Mega Starmie ex / Dusknoir

What Mega Starmie ex / Dusknoir looks like when you open the box

Across the 92 lists we counted, this deck runs 15 to 26 Pokémon, 26 to 39 Trainers and 6 to 11 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Psychic.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « starmie-dusknoir ». 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 11 out of 60, when half the 125 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.

It takes a while to set up. Dusknoir is a Stage 2 Pokémon: you put down the baby, you evolve it, and then you evolve it again. Three cards stacked before anything attacks. That is what the hardest-hitting decks cost you, and it is also where they crack — a fast opponent can bury you before the line is standing.

Look at the Trainers: 26 to 39 cards out of 60, against a median of 31 across the 125 decks we track. Inside that, 9 to 20 Supporters, and the rule there is strict — one a turn, even if you are holding three. The 11 to 21 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 cards in this deck's name actually do

Mega Starmie ex and Dusknoir give this deck its name. Here is what is written on them.

Mega Starmie ex is in all 92 lists, 2 copies of it.

Dusknoir is in all 92 lists, 1 copy of it. Its Ability is called Cursed Blast, and here is what is printed on it, word for word: « Once during your turn, you may put 13 damage counters on 1 of your opponent's Pokémon. If you use this Ability, this Pokémon is Knocked Out. »

How Mega Starmie ex / Dusknoir actually wins

Mega Starmie ex attacks with Nebula Beam for 210. It needs 3 Colorless Energy attached, and it has 330 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: "This attack's damage isn't affected by Weakness or Resistance, or by any effects on your opponent's Active Pokémon."

The cost of Nebula Beam 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.

Energy is not your only clock. Duskull has to climb two steps before it becomes Dusknoir, and an evolution asleep at the bottom of your deck does you no good at all. The list has that covered. Hilda, which the list runs 3 of, goes into your deck for an evolution.

Here is the detail that quietly loses games. To pull Mega Starmie 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 Starmie 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 Starmie exStage 1	330	Nebula Beam	210		Lightning ×2	2
Close DusknoirStage 2	160	Shadow Bind	150		Darkness ×2	3
Close DusclopsStage 1	90	Will-O-Wisp	50		Darkness ×2	2
Close DuskullBasic	60	Mumble	30		Darkness ×2	1

The core: the 10 cards every list runs

These 10 cards appear in all 92 lists, without a single exception. That is 27 of the 60 slots. The other 33 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 27 slots break down: 17 Trainers, 10 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.

10 of those 10 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Staryu (2 to 4), Dusclops (1 to 4) and Duskull (1 to 4), plus 7 more. Add those spreads up and you get 21 copies the 92 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 Staryu	POR 20	Pokémon	stays
1–4	Close Dusclops	PRE 36	Pokémon	leaves
1–4	Close Duskull	PRE 35	Pokémon	leaves
2–3	Close Mega Starmie ex	POR 21	Pokémon	stays
1–3	Close Dusknoir	PRE 37	Pokémon	leaves
2–4	Close Buddy-Buddy Poffin	TEF 144	Trainer	leaves
2–4	Close Lillie's Determination	MEG 119	Trainer	stays
3–4	Close Poké Pad	POR 81	Trainer	stays
1–4	Close Hilda	WHT 84	Trainer	stays
1–3	Close Boss's Orders	MEG 114	Trainer	stays

The 83 cards that change from list to list

83 cards fight over the 33 slots that are left: 7 above three lists in four, 61 below one in four, and the percentage on each row says how many players took it.

The most agreed on first: Water Energy at 99 %, Ultra Ball at 98 % and Ignition Energy at 98 %, plus 4 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Pokégear 3.0, at 49 %: 45 of 92 players took it, 47 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 3 copies. Right at the bottom of the table, Latias ex (22 lists out of 92) and Team Rocket's Petrel (19 lists out of 92).

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 %91/92	Water Energy	2–7	MEE 3	Energy
98 %90/92	Close Ultra Ball	2–4	MEG 131	Trainer
98 %90/92	Close Ignition Energy	1–3	WHT 86	Energy
95 %87/92	Close Meowth ex	1–4	POR 62	Pokémon
93 %86/92	Close Night Stretcher	1–3	ASC 196	Trainer
86 %79/92	Close Budew	1–2	ASC 16	Pokémon
75 %69/92	Close Special Red Card	1–2	CRI 82	Trainer
73 %67/92	Close Fezandipiti ex	1	ASC 142	Pokémon
65 %60/92	Close Risky Ruins	2–4	MEG 127	Trainer
64 %59/92	Close Munkidori	1–3	TWM 95	Pokémon
63 %58/92	Close Mega Froslass ex	1–2	ASC 47	Pokémon
63 %58/92	Close Snorunt	1–3	ASC 46	Pokémon
63 %58/92	Darkness Energy	1–3	MEE 7	Energy
53 %49/92	Close Wally's Compassion	1–3	MEG 132	Trainer
49 %45/92	Close Pokégear 3.0	1–3	SVI 186	Trainer
49 %45/92	Close Salvatore	1–3	TEF 160	Trainer
43 %40/92	Close Bubbly Water Energy	1–4	CRI 84	Energy
41 %38/92	Close Surfing Beach	1–3	MEG 129	Trainer
38 %35/92	Close Crispin	1–2	SCR 133	Trainer
37 %34/92	Close Legacy Energy	1	TWM 167	Energy
36 %33/92	Close Prime Catcher	1	TEF 157	Trainer
26 %24/92	Close Judge	1–2	POR 76	Trainer
24 %22/92	Close Latias ex	1–2	SSP 76	Pokémon
21 %19/92	Close Team Rocket's Petrel	1–3	DRI 176	Trainer
20 %18/92	Close Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex	1	TWM 141	Pokémon
16 %15/92	Close Handheld Fan	1–2	TWM 150	Trainer
16 %15/92	Close Team Rocket's Watchtower	1–2	DRI 180	Trainer
15 %14/92	Close Air Balloon	1–2	ASC 181	Trainer
15 %14/92	Close Switch	1–2	MEG 130	Trainer
12 %11/92	Close Secret Box	1	TWM 163	Trainer
11 %10/92	Close Rare Candy	1–3	MEG 125	Trainer
10 %9/92	Close Dudunsparce	1–3	TEF 129	Pokémon
10 %9/92	Close Shaymin	1	DRI 10	Pokémon
10 %9/92	Close Dawn	1–2	PFL 87	Trainer
10 %9/92	Close Energy Search	1	POR 72	Trainer
9 %8/92	Close Kieran	1	TWM 154	Trainer
8 %7/92	Close Totodile	1	TEF 39	Pokémon
7 %6/92	Close Team Rocket's Golbat	3	DRI 121	Pokémon
7 %6/92	Close Team Rocket's Zubat	3	DRI 120	Pokémon
7 %6/92	Close Team Rocket's Crobat ex	2	DRI 122	Pokémon
7 %6/92	Close Froslass	1	TWM 53	Pokémon
7 %6/92	Close Team Rocket's Mimikyu	1	DRI 87	Pokémon
7 %6/92	Close Unfair Stamp	1	TWM 165	Trainer
7 %6/92	Close Team Rocket's Energy	2–3	DRI 182	Energy
5 %5/92	Close Dunsparce	3	JTG 120	Pokémon
5 %5/92	Close Team Rocket's Sneasel	1	DRI 128	Pokémon
5 %5/92	Close Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex	1	TWM 64	Pokémon
5 %5/92	Close Tool Scrapper	1	ASC 212	Trainer
4 %4/92	Close Dunsparce	2–3	TEF 128	Pokémon
4 %4/92	Close Cubchoo	1	BLK 25	Pokémon
4 %4/92	Close Dudunsparce ex	1	JTG 121	Pokémon
4 %4/92	Close Team Rocket's Articuno	1	DRI 51	Pokémon
4 %4/92	Close Nighttime Mine	1–2	ASC 197	Trainer
4 %4/92	Close Xerosic's Machinations	1	SFA 64	Trainer
4 %4/92	Close Mist Energy	2	TEF 161	Energy
3 %3/92	Close Bruxish	1	SSP 49	Pokémon
3 %3/92	Close Yveltal	1	MEG 88	Pokémon
3 %3/92	Close Crushing Hammer	1–3	POR 71	Trainer
3 %3/92	Close Prism Energy	1–2	ASC 216	Energy
2 %2/92	Close Brock's Scouting	2	JTG 146	Trainer
2 %2/92	Close Mega Signal	1–2	MEG 121	Trainer
2 %2/92	Close Carmine	1	TWM 145	Trainer
2 %2/92	Close Colress's Tenacity	1	SFA 57	Trainer
2 %2/92	Close Hero's Cape	1	TEF 152	Trainer
2 %2/92	Close Larry's Skill	1	PRE 115	Trainer
2 %2/92	Close Scoop Up Cyclone	1	TWM 162	Trainer
2 %2/92	Close Surfer	1	SSP 187	Trainer
1 %1/92	Close Lillie's Clefairy ex	1	JTG 56	Pokémon
1 %1/92	Close Patrat	1	CRI 70	Pokémon
1 %1/92	Close Volcanion	1	POR 25	Pokémon
1 %1/92	Close Battle Cage	2	PFL 85	Trainer
1 %1/92	Close Dark Bell	1	PBL 75	Trainer
1 %1/92	Close Drayton	1	SSP 174	Trainer
1 %1/92	Close Grand Tree	1	SCR 136	Trainer
1 %1/92	Close Gravity Mountain	1	SSP 177	Trainer
1 %1/92	Close Great Haul Net	1	CRI 78	Trainer
1 %1/92	Close Lana's Aid	1	TWM 155	Trainer
1 %1/92	Close Lucky Helmet	1	TWM 158	Trainer
1 %1/92	Close Maximum Belt	1	TEF 154	Trainer
1 %1/92	Close Miracle Headset	1	SSP 183	Trainer
1 %1/92	Psychic Energy	2	MEE 5	Energy
1 %1/92	Close Telepathic Psychic Energy	2	POR 88	Energy
1 %1/92	Close Enriching Energy	1	SSP 191	Energy

The most common Mega Starmie ex / Dusknoir list, all 60 cards

Here they are in full, ready to build. 27 slots come from the core, the cards all 92 lists run. The remaining 33 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 19 Pokémon, 33 Trainers and 8 Energy.

One thing to know before you build it: the 92 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 92 of the 92 lists carry one. Take Legacy Energy, 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.

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: 19
3 Staryu POR 20
2 Dusclops PRE 36
2 Duskull PRE 35
2 Mega Starmie ex POR 21
1 Dusknoir PRE 37
1 Meowth ex POR 62
1 Budew ASC 16
1 Fezandipiti ex ASC 142
2 Munkidori TWM 95
2 Mega Froslass ex ASC 47
2 Snorunt ASC 46

Trainer: 33
4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144
4 Lillie's Determination MEG 119
4 Poké Pad POR 81
3 Hilda WHT 84
2 Boss's Orders MEG 114
4 Ultra Ball MEG 131
2 Night Stretcher ASC 196
1 Special Red Card CRI 82
2 Risky Ruins MEG 127
2 Wally's Compassion MEG 132
3 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186
2 Salvatore TEF 160

Energy: 8
3 Water Energy MEE 3
2 Ignition Energy WHT 86
2 Darkness Energy MEE 7
1 Bubbly Water Energy CRI 84

Total Cards: 60

How many different cards Mega Starmie ex / Dusknoir needs, and how long it will last

You need 93 different cards to cover every version of this deck, 10 of which nobody argues about. The rest is where lists differ from one another, and that is where you have room to choose.

All 92 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 34 took Legacy Energy, 33 took Prime Catcher and 11 took Secret Box. 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 Legacy Energy and watch what the others do with theirs before you switch.

Then there is time. 4 of the 10 core cards carry the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation: Dusclops, Duskull, Dusknoir and Buddy-Buddy Poffin. The core table marks every one of them. In copies, that is 9 of the 27 slots the core fills. Which day it lands, we do not know yet.

What Mega Starmie ex / Dusknoir struggles against

The attackers in this deck are Weak to Lightning and Darkness, so they take DOUBLE damage from those types. 28 of the 125 decks we track attack in exactly those types.

Concretely, here is what is waiting for you: N's Zoroark ex, Mega Sharpedo ex / Toxtricity and Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass, plus 25 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 28 decks out of the 125 we track. The other 97 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 Psychic, and 18 of the decks we track have an attacker Weak to one of those: Mega Lucario ex / Hariyama, Dragapult ex / Blaziken ex and Mega Lucario ex, among others. That is you doubling, for once. Second half of the table.