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Twilight Masquerade hit the shelves in the Pokémon TCG last week, and it’s already making waves in the competitive metagame. Its powerful cards not only upgrade existing archetypes, but also introduce entirely new decks. Dragapult ex is one of the most hyped cards from the expansion, and players have been heavily experimenting with it to try and find the most optimal build. Today, we’re going to cover everything you need to know about this exciting new deck! We’ll start by introducing the card along with its strengths and weaknesses, and then examine three popular takes on the deck so far.
What Makes Dragapult ex So Good?
Dragapult ex is a strong card for several reasons, some of which come even before the card's in play! Its pre-evolution, Drakloak, has a great support ability in Recon Directive! Being able to dig two cards deeper into your deck for each one you have in play is a great boost to consistency, and makes it less reliant on alternative support Pokémon like Bibarel.
Moving onto Dragapult itself, the star of the show is its Phantom Dive attack. Not only does it hit for a respectable 200 damage, it also spreads six damage counters anywhere onto your opponent’s bench. This is extremely threatening, as the secondary effect alone is enough to knock out weak Basic Pokémon and can set up for a devastating multi-prize turn against other Pokémon ex. If left unchecked, a few Phantom Dives can run away with the game—and this is much easier to pull off when we consider Dragapult ex’s whopping 320 HP and no weakness.
Dragapult ex is not without flaws, however. Since it is a Stage 2, it can sometimes be shut out of the game by faster decks which can utilize an early Iron Hands ex. Additionally, its maximum damage output of 200 is good enough in most cases, but does not often take one-hit knockouts, which can be problematic if your opponent has a threat you need to remove immediately.
Build 1: Dragapult ex/Xatu
The first build we’ll consider takes a Stage 1-focused approach with a heavy Drakloak line, and Xatu which can be set up by TM-Evolution. One of Dragapult’s weaknesses is that it can be difficult to power up Phantom Dive in a single turn due to its Psychic and Fire Energy cost, which Xatu’s Clairvoyant Sense ability addresses. This deck is very consistent, with heavy counts of Arven and Earthen Vessel allowing it to easily pull off the turn 1 EvoTM going second. It also has Radiant Greninja as a solid way to deal with multiple Pokémon at the same time.
The strength of this deck is its consistency, and for this reason it has very solid matchups into everything Dragapult is expected to beat: this includes Evolution-reliant decks like Charizard ex and any deck which relies on having multiple low-HP Basics down, like any Lost Zone archetypes. It can struggle with fast decks which utilize high-HP Pokémon like Lugia VSTAR, since Radiant Charizard alone isn’t quite good enough to consistently prize trade. It can also sometimes struggle to find the exact card it needs; Clairvoyant Sense and Recon Directive provide good card draw, but require you to maintain an ideal board state for most of the game, which can be difficult against decks which can spam Boss’s Orders or snipe with Radiant Greninja.
Build 2: Pidgeot ex/Dragapult ex
Does this deck look familiar? If you’ve been playing a lot of the Pokémon TCG lately, the skeleton of this list should remind you a lot of Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex, a deck which has dominated the Standard format up until the release of Twilight Masquerade. Quick Search is one of the strongest support Abilities in the entire game, allowing you to find any card you need every single turn. This can let you string together disruptive combos such as Iono + Counter Catcher + Radiant Charizard with ease, helping stave off early aggression or deal with Pokémon too big for Dragapult to take down by itself. This list opts for Neo Upper Energy as its ACE SPEC to ensure that, when needed, Dragapult ex can be powered up in one attachment. Pidgeot ex allows the use of one-of Supporters like Mela and Kieran, the latter of which boosts Phantom Dive’s damage to 230—a very important number!
This build of Dragapult ex is versatile and can beat nearly anything in the hands of a skilled player. While it may still have weaknesses, the power of Quick Search and Phantom Dive cannot be understated.
Build 3: Lost Zone Dragapult ex
Rounding off our list we have a bit more of an unconventional build. Comfey’s Flower Selecting and Recon Directive in unison allow you to draw an insane amount of cards, and the Lost Zone attackers (Cramorant and Sableye) have good synergy with Phantom Dive’s spread damage. Additionally, this deck makes excellent use of Legacy Energy; a Dragapult ex which only gives up a single prize card can often win games single-handedly, especially in combination with a well-time Roxanne. The biggest appeal of this deck is its plethora of single-prize attackers like Radiant Charizard and the aforementioned Cramorant and Sableye. You can easily disrupt your opponent’s game plan and force them to take many difficult KOs to win the game.
This deck’s major weakness in comparison with the other variants of Dragapult is its consistency; setting up multiple Evolution Pokémon without Rare Candy or ways to search them out can be difficult, and like other Lost Zone decks, it is very reliant on finding an early Colress’s Experiment. However, when it gets set up, it is one of the most powerful decks in the format, capable of handling any strategy your opponent might throw at it.
Dragapult’s Position Heading into NAIC 2024
The upcoming North American International Championships (NAIC) will be the first tournament featuring cards from Twilight Masquerade, and the stakes are high! This will be competitors’ last chance to earn points towards a qualification for the World Championship, and the question on the mind of many is what the tournament will hold for Dragapult ex. Though it was once predicted to be the most powerful deck in the format upon its release, several problematic matchups have emerged. Raging Bolt ex/Teal Mask Ogerpon ex is a blisteringly fast deck capable of OHKOing Dragapult ex multiple turns in a row, and decks like Lugia VSTAR counter it with infinite damage output and heavy use of Mist Energy. However, it is undeniable that Phantom Dive is one of the game’s most powerful attacks, and the card’s low Energy cost and supportive Evolution line make it incredibly versatile–even though it’s had trouble succeeding so far, expect the best deck builders to take Dragapult ex to new heights at NAIC.
