Within the community of Pokémon TCG Pocket, personal tournaments are held regularly, sometimes with a bit of prize money at stake. At a recent tournament, it quickly became clear: the Darkrai ex deck is becoming the new meta deck.
What kind of tournament is this? On February 1, 2025, the YouTubers HooglandiaPocket and spragels Pocket hosted a tournament centered around the new expansion in Pokémon TCG Pocket: Collision of Space and Time.
Prizes totaling $1,500 could be won. After the tournament, the top 8 and their decks were showcased on reddit. Out of the top 8 players, 7 used Darkrai in their decks; of those, 6 were playing with Magnezone in their deck.
Here you can watch the trailer for the new booster:
New Deck Dominates the Meta
What kind of deck is this? It is a Darkrai-ex-Magnezone deck. The following cards can be used to play this deck:
- 2x Darkrai ex
- 2x Magnemite
- 2x Magneton
- 2x Magnezone
- 1x Giant Cloak
- 2x Shardrago
- 2x Poké Ball
- 1x Pokémon Communication
- 1x Cyrus
- 2x Professor’s Research
- 2x Leaf
- 1x Sabrina
What makes the deck so strong? At first, the combination of Darkrai and Magnezone may seem somewhat arbitrary. After all, they both have different energies (Darkness and Electric), but their synergy is of immense advantage.
Magneton can supply itself with Electric Energy using its ability Volt Charge. Once Magneton is charged with enough energy, it can evolve into Magnezone, dealing a powerful 110 damage with its attack Thunder Fang.
The Darkness Energy can be used for Darkrai ex. The ability Nightmare Aura of Darkrai ex adds 20 damage points to the opponent’s active Pokémon for each energy attached to Darkrai ex. Thus, once Darkrai has collected 3 energies, it reaches a total of 100 damage points per turn.
Since Darkrai ex and Magnezone take some time to be fully ready to attack, Shardrago can remain in the active position in the meantime. Although it cannot attack as it requires Fire and Water energy, it serves as a good tank. When attacked, it deals 20 damage to the opponent due to its ability Rough Skin.
How would you play the Darkrai ex deck? Let us know in the comments! No effective counter has been found against the Darkrai ex and Magnezone deck so far. If you’re looking for more tips on what the best meta decks in Pokémon TCG Pocket are right now, we recommend this article on MeinMMO: Pokémon TCG Pocket: Best Meta Decks in the Tier List with Collision of Space and Time
