Pokémon TCG: Standard Deck Tech - Cynthia's Garchomp ex (Praga Regional)

Greetings!

In today's article, we'll discuss the Cynthia's Garchomp ex DRI 104 list that Neddy Kosek played to get 3rd place at the Praga Regional. We could see this Pokémon had potential ever since it was released in Scarlet & Violet: Destined Rivals, so it was only a matter of time before it proved its worth. I've been talking about it since 2025, in fact.

This tournament also kickstarted the new competitive season with the latest 2026 rotation. It's a great starting point to figure out which decks will be relevant in the next few months.

That being said, let's see this list.

POKÉMON: 19

4 Cynthia's Gible DRI 102

4 Cynthia's Gabite DRI 103

3 Cynthia's Garchomp ex DRI 104

4 Cynthia's Roselia DRI 7

3 Cynthia's Roserade DRI 8

1 Cynthia's Spiritomb DRI 129

TRAINERS: 32

4 Lillie's Determination MEG 119

4 Boss's Orders MEG 114

2 Larry's Skill PRE 115

1 Team Rocket's Petrel DRI 176

4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144

4 Poké Pad POR 81

3 Fighting Gong MEG 116

2 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186

2 Premium Power Pro MEG 124

1 Switch MEG 130

4 Cynthia's Power Weight DRI 162

1 Unfair Stamp TWM 165

ENERGIES: 9

5 Fighting Energy MEE 6

4 Rocky Fighting Energy POR 87

Deck Structure

Cynthia's Garchomp ex: Main Attacker

Both of its attacks are excellent.

Its first attack, Corkscrew Dive, deals 100 damage and also lets you draw until you have 6 cards in hand.

Its second attack, Dragon Buster, deals 260 damage for a very accessible cost: just two Fighting energies. But you'll have to discard the energies attached to it afterward.

Furthermore, you can retreat Cynthia's Garchomp ex DRI 104 for free.

Like so, you can do whatever's best for you. Its first attack will give you cards, and the second will deal damage.

Cynthia's Spiritomb: Single Prize Attacker

Its attack uses all the damage counters on Cynthia's Pokémon on your bench and turns them into solid damage.

Please note that it also isn't affected by any resistance or weakness.

For instance, if you have 2 Cynthia's Garchomp ex DRI 104 on your bench, each with a Cynthia's Power Weight DRI 162 and 10 HP left, you'll deal 780 damage (78 damage counters, 390 damage from each Pokémon).

Recursive Pokémon

Baby Pokémon

Cynthia's Gabite DRI 103's ability, Champion's Call, lets you get one of Cynthia's Pokémon from your deck. This is a great way to set up your Gible evolutions and also gives you access to Roserade and Spiritomb.

Cynthia's Roserade DRI 8's ability, Cheer on the Glory, makes your Cynthia's Pokémon deal 30 extra damage with attacks, so it's great with Cynthia's Garchomp ex DRI 104.

With it, Dragon Buster will deal 290 damage instead of 260.

Trainers

Supporters

Lillie's Determination MEG 119 lets you shuffle your hand back into your deck and get 6 new cards. If you have exactly 6 Prize cards left, you'll draw 8 new cards instead.

Larry's Skill PRE 115 lets you discard your entire hand and then get 1 Pokémon, 1 Supporter, and 1 basic energy from your deck.

It's perfect before you use Cynthia's Garchomp ex DRI 104's Corkscrew Dive, which refills your hand.

Team Rocket's Petrel DRI 176 lets you get any Trainer from your deck.

Boss's Orders MEG 114 lets you pull benched enemy Pokémon to the active spot. It's perfect when you need to knock out a specific Pokémon.

Item to Get Pokémon and Resources

Fighting Gong MEG 116 lets you get a basic Fighting Pokémon or a basic Fighting energy from your deck.

Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144 lets you get 2 basic Pokémon with up to 70 HP from your deck and put them on your bench.

Poké Pad POR 81 lets you get a baby Pokémon from your deck, that is, a Pokémon without a rule box.

Item to Get Supporters

Pokégear 3.0 lets you look at the top 7 cards in your deck and get a Supporter.

Item to Deal More Damage

This card makes the Fighting Pokémon it is attached to deal 30 extra damage to the opponent's active Pokémon that turn. It can stack.

If you play two copies of it, Cynthia's Garchomp ex DRI 104's Dragon Buster will be able to deal 320 damage.

ACE SPEC

This ACE SPEC is an Item and activates when one of your Pokémon is knocked out. In the following turn, both players shuffle their hands back into their decks, but your opponent will draw 2 cards while you'll draw 5.

This is incredibly strong because Cynthia's Garchomp ex DRI 104 already has an attack that draws cards.

Special Energies

Rocky Fighting Energy POR 87 protects the Pokémon it is equipped to from enemy attack effects.

This is excellent against special conditions like Paralysis, Sleep, and Confusion and will keep Cynthia's Garchomp ex DRI 104 quite safe. You'll only have to worry about solid damage.

Combo

Dealing More Damage

If you use Dragon Buster with Cynthia's Roserade DRI 8's ability, it will deal 260 base damage and 30 extra damage, so it will deal 290 damage.

If you also play two copies of Premium Power Pro MEG 124 that turn, you'll deal 60 extra damage, so you'll deal 350 damage.

This deck is strong and consistent. Cynthia's Garchomp ex DRI 104 is quite powerful but doesn't need a lot to work. It also draws cards, and you can retreat it for free, which is quite nice in any deck.

The most important mechanics in Pokémon TCG are attacks that you can use easily and knock out Pokémon fast, Pokémon that you can move around easily, and drawing cards constantly. This Pokémon nearly does everything.

You can also play it with Mega Lucario ex MEG 77, as we mentioned in this article.

One thing you could do is play some copies of Rare Candy MEG 125 (at least 2) to evolve your Pokémon faster and not rely as much on the natural evolution line with Cynthia's Gabite DRI 103.

Check out below the quarter-finals at the Praga Regional to see more of this archetype:

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!