Decidueye ex – Celestial Guardians
Date Reviewed: May 19, 2025
Ratings Summary:
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Otaku
The seventh best card of is Decidueye ex (A3 012, 180, 198)! It’s a Grass-Type, Stage 2 Pokémon ex that evolves from Dartrix. Decidueye ex has 170 HP, (R) Weakness, (C) Retreat Cost, and two attacks. For (C)(C), it can use “Pierce the Pain” to do 100 damage to one opposing Pokémon that already has damage on it. For (G)(G), Decidueye ex can use “Razor Leaf” to do 80 damage to the opponent’s Active. Decidueye ex has one version available at the ♦♦♦♦ rarity, and two at the ★★ rarity.
The Grass-Type has a lot of support1, but I’ve only noticed regular (and successful) usage for Erika, Leaf Cape, and Sprigatito. Even then, that last one is because those decks also run Meowscarada (A2b 007, 073). It’s unlikely Caterpie or Lilligant will ever prove competitive again, but I see people at least trying to make Leafeon ex and Serperior – in separate decks – function. There aren’t any anti-Grass effects, but there’s a few (G) Weak Pokémon for Decidueye ex to exploit in the competitive sphere.
Pokémon ex are worth an extra point when KO’d; even though it says that at the bottom of the card, it can be easy to space off in the heat of battle, or underestimate while building a deck. Meowscarada, Sudowoodo (A2a 036, 079), and Tauros (A1a 060) each have an attack that does significantly more damage to Pokémon ex, though I haven’t seen Tauros used in a while. Red (A2b 071, 090) is a Supporter that lets any attack do +20 damage when used against an Active Pokémon ex…
…but the game changer is Oricorio (A3 066, 165). Though it’s a modestly sized Basic Pokémon with an average attack, it has the Ability “Safeguard”, preventing all damage and effects from attacks made by an opponent’s Pokémon ex. It’s now much riskier to rely on nothing but Pokémon ex. Even for an evolved Pokémon ex like Decidueye ex, odds are good you cannot just get by through not evolving and attacking with Dartrix or Rowlet.
Speaking of evolution, Decidueye ex is a Stage 2. Formerly the worst Stage of evolution, due to the added time and resource requirements, Celestial Guardians brought them valuable support. Less impressive, but still useful, is the healing provided by Lillie (A3 155, 197, 209). Rare Candy (A3 144) is what made the most difference. It allows a Stage 2 to evolve directly from it’s Basic, so long as it could evolve normally.2,3 Basics are still better, but now Stage 2s are on par with Stage 1 Pokémon.
Decidueye ex has 170 HP. While this is the lowest HP score printed on a Stage 2 Pokémon ex, it’s also the most common. That means it takes an extra heavy attack to one-shot this bird, making it reasonably sturdy. At the same time, remember that the metagame has long incentivized a deck’s main attacker doing 150 damage, as it was good for OHKOing the biggest Basic Pokémon ex. A simple combo, including Red or exploiting Weakness, can make up that difference.
Speaking of Weakness, Decidueye ex has the (R) Weakness typical of nearly all Grass Pokémon. Tying into what I just said, it’s also quite relevant. While Charizard ex (A1 036, 253, 280, 284) is still over-killing Decidueye ex, Weakness enables the upstart Charizard ex (A2b 010, 080, 108) to score the OHKO exactly. Incineroar ex (A3 033, 182, 200) and Infernape ex (A2029, 181, 197) another +10 damage for the OHK0, something Red or Giovanni (A1 223, 270) can provide. Even supporting attackers like Moltres ex (A1 047, 225, 274; P-A 025) enjoys a 2HKO because of Weakness.
Decidueye ex has a Retreat Cost of (C), which is very good. X Speed (P-A 002) will zero this out, let alone Leaf (A1a 068, 082). Since discussing Weakness took a full paragraph, I’ll go into a little more detail than I usually can afford. While not a deal breaker, it is much better for a Retreat Cost to be lower than a card’s attack cost. If you can spare even one Energy, Decidueye ex can retreat4. An attacking Decidueye ex that heads to the Bench needs only one more attachment to re-ready it, as well.
Pierce the Pain might be the defining feature of Decidueye ex; the rest absolutely still matters, but this attack is why you play Decidueye ex. While most decks are using Cyrus (A2 150, 190) and/or Sabrina (A1 225, 272), hitting the Bench is still good. Being able to select from Active or Benched Pokémon is great! Of course, the target still needs to have at least 10 damage on it, but between retreating an injured Active, other Bench-hitting attackers, and even some Abilities, it’s an appropriate challenge.
Pierce the Pain needs (C)(C), which means you can run Decidueye ex completely off-type, though only effectively when combined with those Bench-damaging effects. If you do run Decidueye ex with a source of Grass Energy, you gain access to Razor Leaf. It’s a straightforward, no nonsense attack. As it’s (G)(G) price pays for 80 damage to the opponent’s Active, it’s non-essential but a good option to have. Razor Leaf one turn can lead into Pierce the Pain the next turn, totaling 180 damage!
Decidueye ex evolves from Dartrix, which in turn evolves from Rowlet. We actually have two options for our Basic – Rowlet (A3 009) and Rowlet (A3 010) – and one for Dartrix – Dartrix (A3 011). All are (G) Type Pokémon with (R) Weakness, (C) Retreat Cost, and one attack priced at (G). Rowlet (A3 009) has 60 HP and can use “Leafage” to do 20 damage to the opponent’s Active. Rowlet (A3 010) also has 60, but knows “Skill Dive”: select an opponent’s Active and do 10 damage to it.
Dartrix is a Stage 1 with 80 HP, and can do 30 damage via “Razor Wing”. I usually see people using Rowlet (A3 010). If you have to attack with Rowlet, this one helps setup better for Pierce the Pain. Dartrix is filler. You could skip it, but it’s probably worth including at least one in your deck. You definitely want to run Rare Candy with Decidueye ex; besides the usual benefits, Decidueye ex needs only two Energy to attack. If you go second, that means you could potentially evolve into Decidueye ex and begin attacking on your second turn (Turn 4 overall)!
I’m going to cover four Decidueye ex deck partners. In order of current effectiveness: Meowscarada, Lurantis (A3 015), Greninja (A1 089; P-A 019) and Spiritomb (A2 104, 172). I’m going by the results posted on LimitlessTCG, as per usual. The Meowscarada variant is the most seen, and four most played deck overall. Meowscarada has seen success with many partners, but Decidueye ex/Meowscarada is also the most used Meowscarada deck. The deck has a 679 Count, 6.20% Share, and 53.86% Win Rate.
Up next is Decidueye ex/Lurantis. Lurantis is a fellow (G) Type, and it’s attack does 20 damage to each of your opponent’s Pokémon, for only (G) Energy. The shared Typing isn’t just good for the Energy, but so that helpful support like Erika still applies… something the later variants don’t enjoy. This one is only the 27th most-played deck right now, with a mere 45 Count, 0.41% Share, and 52.61% Win Rate. With such a low presence, the Win % could be skewing lower or higher.
The Decidueye ex/Greninja variant the 89th most used deck. The two seem like natural partners, though running two Stage 2 lines in the same deck can be daunting. With a Count of 9 and Share of 0.08%, it’s possible that the 41.46% Win Rate is only due to a few unlucky and/or less skilled players taking it to tournaments. More likely, though, is that the better players realize it isn’t worth the effort. I’ll need to try it out for myself.
Decidueye ex/Spiritomb is another I thought would be an easy go to option, yet it’s 113th most played deck right now. Just six for the Count, meaning 0.05% for the Share. Even then, it only has a 46.43% Win Rate. Spiritomb can attack using any Energy, and does 10 to all opposing Pokémon. This is the same approach as Lurantis, except you need less deck space, but any (G) Type support you run won’t help Spiritomb.
Rating: 3.75/5
The score might seem a bit generous, but Decidueye ex decks are another that affects general deck building. You have to recognize that your Bench just might not be safe, and plan accordingly. There’s no effect in Pocket that completely protects your Bench, but now injured Pokémon on your Bench require considering a Pierce the Pain strike, in addition to Cyrus doing his thing. Interestingly, this deck seems to jump around in efficacy. As such, I could be under or overrating it a little.
1Caterpie (A1 005), Erika (A1 219, 266), Leaf Cape (A3 147), Leafeon ex (A2a 010, 082, 091), Lilligant (A1 030), Serperior (A1a 006, 070), and Sprigatito (A2b 005; P-A 052).
2Rare Candy doesn’t bypass the Ability of Aerodactyl ex (A1a 046, 78, 084), cannot be used Turn 1, nor can it be used on a Basic the first turn that Basic is in play. You still need a compatible Basic in play, and Stage 2 in hand.
3Note that some decks rely on just Rare Candy, while others will use Rare Candy alongside the Evolutionary line’s Stage 1. The latter means even more slots dedicated to the line, but increases the reliability of setting up.
4Unless Oranguru (A3 140) attacked Decidueye ex the turn before, raising Decidueye ex’s Retreat Cost to (C)(C). As Oranguru’s attack also increases the Defending Pokémon by (C) as well, so the Retreat Cost would still be less than what is needed to attack.
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