Updating Decks with Paldean Fates

What’s poppin’ Po Town readers? Are you hyped for the release of the latest Pokemon TCG set, Scarlet and Violet: Paldean Fates? I know that I have recently gone over the best cards coming out of this set here: [https://www.potownstore.com/top-10-cards-from-paldean-fates-blog], and now I’m going to update some of the top decks in format with new cards from Paldean Fates! Which decks? Charizard ex / Pidgeot ex [Obsidian Flames], Lost Zone Box, Gardevoir ex [Scarlet and Violet], and Chien-Pao ex / Baxcalibur [Paldea Evolved]. All of those decks receive slight to major buffs from Paldean Fates that will allow them to potentially see even more success than they already do. This set is a great way to bling up your decks, pick up a handful of new cards, and explore Paldea! Be sure to pick up some codes from the Potown Storeusing code zlesage5 to save 5% on PTCG Live code cards. That being said, let’s jump into our first deck.

One of the more underrated decks on this list, Chien-Pao ex / Baxcalibur gains the new Frigibax [Paldean Fates], and while that might not sound like a lot, it might make the deck situationally better. With the one card change that I’ve made to the list that 2023 Oceania International Finalist Regan Retzcloff played to Charlotte Regionals, we have more opportunities to draw cards. I’ve effectively replaced the 70 HP Frigibax [Paldea Evolved] with the new Frigibax because I think it's better to draw a card than to do 10 damage. Is this change monumental? Not really, but how many times is the 10 damage going to remain relevant? Chien-Pao ex can already scale damage to whatever it needs, so the 10 damage likely won’t matter at all. If you’re really struggling, drawing a card with the new Frigibax might net you a Rare Candy [Scarlet and Violet] or Irida [Astral Radiance] to advance your game. We still need to play two copies of the 60HP Frigibax so we aren’t a victim of Sableye [Lost Origin], and Regan’s list looks close to perfect, so it does give us a likely perfect Chien-Pao ex / Baxcalibur list to play in our new Paldean Fates format. Our strategy is still gonna remain the same, get out Baxcalibur as quickly as possible, load up Energy on Chien-Pao ex, and OHKO anything in sight! This deck has seen a decent bit of success since the set was released, and there are many new shiny cards to help bling this card throughout the set! Let’s check out the list!

Charizard ex / Pidgeot ex has largely been the best deck in format since the release ofScarlet and Violet: Paradox Rift, and it might become even better with the release of Paldean Fates. Why? Well, we get the new Charmeleon [Paldean Fates] that allows us to prevent effects of attacks done to it, and that means it can’t be affected by Special Conditions, or Sableye’s Lost Mine. There are a handful of other things that Flare Veil prevents, but it might be relevant at some point. The biggest argument against playing this card is that the Charmeleon [Obsidian Flames] can be advantageous against Mimikyu [Paldea Evolved] that sees play in the Snorlax [Pokemon Go] deck, but that is already a tough matchup. I’d argue that the small benefit of Flare Veil compared to an autoloss matchup should be the reason why we decide to play the new Charmeleon. As an added benefit, the new Charmeleon still has 90HP, which means you can search it out with Level Ball [Battle Styles], and we can easily add it into Caleb Rogerson’s finalist list from Charlotte! Nothing else changes with the Charizard ex deck to accommodate this change, so it's still slapping down Rare Candy, searching anything you want with Pidgeot ex, and wrecking havoc with Charizard ex. After the release of Paldean Fates, I don’t see how this deck isn’t in contention for the best deck still, so let’s check out the list.

We are getting into the more impactful cards from Paldean Fates, and arguably the most impactful card from the set, Moonlit Hill [Paldean Fates], allows us to have more gameplay options with Gardevoir ex. This deck works by ramping up Psychic Energy in your discard pile, loading those Energy on a Pokemon to attack with, and then taking splash damage from the ability. Moonlight hill allows us to heal Pokemon, like Gardevoir [Chilling Reign], and Zacian V [Celebrations], so that means you can reach high caps of damage by healing, and then attaching more Energy. Moonlit hill also works as a means to an end to discarding more Psychic Energy in general, which also adds fuel to Psychic Embrace. Did I mention that it also works as a counter to Path to the Peak [Chilling Reign], one of the most played Stadium cards in our format? Gardevoir ex was considered the best deck in format in our early Paradox Rift format, but took a bit of a vacation due to many top decks playing Path to the Peak, so the release of Moonlit Hill could actually bring this to being a top three deck in format. Everything else remains the same strategy wise, like discarding Energy, and accelerating it to your Psychic-type Pokemon, and that gives me great hope for this deck. The base of the list is from Bodhi Robinson’s semi-finalist list from Portland so the success is there, now we just need to see if Moonlit Hill is as impactful as I think it is. Let’s check out this list.

When it comes to Lost Zone Box decks, you can go in any direction, but you might wanna include Technical Machine: Crisis Shot [Paldean Fates] because of its amazing synergy with Cramorant [Lost Origin]. After loading up your Lost Zone with a few cards by using Comfey, and Colress’s Experiment [Lost Origin], you can slap on a Technical Machine: Crisis Shot on Cramorant to attack for free. Cramorant reduces all of its attacks to zero when you have four in the Lost Zone, so that means you can reduce the cost of the Pokemon Tool to zero as well. You still need to meet the requirement of your opponent only having one Prize Card left to swing for 280 damage, but that might give you the strength to OHKO a Giratina VSTAR [Lost Origin] or a slightly damaged Charizard ex. If worse comes to worse, it can easily be fodder for the Lost Zone itself with a well timed Lost Vacuum [Crown Zenith], and that makes it a worthwhile inclusion to some Lost Zone Box archetypes. The final list(s) may require more testing, but the below list takes Alex Schemanske’s Top 8 list from Charlotte, and gives Sableye + Radiant Charizard [Pokemon Go] a new breath of life post-Paldean Fates. I’m going to experiment with Technical Machine: Crisis Shot in different Lost Zone decks for the next while, so if I find anything better, I’ll be sure to let all of you know! Until then, let’s check out the list.

With all of these new decks to try out, you’re going to wanna open Pokemon TCG Live right away, and test them out! Which deck are you gonna test out first? I’m personally a huge Lost Zone Box fan, and Technical Machine: Crisis Shot seems like one of the most impactful new cards, so maybe that will shake up the metagame once this set is released. With these cards being important for competitive play, be sure to pick up some online code cards from the Potown Store using code zlesage5 to save 5%! I know I’m going to be going to test these decks, and maybe even some other different cards, like Espathra ex [Paldean Fates], so stay tuned for even more great Pokemon content on Po Town from me. Until then, have fun testing, and I’ll catch up with you later!

Much love,

Zach Lesage

Zach Lesage is a contributing writer for potownstore.com. As a Toronto local, he has been playing the Pokémon Trading Card Game since 2005, and creates Pokémon content as his full-time career. With multiple prestigious accomplishments in the game, such as the 2020 Players Cup 2 Champion and 2020 Oceania International Championships Finalist, he has proven his success in the game. Outside the game, he travels the world, enjoys the culture of designer streetwear, and is a professionally trained chef. You can catch him at most Pokémon events and follow him on Twitter https://twitter.com/ZachLesagePTCG.