Pokémon TCG: Standard Deck Tech - Darmanitan from Phantasmal Flames (2025.2)

Phantasmal Flames brought us many Mega Pokémon ex, the most anticipated cards among the community, but it also brought us some very interesting "baby" Pokémon. These "baby" Pokémon, in fact, have a lot of potential in rogue lists, and are perfect if you just want to have fun without spending much.

This time, we'll explore Darmanitan PFL 16, which deals more damage if we attach many Basic Fire Energy SVE 10 to it, and Emboar WHT 13, the core energy support in this strategy.

Let's see our list:

Darmanitan Decklist

Darumaka and Darmanitan

Both of these Pokémon deal more damage if we attach lots of Basic Fire Energy SVE 10 to them. The only difference is that Darmanitan deals double the extra damage Darumaka deals per energy attached.

Recursive Pokémon

"Baby" Pokémon

Revavroom sv4pt5 65 is a great card draw tool. We will need to discard an energy to use it, but it's still very efficient.

Emboar WHT 13 is simply crucial. With it, we'll easily attach basic Fire energies to our Pokémon. It is Rain Dance but for Fire Pokémon.

"Rule Box" Pokémon

Fezandipiti ex SFA 38 is also a great card draw tool. It gives us something back when our opponent takes down one of our Pokémon.

This list plays lots of "baby" Pokémon, which are very fragile, so the opponent will have no trouble knocking them out. This might seem bad at first, but, as we mentioned above, it also activates Fezandipiti ex's ability. Furthermore, Darmanitan PFL 16 itself is a single prize Pokémon that doesn't have a lot of HP, so it won't take much to knock it out.

Trainers

Supporters

With Arven sv3 186, we'll get items and tools from our deck.

With Carmine PRE 103, we'll renew our hand. We can also use it on turn 1, unlike other trainers.

Iono sv2 185 sabotages our opponent's hand and renews ours according to how many Prize cards each of us have left.

With Boss's Orders (Ghetsis) sv2 172, we'll pull enemy Pokémon to their active spot so that we can knock them out.

Items to Get Pokémon

Item to Evolve Pokémon

With Rare Candy MEG 125, we'll evolve Tepig WHT 11 straight into Emboar WHT 13 and skip Pignite.

Item to Filter Energies

Item to Recycle Pokémon and Basic Energies

Item to Pull Enemy Pokémon

Tools

Air Balloon BLK 79 is particularly useful on recursive Pokémon like Emboar WHT 13 and Revavroom sv4pt5 65.

With Technical Machine: Evolution sv4 178, we'll evolve 2 of our benched Pokémon at once.

Stadiums

Artazon sv2 171 is a great way to set up our basic "baby" Pokémon (without "Rule Box") on our bench.

Gravity Mountain SSP 177 nerfs stage 2 Pokémon in play by reducing their HP (both ours and the opponent's), so it makes it easier for us to knock out enemy stage 2 Mega Pokémon ex or Pokémon ex.

ACE SPEC

Maximum Belt TEF 154 allows us to deal more damage to the opponent's active Pokémon ex. With it, our Darmanitan PFL 16 will be quite powerful.

Pros

This deck deals a lot of damage with Darmanitan PFL 16 and can beat many meta lists.

It also works quite nicely because of Emboar WHT 13. It often deals a lot of damage in one turn, and isn't slow at all.

Finally, it plays efficient card draw, so it's very consistent.

Cons

Decks centered around "sniper" damage, like Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex PRE 27, can be an issue for this list.

Decks centered around "spread" damage, like Dragapult ex PRE 73 with Dusclops PRE 36 and Dusknoir PRE 37, can also be difficult to face.

Finally, Samurott WHT 23, which also deals more damage the more energies it has attached, is challenging.

This list is fun, not competitive. It plays cheap cards too, so it's a good choice for anyone who has just begun exploring the Standard format and enjoys "rogue" lists.

If you want to protect your "baby" Pokémon from Pokémon ex, you can use Neutralization Zone SFA 60. However, keep in mind that other stadiums and trainers can easily remove it.

If you want to protect yourself against "sniper" and "spread" damage, a 1-1 line with Rabsca TEF 24 can be useful.

Furthermore, against "spread" strategies in particular (like Dusclops PRE 36 and Dusknoir PRE 37) that can use Technical Machine: Devolution sv4 177, the Psyduck from Mega Evolution is efficient. It will protect your Pokémon.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!