Pokemon TCG Pocket: Best Darkrai ex deck build

Pokemon TCG Pocket Space-Time Smackdown finally has the perfect counter to meta Mewtwo ex decks that run rampant in online battles. 

Mewtwo ex decks continue to prove incredibly popular in TCG Pocket, largely due to the Legendary Pokemon’s ability to one-shot ex cards. When paired with the Psychic energy generation from Gardevoir and the clutch plays from Mew ex, there’s often very little players can do to counter this deck’s high damage. 

However, a new Darkrai ex deck featuring Druddigon and Magnezone has quickly become one of the most-feared lists in the game. Here’s how to build it.

Best Darkrai ex deck

This deck may look a little odd to players who are used to running a single type of Pokemon per deck, but don’t be turned away by its complex look. This deck only runs the Dark-type Energy, so you won’t need to worry about bricking.

We’ve outlined all the cards you need in the table below:

Pokemon	Number Of Cards	Type
Darkrai ex	2	Dark
Magnemite	2	Electric
Magneton	2	Electric
Magnezone	2	Electric
Druddigon	2	Dragon
Cyrus	1	Supporter
Sabrina	1	Supporter
Professor’s Research	2	Supporter
Poke Ball	2	Item
Leaf	2	Supporter
Giant Cape	1	Tool
Pokemon Communication	1	Tool

Darkrai ex deck strategy

This deck relies heavily on starting with a Druddigon in your active slot, thanks to its unparalleled stalling ability. Its Roush Skin ability means that any time a Pokemon attacks it, it will take a frustrating 20 damage. While Druddigon itself never attacks, thanks to its high HP pool and residual damage-dealing, it’s a massive pain to play against.

While Druddigon is soaking up damage and causing your opponent to panic, Darkrai ex can be placed on the bench, where it’s just as dangerous. Thanks to its Nightmare Aura, any time you place your Dark-type energy onto it, you deal another 20 damage to your opponent’s active Pokemon. Keep in mind that this deck only runs Dark-type energy, so you’ll be able to do this once per turn.

Joining Darkrai ex on the bench is Magnezone, eventually that is. With Magneton’s Volt Charge ability, you can load it up with Electric-type energy despite not running any in your pool. While your opponent figures out how to take down Druddigon, you can load up Magneton with as much energy as possible before you have to switch it in. From there, evolve it into Magnezone to deal massive damage to a team of opponents that have been softened up by Darkrai ex and Druddigon.

The Pokemon Company/Dexerto

On the Trainer card side of things, we have the usual draw suite of Professor’s Research and Pokeball, which will ideally find Darkrai ex or Druddigon if you’re missing them. Pokemon Communication can also help with finding Pokemon you need, albeit less reliably.

Cyrus and Serena are there to force switch-outs if your opponent is trying to keep a key Pokemon safe while Leaf allows you to switch out your own Pokemon without sacrificing energy. Giant Cape makes your Pokemon bulkier but its best use is to make your Druddigon even more of a wall and effectively increase its damage output.

Weaknesses

The best part of this deck is that it has very few weaknesses. While Magnezone is weak to Fighting and Darkrai ex to Grass, no common decks run that type of combo. The biggest potential factor in slowing you down is luck.

If you don’t draw your key pieces immediately, your opponent has a chance to get under you and crash your setup. This is extremely uncommon, however, so you’ll likely be able to come back from a failed opening.

For more information about Pokemon TCG Pocket, check out our guide on trading, or head over and read about every promo card currently available in the game.