0.5% of the meta · Updated July 25, 2026
Signature card
Arceus ex
Crown Rare
#1 — Evan34
Lagoon Serenity Format (OAK & Copycat FA Prize) · 9W-1L
#3 — 𝗕𝗢𝗔𝗧 | TMan
Lagoon Serenity Format (OAK & Cyrus Prize) · 7W-1L
#1 — Ghalileo
INVE “SE” FORMAT #1 (Select FA Prize) · 8W-2L
This Pokémon can't be affected by any Special Conditions.
This attack does 20 more damage for each of your Benched Pokémon.
Arceus ex attacks with Ultimate Force, dealing 70 damage plus 20 more for each Benched Pokemon you control, making a full 3-Pokemon bench worth 130 damage. The win condition is filling the bench quickly and repeatedly threatening 2-point swings on ex targets.
Open by dropping Arceus ex as your Active and using Poké Ball plus Professor's Research to flood the bench as fast as possible. Rare Candy evolves Zubat into Crobat without the intermediate stage, allowing the bench to fill with extra Basics like Pichu, Mantyke, and other small targets. Starting Plains ensures you always open with Arceus ex rather than a weaker Basic. At a full 3-bench, Ultimate Force hits 130 damage on 3 colorless energy — enough to KO most non-ex Stage 1 Pokemon and pressure ex targets over two turns. Crobat provides a secondary attacker or bench body, and Lisia and Cyrus handle Active-slot management to maximize Ultimate Force's target.
Bench of 2 Pokemon
70 base + 20 x 2 = 110
KOs most non-ex Basic and Stage 1 Pokemon
Full bench of 3 Pokemon
70 base + 20 x 3 = 130
2HKOs all ex Pokemon; threatens 1HKO on non-ex Stage 2 with weakness
Every Benched Pokemon adds 20 damage to Ultimate Force. Use Starting Plains to guarantee Arceus ex opens as your Active, then deploy Pichu, Mantyke, Zubat, and Crobat to fill the bench. Rare Candy converts Zubat directly to Crobat, saving a turn. At 3 bench Pokemon, Ultimate Force hits 130 by turn 3 in most games.
Ultimate Force cannot choose its target — it hits the opponent's Active Pokemon. Cyrus switches the opponent's Active to something more favorable to KO, while Lisia retrieves key bench pieces. Giant Cape extends Arceus ex's durability under fire. Consistent targeting lets you direct the 2-point ex swings at the opponent's most impactful Pokemon.
Ultimate Force gains 20 damage for each Pokemon on your bench — so KO the Arceus ex player's benched support Pokemon: Pichu, Mantyke, and Zubat are easy 1-point KOs that each reduce the next Ultimate Force by 20. Removing two bench Pokemon drops the attack from 130 to 90.
Arceus ex's ability Fabled Luster prevents all Special Conditions, so poison, sleep, and paralysis strategies that rely on chip damage or turn skipping are fully nullified. Counter this by switching to direct damage strategies and avoiding condition-based stall entirely — those slots are wasted against this deck.
Arceus ex awards 2 points per KO. Field a fast ex attacker that can KO Arceus ex within two turns of it going Active. If you score 2 points on Arceus ex and then 1 point on any benched non-ex, you reach 3 before the Arceus ex player can fill the bench and swing twice.
Bench filler / evolution accelerant
