Hello all you fans of the Pokemon Trading Card Game and casual readers. The Pokemon Trading Card Game thrives on the multitude of playable strategies. While it is easy to zoom out and say that the only objective in Pokemon is to hit your opponent harder than they hit you, there is a lot more nuance to it than that. For example, which Pokemon Type do you prefer to play? There are electric types that specialize in lightning fast attacks. There are colorless types that sacrifice power for adaptability. There are the cerebral psychic types that manipulate energy cards, other Pokémon, and damage counters to pull off unusual attacks. And there are the ravenous dragon types. These Pokémon use multiple energy types to fuel their attack. This can make it difficult to set them up but you benefit by having an unusual weakness and an awesome looking dragon card. 

Today we’re going to be looking at the top 15 best dragon type cards in the Pokemon TCG. This list will only take into consideration cards released before May of 2021. We will be judging these cards based on the abilities printed on the cards alone so unfortunately multi-card combos are off the table. With that said, let’s get into the list.

15. Giratina EX

Giratina EX from Ancient Origins.

• This Basic EX has 170 HP.
• The Renegade Pulse ability prevents all effects of attacks done to Giratina EX done by Mega Evolution Pokemon. This is a great blocking ability, but it's not nearly as effective as it once was since Mega Evolutions have decreased in relevance. 
• For one grass, one psychic, and two other energy, the Chaos Wheel attack deals 100 damage. It also prevents your opponents from playing tool, stadium, or special energy cards from their hand next turn. This is a powerful stalling attack if you can manage to meet the energy requirements. 

14. Haxorus

Haxorus from Breakthrough.

• This Stage 2 has 160 HP.
• This Haxorus has three attacks. Dragon Dance costs one energy and after it is used, Haxorus’s attacks are boosted by 100 damage as long as it stays active. 
• Sharp Fang also costs one energy and deals 60 damage.  
• For one fighting energy and one steel energy, Dragon Pulse deals 130 damage and discards the top three cards of your deck. 
• This Pokemon is good because of its low energy costs and the extra damage it gains from Dragon Dance. It’s always good when Stage 2 cards don’t need much energy so that you can focus on evolving them.

13. Latias

Latias from Unified Minds.

• This Basic has 120 HP.
• Latias’s Energy Arrow attack costs one psychic energy and does 20 damage to one of your opponent’s Pokemon for each energy on that Pokemon. This can be a powerful snipe attack depending on the deck you’re facing.
• For two fire energy and one other energy, Speed Wing just deals 100 damage. 

12. Noivern

Noivern from Furious Fist.

• This Stage 1 has 100 HP.
• The Echolocation ability flips a coin if your opponent does damage to you. If you flip heads, that damage is prevented. Essentially you get a 50/50 chance to waste your opponent’s attack.
• For one psychic, one dark and one other energy you can use Boomburst which deals 30 damage to each of your opponents Pokemon.

11. Kingdra

Kingdra from Plasma Freeze.

• This Stage 2 has 140 HP.
• Dragon Vortex deals 20 damage for each water and electric energy in your discard pile. Afterwards, all of those energy are shuffled back into your deck. This attack only costs one energy. 
• Tri Bullet costs one water energy and deals 30 damage to three of your opponent’s Pokemon. It’s a nice spreading attack. 

10. Alolan Exeggutor GX

Alolan Exeggutor GX from Crimson Invasion.

• This Stage 1 GX has 220 HP.
• Tropical Head costs one grass energy and deals 20 damage times the amount of energy on Exeggutor to one of your opponent’s Pokemon. The entry cost for this attack is low but you can always attach more to deal a lot of damage to whoever you want. 
• Dragon Hammer costs one grass energy and three other energy. It deals 120 damage and confuses your opponent.
• Tower-Go-Round GX also costs four energy and deals 180 damage. As a bonus, it lets you move energy between your Pokemon however you want. 

9. Noivern

Noivern from Unified Minds.

• This Stage 1 has 120 HP.
• For one energy, Boomburst deals 20 damage to each of your opponent’s Pokemon.
• You can also use Dragon Pulse for one psychic energy, one dark energy, and one other energy. Dragon Pulse deals 120 damage and discards the top card of your deck.

8. Noivern GX

Noivern GX from Burning Shadows.

• This Stage 1 GX has 200 HP.
• Most decks are vastly improved by playing important item cards. So if you want to mess with your opponent, use the Distort attack. It prevents them from playing item cards during their next turn and costs one dark energy and one other energy. It also does 50 damage.
• Sonic Volume does 120 damage and stops your opponents from playing special energy. It costs one psychic energy, one darkness energy, and one other energy. It’s a little more niche than Distort, but it can still be annoying.
• Boomburst GX deals 50 damage to each of your opponent’s Pokemon and costs the same amount of energy as Sonic Volume.

7. Alolan Exeggutor

Alolan Exeggutor from Team Up.

• This Stage 1 has 160 HP.
• Alolan Exeggutor only has one attack but it can work against almost any deck. For one grass energy, Tropical Shake deals 20 damage plus 20 more for each type of energy in your discard pile. You can’t do more than 120 damage with this attack but it’s relatively easy to set up so you can out speed your opponent.

6. Latios Prism Star

Latios Prism Star from Celestial Storm.

• This Basic has 140 HP.
• Here is another one of the powerful Prism Star cards. Because these cards are so good, you are only allowed to play one of each per deck. This one has the Dragon Fleet attack. For two energy, this attack deals 50 damage for each of your evolved dragon Pokemon in play.

5. Naganadel & Guzzlord GX

Naganadel & Guzzlord from Cosmic Eclipse.

• This Basic Tag Team has 280 HP.
• The Violent Appetite ability allows you to discard a Pokemon from your hand and heal 60 damage from this Pokemon. This ability combined with Naganadel & Guzzlord’s high HP, makes it a tanky card.
• Jet Pierce costs one psychic, one dark, and one other energy. It only deals 180 damage but that’s okay because this card should be able to stay in play for a few hits.
• In my opinion, Chaotic Order GX is one of the most useful GX attacks in the game. For one energy, this attack flips all of your prize cards face up. And if you have an extra dark and psychic energy attached, you can take two of those prize cards. This can be used to win a game without having to KO a difficult Pokemon or to get a card you really need from your prizes. No luck involved either since you get to look at them before you pick.

4. Altaria GX

Altaria GX from Dragon Majesty.

• This Stage 1 has 220 HP.
• Bright Tone costs one fairy energy and one other energy. It deals 50 damage and prevents all damage done by EX or GX to this Pokemon next turn. 
• Sonic Edge costs one fairy, one water, and one other energy. It deals 110 damage and can also hit through attacks such as Bright Tone. You can block many powerful cards and not be blocked yourself.
• Euphoria GX puts your opponent to sleep and heals all damage from all of your Pokemon. This all comes at the low cost of one fairy energy and one other energy.

3. Latias EX

Latias EX from Plasma Freeze.

• This Basic EX has 160 HP.
• Latias EX has a very similar effects to Altaria GX. Her ability prevents any Pokemon with abilities from damaging her. This ability is called Bright Down.
• For one fire energy, one psychic energy, and one other energy, Barrier Break deals 70 damage and isn’t affected by any effect on your opponent’s Pokemon.

2. Garchomp & Giratina GX

Garchomp & Giratina GX from Unified Minds.

• This Basic Tag Team has 270 HP.
• Linear Attack is a great attack. For one energy, it deals 40 damage to any of your opponent’s Pokemon.
• If you’re playing against this Pokemon, you need to be aware of how much damage is on you. Calamitous Slash usually deals 160 damage but deals 240 if your opponent’s Pokemon already has damage on them. This attack costs one psychic, one fighting, and one other energy.
• GG End GX discards one of your opponent’s Pokemon from play if you have two psychic energy and one fighting energy. If you have an additional three fighting energy then you can discard two Pokemon from play.

1. Arceus & Dialga & Palkia GX

Arceus & Dialga & Palkia GX from Cosmic Eclipse.

• This Basic Tag Team has 280 HP.
• This card is definitely in the running for one of the best cards. Ultimate Ray deals 150 damage and searches your deck for three more energy and attaches them wherever you like. This attack only cost one water energy, one metal energy, and one other energy. 
• Altered Creation GX is probably the most powerful GX attack in the game. For one metal energy, this attack boosts the damage of all your Pokemon by 30 for the rest of the game. If you also have a water energy on this Pokemon you also take an extra prize card whenever you knock someone out. 

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