Mega Absol ex and Hydreigon (TCG Pocket)

Mega Absol ex and Hydreigon
Mega Absol ex and Hydreigon Types used Major cards Mega Absol ex and Hydreigon Era 2025-present

Mega Absol ex and Hydreigon is a Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket deck archetype that has been played since the release of Mega Rising in 2025. The deck focuses on heavy offense using the titular cards Mega Absol ex and Hydreigon to rapidly pressure the opponent with high-damage attacks for low Energy investment.

Contents

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• (Return to top)
• Strategy
  • Weaknesses
• Key cards
  • Mega Rising
  • Other Sets
• Typical decklist
  • Mega Rising
• Possible tech cards

Contents

Strategy

This deck has a very aggressive playstyle, thanks to Hydreigon's Roar in Unison Ability effectively allowing it to deal 130 damage for only a single Energy attachment per turn. This can lead to an explosive start if going first with a Rare Candy to evolve Deino, easily knocking out most Basic Pokémon and dealing crippling damage to bulkier Pokémon ex.

Mega Absol is likewise a powerful early-game attacker with higher HP and relatively low Energy requirements, though requiring 2 Energy means it is more favored when going second. Darkness Claw is less immediately devastating than Hydreigon's Hyper Ray, but the ability to discard Supporters can swing entire games, denying powerful reactive effects like Cyrus and Lillie or potentially removing consistency tools like Professor's Research and May.

Because Hydreigon needs to use Roar in Unison to charge its attack, which in turn requires damaging itself, the deck runs non-ex Absol to soften the opponent's Bench and enable later one-hit knockouts. Rocky Helmet also helps Hydreigon hit the 150-damage benchmark to score one-hit knockouts against most Pokémon. Later builds also run Indeedee ex to offset the self-damage and Furfrou for holding the Active Spot early on and taking out opposing Baby Pokémon.

Weaknesses

Every Pokémon commonly played in the deck has a Grass Weakness, making opponents like Decidueye ex a significant threat, compounded by the inherent frailty of both of the deck's main attackers.

Mega Absol ex also has the lowest HP of all Mega Evolution Pokémon, tied with Mega Pinsir ex, meaning that a Cyrus that isn't discarded by Darkness Claw can lead to an immediate loss if Mega Absol ex is forced into the Active Spot after taking damage. This also makes it dangerous to open with Mega Absol ex in the Active Spot, particularly when going first.

Key cards

Mega Rising

• Mega Absol ex - A strong, reliable attacker that can deny the opponent key resources by discarding their Supporters.
• Hydreigon - A more powerful damage dealer than Mega Absol ex, Hydreigon can have Hyper Ray ready with a single Energy attachment thanks to Roar in Unison to deal high damage every turn.
• Copycat - Helps with finding the Hydreigon evolution line and Rare Candy to evolve it, particularly against opponents with significant card draw.
• Indeedee ex - Supports the deck's attackers with healing, lessening the HP cost of Hydreigon's Roar in Unison and increasing Mega Absol ex's longevity.

Other Sets

• Rocky Helmet - Helps the deck hit one-hit knockout thresholds with its chip damage.
• Rare Candy - Allows Hydreigon to enter play as early as the player's second turn, which is particularly powerful when going first.
• Absol - A safer opener than Mega Absol ex that also deals chip damage to the opponent's Bench.

Typical decklist

Mega Rising

{{{title}}}
Quantity	Card	Type	Rarity
1×	Mega Absol ex
2×	Deino
1×	Zweilous
2×	Hydreigon
1×	Absol
2×	Rare Candy	Item
2×	Poké Ball	Item	—
1×	Red Card	Item	—
2×	Rocky Helmet	Tool
1×	Sabrina	Supp
1×	Cyrus	Supp
2×	Copycat	Supp
2×	Professor's Research [Professor Oak]	Supp	—
Energy used:

Possible tech cards

• Red Card - Disrupts opponents' hands, which can be particularly powerful when paired with Mega Absol ex to discard a newly-drawn Supporter.
• Pokémon Center Lady - The most reliable healing Supporter the deck has available. Can offset one use of Roar in Unison, heal Mega Absol ex, or remove debilitating status conditions.
• X Speed - Allows for easier pivoting between attackers by making Mega Absol ex's retreat free for a turn.
• Giovanni - Helps Hydreigon hit the 140-damage threshold against opponents like Suicune ex.
• Chingling - Slows down the opponent's early game and contributes chip damage for no cost.
• Furfrou - Holds the Active Spot early and can knock out Baby Pokémon like Chingling.

This article is part of both Project Sidegames and Project TCG, Bulbapedia projects that, together, aim to write comprehensive articles on video games about the TCG.