Mega Darkrai ex

What Mega Darkrai ex looks like when you open the box

Across the 82 lists we counted, this deck runs 10 to 21 Pokémon, 24 to 39 Trainers and 7 to 16 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Darkness.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « mega-darkrai-ex ». Every card named in that label turns up in the tables below, which is what makes it a fair name for the deck.

Look at the Energy: 7 to 16 out of 60, when half the 132 decks we track run 11 or fewer. This one carries more than most, and you feel it at the table — it wants to load up a big Pokémon and swing hard, even if that means drawing a spare Energy now and then.

Nothing here needs evolving — everything that attacks is a Basic Pokémon. Put it down, charge it, swing. That is as fast as the game gets, and it makes those turns where you draw nothing far less painful.

Look at the Trainers: 24 to 39 cards out of 60, against a median of 31 across the 132 decks we track. Inside that, 8 to 21 Supporters, and the rule there is strict — one a turn, even if you are holding three. The 8 to 22 Items you can play all of in the same turn. It also brings up to 5 Stadiums, and 26 of the 132 decks we track bring that many or more. Only one Stadium sits on the table at a time: the one you play sends the one already there to the discard pile.

What Tools and Stadiums do — the two Trainer families we skipped here — and why the Energy count says so much: how to read a deck list.

What the card in this deck's name actually does

Mega Darkrai ex gives this deck its name. Here is what is written on it.

Mega Darkrai ex is in all 82 lists, 3 copies of it. Its attack Abyss Eye costs 3 Energy (Darkness, Darkness and Darkness) and has no damage number printed next to it. That is why you will not find it in the attacker table lower down, which sorts by printed damage. Everything it does lives in its text: « If your opponent's Active Pokémon is affected by a Special Condition, it is Knocked Out. »

How Mega Darkrai ex actually wins

Mega Darkrai ex attacks with Dusk Raid. It needs 2 Darkness Energy attached, and it has 280 HP. The damage box reads "110+", and that little symbol hides the real decision on this card: 110 to start with, 220 the moment one of your Benched Pokémon is damaged.

The cost of Dusk Raid decides your first few turns. You only get to attach one Energy a turn, and that attack asks for 2. On your own attachments alone, your first real swing lands on turn 2. We have not found anything in this list that attaches Energy faster than that, so plan on holding out for a turn before you swing. Those turns still get played: you fill your Bench, you build your lines, and you keep something back to rebuild with when your attacker falls.

Here is the detail that quietly loses games. To pull Mega Darkrai ex back to the Bench you have to discard 2 Energy attached to it. Retreating does not cost you your turn, you can step back and still swing right after. What it costs you is the 2 Energy you spent 2 turns attaching, and you start that climb again from nothing. Pack a card that moves it for free, or send it up knowing it stays up.

Mega Darkrai ex is a Mega Evolution ex, and that is the most expensive rule in the game: your opponent takes 3 Prize cards instead of one the turn it goes down. They need 6 to win the game, so 2 well-placed knockouts on that card beat you, where it would take 6 knockouts anywhere else on your Bench.

The attackers in the deck's core, with their best attack, its cost and their Weakness

Pokémon	HP	Attack	Damage	Cost	Weakness	Retreat
Close Mega Darkrai exBasic	280	Dusk Raid	110+		Grass ×2	2

The core: the 3 cards every list runs

These 3 cards appear in all 82 lists, without a single exception. That is 16 of the 60 slots. The other 44 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 16 slots break down: 3 Trainers, 3 Pokémon, 10 Energy. Nothing stands out in that split. What sets this deck apart is how thick its core is: 16 of the 60 slots are the same for everybody, when half the 132 decks we track fix 26 or more. This one leaves more room than most, and two players can build it very differently.

3 of those 3 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Mega Darkrai ex (2 to 4), Boss's Orders (2 to 4) and Darkness Energy (7 to 16). Add those spreads up and you get 13 copies the 82 lists do not agree on, inside the core itself.

What "3 to 4" means in the copies column, what the "TWM 130" code under each name is for, and why we count dozens of lists instead of one: how to read a deck list.

The cards present in every list counted, with the number of copies

Copies	Card	Printing	Kind
2–4	Close Mega Darkrai ex	PBL 48	Pokémon
2–4	Close Boss's Orders	MEG 114	Trainer
7–16	Darkness Energy	MEE 7	Energy

The 115 cards that change from list to list

115 cards fight over the 44 slots that are left: 12 above three lists in four, 86 below one in four, and the percentage on each row says how many players took it.

The most agreed on first: Janine's Secret Art at 98 %, Pecharunt ex at 96 % and Lillie's Determination at 96 %, plus 9 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Lively Stadium, at 52 %: 43 of 82 players took it, 39 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 2 copies. Right at the bottom of the table, Team Rocket's Petrel (20 lists out of 82) and Yveltal (17 lists out of 82).

Why a card at 45 % is not a bad card, and what order to buy all this in: how to read a deck list.

The cards some lists run and others don't, most common first

Lists running it	Card	Copies	Printing	Kind
98 %80/82	Close Janine's Secret Art	1–4	PRE 112	Trainer
96 %79/82	Close Pecharunt ex	1–3	SFA 39	Pokémon
96 %79/82	Close Lillie's Determination	2–4	MEG 119	Trainer
95 %78/82	Close Dark Bell	1–4	PBL 75	Trainer
94 %77/82	Close Ultra Ball	1–4	MEG 131	Trainer
93 %76/82	Close Night Stretcher	1–3	ASC 196	Trainer
89 %73/82	Close Energy Switch	1–4	MEG 115	Trainer
88 %72/82	Close Latias ex	1–3	SSP 76	Pokémon
84 %69/82	Close Volcanion ex	1–3	JTG 31	Pokémon
83 %68/82	Close Mega Kangaskhan ex	1–3	MEG 104	Pokémon
82 %67/82	Close Special Red Card	1–2	CRI 82	Trainer
76 %62/82	Close Fezandipiti ex	1	ASC 142	Pokémon
70 %57/82	Close Meowth ex	1–2	POR 62	Pokémon
59 %48/82	Close Cyrano	1–4	SSP 170	Trainer
56 %46/82	Close Pokégear 3.0	1–3	SVI 186	Trainer
52 %43/82	Close Lively Stadium	1–3	SSP 180	Trainer
48 %39/82	Close Toxel	1–3	PFL 67	Pokémon
48 %39/82	Close Toxtricity	2	PFL 68	Pokémon
46 %38/82	Close Binding Mochi	1–3	PRE 95	Trainer
45 %37/82	Close Mega Signal	1–3	MEG 121	Trainer
44 %36/82	Close Legacy Energy	1	TWM 167	Energy
41 %34/82	Close Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex	1	TWM 141	Pokémon
40 %33/82	Close Ciphermaniac's Codebreaking	1–2	TEF 145	Trainer
40 %33/82	Close Risky Ruins	1–4	MEG 127	Trainer
38 %31/82	Close Battle Cage	1–3	PFL 85	Trainer
34 %28/82	Close Poké Pad	1–4	POR 81	Trainer
29 %24/82	Close Munkidori	1–3	TWM 95	Pokémon
27 %22/82	Close Crispin	1–3	SCR 133	Trainer
27 %22/82	Fire Energy	2–4	MEE 2	Energy
24 %20/82	Close Team Rocket's Petrel	1–4	DRI 176	Trainer
21 %17/82	Close Yveltal	1	MEG 88	Pokémon
21 %17/82	Close Dangerous Laser	1	SFA 58	Trainer
21 %17/82	Close Shadowy Darkness Energy	1–3	PBL 83	Energy
20 %16/82	Close Prism Energy	1–3	ASC 216	Energy
18 %15/82	Close Okidogi ex	1–2	SFA 36	Pokémon
16 %13/82	Close Xerosic's Machinations	1–2	SFA 64	Trainer
15 %12/82	Close Jumbo Ice Cream	1–4	PFL 91	Trainer
15 %12/82	Close Lisia's Appeal	1–3	SSP 179	Trainer
13 %11/82	Close Enhanced Hammer	1–4	TWM 148	Trainer
11 %9/82	Close Black Belt's Training	2	JTG 143	Trainer
11 %9/82	Close Precious Trolley	1	SSP 185	Trainer
10 %8/82	Close Mega Gengar ex	1–2	PFL 56	Pokémon
10 %8/82	Close Moltres	1	PFL 14	Pokémon
10 %8/82	Close Seviper	1–2	PFL 62	Pokémon
10 %8/82	Close Buddy-Buddy Poffin	2–3	TEF 144	Trainer
10 %8/82	Close Energy Recycler	1–2	DRI 164	Trainer
10 %8/82	Close Hero's Cape	1	TEF 152	Trainer
10 %8/82	Close Switch	1–4	MEG 130	Trainer
9 %7/82	Close Haunter	1–2	PFL 55	Pokémon
9 %7/82	Close Mega Absol ex	1	MEG 86	Pokémon
9 %7/82	Close Grimsley's Move	1–3	PFL 90	Trainer
9 %7/82	Close Rare Candy	2	MEG 125	Trainer
9 %7/82	Close Judge	1–4	POR 76	Trainer
9 %7/82	Close Team Rocket's Factory	1–2	DRI 173	Trainer
7 %6/82	Close Gastly	2–4	PFL 54	Pokémon
7 %6/82	Close Pecharunt	1	SVP 149	Pokémon
7 %6/82	Close Hilda	1	WHT 84	Trainer
6 %5/82	Close Cinderace	3–4	MEG 28	Pokémon
6 %5/82	Close N's Reshiram	1	JTG 116	Pokémon
6 %5/82	Close N's Zoroark ex	1–4	JTG 98	Pokémon
6 %5/82	Close N's Zorua	1–4	JTG 97	Pokémon
6 %5/82	Close Pecharunt	1–3	ASC 143	Pokémon
6 %5/82	Close Team Rocket's Transceiver	1–4	DRI 178	Trainer
5 %4/82	Close AZ's Tranquility	1–2	CRI 76	Trainer
5 %4/82	Close N's Plan	2	BLK 83	Trainer
5 %4/82	Close Air Balloon	1	ASC 181	Trainer
5 %4/82	Close Energy Search	1–2	POR 72	Trainer
5 %4/82	Close Wally's Compassion	1	MEG 132	Trainer
4 %3/82	Close Carvanha	2	PFL 60	Pokémon
4 %3/82	Close Mega Sharpedo ex	2	PFL 61	Pokémon
4 %3/82	Close Psyduck	1	ASC 39	Pokémon
4 %3/82	Close Yveltal ex	1	POR 53	Pokémon
4 %3/82	Close Team Rocket's Watchtower	1–2	DRI 180	Trainer
4 %3/82	Close Dusk Ball	1–3	SSP 175	Trainer
4 %3/82	Close Energy Retrieval	1	SVI 171	Trainer
4 %3/82	Close Jamming Tower	1	TWM 153	Trainer
4 %3/82	Close Scoop Up Cyclone	1	TWM 162	Trainer
4 %3/82	Psychic Energy	2–3	MEE 13	Energy
2 %2/82	Close Budew	1–2	ASC 16	Pokémon
2 %2/82	Close Morpeko ex	1	PBL 55	Pokémon
2 %2/82	Close Crushing Hammer	3–4	POR 71	Trainer
2 %2/82	Close Punk Helmet	1–2	PFL 92	Trainer
2 %2/82	Close Megaton Blower	1	SSP 182	Trainer
2 %2/82	Close Prime Catcher	1	TEF 157	Trainer
2 %2/82	Close Secret Box	1	TWM 163	Trainer
1 %1/82	Close Gastly	2	POR 48	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Gengar ex	2	30C 90	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close N's Zekrom	2	ASC 155	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Sableye	2	PFL 59	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Brute Bonnet	1	TWM 118	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Chi-Yu	1	MEG 31	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Eternatus	1	PFL 69	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Flutter Mane	1	TEF 78	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Krokorok	1	PFL 65	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Krookodile	1	PFL 66	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Munkidori ex	1	SFA 37	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Sandile	1	PFL 64	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Shaymin	1	DRI 10	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Team Rocket's Articuno	1	DRI 51	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex	1	TWM 64	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Academy at Night	3	SFA 54	Trainer
1 %1/82	Close Area Zero Underdepths	2	SCR 131	Trainer
1 %1/82	Close N's Castle	2	JTG 152	Trainer
1 %1/82	Close N's PP Up	2	JTG 153	Trainer
1 %1/82	Close Nighttime Mine	2	ASC 197	Trainer
1 %1/82	Close Surfer	2	SSP 187	Trainer
1 %1/82	Close Tool Scrapper	2	ASC 212	Trainer
1 %1/82	Close Colress's Tenacity	1	SFA 57	Trainer
1 %1/82	Close Dawn	1	PFL 87	Trainer
1 %1/82	Close Handheld Fan	1	TWM 150	Trainer
1 %1/82	Close Lana's Aid	1	TWM 155	Trainer
1 %1/82	Close Ruffian	1	JTG 157	Trainer
1 %1/82	Close Unfair Stamp	1	TWM 165	Trainer
1 %1/82	Close Mist Energy	2	TEF 161	Energy
1 %1/82	Water Energy	1	MEE 3	Energy

The most common Mega Darkrai ex list, all 60 cards

Here they are in full, ready to build. 16 slots come from the core, the cards all 82 lists run. The remaining 44 come from the table just above, working down it: the cards the most players chose, each at its most common copy count, until the total lands on 60.

This list is nobody's list in particular. It takes, slot by slot, what the most people played, under the guardrails a judge would hold you to: never more than four copies of a card, and one ACE SPEC. Behind the core it took 20 more cards to reach 60. The whole thing comes to 17 Pokémon, 33 Trainers and 10 Energy.

One thing to know before you build it: the 82 lists we counted are all from players who came in the top twenty of their tournament. Nobody publishes the lists of the players who lost. So what you have in front of you is what the players finishing near the top bring most often.

One thing to fix before you play: there is no ACE SPEC card in these 60. Players split that slot so many ways that none of their cards climbed high enough to get in, and 80 of the 82 lists carry one. Take Legacy Energy, the most chosen, and drop a card from the bottom of the table to make room.

The text under the table is the one the game expects: copy it, paste it into the deck manager, and the list builds itself.

Why we only read lists from players who came in the top twenty of their tournament, and what that changes about every percentage on this page: how to read a deck list.

Pokémon: 17
3 Mega Darkrai ex PBL 48
2 Pecharunt ex SFA 39
2 Latias ex SSP 76
1 Volcanion ex JTG 31
2 Mega Kangaskhan ex MEG 104
1 Fezandipiti ex ASC 142
2 Meowth ex POR 62
2 Toxel PFL 67
2 Toxtricity PFL 68

Trainer: 33
3 Boss's Orders MEG 114
4 Janine's Secret Art PRE 112
2 Lillie's Determination MEG 119
3 Dark Bell PBL 75
4 Ultra Ball MEG 131
2 Night Stretcher ASC 196
4 Energy Switch MEG 115
1 Special Red Card CRI 82
3 Cyrano SSP 170
2 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186
2 Lively Stadium SSP 180
2 Binding Mochi PRE 95
1 Mega Signal MEG 121

Energy: 10
10 Darkness Energy MEE 7

Total Cards: 60

How many different cards Mega Darkrai ex needs, and how long it will last

You need 118 different cards to cover every version of this deck, 3 of which nobody argues about. The rest is where lists differ from one another, and that is where you have room to choose.

80 of these 82 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 36 took Legacy Energy, 17 took Dangerous Laser and 9 took Precious Trolley. The flex table shows you all 9. You are allowed ONE ACE SPEC card in your whole deck, so a single copy covers it whatever it costs. New to this deck? Take Legacy Energy and watch what the others do with theirs before you switch.

Then there is time, and the answer is a good one: not one of the 3 core cards carries the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation. This deck walks through the change whole.

What Mega Darkrai ex struggles against

The attackers in this deck are Weak to Grass, so they take DOUBLE damage from that type. 21 of the 132 decks we track attack in exactly that type.

Concretely, here is what is waiting for you: Teal Mask Ogerpon ex / Meganium / Hydrapple ex, Festival Lead (Thwackey) and Crustle, plus 18 more decks. The table below takes them one at a time, and those are the lists you practise against first before an event.

This table counts one thing, Weakness, and that comes to 21 decks out of the 132 we track. The other 111 do not attack into yours, and this table says nothing about them. You will still run into them.

Going the other way, your attackers are Darkness, and 28 of the decks we track have an attacker Weak to one of those: Latias ex / Mega Kangaskhan ex, N's Zoroark ex and Slowking, among others. That is you doubling, for once. Second half of the table.