ThePokemon TCGis known for shaking the meta whenever a new generation comes by. We already went through the Fusion Strike and Rapid Strike era, when the VSTAR and VMAX Pokemon took the meta by storm, and did all they wanted with it, and now, we are seeing the Pokemon ex destroying the titans. But that’s not all.
Paradox Rift focuses on countering some of the established engines and decks while giving a lot of strength to the new Future and Ancient Paradox Pokemon. We will see a lot of new things, and among them, a lot of cards with interesting abilities, moves, and so on.
12Iron Valiant Ex
Bench Damage And Excessive Switches
Let’s kickstart this list with the best ex card of the expansion,Iron Valiant, which mostly makes it to this list thanks to its ability,Tachyon Bits, which lets you set two damage counters on any of your opponent’s Pokemonwhenever Iron Valiant jumps from the bench to the Active Spot.
With the proper combination (Radiant Alakazam, Xatu, Switch, etc.),you can have four Iron Valiant dancing between the bench and the Active Spot,dealing a lot of damage, and then, you can do the coup-de-grace with Laser Blade, which deals 200 damage. This is the signature card of this set.
11Roaring Moon Ex
Instant Knock-Outs And Easy Setup
Iron Valiant is the strongest Future Pokemon, but it sees strong competition fromRoaring Moon, which can be the flagship (flagcard?) of this expansion;you’re able to build it in a deck with only it as the attacker plus some extra utility cards.It’s strong, powerful, and easy to set up. What else can we ask for?
Roaring Moon has two attacks:Frenzied Gouging, which directlyKnocks Out your opponent’s Active Pokemonbut deals 200 damage to itself, andCalamity Storm, which deals 100 plus 120 if there’s a stadium in play.Both attacks just cost three Dark Energy cards, almost unfairly overpowered.
10Mantyke
Your New Favorite Healer
Let’s put ex aside for a while, and let’s talk a bit about utility cards.Healers are always appreciated, even more if their moves don’t cost any Energy cards and even more if they don’t have any Retreat Cost. That’s exactly the case withMantyke.You can always toss it in the Active Spot,heal 120 damage with it, and thenretreat it for free to attack again in the next turn.
Mantykecan be exposed to Bench damage, but there’s a card we’ll see later that can cover it. The only potential problem is if your opponent uses Boss Orders on it,so it’s more of a card you’ll use in later stages of the game.
9Brute Bonnet
Special Conditions Setter
Pokemon that can inflict Special Conditions, such as Poisoning, are always helpful. Now, if that same Pokemon can inflict Poisonings to your own Pokemon at your own will, then it’ll be better, as it’ll significantly help you set up a strategy in turn one.
This is exactly the case withBrute Bonnet, which can poison your active Pokemon if you want to. There are cards in this set,like Klawf, thatdeal a lot of damagein exchange for just a couple of Energy cardsif they are affected by a Special Condition.
8Jirachi
Bench Protection Against Lost Boxes
We continue with utility Pokemon, as this expansion is filled with them. This one is also a fan-favorite,Jirachi, which comes to the game to help you protect your bench thanks to its ability,Stellar Veil, which prevents your opponent from damaging your benched Pokemon.
Jirachi almost feels like a cardblatantly designed to counter any Lost Box deck that uses Sableye as its main attacker.Sableye usually focuses on destroying your bench since the start of the match, and Jirachi preventing it is a big blow for those decks.
7Gholdengo Ex
Excessive Damage With Easy Setup
Aside from Iron Valiant and Roaring Moon,Gholdengo shines above the rest of ex cards, as it’s a great card that can work with several cards that we already know, like Klara and the Energy Retrievals, plus one of the cards that will tear the meta apart. You’ll see it in the next entry; just hang on!
But what’s the issue with Gholdengo? Well, its ability,Coin Bonus, lets youdraw a card(or two, if Gholdengo is in the Active Spot)per turn, while its attack,Make It Rain, deals 50 damage for each Energy Card you discard from your hand.Things will be as simple as flooding your hand with Energies, discarding them, and retrieving them constantly until you win.
6Earthen Vessel
Easy Energy Card Drawing Method
Time to focus on the items. This set didn’t include a lot of them,but the ones we have are superb.The one that is drawing the most attention is theEarthen Vessel, an Ancient card that lets youdiscard a card to draw two Energy Cards from your deck.
This is the card that willhelp the likes of Gholdengo Ex or Roaring Moon to excel in the meta.Suiting your hand with Two Energy Cards right away is heavily good, and it lets you be prepared for whatever strategy you can think of.
5Techno Radar
Locating Future Pokemon Has Never Been So Easy
Future and Ancient are counterparts; that’s the theme of the deck. In this case, the Earthen Vessel’s counterpart is none other than theTechno Radar, a Future card thatlets you discard a card and then look and draw two Future Pokemon in your deck.
This card will prevent any Future-based Pokemon deck from getting stuck in the building phase.It will do all the job you must do with the Nest and Ultra Balls, so you’re able to have everything ready to go in turn one.
4Technical Machine: Evolution
A Second Breath For Stage Two-Based Decks
We usually have one-time items throughout the expansions. The last ones were the seals, andnow we have the Technical Machines.There are four, but one of the best ones isEvolution, which lets you pick two Benched Pokemon and search in your deck for their respective evolutions, and then you can evolve them simultaneously.
This card ishere to help those Stage 2 decks(Gardevoir, Charizard, Skeledirge, etc.)not sink in the meta, as it’s now focusing on the Basic Pokemon and all their utilities. With it, you’ll have your Pokemon ready to attack in turn one.
3Technical Machine: Turbo Energize
Quick And Dynamic Setup
Alongside Evolution, the best Technical Machine card of the expansion isTurbo Energize, whichlets you search two Basic Energy Cards from your deck and attach them to any of your Pokemon in any way you desire.
Again, these cards focus on making the matches more dynamic,trying to help you set everything quickly to attack as soon as possible.There are plenty of Two-Energy attackers (Iron Valiant, Klawf) that will significantly benefit from having this card around.
