Gardevoir ex in Prismatic Evolutions
Hello everyone! Gardevoir ex was on the rise at the end of the Surging Sparks format and is looking stronger in Prismatic Evolutions. Regidrago VSTAR was one of your tougher matchups before and has been pushed out of the format by the presence of Budew in multiple decks which has opened the door for Gardevoir ex to be one of the most played decks in the format. However, as Regidrago was pushed out of the format the door has been opened for other decks such as Dragapult ex to see success. This has changed the way that Gardevoir ex has been built and essentially prevented the turbo version from seeing play, forcing players into going for heavy Technical Machine: Evolution and Munkidori to play for a slower game.
Henry Chao won the San Antonio Regional Championships with a slow version of the deck that used the ACE SPEC Secret Box. The main reason for Secret Box was to give yourself an opportunity to find both your turn one Evolution and guarantee a draw Supporter on turn two with just the single Arven. Additionally, Secret Box lets you play one-of Supporter and Stadium cards such as Irida or Moonlit Hill, and find then at the right time. It also gives you access to Artazon early, essentially turning your Arven into your Technical Machine: Evolution, an Item card (likely Earthen Vessel or Buddy-Buddy Poffin ), a follow-up Supporter and an extra Pokemon! Irida is a surprisingly useful card in Gardevoir ex as you can find either Radiant Greninja or Manaphy in addition to your Item card, however it is difficult to justify without Secret Box as it can’t find Technical Machine: Evolution early on. Moonlit Hill is in a similar camp to Irida, it’s a very strong card in certain scenarios but weak in many others. I think without Secret Box in your decklist then I would stick to the higher counts of Arven and Artazon, but Irida and Moonlit Hill are solid options if you can find them at the right moment.
Despite the pedigree Secret Box has obtained in Gardevoir thanks to Henry Chao, I still prefer Unfair Stamp for the new format. This card has felt so powerful when playing games with Gardevoir, as you can turn your later Arven into draw Supporters. Additionally, if you naturally draw the Unfair Stamp, then you get to draw the five cards and follow it up with a Supporter to either fill in a missing piece in your hand with Arven or manipulate the board with Professor Turo's Scenario or Boss's Orders. Unfair Stamp is especially strong against Lugia VSTAR, which is set to become more popular in the format thanks to Regigigas and the strength of Iron Hands ex. Henry Chao pioneered the inclusion of Spiritomb in Gardevoir to answer the Lugia matchup, as its Fettered in Misfortune ability prevents them from using Lumineon V‘s Luminous Sign. While this seems minor, it gives you a great answer to an aggressive Iron Hands ex as you can attack with your Gardevoir ex and put them on two cards, forcing them to find the raw Boss’s Orders while cutting off all their Pokemon search as outs. Additionally, Spiritomb is also strong against any stall deck using Rotom V, as you prevent them from using Instant Charge to build up their hand. I have found Unfair Stamp to be the most widely useful ACE SPEC in Gardevoir decks, however Secret Box is definitely a close second.
Building Gardevoir in the new format has been very difficult. I feel very confident on both Unfair Stamp and Spiritomb as solid inclusions, however there are a ton of tech options for the deck. You can argue for including Manaphy, Cresselia, Klefki, Flutter Mane , or Budew as tech Pokemon as they all have applications in certain matchups. One of the nicest aspects of the Gardevoir ex deck is that it can be built to deal with any matchup by combining the right tech cards, however you have to balance this with enough cards to help you play the game. The list I’m currently showcasing is likely to change depending on how the metagame unfolds, but this is what I’ve been liking right now for Gardevoir ex!
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