A Guide to Gardevoir ex

Hello everyone! Looking forward to Worlds, I have no idea what to play, and I’m sure many other players are in the same boat. At NAIC, I played [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] after testing it extensively. It’s no secret that Gardevoir ex is widely regarded as the best deck in format. It was the most-played deck at NAIC and almost certainly will be for Worlds as well. Although my NAIC run was not good, this monster of a deck always remains on the table as a potential option. Gardevoir ex is an incredibly strong deck and has options to deal with most matchups and situations. It’s a difficult deck to counter, and when it works as intended, it will nearly always win.

Why Gardevoir ex?

[cardimg name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”245″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Prior to NAIC, I was playing with various versions of Gardevoir ex. The one I liked the most was a purely consistency-focused build, forgoing most techs that you see nowadays, however, in the days leading up to the tournament, I was talked back into including the tech cards. In theory, they seemed incredibly valuable… During the tournament, I felt like the deck was more high-roll and luck-based than I would have liked. I lost more games to completely bricking than I had ever had at any tournament in my entire life. On the other hand, I also had a lot of games where I set up well on turn two and completely obliterated my opponent — when that happens, you don’t need the techs, so it makes sense to try and make that happen as often as possible.

All prevalent Gardevoir ex lists play some techs and embrace the high-roll nature of the deck. Doing this is fine, as you’re still left with a strong tier-one deck. Personally, I don’t want the disaster of NAIC to ever happen again, so I personally would not play these lists. Here’s the list I played at NAIC:

My NAIC List

[decklist name=”garde naic” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″][pokemon amt=”18″]2x [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”228″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Ralts” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Ralts” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”67″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cresselia” set=”Lost Origin” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Celebrations” no=”11″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Celebrations” no=”16″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]4x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders (Ghetsis)” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”150″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Fog Crystal” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Artazon” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Temple of Sinnoh” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Collapsed Stadium” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]11x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”XY” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”11″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

This list isn’t too different from normal, with the main thing being a fourth [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] and no [card name=”Reversal Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card]. In testing, I always wanted to get turn two [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], so it made sense to max out Rare Candy, however, Rare Candy skips [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card], and multiple Kirlia are needed to stabilize, therefore, aside from the initial Gardevoir ex, the other copies of Rare Candy aren’t good until later. Later in the game, the Rare Candy are helpful to enable various plays, and they make the deck more resilient after Gardevoir lines get KO’d.

[cardimg name=”Rare Candy” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”69″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The basic strategy of the deck looks rather straightforward. You want a bunch of Ralts on turn one, and you want to Rare Candy one of them into a Gardevoir while evolving the rest into Kirlia on Turn 2. This lets you attack with [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Cresselia” set=”Lost Origin” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] while also having a stable board on turn two, and you will win basically every game where this happens. Although this game plan is simple on paper, you end up making lots more gameplay decisions than you would probably expect. Gardevoir ex is a deck that noticeably tests fundamentals such as sequencing and making game plans (as opposed to less-involved decks such as [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]). Luckily, the deck is good enough to both forgive some mistakes as well as pull off strategies as you envision them.

Here‘s a standard build of Gardevoir.

And here is my current build. This is similar to what I had been testing and what I wish I ended up playing as a list for Gardevoir ex. It’s not too crazy or out of the ordinary. I’ve basically swapped out the techs to have a more consistent and aggressive build.

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My Current Gardevoir ex List

[decklist name=”garde no techs” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Cresselia” set=”Lost Origin” no=”74″][pokemon amt=”17″]2x [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”228″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Ralts” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Ralts” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”67″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Celebrations” no=”16″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Celebrations” no=”11″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cresselia” set=”Lost Origin” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”32″]4x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”147″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”150″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Fog Crystal” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Artazon” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]11x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”XY” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”11″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

List Breakdown

There are a few things to discuss here; [card name=”Reversal Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] is still omitted, like the original list — it’s is a good card, but it’s a bit inconsistent and often unnecessary. If you budget your Energy appropriately, you can make do without it. Reversal Energy is best against [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] decks, the two of which often overlap. The extra Psychic Energy in its place trades off some power for consistency, after all, you need to find many Psychic Energy as fast as possible in order for the deck to function. Furthermore, the four [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] version is a bit faster and more aggressive and will be behind on Prizes less often.

[cardimg name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”213″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

There are a lack of Path to the Peak counters in this list because I don’t respect decks like [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] going into Day 2 of Worlds, which has a slightly different meta than normal tournaments. Most of the popular decks in the current meta do not play heavy Path to the Peak. Furthermore, decks that don’t fully commit to Path to the Peak (such as Fusion [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] or Arceus VSTAR / [card name=”Duraludon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]) usually play one or two copies, which isn’t enough to worry about. It would be understandable to swap any of the consistency cards for a [card name=”Worker” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card], and that is something that I am still considering. Worker is both a draw card and a Path counter, which helps with consistency and gives you a useful tech all at the same time. It is still, however, unclear if it’s worth playing over any of the other cards.

[card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] is an intriguing option as it appeared in Cal’s Top 4 list. It should improve consistency by allowing [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”196″ c=”name”][/card] to become an early-game [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card], however, it must be played alongside [card name=”Collapsed Stadium” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], which makes it rather committal, and without [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], it seems like it isn’t as effective as it should be and is wasting potential. Furthermore, if you do not draw into the Collapsed Stadium, Lumineon V will be a massive liability — if [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] is able to set up as desired, there should be no need for Lumineon V, therefore, my first inclination is to simply make that happen. Nevertheless, Lumineon V’s upside makes it tempting to me.

Speaking of Collapsed Stadium, it is an interesting and versatile card that most Gardevoir ex players favor — its healing and positioning abilities are quite powerful. Once again, if you set up as intended, you won’t need it. I bricked far too many games at NAIC due to being talked into cards like this against my better judgment. Although this was a small sample that left me with some trauma, I also have more than enough testing with Gardevoir ex outside the tournament. Like Reversal Energy, Collapsed Stadium is powerful in the right situation, but inconsistent and unreliable. It is also somewhat of a crutch, and playing without it forces you to play more carefully with your resources and damage.

[card name=”Temple of Sinnoh” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] go hand in hand. They form a two-card dynamic duo that counters both Mew VMAX and [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card]. Coincidentally, both of which you can easily win a Prize trade against should you draw well and set up as intended. You can see what I’m getting at here. I was tempted by this auto-win combo against two popular matchups and was punished accordingly. Both cards are egregiously useless in the vast majority of situations — even in their intended matchups, they can only be used at specific times. If Gardevoir ex was already an exceedingly consistent deck, then sure, it would be fine to play some nice techs. Unfortunately, Gardevoir ex sorely needs help in that area due to how high-maintenance its setup is.

Temple of Sinnoh was especially useless for me in the tournament; I double-bricked against the Mew VMAX that I faced and beat Lugia VSTAR while having to discard Temple of Sinnoh in one game and having it as my last Prize in another. That can be mostly ignored, however, as it is an extreme case of sampling bias. I found it funny how useless the card was.

[cardimg name=”Penny” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”252″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

[card name=”Penny” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] is a bad card in Gardevoir ex. Do not play it. The Lost Box matchup is already fine. Due to Penny being situational, it doesn’t add many percentage points in that matchup, and I do not think it is good elsewhere and is not worth the opportunity cost of playing something else. If you are against [card name=”Umbreon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card], you have to play without [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card], which is a little annoying but not the end of the world. The same goes for [card name=”Mawile” set=”Lost Origin” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card], but you won’t usually know if they have Mawile right away. If they are smart, they should play with the assumption that you have Penny anyway (since most lists do), but you should avoid giving yourself that loss condition if you could reasonably expect getting locked. Anyway, the other tech cards are reasonable to play, but in my opinion, Penny is simply bad.

Some other considerations would be further buffing the consistency with cards such as an additional Professor’s Research, [card name=”Artazon” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Fog Crystal” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Cresselia” set=”Lost Origin” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]. Cresselia turns out to be quite important in most matchups and is overall an extremely high-value card. [card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] is always on the table as well, although Hisuian Heavy Ball can be hard to access, prizing a Ralts is always a pain, so the option to access it at even a random time would be quite helpful. If you’ve ever played Gardevoir ex, you know that fishing Ralts out of the Prizes can make a difference even in the mid-game.

Of course, the plethora of one-of Pokemon (but mostly Cresselia) occasionally get prized at inopportune times, at which Heavy Ball could be useful. However, we also must consider that the one-ofs are mostly only strong in the early game, so in those cases, Hisuian Heavy Ball’s unreliability would make it lower-value overall. On the other hand, [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Celebrations” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] is only good as a game-ender, so even if it was prized, you’d probably get it by the late game anyway.

As far as discussing what I’ve actually included… there isn’t much to say. There are no unusual cards, simply higher counts of some cards that are already in the deck normally.

Other Version of the Deck

I also want to briefly give a shoutout to the version of the deck that the Australians played at NAIC. It features two Zacian V and two [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] (but no [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card]!). There are some unusual counts of other cards, as well as a complete lack of [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Temple of Sinnoh” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Reversal Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card], Artazon, and even [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card]! The two [card name=”Worker” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card] seems to respect [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] quite a lot — they know that American players like our Arceus VSTAR decks.

Basically, the idea is that Forest Seal Stone is the way to more consistently enable the turn-two [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]. Instead of playing the two extra [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card]; the Forest Seal Stone can become that Rare Candy or anything else you might need. Of course, since it is a wild card, it can also accelerate your initial setup with a [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card]. Unfortunately, this build also relies on having Zacian V in play and attacking with it — this leads to losing Prize trades more often. Of course, you can’t even start playing the game if your deck bricks, which Forest Seal Stone attempts to mitigate. While having Zacian V in play sucks, Forest Seal Stone is a disgustingly strong card for Gardevoir ex to have access to.

Building a Gardevoir ex list is quite a complicated matter.

Matchups

Mirror — Even

He who strikes first wins… and then gets hit by Reversal Energy + [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card]… but we still strike first. Cresselia is the attacker of choice for the early game. The ideal target is [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card], followed by 60 HP [card name=”Ralts” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] (it’s efficient on resources), followed by 70 HP [card name=”Ralts” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], followed by [card name=”Mew” set=”Celebrations” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card]. Sometimes Lunar Blast is the only option, and that’s fine too. Keep Zacian V until the end of the game, as you’ll want to blow up Gardevoir ex for your last two Prizes without putting your Zacian V in harm’s way.

[cardimg name=”Gardevoir” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”TG05″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Try to keep your Gardevoir ex undamaged so it cannot be sniped off easily. Iono is strong in this matchup, so use them as you see fit for disruption and try to play around the opponent’s Iono. The same applies for Boss’s Orders KO’s on Kirlia, though Cresselia can do that without Boss’s Orders. If they ever put a Zacian V or Lumineon V in play, try to KO it ASAP to gain an advantage in the Prize trade. If you don’t go after it, it will be removed with [card name=”Penny” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Collapsed Stadium” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]. If your Kirlia or baby [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] are stocking up on Energy thanks to Cresselia, you might be able to get an early KO on Gardevoir ex with Brainwave. This is even easier if your opponent puts damage on their Gardevoir ex.

Try to avoid hitting into their Gardevoir ex for less than a KO. That is wasteful since you should be able to OHKO it at some point anyway. You also run the risk of getting hit by Collapsed Stadium. If they go for early attacking Gardevoir ex, you should still be able to play around it with Boss’s Orders or [card name=”Cresselia” set=”Lost Origin” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]. KO’ing it with [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Celebrations” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] is acceptable as well, as they will probably have to set up another Gardevoir ex, which you can also KO with Zacian V after recovering it. It’s rare to get so much Energy in the early game, so big KOs usually won’t be available. Attacking with Gardevoir ex yourself in the early game isn’t the worst thing to do, but I would only do it if I didn’t have a better option such as Cresselia. Trying to absorb a hit with Gardevoir ex doesn’t do as much without Collapsed Stadium in the list, and I’d rather not put my ex in danger by putting it active or putting damage on it. Nevertheless, if it’s your only attacking option or if the situation demands it, it’s fine.

Lost Box — Even

If they target your [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card], you don’t always need to get it back. For example, them KO’ing Manaphy is leaving Kirlia alone. Try to evolve all of your Ralts and Kirlia as fast as possible so you don’t have to worry about [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card]. The extra [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] actually helps a lot here. If you’re able to evolve enough to not worry about Radiant Greninja’s two-Prize turn, it’s actually better to not get Manaphy back. That said, you absolutely need Manaphy on the board at the beginning of the game or you will certainly lose to Radiant Greninja. I generally avoid attacking with Gardevoir ex because I am scared of [card name=”Drapion V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card]. Sometimes they will have to put Drapion V in the Lost Zone, which opens up more opportunities to attack with Gardevoir ex, but it’s still not the go-to because sometimes you don’t want [card name=”Dragonite V” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”49″ c=”name”][/card] slapping 250 damage on your board.

Cresselia is the best attacker and you will spam it. You will also spam [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card], but pay attention to how strong their hand might be each turn. Sometimes it is better to not Iono. But usually, you just spam it. If they put a two-Prize Pokemon in play, you will usually end the game by Boss’s Orders KO’ing it when you are at either three (to checkmate) or two Prizes (to instantly win), depending on the situation. Make sure you always have at least one Boss’s Orders available for a two-Prize KO, and otherwise simply spam Iono and use [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”182″ c=”name”][/card] to recover Iono (using it for one is fine if there’s only one in the discard).

Usually, you play [card name=”Artazon” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] to assist with your setup, but be sure to critically evaluate how necessary it is. With Artazon being the only Stadium, they will never remove it from play so that they can search out Sableye for free the entire game. If Artazon isn’t completely necessary, avoid using it. Typically, you won’t worry about helping your opponent because you win if you set up,  however, the interactions between Iono, [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card], Sableye, and Artazon make for a special case. If you add another Stadium into [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], be sure to hang onto it so you can bump Artazon before spamming Iono.

Arceus VSTAR —  Unfavorable

[cardimg name=”Umbreon VMAX” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”TG23″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

[card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] with [card name=”Umbreon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] is this deck’s worst matchup. It’s winnable, but it’s always going to be an annoying and tough matchup. Against Arceus VSTAR in general, you save Stadiums to counter their Stadiums. [card name=”Cresselia” set=”Lost Origin” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] is a good early attacker because you won’t have enough Energy to do anything crazy. Cresselia deals relevant damage and is a convenient sacrifice. In the late game, Iono and Memory Skip can be useful, however, since Memory Skip doesn’t do much damage, it is only a means to buy time. I wouldn’t rely on it too much.

Once you have your board established, baby [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Celebrations” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] can take big KO’s to collect all of your Prizes in only a few attacks. Gardevoir ex can also follow up a Lunar Blast for 110 with a 2HKO, which sometimes is relevant in the early-game, or later after a Boss’s Orders follow-up.

Other Matchups

Your other matchups follow the normal game plan more or less. [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] are all decent matchups where you enter a fairly normal Prize trade and usually end up winning. I wrote more details on the Gardevoir ex vs Chien-Pao ex matchup in my last article. The [card name=”Single Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] matchup isn’t as bad as it looks, and the extra [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] help — they can’t do much against a turn-two Gardevoir ex.

Summing Up

That’s all I have for today! I hope this was a helpful guide about understanding Gardevoir ex lists’ construction and its matchups. Gardevoir ex isn’t the easiest deck to play but it definitely isn’t as brain-melting as Lost Box. It’s extremely strong and has decent matchups, so I definitely recommend trying it out and tweaking the list based on your observations. Thanks for reading!

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