Below are 16 of my favorite Diamond & Pearl/Platinum format decks, including the most iconic decks from the era. Underneath the decks you’ll find tips, rules and everything else you need to know to begin playing.
Decks
Other Resources
- Fun Match-ups
- Tips & Strategies for Playing the DP/P Format
- Rules
- Playing 2-on-2
- Acquiring Cards from the Diamond & Pearl/Platinum Sets
- Following Diamond & Pearl/Platinum: HeartGold SoulSilver
Abomasnow/Ampharos 
| Pokémon (34) | Trainers/Supporters/ Stadiums (14) | Energy (12) |
|
4x 3x 3x 2x 1x 3x 3x 2x 2x 2x 2x 2x 2x 2x 1x |
4x 4x 3x 1x 1x 1x |
2x 1x 4x 4x 1x |
Abomasnow’s Snow Play spreads damage across your opponent’s board, activating Ampharos’ Damage Bind. As the damage builds, the KOs your Pokémon surrender will allow you to use Upper Energy to fuel additional Snow Play attacks. Your opponent will only be able to endure so many of these attacks before their entire Bench crumbles! Nidoqueen protects our own Pokémon from Damage Bind, while Bronzong comes in to attack when you either can’t find Energy or run into Grass or Water-type Pokémon.
AMU 
🌠 Iconic Deck 🤡 Fun to Play
| Pokémon (12) | Trainers/Supporters/ Stadiums (34) | Energy (14) |
|
3x 1x 2x 1x 1x 2x 1x 1x |
2x 4x 4x 1x 4x 4x 4x 3x 3x 2x 1x 1x 1x |
14x |
Aiming to level up the trio of Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie, the AMU deck’s ultimate goal is to unleash Mesprit LV.X’s Supreme Blast. Energy Pickup & Energy Switch give you a way to deliver consecutive Supreme Blast Attacks, while 4 Premier Ball ensure you can keep all three Level X Pokémon in play.
Tip: Aim to maintain a board of two Uxie, two Azelf and two Mesprit. If you only have one of a particular Pokémon, your opponent can prevent you from using Supreme Blast by KOing it.
Beedrill 
🌠 Iconic Deck 🐣 Suitable for Beginners 🤑 Inexpensive to Build
| Pokémon (19) | Trainers/Supporters/ Stadiums (35) | Energy (6) |
|
4x 4x 2x 2x 3x 3x 1x |
4x 4x 4x 3x 4x 4x 4x 3x 2x 2x 1x |
4x 2x |
With 3–3 Claydol, Broken Time-Space and plenty of draw support from Trainer cards, this deck quickly sets up multiple Beedrill to unleash powerful Band Attacks for a single Grass Energy. Flutter Wings helps maximize your damage potential, while 4 Night Maintenance recover your knocked out Beedrill, maintaining your ability to deal heavy damage.
Blazeray 
| Pokémon (17) | Trainers/Supporters/ Stadiums (30) | Energy (13) |
|
2x 2x 2x 2x 1x 1x 1x 2x 1x 1x 1x 1x |
4x 4x 2x 1x 1x 4x 4x 4x 3x 1x 1x 1x |
3x 2x 1x 4x 3x |
Launching high-damage attacks for little Energy, this blazingly fast deck challenges your opponent to a 6-prize sprint. With help from Cynthia’s Feelings, you’ll be able to keep the pressure on your opponent despite having your own Pokémon repeatedly knocked out.
Dialgachomp 
🌠 Iconic Deck 🏆 Top Deck 🤹♂️ Difficult to Play
| Pokémon (18) | Trainers/Supporters/ Stadiums (29) | Energy (13) |
|
2x 1x 2x 2x 2x 1x 1x 1x 2x 1x 1x 1x 1x |
4x 4x 1x 1x 1x 4x 4x 4x 3x 1x 1x 1x |
3x 1x 4x 4x 1x |
Though not as fast as other SP decks, Dialgachomp has a few more tricks up its sleeve. It can lead with Dialga G’s Deafen attack, hindering the opponent while you produce a superior setup. Dialga G LV.X’s Time Crystal can come up big against troublesome Poké-Bodies, while its 120 HP and Metal-type make it the perfect Pokémon to heal with Garchomp C LV.X’s Healing Breath.
Dusknoir 
| Pokémon (27) | Trainers/Supporters/ Stadiums (19) | Energy (14) |
|
4x 4x 4x 2x 1x 1x 2x 2x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x |
4x 4x 4x 2x 1x 2x 1x 1x |
10x 4x |
Once you get Dusknoir out, you’ll spend a few turns using its Shadow Command Poké-Power, simultaneously improving your board and building damage for its Damage Even attack. When it’s time to attack, you’ll want to level up, giving yourself a chance at activating Dusknoir LV.X’s lethal Ectoplasm Poké-Power. The deck’s inclusion of a single Diamond & Pearl Dusknoir make things even harder on your opponent, forcing them to keep a Bench of only three Pokémon to avoid Dark Palm.
Tip: Use Unown G’s Guard Poké-Power to protect Dusknoir LV.X from attacks that would not activate Ectoplasm, such as Gengar’s Shadow Room.
Flygon 
| Pokémon (30) | Trainers/Supporters/ Stadiums (16) | Energy (14) |
|
4x 3x 3x 3x 1x 2x 2x 2x 2x 2x 2x 2x 1x 1x |
4x 4x 3x 2x 1x 1x 1x |
6x 3x 1x 4x |
Your eventual goal with this deck is to win by running your opponent out of cards. Palkia LV.X’s Restructure allows you to bring a weak Pokémon (such as Claydol) into your opponent’s active position, while Flygon’s Rainbow Float leaves you immune against getting your own Pokémon stranded. Memory Berry allows Flygon LV.X to trap the weak Pokémon with Trapinch’s Sand Tomb, leaving your opponent helpless as Wind Erosion steadily depletes their deck.
Tip: With 4 Poké Turn at their disposal, SP decks are very difficult to beat by stranding a Pokémon active. Shift strategies and go aggressive with Machamp’s Take Out attack to beat SP decks.
Gardevoir/Gallade 
🌠 Iconic Deck
| Pokémon (27) | Trainers/Supporters/ Stadiums (18) | Energy (15) |
|
4x 4x 4x 3x 2x 2x 2x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x |
2x 4x 4x 3x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x |
5x 1x 4x 4x 1x |
Slow to set up, Gardevoir/Gallade takes full advantage of Upper Energy, using it to fuel both Gardevoir’s Psychic Lock and Gallade’s Psychic Cut. You’ll generally forfeit the first two prizes while Darkness Grace prepares your board, then lead with a powerful Psychic Cut attack, flipping your prize cards for KOs. Meanwhile, Gardevoir’s Telepass will help you set up back-up attackers (usually Gardevoir itself), so you can finish the game with a string of Psychic Lock attacks.
Tip: Play your Team Galactic’s Wager on the turn you intend to attack with Psychic Lock, preventing your opponent from recovering their hand with Cosmic Power or Uxie’s Set Up.
Gengar 
🌠 Iconic Deck 🏆 Top Deck
| Pokémon (27) | Trainers/Supporters/ Stadiums (20) | Energy (13) |
|
4x 4x 4x 2x 1x 1x 2x 2x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x |
3x 4x 4x 3x 2x 1x 1x 1x 1x |
7x 1x 4x 1x |
Spiritomb and its Keystone Seal Poké-Body form a perfect partner for Stormfront Gengar, slowing your opponent down and forcing them to hold on to Trainer cards that boost Gengar’s Poltergeist attack. A single Arceus Gengar is an equally good partner, allowing you to attack and then send Spiritomb active to re-activate Keystone Seal during your opponent’s turn.
Tip: Use Blissey’s Nurse Call to keep Stormfront Gengar healthy. This will prevent your opponent from finding crafty ways to play around Gengar’s Fainting Spell, like knocking it out with Uxie’s Psychic Restore or Crobat G’s Flash Bite.
Gliscor 
🏆 Top Deck
| Pokémon (25) | Trainers/Supporters/ Stadiums (29) | Energy (6) |
|
4x 4x 4x 3x 1x 2x 2x 2x 1x 1x 1x |
3x 4x 4x 4x 3x 4x 3x 1x 1x 1x 1x |
2x 4x |
Gliscor LV.X’s Shoot Poison leaves your opponent’s Active Pokémon Paralyzed and Poisoned. From there, you can return Gliscor LV.X to your hand with Gliscor’s Burning Poison, promoting Spiritomb to prevent your opponent from escaping with cards like Switch or Poké Turn. Thanks to Broken Time-Space, you’re always able to have a back-up Gliscor ready to level up on the following turn, creating a never-ending loop of poison and paralysis. When done properly, your opponent will spend nearly the entire game unable to attack, watching helplessly as poison slowly knocks out their Pokémon.
Tip: Use Crobat G to manipulate damage on your opponent’s Active Pokémon so that their Pokémon is knocked out at the end of their turn, never giving them a chance to attack.
Gyarados
🌠 Iconic Deck 🏆 Top Deck
| Pokémon (20) | Trainers/Supporters/ Stadiums (36) | Energy (4) |
|
4x 4x 3x 2x 1x 2x 1x 1x 1x 1x |
3x 4x 3x 2x 2x 1x 4x 4x 3x 3x 3x 2x 2x |
2x 2x |
Sableye and its Impersonate attack form the ideal start for the Gyarados deck, as you’ll typically need to use several Supporters to get three Magikarp in your discard pile, maximizing the damage potential of Gyarados’s Tail Revenge. Both Regice and Felicity’s Drawing provide ways to quickly discard Magikarp, while Azelf’s Time Walk bails you out when you’ve prized one. Once Gyarados is ready to attack, PlusPower, Expert Belt & Crobat G’s Flash Bite allow you to keep any Pokémon you encounter in one-hit KO range.
Tip: Use Regice’s Regi Move to send an opposing Spiritomb to the Bench, allowing you to play important Trainer cards.
Kingdra 
🐣 Suitable for Beginners
| Pokémon (23) | Trainers/Supporters/ Stadiums (28) | Energy (9) |
|
4x 4x 4x 3x 3x 2x 1x 1x 1x |
4x 4x 4x 3x 3x 3x 3x 2x 2x |
9x |
Fast and consistent, this Kingdra deck can use its 4 Broken Time-Space to explode on the first turn, unleashing a 60+ damage attack before your opponent has a chance to set up. Super Scoop Up allows you to return a damaged Kingdra to your hand, denying your opponent the extra prize card that Expert Belt would otherwise yield. Requiring two cards to boost its Dragon Pump attack, you won’t mind the useless duplicates of Luxury Ball you encounter throughout in the game.
Tip: Steadily discard extra Water Energy with Kingdra’s Dragon Pump attack, allowing you to launch a powerful Aqua Stream attack late in the game.
Luxchomp
🌠 Iconic Deck 🏆 Top Deck 🤡 Fun to Play
| Pokémon (18) | Trainers/Supporters/ Stadiums (29) | Energy (13) |
|
2x 2x 2x 2x 2x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x |
4x 4x 2x 1x 1x 4x 4x 4x 3x 1x 1x |
4x 2x 4x 3x |
Fast and consistent, Luxchomp relies on Luxray GL LV.X’s Bright Look and Garchomp C LV.X’s Dragon Rush to score easy knockouts. With two ways to target Benched Pokémon, the deck can often draw six prize cards while disregarding the opponent’s strongest Pokémon.
Tip: Use Ambipom G’s Snap Attack to one-hit KO your opponent’s Garchomp C LV.X the turn after it attacks with Dragon Rush.
Machamp 
| Pokémon (25) | Trainers/Supporters/ Stadiums (22) | Energy (13) |
|
4x 4x 3x 1x 3x 2x 2x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x |
3x 4x 4x 2x 1x 4x 1x 1x 1x 1x |
9x 4x |
Machamp’s Take Out can land one-hit KOs for a single Fighting Energy, overwhelming decks that rely heavily on un-evolved Pokémon. Though constructed primarily as a counter to the powerful SP decks, the deck employs a variety of tricks, like Lumineon’s Fin Luster and Poké Blower +, that allow it to continue to draw prize cards even after your opponent has evolved most of their Pokémon.
Tip: Save your Machamp LV.X for attacking Pokémon guarded against Machamp’s Take Out by an opposing Unown G.
Palkia Lock 
🌠 Iconic Deck 🏆 Top Deck
| Pokémon (20) | Trainers/Supporters/ Stadiums (28) | Energy (12) |
|
2x 2x 4x 3x 1x 2x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x |
4x 4x 1x 1x 1x 4x 4x 3x 3x 1x 1x 1x |
3x 2x 4x 3x |
With the combination of Mesprit’s Psychic Bind and Power Spray, this deck hinders your opponent by denying their Poké-Powers turn after turn. As you deplete your limited Power Sprays and Mesprit, Palkia G LV.X’s Hydro Shot can unleash a devastating Hydro Shot to KO Claydol, leaving your opponent never able to fully set up.
Tip: When playing against another SP deck, keep your Mysterious Treasures Azelf in play alongside an Uxie and Mesprit, forcing your opponent to spend an extra Energy to attack.
Regigigas 
🌠 Iconic Deck 🏆 Top Deck 🤡 Fun to Play
| Pokémon (17) | Trainers/Supporters/ Stadiums (28) | Energy (15) |
|
1x 1x 2x 4x 3x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x 1x |
1x 4x 4x 4x 4x 4x 3x 2x 2x |
4x 4x 3x 4x |
Regigigas LV.X’s 150 HP single-handedly make it a difficult KO, but with its Sacrifice Poké-Power, it can continue to endure your opponent’s attacks, all while freeing up Bench space for useful Basic Pokémon, like Mesprit and Uxie. Time-Space Distortion helps you recover these sacrificed Pokémon and deliver consecutive turns of Psychic Bind.
Tip: Use Cyrus’s Initiative against SP decks to strip away their Power Sprays, ensuring you can use Sacrifice on crucial turns.
Fun Match-Ups
The Diamond & Pearl/Platinum format is unmatched in the amount of close match-ups it enables. Here’s a few fun ones to play with a friend.
- Gardevoir/Gallade vs AMU
- Gardevoir/Gallade vs Dusknoir
- Gardevoir/Gallade vs Gengar
- Gardevoir/Gallade vs Gyarados
- Luxchomp vs Gyarados
- Luxchomp vs Luxchomp
- Dialgachomp vs Gengar
- Dialgachomp vs Regigigas
- Beedrill vs Kingdra
Tips & Strategies for Playing the DP/P Format
1. Level up Uxie the turn following your Pokémon being knocked out
If your deck plays an Uxie LV.X, take advantage of your Pokémon being knocked out by promoting Uxie between turns. This will allow you to level up, then retreat to safety. (Unown Q is great for this!) From there, you can use Uxie LV.X’s Trade Off each turn to look for useful cards.
2. Watch out for Power Spray!
If your opponent has three or more Pokémon-SP in play, you’ll need to watch out for Power Spray. Perhaps the most important Power Spray to dodge is early in the game when attempting to use Uxie’s Set Up. If your deck plays Spiritomb, you can send it Active to prevent your opponent from playing Power Spray, but if you either don’t play or can’t find Spiritomb, consider grabbing two Uxie via Roseanne’s Research to boost your odds of getting a Set Up past Power Spray.
3. Don’t be afraid to bluff having a Power Spray!
On the other side of Power Spray, try to keep your opponent guessing. Even if you don’t have a Power Spray in hand, you may still benefit from keeping three Pokémon-SP in play. Sometimes, your opponent will have to make a less than optimal play simply because of the possibility you may use Power Spray.
4. Don’t always shuffle away your worst card with Bebe’s Search
You’ll often play a Bebe’s Search before using Claydol’s Cosmic Power. When doing so, you might instinctively shuffle away the weakest card in your hand. However, you’re actually better off saving your worst cards for Claydol’s Cosmic Power, since these cards can’t immediately be re-drawn. When choosing a card to shuffle in for Bebe’s Search, choose a card that you don’t currently need, but wouldn’t mind re-drawing later.
5. Try to KO Claydol!
Claydol’s Cosmic Power is the engine most decks rely on to set up. If you’re given an opportunity to KO your opponent’s single Claydol early in the game, it’s almost always best to take advantage of it. Though it may be tempting to target Pokémon that can evolve into strong attackers, you will notice that your opponent’s board tends to crumble without Cosmic Power.
6. Store Tools on Crobat G to draw more cards
You’ll want to play as many useful cards from your hand as possible before using Uxie’s Set Up or Claydol’s Cosmic Power, ensuring you draw the maximum number of cards. Sometimes, though, you’ll have a Pokémon Tool you prefer to hold on to. You can draw an extra card by by attaching this Tool to Crobat G, since you’ll likely play Poké Turn on Crobat G in the following turns (or perhaps even that turn), returning the Tool to your hand.
7. Be aware of Mewtwo LV.X
Many decks in the DP/P format, including most SP decks, have no way to deal with Mewtwo LV.X. If your deck plays no Evolved Pokémon, but you don’t want to take a loss to this single card, consider adding either a 1/1 Dialga G LV.X line (an easy fit into SP decks) or an evolved Pokémon that can one-hit KO it, like Stormfront Mismagius.
Rules
Most of the rules of the Diamond & Pearl/Platinum format have already been covered throughout this article, but here’s a complete list of the unique rules of the format:
- Trainers, Supporters and Stadiums each refer to their own individual type of card. (For example, Budew’s Errand-Running attack allows you to retrieve a Trainer card from your deck. This does not allow you to retrieve a Supporter or Stadium.)
- Players set up, then flip a coin to determine who plays first. (The winner of the coin flip must play first.) The player playing first may not play any Trainers, Supporters or Stadium cards on their first turn.
-
A Combee with the held item “Honey” Some Basic Pokémon have built-in “items” that function similarly to Poké-Powers or Poké-Bodies. However, these “held items” are not considered either, so nothing can interfere with them working.
- Each player has a Lost Zone directly above their prize cards. Cards put into the Lost Zone are placed face-up in this area and are not considered part of either player’s discard pile, meaning they are not accessible by cards that retrieve cards from the discard pile. As you may have guessed from the name, cards in the Lost Zone are indeed lost!
- To level up a Pokémon, the Pokémon leveling up must be active and have been in play for more than one turn. Leveling up clears any Special Conditions and other effects of attacks on that Pokémon, but remember that leveling up is not considered evolving. This means you may not use Broken Time-Space to level up a Pokémon that just evolved, nor can Spiritomb’s Darkness Grace be used to level up a Pokémon.
- Unlike more recent formats, Rare Candy can be used on Pokémon that were just put into play.
Playing 2-on-2
Just like the cards from the EX sets that preceded them, all cards in the Diamond & Pearl and Platinum sets are compatible with the 2-on-2 format, though the noticeable absence of attacks targeting two Defending Pokémon in these sets makes it obvious the game’s creators were losing enthusiasm for the concept. In a 2-on-2 game, players must have two Active Pokémon anytime they have more than one in play and players’ Benches are limited to 4 Pokémon. When attacking in the 2-on-2 format, you may only choose one of your Active Pokémon to attack with and must also choose which of your opponent’s Active Pokémon to attack.
If you ever have only one Pokémon in play in the 2-on-2 format, the second one you play immediately becomes active alongside your other. Because of this, you can build your 2-on-2 decks slightly differently. For example, if you prefer to start with Spiritomb, your deck may have been built with four to give you the best odds of drawing one in your opening hand. However, in the 2-on-2 format, if you don’t have the good fortune of opening with Spiritomb, you can simply play a card like Roseanne’s Research, then put Spiritomb down, where it will immediately become your second Active Pokémon—no retreating required! This concept allows you to skimp on certain Pokémon you would usually play more copies of in your traditional decks.
Acquiring Cards from the Diamond & Pearl/Platinum Sets
Similar to the EX sets, some staple cards from the Diamond & Pearl and Platinum sets can be difficult to come by. Uxie, Call Energy, Claydol and even the common Baltoy are not easily found, though most of these were reprinted as holographic promotional cards, making them a little easier to obtain. Though many of the best uncommon and rare cards can be a challenge to find, one good thing about the Diamond & Pearl and Platinum sets is that there are no ultra rare cards, like the Pokémon-
of the EX sets. Just as they were during their time, the rarest and most valuable cards of the Diamond & Pearl and Platinum sets are Uxie LV.X and Luxray GL LV.X, each fetching $40–50 at the time this article was written.
Following Diamond & Pearl/Platinum: HeartGold SoulSilver
Following the release of the final Platinum set, Arceus, the Pokémon TCG entered its next phase with HeartGold SoulSilver. Known for its unique and vibrant art, HeartGold SoulSilver and its four additional expansions started a gradual transition back to the original rules of the TCG, with Weakness returning to a universal ×2 and the unpopular 2-on-2 format officially being retired.
EX | Diamond & Pearl/Platinum | HeartGold SoulSilver