Pokemon TCG: Archaludon Dialga Deck Guide

The Pokemon Trading Card Game's meta evolves with each new set and tournament. One day a ghost Dragon jet is the top deck, the next a dusty crab takes its place. This contender for the top deck might just be a bridge.

Archaludon ex hits like a tank, and has the HP to match. Combined with an ability that allows it to attach extra Energy to itself and other Metal-Type Pokemon, it's a threat in the competitive scene. Here's a breakdown of the deck, strategy, and counters.

Archaludon Dialga Decklist

Ball (4)Ultra Ball (4)Night Stretcher (4)Earthen Vessel (3)Pokegear 3.0 (2)Pal Pad (1)Scoop Up Cyclone (1)Artazon (1)Jamming Tower (1)Energy (9)

Pokemon (18)
Duraludon, SCR 106 (4)	Archaludon ex, SSP 139 (4)	Origin Forme Dialga V, ASR 113 (2)	Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR, ASR 114 (2)
Radiant Greninja, ASR 46 (1)	Fezandipiti ex, SFA 38 (1)	Squawkabilly ex, PAL 169 (1)	Lumineon V, BRS 40 (1)
Iron Bundle, PAR 56 (1)	Relicanth, TEF 84 (1)	Trainers (33)	Iono (3)	Boss's Orders (3)	Professor Turo's Scenario (2)
Thorton (1)

Nest

This decklist placed fourth in the European International Championship, played by Simone Fiorito.

There are several viable variations of this deck. Often, they drop Artazon in favor of a second Jamming Tower or drop Iron Bundle in favor of Counter Catcher.

Archaludon Dialga Key Cards

Archaludon ex

Archaludon ex can hit hard and fast, as long as you're able to discard cards early. It's a Stage 1 Pokemon, so you can evolve into it on your second turn without Rare Candy. And when it evolves from your hand, you can pull two Metal Energy from your discard pile and attach them to your Metal Pokemon.

Archaludon ex can attach both Metal Energy to itself, and if you have a third one to attach for the turn, you can attack immediately for 220 damage. Alternatively, you can use this ability to set up another Pokemon, using Professor Turo's Scenario to scoop it back up to evolve again later.

Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR

Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR can make use of as much Metal Energy as you want to attach to it, gaining 40 damage per Energy to its Metal Blast attack. It also has access to the VSTAR Power Star Chronos attack, which deals 220 damage and gives you an extra turn.

If your opponent KOs one of your Pokemon on their turn and you have Fezandipiti ex in play, you can use Flip the Script on both your normal turn and the extra turn from Star Chronos.

If Star Chronos isn't enough to KO your opponent's Active Pokemon, your next Metal Blast will do at least 240 more damage to secure the KO.

Radiant Greninja

Archaludon ex's Assemble Alloy only works when you have Metal Energy in your discard pile, and Radiant Greninja allows you to discard Energy to draw cards. This not only feeds important Energy into your discard pile, it also helps you find other cards you need.

Ultra Ball and Earthen Vessel also allow you to discard Energy cards to use later, and Professor Turo's Scenario allows you to dump all the Energy attached to a Pokemon into the discard pile when you move that Pokemon to your hand, allowing you to reuse Archaludon ex's ability almost immediately.

Relicanth

Relicanth allows your Stage 1 Pokemon to use attacks from the Basic Pokemon that they evolved from as long as Relicanth is on your Bench. This allows Archaludon ex to use Duraludon's Raging Hammer, which deals 80 damage plus the amount of damage that it's taken.

Since Archaludon has 300 HP, Relicanth allows it to attack for up to 370 damage with Raging Hammer, more than enough to OHKO any Pokemon card in circulation. However, this only applies if you're using the Stellar Crown Duraludon. If you're using any other version of Duraludon, Relicanth should be dropped.

Archaludon Dialga Strategy

The core strategy of the Archaludon / Dialga deck is simple: Play Duraludon as early as possible, discard a couple of Energy if you can, and evolve into Archaludon ex to start swinging. A Stage 1 Pokemon that can deal 220 damage starting on your second turn and tank hits with 300 HP has the speed, power, and defense to put most decks on the defensive.

On your first turn you should try to get Duraludon, Squawkabilly ex, and Radiant Greninja into play. Before using Squawkabilly ex's Squawk and Seize ability, make sure you use any other relevant Item cards, like Nest Ball and Earthen Vessel. Remember, you want several Metal Energy in your discard pile, but if you have enough, you can attach one to Duraludon.

Archaludon ex can attack with Metal Defender as soon as it has three Metal Energy, which should be as soon as you evolve Duraludon on turn two, thanks to Assemble Alloy. As it gets close to 150 damage, use Nest Ball or other Items to look for Relicanth: At that point, Raging Hammer does more damage.

On your Bench, you can set up a backup attacker. Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR hits for a minimum of 80 damage with one Metal Energy, but five gives you access to Star Chronos. If Archaludon ex has taken enough damage to be threatened, use Professor Turo's Scenario to scoop it into your hand, then play Duraludon or evolve one on your Bench to give Dialga more Energy.

Star Chronos gives you a second turn on top of 220 damage. Since you can also attack on the second turn, a well-used Boss's Orders can net you four Prize Cards. You can also use Fezandipiti's Flip the Script ability both turns, as long as your opponent scored a KO on their most recent turn.

Since there are a lot of ways to discard cards, the deck also includes a lot of ways to retrieve them. In addition to Archaludon ex's Assemble Alloy ability, Night Stretcher and Pal Pad return discarded cards to your hand and deck.

Thorton is useful for getting rid of one-of Pokemon like Squawkabilly ex, which is only useful on your first turn. After it outlives its usefulness, you can use Thorton to replace it with Duraludon, Origin Forme Dialga V, or any of your toolbox Pokemon.

Archaludon / Dialga Common Threats

Klawf / Terapagos ex

Klawf looks goofy, but it's a legitimate threat. Unhinged Scissors can OHKO your Duraludon on turn one and keep you on the defensive while your opponent sets up Terapagos ex on the Bench. But Terapagos ex needs Area Zero Underdepths to be effective. If you can hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate.

Jamming Tower is your best friend, but wait until your opponent plays Area Zero Underdepths. Playing your own Stadium will remove theirs, forcing them to discard three Pokemon from their Bench. They'll have backup, but this directly disrupts their strategy and allows you to get an advantage.

Dragapult ex

Dragapult ex likes to hit multiple Pokemon per turn, allowing your opponent to KO your Active Pokemon while softening up another one on your Bench. Radiant Alakazam and the Dusknoir line, commonly included with Dragapult ex, facilitate this by allowing your opponent to move your damage counters around and add them to Pokemon on your Bench.

Dragapult ex is a Stage 2 Pokemon, which means that your opponent has a few extra moving parts to deal with. You can easily OHKO their Dreepy and Drakloak, throwing a wrench into the gears and giving yourself some breathing space. Jamming Tower can further disrupt their strategy by turning off their Pokemon Tools, which often include the Ace Spec Sparkling Crystal.

Gholdengo ex

Gholdengo ex has enough HP to survive most hits, and can deal enough damage to OHKO anything in your deck. It's also reasonably resistant to disruption like Iono, since it includes multiple options to retrieve Energy from the discard pile, allowing it to quickly recover and swing back.

Unlike Dragapult ex, Gholdengo ex can set up and attack just as fast as Archaludon ex, making it feel like the coin flip to see who goes first will decide the game. But your big advantage is that Gholdengo ex needs to find a lot of Energy to function, so as long as you can tank a few attacks, you should be able to come out ahead.

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