Standard 2026 (H-On)

Flexible multi-attacker toolbox built around Mega Absol ex and Mega Kangaskhan ex. Energy Switch enables powering whichever attacker matches the situation. Munkidori moves damage counters offensively. Latias ex, Lillie's Clefairy ex, and Teal Mask Ogerpon ex provide type coverage and utility. Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi won the 2,635-player Houston Regional with a similar Mega Absol Box build, establishing the archetype as a top contender.

The dominant archetype post-rotation. Dragapult ex's Phantom Dive places 200 to the Active and 5 damage counters on bench however you choose. Dusknoir's Sinister Hand moves those counters freely to set up precision multi-knockouts. This is the only major archetype that survived the G rotation largely intact — commanding ~25% of the Japanese metagame post-rotation. Munkidori provides additional counter manipulation. Noctowl from Stellar Crown adds a draw engine, and Shaymin recovers key resources.

The new Fighting powerhouse. Mega Lucario ex evolves directly from Riolu, has 340 HP, and hits with Aura Jab for 130 damage while accelerating a Fighting Energy from discard. Solrock and Lunatone provide a draw engine. Hariyama adds a secondary attacker. Stone Fighting Energy reduces damage taken. Fighting Gong searches for Fighting Pokémon. Maximum Belt adds 50 damage vs opposing ex for OHKO range.

Japan's top post-rotation spread archetype. Mega Starmie ex's attack spreads damage across all opposing Pokémon, punishing benches full of low-HP basics and pre-evolutions. Paired with Mega Froslass ex and Froslass for additional damage counter placement, and Munkidori to move those counters for precision KOs. Yveltal provides a single-prize Darkness attacker. Risky Ruins punishes benched Pokémon with abilities.

Froslass's Frost Curse places damage counters when it evolves, and Munkidori's Adrena-Brain moves them to the right targets. The deck chains evolutions and counter manipulation for multi-KO turns. A single-prize attacker deck that trades efficiently against ex-heavy decks by never giving up 2 prizes. Night Stretcher and Super Rod keep the evolution chain flowing.

N's Zoroark ex copies attacks from benched Pokémon via Night Joker, giving the deck unmatched flexibility. N's Zekrom provides massive Lightning damage that Zoroark can copy, while N's Darmanitan and N's Reshiram add Fire-type coverage. Pecharunt ex poisons and disrupts. The deck runs a deep Supporter lineup including Cyrano for hand sculpting, Janine's Secret Art for card draw, and Team Rocket's Petrel for discard disruption. N's PP Up powers up N's-branded attacks.

Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex provides Darkness-type pressure with energy manipulation. Combined with N's Zoroark tools and Froslass for damage counter placement, this hybrid deck disrupts opponents' energy while building its own board. The deck runs Marnie as a natural Supporter inclusion alongside N for maximum hand disruption — especially potent post-rotation without Iono in the format.

Raging Bolt ex survived rotation and remains a consistent threat. Ancient Lightning scales damage with energy attached — with enough energy, it OHKOs anything. Teal Mask Ogerpon ex recovers energy from discard. Mega Kangaskhan ex provides a beefy secondary attacker. Crispin accelerates energy from hand, while Glass Trumpet and Bug Catching Set dig for resources. Area Zero Underdepths keeps the draw engine flowing.

A pure Team Rocket engine that grinds opponents into submission. Honchkrow's Rocket Feathers deals damage by discarding Team Rocket Supporters from hand — and the deck runs 20 of them plus 4 Transceiver to find more. Porygon2's Rapid Hack copies discarded Supporters for extra value. Team Rocket's Articuno provides a secondary attacker. Team Rocket's Factory accelerates the discard-and-replay loop. The deck hits hard and fast while stripping opponent resources.

A new Charizard ex variant using the Surging Sparks version (not the rotated Obsidian Flames one). Noctowl from Mega Evolution provides setup and consistency. The deck accelerates Fire Energy and hits hard with Charizard's attacks. While the original Charizard ex / Pidgeot ex archetype died to rotation, this rebuild attempts to recapture that raw power with new support tools from the Mega Evolution series.