★ Mega Rising (B1) introduces the Mega Evolutions!
☆ New Decks: Mega Blaziken ex | Mega Gyarados ex
Mega Altaria ex | Mega Absol ex | Greninja ex
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This guide will show you how to build some of the strongest Houndoom Decks. We'll cover the best Houndoom Deck builds, how to use them, as well how to beat Houndoom Decks, and more!
| The decks on this page reflect the meta around the Celestial Guardians Expansion. |
List of Contents
| Houndoom Deck Variants | Strengths and Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Shining Revelry Charizard and Houndoom Deck
[★ Best ★] |
Strengths:
• Shining Revelry Charizard can set itself up if it has to using Stoke. • Steam Artillery deals a sizeable 150 damage, which is enough to KO most ex Pokemon. • Benefits from Rare Candy, which speeds up its setup. Weaknesses: • Steam Artillery requires 5 Energy to use. • May not be able to OHKO high-HP ex Pokemon with Giant Cape. • |
Houndoom and Rapidash Deck
|
Strengths:
• Single Point attackers in the deck are all very effective attackers. • Houndoom's Corner allows you to guarantee KOs on unprepared Pokemon. • Can guarantee a KO on Dialga ex if it is able to corner it. Weaknesses: • Pokemon in the deck all have low HP. • Unable to consistently OHKO high-HP Pokemon. |
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| Energy Used | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Charizard ex' is a Stage 2 that benefits from Rare Candy, which greatly speeds up its setup. It can evolve from Charmander, then immediately use Stoke and position itself for a sweep. It no longer needs Moltres ex to set up, as it can set up and attack earlier and quicker thanks to Rare Candy.
This deck runs a 1-1 line of Houndoom, which can help in matchups against Pom-Pom Oricorio, which Charizard ex cannot damage.
| Expansions | Cards to Get and Packs to Open |
|---|---|
| Genetic Apex (A1) | Sabrina x 1 (Charizard Pack) |
| Mythical Island (A1a) | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Spacetime Smackdown (A2) | Pokemon Communication x 1 (Dialga Pack) Giant Cape x 1 (Dialga Pack) |
| Triumphant Light (A2a) | Houndour x 1 (Arceus Pack) Houndoom x 1 (Arceus Pack) |
| Shining Revelry (A2b) | Charmander x 2 (Shiny Charizard Pack) Charmeleon x 1 (Shiny Charizard Pack) Charizard ex x 2 (Shiny Charizard Pack) Iono x 1 (Shiny Charizard Pack) Pokemon Center Lady x 1 (Shiny Charizard Pack) Red x 1 (Shiny Charizard Pack) |
| Celestial Guardians | Rare Candy x 2 (Any Pack) Lillie x 1 (Solgaleo Pack) |
| Extradimensional Crisis | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Eevee Grove | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Wisdom of Sky and Sea | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Secluded Springs | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Mega Rising | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Promo-A | Poke Ball x (Promo-A Pack) Professor's Research x 2 (Promo-A Pack) |
| Alternate Cards | Possible Cuts |
|---|---|
![]() Pokemon Communication (A2 146) |
![]() ![]() • You can replace Charmeleon with a second Pokemon Communication to increase your odds of evolving quickly. |
![]() Lillie (A3 155) |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() • You can replace Pokemon Center Lady with a second Lillie to increase Charizard ex's survivability. • Losing Pokemon Center Lady could make matchups against decks with Hitmonlee more difficult because it could 2HKO Charmander easily. |
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| Energy Used | |||||||||||||||
Houndoom can score points if it can strand an unprepared Pokemon in the Active Spot. Additionally, Rapidash is your backup single-point attacker for when you need a little extra damage.
Prioritize using Houndoom's Corner as often as possible before taking a risk with Rapidash's Rising Lunge.
| Expansions | Cards to Get and Packs to Open |
|---|---|
| Genetic Apex (A1) | Farfetch'd x 2 (Any Pack) Sabrina x 1 (Charizard Pack) |
| Mythical Island (A1a) | Ponyta x 2 (Mew Pack) Rapidash x 2 (Mew Pack) |
| Spacetime Smackdown (A2) | Rocky Helmet x 2 (Palkia Pack) Cyrus x 1 (Palkia Pack) |
| Triumphant Light (A2a) | Houndour x 2 (Arceus Pack) Houndoom x 2 (Arceus Pack) |
| Shining Revelry (A2b) | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Celestial Guardians | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Extradimensional Crisis | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Eevee Grove | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Wisdom of Sky and Sea | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Secluded Springs | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Mega Rising | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Promo-A | X Speed x 2 (Promo-A Pack) Poke Ball x 2 (Promo-A Pack) Professor's Research x 2 (Promo-A Pack) |

Houndoom's Corner can put opponents in difficult situations where they're forced to sacrifice a Pokemon and give up points. Use cards like Sabrina and Cyrus to support this gameplan and drive opponents into a corner!


The Pokemon in this deck do not have high HP, so it is easy to knock them out when hitting them with their weakness. It may be better to use non-ex Pokemon to prevent your opponent from gaining more points.



This deck's strategy relies on getting your Pokemon down to Houndoom's KO range. Using Trainer Cards to heal your Pokemon may get your Pokemon back to a safer HP range.
HP Recovery and Healing Cards List

Sabrina and Cyrus are especially potent in Houndoom decks. These cards can get a vulnerable Pokemon stranded in the Active Spot for Houndoom to prey on. Having no Pokemon on your Bench means there's nothing to switch with Sabrina.

Best Houndoom Decks and Card List



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