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In thePokemon TCG, some decks take a heavy hit during rotation, losing key cards and becoming unplayable. While rotation can be intimidating, it helps keep the game fresh, shifting the meta and making new decks viable while offering new opportunities for beginners.
After rotation, some decks emerge even stronger, forming better synergies with new cards, despite losing some important ones. The Gholdengo ex deck, which has been around for a while, is one of the decks that has gained strength after the 2025 rotation. In this guide, we’ll delve into the cards and strategy of this deck.
Gholdengo ex Decklist
The table below displays the full list of 60 cards included in this deck, along with their respective card numbers.
Gholdengo ex
4
139/182
097/191
2
156/193
080/131
Dudunsparce ex
1
121/159
044/131
Fezandipiti ex
038/064
064/091
065/091
076/091
150/159
178/182
061/064
188/193
194/198
106/131
101/131
3
189/193
181/198
176/191
105/131
170/191
155/182
172/193
155/167
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If you’re looking to make changes to the deck, here are some optional cards you can consider:
What Changed In The Deck Post-Rotation?
With the new rotation, Radiant Greninja is no longer legal, which affects every deck that used it—Gholdengo ex included. However,since this deck already has strong draw power,the loss of Greninja doesn’t hurt as much.
Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR was another Pokemon often included in earlier versions of Gholdengo ex decks. While it was powerful, this deck no longer relies on it and instead focuses entirely on Gholdengo ex. Irida, which was previously included to fetch Palkia or Radiant Greninja, is also no longer necessary.
Manaphy, often used to protect the bench, is another card that’s now gone from many decks. While this affects most decks, including Gholdengo ex, it’s a change that must simply be accepted.
In summary, although the deck has lost some Pokemon that were part of earlier builds, it has actually become stronger. With Palkia VSTAR no longer included,the deck now plays fully around Gholdengo ex, and more players are choosing to build their decks accordingly. As a result, the deck’s overall synergy has improved significantly.
Gholdengo ex Deck Strategy
Pokemon Cards
This deck is naturally built around Gholdengo ex. Its Ability ‘Coin Bonus’lets you draw a card each turn—and if Gholdengo ex is in the Active Spot,you draw two instead.With four copies of Gholdengo ex in the deck, it becomes very easy to keep your hand full of cards.
Its only attack, ‘Make It Rain,’ is the main focus of the deck. This attack lets you discard as many Basic Energy cards from your hand as you like, anddoes 50 damage for each one discarded.The entire strategy revolves around getting Energy cards into your hand to power up this attack.
Gimmighoul, the Basic evolution of Gholdengo, has the attack ‘Minor Errand Running,’ which allows you to search your deck for two Basic Energy cards. Thishelps prepare your hand for a strong attack with Gholdengo ex.
This deck includes a single copy of Munkidori. As soonas you draw a Darkness Energy, you should attach it to Munkidorito activate its Ability ‘Adrena-Brain,’ which moves 30 damage from one of your Pokemon to an opponent’s Pokémon once per turn. This Ability remains usable as long as Munkidori stays on the Bench.
Fezandipiti ex is another great Bench Pokémon. Its Ability ‘Flip the Script’lets you draw three cards whenever one of your Pokemon is Knocked Outduring your opponent’s turn.
Dudunsparce is also a helpful inclusion. Its Ability “Run Away Draw” draws you three cards, then it shuffles itself back into the deck. This isn’t a problem, since you won’t need it in the Active Spot anyway.
However, you can also evolve Dunsparce into Dudunsparce ex if you want to use it as a temporary attacker.While Dudunsparce ex isn’t particularly strong, it can be a lifesaver in emergencies.
Revavroom is a surprisingly strong fit for this deck. Its Ability ‘Rumbling Engine’ lets youdiscard an Energy card from your hand to draw until you have six cardsin your hand.
While Revavroom is a great draw engine, you’ll need to be careful—you won’t always want to discard Energy, since they’re needed for Gholdengo ex’s attack.
Stadium Cards
The deck uses two Stadium cards. The first is Artazon, which you should play early. This Stadiumallows you to search for a Basic Pokemon without a Rule Box, which helps you set up your Bench quickly.
The other Stadium, Levincia, is far more important. This Stadiumlets you retrieve two Lightning Energy from the discard pile each turn.Since the deck runs all eight types of Basic Energy, it’s an ideal way to recycle fuel for ‘Make It Rain.’
Tool Cards
There aren’t many Pokemon Tool cards in this deck, but the ones included are impactful. Technical Machine: Evolution is included to help Gimmighoul evolve into Gholdengo ex.It should only be used on Gimmighoul, and never on other Pokemon. Since the deck includes two copies, you’ll be able to evolve a second Gimmighoul even if the first Gholdengo ex is Knocked Out.
Item Cards
This deck runs several helpful Item cards to keep things running smoothly. Night Stretcher is primarily used torecover Energy from the discard pile, but it can also bring back Pokemon if necessary. Super Rod is especially important, as you’ll often be discarding Energy with Gholdengo ex’s attack—Super Rodlets you shuffle three Basic Energy back into your deck.
Switch is useful for moving Gholdengo ex into or out of the Active Spot without paying its Retreat Cost. Earthen Vessel is included to search for Basic Energy from your deck, although it does require a discard to use.Buddy-Buddy Poffin is best used to find Gimmighoul, then Varoom, and then Dunsparce, depending on what you need.
Superior Energy Retrieval is another powerful card, letting you take four Basic Energy from the discard pile, though you’ll need to discard two other cards to do so. Nest Ballhelps you find Basic Pokemon like Fezandipiti ex and Munkidori.
The deck’s ACE SPEC card, Energy Search Pro, is especially strong in this build. Itlets you search your deck for one Basic Energy of each type—and since the deck includes one of each,you can grab eight Energy cards at once.That’s enough for a massive 400-damage ‘Make It Rain.’
Supporter Cards
There aren’t many Supporter cards in the deck, but each one serves a key function. Crispin is used todraw two Basic Energy and attach one to a Pokemon—ideally, attach a Metal Energy to Gholdengo ex.
Cyrano helps you search for three Pokemon ex.Your top priority should be Gholdengo ex.Next, Fezandipiti ex should be your secondary choice. Lastly, Dudunsparce ex should be your final option.
Professor’s Research is excellent for refreshing your hand when you’re low on cards—it’s fine to discard Energy, since there are plenty of ways to recover them.Boss’s Orders gives you the ability to pull one of the opponent’s Benched Pokemon into the Active Spot, which is perfect for targeting vulnerable or key threats.
Finally, Lana’s Aid allows you to recover Rule Box–less Basic Pokemon or Basic Energy from the discard pile—a great recovery option if you’ve lost too many key cards.
