Palafin ex deck: the core, the flex slots, and what beats it

What Palafin ex looks like when you open the box

Across the 34 lists we counted, this deck runs 17 to 22 Pokémon, 29 to 37 Trainers and 5 to 10 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Water.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « palafin-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: 5 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 sets up fast. Palafin 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: 29 to 37 cards out of 60, against a median of 31 across the 97 decks we track. Inside that, 7 to 16 Supporters, and the rule there is strict — one a turn, even if you are holding three. The 12 to 19 Items you can play all of in the same turn. It also brings up to 5 Stadiums, and 8 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 card in this deck's name actually does

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

Palafin ex is in all 34 lists, 3 copies of it. Its Ability is called Hero's Spirit, and here is what is printed on it, word for word: « Put this Pokémon into play only with the effect of Palafin's Zero to Hero Ability. »

How Palafin ex actually wins

Palafin ex attacks with Giga Impact for 250. It needs 1 Water Energy attached, and it has 340 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."

One Energy to attack is enormous, and it means the attack cost will never be what slows you down. What slows you down here is getting Palafin up. Once the line is standing you swing every turn with nothing to recharge, and you can start again immediately when your attacker falls.

Energy is not your only clock. Finizen has to climb a step before it becomes Palafin, and an evolution asleep at the bottom of your deck does you no good at all. The list has that covered. Hilda, a single copy in the list, goes into your deck for an evolution. Careful, though: only 20 of the 34 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 Palafin 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.

Palafin ex carries the "ex" suffix, and your opponent takes 2 Prize cards instead of one when Palafin 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 Palafin exStage 1	340	Giga Impact	250	Water	Lightning ×2	2
Close FinizenBasic	70	Aqua Slash	30	Water	Lightning ×2	1
Close PalafinStage 1	100	Wave Splash	30	Water + Colorless	Lightning ×2	1

The core: the 8 cards every list runs

These 8 cards appear in all 34 lists, without a single exception. That is 25 of the 60 slots. The other 35 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 25 slots break down: 16 Trainers, 9 Pokémon, 0 Energy. Trainers outweigh everything else put together, which is the mark of a deck that goes and fetches its cards rather than waiting to draw them.

8 of those 8 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Finizen (2 to 4), Palafin ex (2 to 4) and Palafin (2 to 3), plus 5 more. Add those spreads up and you get 14 copies the 34 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 Finizen	TWM 59	Pokémon	leaves
2–4	Close Palafin ex	TWM 61	Pokémon	leaves
2–3	Close Palafin	TWM 60	Pokémon	leaves
3–4	Close Lillie's Determination	MEG 119	Trainer	stays
2–4	Close Poké Pad	POR 81	Trainer	stays
2–4	Close Air Balloon	ASC 181	Trainer	stays
2–4	Close Surfing Beach	MEG 129	Trainer	stays
1–3	Close Boss's Orders	MEG 114	Trainer	stays

The 76 cards that change from list to list

76 cards fight over the 35 slots that are left: 4 above three lists in four, 48 below one in four, and the percentage on each row says how many players took it.

The most agreed on first: Buddy-Buddy Poffin at 97 %, Ultra Ball at 97 % and Switch at 97 %, plus 1 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Kofu, at 50 %: 17 of 34 players took it, 17 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 1 copy. Right at the bottom of the table, Maximum Belt (8 lists out of 34) and Xerosic's Machinations (7 lists out of 34).

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
97 %33/34	Close Buddy-Buddy Poffin	3–4	TEF 144	Trainer
97 %33/34	Close Ultra Ball	1–4	MEG 131	Trainer
97 %33/34	Close Switch	1–3	MEG 130	Trainer
94 %32/34	Water Energy	1–8	MEE 3	Energy
71 %24/34	Close Night Stretcher	1–2	ASC 196	Trainer
65 %22/34	Close Kieran	1–2	TWM 154	Trainer
59 %20/34	Close Hilda	1–3	WHT 84	Trainer
59 %20/34	Close Special Red Card	1–2	CRI 82	Trainer
56 %19/34	Close Dudunsparce	2–4	TEF 129	Pokémon
53 %18/34	Close Fezandipiti ex	1	ASC 142	Pokémon
50 %17/34	Close Kofu	1–4	SCR 138	Trainer
44 %15/34	Close Dunsparce	2–4	JTG 120	Pokémon
41 %14/34	Close Palafin	1	TEF 49	Pokémon
41 %14/34	Close Black Belt's Training	1–2	JTG 143	Trainer
38 %13/34	Close Froakie	2–3	CRI 20	Pokémon
38 %13/34	Close Mega Greninja ex	2	CRI 22	Pokémon
38 %13/34	Close Frogadier	1	CRI 21	Pokémon
38 %13/34	Close Psyduck	1	ASC 39	Pokémon
38 %13/34	Close Rare Candy	1–2	MEG 125	Trainer
38 %13/34	Close Energy Retrieval	1–2	SVI 171	Trainer
38 %13/34	Close Gravity Mountain	1–2	SSP 177	Trainer
38 %13/34	Close Bubbly Water Energy	1–4	CRI 84	Energy
35 %12/34	Close Shaymin	1	DRI 10	Pokémon
32 %11/34	Close Meowth ex	1–2	POR 62	Pokémon
29 %10/34	Close Judge	1–2	POR 76	Trainer
29 %10/34	Close Pokégear 3.0	1–4	SVI 186	Trainer
29 %10/34	Close Prime Catcher	1	TEF 157	Trainer
26 %9/34	Close Great Haul Net	1	CRI 78	Trainer
24 %8/34	Close Maximum Belt	1	TEF 154	Trainer
21 %7/34	Close Xerosic's Machinations	1	SFA 64	Trainer
18 %6/34	Close Fan Rotom	1	SCR 118	Pokémon
18 %6/34	Close Team Rocket's Petrel	2	DRI 176	Trainer
18 %6/34	Close Surfer	1–2	SSP 187	Trainer
15 %5/34	Close Dunsparce	1–4	TEF 128	Pokémon
15 %5/34	Close Ciphermaniac's Codebreaking	2–3	TEF 145	Trainer
15 %5/34	Close Colress's Tenacity	1–2	SFA 57	Trainer
15 %5/34	Close Energy Search	1	POR 72	Trainer
15 %5/34	Close Perrin	1	TWM 160	Trainer
15 %5/34	Close Secret Box	1	TWM 163	Trainer
15 %5/34	Close Tool Scrapper	1	ASC 212	Trainer
15 %5/34	Close Enriching Energy	1	SSP 191	Energy
12 %4/34	Close Goldeen	2–3	TWM 44	Pokémon
12 %4/34	Close Grookey	2–3	TWM 14	Pokémon
12 %4/34	Close N's Zoroark ex	2–3	JTG 98	Pokémon
12 %4/34	Close N's Zorua	3	JTG 97	Pokémon
12 %4/34	Close Thwackey	2–3	TWM 15	Pokémon
12 %4/34	Close Budew	1	ASC 16	Pokémon
12 %4/34	Close Dudunsparce ex	1	JTG 121	Pokémon
12 %4/34	Close Genesect	1	SFA 40	Pokémon
12 %4/34	Close Legacy Energy	1	TWM 167	Energy
9 %3/34	Close Dusclops	2	PRE 36	Pokémon
9 %3/34	Close Duskull	2	PRE 35	Pokémon
9 %3/34	Close Mega Starmie ex	2	POR 21	Pokémon
9 %3/34	Close Munkidori	2–3	TWM 95	Pokémon
9 %3/34	Close Seaking	2	PRE 21	Pokémon
9 %3/34	Close Staryu	2–3	POR 20	Pokémon
9 %3/34	Close Abra	1	TWM 80	Pokémon
9 %3/34	Close Dusknoir	1	PRE 37	Pokémon
9 %3/34	Close AZ's Tranquility	1	CRI 76	Trainer
9 %3/34	Close Festival Grounds	1	TWM 149	Trainer
9 %3/34	Darkness Energy	2–3	MEE 7	Energy
6 %2/34	Close Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex	1	TWM 141	Pokémon
6 %2/34	Close Dusk Ball	2–3	SSP 175	Trainer
6 %2/34	Close Drayton	1–2	SSP 174	Trainer
6 %2/34	Close Lana's Aid	1	TWM 155	Trainer
6 %2/34	Close Wally's Compassion	1	MEG 132	Trainer
3 %1/34	Close Palafin	1	PBL 22	Pokémon
3 %1/34	Close Totodile	1	TEF 39	Pokémon
3 %1/34	Close Veluza	1	SCR 45	Pokémon
3 %1/34	Close Cheren	2	WHT 81	Trainer
3 %1/34	Close Crispin	2	SCR 133	Trainer
3 %1/34	Close Battle Cage	1	PFL 85	Trainer
3 %1/34	Close Enhanced Hammer	1	TWM 148	Trainer
3 %1/34	Close Precious Trolley	1	SSP 185	Trainer
3 %1/34	Close Scoop Up Cyclone	1	TWM 162	Trainer
3 %1/34	Close Ignition Energy	2	WHT 86	Energy

The most common Palafin ex list, all 60 cards

Here they are in full, ready to build. 25 slots come from the core, the cards all 34 lists run. The remaining 35 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 22 Pokémon, 31 Trainers and 7 Energy.

One thing to know before you build it: the 34 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.

One thing to fix before you play: there is no ACE SPEC card in these 60. Players split that slot so many ways that none of their cards climbed high enough to get in, and 34 of the 34 lists carry one. Take Prime Catcher, the most chosen, and drop a card from the bottom of the table to make room.

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: 22
4 Finizen TWM 59
3 Palafin ex TWM 61
2 Palafin TWM 60
3 Dudunsparce TEF 129
1 Fezandipiti ex ASC 142
2 Dunsparce JTG 120
1 Palafin TEF 49
2 Froakie CRI 20
2 Mega Greninja ex CRI 22
1 Frogadier CRI 21
1 Psyduck ASC 39

Trainer: 31
4 Lillie's Determination MEG 119
4 Poké Pad POR 81
3 Air Balloon ASC 181
3 Surfing Beach MEG 129
2 Boss's Orders MEG 114
4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144
2 Ultra Ball MEG 131
1 Switch MEG 130
1 Night Stretcher ASC 196
1 Kieran TWM 154
1 Hilda WHT 84
1 Special Red Card CRI 82
1 Kofu SCR 138
1 Black Belt's Training JTG 143
2 Rare Candy MEG 125

Energy: 7
7 Water Energy MEE 3

Total Cards: 60

What Palafin ex costs to build, and how long it will last

You need 84 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.

All 34 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 10 took Prime Catcher, 8 took Maximum Belt and 5 took Enriching Energy. The flex table shows you all 7. 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 Prime Catcher and watch what the others do with theirs before you switch.

Then there is time. 3 of the 8 core cards carry the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation: Finizen, Palafin ex and Palafin. The core table marks every one of them. In copies, that is 9 of the 25 slots the core fills. Which day it lands, we do not know yet.

What Palafin ex 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 Palafin ex deck list?

There isn't one, so we built one for you: all 60 cards are written out further up this page. Across 34 tournament lists harvested between 16 August 2026 and 4 September 2026, 8 cards turn up in every single one, 25 slots out of 60. The remaining 35 change from player to player, with 76 different cards competing for them. Both tables are above.

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

34 lists, played across 30 different tournaments, harvested between 16 August 2026 and 4 September 2026 from play.limitlesstcg.com. All 34 were read card by card, and every card recognised.

Where do I start if I want to build Palafin ex?

With the whole core: 8 cards, 25 slots. Inside it, buy the 16 Trainer slots and the 0 Energy first: they carry over into your next deck. Leave the 9 Pokémon slots for last. Only then work down the flex table and add the cards the most lists agree on, starting with Buddy-Buddy Poffin at 97 % and Ultra Ball at 97 %.

What beats Palafin ex?

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 Palafin ex survive the next rotation?

Not intact: 3 core cards out of 8 carry the letter H, starting with Finizen, Palafin ex and Palafin.

Are a lot of people playing Palafin ex?

We have read 34 lists of it, which puts it 32nd of the 97 decks we track by lists read. The platform those tournaments run on counts 54 entries for it, 0.13 % 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.