Palafin ex deck: the core, the flex slots, and what beats it
We took 20 lists of this deck, played across 17 tournaments by 20 people who never talked to each other, and counted every card in every one. 9 cards turn up in all of them, 27 slots out of 60. The remaining 33 are fought over by 73 different cards, and that is almost always where a game is won.
- 9 cards show up in all 20 lists, no exceptions: 27 of your 60 slots. Of those, 18 are Trainers, 9 are Pokémon and 0 are Energy. Start there, nobody argues about them.
- Your big card is Palafin ex, 340 HP. Giga Impact hits for 250, and it costs you 1 Energy (Water).
- The sharpest disagreement is over Dudunsparce: 10 of the 20 lists run it. The table below has all 73 cards fighting over the 33 free slots.
- Your attackers are Weak to Lightning, and 2 of the 72 decks we track attack in that type: Mega Manectric ex / Eelektrik and Iono's Bellibolt ex. They are listed at the bottom, with the card that does the damage.
What Palafin ex looks like when you open the box
Across the 20 lists we counted, this deck runs 17 to 22 Pokémon, 29 to 37 Trainers and 5 to 10 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Water.
On results pages and on stream you will see it written « palafin-ex ». 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: 5 to 10 out of 60, when half the 72 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 sets up fast. Palafin 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.
On the Trainer side: 7 to 16 Supporters, 12 to 19 Items, 2 to 4 Tools and 3 to 5 Stadiums, out of 29 to 37 — the median across the 72 decks we track being 31. Items edge it without crushing the Supporters. And it runs up to 5 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
- 17–22
- Trainers
- 29–37
- Energy
- 5–10
- Supporters
- 7–16
- Items
- 12–19
- Tools
- 2–4
- Stadiums
- 3–5
A range means the lists disagree with each other.
What the card in this deck's name actually does
Palafin ex gives this deck its name. Here is what is written on it.
Palafin ex is in all 20 lists, 3 copies of it. Its Ability is called Hero's Spirit, and here is what is printed on it, word for word: « Put this Pokémon into play only with the effect of Palafin's Zero to Hero Ability. »
How Palafin ex actually wins
Palafin ex attacks with Giga Impact for 250, and it costs 1 Energy (Water), with 340 HP to absorb the answer. The whole list exists to get it online fast.
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 Palafin up. Once the line is standing you swing every turn with nothing to recharge, and you can start again immediately when your attacker falls.
Here is the detail that quietly loses games: Palafin ex has a Retreat Cost of 2, which is a whole turn to get it back to the Bench.
Palafin ex carries the "ex" suffix, and your opponent takes TWO Prize cards instead of one when Palafin 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.
| Pokémon | HP | Attack | Damage | Cost | Weakness | Retreat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palafin exStage 1 | 340 | Giga Impact | 250 | Water | Lightning ×2 | 2 |
| FinizenBasic | 70 | Aqua Slash | 30 | Water | Lightning ×2 | 1 |
| PalafinStage 1 | 100 | Wave Splash | 30 | Water + Colorless | Lightning ×2 | 1 |
The core: the 9 cards every list runs
These 9 cards appear in all 20 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: 18 Trainers, 9 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.
9 of those 9 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Finizen (2 to 4), Palafin ex (2 to 4) and Palafin (2 to 3), plus 6 more. 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.
| Copies | Card | Printing | Kind | Rotation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2–4 | Finizen | TWM 59 | Pokémon | leaves |
| 2–4 | Palafin ex | TWM 61 | Pokémon | leaves |
| 2–3 | Palafin | TWM 60 | Pokémon | leaves |
| 3–4 | Lillie's Determination | MEG 119 | Trainer | stays |
| 2–4 | Poké Pad | POR 81 | Trainer | stays |
| 2–3 | Air Balloon | ASC 181 | Trainer | stays |
| 1–3 | Boss's Orders | MEG 114 | Trainer | stays |
| 2–4 | Surfing Beach | MEG 129 | Trainer | stays |
| 1–3 | Switch | MEG 130 | Trainer | stays |
The 73 cards that change from list to list
73 cards fight over the 33 slots that are left: 3 above three lists in four, 46 below one in four, and the percentage on each row says how many players took it.
The most agreed on first: Buddy-Buddy Poffin at 95 %, Ultra Ball at 95 % and Water Energy at 95 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.
The dividing line runs through Dudunsparce, at 50 %: 10 of 20 players took it, 10 put something else there. Read its text before you decide. Right at the bottom, Meowth ex at 25 % and Goldeen at 20 %: 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.
| Lists running it | Card | Copies | Printing | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95 %19/20 | Buddy-Buddy Poffin | 3–4 | TEF 144 | Trainer |
| 95 %19/20 | Ultra Ball | 1–3 | MEG 131 | Trainer |
| 95 %19/20 | Water Energy | 2–8 | MEE 3 | Energy |
| 70 %14/20 | Kieran | 1–2 | TWM 154 | Trainer |
| 70 %14/20 | Night Stretcher | 1–2 | ASC 196 | Trainer |
| 50 %10/20 | Dudunsparce | 2–4 | TEF 129 | Pokémon |
| 50 %10/20 | Psyduck | 1 | ASC 39 | Pokémon |
| 50 %10/20 | Kofu | 1–4 | SCR 138 | Trainer |
| 45 %9/20 | Black Belt's Training | 1–2 | JTG 143 | Trainer |
| 40 %8/20 | Fezandipiti ex | 1 | ASC 142 | Pokémon |
| 40 %8/20 | Palafin | 1 | TEF 49 | Pokémon |
| 40 %8/20 | Hilda | 1–3 | WHT 84 | Trainer |
| 40 %8/20 | Gravity Mountain | 1–2 | SSP 177 | Trainer |
| 40 %8/20 | Bubbly Water Energy | 1–4 | CRI 84 | Energy |
| 35 %7/20 | Dunsparce | 2–4 | JTG 120 | Pokémon |
| 35 %7/20 | Great Haul Net | 1 | CRI 78 | Trainer |
| 35 %7/20 | Judge | 1–2 | POR 76 | Trainer |
| 35 %7/20 | Maximum Belt | 1 | TEF 154 | Trainer |
| 35 %7/20 | Special Red Card | 1 | CRI 82 | Trainer |
| 35 %7/20 | Xerosic's Machinations | 1 | SFA 64 | Trainer |
| 30 %6/20 | Froakie | 2 | CRI 20 | Pokémon |
| 30 %6/20 | Mega Greninja ex | 2 | CRI 22 | Pokémon |
| 30 %6/20 | Frogadier | 1 | CRI 21 | Pokémon |
| 30 %6/20 | Shaymin | 1 | DRI 10 | Pokémon |
| 30 %6/20 | Energy Retrieval | 1–2 | SVI 171 | Trainer |
| 30 %6/20 | Rare Candy | 1–2 | MEG 125 | Trainer |
| 30 %6/20 | Pokégear 3.0 | 1–4 | SVI 186 | Trainer |
| 25 %5/20 | Meowth ex | 1–2 | POR 62 | Pokémon |
| 20 %4/20 | Goldeen | 2–3 | TWM 44 | Pokémon |
| 20 %4/20 | Grookey | 2–3 | TWM 14 | Pokémon |
| 20 %4/20 | Thwackey | 2–3 | TWM 15 | Pokémon |
| 20 %4/20 | Dudunsparce ex | 1 | JTG 121 | Pokémon |
| 20 %4/20 | Ciphermaniac's Codebreaking | 2–3 | TEF 145 | Trainer |
| 20 %4/20 | Colress's Tenacity | 1–2 | SFA 57 | Trainer |
| 20 %4/20 | Prime Catcher | 1 | TEF 157 | Trainer |
| 20 %4/20 | Tool Scrapper | 1 | ASC 212 | Trainer |
| 15 %3/20 | Dunsparce | 3 | TEF 128 | Pokémon |
| 15 %3/20 | N's Zoroark ex | 2–3 | JTG 98 | Pokémon |
| 15 %3/20 | N's Zorua | 3 | JTG 97 | Pokémon |
| 15 %3/20 | Seaking | 2 | PRE 21 | Pokémon |
| 15 %3/20 | Fan Rotom | 1 | SCR 118 | Pokémon |
| 15 %3/20 | Team Rocket's Petrel | 2 | DRI 176 | Trainer |
| 15 %3/20 | AZ's Tranquility | 1 | CRI 76 | Trainer |
| 15 %3/20 | Festival Grounds | 1 | TWM 149 | Trainer |
| 15 %3/20 | Perrin | 1 | TWM 160 | Trainer |
| 15 %3/20 | Surfer | 1–2 | SSP 187 | Trainer |
| 15 %3/20 | Legacy Energy | 1 | TWM 167 | Energy |
| 10 %2/20 | Dusclops | 2 | PRE 36 | Pokémon |
| 10 %2/20 | Duskull | 2 | PRE 35 | Pokémon |
| 10 %2/20 | Munkidori | 2 | TWM 95 | Pokémon |
| 10 %2/20 | Abra | 1 | TWM 80 | Pokémon |
| 10 %2/20 | Budew | 1 | ASC 16 | Pokémon |
| 10 %2/20 | Dusknoir | 1 | PRE 37 | Pokémon |
| 10 %2/20 | Dusk Ball | 2–3 | SSP 175 | Trainer |
| 10 %2/20 | Energy Search | 1 | POR 72 | Trainer |
| 10 %2/20 | Secret Box | 1 | TWM 163 | Trainer |
| 10 %2/20 | Darkness Energy | 2 | MEE 7 | Energy |
| 10 %2/20 | Enriching Energy | 1 | SSP 191 | Energy |
| 5 %1/20 | Mega Starmie ex | 2 | POR 21 | Pokémon |
| 5 %1/20 | Staryu | 2 | POR 20 | Pokémon |
| 5 %1/20 | Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex | 1 | TWM 141 | Pokémon |
| 5 %1/20 | Palafin | 1 | PBL 22 | Pokémon |
| 5 %1/20 | Totodile | 1 | TEF 39 | Pokémon |
| 5 %1/20 | Veluza | 1 | SCR 45 | Pokémon |
| 5 %1/20 | Cheren | 2 | WHT 81 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Battle Cage | 1 | PFL 85 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Drayton | 1 | SSP 174 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Enhanced Hammer | 1 | TWM 148 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Lana's Aid | 1 | TWM 155 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Precious Trolley | 1 | SSP 185 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Scoop Up Cyclone | 1 | TWM 162 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Wally's Compassion | 1 | MEG 132 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Ignition Energy | 2 | WHT 86 | Energy |
What Palafin ex costs to build, and how long it will last
You need 82 different cards to cover every version of this deck, 9 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 Palafin ex, by a distance. The 18 Trainer slots in the core cost next to nothing, and you probably own some already. All 20 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 7 took Maximum Belt, 4 took Prime Catcher and 3 took Legacy Energy. 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 Maximum Belt and watch what the others do with theirs before you switch.
Then there is time. 3 of the 9 core cards carry the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation: Finizen, Palafin ex and Palafin. The core table marks each of them. The date belongs to the publisher, and we do not have it.
What Palafin ex struggles against
The attackers in this deck are Weak to Lightning, so they take DOUBLE damage from that type. 2 of the 72 decks we track attack in exactly that type.
Concretely, here is what is waiting for you: Mega Manectric ex / Eelektrik and Iono's Bellibolt ex. 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 sets up fast, so what troubles it looks less like a Weakness and more like an opponent who absorbs your first hits and answers harder.
Going the other way, your attackers are Water, and 6 of the decks we track have an attacker Weak to one of those: Dragapult ex / Blaziken ex, Ethan's Typhlosion and Ceruledge ex, among others. That is you doubling, for once. Second half of the table.
They double the damage they put on you
| Deck | Their card | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Mega Manectric ex / Eelektrik | Mega Manectric ex | Lightning |
| Iono's Bellibolt ex | Iono's Bellibolt ex | Lightning |
You double the damage you put on them
| Deck | Their card | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Dragapult ex / Blaziken ex | Blaziken ex | Water |
| Ethan's Typhlosion | Ethan's Typhlosion | Water |
| Ceruledge ex | Ceruledge ex | Water |
| Blaziken / N's Zoroark ex | Blaziken ex | Water |
| Flareon ex / Noctowl | Flareon ex | Water |
| Mega Charizard X ex | Mega Charizard X ex | Water |
Questions people ask
- What is the Palafin ex deck list?
- There isn't one, and that is the whole point. Across 20 tournament lists harvested on 16 August 2026, 9 cards turn up in every single one — 27 slots out of 60. The remaining 33 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 17 different tournaments, harvested on 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 Palafin ex?
- With the whole core: 9 cards, 27 slots. Inside it, buy the 18 Trainer slots and the 0 Energy first — they are cheap and they carry over into your next deck. Leave Palafin 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 Buddy-Buddy Poffin at 95 % and Ultra Ball at 95 %.
- What beats Palafin ex?
- Its attackers are Weak to Lightning, so they take double damage from an attacker of that type. 2 of the 72 decks we track play an attacker of that type: Mega Manectric ex / Eelektrik and Iono's Bellibolt ex.
- Will Palafin ex survive the next rotation?
- Not intact: 3 core cards out of 9 carry the letter H, starting with Finizen, Palafin ex and Palafin.
- Are a lot of people playing Palafin ex?
- We have read 20 lists of it, which puts it 66th of the 72 decks we track by lists read. The platform those tournaments run on counts 26 entries for it, 0.1 % 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 17 events, harvested on 16 August 2026. The 82 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.
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