Alt. Format Solgaleo GX/Newgaleo GX Deck List + Explanation

[Duo]

tl;dr - Most up to date deck list:

Pokemon x16

New Solgaleo GX XL™ x2
SuMo Solgaleo GX x2
Cosmoem x2
Nebby x4
Registeel x1
Rayquaza x1
Solgaleo Prism Star x1
Dusk Mane Necrozma GX x1
Tapu Lele GX x2

Supporter x16

Sycamore x4
Cynthia x3
N x3
Guzma x3
Brigette x3

Item x16

Ultra Ball x4
Rare Candy x4
Choice Band x4
Field Blower x3
Rescue Stretcher x1

Energy x12

Metal Energy x9
DCE x3

Spoiler: Previous version that includes Zoroark GX

Pokemon x19

New Solgaleo GX XL™ x2
SuMo Solgaleo GX x2
Cosmoem x2
Nebby x4
Zoroark GX x2
Zorua x2
Registeel x1
Rayquaza x1
Tapu Lele GX x3

Supporter x14

Sycamore x4
N x4
Guzma x3
Olivia x2
Brigette x1

Item x15

Ultra Ball x4
Rare Candy x4
Choice Band x3
Field Blower x3
Rescue Stretcher x1

Energy x12

Metal Energy x9
DCE x3

Spoiler: Outdated discussion, read at your leisure

I've been think quite a while about Solgaleo GX and would like to share everything I've been thinking about.

To start, here's a cute dilemma with Solgaleo GX.

Going first

Turn 1: Brigette for Nebby, attach 1 energy.

Turn 2 Option 1: Rare Candy SuMo Solgaleo GX, attach 1 energy. 1 Energy short of attacking. Even if you accelerate energy with Rayquaza or Registeel or your GX attack, you still can’t attack until turn 3. No point in rushing evolution for turn 2. GX attack is only valid if you can guarantee New Solgaleo on Turn 3.

Turn 2 Option 2: Rare Candy New Solgaleo GX, attach 1 energy. Guzma, deal 120 damage. If you opened Nebby in active, then it completely depends on if your opponent’s active is worth attacking. If you don’t have Ultra Ball or Sycamore and energy in hand to discard, you won’t accelerate any energy. The 120 damage is still great though. You can Guzma up something 120 HP or less and KO it, or start picking a 2 hit KO on something that isn’t set up.

Going second

Turn 1 Option 1: Ultra Ball away 1 energy for Lele for Brigette for Nebby, attach 1 energy to Registeel, attack to accelerate discarded energy onto Nebby. Requires your opening hand to have 2 energy and Ultra Ball to work, and you must open Registeel.

Turn 1 Option 2: Open Nebby, Brigette for whatever you want, attach energy to Nebby, attack to draw 1 card.

Turn 2 Option 1: Rare Candy SuMo Solgaleo GX, attach 1 energy. 1 Energy short of attacking. Attack again with Registeel if you have discarded energy. If you attach to Registeel and retreat Nebby, attack to accelerate retreated energy, you will be 2 energy short.

Turn 2 Option 2: Rare Candy New Solgaleo GX, attach 1 energy. Guzma up something and deal 120 damage. Registeel will be unable to retreat since 3 retreat cost, so Guzma is your only option if you want to deal damage on turn 2. You would need amazing luck get 1 of each Solgaleo GX on turn 2 to Ultra Road instead.

Turn 2 Option 3: Rare Candy New Solgaleo GX, attach 1 energy to active Nebby. Attack for 120.

So what does this mean? This means that no matter what you do, the earliest you can attack with SuMo Solgaleo GX is on Turn 3 going either first or second. The only exception to this is if you attack with Rayquaza on turn 1 going second, have 2 energy in discard, and get Solgaleo GX in play on turn 2, but I don't think that's very consistent. You're also front ending a lot of energy - a DCE onto Rayquaza, and 2 energy onto a Nebby that can get KO'd by turn 2 aggression. Even if you rush it on turn 2 and Sol Burst, you can’t swing until turn 3. If you have more than 1 Nebby on the bench, you are most likely going to lose one to a Guzma if your opponent decides that’s the best play. It likely isn’t since Turn 3 you are able to OHKO a Solgaleo GX with choice band, and doing so sets up your discard pile to have energy that can be accelerated.

If you commit energy to the New Solgaleo GX XL, you will have no energy committed to an upcoming SuMo Solgaleo GX, and now you’re in a dilemma where you must have a discard pile set up through Sycamore and Ultra Ball in order to make this reasonably fast for you. If your discard pile is looking empty, then you’re locked into 2 hit KOs while your opponent may be setting up for OHKOs on your Solgaleo GX.

In short, Turn 3 is the most important turn for this deck. You need a SuMo Solgaleo GX with 3 energy ready to attack on Turn 3 in order for the rest of your game to go well. Turn 4 is the next most important turn, because if you do not have the ability to accelerate energy, you will not be able to attack on turn 5. You can instantly set up energy acceleration on your New Solgaleo GX XL because of DCE, so neglecting energy on it for a few turns is acceptable. You would attach DCE on turn 4, attack, accelerate 2 energy, then on turn 5 attach energy onto SuMo Solgaleo GX, and you’re off. If you open the game with New Solgalelo GX XL, you are actually behind unless your discard pile already has 2 energy in it. Between attaching energy, prizing energy, drawing energy, and drawing discard outlets for energy, this is very hard to promise.

And thus, I have come to the following list:

Pokemon x21

New Solgaleo GX XL™ x2
SuMo Solgaleo GX x2
GRI Solgaleo x1
Cosmoem x4
Nebby x4
Zoroark GX x2
Zorua x2
Registeel x1
Tapu Lele GX x3

Supporter x12

Sycamore x4
N x4
Guzma x3
Brigette x1

Item x15

Ultra Ball x4
Evosoda x4
Choice Band x3
Field Blower x3
Rescue Stretcher x1

Energy x12

DCE x3
Metal Energy x9

The Solgaleo line up is, currently, standard. 3 attackers and 2 supporters. The Zoroark GX line is protected by New Solgaleo GX XL so it is not weak to fighting anymore, and it gives you a discard outlet for energy as well as enhanced draw power throughout the whole game.

One copy of Olivia increases the consistency of your divided GX line up. You can grab both Solgaleos, or more likely, since you can Heavy Ball for SuMo Solgaleo GX, you’re going to grab 1 Zoroark GX and 1 New Solgaleo GX. As much as I would like to play Mallow, having Zoroark GX more consistently is better than putting all your eggs in the basket for Zoroark + Mallow combo.

Registeel is the best option for a basic starter. For starters, Registeel can single handedly take out the entire Alolan Vulpix evolution line up due to weakness. 1 energy OHKOs Alolan Vulpix to deny Beacon. 3 energy OHKOs Luminous Barrier, 3 energy + choice band OHKOs Alolan Ninetales GX.

Registeel has 130 HP, which means that New Solgaleo GX cannot OHKO it even if your opponent goes for the turn 2 attack. Rayquaza has 120 HP which will fall to New Solgaleo GX and deny energy acceleration.

Rayquaza needs 2 energy to accelerate, and it accelerates 2 at a time. As a basic starter Pokemon, that is absolutely abysmal. You need to attach DCE, which you only have 3 of, and you need to have 2 energy in discard early in the game to make it more worth it than OHKOing Alolan Vulpixes with only 1 Metal energy. That is not as consistent. New Solgaleo GX is much tankier and accelerates energy at a damage value that’s far more substantial at a point in the game where having 2 or more energy in discard is realistic. To me, Rayquaza is the worst possible starter and the only reason to run it is as back up energy acceleration for mid to late game.

Alolan Vulpix is unnecessary in this build because Heavy Ball searches out 8 of the Pokemon in your deck, and you get to keep them and play them guaranteed.

And the decision that’s going to make everyone upset – no rare candy. Not a single one. As explained above, turn 3 is what counts. By increasing heavy ball counts and adding Olivia to increase odds of seeing your final evolutions, you have much higher odds of getting your turn 3 Solgaleos, and more than one of them. With 6 costless ways to get into Cosmoem and 10 ways to see it counting Ultra Ball, your odds of getting 2 in play are pretty good assuming you used Brigette turn 1. From there, you can combine Heavy Ball, Ultra Ball, and Olivia into multiple evolutions.

With rare candy, you must have the rare candy and the Solgaleo GX together. Sure, you can Skyla and heavy ball to help you out, but playing Skyla means you get no more draw power for the turn and you are not moving as quickly. Skyla also does not help you in any way access your New Solgaleo GX. You have to Ultra Ball for the 2 copies if you don’t draw them. You also have a harder time with late game recovery because you relied on Rare Candy.

Also, by running 2 Zoroark GX, you are not locked out of turn 2 aggression. You only need 5 Pokemon in play to OHKO opposing up to Cosmoem lines and only 3 for Nebby. 5 Pokemon is your starter, and Lele for Brigette. This turn 2 aggression also does not put your Solgaleo GX line at risk, and if you've been discarding energy well with Zoroark GX's ability, this play won't slow down Solgaleo GX at all.

3 Field Blower is a must because you are a 100% ability deck with no way to recover item cards. Garbodor shuts down a lot of your strategy, and Salazzle/Garbodor will destroy you. Speaking of which, the Zoroark GX's are here as anti-fire in the worst case scenarios.

This is all purely conceptual, but this is, in my opinion, the most consistent and effective way to run Solgaleo GX. There is no Max Potion here because the mirror match is all about OHKOs anyway. It’s irrelivent.

 

[Draskk]

Nice list. Running no Candies is interesting, but I can see why you'd go with it. I do have a few suggestions, though.

Why not run Evosoda over Heavy Ball? That way you can grab the new Solgaleo, and get around pesky Po Towns.

Why only 3 Cosmoems? I'd cut either the third Heavy Ball/Evosoda or the third Field Blower for the fourth Cosmoem.

Maybe cut something for a Float Stone in case Garbotoxin is out and you can't Ultra Road. The second Registeel maybe?

Looks pretty good otherwise; I can't wait to test this deck and I like your spin on it.

 

[PlatinumDude]

Registeel needs 2 Steel and 1 Colorless energy for its second attack. Double Colorless is a waste on it.

 

[FrostBiter12]

Registeel needs 2 Steel and 1 Colorless energy for its second attack. Double Colorless is a waste on it.

I'm pretty sure that the DBC is used for the new Solgaleo GX that will be released in Starter sets in Japan. The two attacks on the card only require two Colorless energy, so to speed it up they play the DBC. Not to mention that this list plays the Zoroark GX in case they attack with that as well.

I hope that explains it!

 

[EarthwormZim]

I'm pretty sure that the DBC is used for the new Solgaleo GX that will be released in Starter sets in Japan. The two attacks on the card only require two Colorless energy, so to speed it up they play the DBC. Not to mention that this list plays the Zoroark GX in case they attack with that as well.

I hope that explains it!

With regards to Registeel, @PlatinumDude mentioned it because in the write-up Duo said 1 Metal + DCE knocks out Alolan Ninetails and 1 metal + DCE + Choice Band knocks out Alolan Ninetails GX. PlatinumDude's point was that those statements are inaccurate since Registeel's second attack actually requires 2 metal + 1 colorless.

 

[FrostBiter12]

With regards to Registeel, @PlatinumDude mentioned it because in the write-up Duo said 1 Metal + DCE knocks out Alolan Ninetails and 1 metal + DCE + Choice Band knocks out Alolan Ninetails GX. PlatinumDude's point was that those statements are inaccurate since Registeel's second attack actually requires 2 metal + 1 colorless.

Well, thanks for explaining that to me! I guess I missed that. @PlatiniumDude, my apologies, I guess you were right. Thanks for pointing that out @EarthwormZim!

 

[EarthwormZim]

Well, thanks for explaining that to me! I guess I missed that. PlatiniumDude, my apologies, I guess you were right. Thanks for pointing that out EarthwormZim!

No problem ^_^.

Either way, this decklist is intriguing. I fully plan on making a "Double Suns" Solgaleo GX deck once this new one comes out. I'm sure many people will be brewing to find out what works best when it does.

 

[FrostBiter12]

No problem ^_^.

Either way, this decklist is intriguing. I fully plan on making a "Double Suns" Solgaleo GX deck once this new one comes out. I'm sure many people will be brewing to find out what works best when it does.

Thanks!

I agree, with no weakness, 250 Hp, and a attack that can deal 230 damage that is constantly regenerated. Definitely a top contender when released. Unless something is released that we don't know about counters this, Solgaleo will be the "star" of the metagame. I would suggest just all out Solgaleo GX and anything that can accelerate cards to set up faster (Zoroark GX as mentioned above, Octillery, etc.).

 

[Duo]

Thanks for the reclarification on Registeel. The energy requirements are unfortunate but the primary usage is still a single energy to OHKO Alolan Vulpix with small energy acceleration, and even if it will do no damage, New Solgaleo GX can rapidly accelerate energy onto it. It'll take 3 turns for Alolan Ninetales BUS or Hoopa to take you down anyway.

Gekkisai you do bring up a good point. If I'm going slow evolution route, there's absolutely no reason to not use Evosoda instead of Heavy Ball.

As for why not a full line of 4, it's because after a Brigette, at best you're only going to have 3 Nebbies to work with. This isn't a deck like Greninja BREAK that wants 4 Frogadiers to use Water Duplicates and maximize their ability to access maximum Greninja BREAK for maximum Giant Water Shuriken spam. You only need 1 of each Solgaleo GX in play at a time, in which case I feel it's best not to clutter your deck with too many Cosmoems when you ultimately will only ever be going through 3 of them anyway. 3 manual evolutions up to 3 GXs = 6 prizes. The 4th one will never see play. The argument I could see at this point though is that without Rare Candy, if I prize a single Cosmoem then I'm in a big pinch, and Zoroark GX can just kill any extra copies that are stuck in my hand. Plus, having more Cosmoems means more Evosodas to search out the GXs instead of searching out the Cosmoems.

The best idea at this point is probably to get rid of the Olivia, +1 on Cosmoem, and then convert Heavy Balls to Evosodas. Running a 4th Evosoda would probably be ideal as well, and I guess I can cut the 2nd Registeel for it. I do think having a "back up" energy accelerator is very important and I still think Registeel is the best pick for type match up, HP, and the fact that it's more consistently usable in the early game.

I definitely want to take another look at my item & supporter line up as well. I think the Zoroark GX is a good choice overall because of draw power and discard outlets.

I absolutely do not want to cut field blowers. Running 3 field blowers helps me guarantee that I get my abilities and is more consistent than running 2 field blower and 1 float stone, and if I'm against a match up with no ability lock then I just Zoroark them away. I won't see either as much as I want at a 2/1 ratio.

 

[FrostBiter12]

Thanks for the reclarification on Registeel. The energy requirements are unfortunate but the primary usage is still a single energy to OHKO Alolan Vulpix, and even if it will do no damage, New Solgaleo GX can rapidly accelerate energy onto it. It'll take 3 turns for Alolan Ninetales BUS or Hoopa to take you down anyway.

Gekkisai you do bring up a good point. If I'm going slow evolution route, there's absolutely no reason to not use Evosoda instead of Heavy Ball.

As for why not a full line of 4, it's because after a Brigette, at best you're only going to have 3 Nebbies to work with. This isn't a deck like Greninja BREAK that wants 4 Frogadiers to use Water Duplicates and maximize their ability to access maximum Greninja BREAK for maximum Giant Water Shuriken spam. You only need 1 of each Solgaleo GX in play at a time, in which case I feel it's best not to clutter your deck with too many Cosmoems when you ultimately will only ever be going through 3 of them anyway. 3 manual evolutions up to 3 GXs = 6 prizes. The 4th one will never see play. The argument I could see at this point though is that without Rare Candy, if I prize a single Cosmoem then I'm in a big pinch, and Zoroark GX can just kill any extra copies that are stuck in my hand. Plus, having more Cosmoems means more Evosodas to search out the GXs instead of searching out the Cosmoems.

The best idea at this point is probably to get rid of the Olivia, +1 on Cosmoem, and then convert Heavy Balls to Evosodas. Running a 4th Evosoda would probably be ideal as well, and I guess I can cut the 2nd Registeel for it. I do think having a "back up" energy accelerator is very important and I still think Registeel is the best pick for type match up, HP, and the fact that it's more consistently usable in the early game.

I definitely want to take another look at my item & supporter line up as well. I think the Zoroark GX is a good choice overall because of draw power and discard outlets.

I absolutely do not want to cut field blowers. Running 3 field blowers helps me guarantee that I get my abilities and is more consistent than running 2 field blower and 1 float stone, and if I'm against a match up with no ability lock then I just Zoroark them away. I won't see either as much as I want at a 2/1 ratio.

My only suggestion would be watch your item count. The more you play, the more chance you have to discard with Trade, Ultra Ball, and Sycamore. The only deck that I think can withstand Solgaleo is Trashalacnhe (besides any complete counters like the Salazzle GX/Garbodor idea) just because of the amount of items you play. You, fortunately, play a low count, but the more you rely on them (not just the amount), the more you are going to have to play. Great thing though is that you have resistance, so you are very capable of winning, just watch the items.

 

[Duo]

My only suggestion would be watch your item count. The more you play, the more chance you have to discard with Trade, Ultra Ball, and Sycamore. The only deck that I think can withstand Solgaleo is Trashalacnhe (besides any complete counters like the Salazzle GX/Garbodor idea) just because of the amount of items you play. You, fortunately, play a low count, but the more you rely on them (not just the amount), the more you are going to have to play. Great thing though is that you have resistance, so you are very capable of winning, just watch the items.

I have done the math in my head for Trashalanche.

Assuming the goal is 1 hit KOs, I need to have 13 items in my discard pile and Garbodor needs a Choice Band. 260 - 20 resistance = 240 + Choice Band = 270. Otherwise, I need to use 14 items for 280 damage - 20 resistance = 260 damage for OHKO.

Granted I only run 15 total items, I think I'll be okay.

The thing I have to watch out for is Zoroark GX, but it also resists Psychic as well which is part of the reason why I think it's the perfect pick here. With 40 HP less exactly, Garbodor needs 11 + band or 12 items in my discard before it can OHKO a Zoroark GX.

What it will boil down to is simply not over committing. If I have my 2 Solgaleos and my Zoroark GX and enough back up plans, then simply stop playing cards and conserve resources.

EDIT: I also fixed my Rayquaza logic a little bit. The only way to attack on turn 2 with SuMo Solgaleo GX is to go second, open with Rayquaza, open DCE and 2 metal energies, be able to discard those 2 metal energies, attack, and have Solgaleo GX on turn 2 and draw the 3rd metal energy on turn 2.

 

[FrostBiter12]

Once again, I messed up. I was mainly talking about early and mid game. As you set up multiple Solgaleo GXs, you will ultimately be using a good amount of items, leaving your opponent the ability to attack Cosmog, Cosmeom, Tapu Lele GX, Zoroark GX (not as easily as you said), etc. Not to mention the various partners paired up with Garbodor (Espeon GX, Golisopod GX, Drampa GX) that can target your Cosmog and Cosmeom and force you to use more items to reset your board.

I hope this clarifies what I meant. Sorry about that!

 

[FrostBiter12]

Forgot to mention that most decks play Espeon EX, so I'd suggest including a Magearna EX to remove that threat. Keep in mind though that Garbotoxin can shut that off, so watch out for that.

 

[Duo]

I'm going to call that not worth it. By fully manually evolving every step of the way and saving Prominence GX for global heals, I'm about as anti-Espeon EX as I can get already. Plus, the turn that I Sunsteel Strike, all energy is discarded and it is no longer protected. Espeon EX can come out and snipe me at that point, and usually it's going to be a DCE sitting on the new Solgaleo GX, not metal energy, so that's 2 birds with 1 stone for Espeon EX.

Simply having a 90 HP stage 1 underneath and Prominence GX is enough to negate all Espeon EX shenanigans. I may lose a Zoroark GX, but that's not my win condition.

 

[FrostBiter12]

I'm going to call that not worth it. By fully manually evolving every step of the way and saving Prominence GX for global heals, I'm about as anti-Espeon EX as I can get already. Plus, the turn that I Sunsteel Strike, all energy is discarded and it is no longer protected. Espeon EX can come out and snipe me at that point, and usually it's going to be a DCE sitting on the new Solgaleo GX, not metal energy, so that's 2 birds with 1 stone for Espeon EX.

Simply having a 90 HP stage 1 underneath and Prominence GX is enough to negate all Espeon EX shenanigans. I may lose a Zoroark GX, but that's not my win condition.

Good point! I guess I didn't think of that. Just be careful in that you can only use Prominence GX once and you are more likely to use Sol Burst GX early instead. Whatever you feel is best though, go with it. What about Shining Jirachi then? That brings the evolution down to Cosmog, and since you don't play Rare Candy, that's two turns of evolving, plenty of time for Jirachi to dismantle everything and take knockouts (with other Pokémon). Just a thought. Let me know what you think! Thanks!

 

[Duo]

Good point! I guess I didn't think of that. Just be careful in that you can only use Prominence GX once and you are more likely to use Sol Burst GX early instead. Whatever you feel is best though, go with it. What about Shining Jirachi then? That brings the evolution down to Cosmog, and since you don't play Rare Candy, that's two turns of evolving, plenty of time for Jirachi to dismantle everything and take knockouts (with other Pokémon). Just a thought. Let me know what you think! Thanks!

I don't see any reason in using Sol Burst GX early. I see it as a GX attack for if you're bricking on energy or you can't get energy acceleration into play.

If you run through my turn by turn logic that I posted in the original post, you might understand my POV a little more. I'll simplify it here.

Since turn 3 is the turning point for this deck, that means you're already given 3 turns to attach energy manually. Those 3 energies get discarded by Sunsteel Strike, and on turn 4 you attach DCE onto a New Solgaleo GX, Ultra Road, and accelerate 2 of the energy you just discarded. On turn 5, you attach to SuMo Solgaleo GX and swing for another big OHKO. Rinse and repeat for turn 6 and 7. The fastest my deck can win without Sol Burst GX is turn 7.

If you find yourself unable to whip out New Solgaleo GX or brick on energy, then you do the following:

By turn 3, manually attach 3 energy for your first attack and get a big OHKO on turn 3. Turn 4 attach 1 metal energy and accelerate from deck and put spare energies on back up Nebbies. Turn 5 swing for your next big OHKO. Turn 6 hopefully evolve up into another SuMo Solgaleo GX that got accelerated on turn 4 and swing for your last big OHKO. 6 turns is the fastest you can win with Sol Burst GX, even if you do it on turn 2. If you're up against fire decks though, this plan will never stick. If you bricked on energy but were able to set up New Solgaleo GX to protect SuMo Solgaleo GX, this plan will probably work. If you're facing off against fire you're not worrying about Espeon EX anyway, so Sol Burst GX is great. If you're under the effects of Garbotoxin (and not facing off against fire) and can't Ultra Road, this is also great.

If you brick hard on energy, then on turn 3 you Sol Burst GX to get yourself back in the game. On turn 4 you attack for a big OHKO, and on turn 5 hopefully have a New Solgaleo GX in play, Ultra Road, and accelerate energy with the energy you attached to it from Sol Burst GX on turn 3. Turn 6 go for a big OHKO, rinse and repeat for turn 7 and turn 8. Under these circumstances, you would have to be playing rare candy to have Solgaleo GX on turn 2 to win by turn 7 instead of turn 8.

The point I keep trying to make about Magearna EX is that every deck that runs Espeon runs Espeon because they can't OHKO the big Stage 2s, but they can bring them down to size. When you are not at risk of getting OHKO'd, you can take your time setting up and you can use healing to stall them even further.

Sol Burst GX vs Prominence GX is a match up decision. You don't just "9 out of 10 times" go for it.

As far as Jirachi is concerned, in a lot of ways it is a better pick than Espeon EX, but it only works in Psychic & Rainbow energy decks. It's actually a very scary card for Solgaleo GX, but that's also why the Registeel is here in my list. I can take it out with Registeel if needed.

 

[HouchinsDJ]

I know we discussed this list last night, but I figured I'd post some points for public discussion.

I think Magearna EX is a must if Espeon EX is still seeing play when the new Solgaleo GX releases in February. Based off the overall reaction of the Internet, Solgaleo will become the BDIF, meaning people are naturally either going to play it or build their decks with ways to handle it. Espeon EX, and even Shining Jirachi, can dismantle Solgaleo if played right. I'm still not convinced Registeel is needed in this deck. I know you said the main reason was to KO Alolan Vulpix but I just don't feel like that's enough of a reason. Outside of Gardevoir (which doesn't always play it) and Metagross (which will see no play once Solgaleo is out), I can't think of any other decks that run it besides Alolan Ninetales which already has a bad matchup against Solgaleo anyways. I think having an answer to Espeon EX is a must.

I'm also firmly on the side of running Rare Candy. You may not have a Solgaleo set up all the way Turn 2, but I'd rather have it on the field Turn 2 for two reasons. First, it instantly applies pressure on your opponent. They can't ignore it. And second, Cosmog and Cosmoem are way more susceptible to a Guzma KO than Solgaleo is. Manually evolving and attaching energy won't do much good if your oppoent Guzmas out your Cosmoem with 2 energy on it and KOs it, which is what they're going to want to try and do. I do agree that Evosoda should be in the list, but I think a split with 4 Rare Candy, 2 Evosoda, and 2 (maybe even 3) Skyla is optimal. This deck needs to be built with the intension of getting out as many Solgaleo out as possible, as quickly as possible.

I'm still up in the air about Zoroark. I can see it making the deck a bit clunky because you're already trying to focus on getting multiple different Stage 2s out. On the other hand, it's ability is fantastic and can be a big help once set up, especially being able to Trade energies away and get them back with Solgaleo. You do have tons of options for getting energy in the discard already though so there's that to consider.

Overall, I do like your list! I think some of my suggestions are based on my play-style and are by no means the de-facto way to run this. I'm sure your list and whatever list I come up with will change 100 times before Solgaleo is released.

 

[Duo]

I know we discussed this list last night, but I figured I'd post some points for public discussion.

I think Magearna EX is a must if Espeon EX is still seeing play when the new Solgaleo GX releases in February. Based off the overall reaction of the Internet, Solgaleo will become the BDIF, meaning people are naturally either going to play it or build their decks with ways to handle it. Espeon EX, and even Shining Jirachi, can dismantle Solgaleo if played right. I'm still not convinced Registeel is needed in this deck. I know you said the main reason was to KO Alolan Vulpix but I just don't feel like that's enough of a reason. Outside of Gardevoir (which doesn't always play it) and Metagross (which will see no play once Solgaleo is out), I can't think of any other decks that run it besides Alolan Ninetales which already has a bad matchup against Solgaleo anyways. I think having an answer to Espeon EX is a must.

I'm also firmly on the side of running Rare Candy. You may not have a Solgaleo set up all the way Turn 2, but I'd rather have it on the field Turn 2 for two reasons. First, it instantly applies pressure on your opponent. They can't ignore it. And second, Cosmog and Cosmoem are way more susceptible to a Guzma KO than Solgaleo is. Manually evolving and attaching energy won't do much good if your oppoent Guzmas out your Cosmoem with 2 energy on it and KOs it, which is what they're going to want to try and do. I do agree that Evosoda should be in the list, but I think a split with 4 Rare Candy, 2 Evosoda, and 2 (maybe even 3) Skyla is optimal. This deck needs to be built with the intension of getting out as many Solgaleo out as possible, as quickly as possible.

I'm still up in the air about Zoroark. I can see it making the deck a bit clunky because you're already trying to focus on getting multiple different Stage 2s out. On the other hand, it's ability is fantastic and can be a big help once set up, especially being able to Trade energies away and get them back with Solgaleo. You do have tons of options for getting energy in the discard already though so there's that to consider.

Overall, I do like your list! I think some of my suggestions are based on my play-style and are by no means the de-facto way to run this. I'm sure your list and whatever list I come up with will change 100 times before Solgaleo is released.

If you poke around the other Solgaleo thread that I'm in, I reason out every reason as to why Magearna EX won't help you against Espeon EX. To be frank, I think Magearna EX is a bad idea and you're simply giving your opponent an easy way to take prize advantage.

KOing Alolan Vulplix is one reason, but having energy acceleration is another with Registeel. You can attach and accelerate an energy in 1 turn, then on the next turn have your 3rd energy by attaching. It's just enough to give you 2 turn energy. Registeel also has 130 HP which means it's not falling to early play Newgaleo GX hitting for 120. You can also drop it in the middle of the game and stick on 1 energy to have acceleration if you lost your own Newgaleo GX. The only way for another Solgaleo GX player to OHKO it is Sunsteel Strike, which is not ideal for them and great for me.

People Guzmaing up my 2 energy Cosmoem and KOing it for 1 prize for me is potentially an optimal situation. They waste a Guzma for 1 prize, so now they only have 2 left, and they just helped me put 2 basic energy into my discard pile. They're only going to be able to KO one out of the 3 that I have in play after Brigette. On turn 3, I evolve up into Newgaleo and SuMo Solgaleo, because running 4 Evosoda and 4 Ultra ball makes that very realistic for my deck, attach DCE, and accelerate the 2 energy my opponent just helped me put into the discard onto SuMo Solgaleo.

If you went for the early play Newgaleo to achieve this and you do not have a discard pile already set up to accelerate 2 energy onto your own SuMo Solgaleo, I'm going to OHKO you for 2 prizes on turn 4 and remove your only form of energy acceleration, which makes your SuMo Solgaleo pretty worthless. With only 1 copy of Newgaleo left in your deck after a KO, you're going to have one heck of a time getting that in play with rare candy.

If I remove my Zoroark GX, it would be to add more Registeel and maybe 1 Rayquaza and some back up Rare Candy. I don't think it's necessary, but I think the benefits can't be ignored. Starting turn 2 you can discard metal energy and draw 2 cards. Turn 3 you do it again, and that means that if I play Newgaleo and attack for 120, I get the 120 and the energy acceleration, and I drew 4 more cards than my opponent, not just the 120.

It's not impossible to have 2 energy in discard on turn 2 and rare candy into Newgaleo, but Newgaleo is a 2 of copy that can only be searched by Ultra Ball.

Your requirements for turn 2 Newgaleo GX are to see a DCE, get 2 metal energy into discard, draw into rare candy, draw into/Ultra ball for Newgaleo GX, and if you want to Guzma one of my Cosmogs/Cosmoems, you have to do all of this without a Sycamore on turn 2.

If you commit to that plan and pull it off, then I get off a Newgaleo GX on my turn 3 and get the "first blood" on your Newgaleo GX while accelerating the 2 energy you provided for me. You are now in a worse situation where I can OHKO you next with either Solgaleo GX as long as I grab a choice band.

I feel like I'm being extra stubborn about this deck list in partciular, but hopefully you don't take anything I'm saying personally. I just think that we need to do things that aren't obvious, like running rare candy in a stage 2 deck becaues it's stage 2, if we want to discover new ways to play.

As for your list in particular, I wanted to say that I would rather put Heavy Ball instead of Evosoda in a Rare Candy based deck. You never want to see Rare Candy & Evosoda together in the same hand with no Pokemon. But if you see Heavy Ball + Rare Candy then you are so in there.

As far as applying pressure is concerned, if I have 2 Cosmoems on the field and I haven't played a single ultra ball or evosoda yet, I'd say you're in a bad situation.

 

[suraci]

If you poke around the other Solgaleo thread that I'm in, I reason out every reason as to why Magearna EX won't help you against Espeon EX. To be frank, I think Magearna EX is a bad idea and you're simply giving your opponent an easy way to take prize advantage.

KOing Alolan Vulplix is one reason, but having energy acceleration is another with Registeel. You can attach and accelerate an energy in 1 turn, then on the next turn have your 3rd energy by attaching. It's just enough to give you 2 turn energy. Registeel also has 130 HP which means it's not falling to early play Newgaleo GX hitting for 120. You can also drop it in the middle of the game and stick on 1 energy to have acceleration if you lost your own Newgaleo GX. The only way for another Solgaleo GX player to OHKO it is Sunsteel Strike, which is not ideal for them and great for me.

People Guzmaing up my 2 energy Cosmoem and KOing it for 1 prize for me is potentially an optimal situation. They waste a Guzma for 1 prize, so now they only have 2 left, and they just helped me put 2 basic energy into my discard pile. They're only going to be able to KO one out of the 3 that I have in play after Brigette. On turn 3, I evolve up into Newgaleo and SuMo Solgaleo, because running 4 Evosoda and 4 Ultra ball makes that very realistic for my deck, attach DCE, and accelerate the 2 energy my opponent just helped me put into the discard onto SuMo Solgaleo.

If you went for the early play Newgaleo to achieve this and you do not have a discard pile already set up to accelerate 2 energy onto your own SuMo Solgaleo, I'm going to OHKO you for 2 prizes on turn 4 and remove your only form of energy acceleration, which makes your SuMo Solgaleo pretty worthless. With only 1 copy of Newgaleo left in your deck after a KO, you're going to have one heck of a time getting that in play with rare candy.

If I remove my Zoroark GX, it would be to add more Registeel and maybe 1 Rayquaza and some back up Rare Candy. I don't think it's necessary, but I think the benefits can't be ignored. Starting turn 2 you can discard metal energy and draw 2 cards. Turn 3 you do it again, and that means that if I play Newgaleo and attack for 120, I get the 120 and the energy acceleration, and I drew 4 more cards than my opponent, not just the 120.

It's not impossible to have 2 energy in discard on turn 2 and rare candy into Newgaleo, but Newgaleo is a 2 of copy that can only be searched by Ultra Ball.

Your requirements for turn 2 Newgaleo GX are to see a DCE, get 2 metal energy into discard, draw into rare candy, draw into/Ultra ball for Newgaleo GX, and if you want to Guzma one of my Cosmogs/Cosmoems, you have to do all of this without a Sycamore on turn 2.

If you commit to that plan and pull it off, then I get off a Newgaleo GX on my turn 3 and get the "first blood" on your Newgaleo GX while accelerating the 2 energy you provided for me. You are now in a worse situation where I can OHKO you next with either Solgaleo GX as long as I grab a choice band.

I feel like I'm being extra stubborn about this deck list in partciular, but hopefully you don't take anything I'm saying personally. I just think that we need to do things that aren't obvious, like running rare candy in a stage 2 deck becaues it's stage 2, if we want to discover new ways to play.

As for your list in particular, I wanted to say that I would rather put Heavy Ball instead of Evosoda in a Rare Candy based deck. You never want to see Rare Candy & Evosoda together in the same hand with no Pokemon. But if you see Heavy Ball + Rare Candy then you are so in there.

As far as applying pressure is concerned, if I have 2 Cosmoems on the field and I haven't played a single ultra ball or evosoda yet, I'd say you're in a bad situation.

I like the reasearch and time youve put into making this deck. It will surely be formidable as an opponent in competative VCG.

 

[suraci]

I like the research and time you've put into making this deck. It will surely be formidable as an opponent in competitive VCG.

Can I interest you in posting a deck that includes SLG Spiritomb, SLG Hoopa, and SLG Volcorona?