Scarlet & Violet: Paldean Fates - Top 10 Strongest Cards

The second special set from the Scarlet & Violet block, Paldean Fates, brought us mostly competitive cards in their "shiny" versions, and some new, exclusive cards. These cards from the Japanese sub-set, Raging Surf, which was divided in the following way: parts of this set were released in Paradox Rift, some are in this set, and, in the future, some will be in Temporal Forces.

10 - Gengar (Regular - 57/91)

Coming straight from Raging Surf, Gengar is in this position in our list because of its ability, Night Gate, which moves your Pokémon and possibly protects them from "stall" strategies. An example of such a strategy is if your opponent plays a Boss's Orders (Ghetsis) sv2 172 to lock down one of your Pokémon that costs too much to retreat into the active position, and "stalls" you for several turns to force you to spend a Switch sv1 194. This Gengar sv4pt5 57, which already moves Pokémon, saves you Trainers.

9 - Xatu -Shiny- (Illustration Rare - 152/91)

Just like its regular version in this set with the artwork created by DOM (Xatu sv4pt5 26), this Xatu will affect this card's prices, which will probably go down, considering its ability is incredibly useful to attach Basic Psychic Energy sv3pt5 207 from your hand to your benched Pokémon and also draw two cards. When Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX ASR TG30 rotates out, this card will be an option if you want a "baby" Pokémon, and, like so, as it isn't an "ultra rare" Pokémon, it won't give your opponent three Prize Cards for free if it is knocked out.

Additionally, this card will be consistent as a support Pokémon to Alakazam ex sv4pt5 215.

8 - Alakazam ex -Shiny- (Illustration Rare - 215/91)

Speaking of Psychic Pokémon, we have this excellent option: Alakazam ex sv4pt5 215 (a "shiny" reprint of Alakazam ex sv3pt5 188). It is the first Pokémon in the history of this TCG that can deal damage even when it is on the bench, and doesn't need to be in the active position!

You can see decks that use this Pokémon by clicking here.

7 - Miraidon ex (Black Gold Full Art/Hyper Rare - 243/91)

This Pokémon is a must for the Electric type because its ability allows you to look in your deck for two basic Electric Pokémon, and place them directly on the bench.

Additionally, it can be a good attacker, considering it is a basic Pokémon, and has Regieleki VMAX SIT 58's ability.

6 - Mew ex (Secret/Special Illustration Rare - 232/91)

This card comes is as a recursive Pokémon at a first glance:

1) Its ability draws you cards until you have three in your hand.

2) It has zero retreat cost.

Its attack, Genome Hacking, is excellent because it costs only three colorless energies and copies any attack from your opponent's active Pokémon, and you don't need to pay its exact cost. But Mew is still fragile, with only 180 HP, and is easily knocked out in this meta.

5 - Pidgeot ex -Shiny- (Special Illustration Rare - 221/91)

This alternative, "shiny" version of Pidgeot ex sv3 217 is still a support Pokémon in Charizard ex sv4pt5 234 decks due to its ability, Quick Search, which looks for any card you want in your deck.

Additionally, its attack is viable because of its cost, and also removes stadiums that can potentially be problematic, such as Path to the Peak ASR 213, which disrupts not only Pidgeot ex sv4pt5 221 but also Charizard ex sv4pt5 234 itself.

This Pokémon also offers us zero retreat cost, which is always welcome.

4 - Chien-Pao ex (Black Gold Full Art/Hyper Rare - 242/91)

Chien-Pao ex sv4pt5 242 discards the Basic Water Energy sv2 279 attached to all your Pokémon to deal damage, and it is in one of the most aggressive decks in the meta because of how easy it is to set up a basic Pokémon to attack. We'll complement this deck with Baxcalibur sv4pt5 130's ability, not to mention Chien-Pao ex sv4pt5 242's own ability, which allows us to look for two Basic Water Energy sv2 279 to boost our attacks.

As we'll have a rotation in April, which will remove Path to the Peak ASR 213 from Standard, this deck will return even stronger than it is now.

3 - Gardevoir ex (Secret/Special Illustration Rare - 233/91)

Gardevoir ex sv4pt5 233 performed well in several regional and international competitions, and helps you attach Basic Psychic Energy sv3pt5 207 from your discard pile to your Psychic Pokémon. The only downside is that they get two damage counters, which is ideal for Cresselia LOR 74 and Scream Tail sv4 86, and even for the forgotten Dedenne ex sv2 93.

The rotation in April will remove some Pokémon from this strategy, such as Cresselia LOR 74, Gardevoir CRE 61 as an additional recursive or attacking Pokémon in a last-case scenario, and Fog Crystal CRE 227. However, this deck will still be a strong option in this format.

Its only problem is that it is relatively slow.

2 - Espathra ex -Shiny- (Illustration Rare - 214/91)

The exclusive star of this set, and practically the only Pokémon ex Terastal playable, is a "counter" to Charizard ex sv4pt5 234 because it is a Grass type, which is the Darkness type's weakness, and doubles its damage. Its ability, Psy Ball, is also strong, considering it deals 30 + 30 damage for each energy attached to both active Pokémon.

Considering Charizard ex sv4pt5 234 uses two energies, you'll have 60 additional damage guaranteed, plus the 60 damage from Espathra ex, and, like so, you'll deal 240 damage due to the weakness. We still have this Pokémon's ability, Dazzling Gaze, which forces your opponent's active Pokémon to use another colorless energy to attack. Like so, Charizard ex sv4pt5 234 will need three energies to attack, and you'll get an extra 90 damage for Espathra ex.

If we only consider the three energies from Charizard ex sv4pt5 234 and one from Espathra ex sv4pt5 6, you'll deal 90 + 60 damage, totaling 150 damage, and, if we apply weakness, we'll deal 300 damage, which will leave Charizard ex Tera with only 30 health left!

If Espathra ex sv4pt5 6 has two energies attached, you'll knock out Charizard ex sv4pt5 234 easily!

1 - Charizard ex Terastal (Secret/Special Illustration Rare - 234/91)

According to Limitless TCG, our first place reached 15.92 approval rate and is one of the most popular and aggressive decks in this format. It is extremely easy to set up Pokémon in this deck, and it also deals a lot of damage.

We have two factors that make this deck stronger:

1) It is easy to attach, directly from your deck, basic Fire energies to your Pokémon because of this Pokémon's ability.

2) Its attack deals 180 damage plus 30 extra damage for each Prize Card your opponent drew. In the best-case scenario, if your opponent drew 4 Prize Cards, you'll deal, guaranteed, 300 damage!

4 - Technical Machine: Crisis Punch (90/91)

Technical Machine: Crisis Punch sv4pt5 90 is a "TM" type card, and can only be used if your opponent has only one Prize Card left. The Pokémon chosen to equip this card will deal 280 damage.

3 - Moonlit Hill (81/91)

This card came from Japan's Gym Promo last year (a type of exclusive collectible set from this country which came to us in the West as part of this current set). It is great to keep your Pokémon healthy, particularly for the Psychic archetype, which, by discarding one Basic Psychic Energy sv3pt5 207 from your hand, can heal all your Pokémon in play (30 HP).

This card makes it clear that you need to discard a Basic Psychic Energy sv3pt5 207, but it doesn't say anything about the type of the Pokémon you can heal, so you can use it in some strategies that want to use Psychic energies and another type of energy, and use this stadium to heal all your Pokémon.

2 - Clive (78/91)

This card draws you many cards at once, which is excellent, considering Pokémon TCG is moving towards a slower pace in the current block, as it was in the Ruby/Sapphire era, and many Supporter-type Trainers will be used once or twice or take longer to go into play.

With it, the more Supporter cards your opponent has, the better it will be for you because you will draw 2 cards for each card of this type you find in their hand. Against opponents that enjoy filling their hand with multiple cards, such as Lost Box decks and Gardevoir ex decks, it will be excellent.

1 - Iono (80/91)

This is Iono's reprint, and will probably make her price go down considerably. This is an essential staple card to sabotage your opponent's hand, and, at the same time, it also draws you cards.

Charmeleon (Regular - 8/91)

What makes this card stand out is its ability, Flare Veil, which disables "effects" triggered by your opponent's attacks, such as, for instance, Sableye LOR 70's famous "damage counters".

Additionally, its attack, that costs only two Fire energies, is excellent.

Ceruledge (Regular - 40/91)

This Pokémon's second attack is perfect to knock out Pokémon ex and V, which is perfect for the famous Zoroark Box decks that use Zoroark EVS 103's ability, Phantom Transformation, to place a "stage 1" Pokémon on it and get everything this card can offer us. Like so, we'll use the Fighting Swords attack to deal 200 damage against Pokémon ex and V, and, if we're losing the game, we'll use Reversal Energy sv4 266 to pay for its attack.

Enjoy Zoroark EVS 103 before it rotates out in April.

Gholdengo (Regular - 67/91)

This Pokémon is excellent to move Metal energies.

Its first attack, Lavish Hospitality, for one colorless energy, attaches the Metal energies in your hand to your Pokémon in any way you want. In this format, we can look for energies in our deck with Earthen Vessel sv4 163, and use Superior Energy Retrieval sv2 277 to get 4 energies from the discard pile. This is perfect for Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR ASR 210, which will return even stronger in this meta.

Atticus (Regular - 77/91)

This Pokémon can work well with Paldean Clodsire ex sv4pt5 219 and its ability that Poisons enemy Pokémon, and like so you'll always draw cards with this Trainer.

We'll also have other efficient play lines with the stadium that will debut in Temporal Forces, Dangerous Jungle, which gives two damage counters to Poisoned Pokémon between turns (in the check-up phase), except for Darkness type Pokémon:

Therefore, an efficient and consistent combo in a competitive game would be:

1) Use Brute Bonnet sv4 123 with Ancient Booster Energy Capsule sv4 159.

2) Add Radiant Hisuian Sneasler LOR 123 to give two extra damage counters to enemy Pokémon between turns, in the check-up phase (with the stadium, you'll place four counters).

3) Use attackers that interact with Poisoning, such as Glimmora ex sv4pt5 218, which is a great option if you want a deck that controls the board.

4) Use even Nidoking sv3pt5 34 and Alolan Raticate PGO 42.

Which Pokémon in this list stood out the most to you? Which one do you think is stronger? Do you agree with our list? Tell us your opinion in the comment section.

Thank you for reading!

See you next time!