Sylveon deck: the core, the flex slots, and what beats it

What Sylveon looks like when you open the box

Across the 18 lists we counted, this deck runs 12 to 22 Pokémon, 29 to 37 Trainers and 9 to 14 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Psychic.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « sylveon-pre ». Every card named in that label turns up in the tables below, which is what makes it a fair name for the deck.

The bit they tack on the end, « PRE », is a set code: Prismatic Evolutions. They spell it out because several cards share that name, and this deck plays that particular printing.

Look at the Energy: 9 to 14 out of 60, when half the 97 decks we track run 10 or fewer. This one carries more than most, and you feel it at the table — it wants to load up a big Pokémon and swing hard, even if that means drawing a spare Energy now and then.

It sets up fast. Sylveon 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, 8 to 21 Supporters, and the rule there is strict — one a turn, even if you are holding three. The 10 to 17 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.

What the card in this deck's name actually does

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

Sylveon is in all 18 lists, 3 copies of it. Its Ability is called Safeguard, and here is what is printed on it, word for word: « Prevent all damage done to this Pokémon by attacks from your opponent's Pokémon ex. »

How Sylveon actually wins

Sylveon attacks with Magical Shot for 100. It needs 3 Energy, 1 Psychic and 2 Colorless attached, and it has 120 HP.

The cost of Magical Shot 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. Eevee has to climb a step before it becomes Sylveon, 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.

Good news on mobility: pulling Sylveon back to the Bench costs you 1 Energy attached to it, and that is all. Retreating does not cost you your turn, so you step back and swing anyway. That matters enormously the day your opponent lands something nasty on it.

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 SylveonStage 1	120	Magical Shot	100	Psychic + Colorless + Colorless	Metal ×2	1

The core: the 5 cards every list runs

These 5 cards appear in all 18 lists, without a single exception. That is 14 of the 60 slots. The other 46 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 14 slots break down: 7 Trainers, 3 Pokémon, 4 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.

5 of those 5 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Sylveon (3 to 4), Lillie's Determination (3 to 4) and Poké Pad (1 to 4), plus 2 more. Add those spreads up and you get 11 copies the 18 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 Sylveon	PRE 40	Pokémon	leaves
3–4	Close Lillie's Determination	MEG 119	Trainer	stays
1–4	Close Poké Pad	POR 81	Trainer	stays
1–4	Close Hilda	WHT 84	Trainer	stays
3–6	Psychic Energy	MEE 5	Energy	stays

The 65 cards that change from list to list

65 cards fight over the 46 slots that are left: 20 above three lists in four, 42 below one in four, and the percentage on each row says how many players took it.

The most agreed on first: Boss's Orders at 94 %, Team Rocket's Petrel at 94 % and Night Stretcher at 94 %, plus 17 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Grass Energy, at 33 %: 6 of 18 players took it, 12 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 1 copy. Right at the bottom of the table, Eevee (4 lists out of 18) and Lillie's Clefairy ex (3 lists out of 18).

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
94 %17/18	Close Boss's Orders	2–4	MEG 114	Trainer
94 %17/18	Close Team Rocket's Petrel	2–4	DRI 176	Trainer
94 %17/18	Close Night Stretcher	2–4	ASC 196	Trainer
94 %17/18	Close Mist Energy	2–4	TEF 161	Energy
94 %17/18	Darkness Energy	1–3	MEE 7	Energy
89 %16/18	Close Eevee	1–4	TWM 135	Pokémon
89 %16/18	Close Munkidori	1–2	TWM 95	Pokémon
89 %16/18	Close Jacinthe	3–4	POR 75	Trainer
89 %16/18	Close Pokégear 3.0	2–4	SVI 186	Trainer
89 %16/18	Close Crispin	2–4	SCR 133	Trainer
89 %16/18	Close Jumbo Ice Cream	3–4	PFL 91	Trainer
89 %16/18	Close Buddy-Buddy Poffin	1–4	TEF 144	Trainer
89 %16/18	Close Hero's Cape	1	TEF 152	Trainer
83 %15/18	Close Espeon ex	1–2	PRE 34	Pokémon
78 %14/18	Close Dedenne	1	SSP 87	Pokémon
78 %14/18	Close Fezandipiti	1	TWM 96	Pokémon
78 %14/18	Close Psyduck	1	ASC 39	Pokémon
78 %14/18	Close Handheld Fan	1	TWM 150	Trainer
78 %14/18	Close Xerosic's Machinations	1	SFA 64	Trainer
78 %14/18	Close Spiky Energy	1	JTG 159	Energy
72 %13/18	Close Team Rocket's Articuno	1	DRI 51	Pokémon
72 %13/18	Water Energy	1	MEE 3	Energy
33 %6/18	Grass Energy	1–2	MEE 1	Energy
22 %4/18	Close Eevee	1–3	SSP 143	Pokémon
17 %3/18	Close Lillie's Clefairy ex	1	JTG 56	Pokémon
11 %2/18	Close Eevee	1–4	SFA 50	Pokémon
11 %2/18	Close Dudunsparce	2	TEF 129	Pokémon
11 %2/18	Close Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex	1	TWM 112	Pokémon
11 %2/18	Close Fezandipiti ex	1	ASC 142	Pokémon
11 %2/18	Close Rare Candy	3–4	MEG 125	Trainer
11 %2/18	Close Brock's Scouting	1	JTG 146	Trainer
11 %2/18	Close Eri	1	TEF 146	Trainer
11 %2/18	Close Sacred Ash	1	DRI 168	Trainer
11 %2/18	Close Special Red Card	1	CRI 82	Trainer
11 %2/18	Close Ultra Ball	1	MEG 131	Trainer
11 %2/18	Fighting Energy	1	MEE 6	Energy
6 %1/18	Close Dusknoir	4	PRE 37	Pokémon
6 %1/18	Close Duskull	4	PRE 35	Pokémon
6 %1/18	Close Dusclops	3	PRE 36	Pokémon
6 %1/18	Close Team Rocket's Mareep	3	DRI 72	Pokémon
6 %1/18	Close Dunsparce	2	JTG 120	Pokémon
6 %1/18	Close Dunsparce	2	TEF 128	Pokémon
6 %1/18	Close Mega Kangaskhan ex	2	MEG 104	Pokémon
6 %1/18	Close Team Rocket's Ampharos	2	DRI 74	Pokémon
6 %1/18	Close Salandit	1	POR 15	Pokémon
6 %1/18	Close Salazzle ex	1	POR 16	Pokémon
6 %1/18	Close Shaymin	1	DRI 10	Pokémon
6 %1/18	Close Smoochum	1	SSP 75	Pokémon
6 %1/18	Close Team Rocket's Flaaffy	1	DRI 73	Pokémon
6 %1/18	Close Risky Ruins	4	MEG 127	Trainer
6 %1/18	Close Dawn	3	PFL 87	Trainer
6 %1/18	Close Lana's Aid	3	TWM 155	Trainer
6 %1/18	Close Wondrous Patch	3	PFL 94	Trainer
6 %1/18	Close Battle Cage	2	PFL 85	Trainer
6 %1/18	Close Bianca's Devotion	2	TEF 142	Trainer
6 %1/18	Close Switch	2	MEG 130	Trainer
6 %1/18	Close Energy Search	1	POR 72	Trainer
6 %1/18	Close Festival Grounds	1	TWM 149	Trainer
6 %1/18	Close Pokémon Center Lady	1	MEG 123	Trainer
6 %1/18	Close Sparkling Crystal	1	SCR 142	Trainer
6 %1/18	Close Team Rocket's Factory	1	DRI 173	Trainer
6 %1/18	Close Telepathic Psychic Energy	4	POR 88	Energy
6 %1/18	Fire Energy	3	MEE 2	Energy
6 %1/18	Close Enriching Energy	1	SSP 191	Energy
6 %1/18	Close Team Rocket's Energy	1	DRI 182	Energy

The most common Sylveon list, all 60 cards

Here they are in full, ready to build. 14 slots come from the core, the cards all 18 lists run. The remaining 46 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 22 more cards to reach 60. The whole thing comes to 13 Pokémon, 34 Trainers and 13 Energy.

One thing to know before you build it: the 18 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.

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: 13
3 Sylveon PRE 40
4 Eevee TWM 135
1 Munkidori TWM 95
1 Espeon ex PRE 34
1 Dedenne SSP 87
1 Fezandipiti TWM 96
1 Psyduck ASC 39
1 Team Rocket's Articuno DRI 51

Trainer: 34
4 Lillie's Determination MEG 119
2 Poké Pad POR 81
1 Hilda WHT 84
4 Boss's Orders MEG 114
3 Team Rocket's Petrel DRI 176
2 Night Stretcher ASC 196
4 Jacinthe POR 75
4 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186
3 Crispin SCR 133
3 Jumbo Ice Cream PFL 91
1 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144
1 Hero's Cape TEF 152
1 Handheld Fan TWM 150
1 Xerosic's Machinations SFA 64

Energy: 13
4 Psychic Energy MEE 5
4 Mist Energy TEF 161
3 Darkness Energy MEE 7
1 Spiky Energy JTG 159
1 Water Energy MEE 3

Total Cards: 60

What Sylveon costs to build, and how long it will last

You need 70 different cards to cover every version of this deck, 5 of which nobody argues about. We do not have card prices, so we are not going to put a number on it.

All 18 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 16 took Hero's Cape, 1 took Enriching Energy and 1 took Sparkling Crystal. 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. 1 of the 5 core cards carries the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation: Sylveon. The core table marks it. In copies, that is 3 of the 14 slots the core fills. Which day it lands, we do not know yet.

What Sylveon struggles against

The attackers in this deck are Weak to Metal, so they take DOUBLE damage from that type. 11 of the 97 decks we track attack in exactly that type.

Concretely, here is what is waiting for you: Mega Excadrill ex, Slowking (Metagross) and Cinccino ex (Genesect ex), plus 8 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 11 decks out of the 97 we track. The other 86 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 6 of the decks we track have an attacker Weak to one of those: Mega Lucario ex, Mega Lucario ex / Hariyama and Greninja ex, 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 13 lists out of 18 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, 5 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.

Questions people ask

What is the Sylveon deck list?

There isn't one, so we built one for you: all 60 cards are written out further up this page. Across 18 tournament lists harvested between 16 August 2026 and 3 September 2026, 5 cards turn up in every single one, 14 slots out of 60. The remaining 46 change from player to player, with 65 different cards competing for them. Both tables are above.

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

18 lists, played across 18 different tournaments, harvested between 16 August 2026 and 3 September 2026 from play.limitlesstcg.com. All 18 were read card by card, and every card recognised.

Where do I start if I want to build Sylveon?

With the whole core: 5 cards, 14 slots. Inside it, buy the 7 Trainer slots and the 4 Energy first: they carry over into your next deck. Leave the 3 Pokémon slots for last. Only then work down the flex table and add the cards the most lists agree on, starting with Boss's Orders at 94 % and Team Rocket's Petrel at 94 %.

What beats Sylveon?

Its attackers are Weak to Metal, so they take double damage from an attacker of that type. 11 of the 97 decks we track play an attacker of that type: Mega Excadrill ex, Slowking, Cinccino ex and Steven's Metagross ex, among others.

Will Sylveon survive the next rotation?

Not intact: 1 core cards out of 5 carry the letter H, starting with Sylveon.

Are a lot of people playing Sylveon?

We have read 18 lists of it, which puts it 84th of the 97 decks we track by lists read. The platform those tournaments run on counts 18 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.