Hi there. In this Pokemon TCG post I give a more in-depth overview of the upcoming Dragapult ex League Battle Deck.
Dragapult ex was from Twilight Masquerade at around May 2024. At launch Dragapult ex decks were not super competitive right away. Over time they got better and better. There were two builds of Dragapult ex. One with Pidgeot ex and one with Dusknoir.
Dragapult ex decks are very strong right now with Budew from Prismatic Evolutions. This Dragapult ex retail product is a very good entry product for those looking into getting in the Pokemon TCG. The last competitive deck product release was Charizard ex. That was is still pretty good too. The timing of this product of April 2025 is not great. When April comes you have Journey Together and the metagame would be different by then. In Japan, Dragapult ex is not as popular because of Lillie's Clefairy ex and the re-emergence of Raging Bolt ex decks. Check out Pokecabook for Japan metagame.
Decklist
Pokemon (21)
- x4 Dragapult ex
- x4 Drakloak
- x4 Dreepy
- x3 Xatu
- x3 Natu
- x2 Tatsugiri
- x1 Fezandipiti ex
Trainer Cards (29)
- x3 Arven
- x3 Iono
- x1 Boss's Orders
- x1 Mela
- x1 Professor Turo's Scenario
- x4 Buddy Buddy Poffin
- x4 Ultra Ball
- x2 Earthen Vessel
- x2 Rare Candy
- x1 Counter Catcher
- x1 Super Rod
- x1 Switch
- x1 Unfair Stamp ACE SPEC
- x2 Rescue Board
- x1 Technical Machine: Devolution
- x1 Technical Machine: Evolution
Energy Cards (10)
- x6 Basic Psychic Energy
- x4 Basic Fire Energy
Key Cards
Drakloak
Most Stage 1 Pokemon as a part of an Stage 2 Evolution line are not very good in terms of utility. Drakloak is one the better Stage 1 Pokemon out there. With its ability you look at the top 2 cards of your deck. Choose one of the 2 and put it into your hand, the non-chosen card goes to the bottom of your deck. With one Drakloak you get a +1 card advantage during your turn for free. Having multiple Drakloaks allows you to draw even more cards.
Dragapult ex
Dragapult ex is the main attacker in this deck. For one Colourless energy you have Jet Headbutt for 70 damage. The Phantom Dive attack is uniquely powerful. For one Fire Energy and one Psychic Energy you deal 200 damage to the opponent's Active Pokemon and spread 6 damage counters (60 damage)
to the opponent's Benched Pokemon in any way you like. Two hundred damage may not deal a one hit knockout on some bulkier Pokemon ex but you can set up multiple knockouts in the next turn (with Boss's Orders or Counter Catcher).
Fezandipiti ex
I was disappointed that Fezandipiti ex from Shrouded Fable was not reprinted in Prismatic Evolutions. It appears the decision was to reprint this card in the Dragapult League Battle deck. In the Toronto area one copy of this card is around 20 to 23 CAD. With more reprinted Fezandipiti ex cards I expect the price of this card to go down to something like 12 CAD.
Fezandipiti ex is very good based on its ability. Whenever one of your Pokemon is knocked out, once during your turn you can use the Flip The Script ability once only to draw 3 cards.
The attack on Fezandipiti ex is not used much but it is okay. For three Colourless Energy you deal 100 damage to 1 of your opponent's Pokemon (Active or Benched).
Buddy Buddy Poffin
Buddy Buddy Poffin is a new staple card from Temporal Forces in March 2024. It has a stronger Basic Pokemon search compared to Nest Ball but for 70 HP or less Basic Pokemon. Search your deck for up to 2 Basic Pokemon with 70 HP or less and put them onto your Bench. Then shuffle the deck.
For this Dragapult ex deck, Buddy Buddy Poffin would be used to search for Dreepys, Natus and or Tatsugiri.
Iono
Iono is a staple card that allows to get more cards if your hand size is low as well as disrupt your opponent's large hand size. This card is best used in the late game when your opponent is close to winning.
Unfair Stamp ACE SPEC
Unfair Stamp is a powerful ACE SPEC item card which is like Iono. Whenever one of your own Pokemon is knocked out during the opponent's last turn you can play Unfair Stamp. Both players shuffle their hands in their own decks. The opponent then draws 2 cards while you draw 5 cards. The hand disruption effect from Unfair Stamp is more powerful than Iono.
Unfair Stamp can be seen as the second best ACE SPEC after Prime Catcher. If not the second best, it is one of the better ACE SPEC cards.
Main Strategy
The playstyle for Dragapult ex is a bit one dimensional. Dragapult ex is the main attacker with Drakloak as the occasional attacker if really needed.
You want to have as many Dreepy on the Bench with Buddy Buddy Poffin. Evolve Dreepy to Drakloak to take advantage of its draw ability. Attack with Dragapult ex when ready. Take prizes and win.
Natu and Xatu are there to help accelerate Psychic Energy and draw cards.
Arven along with Technical Machine: Evolution helps with evolving Dreepy to Drakloak instead of waiting for the next turn to get Drakloak. You can also use Technical Machine: Evolution for Natu to Xatu or Drakloak to Dragapult ex.
Tatsugiri with Rescue Board helps with searching for Supporters with Tatsugiri's ability. Once you find a supporter then the Rescue Board helps with retreating Tatsugiri to safety.
Rescue Board tool cards are there to allow for zero energy cost retreats. Bring weak Dragapult ex to the bench for safety and bring a new Dragapult ex to attack.
Upgrading The Deck
Although the deck is fairly competitive out of the box, this Dragapult ex deck can be upgraded and modified.
Remove 4th Dragapult ex
It is very common for Dragapult ex decks to have 3 Dragapult ex. A fourth copy is not really needed.
Add 1 or 2 Budew
If possible you can do minus one Dragapult ex to add 1 copy of Budew. Budew is used to item lock your opponent until you setup and get Dragapult ex ready to attack.
Remove Third Xatu, Third Natu, Second Tatsugiri, Add 1 Klefki, Add 2 Nest Balls
Having 3 Natus and 3 Xatus is not really needed. You can get by with two each. The second Tatsugiri can be removed too.
Add in 1 Klefki which is good for the early game as you disable abilities on Basic Pokemon if Klefki is in the Active Spot. Two Nest Balls would be added in. The Nest Balls provide additional options for early game setup and for searching for Fezandipiti ex if needed.
Minus 1 Ultra Ball, Add 1 Tera Orb
Ultra Ball is a good card overall. The problem is that you discard two cards for Ultra Ball. With Tera Orb you search your deck for any 1 Tera Pokemon with no discard cost. In this case you would search for Dragapult ex from Tera Orb.
Minus 1 Psychic Energy, Minus 1 Fire Energy, Plus 2 Night Stretchers
I think the Energy count is a little high. You can cut 1 Psychic Energy and 1 Fire Energy and put in 2 Night Stretchers. Night Stretcher is a fairly new staple card that provides good recovery for either 1 Pokemon or 1 Basic Energy from the discard pile.
Remove Mela For Crispin
Mela is an okay supporter. Whenever one of your Pokemon were Knocked out you can play Mela. You would attack 1 Fire Energy from the discard and draw cards until you have 6 in hand.
I think Crispin is better than Mela. Crispin allows you to attach 1 Basic Energy to one of your Pokemon from the deck and a second Basic Energy of a different type goes to your hand.
Optional: Minus 1 Technical Machine: Devolution For Second Counter Catcher
Technical Machine: Devolution is nice is some instances but I think it is kind of slow. I think you would rather take knockouts by adding a second Counter Catcher.
Optional: Remove Natus, Xatus To Add In Duskull, Dusclops, Dusknoir
This product features Dragapult ex with Natus and Xatus. This build of Dragapult ex is not very popular and is viewed as the weakest build. The most popular build of Dragapult ex before Prismatic Evolutions had Duskull, Dusclops and Dusknoir. This evolution line was for spreading damage even though you give the opponent Prize cards.
When this deck releases in April, it is unknown how the metagame would be for Dragapult ex. The Xatu build could be okay or the Dusknoir build would still be better.
Optional: Minus Unfair Stamp, Add Sparkling Crystal
Unfair Stamp as an ACE SPEC card is pretty good. In Dragapult ex decks it is more common to see the tool ACE SPEC Sparkling Crystal. You reduce the attack cost of a Tera Pokemon by 1 with Sparkling Crystal.
The downside of Sparkling Crystal is the effect can be negated by Jamming Tower.
Closing Notes
This Dragapult ex deck looks like a very good retail product. The price could go higher than 30 USD from increased demand. If it hits something like 35 or 40 CAD then maybe you buy the single cards of what you need instead.
For myself I don't think I would buy this product. As much as I would like a second Fezandipti ex with the product I think it is better to wait for a price drop of Fezandipiti ex. That way I can buy the card itself. I do have all the cards from the product.
The timing of this product is weird to me. In April you would have the set Journey Together released. The introduction of Lillie's Clefairy ex makes Dragon Pokemon more vulnerable. By the time this Dragapult ex deck releases, it may not be a top deck. It will still be competitive but not S tier. This retail product deck still has a lot of very playable cards whether you use Dragpault ex or not.
