Dragapult Blaziken — Standard Strategy Guide

Archetype Overview

Dragapult Blaziken is a two-engine Stage 2 deck. Dragapult ex is the primary attacker and wins the Prize race through Bench damage. Blaziken ex is both a second 200-damage attacker and an Energy engine that keeps your attackers powered from the discard pile. Add two Munkidori to move damage around, and you get a deck that takes Prize cards from places your opponent can't protect. This list won Cleo's 2K Pokémon Tournament on 2026-10-18 in the hands of Sida Zuo, and it costs about $34 to build.

What the Deck Is Trying to Do

The game plan comes down to one sentence: evolve fast, then make every attack hit two or three Pokémon at once.

1. Turn 1: Fill the Bench with Buddy-Buddy Poffin. Dreepy, Torchic, and Budew are all 70 HP or less, so a single Poffin can pull any two of them.
2. Turn 2: Evolve into Drakloak and start using Recon Directive every turn. Use Rare Candy to jump straight to a Stage 2 when your hand has one.
3. Midgame: Attack with Dragapult ex's Phantom Dive. It does 200 to the Active Pokémon and places 6 damage counters across the opponent's Bench however you like. Each Phantom Dive should set up Knock Outs on later turns, either from the next Phantom Dive, from Munkidori's Adrena-Brain, or from a Boss's Orders that drags a damaged target into the Active Spot.
4. Closing: Switch between attackers. When Dragapult is threatened, Blaziken ex's Smolder-sault also hits for 200. Its drawback is that it can't attack on your next turn, which matters much less when a Dragapult is ready to attack next.

Why the Plan Is Strong

Blaziken turns your discard pile into Energy. Phantom Dive costs [Fire Psychic], and that two-type cost is usually the weak point of a Dragapult deck. Seething Spirit attaches a Basic Energy from your discard pile to any of your Pokémon once per turn. That changes how your other cards work:

• Ultra Ball discards become Energy you will attach later.
• Crispin finds two different Basic Energy types. One gets attached now and the other goes to your hand, which also gives you something to discard to Ultra Ball.
• Once Blaziken is in play, a Knocked Out Dragapult doesn't cost you all your tempo. The next Dragapult can be powered from Energy already in the discard pile.

Seething Spirit can attach to any of your Pokémon, not only Fire types. That includes putting a [Darkness] Energy on Munkidori to turn on Adrena-Brain.

Munkidori converts damage you took into damage you deal. Adrena-Brain moves up to 3 damage counters from one of your Pokémon to one of your opponent's. With two copies, each carrying [Darkness] Energy, you can move up to 6 counters per turn. That damage comes off your own 320 HP ex Pokémon, which acts like healing, and lands on the opponent's board, which finishes the Bench targets Phantom Dive already weakened. In practice, this lets you take Prize cards without spending your attack on them.

Both Stage 2 lines are hard to stop. The Dragapult line is 4-4-2 and the Blaziken line is 2-1-2. You have two copies of Rare Candy and one Dawn, which pulls a Basic, a Stage 1, and a Stage 2 in a single Supporter. You also have four Poké Pad for non-Rule Box Pokémon such as Drakloak, Dreepy, Torchic, Combusken, and Munkidori, plus four Ultra Ball for the ex Pokémon. Drakloak's Recon Directive gives you extra card selection every turn, and having multiple Drakloak in play makes that selection add up quickly. Three Night Stretcher recover a Knocked Out piece of either line, or a Basic Energy if you need one in hand.

The draw package rewards both early leads and falling behind. Lillie's Determination draws 8 if you are still at 6 Prize cards, which is your strongest opening draw. Fezandipiti ex draws 3 after one of your Pokémon is Knocked Out. Unfair Stamp uses the same trigger to leave you with 5 cards and your opponent with 2. When your opponent takes their first Prize card, you can often answer with a full hand while they have almost nothing.

The Tech Slots and What They Tell You

• Team Rocket's Watchtower removes Abilities from all [Colorless] Pokémon in play, on both sides. Your only [Colorless] Pokémon is Meowth ex. Your engine pieces Drakloak, Blaziken, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti are unaffected. Watchtower is a near-free way to shut off opposing [Colorless] Ability support. Sequencing rule: play Meowth ex onto your Bench before you put down Watchtower, or Last-Ditch Catch won't work.
• Meowth ex is effectively a fifth Supporter search. Use it to find Boss's Orders for a game-ending Knock Out, or Dawn to repair an evolution line.
• Chi-Yu covers two roles. Allure draws 2 when you're short on resources. Ground Melter hits for 120 if any Stadium is in play, then discards it. That removes an opponent's Stadium, or lets you clear your own Watchtower once it's no longer helping.
• Budew attacks for no Energy with Itchy Pollen, which stops your opponent from playing Items on their next turn. It has 0 Retreat and fits Poffin, so it costs you almost nothing to include. Going second, an early Itchy Pollen can slow down a deck that relies on Items to set up.
• Fezandipiti ex doubles as a late-game finisher. Cruel Arrow does 100 to any of your opponent's Pokémon, enough to finish a Benched target your spread damage has already weakened.

A Legality Note Before You Register

The list as reported includes one Judge, and the card data marks Judge as not Standard-legal. Replace it before you submit a decklist. Judge's role here is hand disruption combined with a refresh. Unfair Stamp does the same job in comeback spots. For a straight swap, the cleanest options are cards the list already uses: a second Dawn for consistency or a third Crispin for Energy. Confirm legality for your event date before choosing.

Weak Points to Respect

• Turn 2 dependency. Both main lines are Stage 2. If your Turn 1 Bench is just one Basic, you'll be playing catch-up. Prioritize Poffin and Ultra Ball over almost everything else in your opening hand.
• Fragile Basics. Dreepy, Torchic, and Budew all have 70 HP or less. Spread decks and Bench-snipe effects can strip your evolution line before it evolves. Bench only what you need, and keep a Night Stretcher available.
• Water Weakness on the Fire line. Torchic, Combusken, Blaziken ex, and Chi-Yu all take double damage from Water. Against Water attackers, lean on Dragapult, which has no listed Weakness, and treat Blaziken as Energy support rather than your main attacker.
• Thin Darkness count. There are only two Basic Darkness Energy. Munkidori needs one attached to use Adrena-Brain. Don't discard them to Ultra Ball carelessly unless Blaziken is already in play to bring them back.

Who Should Pick It Up

This deck suits players who enjoy counting damage counters and planning two turns ahead. Most of its wins come from Phantom Dive and Adrena-Brain placements that set up multi-Prize turns your opponent doesn't see coming. If you like decks that win on board math rather than raw damage, this one rewards that skill.

It also suits players on a budget. At about $34, it gives you a two-attacker Stage 2 shell with a full search package. If you're used to linear one-attacker decks, expect a learning curve around Bench management and Watchtower timing. Once those habits are in place, the deck holds up well against both aggro and slower setup strategies.

Core Strategy & Game Plan

The deck wins by taking six Prize cards in as few turns as possible, using Dragapult ex's bench damage to turn single knockouts into multi-Prize turns. Blaziken ex is the second attacker and the Energy engine that keeps attacks coming every turn. The rest of the list exists to get both Stage 2 lines online fast, keep your hand full, and close games with Boss's Orders.

How the Deck Wins

Dragapult ex's Phantom Dive does 200 to the Active Pokémon and places 6 damage counters across your opponent's Bench however you like. Every Phantom Dive should do two things: take the Prize in front of you and set up the next one. Low-HP Benched support Pokémon die outright to those counters. Bigger targets get softened so that a later Phantom Dive, a Blaziken ex Smolder-sault, or a Boss's Orders finishes them.

Munkidori adds to that math. With a Darkness Energy attached, Adrena-Brain moves up to 3 damage counters from one of your Pokémon to one of your opponent's. That pulls damage off your 320-HP attackers and puts it exactly where the next KO needs it. One Phantom Dive plus one Adrena-Brain puts 90 damage on the Bench, distributed however you want. With both Munkidori active, that becomes 120. Use this to plan two-Prize and three-Prize turns ahead of time.

Posture: Proactive First, Reactive When Forced

This is a proactive deck. You want to be the first player attacking for real damage and the one setting the pace of the Prize trade. Your attackers are both Pokémon ex, though, so every one you lose gives up two Prizes. The list carries a reactive package for the turns your opponent gets ahead:

• Fezandipiti ex: Flip the Script draws 3 cards on any turn after one of your Pokémon was Knocked Out. Getting KO'd refills your hand automatically.
• Unfair Stamp: Has the same trigger. You reset to 5 cards and your opponent drops to 2. Play it right after they take a big knockout to cut off their follow-up.
• Lillie's Determination: Draws 8 if you're still at 6 Prizes. It's your best opening Supporter and stays a solid 6-card refresh after that.

The posture is simple. Attack every turn you can. When you fall behind in the trade, use Stamp and Flip the Script on the same turn and play for a comeback rather than trading evenly from behind.

The Engine

• Drakloak (4 copies): Recon Directive digs two cards deep every turn. Having two Drakloak in play is the backbone of your consistency. Each one is also a future Dragapult ex. Don't evolve your last Drakloak unless the attack wins the game or the Prize race demands it.
• Blaziken ex: Seething Spirit attaches a Basic Energy from your discard pile to any of your Pokémon once per turn. That powers Phantom Dive, which needs a Fire and a Psychic Energy. It also gives Munkidori the Darkness Energy that turns on Adrena-Brain. Discards from Ultra Ball aren't a cost here. Toss Energy to fuel Blaziken.
• Crispin: Fetches two Basic Energy of different types, attaching one and putting the other in hand. Fire plus Psychic, with a manual attach, powers Phantom Dive in a single turn without Blaziken. Fire or Psychic plus Darkness sets up Munkidori.
• Search suite: Buddy-Buddy Poffin benches Dreepy, Torchic, and Budew (all 70 HP or less). Poké Pad finds any non-Rule Box piece, including Drakloak, Combusken, Munkidori, and Chi-Yu. Ultra Ball is your only way to search out the ex Pokémon. Dawn grabs a full Basic, Stage 1, and Stage 2 line in one Supporter.
• Meowth ex: Bench it from hand to search your deck for any Supporter. This usually means Boss's Orders for a game-winning gust or Crispin for a missing attack. Tuck Tail puts it back in your hand so you can use Last-Ditch Catch again later.
• Night Stretcher (3 copies): Recovers a KO'd Dragapult ex or Drakloak, or pulls back a Basic Energy when Blaziken isn't in play.

The Ideal Game, Turn by Turn

1. Turn 1: Play Buddy-Buddy Poffin for Dreepy and a second Basic. That's another Dreepy or Torchic depending on which Stage 2 you're prioritizing. Use Lillie's Determination for 8 if your hand is thin. Going second, open with Budew in the Active Spot if you can. Itchy Pollen costs nothing and locks your opponent out of Items on their next turn, which slows their setup while you build yours. Going first, you can't attack, so spend the turn putting as many Basics on the Bench as possible. Rare Candy can't be played on your first turn either.
2. Turn 2: Evolve into Drakloak and start using Recon Directive. Use Rare Candy on a Basic that was in play last turn to get your first Stage 2. If you already have Energy in the discard pile, Blaziken ex first is often stronger. Its Seething Spirit can power a Dragapult ex the same turn or the next. If you have Crispin and a manual attachment ready, go straight to Dragapult ex and use Phantom Dive immediately.
3. Turn 3: Get both attackers into play. Take a Prize with Phantom Dive and place the counters on whatever lets you take two Prizes next turn. Attach Darkness to Munkidori through Seething Spirit and start moving damage.
4. Midgame: Alternate attackers. Smolder-sault hits for 200 but locks Blaziken ex out of attacking next turn. Plan to retreat it into Dragapult ex (Retreat 1) or a single-Prize attacker. Retreating Blaziken discards Energy, and Seething Spirit reattaches that Energy next turn, so the cost pays itself back.
5. Closing: Count the damage already on the Bench and use Boss's Orders, or Meowth ex to find it, to pull up your final Prizes.

Key Interactions to Respect

• Team Rocket's Watchtower turns off your own Meowth ex. Meowth is a Colorless Pokémon, so it loses its Ability while Watchtower is in play. Bench Meowth before you drop the Stadium. Your Dragon, Fire, Psychic, and Darkness Ability users keep their Abilities. Watchtower is a free shutdown of opposing Colorless Ability Pokémon.
• Chi-Yu uses any Stadium. Ground Melter hits for 120 if any Stadium is in play, then discards it. That includes clearing an opposing Stadium or cashing in your own Watchtower once it has done its job. It's a single-Prize attacker for trading into small threats without exposing an ex. Early on, Allure draws 2 if your hand needs it.
• The Blaziken ex line is thin. You have two Torchic, one Combusken, and two Rare Candy. Prioritize Dragapult when resources are tight, because Crispin can power Phantom Dive on its own.
• Fallback attacks matter. Jet Headbutt costs a single Colorless for 70. Drakloak's Dragon Headbutt (Fire and Psychic) does 70. Fezandipiti ex's Cruel Arrow does 100 to any opposing Pokémon. Use these to finish damaged targets when your main attacker can't go.

Legality note: The list includes one Judge, which is flagged as not Standard-legal. Confirm its status before you register. Don't count on it in your plan. Replace it with a legal card if needed.

Card Choices & Breakdown

Main Attackers: Dragapult ex and Blaziken ex

2x Dragapult ex (4-4-2 line with Dreepy and Drakloak). Dragapult ex is the primary win condition. "Phantom Dive" hits the Active for 200 and puts 6 damage counters on the opponent's Bench however you like. That spread sets up multi-Prize turns and picks off low-HP support Pokémon before they come online. At 320 HP it also survives most single hits. Two copies are enough because the deck finds Stage 2s through Ultra Ball, Dawn, Night Stretcher, and four Drakloak digging every turn. A third copy would sit dead in hand more often than it would win a game.

2x Blaziken ex (2-1-2 line with Torchic and Combusken). Blaziken ex is the Energy engine first and the second attacker second. "Seething Spirit" attaches a Basic Energy from your discard pile to any of your Pokémon once per turn. That lets Dragapult ex power "Phantom Dive" (Basic Fire Energy plus Basic Psychic Energy) across turns without relying only on manual attachments. "Smolder-sault" hits for 200, but Blaziken ex can't attack the following turn. Plan to alternate it with Dragapult ex rather than lean on it as a repeat attacker.

The single Combusken is deliberate. You're expected to reach Blaziken ex through Rare Candy or Dawn, not by walking up the line. Combusken is your backup route when Candy is prized or already used, and Night Stretcher can recover it.

The Engine: Drakloak and the Basics

4x Dreepy, 4x Drakloak. Max copies of both. "Recon Directive" fixes your draws every turn: look at two, keep one. With two or three Drakloak in play, you see a lot of extra cards each turn, which is how a deck running only two of each Stage 2 hits them on time. Drakloak also has a 90-HP body and "Dragon Headbutt" for 70 in a pinch. Never cut below four of either.

2x Torchic. Two is the minimum that keeps the Blaziken line reliable through Buddy-Buddy Poffin and Poké Pad. "Collect" (draw a card for one Colorless) means a Torchic start isn't a dead turn.

Support Pokémon

• 2x Munkidori (listed as two separate 1-ofs; play two total). "Adrena-Brain" moves up to 3 damage counters from one of your Pokémon to one of the opponent's, as long as Munkidori has Basic Darkness Energy attached. It turns damage the opponent already dealt you into extra reach on top of "Phantom Dive." It's also why two Basic Darkness Energy are in the list. Blaziken ex can recycle Darkness from the discard straight onto Munkidori.
• 1x Fezandipiti ex. "Flip the Script" draws 3 after one of your Pokémon was Knocked Out on the opponent's last turn. It's your recovery draw when you're behind. "Cruel Arrow" also gives you 100 to any Pokémon for three Colorless as an emergency sniping option.
• 1x Meowth ex. "Last-Ditch Catch" searches any Supporter when you play it to your Bench. Use it for a turn-one Dawn, a late Boss's Orders, or a Lillie's Determination when your hand is bricked. Meowth ex is a Colorless Pokémon, so your own Team Rocket's Watchtower shuts its Ability off. Bench Meowth ex before you drop Watchtower, or after Chi-Yu clears it.
• 1x Chi-Yu. It works as a starter with "Allure" (draw 2 for one Colorless). It also answers Stadiums: "Ground Melter" does 120 with a Stadium in play, then discards it. That one slot deals with opposing Stadiums and resets your own Watchtower when you need Meowth ex back.
• 1x Budew. A free-retreat, zero-cost "Itchy Pollen" stops the opponent from playing Items next turn. It's a Buddy-Buddy Poffin target, a pivot, and a tempo tool against Item-heavy setups. Only 30 HP, so it's a Prize liability once the opponent has board presence.

Search and Setup Items

4x Buddy-Buddy Poffin, 4x Poké Pad, 4x Ultra Ball. These twelve Items are why the list functions.

• Buddy-Buddy Poffin benches two Dreepy, Torchic, or Budew at once.
• Poké Pad grabs any non-Rule-Box Pokémon: Drakloak, Combusken, Munkidori, Chi-Yu. It can't find your ex attackers.
• Ultra Ball covers that gap. It's the only Item that finds Dragapult ex, Blaziken ex, Fezandipiti ex, or Meowth ex. Its discard cost works in your favor: pitching Basic Energy loads ammo for "Seething Spirit."

2x Rare Candy. Two, not four, because Candy mainly serves the Blaziken line. Dragapult ex usually evolves through Drakloak, since you want Drakloak on board anyway. More Candy would crowd out search.

3x Night Stretcher. It recovers either a Pokémon or a Basic Energy, so it rebuilds a broken evolution line or returns a key Energy. Three is enough because Blaziken ex already handles Energy recursion. A fourth would be the first add if you cut something.

Supporters

• 4x Lillie's Determination. Your main draw Supporter. Shuffle and draw 6, or 8 if you still have all six Prize cards. That makes it the best turn-one and turn-two Supporter in the deck. Always max it.
• 3x Boss's Orders. Three instead of four because the deck has other ways to hit the Bench. "Phantom Dive" spread, "Adrena-Brain," and "Cruel Arrow" all deal damage there without gusting, and Meowth ex can fetch a Boss when you need one.
• 2x Crispin. It searches two Basic Energy of different types, attaching one and putting the other in hand. Fire plus Psychic covers "Phantom Dive" in one Supporter. Darkness plus either type sets up Munkidori while keeping an attacker fed.
• 1x Dawn. It grabs a Basic, a Stage 1, and a Stage 2 together, often a full Dreepy or Torchic line in one card. One copy is enough because Meowth ex can search for it.
• 1x Judge. Legality warning: the card data available for this guide marks Judge as not Standard-legal. Confirm its status before you register. If you can't play it, the cleanest swaps are a fourth Boss's Orders or a fourth Night Stretcher, since both fill slots already discussed.

Disruption and Stadium

1x Unfair Stamp. You can play it only if one of your Pokémon was Knocked Out on the opponent's last turn. Then both players shuffle their hands in, you draw 5, and the opponent draws 2. It's your comeback card, and it pairs naturally with "Flip the Script" on the same turn. One copy is right because it's dead whenever you're ahead.

2x Team Rocket's Watchtower. It switches off the Abilities of every Colorless Pokémon in play, yours and the opponent's. Your engine Pokémon (Dragon, Fire, Psychic, Darkness) are unaffected. The only casualty on your side is Meowth ex. Two copies let you shut down opposing Colorless support and contest the Stadium slot. Chi-Yu gives you a way to remove it on demand.

Energy: 3 Fire, 3 Psychic, 2 Darkness

Eight Energy is light, and it works for three reasons:

• Blaziken ex re-attaches Energy from the discard pile.
• Ultra Ball discards Energy on purpose to fuel it.
• Crispin fetches Energy straight from the deck.

Fire and Psychic are split evenly because "Phantom Dive" needs one of each. The two Darkness exist only for Munkidori, so don't treat them as general-purpose Energy for your attackers.

The whole list runs about $34. If you change slots, keep the Item search and the Drakloak count intact. Everything else in the deck depends on them.

The Decklist

Sixty cards that won Cleo's 2K Pokémon Tournament on 2026-10-18 in the hands of Sida Zuo. At roughly $34 at TCGplayer market prices (approximate), this list is cheap enough to build without excuses. Below is the list as registered, grouped the way it was submitted, followed by notes on which slots are locked and which ones you can tune.

At a Glance

Pokémon (21)

Registration note: the submitted list shows Munkidori as two separate 1-copy entries. That's how players typically register two different printings of the same card. Functionally you're running 2 Munkidori, and the count above reflects that. When you register your own copy, list it however your printings require, but make sure the total is 2.

Trainer (31)

Legality warning: Judge. The card data accompanying this list flags Judge as not Standard-legal. Verify its status against the current Standard legal card list before you register. If it isn't legal at your event, you must replace that slot or your deck list is illegal. The simplest swaps use cards already in the 60: a 4th Boss's Orders if you want more closing power, or a 2nd Dawn if you want more setup. You lose a mid-game hand-refresh effect either way, and Unfair Stamp becomes your only shuffle-draw disruption.

Energy (8)

Eight Energy looks thin for a deck with two attackers that each need a typed two-Energy attack. It works because Blaziken ex attaches a Basic Energy from your discard pile every turn. Ultra Ball costs, Crispin, and Night Stretcher all feed that loop. Don't add Energy unless you cut Blaziken ex consistency to do it, and you shouldn't do that.

Locked Slots

These counts are the deck. Changing them changes the archetype, not the list:

• 4-4-2 Dreepy / Drakloak / Dragapult ex. Four Drakloak keeps Recon Directive online even after early Knock Outs on your Stage 1s.
• 4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin, 4 Ultra Ball, 4 Poké Pad. Twelve search Items carry the setup. Poffin and Pad cover everything without a Rule Box, and Ultra Ball covers the ex Pokémon that Pad can't reach.
• 4 Lillie's Determination. This is your primary draw Supporter, and the 8-card mode on your opening turns is a big part of why the list functions.
• 2 Rare Candy and 2 Blaziken ex. Rare Candy works on both Stage 2 lines, so it pulls double duty.
• The 3/3/2 Energy split. Fire and Psychic match Phantom Dive exactly. Darkness exists only for Munkidori.

Flexible Slots

If you want to adjust for your local field, these are the cards to look at, in rough order of how freely you can move them:

• Judge: Swap it first if legality is in question; see the warning above.
• Budew: It's best against Item-heavy setup decks and weakest against Supporter-driven strategies.
• Unfair Stamp: This is comeback-only. If you expect to be the one taking Knock Outs first, it rots in hand.
• Chi-Yu: It's your out to an opposing Stadium, since Ground Melter discards it. Cut it if Stadiums are rare in your meta.
• 2nd Team Rocket's Watchtower: Keep it if your field leans on Colorless Pokémon Abilities. Remember it also blanks your own Meowth ex, so drop Meowth before you play the Stadium.
• Dawn: It's a one-card evolution package. Going to 2 is reasonable if setup is your bottleneck.
• 3rd Night Stretcher: It's the safest card to trim when you need one slot, because Blaziken ex already recovers Energy.
• 2nd Crispin: Trim it only if Blaziken ex is reliably coming online early in your games.
• Combusken: The single copy is your backup when Rare Candy is prized or spent. Don't cut it to zero.

Registration Checklist

1. Confirm every card is legal in Standard on your event date, especially Judge.
2. Make sure your Munkidori entries total 2, listed by printing if yours differ.
3. Count the sections: 21 Pokémon, 31 Trainer, 8 Energy, 60 total.
4. If you made swaps from the Flexible Slots list, recount before you submit.

Opening Hands & Setup

What a Strong Opening Looks Like

You can't throw a hand back, so the real question is how quickly you can turn your seven cards into Dreepy and Torchic on the Bench. Every strong opening for this deck answers three questions:

1. Can you get Stage 2 Basics on the Bench this turn? Buddy-Buddy Poffin is the best card you can open. It benches two of Dreepy, Torchic, or Budew, since all three have 70 HP or less. Poké Pad and Ultra Ball do the same job one Pokémon at a time.
2. Do you have a Supporter, or a way to find one? Lillie's Determination draws 8 while you still have all 6 Prize cards, so it rescues almost any slow opening. Meowth ex in hand counts as a Supporter, because benching it from your hand searches one out. Dawn is the strongest turn-two Supporter in the list.
3. Is there an Energy to attach? Phantom Dive costs Fire and Psychic. One Energy on the right Pokémon on turn one keeps you on schedule.

A model opener: Buddy-Buddy Poffin, Ultra Ball, Lillie's Determination, a Basic, and an Energy. Poffin two Dreepy, Ultra Ball for Torchic or a third Dreepy, attach, then Lillie's into a fresh hand. Discard Energy to Ultra Ball where you can, because Blaziken ex's Seething Spirit pulls Basic Energy back out of the discard pile later.

What a Weak Opening Looks Like

• A lone Rule Box Basic and no search. Starting Fezandipiti ex or Meowth ex Active with no Poffin, Pad, or Ultra Ball means you hand your opponent a two-Prize target and have nothing to evolve.
• All Pokémon, no Trainers. A hand of Dreepy, Drakloak, Dragapult ex, and Combusken looks like a deck, but without Rare Candy or a draw Supporter you are just hoping for the right topdeck.
• Stage 2s with no Basics to put them on. Two Rare Candy and a Dragapult ex do nothing if your only Basic is Chi-Yu.

Most weak hands are saved by one card. If you have Lillie's Determination, fix the board first with whatever Items you have, then shuffle away the dead cards and draw 8. If you have Meowth ex, bench it from your hand to search for Lillie's. Prioritize benching Basics before you draw. Lillie's shuffles your hand away, so any Dreepy left in hand goes back into the deck.

The Meowth ex and Watchtower Rule

Two sequencing traps punish autopilot play:

• Don't place Meowth ex during setup if you can avoid it. Last-Ditch Catch only triggers when you play Meowth from your hand onto your Bench during your turn. Placing it during setup gets you nothing. Keep it in hand and bench it when you need a Supporter.
• Don't play Team Rocket's Watchtower before Meowth ex has done its job. Watchtower turns off the Abilities of Colorless Pokémon on both sides, and Meowth ex is Colorless. Your Ability engine (Drakloak's Recon Directive, Blaziken ex, Munkidori, Fezandipiti ex) is Dragon, Fire, Psychic, and Darkness, so it keeps working under Watchtower. Bench Meowth first, then play the Stadium.

Choosing Your Active Pokémon

Fill the Bench during setup only with Pokémon you want there: Dreepy, Torchic, and Budew if it isn't Active. Hold Fezandipiti ex and Meowth ex in hand unless they are your only Basics.

Turn One Priorities

1. Bench Dreepy, ideally two. Drakloak's Recon Directive is your consistency engine, and Dragapult ex is your main attacker. Use Poffin first, then Pad or Ultra Ball.
2. Get a Torchic down. With only two Torchic and one Combusken, getting the Blaziken line started early matters more than adding a third Dreepy.
3. Attach Energy toward your first attack. Fire or Psychic on a Benched Dreepy sets up Phantom Dive. Darkness on Munkidori turns on Adrena-Brain.
4. Set up your discard pile. Ultra Ball discards are free value. Energy there becomes Seething Spirit fuel, and Pokémon there can come back with Night Stretcher.
5. Use your Supporter last (going second only). Lillie's for 8 after spending your Items, Crispin if you need Energy on board more than cards, or Itchy Pollen with Budew to lock their turn.

Turn Two Priorities

1. Rare Candy into the Stage 2 that can attack this turn. Choose Dragapult ex if you can pay Fire and Psychic, since Phantom Dive's 6 Bench counters start the Prize race immediately. Choose Blaziken ex if Energy is waiting in the discard pile, because Seething Spirit adds an extra attachment every turn after that.
2. Evolve your other Dreepy into Drakloak and use Recon Directive before committing to a Supporter. Each look at the top two cards can change what you need.
3. Dawn is your best Supporter when you're missing pieces. It finds a Basic, a Stage 1, and a Stage 2 in one card. You can grab Dragapult ex for your Candy, Drakloak for engine depth, and a backup Dreepy or Torchic.
4. Keep Rare Candy's timing in mind. It can't be used on your first turn or on a Basic benched that same turn. Bench anything you plan to Candy a turn early.

Going First vs. Going Second

Choose to go second by default. This deck gains a lot from the extra turn-one options:

• Lillie's Determination draws 8 on your first turn, and you can play it right away.
• Budew's Itchy Pollen locks your opponent out of Items on their next turn. That cuts off their search and draw just as they try to set up.
• Chi-Yu's Allure gives you two extra cards when Budew isn't available.
• Your Dreepy and Torchic still get a full turn on the Bench before your turn-two Rare Candy, so you lose nothing in evolution speed.

Go first when evolving before your opponent matters more than your turn-one Supporter. That usually means slower evolution decks and setup-heavy control decks that won't punish a Bench of 70 HP Basics on their first turn. Going first, your turn one is Items only: spend every Poffin, Pad, and Ultra Ball to get your Basics down, then evolve on turn two before your opponent has done anything meaningful. Avoid going first against aggressive decks that can attack before you evolve. Those decks Knock Out exposed Dreepy before Drakloak comes online, and giving them the first attack is a bad trade.

Sequencing & Key Lines

What to Lead With

Your Active choice on turn 1 depends on what you can afford to strand up front. You have no switching cards, so whatever starts Active stays there until you pay a retreat cost or it gets Knocked Out. Lead in this order when you have options:

1. Budew, especially going second. Itchy Pollen costs nothing and stops your opponent from playing Items on their next turn. That lands exactly on the turn most decks need Items to evolve and search. Its Retreat Cost is 0, so it never clogs the Active Spot.
2. Chi-Yu. It has 110 HP and a Retreat Cost of 1, and Allure draws 2 for one Energy of any type. It survives an early hit better than your other Basics.
3. Dreepy or Torchic. Both are fine, but you would rather have them evolving safely on the Bench than absorbing a turn-2 attack.
4. Never an ex if you can avoid it. Meowth ex and Fezandipiti ex are two-Prize liabilities that do nothing useful from the Active Spot early.

Turn 1: Torchic Is the Priority Basic

Your first Buddy-Buddy Poffin should grab Torchic + Dreepy. Rare Candy can't be used on a Basic that came into play this turn, so the Torchic must hit the Bench now to be a turn-2 Blaziken ex. A second Poffin or Poké Pad adds the second Dreepy. Poffin can also fetch Budew (30 HP) if you didn't start with it.

Sequence the rest of the turn like this:

1. Play Poffins and Poké Pad first. They thin the deck before any draw.
2. If you need a specific Supporter, bench Meowth ex now and use Last-Ditch Catch. It only triggers when played from hand.
3. If you play Ultra Ball, discard Energy with it whenever possible. Every Energy in the discard pile is fuel for Seething Spirit next turn.
4. Play your Supporter last. On turn 1 you almost always have exactly 6 Prize cards, so Lillie's Determination draws 8. That makes turn 1 the best time to play it.
5. Attach Energy to the Pokémon that will need it. Usually that is a Dreepy (Psychic or Fire toward Phantom Dive) or a Munkidori (Darkness).

Turn 2: Which Stage 2 Comes First

This is the biggest branch point in the deck. Use these rules:

The default turn-2 line going second:

1. Evolve both Dreepy into Drakloak.
2. Use Recon Directive on each.
3. Rare Candy Torchic into Blaziken ex.
4. Ultra Ball, discarding Energy if you haven't already.
5. Seething Spirit a Fire Energy onto Blaziken, then attach manually.
6. Smolder-sault for 200.

Your opponent is now facing a 320-HP attacker before their board is finished.

The Attacker Rotation

Smolder-sault stops Blaziken ex from attacking on your next turn. Plan the follow-up before you swing:

• Retreat into Dragapult ex. Blaziken's Retreat Cost is 2, and the discarded Energy goes straight back into the pool Seething Spirit draws from. Retreating is close to free in this deck.
• Power Dragapult from the Bench. On the turn before the swap, Seething Spirit a Psychic onto the benched Dragapult. Next turn, manually attach Fire, retreat Blaziken, and Phantom Dive.
• Use Chi-Yu as the off-turn hitter. If a Stadium is in play, Ground Melter does 120 for Fire + Colorless and then discards the Stadium. That works whether the Stadium is yours or theirs.

The ideal rhythm alternates: Blaziken hits for 200, then Dragapult hits for 200 plus spread, then Blaziken again. That keeps 200-damage attacks coming every turn and lets Seething Spirit work every turn too.

Phantom Dive Counter Placement

Six damage counters on the Bench is where games are won. Place them in this order:

1. Take Knock Outs now. Any Benched Pokémon with 60 HP or less dies to the full six counters. Free Prizes come first.
2. Set up Munkidori finishes. With Darkness attached, Adrena-Brain moves up to 3 counters from one of your Pokémon to one of theirs. That is 30 more damage per Munkidori, and you run two. Put counters where 30 or 60 more finishes the job.
3. Pre-damage the next two-Prize target. Counters on a Benched ex let you Boss's Orders it into the Active Spot next turn and finish it with 200 plus Munkidori.

Adrena-Brain does double duty: it moves damage off your own damaged Dragapult or Blaziken while adding it to theirs. A Seething Spirit can put Darkness on Munkidori from the discard pile, so discarding Basic Darkness Energy to Ultra Ball early is a real investment.

The Small Edges

• Play Unfair Stamp before Flip the Script. Stamp shuffles your hand away. Stamp first (you draw 5, they draw 2), then use Fezandipiti ex to draw 3, then play your Supporter. Usually that Supporter is Boss's Orders.
• Bench Fezandipiti ex and Meowth ex only when you use them. Both Abilities work the turn they come down. Holding them in hand keeps two-Prize targets off your Bench.
• Use Meowth before Team Rocket's Watchtower. Meowth ex is a Colorless Pokémon, and Watchtower shuts off Colorless Abilities on both sides. Watchtower does not affect Drakloak, Blaziken ex, Fezandipiti ex, or Munkidori. Play it when your opponent's Colorless Pokémon are doing work, or to replace a Stadium that hurts you.
• Time Recon Directive around shuffles. If you are about to play Lillie's Determination or Unfair Stamp, use Recon Directive after the shuffle. Before the shuffle, the card it finds just goes back into the deck. The exception is when the card you need must be played before the Supporter.
• Know when Lillie's draws 8. It draws 8 only while you have exactly 6 Prize cards left. Once you take your first Prize, it draws 6, so front-load it.
• Save Night Stretcher. Early, it can grab Energy. Late, it should rebuy a Knocked Out Stage 2 or Rare Candy target. Don't spend all three on setup.
• Swing with Boss's Orders, not just pull. Use it when the Knock Out takes a two-Prize target or leaves exactly the Prizes you need.

Playing Around Common Interaction

Hand disruption (shuffle-and-draw effects): Your recovery is strong. Recon Directive digs every turn regardless of hand size, and Fezandipiti and Unfair Stamp both refill after you lose a Pokémon. Don't hoard combo pieces in hand. Play out Rare Candy lines as soon as they're live.

Gusting your Bench: Opponents who drag a Pokémon into the Active Spot will target Drakloak or an unpowered Dragapult. Keep Dreepy and Drakloak HP in mind, and never leave a two-Prize ex benched without reason.

Bench damage: Dreepy and Torchic are both 70 HP, and Budew is 30. Against spread strategies, evolve fast rather than flooding the Bench with Basics.

Stadium lock: Chi-Yu's Ground Melter and your own Team Rocket's Watchtower both remove problem Stadiums. Chi-Yu deals 120 while doing it.

Note on Judge

The registered list includes Judge, but the card data flags it as not Standard-legal. Don't build lines around it. Confirm its legality for your event before you register.

Matchup Matrix

Single-Prize Swarm: Favored

These decks plan to trade one-Prize attackers into your two-Prize ex and come out ahead on the Prize race. Phantom Dive breaks that plan. Each attack does 200 to the Active Pokémon and places 6 damage counters on the Bench however you like. That lets you Knock Out low-HP Benched attackers, or set up next turn's Knock Outs, while the Active hit takes its own Prize. With a Darkness Energy on Munkidori, you can also move 3 counters from your damaged Pokémon onto theirs. That turns a near-miss into another Prize.

Plan: Before every Phantom Dive, count their Bench HP and spend the 60 to finish Pokémon, not to chip everything evenly. Use Boss's Orders on the attacker they are building, not the one already hitting you. Keep your Bench to what you need. Fezandipiti ex and Meowth ex give up two Prizes each, and swarm decks punish loose Benches.

Evolution and Setup Decks: Favored

Any deck that has to sit on Basics for a turn gives you free targets. Spread damage on low-HP Basics and Stage 1s takes Prizes and denies their Stage 2 at the same time. Budew's Itchy Pollen costs nothing and stops them from playing Items during their next turn. Time it for the turn they need their own evolution Items. Combo-style decks that aim for one explosive turn fold to the same pressure. Use Boss's Orders to pull the engine piece Active and remove it.

Plan: Spend the early game on denial, not damage. Every Prize you take off an unevolved Pokémon is also a turn of setup they lose.

Colorless Ability Engines: Favored

Team Rocket's Watchtower turns off the Abilities of every Colorless Pokémon in play. If their draw or search engine runs through Colorless Pokémon, it stops while the Stadium stays in play. With two copies, you can replace it after they bump it with a Stadium of their own.

Watch your own Meowth ex. It is Colorless, so Last-Ditch Catch does nothing while Watchtower is in play. Bench Meowth for its Supporter before you play Watchtower. If you need Meowth later, Chi-Yu's Ground Melter discards whatever Stadium is in play and deals 120 while doing it.

Fast Aggro: Even

Aggro wants to take Prizes before your Stage 2s arrive. Once a Dragapult ex or Blaziken ex is in play, 320 HP is hard for most aggressive attackers to Knock Out in one hit. The real question is whether you reach that point.

Plan:

• Prioritize Rare Candy and Dawn over extra Drakloak draw. Getting a Stage 2 in play matters more here.
• When going second, Lillie's Determination draws 8 at 6 Prizes remaining. That is your strongest turn-one dig.
• After they take a Knock Out, Unfair Stamp leaves them with 2 cards. Fezandipiti ex's Flip the Script draws you 3 on the same turn.
• Blaziken ex's Smolder-sault can't attack the following turn. Have Dragapult ex ready to attack in that gap, or aggro gets a free turn.

Note that Judge is flagged as not Standard-legal in the card data for this list. Confirm its legality before counting it as part of your disruption. Unfair Stamp is your reliable comeback tool.

High-HP Tank ex: Even

Both of your main attacks deal 200. Against Pokémon above that, one hit won't take the Prize. You need to stack damage ahead of time:

• Use Phantom Dive counters on Benched tanks before they go Active.
• Use Munkidori's Adrena-Brain to add 30.
• Use Fezandipiti ex's Cruel Arrow for 100 anywhere, ignoring Weakness on the Bench.

Blaziken ex's Seething Spirit reattaches Basic Energy from your discard pile each turn. That keeps your attackers powered through a long game.

Plan: Plan two turns ahead. Decide which tank you are taking next and pre-load counters on it. Then use Boss's Orders to drag it Active when the math works.

Dragapult Mirror and Opposing Spread: Even

Both players are hitting Benches, so every low-HP Pokémon you bench is a Prize waiting to be taken. Dreepy (70 HP) and Drakloak (90 HP) are exposed to spread. Munkidori and Torchic are too.

Your edge is Blaziken ex. Its Energy recursion keeps you attacking after your opponent runs low. Add Munkidori's extra counters, and you often finish Knock Outs a turn earlier.

Plan:

• Bench only what this turn and next turn require.
• Use Night Stretcher to rebuild Dreepy lines rather than benching extras early.
• Spend Boss's Orders on their Drakloak to cut their Stage 2 supply.

Water Attackers: Unfavored

Blaziken ex, Chi-Yu, Torchic, and Combusken all take double damage from Water. Dragapult ex has no Weakness, so it carries this matchup.

Plan:

• Keep Blaziken on the Bench as an Energy engine and attack only when the return is a game-winning Prize.
• Bench only the Fire line pieces you need.
• Focus spread and Boss's Orders on their Water attackers before they are powered up.

You need Dragapult attacking on most turns. Getting a second Dragapult into play matters more here than anywhere else.

Item Lock and Hand-Disruption Control: Unfavored

Most of your setup runs on Items: Buddy-Buddy Poffin, Ultra Ball, Poké Pad, Rare Candy, and Night Stretcher. Item lock shuts down most of your list, and hand disruption keeps tearing apart Stage 2 combinations.

Your workarounds don't use Items:

• Dawn finds a full Basic, Stage 1, and Stage 2 set in one Supporter.
• Crispin fetches and attaches Energy, and it hits Fire and Psychic for Phantom Dive exactly.
• Drakloak's Recon Directive keeps you drawing through a bad hand.
• Meowth ex finds whichever Supporter you need.
• Chi-Yu removes a Stadium-based lock while dealing 120.

Plan: Evolve the slow way through Combusken and Drakloak. Hold Supporters for the turns that matter. Your goal is one Stage 2 that sticks, not a perfect board.

Tech Choices & Variations

The Fixed Core vs. the Flex Slots

Treat the engine as locked. That means the 4-4-2 Dreepy line, the 2-1-2 Torchic line, 4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin, 4 Ultra Ball, 4 Poké Pad, 4 Lillie's Determination, and 2 Rare Candy. Cutting any of these thins out how reliably you find Stage 2s, and that reliability is the whole reason the deck works. The real flex space is roughly ten cards:

• Judge
• Unfair Stamp
• Dawn
• The second Team Rocket's Watchtower
• The third Boss's Orders
• The third Night Stretcher
• Chi-Yu
• Budew
• The second Munkidori
• The single-copy Rule Box utility Pokémon, Fezandipiti ex and Meowth ex

Every other count is negotiable around those.

Fix This First: The Judge Slot

The card data behind this guide flags Judge as not Standard-legal. Check it against the current legal card list before you register. If it isn't legal, that slot has to change no matter what your field looks like. Here is what each replacement gives you:

• 4th Boss's Orders: The most direct swap for a deck that closes games by picking off Benched Pokémon. You lose the hand-reset disruption Judge was providing.
• 2nd Dawn: Grabs a full Basic, Stage 1, and Stage 2 in one Supporter, so you can rebuild either evolution line after it gets Knocked Out. This is the pick if your losses come from running out of attackers rather than from losing tempo.
• 3rd Crispin: Use this only if you keep stalling on getting Energy attached early. With Blaziken ex recycling Energy from the discard pile, it's usually the weakest of the three.

If a different legal hand-disruption Supporter fits your build, it slots into the same role. The point is that Unfair Stamp should not be your only way to disrupt your opponent's hand.

Slot-by-Slot Trade-offs

The Rule Box Utility Package

Fezandipiti ex and Meowth ex are each worth 2 Prize cards when Knocked Out. Benching them is a real cost against any deck that can reach your Bench.

• Meowth ex turns one Bench slot into whichever Supporter the turn demands. It conflicts with your own Team Rocket's Watchtower. If you need Last-Ditch Catch, play Meowth before you drop Watchtower. If Watchtower is already in play, Chi-Yu's Ground Melter can clear it. You can also return Meowth to your hand with Tuck Tail, but that attack costs three Energy, so plan around it rather than counting on it.
• Fezandipiti ex is your draw engine after a Knock Out, and it stacks with Unfair Stamp on the same trigger. Both cards rely on you falling behind first. If your field is mostly slow decks that trade Prize cards one at a time, the Flip the Script trigger comes up less often. Against fast aggro, it shows up nearly every turn after your first Pokémon goes down.

Don't run a second copy of either. Each card's Ability has a once-per-turn limit across copies, so an extra one only gives you a backup, not more value.

Energy Split

The current split is 3 Basic Fire Energy, 3 Basic Psychic Energy, and 2 Basic Darkness Energy. Each type has a job:

• Phantom Dive needs Fire and Psychic.
• Smolder-sault needs Fire.
• Darkness only matters for turning on Munkidori.

Crispin fetches two different types, and Seething Spirit puts Energy from the discard pile back into play, so discarding Energy to Ultra Ball is a feature, not a loss.

• If you cut the second Munkidori, you can drop to 1 Basic Darkness Energy and add a Fire or Psychic.
• If you're leaning on Munkidori, keep both Darkness. Losing the only one strands Adrena-Brain, and Night Stretcher is your only way to get it back besides Seething Spirit.

Tuning for Your Local Field

Aggro and big-Basic decks that take early Knock Outs:

• Keep Unfair Stamp and Fezandipiti ex. Their triggers will happen.
• Cut Budew for a 2nd Combusken so a Knocked Out Stage 1 doesn't strand your Blaziken ex plan.
• Go to 4 Boss's Orders if the Judge slot is open.

Ability-reliant decks built on Colorless Pokémon:

• Keep both Team Rocket's Watchtower.
• Consider cutting Meowth ex for a 2nd Dawn, since you'll want Watchtower in play most turns and Meowth fights it.

Item-heavy setup decks:

• Budew earns its slot here, especially on turns you go second.
• Get it onto your Bench early with Buddy-Buddy Poffin so you can Itchy Pollen before their key evolution turn.

Stadium-heavy fields:

• A 2nd Chi-Yu turns their Stadiums into 120-damage attacks and removes them in the process.
• Your own Team Rocket's Watchtower also gets bumped by opposing Stadiums. Keeping two copies helps you re-establish it.

Slow control and attrition decks:

• Cut Unfair Stamp first. It needs a Knock Out on your side to be playable, and these decks may not give you one.
• Add the 2nd Dawn or a 4th Night Stretcher-style recovery count so you can rebuild Stage 2 attackers over a long game.

Cut Order When You Need Space

1. Judge, if it's not Standard-legal at your event
2. Budew, unless your field is Item-heavy
3. 2nd Team Rocket's Watchtower, unless Colorless Ability decks are common locally
4. Unfair Stamp, against slow fields
5. 2nd Munkidori, along with its matching Basic Darkness Energy

Whatever you cut, add back toward Stage 2 consistency first and disruption second. This deck wins by having a powered Dragapult ex or Blaziken ex online every turn. Tech cards matter only after that is guaranteed.

Budget Options

Where the Money Is

At roughly $34 at TCGplayer market prices, this list is already cheap for a deck that took 1st Place at Cleo's 2K. Most of what you buy is Trainers, Basic Energy, and non-Rule Box Pokémon. What cost there is sits in the Pokémon ex:

• Dragapult ex: the main attacker and the reason the deck exists.
• Blaziken ex: the second attacker and the Energy engine.
• Fezandipiti ex and Meowth ex: single-copy support pieces.
• Unfair Stamp: the one Item most likely to carry a premium.

Everything else, including the four-copy Item suites, Lillie's Determination, and Boss's Orders, should be inexpensive. Card text is identical across printings, so always buy the cheapest version. The list runs Munkidori as two separate 1x entries, which points to two different printings. Any printing does the same job, so pick up whichever is cheapest. The same goes for Basic Energy.

Mandatory Fix: Replace Judge

Before you think about money, deal with Judge. The card data for this list marks it as not Standard-legal. Check that against the current legal card list before your event. If it can't be played, you need a 60th card. Your options, in order of preference:

1. A second Dawn: one card fetches a full Basic, Stage 1, and Stage 2 set. That fixes the most common way this deck loses, which is stalling with Basics in play and no evolutions in hand.
2. A fourth Boss's Orders: choose this if you expect a lot of decks that hide key attackers or engines on the Bench.
3. A fourth Night Stretcher: more recovery for long games where Drakloak and Energy get traded off repeatedly.

All three are cheap. You lose the late-game hand disruption Judge offered, but Unfair Stamp still covers that role after a Knock Out.

Acceptable Budget Swaps

If $34 is still too much, or you're missing a specific ex, these are the cuts in order of how little they hurt. Keep replacements inside cards already in the deck. You know they work in the engine, and you're only adding copies of cheap staples.

Meowth ex is the easiest cut. Its Ability requires it to be played from hand onto the Bench, and your own Team Rocket's Watchtower removes Abilities from Colorless Pokémon. That includes Meowth ex. Once your Watchtower is down, Meowth ex is a 170 HP Basic with no Ability that gives up two Prize cards. You still want it for turn-one setup, but it's the least essential ex in the deck.

Fezandipiti ex costs more than it looks. Losing it doesn't change your setup turns, but it changes how you recover. Without Flip the Script, your only answers to falling behind are Lillie's Determination and Unfair Stamp. If you cut both Fezandipiti ex and Unfair Stamp, you're gambling on staying ahead. Cut one, not both.

What You Cannot Cut

• 2x Dragapult ex and the full 4-4 Dreepy/Drakloak base. Phantom Dive is the win condition: 200 to the Active plus six damage counters across the Bench. Drakloak's Recon Directive is also a big part of the deck's consistency. Going down to one Dragapult ex leaves you with one Prize-able attacker carrying the whole game.
• At least one Blaziken ex. Seething Spirit pulls Basic Energy back from the discard pile every turn. That's how you power repeated Phantom Dives, which need Fire and Psychic, without spending Supporters on Crispin. Without it, you lose the energy tempo the deck relies on.
• The Item engine. Buddy-Buddy Poffin, Poké Pad, Ultra Ball, and Rare Candy are cheap and they are the consistency. Never trim these to save money. There's no money to save.
• Munkidori and the Darkness Energy. Adrena-Brain turns the damage your opponent puts on you into damage on their board, and that stacks with Phantom Dive counters to set up multi-Prize turns. Both are non-Rule Box cards and likely cheap.

Upgrade Path: Budget to Full Power

If you're building in stages, buy in this order. Each step adds the most win percentage per dollar spent.

1. The engine and the Dragapult line. All Trainers, all Energy, 4 Dreepy, 4 Drakloak, 2 Dragapult ex, plus Chi-Yu, Budew, and both Munkidori. This is a playable deck you can take to locals. Fill the Blaziken slots with extra Night Stretcher and Dawn for now.
2. The Fire line. 2 Torchic, 1 Combusken, and 2 Blaziken ex. This is the biggest power jump in the build. Your Energy problems go away and you get a second 320 HP attacker hitting for 200. If you can only afford one Blaziken ex at first, play it with the full Torchic line and a 4th Night Stretcher so you can get it back.
3. Unfair Stamp. Add it next. It's one card and it turns losing positions into winning ones. That matters most in a competitive field, where opponents punish slow starts.
4. Fezandipiti ex. More late-game draw and a reach attack for the last Prize.
5. Meowth ex. The last piece, because the deck already has Dawn for search and Team Rocket's Watchtower sometimes switches Meowth off. It's still worth finishing with. Getting Boss's Orders off a turn-one Bench drop wins games.

Playing the Budget Version

The cut-down version plays differently. Without Fezandipiti ex and Unfair Stamp, your recovery after a Knock Out is weaker, so play to stay ahead. Spend Boss's Orders early to remove your opponent's setup Pokémon instead of saving it for the last Prize. Keep Lillie's Determination in hand for the turn your board stalls. Without Meowth ex, an extra Dawn on turn two does much of the same job if your first Supporter whiffs. The full list is better, but the budget version is clearly the same deck, and it still wins on Phantom Dive like the full build does.

Common Mistakes

This list wins by stacking small edges: an extra card off a draw Supporter, an Energy pulled back from the discard, three damage counters moved at the right moment. Most lost games come from leaking those edges through sequencing errors that are specific to these cards. Here are the ones that cost matches.

1. Using Recon Directive Before You Shuffle Your Hand Away

Lillie's Determination and Unfair Stamp both shuffle your hand into your deck. If you use Drakloak's Recon Directive first, the card you picked goes right back into the deck, and you've also sent the other card to the bottom for nothing. The same applies to any Items you were planning to play this turn.

The fix: Before a shuffle-draw effect, play out everything you want on board. Use Buddy-Buddy Poffin, Poké Pad, and Ultra Ball, attach Energy, and bench what you need. Then play the Supporter or Stamp. Use Recon Directive after the new hand arrives. With multiple Drakloak in play, that means multiple looks at a fresh deck instead of wasted ones.

On the same note, Lillie's Determination draws 8 only at exactly 6 Prize cards. On a turn where you're choosing between Supporters and still have all 6 Prizes, the 8-card draw is usually the stronger play. It stops being available once you take your first Prize.

2. Turning Off Your Own Meowth ex With Team Rocket's Watchtower

Team Rocket's Watchtower removes Abilities from every Colorless Pokémon in play, including yours. Meowth ex is Colorless. With your own Watchtower down, benching Meowth ex gets you nothing, because Last-Ditch Catch is gone. The rest of your engine is safe: Drakloak, Blaziken ex, Fezandipiti ex, and Munkidori are not Colorless.

The fix: If Meowth ex is your out to a Supporter this game, bench it before the Stadium goes down. Only lock with Watchtower once you no longer need it. Also watch your Chi-Yu. Ground Melter discards whatever Stadium is in play, so the extra 60 damage can cost you your own Watchtower while it's shutting off an opposing Colorless Ability. Before you take that damage, decide which matters more.

3. Trying to Rare Candy a Basic You Just Played

Rare Candy can't be used on your first turn, and it can't target a Basic Pokémon put into play this turn. A Dreepy or Torchic fetched with Buddy-Buddy Poffin this turn is not a legal Candy target. Players routinely build a turn around Poffin into Candy and find out mid-sequence that the line doesn't exist.

The fix: Your Candy targets are the Basics that were already on board when the turn started. When you plan the turn after next, count how many legal targets you'll have. The deck runs only 2 Rare Candy, so don't spend one when Drakloak is available as a natural evolution step. Save Candy for the Blaziken ex line, where you have just one Combusken.

4. Stranding Blaziken ex After Smolder-sault

Smolder-sault hits for 200, but Blaziken ex can't attack on your next turn, and it has a Retreat Cost of 2. If you attack with it and have no plan for the following turn, you face a bad choice. You can pay 2 Energy to retreat, or you can pass a turn while a 2-Prize Pokémon sits Active.

The fix: Before you Smolder-sault, make sure a Dragapult ex on the Bench can be powered for Phantom Dive next turn. Seething Spirit can attach a Basic Energy from your discard pile to any of your Pokémon, so use it on the Benched attacker. Don't keep piling Energy onto the Blaziken ex that's about to be locked. Alternating Blaziken ex and Dragapult ex keeps a 200-damage attacker online every turn. Swinging Blaziken on consecutive turns is not possible.

5. Treating Ultra Ball Discards as a Cost Instead of Fuel

The Ultra Ball discard is fuel in this deck. Seething Spirit pulls Basic Energy back from the discard pile, and Night Stretcher recovers either a Pokémon or a Basic Energy. Players who discard reluctantly, or who throw away the wrong cards, lose tempo in both directions.

The fix: With Blaziken ex in play or coming soon, discard Energy freely. Pick the types you'll need next: Fire and Psychic for Phantom Dive, Darkness for Munkidori. Be careful with your thin evolution pieces. Discarding the lone Combusken or a Blaziken ex is fine only if you have a Night Stretcher or Rare Candy plan to get that line back. Otherwise, pitch Energy or a spent Buddy-Buddy Poffin target instead.

6. Misusing Munkidori and Phantom Dive Counters

Adrena-Brain only works if Munkidori has a Darkness Energy attached, and the deck runs just 2 Basic Darkness Energy. Players often bench Munkidori and never turn it on. Others turn it on and then attack before using the Ability, which forfeits the move because your turn ends when you attack.

The fix: Use Crispin to attach Darkness directly while sending Fire or Psychic to hand. Seething Spirit can also put a discarded Basic Darkness Energy onto Munkidori. Always run Adrena-Brain before declaring your attack. Do the math together: Phantom Dive's 6 counters plus up to 3 moved counters per active Munkidori can set up multiple Knock Outs. The move also heals the Pokémon you take counters from. Avoid spreading Phantom Dive counters evenly by default. Place them so this turn's moves and next turn's Boss's Orders line up to take Prizes.

7. Benching Rule Box Support Pokémon for No Reason

Fezandipiti ex and Meowth ex each give up 2 Prize cards. Fezandipiti ex's Flip the Script only works on a turn after one of your Pokémon was Knocked Out. Unlike Last-Ditch Catch, it doesn't require being played from hand that turn. Dropping it early does nothing except hand a spread or Boss-heavy opponent an easy 2-Prize target.

The fix: Keep Fezandipiti ex in hand until the turn after a Knock Out. Then bench it and draw 3 immediately. The same trigger turns on Unfair Stamp, so after you lose a Pokémon, check whether Stamp, Flip the Script, or both are the right refuel. Only bench Meowth ex when you actually need the Supporter it finds.

8. Registering the List Without Checking Judge

The card data provided flags Judge as not Standard-legal. Don't copy this list card-for-card into a Standard event without confirming. A deck registration error costs more than any misplay in this chapter.

The fix: Verify Judge's legality for your event date before you register. If it isn't legal, replace that slot with a legal disruption or draw Supporter.

Pre-Turn Checklist

• Shuffle-draw coming? Play Items first, then use Recon Directive after.
• Need Meowth ex? Bench it before your Team Rocket's Watchtower.
• Candy target already on board since last turn?
• Smolder-sault now means a Phantom Dive attacker ready for next turn.
• Adrena-Brain before the attack, never after.
• Fezandipiti ex stays in hand until a Knock Out turns it on.

Tournament Prep & Final Notes

Fix the List Before You Register

The card text provided for Judge marks it as not Standard-legal. Do not register it. Swap that slot before you write your decklist. The cleanest replacements come from cards already in the 60:

• A second Dawn adds redundancy for assembling a Stage 2 line in one Supporter.
• A fourth Boss's Orders gives you more access to Prize-taking targets in close games.
• A fourth Night Stretcher helps you recover your thin evolution lines.
• A third Crispin makes the Fire-plus-Psychic requirement for Dragapult ex more consistent.

The choice depends on what loses you games in testing. If you brick on evolutions, take Dawn or Night Stretcher. If you set up fine but can't close, take Boss's Orders.

The list also shows two separate 1x Munkidori entries. When you register, make sure each line matches the exact physical card in your sleeves. A mismatch at deck check costs you far more than the 30 seconds it takes to verify.

Rules Interactions to Know Cold

These come straight off the cards. Misplaying any of them at a table is a game loss waiting to happen.

• Team Rocket's Watchtower turns off your own Meowth ex. Watchtower removes Abilities from all {C} Pokémon in play, yours included. Meowth ex is Colorless, so if Watchtower is in play when you bench it, Last-Ditch Catch does nothing. Bench Meowth and grab your Supporter first, then play Watchtower.
• Meowth ex only triggers from hand. Last-Ditch Catch works when you play it from your hand onto your Bench. Buddy-Buddy Poffin can't fetch it anyway at 170 HP. Ultra Ball and Night Stretcher get it into your hand. Tuck Tail returns it and all attached cards to your hand, which sets up another Last-Ditch Catch on a later turn. You're still limited to one "Last-Ditch" Ability per turn.
• Rare Candy has two restrictions. You can't play it during your first turn, and you can't play it on a Basic that was put into play this turn. Your Dreepy and Torchic need to hit the Bench a turn before you Candy them. That's the whole reason to Buddy-Buddy Poffin on turn one.
• Buddy-Buddy Poffin targets. Only Basics with 70 HP or less: Dreepy, Torchic, and Budew. Not Munkidori or Chi-Yu at 110.
• Poké Pad can't find Rule Box Pokémon. No Dragapult ex, Blaziken ex, Fezandipiti ex, or Meowth ex. Those come from Ultra Ball, Dawn (for the Stage 2s), or Night Stretcher out of the discard.
• Blaziken ex forces a gap between attacks. After Smolder-sault, Blaziken can't attack during your next turn. Plan your follow-up attacker one turn ahead. Seething Spirit still works every turn, so Blaziken keeps fueling the board while it sits out.
• Seething Spirit powers Munkidori. Adrena-Brain only works if Munkidori has a {D} Energy attached. Seething Spirit can put a Basic Darkness Energy from your discard onto Munkidori. Ultra Ball discards are a natural way to stock the discard pile.
• Adrena-Brain moves counters from your Pokémon. It moves up to 3 damage counters from one of your Pokémon to one of your opponent's. If nothing on your side is damaged, it does nothing. Each Munkidori has its own once-per-turn use, so two Munkidori with Darkness attached means two moves.
• Phantom Dive spreads freely. The 6 counters go on your opponent's Benched Pokémon in any split you like. Stack them with Adrena-Brain to set up multi-Prize turns.
• Comeback cards share one trigger. Fezandipiti ex's Flip the Script and Unfair Stamp both require one of your Pokémon to have been Knocked Out during your opponent's last turn. Play the Stamp first so you shuffle and redraw to 5, then draw 3 off Fezandipiti.
• Lillie's Determination draws 8 at exactly 6 Prizes. Once you take your first Prize, it drops to 6. Use it early when you can.
• Chi-Yu removes Stadiums. Ground Melter does 120 with a Stadium in play, then discards that Stadium. It can clear an opponent's Stadium or your own Team Rocket's Watchtower when you need Meowth ex back online.
• Crispin needs two different types. One Energy goes to hand and the other gets attached. Fire plus Psychic covers Phantom Dive. Darkness plus either one sets up Munkidori.

What to Practice

1. Turn-two Stage 2 lines. Goldfish your opening hands until benching Dreepy or Torchic on turn one and Candying on turn two is automatic. Practice choosing which Stage 2 to build first. Start with Blaziken ex when your discard already holds Energy. Start with Dragapult ex when the opponent's Bench is full of low-HP targets.
2. Damage math across two turns. Phantom Dive's 6 counters, two Adrena-Brain moves, and Fezandipiti ex's Cruel Arrow can set up multi-Prize turns. Drill the counting until you can map out next turn's Knock Outs while your opponent is still playing.
3. Attacker rotation. Smolder-sault's lockout means every game needs a rhythm. Practice which Pokémon attacks on the off turn: Dragapult ex, Chi-Yu, Fezandipiti ex, or a Drakloak using Dragon Headbutt.
4. Prize checking. The list runs singletons and thin lines: one Combusken, one Dawn, one Chi-Yu, one Meowth ex, and two each of Torchic, Rare Candy, and both Stage 2s. When you first search your deck, note what's missing. Night Stretcher recovers from the discard, not from Prizes. Knowing which line is prized decides your whole build.
5. Resource tracking. Count your remaining Night Stretcher and Boss's Orders every turn. With three Stretchers, you should know exactly which Pokémon or Energy each one is earmarked for.

Time Management

This deck is slow to play. It runs many search effects that each force a shuffle: Buddy-Buddy Poffin, Poké Pad, Ultra Ball, Crispin, Dawn, and Meowth ex. It also has up to four Recon Directive decisions and counter-placement turns that take real thought. If your event plays best-of-three in timed rounds, you need to cut dead time on purpose.

• Plan during your opponent's turn. Decide your Phantom Dive split and Adrena-Brain targets before your turn starts. Then just announce and place.
• Be decisive with Recon Directive. Look at the two cards, take what you need this turn, and move on. Don't run full mental simulations for each Drakloak.
• Batch your searches. When you can, chain searches before you shuffle and know your targets before you pick up the deck. Don't browse.
• Place counters clearly. Use dice or counters your opponent can read at a glance. Disputes over board state eat minutes.
• Concede dead games early in a set. If a game is clearly lost, conceding preserves time to win the next one.

Final Assessment

This list took 1st Place at Cleo's 2K Pokémon Tournament on 2026-10-18 with Sida Zuo piloting. Its structure explains why it can compete.

The two Stage 2 engines cover each other. Blaziken ex recycles Energy every turn. Dragapult ex turns that Energy into Bench damage. The Munkidori pair converts damage your own Pokémon have taken into more pressure. Four Drakloak keep the deck finding pieces even after a Supporter whiffs.

The weak points are real, and you should respect them:

• Thin lines. A prized Combusken or Dawn can strand a whole evolution plan.
• Self-inflicted Watchtower conflict. Team Rocket's Watchtower works against your own Meowth ex, so you have to sequence around it.
• The Judge slot. As listed, it is not legal and has to be replaced before you register.

At roughly $34, the deck is one of the cheapest ways to bring two Stage 2 attackers to a tournament. Fix the Judge slot, drill the turn-two setup and the counter math, and you're bringing a deck whose ceiling is limited by your sequencing rather than your card pool.

Source: tournament results. Decklist and placements as reported by the event organizer.