Mega Absol ex

What Mega Absol ex looks like when you open the box

Across the 68 lists we counted, this deck runs 12 to 21 Pokémon, 25 to 38 Trainers and 9 to 15 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Darkness and Psychic.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « mega-absol-box ». The cards we can recognise in that label are Mega Absol ex. The bit « box » 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: 9 to 15 out of 60, when half the 125 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.

Nothing here needs evolving — everything that attacks is a Basic Pokémon. Put it down, charge it, swing. That is as fast as the game gets, and it makes those turns where you draw nothing far less painful.

Look at the Trainers: 25 to 38 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 12 to 20 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

Mega Absol ex gives this deck its name. Here is what is written on it.

Mega Absol ex is in all 68 lists, 2 copies of it. Its attack Terminal Period costs 2 Energy (Darkness and Colorless) and has no damage number printed next to it. That is why you will not find it in the attacker table lower down, which sorts by printed damage. Everything it does lives in its text: « If your opponent's Active Pokémon has exactly 6 damage counters on it, that Pokémon is Knocked Out. »

How Mega Absol ex actually wins

Mega Absol ex attacks with Claw of Darkness for 200. It needs 3 Energy, 2 Darkness and 1 Colorless attached, and it has 280 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: "Your opponent reveals their hand, and you discard a card you find there."

The cost of Claw of Darkness 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.

There is another trick in this list, and the whole of it happens in one turn. Team Rocket's Petrel goes into your deck for a Trainer card and puts it in your hand. Lumiose City is one, and it puts Basic Pokémon onto your Bench in one go. A full Bench on turn one is what decides the game: every Pokémon you put down is one more attacker, ready to take over when the one in front goes down. One detail that matters: Team Rocket's Petrel is a Supporter, so that turn you play no other Supporter. Items all still go through.

Here is the detail that quietly loses games. To pull Mega Absol 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.

Mega Absol ex and Mega Kangaskhan ex are Mega Evolution exes, and that is the most expensive rule in the game: your opponent takes 3 Prize cards instead of one the turn one of them goes down. They need 6 to win the game, so 2 well-placed knockouts on those cards beat you, where it would take 6 knockouts 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 Mega Absol exBasic	280	Claw of Darkness	200		Grass ×2	2
Close Mega Kangaskhan exBasic	300	Rapid-Fire Combo	200+		Fighting ×2	3
Close MunkidoriBasic	110	Mind Bend	60		Darkness ×2	1

The core: the 6 cards every list runs

These 6 cards appear in all 68 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: 7 Trainers, 7 Pokémon, 7 Energy. Nothing stands out in that split. What sets this deck apart is how thick its core is: 21 of the 60 slots are the same for everybody, when half the 125 decks we track fix 26 or more. This one leaves more room than most, and two players can build it very differently.

6 of those 6 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Munkidori (1 to 3), Mega Absol ex (2 to 3) and Mega Kangaskhan ex (1 to 4), plus 3 more. Add those spreads up and you get 16 copies the 68 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
1–3	Close Munkidori	TWM 95	Pokémon	leaves
2–3	Close Mega Absol ex	MEG 86	Pokémon	stays
1–4	Close Mega Kangaskhan ex	MEG 104	Pokémon	stays
1–4	Close Ultra Ball	MEG 131	Trainer	stays
2–4	Close Boss's Orders	MEG 114	Trainer	stays
4–9	Darkness Energy	MEE 7	Energy	stays

The 101 cards that change from list to list

101 cards fight over the 39 slots that are left: 10 above three lists in four, 76 below one in four, and the percentage on each row says how many players took it.

The most agreed on first: Latias ex at 99 %, Energy Switch at 99 % and Night Stretcher at 97 %, plus 7 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Fire Energy, at 51 %: 35 of 68 players took it, 33 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 2 copies. Right at the bottom of the table, Binding Mochi (15 lists out of 68) and Secret Box (15 lists out of 68).

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 %67/68	Close Latias ex	1–2	SSP 76	Pokémon
99 %67/68	Close Energy Switch	1–4	MEG 115	Trainer
97 %66/68	Close Night Stretcher	1–3	ASC 196	Trainer
96 %65/68	Close Fezandipiti ex	1	ASC 142	Pokémon
93 %63/68	Close Lillie's Determination	1–4	MEG 119	Trainer
93 %63/68	Close Special Red Card	1–2	CRI 82	Trainer
91 %62/68	Close Pecharunt ex	1–2	SFA 39	Pokémon
87 %59/68	Close Yveltal	1–2	MEG 88	Pokémon
78 %53/68	Close Mist Energy	1–3	TEF 161	Energy
76 %52/68	Close Janine's Secret Art	2–4	PRE 112	Trainer
71 %48/68	Close Lumiose City	1–3	POR 77	Trainer
68 %46/68	Close Pokégear 3.0	1–4	SVI 186	Trainer
63 %43/68	Close Team Rocket's Petrel	1–4	DRI 176	Trainer
59 %40/68	Close Mega Signal	1–4	MEG 121	Trainer
57 %39/68	Close Hero's Cape	1	TEF 152	Trainer
51 %35/68	Fire Energy	1–3	MEE 10	Energy
46 %31/68	Close Moltres	1–2	PFL 14	Pokémon
41 %28/68	Close Meowth ex	1–3	POR 62	Pokémon
40 %27/68	Close Crispin	1–4	SCR 133	Trainer
38 %26/68	Close Energy Search	1	POR 72	Trainer
34 %23/68	Close Psyduck	1–2	ASC 39	Pokémon
34 %23/68	Close Xerosic's Machinations	1	SFA 64	Trainer
29 %20/68	Close Lillie's Clefairy ex	1–2	JTG 56	Pokémon
29 %20/68	Psychic Energy	1–4	MEE 13	Energy
28 %19/68	Close Poké Pad	1–4	POR 81	Trainer
22 %15/68	Close Binding Mochi	1–2	PRE 95	Trainer
22 %15/68	Close Secret Box	1	TWM 163	Trainer
18 %12/68	Close Ciphermaniac's Codebreaking	1–2	TEF 145	Trainer
18 %12/68	Close Prism Energy	1–4	ASC 216	Energy
16 %11/68	Close Mega Audino ex	1–2	ASC 172	Pokémon
15 %10/68	Close Mega Lopunny ex	1	PFL 84	Pokémon
13 %9/68	Close Paldean Tauros	1	SSP 18	Pokémon
13 %9/68	Close Precious Trolley	1	SSP 185	Trainer
12 %8/68	Close Buneary	1	PFL 83	Pokémon
12 %8/68	Close Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex	1–2	TWM 112	Pokémon
12 %8/68	Close Prism Tower	1–2	CRI 80	Trainer
12 %8/68	Close Team Rocket's Watchtower	1–2	DRI 180	Trainer
10 %7/68	Close Area Zero Underdepths	2–3	SCR 131	Trainer
10 %7/68	Close Brock's Scouting	1–2	JTG 146	Trainer
10 %7/68	Close Jumbo Ice Cream	1–2	PFL 91	Trainer
9 %6/68	Close Teal Mask Ogerpon ex	2–4	TWM 25	Pokémon
9 %6/68	Close Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex	1	TWM 141	Pokémon
9 %6/68	Close Transformation Tome	4	CRI 83	Trainer
9 %6/68	Close Cyrano	1–3	SSP 170	Trainer
9 %6/68	Close Team Rocket's Transceiver	1–4	DRI 178	Trainer
9 %6/68	Grass Energy	4–7	MEE 1	Energy
9 %6/68	Fighting Energy	1–2	MEE 14	Energy
7 %5/68	Close Switch	1	MEG 130	Trainer
6 %4/68	Close Dudunsparce	2–3	TEF 129	Pokémon
6 %4/68	Close Dunsparce	2	JTG 120	Pokémon
6 %4/68	Close Crushing Hammer	2–4	POR 71	Trainer
6 %4/68	Close Judge	1–3	POR 76	Trainer
6 %4/68	Close Risky Ruins	1–2	MEG 127	Trainer
6 %4/68	Close Counter Gain	1	SSP 169	Trainer
6 %4/68	Close Team Rocket's Factory	1–2	DRI 173	Trainer
6 %4/68	Close Unfair Stamp	1	TWM 165	Trainer
6 %4/68	Water Energy	1–3	MEE 3	Energy
4 %3/68	Close Mew ex	2–3	30C 66	Pokémon
4 %3/68	Close Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex	1	TWM 64	Pokémon
4 %3/68	Close Yveltal	1	30C 100	Pokémon
4 %3/68	Close Enhanced Hammer	1–3	TWM 148	Trainer
3 %2/68	Close Toxel	2	PFL 67	Pokémon
3 %2/68	Close Toxtricity	2	PFL 68	Pokémon
3 %2/68	Close Buneary	1	MEG 107	Pokémon
3 %2/68	Close Chien-Pao	1	SSP 56	Pokémon
3 %2/68	Close Eevee	1	SCR 113	Pokémon
3 %2/68	Close Enamorus	1	TWM 93	Pokémon
3 %2/68	Close Umbreon ex	1	30C 92	Pokémon
3 %2/68	Close Lisia's Appeal	2	SSP 179	Trainer
3 %2/68	Close Dark Bell	1	PBL 75	Trainer
3 %2/68	Close Eri	1	TEF 146	Trainer
3 %2/68	Close Lively Stadium	1	SSP 180	Trainer
3 %2/68	Close Ruffian	1	JTG 157	Trainer
1 %1/68	Close Cinderace	4	MEG 28	Pokémon
1 %1/68	Close Blaziken ex	2	JTG 24	Pokémon
1 %1/68	Close Snorlax	2	POR 63	Pokémon
1 %1/68	Close Torchic	2	DRI 40	Pokémon
1 %1/68	Close Budew	1	ASC 16	Pokémon
1 %1/68	Close Chi-Yu	1	TWM 39	Pokémon
1 %1/68	Close Chi-Yu	1	MEG 31	Pokémon
1 %1/68	Close Combusken	1	DRI 41	Pokémon
1 %1/68	Close Dunsparce	1	TEF 128	Pokémon
1 %1/68	Close Flutter Mane	1	TEF 78	Pokémon
1 %1/68	Close Iron Leaves ex	1	TEF 25	Pokémon
1 %1/68	Close Pecharunt	1	SVP 149	Pokémon
1 %1/68	Close Reshiram ex	1	WHT 20	Pokémon
1 %1/68	Close Dusk Ball	4	SSP 175	Trainer
1 %1/68	Close Backtrack Badge	2	PBL 74	Trainer
1 %1/68	Close Carmine	2	TWM 145	Trainer
1 %1/68	Close Harlequin	2	WHT 83	Trainer
1 %1/68	Close Lucky Helmet	2	TWM 158	Trainer
1 %1/68	Close Morty's Conviction	2	TEF 155	Trainer
1 %1/68	Close Nighttime Mine	2	ASC 197	Trainer
1 %1/68	Close Punk Helmet	2	PFL 92	Trainer
1 %1/68	Close Rare Candy	2	MEG 125	Trainer
1 %1/68	Close Wally's Compassion	2	MEG 132	Trainer
1 %1/68	Close Energy Recycler	1	DRI 164	Trainer
1 %1/68	Close Energy Retrieval	1	SVI 171	Trainer
1 %1/68	Close Glass Trumpet	1	SCR 135	Trainer
1 %1/68	Close Lucian	1	TWM 157	Trainer
1 %1/68	Close Scoop Up Cyclone	1	TWM 162	Trainer

The most common Mega Absol ex list, all 60 cards

Here they are in full, ready to build. 21 slots come from the core, the cards all 68 lists run. The remaining 39 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 19 more cards to reach 60. The whole thing comes to 14 Pokémon, 35 Trainers and 11 Energy.

One thing to know before you build it: the 68 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: 14
3 Munkidori TWM 95
2 Mega Absol ex MEG 86
2 Mega Kangaskhan ex MEG 104
1 Latias ex SSP 76
1 Fezandipiti ex ASC 142
1 Pecharunt ex SFA 39
2 Yveltal MEG 88
1 Moltres PFL 14
1 Meowth ex POR 62

Trainer: 35
4 Ultra Ball MEG 131
3 Boss's Orders MEG 114
4 Energy Switch MEG 115
2 Night Stretcher ASC 196
4 Lillie's Determination MEG 119
2 Special Red Card CRI 82
4 Janine's Secret Art PRE 112
2 Lumiose City POR 77
2 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186
2 Team Rocket's Petrel DRI 176
4 Mega Signal MEG 121
1 Hero's Cape TEF 152
1 Crispin SCR 133

Energy: 11
7 Darkness Energy MEE 7
2 Mist Energy TEF 161
2 Fire Energy

Total Cards: 60

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

You need 107 different cards to cover every version of this deck, 6 of which nobody argues about. The rest is where lists differ from one another, and that is where you have room to choose.

All 68 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 39 took Hero's Cape, 15 took Secret Box and 9 took Precious Trolley. 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 Hero's Cape and watch what the others do with theirs before you switch.

Then there is time. 1 of the 6 core cards carries the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation: Munkidori. The core table marks it. In copies, that is 3 of the 21 slots the core fills. Which day it lands, we do not know yet.

What Mega Absol ex struggles against

The attackers in this deck are Weak to Grass, Fighting and Darkness, so they take DOUBLE damage from those types. 50 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 47 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 50 decks out of the 125 we track. The other 75 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 and Psychic, and 31 of the decks we track have an attacker Weak to one of those: N's Zoroark ex, Latias ex / Mega Kangaskhan ex and Slowking, among others. That is you doubling, for once. Second half of the table.