Top 10 Pokémon in Dark EXplorers

This is a brief overview of what I consider to be the ten most interesting and playable Pokémon cards in the upcoming set Dark EXplorers. This is all conjecture until we have the cards and start playing with them, so take them with a grain of salt until then! 

10. Scrafty

Scrafty may not be a big hitter or a game changer, but with the Item cards in Dark EXplorers designed to increase the power of Dark Pokémon taken into account, he's not half bad. Team him with a Fliptini for added energy discard antics, Darkrai EX for free retreat, Krookodile for the late-game sweep, or Dark Claw to 2-hit any EX. Not a bad card.

 9. Venusaur 

 

We don't have an English scan of this card yet, but the notable part is the Ability "Floral Fragrance" (this name may be changed in translation). It allows you, once per turn, to search your deck for any Pokémon, reveal it, put it into your hand, and shuffle your deck. Useful, but it doesn't really make up for the fact that Venusaur is a Stage 2, has a huge retreat cost of four, and is weak to fire. This card won't see much play as a result. (English scan added! The Ability had been changed to "Floral Scent", as you can see!)


8. Heatmor

Annoyed by Durant ceaselessly milling your precious cards away? Here's your savior! For one colourless energy Heatmor does 120 damage after weakness to Durant. Ouch. This card is a hard counter and has few other uses, but if your deck is an auto-loss against Durant, this card is coming to save the day!


7. Minun

Minun isn't going to OHKO anything, it won't stall you to a win and it won't intimidate your opponent. But a Turn 1 Minun can start spreading damage across your opponent's board, chipping those EXs down into OHKO range for your big hitters, and maybe even taking out a baby Pokémon or benched Tynamo. Also, he's cute!


6. Accelgor

Again, we don't have an English scan of this card just yet, but the important attack here is "Deck and Cover", (formerly "Vanish Beat") which for DCE does 50 damage and "The Defending Pokémon is now Poisoned and Paralyzed. Shuffle this Pokémon and all cards attached to it into your deck" Guaranteed paralyzation is rare and powerful in this game - expect to see Accelgor paired with Ability Gothitelle and maybe Sunflora. He's a contender!


5. Zoroark

So now we have a second playable Zoroark? Crazy! Brutal bash can theoretically hit for 120 Turn 2 for DCE if you're running a Darkness deck, which is pretty impressive. Dark Rush can hit for up to 180 for two Dark energy. Stage 1 and two retreat aren't ideal, but expect to see this guy make more than a few appearances.


4. Tornadus EX

An inevitable companion for CMT? Looks like it. Not much can be said about Tornadus EX that doesn't apply to Tornadus - excellent damage output, good low retreat, decent Resistance - but a weakness to Electric is a big disadvantage in this Meta, and giving up two prizes makes him a risky play. Expect to see him popping up despite these disadvantages.


3. Raikou EX

Oh look, another card for ZekEels to abuse. Yay. Sniping your opponent's benched Eels with "Volt Bolt" is going to be the new big thing after Dark EXplorers comes out. Expect ZekEels mirror matches to devolve completely into bench-sniping Raikou EX-fests. Even more than before, whomever can take out Eels fastest will have a huge advantage, as ZekEels relies so heavily on their energy acceleration to stream attackers. We'll probably see as much or more Raikou EX than Zekrom EX after it drops.


2. Darkrai EX

This card is a key component of any upcoming dark deck, and probably a fair few other decks (expect Chandelure/Darkrai EX at least, as Darkrai replaces the more clunky Dodrio) due to the "Dark Cloak" Ability. The fact that it applies to any Pokémon that has Darkness energy attached means it's versatile enough to see a lot of play. The only real weakness of the preponderance of Darkness types in any deck focused on them is the weakness to Fighting, which in a Meta highly dominated by Electric types, means there will be more than a few Terrakion builds gaining popularity and making Dark a less than safe play. Still, Darkrai EX stands out as a very playable card.



1. Krookodile

At first glance this card may not look like much - three retreat cost, 2 Dark 2 Colourless for the best attack - but when you consider that cards like Darkrai EX, Dark Claw, and Dark Patch exist to further bolster it's power, give free retreat, and accelerate energy, you can see how it could be a contender. Maybe not likely to make the biggest splash in the set, but a dark horse contender to look out for!