Best Darkrai EX Decks in TCG Pocket

The Space-Time Smackdown set is upon us in Pokémon TCG Pocket, bringing with it several new EX cards and Trainer cards, complemented with stunning artwork. While it’s still the early days of the meta, a particular EX card has struck terror in battles.

It’s none other than Darkrai EX, which has literally become nightmare fuel for players who face decks consisting of this fearsome Pokémon and other cards that make it all the more scary.

So, let’s dig into what makes Darkrai EX so deadly and see two decks that are headlined by this iconic Mythical.

Understanding the Darkrai EX card from Space-Time Smackdown

Darkrai ex

#187

Darkrai EX is a 140 HP card, making it reasonably bulky but susceptible to being OHKO’d by popular Pokémon like Mewtwo EX and Gyarados EX. However, the Giant Cape Pokémon Tool can increase its HP to 160.

It has only one attacking move called Dark Prism that inflicts 80 DMG for 3 Energy. While that seems relatively low, its main draw is its phenomenal Ability, Nightmare Aura.

Nightmare Aura deals 20 DMG each time you attach one Darkness Energy to it! The best part is the Drakrai EX can do this from the comfort of the Bench. 😮 Being a Basic card, if you draw it at the beginning you can start doing damage right from the beginning (if you go second) or the very next turn if you go first.

Ideally, use another Pokémon to wall attacks in the Active Spot while supplying Energy every turn to Darkrai EX. This regular 20 DMG can wear down any Pokémon and leave them vulnerable to getting KO’d in little to no time. 

Doing 20 DMG for three turns each, and then 80 DMG equals a whopping 140 DMG for high HP cards, spelling disaster for EX cards, and quicks KOs for weaker cards. Your opponent may choose to retreat the weakened card and that’s where a new Supporter card from the Space-Time Smackdown set comes into the picture: Cyrus.

Darkrai EX + Cyrus

Cyrus

#150

There’s no escaping this nightmare! If a Pokémon damaged heavily by Darkrai EX’s Nightmare Aura and possibly the attacks from the card in the Active Spot retreats to the Bench, Cyrus forces them to bring that card back to the Active Spot and get KO’d by Darkrai EX!  This combo is integral to Darkrai’s success and consequently, two decks are creating waves in the meta by using this strategy. Let’s dive into them!

Darkrai EX, Druddigon, Weezing deck

• This deck is themed around Abilities that deliver consistent chip damage throughout the battle.
• Druddigon is the preferred wall to occupy the Active Spot as it uses its neat 100 HP to absorb damage from initial attacks and deal 20 DMG with Rough Skin. But, Druddigon can become a bigger threat if you draw the Pokémon Tool Rocky Helmet early.
• Druddigon + Rocky Helmet does a whopping 40 DMG simply by getting hit! 😯 Honestly, anyone would think twice before attacking a Druddigon donning a Rocky Helmet. 😉 
• Weezing is another sponge to absorb damage, deal 30 DMG with the 1 Energy move Tackle, and most importantly, poison the target with its Gas Leak Ability. Poisoning a Pokémon makes it lose 10 HP during every checkup, slowly draining it down.
• If not Druddigon, you can add Rocky Helmet to Weezing as well to let it do an insane 70 DMG by the time your turn is back: 30 DMG (Tackle) + 20 DMG (getting hit, Rocky Helmet) + 10 DMG (during your turn) + 10 DMG (during the opponent’s checkup). 😯 
• All this, while Darkrai EX keeps accumulating most of the Energy and doing 20 more damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon each time! 😎 
• Leaf is essential to pivot out of Druddigon/Weezing and into Darkrai EX when you’re ready to KO the opponent.
• Cyrus, as mentioned, ensures that you hit the weakened Pokémon your opponent chose to withdraw earlier.
• Koga takes out a weakened Weezing from a tight spot (or whenever you want), heals it completely, and puts it back into your Hand. This prevents a KO and can even help bring in Darkrai EX without spending Energy or Leaf for the retreat.
• Giant Cape should be attached to Darkrai EX to run it with an impressive 160 HP instead of 140 HP.
• This deck is amazing for throwing your opponent off guard and leaving them clueless about what they should do next. Due to constant damage from your side, they would find it extremely difficult to sweep with their strongest card. You can expect them to call it quits even before the match is over.

Darkrai EX / Weavile EX / Farfetch’d deck

• If this deck seems familiar, you are not mistaken as it’s pretty similar to the Darkrai EX and Weavile EX deck you face in Expert Solo Battles. Here, there’s one less Dawn Supporter card and a Giant Cape has been added. You can still go with the traditional solo battle setup if you like.
• Farfetch’d is the ideal beginner, able to deal an impressive 40 DMG for only 1 Energy with Leek Slap. Adding Rocky Helmet adds an additional 20 DMG and Darkrai EX on the Bench can add another 20 DMG with Nightmare Aura once it starts getting Energy. So, after the first turn of attack, you can expect an outrageous 80 DMG in return! 😯 
• Weavile EX‘s Scratching Nails typically does 30 DMG but if it’s attacking an opponent that already has damage on it, this Pokémon hits with 40 more damage, making it 70 DMG! And guess what? This only requires 1 Energy!
• Dawn supplies Energy from Darkrai EX or Farfetch’d to Weavile EX, letting it carry out the move hassle-free.
• If Weavile is in the Active Spot, put Rocky Helmet on it to activate the extra 40 DMG as soon as it is hit.
• If any damaged Pokémon (particularly, an EX) escapes to the Bench, recall it back with Cyrus and use Weavile EX/Darkrai EX to grab the KO.
• Giant Cape makes Darkrai EX bulkier by adding 20 HP.
• This is a simple yet effective strategy and your opponent would hardly be able to do anything to survive the battle. Game over in almost every case! 😉 

These new Darkness decks spearheaded by Darkrai EX are sure to disrupt the meta and leave your opponents raising their hands in defeat. It’s a super fun deck with strategy and presence of mind as prerequisites.

Darkrai EX / Magnezone / Druddigon deck

• Magnezone is the highlight of this deck, taking advantage of its 140 HP and 110 DMG move Thunder Blast. This 3 Energy (2 Lightning, 1 Coloirless) move comes with a catch, however. Every time you use it, you discard 1 Lightning Energy.
• That’s why, the secret weapon of this deck is Magneton (Space-Time Smackdown set), whose Ability Volt Charge attaches 1 Lightning Energy to itself on each turn.
• You should ideally have Druddigon sponging hits in the Active Spot while using Volt Charge and giving Darkness Energy to it every turn.
• You should note that you can run the deck with Darkness Energy alone and you do not need to add Lightning Energy to your Energy Zone. Magneton is capable of pulling Lightning Energy by itself even if the deck is of another type altogether.
• Once you have used Magneton’s Volt Charge at least 2-3 times (until Druddigon is able to hold the opponent’s onslaught and also damaged them with Rough Skin), you should now evolve Magnezone.
• Remember, the trick is to evolve Magnezone as late as possible until Magneton has gathered 2-3 Lightning Energy or Druddigon is KO’d. Then, attach Giant Cape to Magnezone to buff it up to 160 HP and spam Thunder Blast.

• In the meantime, Darkrai EX should be on the Bench, collecting Energy, and doing passive damage of 20 for each Energy gain with its Nightmare Aura Ability.
• Since you’re constantly doing damage, Cyrus and Sabrina cards help a great deal in bringing damaged Pokémon to your firing range.
• If you haven’t drawn your desired cards early on, use Pokémon Communication to swap one of your unnecessary cards with a random card from your deck. 
• Magnezone has made the already OP Darkrai EX deck even more of a menace. As alternatives, you can even include Dawn to transfer the surplus of Energy from Magnezone to Darkrai EX to help it use Dark Prism quicker.

Darkrai EX / Weavile EX / Spiritomb deck

• This pure Darkness deck is a variant of the Darkrai EX and Weavile EX set, except that it switches Farfetch’d with Spiritomb, and with more focus on Rocky Helmet’s chip damage.
• Spiritomb is monstrous in the sense that its Swirling Disaster move does 10 passive damage to every single one of your opponent’s Pokémon! This is the perfect setup for Weavile EX, who relishes doing 70 DMG while taking on Pokémon with damage on them.
• Attach Rocky Helmet to Spiritomb to deal 20 DMG on getting hit. 80 HP is not bad, and can easily survive 2-3 attacks.
• Darkrai EX is the perfect partner, doing 20 chip damage with Nightmare Aura every time you attach Energy to it.
• With Darkrai EX comfortably seated on the Bench, Weavile EX requires only 1 Energy to hit with 70 DMG. With all cards bearing damage courtesy of Spiritomb/s move, Weavile EX is at its best.
• There’s another major perk to Spiritomb’s move. If your opponent chooses to retreat their low HP card to their Bench, Cyrus forces them to bring it back for the KO.
• Moreover, with all cards having damage, Cyrus can be used to bring out any card you wish. So, 2 Cyrus cards are a must to maximize the chances of using this strategy.
• For greater pressure on the opponent, use Leaf to withdraw Weavile EX and bring Darkrai EX to the forefront. Dawn transfers an extra Energy from Weavile EX to Darkrai EX, or vice versa if you drew Darkrai earlier.
• Pokémon Communication is a great item to dispose of an unnecessary card and draw a random card from the deck. This increases the likelihood of drawing a desired card from the deck or speeding up the process of finding that card you need.

Enjoy this deck and may you get plenty of wins!

Happy collecting and battling, TCG Pocket-ers!