Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass deck: the core, the flex slots, and what beats it

What Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass looks like when you open the box

Across the 28 lists we counted, this deck runs 19 to 23 Pokémon, 28 to 32 Trainers and 8 to 10 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Darkness, Water and Psychic.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « grimmsnarl-froslass ». 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: 8 to 10 out of 60, when half the 97 decks we track run 10 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. Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex 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: 28 to 32 cards out of 60, against a median of 31 across the 97 decks we track. Inside that, 8 to 13 Supporters, and the rule there is strict — one a turn, even if you are holding three. The 12 to 17 Items you can play all of in the same turn. It also brings up to 4 Stadiums, and 57 of the 97 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 cards in this deck's name actually do

Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex and Froslass give this deck its name. Here is what is written on them.

Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex is in all 28 lists, 3 copies of it. Its Ability is called Punk Up, 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 search your deck for up to 5 Basic {D} Energy cards and attach them to your Marnie's Pokémon in any way you like. Then, shuffle your deck. »

Froslass is in all 28 lists, 3 copies of it. Its Ability is called Freezing Shroud, and here is what is printed on it, word for word: « During Pokémon Checkup, put 1 damage counter on each Pokémon that has an Ability (both yours and your opponent's), except any Froslass. »

How Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass actually wins

Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex attacks with Shadow Bullet for 180. It needs 2 Darkness Energy attached, and it has 320 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: "This attack also does 30 damage to 1 of your opponent's Benched Pokémon. (Don't apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokémon.)"

The cost of Shadow Bullet decides your first few turns. You only get to attach one Energy a turn, and that attack asks for 2. On your own attachments alone, your first real swing lands on turn 2. Except it charges itself. Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex, which the list runs 3 of, has an Ability called Punk Up: it goes into your deck for Energy and attaches it. 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 Marnie's Grimmsnarl 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.

Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex carries the "ex" suffix, and your opponent takes 2 Prize cards instead of one when Marnie's Grimmsnarl 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 Marnie's Grimmsnarl exStage 2	320	Shadow Bullet	180	Darkness + Darkness	Grass ×2	2
Close FroslassStage 1	90	Frost Smash	60	Water + Colorless	Metal ×2	1
Close Marnie's MorgremStage 1	100	Corkscrew Punch	60	Darkness + Darkness	Grass ×2	1
Close MunkidoriBasic	110	Mind Bend	60	Psychic + Colorless	Darkness ×2	1

The core: the 16 cards every list runs

These 16 cards appear in all 28 lists, without a single exception. That is 51 of the 60 slots. The other 9 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 51 slots break down: 21 Trainers, 21 Pokémon, 9 Energy. Nothing stands out in that split. What sets this deck apart is how thick its core is: 51 of the 60 slots are the same for everybody, when half the 97 decks we track fix 34 or fewer. Fewer choices left to you than usual, and fewer ways to get them wrong.

14 of those 16 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Marnie's Impidimp (3 to 4), Munkidori (3 to 4) and Froslass (2 to 3), plus 11 more. Add those spreads up and you get 17 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 Marnie's Impidimp	DRI 134	Pokémon	stays
3–4	Close Munkidori	TWM 95	Pokémon	leaves
2–3	Close Froslass	TWM 53	Pokémon	leaves
2–3	Close Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex	DRI 136	Pokémon	stays
2–3	Close Snorunt	ASC 46	Pokémon	stays
1–2	Close Budew	ASC 16	Pokémon	leaves
2–3	Close Marnie's Morgrem	DRI 135	Pokémon	stays
4	Close Lillie's Determination	MEG 119	Trainer	stays
3–4	Close Poké Pad	POR 81	Trainer	stays
3–4	Close Spikemuth Gym	DRI 169	Trainer	stays
2–3	Close Boss's Orders	MEG 114	Trainer	stays
2–3	Close Buddy-Buddy Poffin	TEF 144	Trainer	leaves
2–3	Close Night Stretcher	ASC 196	Trainer	leaves
1	Close Air Balloon	ASC 181	Trainer	stays
1–4	Close Rare Candy	MEG 125	Trainer	stays
8–10	Darkness Energy	MEE 7	Energy	stays

The 26 cards that change from list to list

26 cards fight over the 9 slots that are left: 5 above three lists in four, 19 below one in four, and the percentage on each row says how many players took it.

The most agreed on first: Special Red Card at 96 %, Team Rocket's Petrel at 93 % and Secret Box at 93 %, plus 2 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Shaymin, at 43 %: 12 of 28 players took it, 16 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 1 copy. Right at the bottom of the table, Maractus (5 lists out of 28) and Energy Switch (5 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 Special Red Card	1	CRI 82	Trainer
93 %26/28	Close Team Rocket's Petrel	2–4	DRI 176	Trainer
93 %26/28	Close Secret Box	1	TWM 163	Trainer
82 %23/28	Close Yveltal	1–2	MEG 88	Pokémon
82 %23/28	Close Gwynn	1–3	PBL 78	Trainer
61 %17/28	Close Pokégear 3.0	1–2	SVI 186	Trainer
43 %12/28	Close Shaymin	1	DRI 10	Pokémon
18 %5/28	Close Maractus	1	JTG 8	Pokémon
18 %5/28	Close Energy Switch	1	MEG 115	Trainer
14 %4/28	Close Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex	1	TWM 141	Pokémon
14 %4/28	Close Larry's Skill	2	PRE 115	Trainer
14 %4/28	Close Dark Bell	1	PBL 75	Trainer
11 %3/28	Close Tatsugiri	1	TWM 131	Pokémon
11 %3/28	Close Team Rocket's Watchtower	1	DRI 180	Trainer
11 %3/28	Close Ultra Ball	1	MEG 131	Trainer
11 %3/28	Close Prism Energy	1	ASC 216	Energy
7 %2/28	Close Judge	1–3	POR 76	Trainer
7 %2/28	Close Unfair Stamp	1	TWM 165	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Pikipek	2	PBL 66	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Toucannon	2	PBL 68	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Dudunsparce	1	TEF 129	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Dunsparce	1	JTG 120	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Trumbeak	1	PBL 67	Pokémon
4 %1/28	Close Kieran	1	TWM 154	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Lana's Aid	1	TWM 155	Trainer
4 %1/28	Close Punk Helmet	1	PFL 92	Trainer

The most common Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass list, all 60 cards

Here they are in full, ready to build. 51 slots come from the core, the cards all 28 lists run. The remaining 9 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 7 more cards to reach 60. The whole thing comes to 23 Pokémon, 28 Trainers and 9 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.

There is no price total on this page. The readings we have are Cardmarket's, in euros, and the shop link further down sends you to TCGplayer, which quotes in dollars. Putting a euro figure next to a dollar shop would be one currency too many. The French and German pages carry the total.

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: 23
4 Marnie's Impidimp DRI 134
4 Munkidori TWM 95
3 Froslass TWM 53
3 Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex DRI 136
3 Snorunt ASC 46
2 Budew ASC 16
2 Marnie's Morgrem DRI 135
1 Yveltal MEG 88
1 Shaymin DRI 10

Trainer: 28
4 Lillie's Determination MEG 119
4 Poké Pad POR 81
4 Spikemuth Gym DRI 169
3 Boss's Orders MEG 114
2 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144
2 Night Stretcher ASC 196
1 Air Balloon ASC 181
1 Rare Candy MEG 125
1 Special Red Card CRI 82
2 Team Rocket's Petrel DRI 176
1 Secret Box TWM 163
2 Gwynn PBL 78
1 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186

Energy: 9
9 Darkness Energy MEE 7

Total Cards: 60

Which decks beat Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass at tournaments

Here is how Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass did against every other deck at tournaments. Real games, real players sitting across the table from each other, and the platform those tournaments run on counts them one by one. All of them were played after Pitch Black became legal for tournaments, and we read the table on 5 September 2026.

The format matters more than people think. When the next set lands, decks get rebuilt around the new cards, and a matchup that leaned one way can swing the other. What you are reading holds for today's format.

We start with the opponent that gives you the most trouble, because that is where the work is before your next tournament. The further down the list you go, the better it goes for you.

Always look at the number of games next to the score. Six wins out of ten happens on its own, even with a middling deck: it is the same as flipping six heads in ten tries. Six hundred out of a thousand, and luck has nothing to do with it. Below 100 games we show nothing at all, because at that count half the matchups look like they lean one way when they lean nowhere.

Against Latias ex / Mega Kangaskhan ex: over 107 games, 33 won and 73 lost. One ended with no winner.

Against Raging Bolt ex: over 176 games, 59 won and 117 lost.

Against Mega Excadrill ex: over 563 games, 231 won and 329 lost. 3 ended with no winner.

Against Dragapult ex: over 618 games, 284 won and 325 lost. 9 ended with no winner.

Against Slowking: over 447 games, 209 won and 236 lost. 2 ended with no winner.

Against N's Zoroark ex: over 393 games, 187 won and 202 lost. 4 ended with no winner.

Against Alakazam / Dudunsparce: over 431 games, 208 won and 215 lost. 8 ended with no winner.

Against Cynthia's Garchomp ex: over 100 games, 44 won and 54 lost. 2 ended with no winner.

Against Teal Mask Ogerpon ex / Meganium / Hydrapple ex: over 107 games, 48 won and 58 lost. One ended with no winner.

Against Mega Lucario ex: over 162 games, 76 won and 84 lost. 2 ended with no winner.

Against Dragapult ex / Dusknoir: over 443 games, 232 won and 206 lost. 5 ended with no winner.

Against Mega Lucario ex / Hariyama: over 124 games, 61 won and 63 lost.

Against Dragapult ex / Blaziken ex: over 447 games, 242 won and 197 lost. 8 ended with no winner.

Against Festival Lead: over 496 games, 270 won and 220 lost. 6 ended with no winner.

Against Mega Greninja ex: over 100 games, 63 won and 37 lost.

Against Toucannon: over 208 games, 138 won and 69 lost. One ended with no winner.

Against Dhelmise: over 278 games, 194 won and 80 lost. 4 ended with no winner.

What Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass costs to build, and how long it will last

You need 42 different cards to cover every version of this deck, 16 of which nobody argues about. We do not have card prices, so we are not going to put a number on it.

All 28 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 26 took Secret Box 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 Secret Box and watch what the others do with theirs before you switch.

Then there is time. 5 of the 16 core cards carry the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation: Munkidori, Froslass, Budew and Buddy-Buddy Poffin, plus 1 more. The core table marks every one of them. In copies, that is 13 of the 51 slots the core fills. Which day it lands, we do not know yet.

What Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass struggles against

The attackers in this deck are Weak to Grass, Metal and Darkness, so they take DOUBLE damage from those types. 38 of the 97 decks we track attack in exactly those types.

Concretely, here is what is waiting for you: Mega Excadrill ex, Festival Lead (Thwackey) and Slowking (Metagross), plus 35 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 38 decks out of the 97 we track. The other 59 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 Darkness, Water and Psychic, and 42 of the decks we track have an attacker Weak to one of those: Alakazam / Dudunsparce, Dragapult ex / Blaziken ex and Dragapult ex / Dusknoir, among others. That is you doubling, for once. Second half of the table.

Questions people ask

What is the Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass deck list?

There isn't one, so we built one for you: all 60 cards are written out further up this page. Across 28 tournament lists harvested between 11 August 2026 and 1 September 2026, 16 cards turn up in every single one, 51 slots out of 60. The remaining 9 change from player to player, with 26 different cards competing for them. Both tables are above.

How many lists is this counted on, and where do they come from?

28 lists, played across 28 different tournaments, harvested between 11 August 2026 and 1 September 2026 from play.limitlesstcg.com. All 28 were read card by card, and every card recognised.

Where do I start if I want to build Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass?

With the whole core: 16 cards, 51 slots. Inside it, buy the 21 Trainer slots and the 9 Energy first: they carry over into your next deck. Leave the 21 Pokémon slots for last. Only then work down the flex table and add the cards the most lists agree on, starting with Special Red Card at 96 % and Team Rocket's Petrel at 93 %.

What beats Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass?

Its attackers are Weak to Grass, Metal and Darkness, so they take double damage from an attacker of that type. 38 of the 97 decks we track play an attacker of that type: Mega Excadrill ex, Festival Lead, Slowking and N's Zoroark ex, among others.

Will Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass survive the next rotation?

Not intact: 5 core cards out of 16 carry the letter H, starting with Munkidori, Froslass, Budew and Buddy-Buddy Poffin, plus 1 more.

Are a lot of people playing Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass?

We have read 28 lists of it, which puts it 49th of the 97 decks we track by lists read. The platform those tournaments run on counts 1,688 entries for it, 4.14 % of the field, across all its players. That figure is theirs.

These pages are about the same corner of the game. If you came away from this one still wondering about something, start with one of them.