1.2% of the meta · Updated July 25, 2026
Signature card
Alolan Ninetales ex
Special Art Rare
#1 — CDPlayorr
Lagoon Serenity Format (Lillie & Lisia FA) · 8W-0L-1T
#4 — Luxmea
Lagoon Chaos and Mayhem (10 USD) · 8W-2L
#5 — OriGaming
Lagoon Serenity Format (10 USD) · 6W-1L-1T
During your opponent's next turn, they can't take any Energy from their Energy Zone to attach to their Active Pokémon.
Alolan Ninetales ex wins by locking the opponent's energy attachment with Binding Snow, then repeatedly hitting for 80 damage while the opponent's attacker sits stranded without energy. The deck pairs this lock with Baxcalibur support to give your own Active Water Pokemon an extra energy each turn beyond what the Energy Zone provides.
Open by benching Alolan Vulpix with Poké Ball and setting up Frigibax for Baxcalibur through draw cards. Once Alolan Ninetales ex is active, Binding Snow at two Water Energy denies the opponent's Active Pokemon any Energy Zone attachment on their next turn. Repeat Binding Snow every turn to keep the lock active, using Rare Candy when available to evolve Frigibax directly into Baxcalibur, skipping the Stage 1. With Baxcalibur on the bench, Ice Maker lets you attach an additional Water Energy from the Energy Zone to your Active Water Pokemon each turn, turning the asymmetric lock into a decisive tempo advantage that leads to point-scoring knockouts.
Binding Snow
80 base damage at 2 Water Energy
Deals 80 damage while simultaneously preventing the opponent's Active from receiving Energy Zone energy next turn
Use Binding Snow every turn to prevent the opponent's Active Pokemon from receiving Energy Zone attachments. This stalls energy-hungry attackers completely. Poké Ball finds Alolan Vulpix early; rely on Professor's Research and Copycat to draw into Alolan Ninetales ex. Inflatable Boat reduces your retreat cost so you can swap out a damaged Ninetales ex and re-engage safely.
Baxcalibur's Ice Maker ability lets you attach one extra Water Energy from the Energy Zone to your Active Water Pokemon each turn. Use Rare Candy to skip the Stage 1 and evolve Frigibax directly into Baxcalibur faster. While the opponent's Active Pokemon starves for energy, Ninetales ex continues hitting for 80 damage every turn, scoring two-point knockouts on weakened ex targets.
Binding Snow only locks energy on the turn it is used. If you can knock out Alolan Ninetales ex before it attacks a second time, the lock never becomes entrenched. Prioritize 2-point knockouts on it using type-advantage or high-damage attackers that can hit 150 HP targets from behind the lock.
Binding Snow prevents Energy Zone attachments to the Active only. If you have a high-HP attacker that can take an 80-damage hit and still threaten a knockout, present it and accept the energy loss for one turn. Switching to a fresh attacker after the hit resets the energy situation and keeps pressure on the opponent.
Baxcalibur is a Stage 2 that arrives through draw alone; removing it from the board disrupts the Ice Maker energy support. Deal bench damage to eliminate Frigibax before it evolves, or force it active with Cyrus once it has taken damage. Denying Ice Maker forces the Ninetales player to rely on the standard one-per-turn Energy Zone attachment.
Supplementary water attacker
Energy acceleration
Threats — Weak Against
Based on type weakness analysis of core cards. View full matchup matrix →
