Ho-Oh EX is one of the most unique cards that has seen play in the Pokémon TCG, this stems from his Ability that activates when he's in the discard pile. While it may be an unorthodox card (you need to rely on a coin flip in order for it to work), it can accelerate Energy on your field and if you get a Heads, you can get an attacker out of nowhere even if your field may be weak.
Ho-Oh / Mewtwo / Terrakion
There are a number of ways to play with Ho-Oh EX. Since he grabs three different kinds of Energy, you can almost pair any attacker you can think of with Ho-Oh EX, and charge said attacker up using Energy Switch. Energy Switch allows you to move any energy off of Ho-Oh and put it onto a desired attacker. In this thread, I'm outlining my personal favorite decklist that has the attackers that I like to play with Ho-Oh, but there is a detailed list of techs and other attackers to choose from below the list.
The list below capitalizes on early game pressure with Mewtwo EX. Mewtwo is a very strong option against a numerous decks because it can just come out swinging. Terrakion NV becomes a great partner to back up Mewtwo when he goes down and his type coverage is great against cards that see a lot of play like Eelektrik and Darkrai. Sigilyph is a personal tech that I've included because of what he brings to the table against decks that don't have much of a non-EX attacker option or can't charge it up fast enough.
Sample List
| Pokémon (9) 3 Ho-Oh EX 3 Mewtwo EX 2 Terrakion NV 1 Sigilyph DRX | Trainers / Supporters / Stadiums (35) 4 Professor Juniper 4 N 3 Bianca 2 Skyla 4 Ultra Ball 4 Pokemon Catcher 4 Energy Switch 4 Super Scoop Up 3 Switch 1 Tool Scrapper 1 Computer Search | Energy (16) 4 Double Colorless Energy 3 Fighting Energy 3 Psychic Energy 1 Grass Energy 1 Fire Energy 1 Water Energy 1 Lightning Energy 1 Dark Energy 1 Metal Energy |
Possible Attackers/Techs
Note: If you change up your attackers in the deck, make sure that your Energies correspondingly change to reflect the fact that you may need additional Energies of the other types in order to attack effectively.
+Virizion NV: With the rising surge of hype around Keldeo/Blastoise, Virizion NV has to be included in the conversation as an attacker in a Ho-Oh EX deck. Not only does Leaf Wallop hit for x2 damage on the pre-evolutions of Blastoise (Squirtle and Wartortle) but it also does a hefty 80 damage to Keldeo (assuming you didn't get the boost from Leaf Wallop being used the previous turn). In addition to being an attacker that can hold its own, it also comes packed with a huge consistency booster in Double Draw. Being able to draw two cards in the early turns becomes a big advantage in setting up your deck as a long game progresses.
+Virizion EP: Similarly to Virizion NV, Virizion from Emerging Powers hits for x2 damage against all the same Pokemon. While it loses the consistency booster of Double Draw, the first attack can still KO a Squirtle and the second attack brings the real punch with the ability to OHKO a Keldeo EX regardless of Eviolite. The downside is you can't use Sacred Sword the next turn, but that matters very little as the deck plays a considerable amount of Switch and Super Scoop Up.
+Shaymin EX ND: Shaymin EX may not prove itself to be extremely effective against a deck like Keldeo/Blastoise, but as a late game finisher, this is still one of the strongest options. This is especially considering that with an Energy Switch, you can lay down a surprise Shaymin EX and be able to take the last two Prizes against an EX if your opponent has taken five Prizes themselves. It is one of the weakest options to start a game with, however, but it can provide high risk, high reward.
+Keldeo EX BC: This may seem like a strange inclusion at first but Keldeo EX brings a lot to the table with this deck as its Ability Rush In can switch out an attacker and you can Energy Switch Water Energies to it (you would obviously have to run more than one) and be able to hit for a KO on opposing Landorus EX. Rush In also helps you break a paralysis lock if you don't have a Switch available. Depending on your metagame, Keldeo could be a strong addition to a Ho-Oh EX deck.
+Landorus EX BC: This is a definitely strong attacker, particularly for the early game. With the first attack being Hammerhead, Landorus EX provides a great damage spreading attack that can deal a significant blow to decks that use Tynamo and Eelektrik as well as decks that have Darkrai EX that it can hit for 60. The second attack takes a lot of Energy to be able to charge up, but it is possible with enough Energy Switch if necessary.
+Stunfisk DRX: Like Landorus EX, Stunfisk is a good early game option if you prefer using non-EX attackers. The first attack Muddy Water can still KO Tynamos in the early turns, and while Stunfisk lacks the big punch in the second attack, Rumble can catch decks that don't carry a lot of copies of Switch as it can trap a Basic active and deal a little bit of damage.
+Registeel EX DRX: Triple Laser is a nice spreading option for three Energies of any type that can set up and soften up many KOs for other attackers like Mewtwo EX. Eelektrik based decks in particular have a lot of problems if you can get early Triple Lasers off. Even against a healing deck like Darkrai/Hydreigon, it forces opponents to make tough decisions on what to exactly Max Potion damage off.
+Bouffalant DRX: This is for sure one of the best anti-EX attackers that one might consider adding instead of something like Sigilyph. With the built-in Eviolite Ability and the ability to 2HKO all EXs regardless of Eviolites attached, it can certainly hit a lot of damage and deal hefty blows while not getting OHKO'd back by many other attackers.
+Tornadus EX DEX: Another colorless attacker in the early game is extremely strong. While the deck doesn't play Stadiums (you could certainly include them if you wanted to, despite having a drop in consistency), Power Blast combos quite well with Ho-Oh EX's Rebirth as it can easily get back Basic Energies that you might discard. With Energy Switch, a T1 or (more ideal) a T2 100 is still nothing to scoff at.
+Tornadus EP: Like Tornadus EX, the non-EX version can power up Benched attackers using Hurricane. It is a weaker attacker and the first attack is virtually useless, but if you want a decent attacker against things like Sigilyph and Gold Breaker Bouffalant, then you might want to test out Tornadus from Emerging Powers.
+Rayquaza DRX: This is a nice early game option that hits for Dragon Weakness which may not seem like much in the grand scheme of things. Depending on the popularity of Landorus EX though, more Darkrai/Hydreigon decks will be favoring the Dragon Deino again, which would give you an early game option to KO those in addition to Tynamos (that it would always be able to KO before). The second attack is also a nice option against Hydreigon and particularly Rayquaza EX if you can get the jump on them and charge it up as soon as T2.
+Roserade DRX: Despite not being a good attacker at all, Roserade can provide a huge consistency boost with the Ability Le Parfum. Running Computer Search in the deck is nice, but you only get one use out of it, so if you ever wanted a more flexible searching option, Roserade is the next best thing. Searching out crucial cards like Double Colorless Energy and Supporters that can get you a better hand full of resources is always nice and that's what even a 1-1 line of Roserade can give you (as long as you don't Prize a critical piece of the line).
+PlusPower: This is a card that has fallen out of favor with many decks, but could make a resurgence with the release of Skyla (becomes a searchable 10 damage). It allows you to make nice plays with Mewtwo EX such as conserving an Energy and allows you to get around Eviolites on Darkrai to KO with Terrakion should you be missing a Tool Scrapper (heaven forbid).
+Eviolite: Eviolite is a strong card for numerous reasons, especially in an all Basics deck like this one, but I have included it in the techs list solely because of the prevalence of Tool Scrapper in decks. In the build that I provided, Eviolite does very little to save cards like Mewtwo EX, at least when you're attacking Mewtwo with Mewtwo. Eviolite on Ho-Oh doesn't really protect it against attackers like Keldeo EX. Don't get me wrong, the ability to buffer 20 damage can be a difference and definitely help against cards like Darkrai, but the usefulness is greatly diminished at least in this version of the deck.
+Energy Search: You may laugh at the idea of including Energy Search, especially in a deck that runs 12 copies of Basic Energies, but it is actually a legitimate option when you consider cards like Terrakion and Mewtwo need two of Fighting and Psychic respectively to do their second attacks. Sometimes, it becomes difficult to grab the specific kind of Energy that you might need for an attack, so it becomes useful to be able to search for it. Also don't forget that a card like Skyla can essentially turn into a Basic Energy of your choice.
+Prism Energy: This is a card that I don't favor too much in this deck as it already relies a lot on the special Double Colorless Energy (and I don't like to be too susceptible to decks that include Enhanced Hammer), but it is an option considering it can be any kind of Energy since the deck is all Basics. It gives you a lot of flexibility with your attachments, but it also decreases the effectiveness of Ho-Oh EX's Ability and his attack as well as Energy Switch.
While it is certainly not the best or biggest deck in the metagame, Ho-Oh is certainly a fun deck that can surprise your opponent as you have a lot of different options for attackers that you can spring out of seemingly nowhere. You can use this thread to discuss anything related to Ho-Oh EX and decks that include it as a main Energy accelerator. Thanks for reading!
dmaster out.
