Deluxe Battle Deck Upgrade Guide
Ninetales ex Deluxe Battle Deck Upgrade Guide
Three Ninetales ex whose Mirrored Flames hits for 220 when your hand matches your opponent's, with Judge to make that happen.
Quick verdict
The ratings are TurnZero HQ's own read on a 1 to 5 scale, not an official one. Compare this deck with every other one on the Pokémon battle deck directory.
Shop the Ninetales ex Deluxe Battle Deck on TCGplayer →What's in the box
These are the cards that decide how the deck plays. Each one links to its card page, with its current price.
How it plays
Ninetales ex's Mirrored Flames does 80, plus 140 more if you have the same number of cards in your hand as your opponent. Heat Wave does 30 and Burns the Active Pokémon. The deck's three Judge are the trick: Judge has each player shuffle their hand into their deck and draw 4, so both hands start equal, and you then play out cards until your hand matches theirs before you attack.
Vulpix is a Basic, so Ninetales ex comes down on your second turn. Earthen Vessel finds Fire Energy, and a Rapidash line is the backup attacker.
Is it Standard legal?
No. Ninetales ex (151), Earthen Vessel, Zisu and Professor's Research carry the G mark and rotated on April 10, 2026. Judge and Ultra Ball have legal prints, but the deck's core does not. It plays in Expanded.
Every upgrade card below carries an H, I or J regulation mark, the marks legal in Standard since the April 10, 2026 rotation, checked against our Pokémon card catalog on October 10, 2026. Basic Energy is always legal. See which cards are legal in each format for how regulation marks and reprints decide it.
Upgrade path 1: Tune the hand-size trick
A fourth Judge (the current print is legal everywhere) makes the equal-hands turn come up more often. Unfair Stamp, an ACE SPEC, is another reset: after one of your Pokémon is Knocked Out, each player shuffles their hand away, you draw 5 and your opponent draws 2, after which you play out three cards and attack for 220.
Judge
Perfect Order #76
Both players draw 4: the easiest way to equal hands.
Unfair Stamp
Twilight Masquerade #165
ACE SPEC: you draw 5, they draw 2. Play 3 cards and attack.
Night Stretcher
Ascended Heroes #196
Gets back a Ninetales ex or a Fire Energy.
What comes out: Zisu, one Professor's Research and one Nest Ball.
Upgrade path 2: Move to Mega Charizard for Standard
For a Standard Fire deck, the current headliners are Mega Charizard X ex (Inferno X: 90 for each Fire Energy you discard from your Pokémon) and Mega Charizard Y ex (Explosion Y: 280 to any one Pokémon for discarding 3 Energy). Both need Rare Candy and Dawn rather than this deck's Basic-Pokémon shell, so treat this as a new deck that keeps the Fire Energy and Judge.
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Decklist and release details checked against: Bulbapedia , PHD Games .
Upgrade the deck, then see what you're missing.
Build your upgraded list in TurnZero HQ and it is checked against Standard or Expanded and against the cards you own. Free to start.
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