Dragapult ex was the most talked about deck before Twilight Masquerade came out. Although it was bulwark of the meta for a short time, it fizzled out as Regidrago VSTAR became the preferred method by which to Phantom Dive.

Is that about to change in Stellar Crown? Early wins in Japan’s City Leagues – combined with a plethora of strong new support from the latest set make me think so.

Here’s why Dragapult ex is going to be good and how to play the latest version of this deck.

Pokémon: 17
4 Dreepy TWM 128
2 Drakloak TWM 129
3 Dragapult ex TWM 130
2 Pidgey OBF 162
2 Pidgeot ex OBF 164
1 Hawlucha SVI 118
1 Radiant Alakazam SIT 59
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
1 Rotom V LOR 58
Trainer: 37
4 Iono PAL 185
4 Arven OBF 186
2 Boss's Orders PAL 172
1 Professor Turo's Scenario PAR 171
1 Crispin SV7 97
4 Nest Ball SVI 181
4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144
4 Rare Candy SVI 191
3 Counter Catcher PAR 160
2 Ultra Ball SVI 196
1 Earthen Vessel PAR 163
1 Night Stretcher SFA 61
1 Technical Machine: Devolution PAR 177
1 Gravity Orb SV7 95
1 Forest Seal Stone SIT 156
1 Sparkling Crystal SV7 94
1 Pokémon League Headquarters OBF 192
1 Temple of Sinnoh ASR 155
Energy: 6
3 Psychic Energy SVE 5
3 Fire Energy SVE 2

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How the Dragapult ex deck works

Looking for a fast deck that gets out the gate firing turn one or two? Dragapult ex is not that deck. Indeed, this deck requires some significant investment in time to set up. However, once that set up is complete, you can reap its many benefits that serve to make this deck top tier. Among those is the combination of 200 damage output with an impressive effect that dishes out additional damage to Pokemon that your opponent has in play.

As if that attack weren’t broken enough, Dragapult ex also benefits from unusually high HP, and the fact that it has no weakness thanks to its Draconic typing. You can use Phantom Dive to take out low HP benched Pokemon or (through some creative plays) even take four prize turns by knocking out two basic Pokemon V or EX.

Early board setup

Like most evolution decks, it helps to have a definite board setup in mind when piloting Dragapult ex. This way you can get the pieces you need to ensure effectiveness with Dragapult ex and avoid unnecessary complications in getting its powerful engine up and running.

While you won’t get the perfect setup every game, the best thing you could do is to get two Dreepy and two Pidgey into play turn one. This will make evolving them turn two much easier.

The reason you want two of each is that way your opponent can’t cut off either your Pidgeot ex or your Dragapult ex from getting evolved. Having at least one of each of those is going to be pretty necessary for you to start dominating the board.

Powerful support Pokemon enhance Dragapult ex’s effectiveness

Dragapult ex is able to take advantage of a range of powerful support Pokemon that makes this deck’s job easier. These Pokemon include Radiant Alakazam, Pidgeot ex, Rotom V, and (of course) Fezandipiti ex. Let’s get into each of these supporting Pokemon and how they benefit your strategy.

If you are playing a deck that does strategic damage to Pokemon, chances are you will be running Radiant Alakazam. This card is insanely good at taking key knockouts against benched Pokemon by helping you move damage around conveniently to take selective knockouts against benched Pokemon, or even active ones. Use it in tandem with Dragapult’s Phantom Dive to set up and take multiple KOs in a single turn.

Pidgeot ex

Any deck that can leverage Pidgeot ex has a serious advantage over the competition. Quick Search – or the ability to search your deck for any card you want – is pretty powerful. However, not all decks are able to benefit from Pidgeot ex. Still, Dragapult ex clearly is one of those, so why not run what is arguably the strongest card search engine in the game?

Fezandipiti ex

Fezandpiti ex is pretty much a universally played card now. It enables you to draw an extra three cards virtually for free.

Rotom V is a card that’s seen a lot of success in the powerhouse Charizard ex deck, enabling you to add an extra three cards into your hand. Because this deck requires so much setup, Rotom V is an ideal benchwarmer early in the game, helping you grab incremental cards from your deck that you can use the next turn to get your ultimate setup down.

Drakloak is a strong stage 1

One of my favorite things about this deck is that, unlike a lot of Stage 2 decks, the Stage 1 in this evolution line is pretty helpful. You can use Recon Directive to help find the cards you want faster.

The handiness of having an actually effective Stage One Pokemon in the evolution line brings to mind the still great Gardevoir ex and its Kirlia’s Refinement ability. And we all know how strong that deck is.

New Dragapult ex buffs in Stellar Crown

Several powerful new cards making their debut in Stellar Crown are going to make Dragapult ex much more effective. Let’s look at what they are and how they work below.

Crispin

The card that makes me the most excited for playing Dragapult ex post Stellar Crown is the new Crispin supporter. Unlike Charizard ex who can accelerate fire energy onto itself, Dragapult doesn’t have that option. To make matters worse, it requires two different types of energies, which is always an issue to manage.

That being said, Crispin seems like the perfect antidote to this issue, letting you instantly charge up your Drapult ex.

Sparkling Crystal

Sparkling Crystal is good in Dragapult ex for the same reason as Crispin, letting you make it easier to reduce the difficulty of charging your Dragapult ex up for an attack.

Dragapult ex is looking much stronger after Stellar Crown

Dragapult ex hasn’t had it’s time in the sun yet, and instead has been largely overshadowed by more powerful deck options and the crazy strong Regidrago VSTAR. However, new decks often don’t get the respect they deserve upon initial release. We could see a resurgance in popularity for Dragapult ex once these powerful new cards hit the shelves in Stellar Crown products.

Dragapult ex Deck List and Guide – Stellar Crown