Blissey ex

What Blissey ex looks like when you open the box

Across the 28 lists we counted, this deck runs 13 to 20 Pokémon, 18 to 38 Trainers and 9 to 22 Energy. Its attacks do not ask for any particular type of Energy.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « blissey-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: 9 to 22 out of 60, when half the 132 decks we track run 11 or fewer. This one carries more than most, and you feel it at the table — it wants to load up a big Pokémon and swing hard, even if that means drawing a spare Energy now and then.

It sets up fast. Blissey 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: 18 to 38 cards out of 60, against a median of 31 across the 132 decks we track. Inside that, 7 to 22 Supporters, and the rule there is strict — one a turn, even if you are holding three. The 4 to 21 Items you can play all of in the same turn. It also brings up to 4 Stadiums, and 91 of the 132 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

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

Blissey ex is in all 28 lists, 3 copies of it. Its Ability is called Happy Switch, and here is what is printed on it, word for word: « Once during your turn, you may move a Basic Energy from 1 of your Pokémon to another of your Pokémon. »

How Blissey ex actually wins

Blissey ex attacks with Return for 180. It needs 3 Colorless 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: "You may draw cards until you have 6 cards in your hand."

The cost of Return 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 you are not on your own. Chansey, which the list runs 3 of, has an attack called Lucky Attachment that attaches Energy from your hand on top of the one you already play. That attack takes your attack for the turn, so count it as a setup turn. That is how this deck gets itself charged.

There is another trick in this list, and the whole of it happens in one turn. Team Rocket's Petrel goes into your deck for a Trainer card and puts it in your hand. Precious Trolley is one, and it puts as many Basic Pokémon as you like onto your Bench in one go. A full Bench on turn one is what decides the game in a deck with lines to build. One rule to know: Precious Trolley is an ACE SPEC card. You are allowed just ONE ACE SPEC in your whole deck, so a second copy is never coming, and taking this one means giving up every other. One detail that matters: Team Rocket's Petrel is a Supporter, so that turn you play no other Supporter. Items all still go through.

Here is the detail that quietly loses games. To pull Blissey ex back to the Bench you have to discard 4 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 4 Energy you spent 4 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.

Blissey ex carries the "ex" suffix, and your opponent takes 2 Prize cards instead of one when Blissey 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 Blissey exStage 1	300	Return	180		Fighting ×2	4

The core: the 2 cards every list runs

These 2 cards appear in all 28 lists, without a single exception. That is 7 of the 60 slots. The other 53 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 7 slots break down: 4 Trainers, 3 Pokémon, 0 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.

2 of those 2 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Blissey ex (3 to 4) and Ultra Ball (1 to 4). Add those spreads up and you get 4 copies the 28 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
3–4	Close Blissey ex	TWM 134	Pokémon	leaves
1–4	Close Ultra Ball	MEG 131	Trainer	stays

The 105 cards that change from list to list

105 cards fight over the 53 slots that are left: 8 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: Chansey at 96 %, Lillie's Determination at 96 % and Boss's Orders at 96 %, plus 5 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Lightning Energy, at 50 %: 14 of 28 players took it, 14 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 4 copies. Right at the bottom of the table, Galvantula (7 lists out of 28) and Patrat (7 lists out of 28).

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
96 %27/28	Close Chansey	3–4	TWM 133	Pokémon
96 %27/28	Close Lillie's Determination	4	MEG 119	Trainer
96 %27/28	Close Boss's Orders	2–4	MEG 114	Trainer
96 %27/28	Close Night Stretcher	1–3	ASC 196	Trainer
89 %25/28	Close Poké Pad	1–4	POR 81	Trainer
79 %22/28	Close Precious Trolley	1	SSP 185	Trainer
79 %22/28	Close Switch	1–4	MEG 130	Trainer
75 %21/28	Close Team Rocket's Petrel	3–4	DRI 176	Trainer
71 %20/28	Close Meowth ex	1–3	POR 62	Pokémon
64 %18/28	Grass Energy	2–10	MEE 1	Energy
61 %17/28	Close Munkidori	2–4	TWM 95	Pokémon
61 %17/28	Darkness Energy	2–5	MEE 7	Energy
57 %16/28	Close Special Red Card	1–2	CRI 82	Trainer
50 %14/28	Lightning Energy	1–4	MEE 4	Energy
46 %13/28	Close Fezandipiti ex	1	ASC 142	Pokémon
46 %13/28	Close Area Zero Underdepths	2–3	SCR 131	Trainer
46 %13/28	Close Team Rocket's Factory	1–2	DRI 173	Trainer
46 %13/28	Close Air Balloon	1	ASC 181	Trainer
46 %13/28	Close Energy Search	1	POR 72	Trainer
43 %12/28	Close Joltik	2	SCR 50	Pokémon
39 %11/28	Close Crispin	1–3	SCR 133	Trainer
39 %11/28	Close Glass Trumpet	1–4	SCR 135	Trainer
36 %10/28	Close Galvantula ex	1	SCR 51	Pokémon
36 %10/28	Close Latias ex	1	SSP 76	Pokémon
36 %10/28	Metal Energy	1–22	MEE 16	Energy
36 %10/28	Psychic Energy	1–9	MEE 5	Energy
32 %9/28	Close Pikachu ex	1–2	SSP 57	Pokémon
32 %9/28	Close Pokégear 3.0	3–4	SVI 186	Trainer
32 %9/28	Close Judge	1–3	POR 76	Trainer
29 %8/28	Close Jumbo Ice Cream	1–2	PFL 91	Trainer
29 %8/28	Fighting Energy	1–14	MEE 6	Energy
25 %7/28	Close Galvantula	1	SFA 2	Pokémon
25 %7/28	Close Patrat	1	CRI 70	Pokémon
25 %7/28	Close Hilda	2	WHT 84	Trainer
25 %7/28	Close Light Ball	1–2	ASC 191	Trainer
21 %6/28	Close Lillie's Clefairy ex	1–2	JTG 56	Pokémon
21 %6/28	Close Ignition Energy	4	WHT 86	Energy
18 %5/28	Close Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex	1–2	TWM 112	Pokémon
18 %5/28	Close Crustle	1–2	DRI 12	Pokémon
18 %5/28	Close Dwebble	1–2	DRI 11	Pokémon
18 %5/28	Close Chien-Pao	1	SSP 56	Pokémon
18 %5/28	Close Psyduck	1	ASC 39	Pokémon
18 %5/28	Close Buddy-Buddy Poffin	1–2	TEF 144	Trainer
18 %5/28	Close Prism Tower	2	CRI 80	Trainer
18 %5/28	Close Bianca's Devotion	1	TEF 142	Trainer
14 %4/28	Close Teal Mask Ogerpon ex	3	TWM 25	Pokémon
14 %4/28	Close Mega Absol ex	1	MEG 86	Pokémon
14 %4/28	Close Heavy Baton	2	TEF 151	Trainer
14 %4/28	Close Hero's Cape	1	TEF 152	Trainer
14 %4/28	Close Xerosic's Machinations	1–2	SFA 64	Trainer
11 %3/28	Close Flutter Mane	1	TEF 78	Pokémon
11 %3/28	Close Mega Kangaskhan ex	1–2	MEG 104	Pokémon
11 %3/28	Close Surfer	1–4	SSP 187	Trainer
7 %2/28	Close Chewtle	2	SCR 43	Pokémon
7 %2/28	Close Drednaw	2	SCR 44	Pokémon
7 %2/28	Close Pecharunt	1	SVP 149	Pokémon
7 %2/28	Close Terapagos ex	1	SCR 128	Pokémon
7 %2/28	Close Wo-Chien	1	SSP 15	Pokémon
7 %2/28	Close Bug Catching Set	2	TWM 143	Trainer
7 %2/28	Close Iris's Fighting Spirit	1–2	JTG 149	Trainer
7 %2/28	Close Fennel	1	BLK 82	Trainer
7 %2/28	Close Unfair Stamp	1	TWM 165	Trainer
7 %2/28	Close Mist Energy	2–3	TEF 161	Energy
7 %2/28	Water Energy	1	MEE 11	Energy
4 %1/28	Close Mega Lucario ex	4	MEG 77	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Okidogi	4	ASC 122	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Riolu	4	MEG 76	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Beldum	3	TEF 113	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Cofagrigus	3	WHT 40	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Metang	3	TEF 114	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Yamask	3	SSP 82	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Bloodmoon Ursaluna	2	PRE 54	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Chi-Yu	2	PBL 59	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Genesect ex	2	BLK 67	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex	1	TWM 141	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Electrike	1	MEG 49	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Enamorus	1	TWM 93	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Iron Leaves	1	TWM 19	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Manectric	1	PBL 24	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Mega Manectric ex	1	MEG 50	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Mega Skarmory ex	1	POR 55	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Pecharunt ex	1	SFA 39	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Smoochum	1	SSP 75	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Yveltal	1	30C 100	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Wondrous Patch	4	PFL 94	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Team Rocket's Venture Bomb	3	DRI 179	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Brock's Scouting	2	JTG 146	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Dawn	2	PFL 87	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Energy Retrieval	2	SVI 171	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Fighting Gong	2	MEG 116	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Morty's Conviction	2	TEF 155	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Nighttime Mine	2	ASC 197	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Risky Ruins	2	MEG 127	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Tera Orb	2	SSP 189	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Academy at Night	1	SFA 54	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close AZ's Tranquility	1	CRI 76	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Black Belt's Training	1	JTG 143	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Ciphermaniac's Codebreaking	1	TEF 145	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Colress's Tenacity	1	SFA 57	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Counter Gain	1	SSP 169	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Energy Swatter	1	POR 73	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Jamming Tower	1	TWM 153	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Kieran	1	TWM 154	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Lana's Aid	1	TWM 155	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Team Rocket's Transceiver	1	DRI 178	Trainer

The most common Blissey ex list, all 60 cards

Here they are in full, ready to build. 7 slots come from the core, the cards all 28 lists run. The remaining 53 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 24 more cards to reach 60. The whole thing comes to 16 Pokémon, 33 Trainers and 11 Energy.

One thing to know before you build it: the 28 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.

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: 16
3 Blissey ex TWM 134
3 Chansey TWM 133
1 Meowth ex POR 62
4 Munkidori TWM 95
1 Fezandipiti ex ASC 142
2 Joltik SCR 50
1 Galvantula ex SCR 51
1 Latias ex SSP 76

Trainer: 33
4 Ultra Ball MEG 131
4 Lillie's Determination MEG 119
3 Boss's Orders MEG 114
2 Night Stretcher ASC 196
1 Poké Pad POR 81
1 Precious Trolley SSP 185
1 Switch MEG 130
4 Team Rocket's Petrel DRI 176
1 Special Red Card CRI 82
2 Area Zero Underdepths SCR 131
2 Team Rocket's Factory DRI 173
1 Air Balloon ASC 181
1 Energy Search POR 72
3 Crispin SCR 133
3 Glass Trumpet SCR 135

Energy: 11
4 Grass Energy MEE 1
3 Darkness Energy MEE 7
4 Lightning Energy MEE 4

Total Cards: 60

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

You need 107 different cards to cover every version of this deck, 2 of which nobody argues about. The rest is where lists differ from one another, and that is where you have room to choose.

All 28 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 22 took Precious Trolley, 4 took Hero's Cape and 2 took Unfair Stamp. 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 Precious Trolley and watch what the others do with theirs before you switch.

Then there is time. 1 of the 2 core cards carries the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation: Blissey ex. The core table marks it. In copies, that is 3 of the 7 slots the core fills. Which day it lands, we do not know yet.

What Blissey ex struggles against

The attackers in this deck are Weak to Fighting, so they take DOUBLE damage from that type. 13 of the 132 decks we track attack in exactly that type.

Concretely, here is what is waiting for you: Mega Lucario ex / Hariyama, Cynthia's Garchomp ex and Mega Lucario 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 132 we track. The other 119 do not attack into yours, and this table says nothing about them. You will still run into them.

Going the other way, none of the 132 decks we track have an attacker Weak to your types. So you are not going to win trades on Weakness — you will have to win them on raw damage.