League Deck: Gardevoir ex - Standard Deck Tech & Review

Some time ago, Pokémon International released League Deck: Gardevoir ex, which took a bit longer to come to other countries, like Brazil, but has finally been released worldwide. This product was great for anyone who wanted to get Gardevoir ex sv1 86 at a cheaper price, besides "staples" like Radiant Greninja ASR 46, Lumineon V BRS 40, and Mew ex sv3pt5 151.

In Brazil, where I'm based, this product didn't include the special themed dice, the damage counter die, nor the deck box. So, it cost around US$29.99 worldwide, but around US$22 here.

This deck's popularity was already falling because of how slow it is to set up Gardevoir ex sv1 86. For instance, it was crucial to keep Kirlia SIT 68 in play as much as you could, due to its ability. We had to pray for a starting hand with at least 2 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144 to get at least four Kirlia and accelerate the game this way.

However, this strategy worked a couple of times, like at the last International tournament (NAIC), in New Orleans, the U.S.A. The runner-up, Stéphane Ivanoff, used this Pokémon and an ACE SPEC card to make it work.

First, I'll show you the product itself. Then we'll compare this Gardevoir ex to other Gardevoir and explain everything about Stéphane Ivanoff's list.

Decklist

Gardevoir ex Review

This Pokémon sets up energies for other Psychic attackers in your deck. In the product itself, there are two: Drifloon sv1 89 and Cresselia LOR 74, and their biggest strength is that they are "single prize" Pokémon.

Previously, before the 2024 rotation, the Gardevoir ex archetype looked like this, with Zacian V CEL 16.

Attackers

Drifloon

Gardevoir ex sv1 86 still plays the same role with Drifloon sv1 89. In turn, Drifloon sv1 89 is useful with Bravery Charm sv2 173, which gives 50 extra HP to the basic Pokémon it is attached to.

Furthermore, Ballon Blast is its most important attack, as it deals 30 damage for each damage counter it has. With the tool above, he has 120 HP, instead of 70 HP, so, when you put all the damage counters possible on it, Drifloon deals a total of 330 damage!

Cresselia

Its first attack, Moonglow Reverse, lets you remove two damage counters from each of your Pokémon and move them to one of your opponent's Pokémon.

It is very complex, as you need to use Gardevoir ex's damage counters at the right time to knock out certain Pokémon. Or, you can sabotage your opponent bit by bit, subtly.

Recursive Pokémon

Mew refills your hand with its Restart ability, so it's very helpful when you run out of cards. You'll draw until you have three cards in hand, but it also costs nothing to retreat, so promoting a new Pokémon to active Pokémon will be easier with it in play.

You'll only consider using Mew as an attacker, with its attack, Genoma Hack, in a worst-case scenario. It is more useful against more destructive Pokémon, like a Charizard ex sv4pt5 54, for instance, as you'll copy its main attack.

Lumineon V BRS 40's ability, Luminous Sign, lets you search for any Supporter in your deck and add it to your hand. Most commonly, you'll get a Boss's Orders (Ghetsis) sv2 172.

Concealed Cards is one of the best card draw abilities around. It also lets you discard your Basic Psychic Energy sv3pt5 207 and has synergy with Gardevoir ex sv1 86's ability.

Decklist

Pokémon

The North America International Championship was held in June 2024. At this event, Stéphane Ivanoff brought a different Gardevoir ex list, with the following Pokémon:

- Munkidori TWM 95, whose ability, Adrena-Brain, lets you move 3 damage counters from your Pokémon to one of your opponent's Pokémon on your turn, if there is a Darkness energy attached to Munkidori.

This will let you mitigate the drawback of Gardevoir ex sv4pt5 29's energy ability, and thus preserve your Pokémon.

Furthermore, Munkidori TWM 95 also deals a little bit of damage, and, with Cresselia LOR 74, might just let you knock out a few Pokémon.

- Flutter Mane TEF 78 sabotages enemy Pokémon's abilities. If this Pokémon is your active Pokémon, your opponent's active Pokémon has no abilities.

Besides disabling abilities on your opponent's active Pokémon, its main attack "pings" damage, and even helps you set up long-term plays, as you can use its damage, alongside Munkidori TWM 95 and Cresselia LOR 74, to knock out other Pokémon.

- Klefki sv1 96 is similar to Flutter Mane TEF 78, as it disables the abilities of all basic Pokémon in play - and thus doesn't affect Gardevoir ex sv4pt5 29.

- Scream Tail sv4 86 takes advantage of the damage counters Munkidori TWM 95 and Cresselia LOR 74 give you. Its second attack, Roaring Scream, is a "sniper" damage attack that deals 20 damage for each damage counter on Scream Tail.

Considering you can put up to 4 damage counters on Scream Tail, you can deal up to 80 damage to a single Pokémon. This is not a lot, but may help you knock out a Pokémon if you combine it with the rest of your damage and damage counters.

- Manaphy BRS 41 is a way to defend yourself against sniper damage in general.

Trainers

Items

Hyper Aroma

The most important card in this deck is its ACE SPEC card, Hyper Aroma TWM 152, which lets you look up to 3 stage 1 Pokémon in your deck and add them to your hand. This means you can evolve your Ralts ASR 60 into Kirlia SIT 68 faster, and then use Kirlia's ability to discard your Basic Psychic Energy sv3pt5 207 as fast as you can, as many times as you want to!

Buddy-Buddy Poffin

This card is essential to look for low-HP Pokémon in your deck, namely those with 70 HP or less. You'll often use it to get your Ralts ASR 60.

Supporters

Arven is critical, as he lets you get an Item and a Tool from your deck and add it to your hand:

- You can either get Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144 and Technical Machine: Evolution sv4 178 to set up your Pokémon and then use TM to evolve your benched Ralts;

or

- Get Hyper Aroma TWM 152, which is just as crucial!

Stadiums

Stéphane Ivanoff only played one copy of Artazon, as he already had four copies of Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144, and thus it was already easy to set up everything he needed to. Namely, the base product, League Deck: Gardevoir ex, doesn't include Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144.

Temple of Sinnoh ASR 155 is great to deal with opponents that play Mist Energy TEF 161 and Double Turbo Energy ASR 216.

Yes! But get it fast! If you take a good look at Stéphane Ivanoff's list, its subtle changes, and the Trainers he used, you'll notice that, by getting League deck: Gardevoir ex, you'll probably save a lot of money.

You'll have to get a few cards as singles, though, like Hyper Aroma TWM 152, which is critical for the entire strategy.

This deck will be legal until April 2025.

90% of the cards in this deck (apart from the Sword/Shield cards) will rotate next year, so Kirlia SIT 68, for instance, will no longer be legal then.

This deck was a bit controversial. Many people thought it was great and delivered what it promised, whereas others didn't like it because they thought it was too slow. However, now that it was upgraded with cards from recent sets, like Scream Tail sv4 86, Hyper Aroma TWM 152 and Munkidori TWM 95, from Twilight Masquerade, it got considerably better, and became more relevant competitively.

We'll probably see more decks like this in the future, like with Duskull, Dusclops, and Dusknoir, from the new special set, Shrouded Fable. Their abilities let you put damage counters on your opponent's Pokémon, which will be something new for this archetype!

What did you think of this list? Do you like it? Would you get it? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below!

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!