Standard Deck Tech: Hop's Zacian ex & Archaludon ex - Theories and Possibilities

Journey Together, the new base set, will be out on March 23rd, 2025! It'll bring us the signature Pokémon of a few of the most iconic characters in the VGC titles, including Hop's Zacian ex. This Pokémon is one of the most anticipated Pokémon in the entire set, as it will be incredibly valuable for the Metal archetype.

So, we decided to build a list with this Pokémon and explore this entire strategy a bit more. Our goal is to show you a few ways to build this type of list, particularly if you want to play in competitive settings with these cards, or if you already have a deck with Archaludon ex and want to upgrade it.

Let's go!

Decklist

Pokémon (19)

3 Duraludon PRE 69

3 Archaludon ex SSP 130

3 Hop's Zacian ex

2 Beldum TEF 113

2 Metang TEF 114

1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38

1 Squawkabilly ex sv4pt5 75

1 Varoom SFA 43

1 Revavroom sv1 142

1 Relicanth TEF 84

1 Budew PRE 4

Trainer (32)

2 Postwick

3 Professor's Research PRE 122

3 Arven sv3 186

2 Boss's Orders (Ghetsis) sv2 172

2 Professor Turo's Scenario PRE 121

4 Ultra Ball sv1 196

4 Nest Ball sv1 181

3 Earthen Vessel PRE 106

2 Super Rod sv2 188

2 Night Stretcher SFA 61

2 Hop's Choice Band

2 Rigid Band sv3pt5 165

1 Prime Catcher PRE 119

Energies (9)

9 Basic Metal Energy SFA 99

Deck Structure

Duraludon & Archaludon ex

Duraludon PRE 69 is critical in this list because of Relicanth TEF 84, a recursive Pokémon. When we evolve Duraludon into Archaludon ex SSP 130 with Relicanth in play, Archaludon ex will be able to use the attacks of its previous evolution. This way, you'll have more ways to attack, particularly because of Raging Hammer, which deals 80 base damage + 10 damage for each damage counter on this Pokémon. Considering Archaludon ex has 300 HP, you can deal up to 80 + 290 damage with it.

Furthermore, its main attack, Metal Defender, makes it immune to Fire Pokémon, so it solves one of the biggest weaknesses this entire archetype has.

Finally, its ability, Assemble Alloy, lets you, when you evolve this Pokémon from your hand, get two Basic Metal Energy SFA 99 from the discard pile and attach them to your Metal Pokémon however you like. This is your main way to attach energies to Archaludon ex and Hop's Zacian ex, and is essential, considering Zacian ex in particular needs a lot of energies to attack.

Hop’s Zacian ex

Hop's Zacian ex, the star of this set, deals 240 damage with its attack, Brave Slash, but you won't be able to use it two turns in a row.

You can play around it by retreating Zacian ex, however. So, if you can promote it to the active position in the same turn, you can use this attack two turns in a row.

The best way to do this is with two key cards: Postwick, a stadium, and Hop's Choice Band, a tool.

This stadium makes all Hop's Pokémon deal 30 extra damage.

This tool makes the Pokémon it is equipped to deal 30 extra damage, and makes its attacks cost one colorless energy less as long as it is one of Hop's Pokémon.

This is your ideal scenario:

If you do everything right, Hop's Zacian ex will deal 300 damage!

Recursive Pokémon

Relicanth TEF 84 is essential, as it is the only way to use Duraludon's attacks with Archaludon ex.

Budew PRE 4 is a control Pokémon that prevents your opponent from using items in the following turn.

Metang TEF 114's ability lets you look at the top four cards in your deck and attach to your Pokémon any Basic Metal Energy SFA 99 you find there.

Revavroom sv1 142 draws up to 6 cards from your deck if you discard an energy from your hand first. As such, it also helps you set up Archaludon ex.

On turn 1, Squawkabilly ex sv4pt5 75 lets you discard your hand and draw six new cards. This is perfect if you have a lot of Basic Metal Energy SFA 99 to discard for Archaludon ex's ability later on.

Fezandipiti ex SFA 38 draws three cards for you if one of your Pokémon was Knocked Out by your opponent.

Trainers

Supporters

To draw cards:

To get items and tools:

To pull an enemy Pokémon into the active position:

To recall a damaged Pokémon:

Items

To get Pokémon:

To get energies:

To recycle Pokémon and energies:

Tools

This tool makes the stage 1 Pokémon it is attached to take 30 less damage from enemy attacks, so it will protect your Archaludon ex.

Hop’s Choice Band

You can only equip this tool to Hop's Zacian ex. It makes it deal 30 extra damage and discounts the cost of its attacks by one colorless energy.

Stadium

This Stadium also interacts with Hop's Zacian ex specifically, as it makes it deal 30 extra damage against the opponent's active Pokémon.

ACE SPEC

This card is similar to Guzma BUS 115, as it forces your opponent to swap their active Pokémon, and then lets you swap your Pokémon as well.

Pros

This deck is great against Fire decks, Raging Bolt ex TEF 123 (if you set up your Pokémon faster), Future Box (which is slower), Charizard ex sv4pt5 54 (which is also slower because of its evolution line), Gholdengo ex sv4 139, and Gardevoir ex sv4pt5 29.

Cons

This deck struggles against Terapagos ex SCR 128 (particularly before Double Turbo Energy BRS 151 rotates out of the format), Hydreigon ex SSP 119 (because of its "mill" strategy), Charizard ex sv4pt5 54 if it is with Dragapult ex PRE 73 and Dusknoir SFA 20 or Charizard ex PR-SV 161 and Charizard PGO 10, if your opponent sets it up faster than you set up your Pokémon.

This will be one of the best decks in the format after this set comes along, as it will make the Metal archetype a lot stronger, efficient, and aggressive thanks to Archaludon ex.

What did you think of this list? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!