No tier list here — just "so what am I still missing?"
There are already plenty of sites ranking decks, and this one is not going to add another. What this article handles is the question that only starts after the tier list ends: of the strongest decks in the format, which single card are you actually missing — and can you get it right now?
The method is to lay two unrelated datasets side by side:
- Tournament data (external source) — deck share and win rates are cited from Limitless TCG's B4 Standard statistics, a sample of 16 tournaments, 1,840 players and 4,855 matches, retrieved 2026-08-03. This is third-party tournament data, not produced by this site and not an official source.
- Claim data (exclusive to this site) — 12,352 delivered claims from 1,242 unique players, accumulated 2026-07-15 through 08-03, counting only requests that reached the Delivered status, with the site admin's test requests removed. These are votes players cast with an allowance they only get once a day.
Stack the two together and a fairly stark gap appears: the decks the meta is playing and the cards players are actually topping up are two different things.
This article is a snapshot frozen on 2026-08-03. For the version whose numbers keep moving, see the Deck Gap Guide — its claim rankings are recalculated every time the page opens.
Top 7 meta decks vs. how often the cards are claimed here
"Site rank" is the card's cumulative position among the 1,118 cards that have ever been claimed here — lower means more players wanted it.
| Meta rank | Deck | Share | Win rate | Key card | Site rank | Players claimed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mega Manectric ex / Heliolisk | 6.85% | 53.67% | Mega Manectric ex | 181 | 13 |
| Heliolisk | 278 | 6 | ||||
| 2 | Gouging Fire / Dragonair | 6.47% | 51.91% | Gouging Fire | 34 | 60 |
| Dragonair | 101 | 24 | ||||
| 3 | Vespiquen ex / Shuckle ex | 6.36% | 52.87% | Vespiquen ex | 4 | 266 |
| Shuckle ex | 234 | 9 | ||||
| 4 | Hydreigon / Mega Absol ex | 4.84% | 50.21% | Mega Absol ex | 150 | 18 |
| Hydreigon | 187 | 11 | ||||
| 5 | Dragonair / Mega Rayquaza ex | 4.02% | 49.62% | Mega Rayquaza ex | 2 | 378 |
| 6 | Mega Sceptile ex / Greninja | 3.80% | 51.88% | Mega Sceptile ex | 24 | 73 |
| Greninja | 326 | 5 | ||||
| 7 | Mega Sharpedo ex / Gyarados | 3.70% | 52.15% | Mega Sharpedo ex | 3 | 308 |
| Gyarados | 142 | 17 |
Tap a card name to open its dex page, check live stock by language, and send a claim request directly.
Three signals hiding in the gap
① Nobody here is topping up the format's best deck. Mega Manectric ex is the core of the deck leading both share (6.85%) and win rate (53.67%), yet only 13 players have ever claimed it here — rank 181, behind plenty of far weaker cards. Its partner Heliolisk is worse still, at 6 players. The reason is not mysterious: the card comes from an older booster, pack-opening attention has moved on to the newest expansion, and new players never go back to open old packs. "Can't pull it, and nobody claims it" is exactly where a delivery allowance earns the most — and because nobody is competing for it, it is in stock almost around the clock.
② The "half-built deck" pattern is almost comical. Look at these three pairs: Vespiquen ex, 266 players — its partner Shuckle ex, 9 (a 29× gap); Mega Sceptile ex, 73 — Greninja, 5; Mega Sharpedo ex, 308 — Gyarados, 17. Players claimed the headline Mega ex and left the partner slot empty, which means the deck cannot actually be assembled yet. If you recognise yourself in that list, what you are missing is not the star — it is the supporting cast.
③ Claim demand is driven by "new set × high rarity," not by strength. The five most-claimed cards on this site are all ◆4, three of them from the B4 expansion. The partner slots of the tier-one decks, by contrast, are mostly ◆2 and ◆3 cards from older sets — strong enough to sit in a top-ten deck, yet nobody spends an allowance on them. That is precisely the bargain to pick up: the less contested the card, the higher your success rate.
Deck by deck: the next card you should claim
Mega Manectric ex / Heliolisk (meta #1) — both cards are badly under-claimed, and nobody is competing for either. Start with Mega Manectric ex (◆4, via delivery), then Heliolisk (◆2). This is the best return on an allowance right now.
Gouging Fire / Dragonair (meta #2) — Gouging Fire (◆3) is the healthiest card in the whole table, already claimed by 60 players; the usual gap is Dragonair (◆2, the B4 print). Note that several Dragonair prints exist here — the B4 one is the version with the most trade movement.
Vespiquen ex / Shuckle ex (meta #3) — the headline Vespiquen ex has gone to 266 players, so odds are you already have it. Go claim Shuckle ex (◆4) instead: 9 players in total, plenty of stock.
Hydreigon / Mega Absol ex (meta #4) — Mega Absol ex (◆4) and Hydreigon (◆3) sit in the teens for players claimed. You need both, and neither is short on stock.
Mega Rayquaza ex (meta #5) — the site's second most-claimed card at 378 players, and one of the most contested. During evening peak it can show "no delivery account available", so come shortly after the 14:00 allowance reset.
Mega Sceptile ex / Greninja (meta #6) and Mega Sharpedo ex / Gyarados (meta #7) — same story: star yes, support no. The gaps are Greninja (◆3) and Gyarados (◆3), both obscure enough to be available whenever you ask.
Three practical rules for topping up
You can actually claim two cards a day. Delivery and trade run on separate allowances; use each once on the same day and that is two cards. Headline ex via delivery, partner slot via trade, and half a deck moves forward daily. Details in the Trade Feature Guide.
Take the unpopular one first; don't queue for the popular one. The table above tells you who is contested: cards inside the top 10 (Rayquaza, Sharpedo, Vespiquen) frequently run out of delivery accounts at evening peak, while partner slots ranked past 100 almost never fail. Claim the obscure card during peak hours and save the popular one for the quiet stretch after the reset.
Star and Shiny prints go through points. Every link in the table points to the ◆ version that can be delivered directly. The Star and Shiny prints of the same card do not use the delivery mechanic — they are redeemed with points, as explained in the Points and High-Rarity Redemption Guide.
Next edition
This series follows the format: every time a new expansion lands and the meta reshuffles, the gap comparison gets rebuilt. Next time we plan to watch whether the Mega Houndoom ex drop event starting 8/12 pushes a new deck into the top tier, and whether the "ignored key cards" named here move at all in the claim numbers. For the broader demand picture, see the July claim report and the live claim ranking.
Deck share and win rates are third-party tournament statistics from Limitless TCG, cited here for comparison only; this site does not rate deck strength itself. Claim data reflects only this site's users, not the entire player base or the official competitive environment. Card names are the property of their respective rights holders.