★ Mega Rising (B1) introduces the Mega Evolutions!
☆ New Decks: Mega Blaziken ex | Mega Gyarados ex
Mega Altaria ex | Mega Absol ex | Greninja ex
★ Events: Wonder Pick | Anniversary Celebration
☆ Trading Board: A4b and B1 Available for Trading!

This guide will show you how to build some of the strongest Raikou Decks. We'll cover the best Raikou Deck builds, how to use them, as well how to beat Raikou Decks, and more!
| The decks on this page reflect the meta around the Wisdom of Sea and Sky Expansion. |
| Raikou Deck Variants | Strengths and Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Raikou ex and Decidueye ex Deck
[★ New ★] |
Strengths:
• Raikou ex's Ability can allow you to draw necessary cards for your setup. • Decidueye ex's Pierce the Pain Attack gives the deck an option to snipe and KO Pokemon on the Bench. Weaknesses: • The deck may lack necessary damage output and may require multiple attacks to score KOs. |
Raikou Deck
|
Strengths:
• Fast-paced deck that can deal a lot of damage in the first couple of turns. • Raikou can get set up within the first two turns. Weaknesses: • This deck does not have any bulky Pokemon and may struggle in longer games. • Raikou takes damage every time it attacks. |
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| Energy Used | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
This deck takes advantage of Raikou ex's Sniping by using Decidueye ex's Pierce the Pain on damaged Pokemon. Raikou ex can also help consistently find important cards for your Decidueye ex setup.
Pichu can help with setup, by attaching Lightning Energy with Crackly Toss.
Non-ex Raikou gives the deck an option against Pom-Pom Oricorio.
| Expansions | Cards to Get and Packs to Open |
|---|---|
| Genetic Apex (A1) | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Mythical Island (A1a) | Leaf x 2 (Mew Pack) |
| Spacetime Smackdown (A2) | Pokemon Communication x 1 (Dialga Pack) Giant Cape x 1 (Dialga Pack) Mars x 1 (Palkia Pack) |
| Triumphant Light (A2a) | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Shining Revelry (A2b) | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Celestial Guardians | Rowlet x 2 (Lunala Pack) Decidueye ex x 2 (Lunala Pack) Rare Candy x 2 (Any Pack) |
| Extradimensional Crisis | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Eevee Grove | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Wisdom of Sky and Sea | Pichu x 2 (Lugia Pack) Raikou x 1 (Ho-Oh Pack) |
| Secluded Springs | Raikou ex x 2 (Suicune Pack) |
| Mega Rising | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Promo-A | Poke Ball x 2 (Promo-A Pack) Professor's Research x 2 (Promo-A Pack) |
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| Energy Used | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
It is ideal to lead with Pichu so that you can set up Raikou by the beginning of your second turn, regardless of whether you went first or second. You'll want to deal damage immediately with Raikou before your opponent can set up their Pokemon.
If faced against a bulky ex Pokemon, you can use Oricorio instead to deal with them.
| Expansions | Cards to Get and Packs to Open |
|---|---|
| Genetic Apex (A1) | Giovanni x 2 (Mewtwo Pack) |
| Mythical Island (A1a) | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Spacetime Smackdown (A2) | Rocky Helmet x 2 (Palkia Pack) Cyrus x 2 (Palkia Pack) Dawn x 1 (Dialga Pack) |
| Triumphant Light (A2a) | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Shining Revelry (A2b) | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Celestial Guardians | Oricorio x 1 (Solgaleo Pack) |
| Extradimensional Crisis | Zeraora x 2 (Buzzwole Pack) |
| Eevee Grove | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Wisdom of Sky and Sea | Pichu x 2 (Lugia Pack) Raikou x 2 (Ho-Oh Pack) Silver x 1 (Ho-Oh Pack) |
| Secluded Springs | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Mega Rising | No cards needed from this expansion. |
| Promo-A | Poke Ball x 2 (Promo-A Pack) Red Card x 1 (Promo-A Pack) Professor's Research x 2 (Promo-A Pack) |

Having Pichu in your deck and having it as your first Active Pokemon will ensure that Raikou gets set up by your next turn as long as you have it on the Bench. Pichu has no retreat cost, making it easy to switch out, and most importantly, its Crackly Toss move requires no Energy to use.

Raikou decks are meant to be fast-paced, allowing you to knock out your opponent's Pokemon within the first few turns before they can set up.


Since Raikou does damage to itself every time it lands its attack, it's best to use Pokemon that can take at least two hits from it, such as some Legendary Pokemon. Once it's hurt itself, Raikou should be easy to take out, even with a weak attack.
You can also equip the Rocky Helmet to deal even more damage to Raikou.

Best Raikou Decks and Card List



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