Flareon ex

What Flareon ex looks like when you open the box

Across the 21 lists we counted, this deck runs 16 to 24 Pokémon, 23 to 33 Trainers and 9 to 20 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Fire, Water and Lightning.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « flareon-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 20 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. Flareon 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: 23 to 33 cards out of 60, against a median of 31 across the 132 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 7 to 19 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.

How Flareon ex actually wins

Flareon ex attacks with Carnelian for 280. It needs 3 Energy, 1 Fire, 1 Water and 1 Lightning attached, and it has 270 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 next turn, this Pokémon can't attack."

The cost of Carnelian 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. Crispin, which the list runs 3 of, looks at the top of your deck and attaches the Energy it finds there. Flareon ex does the same job. That is where this deck buys its turns, and it is the first thing to look for in your opening hand.

Energy is not your only clock. Eevee has to climb a step before it becomes Flareon ex, and an evolution asleep at the bottom of your deck does you no good at all. The list has that covered. Hilda, which the list runs 2 of, goes into your deck for an evolution. Careful, though: only 11 of the 21 lists bring it, so it is a choice, and players are still arguing about it.

Here is the detail that quietly loses games. To pull Flareon 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.

Flareon ex carries the "ex" suffix, and your opponent takes 2 Prize cards instead of one when Flareon 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 Flareon exStage 1	270	Carnelian	280		Water ×2	2

The core: the 2 cards every list runs

These 2 cards appear in all 21 lists, without a single exception. That is 6 of the 60 slots. The other 54 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 6 slots break down: 0 Trainers, 2 Pokémon, 4 Energy. Pokémon dominate, which is unusual: this deck needs bodies on the board, and it depends on any single attacker less than it looks.

2 of those 2 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Flareon ex (2 to 3) and Fire Energy (2 to 8). Add those spreads up and you get 7 copies the 21 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
2–3	Close Flareon ex	PRE 14	Pokémon	leaves
2–8	Fire Energy	MEE 10	Energy	stays

The 119 cards that change from list to list

119 cards fight over the 54 slots that are left: 9 above three lists in four, 81 below one in four, and the percentage on each row says how many players took it.

The most agreed on first: Crispin at 95 %, Water Energy at 90 % and Boss's Orders at 86 %, plus 6 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Fezandipiti ex, at 52 %: 11 of 21 players took it, 10 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 1 copy. Right at the bottom of the table, Lugia (5 lists out of 21) and Eevee (5 lists out of 21).

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
95 %20/21	Close Crispin	2–4	SCR 133	Trainer
90 %19/21	Water Energy	1–4	MEE 11	Energy
86 %18/21	Close Boss's Orders	2–4	MEG 114	Trainer
86 %18/21	Lightning Energy	2–6	MEE 12	Energy
81 %17/21	Close Eevee ex	1–4	PRE 75	Pokémon
81 %17/21	Close Lillie's Determination	1–4	MEG 119	Trainer
76 %16/21	Close Eevee	1–4	SSP 143	Pokémon
76 %16/21	Close Area Zero Underdepths	2–4	SCR 131	Trainer
76 %16/21	Close Night Stretcher	1–2	ASC 196	Trainer
67 %14/21	Close Buddy-Buddy Poffin	1–4	TEF 144	Trainer
67 %14/21	Close Cyrano	1–3	SSP 170	Trainer
62 %13/21	Close Noctowl	2	SCR 115	Pokémon
62 %13/21	Close Ultra Ball	2–4	MEG 131	Trainer
57 %12/21	Close Poké Pad	2–4	POR 81	Trainer
57 %12/21	Close Sparkling Crystal	1	SCR 142	Trainer
57 %12/21	Close Special Red Card	1	CRI 82	Trainer
57 %12/21	Psychic Energy	1–4	MEE 13	Energy
52 %11/21	Close Fezandipiti ex	1	ASC 142	Pokémon
52 %11/21	Close Hilda	1–4	WHT 84	Trainer
52 %11/21	Grass Energy	1–8	MEE 9	Energy
48 %10/21	Close Leafeon ex	1–2	PRE 6	Pokémon
48 %10/21	Close Meowth ex	1–3	POR 62	Pokémon
38 %8/21	Close Glass Trumpet	1–3	SCR 135	Trainer
33 %7/21	Close Hoothoot	2	TEF 126	Pokémon
33 %7/21	Close Sylveon ex	1–2	SSP 86	Pokémon
33 %7/21	Close Jolteon ex	1–2	PRE 30	Pokémon
33 %7/21	Close Latias ex	1–2	SSP 76	Pokémon
33 %7/21	Close Lillie's Clefairy ex	1–2	JTG 56	Pokémon
33 %7/21	Close Switch	1–2	MEG 130	Trainer
33 %7/21	Close Energy Recycler	1–2	DRI 164	Trainer
33 %7/21	Close Judge	1–2	POR 76	Trainer
33 %7/21	Darkness Energy	1–5	MEE 7	Energy
29 %6/21	Close Hoothoot	2–3	SCR 114	Pokémon
29 %6/21	Close Eevee	1–3	TWM 135	Pokémon
29 %6/21	Close Fan Rotom	1–2	SCR 118	Pokémon
29 %6/21	Close Vaporeon ex	1	PRE 23	Pokémon
29 %6/21	Close Air Balloon	1–2	ASC 181	Trainer
29 %6/21	Close Briar	1	SCR 132	Trainer
24 %5/21	Close Lugia	2–4	30C 121	Pokémon
24 %5/21	Close Eevee	1–2	30C 116	Pokémon
24 %5/21	Close Jirachi ex	1	30C 102	Pokémon
24 %5/21	Close Eri	1	TEF 146	Trainer
24 %5/21	Close Team Rocket's Petrel	1–2	DRI 176	Trainer
24 %5/21	Fighting Energy	1–3	MEE 14	Energy
24 %5/21	Metal Energy	1–2	MEE 8	Energy
19 %4/21	Close Mega Kangaskhan ex	2–3	MEG 104	Pokémon
19 %4/21	Close Sylveon ex	2–3	30C 71	Pokémon
19 %4/21	Close Eevee	1	SFA 50	Pokémon
19 %4/21	Close Energy Search	1–3	POR 72	Trainer
19 %4/21	Close Black Belt's Training	1	JTG 143	Trainer
14 %3/21	Close Chien-Pao	1	SSP 56	Pokémon
14 %3/21	Close Lapras ex	1–2	SCR 32	Pokémon
14 %3/21	Close Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex	1–2	TWM 64	Pokémon
14 %3/21	Close Energy Switch	1–3	MEG 115	Trainer
14 %3/21	Close Community Center	2	TWM 146	Trainer
14 %3/21	Close Tera Orb	2–3	SSP 189	Trainer
14 %3/21	Close Ciphermaniac's Codebreaking	1–2	TEF 145	Trainer
14 %3/21	Close Hero's Cape	1	TEF 152	Trainer
14 %3/21	Close Kieran	1	TWM 154	Trainer
14 %3/21	Close Powerglass	1–2	SFA 63	Trainer
14 %3/21	Close Prime Catcher	1	TEF 157	Trainer
10 %2/21	Close Dudunsparce	1–2	TEF 129	Pokémon
10 %2/21	Close Dunsparce	1–2	JTG 120	Pokémon
10 %2/21	Close Teal Mask Ogerpon ex	1–2	TWM 25	Pokémon
10 %2/21	Close Budew	1	ASC 16	Pokémon
10 %2/21	Close Chi-Yu	1	TWM 39	Pokémon
10 %2/21	Close Enamorus	1	TWM 93	Pokémon
10 %2/21	Close Espeon	1	30C 69	Pokémon
10 %2/21	Close Pikachu ex	1	30C 54	Pokémon
10 %2/21	Close Umbreon ex	1	PRE 60	Pokémon
10 %2/21	Close Dusk Ball	2	SSP 175	Trainer
10 %2/21	Close Gravity Mountain	2	SSP 177	Trainer
10 %2/21	Close Rare Candy	1–2	MEG 125	Trainer
10 %2/21	Close Waitress	1–2	ASC 215	Trainer
10 %2/21	Close Jasmine's Gaze	1	SSP 178	Trainer
10 %2/21	Close Tool Scrapper	1	ASC 212	Trainer
10 %2/21	Close Legacy Energy	1	TWM 167	Energy
5 %1/21	Close Dratini	4	ASC 150	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Cinderace	3	MEG 28	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Deino	3	SSP 117	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close N's Zoroark ex	3	JTG 98	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close N's Zorua	3	JTG 97	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Tynamo	3	ASC 59	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Dragonair	2	ASC 151	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Eelektrik	2	ASC 60	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Hydreigon ex	2	SSP 119	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Mega Dragonite ex	2	ASC 152	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Mew ex	2	30C 66	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Munkidori	2	TWM 95	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Raging Bolt ex	2	TEF 123	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Zweilous	2	SSP 118	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Chi-Yu	1	MEG 31	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Cottonee	1	WHT 4	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Crustle	1	DRI 12	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Ditto	1	30C 115	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Dwebble	1	BLK 51	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Emolga	1	BLK 29	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Ho-Oh	1	30C 12	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Joltik	1	SCR 50	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Mega Audino ex	1	ASC 172	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Moltres	1	PFL 14	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close N's Reshiram	1	JTG 116	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close N's Zekrom	1	ASC 155	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Paldean Tauros	1	SSP 18	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Stunfisk	1	ASC 62	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Whimsicott ex	1	WHT 5	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Yveltal	1	MEG 88	Pokémon
5 %1/21	Close Backtrack Badge	2	PBL 74	Trainer
5 %1/21	Close Bug Catching Set	2	TWM 143	Trainer
5 %1/21	Close N's Castle	2	JTG 152	Trainer
5 %1/21	Close N's PP Up	2	JTG 153	Trainer
5 %1/21	Close Pokégear 3.0	2	SVI 186	Trainer
5 %1/21	Close Xerosic's Machinations	2	SFA 64	Trainer
5 %1/21	Close Battle Cage	1	PFL 85	Trainer
5 %1/21	Close Blowtorch	1	PFL 86	Trainer
5 %1/21	Close Energy Retrieval	1	SVI 171	Trainer
5 %1/21	Close Energy Search Pro	1	SSP 176	Trainer
5 %1/21	Close Jumbo Ice Cream	1	PFL 91	Trainer
5 %1/21	Close Lively Stadium	1	SSP 180	Trainer

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

You need 121 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 21 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 12 took Sparkling Crystal, 3 took Hero's Cape and 3 took Prime Catcher. The flex table shows you all 5. 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 Sparkling Crystal 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: Flareon ex. The core table marks it. In copies, that is 2 of the 6 slots the core fills. Which day it lands, we do not know yet.

What Flareon ex struggles against

The attackers in this deck are Weak to Water, so they take DOUBLE damage from that type. 22 of the 132 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 19 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 22 decks out of the 132 we track. The other 110 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, Water and Lightning, 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.