Japanese versions of the new Mega Gengar ex card and Mega Diancie ex have been revealed over on Pokébeach, and Gengar in particular seems especially strong. These cards are expected to release in English in the Mega Battle Decks in October, but Japan gets them early next month.
Since only the Japanese cards have been shown off we've had to rely on Google to translate, so take our interpretation with a little bit of caution.
Diancie is mega-underwhelming. Sure, it's only a basic, but 270 HP isn't much for a Mega. The Pokémon's ability reduces incoming attacks by 30 helps a bit, but including this in your deck seems like a risk, especially given its underwhelming attack.
You have to discard up to two energy to use this Legendary Pokémon's move, and then it only deals 120 for each one you ditch. That's not enough to one-shot most ex cards, which sucks given the set-up required.
Mega Gengar ex is way more interesting, not only does it have more HP, this Pokémon also has an ability that means if Darkness Pokémon are knocked out by a Pokémon ex's attack, your opponent gets one fewer prize card.
Its attack only deals 230 damage, but it moves an energy to a benched Pokémon rather than discarding it, which is way, way better.
It feels like Gengar could have decent utility on the bench in a dedicated Darkness deck, just sitting there making KO-ing your Pokémon feel pointless. And it seems like the ability even works on itself, meaning your opponent has to be careful about how they take it down.
As your main attacker, Gengar can help load a second Pokémon up with energy, and the new trainer card Air Balloon would allow it to switch out for free. Not bad!
I'm not sure if there's a place for it in the current competitive meta, however. If you need a refresher, check out our list of the best decks going into Worlds 2025. And don't miss our guide to the biggest rare Pokémon cards ever.