Harness the power of shadow and ace the current meta with this Dark deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket!
Are you looking for a good Dark-type deck to punish those Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon? Worry no more, because we’re going to share a winning deck build that you can use both in Versus and Solo modes!
Despite all the sets currently available in the game, Pokemon TCG Pocket still lacks strong Dark-type cards for players to choose from when building a deck.
Thankfully, during the Space-Time Smackdown, the game introduced an extremely reliable Dark-type Pokemon that can carry matches: the all-powerful Darkrai ex.
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Top-Tier Dark Deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket (Darkrai ex Build)
For this deck build, we’ll feature one of the most threatening Pokemon in the game, Darkrai ex. This card featuring the Mythical Pokemon has a unique ability called Nightmare Aura, which deals 20 damage to an opposing Active Pokemon every time you attach a Dark-type Energy to it.
Darkrai ex only has one move, Dark Prism, which can deal 80 damage in exchange for two Dark-type Energies and one Colorless Energy.
While it takes three turns for Darkrai ex to become online, its ability makes up for it, allowing you to deal some tick damage even if Darkrai ex is on the safety of your Bench.
Since Darkrai ex works better on the Bench than acting as an Active Pokemon, it will need the help of other cards that maximize the damage it provides with its ability. Here is a list of cards that you have to collect for this Dark-type deck:
- x2 Darkrai ex
- x2 Giratina ex
- x1 Nihilego
- x2 Professor’s Research
- x1 Sabrina
- x1 Leaf
- x1 Cyrus
- x1 Mars
- x1 Pokemon Center Lady
- x1 Guzma
- x2 Poke Ball
- x1 Potion
- x1 Red Card
- x1 Giant Cape
- x2 Poison Barb
Playing Darkrai ex in Pokemon TCG Pocket
Unlike most decks containing Pokemon cards that are highly reliant on each other’s moves and abilities, this Dark deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket works fine regardless of what Pokemon you have in your hand at the start of the match.
However, if you can avoid it, do not play your Darkrai ex as your Active Pokemon right away. This will prevent your main guy from taking damage early on, unless your opponent has some Pokemon that can snipe the Bench.
While Giratina ex isn’t a Dark-type, it is considered by many players as the best Darkrai partner since it can provide its own Energy, and it can absorb damage from weak Basic Pokemon.
Prioritize playing Giratina ex as your primary Active Pokemon, and use the Dark-type Energy you get per turn to Darkrai ex before using Giratina ex’s ability to end your turn. This will enable you to deal damage while your Pokemon are still powering up.
You can also use Nihilego if you have it to take down Oricorio, the bane of all the Pokemon ex in the meta.
Other essential cards to play
This deck also has an assortment of Supporter cards that you can use in various scenarios. If your opponent tries to save their low-HP Pokemon by switching, use Cyrus or Sabrina.
For fighting against decks with lots of Pokemon Tools, use Guzma. And if your Giratina ex needs more HP to survive, use Pokemon Center Lady.
A Poison Barb can be attached to your Active Pokemon, which will further put pressure on your opponent due to the added damage provided by the Poison status condition. Stack it up with Darkrai ex and Nihilego’s ability, and that’s a free 60 damage to your opponent without even using your Active Pokemon’s move.
Once your Giratina ex is ready for action, let it demolish your opponent’s cards using its Chaotic Impact move that has a recoil damage of 20. Don’t forget to use your Potion to negate the self-inflicted damage the first time Giratina uses its move!
Final Thoughts
And that’s how you build and play the best Dark deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket right now. Of course, there are other powerhouses under this type, such as Guzzlord ex, but nothing comes close to the efficiency of the mighty Darkrai.
Feel free to make some tweaks to this deck if you want, but remember that the staple cards are all the Active Pokemon. You need to have them in your collection in order to make this deck function properly.
Perhaps the only weakness of this Dark deck is that it’s highly vulnerable in the early game. Watch out for decks that use Red, Sudowoodo, or any Pokemon that can deal more than 50 damage in just a few turns.
We hope you enjoyed reading our Pokemon TCG Pocket guide. For more deck builds or information about Pokemon TCG, take some time to visit more of our pages here at PokeCardHQ.
