Alakazam at a glance
- Stacks cards in hand via the Psychic Draw chain, then places 2 damage counters per card with Powerful Hand.
- Suits methodical players who enjoy managing a large hand and multiple evolution lines simultaneously.
- Hard to pilot - two Stage 2 lines, twelve distinct Trainer cards, and precise sequencing every turn.
How Alakazam wins
The deck's engine is a drawing loop built around two Pokémon that both share the name Psychic Draw. When you evolve an Abra into Kadabra, you may draw 2 cards. When you then play Alakazam on top of that Kadabra, you may draw 3 more. Stack multiple evolution plays in one turn and your hand grows quickly without spending a Supporter.
Once Alakazam is Active and holding a Psychic Energy, Powerful Hand converts that hand size directly into pressure: 2 damage counters land on your opponent's Active Pokémon for each card you're holding. A hand of ten cards places 20 damage counters, which is 200 damage. Keeping your hand large between turns - through Hilda, Dawn, Gwynn, and Fezandipiti ex's Flip the Script - is therefore not just draw power, it is damage output.
Dusknoir runs a parallel line. Dusclops can use Cursed Blast to place 5 damage counters on any Pokémon, Knocking itself Out in the process. Dusknoir's Cursed Blast does the same but places 13 damage counters, also Knocking itself Out. These abilities let you snipe a specific Benched Pokémon for exactly the right number of counters, picking off a low-HP target or finishing something Powerful Hand has already softened. Because Duskull's Come and Get You can retrieve up to 3 Duskull from the discard pile, and Strange Timepiece can devolve an evolved Psychic Pokémon and return the evolution cards to hand, the Dusk line can be rebuilt and fired repeatedly across the game.
Hilda tutors one Evolution Pokémon and one Energy card each turn, giving you the next piece of whichever line you need. Rare Candy lets you skip Kadabra or Dusclops entirely when speed matters. Shaymin's Flower Curtain ability protects your Benched non-Rule-Box Pokémon from attack damage, keeping your setup alive while you assemble the win condition.
The cards that make it work
The full 60 cards
1st, Regional Frankfurt, 26 Sep 2026 · played by Tomasz Chałupka · list on Limitless TCG
| Qty | Card | Set | Today's price | In stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pokémon (23) | ||||
| 4 | Duskull | PRE 35 | £0.99 | 0/4 |
| 2 | Dusclops | PRE 36 | £0.99 | 0/2 |
| 2 | Dusknoir | PRE 37 | £0.99 | 0/2 |
| 3 | Abra | MEG 54 | £0.99 | 0/3 |
| 1 | Abra | TWM 80 | £0.99 | 0/1 |
| 4 | Kadabra | MEG 55 | £0.99 | 0/4 |
| 3 | Alakazam | MEG 56 | £0.99 | 1/3 |
| 2 | Budew | ASC 16 | £0.99 | 0/2 |
| 1 | Shaymin | DRI 10 | £0.99 | ✓ 1/1 |
| 1 | Fezandipiti ex | ASC 142 | £4.99 | 0/1 |
| Trainer (32) | ||||
| 4 | Hilda | WHT 84 | £1.49 | 0/4 |
| 4 | Dawn | PFL 87 | £0.99 | 0/4 |
| 3 | Gwynn | PBL 78 | £0.99 | ✓ 3/3 |
| 1 | Boss's Orders | MEG 114 | £0.99 | ✓ 1/1 |
| 4 | Rare Candy | MEG 125 | £0.99 | ✓ 4/4 |
| 4 | Poké Pad | POR 81 | £1.99 | 0/4 |
| 3 | Buddy-Buddy Poffin | TEF 144 | £0.99 | 1/3 |
| 3 | Strange Timepiece | MEG 128 | £0.99 | 0/3 |
| 2 | Special Red Card | CRI 82 | £0.99 | 1/2 |
| 2 | Night Stretcher | ASC 196 | £0.99 | 0/2 |
| 1 | Sacred Ash | DRI 168 | £0.99 | ✓ 1/1 |
| 1 | Prime Catcher | TEF 157 | £0.99 | 0/1 |
| Energy (5) | ||||
| 4 | Telepathic Psychic Energy | POR 88 | £2.99 | 0/4 |
| 1 | Basic Psychic Energy | MEE 13 | £0.99 | 0/1 |
Copy this list for Pokémon TCG Live
Today's prices and stock from our shop. Every card name above links to its product page.
Where the lists disagree
The flex slots in this list trade disruption against consistency. Flutter Mane's Midnight Fluttering shuts off the opponent's Active Pokémon's abilities while it holds the Active Spot, but it costs a Bench slot and cannot contribute to your own draw engine. Dudunsparce offers a repeatable draw-three through its Dashing Draw ability at the cost of shuffling itself back into the deck, while Genesect with a Tool attached prevents your opponent from playing any ACE SPEC cards from their hand, which can be decisive in specific situations but is a blank card in others.
Counted across the 3 lists we track for this deck.
Building it in the UK
Today's prices from our shop, refreshed as stock changes. Cards we cannot fill can be requested in the builder and we email you when they land. Free UK delivery over £100; singles dispatch within 2 working days.
Your first turns, and what to aim for
Your opening priority is to get at least one Abra and one Duskull into play on turn one, using Buddy-Buddy Poffin to search for two Basic Pokémon with 70 HP or less and Telepathic Psychic Energy to bench up to 2 more Basic Psychic Pokémon when you attach it. Hilda and Dawn give you the evolution cards to follow up, and four copies of Rare Candy let you skip straight from Abra to Alakazam or from Duskull to Dusknoir when you hold the right Stage 2 in hand.
From the second turn onwards, chain as many evolution plays as you can in a single turn. Each Kadabra played draws 2 cards, each Alakazam draws 3, and Gwynn can discard up to 2 non-Rule-Box Pokémon from your hand to draw 3 cards per Pokémon discarded - all of which inflates the hand you then point at your opponent with Powerful Hand. Strange Timepiece lets you devolve an Alakazam or Dusknoir, returning the evolution cards to hand so you can replay them, trigger Psychic Draw again and refill for another Powerful Hand swing.
In the late game, Dusknoir's Cursed Blast handles anything sitting on the Bench with exactly the right HP remaining, while Special Red Card - playable only when your opponent has three or fewer Prize cards left - disrupts their closing sequence. Sacred Ash and Night Stretcher recover Pokémon from the discard pile to keep both lines functional through a long game.
Sources and method
- List: 1st, Regional Frankfurt, 26 Sep 2026 · played by Tomasz Chałupka · list on Limitless TCG
- Card details come from the official card text.
- Prices and stock are today's figures from our own shop, not market averages.
- Format: TEF-30C. Standard legal
- Drafted with AI from tournament results and official card text, then checked and approved by our team before publishing.
Alakazam, answered
Quick answers about playing and building this deck.
01Is Alakazam good for beginners?⌄
No, Alakazam is not a good choice for beginners. The deck requires you to manage two separate Stage 2 evolution lines - Abra into Kadabra into Alakazam, and Duskull into Dusclops into Dusknoir - across twelve distinct Trainer cards. Every turn demands careful sequencing: you need to judge when to evolve for draw, when to fire Cursed Blast, and how large your hand must be before using Powerful Hand. Until you know all the card texts by memory and can plan three turns ahead, the deck will punish hesitation.
02What are the key cards in Alakazam?⌄
The most important cards are Alakazam, Kadabra, Dusknoir, and Hilda. Alakazam's Psychic Draw ability draws 3 cards on evolution and its Powerful Hand attack places 2 damage counters per card in your hand - these two lines of text define the entire strategy. Kadabra's Psychic Draw draws 2 cards on evolution and sets up the Alakazam play. Dusknoir's Cursed Blast places 13 damage counters on any Pokémon at the cost of itself, handling targets that Powerful Hand cannot reach cleanly. Hilda tutors one Evolution Pokémon and one Energy card every turn, keeping both lines moving.
03How much does a Alakazam deck cost in the UK?⌄
Every card at the cheapest printing we list comes to £77.40 at today's prices, and we can send 13 of the 60 cards today (£13.17). Prices and stock change daily, so the list above always shows the current figures.
04Is Alakazam Standard legal?⌄
Yes. Every card in this list is legal in the current Standard format (TEF-30C).
05Where does this list come from?⌄
This guide uses the list that finished 1st, Regional Frankfurt, 26 Sep 2026, played by Tomasz Chałupka.
Last updated 4 Oct 2026
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