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Ever since its introduction inPokemon TCG Pocket’s Space-Time Smackdown, Lucario has been bolstering frontline fighters with its terrific Fighting Coach ability, which tosses in an additional 20 damage whenever your Active Pokemon attacks, so long as that Pokemon happens to belong to the Fighting type.
Also introduced in Space-Time Smackdown, Rampardos is handily one of the most aggressive cards in the game, dealing a whopping 130 damage on a single Energy. It’s a Stage 2, mind you, and a Fossil Pokemon at that, but with the right deck setup, a Rampardos and Lucario deck can obliterate your foes, all without necessitating a single ex card.
Lucario and Rampardos Deck
Riolu x2
Lucario x2
Cranidos x2
Rampardos x2
Sudowoodo x1
Cyrus x1
Professor’s Research x2
Alternative Cards
Our version utilizesSudowoodo, a recent add to the game courtesy ofTriumphant Light. ButMarshadowis a popular pick - probably more so - as itsRevengeattack jumps from 40 damage to100 damageif one of your Pokemon was knocked out the previous turn.
This works fairly well with Rampardos in particular, since it might well knock itself out in a rush to get rid of a powerful foe. It’s also just a sound strategy to include a Marshadow in most Fighting decks.
But with thenotable rise in largely ex-based decks during the Triumphant Light era, we prefer Sudowoodo, sinceit can do 50 damage on one Energy if the target is a Pokemon ex.
Some decks do include both Sudowoodo and Marshadow. In our experience, you’re running pretty high on Pokemon/Fossil cards at that point, to your overall detriment, but don’t take that as gospel - it’s won tournaments, too. Try it out if you’d like.
You might also remove theRocky Helmetsin favor ofSabrinafor more control factor, orGiant Capesfor further bulk.
Deck Strategy
The Lucario and Rampardos deck is all about,to paraphrase one of Pokemon TCG Pocket’s available catchphrase tags,winning by dealing heavy damage. There’s no two ways about it: this deck’s Energy-to-damage efficiency is unrivaled.
The Setup
Given the inclusion of the twoSkull Fossilcards, which (as with all Fossils) essentially serve as Basic Pokemon without thePokemonpart,you have a low number of actual Basic Pokemon to work with. You’ll often start the match withRioluin the Active Spot, althoughSudowoodois a better choice whenever possible.
The goal, then, is toget your Skull Fossils on the bench ASAP, use Pokemon Communication to locate Cranidos and/or Rampardos,and have the two-stage line fully evolved before your opponent can blink.
Hook thoseRocky Helmetsto your Active Pokemon, be they Riolu or Sudowoodo, to ensure somechip damage and generla hesitationfrom your enemy.
Rampardos deals 130 damage for one Fighting Energy, and possesses 150 HP, making it an absolute behemoth once it’s prepped.
In the meantime, you’re not without options.There’s a pretty decent chance, in the Triumphant Light meta, thatyour opponent’s starting Pokemon will be an ex. Better still,it could well be Arceus ex, which is weak to Fighting.
If Sudowoodo is your Active Pokemon early on,its one-Energy attack, Fighting Headbutt, will do 20 base damage + 30 more for targeting an ex Pokemon + 20 more for weakness,totaling aspectacular 70 damageas early as Round 2. If it’s RIolu, instead, then20 base damage + 20 for weakness for 40is yours viaJab.
As you can see, then, under ideal conditions, this deck is immediately doling out the pain. But these conditions are never guaranteed; even against Basic Pokemon, whoaren’tweak to Fighting, you’re at least looking at being able to attack as soon as you’ve got a single Energy, so it’s hardly a wash.
Don’t discountCranidos, either. If you’re struggling to find a Rampardos, thisStage 1 card, which evolves from the Skull Fossil en route to its final form as Rampardos,deals 50 damagewith its Headbutt attack. That’s already solid - it’s one Energy! - butif you have Lucario on the bench, it’s 70. If you’re blessed withbothLucarios? 90.
Therefore, you shouldn’t shy away from sending out your Cranidos if the right situation arises. If you can secure enough of a blow to your opponent with it, you won’tneedRampardos. Suffice it to say, you’ll not always get that much of a boost from Cranidos, but never treat it like nothing but a bench card.
The Goal
As you can see, our strategy is all about the numbers. It’s damage, damage, damage, the whole way down. Once Rampardos is out,Head Smash will deal 130 damage, but with the caveat that - if it knocks out the enemy -Rampardos deals 50 damage to itself.
That’s not so bad, typically, as you’re wielding this fellow like a veritable catapult. If it passes out, so be it; if it brought down your opponent’s ace card in the process, you’ve either swept the game, oryou’re probably better-poised with another Rampardos, or even a Cranidos, to finish the job.
Matchups And Counters
Best Matches
There’s probably no greater joy thanunleashing the Lucario and Rampardos deck upon most Arceus ex decks. Arceus ex is a beast, and it is presently (read: March 2025) half-dominating the meta. It synergizes exceptionally well with so many decks, and you’ll see itespecially commonly in Steel Decksalongside Dialga ex.
That works out quite nicely for us. After all,Dialga ex, like Arceus ex, is, well, anex card.This puts ourSudowoodoin prime position to hurt it for 50 damage from the get-go, should we draw it at the start of the match. Arceus ex, on the other hand,being a Normal-type, takes 70 damage.
So on, so forth.Pachirisu exwillalsotake 70 from Sudowoodo, and - like Arceus ex - isweak to every Pokemon you’ll possess. This puts those pesky “Two Pachirisu ex and 18 non-Pokemon” decks to rest, so long as you can behave briskly.
And really,any slow-to-assemble deck is in a bind against Lucario and Rampardos decks. There is not a single Pokemon in your deck, if you follow our list, that costs more than one Energy to attack. If you elect to include Marshadow, then there’s just the one card which requires two.
Finally, while Darkrai ex and Weavile ex, two powerful commonplace Darkness-type Pokemon, arenotweak to Fighting,you’ll still get that edge from Sudowoodo. More to the point,many potential backup Darkness-types- including old favourites likeWeezing and Arbok- areweak to Fighting.
Worst Matches
In general,Grass-type decks are going to be a problemfor you. Since the aforementioned Darkrai ex and Weavile ex are both weak to Grass,the type is fairly commonright now for the dual purposes of obliterating both Darkness- and Fighting-type decks.
Many Grass-type Pokemon are slow to get online, butExeggutor exis the resident unstoppable fiend. If you’re up againstthat,you may want to rely upon Lucario insteaduntil you have Rampardos ready to secure the K.O., because Riolu/Lucario areweak to Psychic instead.
It should also be noted thatthe Lucario and Rampardos deck’s biggest potential weakness is the chance that finding Cranidos and Rampardos doesn’t happen fast enough. For all its strength as a one-Energy strike deck, it can be undone through sheer draw luck.
That’s where thePokemon Communicationcards come in, but even then,there’s no search tool for Fossil cards. Brace for the possibility that you’ll have a rotten time of it every now and then, because, well, no deck is perfect.
