Team Rocket's Spidops

What Team Rocket's Spidops looks like when you open the box

Across the 55 lists we counted, this deck runs 13 to 21 Pokémon, 28 to 36 Trainers and 9 to 12 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Grass.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « rocket-spidops ». 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: 9 to 12 out of 60, exactly the median of the 125 decks we track. It draws neither too much nor too little, so this is not where its games are won or lost.

It sets up fast. Team Rocket's Spidops 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: 28 to 36 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 18 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

Team Rocket's Spidops gives this deck its name. Here is what is written on it.

Team Rocket's Spidops is in all 55 lists, 4 copies of it. Its Ability is called Charging Up, and here is what is printed on it, word for word: « Once during your turn, you may attach a Basic Energy card from your discard pile to this Pokémon. »

How Team Rocket's Spidops actually wins

Team Rocket's Spidops attacks with Rocket Rush. It needs 2 Energy, 1 Grass and 1 Colorless attached, and it has 130 HP. Watch the damage box: "30×" is not a total. Here is what the card prints, word for word: "This attack does 30 damage for each of your Team Rocket's Pokémon in play."

The cost of Rocket Rush decides your first few turns. You only get to attach one Energy a turn, and that attack asks for 2. On your own attachments alone, your first real swing lands on turn 2. Except it charges itself. Team Rocket's Spidops, which the list runs 4 of, has an Ability called Charging Up: it digs Energy out of your discard pile and puts it back on one of your Pokémon. An Ability costs you nothing: not your attack, not your card for the turn. That is where this deck buys its turns, and it is the first thing to look for in your opening hand.

Here is the detail that quietly loses games. To pull Team Rocket's Spidops 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.

Not one ex Pokémon in the core, and only 26 of the 125 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 Team Rocket's SpidopsStage 1	130	Rocket Rush	30×		Fire ×2	2
Close Team Rocket's TarountulaBasic	50	Take Down	30		Fire ×2	1

The core: the 4 cards every list runs

These 4 cards appear in all 55 lists, without a single exception. That is 13 of the 60 slots. The other 47 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 13 slots break down: 5 Trainers, 8 Pokémon, 0 Energy. Pokémon dominate, which is unusual: this deck needs bodies on the board, and it depends on any single attacker less than it looks.

4 of those 4 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Team Rocket's Spidops (3 to 4), Team Rocket's Tarountula (3 to 4) and Ultra Ball (1 to 4), plus 1 more. Add those spreads up and you get 7 copies the 55 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
3–4	Close Team Rocket's Spidops	DRI 20	Pokémon	stays
3–4	Close Team Rocket's Tarountula	DRI 19	Pokémon	stays
1–4	Close Ultra Ball	MEG 131	Trainer	stays
1–3	Close Night Stretcher	ASC 196	Trainer	leaves

The 80 cards that change from list to list

80 cards fight over the 47 slots that are left: 16 above three lists in four, 53 below one in four, and the percentage on each row says how many players took it.

The most agreed on first: Energy Switch at 98 %, Team Rocket's Petrel at 98 % and Grass Energy at 98 %, plus 13 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Energy Search, at 51 %: 28 of 55 players took it, 27 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 1 copy. Right at the bottom of the table, Bug Catching Set (14 lists out of 55) and Team Rocket's Wobbuffet (12 lists out of 55).

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
98 %54/55	Close Energy Switch	1–4	MEG 115	Trainer
98 %54/55	Close Team Rocket's Petrel	1–4	DRI 176	Trainer
98 %54/55	Grass Energy	1–8	MEE 9	Energy
96 %53/55	Close Team Rocket's Articuno	1–3	DRI 51	Pokémon
96 %53/55	Close Team Rocket's Mimikyu	1–2	DRI 87	Pokémon
96 %53/55	Close Team Rocket's Transceiver	2–4	DRI 178	Trainer
96 %53/55	Close Team Rocket's Giovanni	2–4	DRI 174	Trainer
95 %52/55	Close Team Rocket's Proton	2–3	DRI 177	Trainer
93 %51/55	Close Team Rocket's Ariana	2–4	DRI 171	Trainer
93 %51/55	Close Team Rocket's Energy	4	DRI 182	Energy
91 %50/55	Close Team Rocket's Factory	1–3	DRI 173	Trainer
89 %49/55	Close Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex	1	DRI 81	Pokémon
82 %45/55	Close Lillie's Determination	2–4	MEG 119	Trainer
78 %43/55	Close Team Rocket's Archer	1–2	DRI 170	Trainer
76 %42/55	Close Prism Tower	1–2	CRI 80	Trainer
75 %41/55	Close Team Rocket's Kangaskhan ex	1	ASC 162	Pokémon
73 %40/55	Close Team Rocket's Sneasel	1–2	DRI 128	Pokémon
71 %39/55	Close Brave Bangle	1–2	WHT 80	Trainer
71 %39/55	Close Secret Box	1	TWM 163	Trainer
67 %37/55	Close Poké Pad	1–4	POR 81	Trainer
67 %37/55	Psychic Energy	1–12	MEE 5	Energy
51 %28/55	Close Energy Search	1–2	POR 72	Trainer
49 %27/55	Close Handheld Fan	1–2	TWM 150	Trainer
44 %24/55	Close Lillie's Clefairy ex	1	JTG 56	Pokémon
40 %22/55	Close Crushing Hammer	3–4	POR 71	Trainer
40 %22/55	Close Team Rocket's Watchtower	1	DRI 180	Trainer
33 %18/55	Close Lucky Helmet	1–2	TWM 158	Trainer
25 %14/55	Close Bug Catching Set	1–3	TWM 143	Trainer
22 %12/55	Close Team Rocket's Wobbuffet	1	DRI 82	Pokémon
20 %11/55	Close Maximum Belt	1	TEF 154	Trainer
18 %10/55	Close Tool Scrapper	1	ASC 212	Trainer
15 %8/55	Close Special Red Card	1	CRI 82	Trainer
13 %7/55	Close Colress's Tenacity	1	SFA 57	Trainer
13 %7/55	Close Sacred Ash	1	DRI 168	Trainer
9 %5/55	Close Shaymin	1	DRI 10	Pokémon
9 %5/55	Close Buddy-Buddy Poffin	1–4	TEF 144	Trainer
9 %5/55	Close Air Balloon	1–2	ASC 181	Trainer
9 %5/55	Close Nighttime Mine	1	ASC 197	Trainer
9 %5/55	Fire Energy	1–2	MEE 2	Energy
7 %4/55	Close Team Rocket's Meowth	1–2	DRI 149	Pokémon
7 %4/55	Close Team Rocket's Persian ex	1–2	DRI 150	Pokémon
7 %4/55	Close Team Rocket's Moltres ex	1–2	DRI 31	Pokémon
5 %3/55	Close Crispin	2	SCR 133	Trainer
5 %3/55	Close Hilda	1	WHT 84	Trainer
4 %2/55	Close Meowth ex	1–2	POR 62	Pokémon
4 %2/55	Close Teal Mask Ogerpon ex	2	TWM 25	Pokémon
4 %2/55	Close Team Rocket's Diglett	2	ASC 100	Pokémon
4 %2/55	Close Team Rocket's Dugtrio	2	ASC 101	Pokémon
4 %2/55	Close Area Zero Underdepths	3	SCR 131	Trainer
4 %2/55	Close Pokégear 3.0	1–3	SVI 186	Trainer
4 %2/55	Close Boss's Orders	2	MEG 114	Trainer
4 %2/55	Close Enhanced Hammer	1	TWM 148	Trainer
4 %2/55	Close Hero's Cape	1	TEF 152	Trainer
4 %2/55	Close Neutralization Zone	1	SFA 60	Trainer
4 %2/55	Close Switch	1	MEG 130	Trainer
2 %1/55	Close Azumarill ex	3	ASC 84	Pokémon
2 %1/55	Close Marill	3	ASC 83	Pokémon
2 %1/55	Close Dudunsparce	2	TEF 129	Pokémon
2 %1/55	Close Dunsparce	2	JTG 120	Pokémon
2 %1/55	Close Eevee	2	SFA 50	Pokémon
2 %1/55	Close Eevee	2	SSP 143	Pokémon
2 %1/55	Close Sylveon ex	2	30C 71	Pokémon
2 %1/55	Close Budew	1	ASC 16	Pokémon
2 %1/55	Close Dudunsparce ex	1	JTG 121	Pokémon
2 %1/55	Close Fezandipiti ex	1	ASC 142	Pokémon
2 %1/55	Close Psyduck	1	ASC 39	Pokémon
2 %1/55	Close Sylveon	1	PRE 40	Pokémon
2 %1/55	Close Sylveon ex	1	SSP 86	Pokémon
2 %1/55	Close Explorer's Guidance	3	TEF 147	Trainer
2 %1/55	Close Wondrous Patch	3	PFL 94	Trainer
2 %1/55	Close Black Belt's Training	1	JTG 143	Trainer
2 %1/55	Close Energy Search Pro	1	SSP 176	Trainer
2 %1/55	Close Gravity Mountain	1	SSP 177	Trainer
2 %1/55	Close Judge	1	POR 76	Trainer
2 %1/55	Close Lana's Aid	1	TWM 155	Trainer
2 %1/55	Lightning Energy	2	MEE 12	Energy
2 %1/55	Water Energy	2	MEE 11	Energy
2 %1/55	Darkness Energy	1	MEE 15	Energy
2 %1/55	Fighting Energy	1	MEE 14	Energy
2 %1/55	Metal Energy	1	MEE 16	Energy

The most common Team Rocket's Spidops list, all 60 cards

Here they are in full, ready to build. 13 slots come from the core, the cards all 55 lists run. The remaining 47 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 26 more cards to reach 60. The whole thing comes to 15 Pokémon, 34 Trainers and 11 Energy.

One thing to know before you build it: the 55 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: 15
4 Team Rocket's Spidops DRI 20
4 Team Rocket's Tarountula DRI 19
2 Team Rocket's Articuno DRI 51
1 Team Rocket's Mimikyu DRI 87
1 Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex DRI 81
1 Team Rocket's Kangaskhan ex ASC 162
1 Team Rocket's Sneasel DRI 128
1 Lillie's Clefairy ex JTG 56

Trainer: 34
3 Ultra Ball MEG 131
2 Night Stretcher ASC 196
1 Energy Switch MEG 115
1 Team Rocket's Petrel DRI 176
4 Team Rocket's Transceiver DRI 178
3 Team Rocket's Giovanni DRI 174
2 Team Rocket's Proton DRI 177
4 Team Rocket's Ariana DRI 171
2 Team Rocket's Factory DRI 173
2 Lillie's Determination MEG 119
1 Team Rocket's Archer DRI 170
1 Prism Tower CRI 80
1 Brave Bangle WHT 80
1 Secret Box TWM 163
1 Poké Pad POR 81
1 Energy Search POR 72
2 Handheld Fan TWM 150
1 Team Rocket's Watchtower DRI 180
1 Lucky Helmet TWM 158

Energy: 11
6 Grass Energy
4 Team Rocket's Energy DRI 182
1 Psychic Energy MEE 5

Total Cards: 60

How many different cards Team Rocket's Spidops needs, and how long it will last

You need 84 different cards to cover every version of this deck, 4 of which nobody argues about. The rest is where lists differ from one another, and that is where you have room to choose.

All 55 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 39 took Secret Box, 11 took Maximum Belt and 2 took Hero's Cape. 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 Secret Box and watch what the others do with theirs before you switch.

Then there is time. 1 of the 4 core cards carries the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation: Night Stretcher. The core table marks it. In copies, that is 2 of the 13 slots the core fills. Which day it lands, we do not know yet.

What Team Rocket's Spidops struggles against

The attackers in this deck are Weak to Fire, so they take DOUBLE damage from that type. 13 of the 125 decks we track attack in exactly that type.

Concretely, here is what is waiting for you: Dragapult ex / Blaziken ex, Ethan's Typhlosion and Ceruledge ex, 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 125 we track. The other 112 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 Grass, and 24 of the decks we track have an attacker Weak to one of those: N's Zoroark ex, Mega Lucario ex / Hariyama and Mega Sharpedo ex / Toxtricity, among others. That is you doubling, for once. Second half of the table.

When an attack does nothing at all

There are two ways to hurt the Pokémon across the table, and the game does not treat them the same. An attack with a number printed next to it deals damage. An attack with no number, whose text just says "place 2 damage counters", does what the rules call an effect. That matters, because a handful of Pokémon have an Ability that prevents the effects of your opponent's attacks, and their card spells it out in brackets: damage is not an effect.

This deck has an answer to that. Team Rocket's Articuno has Repelling Veil, and 53 lists out of 55 play it. Against an attack that only places counters, that Pokémon takes nothing at all. Not one counter. An attack with a number printed next to it still puts its damage on it, mind you. That Ability even covers other Pokémon on your side. Its text tells you which ones, so read it once before your next tournament.

Of the decks we track right now, 6 play an attack like that. They are in the table below, with the Pokémon carrying it. When you run into one, put that Pokémon in the Active Spot: the marker attack can no longer touch it. Your opponent will have to reach for printed-damage attacks — most of these decks carry some too. The wall buys you turns, it does not win the game for you.