Iron Valiant ex has been one of my favorite decks since its release in Paradox Rift. And while its gotten some noteriety for doing well in competitions when paired with Entei V, I prefer Iron Valiant ex like I like my scotch – neat. While I’ve paired it with other neat secondary attackers before like Espathra ex, this is the strongest form I’ve seen it to date, an I always play it combined with the Xatu draw/energy acceleration engine.

Thanks to Temporal Forces, Iron Valiant ex is stronger than ever, with several notable cards added to its lineup including the crazy effective Iron Crown ex and the helpful Reboot Pod ACE SPEC card.

*Updated March 12, 2024 to include info on the latest ways to play Iron Valiant ex.

Iron Valiant ex Deck List

Pokémon: 6
3 Xatu PAR 72
1 Iron Crown ex
1 Mew ex MEW 151
1 Xatu PAF 26
4 Natu PAR 71
4 Iron Valiant ex PAR 89
Trainer: 12
3 Ultra Ball SVI 196
4 Switch SVI 194
4 Switch Cart ASR 154
4 Professor's Research SVI 190
2 Techno Radar PAR 180
3 Future Booster Energy Capsule PAR 164
4 Nest Ball SVI 181
2 Iono PAL 185
1 Town Store OBF 196
2 Earthen Vessel PAR 163
2 Boss's Orders SHF 58
1 Tulip PAR 181
1 Reboot Pod
Energy: 2
3 Jet Energy PAL 190
10 Basic {P} Energy Energy 13

Basic Strategy

Iron Valiant ex can be played in many ways and does well paired with other decks. However, in this deck, Iron Valiant is the star of the show. We’ll go over how this deck works and what you can do to pilot it to victory.

Xatu from Paradox Rift makes this deck work

While Iron Valiant ex gets most of the credit for this deck (attackers always do), it’s Xatu from Paradox rift and its incredible Clairvoyant Sense ability that really makes this deck tick.

Not only does this excellent ability enable you to quickly accelerate energies onto your Psychic Pokemon, it also provides draw support each time you use it. Getting Xatu into play (meaning benching Natu first and evolving it as early as turn two if possible) should be your first goal in any game.

Power up Iron Valiant ex to start spreading damage

The exciting thing about this deck is that not only can Iron Valiant ex do a lot of damage via attacking, it’s also got an ability that allows you to strategically place damage counters on the board as you wish.

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This ability works well to take knockouts that would otherwise be out of reach for its base attack. Of course, you can also power up Iron Valiant ex with Future Booster Energy Capsule to maximize its damage output, and also make it easier to switch it out to other Iron Valiant ex, keeping your damage counters flowing.

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As you are strategically placing damage counters on your opponent’s Pokemon, you can use that damage to lower Pokemon ex within striking distance of Iron Valiant’s Laser Blade attack or Iton Crown’s attack. This works great against decks that use less bulky Pokemon to help them get set up, such as Charizard ex, and Lost Zone box.

Iron Crown ex adds versatility to the Iron Valiant ex deck

Future Pokemon are getting stronger thanks to powerful cards released in Temporal Forces. One of the strongest of these cards is Iron Crown ex. You can see it below in its special illustration form. What makes Iron Crown ex so powerful is at first his helpful ability. Cobalt Command grants extra attack to Iron Valiant ex, meaning that your Iron Valiant can easily hit for 240 when it has Future Booster Energy Capsule attached.

If that weren’t reason enough to include Iron Crown ex in this deck, then you’ll really like this: Iron Crown ex has an attack that can easily attack the bench while ignoring any weakness, resistance or effects on them. That means this attack should also get through Manaphy’s powerful Wave Veil defense.

Iron Crown ex can be particularly helpful against single prize decks like Lost Zone Box or Ancient Box, making it pretty easy to take two knockouts in the same turn. This combined with Tachyon Bits makes for a reliable and powerful attack.

Mew ex provides draw support and a helpful attack

Mew ex is an ideal fit for this Iron Valiant deck for two reasons – it provides additional draw support that will come in handy in many situations, and it also has a powerful attack that’s easy to take advantage of. Genome Hacking lets you copy your opponent’s active Pokemon’s attack and shoot it right back at him. This is handy in many deck matchups, and keeps your opponent on their toes.

Tulip comes in handy in tight spots

Tulip is a powerful supporter card in this deck. Usually I primarily use her to grab a bunch of energies that I can then use to power up my Iron Valiant ex and draw extra cards. But she can also be helpful in pulling psychic Pokemon from your discard when you need them most. She’s not a card you are going to use more than once in a battle, so I include just one copy of her. But she’s definitely helpful in a tight spot.

Reboot Pod adds powerful support to Future Pokemon

Last but not least, Iron Valiant got a powerful boost via the Future Pokemon focused Reboot Pod ACE SPEC card. Use this card to dramatically increase your ability to accelerate energies onto Iron Valiant Ex or Iron Crown ex. This is ideal in a tight spot or simply to make sure you have multiple Iron Valiant ex’s ready to take on your opponent.

Iron Valiant ex deck strengths and weaknesses

Every Pokemon deck has its share of strengths and weaknesses no matter how strong. Iron Valiant ex is very strong thanks largely to its Tachyon bits ability, letting you strategically place damage counters across the board. However, where it lacks is in sheer attack power. At best, Iron Valiant ex is hitting for 220 or 240 with Future Booster Energy Capsule and Iron Crown ex in play. If you have multipe Iron Crown ex in your deck and play them, you could bring that up, but it’s still harder to get a lot of attack out this Pokemon than other Pokemon ex right now.

That being said, using Tachyon Bits strategically can narrow that gap and raise your damage output considerably.

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