What's inside ME “Starter Set ex”, the three Japanese starter decks
A starter deck is a ready-made box: the cards are chosen for you, so you open it and you can play straight away. ME “Starter Set ex” is three of them at once: three different decks, each with its own list of cards. Every deck is a complete 60-card deck, and the same cards come back in it several times over. They have been on sale in Japan since 31 July 2026. In Japan these decks are called スターターセットex. “Starter Set ex” is our own reading of that name — the publisher has not given them an English one yet. We read 58 different cards on the publisher's own database, one by one, so we can tell you what is in each deck.
- Three decks in ME “Starter Set ex”. Every deck is a complete 60-card deck, and we read 58 different cards across them.
- 3 cards carry a number that runs on past their deck's list, like 020/019: second versions of cards from the deck, counted inside the box.
- Out in Japan since 31 July 2026.
The three boxes, and what is inside each one
This release is not a set: it is three starter decks sold separately, and you only buy one. Each box holds a ready-to-play sixty-card deck, plus something to count damage with and a coin. Here is what the publisher asks for them in Japan, and what Amazon asks today when it still has them.
The MEE deck
ポケモンカードゲーム MEGA スターターセットex イーブイex
The publisher lists it at JP¥1,800 in Japan, tax included. 1,800円 (税込) · read on their announcement on 15 August 2026
That comes to roughly US$12 over here, if you want a sense of it.
JP¥3,300about US$21read on 5 September 2026
We did the conversion at the European Central Bank's rate for 4 September 2026: US$1 = JP¥156.25. The shop will charge you in JPY, and your bank will use a rate of its own. The line on your statement will not land exactly on this figure.
The MEZ deck
ポケモンカードゲーム MEGA スターターセットex ゾロア＆ゾロアークex
The publisher lists it at JP¥1,800 in Japan, tax included. 1,800円 (税込) · read on their announcement on 15 August 2026
That comes to roughly US$12 over here, if you want a sense of it.
JP¥2,121about US$14read on 5 September 2026
We did the conversion at the European Central Bank's rate for 4 September 2026: US$1 = JP¥156.25. The shop will charge you in JPY, and your bank will use a rate of its own. The line on your statement will not land exactly on this figure.
The MEM deck
ポケモンカードゲーム MEGA スターターセットex ニャオハ＆マスカーニャex
The publisher lists it at JP¥1,800 in Japan, tax included. 1,800円 (税込) · read on their announcement on 15 August 2026
That comes to roughly US$12 over here, if you want a sense of it.
JP¥2,272about US$15read on 5 September 2026
We did the conversion at the European Central Bank's rate for 4 September 2026: US$1 = JP¥156.25. The shop will charge you in JPY, and your bank will use a rate of its own. The line on your statement will not land exactly on this figure.
The Japanese box, shipped from close to home
Some shops buy these cartons in Japan and resell them here. You pay in your own currency, the parcel leaves from wherever your parcels usually leave from, and nothing jumps out at you at checkout. The prices come from Amazon and we read them every day.
Pokemon Card Game MEGA Starter Set ex Zoroa & Zoroark ex
US$44.00read on 5 September 2026
In stock at Amazon
Amazon's rating: 4.1 out of 5, from 24 buyers.
Pokemon Card Game MEGA Starter Set ex Meowha & Mascania ex
US$39.99read on 5 September 2026
In stock at Amazon
Amazon's rating: 4.7 out of 5, from 74 buyers.
Every deck has a list of its own, and we show them to you one at a time. Look at the code printed on your cards, MEE, MEM, MEZ: that is what tells you which one you are holding. Scroll down to yours and you get your own list, card by card, with none of the other decks' cards in the middle.
The MEE deck: Eevee ex
20 different cards · 60 cards in the packEevee ex is the biggest Pokémon in the deck: 200 HP to knock down before it leaves the field. Its biggest attack, Brave Dash, deals 200 damage, and you need 3 Energies sitting on it before you can use it.
In a deck, the same card often comes back several times. These 20 different cards make 44 cards sitting in the pack, and how many of each is written on the card itself, bottom right. Add the 16 basic Energy that go with them, Lightning Energy, and you are holding your 60 cards.
Look closely: Eevee sits in this deck under two numbers. There is 008/019, which the official list puts in the pack 2 times, and 020/019, one single copy, whose number runs on past the end of the numbered list. Same Pokémon, one card more.
Eevee ex
イーブイexThe MEE deck runs 2 of this card — read straight off the publisher's own deck list.
Draw 3 cards.working translation
自分の山札を3枚引く。
Flip a coin. If tails, this Pokémon also does 30 damage to itself.working translation
コインを1回投げウラなら、このポケモンにも30ダメージ。
ポケモンexがきぜつしたとき、相手はサイドを2枚とる。
20 cards found
The MEM deck: Meowscarada ex
18 different cards · 60 cards in the packMeowscarada ex is the biggest Pokémon in the deck: 320 HP to knock down before it leaves the field. Its biggest attack, Magical Bullet, deals 120 damage, and you need 2 Energies sitting on it before you can use it.
In a deck, the same card often comes back several times. These 18 different cards make 44 cards sitting in the pack, and how many of each is written on the card itself, bottom right. Add the 16 basic Energy that go with them, Grass Energy, and you are holding your 60 cards.
Look closely: Sprigatito sits in this deck under two numbers. There is 003/017, which the official list puts in the pack 3 times, and 018/017, one single copy, whose number runs on past the end of the numbered list. Same Pokémon, one card more.
Meowscarada ex
マスカーニャexThe MEM deck runs 2 of this card — read straight off the publisher's own deck list.
This attack also does 120 damage to 1 of your opponent's Benched Pokémon that has any damage counters on it. (Don't apply Weakness and Resistance for Bench Pokémon.)working translation
ダメカンがのっている相手のベンチポケモン1匹にも、120ダメージ。［ベンチは弱点・抵抗力を計算しない。］
ポケモンexがきぜつしたとき、相手はサイドを2枚とる。
18 cards found
The MEZ deck: Zoroark ex
20 different cards · 60 cards in the packZoroark ex is the biggest Pokémon in the deck: 270 HP to knock down before it leaves the field. Its biggest attack, Slash Down, deals 210 damage, and you need 3 Energies sitting on it before you can use it.
In a deck, the same card often comes back several times. These 20 different cards make 44 cards sitting in the pack, and how many of each is written on the card itself, bottom right. Add the 16 basic Energy that go with them, Darkness Energy, and you are holding your 60 cards.
Look closely: Zorua sits in this deck under two numbers. There is 006/019, which the official list puts in the pack 2 times, and 020/019, one single copy, whose number runs on past the end of the numbered list. Same Pokémon, one card more.
Zoroark exworking translation
ゾロアークexThe MEZ deck runs 2 of this card — read straight off the publisher's own deck list.
This attack does 20 damage for each of your Pokémon in play.working translation
自分の場のポケモンの数×20ダメージ。
During your next turn, this Pokémon can't use Slash Down.working translation
次の自分の番、このポケモンは「スラッシュダウン」が使えない。
ポケモンexがきぜつしたとき、相手はサイドを2枚とる。
20 cards found
See all 58 cards from every deck at once
Here all the lists sit together. A card that several decks print shows up once, with the mark that says how many decks you will find it in.
Eevee ex
イーブイexThe MEE deck runs 2 of this card — read straight off the publisher's own deck list.
Draw 3 cards.working translation
自分の山札を3枚引く。
Flip a coin. If tails, this Pokémon also does 30 damage to itself.working translation
コインを1回投げウラなら、このポケモンにも30ダメージ。
ポケモンexがきぜつしたとき、相手はサイドを2枚とる。
What is in the ME box?
ME “Starter Set ex” is three starter decks, each with its own list of cards. Every deck holds 60 cards, and the same card can be in there several times. We read 58 different cards across them.
The first number to check in each deck is the HP bar of its biggest Pokémon. You have it right above, deck by deck. The bigger the bar, the more turns it takes to bring it down, and while a Pokémon is still standing your opponent does not get the Prize card that comes with it.
To reach 60 cards, a deck repeats its cards. The publisher's own deck list says how many copies of each one go in, and the grid above shows it card by card.
A basic Energy is the simplest card in the game: it pays for attacks. You attach one to a Pokémon each turn, and without it your Pokémon does not hit. A starter deck packs a good handful of them, and here that is 16 of the 60 cards in each deck.
Across the three decks, 5 Pokémon have an Ability. An Ability is a power printed on the card that you trigger without attacking: using it does not cost you your attack for the turn, and it is often the real reason to play the card at all.
3 cards carry a printed special rule. That is the line at the very bottom of the card, the one that changes a rule of the game for that card alone. The most common one: when a Pokémon ex goes down, your opponent takes two Prize cards instead of one. That is what a big Pokémon costs.
What are numbers like 020/019?
On a card, the number after the slash says how many different cards its deck's numbered list counts. 3 cards in the product carry a number that runs on past it, like 020/019.
So Eevee, Sprigatito and Zorua exist in two versions inside their boxes. Both versions carry the same name, the same HP and the same attacks: two cards to collect, one and the same card when you play.
These versions belong to the deck: the publisher's own deck list counts them among its 60 cards, one copy each.
When do the ME decks come out in Japan?
The three decks came out in Japan on 31 July 2026.
Each box costs 1,800 yen, tax included — the price the publisher announced, in Japan.
And what is in each box, in the publisher's own words: “Deck (60 cards)...1 / Damage counters/markers...1 sheet / Pokémon Coin...1 / Playmat...1 / Player's Guide...1 / How to Play instruction manual...1”.
Questions people ask
- When did the ME decks come out in Japan?
- The three decks came out in Japan on 31 July 2026.
- How many cards are in ME?
- Every deck is a complete 60-card deck — the same cards come back in it several times. Counting different cards, we read 58 across the decks: 20 in MEE, 18 in MEM, 20 in MEZ. On top of those, each deck holds 16 copies of its basic Energy.
- How much does ME cost in Japan?
- The publisher announces 1,800 yen per box, tax included. And for that price: “Deck (60 cards)...1 / Damage counters/markers...1 sheet / Pokémon Coin...1 / Playmat...1 / Player's Guide...1 / How to Play instruction manual...1”. That is the price in Japan, in yen.
- Does ME exist in English?
- Not yet, and the publisher has announced no date. The English names you read on this page are ours, holding the spot until the official ones arrive: that is what the little marker next to a name means. The day the publisher gives out the real ones, they take over.
What the publisher puts forward
What the publisher wrote, quoted and translated. We don't add our own opinion to it. The card names are the ones from the catalogue above, and the original Japanese sits under every quote.
Where all of this comes from
Official announcement: www.pokemon-card.com/ex/me/
The game values — HP, Energy costs, damage — are read off the publisher's own Japanese database, and they depend on no translation at all. The English names signed working translation are ours, and they give way to the official localisation the day it ships; the Japanese name stays right beside them. We tell you what is on the cards. What they will be worth in tournaments is not something we guess ahead of time.
You've just read a page about the game. We can do far more with one match.
Everything above is about the game in general. The thing we're really good at is one single match: yours. When a game ends, Pokémon TCG Live leaves you a log — the written record of everything that happened, turn by turn. Paste it here and we'll replay each of your decisions hundreds of times, then tell you which one actually cost you the game.
It's free and there's no account to make. Your log stays in your browser: your browser is what replays the game.
This article is about a set that only exists in Japan so far. If a word went past you on the way — the set code, the little letter at the bottom of the card — we've written whole pages on exactly that. Those ones stay put.