Misty's Gyarados deck: the core, the flex slots, and what beats it

What Misty's Gyarados looks like when you open the box

Across the 12 lists we counted, this deck runs 19 to 25 Pokémon, 27 to 34 Trainers and 6 to 8 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Water.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « misty-gyarados ». 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: 6 to 8 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 sets up fast. Misty's Gyarados 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: 27 to 34 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 15 to 21 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.

How Misty's Gyarados actually wins

Misty's Gyarados attacks with Waterfall for 120. It needs 3 Energy, 2 Water and 1 Colorless attached, and it has 180 HP.

The cost of Waterfall 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.

Here is the detail that quietly loses games. To pull Misty's Gyarados back to the Bench you have to discard 4 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 4 Energy you spent 4 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.

Not one ex Pokémon in the core, and only 21 of the 97 decks we track are in that position. It is a hidden advantage: every knockout your opponent takes is worth a single Prize, so they need 6, where 3 would do against a deck stuffed with ex cards.

The attackers in the deck's core, with their best attack, its cost and their Weakness

Pokémon	HP	Attack	Damage	Cost	Weakness	Retreat
Close Misty's GyaradosStage 1	180	Waterfall	120	Water + Water + Colorless	Lightning ×2	4
Close Misty's StarmieStage 1	100	Abrupt Flash	60+	Water	Lightning ×2	1
Close Misty's PsyduckBasic	70	Sprinkle Water	30	Water	Lightning ×2	1
Close Misty's StaryuBasic	70	Bubble Beam	20	Water	Lightning ×2	1

The core: the 8 cards every list runs

These 8 cards appear in all 12 lists, without a single exception. That is 36 of the 60 slots. The other 24 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 36 slots break down: 8 Trainers, 20 Pokémon, 8 Energy. Pokémon dominate, which is unusual: this deck needs bodies on the board, and it depends on any single attacker less than it looks.

5 of those 8 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Misty's Starmie (1 to 4), Misty's Staryu (1 to 4) and Buddy-Buddy Poffin (3 to 4), plus 2 more. Add those spreads up and you get 11 copies the 12 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
4	Close Misty's Gyarados	DRI 49	Pokémon	stays
4	Close Misty's Magikarp	DRI 48	Pokémon	stays
4	Close Misty's Psyduck	DRI 45	Pokémon	stays
1–4	Close Misty's Starmie	DRI 47	Pokémon	stays
1–4	Close Misty's Staryu	DRI 46	Pokémon	stays
3–4	Close Buddy-Buddy Poffin	TEF 144	Trainer	leaves
2–4	Close Poké Pad	POR 81	Trainer	stays
6–8	Water Energy	MEE 3	Energy	stays

The 27 cards that change from list to list

27 cards fight over the 24 slots that are left: 7 above three lists in four, 14 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 92 %, Night Stretcher at 92 % and Sacred Ash at 92 %, plus 4 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Lana's Aid, at 58 %: 7 of 12 players took it, 5 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 2 copies. Right at the bottom of the table, Gwynn (3 lists out of 12) and Morty's Conviction (3 lists out of 12).

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
92 %11/12	Close Lillie's Determination	4	MEG 119	Trainer
92 %11/12	Close Night Stretcher	2–4	ASC 196	Trainer
92 %11/12	Close Sacred Ash	3–4	DRI 168	Trainer
92 %11/12	Close Max Rod	1	PRE 116	Trainer
83 %10/12	Close Misty's Lapras	1–4	DRI 50	Pokémon
83 %10/12	Close Boss's Orders	1–2	MEG 114	Trainer
75 %9/12	Close Academy at Night	1–3	SFA 54	Trainer
67 %8/12	Close Great Haul Net	1–4	CRI 78	Trainer
58 %7/12	Close Lana's Aid	1–3	TWM 155	Trainer
42 %5/12	Close Psyduck	1	ASC 39	Pokémon
42 %5/12	Close Pokégear 3.0	2–4	SVI 186	Trainer
33 %4/12	Close Ciphermaniac's Codebreaking	1–2	TEF 145	Trainer
33 %4/12	Close Hassel	2	TWM 151	Trainer
25 %3/12	Close Gwynn	4	PBL 78	Trainer
25 %3/12	Close Morty's Conviction	3	TEF 155	Trainer
25 %3/12	Close Hilda	2	WHT 84	Trainer
17 %2/12	Close Meowth ex	1	POR 62	Pokémon
17 %2/12	Close Iris's Fighting Spirit	2–4	JTG 149	Trainer
17 %2/12	Close Team Rocket's Petrel	1	DRI 176	Trainer
17 %2/12	Close Ultra Ball	1	MEG 131	Trainer
8 %1/12	Close Dedenne	1	SSP 87	Pokémon
8 %1/12	Close Tatsugiri	1	TWM 131	Pokémon
8 %1/12	Close Carmine	4	TWM 145	Trainer
8 %1/12	Close Kofu	2	SCR 138	Trainer
8 %1/12	Close Air Balloon	1	ASC 181	Trainer
8 %1/12	Close Colress's Tenacity	1	SFA 57	Trainer
8 %1/12	Close Surfing Beach	1	MEG 129	Trainer

What Misty's Gyarados costs to build, and how long it will last

You need 35 different cards to cover every version of this deck, 8 of which nobody argues about. We do not have card prices, so we are not going to put a number on it.

Add Max Rod, the list's ACE SPEC, chosen by 11 of those 12 players. You are allowed ONE ACE SPEC card in your whole deck, so a single copy covers it whatever it costs.

Then there is time. 1 of the 8 core cards carries the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation: Buddy-Buddy Poffin. The core table marks it. In copies, that is 4 of the 36 slots the core fills. Which day it lands, we do not know yet.

What Misty's Gyarados struggles against

The attackers in this deck are Weak to Lightning, so they take DOUBLE damage from that type. 5 of the 97 decks we track attack in exactly that type.

Concretely, here is what is waiting for you: Mega Manectric ex / Eelektrik, Iono's Bellibolt ex and Joltik, plus 2 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 5 decks out of the 97 we track. The other 92 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 Water, and 10 of the decks we track have an attacker Weak to one of those: Dragapult ex / Blaziken ex, Ethan's Typhlosion and Ceruledge ex, among others. That is you doubling, for once. Second half of the table.

Questions people ask

What is the Misty's Gyarados deck list?

There isn't one. Across 12 tournament lists harvested between 16 August 2026 and 5 September 2026, 8 cards turn up in every single one, 36 slots out of 60. The remaining 24 change from player to player, with 27 different cards competing for them. Both tables are above.

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

12 lists, played across 12 different tournaments, harvested between 16 August 2026 and 5 September 2026 from play.limitlesstcg.com. All 12 were read card by card, and every card recognised.

Where do I start if I want to build Misty's Gyarados?

With the whole core: 8 cards, 36 slots. Inside it, buy the 8 Trainer slots and the 8 Energy first: they carry over into your next deck. Leave the 20 Pokémon slots for last. Only then work down the flex table and add the cards the most lists agree on, starting with Lillie's Determination at 92 % and Night Stretcher at 92 %.

What beats Misty's Gyarados?

Its attackers are Weak to Lightning, so they take double damage from an attacker of that type. 5 of the 97 decks we track play an attacker of that type: Mega Manectric ex / Eelektrik, Iono's Bellibolt ex, Joltik and Raging Bolt ex / Iono's Bellibolt ex, among others.

Will Misty's Gyarados survive the next rotation?

Not intact: 1 core cards out of 8 carry the letter H, starting with Buddy-Buddy Poffin.

Are a lot of people playing Misty's Gyarados?

We have read 12 lists of it, which puts it 90th of the 97 decks we track by lists read. The platform those tournaments run on counts 17 entries for it, 0.04 % 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.