The Most Powerful Pokémon Cards in 2023

The Pokémon Trading Card Game is ever changing and growing and we have just recently had the standard format rotation for 2023. We are going to dive into the new format and see which cards are the most powerful and what you should be trying to get your hands on for success this year.

If you enjoy playing the game then I’m sure you will also enjoy winning the game! There are lots of strategies and combinations that can help you to build a powerful deck and some cards on their own can go a long way to helping you find that winning masterpiece. There are loads of ways that cards could be classified as powerful. Perhaps they have an interesting ability or an amazingly powerful attack capable of knocking out any other Pokémon. In no particular order, let’s run down our list and see what makes these cards so powerful and if any of them are surprises for you.

Arceus VSTAR

Arceus VSTAR was released in Sword and Shield Brilliant Stars and was an immediate hit and has helped to shape the meta game ever since. For a Pokémon which only gives up 2 prizes, it has 280HP, an attack which deals 200 damage and allows you to attach 3 basic energy from your deck to your V in any way you like and a VSTAR Ability which lets you grab any 2 cards from your deck. It brings its own level of consistency and power and helps you setup follow up attackers with its energy acceleration.

Its VSTAR Power, ‘Starbirth’, which allows you to hand pick any 2 cards from your deck is simply fantastic. There is a reason it is your once per game power! It can help in the early game to grab the energy you need to attack and a switch card to get Arceus into the active spot. Or it can be used late game to grab an evolution Pokémon and a Boss’s Orders for the game winning knockout. Its attack, ‘Trinity Nova’, is used for 3 colourless energy so can fit into almost any deck, no matter what sort of energy you are using. With this level of versatility, it’s not hard to see why Arceus VSTAR is such a powerful card.

Mew VMAX

When Mew received its VMAX card in Sword and Shield Fusion Strike, players around the globe were very excited. It had everything it needed to be extremely successful and it hit the ground running, winning multiple regional events and securing countless Top 8 finishes. Mew VMAX has the perfect combination of powerful attacks, free retreat cost and superb support Pokémon.

Mew’s attack is not one that we haven’t seen before, ‘Cross Fusion Strike’ allows you to copy the attacks of your other Fusion Strike Pokémon in play for only 2 colourless energy. This means it can copy Genesect V’s ‘Techno Blast’ attack which deals 210 damage. Throw down some Power Tablets to increase the damage by 30 for each one and you are soon knocking out VSTAR Pokémon in one hit.

Miraidon ex

Miraidon ex is one of the new ex Pokémon from Scarlet and Violet Base Set and is one of the newest cards on our list. What makes Miraidon so powerful is its setup ability, ‘Tandem Unit’, which allows you to search your deck for 2 (yes 2) basic lightning Pokémon and put them directly onto your bench. You can even use Tandem Unit to grab another Miraidon and use Tandem Unit again to fill your bench on the first turn. This has been paired well with Regieleki VMAX, whose ability boosts damage done by basic lightning Pokémon by 30 per Regieleki VMAX in play.  

Miraidon’s attack is also powerful, for 2 lightning and 1 colourless energy it does 220 damage. With 2 Regieleki VMAX in play, that damage is boosted to 280, enough to one hit knockout VSTAR Pokémon. We are yet to see just how good Miraidon can be but it looks well positioned to take the tournament scene by storm with such a high level of built in consistency.

Gardevoir ex

Another new card from the Scarlet and Violet Base set, Gardevoir ex is an extremely powerful stage 2 Pokémon. Being a stage 2 Pokémon means that it requires a little more of a setup and can take longer to get into play, but when it does, the results are spectacular. Gardevoir’s ability, ‘Psychic Embrace’, allows you to attach a basic psychic energy from your discard pile to one of your psychic Pokémon. You can do this as many times as you like during your turn, if you have 15 psychic energy in your discard pile, you can attach all 15 if you want to. The only drawback is that each time you attach an energy to one of your Pokémon in this way, you have to put 2 damage counters on that Pokémon.

Gardevoir ex combos perfectly with single prize attackers that can deal big damage and makes it easy to power up Pokémon for big one hit knockouts. Not only that but Gardevoir has its own built in consistent draw engine, thanks to its pre evolved form, Kirlia, which has the ability ‘Refinement’, allowing you to discard a card from your hand and draw 2 cards. This just so happens to be a great way of getting those energy into the discard pile ready to accelerate back into play later on. Gardevoir is much like Miraidon ex in that it is new and somewhat untested but it has the potential to be one of the strongest cards of this new format.

Bibarel

When people talk about the most powerful Pokémon cards, I’m sure Bibarel is not your first thought. However this particular Bibarel, with its ‘Industrious Incisors’ ability, was first released in Brilliant Stars and has featured in lots of very successful decks ever since. Its ability allows you to draw cards until you have 5 cards in your hand, which is a fantastic ability which helps make you immune to such disruption cards as Roxanne, as you can immediately refill your hand during your turn.

Not only is the ability to draw cards a super powerful ability in Pokémon that should not be overlooked, but Bibarel is also a single prize Pokémon which can create some tough decisions for your opponent. Do they chase and knock out the Bibarel for one prize and stop you from consistently drawing cards, or do they knock out some multi prize attackers. All of this makes Bibarel a fantastic card with immense power in an unconventional sense of the word.

Trainer Cards

Trainer cards are important for a deck to run smoothly and consistently and some are must haves in every deck. Some trainer cards have been around forever and are continuously reprinted, which is a testament to their importance and quality. However, there are some trainer cards which stand out above all others and can fit into any deck, which is a unique skill!

Professors Research is a draw supporter which allows you to discard your hand and draw 7 cards. That is a great way to cycle through your deck and dig to find the important cards that you need. It is no wonder that Research has become a staple of the last few formats and will continue to be going forward.

Boss’s Orders is another Supporter card but this one allows you to switch one of your opponents benched Pokémon with their active Pokémon. This can really help if it allows you to knock out a damaged Pokémon on the bench or one which is a bigger threat than their active. It is also used effectively in control style decks to bring up a support Pokémon and try to stall it in the active spot for a few turns, effectively negating the opponents game plan.

The Pokémon Trading Card Game is full of cards which are powerful in certain situations and with certain combinations. There are plenty of decks that utilise this synergy to make them extremely powerful, yet the cards on their own are somewhat lacklustre on first glance. The key to unlocking the cards' full potential is knowledge and practice and thinking about how the cards interact with each other. The cards which we have showcased on this list are powerful in most decks and work well on their own to add something more to your deck.

Try them out for yourself and see what you think, I know you will not be disappointed. You can grab them all in our store at Magic Madhouse.