Hi there. In this Pokemon TCG post, I do a deck profile. This deck features Archaludon ex with Munkidori and Team Rocket's Venture Bomb.
Core Cards
Duraludon
Duraludon is a beefy 130 HP Basic Metal Pokemon attacker. The first attack can come in handy sometimes as it requires one Metal Energy to deal 30 damage.
Archlaudon ex
Archaludon ex is the evolved form of Duraludon. This beefy Stage 1 Pokemon has 300 HP, two retreat cost, one ability and a simple attack that does 220 damage from 3 Metal Energy.
The Metal Defender attack does 220 damage and it has a defensive effect from its attack. During the opponent's next turn, this Archaludon ex has no Weakness. Fire attacks would not do double damage from weakness.
Archlaudon ex's ability activates upon evolution from hand. You can attach up to 2 Metal Energy from your discard pile to your Metal Pokemon in any way you like.
Munkidori
Since the Journey Together set and the new format from March 2025, the game has slowed down a bit. As a result, compatible decks are abusing Munkidori as there are not many one hit knockout attackers. If you don't do a one hit knockout attack, the Munkidori with a Dark Energy can move 30 damage away to the opponent.
As there are not many one hit knockout attackers against Archaludon ex, it makes sense to use Munkidori and Dark Energy. This helps Archlaudon ex decks potentially can two knockouts in one turn. It also helps with the math against Raging Bolt ex. Move 20 or 30 damage away to Raging Bolt ex then attack for 220 damage.
Team Rocket's Venture Bomb
This Team Rocket's Venture Bomb is an Item card from the Destined Rivals set. Upon first glance, one could think that this is a bad card. Who would use this?
In the Archaludon ex deck, this Bomb card is good. If you flips Heads then you place 20 damage anywhere on the opponent's side. If you get Tails, then your active Pokemon takes 20 damage. Dealing damage to yourself is no big deal as you have Munkidori and Dark Energy to move the 20 damage away.
Relicanth
Relicanth is a niche card in certain decks. It goes well with Archaludon ex as you sometimes find the ability useful. With Relicanth in play you can have Archaludon ex use Duraludon's Raging Hammer attack. Raging Hammer does 80 damage plus the damage Archaludon ex has on it. It is a revenge attack.
Sample Decklist
The decklist I have been using is based on the Pokemon Japan Championships back in June 21, 2025. This decklist is ranked 27th out of 2394 players.
Pokémon: 13
4 Duraludon SCR 106
3 Archaludon ex SSP 130
2 Munkidori TWM 95
1 Relicanth TEF 84
1 Iron Bundle PAR 56
1 Squawkabilly ex PAL 169
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
Trainer: 38
4 Professor's Research JTG 155
3 Iono PAL 185
2 Boss's Orders PAL 172
1 Carmine TWM 145
1 Professor Turo's Scenario PAR 171
4 Nest Ball SVI 181
4 Ultra Ball SVI 196
4 Earthen Vessel PAR 163
4 Night Stretcher SFA 61
3 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186
3 Team Rocket's Venture Bomb DRI 179
1 Pal Pad SVI 182
1 Hero's Cape TEF 152
3 Team Rocket's Watchtower DRI 180
Energy: 9
7 Metal Energy SVE 16
2 Darkness Energy SVE 15
Past versions of the Archaludon ex deck used Jamming Tower. Jamming Tower works against the Hero's Cape ACE SPEC tool card so Team Rocket's Watchtower is used instead. Shutting off abilities of Colourless Pokemon like Noctowl, Pidgeot ex and Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex is pretty powerful.
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
Using The Deck & Strategy
The deck's main attacker is Archaludon ex. There are some cases where you use Duraludon for attacking.
Setup 1 or 2 Duraludon during turn one. Use Squawk & Seize from Squawkabilly when possible and when your current hand is bad. Don't use Squawkabilly ex if you have important Supporter cards in hand like Iono or Professor Research. It is not likely you will get good cards if you discard them.
The Munkidoris with Dark Energy are there to move damage counters from your damaged Pokemon to the opponent's Pokemon. If you are facing one hit KO attackers like Raging Bolt ex and Gholdengo ex then putting the Munkidoris in play is not advised. Munkidori is also good with the Team Rocket's Venture Bomb.
Earthen Vessel helps with finding Basic Energy cards. You can also discard Metal Energy to the discard pile as fuel for Archaludon ex's ability. Try to have 2 Metal Energy in the discard at all times.
Archaludon ex's 220 damage is very scary for decks that have Basic Pokemon ex on the Bench. You can use Boss's Orders to hunt for support Pokemon ex like Mew ex, Fezandipiti ex, Latias ex, Squawkabilly ex, Teal Mask Ogerpon ex, etc.
|  |  |
 |  |  |
If Archaludon ex is facing against bulkier HP Pokemon like Charizard ex, Dragapult ex and Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex then you want to consider Relicanth for counter attacks. Relicanth allows you to use Duraludon's Raging Hammer attack as Archaludon's attack. 80 damage plus the damage counters on your Archaludon ex.
The single Iron Bundle can come in handy to move the Active Pokemon to the Bench and you would attack the opponent's choice of Benched Pokemon for a knockout or for the win.
Advantages
- Fairly straightforward to build and use.
- Archaludon ex's one hit knockout power against most Basic Pokemon ex.
- Stage 1 300 HP on Archaludon ex makes this bulky.
- Energy acceleration from discard.
Disadvantages
- Deck can lack draw consistency, no draw engine.
- Centralized attacking on Archaludon ex.
- Lack of firepower against bulkier Pokemon, 220 damage is limited.
- Unfavoured matchup against Gholdengo ex decks. Pretty much an autoloss.
Closing Notes
In a Pokemon TCG metagame filled with Dragapult ex, Gardevoir ex, Raging Bolt ex with some Gholdengo ex decks and Dragapult + Charizard ex decks, Archlaudon ex provides a good alternative. Archlaudon ex + Munkidori is not a top tier metagame deck but it provides good competition to popular decks. I think it is a solid and underrated deck. It is unknown if it still good in the Black Bolt & White Flare standard format. It is not an awful deck but it is not top tier.
 |  |  |  |
Archaludon ex's Metal energy acceleration from the discard is very good. In most cases, once you evolve from Duraludon to Archlaudon ex, you can start swinging for 220 damage. It has one hit knockout power on most Basic Pokemon but needs two hits on larger HP Pokemon.
The deck can suffer from bad starts and a lack of draw power. Fezandipiti ex and Pokegears do help with getting unstuck.
|  |