Pokemon TCG’s new golden child could be the “worst” Legendary

At this point, there are a lot of Legendary Pokemon. While the sole existence of Mewtwo, the Legendary birds, and the Mythical Mew back in the days of Red & Blue gave them something of a monopoly on the Legendary moniker, nowadays there are a few dozen of these supposedly powerful Pocket Monsters.

This is thanks in no small part to the additions made by Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, which not only added a handful in its main campaign but also littered even more Legendary Pokemon throughout its expansions. Both The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk add some wild new critters to the crew.

For anyone who watched the Pokemon NAIC 2024 tournament, you may have spotted that a certain new Legendary made a surprising appearance in quite a few of the top TCG decks. And by quite a few, it appeared in six out of the eight top decks played all weekend.

Say hello to Munkidori, a Poison and Psychic-type Legendary that is one prong of the ‘Loyal Trio’ trident, introduced in Kitikami during the Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Teal Mask DLC. Alongside Gardevoir ex, this unsuspecting monkey has taken the TCG by storm, and even Pokemon itself is poking fun at the surprising inclusion.

While it’s not surprising to see a recent Legendary Pokemon make a big splash in the TCG world, like the recent addition of Ogerpon, there is something that makes Munkidori stand out. One of the top VGC players in the world has labeled it the single “worst” Legendary Pokemon ever.

The name Wolfe Glick is known fairly well among competitive Pokemon VGC players, as he has taken not only the World Champion title but multiple regional crowns along the way, even including some this year. Wolfey knows the Pokemon games pretty well and can back it up.

That’s why it might be worth taking him at his word, after in a recent video, he broke down the top ten worst Legendary Pokemon in any of the mainline games, and sadly Munkidori was reigned the champion of this particular lineup.

According to Glick, Munkidori’s placement at the very bottom of the Legendary list is down to poor typing, and its stats. While Poison and Psychic-type isn’t automatically a terrible combination, Munkidori doesn’t have the movepool to utilize its offensive capabilities or cover its glaring weaknesses.

Plenty of other Pokemon players agree with Wolfey’s declaration as well, with one comment below the video saying, “I was sure that I would still remember the legendary Wolfey’s gonna talk about, yet Munkidori is the one I forgot about.”

However, while Munkidori might not be quite hunky dory in mainline game terms, its surprise appearance in the Pokemon TCG during NAIC’s matches is because of its versatility and the ways it can assist the hugely popular Gardevoir ex deck.

In the TCG, the Legendary Monkey can place damage counters on the opponent’s Pokemon once every turn, which helps make the winning Gardevoir deck a touch more versatile.

This means players previously feeling stifled by the deck now have more room for strategy and fun. Perhaps Munkidori might receive some changes in Scarlet & Violet, and some future adjustments to its move set and ability could be just the answer it needs to be just as fearsome in VGC.

If you want to grab yourselves a Munkidori, be sure to check out our guides covering where to buy the Pokemon TCG Twilight Masquerade Build & Battle Box, and where to Pokemon TCG Shrouded Fable Elite Trainer Box.