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Standard New player, first deck

mr-mooster

mr-mooster

Aspiring Trainer
Member
This is the first deck I've built after collecting cards on and off for about a month. Since I ended up having a good amount of Electric and Psychic energies, along with some good cards of those types, I decided to go with Electric/Psychic as my first deck.

I haven't entered any tournaments yet and I don't have many people to play with around me so I haven't tested it yet! Any help would be appreciated!

Pokemon: 23
  • 1 Shuppet RS
  • 1 Banette RS
  • 1 Drifloon SS
  • 1 Drifblim SS
  • 2 Slowpoke GR
  • 1 Slowbro GR
  • 1 Trubbish BT
  • 1 Garbodor GR
  • 2 Alolan Geodude GR
  • 1 Alolan Graveler GR
  • 1 Alolan Golem GR
  • 1 Togedemaru SM
  • 2 Pikachu SM Raichu v. Lycanroc
  • 1 Alolan Raichu SM Raichu v. Lycanroc
  • 2 Patrat GR
  • 1 Watchog GR
  • 2 Stufful SM
  • 1 Bewear SM
Trainers: 18
  • 2 Ultra Ball
  • 1 Hau
  • 2 Enhanced Hammer
  • 2 Exp. Share
  • 1 Energy Lotto
  • 1 Rescue Stretcher
  • 1 Pokemon Catcher
  • 1 Mallow
  • 2 Field Blower
  • 1 Big Malasada
  • 1 Repel
  • 2 Energy Recycler
  • 1 Energy Retrieval
Energy: 19
  • 10 Electric
  • 8 Psychic
  • 1 Double Colorless
Strategy:
The main strategy of this deck is to get as many Electric Energies on Alolan Golem as possible as this card is the hardest hitter in the deck besides my Trashalanche Garbodor. I have a lot of Energy manipulators in order to help me take more energy from my deck or discard pile. I also have a Pokemon Stretcher in case Golem, Graveler, or Geodude get knocked out. Togedemaru is used as a staller to build energy on Golem or. I also have 2 Exp. Share cards to build him. One is used in case he is discarded.

I also have a Watchog/Trashlanche Garbodor combo. Watchog's Scrutanize allows me to draw the top 2 cards of my opponent's deck and discard whichever one I want. If one of them is a Trainer's card, I can easily set up a very powerful Trashalanche. Unfortunately, I don't have enough Watchog or Garbodor cards to really pull this off so it's my second strategy in case the Golem one doesn't work.
 
Hi!

I see that you have too many 1-ofs (I mean, only 1 copy of a card). That is a problem, because when that card is prized or discarded, you have to change your strategy ingame. I recommend you to choose between Alolan Golem or Garbodor (this one is the best option tbh) and try to get more copies of the cards.

Also, I've seen you're running almost no supporters, which are one of the most important things in this game. Here are some cards I think you should try to get (consider buying singles if you can't trade with other people):

Garbodor GR x2
Trubbish x2
Professor Sycamore x4
N or Hala (in case you have a GX pokemon) x3
Stufful x1
Bewear GR x3 (This Bewear is much better than the SM one)
Ultra Ball x2

With those cards, I think you can make your deck work much better ;)
 
Thanks! I only recently started buying cards so I do have a lot of 1-copies of the good cards. I guess I'll keep looking and buy some GR Garbodor singles.

What do you think of the Watchog/Trashalanche Garbodor combo?
 
Welcome to the game!

I would also recommend picking up some singles, wether it be locally or online. You can get play-sets (4) of good trainer cards for pretty reasonable prices. Based on what you've put together I also think Garbodor would be a good option for you. I would recommend either pairing it with Wobbuffett from Generations, or Espeon GX, or both. Neither of these are terribly expensive, Espeons will be a few dollars each but 2-3 would be plenty I think.

Regardless of what you choose to play, the goal should be consistency. Even if you're playing with pokemon that aren't considered "competetive" you still have a better chance of performing well if you can consistently set up your field, rather than drawing cards you dont need, and being unable to get to the ones you do.

So I guess my take-away for you as a new player is to play what you want to play, but pick up some singles to make it consistent. If you decide you want to play Alolan Golem then that's awesome. Consider getting a fuller evolution line, some Rare Candy, and maybe 1-2 Victini to re-flip coins for it's attack. Whatever you decide there are people here to give suggestions.

EDIT: To address your question of the Watchog/Garb combo, I'm not a fan of it personally. I commend you on thinking the way you did, as a new player learning to look for synchronous cards is difficult for some, so kudos on seeing it that way.

Now, the reason I'm not a big fan is pretty simple. Your opponent is probably playing items anyway, maybe a little sparingly since they're facing Garb, but they'll play some just the same. If they've played at least 2, then I feel like Watchog is holding you back. Watchog does no damage, and MIGHT let you toss an item, giving Garb +20 next turn. If they already had 2 items, thats 40 damage. So if you attack with Garb both turns you'd do a total of 80 damage (40, then 40 the next turn). If you use Watchog, then Garb, you only did 60, IF you hit an item (0, then 60 with Garb). I like where your head's at on this, but a net loss if you consider it this way. Hope this helps.
 
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Welcome, for decks you normally try to have a strategy where all cards in the deck aid in reaching your goal. The best way to get the hang of it is probably to build a popular deck, I assume you're on a budget so I'd recommend Greninja BREAK, as far as pricier cards in the deck you'll need VS Seeker ($5), Greninja BREAK (~$4), and Talonflame (~$2.50) if you're not on a budget then I'd recommend Garbodor (Guardians Rising), but that one usually runs 3 Tapu Lele GX ($35 each), 2 Shaymin EX ($40) and much more. Also, I'd recommend also looking at YouTubers, such as YellowSwellow, The Pokemon Evolutionaries, and Team Fish Knuckles to look at some other lists. Lastly, if your league allows it you can buy World Champion decks which have very powerful deck, but the 'proxies' aren't legal in any tournaments and some leagues ;) (that's basically how I got started competitively) Also, of course your deck depends on how YOU want to play if you just want to have a good time, then this doesn't matter much really. Competitively, of course I would use this advice.
 
Some excellent advice from jessalakasam. Definitely watch videos - I'd also recommend discount pokemon decks as he presents good decks that don't ever include Shaymin or Lele. Also, Greninja is water, and there are so many good Grass decks out there (Decidueye, Lurantis, Vespiquen, Trevenant) that I would not recommend running a water deck that's weak to grass.... I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with that though. Their counter will be that Volcanion is very popular, and they're right, but it doesn't change the fact that because of FoGP gives Grass decks such a huge advantage, there will be a ton of Grass decks played until rotation.... Garb is relatively inexpensive and is probably the BDIF right now. I run neither Shaymin nor Lele in my Garb deck and win 70+% of the time.

Also, in case you don't know, you can buy card codes online and they're pretty inexpensive. That will help you test to see what to buy in reality, if you're planning on playing with cards... I'm assuming that you've already found PTCGO and are playing online.

VS Seekers help a lot later in the game, but you need to run at least eight draw support cards for proper consistency - I frequently run more than that. Prior to Garb, I was often running 4 Random Receivers to help improve draw consistency, but I have to seriously reconsider that since item cards are now basically just Trashalance fuel.

Try to run four Field Blower. At least on PTCGO, people are still running a ton of items and stadiums. Until people start running less tools, you will not regret running a four of. In decks where I don't run 4, I'm always wishing I had more.

You might want to consider Olympia instead of switch - one less item card and potentially can be used multiple times with VS Seeker.

Again, many of my suggestions are controversial - I question the meta every chance I get, and the answer I come up with is frequently different than most people's. Feel free to make judgments for yourself. And remember - it's just a game. The worst thing that happens is that you see the ugly red DEFEAT at the end of the match. And honestly you're going to learn more from your losses than your wins, so losing isn't always a bad thing.

Good luck, PM me if you'd like to take this off line.
 
21times said:
Some excellent advice from jessalakasam. Definitely watch videos - I'd also recommend discount pokemon decks as he presents good decks that don't ever include Shaymin or Lele. Also, Greninja is water, and there are so many good Grass decks out there (Decidueye, Lurantis, Vespiquen, Trevenant) that I would not recommend running a water deck that's weak to grass.... I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with that though. Their counter will be that Volcanion is very popular, and they're right, but it doesn't change the fact that because of FoGP gives Grass decks such a huge advantage, there will be a ton of Grass decks played until rotation.... Garb is relatively inexpensive and is probably the BDIF right now. I run neither Shaymin nor Lele in my Garb deck and win 70+% of the time
Click to expand...
The grass decks you mention won't be as popular most likely due to Garb
 
If you'd said Turtonator instead of Garb, I'd agree with you. Garb affects everybody equally... except Psychic decks which are now unplayable (except for Garb of course).

There are plenty of people playing Quad Lapras and water box decks, and I don't think that will change because they're so good against Volcanion. I've even seen a couple of Greninja videos recently claiming that he's back and better than ever, but I'm just not buying it. And it's too bad because I love Greninja and won a lot with him.

Look at Roanoke - granted that's pre GRI, but that's a good sampling of what the top decks are right now: Quad Lapras, Volcanion, Darkrai, Deciplume. Look for Garb to enter the mix there. I'm sure he'll replace the two Mewtwos.
 
I don't think the OP was so much looking for a debate on the current Meta, as trying to get some tips as a new deck builder. The Top-Tier decks from Roanoke don't matter nearly as much for someone that's yet to even compete in a League Cup. Those decks are definitely things to consider if you decide to pursue a more competetive run, but if you just want to have some fun while getting used to the game, play something you like.

I've been playing Passimian/Mew lately because I like how the deck works and think it's a fun combo. The deck is pretty consistent for me and has beaten decks that I had considered auto-losses like Yveltal or Garbodor. It certainly doesnt win every game, but it's a fun cheap deck and can hold it's own, if not win, any match up if you ask me. That's not my pitch to say you should play Passimian, but it certainly enforces my initial point of playing something you enjoy, and making it consistent can make all the difference.
 
Thanks everyone for all your solid advice! I'm not sure if I want to get into competitive yet. I normally just like to have fun while I play games. The local card shop holds Pokemon events every Saturday and the guy there said that they see tons of players, new and old, in all ages.

I have Espeon GX but no Eevee yet, and I have 3 Decidueye GXs but not enough Rowlet or Dartrix to back them up. I need to invest in more SM base packs or look out for more singles. I ended up buying a few packs today and got another Watchog and a Trubbish to help build the Watchog/Garb combo. I also got a second Rescue Stretcher, Alolan Graveler, Mallow, both Alters, and Hala. I also got Vikavolt GX, but don't have enough of his other stages to back it up and a secret double colorless. I think I'll sell the double colorless to aid in getting some other cards.

My cards on PTCGO are kind of all over the place so I'm unsure where to start there. I'm also confused as to what Trade-Lock means.
 
Definitely most important thing is to have fun. Find a deck you like is very good advice. I frequently play decks I like, decks that are quirky and definitely not the meta just so I can see if I can try to get them to work. That's probably the most fun for me, can I find something that no one else has seen yet and make it competitive.

So again, there's a lot of IMO in the following sentences - I would definitely seek out advice from players at your local shop as well:

I am VERY down arrow on Espeon GX. I am 6-6 against it since GRI's release, but the six losses have all come against "experimental" decks or decks I feel are mediocre. I've beaten it all six times with "good" decks, including a couple of times with Garb GRI, to which I think we would all agree that Espeon GX is an autoloss. I really believe that Psychic Pokemon are completely unplayable now with Garb.

If you have three Decidueyes, I'd go that route! Dartrix and Rowlet are cheap and easy to come across - I'll bet some of the guys at the local shop will trade you them for cheap. Otherwise, you can find them online ... I just looked quickly and saw them for 25 cents and 39 cents respectively. There are tons of great partners for Decidueye, it's a top tier Pokemon.

If you really pulled a 166/145 secret rare double colorless, you just completely funded your next deck. That card is going for about $70 right now.

Finally, trade locked: if you "buy" a pack on PTCGO with coins, those cards are NOT available to trade. You can use them in any deck you want, but you can't trade them. Not sure why they do that, especially since it's so easy to go get codes online. Packs you win in Tournament events are completely tradable.

One thing to mention quickly about PTCGO trades: most of the trades out there are garbage. If you're planning on trading cards or packs on PTCGO BE VERY AWARE. Look through the trade opportunities carefully. Also, the database loads the trades closest to expiration first. Common sense tells us that garbage trades are never going to be accepted, so you're never going to see a good trade with less than an hour or two left before expiration. I usually wait until I see trades in the 5 and 6 hour range before I start seriously looking.

Good luck!
 
Someone sent me a message offering trades for the Secret Rare DCE I pulled but I think I'm just going to sell it. My card shop is doing a 3/$10 deal on booster packs and they have a lot of other things I need, like a good binder, more sleeves, playmat, and some good singles. I didn't see any Garb singles in the store today but those are so cheap that I can just get a bunch online.

I have two regular Decidueye-GX cards and one hyper rare. I don't want to play with the hyper rare since it's so nice looking.

http://imgur.com/m5h8kTJ
Here's my Secret DCE and a Vikavolt-GX I pulled today.
 
mr-mooster said:
Someone sent me a message offering trades for the Secret Rare DCE I pulled but I think I'm just going to sell it. My card shop is doing a 3/$10 deal on booster packs and they have a lot of other things I need, like a good binder, more sleeves, playmat, and some good singles. I didn't see any Garb singles in the store today but those are so cheap that I can just get a bunch online.

I have two regular Decidueye-GX cards and one hyper rare. I don't want to play with the hyper rare since it's so nice looking.

http://imgur.com/m5h8kTJ
Here's my Secret DCE and a Vikavolt-GX I pulled today.
Click to expand...
That DCE is really good. I don't know how much is it but it's one of the most rare cards there out.
 
I looked around on a few different sites and it's going for around $70, which is awesome. I paid $20 for 6 packs at the card store so it's a nice turnout.
 
Get a Tapu lele $35, 4 sycamore $4, 4N $6 and you are in business to try out any fun deck. I think golisopod will make a nice budget deck. costs like $2 for a playset :)
 
I've got a Golisopod and 2 Wimpod so I can definitely put him in a deck. I don't have any choice bands yet.
 
It should be very easy to get commons/uncommons at league. A lot of more serious players have boxes of bulk just sitting at home. Like others said above. Pick 1 or 2 pokemon for a deck, max them out to 4 count (4-4, or 4-4-4 for stage 2) add in a couple of support pokemon (oranguru for example is a cheap support pokemon) add basic trainer cards (sycamore, shauna, N, ultra ball, nest ball, timer ball etc) and have fun!
 
You said you got 3 decidueyes GX. You could try to get the Rowlets and a pair of Vileplumes. That deck is nice to play. If you can't get vileplumes, maybe the Decidueyes with something good, like a Tauros GX or a Lugia EX.
Cheap pokemon and it's a good deck to play.
 
I sold the secret DCE for $60 store credit at the card shop and bought a Choice Band, Trainer's Mail, and a 3rd Field Blower. I think that since I have a Golisopod and a choice band, I should run that. What would work well with a Golisopod?
 
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