The Elite Four: Pokemon TCG's Four Deck Format

The current meta has crystallized around four dominant decks. Here's everything you need to know.

Introduction

In my previous article, I covered Gardevoir ex's history and its slow rise from "pretty good" to the undisputed best deck in Standard. I also highlighted how Phantasmal Flames marks yet another new era for the deck, with Mega Diancie ex taking it from strong to seemingly unbeatable.

Mega Diancie ex gives Gardevoir ex a tool for virtually every situation:

• Need Bench damage? Scream Tail
• Need to slow down your opponent? Frillish
• Need massive damage output? Drifloon
• Need Darkness-type coverage? Mega Diancie ex

With the first Phantasmal Flames format event in Stuttgart, Germany now behind us, the impact was immediate. Many top players called Mega Diancie ex "broken" or "game-warping" and I tend to agree.

But the biggest story from Stuttgart? Only four distinct decks made Top 16. This format has become extremely centralized. We are officially in a four deck format.

Is This a Bad Format?

If I had to give a simple yes or no answer, I'd say no. This format is actually pretty great overall. The gameplay is generally fun and the decks are interesting.

However, the reality is more nuanced. There are legitimate problems worth acknowledging.

The Item Lock Problem

In some formats, Item lock is implemented tastefully limited to specific strategies and difficult to set up. Cards like Gothitelle from Emerging Powers come to mind: it saw play, but was restricted to one strategy and required significant setup.

The current format has two highly problematic Item lock cards: Budew and Frillish.

Budew was probably necessary at the time of release, but like many cards, it came out later than it should have and will remain legal for too long likely until 2027. Its pairing with Dusknoir in Dragapult ex decks is particularly oppressive: a card that grinds the game to a halt combined with one that accelerates it through Cursed Blast.

Frillish is problematic in a different way. It functions like Seismitoad-EX did back in 2015, dealing massive damage thanks to Munkidori synergy. The fact that Frillish has a Retreat Cost of three (instead of 2, 1, or 0) actually makes it stronger you can attach extra Energy with Psychic Embrace before discarding them on retreat, generating free damage every turn. Oceanic Gloom effectively deals 50 or even 80 damage while keeping Frillish alive if your opponent attacks but doesn't secure the KO.

Some cards in this format are unhealthy but make the game more interesting (Munkidori, Dusknoir, Fezandipiti ex). Budew and Frillish are the opposite they make the game less interesting with minimal upside.

The Staleness Factor

This format is uniquely dominated by older cards. Looking at previous pre-rotation formats, newer decks typically find success with a few exceptions like Regidrago VSTAR.

At Stuttgart's Top 16? Zero decks had a main attacker released in 2025. The newest was Dragapult ex, which dropped over 18 months ago in May 2024.

This isn't inherently bad the decks are interesting but it makes the format feel stale when every new set only benefits older archetypes while new strategies continue to flop.

This is my biggest criticism: the format is stale AND restrictive, with only four decks truly competitive.

The Elite Four

The top four decks split into two tiers:

Tier 1: Gholdengo ex and Gardevoir ex clearly the two best decks in Standard

Tier 1.5: Charizard ex and Dragapult ex good or even great, but with significant issues against multiple top decks

Gardevoir ex

There's so much to say about this deck right now. It's capable of so much that it feels unbeatable at times.

Core Identity

The deck's core strategy has remained consistent for the past year: use Gardevoir ex to generate Energy and damage counters, then redistribute them with Munkidori for insane reach or multiple simultaneous KOs.

The Frillish Factor

This initially simple strategy developed some issues, especially once Gholdengo ex improved with Air Balloon and Genesect ex from Black Bolt. But White Flare brought one of Gardevoir ex's most important tools: Frillish.

Now the deck can completely shut down multiple archetypes. Decks like Raging Bolt ex simply cannot handle consistent Item lock from Frillish and Jellicent ex they're pushed out of the format entirely.

More importantly, Frillish slows games enough to reliably get multiple Darkness Energy on Munkidori, enabling more powerful plays later.

Mega Diancie ex: The Final Piece

Mega Diancie ex solves the deck's issues with Darkness-type attackers. N's Zoroark ex felt nearly unbeatable before but is now a favorable matchup.

For those who remember Lugia VSTAR's dominance at release, Gardevoir ex feels similar. While its raw power might be slightly lower, the flexibility is comparable it can be built to beat virtually any situation.

Preparing to beat Gardevoir ex is nearly impossible because every counter-strategy can be met with "what if they play X card?" that invalidates your entire game plan.

Gholdengo ex

Gholdengo ex is a unique case. The deck was mediocre until Energy Search Pro released, and even then it was fringe Tier 2 until Black Bolt. That version won zero major tournaments.

Everything changed with Lunatone and especially Solrock.

Solrock: The Game Changer

Solrock adds depth to a previously one-dimensional game plan. Its biggest contribution? Being a usable attacker on a board of entirely single-Prize Pokemon.

This creates meaningful pressure that forces opponents into lines where Gholdengo ex becomes more effective.

Simple example: In the mirror against an old build, if your opponent goes first, attacking is only worthwhile if they give you a two-Prize target. They might play passively, even attacking with Gimmighoul to force your hand. Solrock changes this it forces opponents to swing first with a two-Prize Pokemon or lose to Solrock's pressure.

It makes it much easier to just do something in the early game, which similar decks often struggle with.

Consistency Boost

Lunatone provides additional draw throughout the game, making it easier to find Buddy-Buddy Poffin for setup while getting Energy into circulation. This reduces the bottleneck around finding your crucial one-of Energy Search Pro.

It also makes Genesect ex less critical useful against Charizard ex (which can KO Genesect ex after you've taken two prizes but no Gholdengo ex) and prevents liability to Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex.

Gholdengo ex is legitimately in the conversation for being better than Gardevoir ex unthinkable for a deck I called Tier 0 just two weeks ago.

Charizard ex

This deck fascinates me. It really shouldn't be good right now for about 10 different reasons, but Pidgeot ex's power level is just that high.

Traditional Build

Since release, Charizard ex has been an Arven-focused deck using contemporary tools to reach Pidgeot ex and Charizard ex historically via Forest Seal Stone, more recently with Technical Machine: Evolution.

This engine has become less consistent, especially after Rotom V's rotation. Despite that, it won the Milwaukee Regional Championship in October thanks to great matchups and incredible tools like Dusknoir and Briar.

The Noctowl Revolution

Stuttgart saw a significant shift. For the first time in ages, a new Charizard ex build performed well one that had existed in obscurity.

This build uses Noctowl as the bridge to Pidgeot ex (similar to Forest Seal Stone's role) while leveraging extra Noctowl for devastating late-game combos with Dusknoir and Briar.

The deck was always a mediocre gimmick requiring too much setup until Phantasmal Flames introduced Dawn.

Now any opening hand with Dawn and Buddy-Buddy Poffin guarantees turn 2 Pidgeot ex AND Charizard ex. That's ridiculous.

The Weakness

This build has a massive Item lock vulnerability possibly the only thing preventing it from being the format's best deck by far.

Adding Pidgotto to help under Item lock is worth considering. Otherwise, the Stuttgart winning list is an excellent starting point.

Dragapult ex

While I haven't detailed Dragapult ex as extensively, it rounds out the Elite Four. Its Budew/Dusknoir package provides powerful tools, but struggles against the top two decks consistently enough to keep it in Tier 1.5.

Conclusion

We're in a four deck format, and that's unlikely to change before the next rotation. The Elite Four Gardevoir ex, Gholdengo ex, Charizard ex, and Dragapult ex have crystallized as the only truly competitive options.

Is this ideal? Not really. Is it unplayable? Absolutely not.

The format rewards mastery of these four archetypes and understanding their intricate matchups. If you're competing, pick one of these four and master it completely.

The question now is simple: which member of the Elite Four will you choose?

Stay tuned for more meta analysis and deck breakdowns!