HAH! Jumping straight into the deep end I see. Don’t you think you’d be better off with an easier type to master, like Grass? No? Well then you better bring your A-game, because becoming a Dragon Pokémon master is not for the faint of heart! Despite missing out on the first half of the Sword and Shield block, Dragon is really making up for lost time with some of the gnarliest attackers in Gym Leader Challenge getting printed in recent sets. The difficulty with Dragon Pokémon, of course, is accommodating for their challenging and often contradicting Energy requirements. Classic Dragon stuff, right? Thankfully, Dragon has all the support it needs to be a top contender in Gym Leader Challenge, and is only improving as its cardpool grows.

Support Pokémon

Dragon doesn’t have a lot of draw support, but it’s got what every other type wishes it had: free Pokémon search and free Supporter Search! What more do you need?! Though just the middle evolution of a Stage 2 line, Gabite is the glue that holds the whole Dragon deck together. Dragon Call can be used to set up Dragonite (TEU), and once Dragonite is online, you can search your deck for whatever Supporter you want every turn with Fast Call. Absolutely busted.

Attackers

Dragon has a lot of good Stage 2 attackers, but how many Stage 2 Pokémon can you reliably put in a single deck? Typically I’ll limit myself to just a few Stage 2 Pokémon to keep things as consistent as possible. Every Dragon Deck will likely run Dragonite and Garchomp, which leaves room for roughly one more Stage 2 if you’re feeling adventurous. Fortunately, Dragon also has access to some of the best Basic attackers in the format, with Drampa and Ultra Necrozma cranking out 160+ damage for just two Energy! Zygarde is also an insane way to close out games, dealing up to 200 snipe damage if the opponent has taken five Prizes! Though Dragons have relatively difficult attack costs to fulfill, they also have access to one of the best Special Energy cards ever printed: Double Dragon Energy!

Decklists

Dragobox

Source: Lee Hoffman
Top 16 MEG $3k - 09/2025

  • 1 Drampa CEC 159

    1 Druddigon BRS 113

    1 Raging Bolt SCR 111

    1 Regidrago ASR 118

    1 Reshiram ROS 63

    1 Tatsugiri TWM 131

    1 Adventure Bag LOT 167

    1 Battle VIP Pass FST 225

    1 Energy Retrieval WHT 82

    1 Escape Rope BST 125

    1 Field Blower GRI 125

    1 Max Elixir BKP 102

    1 Mysterious Treasure FLI 113

    1 Nest Ball PAF 84

    1 Night Stretcher SFA 61

    1 Pokégear 3.0 BLK 84

    1 Professor's Letter BKT 146

    1 Quick Ball FST 237

    1 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130

    1 Tag Call CEC 206

    1 Trainers' Mail ROS 92

    1 Ultra Ball MEG 131

    1 VS Seeker PHF 109

    1 Air Balloon BLK 79

    1 Dragonium Z: Dragon Claw CEC 190

    1 Float Stone BKT 137

    1 Luxurious Cape PAR 166

    1 Muscle Band XY 121

    1 Technical Machine: Turbo Energize PAR 179

    1 Wishful Baton BUS 128

    1 Lost City LOR 161

    1 Silent Lab PRC 140

    1 Stormy Mountains EVS 161

    1 Arven OBF 186

    1 Avery CRE 130

    1 Boss's Orders MEG 114

    1 Colress's Tenacity SFA 57

    1 Crispin PRE 105

    1 Faba LOT 173

    1 Guzma BUS 115

    1 Guzma & Hala CEC 193

    1 Hex Maniac AOR 75

    1 Klara CRE 145

    1 Lillie's Determination MEG 119

    1 Marnie CPA 56

    1 Raihan CRZ 140

    1 Red's Challenge UNB 184

    1 Volkner UPR 135

    2 Basic Fighting Energy SVE 6

    3 Basic Fire Energy SVE 2

    1 Basic Grass Energy SVE 1

    2 Basic Lightning Energy SVE 4

    2 Basic Water Energy SVE 3

    1 Double Dragon Energy ROS 97

    1 Prism Energy BLK 86

Looking for more ideas or feedback on your deck?

Head over to Tricky Gym Discord’s glc-decklists channel for threads on every archetype to discuss strategy, get suggestions, and browse decklists!
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