The highest HP Pokémon cards

Surprisingly the only legendary Pokémon on this list, Eternatus VMAX is a destructive card that can one shot loads of Pokémon, while being almost guaranteed to tank the first hit.

Its attack may seem puny at first, but if you build your deck correctly, using just the Pokémon type Darkness, then it can dish out up to 240 damage, easily handling less HP-blessed Pokémon. This requires quite a bit of set-up, and creates a restriction for your deck-building , but it’s a fun strategy, and getting a wider bench is cool.

Eternatus VMAX never topped the competitive meta, as there were always more consistent, powerful decks around to squeeze it out. This deck was also indirectly hurt by one of the most powerful Pokémon cards, Arceus VSTAR. Because Arceus was so dominant, many players were running Fighting types just to handle it, which hurt poor Eternatus too!

Path to the Peaks is also a really common Stadium Trainer card right now. This shuts down the Eternal Zone, and reduces Eternatus’ attack to just 150.

Garganacl ex is bonkers beefy, perhaps the hardest Pokémon to take out yet. First off, it’s immune to special conditions, which shuts off one avenue an opponent might use to counter it. Second-off, it has the cherished 340 HP, the highest count on a legal Pokémon card.

But our eyes really light up when we take a look at its attack. Block Hammer makes the next attack Garganacl takes deal 60 less damage. At a minimum that effectively gives you 400 HP. You can keep using that move though and getting the damage reduction, making this Pokémon a next-level tank.

This is a Japanese promo card, which hasn’t had a proper global release yet, but we’re excited to see how it performs when it comes out.

Copperajah VMAX is a classic tanky Pokémon card, without any bells or whistles. It’s designed to roll with the punches, dealing out damage while surviving attacks, and benefitting from support like healing cards. Really, aside from a decent Grass type resistance, there’s not much more too it that that.

Well, maybe that’s not quite fair. Copperajah VMAX isn’t just a high HP Pokémon card. It also boasts a pretty spectacular damage output. It’s attacks are a bit costly on the energy front, but at least you can use Dangerous Nose to one-shot most Basic Pokémon, if you haven’t reached four energy yet.

If you just look at sheer numbers, you’d think Skeledirge ex was one of the greatest Pokémon cards ever released. It not only has the coveted 340 HP like the other cards on this list, it also has an attack that deals 270 damage, and you only need two energy to pull it off!

Combine that with the utility of its healing power, and you’d think we had the next meta buster on our hands.

But sheer numbers can be deceptive. Despite the enormous HP and attack power, Skeledirge looks much stronger than it is in practice. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, it’s a Stage 2 Pokémon, which can sadly be too clunky and slow in a world of strong basics and V/VSTAR Pokémon.

Secondly, Skeledirge’s attack gets weaker the more damage it takes. This throttles its damage output as soon as it takes a hit, leaving you in a nasty spot if you can’t immediately heal. At the end of the day, surviving an attack is only useful if you can then hit back.

Snorlax VMAX is yet another 340 HP Pokémon, an even bigger version of the Generation 1 roadblock that is Snorlax. Snorlax VMAX is an interesting card because while it never found a spot in Standard, it has had a very successful run in the more powerful Expanded format.

There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, Snorlax VMAX works wonderfully with normal energy cards. Triple Acceleration Energy can power up its attack instantaneously.

That attack gets stronger for every Pokémon you have on the bench, up to a max 210, so you also get to play around with some of the much stronger Abilities available in the Expanded format. The standout here is Zoroak GX, whose Trade effect gives you a constant stream of card advantage.

Certainly, this high HP Pokémon card has a lot more going for it than meets the eye.

An old favorite reimagined with a new typing, Tyranitar ex is a monster. It comes with 340 HP again (by now you might be thinking this is the norm, but remember, that much health by itself is exceptional) and has two very efficient attacks that can deal a lot of damage.

Lightning Rampage is, of course, the main draw of the card. For the bargain price of just two fighting energy, you can deal 250 damage, provided you have a damaged Pokémon on your bench.

This allows for some combos with cards that don’t see play in any other deck. For instance, you can get a lot of mileage out of 151’s Dodrio, drawing cards and powering up Tyranitar in one fell swoop.