The card is kind of a stealthy but strong card that can chip away at even the strongest Pokémon. In a recent tournament, the Hoogland & Spragels Open, seven of the top eight decks used Darkrai ex. So here is why Darkrai ex decks are so popular and why it’s a key card in one of the best decks of the moment in Pokémon TCG Pocket.
Why Darkrai ex is the best new deck in Pokémon TCG Pocket
Darkrai ex is a dark-type card with 140 HP and a retreat cost of two energy. It’s a basic Pokémon so you can play it from your hand right when you draw it — no need to worry about evolving it. It has one attack, Dark Prism, which deals 80 damage and it requires three energy in total: two dark-type energy and one more energy of any other type. Eighty damage isn’t anything to scoff at, but that’s not the main draw of this card. What makes it shine is Darkrai ex’s ability, Nightmare Aura.
Nightmare Aura makes it so that whenever you attach a dark energy to Darkrai ex, it will do 20 damage to the opponent’s active Pokémon. This ability activates even if Darkrai is on your bench, so with it, you could do 60 damage to an opposing Pokémon, all while keeping your previous ex-card safe on the bench. It’s an extremely flexible ability that synergizes well with a variety of new cards.
The most popular pairing appears to be with the new Magnezone card. In the Magnezone and Darkrai ex deck, the Volt Charge ability from the Stage 1 Magneton card allows the card to juice up on Electric energy without setting the deck to generate both Dark and Electric energy. Evolve it to Magnezone, which has a Thunder Blast attack that does 110 HP, and you have a deadly pairing. Darkrai ex’s Nightmare Aura and the Thunder Blast attack combined can clear through some major threats in a single turn.
People also like to pair it with Weavile ex. It has a Scratching Nails move that only requires one dark energy. This move has a base attack of 30 and it deals an additional 40 damage if the Pokémon you’re attacking already has damage on it. Use Nightmare Aura before you attack, and it all adds up to a hefty 90 HP, all with an attack that requires one energy. It’s a short ramp-up as far as setups go.
And that’s not even the extent of Darkrai ex’s terror. There are tons of ways to use this card. I’ve even seen people pair Darkrai ex with Pokémon as Farfetch’d, of all Pokémon, just because the combination of its Leek Slap attack plus Nightmare Aura can do 60 damage at once — not bad for a basic Pokémon. Yes, it’s ridiculous, but that’s to be expected in a game that continues to change with each major update.
