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

What Toucannon looks like when you open the box

Across the 23 lists we counted, this deck runs 18 to 26 Pokémon, 27 to 36 Trainers and 5 to 9 Energy. Its attacks do not ask for any particular type of Energy.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « toucannon-pbl ». 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, « PBL », is a set code: Pitch Black. They spell it out because several cards share that name, and this deck plays that particular printing.

Look at the Energy: 5 to 9 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 takes a while to set up. Toucannon 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: 27 to 36 cards out of 60, against a median of 31 across the 97 decks we track. Inside that, 6 to 13 Supporters, and the rule there is strict — one a turn, even if you are holding three. The 12 to 22 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

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

Toucannon is in all 23 lists, 3 copies of it. Its Ability is called Aerial Draw, and here is what is printed on it, word for word: « Once during your turn, you may use this Ability. Draw a card. »

How Toucannon actually wins

Fan Rotom attacks with Assault Landing for 70. It needs 1 Colorless Energy attached, and it has 70 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: "If there is no Stadium in play, this attack does nothing."

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 Toucannon 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. Pikipek has to climb two steps before it becomes Toucannon, and an evolution asleep at the bottom of your deck does you no good at all. The list has that covered. Dawn, which the list runs 4 of, goes into your deck for an evolution. Careful, though: only 17 of the 23 lists bring it, so it is a choice, and players are still arguing about it.

Good news on mobility: pulling Fan Rotom 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 Fan RotomBasic	70	Assault Landing	70	Colorless	Lightning ×2	1
Close ToucannonStage 2	150	Feather Rondo	60+	Colorless	Lightning ×2	2
Close TrumbeakStage 1	90	Fly	30	Colorless	Lightning ×2	1
Close PikipekBasic	70	Double Stab	10×	Colorless	Lightning ×2	1

The core: the 8 cards every list runs

These 8 cards appear in all 23 lists, without a single exception. That is 24 of the 60 slots. The other 36 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 24 slots break down: 13 Trainers, 11 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: Pikipek (3 to 4), Toucannon (3 to 4) and Fan Rotom (1 to 2), plus 5 more. Add those spreads up and you get 12 copies the 23 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 Pikipek	PBL 66	Pokémon	stays
3–4	Close Toucannon	PBL 68	Pokémon	stays
1–2	Close Fan Rotom	SCR 118	Pokémon	leaves
1–3	Close Trumbeak	PBL 67	Pokémon	stays
2–4	Close Buddy-Buddy Poffin	TEF 144	Trainer	leaves
3–4	Close Poké Pad	POR 81	Trainer	stays
1–4	Close Rare Candy	MEG 125	Trainer	stays
2–3	Close Boss's Orders	MEG 114	Trainer	stays

The 82 cards that change from list to list

82 cards fight over the 36 slots that are left: 5 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: Lillie's Determination at 96 %, Area Zero Underdepths at 87 % and Night Stretcher at 83 %, plus 2 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Crispin, at 52 %: 12 of 23 players took it, 11 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 2 copies. Right at the bottom of the table, Moltres (5 lists out of 23) and Glass Trumpet (5 lists out of 23).

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
96 %22/23	Close Lillie's Determination	1–4	MEG 119	Trainer
87 %20/23	Close Area Zero Underdepths	2–4	SCR 131	Trainer
83 %19/23	Close Night Stretcher	1–2	ASC 196	Trainer
78 %18/23	Close Hoothoot	2–3	SCR 114	Pokémon
78 %18/23	Close Noctowl	2–3	SCR 115	Pokémon
74 %17/23	Close Fezandipiti ex	1	ASC 142	Pokémon
74 %17/23	Close Dawn	2–4	PFL 87	Trainer
70 %16/23	Water Energy	1–2	MEE 3	Energy
61 %14/23	Close Ultra Ball	1–4	MEG 131	Trainer
52 %12/23	Close Crispin	1–3	SCR 133	Trainer
52 %12/23	Grass Energy	2–7	MEE 1	Energy
48 %11/23	Close Kieran	1–2	TWM 154	Trainer
43 %10/23	Close Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex	1–2	TWM 64	Pokémon
43 %10/23	Close Special Red Card	1	CRI 82	Trainer
39 %9/23	Close Chien-Pao	1	SSP 56	Pokémon
39 %9/23	Close Latias ex	1	SSP 76	Pokémon
39 %9/23	Close Air Balloon	1–3	ASC 181	Trainer
39 %9/23	Psychic Energy	1–2	MEE 5	Energy
35 %8/23	Close Lillie's Clefairy ex	1	JTG 56	Pokémon
35 %8/23	Close Shaymin	1	DRI 10	Pokémon
35 %8/23	Close Sacred Ash	1–2	DRI 168	Trainer
35 %8/23	Fighting Energy	1–6	MEE 6	Energy
30 %7/23	Close Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex	1–2	TWM 112	Pokémon
30 %7/23	Close Hilda	1–4	WHT 84	Trainer
30 %7/23	Close Unfair Stamp	1	TWM 165	Trainer
30 %7/23	Fire Energy	1	MEE 2	Energy
26 %6/23	Close Teal Mask Ogerpon ex	2–4	TWM 25	Pokémon
26 %6/23	Close Terapagos ex	1–3	SCR 128	Pokémon
26 %6/23	Close Meowth ex	1	POR 62	Pokémon
26 %6/23	Close Brave Bangle	1	WHT 80	Trainer
26 %6/23	Close Energy Search	1	POR 72	Trainer
26 %6/23	Close Energy Switch	1	MEG 115	Trainer
26 %6/23	Close Lana's Aid	1	TWM 155	Trainer
26 %6/23	Lightning Energy	1–2	MEE 4	Energy
22 %5/23	Close Moltres	1	PFL 14	Pokémon
22 %5/23	Close Glass Trumpet	1	SCR 135	Trainer
22 %5/23	Close Maximum Belt	1	TEF 154	Trainer
22 %5/23	Close Mist Energy	3–4	TEF 161	Energy
22 %5/23	Close Legacy Energy	1	TWM 167	Energy
17 %4/23	Close Dudunsparce	2–3	TEF 129	Pokémon
17 %4/23	Close Dunsparce	3–4	JTG 120	Pokémon
17 %4/23	Close Dusknoir	1–2	PRE 37	Pokémon
17 %4/23	Close Duskull	1–2	PRE 35	Pokémon
17 %4/23	Close Dusclops	1	PRE 36	Pokémon
17 %4/23	Close Iron Leaves ex	1	TEF 25	Pokémon
17 %4/23	Close Tatsugiri	1	TWM 131	Pokémon
17 %4/23	Close Fighting Gong	2–4	MEG 116	Trainer
13 %3/23	Close Tera Orb	1–2	SSP 189	Trainer
13 %3/23	Close Spiky Energy	3–4	JTG 159	Energy
9 %2/23	Close Koraidon ex	1	ASC 121	Pokémon
9 %2/23	Close Togekiss	1	SSP 72	Pokémon
9 %2/23	Close Togepi	1	SSP 70	Pokémon
9 %2/23	Close Battle Cage	2–4	PFL 85	Trainer
9 %2/23	Close Pokégear 3.0	1–3	SVI 186	Trainer
9 %2/23	Close Judge	1	POR 76	Trainer
9 %2/23	Close Prime Catcher	1	TEF 157	Trainer
9 %2/23	Close Enriching Energy	1	SSP 191	Energy
4 %1/23	Close Buneary	3	PFL 83	Pokémon
4 %1/23	Close Arboliva ex	2	DRI 23	Pokémon
4 %1/23	Close Dolliv	2	DRI 22	Pokémon
4 %1/23	Close Drakloak	2	TWM 129	Pokémon
4 %1/23	Close Dreepy	2	TWM 128	Pokémon
4 %1/23	Close Mega Lopunny ex	2	PFL 84	Pokémon
4 %1/23	Close Pikachu ex	2	SSP 57	Pokémon
4 %1/23	Close Smoliv	2	DRI 21	Pokémon
4 %1/23	Close Budew	1	ASC 16	Pokémon
4 %1/23	Close Chi-Yu	1	TWM 39	Pokémon
4 %1/23	Close Patrat	1	CRI 70	Pokémon
4 %1/23	Close Psyduck	1	ASC 39	Pokémon
4 %1/23	Close Crushing Hammer	4	POR 71	Trainer
4 %1/23	Close Nighttime Mine	3	ASC 197	Trainer
4 %1/23	Close Wally's Compassion	3	MEG 132	Trainer
4 %1/23	Close Dusk Ball	2	SSP 175	Trainer
4 %1/23	Close Handheld Fan	2	TWM 150	Trainer
4 %1/23	Close Switch	2	MEG 130	Trainer
4 %1/23	Close Black Belt's Training	1	JTG 143	Trainer
4 %1/23	Close Colress's Tenacity	1	SFA 57	Trainer
4 %1/23	Close Deluxe Bomb	1	SCR 134	Trainer
4 %1/23	Close Forest of Vitality	1	MEG 117	Trainer
4 %1/23	Close Sparkling Crystal	1	SCR 142	Trainer
4 %1/23	Close Xerosic's Machinations	1	SFA 64	Trainer
4 %1/23	Close Prism Energy	1	ASC 216	Energy

Which decks beat Toucannon at tournaments

Here is how Toucannon did against every other deck at tournaments. Real games, real players sitting across the table from each other, and the platform those tournaments run on counts them one by one. All of them were played after Pitch Black became legal for tournaments, and we read the table on 5 September 2026.

The format matters more than people think. When the next set lands, decks get rebuilt around the new cards, and a matchup that leaned one way can swing the other. What you are reading holds for today's format.

We start with the opponent that gives you the most trouble, because that is where the work is before your next tournament. The further down the list you go, the better it goes for you.

Always look at the number of games next to the score. Six wins out of ten happens on its own, even with a middling deck: it is the same as flipping six heads in ten tries. Six hundred out of a thousand, and luck has nothing to do with it. Below 100 games we show nothing at all, because at that count half the matchups look like they lean one way when they lean nowhere.

Against Dragapult ex: over 275 games, 84 won and 186 lost. 5 ended with no winner.

Against Dragapult ex / Dusknoir: over 224 games, 70 won and 153 lost. One ended with no winner.

Against Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass: over 208 games, 69 won and 138 lost. One ended with no winner.

Against Dragapult ex / Blaziken ex: over 271 games, 93 won and 174 lost. 4 ended with no winner.

Against Alakazam / Dudunsparce: over 238 games, 92 won and 140 lost. 6 ended with no winner.

Against Festival Lead: over 290 games, 129 won and 158 lost. 3 ended with no winner.

Against Dhelmise: over 220 games, 108 won and 110 lost. 2 ended with no winner.

Against N's Zoroark ex: over 224 games, 118 won and 104 lost. 2 ended with no winner.

Against Slowking: over 238 games, 126 won and 109 lost. 3 ended with no winner.

Against Mega Excadrill ex: over 358 games, 220 won and 135 lost. 3 ended with no winner.

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

You need 90 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 23 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 7 took Unfair Stamp, 5 took Legacy Energy and 5 took Maximum Belt. 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 Unfair Stamp and watch what the others do with theirs before you switch.

Then there is time. 2 of the 8 core cards carry the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation: Fan Rotom and Buddy-Buddy Poffin. The core table marks every one of them. In copies, that is 6 of the 24 slots the core fills. Which day it lands, we do not know yet.

What Toucannon 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, none of the 97 decks we track have an attacker Weak to your types. So you are not going to win trades on Weakness — you will have to win them on raw damage.

Questions people ask

What is the Toucannon deck list?

There isn't one. Across 23 tournament lists harvested between 11 August 2026 and 25 August 2026, 8 cards turn up in every single one, 24 slots out of 60. The remaining 36 change from player to player, with 82 different cards competing for them. Both tables are above.

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

23 lists, played across 21 different tournaments, harvested between 11 August 2026 and 25 August 2026 from play.limitlesstcg.com. All 23 were read card by card, and every card recognised.

Where do I start if I want to build Toucannon?

With the whole core: 8 cards, 24 slots. Inside it, buy the 13 Trainer slots and the 0 Energy first: they carry over into your next deck. Leave the 11 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 96 % and Area Zero Underdepths at 87 %.

What beats Toucannon?

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 Toucannon survive the next rotation?

Not intact: 2 core cards out of 8 carry the letter H, starting with Fan Rotom and Buddy-Buddy Poffin.

Are a lot of people playing Toucannon?

We have read 23 lists of it, which puts it 69th of the 97 decks we track by lists read. The platform those tournaments run on counts 1,020 entries for it, 2.5 % 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.