
A fan-favourite Darkness-type Pokémon is here to (hopefully) end the reign of Mewtwo EX. That’s right — Darkrai EX has arrived in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket with the Space-Time Smackdown expansion, and with it comes hope for a more stable meta.
Darkrai EX can’t do it all on its own, however. It'll have to team up with other Darkness-type Pokémon like Weavile EX and Honchkrow to get the job done.
Don’t worry — this guide delves deep into all you need to know to make the most out of Darkrai EX in Pokémon Pocket, from best matchups to flex cards you can swap in and out depending on how you like to battle.
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket - Best Darkrai EX Deck (Space-Time Smackdown)

Darkai EX is currently an A Tier-ranked deck, meaning it's extremely good in the meta, only bested by the very best trainers.
As stated above, Darkrai EX isn’t a Pokémon that works well alone. Darkrai EX’s attack, Dark Prism, leaves a lot to be desired at 80 damage for 3 total energy. His HP is a little on the low end too at 140 — fortunately, that's just enough to get one shot by both Mewtwo EX and Gyarados EX.
However, his ability Nightmare Aura makes him incredibly potent as simply attaching a Darkness energy to Darkrai EX will deal 20 damage to your opponent’s active Pokémon.
As a result, you want some Darkness type Pokémon to frontline for Darkrai EX that don’t require a lot of energy. Enter Weavile EX — a Stage 1 Pokémon with an attack 70 damage for 1 Darkness energy if the opposing Pokémon has taken damage. Take a look at the core and flex cards below:
Core Darkrai EX Cards
- 2x Darkrai EX
- 2x Sneasel
- 2x Weavile
- 2x Murkrow
- 2x Honchkrow
- 1x Spiritomb
- 2x Poké Ball
- 1x X Speed
- 2x Cyrus
- 2x Dawn
- 2x Professor’s Research
Flex Darkrai EX Cards
You’re welcome to switch out the Honchkrow line for Ekans and Arbok for a little bit more control, allowing you to trap Pokémon in the active spot as you feed Darkrai energy to do more damage to it. Otherwise, experimenting with Pokémon Tools isn’t a terrible idea.
Giant Cape could stop both Darkrai EX and Weavile EX from getting one shot from Gyarados EX and Mewtwo EX, for example, and you may or may not want 2x Dawn in your deck.
Furthermore, it might turn out better to run a fast attacker like Farfetch’d over Honchkrow in the long run. This would help if you don’t hit your Sneasel line on the curve.
How To Play Darkrai EX
Darkrai EX is a little bit less straightforward than other decks as you don’t want him in the active position for the most part. Ideally, going first and attacking with Weavile EX from your second turn goes a long way to putting pressure on slower decks, as you’ll dish out 120 damage over 2 turns with the help of Nightmare Aura.
Honchkrow is a great alternative when going second as it hits benched Pokémon for a whopping 50 damage. You can outright one-shot things like Magikarp and whittle down threats like Dialga EX into the range of Weavile EX and Nightmare Aura.
Spiritomb is a decent frontline attacker for this deck as it does 10 damage to all Pokémon, preparing them for Weavile EX to come in. It’s also handy with Cryus, a Supporter card that lets you yoink a damaged Pokémon into the active spot.
Finally, since you’re likely not using that energy you’re slapping on Darkrai EX, you can use Dawn to bring it forward to Honchkrow, Weavile EX, or even another Darkrai EX without skipping a round of Nightmare Aura.
Darkrai EX Best and Worst Matchups
Surprisingly, Darkrai EX isn’t weak to Fighting-type; rather, it’s weak to Grass type. As this is a fast deck in itself, you shouldn’t have too much trouble overwhelming the Snivy line in the back or whittling down Celebi EX before it can truly cause problems for you.
Where this deck shines is against Mewtwo EX. Weavile EX is hitting for 90 damage for 1 Darkness energy while pumping out more from Darkrai EX in the backline. Even better, Honchkrow can harass Ralts, Kirlia, and Gardevoir as they try to get set up.
That said, Gyarados EX looks like a problem for this deck with the likes of Druddigon serving as a front line. You will likely want Honchkrow in this case to wreak havoc on their bench while Druddigon sits there looking pretty and scraping up your Pokémon with Rough Skin; still, if Gyarados EX gets powered up you’re likely done.
How well Darkrai EX does into Pikachu EX remains to be seen. It will likely come down to an arms race: whether or not you can get set up before they have a full bench.
Darkness may well reign supreme here! Make sure you check out the new Space-Time Smackdown expansion, and have a look at all of the best decks in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket.
Comments 0
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...