Dudunsparce

What Dudunsparce looks like when you open the box

Across the 31 lists we counted, this deck runs 15 to 26 Pokémon, 26 to 39 Trainers and 2 to 8 Energy. Its attacks do not ask for any particular type of Energy.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « dudunsparce-control ». The cards we can recognise in that label are Dudunsparce. The bit « control » does not point at any one card in the list, so we leave it out of the name rather than make up a meaning.

Look at the Energy: 2 to 8 out of 60, when half the 125 decks we track run 11 or more. This one is lean. It lives on cheap attacks and leans on Trainers to find the right Energy at the right moment rather than stockpiling it.

It sets up fast. Dudunsparce 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 39 cards out of 60, against a median of 31 across the 125 decks we track. Inside that, 7 to 15 Supporters, and the rule there is strict — one a turn, even if you are holding three. The 9 to 22 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

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

Dudunsparce is in all 31 lists, 4 copies of it. Its Ability is called Run Away Draw, and here is what is printed on it, word for word: « Once during your turn, you may draw 3 cards. If you drew any cards in this way, shuffle this Pokémon and all attached cards into your deck. »

How Dudunsparce actually wins

Dudunsparce attacks with Land Crush for 90. It needs 3 Colorless Energy attached, and it has 140 HP.

The cost of Land Crush 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. We have not found anything in this list that attaches Energy faster than that, so plan on holding out for 2 turns before you swing. Those turns still get played: you fill your Bench, you build your lines, and you keep something back to rebuild with when your attacker falls.

Here is the detail that quietly loses games. To pull Dudunsparce back to the Bench you have to discard 3 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 3 Energy you spent 3 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.

Not one ex Pokémon in the core, and only 26 of the 125 decks we track are in that position. It is a hidden advantage: every knockout your opponent takes is worth a single Prize, so they need 6, where 3 would do against a deck stuffed with ex cards.

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

Pokémon	HP	Attack	Damage	Cost	Weakness	Retreat
Close DudunsparceStage 1	140	Land Crush	90		Fighting ×2	3
Close ElgyemBasic	60	Beam	40		Darkness ×2	1

The core: the 8 cards every list runs

These 8 cards appear in all 31 lists, without a single exception. That is 21 of the 60 slots. The other 39 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 21 slots break down: 16 Trainers, 5 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.

7 of those 8 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Dudunsparce (3 to 4), Elgyem (1 to 2) and Buddy-Buddy Poffin (2 to 4), plus 4 more. Add those spreads up and you get 10 copies the 31 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 Dudunsparce	TEF 129	Pokémon	leaves
1–2	Close Elgyem	BLK 40	Pokémon	stays
2–4	Close Buddy-Buddy Poffin	TEF 144	Trainer	leaves
3–4	Close Lillie's Determination	MEG 119	Trainer	stays
4	Close Poké Pad	POR 81	Trainer	stays
1–2	Close Night Stretcher	ASC 196	Trainer	leaves
1–3	Close Boss's Orders	MEG 114	Trainer	stays
1–3	Close Handheld Fan	TWM 150	Trainer	leaves

The 82 cards that change from list to list

82 cards fight over the 39 slots that are left: 5 above three lists in four, 42 below one in four, and the percentage on each row says how many players took it.

The most agreed on first: Psychic Energy at 97 %, Prism Energy at 94 % and Dunsparce at 87 %, plus 2 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Comfey, at 52 %: 16 of 31 players took it, 15 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 1 copy. Right at the bottom of the table, Latias ex (7 lists out of 31) and Ultra Ball (7 lists out of 31).

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 %30/31	Psychic Energy	1–4	MEE 5	Energy
94 %29/31	Close Prism Energy	1–4	ASC 216	Energy
87 %27/31	Close Dunsparce	2–4	JTG 120	Pokémon
87 %27/31	Close Psyduck	1	ASC 39	Pokémon
84 %26/31	Close Ethan's Sudowoodo	1	DRI 93	Pokémon
71 %22/31	Close Lana's Aid	1	TWM 155	Trainer
71 %22/31	Close Redeemable Ticket	1	JTG 156	Trainer
68 %21/31	Close Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex	1	TWM 112	Pokémon
68 %21/31	Close Fan Rotom	1	SCR 118	Pokémon
68 %21/31	Close Shaymin	1	DRI 10	Pokémon
58 %18/31	Close Ruffian	1	JTG 157	Trainer
55 %17/31	Close Shuckle	1–3	MEG 11	Pokémon
55 %17/31	Close Rust Syndicate Grunt	1–2	PBL 81	Trainer
52 %16/31	Close Comfey	1	SCR 63	Pokémon
52 %16/31	Close Dedenne	1–3	SSP 87	Pokémon
52 %16/31	Close Gwynn	2–4	PBL 78	Trainer
52 %16/31	Close Hero's Cape	1	TEF 152	Trainer
48 %15/31	Close Eevee	2	SSP 143	Pokémon
48 %15/31	Close Rabsca	2	TEF 24	Pokémon
48 %15/31	Close Rellor	2	TEF 23	Pokémon
48 %15/31	Close Sylveon	1–2	PRE 40	Pokémon
48 %15/31	Close Forest of Vitality	2	MEG 117	Trainer
48 %15/31	Close Lumiose City	1	POR 77	Trainer
48 %15/31	Close Sacred Ash	1	DRI 168	Trainer
48 %15/31	Grass Energy	2	MEE 1	Energy
48 %15/31	Close Rocky Fighting Energy	2	POR 87	Energy
39 %12/31	Close Clefairy	1–2	POR 30	Pokémon
39 %12/31	Close Dunsparce	1–4	TEF 128	Pokémon
39 %12/31	Close Hassel	1	TWM 151	Trainer
39 %12/31	Close Xerosic's Machinations	1–2	SFA 64	Trainer
32 %10/31	Close Gravity Gemstone	1–3	SCR 137	Trainer
32 %10/31	Fighting Energy	1	MEE 6	Energy
29 %9/31	Close Eri	1–2	TEF 146	Trainer
26 %8/31	Close Bastiodon	2–3	PBL 62	Pokémon
26 %8/31	Close Cubchoo	1	BLK 25	Pokémon
26 %8/31	Close Shieldon	1–3	PBL 61	Pokémon
26 %8/31	Close Antique Armor Fossil	3–4	PBL 72	Trainer
26 %8/31	Close Fossil Quarry	1–3	PBL 76	Trainer
26 %8/31	Close Hilda	1–2	WHT 84	Trainer
26 %8/31	Close Rare Candy	1–4	MEG 125	Trainer
23 %7/31	Close Latias ex	1–2	SSP 76	Pokémon
23 %7/31	Close Ultra Ball	1–4	MEG 131	Trainer
23 %7/31	Close Accompanying Flute	1–2	TWM 142	Trainer
23 %7/31	Close Battle Cage	1–2	PFL 85	Trainer
23 %7/31	Close Switch	1–2	MEG 130	Trainer
23 %7/31	Water Energy	1	MEE 3	Energy
19 %6/31	Close Drilbur	1	SSP 108	Pokémon
19 %6/31	Close Special Red Card	1	CRI 82	Trainer
19 %6/31	Close Unfair Stamp	1	TWM 165	Trainer
19 %6/31	Close Telepathic Psychic Energy	2	POR 88	Energy
19 %6/31	Close Magnetic Metal Energy	1–2	CRI 85	Energy
16 %5/31	Close Team Rocket's Larvitar	1	DRI 94	Pokémon
13 %4/31	Close Lillie's Cutiefly	1	JTG 66	Pokémon
13 %4/31	Close Lillie's Ribombee	1	JTG 67	Pokémon
13 %4/31	Close Miracle Headset	1	SSP 183	Trainer
10 %3/31	Close Budew	1	ASC 16	Pokémon
10 %3/31	Close Team Rocket's Articuno	1	DRI 51	Pokémon
10 %3/31	Close Totodile	1	TEF 39	Pokémon
10 %3/31	Close Crushing Hammer	2–4	POR 71	Trainer
10 %3/31	Close Nighttime Mine	1–4	ASC 197	Trainer
10 %3/31	Close Enhanced Hammer	1–2	TWM 148	Trainer
10 %3/31	Close Dawn	1–4	PFL 87	Trainer
6 %2/31	Close Patrat	1	CRI 70	Pokémon
6 %2/31	Close Turtonator	1	POR 17	Pokémon
6 %2/31	Close Meddling Memo	1	SSP 181	Trainer
6 %2/31	Close Scoop Up Cyclone	1	TWM 162	Trainer
6 %2/31	Close Legacy Energy	1	TWM 167	Energy
3 %1/31	Close Flygon	4	PFL 53	Pokémon
3 %1/31	Close Trapinch	4	PFL 51	Pokémon
3 %1/31	Close Ducklett	1	WHT 25	Pokémon
3 %1/31	Close Maractus	1	JTG 8	Pokémon
3 %1/31	Close Vibrava	1	SSP 105	Pokémon
3 %1/31	Close Vibrava	1	PFL 52	Pokémon
3 %1/31	Close Colress's Tenacity	3	SFA 57	Trainer
3 %1/31	Close Tarragon	3	POR 85	Trainer
3 %1/31	Close Dark Bell	2	PBL 75	Trainer
3 %1/31	Close Brock's Scouting	1	JTG 146	Trainer
3 %1/31	Close Grand Tree	1	SCR 136	Trainer
3 %1/31	Close Kieran	1	TWM 154	Trainer
3 %1/31	Close Lisia's Appeal	1	SSP 179	Trainer
3 %1/31	Close Pokégear 3.0	1	SVI 186	Trainer
3 %1/31	Close Mist Energy	4	TEF 161	Energy

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

You need 90 different cards to cover every version of this deck, 8 of which nobody argues about. The rest is where lists differ from one another, and that is where you have room to choose.

All 31 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 16 took Hero's Cape, 6 took Unfair Stamp and 4 took Miracle Headset. The flex table shows you all 6. 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. 4 of the 8 core cards carry the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation: Dudunsparce, Buddy-Buddy Poffin, Night Stretcher and Handheld Fan. The core table marks every one of them. In copies, that is 11 of the 21 slots the core fills. Which day it lands, we do not know yet.

What Dudunsparce struggles against

The attackers in this deck are Weak to Fighting and Darkness, so they take DOUBLE damage from those types. 32 of the 125 decks we track attack in exactly those types.

Concretely, here is what is waiting for you: N's Zoroark ex, Mega Lucario ex / Hariyama and Mega Sharpedo ex / Toxtricity, plus 29 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 32 decks out of the 125 we track. The other 93 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 , and 6 of the decks we track have an attacker Weak to one of those: Mega Lucario ex / Hariyama, Mega Lucario ex and Greninja ex, among others. That is you doubling, for once. Second half of the table.