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Updated June 12, 2026Mega Altaria ex and Igglybuff Deck Guide in Pokémon TCG Pocket
Stack the bench for full-power Mega Harmony swings while Igglybuff and Darkrai trap the opponent's Active Pokémon in a sleepy chip-damage loop.
This deck builds toward Mega Altaria ex's bench-scaling Mega Harmony while Igglybuff and Darkrai keep the opponent's Active Pokémon locked in an endless nap. Sleep stops the defender from attacking or retreating, and Darkrai's Bad Dreams converts every sleeping turn into free damage. The win condition is to stall behind the sleep loop, fill your bench, and close with 130 damage Mega Harmony swings.
The decklist
How it works
Mega Altaria ex is a 190 HP Stage 1 that evolves directly from Swablu, so the
whole attack plan comes online one evolution after your opener. For
Psychic, Mega Harmony does 40 damage plus 30 more
for each of your Benched Pokémon, capping at 130 with a full bench of three.
That number two-shots every big Mega in the format and, combined with a Bad
Dreams tick, cleanly removes 140 and 150 HP attackers. Remember it is worth 3
points to your opponent, so a careless loss ends the game on the spot.
Igglybuff is the disruption engine, and its job is exactly one thing. Sleepy
Lullaby costs 
Any and does 10 damage while putting your
opponent's Active Pokémon to sleep, which means the defender cannot attack or
retreat until it flips heads at checkup. With 30 HP it dies to almost
anything, but it has a Retreat Cost of 0 and only gives up one point, so it is
a cheap body to park in the Active Spot while Mega Altaria ex assembles behind
it.
Darkrai turns the sleep loop into a damage clock. Its Bad Dreams ability deals
20 damage to your opponent's Active Pokémon at the end of each turn while that
Pokémon is Asleep, so a defender that stays down takes 40 per full round
without you attacking at all. When you need a second attacker, Dark Slumber
costs Colorless for 40 damage and
puts the target to sleep itself, feeding right back into the ability. At 100
HP it is your sturdiest non-Mega body and only concedes one point.
Area Zero is the glue that keeps a deck full of tiny Basics from flooding your hand. Once during each player's turn, that player may shuffle a Basic Pokémon from their hand into their deck to draw a card, so a spare Swablu or Igglybuff becomes a fresh draw every single turn. Play it early and use it every turn you can; just remember your opponent gets to use it too, so it shines when you hold more leftover Basics than they do.
Matchups
| Matchup | Favorability | How to play it |
|---|---|---|
| Mega Altaria ex Espeon | Favored | Darkrai preys on their Espeon's weakness, hitting its 90 HP for 60 with Dark Slumber while putting it to sleep for Bad Dreams. Neither side's Mega Harmony can knock out a 190 HP Mega Altaria ex in one swing, so your deeper sleep package wins the grind. Hold Pokémon Center Lady to wake your own attacker when Hypnoblast lands. |
| Suicune ex Baxcalibur | Even | Crystal Waltz counts both benches, so your own full bench helps it reach 120 and threatens to two-shot Mega Altaria ex. Trap Suicune ex in the Active Spot with Sleepy Lullaby so it can neither attack nor retreat, let Bad Dreams tick, then clear its 140 HP with a full-bench Mega Harmony for two points. |
| Magnezone Miraidon ex | Heavily unfavored | Mirror Shot does 90, leaving your 190 HP Mega Altaria ex hanging at 10 HP after two hits, and forces a coin flip that can blank your next attack entirely, which is brutal for a deck that needs every Mega Harmony to land. Stall with free-retreat Igglybuff, chip with Bad Dreams toward Magnezone's 150 HP, and only commit Mega Altaria ex for a guaranteed knockout. |
| Mega Altaria ex Gourgeist | Heavily unfavored | Soul Shot does 70 for a single Energy, knocking out Swablu, Igglybuff, and Eevee on the spot and two-shotting everything you have except Mega Altaria ex. Answer Gourgeist with Darkrai, which exploits its weakness for 60 and fells its 110 HP in two hits, and never leave a damaged Mega Altaria ex active since losing it gives up three points at once. |
Tech options and swaps
The one-of slots give the deck its flexibility. The Eevee and Espeon package is a surprise attacker: thanks to Eevee's Boosted Evolution, Eevee can evolve while in the Active Spot on the turn you play it or even on your first turn, so Espeon's 40 damage Hypnoblast plus sleep comes online for a single Psychic. Pokémon Center Lady heals 30 and removes all Special Conditions, which is your only answer when the opponent turns sleep against you. X Speed cuts your Active Pokémon's Retreat Cost by 1 for the turn, mostly to dig Darkrai and its Retreat Cost of 2 out of the Active Spot. In faster metas you can trim the Espeon line for a second X Speed or a second Pokémon Center Lady, and against draw-heavy opponents a second Copycat punishes big hands harder than the second Sabrina or Cyrus effect would.
How to pilot it
Keep any opening hand with Swablu plus a second Basic, ideally Igglybuff. Going second is the better seat because you attach Energy on turn one and can immediately use Sleepy Lullaby or Swablu's Sing, which does no damage but puts the defender to sleep. Going first you get no Energy attachment at all on turn one, so just bench your pieces and pass.
Lisia is your setup Supporter: it fetches two random Basic Pokémon with 50 HP or less, which hits Swablu, Igglybuff, and Eevee but never Darkrai, so dig for Darkrai with Poké Ball or raw draw instead. Run a pure Psychic Energy Zone; every cost in the deck is Psychic, Colorless, or Any, so one Energy type fuels the whole list.
The ideal sequence going second: turn one, Swablu or Igglybuff active with an Energy attached and a sleep attack; turn two, evolve Swablu into Mega Altaria ex, attach the second Energy, and swing Mega Harmony. Fill the bench to three before attacking, because Mega Harmony with an empty bench is a sad 40 damage. Bench Darkrai early so Bad Dreams triggers at the end of every turn the defender sleeps. Use Sabrina to push a charged attacker away and Cyrus to drag a damaged Pokémon back into Bad Dreams range.
Common misplays: benching Eevee, since Boosted Evolution only works in the Active Spot; swinging Mega Harmony before the bench is full; shuffling your last Swablu into the deck with Area Zero before Mega Altaria ex is set up; and banking on the sleep lock holding, when a single heads at checkup wakes the defender and frees them to attack.
Deck strengths
- Sleep lock stops attacks and retreats while Bad Dreams adds 20 damage at the end of each turn for free
- Mega Harmony reaches 130 for only two Energy, huge output for the cost
- Igglybuff's Retreat Cost of 0 and one-point body make it a perfect expendable opener
- Area Zero and Lisia turn the deck's small Basics into constant card flow
Deck weaknesses
- The whole disruption plan hinges on sleep coin flips, and one early heads breaks the lock
- Mega Altaria ex hands over 3 points, so a single misstep can lose the game outright
- The 130 damage ceiling cannot one-shot 190 HP or larger Megas
- Swablu, Igglybuff, and Eevee sit at 30 to 50 HP and feed cheap points to snipe and spread damage
Is it worth building?
The only expensive chase here is the pair of Mega Altaria ex copies; everything else is low-rarity Basics and staple Trainers, so the deck is one of the cheaper Mega builds to assemble. It suits patient players who enjoy disruption and board math and can stomach sleep checks deciding their stall turns. If you hate coin flips, skip it; as a budget-friendly way to play a Mega attacker with a genuinely annoying game plan, it earns its spot.
