IntroductionToday, we'll explore some new cards from the new Pokémon set, Storm Emeralda, namely Mega Malamar ex, one of the first new Mega Pokémon announced in Legends Z-A.Its second attack, which makes the opponent's active Pokémon Confused, is quite useful with Mega Darkrai ex because its attack, Abyss Eye, instantly knocks out Pokémon if they have any special conditions.Please note that this is just an idea of a list with a few cards that are available in the Standard format nowadays. Let's see it!Mega Malamax ex in StandardDecklistPOKÉMON: 182 Inkay (M6 ???)2 Mega Malamar ex (M6 ???)2 Mega Gengar ex PFL 561 Mega Darkrai ex (M5 ???)1 Mega Absol ex MEG 862 Pecharunt ex SFA 392 Toxel PFL 672 Toxtricity PFL 682 Munkidori TWM 951 Fezandipiti ex SFA 381 Yveltal MEG 88TRAINERS: 344 Lillie's Determination ASC 1922 Grimsley's Move PFL 902 Boss's Orders MEG 1142 Lisia's Appeal SSP 1791 Team Rocket's Watchtower ASC 2101 Risky Ruins MEG 1274 Ultra Ball MEG 1312 Mega Signal MEG 1212 Poké Pad POR 812 Buddy-Buddy Poffin ASC 1842 Energy Switch MEG 1152 Night Stretcher SFA 611 Sacred Ash DRI 1681 Energy Recycler DRI 1642 Dark Bell (M5 ???)1 Special Red Card CRI 822 Binding Mochi PRE 951 Secret Box TWM 163ENERGIES: 88 Basic Darkness Energy SFA 98Mega Malamar ex: The Main Attacker- Attack: Psychic Marionettes (D)(D) - This attack deals 70 damage for each Pokémon on the opponent's bench.So, if there are 5 Pokémon on their bench (we're not considering cards like Area Zero Underdepths PRE 94, which expands the bench), this attack will deal 350 damage!- Attack: Eerie Pulse (D)(D) - This attack deals 200 damage and makes the opponent's active Pokémon Confused!This is the attack you'll use with Mega Darkrai ex's attack, Abyss Eye, to knock out Pokémon instantly!Mega Darkrai ex: Instant K.O. Attacker- Attack: Night Raid (D)(D) - This attack deals 110 damage, but it deals an extra 110 damage if one of your benched Pokémon has a damage counter.It can be useful, particularly when your last active Pokémon took damage from an enemy attack, as then it will deal over 200 damage.Another way you can use it is with Toxtricity PFL 68's ability, which lets you get Darkness energies from your deck and put them on your benched Pokémon. As that Pokémon will then also get 2 damage counters, you can take advantage of this effect to deal 220 damage with Night Raid consistently.- Attack: Abyss Eye (D)(D)(D) - This attack instantly knocks out the opponent's active Pokémon if they're affected by any special conditions.That's when you'll use Mega Malamar ex!Combo: Malamar and DarkraiMega Gengar ex: Attacker and Energy SupportIts ability, Shadow Sneak, works like this:"If this Pokémon is in play, any of your Darkness Pokémon (D) that is knocked out by damage from an enemy Pokémon ex will give the opponent 1 Prize card less!" (Please note that this ability doesn't stack).This will be quite helpful in the Prize card race. For instance, when the opponent knocks out your Mega Pokémon ex, they'll take 2 Prize cards instead of 3.You must have realized by now that this list doesn't play Gengar's entire evolution line (Gastly and Haunter). To put Mega Gengar ex PFL 56 in play directly, you'll use Grimsley's Move PFL 90, a shortcut.Finally, its attack, Void Gale, deals 230 damage and lets you move one energy attached to this Pokémon to one of your benched Pokémon. It only costs 2 Basic Darkness Energy SFA 98, and it is extremely strong in the current format, as well as easy to set up and perfect to attach energies to other Pokémon.Mega Absol ex: Another Instant K.O. AttackerBoth of its attacks are excellent, but the one you should focus on is Terminal Period. Its effect states that, if the opponent's active Pokémon has exactly 6 damage counters, this attack instantly knocks it out.To meet this condition, you'll use Munkidori TWM 95's ability, Adrena-Brain, which lets you move up to 3 damage counters from your Pokémon to enemy Pokémon.As the match goes on, you'll inevitably take damage. It's up to you to control and move these counters to activate Terminal Period.Yveltal: Single Prize AttackerClutch (D), one of its attacks, locks down the opponent, so it's very useful. It deals 20 damage and prevents the opponent from retreating their cards in the following turn.The idea is to force the opponent to spend cards like Switch MEG 130. It's a long-term stall play, as they won't be able to save their Pokémon as usual, and it will open space so that you can knock out Pokémon with Mega Absol ex MEG 86's Terminal Period (Yveltal will deal at least 20 damage, and you can deal the other 40 with Munkidori TWM 95's ability).Finally, this Pokémon also doesn't need any energies to retreat, and it is easy to set up.Recursive PokémonBaby PokémonToxtricity PFL 68 is a way to get Darkness energies from your deck and attach them to your benched Pokémon, but, if you do this, your Pokémon will also get 2 damage counters.Then, by using Munkidori TWM 95's ability, Adrena-Brain, you may move 3 damage counters from your Pokémon to enemy Pokémon.You can use Risky Ruins MEG 127 to put damage counters on it, as Munkidori TWM 95 is a Psychic Pokémon, and then move them with its ability. It's a sort of mini-combo that seems weird at first, considering you'll be putting damage counters on your own Pokémon, but it actually works really well.Rule Box PokémonPecharunt ex SFA 39's ability, Subjugating Chains, lets you switch your benched Darkness Pokémon (except for Pecharunt ex itself) with your active Pokémon, but it Poisons them as well. This actually works really well with Binding Mochi PRE 95.Fezandipiti ex SFA 38's ability, Flip the Script, draws 3 cards whenever one of your Pokémon is knocked out.TrainersSupportersLillie's Determination MEG 119 lets you shuffle your hand back into your deck, then draw 6 cards. If you have exactly 6 Prize cards left, you'll draw 8 cards instead of 6.Grimsley's Move PFL 90 lets you look at the top 7 cards in your deck, get any Darkness Pokémon you find there, and put them on your bench. You can use it to get your Rule Box Pokémon as well as Mega Gengar ex PFL 56 (as we mentioned before).Lisia's Appeal SSP 179 is great with Mega Darkrai ex: you'll pull a basic Pokémon on the opponent's bench to the active spot and set it as Confused. Then, you can use Mega Darkrai ex's Abyss Eye to knock it out.Boss's Orders MEG 114 also lets you pull benched enemy Pokémon into the active spot. You should use both of these cards to target any specific Pokémon you need to knock out.ItemsItems to Get PokémonUltra Ball MEG 131 lets you look for any Pokémon (evolution or basic), as long as you discard 2 cards from your hand.Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144 lets you look for up to 2 basic Pokémon with 70 HP or less and put them on your bench.Mega Signal MEG 121 lets you get 1 Mega Pokémon ex from your deck.Poké Pad me03 081 lets you get a baby Pokémon from your deck, that is, those without a Rule Box.Special Conditions ItemsDark Bell makes both active Pokémon (yours and the opponent's) Confused, but it spares Darkness Pokémon. You'll use it with Mega Darkrai ex's Abyss Eye to knock out a lot of Pokémon.Item to Sabotage the OpponentYou can only play this card when the opponent has 3 Prize cards left or less. If so, they'll have to shuffle their hand, put the cards at the bottom of their deck, and then draw only 3 cards.It's like an Unfair Stamp TWM 165, but you don't have to use your ACE SPEC slot to play it. Like so, you can use another ACE SPEC.Item to Move EnergiesItems to Recycle CardsNight Stretcher SFA 61 recycles 1 basic energy or 1 Pokémon (evolution or basic) from your discard pile and puts it in your hand. As this deck only plays basic energies, it is absolutely necessary!Sacred Ash DRI 168 recycles up to 5 Pokémon from the discard pile back into your deck.Energy Recycler DRI 164 recycles up to 5 basic energies from the discard pile back into your deck.ToolAny Pokémon with this tool attached deals 40 extra damage if they're Poisoned. You'll use it with Pecharunt ex SFA 39's ability.StadiumsRisky Ruins MEG 127 puts 2 damage counters (this applies to both sides of the board) on any basic, non-Darkness Pokémon that enters play.You might be asking yourself, "But why is this Stadium in a Dark Box list that plays almost exclusively Darkness Pokémon?"Well, that's because you'll use it to sabotage the opponent!You don't have to worry about the damage counters on your side of the board because you'll move them with Munkidori TWM 95. Even if your opponent doesn't play Darkness Pokémon, you can use Adrena-Brain to move the damage counters on your Pokémon (all you have to do is attach one Darkness energy to Munkidori) to enemy Pokémon and then use Mega Absol ex MEG 86 to knock them out instantly.Team Rocket's Watchtower DRI 180 disables abilities on all colorless Pokémon in play (yours and the opponent's). It is efficient against Meowth ex me03 062, which has been popular, as well as Dudunsparce PRE 80.ACE SPECSecret Box is an Item and only works if you first discard 3 cards from your hand. If so, however, you may then get 1 Supporter, 1 Item, 1 Tool, and 1 Stadium from your deck. My suggestion is that, in emergencies, that is, if you can't use Grimsley's Move PFL 90 to put Mega Gengar ex PFL 56 in play, you can discard these cards to use this ACE SPEC.SuggestionsYou can use Scramble Switch like so:Say there are 3 Darkness energies attached to Mega Malamar ex, so you can use Eerie Pulse, but there is a Mega Darkrai ex on your bench without any energies. With the card above, you can move Mega Malamar ex to your bench and then set Mega Darkrai ex as your active Pokémon. If you have Dark Bell to make the opponent's active Pokémon Confused, then you can also knock it out, reusing the 3 energies that were already in play!Final WordsMega Malamar ex has a lot of potential and will definitely find a place in the Dark Box lists in the meta.It is practical, deals a lot of damage, doesn't need many energies to work, and, of course, goes along great with the great energy support we can already play, Toxtricity PFL 68 and Mega Gengar ex PFL 56.What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.Thank you for reading, and see you next time!
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