokémon. This is a classic way to sabotage the opponent, or, as we say in the community, a disruption strategy.The biggest problem with Mega Evolutions back then was that we had to end our turn immediately after evolving our Pokémon. To get around this, we had to attach a Tool called Spirit Link to our Pokémon. This was the only way to evolve them without skipping our turn.Unfortunately, Lucario's Spirit Link was not released in its original set (Furious Fists). This Tool was only printed later as a promo in the exclusive Mega Powers Collection line.In the Expanded format, this Mega Evolution is still very useful because we can copy its attack with Mewtwo & Mew-GX UNM 71's ability, Perfection.2 - Lucario VSTAR (Sword & Shield: Promo Cards)This Pokémon was critical in the Standard format during the Sword & Shield era. It stole the spotlight mainly alongside Arceus VSTAR BRS 123 and Umbreon VMAX EVS 95, one of the strongest archetypes at the time. Each of these Pokémon, together with Lucario VSTAR PR-SW SWSH214, played a specific role in this deck. Check it out:At the time, this strategy was clearly mapped out: Arceus VSTAR BRS 123's attack gave you energies for your other Pokémon V (VMAX and VSTAR) and VSTAR Power. Umbreon VMAX EVS 95 knocked out threats such as Mew VMAX FST 114, and Lucario VSTAR PR-SW SWSH214 was the main way to counter Colorless Pokémon. It beat "mirror matches" against other Arceus VSTAR decks.As for Lucario VSTAR in particular, its attack, Fighting Knuckle, deals 120 base damage, but if the opponent's active Pokémon is a Pokémon V (a category that includes VMAX, VSTAR, and V-UNION), it deals an extra 120 damage, for a scary total of 240 damage!In addition, its VSTAR attack, Aura Star, deals 70 damage for each energy attached to all enemy Pokémon. It is an excellent last resort and a great alternative for the VSTAR mechanic, since you can only use it once per game.Considering everything it did in Standard and still does in Expanded against some Pokémon V, this Lucario earned 2nd place in this article.1 - Mega Lucario ex (Mega Evolution: Base Set)The title of undisputed best Lucario ever made (so far) is this card from the Mega Evolution base set.In addition to dealing damage, its attack, Aura Jab, recycles 3 basic Fighting energy from the discard pile and lets you put them on your benched Pokémon however you like. A hybrid attacker that also acts as energy support is every player's dream.Its second attack, Mega Brave, deals an impressive 270 damage, although you cannot use it two turns in a row.However, you can get around this very easily: in Standard, you can simply retreat it with Air Balloon BLK 79 to reset the effect. In Expanded, you can do the same with Float Stone PLF 99.Naturally, in Expanded, it is still an excellent option for this archetype. This card is both powerful in terms of damage and versatile when it comes to resources, and it doesn't need a lot of energies to work either.We have explored a few lists with this Lucario in articles such as this one with Cynthia’s Garchomp ex.Furthermore, since Mega Rayquaza ex came out in the Storm Emerald set, Mega Lucario ex me01 077 has been becoming more popular and showing up in Japanese tournaments. It is only a matter of time before we see this Pokémon do well in the West too.ConclusionsWhat do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.Thank you for reading, and see you next time!
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