Dragapult ex
The deck to beat in 2026.
What this deck is
Dragapult ex is the most-played and most-successful deck in the format by a wide margin. If your child plays in tournaments, this is the deck they will face most often, so it is worth understanding even if they do not play it.
It wins by spreading damage across the whole board, then cleaning up several Pokémon at once. It rewards a player who can plan a few turns ahead.
- 1Evolve into Dragapult ex by about turn two or three.
- 2Attack with Phantom Dive: big damage to the front, small damage spread across the Bench.
- 3Use Munkidori to nudge that spread damage exactly where it helps most.
- 4Use Dusknoir to deliver a finishing hit and take a Prize the opponent did not expect.
Who it suits
A player who enjoys planning ahead and is ready for a deck that takes practice. Not the gentlest first deck, but the most rewarding to master.
Top players and results
Bayzen A. · Australia
5th, Melbourne Regional Championships 2026 (Junior division), and Oceania Junior #6 with 1,020 Championship Points
Gareth Murphy · Australia
Runner-up, Melbourne Regional Championships 2026 (959 players)
Hiromu Sasaki · Japan
Champion, Melbourne Regional Championships 2026
Shun Takemasa · United States
Top 4, Melbourne Regional Championships 2026 (Dragapult Dusknoir)
Dragapult ex is the most successful deck of the season, with event wins including the Korean League Final, Lima, Los Angeles, Champions League Aichi and Prague. At Australia's Melbourne Regional it took first, second and several Top 8 places, and Australian Junior Bayzen A. finished 5th.
Other decks
N's Zoroark ex
Consistent, flexible, never short of options.
ControlHydrapple ex
The big green wall built to beat Dragapult.
AggroRaging Bolt ex
Fast, aggressive, and as big as you can fuel it.
ComboAlakazam Powerful Hand
The budget single-prize deck with a clever maths puzzle at its heart, and the 2026 Senior world champion deck.
AggroMega Greninja ex
A new-era sniper with a very high ceiling.
MidrangeOgerpon Box
A flexible toolbox built around the many faces of Ogerpon.
ControlSlowking Seek Inspiration
One Slowking can use almost any attack in your deck.
ControlCrustle
A Grass wall the big ex decks cannot get past.
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