Darkrai ex appears to be a top-tier meta deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket once again. This sturdy Darkness-type Pokemon dropped from the PvP ladder after June’s miniset, Eevee Grove, launched. However, recent data shows it is climbing back toward the top of the metagame, though how long it will stay there remains unclear.
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Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Eevee Grove Set is About to Kill The Most Long-Lived Meta Deck
The upcoming Eevee Grove set for Pokemon TCG Pocket may be the final nail in the coffin for a longstanding, yet hated, meta deck.
Many fans argue that Darkrai ex is the most broken card in Pokemon TCG Pocket. It has survived multiple expansions, some seemingly designed to push the Darkness beast out of the meta. Others believe this recent resurgence might be its last time dominating the PvP arena, arguing the card is just one strike away from falling into mid-tier status and that the upcoming set will likely end its reign.
If you’re looking to run a Darkrai ex setup in Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s current “economy,” you’re in the right place. We’ve selected the top three decks for this Darkness-type card, ranked from the best for the meta to the most budget-friendly and the most fun to play. Here’s everything you need to know about Darkrai ex and its top-performing decks.
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Darkrai ex Card Overview
- HP: 140
- ATK DMG: 80 (20 Passive DMG)
- Text [Ability]: Nightmare Aura – Whenever you attach a Darkness-type Energy from your Energy Zone to this Pokemon, do 20 damage to your opponent’s Active Pokemon.
- Type: Darkness
- Stage: Basic
- ATK Costs: Three (On Colorless, two Darkness)
- Retreat Cost: Two
- Weakness: Grass
- Expansion: Space-Time Smackdown
- Energy: Darkness
- Strategy: Stall and Chip DMG
- Archetype: Poison
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Darkrai ex and Nihilego decks are enhanced versions of DarkTina setups. The concept is similar: stall, deal chip damage, charge up two damage dealers, and finish off your opponent. However, Nihilego adds a new twist by increasing the usual 20-point chip damage to 50.
Nihilego has the ability “More Poison,” which, as the title suggests, increases the Poison Special Condition’s damage by 10 points. In other words, if you have two Nihilego cards on the board and the opponent’s Active Pokemon is poisoned, it will take 30 damage per turn instead of the usual 10.
Teaming up Nihilego with Darkrai ex and Giratina ex adds more power to an already strong lineup. The deck still uses Giratina ex as the primary damage dealer, but now boosts its damage by 50 points, raising it to a total of 180. The downside is that you must poison the opponent for this strategy to work. If the opponent prevents your poisoning effect, the two Nihilego cards become essentially useless.
Darkrai ex Nihilego Play Strategy
- Use a copy of Darkrai ex or Giratina ex as a staller.
- If you have to open with Nihilego, boost its HP with a Giant Cape.
- Try to poison the opponent using the Poison Barb Pokemon Tool. You can also use Nihilego’s New Wave move for the same effect.
- Assign all zone Energy to Darkrai ex to deal cheap damage.
- Set up two Nihilego cards on the board; they don’t need to be charged on the Bench.
- Use Giratina ex’s self-charging move to prepare for its ultimate attack.
- Once ready, activate Darkrai ex or Giratina ex and start knocking out the opponent’s cards.
Best Budget Variant: Darkrai ex + Giratina ex
- Energy: Darkness
- Strategy: Stall and Chip Damage
- Archetype: Control
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The original DarkTina setups remain meta-relevant. Since most players already have the necessary cards, these decks are now considered budget-friendly meta options.
DarkTina’s strategy hasn’t changed much since it first appeared. You sacrifice a Pokemon as a staller while building up Darkrai ex and Giratina ex on the Bench.
There are now better Trainer Cards to support the Darkness-Psychic duo. You can empower the deck’s staller with a Poison Barb instead of the old Rocky Helmet. Guzma can also be included to counter enemy Pokemon Tools.
DarkTina Play Strategy
- Open with a copy of Darkrai ex or Giratina ex.
- Set up additional copies of both Pokemon on the Bench.
- Allocate zone Energy to Darkrai ex to deal chip damage.
- Charge up Giratina ex on the Bench using its ability.
- Use healer and buffer Supporters like Pokemon Center Lady and Giant Cape to stall with your starter Pokemon.
- Once ready, switch to Giratina ex and start eliminating enemy cards.
Most Fun to Play: Darkrai ex + Umbreon
- Energy: Darkness
- Strategy: Poison DMG
- Archetype: Midrange
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Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s Eevee Grove expansion introduced several fun Darkness decks, thanks to the addition of Umbreon. This Darkness-type Pokemon pairs perfectly with Darkrai ex and Nihilego, which have become the defining names of the archetype.
Ideally, your board should include one Umbreon in the Active spot, one Darkrai ex on the Bench, and two Nihilego cards in the remaining free spots. Umbreon deals 40 damage with just one Energy, allowing you to start chipping away at the opponent’s HP early. Equip Umbreon with a Poison Barb to activate Nihilego’s ability, adding up to 30 extra damage. With Darkrai ex contributing 20 damage per turn from the Bench, your total damage output can reach 90 per turn.
The only drawback of this deck is its relatively low average damage output. While it can dish out 90 damage early, it struggles against staller decks that bring out high-damage, high-HP Pokemon in the late game. Still, the new Darkrai ex and Umbreon setups remain some of the most enjoyable Darkness-type decks to play, thanks to their satisfying synergies when everything clicks.
Darkrai ex Umbreon Play Strategy
- Open with Eevee.
- Use the new Eevee’s card-drawing move to pull the cards you need.
- Evolve into Umbreon and charge it up.
- Place two Nihilego cards on the Bench.
- Fill the last open spot with a Darkrai ex.
- Allocate zone Energy to Darkrai ex to deal chip damage.
- Equip Umbreon with a Poison Barb and try to poison the opponent.
- If everything goes as planned, you’ll deal up to 50 chip damage per turn, or 90 if you also use Umbreon’s attack.
Most Effective Darkrai ex Counters
Based on recent PvP data, the most effective Darkrai ex counters appear to be Buzzwole ex decks. This Ultra Beast’s alliance with Celesteela and Pheromosa has achieved an average win rate of 64%—an impressive feat.
Other strong counters to Darkrai ex include the new Charizard ex–Sylveon ex setups, along with the anti-meta Greninja-Oricorio and Silvally-Oricorio decks from previous expansions.
In terms of PvP win rate, the Greninja-Oricorio duo may seem to be the strongest Darkrai ex counter, winning around 80% of its matchups against the Darkness-type beast. However, it ranks below Buzzwole ex on the list of top counters due to lower usage. In other words, Buzzwole ex has delivered more consistent results across a higher volume of matches, making it the preferred counter.
Darkrai ex Performance Report (Eevee Grove Era)
- Win Rate: ~ 54%
- Meta Share: ~ 8%
- Tournament Appearance: ~ 300
Darkrai ex decks appear to be back at the top of the meta after a brief decline following the release of the Eevee Grove set. This resurgence is largely thanks to a fresh partner: Nihilego from the Extradimensional Crisis set. The Ultra Beast has enabled Darkrai ex to go head-to-head with the new top decks, making it the second most-utilized setup in the metagame.
The current top deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s meta appears to be the Greninja-Sylveon ex duo, holding about 12% of the metagame. Darkrai ex is close behind the Water-Psychic pair, though it remains to be seen if its presence will stay strong in the coming weeks.
Darkrai ex’s performance stats are based on recent tournaments and may differ slightly by the time you read this.
The Future of Darkrai ex Decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket
Nihilego has seemingly given the infamous DarkTina setup a new surge in popularity. However, the Ultra Beast’s synergy may not be enough to keep Darkrai ex and Giratina ex as relevant as before. They’re currently near the top of the meta alongside some strong decks, but that might be because most players aren’t actively targeting Darkrai ex and its deck shells.
If the Darkness-Psychic duo becomes a problem again, the meta now has a wider range of counters ready to respond. A new Charizard ex lineup appears to destroy Darkrai ex decks. The Greninja-Sylveon ex duo is also strong against Darkness decks featuring Darkrai ex. Additionally, Oricorio anti-meta decks can quickly pull DarkTina down from the top of the metagame ladder.
That said, there’s a chance that Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s next major expansion could revive or evolve Darkrai ex decks. We’ve already seen this happen with the addition of Nihilego, and it could happen again. In the coming months, it will be interesting to see whether Darkrai ex retires to the TCG Pocket Hall of Fame or continues to dominate rising decks as it has in recent seasons.