What are the best Pokemon TCG standard decks now that Destined Rivals is available everywhere?

Right now, the Pokemon TCG Live meta is incredibly fun with plenty of decks feeling like they have legs to be competitively viable. Which reigns supreme?

For this update, we’ll be looking at what decks are trending the highest for tournaments on Pokemon TCG Live immediately after Destined Rivals hits the shelves.

#1 Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex deck is the best Pokemon TCG Live deck

Pokémon: 19
4 Marnie's Impidimp DRI 134
3 Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex DRI 136
3 Munkidori TWM 95
2 Snorunt TWM 51
2 Froslass TWM 53
2 Marnie's Morgrem DRI 135
1 Maractus JTG 8
1 Budew PRE 4
1 Shaymin DRI 10
Trainer: 33
4 Iono PAL 185
4 Arven OBF 186
3 Professor's Research JTG 155
1 Boss's Orders PAL 172
3 Counter Catcher PAR 160
2 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144
2 Rare Candy SVI 191
2 Night Stretcher SFA 61
1 Secret Box TWM 163
1 Super Rod PAL 188
1 Energy Search SVI 172
1 Ultra Ball SVI 196
1 Rescue Board TEF 159
1 Bravery Charm PAL 173
1 Technical Machine: Devolution PAR 177
1 Technical Machine: Evolution PAR 178
2 Spikemuth Gym DRI 169
2 Artazon PAL 171
Energy: 8
8 Darkness Energy SVE 15

Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex is showing itself to be the hot new deck of Destined Rivals. With insane damage spread potential thanks to combining it with Froslass and Munkidori, Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex’s ability to accelerate energy onto itself and other Marnie’s Pokemon combined with an effective Shadow Bullet is helping it edge out the competition in online tournaments right now. Will it remain the deck to beat once Destined Rivals shows up at big events? While it’s hard to know for sure right now, it’s quite possible it could end up one of the top decks even after Destined Rivals becomes standard tournament legal.

#2 Gardevoir ex

Pokémon: 15
3 Ralts SVI 84
3 Kirlia SVI 85
2 Gardevoir ex SVI 86
2 Munkidori TWM 95
1 Lillie's Clefairy ex JTG 56
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
1 Drifloon SVI 89
1 Shaymin DRI 10
1 Scream Tail PAR 86
Trainer: 35
4 Iono PAL 185
4 Professor's Research JTG 155
3 Arven OBF 186
4 Ultra Ball SVI 196
3 Earthen Vessel PAR 163
2 Counter Catcher PAR 160
2 Nest Ball SVI 181
2 Night Stretcher SFA 61
1 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144
1 Secret Box TWM 163
1 Super Rod PAL 188
1 Rare Candy SVI 191
3 Technical Machine: Evolution PAR 178
2 Bravery Charm PAL 173
2 Artazon PAL 171
Energy: 10
7 Psychic Energy SVE 13
3 Darkness Energy SVE 15

Gardevoir ex is looking very strong in the Destined Rivals format, with Shaymin adding a defensive layer to the otherwise vulnerable little HP Pokemon on the bench this deck needs to run. While this deck may not fair very well against Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex, it does have a solid matchup against one of the other top decks – Dragapult ex – thanks in part to the powerful Lillie’s Clefairy ex tech.

At this point, Gardevoir ex is the longest standing threat in the Pokemon TCG meta, having proven itself as one of the greats of the Scarlet & Violet season no matter what new sets throw at us.

Meanwhile, this deck’s strategy works much like before, using Gardevoir’s “Psychic Embrace” to power-up single prize attackers and Munkidori to move damage around strategically and enable a favorable prize trade.

#3 Raging Bolt ex

It’s crazy to me to see just how much Raging Bolt ex has evolved as a deck. Certainly it’s come a long, long ways from the relatively straightforward aggro deck it had been to this crazy toolbox version we see today.

I say toolbox because this deck has just a little bit of everything for whatever situation you might face, including the powerful Iron Leaves to take down dark Pokemon menaces like Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex or Charizard ex.

Pairing the Noctowl’s with Raging Bolt ex seem to be gaining traction as the go-to way to build Raging Bolt, enabling additional consistency as you battle away with one of the strongest decks on the Pokemon TCG Live ladder today.

#4 Ethan’s Typhlosion

Pokémon: 20
4 Ethan's Cyndaquil DRI 32
3 Ethan's Typhlosion DRI 34
4 Ethan's Quilava DRI 33
2 Pidgey MEW 16
2 Pidgeotto MEW 17
2 Pidgeot ex OBF 164
1 Shaymin DRI 10
1 Victini SSP 21
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
Trainer: 34
4 Ethan's Adventure DRI 165
4 Arven OBF 186
2 Iono PAL 185
2 Boss's Orders PAL 172
4 Ultra Ball SVI 196
4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144
2 Earthen Vessel PAR 163
1 Rare Candy SVI 191
1 Counter Catcher PAR 160
1 Night Stretcher SFA 61
1 Super Rod PAL 188
1 Redeemable Ticket JTG 156
1 Secret Box TWM 163
3 Technical Machine: Evolution PAR 178
2 Artazon PAL 171
1 Gravity Mountain SSP 177
Energy: 6
6 Fire Energy SVE 10

Speaking of hot decks – they don’t get hotter than Ethan’s Typhlosion – and I’m not just talking about the typing. It’s very exciting to have a dominate new single prize deck on the scene, shaking things up and keeping the meta fun and dynamic.

This deck list leans into the Stage 2 Pokemon heavily and includes Pidgeot ex for insane consistency. Otherwise, this deck works just like any Ethan’s Typhlosion deck should: by getting as many Ethan’s Adventure cards into your discard in order to massively boost Typhlosion’s attack power. Meanwhile, cards like Gravity Mountain and the Victini will help even the math out against some of the stronger Pokemon you’ll be facing down, making it easier for Typhlosion to OHKO them.

#5 Dragapult/Charizard ex

Pokémon: 21
4 Dreepy TWM 128
3 Drakloak TWM 129
2 Dragapult ex TWM 130
3 Charmander PAF 7
1 Charmeleon MEW 5
1 Charmeleon PAF 8
2 Charizard ex OBF 125
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
1 Chi-Yu PAR 29
1 Munkidori TWM 95
1 Cleffa OBF 80
1 Shaymin DRI 10
Trainer: 30
4 Arven OBF 186
4 Iono PAL 185
2 Boss's Orders PAL 172
4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144
3 Ultra Ball SVI 196
2 Nest Ball SVI 181
2 Night Stretcher SFA 61
1 Rare Candy SVI 191
1 Counter Catcher PAR 160
1 Prime Catcher TEF 157
1 Super Rod PAL 188
2 Technical Machine: Evolution PAR 178
1 Rescue Board TEF 159
2 Team Rocket's Watchtower DRI 180
Energy: 9
6 Fire Energy SVE 10
3 Luminous Energy PAL 191

Dragapult and Charizard are better together as it turns out in the Destined Rivals format. This isn’t exactly a brand new idea. Indeed, some time ago Tord popularized the idea of pairing these two former rivals together. The deck feels a lot stronger now than it did even back then, however, and after finishing first at a massive tournament in Japan, players everywhere seem eager to try to exploit the Pokemon TCG meta with this powerful combo.

Essentially, you take advantage of Dragapult ex’s powerful damage spread early game to shut down your opponent’s board, while using Charizard ex to tackle the bigger, beefier Pokemon later in the game that Dragapult ex has trouble knocking out in a single blow.

Also notable from this deck list is the fact that it doesn’t bother partnering these two attackers with an additional draw engine. That’s because you have Drakloak and its powerful Recon Directive draw engine.

With all of this utility, inherent draw, and power, Dragapult ex/Charizard ex feels like it’s going to have a really good time in the Destined Rivals format.

#6 Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex

Pokémon: 14
4 Team Rocket's Tarountula DRI 19
3 Team Rocket's Spidops DRI 20
2 Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex DRI 81
1 Team Rocket's Articuno DRI 51
1 Team Rocket's Sneasel DRI 128
1 Team Rocket's Mimikyu DRI 87
1 Lillie's Clefairy ex JTG 56
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
Trainer: 38
4 Team Rocket's Ariana DRI 171
2 Team Rocket's Giovanni DRI 174
2 Team Rocket's Proton DRI 177
2 Team Rocket's Archer DRI 170
4 Ultra Ball SVI 196
4 Team Rocket's Transceiver DRI 178
3 Earthen Vessel PAR 163
3 Energy Switch SVI 173
3 Pokémon Catcher SVI 187
2 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144
2 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186
1 Night Stretcher SFA 61
1 Rescue Board TEF 159
1 Bravery Charm PAL 173
1 Maximum Belt TEF 154
3 Team Rocket's Factory DRI 173
Energy: 8
4 Team Rocket's Energy DRI 182
3 Grass Energy SVE 9
1 Psychic Energy SVE 13

Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex is the darkhorse of the Destined Rivals Pokemon TCG format. While it’s trending at sixth in online tournaments, it’s quite likely that players haven’t figure out just how strong this deck can be.

Although being roped into fielding primarily Team Rocket’s Pokemon can present something of a problem, the support for Rocket’s Pokemon is also so strong that it makes up for the tradeoff.

You can see in this deck list that we’re not being too strict about needing only Team Rocket’s Pokemon in play. We can also take advantage of the powerful Lillie’s Clefairy ex tech to counter dragon type decks while also still leveraging additional draw from Fezandipiti when we need it.

Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex is one of the most exciting strategies we’ve seen in the Pokemon TCG Standard formats in some time. It’s unique, powerful and fun. It’s highly likely the deck moves up higher in the rankings as more players around the world realize just how strong and reliable this deck is under pressure.

The Best Pokemon TCG Standard Meta Decks (June 2025)