The Darkness Never Stays the Same — Darkrai-GX in Expanded
[cardimg name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”139″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
What’s up PokeBeach? I would like to start off by saying how ecstatic I am to write for such a wonderful website and promise all of you readers that I will always provide the best content possible for every article! For those of you who don’t know me, I am a 25 year old player from the Toronto, Canada area and I have been playing the Pokemon TCG for over a decade now. I started my competitive journey way back in 2005, obtaining my first World Championship invite in 2006, and I am still kicking it by making Day 2 of the World Championships, placing 14th overall at the Fort Wayne Regional Championships and recently placing 21st at the Hartford Regional Championships.
I want to discuss the deck that allowed me to rise over most of the competition at Fort Wayne, why it is good, and why I decided not to play it for Daytona Beach Regionals. That deck is of course Turbo Darkrai-EX! I also have a special deck list for all of you readers who want a new and exciting deck to play in Expanded! Let’s jump right into my list that I played at Fort Wayne:
Turbo Darkrai-EX
[decklist name=”Turbo Darkrai” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″][pokemon amt=”12″]3x [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”63″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Malamar-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”36″]3x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Black and White” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”EX FireRed and LeafGreen” no=”100″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]12x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”12″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
This is the exact list that I piloted to a 14th place finish at Fort Wayne Regional Championships and I think that it was close to a perfect list for Daytona Beach Regionals as well. Let me explain how the cards work together:
Three Darkrai-EX BKP and One Darkrai-EX DEX
[cardimg name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
There are only two real ways to play this deck; either 2-2 Darkrai-EX or 3-1 Darkrai-EX; and my preference is to focus the three count on [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”from”][/card] and the one count on [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”63″ c=”from”][/card].
The BREAKpoint variant is one of the strongest Pokemon in Expanded because it has quite a bit going for it in almost all aspects of the game. Dark Pulse is a strong attack that can be quickly accelerated via [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card], and even Darkrai-GX! When you combine the attack with Darkrai-EX’s Dark Cloak Ability, you have a whole team of Pokemon on your side with free retreat which will allow your deck to be quite fluid.
The Dark Explorers Darkrai-EX is not a one-trick pony, however — you can often use it to snipe off pesky Pokemon such as [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] or use it to chip away valuable HP from the ever-so-popular [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] from time to time.
Between the two of these extremely powerful Pokemon, I am sure you will find yourself attaching many Energy, retreating to your heart’s desire, and smashing in plenty of opposing decks in the process.
Two Darkrai-GX
The newest Darkrai to help out our deck, [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card], is quite bit of a force on its own because it allows us to accelerate our deck faster than we ever could before. Restoration is a busted Ability because it allows you to get more Energy on your field, it allows you to “restore” a Darkrai-GX that was previously hanging out in your discard pile, and it helps us inch closer to getting off a powerful Dead End GX attack in the process. When you look at the above deck list, you can easily see the synergy between Darkrai-GX and all of our wonderful discarding cards including [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Black and White” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] (when there is a Professor Juniper in your discard pile).
Besides adding Energy to our field, Darkrai-GX can attack with its efficient Dark Cleave attack to Knock Out smaller HP Pokemon such as [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card]. Alternatively, it can use its powerful GX attack in combination with [card name=”Malamar-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] to instantly OHKO a beast such as [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]! With this card most likely being the most versatile out of all cards in the deck, I am sure you will find yourself in some situations to utilize this fluid card.
Two Shaymin-EX
One of the most powerful cards ever printed not so surprisingly makes an appearance in this deck as our draw power vessel in every game (unless we play against a pesky [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. With all of the cards that we discard in this deck or how we can control what is left in our deck with Battle Compressor, you will find [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] drawing the cards that you want to find more often than not! My first turn of the game often includes myself playing an Ultra Ball for a Hoopa-EX to grab one of each Darkrai-EX and a Shayman-EX to get my game going.
One Tapu Lele-GX
[card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] is one of the most played cards in our current Standard format and I see few reasons why I should run its lesser HP opposition, [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] , in the current Expanded format. Aside from its incredible Wonder Tag Ability, it can also do solid amounts of damage with its strong Energy Drive attack. I personally used Tapu Lele-GX to OHKO XiaoXiao Long’s [card name=”Keldeo-EX” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] in Fort Wayne after he placed seven Energy on it with [card name=”Wishiwashi-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] ‘s GX attack to do a massive 180 damage. Whichever way you decide to utilize this card, I am sure you will find a Pokemon to OHKO by utilizing Darkness Energy and [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card], or find that singleton copy of [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] to completely disrupt your opponent’s plans.
One Hoopa-EX
As explained above, [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] is our go-to Pokemon to search for all of our Pokemon-EX! If your opponent ever uses a [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] to drag up our friend with a large amount of retreat, just slap a Darkness Energy on it and retreat for free because of.
[cardimg name=”Malamar-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”58″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
One Malamar-EX
[card name=”Malamar-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] is somewhat a one-trick pony in this deck, but it is definitely a pony that we want to ride to victory! The biggest inclusion for this card is to use Hyper Hypnosis to make an opposing Pokemon Asleep and then sweep in with Darkrai-GX to spell doom with its Dead End GX attack! I found in Fort Wayne when playing against Ross Cawthon’s crazily inventive [card name=”Accelgor” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Stoutland” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] deck, that my only option was to use Hyper Hypnosis to pseudo get out of his hard lock! Similarly, I found success with Malamar-EX against [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] decks because it allowed me to attack with fewer Energy with a decent success rate; and Hyper Hypnosis was sometimes strong, too.
One Mew
It is my belief that a one-Prize attacker is necessary for almost every deck, and [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card] seems like the optimal choice in this deck. Between hitting [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Hoopa-EX” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] for Psychic-type Weakness or popping off and copying your Darkrai-EX to use Dark Pulse, Mew is very versatile. I often find myself using Mew to search for a Tapu Lele-GX with its Encounter attack when I am experiencing a less than stellar hand or if I have no better attack to use based on the situation I am in.
[premium]
Three Professor Juniper, One N, One Colress
Besides [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Black and White” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] being a helpful card to discard Dark Energy to get back with and [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], we can utilize this strong Supporter card to draw cards that we need from the deck. [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] gains a bit of momentum in this deck when paired with [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] because you can draw up to sixteen cards in total.
Between our three choices of draw Supporters, you will never be left without options and can persevere over your opponent with the best choice at the best time.
Two Guzma
With our deck having free retreat because of Darkrai-EX, we can abuse [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] by utilizing it as a Lysandre-like card and as a [card name=”Switch” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card]-like card at the same time. Guzma has been a huge deck-building crutch because it opens space in a deck by being a dual-utility card which allows decks to run some more interesting cards.
One Hex Maniac
Abilities have always been powerful in most formats and our current Expanded format is no different! We quite often have to deal with Shaymin-EX, Hoopa-EX, Tapu Lele-GX, Jirachi-EX, Trevenant, [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”name”][/card], and plenty of other cards; [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] shuts them all off for one turn. With [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”EX FireRed and LeafGreen” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] being legal in Expanded, we can use Hex Maniac up to five times in our games which means we should almost always be able to shut off some pesky Abilities to leave our opponent without many options.
One Computer Search
In Expanded, there are Ace Spec cards and I wouldn’t run a deck without playing one of them. Some of the most popular choices for Ace Spec cards include [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]. Computer Search is the best Ace Spec in general because, if you open with it in your starting hand, you can always search your deck for a strong option such as Battle Compressor to use the VS Seeker in your hand. Alternatively, you can use it to search for an Ultra Ball to grab a Hoopa-EX to get your other Pokemon-EX in play, which in turn allows you to discard more cards from your hand.
Four Dark Patch and Four Max Elixir
With a deck that rides on [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] using Dark Pulse, both [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] need to be maxed out in order to make all of your Energy appear on your field quickly. You can always thin out your deck with Battle Compressor to make sure you have a higher chance of hitting Energy cards or you can choose to discard your Energy cards to get them back with Dark Patch. These cards are important throughout the game to either attack quickly or to rebound after a Knock Out against your opponent.
Four VS Seeker
With this deck only playing eight Supporter cards total, we need to utilize [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”EX FireRed and LeafGreen” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] importantly to make sure that our deck is never experiencing a dull moment! We can get away with our Supporter count because we can also discard our Supporters with Ultra Ball, Computer Search, or Battle Compressor so we can always find a way to nab a Supporter throughout the game!
Three Battle Compressor
As mentioned throughout the card section, this card is used to thin our deck to maximize our odds for Max Elixir or for drawing more ideal cards off [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Black and White” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] . You can also use it to discard Supporters such as to get back with a VS Seeker or we can use it to discard Darkness Energy to get back with Dark Patch in a pinch. Battle Compressor is one of the more versatile cards in this deck so you need to look at the best cards to discard in every scenario.
Three Trainers’ Mail
It sounds simple, but this card is only meant to grab our Trainer cards when we need them. I would avoid playing this card when paired against a [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] because you do not want to play an Item to then possibly play another Item. I try in most games to keep a few copies of this card in my deck for the late game when my opponent tries to play N to disrupt the flow of the deck.
Two Muscle Band
[card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] plays a similar role to Darkness Energy in this deck and that is adding an extra 20 damage, except in the case of Muscle Band we don’t need to use our Energy attachment for the turn. Another powerful play is using Darkrai-GX ‘s Dark Cleave with a Muscle Band attached to it to OHKO a [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] or a [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card].
One Field Blower
I feel like most decks need to run some form of Pokemon Tool and Stadium disruption and [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] is the best choice between [card name=”Startling Megaphone” set=”Flashfire” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] right now. Unlike all of the choices I listed above, Field Blower allows us to discard both Pokemon Tools and Stadiums. It also gets the bonus of being an Item card which allows us to use a Supporter for the turn.
Two Sky Field
[card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] seems like a weird choice in a deck like this because we play only twelve Pokemon total and we usually don’t need to set up much more than our bench. However, with Darkrai-GX bouncing back from the discard pile to the Bench and with the vast amounts of consistency Pokemon we have such as Shaymin-EX, Hoopa-EX, and Tapu Lele-GX, we will often need to have more space on our Bench.
Twelve Darkness Energy
[cardimg name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
This is the Energy of choice in the deck because almost every Pokemon in the deck takes a Darkness Energy or a Colourless Energy in order to attack! I decided to play twelve Darkness Energy because it allows us to have a balance between utilizing both [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] properly, and having enough Energy to naturally attach.
Why Turbo Darkrai has Issues in Expanded
While I was playing in Fort Wayne, I often found myself playing against the pesky [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] that lives up to its name by providing a major Road Block to my strategy. Similarly to how Sudowoodo hurts [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card], Darkrai-EX and all of our support Pokemon have the same issues: we need the Bench space. Now by no means does Sudowoodo automatically beat Turbo Darkrai-EX, but it does start the wave of techs and decks that do stop us in our tracks.
The below deck list does not focus on [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] and decides to focus on [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] instead. The premise is to quickly power up a Darkrai-GX in a similar fashion to how the above Turbo Darkrai-EX deck would, and it uses [card name=”Virbank City Gym” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] to quickly deal 190 damage with Dark Cleave! Alternatively, you can also use Dead End GX in a pinch. With such a strong damage output of 190 damage and the option to OHKO anything with Dead End GX, Turbo Darkrai-GX may just end up becoming the better deck. Let’s check out this new and innovative deck list:
Turbo Darkrai-GX
[decklist name=”Turbo Darkrai-GX” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″][pokemon amt=”10″]3x [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”63″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”40″]3x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Black and White” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”EX FireRed and LeafGreen” no=”100″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Noble Victories” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Virbank City Gym” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”126″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”10″]10x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
This deck answers the big issue that Turbo Darkrai-EX currently faces in Expanded, [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card], and successfully creates a new archetype in the process. The major ideas of the deck were brought to the table by networking Jimmy McClure, my fellow Pro-Play Games teammate Hunter Butler, and my testing partner Gavin Grohowski. With ideas circulating between such strong players who all have had different successes throughout their own Pokemon playing careers and with my extensive knowledge of Darkness-typed Pokemon in Expanded, I think this deck will become a force to be reckoned with, so much so that I decided to play it for the recent Daytona Beach Regional!
Tournament Matchups
As with any new deck, this was the first draft and it ended up doing well at Daytona Regionals! Daniel Altavilla played the deck to a top 16 finish, Gavin Grohowski made the top 32, I made top 64, and Hunter Butler made top 128. Here is a quick breakdown my tournament run:
Tournament: Daytona Beach, FL Day 1
Deck I was playing: Turbo Darkrai-GX
Tournament record: 6-3-0
Final placement: 64th/650ish
- Round 1 vs. [card name=”Espeon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] WW 1-0-0
- Round 2 vs. Turbo Darkrai-EX LWL 1-1-0
- Round 3 vs. [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] WW 2-1-0
- Round 4 vs. Turbo [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card] LWW 3-1-0
- Round 5 vs. Turbo Turtonator-GX WW 4-1-0
- Round 6 vs. Turbo Darkrai-EX WW 5-1-0
- Round 7 vs. [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] WLW 6-1-0
- Round 8 vs. [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] WLL 6-2-0
- Round 9 vs. Necrozma-GX / Garbodor LL 6-3-0
Most of my losses came down to dead draws or awkward situations. I feel if I played the tournament out again, I likely would have been able to make Day 2! Oh well, there is always next time
Quick Strategy
The goal each game is to quickly Knock Out threats by using Dark Cleave and Dead End GX. The biggest question that I have been asked over and over is “when do you use Dead End GX?” My answer is when you can’t get the OHKO with Dark Cleave plus Poison, you usually just have to accept it and use your GX attack. If I do have the option to use my GX attack at any point of the game, I try to save it for my last two Prize Cards or on a Pokemon with more than 190 HP. With all of the consistency cards in this deck, you will be able to power up a Darkrai-GX turn one often!
Three Darkrai-GX
[card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] plays the main role in this deck and I believe this might just be the way we end up playing “Turbo Darkrai” decks past Daytona Beach Regionals! With the additions of Choice Band and Hypnotoxic Laser paired with Virbank City Gym, we can often find ourselves doing 190 damage turn one to take some surprisingly quick OHKOs out of nowhere. Darkrai-GX can also use its powerful GX attack, Dead End GX, to OHKO a high-HP Pokemon such as [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] with relative ease. Between Darkrai-GX’s busted Restoration Ability and our maxed out counts of Max Elixir and Dark Patch, we shouldn’t have too much trouble getting to the main point of our deck.
Two Darkrai-EX
[card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] is our vessel for a free Retreat Cost when we need only one in play to use Dark Cleave as quickly as possible. Now, don’t get me wrong, this deck has the ability to attack with this Darkrai-EX, but it seems underwhelming when compared to Darkrai-GX.
One Oricorio
[cardimg name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
[card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] is mainly meant to beat opposing [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] from the very popularized Night March archetype because they are forced to discard their Night March Pokemon in order to do extra damage, therefore allowing our Oricorio to come out and play! Oricorio also has a second attack, Revelation Dance, which can surprisingly OHKO a [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] when you attach a Choice Band to Oricorio and play the combination of Virbank City Gym and Hypnotoxic Laser. Overall, this card is only strong versus Night March and [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] variants, but it may just provide that final amount of damage you need to close out a game.
One Sableye
[card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] is as versatile as the amount of Item cards that you play within a given deck, but it can grab back some extra value when you Junk Hunt for cards such as [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Supreme Victors” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card]. Sableye is used as our one-Prize attacker in this deck, similar to how [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card] is the one Prize-attacker in the Turbo Darkrai-EX deck, which can force our opponent to draw seven Prize Cards. This works especially well if they don’t have access to their [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]. Sableye is also a strong counter card to [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] or it can even allow you to chain [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Noble Victories” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card]s when paired against a disruption deck such as [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]!
One Oranguru
The man, the beast, the consistency king. [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] is a super interesting card in this deck because it can get around your opponent playing an [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]! Oranguru also has an efficient attack which can even OHKO somewhat popular Pokemon like [card name=”Alolan Ninetales” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card] or do some huge chip damage to [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]. Don’t worry too much about this Pokemon having a huge Retreat Cost, we still play Darkrai-EX to give it free retreat when it has a Darkness Energy attached!
Four Hypnotic Laser, Three Virbank City Gym, and Three Choice Band
These are important cards in the deck because they are our damage modifiers in order to hit that impressive 190 damage. They are necessary to OHKO popular Pokemon such as [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card] and other opposing Pokemon EX/GX with similarly large HP. [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] can also be sneaky by putting Pokemon to sleep to disrupt our opponent or we can even use it to allow [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] to use Dead End GX.
One Field Blower and One Parallel City
[card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card]’s role in this deck is similar to the Turbo Darkrai-EX deck above, except with our single copy of [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card], we can limit our Bench to three Pokemon, play a Field Blower, and proceed to Bench Pokemon back to our normal five count. This can allow us to pseudo-heal Darkrai-GX if it has been badly damaged by [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] using Black Ray GX or if it took an opposing Pokemon’s attack and needed to be retreated to survive.
One Super Rod
It is weird to see a card like [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Noble Victories” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] in this deck where most people would play [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], but I heard from some of my sources with whom I network that [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] was going to be a bigger deck than most expected among the more elite players. I wanted to have an out to that matchup by cycling Super Rod with your own Sabeleye to avoid decking out and running out of Energy. Super Rod also has synergy with [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] because you might be able to power up another Darkrai-GX late game whereas you otherwise wouldn’t be able to if you didn’t play Super Rod.
The Big Three Matchups
I have never been a big fan of going through every matchup ever possible because it can quite often lead to repetition in strategy — at the end of the day, all Pokemon are fairly similar. That being said, you are likely to play the below matchups a lot, so this section should help brush up your skills:
Versus Turbo Darkrai-EX
Using Turbo Darkrai-EX — Even
Using Turbo Darkrai-GX — Very Favorable
Both of these matchups are fairly straightforward, where you need to worry about getting to big OHKOs first and when you can’t get a huge OHKO, you send up a one-Prize attacker such as [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] to offset the Prize trade. Depending on their opposing list, they may run [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] or they may not run [card name=”Malamar-EX” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] so they may not be able to use Dead End GX; just be sure to take mental notes of differences in your deck and your opponent’s. If you are using my Turbo Darkrai-GX list, you can simply use Dark Cleave for 190 damage to quickly put yourself ahead in board state, just make sure you have an Oranguru out for when your opponent inevitably plays an [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] to try and disrupt you.
Vesus Turbo Turtanator-GX
Using Turbo Darkrai-EX — Even
Using Turbo Darkrai-GX — Very Favourable
Turbo Darkrai-EX can go back and forth with [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card] because of its sheer speed, but it is still going against a fast deck that can quickly turn the board state against you. Turbo Darkrai-GX takes the idea of Turbo Darkrai-EX and runs with it quicker by giving reliable options to OHKO pretty much any Pokemon on their field quickly. Both match-ups will come down to your opponent utilizing cards such as [card name=”Blacksmith” set=”Flashfire” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Kiawe” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card] to the best of their ability while you scramble to get Darkness Energy in play via [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card]. You just need to make sure you aren’t falling into any (Shell) traps and you should be fairly fine in this matchup with either deck.
Versus Night March
Using Turbo Darkrai-EX — Slightly Unfavourable
Using Turbo Darkrai-GX — Favourable
[cardimg name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
The biggest difference between Turbo Darkrai-EX and Turbo Darkrai-GX is that only one of them contains a hard counter to Night March in the form of [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] and that the other does not! If you do not run a hard counter to Night March, you will have a back and forth slug fest with a single-Prize deck when most of your Pokemon are two-Prize attackers. You can utilize Darkrai-EX in both matchups to snipe a lone [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card], but the matchup is still very close because they can OHKO you back instantly with a [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] in a pinch.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, I think both decks mentioned in this article were safe plays going into Daytona Beach Regionals and that the Expanded format obviously has some more archetypes to discover as I just did with our new Turbo Darkrai-GX deck!
I hope that everyone on PokeBeach has enjoyed my first article for the website and for those of you going to Expanded events in the near future, I hope I provided some valuable insight for you. I am personally excited to see the results of all upcoming tournaments and hopefully I will continue to ride the wave on top of the competitive spectrum. I wish the best of luck to those of you who are living out their dream of competing for a World Championship invite, and to those who love and support the game from a casual standpoint.
If you haven’t met me in person or if we have just briefly met, feel free to actually introduce yourself to me the next time you see me at an event. I love knowing everybody. Thank you for all of the support, I truly appreciate everyone who takes the time to read one of my articles, and everyone who supports PokeBeach.
-Zach Lesage
[/premium]