Mega Starmie ex / Dusknoir deck: the core, the flex slots, and what beats it
We took 20 lists of this deck and counted every card in every one of them. They come from 15 different tournaments, built by 20 people who never talked to each other. What all of them run is the core of the deck: 12 cards, 36 slots out of 60. The rest — 52 cards fighting over what is left — is where players disagree, and that is usually where a game is won.
- 12 cards show up in all 20 lists we counted. No exceptions. That is 36 of your 60 slots. If you are building this deck, start there — nobody argues about those.
- Your big card is Mega Starmie ex, 330 HP. Nebula Beam hits for 210, and it costs you 3 Energy (Colorless, Colorless and Colorless).
- 52 cards change from list to list. That is exactly where a good player tunes the deck for what they expect to face, and the table below tells you how many lists run each one.
- This deck has a Weakness printed right on its cards: Lightning and Darkness. 8 of the decks we track attack in exactly that type. They are listed at the bottom, with the card that does the damage.
What this deck looks like when you open the box
Across the 20 lists we counted, this deck runs 15 to 23 Pokémon, 29 to 39 Trainers and 6 to 9 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Psychic.
Limitless files it under « starmie-dusknoir », and that is the label you will see on results pages and on stream. Every card named in it turns up in the core below, which is what makes it a fair name for the deck.
Look at the Energy count first: 6 to 9 out of 60. No single number tells you more about how a deck breathes. A lot of Energy means it wants to load up one big Pokémon and swing hard. Very little means it lives on cheap attacks and on Trainers to dig out whatever it is missing.
It takes a while to set up. Dusknoir 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 16 Supporters, 13 to 21 Items, 0 to 2 Tools and 1 to 4 Stadiums. Worth saying out loud, because everyone forgets it once a tournament: you only get ONE Supporter a turn, while you can chain as many Items as you like. So a deck full of Items takes longer, louder turns than a deck full of Supporters.
What fills the 60 slots
- Pokémon
- 15–23
- Trainers
- 29–39
- Energy
- 6–9
- Supporters
- 10–16
- Items
- 13–21
- Tools
- 0–2
- Stadiums
- 1–4
A range means the lists disagree with each other.
How it actually wins
Mega Starmie ex attacks with Nebula Beam for 210, and it costs 3 Energy (Colorless, Colorless and Colorless). It has 330 HP to absorb the answer. Everything else in the list is built around getting that card online.
Do the arithmetic with us, because it decides your first few turns. You attach one Energy a turn by hand. Mega Starmie ex wants 3. With no help, that means you swing on turn 3 at the earliest. Every card in this deck that accelerates Energy or fetches a Pokémon buys back a turn on that count, and at this level a turn is a game.
Here is the detail that quietly loses games: Mega Starmie ex has a Retreat Cost of 2. Once it is in the Active spot you are not getting it back to the Bench cheaply. Think before you send it up.
1 of the core Pokémon carry the « ex » suffix. Those are the big ones: high HP, attacks that hurt, and the price tag to match. They also cost you more when they fall — an opponent takes extra Prize cards for knocking out an ex, so every trade you lose there walks you towards the loss faster than you think.
| Pokémon | HP | Attack | Damage | Cost | Weakness | Retreat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mega Starmie exStage 1 | 330 | Nebula Beam | 210 | Colorless + Colorless + Colorless | Lightning ×2 | 2 |
| DusknoirStage 2 | 160 | Shadow Bind | 150 | Psychic + Psychic + Colorless | Darkness ×2 | 3 |
| DusclopsStage 1 | 90 | Will-O-Wisp | 50 | Psychic + Psychic | Darkness ×2 | 2 |
| DuskullBasic | 60 | Mumble | 30 | Psychic + Psychic | Darkness ×2 | 1 |
The core: the 12 cards every list runs
These 12 cards appear in all 20 lists, without a single exception. That is 36 of the 60 slots. The other 24 are decided player by player.
This is the most useful table on the page, and nobody publishes it. Everywhere else you get one list, from one player, who won one tournament. Fine — but you have no way of telling which parts of it were the deck and which parts were that person's idea on the day. Counting 20 lists settles the question by itself: what 20 people put in their deck without talking to each other IS the deck.
A word on the count column. We give you the number that comes up most often, and where the lists disagree we give you the range instead. A card sitting at "3 to 4" is one everybody plays but whose fourth copy is up for debate. That is exactly the kind of slot you reclaim when you want to fit an idea of your own.
The code next to the name — "TWM 130" and the like — is the set and the collector number, printed at the bottom of the card. We show you the printing the lists use most often, because two cards can share a name and have completely different attacks. Check that number before you buy anything.
| Copies | Card | Printing | Kind | Rotation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2–4 | Duskull | PRE 35 | Pokémon | leaves |
| 1–3 | Dusclops | PRE 36 | Pokémon | leaves |
| 3–4 | Staryu | POR 20 | Pokémon | stays |
| 1–3 | Dusknoir | PRE 37 | Pokémon | leaves |
| 2–3 | Mega Starmie ex | POR 21 | Pokémon | stays |
| 2–4 | Buddy-Buddy Poffin | TEF 144 | Trainer | leaves |
| 3–4 | Lillie's Determination | MEG 119 | Trainer | stays |
| 3–4 | Ultra Ball | MEG 131 | Trainer | stays |
| 2–4 | Hilda | WHT 84 | Trainer | stays |
| 3–4 | Poké Pad | POR 81 | Trainer | stays |
| 2–3 | Boss's Orders | MEG 114 | Trainer | stays |
| 1–3 | Ignition Energy | WHT 86 | Energy | stays |
What changes from one list to the next
52 cards show up in some lists and not in others. The percentage tells you how many lists run each one: at 50%, half the players want it and the other half deliberately chose something else.
Do not read this table as a ranking from best to worst. A card sitting at 80% is one four players in five find useful and the fifth cut on purpose, usually because they were expecting a different field. That disagreement is worth something on its own.
Here is how to use it when you build. Take the whole core first, no arguing. Then walk down this list and stop on every card you do not understand: read its text, work out what it is answering. A card you cannot explain is a card you will misplay, even if the champion had it in their list.
And if this is your first time with the deck, build the boring version — the full core plus the most common cards from here. Understand the deck before you start tinkering with it. That order is the only one that works.
| Lists running it | Card | Copies | Printing | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95 %19/20 | Risky Ruins | 2–4 | MEG 127 | Trainer |
| 95 %19/20 | Night Stretcher | 1–3 | ASC 196 | Trainer |
| 95 %19/20 | Water Energy | 2–5 | MEE 3 | Energy |
| 90 %18/20 | Meowth ex | 1–2 | POR 62 | Pokémon |
| 80 %16/20 | Pokégear 3.0 | 1–3 | SVI 186 | Trainer |
| 75 %15/20 | Budew | 1–2 | ASC 16 | Pokémon |
| 75 %15/20 | Legacy Energy | 1 | TWM 167 | Energy |
| 70 %14/20 | Munkidori | 1–3 | TWM 95 | Pokémon |
| 70 %14/20 | Special Red Card | 1–2 | CRI 82 | Trainer |
| 70 %14/20 | Darkness Energy | 1–3 | MEE 7 | Energy |
| 60 %12/20 | Fezandipiti ex | 1 | ASC 142 | Pokémon |
| 55 %11/20 | Latias ex | 1 | SSP 76 | Pokémon |
| 55 %11/20 | Wally's Compassion | 1–2 | MEG 132 | Trainer |
| 50 %10/20 | Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex | 1 | TWM 141 | Pokémon |
| 40 %8/20 | Team Rocket's Petrel | 1–2 | DRI 176 | Trainer |
| 40 %8/20 | Bubbly Water Energy | 1–3 | CRI 84 | Energy |
| 35 %7/20 | Judge | 1 | POR 76 | Trainer |
| 30 %6/20 | Rare Candy | 1–3 | MEG 125 | Trainer |
| 15 %3/20 | Snorunt | 2–3 | ASC 46 | Pokémon |
| 15 %3/20 | Team Rocket's Golbat | 3 | DRI 121 | Pokémon |
| 15 %3/20 | Team Rocket's Zubat | 3 | DRI 120 | Pokémon |
| 15 %3/20 | Mega Froslass ex | 1–2 | ASC 47 | Pokémon |
| 15 %3/20 | Team Rocket's Crobat ex | 2 | DRI 122 | Pokémon |
| 15 %3/20 | Team Rocket's Mimikyu | 1 | DRI 87 | Pokémon |
| 15 %3/20 | Team Rocket's Sneasel | 1 | DRI 128 | Pokémon |
| 15 %3/20 | Crispin | 1–2 | SCR 133 | Trainer |
| 15 %3/20 | Salvatore | 1 | TEF 160 | Trainer |
| 15 %3/20 | Surfing Beach | 1 | MEG 129 | Trainer |
| 15 %3/20 | Switch | 1 | MEG 130 | Trainer |
| 15 %3/20 | Team Rocket's Energy | 2–3 | DRI 182 | Energy |
| 10 %2/20 | Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex | 1 | TWM 64 | Pokémon |
| 10 %2/20 | Handheld Fan | 1–2 | TWM 150 | Trainer |
| 10 %2/20 | Energy Search | 1 | POR 72 | Trainer |
| 10 %2/20 | Nighttime Mine | 1 | ASC 197 | Trainer |
| 10 %2/20 | Prime Catcher | 1 | TEF 157 | Trainer |
| 10 %2/20 | Surfer | 1 | SSP 187 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Dunsparce | 3 | TEF 128 | Pokémon |
| 5 %1/20 | Dudunsparce | 2 | TEF 129 | Pokémon |
| 5 %1/20 | Shaymin | 1 | DRI 10 | Pokémon |
| 5 %1/20 | Team Rocket's Articuno | 1 | DRI 51 | Pokémon |
| 5 %1/20 | Yveltal | 1 | MEG 88 | Pokémon |
| 5 %1/20 | Dawn | 2 | PFL 87 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Air Balloon | 1 | ASC 181 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Colress's Tenacity | 1 | SFA 57 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Crushing Hammer | 1 | POR 71 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Dark Bell | 1 | PBL 75 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Grand Tree | 1 | SCR 136 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Great Haul Net | 1 | CRI 78 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Hero's Cape | 1 | TEF 152 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Kieran | 1 | TWM 154 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Larry's Skill | 1 | PRE 115 | Trainer |
| 5 %1/20 | Secret Box | 1 | TWM 163 | Trainer |
What it costs to build, and how long it will last
You need 64 different cards to cover every version of this deck, 12 of which nobody argues about. We do not have card prices, so we are not going to put a number on it.
What we can tell you is where the money goes. 1 ex Pokémon in the core, and they are almost the whole bill. The Trainers and basic Energy are near enough free, or already in your box. This deck runs no ACE SPEC card at all.
Now the question nobody asks you before you pay: how long will this deck stay legal? Of the 12 core cards, 4 carry the letter H in the bottom-left corner. That is the oldest letter still allowed in tournaments, which makes it the one that goes at the next rotation. Those 4 cards have an expiry date. We do not know what that date is — the publisher announces it and it appears in no card data — but we do know exactly which cards leave.
One last piece of old-player advice. Never build a deck card by card starting with the prettiest one. Start with the core Trainers: they are cheap, they carry over into other decks, and they are what makes the machine run. Buy the expensive Pokémon last, once you know you actually enjoy the deck.
What this deck struggles against
The attackers in this deck are Weak to Lightning and Darkness. A card with a Weakness takes DOUBLE damage from an attacker of that type. Of the decks we track, 8 attack in exactly that type.
Here is how the table below is built. The Weakness is printed on your cards, the type of the attacker across the table is printed on theirs, and the fact that this particular deck really does play that attacker is counted off its own lists. You can check every line of it with the cards in your hand.
One limit, while we are here. Weakness alone does not decide a match. A deck can double your damage and still lose because it sets up too slowly, or crush you without ever touching your Weakness. This table tells you where to look first. What settles the game sits further along.
Going the other way, your attackers are Psychic — and 11 of the decks we track have an attacker Weak to one of those. That is you doubling, for once. Second half of the table.
They double the damage they put on you
| Deck | Their card | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass | Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex | Darkness |
| Mega Manectric ex / Eelektrik | Mega Manectric ex | Lightning |
| Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex | Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex | Darkness |
| Mega Absol ex | Mega Absol ex | Darkness |
| N's Zoroark ex | N's Zorua | Darkness |
| Mega Sharpedo ex / Toxtricity | Mega Sharpedo ex | Darkness |
| Toxtricity | Mega Absol ex | Darkness |
| Team Rocket's Honchkrow | Team Rocket's Honchkrow | Darkness |
You double the damage you put on them
| Deck | Their card | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Blaziken / N's Zoroark ex | Blaziken ex | Water |
| Ceruledge ex | Ceruledge ex | Water |
| Dragapult ex / Blaziken ex | Blaziken ex | Water |
| Flareon ex / Noctowl | Flareon ex | Water |
| Greninja ex | Greninja ex | Psychic |
| Mega Lucario ex / Hariyama | Mega Lucario ex | Psychic |
| Mega Chandelure ex | Chandelure | Water |
| Mega Charizard X ex | Mega Charizard X ex | Water |
| Mega Lucario ex | Mega Lucario ex | Psychic |
| Ethan's Typhlosion | Ethan's Typhlosion | Water |
| Okidogi / Barbaracle | Okidogi | Psychic |
Questions people ask
- What is the Mega Starmie ex / Dusknoir deck list?
- There isn't one, and that is the whole point. Across 20 tournament lists harvested on 11 August 2026, 12 cards turn up in every single one — 36 slots out of 60. The remaining 24 change from player to player, with 52 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 15 different tournaments, harvested on 11 August 2026 from play.limitlesstcg.com. Every one of them was read card by card, and every card was recognised.
- Where do I start if I want to build this deck?
- With the whole core: 12 cards, 36 slots. Inside that core, buy the Trainers and Energy first — they are cheap and they carry over into other decks — and leave the 1 ex Pokémon for last, because they are the bill. Only then work down the flex table and add the cards the most lists agree on.
- What beats this deck?
- Its attackers are Weak to Lightning and Darkness, so they take double damage from an attacker of that type. Of the decks we track, 8 play an attacker of that type: Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass, Mega Manectric ex / Eelektrik, Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex and Mega Absol ex, among others. One caveat. Weakness tells you where to look first. What settles the game sits further along.
- Will this deck survive the next rotation?
- Not intact. 4 of the 12 core cards carry the letter H in the bottom-left corner — the oldest letter still legal, and therefore the one that goes. We do not know the date of that rotation: the publisher announces it and it appears in no card data. We do know which cards leave, and they are marked in the core table.
- Are these numbers current?
- The lists were harvested on 11 August 2026, and the harvest runs every night. Every new list joins the count, so the percentages on this page move on their own as the format moves. When a card crosses over from the flex table into the core, that is the players moving first and the count following them.
Where all of this comes from
The 20 lists come from play.limitlesstcg.com, which publishes the decks played at official tournaments. They were harvested on 11 August 2026 across 15 different events, then read card by card against poko's own card catalogue (built from the public TCGdex API) to recover what each card actually does. Card prices appear nowhere on this page: we do not have them, and nothing here links to a shop.
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