The Queen is Back! My First Session with Gardevoir ex
Hello to all PokeBeach readers! Here is Gabriel Semedo again with another Pokémon TCG article and this time I’m going to talk about Gardevoir ex, the highlight of the new Scarlet & Violet collection.
I won’t go into detail about rotation and Scarlet & Violet because at this point the internet already has enough content about it. I don’t particularly like seeing any content and prefer to see with my own eyes all the valid cards in the format, that way I can make my own mind up about what stays and what goes. I can make some card predictions that will be good if you want, but I’ll bring the news of the new set and the new format here in my next articles, plus I also want to talk about Miraidon ex and Koraidon ex.
I’d like to mention, this article was supposed to come out almost a week earlier, but I couldn’t because I had the flu and a high fever. Over the course of a week I stayed away from any activity and every time I tried to sit down to write, I felt dizzy and my head ached, so all I could do was lie there with my body aching. A week later I feel 80% cured and now I feel good enough to write and finish. I was dreaming of this moment!
I’ll still discuss Gardevoir ex here today because, in my first session with the deck, it became clear to me that there is more than one way to play it, and the lists can vary a lot. I also believe that the lists that are currently used in eastern tournaments can undergo evolution, as well as many other decks. In today’s article, I’m going to look at the lists that did well in these tournaments and then I’m going to reveal some ideas I had for the deck during and after my playtest session with Gardevoir ex.
My First Session With Gardevoir ex
A few days ago I arranged a training session with my friend Dalton Acchetta because he’s going to participate in the European International Championship, so I decided to help him in his preparation and thus discover the post-rotation format and the new set for myself. The training lasted about six hours and we used only the main decks which have been popular in the eastern format; [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] / Single Strike, Lost Box V, [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] Lost Box, [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] / Giratina, [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], and Gardevoir ex. I already know all these decks well in a way, of course, all the changes affect the list and the gameplay, but roughly speaking we already know how an Arceus VSTAR, Lugia VSTAR, Mew VMAX, or Lost Box deck work, however, Gardevoir ex is a completely new experience and I’m moved by new lists and different gameplays — I was more willing to play with this deck and better understand how it works.
[premium]
In my first experience with the deck, I decided to use a list that reached the final of a 3140-person tournament in Japan. The list in question is by Riku Saito from the Champions League Aichi tournament. I didn’t make any changes and tried to understand as much as possible the function of each card.
The List
[decklist name=”Gardevoir ex” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Gardevoir ex” set=”SV1EN” no=”86″][pokemon amt=”18″]3x [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x Gardevoir ex (SV1EN #86)3x [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/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=”Cresselia” set=”Lost Origin” no=”74″ 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][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]3x [card name=”Judge” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”235″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Serena” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x Miriam (SV1EN #179)1x [card name=”Worker” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x Arven (SV1EN #166)1x [card name=”Klara” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Fog Crystal” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Emergency Jelly” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”155″ 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=”Sky Seal Stone” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” 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″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]11x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”11″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Deck Breakdown
Three Ralts from Astral Radiance
Three [card name=”Ralts” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] from Astral Radiance because of their 70 HP — all others have 60 HP. This small difference in HP is enough to stop [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] from being able to Knock Out two Ralts with a single attack, for example.
One Ralts from Silver Tempest
One copy of [card name=”Ralts” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] from Silver Tempest because its Memory Skip attack has an interesting effect, which is to choose one of the attacks of the opponent’s Active Pokémon and prevent them from using it. I see this attack being useful in emergency cases.
Kirlia from Chilling Reign
[cardimg name=”Kirlia” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”60″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
This [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] has the same attack effect as the old [card name=”Frogadier” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”39″ c=”name”][/card] of Water Duplicates from the [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] Deck. This attack has the power to directly bring other Kirlia to the field, without having to evolve Ralts, that is, you can have four Kirlia and two Ralts on the field and thus have outs to Gardevoir for the entire game.
This attack is ideal to be used on the second turn, as you will rarely be able to find [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] plus Gardevoir ex, in addition to having the necessary Energy to attack.
Even if you get a Gardevoir ex on the second turn, sometimes it’s simply better to run Kirlia’s Mirage Step attack to get a more solid setup to face the match.
Kirlia from Silver Tempest
In addition to the great Kirlia mentioned above, we also have the [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] that allows you to draw cards and this one brings the consistency and draw power that Stage 2 Pokémon usually need and don’t have.
Two Gardevoir ex
One of the great highlights of the collection and certainly the protagonist of this deck, Gardevoir ex is scary at first because you can attach as many Psychic Energy as you want from the discard pile to one of your Pokémon, and for each Energy attached, you put two damage counters on that Pokémon. The idea with this Ability is not to power up Gardevoir ex itself, but other more suitable attackers, such as [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] with Shining Arcana and [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Celebrations” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card].
Even with an Ability that favors other Pokémon more than Gardevoir ex itself, I see attributes in Gardevoir ex that make it a great Pokémon to attack and take damage.
Its attack does 190 damage with three Energy, a reasonable amount and enough to KO any single-Prize Pokémon. Already the 310HP is what most calls my attention, as it is an equivalent HP to a Pokémon VMAX, but with the difference that Gardevoir ex only offers two Prizes when it’s Knocked Out. Another important factor that you have to pay attention to from now on is that cards like [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] do not work against Gardevoir ex, precisely because it is an “ex” Pokémon and not a “V”. The same rule applies to [card name=”Serena” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] — it has no effect on Gardevoir ex, only on Pokémon V.
Three Gardevoir With Shining Arcana
This Gardevoir has already existed in the format for a long time, but it was only with the arrival of Gardevoir ex that it became relevant, precisely because Gardevoir ex’s Ability has full synergy with Shining Arcana, since you can attach as many Energy as you want from the discard and Gardevoir’s damage increases by the amount of energy in it.
Thanks to Gardevoir ex, Gardevoir Shining Arcana can deal more than 300 damage if necessary.
One Mew
[card name=”Mew” set=”Celebrations” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] is an interesting addition to promote to the Active Spot whenever a Gardevoir is KO’d — just as Gardevoir can KO everything with its attack, it will also be KO’d by any Pokémon because its HP is low.
The idea when promoting Mew to the Active is to be able to find an Item that can help you keep evolving your Gardevoir, as losing a Gardevoir per turn means that you always have to have another one ready to go up in the place of the other one that was Knocked Out.
Radiant Greninja
I always try to find some interesting Radiant Pokémon option to put in the deck, but I always end up having to resort to [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card]. There’s no other way, especially in this deck where you need draw power because it’s a Stage 2 deck and you also need your Psychic Energy in the discard to recover later with Gardevoir ex.
Cresselia
This card seemed weak and meaningless, but with the arrival of Gardevoir ex, everything seemed to make sense. The reason for playing [card name=”Cresselia” set=”Lost Origin” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] is to take some damage off your field and transfer that damage to one of your opponent’s Pokémon, and yes, you can put damage counters on an opponent’s Benched Pokémon. When I used this attack for the first time against Lost Box I thought it was great, because I managed to KO a [card name=”Comfey” set=”Lost Origin” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] while removing 80 damage from my field. After a few games I started to use Cresselia a little less, but the few times I did use its attack it was extremely satisfying.
Manaphy
As long as Radiant Greninja is played in Lost Box, your Bench will never be safe. Today this is the main threat to your Ralts and Kirlia on the Bench, but I don’t doubt that other solutions may appear, as doing damage on the Bench is still a good option in the format.
Zacian V from Celebrations and Sky Seal Stone
[cardimg name=”Zacian V” set=”Celebrations” no=”16″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
[card name=”Zacian V” set=”Celebrations” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] pairs perfectly with Gardevoir ex and thanks to its Ability, it’s able to attach as many Energy as it wants from the discard and KO any Pokémon. It’s not as easy as it sounds, but it’s doable.
Zacian V and [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] have practically the same attack, but both have their natural differences, the most important being that Zacian V is a Pokémon V, and thanks to that it can use the [card name=”Sky Seal Stone” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] to take an extra Prize when Knocking Out Pokémon VSTAR and VMAX.
In the current format, I see the Sky Seal Stone being useful only against [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card], but I believe that other Pokémon V can return to the metagame according to the evolutions and changes that are bound to happen.
The Supporter Line
Three Judge
Now without [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] in the format and Iono not coming until the next set, the trick is to use [card name=”Judge” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”235″ c=”name”][/card] to prevent your opponent from accumulating too many cards in their hand, especially in the matchup against the Lost Box variants. Whenever your opponent uses [card name=”Colress’s Experiment” set=”Lost Origin” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Comfey” set=”Lost Origin” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card]’s Flower Selecting, use Judge to lower the number of cards in their hand.
Worker
[card name=”Worker” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card] is a mediocre draw Supporter but it discards a Stadium. [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] is a problem for Gardevoir ex‘s deck because you can’t use its Ability. This isn’t always a problem as you can play without needing an Ability every turn, but it’s important that for one or two turns per game, you can use Gardevoir ex’s Ability to prepare your attackers.
Another advantage of the Worker is being able to add cards to the hand — since you add cards with [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card], you don’t want to lose those cards with Judge and [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card].
One Serena
Now with the arrival of Pokémon ex, I see [card name=”Serena” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] being used less and less because this Supporter only works with Pokémon V. Of course, Serena has a draw power effect, but it is weak, even more if you think that in this list you add cards to the hand with Kirlia and Gardevoir. I would opt for a stronger draw Supporter or use another copy of [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card].
One Arven
Arven is one of the new Supporters that arrives at Scarlet & Violet and it has the function of fetching an Item card and a Pokémon Tool card — from Scarlet & Violet onward, Pokémon Tool cards are different from Item cards and can no longer be fetched with [card name=”Irida” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Mew” set=”Celebrations” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card].
[card name=”Emergency Jelly” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Sky Seal Stone” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] are the Pokémon Tools of the deck and Arven is only in the deck to have some form of access to these Pokémon Tools, but I still think this Supporter is weak for this Gardevoir ex list. Emergency Jelly is not exactly a vital card, and Sky Seal Stone is entirely situational if it’s even used. If the list had [card name=”Gallade” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] to find Arven it would even make more sense, but for now, finding Arven at the right time is down to luck.
One Miriam
Miriam is another new Supporter, but this one I liked a lot more. Miriam allows you to return up to five Pokémon from your discard pile back to your deck, and after shuffling, you draw three cards. I never liked a Supporter that recovers resources precisely because draw Supporters are essential and that’s why I prefer to use Items for this function, but Miriam is a reasonable draw Supporter too, and fixes this big problem.
One Klara
It’s the beginning of the format with rotation and a new set, so it’s normal to miss cards that were always with us like [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card]. This card ends up being missed because without Ordinary Rod we are forced to use Supporter to achieve what an Item could previously solve. [card name=”Klara” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] is quite different from Ordinary Rod, but the purposes are similar.
One Boss’s Order
If the idea is to use [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] to attack, a single-Prize Pokémon, then you don’t actually need Boss’s Orders, because, in the worst-case scenario, you are trading a Prize for a Prize. That’s what they would tell you in theory, but in practice you want at least one or two more copies of Boss’s Orders to Knock Out better targets. The list features [card name=”Serena” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card], so you have a few ways to gust your opponent’s benched Pokémon.
One Pal Pad
Pal Pad is an Item that is present in practically all Gardevoir ex lists that have been successful in recent tournaments, which shows that it is a good card and vital for the deck. This happens because the deck’s draw power is great, and you can draw six to eight cards per turn at a certain point in the setup, so you have a greater chance of accessing Supporters that you’ve recycled with Pal Pad.
Three Fog Crystal
I could have sworn [card name=”Fog Crystal” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] was rotating, but lucky for me I was wrong.
Fog Crystal is a must-have card in every Psychic deck since the era of [card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] and here is no different.
I would use four copies of this Item that allows you to fetch Psychic Pokémon and Psychic Energy, both cards you want to have in your hand almost always, either to discard, draw cards with [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] or develop your setup.
Four Battle Vip Pass
[card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”name”][/card] has the problem of being a useless card after the first turn, however, this is not a big problem as it can be discarded later with Kirlia’s Refine Ability. Decks that manage to get rid of the Battle VIP Pass end up doing well. [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] can discard Battle VIP Pass with [card name=”Cram-o-matic” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”229″ c=”name”][/card], and Lost Box can send excess copies to the Lost Zone.
Four Level Ball
This is the best Pokémon search Item in the deck, as you have access to the most important Pokémon in the deck; Ralts and Kirlia.
Two Ultra Ball
One of the biggest problems I found with the list was the lack of cards to search for Gardevoir. Some games were lost simply because I didn’t find the Evolution, and it wasn’t for lack of drawing cards. With [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] leaving the format, [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] is the best card you have to search for Evolution Pokémon, even if you have to discard two cards to do so. Nobody wants to pay that price, but since you draw so many cards in this deck, I believe it’s possible to use Ultra Ball without using up your resources.
Three Rare Candy
[card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] has the main function of bringing at least one or two more Gardevoir to the field throughout the game. If you choose to only attack with [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card], then you will need at least four Gardevoir in the game. Another function of Rare Candy is to bring in a Gardevoir ex in the second turn, although the probability of doing this is not that great, I like having the option to attack and take Prizes on the second turn.
Two Emergency Jelly
[cardimg name=”Emergency Jelly” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”155″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
It took me a while to understand the function of [card name=”Emergency Jelly” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card], but once I understood it I thought it was great. The idea is to use Gardevoir ex’s Ability to accelerate as much Energy as possible onto Shining Arcana Gardevoir and consequently suffer two damage counters. If you attach six Energy, you will place twelve damage counters, and that’s where the Emergency Jelly comes in — you can heal that 120 damage and have a Gardevoir dealing crazy damage with full HP.
The idea is brilliant, but I don’t know if it’s effective in a competitive environment. It’s nice to have a Gardevoir with its 140HP, but it’s still only 140HP and many Pokémon can deal that damage without a problem. You avoid being KOed by [card name=”Cramorant” set=”Lost Origin” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card], but [card name=”Zamazenta” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Lost Origin” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] will still manage to get the KO easily.
One Temple of Sinnoh
[card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] is still a relevant Pokémon in the format for all its losses. It’s still a 100% Special Energy-dependent deck, so [card name=”Temple of Sinnoh” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] remains a good resource. This Gardevoir ex deck only uses Basic Energy, so it would almost be a waste not to use this Stadium. Even knowing the power and importance of this Stadium, there wasn’t a moment when I truly felt the need for this card.
One Collapsed Stadium
I used this Stadium once to remove my Gardevoir ex with damage from the Bench, but other than that I don’t remember needing this card.
Eleven Psychic
With nine Psychic Energy you can deal 330 damage with Shining Arcana Gardevoir and [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Celebrations” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card]. This is the math you need to do when setting the minimum amount of Energy in your deck. Getting nine out of eleven Energy from the deck is something doable in a game, especially in the mid to late game. There will be rare times when you’ll need all that damage at once, but that’s enough to OHKO an opponent’s VMAX Pokémon or a Gardevoir ex.
First Impressions of Gardevoir ex
I ended up playing most of the session with Gardevoir ex, while Dalton tested the other decks in the metagame. Against Lost Box, I found the matchup difficult for Gardevoir, as one of the great characteristics of Lost Box is to easily KO low-HP Pokémon. On the first turn, Cramorant manages to KO a Ralts, in the next turn if you don’t have [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] on the field, you practically lose the game because [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] will Knock Out two Kirlia, and finally when the opponent manages to play ten cards in the Lost Zone, Sableye arrives to put twelve damage counters on your field. With only these three Pokémon, Gardevoir already has serious problems. Of the five games we played, I believe I only managed to win one. To solve this matchup, the first thing that came to my mind is to add some copies of Klefki to the roster.
[cardimg name=”Sky Seal Stone” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”143″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Against [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] I already felt things improve a little because in this matchup you have much more time to develop your setup. No [card name=”Cramorant” set=”Lost Origin” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] to take Prizes on the first turn or Radiant Greninja to hit your Bench — you can dedicate yourself exclusively to building your Gardevoir army. Even so, the matchup is not easy and [card name=”Tyranitar V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] easily Knocks Out Gardevoir ex, however, [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] has the power to turn the exchange in your favor, as it is a single-Prize Pokémon, which can KO a Pokémon V. The combo of Zacian V plus [card name=”Sky Seal Stone” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] can come in handy to Knock Out a Lugia VSTAR and take three Prizes.
Against [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] I noticed two curious things; the first is that [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] does not work on Gardevoir ex, because Choice Belt increases damage in Pokémon v and not in Pokémon ex, and the second is that because of that, Mew VMAX has a huge difficulty Knocking Out a Gardevoir ex. This matchup is more balanced than it looks and the Zacian V plus Sky Seal Stone combo kicks in to Knock Out Mew VMAX and take four Prizes.
My Updates
The more games I played with Gardevoir ex, the more insights about new cards started to appear in my head and even though it was too early to make changes or think I already understood the deck, I decided to make some notes of cards that can serve as options for future experiments.
Hisuian Heavy Ball
You only have four Basic Pokémon to make your entire game happen, and those are your fragile Ralts. In addition, Manaphy and Radiant Greninja are important Pokémon as well, as one prevents your Ralts and Kirlia from being Knocked Out by Radiant Greninja and the other is Radiant Greninja itself, which offers draw power and helps discard Psychic Energy to be recovered by Gardevoir ex later. [card name=”Cresselia” set=”Lost Origin” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Celebrations” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Mew” set=”Celebrations” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] are not Pokémon that harm you if they start off in the Prizes, but having the option to fetch them with [card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] only improved the deck’s consistency. In short, the list has a small amount of Basic Pokémon, but four of them are fundamental, another three you want to have access to in all games, and the rest can be good options depending on the matchup.
Another thing I think is that you always want to field as many Ralts as you can early in the game and a reasonable number of times one of your Ralts will be there in the Prizes.
Gallade from Astral Radiance
[card name=”Gallade” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] is the third Evolution option in the list, but it is a card that gives you great freedom to explore the game’s Supporters. If you want to make a more technical Gardevoir deck, using some Supporters with interesting effects like [card name=”Cheryl” set=”Battle Styles” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Judge” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”235″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Agatha” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card], and having access to these Supporters at the exact moment you need them, then Gallade is a great addition. I’ll leave my impressions on the list more focused on Gallade and Gardevoir ex for the next article.
Rescue Carrier
Miriam and [card name=”Klara” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] are the remaining options in the format after rotation to be able to recover Pokémon from the discard, however, [card name=”Rescue Carrier” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card] is still in the format and can be useful in this Gardevoir ex deck. Although this Item only returns Pokémon with up to 90HP, this may already be enough to help you have one or two more Gardevoir on the field.
Final Thoughts
Gardevoir ex comes to the format without the same gloss that [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] had when it debuted on the format, let alone [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] when it debuted on the format. It’s a cool deck with new mechanics, but I think that the deck’s time-consuming and complex setup can be a strong reason for many players to stay away from this deck and focus on decks that are having more success, like Lost Box.
I also believe that the true roster of Gardevoir ex decks may yet appear, and the European International Championship is the perfect event for this deck to debut. There are many possibilities to build a Gardevoir ex list, and I’m not sure the Japanese players have had enough time to explore that yet. The list I used in my first testing is good, but I still can’t see a big difference in it that justifies using this deck instead of Lugia VSTAR or Lost Box.
That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed it, and see you next time!
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