DarkZone decks typically focus on wearing down the opponent over time using Darkrai ex's Nightmare Aura Ability while building up the Energy needed for Magnezone's powerful Thunder Blast attack. Required for this is Genetic Apex's Magneton, which allows the user to attach a Lightning Energy to Magneton once per turn — it allows the deck to only run Darkness Energy, as well as attach all of said Darkness Energy to Darkrai, letting it deal chip damage each turn.
While Magneton is charging itself up, a bulky Pokémon remains in the Active Spot in order to take hits. At first, this tank was Druddigon, whose Rough Skin Ability further punished attackers without any Energy investment. Later iterations of the deck, however, often used Kangaskhan, either in tandem with Druddigon or replacing it entirely, as it only required a single Energy, typically added to the damage Darkrai was already doing, and it avoided the issue where the opponent could simply ignore Druddigon and build their own Pokémon up instead.
After falling out of the metagame for several expansions (largely due to being supplanted by DarkTina), a new iteration of DarkZone emerged after the release of Crimson Blaze, using new tools to help the archetype keep up in a faster metagame. Chief among these are Mega Absol ex, a strong attacker that uses Darkness Energy and can deny resources by discarding Supporters; Clemont, which searches Magneton; and a new Magnezone which does not lose Energy when attacking and can interfere with the opponent's attacks. The Crimson Blaze print of Magnemite is also searchable by Lisia, allowing the deck to run a toolbox of Baby Pokémon.
Weaknesses
The deck's focus on stalling can be a hindrance in faster-paced metagames, especially since one of the key cards is a Stage 1 Pokémon that evolves - making it uniquely unable to take advantage of Rare Candy, while also remaining vulnerable to high-power Basic Pokémon and faster-paced Stage 2 Pokémon.
Key Cards
Space-Time Smackdown
Magneton - Despite not being in the deck's name, Genetic Apex Magneton is arguably the glue that holds this deck together, allowing Darkness Energy to be continuously attached to Darkrai while still building up an even more powerful attacker at the same time.
Darkrai ex - Deals continuous chip damage over time while Magnezone is being charged up.
Magnezone - Thunder Blast is a powerful attack. Since it requires only one Lightning Energy, Darkness Energy can be attached to Magnezone to pay for it, which can be important depending on the situation - whether it's simply because further chip damage is unnecessary, or if being able to fire off a Thunder Blast immediately would make up for not being able to later.
Genetic Apex
Kangaskhan - Takes hits while Magnezone is being charged up, while also being able to deal decent damage on its own.
Mega Rising
Mega Absol ex - With an efficient attack that can remove the opponent's Supporters and good HP, Mega Absol ex can both serve as a late-game threat to round out the deck's point map or provide early pressure while Magneton ramps Energy.
Crimson Blaze
Magnezone - While Mirror Shot does less damage than Thunder Blast, not discarding Energy makes it easier to use in non-Lightning decks, and the effect can potentially win games with good coin flips.
Clemont - Helps with consistently getting Magneton in hand to ramp Energy.
Typical decklist
The deck lists below are meant to represent an average build of the archetype, not specifically constructed for any given metagame. The number of Trainer cards is highly variable, depending on each play style.
Dawn - Allows you to use Darkrai's Nightmare Aura and move it to the Active Pokémon in the same turn. Particularly useful if it can be paired with Kangaskhan.
Giovanni - Usable to get that last bit of damage in. Works well for the mirror match, as an example, as it turns an opposing Magnezone or Darkrai ex into a KO.
Druddigon - Can deal chip damage against Pokémon that attack it, which is especially valuable turn one. However, as its value comes solely from being attacked, it can be played around more than Kangaskhan, which serves as the main competition for deck slots.
Tyrogue - Can be searched by Lisia and be used for early chip damage.
