Summary
Ex Pokemon are enjoying a resurgence in thePokemon TCGwith the past few releases, and with Scarlet & Violet’s Paradox Rift expansion, we have tons of new and fun Pokemon ex cards to experiment with and collect.
Among the ex cards found in Paradox Rift there are Paradox Pokemon, creatures from both the far-off past and the distant future, similar to Pokemon we know today but still far different than what we’re used to. Joining the ranks of ex Pokemon are also a few legendaries that are popular among players, and some very powerful Pokemon who have received the ex treatment.
10Armarogue ex
Keep The Fires Burning
The stage one evolution from Charcadet, Armarogue ex brings a powerful ability to match its new ex status. Its Crimson Armor ability makes it so it will take 80 less damage from an attack so long as its HP is full. This ability all but secures it from getting one hit KO’d from your opponent’s attack, giving you time to counterattack with its Scorching Bazooka.
You can use the extremely impactfulTera Charizard ex from Obsidian Flames to boost up Armarogue ex and its Scorching Bazooka attack, letting it deal more damage the more Fire Energies you have attached to it.
9Garchomp ex
Making A Splash
The first Tera Pokemon on this list, Garchomp ex takes the normally Ground and Dragon-type Pokemon and turns it into a Water-type with Fighting attacks. With an impressive 320 HP, among the highest in the set, Garchomp ex can dish out attacks and take a few while at it.
Garchomp ex accelerates your other Fighting-type Pokemon by letting you take Fighting-type Energies from your discard pile and add them to your Benched Pokemon. Then, Garchomp ex’s Sonic Dive attack can snipe your opponent’s Pokemon on their Bench, taking out any potential problems they might be building up.
8Tsareena ex
Bring Them All Down To The Brink
Another Tera Pokemon with a huge chunk of HP, Tsareena ex turns the normally Grass-type Pokemon into a Water-type. Tsareena ex has a fascinating first attack, that can never actually KO one of your opponent’s Pokemon but can put them into the danger zone. Icicle Solo adds damage counters to an opponent’s Pokemon until they have 30 HP remaining.
You can set up 1–2 punches with Tsareena ex, swapping it in to bring down a Pokemon down in HP, and then knocking them out with its Trop Kick attack, or bringing in another attacker to take it down from the Bench.
7Skeledirge ex
Boost Your Power With Energy To Spare
If you’ve ever wanted to power up your Pokemon’s attacks, then look no further than Skeledirge ex. With its Incendiary Song ability, you can discard a Fire Energy to boost your next attack by an additional 60 damage, but you can only do it once per turn. Its primary attack, Luster Burn, deals a hefty 160 damage for just two energy, and if you’re able to boost itself you can deal 220 in one go.
Skeledirge ex is a Stage 2 Pokemon, making it a little more difficult to hit reliably, but when you do you can practically guarantee that any attack you make is going to deal some heavy damage.
6Mewtwo ex
Psychic Decks Keep Getting Stronger
Another Tera Pokemon in the list, Mewtwo ex is an Electric version of the Psychic legendary powerhouse. Mewtwo might take some time to build it, requiring a large amount of Psychic Energies attached to all your Pokemon to start dealing damage.
Photon Kinesis does a measly seventy damage to start, but as you get more Energies out to your Pokemon in play, it’ll keep growing. Pairing Mewtwo ex withGardevoir ex to keep recyclingenergies is a great way to power up multiple Pokemon at once.
5Hoopa ex
No Jumping Through Hoops With Hoopa ex
Even more Tera Legendary Pokemon coming to Paradox Rift with the release of Hoopa ex, a Fighting version of the Djinn Pokemon’s Unbound form. This Hoopa has two punishing attacks, the first, Energy Crush, takes two Darkness Energies to deal 50 damage multiplied by the total number of Energies attached to all of your opponent’s Pokemon.
You can keep the pressure on with Hoopa ex’s other attack, Bandit’s Fist, deals an impressive 200 damage for three Darkness Energy, taking out plenty of Pokemon with just one attack, though it comes with a pretty big drawback.
4Gholdengo ex
Make It Rain All Match Long
Drawing cards is always good in the Pokemon TCG and Gholdengo ex gives you a repeatable way to keep your hand going. With its Coin Bonus ability, you get to draw one card once each turn. If it’s in the Active Spot, you may draw two instead.
You might have Gholdengo ex in the Active Spot often, since itsMake It Rain attackdeals tons of damage to your opponent’s Active Pokemon, scaling higher and higher with the more Energies you’re able to discard with each attack.
3Iron Valiant ex
Coming From The Future To Deal Damage
Coming with one of the more interesting abilities to have ever been seen in the Pokemon TCG, Iron Valiant ex can put damage counters on any of your opponent’s Pokemon when you move it to the Active Spot.
Its only attack, Laser Blade, deals a massive 200 points of damage, but it can’t use the attack again on your next turn. Since it doesn’t have any other attacks it might seem like a huge downside, but swapping it in and out of the Active Spot lets you rotate attackers while increasing damage turn after turn.
2Iron Hands ex
Catch These Hands
Drawing your Prize cards is the primary way to win a match, that’s nothing new, but Iron Hands ex is one of the few Pokemon cards that helps to accelerate the number of cards you take when you knock out your opponent’s Pokemon.
While its Amp You Very Much attack requires four Energy to use, it lets you take an extra Prize card when you use it to knock out an opponent’s Pokemon. You’ll want to use it with cards like Boss’s Orders to swap your opponent’s weaker Pokemon in to start taking two or more prizes at a time.
1Roaring Moon ex
A OHKO Machine
Few Pokemon can instantly KO an opponent’s Pokemon in one shot without doing any damage at all, and Roaring Moon lets you do it for just three Energy. The trade-off is that you have to put 200 damage counters on Roaring Moon ex, not quite knocking it out but leaving it with only 30 HP remaining.
Roaring Moon ex lets you do this at least two times before it KOs itself, but even then, you can swap to its Calamity Storm attack, which requires the same amount of Energy to use and can deal anywhere between 100 to 220 damage if there’s a Stadium in play.
