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The Black Bolt and White Flare expansions mark the grand finale of the Scarlet & Violet TCG era, bringing the generation to a close with a powerful blend of nostalgia, innovation, and competitive edge.
This special dual release celebrates the Unova region with sweeping full-art treatments and carefully designed cards tailored for both collectors and competitive players.
From legendary staples to format-shaking Trainers and Energy cards, both sets feature prints that are adding to and enhancing existing deck profiles – even if they aren’t establishing fresh archetypes.
1. Genesect ex
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Pokémon Worlds 2025 has just finished. The TCG tournament, held in Anaheim, is a litmus test for understanding what cards are relevant and what cards really matter competitively.
This matters because the opening days of the tournament showed just how viable Genesect ex is in the current meta, enhancing existing deck profiles that were already performing well. Specifically, this new print from Black Bolt is propping up the Gholdengo ex archetype. How, you might ask?
Genesect ex has the Metal Signal ability, allowing you to search your deck for two Metal Evolution Pokémon, such as Gholdengo ex. This greatly increases consistency in setting up your key attackers quickly. It means you can often get Gholdengo ex into play and evolve much earlier than usual, offering a significant tempo advantage.
Seemingly broken, this helps avoid overreliance on Ultra Balls or TM: Evolution to dig out Gholdengo ex. And it’s not just Gholdengo ex that benefits from this steely build – Scizor, from Obsidian Flames, is a solid one-prize attacker that can punish decks with multiple Ability Pokémon like Gardevoir ex or Raging Bolt ex.
The only caveat to playing Genesect ex is its slightly frail 220HP for a two-prize ex Pokémon. That means you won’t want it in the Active Spot against heavy hitters. Your Steel-type critter will be a one-way road to a OHKO — especially with the resurgence of Fire-type decks. Thankfully, Black Bolt has given us a Tool to help navigate that risk…
2. Air Balloon
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Up, up and away with Air Balloon. This Pokémon Tool from Black Bolt is primed to provide much-needed mobility and flexibility.
Specifically, Air Balloon reduces the retreat cost of the Pokémon it’s attached to by two. For both Genesect ex and Gholdengo ex, which each normally have a retreat cost of two, this means they can now retreat for free.
The former benefits from this by avoiding being swept after using its Metal Signal ability. The latter uses Air Balloon to enhance draw consistency — enabling free retreats so Gholdengo ex can switch in and out of the Active Spot without spending Energy. This repeated mobility lets you trigger its Coin Bonus ability turn after turn, drawing extra cards while avoiding damage or status effects.
Other decks such as Dragapult ex, Gardevoir ex, or even Ravavroom ex stand to benefit from Air Balloon. After all, it’s another way to give abilities lift off in the current meta. Expect it to see plenty of play — it’s a viable alternative to Float Stone, Rescue Board, or Escape Board.
3. Jellicent ex
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Making waves in the competitive scene from the White Flare expansion, Jellicent ex has quickly established itself as a strong contender in the Pokémon TCG meta. Its unique abilities and attacks offer solid control and utility, especially when paired with key attacking threats.
The key to Jellicent ex’s impact lies in its Oceanic Curse ability, which item locks your opponent’s Active Pokémon. This prevents them from attaching new Item cards – a devastating form of disruption in a format heavily reliant on Items like Tools, Supporters, and Stadiums for consistency and board control. By restricting Item usage, Jellicent ex can cripple important strategies and slow down your opponent’s game plan significantly.
Following this disruption, Jellicent ex’s Power Press attack deals 80 damage for one Psychic and one Colorless Energy. If it has two additional Energy cards attached, it deals an extra 80 — totaling 160 damage. This lets Jellicent ex scale its output based on energy investment, providing both early-game pressure and late-game surge.
Jellicent ex integrates exceptionally well with Gardevoir ex. While Jellicent handles disruption by locking down opposing Items, Gardevoir focuses on accelerating energy and producing heavy damage. This balance of control and offense makes the deck versatile and consistent — a true one-two Psychic pairing.
4. Hilda
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The first Supporter card to greet us is Hilda – a card that offers both power and precision for evolution-based decks.
Hilda lets you search your deck for an Evolution Pokémon and an Energy card, reveal them, and place them in your hand. This level of targeted search makes her a consistency powerhouse, allowing you to accelerate your board state while maintaining pressure. Whether you’re evolving a key attacker or securing crucial Energy, Hilda provides a flexible answer.
Her effect streamlines setup for evolution strategies, enabling decks like Charizard ex and many others to find the right pieces more reliably. As the meta shifts toward efficient evolutions and tight resource management, Hilda brings both immediate impact and long-term value across a wide range of competitive builds.
In a meta where every search and attachment counts, Hilda stands out as a must-have Supporter from White Flare.
5. Eelektrik
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Welcome back, Eelektrik. This Stage 1 Electric-type returns in Black Bolt as a near reprint of its beloved version from the Noble Victories set during the Black and White era.
The card is relevant once more because of its iconic Dynamotor ability, which allows you to attach a Lightning Energy from your discard pile to one of your Benched Pokémon once per turn.
This is a huge boon for Lightning-type builds like Joltik Box, Miraidon ex, and Iron Hands ex. Dynamotor provides reliable, repeatable energy acceleration, letting attackers like Iron Hands ex and Miraidon ex power up quickly even after their initial burst. Iron Hands ex can threaten evolving Basics with Amp You Very Much, while Miraidon ex continues to apply board pressure and setup consistency.
Even better, Black Bolt’s Zekrom ex enters the mix as an ideal late-game partner. With its Voltage Burst attack scaling damage as the game progresses, Eelektrik’s Dynamotor ensures Zekrom ex stays fully charged to deliver crucial knockouts right when they matter most.
6. Ignition Energy
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Ignition Energy has emerged as one of the most versatile and competitive new cards, shaking up deck strategies across the current Pokémon TCG meta. Unlike typical Special Energy, Ignition Energy delivers a powerful burst effect: when attached to an Evolution Pokémon, it provides three Colorless Energy for the duration of your turn, then is discarded at the end.
This one-turn surge is a game-changer for decks with costly attacks or explosive play patterns. One of the most exciting applications is in Wugtrio mill decks. Wugtrio’s signature attack, Undersea Tunnel, requires three Colorless Energy and mills cards from your opponent’s deck based on coin flips. Ignition Energy allows Wugtrio to attack immediately after evolving, bypassing slow manual attachments or reliance on other Special Energy. With successful flips, Wugtrio can mill up to nine cards instantly, creating early-game threat and sustained pressure.
Beyond Wugtrio, Ignition Energy is an attractive tech choice for any deck looking to power up Evolution Pokémon with demanding energy costs, or to surprise the opponent with sudden tempo swings.
7. Archeops
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Archeops from White Flare excels as a disruptive force in the current meta thanks to its Primal Wings ability and complementary offensive presence.
Primal Wings allows Archeops to devolve one of your opponent’s evolved Pokémon once per turn while it's in the Active Spot — forcing them to return the highest stage evolution card on that Pokémon back to their hand.
Through this form of disruption, Archeops is primed to stall and spoil evolution-based strategies. What makes it especially effective is how it pairs with spread attackers. By devolving your opponent’s evolved Pokémon, Archeops clears the way for threats like Dragapult ex to chip away at weakened bench Pokémon using spread damage attacks. This forced regression strips away the HP bulk and protection that might have otherwise prevented snipe KOs.
This combination allows you to maintain pressure and dictate the pace of the match by softening multiple targets and limiting your opponent’s ability to keep evolved Pokémon safe — making Archeops a valuable tactical tool in disruption-heavy decks.
8. Zekrom ex
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Zekrom ex from Black Bolt asserts itself as a powerful Lightning-type attacker with the devastating Voltage Burst attack.
Voltage Burst costs two Lightning and one Colorless Energy and deals 130 base damage, plus an additional 50 damage for every Prize card your opponent has taken. This scaling damage makes Zekrom ex an ideal late-game finisher, capable of threatening high-HP Pokémon and turning the tide in tight matches.
While Voltage Burst does 30 damage to Zekrom ex itself, the payoff is often worth it. For example, if your opponent has taken three Prize cards, the attack deals 280 total damage — enough to KO many Stage 2 Pokémon ex. If five Prize cards have been taken, Zekrom ex delivers a devastating 380 damage, making it nearly unstoppable.
To maximise this potential, decks often pair Zekrom ex with energy acceleration options like Eelektrik’s Dynamotor or Electric Generator, enabling rapid Lightning Energy attachments from the discard pile. This synergy ensures Zekrom ex is always charged and ready to unleash game-ending attacks.
9. Zoroark
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The Zoroark from White Flare offers a fresh take on a beloved Dark-type staple, with two versatile attacks that bring both damage output and strategic disruption to the table.
Its Mind Jack attack costs only one Dark Energy and deals 30 damage for each of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon. This makes it especially powerful in matchups where your opponent keeps a full Bench, allowing Zoroark to dish out significant damage early or mid-game depending on the board state.
To maximise Mind Jack’s damage, decks often use cards like Mandibuzz (from White Flare) or Erika’s Invitation to encourage opponents to fill their Bench. Supporters like Hilda help search out Zoroark and Ignition Energy, enabling quick setup for its second attack when the timing is right.
Foul Play costs three Colorless Energy and lets you copy one of your opponent’s Active Pokémon’s attacks. This adds a layer of unpredictability and can be a game-shifting tactic when used to mirror an opponent’s strongest attack. The flexibility to use any opposing move means Zoroark can adapt to a wide variety of threats and turn their own strength against them.
10. Tirtouga
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One of the more unique entries on the list, Tirtouga is a quirky but deadly new Fossil attacker entering the Standard format. Evolving from Antique Cover Fossil, Tirtouga becomes a viable threat thanks to its signature move: Ancient Debris.
Ancient Debris is a single Energy attack that deals 30 damage for each Item card in your opponent’s discard pile. In disruption-focused decks — often paired with partners like Rotom from Surging Sparks, whose Crushing Pulse discards Item and Tool cards — Tirtouga transforms discarded Items into raw offensive power.
With the right setup, opponents relying on Item-heavy engines can find themselves punished with massive damage swings in the mid- to late game. This strategy can snowball quickly, especially with Supporters like Eri and Xerosic’s Machinations helping to force more Item discards, powering up Ancient Debris for devastating knockouts.
What else is out there?
Aside from the top ten in this dual release, the TCG is receiving a plethora of cards with competitive quirks, bringing unorthodox strategies that break the mold.
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Among them is a single-prize Seismitoad with 170 HP and an attack that defines strength in numbers. With Round — an attack that costs three Colorless Energy — Seismitoad deals 70 damage for each Pokémon in play that also has the Round attack. Interestingly, every card in its evolution line carries this move, making it incredibly easy to stack damage.
embed::[[Hydreigon ex (rsv10pt5-67)]]
From single-prize to two-prize attackers, there's also a new Hydreigon ex — a Dark/Dragon-type with a fresh ability and powerful attack. Greedy Eater lets you take two Prize cards if Hydreigon ex knocks out a Basic Pokémon. That’s no problem when its Dark Bite hits for 200 damage — as long as you can meet the steep cost of three Dark and two Colorless Energy. Perhaps some of the new Special Energy cards can help carry that load.
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And speaking of heavy lifts, don’t overlook Conkeldurr from Black Bolt. Starting at 140 HP, it gains an additional 40 HP for each Fighting Energy attached to it thanks to its Craftsmanship ability. Charge up its Swing Around attack with four Fighting Energy and you're looking at a single-prize Pokémon with up to 300 HP. Insane numbers.
Overall, Black Bolt and White Flare has delivered incredible artwork and competitive cards that leave room for creative interpretation and playstyle expression.
Are there any you’re particularly stoked to see Unova bringing to the meta?
What would you like to integrate into your pre-existing deck?
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