Jellicent ex / Dusknoir deck: the core, the flex slots, and what beats it

What Jellicent ex / Dusknoir looks like when you open the box

Across the 24 lists we counted, this deck runs 17 to 23 Pokémon, 26 to 33 Trainers and 7 to 12 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Psychic.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « jellicent-dusknoir ». 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: 7 to 12 out of 60, exactly the median of the 97 decks we track. It draws neither too much nor too little, so this is not where its games are won or lost.

It takes a while to set up. Dusknoir 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: 26 to 33 cards out of 60, against a median of 31 across the 97 decks we track. Inside that, 7 to 11 Supporters, and the rule there is strict — one a turn, even if you are holding three. The 13 to 20 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

Jellicent ex and Dusknoir give this deck its name. Here is what is written on them.

Jellicent ex is in all 24 lists, 2 copies of it. Its Ability is called Oceanic Curse, and here is what is printed on it, word for word: « As long as this Pokémon is in the Active Spot, your opponent can't play any Item cards or Pokémon Tool cards from their hand. »

Dusknoir is in all 24 lists, 2 copies of it. Its Ability is called Cursed Blast, and here is what is printed on it, word for word: « Once during your turn, you may put 13 damage counters on 1 of your opponent's Pokémon. If you use this Ability, this Pokémon is Knocked Out. »

How Jellicent ex / Dusknoir actually wins

Latias ex attacks with Eon Blade for 200. It needs 3 Energy, 2 Psychic and 1 Colorless attached, and it has 210 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 Eon Blade 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. Wondrous Patch, which the list runs 3 of, digs Energy out of your discard pile and puts it back on one of your Pokémon. 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. Duskull has to climb two steps before it becomes Dusknoir, 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 3 of, goes into your deck for an evolution. Careful, though: only 20 of the 24 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 Latias 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.

Jellicent ex, Latias ex and Lillie's Clefairy ex carry the "ex" suffix, and your opponent takes 2 Prize cards instead of one when one of them falls. They need 6 to win: 3 well-placed knockouts on those cards 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 Latias exBasic	210	Eon Blade	200	Psychic + Psychic + Colorless	Darkness ×2	2
Close DusknoirStage 2	160	Shadow Bind	150	Psychic + Psychic + Colorless	Darkness ×2	3
Close Jellicent exStage 1	270	Power Press	80+	Psychic + Colorless	Darkness ×2	3
Close DusclopsStage 1	90	Will-O-Wisp	50	Psychic + Psychic	Darkness ×2	2

The core: the 11 cards every list runs

These 11 cards appear in all 24 lists, without a single exception. That is 31 of the 60 slots. The other 29 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 31 slots break down: 12 Trainers, 15 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.

10 of those 11 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Dusclops (2 to 4), Duskull (2 to 4) and Dusknoir (1 to 3), plus 7 more. Add those spreads up and you get 16 copies the 24 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
2–4	Close Dusclops	PRE 36	Pokémon	leaves
2–4	Close Duskull	PRE 35	Pokémon	leaves
1–3	Close Dusknoir	PRE 37	Pokémon	leaves
2–4	Close Frillish	WHT 44	Pokémon	stays
2	Close Jellicent ex	WHT 45	Pokémon	stays
1–2	Close Latias ex	SSP 76	Pokémon	leaves
1–2	Close Lillie's Clefairy ex	JTG 56	Pokémon	stays
3–4	Close Lillie's Determination	MEG 119	Trainer	stays
2–4	Close Poké Pad	POR 81	Trainer	stays
2–4	Close Ultra Ball	MEG 131	Trainer	stays
3–4	Close Telepathic Psychic Energy	POR 88	Energy	stays

The 47 cards that change from list to list

47 cards fight over the 29 slots that are left: 7 above three lists in four, 23 below one in four, and the percentage on each row says how many players took it.

The most agreed on first: Mystery Garden at 96 %, Boss's Orders at 96 % and Special Red Card at 96 %, plus 4 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Fezandipiti ex, at 50 %: 12 of 24 players took it, 12 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 1 copy. Right at the bottom of the table, Dunsparce (6 lists out of 24) and Surfer (6 lists out of 24).

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 %23/24	Close Mystery Garden	2–4	MEG 122	Trainer
96 %23/24	Close Boss's Orders	1–3	MEG 114	Trainer
96 %23/24	Close Special Red Card	1–3	CRI 82	Trainer
92 %22/24	Close Meowth ex	1	POR 62	Pokémon
88 %21/24	Close Night Stretcher	1–3	ASC 196	Trainer
88 %21/24	Close Secret Box	1	TWM 163	Trainer
83 %20/24	Close Hilda	1–3	WHT 84	Trainer
71 %17/24	Close Wondrous Patch	1–4	PFL 94	Trainer
71 %17/24	Psychic Energy	4–8	MEE 5	Energy
58 %14/24	Close Mega Diancie ex	1–2	PFL 41	Pokémon
58 %14/24	Close Powerglass	1–3	SFA 63	Trainer
50 %12/24	Close Fezandipiti ex	1	ASC 142	Pokémon
50 %12/24	Close Rare Candy	1–3	MEG 125	Trainer
38 %9/24	Close Buddy-Buddy Poffin	2	TEF 144	Trainer
38 %9/24	Close Ignition Energy	2–3	WHT 86	Energy
33 %8/24	Close Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex	1	TWM 141	Pokémon
29 %7/24	Close Budew	1	ASC 16	Pokémon
29 %7/24	Close Dudunsparce	1	TEF 129	Pokémon
29 %7/24	Close Dudunsparce ex	1	JTG 121	Pokémon
29 %7/24	Close Judge	1–3	POR 76	Trainer
29 %7/24	Close Lacey	2	SCR 139	Trainer
29 %7/24	Close Pokégear 3.0	2	SVI 186	Trainer
29 %7/24	Close AZ's Tranquility	1	CRI 76	Trainer
29 %7/24	Close Counter Gain	1	SSP 169	Trainer
25 %6/24	Close Dunsparce	2	TEF 128	Pokémon
25 %6/24	Close Surfer	1	SSP 187	Trainer
21 %5/24	Close Flutter Mane	1	TEF 78	Pokémon
17 %4/24	Close Lillie's Pearl	1	JTG 151	Trainer
8 %2/24	Close Munkidori	1	TWM 95	Pokémon
8 %2/24	Close Crushing Hammer	2–4	POR 71	Trainer
8 %2/24	Close Dawn	1	PFL 87	Trainer
8 %2/24	Close Unfair Stamp	1	TWM 165	Trainer
8 %2/24	Darkness Energy	1	MEE 7	Energy
4 %1/24	Close Bronzong	2	TEF 69	Pokémon
4 %1/24	Close Bronzor	2	TEF 68	Pokémon
4 %1/24	Close Dunsparce	2	JTG 120	Pokémon
4 %1/24	Close Maractus	1	JTG 8	Pokémon
4 %1/24	Close Brock's Scouting	2	JTG 146	Trainer
4 %1/24	Close Handheld Fan	2	TWM 150	Trainer
4 %1/24	Close Mega Signal	2	MEG 121	Trainer
4 %1/24	Close Jacinthe	1	POR 75	Trainer
4 %1/24	Close Prime Catcher	1	TEF 157	Trainer
4 %1/24	Close Switch	1	MEG 130	Trainer
4 %1/24	Close Team Rocket's Watchtower	1	DRI 180	Trainer
4 %1/24	Close Tool Scrapper	1	ASC 212	Trainer
4 %1/24	Close Xerosic's Machinations	1	SFA 64	Trainer
4 %1/24	Close Mist Energy	2	TEF 161	Energy

The most common Jellicent ex / Dusknoir list, all 60 cards

Here they are in full, ready to build. 31 slots come from the core, the cards all 24 lists run. The remaining 29 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 12 more cards to reach 60. The whole thing comes to 19 Pokémon, 29 Trainers and 12 Energy.

One thing to know before you build it: the 24 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: 19
3 Dusclops PRE 36
3 Duskull PRE 35
2 Dusknoir PRE 37
2 Frillish WHT 44
2 Jellicent ex WHT 45
2 Latias ex SSP 76
1 Lillie's Clefairy ex JTG 56
1 Meowth ex POR 62
2 Mega Diancie ex PFL 41
1 Fezandipiti ex ASC 142

Trainer: 29
4 Lillie's Determination MEG 119
4 Poké Pad POR 81
4 Ultra Ball MEG 131
3 Mystery Garden MEG 122
2 Boss's Orders MEG 114
1 Special Red Card CRI 82
2 Night Stretcher ASC 196
1 Secret Box TWM 163
3 Hilda WHT 84
3 Wondrous Patch PFL 94
2 Powerglass SFA 63

Energy: 12
4 Telepathic Psychic Energy POR 88
8 Psychic Energy MEE 5

Total Cards: 60

What Jellicent ex / Dusknoir costs to build, and how long it will last

You need 58 different cards to cover every version of this deck, 11 of which nobody argues about. We do not have card prices, so we are not going to put a number on it.

All 24 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 21 took Secret Box, 2 took Unfair Stamp and 1 took Prime Catcher. 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. 4 of the 11 core cards carry the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation: Dusclops, Duskull, Dusknoir and Latias ex. The core table marks every one of them. In copies, that is 10 of the 31 slots the core fills. Which day it lands, we do not know yet.

What Jellicent ex / Dusknoir struggles against

The attackers in this deck are Weak to Darkness, so they take DOUBLE damage from that type. 13 of the 97 decks we track attack in exactly that type.

Concretely, here is what is waiting for you: N's Zoroark ex, Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass and Team Rocket's Honchkrow, 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 97 we track. The other 84 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 Psychic, and 6 of the decks we track have an attacker Weak to one of those: Mega Lucario ex, Mega Lucario ex / Hariyama and Greninja ex, among others. That is you doubling, for once. Second half of the table.

Questions people ask

What is the Jellicent ex / Dusknoir deck list?

There isn't one, so we built one for you: all 60 cards are written out further up this page. Across 24 tournament lists harvested between 16 August 2026 and 1 September 2026, 11 cards turn up in every single one, 31 slots out of 60. The remaining 29 change from player to player, with 47 different cards competing for them. Both tables are above.

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

24 lists, played across 22 different tournaments, harvested between 16 August 2026 and 1 September 2026 from play.limitlesstcg.com. All 24 were read card by card, and every card recognised.

Where do I start if I want to build Jellicent ex / Dusknoir?

With the whole core: 11 cards, 31 slots. Inside it, buy the 12 Trainer slots and the 4 Energy first: they carry over into your next deck. Leave the 15 Pokémon slots for last. Only then work down the flex table and add the cards the most lists agree on, starting with Mystery Garden at 96 % and Boss's Orders at 96 %.

What beats Jellicent ex / Dusknoir?

Its attackers are Weak to Darkness, so they take double damage from an attacker of that type. 13 of the 97 decks we track play an attacker of that type: N's Zoroark ex, Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass, Team Rocket's Honchkrow and Mega Absol ex, among others.

Will Jellicent ex / Dusknoir survive the next rotation?

Not intact: 4 core cards out of 11 carry the letter H, starting with Dusclops, Duskull, Dusknoir and Latias ex.

Are a lot of people playing Jellicent ex / Dusknoir?

We have read 24 lists of it, which puts it 68th of the 97 decks we track by lists read. The platform those tournaments run on counts 25 entries for it, 0.06 % 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.