Skarmory Deck

Meta Viewing a past meta

1 variant · 11 matches · 2 decklists · 45.5% overall WR since Deluxe Pack: ex

Card evaluation is based on the existing pool of cards and their stat averages. Anything above that baseline is certainly playable, and if it significantly surpasses the standard, it’s likely to be part of the metagame. Skarmory belongs to that elite class of cards.

Skarmory’s Metal Arms, its only attack, costs 1 Energy and starts at an unimpressive 20 damage... but when Skarmory has a Tool attached, that damage jumps to 50, an exceptional rate for a Basic Pokémon. This allows it to one-shot Pokémon like Manaphy and Yanma, two-shot Pokémon like Druddigon and Lucario, and even three-shot bulky Pokémon ex like Palkia ex and Dialga ex. Skarmory also benefits from Giant Cape, boosting its already solid HP to 100, and from Rocky Helmet, adding extra pressure by punishing attackers with additional damage.

This Farfetch’d on steroids, as plain as it looks, puts immense pressure from turn one and can easily take over a game if left unchecked.

Skarmory Bastiodon

45.5%WR 11matches 2decklists

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Top Cut Performances

Player	Tournament	Date	Record
Anti07 #7	Umbreon League - Pokemon Pocket #1!!!	May 07, 2025	4-3-0	Show Deck

Anti07 #8	Danielcmini tournament🏆: PREMIUM PASS	May 04, 2025	6-3-0	Show Deck

Anti07 #4	Chaos League Pocket Saturdays #19	May 03, 2025	8-2-0	Show Deck

The classic strategy of using Fossils to guarantee a specific starting Pokémon is revitalized in this variant, which runs the Armor Fossil/Shieldon line. Not only does this ensure Skarmory always starts in the Active spot, but the line also shares the required Energy and provides a bit more base power for the late game.

While Bastiodon's Headbang attack has bad rate (80 damage for ), it compensates with 160 HP and its Guarded Grill ability, making it one of the most frustrating Pokémon to remove in the game.

- Skarmory’s strength depends entirely on curving out immediately. Without a Tool attached, it's an underwhelming attacker. Playing 4 tools (Lum Berry is a rather bad option), there’s about a 25% chance of missing a Tool on turn 1.

- types rarely hit for Weakness, meaning Metal Arms is almost always stuck dealing a flat 50 damage with no upsides.

- Decks with tanky Pokémon can stall Skarmory effectively, especially if they also run Giant Cape. Meanwhile, Skarmory decks are locked into Energy, and with no big late-game attacker in the typing, they tend to get overwhelmed once the opponent sets up a sufficiently strong beatstick.