Archaludon ex

What Archaludon ex looks like when you open the box

Across the 36 lists we counted, this deck runs 11 to 22 Pokémon, 26 to 40 Trainers and 7 to 15 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Metal.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « archaludon-ex ». Every card named in that label turns up in the tables below, which is what makes it a fair name for the deck.

Look at the Energy: 7 to 15 out of 60, exactly the median of the 125 decks we track. It draws neither too much nor too little, so this is not where its games are won or lost.

It sets up fast. Archaludon ex is a Stage 1 Pokémon: a Basic, one evolution on top, and you are attacking. Two cards instead of three. You lose fewer turns building, and you rebuild much more easily when an early knockout lands on you.

Look at the Trainers: 26 to 40 cards out of 60, against a median of 31 across the 125 decks we track. Inside that, 9 to 17 Supporters, and the rule there is strict — one a turn, even if you are holding three. The 12 to 26 Items you can play all of in the same turn. It also brings up to 4 Stadiums, and 87 of the 125 decks we track bring that many or more. Only one Stadium sits on the table at a time: the one you play sends the one already there to the discard pile.

What Tools and Stadiums do — the two Trainer families we skipped here — and why the Energy count says so much: how to read a deck list.

What the card in this deck's name actually does

Archaludon ex gives this deck its name. Here is what is written on it.

Archaludon ex is in all 36 lists, 3 copies of it. Its Ability is called Assemble Alloy, and here is what is printed on it, word for word: « When you play this Pokémon from your hand to evolve 1 of your Pokémon during your turn, you may attach up to 2 Basic {M} Energy cards from your discard pile to your {M} Pokémon in any way you like. »

How Archaludon ex actually wins

Archaludon ex attacks with Metal Defender for 220. It needs 3 Metal Energy attached, and it has 300 HP. And the number is not everything the card says. There is one more line printed under the attack, and it is the one everybody skips: "During your opponent's next turn, this Pokémon has no Weakness."

The cost of Metal Defender decides your first few turns. You only get to attach one Energy a turn, and that attack asks for 3. On your own attachments alone, your first real swing lands on turn 3. Except it charges itself. Archaludon ex, which the list runs 3 of, has an Ability called Assemble Alloy: it digs Energy out of your discard pile and puts it back on one of your Pokémon. Not whenever you feel like it, though. The card itself says when, so read it before you count on it. An Ability costs you nothing: not your attack, not your card for the turn. That is where this deck buys its turns, and it is the first thing to look for in your opening hand.

Here is the detail that quietly loses games. To pull Archaludon ex back to the Bench you have to discard 2 Energy attached to it. Retreating does not cost you your turn, you can step back and still swing right after. What it costs you is the 2 Energy you spent 2 turns attaching, and you start that climb again from nothing. Pack a card that moves it for free, or send it up knowing it stays up.

Archaludon ex carries the "ex" suffix, and your opponent takes 2 Prize cards instead of one when Archaludon ex falls. They need 6 to win: 3 well-placed knockouts on that card beat you, where it would take 6 anywhere else on your Bench.

The attackers in the deck's core, with their best attack, its cost and their Weakness

Pokémon	HP	Attack	Damage	Cost	Weakness	Retreat
Close Archaludon exStage 1	300	Metal Defender	220		Fire ×2	2

The core: the 6 cards every list runs

These 6 cards appear in all 36 lists, without a single exception. That is 28 of the 60 slots. The other 32 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 28 slots break down: 15 Trainers, 3 Pokémon, 10 Energy. Trainers outweigh everything else put together, which is the mark of a deck that goes and fetches its cards rather than waiting to draw them.

6 of those 6 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Archaludon ex (2 to 4), Lillie's Determination (3 to 4) and Poké Pad (2 to 4), plus 3 more. Add those spreads up and you get 17 copies the 36 lists do not agree on, inside the core itself.

What "3 to 4" means in the copies column, what the "TWM 130" code under each name is for, and why we count dozens of lists instead of one: how to read a deck list.

The cards present in every list counted, with the number of copies

Copies	Card	Printing	Kind	Rotation
2–4	Close Archaludon ex	SSP 130	Pokémon	leaves
3–4	Close Lillie's Determination	MEG 119	Trainer	stays
2–4	Close Poké Pad	POR 81	Trainer	stays
3–4	Close Ultra Ball	MEG 131	Trainer	stays
1–4	Close Night Stretcher	ASC 196	Trainer	leaves
7–15	Metal Energy	MEE 8	Energy	stays

The 95 cards that change from list to list

95 cards fight over the 32 slots that are left: 3 above three lists in four, 74 below one in four, and the percentage on each row says how many players took it.

The most agreed on first: Duraludon at 97 %, Relicanth at 94 % and Boss's Orders at 94 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Prism Tower, at 47 %: 17 of 36 players took it, 19 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 3 copies. Right at the bottom of the table, Genesect ex (9 lists out of 36) and Duraludon (8 lists out of 36).

Why a card at 45 % is not a bad card, and what order to buy all this in: how to read a deck list.

The cards some lists run and others don't, most common first

Lists running it	Card	Copies	Printing	Kind
97 %35/36	Close Duraludon	1–4	SCR 106	Pokémon
94 %34/36	Close Relicanth	1–2	TEF 84	Pokémon
94 %34/36	Close Boss's Orders	1–4	MEG 114	Trainer
69 %25/36	Close Special Red Card	1–2	CRI 82	Trainer
67 %24/36	Close Fezandipiti ex	1	ASC 142	Pokémon
61 %22/36	Close Meowth ex	1–2	POR 62	Pokémon
47 %17/36	Close Prism Tower	1–4	CRI 80	Trainer
44 %16/36	Close Jumbo Ice Cream	1–4	PFL 91	Trainer
42 %15/36	Close Mega Mawile ex	1	MEG 94	Pokémon
42 %15/36	Close Pokégear 3.0	1–4	SVI 186	Trainer
39 %14/36	Close Archaludon	1	PFL 75	Pokémon
39 %14/36	Close Psyduck	1	ASC 39	Pokémon
39 %14/36	Close Judge	1–2	POR 76	Trainer
36 %13/36	Close Explorer's Guidance	2–4	TEF 147	Trainer
36 %13/36	Close Philippe	1–2	CRI 79	Trainer
33 %12/36	Close Team Rocket's Petrel	1–4	DRI 176	Trainer
33 %12/36	Close Handheld Fan	1–3	TWM 150	Trainer
31 %11/36	Close Hero's Cape	1	TEF 152	Trainer
31 %11/36	Close Scoop Up Cyclone	1	TWM 162	Trainer
28 %10/36	Close Air Balloon	1–2	ASC 181	Trainer
28 %10/36	Close Carmine	2–4	TWM 145	Trainer
25 %9/36	Close Genesect ex	1–2	BLK 67	Pokémon
22 %8/36	Close Duraludon	1–4	PFL 74	Pokémon
22 %8/36	Close Munkidori	1–3	TWM 95	Pokémon
22 %8/36	Close Archaludon	1	SCR 107	Pokémon
22 %8/36	Close Full Metal Lab	1–3	TEF 148	Trainer
22 %8/36	Close Switch	1–2	MEG 130	Trainer
22 %8/36	Darkness Energy	1–3	MEE 7	Energy
19 %7/36	Close Cinderace	3–4	MEG 28	Pokémon
19 %7/36	Close Crushing Hammer	3–4	POR 71	Trainer
19 %7/36	Close Rare Candy	1–2	MEG 125	Trainer
17 %6/36	Close Bastiodon	2–3	PBL 62	Pokémon
17 %6/36	Close Shieldon	1–3	PBL 61	Pokémon
17 %6/36	Close Antique Armor Fossil	3	PBL 72	Trainer
17 %6/36	Close Team Rocket's Transceiver	1–3	DRI 178	Trainer
17 %6/36	Close Buddy-Buddy Poffin	2–3	TEF 144	Trainer
17 %6/36	Close Fossil Quarry	1–3	PBL 76	Trainer
17 %6/36	Close Kieran	1	TWM 154	Trainer
17 %6/36	Close Magnetic Metal Energy	1–3	CRI 85	Energy
14 %5/36	Close Pokémon Catcher	3–4	POR 82	Trainer
14 %5/36	Close Team Rocket's Factory	2	DRI 173	Trainer
14 %5/36	Close Black Belt's Training	1–2	JTG 143	Trainer
11 %4/36	Close Beldum	3	TEF 113	Pokémon
11 %4/36	Close Metang	3	TEF 114	Pokémon
11 %4/36	Close Mega Skarmory ex	1	POR 55	Pokémon
11 %4/36	Close Metagross	1–2	CRI 61	Pokémon
11 %4/36	Close Patrat	1	CRI 70	Pokémon
11 %4/36	Close Brilliant Blender	1	SSP 164	Trainer
11 %4/36	Close Secret Box	1	TWM 163	Trainer
8 %3/36	Close Shaymin	1	DRI 10	Pokémon
8 %3/36	Close Team Rocket's Watchtower	1–2	DRI 180	Trainer
8 %3/36	Close Colress's Tenacity	1	SFA 57	Trainer
8 %3/36	Close Energy Recycler	1	DRI 164	Trainer
8 %3/36	Close Gwynn	1–2	PBL 78	Trainer
8 %3/36	Close Hilda	1–2	WHT 84	Trainer
8 %3/36	Close Maximum Belt	1	TEF 154	Trainer
8 %3/36	Close Tool Scrapper	1	ASC 212	Trainer
6 %2/36	Close Duskull	2–4	PRE 35	Pokémon
6 %2/36	Close Dusclops	2–3	PRE 36	Pokémon
6 %2/36	Close Dusknoir	1–2	PRE 37	Pokémon
6 %2/36	Close Empoleon ex	2	PFL 70	Pokémon
6 %2/36	Close Piplup	2	PFL 27	Pokémon
6 %2/36	Close Scizor ex	2	TEF 111	Pokémon
6 %2/36	Close Scyther	2	TEF 1	Pokémon
6 %2/36	Close Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex	1	TWM 141	Pokémon
6 %2/36	Close Budew	1	ASC 16	Pokémon
6 %2/36	Close Genesect	1	SFA 40	Pokémon
6 %2/36	Close Klefki	1	POR 59	Pokémon
6 %2/36	Close Prinplup	1	PFL 28	Pokémon
6 %2/36	Close Yveltal	1	30C 100	Pokémon
6 %2/36	Close Iron Defender	1–4	MEG 118	Trainer
6 %2/36	Close Morty's Conviction	1–3	TEF 155	Trainer
6 %2/36	Close Battle Cage	2	PFL 85	Trainer
6 %2/36	Close Energy Search	2	POR 72	Trainer
6 %2/36	Close Gravity Mountain	2	SSP 177	Trainer
6 %2/36	Close Sacred Charm	1–2	PFL 93	Trainer
6 %2/36	Close Acerola's Mischief	1	MEG 113	Trainer
6 %2/36	Close Brock's Scouting	1	JTG 146	Trainer
6 %2/36	Close Precious Trolley	1	SSP 185	Trainer
6 %2/36	Close Sacred Ash	1	DRI 168	Trainer
6 %2/36	Close Mist Energy	1–2	TEF 161	Energy
3 %1/36	Close Drilbur	2	PBL 46	Pokémon
3 %1/36	Close Mega Excadrill ex	1	PBL 65	Pokémon
3 %1/36	Close Tatsugiri	1	TWM 131	Pokémon
3 %1/36	Close Team Rocket's Venture Bomb	3	DRI 179	Trainer
3 %1/36	Close Naveen	2	POR 79	Trainer
3 %1/36	Close Colbur Berry	1	SSP 168	Trainer
3 %1/36	Close Crispin	1	SCR 133	Trainer
3 %1/36	Close Dusk Ball	1	SSP 175	Trainer
3 %1/36	Close Energy Retrieval	1	SVI 171	Trainer
3 %1/36	Close Grand Tree	1	SCR 136	Trainer
3 %1/36	Close Hand Trimmer	1	TEF 150	Trainer
3 %1/36	Close Larry's Skill	1	PRE 115	Trainer
3 %1/36	Close Tremendous Bomb	1	PBL 82	Trainer
3 %1/36	Close Xerosic's Machinations	1	SFA 64	Trainer

The most common Archaludon ex list, all 60 cards

Here they are in full, ready to build. 28 slots come from the core, the cards all 36 lists run. The remaining 32 come from the table just above, working down it: the cards the most players chose, each at its most common copy count, until the total lands on 60.

This list is nobody's list in particular. It takes, slot by slot, what the most people played, under the guardrails a judge would hold you to: never more than four copies of a card, and one ACE SPEC. Behind the core it took 16 more cards to reach 60. The whole thing comes to 13 Pokémon, 37 Trainers and 10 Energy.

One thing to know before you build it: the 36 lists we counted are all from players who came in the top twenty of their tournament. Nobody publishes the lists of the players who lost. So what you have in front of you is what the players finishing near the top bring most often.

One thing to fix before you play: there is no ACE SPEC card in these 60. Players split that slot so many ways that none of their cards climbed high enough to get in, and 36 of the 36 lists carry one. Take Hero's Cape, the most chosen, and drop a card from the bottom of the table to make room.

The text under the table is the one the game expects: copy it, paste it into the deck manager, and the list builds itself.

Why we only read lists from players who came in the top twenty of their tournament, and what that changes about every percentage on this page: how to read a deck list.

Pokémon: 13
3 Archaludon ex SSP 130
4 Duraludon SCR 106
1 Relicanth TEF 84
1 Fezandipiti ex ASC 142
1 Meowth ex POR 62
1 Mega Mawile ex MEG 94
1 Archaludon PFL 75
1 Psyduck ASC 39

Trainer: 37
4 Lillie's Determination MEG 119
4 Poké Pad POR 81
4 Ultra Ball MEG 131
3 Night Stretcher ASC 196
4 Boss's Orders MEG 114
1 Special Red Card CRI 82
3 Prism Tower CRI 80
3 Jumbo Ice Cream PFL 91
3 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186
1 Judge POR 76
3 Explorer's Guidance TEF 147
1 Philippe CRI 79
3 Team Rocket's Petrel DRI 176

Energy: 10
10 Metal Energy MEE 8

Total Cards: 60

How many different cards Archaludon ex needs, and how long it will last

You need 101 different cards to cover every version of this deck, 6 of which nobody argues about. The rest is where lists differ from one another, and that is where you have room to choose.

All 36 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 11 took Hero's Cape, 11 took Scoop Up Cyclone and 4 took Brilliant Blender. The flex table shows you all 7. You are allowed ONE ACE SPEC card in your whole deck, so a single copy covers it whatever it costs. New to this deck? Take Hero's Cape and watch what the others do with theirs before you switch.

Then there is time. 2 of the 6 core cards carry the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation: Archaludon ex and Night Stretcher. The core table marks every one of them. In copies, that is 6 of the 28 slots the core fills. Which day it lands, we do not know yet.

What Archaludon ex struggles against

The attackers in this deck are Weak to Fire, so they take DOUBLE damage from that type. 13 of the 125 decks we track attack in exactly that type.

Concretely, here is what is waiting for you: Dragapult ex / Blaziken ex, Ethan's Typhlosion and Ceruledge ex, plus 10 more decks. The table below takes them one at a time, and those are the lists you practise against first before an event.

This table counts one thing, Weakness, and that comes to 13 decks out of the 125 we track. The other 112 do not attack into yours, and this table says nothing about them. You will still run into them.

Going the other way, your attackers are Metal, and 16 of the decks we track have an attacker Weak to one of those: Dhelmise, Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass and Mew ex, among others. That is you doubling, for once. Second half of the table.