With the jump to Scarlet & Violet,Pokemonwas ready to kick off the new era. ex cards got a comeback, and you’d be naturally curious about which cards are actually worth keeping in your deck.
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Despite getting a revival, the core ex mechanics are liable to change. Now you can prolong your game and make it more engaging by evolving your Pokemon mid-battle. Not only that, there’s something new to look out for as well: Terastallized Pokemon that glisten like gems and feature a crown.
10Gyarados ex
Don’t let the high damage output and HP fool you, despite how cool the artwork is, Gyarados ex just costs too much to execute any of its attacks. It’s also a Stage 1 Pokemon, with a pre-evolution that’s incredibly hard to use for attacking purposes.
Not just that, even though it boasts an ability that increases your damage output if the opponent’s Pokemon already has some damage, an attack like Waterfall would more than likely be enough to take them down.
9Toxicroak ex
If you’re looking to make your opponents salty at you, and plan to have their Pokemon weak and susceptible to a desperate counter-attack, then playing Toxicroak ex with his low attack damage might just be the right call.
Chip away at your adversary’s Pokemon with effective poison damage and stacked-up damage counters that impede their recovery. Luckily enough, despite the low damage, Toxicroak is reliable enough to keep in your deck because of its high HP and advantageous Ability.
Unfortunately, the high energy cost and the effort of evolving it might make it hard to justify keeping it in your deck.
8Magnezone ex
Despite being a little tough to evolve since it’s a Stage 2, this Electric-type Pokemon is capable of absolutely demolishing your opponent’s Pokemon if they’re packing several energy cards to execute a counterattack.
The Energy Crush Ability amplifies the high damage output and makes this viable card a must-have for players looking to punish their opponents for building up any resistance. Although performing an attack does end up hurting the Pokemon itself, it’s still nothing compared to the benefits that it carries.
7Spidops ex
Although it’s not an impressive card on paper,paired up with the right cards, this Pokemon can effectively use its Ability to nerf your opponent’s chances of being able to retreat their Pokemon. It’s especially useful when it comes to exhausting your opponent’s energy and features a decent bit of HP.
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This card has massive potential, since the higher the retreat cost, the more damage output it’s capable of delivering. Stacking up several Spidops ex may as well be a winning strategy even though it’s a Stage 1 card but with a very low attack cost.
6Arcanine ex
With some tanky HP and attacks that get buffed for each damage counter received, Arcanine ex can change the tide of the battle despite the high cost. Although it’s not as viable as cards like Ampharos ex or Oinkologne ex, it still covers that deficit with its high damage output with Bright Flame.
It’s a mid-tier Stage 1 card and its pre-evolution is somewhat viable enough to keep in rotation. It also avoids any damage from you or your opponent’s actions while it’s on the bench.
5Great Tusk ex
With high HP and high damage attacks, this Fighting type Pokemon may be a bit expensive to play but Bedrock Breaker and Gigantic Tusks are excellent moves that come with very few caveats sincemost Pokemon are weak to Fighting types. Although, it might be hard to build up the energy required to retreat it.
Its weakness to Psychic type Pokemon isn’t going to do it any favors either but at least if it’s paired up with another Basic ex card like Koraidon ex, you’re able to demolish your opponent’s Pokemon.
4Banette ex
This Psychic-type Pokemon comes at a low attack cost and has low damage output but still delivers some significant nerfs to your opponent that will definitely slow down their game and end up frustrating them to no end.
Not only can you use Poltergeist to deal 60 damage and take a peek at your opponent’s hand, but you can also buff up the damage for every Trainer card they hold and limit their usage. It’s one of the most viable Pokemon to play and has decent HP too.
3Koraidon ex
A Fighting Dragon type capable of allowing you to fuel some heavy hitters on your next turn due to its special ability. Koraidon can fuel a substantial attack plan that can ruin your opponent’s initiative on your next turn, on top of the heavy attack damage the Pokemon is capable of inflicting itself.
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Since it’s also a Basic Pokemon, you won’t have to endure the process of evolving it mid-battle. Hence, this makes Koraidon ex an asset to any Fighting deck.
2Gardevoir ex
Not only does it attack and recover from all special conditions, but it also grants you the option to use an energy card from your discard pile to build up one of your other Psychic type Pokemon. Although, it does come at a cost since the Pokemon you choose to build will suffer through a couple of damage counters being placed on them.
Despite that however, Gardevoir expaired up with the right cardscan deliver quite the punch, and its pre-evolutions are pretty viable in-game too, so you won’t be at a disadvantage from having to evolve it to a Stage 2.
1Miraidon ex
This Electric-type Pokemon is one of the base ex cards that don’t need to be evolved in order to play. Since it’s so easy to put down and does 220 attack damage in exchange for a turn to rest, it is especially viable to play in-game.
This Pokemon has high HP, and it even boasts an ability that puts two Basic Electric type Pokemon on your bench from your deck. So, if you’re carrying around some Basic Electric heavy-hitters that are ready to evolve into an ex or Vmax too, then you’re able to easily wreak havoc on your opponent by making them active during your next turn.
