The Sun & Moon—Burning Shadows expansion has plenty of intriguing new cards, and many are worthy of building a deck around. One of the most interesting ones is Darkrai-GX, which has the unique Restoration Ability that can bring it back to your Bench from the discard pile, along with a Darkness Energy to power it up.

Pokémon TCG tournaments, either in live play or in the Pokémon TCG Online, come in two main formats: Standard and Expanded. Each format has different rules about which cards are legal, so the cards you could match Darkrai-GX with, and the range of decks you could face, is different in each one. It makes sense that the way you build a deck around this powerful card would be different, too.

It’s unusual for a card to be so successful in both formats. So let’s take a look at how you can put Darkrai-GX into action in both the Standard format and the Expanded format.

• Standard Format

Standard Format

Pokémon

• 3

  Darkrai-GX

  88/147

  sm3 88
• 4

  Darkrai-EX

  74/122

  xy9 74
• 2

  Yveltal

  65/114

  xy11 65
• 2

  Tapu Lele-GX

  60/145

  sm2 60
• 1

  Oranguru

  113/149

  sm1 113

Energy Cards

• 13

  Darkness Energy

  nrg1 32

Trainer Cards

• 4

  N

  xy10 105
• 4

  Professor Sycamore

  xy9 107
• 3

  Guzma

  sm3 115
• 1

  Acerola

  sm3 112
• 1

  Lillie

  sm1 122
• 1

  Professor Kukui

  sm1 128
• 3

  Altar of the Moone

  sm2 117
• 4

  Max Elixir

  xy9 102
• 4

  Ultra Ball

  sm1 135
• 2

  Choice Band

  sm2 121
• 2

  Exp. Share

  sm1 118
• 2

  Field Blower

  sm2 125
• 2

  Fighting Fury Belt

  xy9 99
• 1

  Escape Rope

  sm3 114
• 1

  Nest Ball

  sm1 123

More Info Copy Deck List ****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ****** Pokémon - 12 3 Darkrai-GX BUS 88 4 Darkrai-EX BKP 74 2 Yveltal STS 65 2 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 60 1 Oranguru SUM 113 Trainer Cards - 35 4 N FCO 105 4 Professor Sycamore BKP 107 3 Guzma BUS 115 1 Acerola BUS 112 1 Lillie SUM 122 1 Professor Kukui SUM 128 3 Altar of the Moone GRI 117 4 Max Elixir BKP 102 4 Ultra Ball SUM 135 2 Choice Band GRI 121 2 Exp. Share SUM 118 2 Field Blower GRI 125 2 Fighting Fury Belt BKP 99 1 Escape Rope BUS 114 1 Nest Ball SUM 123 Energy - 13 13 Darkness Energy Energy 7 Total Cards - 60 ****** Deck list generated on Pokemon.com ******

In the Standard format, Darkrai-GX seems to fit best as a sidekick to Darkrai-EX. Start off by discarding Darkrai-GX and a Darkness Energy by playing cards such as Ultra Ball or Professor Sycamore, and then use the Restoration Ability to bring back Darkrai-GX and a Darkness Energy to attach. This doesn’t use up your Energy attachment for the turn, and it adds 20 damage to Darkrai-EX’s Dark Pulse attack. Sometimes a small boost is all you need to make an existing strategy even better.

Following that opening volley, use Max Elixir and Yveltal’s Oblivion Wing attack to accelerate Darkness Energy into play, snowballing into a big Dark Pulse attack from Darkrai-EX. Once you have enough Darkness Energy in play, this strategy is tough to stop. Pokémon Tool cards such as Fighting Fury Belt, Choice Band, and Exp. Share can chip in as well, depending on the situation. The end result is a simple but effective game plan, as was evident with the great success this deck had for most of the 2017 Championship Series season.

• Expanded Format

Expanded Format

Pokémon

• 2

  Darkrai-GX

  88/147

  sm3 88
• 2

  Darkrai-EX

  74/122

  xy9 74
• 2

  Darkrai-EX

  88/113

  bw11 88
• 2

  Shaymin-EX

  77/108

  xy6 77
• 1

  Yveltal

  65/114

  xy11 65
• 1

  Tapu Lele-GX

  60/145

  sm2 60
• 1

  Oranguru

  113/149

  sm1 113

Energy Cards

• 12

  Darkness Energy

  nrg1 32

Trainer Cards

• 3

  Professor Juniper

  bw10 84
• 2

  N

  xy10 105
• 1

  Guzma

  sm3 115
• 1

  Hex Maniac

  xy7 75
• 1

  Lysandre

  xy7 78
• 2

  Virbank City Gym

  bw8 126
• 4

  Dark Patch

  bw5 93
• 4

  Hypnotoxic Laser

  bw8 123
• 4

  Ultra Ball

  sm1 135
• 4

  VS Seeker

  xy4 109
• 3

  Battle Compressor Team Flare Gear

  xy4 92
• 3

  Max Elixir

  xy9 102
• 2

  Fighting Fury Belt

  xy9 99
• 1

  Escape Rope

  sm3 114
• 1

  Field Blower

  sm2 125
• 1

  Computer Search

  bw7 137

More Info Copy Deck List ****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ****** Pokémon - 11 2 Darkrai-GX BUS 88 2 Darkrai-EX BKP 74 2 Darkrai-EX LTR 88 2 Shaymin-EX ROS 77 1 Yveltal STS 65 1 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 60 1 Oranguru SUM 113 Trainer Cards - 37 3 Professor Juniper PLB 84 2 N FCO 105 1 Guzma BUS 115 1 Hex Maniac AOR 75 1 Lysandre AOR 78 2 Virbank City Gym PLS 126 4 Dark Patch DEX 93 4 Hypnotoxic Laser PLS 123 4 Ultra Ball SUM 135 4 VS Seeker PHF 109 3 Battle Compressor Team Flare Gear PHF 92 3 Max Elixir BKP 102 2 Fighting Fury Belt BKP 99 1 Escape Rope BUS 114 1 Field Blower GRI 125 1 Computer Search BCR 137 Energy - 12 12 Darkness Energy Energy 7 Total Cards - 60 ****** Deck list generated on Pokemon.com ******

In the Expanded format, Darkrai-GX takes on a very different role. With cards from the Black & White Series and earlier expansions in the XY Series at your disposal, the focus shifts a little bit. Darkrai-EX is still an essential companion, but the setup changes somewhat.

Battle Compressor makes it easier to put Darkrai-GX and Darkness Energy directly into the discard pile, so the Restoration Ability gets a major boost to its speed and consistency. Playing multiple copies of Dark Patch makes it easy to power up any Darkrai in a single turn, making this deck incredibly aggressive. In the Standard format, the goal is to build up Energy gradually with Darkrai-GX’s Restoration Ability, Max Elixir, and Yveltal’s Oblivion Wing attack, while in the Expanded format, speed is the name of the game—the goal is to get a Knock Out every turn of the game, which means attacking for big damage as quickly as possible.

Darkrai-GX becomes a devastating attacker in the Expanded format in combination with Hypnotoxic Laser. Its Dead End-GX attack can be difficult to use in the Standard format, often requiring a complicated setup with another Pokémon and giving your opponent a chance to respond. But here, all it takes is an Item card to leave your opponent’s Active Pokémon with a Special Condition, and then Dead End-GX can move in for an instant Knock Out! This gives the Darkrai deck an early option to take down another big Pokémon-GX or Pokémon-EX, and then Darkrai-EX’s Dark Pulse attack can create devastation later, once you have enough Darkness Energy in play. The raw power of Darkrai makes it a deck to watch for in the Expanded format.

Darkrai-GX is just one of the many cards from the Sun & Moon—Burning Shadows expansion that has potential to be a defining Pokémon in either Pokémon TCG tournament format. Be on the lookout for more Pokémon-GX, Trainer cards, and other cards to make an impact. Check back at Pokemon.com/Strategy for the latest Pokémon TCG news, updates, and more. Good luck, Trainers!