As the sixth Scarlet & Violet expansion set, Twilight Masquerade brings 226 new cards based on Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s Teal Mask DLC to the Pokemon TCG. From beautiful full art cards to cards with powerful winning strategies, there’s a lot to love. So here’s what we believe are the best cards in Twilight Masquerade.
The Best Cards in Twilight Masquerade
Twilight Masquerade brings a ton of unique cards to the Pokemon TCG, and it can be difficult to parse down which ones are worth coveting. Luckily, I’m here to help narrow them down to just a handful that I think contribute to some fun builds. Not every card on this list is going to be for everyone, but all are interesting in their own way. So check out the list below to discover the best cards in Twilight Masquerade.
Teal Mask Ogerpon ex
With Twilight Masquerade centering around the Kitakami region, it was obvious The Teal Mask’s mascot legendary Pokemon, Ogerpon, was always going to be one of the best cards of the set. Here in its Teal Mask form, Ogerpon’s ability, Teal dance, allows you to attach a Basic Grass Energy from your hand and additionally draw a card. And with more Energy attached, the more its Myriad Leaf Show attack will deal damage, dishing out 30 extra damage for each Energy attached to both Active Pokemon. It’s a great card that’s easy to build up while also punishing your opponent the more they build up.
Luxray ex
Luxray ex is one of Twilight Masquerade’s heavy hitters, boasting a solid 310 HP and some decent moves in the form of Piercing Gaze and Volt Strike. Volt Strike can deal a hefty 250 damage at the sacrifice of all of Luxray’s energy, but Piercing Gaze is the more interesting move here, dealing 120 damage while also allowing you to discard a card of your choice from your opponent’s hand.
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Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex
Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex is Twilight Masquerade’s best powerhouse card. Not only does it have a beefy 260 HP pool, but it can also dish out a staggering 240 base damage with its Blood Moon attack. But wait, there’s more! Blood Moon Ursaluna’s Season Skill ability reduces the cost of Blood Moon for each Prize Card your opponent has taken, making it easy to build up and turn the tides of battle late in the game. The drawback is that Bloodmoon can only be used every other turn, but regardless, this bad boy is sure to dominate the competition.
Munkidori
On its surface, Munkidori may not look like much, but its ability, Adrena-Brain, really shouldn’t be overlooked. If you attach a Dark Energy to Munkidori, Adrena-Brain will allow you to move up to three damage counters from one of your Pokemon to an opponent Pokemon. With multiple Munkidories on your Bench, you’d be able to heal a significant amount of damage and place it back onto your opponent. Players are already using this card to great effect in Gardevoir ex decks, healing the damage Gardevoir ex’s ability would otherwise cause to itself.
Brute Bonnet + Frosslass
Brute Bonnet and Frosslass are two separate cards, but they pair together quite nicely to make for a very fun build that takes advantage of damage counters to build up power. Brute Bonnet’s Relentless Punches move deals a base damage of 50 and an additional 50 damage for each damage counter on your opponent’s Active Pokemon. That damage can add up incredibly fast, especially considering Brute Bonnet’s other move, Poison Spray, will Poison the opponent’s Pokemon, helping tick up those damage counters. Bring Twilight Masquerade’s Frosslass into the mix, and its Freezing Shroud ability will help build up the damage counters even further, adding one to each Pokemon with an Ability during Checkup.
Dipplin + Festival Grounds
On its own, Dipplin is rather lackluster, but when paired with Festival Grounds, this card can end up dealing some devastating damage, especially early in the game. There are a few Pokemon cards in Twilight Masquerade that use the Festival Lead ability, which allows you to use an attack twice when Festival Grounds is in play and continue attacking even after you knock out an Active Pokemon, but Dipplin makes good use of it with its Do the Wave move, which deals 20 extra damage for each Benched Pokemon. Assuming your Bench is full, you could end up dealing 200 damage in a single move across multiple Active Pokemon. Throw Twilight Masquerade’s Thwacky into your deck for its Boom Boom Groove ability, and you’ll build up to max damage in no time.
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Greninja ex
Greninja ex is the best Pokemon card in Twilight Masquerade and everyone wants it. It’s a monster of a card whose Shinobi Blade attack can deal a staggering 170 damage while also allowing you to search for any card in your deck and place it in your hand, all for a measly one Water Energy. Additionally, the Mirage Barrage attack will let you target your opponent’s bench, dealing 120 damage to any two Pokemon. It’s ridiculous how much damage you can do with this card with so little build-up.
Dragapult ex
I feel legally obligated to mention Dragapult ex since everyone’s schmoozing over it and, I suppose, for good reason. When it comes to raw numbers, Twilight Masquerade’s Dragapult ex has it all: a ridiculous 320 HP, a 200 attack power with its Phantom Drive move which subsequently allows you to put six damage counters on the opponent’s benched Pokemon, and all for a very low Energy cost. Additionally, Twilight Masquerade’s Stage 1 Drakloak, which you can use to build up to Drapult ex, has a useful draw and filter ability that will help you build up your team while you wait to pull out the heavy hitter. This card is beyond the best, massive even, and it will likely be sweeping Pokemon TCG tournaments everywhere.
Legacy Energy
Legacy Energy is an ACE SPEC card, which you can only use one of in your whole deck because they’re just too darn powerful. And out of all the ACE SPEC cards, this is the one you want as it sort of breaks the game. Legacy Energy will provide every type of Energy, though only one at a time, but its most useful utility is in its ability to reduce the amount of Prize Cards your opponent can take from the knocked-out Pokemon it’s attached to. Attach Legacy Energy to an ex card, and it will completely negate the drawback of an ex card rewarding two Prize Cards.
BONUS: Tatsugiri / Unfair Stamp
Tatsugiri and Unfair Stamp are cards that both generate quite a bit of buzz when it comes to the best cards in Twilight Masquerade. Personally, I don’t feel like they’re all that interesting, considering their abilities have effects we’ve seen done similarly on other cards in previous sets. But I also can’t deny their incredibly useful utility. Tatsugiri’s Attract Customers ability allows you to look at the top six cards of your deck to search for and place a Supporter card into your hand. And Unfair Stamp will have both you and your opponent shuffle your hand back into your deck if your Pokemon was knocked out during your opponent’s turn. Your opponent will only draw two cards while you get to draw five.
That about does it for the best cards in Twilight Masquerade! If you want to learn more about the Pokemon TCG, check out how to start playing the Pokemon TCG in 2024.
