Ethan's Typhlosion

What Ethan's Typhlosion looks like when you open the box

Across the 99 lists we counted, this deck runs 14 to 23 Pokémon, 31 to 41 Trainers and 5 to 8 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Fire.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « ethan-typhlosion ». 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: 5 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 takes a while to set up. Ethan's Typhlosion is a Stage 2 Pokémon: you put down the baby, you evolve it, and then you evolve it again. Three cards stacked before anything attacks. That is what the hardest-hitting decks cost you, and it is also where they crack — a fast opponent can bury you before the line is standing.

Look at the Trainers: 31 to 41 cards out of 60, against a median of 31 across the 125 decks we track. Inside that, 9 to 16 Supporters, and the rule there is strict — one a turn, even if you are holding three. The 14 to 21 Items you can play all of in the same turn. It also brings up to 5 Stadiums, and 21 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.

How Ethan's Typhlosion actually wins

Ethan's Typhlosion attacks with Steam Artillery for 160. It needs 3 Energy, 2 Fire and 1 Colorless attached, and it has 170 HP.

The cost of Steam Artillery 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 Ethan's Typhlosion 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.

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 Ethan's TyphlosionStage 2	170	Steam Artillery	160		Water ×2	2
Close Ethan's QuilavaStage 1	100	Combustion	40		Water ×2	1
Close Ethan's CyndaquilBasic	70	Ember	30		Water ×2	1

The core: the 10 cards every list runs

These 10 cards appear in all 99 lists, without a single exception. That is 35 of the 60 slots. The other 25 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 35 slots break down: 19 Trainers, 11 Pokémon, 5 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.

9 of those 10 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Ethan's Cyndaquil (3 to 4), Ethan's Quilava (3 to 4) and Ethan's Typhlosion (3 to 4), plus 6 more. Add those spreads up and you get 16 copies the 99 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 Ethan's Cyndaquil	DRI 32	Pokémon	stays
3–4	Close Ethan's Quilava	DRI 33	Pokémon	stays
3–4	Close Ethan's Typhlosion	DRI 34	Pokémon	stays
4	Close Ethan's Adventure	DRI 165	Trainer	stays
2–4	Close Poké Pad	POR 81	Trainer	stays
1–4	Close Ultra Ball	MEG 131	Trainer	stays
2–4	Close Buddy-Buddy Poffin	TEF 144	Trainer	leaves
2–3	Close Boss's Orders	MEG 114	Trainer	stays
1–4	Close Rare Candy	MEG 125	Trainer	stays
4–6	Fire Energy	MEE 2	Energy	stays

The 71 cards that change from list to list

71 cards fight over the 25 slots that are left: 10 above three lists in four, 52 below one in four, and the percentage on each row says how many players took it.

The most agreed on first: Night Stretcher at 99 %, Brave Bangle at 98 % and Shaymin at 95 %, plus 7 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Gravity Mountain, at 58 %: 57 of 99 players took it, 42 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 1 copy. Right at the bottom of the table, Psyduck (23 lists out of 99) and Black Belt's Training (19 lists out of 99).

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
99 %98/99	Close Night Stretcher	1–3	ASC 196	Trainer
98 %97/99	Close Brave Bangle	1–3	WHT 80	Trainer
95 %94/99	Close Shaymin	1	DRI 10	Pokémon
94 %93/99	Close Victini	1–2	SSP 21	Pokémon
91 %90/99	Close Lillie's Determination	1–4	MEG 119	Trainer
90 %89/99	Close Fezandipiti ex	1	ASC 142	Pokémon
85 %84/99	Close Redeemable Ticket	1	JTG 156	Trainer
84 %83/99	Close Lana's Aid	1–2	TWM 155	Trainer
83 %82/99	Close Kieran	1–2	TWM 154	Trainer
81 %80/99	Close Secret Box	1	TWM 163	Trainer
74 %73/99	Close Battle Cage	1–3	PFL 85	Trainer
74 %73/99	Close Special Red Card	1	CRI 82	Trainer
73 %72/99	Close Drakloak	2–3	TWM 129	Pokémon
73 %72/99	Close Dreepy	2–3	TWM 128	Pokémon
68 %67/99	Close Sacred Ash	1–2	DRI 168	Trainer
58 %57/99	Close Gravity Mountain	1–3	SSP 177	Trainer
33 %33/99	Close Budew	1	ASC 16	Pokémon
29 %29/99	Close Tool Scrapper	1	ASC 212	Trainer
28 %28/99	Close Team Rocket's Petrel	1–3	DRI 176	Trainer
23 %23/99	Close Psyduck	1	ASC 39	Pokémon
19 %19/99	Close Black Belt's Training	1–2	JTG 143	Trainer
14 %14/99	Close Dudunsparce	2–3	TEF 129	Pokémon
14 %14/99	Close Dunsparce	1–3	JTG 120	Pokémon
14 %14/99	Close Team Rocket's Watchtower	1–2	DRI 180	Trainer
13 %13/99	Close Switch	1–2	MEG 130	Trainer
12 %12/99	Close Judge	1	POR 76	Trainer
10 %10/99	Close Air Balloon	1–2	ASC 181	Trainer
10 %10/99	Close Max Rod	1	PRE 116	Trainer
10 %10/99	Close Xerosic's Machinations	1	SFA 64	Trainer
9 %9/99	Close Pikipek	1–4	PBL 66	Pokémon
9 %9/99	Close Toucannon	1–3	PBL 68	Pokémon
9 %9/99	Close Meowth ex	1	POR 62	Pokémon
8 %8/99	Close Trumbeak	1–2	PBL 67	Pokémon
8 %8/99	Close Prism Tower	1–2	CRI 80	Trainer
8 %8/99	Psychic Energy	1–3	MEE 5	Energy
7 %7/99	Close Moltres	1	PFL 14	Pokémon
6 %6/99	Close Dragapult ex	1–2	TWM 130	Pokémon
5 %5/99	Close Dawn	1	PFL 87	Trainer
5 %5/99	Close Pokémon Catcher	1	POR 82	Trainer
4 %4/99	Close Dusknoir	2–3	PRE 37	Pokémon
4 %4/99	Close Duskull	3	PRE 35	Pokémon
4 %4/99	Close Dusclops	2–3	PRE 36	Pokémon
4 %4/99	Close Chi-Yu	1	MEG 31	Pokémon
4 %4/99	Close Brilliant Blender	1	SSP 164	Trainer
4 %4/99	Close Crispin	1–2	SCR 133	Trainer
4 %4/99	Close Hassel	1–2	TWM 151	Trainer
3 %3/99	Close Chi-Yu	1	TWM 39	Pokémon
3 %3/99	Close Lillie's Clefairy ex	1–2	JTG 56	Pokémon
3 %3/99	Close Patrat	1	CRI 70	Pokémon
3 %3/99	Close Energy Retrieval	1	SVI 171	Trainer
2 %2/99	Close Dunsparce	1	TEF 128	Pokémon
2 %2/99	Close Ethan's Pichu	1	DRI 71	Pokémon
2 %2/99	Close Hilda	1–3	WHT 84	Trainer
2 %2/99	Close Energy Recycler	1	DRI 164	Trainer
2 %2/99	Close Enhanced Hammer	1	TWM 148	Trainer
2 %2/99	Close Morty's Conviction	1	TEF 155	Trainer
2 %2/99	Close Neutralization Zone	1	SFA 60	Trainer
2 %2/99	Close Pokégear 3.0	1	SVI 186	Trainer
2 %2/99	Close Prime Catcher	1	TEF 157	Trainer
1 %1/99	Close Tatsugiri	2	TWM 131	Pokémon
1 %1/99	Close Fan Rotom	1	SCR 118	Pokémon
1 %1/99	Close Genesect	1	SFA 40	Pokémon
1 %1/99	Close Team Rocket's Articuno	1	DRI 51	Pokémon
1 %1/99	Close Naveen	3	POR 79	Trainer
1 %1/99	Close Crushing Hammer	2	POR 71	Trainer
1 %1/99	Close Jamming Tower	2	TWM 153	Trainer
1 %1/99	Close Area Zero Underdepths	1	SCR 131	Trainer
1 %1/99	Close Lumiose City	1	POR 77	Trainer
1 %1/99	Close Maximum Belt	1	TEF 154	Trainer
1 %1/99	Close Rosa's Encouragement	1	POR 84	Trainer
1 %1/99	Close Nitro Fire Energy	1	CRI 86	Energy

The most common Ethan's Typhlosion list, all 60 cards

Here they are in full, ready to build. 35 slots come from the core, the cards all 99 lists run. The remaining 25 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 17 more cards to reach 60. The whole thing comes to 20 Pokémon, 35 Trainers and 5 Energy.

One thing to know before you build it: the 99 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: 20
4 Ethan's Cyndaquil DRI 32
4 Ethan's Quilava DRI 33
3 Ethan's Typhlosion DRI 34
1 Shaymin DRI 10
2 Victini SSP 21
1 Fezandipiti ex ASC 142
2 Drakloak TWM 129
2 Dreepy TWM 128
1 Budew ASC 16

Trainer: 35
4 Ethan's Adventure DRI 165
4 Poké Pad POR 81
4 Ultra Ball MEG 131
3 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144
2 Boss's Orders MEG 114
2 Rare Candy MEG 125
2 Night Stretcher ASC 196
2 Brave Bangle WHT 80
3 Lillie's Determination MEG 119
1 Redeemable Ticket JTG 156
1 Lana's Aid TWM 155
1 Kieran TWM 154
1 Secret Box TWM 163
2 Battle Cage PFL 85
1 Special Red Card CRI 82
1 Sacred Ash DRI 168
1 Gravity Mountain SSP 177

Energy: 5
5 Fire Energy MEE 2

Total Cards: 60

How many different cards Ethan's Typhlosion needs, and how long it will last

You need 81 different cards to cover every version of this deck, 10 of which nobody argues about. The rest is where lists differ from one another, and that is where you have room to choose.

All 99 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 80 took Secret Box, 10 took Max Rod and 4 took Brilliant Blender. 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 Secret Box and watch what the others do with theirs before you switch.

Then there is time. 1 of the 10 core cards carries the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation: Buddy-Buddy Poffin. The core table marks it. In copies, that is 3 of the 35 slots the core fills. Which day it lands, we do not know yet.

What Ethan's Typhlosion struggles against

The attackers in this deck are Weak to Water, so they take DOUBLE damage from that type. 20 of the 125 decks we track attack in exactly that type.

Concretely, here is what is waiting for you: Latias ex / Mega Kangaskhan ex (Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex), Mega Greninja ex and Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass, plus 17 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 20 decks out of the 125 we track. The other 105 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 Fire, and 29 of the decks we track have an attacker Weak to one of those: Slowking, Mega Excadrill ex and Teal Mask Ogerpon ex / Meganium / Hydrapple ex, among others. That is you doubling, for once. Second half of the table.