Help Most Viable Control/Stall Deck for New Expanded

arulz

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Hey guys, I want to build a deck for my wife. She’s played Buzzwole GX and Night March pretty well, but she wants to do something more along the lines of control/stall for the new Expanded format.

What do you guys think will be a good deck list for the new format?

currently mulling over:
-Durant Mill
-Sableye/Garb
-Wailord Deck Out
-Stoutland Raichu

Any other suggestions and deck list ideas?
 
Expanded control player here.

Control does get a lot out of Hex Maniac and Ghetsis being banned, but as far as competitive control goes...it's looking a bit rough. Here's what I have:

- Durant Mill - This deck is extremely cheap to build and it ends games in less than 10 minutes; by it either doing what it's supposed to do or dying in a fire. I played this a bit with some adjustments and it tends to brick often. It does good when it can maintain its momentum, but it's very easy to continually KO 70 HP ants. I felt like I had to constantly Sycamore and Cynthia for answers and didn't much use out of TR Handiwork. Jirachi EX is a good addition in the deck since you are using Level Ball. My biggest gripe about the deck is that it's super straightforward and has little room for improvement. Not really that you're limited by how manys cards you can switch out, but the variety in the cards that make sense; there isn't much.

- Wailord / Beached Whales - This is a good pick if you have the means to get 3-4 Tropical Beach. Any control deck you pick up should be considered "intermediate" for difficulty labelling purposes, but of all the control decks I know of, Wailord is reliable and super relaxed. IF you want to play a control deck and not have to agonize about every single play, Wailord is your go-to. That said, it's good until Lost Thunder comes out. Between some of the Lost Zone shenanigans and some of the really good Grass Pokemon coming out, I wouldn't be surprised to see Grass decks that AREN'T housing Vespiquen completely jack up Wailord.

- Sylveon GX - The deck lost Puzzle of Time, but everyone else lost Hex Maniac, which could cause you to get donked if you weren't lucky enough to go first and attach a Fairy Energy to save your bacon. No Puzzle of Time makes your life a bit more difficult in the mid game as the deck kinda needed a way to answer threats that came out of left field. Not saying it's bad because of this, but without mid-game reactivity, it's hard to bounce back at times. Basically, the deck is harder to play. Add on top of the fact that Energy acceleration decks are the new black. Those builds DUMPSTER Sylveon GX

- Stoutland / Raichu (Shock Lock) - I'm just going to come out and say that Shock Lock ISN'T a control deck; it's a combo deck--whose end game functions in the manner of a control deck. The entire set up and not getting your face kicked before you get the lock in is PURE combo deckplay. The big problem the deck inherently has is that it's SLOW AS BALLS.
The funny part is that because Tropical Beach is so rare, no one will ever account for Shock Lock on any level, so it has a lot of potential to take people by surprise. It does seem to do better when the meta is up in the air and really diverse (Dallas 2018), as opposed to where the meta is more refined. I never liked playhing it because I've been used to control decks for so long that the playstyle of combo is just weird (it either REALLY works, or REALLY fails) and not enjoyable for me. Your mileage may vary.

- Sableye / Garbodor - Of all the control variants that Expanded currently has, this is the one deck that has the best shot for the next 6 months. Relatively cheap to build. But it's considered the hardest deck to pilot in Expanded. You have to make perfect calls for what you get from Junk Hunt each turn in order to make it. IT's not easy, but if control is your thing, it's up your alley.

- Accelgor / Wobbuffet - I have no clue, It was shown on stream at the Fort Wayne Regional last year and hasn't been seen since.
 
- Durant Mill - This deck is extremely cheap to build and it ends games in less than 10 minutes; by it either doing what it's supposed to do or dying in a fire. I played this a bit with some adjustments and it tends to brick often. It does good when it can maintain its momentum, but it's very easy to continually KO 70 HP ants. I felt like I had to constantly Sycamore and Cynthia for answers and didn't much use out of TR Handiwork. Jirachi EX is a good addition in the deck since you are using Level Ball. My biggest gripe about the deck is that it's super straightforward and has little room for improvement. Not really that you're limited by how manys cards you can switch out, but the variety in the cards that make sense; there isn't much.

Do you think Mew FCO has any value so you don't constantly have to get new ants? Maybe with dimension valley for no energy? Or sky field and you can use Magcargo for draw and mag cargo GX for his GX attack to discard cards? Just spitballing new ideas haha

- Wailord / Beached Whales - This is a good pick if you have the means to get 3-4 Tropical Beach. Any control deck you pick up should be considered "intermediate" for difficulty labelling purposes, but of all the control decks I know of, Wailord is reliable and super relaxed. IF you want to play a control deck and not have to agonize about every single play, Wailord is your go-to. That said, it's good until Lost Thunder comes out. Between some of the Lost Zone shenanigans and some of the really good Grass Pokemon coming out, I wouldn't be surprised to see Grass decks that AREN'T housing Vespiquen completely jack up Wailord.

This sounds like it could be fun. I like it except for the fact that it dies to grass. I guess Wishiwashi GX just doesn't have enough hit points to hold its own against grass decks?

- Sylveon GX - The deck lost Puzzle of Time, but everyone else lost Hex Maniac, which could cause you to get donked if you weren't lucky enough to go first and attach a Fairy Energy to save your bacon. No Puzzle of Time makes your life a bit more difficult in the mid game as the deck kinda needed a way to answer threats that came out of left field. Not saying it's bad because of this, but without mid-game reactivity, it's hard to bounce back at times. Basically, the deck is harder to play. Add on top of the fact that Energy acceleration decks are the new black. Those builds DUMPSTER Sylveon GX

Interesting. Our meta here doesn't currently have much of energy accell, but since we haven't had an event in the new standard format who knows. Might be a good call.

- Stoutland / Raichu (Shock Lock) - I'm just going to come out and say that Shock Lock ISN'T a control deck; it's a combo deck--whose end game functions in the manner of a control deck. The entire set up and not getting your face kicked before you get the lock in is PURE combo deckplay. The big problem the deck inherently has is that it's SLOW AS BALLS.
The funny part is that because Tropical Beach is so rare, no one will ever account for Shock Lock on any level, so it has a lot of potential to take people by surprise. It does seem to do better when the meta is up in the air and really diverse (Dallas 2018), as opposed to where the meta is more refined. I never liked playhing it because I've been used to control decks for so long that the playstyle of combo is just weird (it either REALLY works, or REALLY fails) and not enjoyable for me. Your mileage may vary.

Gotcha. Sounds fun but inconsistent

- Sableye / Garbodor - Of all the control variants that Expanded currently has, this is the one deck that has the best shot for the next 6 months. Relatively cheap to build. But it's considered the hardest deck to pilot in Expanded. You have to make perfect calls for what you get from Junk Hunt each turn in order to make it. IT's not easy, but if control is your thing, it's up your alley.

I think this might be hard for her first control deck. Does it not get easily run over by decks like buzzwole that do lots of damage fast? I know buzzwole GX is prevalent in our meta, how does sableye Garb combat that? Sorry I'm relatively new to control myself

- Accelgor / Wobbuffet - I have no clue, It was shown on stream at the Fort Wayne Regional last year and hasn't been seen since.
I would love this if it works


Question, I know the new oranguru has an attack that is somewhat reminiscent of Junk Hunt, Does it have any value in a control build as a new archetype?
 
We have a lot to cover! Let's go line by line!

Do you think Mew FCO has any value so you don't constantly have to get new ants? Maybe with dimension valley for no energy? Or sky field and you can use Magcargo for draw and mag cargo GX for his GX attack to discard cards? Just spitballing new ideas haha

I use two Mew FCO in my build. It does help to the point to where I would want a 3rd or maybe run 4.

I'd advise against Stadiums in the build as there really aren't any that benefit Durant Mill spectacularly or would help you in other matchups.

Magcargo could help, but having the evolution line in the deck really cramps up the deck space, unless you see something I don't.


Wailord sounds like it could be fun. I like it except for the fact that it dies to grass. I guess Wishiwashi GX just doesn't have enough hit points to hold its own against grass decks?

Golisopod-GX can also tank a Wailord EX pretty badly (as long as it has Choice Band), but it didn't have a whole lot of success once "Beached Whales" became a thing as the meta kinda pushed it out and all Zoroark-GX variants morphed into Zoro-Eggs (Zoroark-GX / Golisopod-GX is a tough Zoroark variant to pilot correctly).

Wishiwashi-GX was used in early versions of "Beached Whales" for the explicit purpose of not getting wrecked by Golisopod-GX. Ironically, it lost a Top-8 match in a regional because of a Night March deck.
Even though Night March is slated to take a big backseat this season with the loss of Hex Maniac, Ghetsis, and Puzzle of Time. Lost Thunder has some neat Lightning options that would threaten Wishiwashi-GX from being considered again. It's HP is at that magic "210 HP threshold" that leaves it open to OHKO plays from the likes of Sky Field Zoroark and such.

(Sylveon GX) Interesting. Our meta here doesn't currently have much of energy accell, but since we haven't had an event in the new standard format who knows. Might be a good call.

If Energy acceleration isn't a thing at your venue, then it might work. That said, Expanded Buzzwole is a dicey matchup and you'll have to know the matchup pretty good to stand a chance.
Their deck doesn't feature a lot of recovery--if any. Its usually just one Super Rod and that's it. But between Absorption GX, Knuckle Punch, Strong Energy, Diancie Prism Star, and Choice Band. They have some bad ways of delivering an OHKO on Sylveon. You'll need to target down the Diancie Prism Star quickly. From there, you'll have to hit their Strong and BEast Energy Prism with Flare Grunts and Enhanced Hammers. You'll take a KO or two EASILY, but don't take any more KOs than Diancie Prism Star. If they also happen to use Regirock-EX
to boost damage, KO it AFTER Diancie Prism Star so you don't trigger Sledgehammer on baby Buzzwole. I doubt Regirock-EX will see play anymore since deckspace in Buzzwole is pretty tight, but I'll put that out there.

Gotcha. [Shock Lock] Sounds fun but inconsistent

I'd check videos of it being played on Youtube. It doesn't sport many GX Pokemon (I think it's just a Tapu Lele-GX or two), so it can afford to take a couple of KOs while setting up. A competent opponent will know what to hit while they are setting up. That said, not a whole lot of people are familiar with the matchup. Also, Garb REALLY hurts the deck. Shock Lock CAN beat or work around Garbotoxin, but it's really tricky for them and tough for them to do.

I think [Sableye / Garb] might be hard for her first control deck. Does it not get easily run over by decks like buzzwole that do lots of damage fast? I know buzzwole GX is prevalent in our meta, how does sableye Garb combat that? Sorry I'm relatively new to control myself

I got back into Pokemon last year and started with Sylveon and Sableye / Garb. Honestly, Sylveon-GX gets frustrating at times (especially when you get N'd out of a hand). Sableye / Garb is no walk in the park, but once you play with it for a bit, it'll start to click. I'd recommend building it on PTCGO and using it there to get a good feel for it. There's A LOT of plays you can make in a turn. But if you can get good with Sableye / Garb, you can be good with ANY control deck this game will ever throw at you as this deck will teach you virtually everything you could possibly want to look for in learning how to play control. Trial by fire.

That said, Faba in Lost Thunder might be played in several builds. And that could prove problematic as they could trash your Life Dew into the Lost Zone and really cramp your style. A bit soon to tell, but there it is.

Sableye / Garb uses Trashalanche Garbodor. The guy who won the Salt Lake City regional with Sableye / Garb beat THREE Buzzwole variants by taking 6 prizes swith Garbodor. That said, he had Puzzles, we don't. So maybe use Rescue Stretchers? I'm not sure.

I would love [Accelgor / Wobbuffet/Stoutland] if it works

Shock Lock became the spiritual successor to Accelgor builds. My biggest problem with Accelgor is that you're doing damage with your lock-condition. IF you weren't doing damage, they'd need some sort of switch effect like Escape Rope, Switch, Guzma, etc.
But because you did damage, Acerola becomes part of the equation too.


Question, I know the new oranguru has an attack that is somewhat reminiscent of Junk Hunt, Does it have any value in a control build as a new archetype?

Oranguru was used in a lot of aggro decks to recycle back Puzzle of Time. I'm not sure how much it will get played with Puzzle of Time gone. The problem with Oranguru is that you won't immediately get to use the cards you get back. Unless your deck is SUPER low and you have a means to access what Resource Management is throwing back, all you're doing is making your deck bigger. Unless you have some way of sustaining a lock without the means of attacking (because you'll be using Oranguru), there's no point in using it.
That said, Oranguru is REALLY annoying for control decks to deal with. Sableye / Garb and Sylveon-GX have the best ways of dealing with it (using Flare Grunt; attacking it with a Muscle Band, respectively).
 
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Hey guys, I want to build a deck for my wife. She’s played Buzzwole GX and Night March pretty well, but she wants to do something more along the lines of control/stall for the new Expanded format.

What do you guys think will be a good deck list for the new format?

currently mulling over:
-Durant Mill
-Sableye/Garb
-Wailord Deck Out
-Stoutland Raichu

Any other suggestions and deck list ideas?
I liked playing Seismatoad EX Giratina EX before the bans, haven't tested it yet though.
 
I liked playing Seismatoad EX Giratina EX before the bans, haven't tested it yet though.


I like where Toad is at the moment. That said, I think it's not good post Lost Thunder due to the new Grass-type Pokemon coming out.

And Faba KILLS Toad.

I feel like it's going to need an overhaul to make the deck work in the future.
 
We have a lot to cover! Let's go line by line!
I use two Mew FCO in my build. It does help to the point to where I would want a 3rd or maybe run 4.
I'd advise against Stadiums in the build as there really aren't any that benefit Durant Mill spectacularly or would help you in other matchups.
Magcargo could help, but having the evolution line in the deck really cramps up the deck space, unless you see something I don't.
Yeah having all basics is pretty powerful for consistency. Not sure, maybe we'll try this in the future if some cool cards come out that might beef it up

Golisopod-GX can also tank a Wailord EX pretty badly (as long as it has Choice Band), but it didn't have a whole lot of success once "Beached Whales" became a thing as the meta kinda pushed it out and all Zoroark-GX variants morphed into Zoro-Eggs (Zoroark-GX / Golisopod-GX is a tough Zoroark variant to pilot correctly).
Wishiwashi-GX was used in early versions of "Beached Whales" for the explicit purpose of not getting wrecked by Golisopod-GX. Ironically, it lost a Top-8 match in a regional because of a Night March deck.
Even though Night March is slated to take a big backseat this season with the loss of Hex Maniac, Ghetsis, and Puzzle of Time. Lost Thunder has some neat Lightning options that would threaten Wishiwashi-GX from being considered again. It's HP is at that magic "210 HP threshold" that leaves it open to OHKO plays from the likes of Sky Field Zoroark and such.
I ended up building her a proxy version of Wailord heavily based on the one that got 2nd at one of the more recent expanded tournaments, she quite liked it and had a lot of fun! My big worry is if Lost March gets popular (I plan on trying to make it work in expanded), that will eat Wailord alive.

If Energy acceleration isn't a thing at your venue, then it might work. That said, Expanded Buzzwole is a dicey matchup and you'll have to know the matchup pretty good to stand a chance.
Their deck doesn't feature a lot of recovery--if any. Its usually just one Super Rod and that's it. But between Absorption GX, Knuckle Punch, Strong Energy, Diancie Prism Star, and Choice Band. They have some bad ways of delivering an OHKO on Sylveon. You'll need to target down the Diancie Prism Star quickly. From there, you'll have to hit their Strong and BEast Energy Prism with Flare Grunts and Enhanced Hammers. You'll take a KO or two EASILY, but don't take any more KOs than Diancie Prism Star. If they also happen to use Regirock-EX
to boost damage, KO it AFTER Diancie Prism Star so you don't trigger Sledgehammer on baby Buzzwole. I doubt Regirock-EX will see play anymore since deckspace in Buzzwole is pretty tight, but I'll put that out there.
I feel like it's possible that this would be good, but I think i'll try the other ones out first

I'd check videos of it being played on Youtube. It doesn't sport many GX Pokemon (I think it's just a Tapu Lele-GX or two), so it can afford to take a couple of KOs while setting up. A competent opponent will know what to hit while they are setting up. That said, not a whole lot of people are familiar with the matchup. Also, Garb REALLY hurts the deck. Shock Lock CAN beat or work around Garbotoxin, but it's really tricky for them and tough for them to do.
It seems interesting, and I really like the unorthadox pokemon it uses.

I got back into Pokemon last year and started with Sylveon and Sableye / Garb. Honestly, Sylveon-GX gets frustrating at times (especially when you get N'd out of a hand). Sableye / Garb is no walk in the park, but once you play with it for a bit, it'll start to click. I'd recommend building it on PTCGO and using it there to get a good feel for it. There's A LOT of plays you can make in a turn. But if you can get good with Sableye / Garb, you can be good with ANY control deck this game will ever throw at you as this deck will teach you virtually everything you could possibly want to look for in learning how to play control. Trial by fire.
That said, Faba in Lost Thunder might be played in several builds. And that could prove problematic as they could trash your Life Dew into the Lost Zone and really cramp your style. A bit soon to tell, but there it is.
Sableye / Garb uses Trashalanche Garbodor. The guy who won the Salt Lake City regional with Sableye / Garb beat THREE Buzzwole variants by taking 6 prizes swith Garbodor. That said, he had Puzzles, we don't. So maybe use Rescue Stretchers? I'm not sure.
She likes the idea of trying this one out. Shame puzzles are gone for it, but I imagine it also helps the zoroark matchup? because they used puzzles quite heavily. Does that new sableye hold any value or not really?
 
I liked playing Seismatoad EX Giratina EX before the bans, haven't tested it yet though.
That seems pretty cool.

Hey this reminds me, does Noivern GX work at all? with the new lance prism star coming out you could potentially use it to set up some altaria easily, boosting your damage and locking items or special energy. Seems pretty similar to Seismitoad Giritina
 
That seems pretty cool.

Hey this reminds me, does Noivern GX work at all? with the new lance prism star coming out you could potentially use it to set up some altaria easily, boosting your damage and locking items or special energy. Seems pretty similar to Seismitoad Giritina
I haven't tested it yet after dragon majesty, but I feel that would be better as a Standard deck, as IMO toad is the play of item lock in Expanded.
 
I haven't tested it yet after dragon majesty, but I feel that would be better as a Standard deck, as IMO toad is the play of item lock in Expanded.
Even with double dragon energy being in expanded? seems significant
but i guess toad being a basic is significant too.

Hey question, does anyone think Toad/Greninja GX could be viable in expanded? since toad/bats was so awesome for so long, could have potential
 
That seems pretty cool.

Hey this reminds me, does Noivern GX work at all? with the new lance prism star coming out you could potentially use it to set up some altaria easily, boosting your damage and locking items or special energy. Seems pretty similar to Seismitoad Giritina


Noivern GX feels clunky. And with Lance Prism Star
That seems pretty cool.

Hey this reminds me, does Noivern GX work at all? with the new lance prism star coming out you could potentially use it to set up some altaria easily, boosting your damage and locking items or special energy. Seems pretty similar to Seismitoad Giritina

Noivern GX--and Dragons in general, feel VERY clunky. Double Dragon Energy feels like a crutch, and Lost Thunder with Faba makes things worse for them.

Before Lost Prism? I'd still opt against it as I'd be concerned that your damage potential isn't nearly what it should be. Archie's can dance around your Altaria and maybe your Noivern GX, Trevenant locks you out, Buzzwole can outdamage you and dance around Altaria (and because they are built to go against Trevenant, they get around Noivery GX as well). You might be able to beat a Psychic Toolbox player, but most people running that know what they are doing. Your DDE gets targeted down and they'll thrash you with Trashalanche.
 
I ended up building her a proxy version of Wailord heavily based on the one that got 2nd at one of the more recent expanded tournaments, she quite liked it and had a lot of fun! My big worry is if Lost March gets popular (I plan on trying to make it work in expanded), that will eat Wailord alive.


She likes the idea of trying this one out. Shame puzzles are gone for it, but I imagine it also helps the zoroark matchup? because they used puzzles quite heavily. Does that new sableye hold any value or not really?


1) Lost March WILL NOT be popular until more tools come out that make it significantly better than Night March. SM9 is supposed to have more Lost Zone shenanigans, so we'll see. Could be good, could be dumpster fire. Deck will be viable in standard to a degree. At least, it'll be a solid tier-2 deck.

And unless you're going to regionals, you won't see Wailord much. The only people running that have 3-4 Tropical Beach, and those are pretty low in supply. I have a strong feeling that Wailord will not be a good play post Lost Thunder.

Zoroark definitely runs worse without Puzzles, Hex, or Ghetsis--especially Ghetsis, as that was a huge problem for Sableye-Garb.

I'm currently running a Sableye variant, and I'm really glad Puzzles are gone. Once they announced the bans, I took my variant from last year, dusted it off, and took out 14 cards within 24 hours and it runs like a beast.

Now, I'm not sure about how or what one would have to do differently, if any, for Sableye / Garb. I'm going to take a stab and say that you're definitely going to need Rescue Stretcher as Puzzle kind of assisted with that.

What I'm concerned about is that if it'll still be good Post Lost Thunder because, again, Faba. It can take your ONE Life Dew and put it in the Lost Zone and really throw you off. I know good Sableye / Garb players could probably play around this. I don't know, I still suck at this game. Also depends if Faba is going to be as popular as I think it'll be.

Then again, I thought Naganadel-metal box would be a tier-1 deck in Standard at the beginning of the format, and look where we are at now. I'm trying to keep up with the trends, but it's hard when you have negative CP
 
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