Mega Zygarde ex

What Mega Zygarde ex looks like when you open the box

Across the 69 lists we counted, this deck runs 6 to 18 Pokémon, 26 to 42 Trainers and 1 to 19 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Fighting.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « mega-zygarde-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: 1 to 19 out of 60, when half the 132 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.

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: 26 to 42 cards out of 60, against a median of 31 across the 132 decks we track. Inside that, 2 to 18 Supporters, and the rule there is strict — one a turn, even if you are holding three. The 10 to 26 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.

What the card in this deck's name actually does

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

Mega Zygarde ex is in all 69 lists, 2 copies of it. Its attack Nullifying Zero costs 5 Energy (Fighting, Fighting, Fighting, Fighting and Fighting) 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: « For each of your opponent's Pokémon, flip a coin. If heads, this attack does 150 damage to that Pokémon. (Don't apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokémon.) »

How Mega Zygarde ex actually wins

Mega Zygarde ex attacks with Gaia Wave for 200. It needs 3 Fighting Energy attached, and it has 310 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 opponent's next turn, this Pokémon takes 30 less damage from attacks (after applying Weakness and Resistance)."

The cost of Gaia Wave 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. Cinderace, which the list runs 4 of, has an attack called Turbo Flare that goes into your deck for Energy and attaches it. That attack takes your attack for the turn, so count it as a setup turn. That is how this deck gets itself charged.

Here is the detail that quietly loses games. To pull Mega Zygarde 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 Zygarde ex is a Mega Evolution ex, and that is the most expensive rule in the game: your opponent takes 3 Prize cards instead of one the turn it goes down. They need 6 to win the game, so 2 well-placed knockouts on that card 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 Zygarde exBasic	310	Gaia Wave	200		Grass ×2	2

The core: the 2 cards every list runs

These 2 cards appear in all 69 lists, without a single exception. That is 16 of the 60 slots. The other 44 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 16 slots break down: 0 Trainers, 2 Pokémon, 14 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: Mega Zygarde ex (2 to 4) and Fighting Energy (1 to 16). Add those spreads up and you get 17 copies the 69 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
2–4	Close Mega Zygarde ex	POR 47	Pokémon
1–16	Fighting Energy	MEE 14	Energy

The 115 cards that change from list to list

115 cards fight over the 44 slots that are left: 8 above three lists in four, 85 below one in four, and the percentage on each row says how many players took it.

The most agreed on first: Lillie's Determination at 96 %, Team Rocket's Petrel at 93 % and Switch at 91 %, plus 5 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Energy Switch, at 51 %: 35 of 69 players took it, 34 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 4 copies. Right at the bottom of the table, Ultra Ball (17 lists out of 69) and Accompanying Flute (16 lists out of 69).

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 %66/69	Close Lillie's Determination	1–4	MEG 119	Trainer
93 %64/69	Close Team Rocket's Petrel	1–4	DRI 176	Trainer
91 %63/69	Close Switch	1–4	MEG 130	Trainer
86 %59/69	Close Fighting Gong	2–4	MEG 116	Trainer
86 %59/69	Close Core Memory	1–2	POR 70	Trainer
81 %56/69	Close Cinderace	4	MEG 28	Pokémon
78 %54/69	Close Mega Signal	1–4	MEG 121	Trainer
75 %52/69	Close Boss's Orders	1–4	MEG 114	Trainer
71 %49/69	Close Team Rocket's Watchtower	1–3	DRI 180	Trainer
54 %37/69	Close Jumbo Ice Cream	1–4	PFL 91	Trainer
51 %35/69	Close Energy Switch	1–4	MEG 115	Trainer
49 %34/69	Close Rocky Fighting Energy	1–4	POR 87	Energy
48 %33/69	Close Mega Audino ex	1–4	ASC 172	Pokémon
45 %31/69	Close Pokégear 3.0	1–4	SVI 186	Trainer
45 %31/69	Close Hero's Cape	1	TEF 152	Trainer
45 %31/69	Close Night Stretcher	1–3	ASC 196	Trainer
43 %30/69	Close Pokémon Catcher	1–4	POR 82	Trainer
41 %28/69	Close Premium Power Pro	1–4	MEG 124	Trainer
38 %26/69	Close Lucian	1–4	TWM 157	Trainer
38 %26/69	Close Waitress	1–4	ASC 215	Trainer
36 %25/69	Close Harlequin	1–4	WHT 83	Trainer
36 %25/69	Close Special Red Card	1–2	CRI 82	Trainer
35 %24/69	Close Energy Coin	3–4	BLK 81	Trainer
32 %22/69	Close Acerola's Mischief	1–2	MEG 113	Trainer
32 %22/69	Close Redeemable Ticket	1	JTG 156	Trainer
30 %21/69	Close Lively Stadium	1–2	SSP 180	Trainer
30 %21/69	Close Xerosic's Machinations	1–2	SFA 64	Trainer
28 %19/69	Close Roto-Stick	2	PRE 127	Trainer
28 %19/69	Close Team Rocket's Factory	1–2	DRI 173	Trainer
26 %18/69	Close Super Potion	1–2	JTG 158	Trainer
25 %17/69	Close Ultra Ball	1–4	MEG 131	Trainer
23 %16/69	Close Accompanying Flute	1–2	TWM 142	Trainer
23 %16/69	Close Cook	1	TWM 147	Trainer
20 %14/69	Close Latias ex	1–3	SSP 76	Pokémon
19 %13/69	Close Judge	1–2	POR 76	Trainer
19 %13/69	Close Survival Brace	1	TWM 164	Trainer
17 %12/69	Close Backtrack Badge	1–4	PBL 74	Trainer
16 %11/69	Close Meowth ex	1–2	POR 62	Pokémon
16 %11/69	Close Team Rocket's Transceiver	2–4	DRI 178	Trainer
16 %11/69	Close Wally's Compassion	1–3	MEG 132	Trainer
14 %10/69	Close Mega Kangaskhan ex	1–4	MEG 104	Pokémon
13 %9/69	Close Bianca's Devotion	1	TEF 142	Trainer
13 %9/69	Close Cyrano	1–4	SSP 170	Trainer
12 %8/69	Close Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex	1–2	TWM 112	Pokémon
12 %8/69	Close Crushing Hammer	3–4	POR 71	Trainer
12 %8/69	Close Iris's Fighting Spirit	1–2	JTG 149	Trainer
12 %8/69	Close Rare Candy	1–4	MEG 125	Trainer
12 %8/69	Close Morty's Conviction	1	TEF 155	Trainer
10 %7/69	Close Poké Pad	1–2	POR 81	Trainer
10 %7/69	Close Gravity Mountain	1	SSP 177	Trainer
10 %7/69	Close Precious Trolley	1	SSP 185	Trainer
9 %6/69	Close Air Balloon	1–2	ASC 181	Trainer
9 %6/69	Close Secret Box	1	TWM 163	Trainer
7 %5/69	Close Duskull	3	PRE 35	Pokémon
7 %5/69	Close Dusknoir	2	PRE 37	Pokémon
7 %5/69	Close Dusclops	1	PRE 36	Pokémon
7 %5/69	Close Crispin	2–4	SCR 133	Trainer
7 %5/69	Close Energy Search	2	POR 72	Trainer
7 %5/69	Close Energy Recycler	1–2	DRI 164	Trainer
6 %4/69	Close Budew	1–2	ASC 16	Pokémon
6 %4/69	Close Lunatone	2–3	MEG 74	Pokémon
6 %4/69	Close Solrock	2–3	MEG 75	Pokémon
6 %4/69	Close Brock's Scouting	1–4	JTG 146	Trainer
6 %4/69	Close Battle Cage	1–2	PFL 85	Trainer
6 %4/69	Close Enhanced Hammer	1–2	TWM 148	Trainer
6 %4/69	Close Scoop Up Cyclone	1	TWM 162	Trainer
6 %4/69	Darkness Energy	3–4	MEE 7	Energy
4 %3/69	Close Munkidori	3	TWM 95	Pokémon
4 %3/69	Close Unfair Stamp	1	TWM 165	Trainer
4 %3/69	Fire Energy	3	MEE 10	Energy
3 %2/69	Close Fezandipiti ex	1	ASC 142	Pokémon
3 %2/69	Close Moltres	1	PFL 14	Pokémon
3 %2/69	Close Raboot	1	MEG 27	Pokémon
3 %2/69	Close Scorbunny	1	SCR 26	Pokémon
3 %2/69	Close Transformation Tome	1–4	CRI 83	Trainer
3 %2/69	Close Buddy-Buddy Poffin	1	TEF 144	Trainer
3 %2/69	Close Lt. Surge's Bargain	1	MEG 120	Trainer
3 %2/69	Close Nighttime Mine	1	ASC 197	Trainer
3 %2/69	Close Poké Vital A	1	SFA 62	Trainer
3 %2/69	Close Surfer	1	SSP 187	Trainer
3 %2/69	Close Tool Scrapper	1	ASC 212	Trainer
3 %2/69	Psychic Energy	3–4	MEE 5	Energy
1 %1/69	Close Mega Hawlucha ex	4	ASC 116	Pokémon
1 %1/69	Close Pikachu ex	4	SSP 57	Pokémon
1 %1/69	Close Hariyama	2	MEG 73	Pokémon
1 %1/69	Close Lillie's Clefairy ex	2	JTG 56	Pokémon
1 %1/69	Close Makuhita	2	MEG 72	Pokémon
1 %1/69	Close Mankey	2	PBL 42	Pokémon
1 %1/69	Close Maschiff	2	PBL 57	Pokémon
1 %1/69	Close Mega Zeraora ex	2	PBL 27	Pokémon
1 %1/69	Close Abra	1	TWM 80	Pokémon
1 %1/69	Close Annihilape	1	PBL 41	Pokémon
1 %1/69	Close Landorus	1	POR 41	Pokémon
1 %1/69	Close Mabosstiff	1	PBL 58	Pokémon
1 %1/69	Close Marshadow	1	PBL 40	Pokémon
1 %1/69	Close Primeape	1	PBL 43	Pokémon
1 %1/69	Close Psyduck	1	ASC 39	Pokémon
1 %1/69	Close Area Zero Underdepths	4	SCR 131	Trainer
1 %1/69	Close Call Bell	4	SSP 165	Trainer
1 %1/69	Close Ciphermaniac's Codebreaking	4	TEF 145	Trainer
1 %1/69	Close N's PP Up	2	JTG 153	Trainer
1 %1/69	Close Rescue Board	2	TEF 159	Trainer
1 %1/69	Close AZ's Tranquility	1	CRI 76	Trainer
1 %1/69	Close Black Belt's Training	1	JTG 143	Trainer
1 %1/69	Close Brave Bangle	1	WHT 80	Trainer
1 %1/69	Close Carmine	1	TWM 145	Trainer
1 %1/69	Close Eri	1	TEF 146	Trainer
1 %1/69	Close Lacey	1	SCR 139	Trainer
1 %1/69	Close Pokémon Center Lady	1	MEG 123	Trainer
1 %1/69	Close Prime Catcher	1	TEF 157	Trainer
1 %1/69	Close Prism Tower	1	CRI 80	Trainer
1 %1/69	Close Salvatore	1	TEF 160	Trainer
1 %1/69	Close Scramble Switch	1	SSP 186	Trainer
1 %1/69	Lightning Energy	7	MEE 4	Energy
1 %1/69	Close Legacy Energy	1	TWM 167	Energy

The most common Mega Zygarde ex list, all 60 cards

Here they are in full, ready to build. 16 slots come from the core, the cards all 69 lists run. The remaining 44 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 7 Pokémon, 37 Trainers and 16 Energy.

One thing to know before you build it: the 69 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: 7
2 Mega Zygarde ex POR 47
4 Cinderace MEG 28
1 Mega Audino ex ASC 172

Trainer: 37
4 Lillie's Determination MEG 119
4 Team Rocket's Petrel DRI 176
1 Switch MEG 130
4 Fighting Gong MEG 116
1 Core Memory POR 70
1 Mega Signal MEG 121
2 Boss's Orders MEG 114
3 Team Rocket's Watchtower DRI 180
4 Jumbo Ice Cream PFL 91
4 Energy Switch MEG 115
4 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186
1 Hero's Cape TEF 152
1 Night Stretcher ASC 196
3 Pokémon Catcher POR 82

Energy: 16
14 Fighting Energy
2 Rocky Fighting Energy POR 87

Total Cards: 60

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

You need 117 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 69 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 31 took Hero's Cape, 13 took Survival Brace and 7 took Precious Trolley. The flex table shows you all 10. 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, and the answer is a good one: not one of the 2 core cards carries the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation. This deck walks through the change whole.

What Mega Zygarde ex struggles against

The attackers in this deck are Weak to Grass, so they take DOUBLE damage from that type. 21 of the 132 decks we track attack in exactly that type.

Concretely, here is what is waiting for you: Teal Mask Ogerpon ex / Meganium / Hydrapple ex, Festival Lead (Thwackey) and Crustle, plus 18 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 21 decks out of the 132 we track. The other 111 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 Fighting, and 42 of the decks we track have an attacker Weak to one of those: Dragapult ex, Latias ex / Mega Kangaskhan ex and Slowking, among others. That is you doubling, for once. Second half of the table.