The Pokémon Starter Set ex Zorua & Zoroark ex is the dark-type deck in the Japanese ポケモンカードゲーム MEGA スターターセットex line, whose official page lists three fixed 60-card decks: イーブイex, ゾロア＆ゾロアークex and ニャオハ＆マスカーニャex. The line went on sale on Friday, July 31, 2026 at an official price of ¥1,800 per deck. This guide covers what the official page says is in the box, how the Zoroark ex deck differs from its two siblings, who it suits, and where it sits next to the other Japanese beginner products.
It is a product-contents guide, so it stays close to the official pokemon-card.com page. The full 60-card list is not reproduced here; the official page lists the featured cards, and we only repeat those. Where a detail is not stated by the manufacturer we say so instead of filling the gap.
We sell Japanese sealed product and graded singles from Tokyo. USD figures convert at ¥154/USD and are approximate.
- One fixed deck: every box holds the same 60-card deck built around ゾロアークex, with a coin, a playmat, a paper damage-counter sheet and guides. There is no random element in the deck itself.
- You need a second deck to play: the official page states 「対戦には2つ以上のデッキが必要です。」 (a match needs two or more decks), so one box alone is a starting point for two players only if each has a deck.
- Our listing: the Starter Set ex Zorua & Zoroark ex is currently listed at ¥1,584 (~$10).
What the Product Is
The official product name is ポケモンカードゲーム MEGA スターターセットex イーブイex / ゾロア＆ゾロアークex / ニャオハ＆マスカーニャex. It is one product line with three separate boxes, and each box contains one ready-built deck. Our listing uses the shorter English name “Starter Set ex Zorua & Zoroark ex” for the Zoroark box. The official page for the line is on pokemon-card.com.
The line continues the Japanese スターターセット family: fixed decks sold with a coin and a playmat, aimed at people who want to start battling without building a deck first. The earlier members of the family are listed in our Starter Set ex comparison guide. The table below summarises the Zoroark box.
| Item | What the official page states |
|---|---|
| Release | Friday, July 31, 2026 |
| Official price | ¥1,800 each (tax included), for each of the three decks |
| Decks per box | 1 deck of 60 cards |
| Fixed or random | Fixed: the contents are the same in every box of that deck |
| Deck type | 悪 (Darkness) for the Zoroark deck |
| Code card | Not listed on the page |
| Sales channel | No channel limit is listed on the page |
“Not listed” is not a statement that the item does not exist; it means the official page does not mention it. We apply the same reading throughout the guide.
What Is in the Box
The official accessory list for the line is short and the same for all three decks:
- the 60-card deck;
- a sheet of paper damage counters and condition markers (ダメカン/マーカー, paper version);
- one Pokémon coin (ポケモンコイン);
- one playmat (プレイマット);
- one player’s guide (プレイヤーズガイド);
- one set of play instructions (遊びかた説明書).
Two points are worth separating. First, the coin and the playmat are part of what makes this a starter set instead of a plain deck: the cheaper Start Deck products only include a damage-counter sheet. Second, the page lists no promo card pack, unlike the 2023 Starter Set ex boxes, which each added a one-card promo pack drawn at random from four kinds. If you are comparing the two generations, the MEGA line has no random element on the official list.
The official page also links to events (a ポケモンカードゲーム教室 and a format named デッキそのままバトル), which fits the product’s purpose as an entry point. We do not describe those events further because the page itself is only a pointer to them.
The Zorua & Zoroark ex Deck
The featured cards the official page names for this deck are:
- ゾロアークex, the deck’s headline Pokémon, a Darkness-type Pokémon ex with the attack ライオットビート;
- レパルダス, a supporting Pokémon;
- ゾロア in a full-art illustration (フルイラスト), the basic Pokémon that leads into Zoroark ex;
- デリバード, a Pokémon that appears in all three decks of the line.
The page adds that the line includes some reprinted cards, meaning cards that existed in earlier sets. It does not say which ones, and the full 60-card list is not reproduced here. Anyone who wants the exact card-by-card list should read the official page or the cards when the box is opened.
A starter deck is a template. The names above tell you the deck’s plan (a Zorua evolving into a Zoroark ex, supported by a second Pokémon line and a shared Delibird), and the remaining cards are the Pokémon, Trainers and Energy that support that plan; the official page does not publish the split. For the official rule of thumb behind that split, see the rules section below.
One thing the product facts let us say about the name: in the Japanese release, ゾロア＆ゾロアークex is the English “Zorua & Zoroark ex” of our listing. The 2023 Starter Set ex boxes (ニャオハ＆ルカリオex, ホゲータ＆デンリュウex, クワッス＆ミミッキュex and ピカチュウex＆パーモット) are different products with different Pokémon, so the Zoroark box does not belong to that earlier set.
How the Three Decks in the Line Differ
All three decks share the same box contents, price and format; what changes is the type and the cast. This is the line as the official page describes it.
| Deck | Type | Main ex | Other named Pokémon |
|---|---|---|---|
| イーブイex | 雷 (Lightning) | イーブイex (attacks もってくる / ブレイブダッシュ) | パーモット (はつでんタッチ), a full-art イーブイ, デリバード |
| ゾロア＆ゾロアークex | 悪 (Darkness) | ゾロアークex (attack ライオットビート) | レパルダス, a full-art ゾロア, デリバード |
| ニャオハ＆マスカーニャex | 草 (Grass) | マスカーニャex (attack マジカルバレット, 120) | オリーヴァ, a full-art ニャオハ, デリバード |
The line is organised by type, so choosing between the three is a question of taste: which Pokémon you like to play. Each deck pairs one ex Pokémon with a small supporting cast, and they share Delibird, which means the three decks can sit side by side and still feel like one family. If you want a head-to-head, you need two boxes, since the page states a match needs two or more decks.
The Eevee ex box has no listed price on October 29, 2026, so sourcing requests for it go through Quick Order. The Grass deck is covered in our Sprigatito & Meowscarada ex contents guide.
Who It Suits
The official はじめての方へ page separates two kinds of beginner. Someone who wants “とりあえずカードを手に入れたい” (to get some cards first) is pointed to booster packs, which hold a few random cards. Someone who wants “とにかく早くバトルの体験がしたい” (to experience a battle as quickly as possible) is pointed to a constructed deck, which contains a deck of 60 cards. The Zoroark box belongs to the second group.
On that basis the deck suits:
- A first-time player who wants to play, not build. The deck is complete on the first day, and the guide and instructions are in the box.
- Two people who each want their own deck. Pairing the Darkness deck with one of the other two gives a match that works straight out of the boxes.
- A collector of sealed Japanese product. The box is a fixed, sealed product with a known official price and a known release date, which makes it easy to document.
- Someone who wants to modify a deck later. A 60-card base is a sensible place to start swapping cards, using the rules summarised below.
It suits less well a player who wants a deck without a fixed identity (the Start Deck 100 line, covered below, is random) or a player who wants several decks in one box (the Battle Academy box has four). Nothing in the official wording ranks one deck above another, and we do not rank them either.
The Official Rules the Deck Is Built Around
A starter deck makes more sense when you know the rules it is built to serve. The official how-to-play page (pokemon-card.com/howtoplay) states them plainly, and these are the ones that matter for this product:
- Deck size: each player uses one 60-card deck. This is why every starter product is built as a 60-card deck.
- Four-copy limit: a deck may hold up to four cards with the same name. ピカチュウ and ピカチュウex count as different names.
- Basic energy: basic Energy cards are the exception and can be included in any number.
- Basic Pokémon: a deck must contain at least one basic Pokémon, and an evolved Pokémon needs its pre-evolution on the field first. This is why a deck like this one shows the basic ゾロア alongside ゾロアークex.
- Setup and winning: each player draws seven cards, a bench holds up to five Pokémon, and each player sets six Prize cards. The first player to take all six Prize cards wins; a player also wins if the opponent has no Pokémon in play or cannot draw at the start of a turn.
For a deck of your own, the same page offers a beginner guideline: start with 15 Energy cards and about 30 Trainers, which leaves roughly 15 Pokémon. The page presents this as a starting figure, not a rule, and we do not claim the Zoroark deck follows it exactly; the official page does not publish the deck’s category counts for this line.
The Standard format, the rule set used for the most common organised play, currently allows cards with the regulation marks H, I and J, in effect from Friday, January 23, 2026 (official regulation page). The official database shows a card’s regulation mark only as a set-logo image, so we do not state the mark letter of these decks. No further change to the Standard marks has been announced as of October 29, 2026. For a plain-English walk-through of play, see our beginner how-to-play guide.
Starter Set ex Versus Other Japanese Beginner Products
The Starter Set ex is one of several routes into the Japanese card game. Official details for the three nearest products are below; prices in this table are official list prices, not our store prices.
| Product | Release | Official price | Decks | Fixed or random | Extras listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEGA スターターセットex (this guide) | Fri, Jul 31, 2026 | ¥1,800 each | 1 × 60 | Fixed | Coin, playmat, guide, instructions, damage-counter sheet |
| MEGA スタートデッキ100 バトルコレクション | Fri, Dec 19, 2025 | ¥891 | 1 × 60 | Random (100 kinds, 2 or more Pokémon ex always included) | Damage-counter sheet only |
| バトルアカデミー | Fri, Mar 8, 2024 | ¥3,290 | 4 × 60 | Fixed (ピカチュウex, ニャオハex, ゲッコウガex, ルカリオex) | Coin, playmat, guides, deck bands, storage box |
The practical difference is control. With the Starter Set ex you choose the deck and know what is in it; with the MEGA Start Deck 100 Battle Collection you receive one of 100 kinds, and the official page promises only that Pokémon ex appear at least twice. The MEGA Start Deck 100 Battle Collection is currently listed at ¥1,097 (~$7). Our Start Deck 100 Battle Collection guide goes through that line, and our guide to Japanese sets for beginners compares the wider choices.
The Start Deck 100 line also has cards numbered above its 742-card base list, such as ピカチュウex 764/742 (illustrator booota). Whether a given deck contains one of those cards is not stated on the official page, so the random line should be bought for the deck, not for a hoped-for card.
What the Official Page Does Not State
A product guide is most useful when it separates what is stated from what is not. For the Zoroark box:
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Featured Pokémon (ゾロアークex, レパルダス, ゾロア, デリバード) | stated |
| Accessories (coin, playmat, guide, instructions, counter sheet) | stated |
| Price and release date | stated |
| Complete 60-card list | not reproduced here |
| Number of Pokémon, Trainers and Energy cards | not stated |
| Which cards are reprints | not stated |
| Code card for an online version | not listed |
| Regulation mark letter | not stated here |
If you need one of the unstated items for a purchase decision, such as the regulation mark for tournament play, check the cards in hand or the official card database before relying on a summary.
A Note on the Battle Start Deck Report
On October 29, 2026 fan sites reported a Japanese trademark filing for 「バトルスタートデッキ」, which some collectors read as a possible beginner-deck product; nothing is announced. Our Battle Start Deck (working English translation of バトルスタートデッキ; no official English name exists) trademark guide explains what is confirmed and what is not, and the ex★ 2027 round-up covers the other three names reported the same day.
Where to Buy Japanese Starter Products
The Starter Set ex Zorua & Zoroark ex is currently listed at ¥1,584 (~$10). To pair it with a second deck, the Starter Set ex Sprigatito & Meowscarada ex is currently listed at ¥1,796 (~$12). For a random single deck, the MEGA Start Deck 100 Battle Collection is linked above.
The product pages show the current terms. For a specific starter product that has no listed price, sourcing requests go through Quick Order. The card list hub shows the cards inside released Japanese sets with official images.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is in the Starter Set ex Zorua & Zoroark ex?
One fixed 60-card Darkness deck built around ゾロアークex, with レパルダス, a full-art ゾロア and デリバード among the featured cards, plus a paper damage-counter sheet, one coin, one playmat, a player’s guide and play instructions. The official page lists the featured cards; the full list is not reproduced here.
Is the Zorua & Zoroark ex deck playable straight from the box?
The deck is complete, but the official page states that a match needs two or more decks. A second player needs a deck of their own, such as another box from the same line.
Are the contents of the Starter Set ex random?
No. The three decks of the MEGA line are fixed, so every box of the Zoroark deck holds the same contents. The random Japanese starter line is the Start Deck 100, which gives one of 100 kinds.
Is this the same as the 2023 Starter Set ex?
No. The 2023 boxes featured different Pokémon (ニャオハ＆ルカリオex, ホゲータ＆デンリュウex, クワッス＆ミミッキュex and ピカチュウex＆パーモット) and each included a random one-card promo pack. The MEGA line lists no promo pack.
Does the Starter Set ex come with a code card?
The official product page does not list a code card or an online deck. Treat it as not listed, not as a statement that none exists.
When was the MEGA Starter Set ex released in Japan?
The MEGA スターターセットex line went on sale in Japan on Friday, July 31, 2026, at an official price of 1,800 yen for each of the three decks, with no sales-channel limit listed on the page.
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