Standard Deck Tech: Cynthia's Garchomp ex + M. Lucario ex

Destined Rivals is the next Pokémon TCG base set, scheduled for release in May 2025.

This set will bring us more "Trainer Partners", that is, the "signature Pokémon" of a few iconic trainers.

One of the biggest highlights in this set is Cynthia and her powerful Garchomp. On their own, they might turn the tides against Electric Pokémon, particularly Iron Hands ex sv4 70 and Iron Thorns ex TWM 77, which are dominating the Standard meta.

As we got a few spoilers from The Pokémon Company, we were able to build a list of our own with these Pokémon and the April 2025 rotation in mind.

List

Pokémon (19)

2 Riolu PRE 50

2 Mega Lucario ex

3 Cynthia's Gible

3 Cynthia's Gabite

3 Cynthia's Garchomp ex

1 Budew PRE 4

1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38

1 Mew ex sv3pt5 151

1 Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex PRE 58

Trainer (30)

1 Town Store sv3 196

3 Arven sv3 186

2 Iono sv2 185

2 Boss's Orders (Ghetsis) sv2 172

1 Surfer SSP 187

4 Ultra Ball sv1 196

2 Nest Ball sv1 181

4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin PRE 101

2 Rare Candy PGO 69

2 Premium Power Pro

1 Technical Machine: Evolution sv4 178

2 Cynthia's Power Weight

1 Earthen Vessel PRE 106

2 Super Rod sv2 188

2 Switch sv1 194

1 Pal Pad sv1 182

2 Counter Catcher sv4 160

1 Prime Catcher PRE 119

Energies (8)

8 Basic Fighting Energy sv1 258

Mega Lucario ex

Mega Lucario ex is one of the most promising Fighting Pokémon from this set. It stands out because of its first attack, which lets you attach energies from your discard pile.

Aura Jab lets you recycle three Basic Fighting Energy sv1 258 from the discard pile and attach them to your Benched Pokémon however you like, regardless of their type (in fact, we play Mew ex sv3pt5 151 in this list).

This will be quite useful for Cynthia's Garchomp ex, as its second attack, Dragon Buster, forces you to discard energies. Together, Mega Lucario ex and Cynthia's Garchomp ex make up a very interesting combo.

As for its other attack, Mega Brave, it deals 270 damage, but you won't be able to use it again the following turn.

Please note that you can ignore effects that state "you can't use this next turn" if you retreat and promote your Pokémon to the active spot again.

Cynthia’s Garchomp ex

The card most players were expecting, Cynthia's Garchomp ex, is incredibly strong because:

- Its first attack, Screw Dive, draws up to 6 cards.

- Its second attack, Dragon Buster, deals a lot of damage and costs just two Fighting energies.

- And its retreat cost is zero!

The idea behind this card is to use Dragon Buster to deal as much damage as possible. As this attack forces you to discard all energies attached to Garchomp ex, Mega Lucario ex's attack, Aura Jab, will be incredibly useful. You'll get your energies back and continue playing as usual.

Furthermore, you should use Premium Power Pro to deal more damage to the enemy Pokémon and Cynthia's Power Weight to give 70 HP to Garchomp ex.

Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex

This Pokémon is a barrier against Pokémon abilities thanks to its own ability, Cornerstone Stance.

Its attack, Demolish, goes through Pokémon effects, so it's useful in many situations.

Recursive Pokémon

Budew PRE 4 prevents your opponent from using Items next turn, so it's a way to control them.

Fezandipiti ex SFA 38 draws three cards if one of your Pokémon is Knocked Out by an enemy attack.

Mew ex sv3pt5 151's ability, Restart, draws up to three cards. Ideally, you should use it before you set up Garchomp ex, as this way you'll be able to get any card you need.

Furthermore, you can use Mega Lucario ex's Aura Jab to attach Fighting energies to Mew ex and use its attack, Hacking Genoma, to copy powerful enemy attacks.

Trainers

Supporter to Filter Items and Tools

Besides getting Ultra Ball sv1 196, Nest Ball sv1 181, and Buddy-Buddy Poffin PRE 101 (which are, in turn, great to find Pokémon, particularly Buddy-Buddy Poffin PRE 101, as it gets you Riolu and Cynthia's Gible), this card also gets Tools for you.

You'll mostly get Cynthia's Power Weight with it and buff Cynthia's Garchomp ex with it, and also get Technical Machine: Evolution sv4 178 to evolve your Pokémon, particularly Cynthia's Gible into Cynthia's Gabite.

Supporter to Pull Enemy Pokémon

Supporter to Switch Pokémon and Draw Cards

You'll use this card to retreat Mega Lucario ex.

Items to Get Pokémon

Item to Recycle Pokémon and Basic Energies

Item to Pull Enemy Pokémon

Item to Deal More Damage with Fighting Pokémon

This item makes your Fighting Pokémon deal 30 extra damage to the opponent's active Pokémon.

You can also use multiple of them in a single turn. If you play two, you'll deal 60 extra damage.

Tools

Cynthia's Power Weight

This Tool gives Cynthia's Pokémon 70 extra HP, so it makes Garchomp more resilient.

Technical Machine: Evolution

You'll use this card to evolve Cynthia's Gible into Cynthia's Gabite. Gabite, in turn, will get any Pokémon with Cynthia's name on it from your deck and add it to your hand.

Stadium

This Stadium will get you at least Technical Machine: Evolution sv4 178 and/or Cynthia's Power Weight.

ACE SPEC

Pros

This deck is great against Electric decks, like Iron Hands ex PRE 31 and Iron Thorns ex PRE 32. It is also great against Terapagos ex SCR 128 because of its weakness, and Charizard ex sv4pt5 54 because it takes longer to set up.

Finally, it is strong against Feraligatr and Milotic ex, which stood out at Fukuoka's Champions League.

Cons

This deck struggles against Raging Bolt ex TEF 123 if they get energies straight away and start dealing a lot of damage. It also struggles against Hydreigon ex SSP 119 because of its "mill" strategy, particularly if the opponent knows how to take advantage of it.

Gholdengo ex sv4 139 is a problem because of how explosive it is, and how easily it gets energies.

Finally, Gardevoir ex sv4pt5 29 has the upper hand because of Mega Lucario ex's weakness. With Mega Gardevoir ex, beating this list will be even more challenging because of how explosive it is.

This deck will be incredibly strong, as well as popular. It should last a long time in Standard, particularly after the April 2025 rotation.

Once Destined Rivals is out, you should get at least Cynthia's 4-4-4 Gible, Gabite, Garchomp evolution line, besides her Tool, Cynthia's Power Weight.

What did you think of this list? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!