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Legendary Pokemon within the Pokemon universe are the strongest you can hold as your own. WithPokemon Pocketrapidly evolving, more of these are added to the game with each new deck type. For Space-Time Smackdown, theese were the representations of space and time, Palkia and Dialga.
With its strong Energy acceleration and its hefty 150 HP, Dialga ex is a splendid tank that also functions as a battery for other hard-hitters. If you’ve been searching for the best Dialga ex deck, pairing Dialga ex with Yanmega ex is the way to go.
Dialga ex And Yanmega ex Deck
Dialga ex x2
Yanmega ex x2
Yanma x2
Mew x1
Skarmory x1
Sabrina x2
Leaf x2
Cyrus x1
Dialga Ex
Dialga ex is the theme card for the deck, functioning as pretty much half the roles the decklist needs.Dialga makes a splendid opener tank with 150 HP, which ishigher than any other openerin the game.
This 150 HP protects Dialga ex from many strong burst attacks, including Pikachu ex’s 120 damage.
However, Dialga is not just a tank.The main reason you run Dialga ex is for itsability to grant Energy,Metallic Turbo.
WhileSteel-Type Pokemonthemselves aren’t the most popular, this ability is thesingle strongest Energy-accelerationone in the game,granting two Steel-Type Energy to any benched Pokemon.
Since Steel-Type decks don’t have their own Charizard ex or Mewtwo ex,there aren’t many Pokemon who can make full use of this.
Dialga ex has another strong attack in Heavy Impact, though. This isn’t the strongest in the game, butit can KO many Pokemon in a single turnand canknock out most in two with its 100 damage.
This isn’t your main game plan, butif Yanmega ex fails or if you need to end the gamewithout having access to it,Dialga ex’s Heavy Impact can be a fine finisher.
Yanmega Ex
We mentioned earlier howdespite Dialga ex having one of the strongest Energy-batterying attacksin the game, it doesn’t see as much use because of thelack of strong Steel-Type attacks in the game.
However, there are plenty ofPokemon that only need Colorless-Type Energyto enable their strong attacks, andthese can make full use of Dialga ex’s Metallic Turbo.
Yanmega ex, despite being a heavy hitter, can retreat for just one Energy. This lets you move it back even without any X-Speed or Leaf in hand.
Of these, thebest option is Yanmega ex with its Air Slash attackdealing120 damage on just three Energy.
This has the added condition thatYanmega ex loses one Energy each timeyou use the attack, but just the usual one Energy you gain each round cancontinue to enable this without any external sources.
Yanmega ex is a direct counter to many other meta decks from Space-Time Smackdown, including the top performing Darkrai ex decks.
While the 120 damage attack cannot compare to Mewtwo ex’s 150 damage or Celebi ex’s damage, it’sstill enough to one-shot most squishier Pokemon, especially with how early on you can start using the attack.
Mew Ex
Dialga ex and Yanmega ex make up a strong two-Pokemon core, butthey can struggle against certain matchups, or if youdon’t draw your Yanmega exearly on.Mew ex works as an alternativeto these.
Mew ex is a good way to gain an advantage over Darkrai decks or Darkness-Type ones in general since you can use the Psychic-Type advantage to deal 20 more damage on each of Mew ex’s hits.
Mew ex brings a few things to the table. First,Mew ex is another target for Dialga ex’s Metallic Turbosince it also needs Colorless-Type Energy, meaningit can make use of Steel-Type onesas well.
Instead of having an attack of its own, though, Mew ex can make use ofGenetic Hacking to steal an enemy Pokemon’s attack.
This makes it an extremelystrong counter to many meta decks,such as Charizard ex or Pikachu ex ones.
Skarmory
In most scenarios,opening with Dialga ex is fine. The high HP paired with Giant Cape lets youtank plenty of hits without risking your Dialga ex dying, and just a single Metallic Turbo can get your Yanmega ex going.
However, thiscan be riskyagainst certain strong opening matchups,especially if you go first. This is because your opponent gets the chance to hit Dialga ex three separate times before you can ever retreat it.
You don’t have to force yourself to switch an important card out for a Pokemon Tool to enable Skarmory in this deck since you have a lot more freedom with deck space.
Because of this, you eitherrisk giving out two pointsfor free, orswapping out without using Metallic Turbo.
To deal with aggressive decks like these,you’re able to add a copy of Skarmory to thedeck to open up with. It might not be a tank, but an aggressive opener can keep your opponent from comfortably finding their combo.
So long as youhave a Pokemon Tool to equipon Skarmory, it’s the single strongest offensive opener in the game,dealing as much damage as Kangaskhan’s 60 without relying on coinflips.
Other Card Options
We’ve talked about the main pieces you’d need to use the deck effectively, but the core aside,you’ll need many more cards to have a complete deck.
These may bepieces that let you enable your combobetter orutility cards to counter your opponent’s hand. We’ve mentioned a few of these below.
Druddigon
Druddigon isanother safe option that you may start the game with. While often not the best option,it lets you protect Dialga ex from taking hits early on.
This, in turn, lets youinvest Energy into your other pieceswithout risking any of them dying before a full board.
Leaf
Leaf isusually used in mono Leaf-Type decksto let you make full use of its effect whenever the chance arises.
However, even with only Yanma and Yanmega ex being able to utilize the healing from Leaf,she can be a strong option to keep your Yanmega ex aliveand healthy.
Dialga Ex And Yanmega Ex Deck Strategy
Your ideal opening hand would include any of your important Pokemon, be itDialga ex, Yanmega ex, Mew ex, or any other openeryou’ve put in the deck.
You shouldalso have a Yanma to eventually evolve into Yanmega exthe moment Dialga ex’s Metallic Turbo hits.
If you’restarting second or are playing a variation where you don’t have a dedicated opener,put Dialga ex on the active spot.
With Dialga ex as the opener,aim to find your Yanmega ex, Mew ex, or even your second Dialga exand put them on your bench.
After the first Dialga, youdon’t need to save up bench space,since any of the three Pokemon can be solid to lead into.
Attach an item card to your Dialga ex to keep it healthy,either Giant Capeto increase its healthor Rocky Helmetto discourage enemies from hitting you again and again.
Once any of your other pieces are online, you can either use up Dialga’s ex’s Energies to retreat it back if it’s too low, oruse a Leaf to retreat it for freeif youplan on using Heavy Impact lateron.
Once your Dialga ex has hit a Metallic Turbo on your Yanmega ex (or even Mew ex),your deck is now fully online, and you canunleash Yanmega ex’s Air Slash each turnto KO opposing Pokemon.
While 120 damage isn’t the most in the game, it can one-shot many meta cards, including Darkrai ex and Weavile ex with the +20 damage due to its type advantage.
If Yamnega gets dangerously low, you canuse its cheap one-Energy retreat cost to swap out to either Dialga ex or Mew ex(or another Yanmega ex) and then use their attacks to wipe out whatever remains of the enemy.
There isn’t a strict situation where you’ll want to use your Sabrina or Cyrus, but keep these cards in hand to confirm knockouts or to save your own Pokemon in emergencies.
The deck has a large variety of options, and while it is still combo-based, those with more experience can pilot it a lot better than those starting anew.
Alternative Opening
If you’re starting first or against an enemy that can put pressureon your Dialga ex, you canuse another opener to stall until Dialga ex has enough Energyinvested to use Metallic Turbo.
Ideally, you should retreat the tank before it dies tostop your opponent from getting a point,butgiving up on the tank can be fineas well,if your Dialga ex can gain one backafterward.
From then on, the opening is the same:use Metallic Turbo to feed any of your hard-hitters, and then swap to them whenever you can.
