Togekiss. Not very original, as the use is pretty self-evident just by looking at GEX’s attacks. Obviously, Togekiss is used to get a quick Psystorm and have a bunch of energy on the field to power the attack (its no longer a reliable option to use the opponent’s energy count with the number of 0 to 1 energy attacks in the game). Togekiss also allows me to have an alternative attacker that will either 2HKO a lot of common Pokemon such as the fairies or heal itself and help stall for time needed to get a GEX in play, down to the last two prizes and a GEX is ready to be KO’d, etc. Togepi also provides a weak, but usable starter (compared to starting with a ralts or azelf, for example) that can possible fetch me a Pokemon I need for the next turn.
Gardevoir ex itself isn’t too bad of a card, but in the current field, seems to be very weak. The field is filled with large-HP pokemon and small hand sizes (due to lack of draw and claydol’s 6-card max draw), so Feedback isn’t as powerful as it was back in the old days. Psystorm seems to be the only usable option here. And thank god its an amazing attack! After dropping a togekiss, I should hopefully have enough energy in play deal a good amount of damage (probably an average of 70 or so). GEX also has the benefit of evolving from the ralts family, allowing me to use Gardevoir SW and Gallade. In this way, I can get additional supporter use with gardevoir SW and/or have a way to get a quick ko or set a pokemon up for a ko with gallade.
Although this isn’t a terrible good amount for 4 energy, there are other matchups where psystorm becomes very useful. Torterra-Sceptile, for instance, abuses Sceptile’s ability to double the amount of all grass energy in play. Considering torterra needs 4 energy to do anything really significant in the first place (and probably wants to have another charged with at least one energy), Psystorm will be doing 100 damage without any additional energy on my side of the field. Any decks that use Leafeon might find themselves in a bind as well; they essentially lose one of their main attackers (Leafeon LV.X) if they want to stay alive, and leafeon’s power becomes virtually useless. This means an average of 7 cards in that deck become worthless. Or Magmortar, a deck that thrives on how many energy are attached to it, will find it hard to deal with Psystorm. In order to KO one gardy ex, the opponent would need to have 8 energy on one magmortar, something a player would try to avoid lest the rest of their pokemon get psystormed.
Azelf and its Level-X are obvious additions as well. With Gardevoir ex’s crippling double Psychic and Grass weaknesses, its necessary to eliminate these for Gardevoir to survive in the current metagame (Torterra and Fairies have been winning a fair number of tournaments recently). Azelf also can fetch me a Pokemon I need from the prizes, making a roseanne’s a potential Bebe’s Search. The attacks can also be useful in some situations. For example, if my opponent sends up a chatot to recover their hand, I can send up azelf and trap them in the active position with Lock Up as I try and build up my own bench. If the opponent is ever caught in a situation where their active pokemon won’t be able to retreat next turn, I can abuse Azelf LV.X’s Deep Balance attack to snipe away at the bench, or I can use it to score a KO on a pokemon a few counters from dying.
Super Scoop Up was placed in here for multiple reasons. Because the number of energy in play is a huge factor in the power of gardevoir ex’s Psystorm attack, reusing Togekiss’ power multiple times could be a huge asset, possible allowing me to KO a wide range of Pokemon when the opponent is energyless. SSU also lets me pick up a damaged GEX. Not only do I get to start anew with the 150 HP beast (would be one of the largest HP’s in the game right now), but the opponent’s efforts to KO it were wasted as well.
