Iron Thorns ex / Dragapult ex Poses Major Challenges to Top Decks

Hello to all PokeBeach readers! This is Gabriel Semedo again with another Pokemon TCG article. This time I want to talk about a deck that is actually the fusion of two decks from the format, Iron Thorns ex / Dragapult ex.

This is not the first time that this deck has appeared in the world of Pokémon TCG. At least I have tested Iron Thorns ex / Dragapult ex before the Latin America International Championships (LAIC), and I confess that I liked the deck at the time. But the metagame was completely different from what it is today. At LAIC, I played Regidrago VSTAR because it had not yet become 100% established as the best deck in the format, and there was a clear path for it to perform well. But now the metagame is 100% focused on playing Regidrago or playing with something that beats Regidrago, and it is in these moments that crazy ideas appear, like Iron Thorns / Dragapult.

Combining the deck that won the 2024 World Championships with a Pokemon that has one of the best attacks in the game—also Regidrago’s preferred attack—actually made some sense, even though several peculiar characteristics of each deck had to be set aside.

The Quad Iron Thorns deck is still strong, but it relies much more on luck now than it did at Worlds 2024. Everyone knows how to play against Iron Thorns and even dedicates specific cards to counter it. Aside from being well-known, it is also respected. While it’s still possible to see some good results here and there at Regionals, I believe that this is due to specific matchups or flipping heads on Crushing Hammer at the crucial moment. For me, the biggest issue with Quad Thorns isn’t beating Regidrago VSTAR. A player who knows the deck well is difficult to beat. A lot has to go wrong for Regidrago, such as Canceling Cologne going to the Prizes, or flipping multiple heads on Crushing Hammer.

About the Dragapult ex only deck, I still think it has a lot of potential, whether combined with Dusknoir or just Pidgeot ex to improve consistency. However, it often lacks the time or resources to set up properly throughout the game. Dragapult needs one or two extra turns to fully utilise its potential, and this has been evident not only in the current metagame with Iron Thorns, but also in the future metagame in Japan. However, for me, the biggest issue with traditional Dragapult decks is your two-Prize support Pokemon that your opponent can Knock Out on your Bench or those offered by Dusknoir.

Often, victories against Dragapult ex are secured by Knocking Out your Rotom V, Fezandipiti ex, Pidgeot ex, or taking a double Knockout on your Dreepy and either Pidgey or Duskull when playing against Regidrago VSTAR or Radiant Greninja. It’s not always necessary to deal directly with Dragapult ex, as it is powerful on its own. When a Dragapult ex deck works perfectly and avoids early Kyurem, Regidrago has serious problems. However, the match is still very balanced.

Iron Thorns ex alone cannot beat Regidrago VSTAR, but it can prolong the game, and Dragapult ex can beat Regidrago—provided the initial setup is solid. Combining the two Pokemon together seems to make a lot of sense. However, I believe the brilliance of the idea came from whoever thought of it (likely from Japan), simply putting two completely different Pokemon together in a single deck. I must admit, this idea didn’t even cross my mind. The card that connects Iron Thorns and Dragapult is Crispin, which enables Iron Thorns to attack on the second turn and provides the Energy acceleration needed throughout the game for Dragapult ex.

Recently, Isaiah Cheville wrote an article about Iron Thorns ex, explaining the Iron Thorns ex / Dragapult ex combination very well. I’ll just give a brief explanation and then discuss the matchups.

Deck Overview

You always want Iron Thorns ex in the Active Spot on the first turn, which is why the deck only includes four Dreepy and Radiant Alakazam as your other Basic Pokemon. The more Basic Pokemon in the deck, the less likely you are going to be able to start with Iron Thorns ex. Arven and Crispin are the Supporter cards responsible for assisting with the deck’s early setup, with Arven fetching your ACE SPEC Precious Trolley and Technical Machine: Evolution, while Crispin enables Iron Thorns ex to attack early.

Despite being a very ingenious deck build, the strategy is quite simple: attack with Iron Thorns until you manage to evolve Dragapult ex, then switch to Dragapult and continue attacking until the game ends. Of course, the deck’s complexity appears in other parts of the game, but in terms of possible plays, I believe decks with Dusknoir and Briar or even Regidrago VSTAR are more complex to use.

From turn 3 onwards, the deck is expected to have an army of Drakloak on the Bench providing draw power, while Iron Thorns can continuously attack to buy more time. Cards like Penny, Boss's Orders, and Counter Catcher are used during this phase of the game to maximise Iron Thorns’ effectiveness, giving time for the Drakloak to evolve into Dragapult ex.

This concludes the public portion of this article.

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