Portal TCG · Deck Reveal
Not everything in a Mega Evolution drop costs a fortnight's wages. The same day Storm Emeralda lands in Japan — 31 July — three MEGA Starter Set ex Decks land alongside it, and all the cards have just been revealed. They're 1,800 yen each, preconstructed, and ready to play out of the box.
Each deck is built around one ace: Eevee ex, Zoroark ex or Meowscarada ex. One quick heads-up before you get excited by the “MEGA” on the box — that's the block name. The three aces are regular ex, not Mega ex, so don't go in expecting a Mega card. What you do get is three genuinely different starting points, and all three aces are here in full — with every other card in the decks listed further down.
- Product3 MEGA Starter Set ex Decks
- JP release31 July 2026
- Price (JP)1,800 yen each
- The acesEevee ex · Zoroark ex · Meowscarada ex
Eevee ex HP 200
Collect
Draw 3 cards.
Brave Dash200
Flip a coin. If tails, this Pokemon does 30 damage to itself.
- WeaknessFighting (x2)
- ResistanceNone
- RetreatC
Portal takeThe one you'll actually build around. A Basic that draws three off Collect early, then swings for a flat 200 once it's set up — and because it's Colorless, it drops into any deck you fancy without an Energy headache. Fighting Weakness and a coin-flip on the big hit keep it honest, but a 200-HP Basic that hits 200 is a lot of card for a starter box. This is the ace most likely to escape its own deck and turn up in something you built yourself.
Zoroark ex HP 270
Riotous Beating20x
This attack does 20 damage times the number of Pokemon you have in play.
Slash Down210
During your next turn, this Pokemon can't use Slash Down.
- WeaknessGrass (x2)
- ResistanceNone
- RetreatCC
Portal takeThe classic Zoroark deal, intact: fill your board and Riotous Beating scales with it — a full bench is 160+ for a single Dark Energy. When you'd rather just hit something very hard, Slash Down is a flat 210. At 270 HP on a Stage 1 it's tougher than it looks, and it's the aggressive pick of the three: go wide, keep the pressure on, and let the maths do the work.
Meowscarada ex HP 320
Magical Bullet120
This attack also does 120 damage to 1 of your opponent's Benched Pokemon that has any damage counters on it. Don't apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokemon.
- WeaknessFire (x2)
- ResistanceNone
- RetreatCC
Portal takeThe heavyweight. 320 HP is a wall for a starter-deck ace, and Magical Bullet is sneakier than its two-Energy cost suggests: 120 to the Active and another 120 to a damaged Pokemon on their bench. That's a two-for-one that closes out games by reaching past the front line to finish a wounded threat before it evolves or attacks. It's a Stage 2, so it's the slowest of the three to come online — but it's the one that grinds a game into the ground once it does.
The chase cards
Beyond the fixed decklists, two Illustration Rares have surfaced — special-art versions of cards already in the decks. Same stats, gallery-grade art. These are the pieces collectors will actually hunt.
Eevee — Illustration Rare
The Eevee deck's showpiece — a full-art Eevee curled up mid-camp, illustrated by Hideki Ishikawa. The prettiest Eevee in the block, and the pull the whole deck is worth opening for.
Zorua — Illustration Rare
The Zoroark deck's showpiece — a 70-HP Zorua leaping across a rooftop town at dusk. Same little basic that's already in the deck, reimagined as one of the prettiest cards of the block.
Sprigatito — Illustration Rare
Meowscarada's line gets the sweetest art in the set: Sprigatito mid-pounce in a sunlit garden. A guaranteed-cute pull that collectors will want long after the deck's retired.
So which one? If you want the flexible, forgiving option, it's Eevee — a Basic, Colorless ace that slots into anything and does something useful on turn one. If you like going wide and hitting hard, Zoroark rewards a full bench. If you'd rather grind a game out from behind the biggest HP in the room, Meowscarada is the control pick. None of them is a bad first deck, which is rather the point of a starter product.
Because that is the point. While everyone's chasing Mega Rayquaza out of the main set, these are the “I just want to play” answer: a complete, legal 60-card deck for pocket money, with an ace that isn't a pushover. They're the cleanest on-ramp the block has produced — ideal for a newcomer, a returning player who wants to get back in cheap, or anyone after a second deck to teach a mate on.
As ever, this is the Japanese release. English printings of these decks tend to follow, and the aces here will appear in English product down the line — but if you want to be playing the new block the week it drops rather than waiting on a localisation, the Japanese decks are the fast, cheap way to do it.
Card text translated from the Japanese MEGA Starter Set ex Decks reveals, 23 July 2026, with thanks to the translators credited by PokéBeach. Japanese wording is provisional until the cards are in hand, and English text is often reworded in localisation — treat the rulings here as the shape of the card, not the final template.
Every Pokemon in the three decks
All 27 Pokemon revealed across the three MEGA Starter Set ex Decks, grouped by type — stats, attacks and costs in full. (The decks also contain Trainers and Energy, which weren't part of the reveal.) Effect text is paraphrased for quick reference; provisional until the English print.
Grass
Also does 20 to 1 of the opponent's Benched Pokemon (no Weakness/Resistance on the Bench).
Wk Fire (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
Draw 2 cards.
Wk Fire (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
Flip a coin; +20 on heads.
Wk Fire (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
Wk Fire (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
Also does 120 to 1 of the opponent's Benched Pokemon that has damage on it (no Weakness/Resistance on the Bench).
Wk Fire (x2) · Rs — · Ret CC
Wk Fire (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
Wk Fire (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
AbilityOil Slip Once per turn, switch the opponent's Active with a Benched Pokemon (they choose).
Heal 30 from this Pokemon.
Wk Fire (x2) · Rs — · Ret CC
Lightning
Discard all Energy attached to this Pokemon.
Wk Fighting (x2) · Rs — · Ret Free
Flip a coin; on heads, opponent's Active is Paralyzed.
Wk Fighting (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
Flip a coin; +20 on heads.
Wk Fighting (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
Wk Fighting (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
AbilityPower Plant Touch Once per turn, attach a Basic [L] Energy from your discard pile to 1 of your Pokemon.
Wk Fighting (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
Can't use again next turn.
Wk Fighting (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
Darkness
Flip a coin; +20 on heads.
Wk Grass (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
Flip a coin; on heads, discard an Energy from the opponent's Active.
Wk Grass (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
Search your deck for 2 Basic [D] Energy onto this Pokemon. Shuffle.
Wk Grass (x2) · Rs — · Ret CC
Wk Grass (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
20 for each damage counter on the opponent's Active.
Wk Grass (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
Wk Grass (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
20 for each Pokemon you have in play.
Can't use Slash Down again next turn.
Wk Grass (x2) · Rs — · Ret CC
Search your deck for 2 Basic Pokemon onto your Bench. Shuffle.
Wk Grass (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
Flip 2 coins; +150 if both are heads.
Wk Grass (x2) · Rs — · Ret CC
Colorless
+10 for each damage counter on this Pokemon.
Wk Fighting (x2) · Rs — · Ret CC
Heal 20 from this Pokemon.
Wk Fighting (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
Draw 3 cards.
Flip a coin; on tails, does 30 to itself.
Wk Fighting (x2) · Rs — · Ret C
AbilityEnergy Present Once per turn while Active, look at the top 6 of your deck, put an Energy found into your hand, and shuffle the rest to the bottom.
Wk Lightning (x2) · Rs Fighting (-30) · Ret C
Preorder · Japanese import
Storm Emeralda — Japanese Booster Box (M6)
£149.99
The headline set dropping the same day as these decks, 31 July. If you'd rather rip packs than run a preconstructed deck, this is where Mega Rayquaza ex and the rest of the 76-card set live.
Preorder the Storm Emeralda Box →