Pokémon TCG: Standard Deck Tech - Gardevoir EX After Mega Evolution

Known in Japan as "Mega Brave" and "Mega Symphonia", the new Pokémon TCG sets not only brought us relevant cards for new archetypes but also renewed decks that have been around for quite some time. The next Regional tournament will already feature a brand new meta, so we're fated to discuss the next strongest decks in the game.

One of these decks is surely Gardevoir EX, which has been the topic of debate ever since it was released because of its ability, "Psychic Embrace". And, considering it is a very popular Pokémon, once again The Pokémon Company released a set perfect for it. All we need to answer now is how we can use the new cards in this list and whether this is a good idea after all, as we have very little space to work with in this strategy.

For this article, we'll use the list that won the World Championship as a reference. The main strategy is still the same: Gardevoir EX's ability will attach energies to our Pokémon, all in one turn, and this, in turn, will let us use different attackers for different situations.

Gardevoir EX itself can be a formidable attacker if your opponent can't Knock it Out easily: "Miracle Force" deals 190 damage, which is a considerable amount. In fact, it can Knock Out many support Pokémon in the format right now, like Mew ex sv3pt5 151.

Furthermore, Scream Tail PRE 42 is a direct threat to the opponent's bench and heavily punishes slow decks that try to stall the game. Flutter Mane PRE 43 is also a splendid attacker, as it has a decent amount of HP for a basic Pokémon and gives us a way to Spread damage.

Speaking of Spreading damage, this list plays Munkidori ex SFA 37. Its ability, Adrena-Brain, is crucial, as we need it to Knock Out Pokémon more easily and support our other attackers.

It's hard to describe how powerful this card is in a deck that relies on a complex setup, like Gardevoir. With the old list, we often end up discarding crucial cards along with our energies when we use Professor's Research. Lillie's Determination addresses this problem directly and also draws another card for us.

Some might say that the new version struggles to discard cards at all, but that's still up for debate. Currently, though, Lillie's Determination doesn't seem to hurt the list and should probably stay for a while.

In the past, Kirlia PR-SW SWSH271's ability, "Refinement", was amazing in this list, as it draws cards for us while we discard our Psychic Energies. And, before we used this Kirlia, we played Kirlia CRE 60 and its attack, "Mirage Step", which was also amazing. Now, we've got a new Kirlia that can not only Knock Out Budew PRE 4 with a single energy but also get any 3 Pokémon we want from our deck. It's incredibly consistent.

This incredible Stadium is a new way to discard cards, remove enemy Stadiums, and not benefit our opponent at the same time. And, as it draws cards too, it also protects us from hand disruption. With the other additions, it is definitely the icing on the cake.

I have a controversial opinion about this card. Though it is definitely the most popular addition currently, I don't believe we have any reason to use it. Its first attack is slow, and we'd nearly always prefer dealing damage instead. As for "Mega Symphonia", despite being powerful, it doesn't deal more damage than other Pokémon. The only reason left to use it would be its HP, which is actually not that relevant because it is weak against Darkness Pokémon. Time will tell whether this card is a decent pick or not.

Raging Bolt EX - Extremely Favorable

The best plan in this matchup is the same as always: Scream Tail will Knock Out your opponent's support Pokémon and force them to only take one or three Prize cards at once. When they try to Knock Out something more relevant with their Raging Bolt EX, just use Lillie's Clefairy ex svp 195 to Knock Out their Pokémon. Once again, try to force them to use a "Gust Effect", like Boss's Orders, to get 2 Prize cards when they attack.

Another new detail is that, if you play Mysterious Garden, you can remove an enemy Area Zero Underdepths PRE 94 from play. This card could disrupt you considerably, particularly if you're trying to Knock Out their support Pokémon. Furthermore, please don't let your opponent discard your support Pokémon with Squawkabilly because this will be a problem long-term.

Dragapult EX - Unfavorable

I used to consider this matchup extremely favorable precisely because we can make Dragon Pokémon weak to Psychic Pokémon with one of our main abilities, "Fairy-Zone". However, now that the new Dragapult EX versions are using Dusknoir, we might end up vulnerable to combos that Knock Out multiple of our relevant Pokémon in a row. So, in this matchup, you'll have to set up beforehand. One of the new additions, Psyduck, could also be interesting.

Charizard ex sv4pt5 54 - Unfavorable

All our Pokémon are weak to Darkness Pokémon, so the Charizard EX matchups are incredibly challenging. The best way to play around them is to set up a Devolution turn to try to slow down the opponent if they move too fast.

We must always have less or the same number of Prize cards as them so they can't use Counter Catcher. Finally, I believe you must remove Pidgeot EX whenever possible to make their strategy less consistent.

Gardevoir EX got a few incredibly powerful new cards that don't entirely address every issue this deck faces, so the meta will remain positive and healthy even after we start playing them. Other decks have also evolved and become more powerful to face this list. I'm anxious to see how professional players will use these cards.

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

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!