pokoacademy
Meta deck20 lists · 20 events · 11 August 2026 to 16 August 2026

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

We took 20 lists of this deck, played across 20 tournaments by 20 people who never talked to each other, and counted every card in every one. 5 cards turn up in all of them, 16 slots out of 60. The remaining 44 are fought over by 73 different cards, and that is almost always where a game is won.

Published Data updated
THE SHORT VERSION
  • 5 cards show up in all 20 lists, no exceptions: 16 of your 60 slots. Of those, 2 are Trainers, 14 are Pokémon and 0 are Energy. Start there, nobody argues about them.
  • Your big card is Aegislash, 150 HP. Metal Slash hits for 230, and it costs you 4 Energy (Metal, Colorless, Colorless and Colorless).
  • The sharpest disagreement is over Hilda: 10 of the 20 lists run it. The table below has all 73 cards fighting over the 44 free slots.
  • Your attackers are Weak to Fire, and 6 of the 59 decks we track attack in that type: Dragapult ex / Blaziken ex, Ethan's Typhlosion and Ceruledge ex, among others. They are listed at the bottom, with the card that does the damage.

What Doublade looks like when you open the box

Across the 20 lists we counted, this deck runs 21 to 25 Pokémon, 24 to 31 Trainers and 7 to 14 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Metal.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « doublade-por ». 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, « POR », is a set code: Perfect Order. They spell it out because several cards share that name, and this deck plays that particular printing.

Look at the Energy: 7 to 14 out of 60, when half the 59 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 takes a while to set up. Aegislash 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.

On the Trainer side: 10 to 14 Supporters, 10 to 17 Items, 0 to 3 Tools and 0 to 4 Stadiums, out of 24 to 31 — the median across the 59 decks we track being 31. Items edge it without crushing the Supporters. And it runs up to 4 Stadiums, which is no accident: it plans on bumping the one across the table.

What those four families of Trainer actually do, and why the Energy count says so much: how to read a deck list.

What fills the 60 slots

Pokémon
21–25
Trainers
24–31
Energy
7–14
Supporters
10–14
Items
10–17
Tools
0–3
Stadiums
0–4

A range means the lists disagree with each other.

How Doublade actually wins

Aegislash attacks with Metal Slash for 230, and it costs 4 Energy (Metal, Colorless, Colorless and Colorless), with 150 HP to absorb the answer. The whole list exists to get it online fast.

Do the arithmetic, it decides your first few turns. One Energy attached a turn, 4 to pay for Metal Slash: with no help you swing on turn 4, and every card that accelerates Energy buys one of those turns back.

Here is the detail that quietly loses games: Aegislash has a Retreat Cost of 3, which is a whole turn to get it back to the Bench.

Genesect ex carries the "ex" suffix, and your opponent takes TWO Prize cards instead of one when Genesect ex falls. They need six to win: three well-placed knockouts on that card beat you, where it would take six anywhere else on your Bench.

The attackers in the deck's core, with their best attack, its cost and their Weakness
PokémonHPAttackDamageCostWeaknessRetreat
AegislashStage 2150Metal Slash230Metal + Colorless + Colorless + ColorlessFire ×23
Genesect exBasic220Protect Charge150Metal + Metal + Colorlessnone2
DoubladeStage 1100Weaponized Swords60×Colorless + ColorlessFire ×22
HonedgeBasic70Cut10ColorlessFire ×22

The core: the 5 cards every list runs

These 5 cards appear in all 20 lists, without a single exception. That is 16 of the 60 slots. The other 44 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 16 slots break down: 2 Trainers, 14 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.

2 of those 5 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Genesect ex (2 to 3) and Boss's Orders (2 to 3). Everybody runs them, the last copy is arguable.

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
CopiesCardPrintingKind
4AegislashPOR 58Pokémon
4DoubladePOR 57Pokémon
4HonedgePOR 56Pokémon
2–3Genesect exBLK 67Pokémon
2–3Boss's OrdersMEG 114Trainer

The 73 cards that change from list to list

73 cards fight over the 44 slots that are left: 7 above three lists in four, 43 below one in four, and the percentage on each row says how many players took it.

The most agreed on first: Fezandipiti ex at 90 %, Shaymin at 90 % and Poké Pad at 90 %, plus 4 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Hilda, at 50 %: 10 of 20 players took it, 10 put something else there. Read its text before you decide. Right at the bottom, Dunsparce at 25 % and Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex at 25 %: personal ideas, only worth copying if you know why.

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 itCardCopiesPrintingKind
90 %18/20Fezandipiti ex1ASC 142Pokémon
90 %18/20Shaymin1DRI 10Pokémon
90 %18/20Poké Pad1–4POR 81Trainer
85 %17/20Night Stretcher1–3ASC 196Trainer
85 %17/20Buddy-Buddy Poffin1–4TEF 144Trainer
80 %16/20Sacred Ash1–3DRI 168Trainer
80 %16/20Metal Energy1–12MEE 8Energy
70 %14/20Battle Cage1–3PFL 85Trainer
70 %14/20Dawn1–4PFL 87Trainer
60 %12/20Team Rocket's Petrel1–4DRI 176Trainer
60 %12/20Lillie's Determination2–4MEG 119Trainer
60 %12/20Lana's Aid1–2TWM 155Trainer
60 %12/20Ignition Energy2–4WHT 86Energy
55 %11/20Air Balloon1–2ASC 181Trainer
55 %11/20Team Rocket's Transceiver2–4DRI 178Trainer
55 %11/20Precious Trolley1SSP 185Trainer
50 %10/20Hilda1–4WHT 84Trainer
45 %9/20Energy Recycler1DRI 164Trainer
45 %9/20Switch1–2MEG 130Trainer
45 %9/20Psychic Energy2–5MEE 5Energy
40 %8/20Steven's Beldum2–3DRI 143Pokémon
40 %8/20Steven's Metagross ex2DRI 145Pokémon
40 %8/20Steven's Metang1DRI 144Pokémon
40 %8/20Rare Candy1–2MEG 125Trainer
40 %8/20Special Red Card1–2CRI 82Trainer
40 %8/20Ultra Ball1–3MEG 131Trainer
35 %7/20Dudunsparce2–3TEF 129Pokémon
35 %7/20Brock's Scouting1–3JTG 146Trainer
30 %6/20Latias ex1–2SSP 76Pokémon
30 %6/20Max Rod1PRE 116Trainer
25 %5/20Dunsparce1–3JTG 120Pokémon
25 %5/20Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex1TWM 141Pokémon
25 %5/20Pokégear 3.02–4SVI 186Trainer
20 %4/20Psyduck1ASC 39Pokémon
20 %4/20Gwynn3–4PBL 78Trainer
20 %4/20Philippe1–2CRI 79Trainer
20 %4/20Brave Bangle1WHT 80Trainer
20 %4/20Team Rocket's Watchtower1DRI 180Trainer
20 %4/20Xerosic's Machinations1SFA 64Trainer
20 %4/20Magnetic Metal Energy1–2CRI 85Energy
15 %3/20Dunsparce2–3TEF 128Pokémon
15 %3/20Joltik2SCR 50Pokémon
15 %3/20Fan Rotom1SCR 118Pokémon
15 %3/20Team Rocket's Factory1DRI 173Trainer
15 %3/20Grass Energy3–4MEE 1Energy
15 %3/20Lightning Energy3–4MEE 4Energy
15 %3/20Enriching Energy1SSP 191Energy
10 %2/20Alomomola1BLK 24Pokémon
10 %2/20Budew1ASC 16Pokémon
10 %2/20Hop's Cramorant1JTG 138Pokémon
10 %2/20Meowth ex1POR 62Pokémon
10 %2/20Jamming Tower1TWM 153Trainer
5 %1/20Drakloak3TWM 129Pokémon
5 %1/20Dreepy3TWM 128Pokémon
5 %1/20Beldum2TEF 113Pokémon
5 %1/20Metang2TEF 114Pokémon
5 %1/20Dragapult ex1TWM 130Pokémon
5 %1/20Flutter Mane1TEF 78Pokémon
5 %1/20Lillie's Clefairy ex1JTG 56Pokémon
5 %1/20Mega Skarmory ex1POR 55Pokémon
5 %1/20Metagross1CRI 61Pokémon
5 %1/20Prism Tower3CRI 80Trainer
5 %1/20Crispin2SCR 133Trainer
5 %1/20Cyrano1SSP 170Trainer
5 %1/20Energy Search1POR 72Trainer
5 %1/20Full Metal Lab1TEF 148Trainer
5 %1/20Handheld Fan1TWM 150Trainer
5 %1/20Kieran1TWM 154Trainer
5 %1/20Nighttime Mine1ASC 197Trainer
5 %1/20Redeemable Ticket1JTG 156Trainer
5 %1/20Salvatore1TEF 160Trainer
5 %1/20Mist Energy4TEF 161Energy
5 %1/20Fire Energy2MEE 2Energy

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

You need 78 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.

Where the money goes, though, we can name: it is Genesect ex, by a distance. The 2 Trainer slots in the core cost next to nothing, and you probably own some already. This deck runs no ACE SPEC card at all.

Then there is time, and the answer is a good one: not one of the 5 core cards carries the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation. This deck walks through the change whole.

What Doublade struggles against

The attackers in this deck are Weak to Fire, so they take DOUBLE damage from that type. 6 of the 59 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 3 more decks. The table below takes them one at a time, and those are the lists you practise against first before an event.

Do not stop at this table, though. This deck spends three cards getting Aegislash standing, and the deck that hurts you most this season may simply be the one that swings before your line is up, without ever touching your Weakness.

Going the other way, your attackers are Metal, and 8 of the decks we track have an attacker Weak to one of those: Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass, Dhelmise and Greninja ex, among others. That is you doubling, for once. Second half of the table.

They double the damage they put on you

Harvested decks that attack into this deck's Weakness, and those whose Weakness this deck hits
DeckTheir cardType
Dragapult ex / Blaziken exBlaziken exFire
Ethan's TyphlosionEthan's TyphlosionFire
Ceruledge exCeruledge exFire
Blaziken / N's Zoroark exBlaziken exFire
Flareon ex / NoctowlFlareon exFire
Mega Charizard X exMega Charizard X exFire

You double the damage you put on them

Harvested decks that attack into this deck's Weakness, and those whose Weakness this deck hits
DeckTheir cardType
Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / FroslassFroslassMetal
DhelmiseLillie's Clefairy exMetal
Greninja exMega Froslass exMetal
Mega Starmie ex / FroslassMega Froslass exMetal
Froslass / MunkidoriFroslassMetal
Lillie's Clefairy exLillie's Clefairy exMetal
Lillie's Clefairy ex / Teal Mask Ogerpon exChien-PaoMetal
Mega Diancie ex / DusknoirMega Diancie exMetal

Questions people ask

What is the Doublade deck list?
There isn't one, and that is the whole point. Across 20 tournament lists harvested between 11 August 2026 and 16 August 2026, 5 cards turn up in every single one — 16 slots out of 60. The remaining 44 change from player to player, with 73 different cards competing for them. Both tables are above.
How many lists is this counted on, and where do they come from?
20 lists, played across 20 different tournaments, harvested between 11 August 2026 and 16 August 2026 from play.limitlesstcg.com. All 20 were read card by card, and every card recognised.
Where do I start if I want to build Doublade?
With the whole core: 5 cards, 16 slots. Inside it, buy the 2 Trainer slots and the 0 Energy first — they are cheap and they carry over into your next deck. Leave Genesect ex for last, because that is the bill. Only then work down the flex table and add the cards the most lists agree on, starting with Fezandipiti ex at 90 % and Shaymin at 90 %.
What beats Doublade?
Its attackers are Weak to Fire, so they take double damage from an attacker of that type. 6 of the 59 decks we track play an attacker of that type: Dragapult ex / Blaziken ex, Ethan's Typhlosion, Ceruledge ex and Blaziken / N's Zoroark ex, among others.
Will Doublade survive the next rotation?
Yes, whole: not one of the 5 core cards carries the letter H. At equal price, that is the argument that should settle where your money goes.
Are a lot of people playing Doublade?
We have read 20 lists of it, which puts it 57th of the 59 decks we track by lists read. The platform those tournaments run on counts 54 entries for it, 0.21 % of the field, across all its players. That figure is theirs.

Where all of this comes from

20 lists from play.limitlesstcg.com, played across 20 events, harvested between 11 August 2026 and 16 August 2026. The 78 cards named here were read against poko's own catalogue, built on the public TCGdex API. No prices on this page, for want of a fresh enough reading. The TCGplayer link in the cost section is a shop link, labelled as one right where it stands.

NOW YOUR OWN GAME

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.

READ THIS NEXT

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.

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