(For the deck’s competitive history before March 2025, please refer to the gallery.)

[Update 12 Aug 2025] A new variant of this deck includes the Iron Bundle card from Future Flash [SV4M] due to its Ability of Hyperblower which gusts out the opposing Active Pokémon as well as its Coolant Jet attack which prevents the opposing Active Pokémon from attacking if it’s an evolved Pokémon.

[Update 7 Aug 2025] This deck is now well-positioned for a strong performance at the upcoming 2025 Pokémon TCG World Championships, in large part due to its advantageous matchup against the Gardevoir ex deck—the current Best Deck in Format (BDIF).

[Update 30 Jul 2025] A significant number of Gholdengo ex deck players have been using a new build which includes Levincia from Battle Partners [SV9] as well as Scizor from Ruler of the Black Flame [SV3]. Levincia, a Stadium card, is used to retrieve Electric Energy cards from the discard pile to power up the Make It Rain attack of the deck’s titular card.

Scizor, meanwhile, is included for its Punishing Scissors attack which counters most wall Pokémon; it also inflicts significant damage against decks including many Pokémon which have an Ability.

[Update 17 Jul 2025] Another variant of this deck which has recently emerged includes the Genesect ex card from Black Bolt [SV11B] to make it easier for the player to get multiple copies of the deck’s titular card in play.

[Update 17 Jun 2025] A new variant of this deck includes the Gholdengo card from Paradise Dragona [SV7a] for counterplay against the Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex deck.

However, although this deck had been hyped as one expected to do well at the 2025 Pokémon North America International Championships (NAIC), the Gholdengo ex deck turned in an underwhelming performance. The deck’s best result was just 44th place in the hands of American player Grant Shen.

[Update 16 May 2025] Two new variants of this deck have arisen, both making use of a Pokémon Tool card: one includes Vengeful Punch from Ruler of the Black Flame [SV3] while the second features Rocky Helmet from Violet ex [SV1V]. In both cases, the card in question is included to inflict chip damage on any opposing Pokémon attacking the player’s Pokémon which has the Pokémon Tool card in question attached to it.

[Update 23 Apr 2025] Following the new rotation which took effect internationally on 11 April, this deck has seen its stock further rise because rotation has caused this deck to now have favorable matchups against the Raging Bolt ex, Dragapult ex, and Tera Box decks.

[Update 21 Mar 2025] This deck has recently seen its metagame stock further rise due to its highly advantageous matchup against the Archaludon ex deck. The deck’s rise is reflected in its recent tournament results: Xander Pero of the United States took it to third place at the Pokémon Europe International Championships (EUIC); this was followed by Canadian duo Lucas Xing and Trevore Read claiming second and fifth place respectively with the Gholdengo ex deck at the Vancouver Regionals.

At first glance, the Gholdengo ex deck might not seem to be the most formidable. However, a deeper dive reveals that this deck is more than capable of mixing it with the very best of them. The concept of the deck is not to overwhelm the opponent with sheer power—but instead by way of hand optimization.

The Gholdengo ex card from the Raging Surf [SV3a] expansion set has the Ability Coin Bonus which allows players to draw an additional card once per turn—or two if Gholdengo ex is in the Active Spot. While this may initially seem to provide just a slight advantage, the synergy it forms with other cards in this deck is extremely impressive.

Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking, a Supporter card from Cyber Judge [SV5M], gives the player the chance to change the order of the cards to be drawn by placing any two cards from the deck on top of it. By playing this Supporter card before using the Coin Bonus, a player will be able to obtain the exact card(s) needed for the situation.

Finally, Stadium card PokéStop from the Pokémon GO [S10b] expansion set lets a player discard the top three cards of the deck once per turn—but add any Item cards that would’ve been discarded by doing so to the hand. Thus, by using Coin Bonus to put an Item card on top of the deck beforehand, PokéStop’s effect can be used to immediately retrieve that Item card. All things considered, this deck is the epitome of the expression “death by a thousand cuts”.

Buying every card in a Gholdengo ex deck costs a minimum of ¥8,000 (~US$53).

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