Since their release in “Paradox Rift” at the end of 2023, Ancient cards have been the subject of numerous meta strategies in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Throughout 2024, these cards have proven to be vastly superior to their Future card counterparts, with the exception of Iron Thorns ex, the main component of the deck that won the award. Pokémon Trading Card Game World Championship in 2024. Until 2025, players received an old variant for every ancient Pokémon except Flutter Mane and Slither Wing, so fans expect to receive a powerful version of these cards at some point in the year. As fans focus on what will be good after the rotation scheduled for April 11, 2025, some old cards will likely be holdovers from the new format.

Old cards are home to some of the most effective supporters in the game, with Professor Sada’s Vitality being arguably the best supporter card in the meta in terms of combo expansion and Explorer’s Council being crucial for the Double strategy Roaring Moon performs at a high level. Overall, while this card collection is niche, it is central to many meta-strategies and it promises to continue to be a powerful option for players to use in their decks throughout 2025.

Published in SV05: “Temporal Forces”

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Unlike other card games, mill strategies often fail to thrive in the game. Pokémon Trading Card Game because cards like Pal Pad, Super Rod, and Night Stretcher can all retrieve cards from the discard pile with relative ease. Additionally, each of these items can be added from the deck to the player’s hand with powerful supporter cards like Arven. However, decks play a limited number of these bounce cardsso if these cards are grinded, it can be difficult to recover the crucial pieces of a combo. This logic is precisely what makes Great Tusk the heart of an intriguing anti-meta-mill strategy.

Great Tusk Mill decks do not focus on eliminating opponent’s Pokémon, as the only cards played by these strategies that focus on attacking are additional cards like Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex and Pidgeot V. The deck’s most important attack is Great Tusk. “Land Collapse” attack which discards the top card of the opponent’s deck but also discards three additional cards if an Elder follower was played this turn. This makes the strategy capable of using cards like Professor Sada’s Vitality, allowing it to be consistent and also disrupt the opponent at the most inconvenient moment.

9

Scream Tail is an extremely powerful 1-price attacker

Released in SV04: “Paradox Rift”

Some Ancient cards aren’t the focus of their own deck, but they’re still important for running specific strategies at the top end of the meta. Gardevoir ex is one of the few exes with an ability greater than his attack, so he needs other attackers in the deck to do the job for him. These attackers usually end up being Drifloon, since it deals the most damage out of all the one-price Psychic-type attackers, and Scream Tail because it can also attack the opponent’s benched Pokémon without needing to use Boss Orders or Counter Catcher.

Scream Tail’s first attack doesn’t matter to strategy because players will never use it throughout a match. However, its second attack is incredibly powerful in conjunction with Gardevoir ex’s ability. Gardevoir ex can attach Psychic energy from the discard pile to a Psychic-type Pokémon as many times as the player wants during a turn, and this places two damage counters on the chosen Pokémon. Paired with the Bravery Charm tool, this allows Scream Tail to deal 240 damage to any Pokémon on the opponent’s board, easily dealing with setup cards like Rotom V and Lumineon V as well as bounce cards like Fezandipiti ex.

8

The earthen vessel is the most common ancient staple

Released in SV04: “Paradox Rift”

Most Ancient cards are only usable in specific strategies, either because their effects are tied to being used alongside other Ancient cards, or because their attacks are too situational and cannot be used in a specific way. productive only in a single strategy. For this reason, it can be difficult to insert old cards into various strategies, but one specific item card gets around these limitations and has become a staple card since its release.

The earthen vessel is one of the most important objects in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, because every strategy must ensure that they find energy for their Pokémon to attack. This item allows players to discard a card from their hand to add two basic Energy cards from their deck to their hand. Not only is this item ideal for searching for energy, but it serves another purpose for setting up the discard pile in decks like Regidrago VStar and Gardevoir ex, making it a phenomenal all-around card.

7

Ex-Gouging Fire was an unlikely regional event winner

Published in SV05: “Temporal Forces”

The meta for the 2024 season was relatively stable for the Pokémon Trading Card Gameand it was difficult for many rogue decks to overcome a meta dominated by decks like Regidrago VStar and Ragiong Bolt ex. However, an Ancient Pokémon rose against all odds and managed to defeat the titans of the meta to win a regional event in Thailand on October 19, 2024.

Gouging Fire ex is a rather unique Ancient Pokémon that uses the Magma Basin stage for energy acceleration so it can fit two Goguing Fire exes onto the board. He then has several options to attack the next turn after using “Blaze Blitz”. This strategy uses Switch Cart to swap between Gouging Fire copies so it can attack every turn, making this deck tricky to manage but incredibly rewarding to use once players have found the optimal way to play the strategy.

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Roaring Moon is the most elder-focused Basic Pokémon

Published in SV05: “Temporal Forces”

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Old maps generally have wide applications and can be used in various strategies to ensure consistency. Earthen Vessel is great in every deck in the format, and Professor Sada’s Vitality is amazing in every ancient strategy. However, an Ancient Pokémon is the basis of a Rogue strategy known by players as the “Ancient Toolbox”. Roaring Moon is a powerful and efficient attacker who can deal massive damage late game and spoil the prize exchange because it’s not an ex Pokémon.

Roaring Moon is one of the strongest 1-price attackers in the game, but its damage depends entirely on its setup, so players need to be very aware when playing this deck and build their discard pile accordingly. Through the use of Explorer’s Guide, players can discard multiple Ancient cards into the discard pile, allowing Roaring Moon to eliminate even the tankiest Pokémon (e.g. Charizard ex and Dragapult ex). This strategy might disappear after the April 11, 2025 rotation, as it loses Pokéstop, Radiant Greninja, and Dark Patch, but players will definitely try to run this deck long after its peak.

5

Explorer’s Guidance is a Risky Consistency Booster

Published in SV05: “Temporal Forces”

Discarding cards is not something that many card games do Pokémon Trading Card Game want to do it regularly, but the few decks that do make it part of their core gameplay. Decks like “Ancient Toolbox” need many cards in their discard pile to function, and they use the Pokéstop stage to discard energy and ancient cards into the discard pile while bringing item cards to the hand. However, Ancient decks have a rather unique tool for filling their discard pile, with “Explorer’s Council” adding a bit of risky consistency to the strategy.

Explorer’s Guidance allows players to see the top six cards of their deck and put two of them into their hand while discarding the rest of the cards that have not been added. This allows the “Ancient Toolbox” strategy to quickly set up energy for Dark Patch and discard Ancient cards so Roaring Moon can be deadlier in combat, making this card necessary for Roaring Moon-centric strategies.

4

The Ancient Booster energy capsule is a perfect counterbalance to status conditions

Published in SV05: “Temporal Forces”

When the format is as fast as it currently is, HP-boosting tool cards are a valuable asset for players to have in their deck, and Ancient decks have access to one of the best HP-boosting tool cards. HP of the game. Although its Future card counterpart is arguably better in this case, Ancient Booster Energy Capsule is still a great card that many Ancient decks play. handle aggressive decks like Gholdengo ex and Charizard ex/Dusknoir.

Ancient Booster Energy Capsule provides the attached Pokemon with an additional 60 HP, making Ancient Pokemon able to deal with Charizard ex’s attacks in the late game while also forcing Gholdengo ex to use more energy to take it down. While Bravery Charm is a more standardized option, Ancient Booster Energy Capsule offers unique utility, and most Ancient strategies will find room for it in their decks.

3

Roaring Moon ex works around high HP Pokémon

Released in SV04: “Paradox Rift”

Dealing with high HP Pokémon is a chore for many matchups, as most attacks have a cap on the amount of damage they can deal. Decks like Raging Bolt ex and Gholdengo ex get around this problem, as their damage depends entirely on how much energy a player is willing to put into the discard pile. However, an Ancient Pokémon doesn’t care about total HP at all, and Roaring Moon ex’s attacks are some of the easiest attacks to power up among all Ancient Pokémon.

Unlike most Pokémon, Roaring Moon’s two attacks cost the same amount of energy, so players can use either attack regardless of the situation. The first attack against Roaring Moon ex is the most used, because it Stuns the opponent’s active Pokémon, regardless of its HP.. Its second attack eliminates a stadium in play, making it ideal for dealing with pesky maps like Jamming Tower. Overall, Roaring Moon ex is an important old card that players hope to adapt to the post-rotation meta.

2

Raging Bolt ex is the most powerful ancient Pokémon

Published in SV05: “Temporal Forces”

Most Ancient decks are limited almost entirely to relying on Ancient cards as combo pieces, and while this is mostly true for the Raging Bolt ex-deck, its attack allows it to use the incredibly powerful Ex Team Mask Ogerpon. Teal Mask Ogerpon states that players can use its “Teal Dance” ability to attach a grass energy from their hand to draw 1 card. This helps the Raging Bolt ex strategy penetrate deeper into one’s deck, which is necessary to make the deck’s most optimal plays. These two cards come together to form the backbone of one of the most important meta-strategies of the past year.

Raging Bolt ex’s damage is virtually unmatched by any other deck in the format, as it can easily get up to five energy on the board during the first turn, allowing attacks for 350 damage before the opponent can respond . Additionally, it also combines well with Professor Sada’s Vitality, allowing it to accelerate energy and further increase damage. Overall, Raging Bolt ex is the most powerful Ancient Pokémon in the metaand it still seems like a good strategy after the April 11, 2025 rotation.

1

Professor Sada’s Vitality is one of the most versatile cards in the game

Released in SV04: “Paradox Rift”

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Raging Bolt ex may be the most powerful Ancient Pokémon, but Ancient strategies couldn’t work without their best supporter card, as each of these strategies is defined by the consistency provided by Professor Sada’s Vitality. While many other tools are necessary for ancient strategies to work, this proponent does everything it needs to, and that’s one of the best supporter cards currently in the meta.

When played, Professor Sada’s Vitality allows players to attach an Energy card from their discard pile to up to two of their Ancient Pokémon, then draw three cards. This card is by far the best all-around card that Ancient Cards have to offer as it speeds up energy and also draws cards, allowing these decks to easily perform at a high level following an incredibly fast format. Overall, ancient maps all have their unique niche, but Professor Sada’s Vitality is by far the best.

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Pokémon Trading Card Game

The Pokémon Trading Card Game, or Pokémon TCG, is a collectible card game developed by Creatures Inc. based on the Pokémon franchise.

Original release date

October 20, 1996

Editor

Wizards of the Coast