Ever since its release in Dark Explorers, Darkrai EX has played a large role in the top tiers of our metagame. Darkrai can be played with a large variety of cards, and can adapt to almost anyone’s play style. It is an amazing card that will continue to play a large role in our metagame until the day it is rotated.
►Hammertime◄
One of the most common decks revolving around Darkrai is a deck called "Hammertime." Hammertime is a deck that is centered around disrupting your opponent while power up, or attacking with Darkrai EX. The deck uses cards like Pokémon Catcher, Crushing Hammer, and Enhanced Hammer to disrupt its opponent at any point in time during the game. These annoying cards can be recovered immediately after use thanks to Sableye of Dark Explorers. While disrupting its opponent, Hammertime works on building up a Darkrai EX as early in the game as possible. The Hammertime player can accelerate this process by using Dark Patch (and even get them back if he/she would like to). Through the combination of early game Darkrais and devastating disruption, Hammertime has become a very popular deck that has already won some big tournaments this season.
Sample List
3 Sableye
4 Darkrai EX
Pokémon: 7
4 Professor Juniper
4 N
2 Bianca
3 Random Receiver
4 Pokémon Catcher
4 Crushing Hammer
2 Enhanced Hammer
4 Dark Patch
4 Ultra Ball
3 Energy Switch
3 Eviolite
1 Tool Scrapper
1 Computer Search
2 Max Potion
Trainers / Supporters / Stadiums: 41
12 Dark Energy
Energy: 12
Possible Techs
► Switch: Switch may seem somewhat useless in any deck with Darkrai, but there are definitely some situations where it can come in handy. The main purpose of teching Switch would be to counter any Stunfisk locks that you may run into. Stunfisk was a very popular card at Regionals Championships this Autumn, and it will most likely continue to see play. Switch helps you break the lock if they Catcher and Rumble an energyless Darkrai. Switch also helps you deal with the Thunder Wave Tynamo/Thunder Fang Raikou EX + Victini combo as well.
► Pluspower: Pluspower can be added into almost any deck with some success. Hammertime is no exception. You never know when an extra 10 or 20 will come in handy.
► Gold Potion: Gold Potion can be a very useful tech later in the game. Dakrais are bulky, hard-to-KO Pokémon, especially if Eviolite is involved. Gold Potion can heal a large amount of Darkrai's HP, possibly saving it from being Knocked Out for a turn or two. The best part about Gold Potion is that you can use it multiple times thanks to Sableye’s Junk Hunt attack. Being able to heal this much damage can really hinder your opponent. Really, the only downside of playing Gold Potion is that you can’t play Computer Search. Whether or not you want to sacrifice Computer Search in your list is up to you, but it is something to take into consideration. That being said, Computer Search is also a card worth thinking about.
► Dark Claw: Dark Claw is a very good card to play in Hammertime. It is very common that your opponent won’t be prepared for it, so it can often times score unexpected knockouts that can really hurt your opponent. Dark Claw also does a great job of working through Eviolite and it turns a lot of 3HKOs into 2HKOs. Dark Claw also helps Sableye take care of Sigilyphs, this can be especially helpful if your opponent is carrying Eviolite. Putting a Dark Claw on a Pokémon keeps it from using Eviolite, but it is an offensive approach that you can take. Keep in mind that you can remove your own Dark Claw with Tool Scrapper and replace it with Eviolite (or vice versa) if the situation calls for it. Dark Claw is a good tech, it couldn’t hurt to carry one or two of it in your list.
► Drifblim: Drifblim is an interesting card to tech in Hammertime. Since the deck uses Hammer disruption so well, it is fairly easy to get a large amount of your opponent’s Special Energy in their Discard Pile. Drifblim has the potential to hit for large amounts of damage in this deck, not to mention, it can knock out any Mewtwo EX in its path with ease. While it may hurt the consistency of your list slightly, it is a tech to consider.
►Darkrai/Terrakion◄
Darkrai/Terrakion is another strong deck featuring Darkrai EX. Last season, Darkrai/Terrakion/Mewtwo EX won Worlds, and the deck hasn’t lost too much of its luster. Darkrai Terrakion is a deck that focuses on using two strong attackers throughout the game. Terrakion covers a lot of the metagame, and Darkrai can be used for everything that isn’t weak to Terrakion. The deck uses cards like Energy Switch to alternate between the two attackers. It carries the standard Dark Trainer card support, and is a true force to be reckoned with.
Sample List
3 Darkrai EX
3 Terrakion
2 Mewtwo EX
3 Sableye
1 Stunfisk
Pokémon: 12
4 Professor Juniper
4 N
2 Bianca
3 Random Receiver
2 Skyla
4 Pokémon Catcher
4 Ultra Ball
4 Energy Switch
3 Eviolite
1 Computer Search
2 Tool Scrapper
1 Super Rod
Trainers / Supporters / Stadiums: 34
9 Dark Energy
5 Fighting Energy
Energy: 14
Possible Techs
► Switch: Switch may seem somewhat useless in any deck with Darkrai, but there are definitely some situations where it can come in handy. The main purpose of teching Switch would be to counter any Stunfisk locks that you may run into. Stunfisk was a very popular card at Regionals Championships this Autumn, and it will most likely continue to see play. Switch helps you break the lock if they Catcher and Rumble an energyless Darkrai. Switch also helps you deal with Thunder Wave Tynamo, Victini locks.
► Landorus EX: Landorus EX is a card that will help you a lot in any Eels Variant match up. Landorus has nice type coverage against the rest of metagame, and it hits very early in the game. It is definitely a tech to consider, the ability to put that early game pressure on your opponent is critical.
► Ho-Oh EX: This was a pretty surprising tech that saw a lot of playing during Regional Championships. Ho-Oh is mainly played for Re-Birth to recover lost energy. You can put energy from your discard pile onto your field, then Energy Switch said energy to a desired attacker. Ho-Oh EX also does a great job at countering Shaymin EX sweeps.
► Max Potion / Gold Potion: Any sort of healing power is an effective and unexpected tech in Darkrai Terrakion Variants. Playing down either of these cards can heal a significant amount for a Darkrai with low HP. Both cards can also be retrieved with Sableye, so there is no need to play a large amount of copies.
► Prism Energy: With any deck that plays multiple energy types, sometimes you just get the wrong color of energy at the wrong time. Prism Energy can help you assure that you’ll get the specific color of energy you need at the right time. Unfortunately, Prism Energy can be hammered away easier, can’t be used with Dark Patch, and can’t be moved off of your Pokémon with Energy Switch.
Well, I hope that you found this informative. Darkrai Variants are a great deck to play in our current format, and they will mostly stay in the metagame for sometime. It is worth your time to understand how Darkrai decks function. Playtesting with, or against Darkrai Variants is a great way to get a feel for a large portion of the metagame. You can use this thread to discussion anything related to Darkrai Variants. Thanks for reading!
