Next Project
- Thread starter Chad2222
- Start date
HA! This ought to be good!
(Also, this should be moved to the Competitive Play section, but don’t do it yourself.)
Well, I really am at a turning point here. I have no definitive deck at the moment.
Until literally last night I was playing an extremely slow Zerarora GX/Dawn Wings Necrozma GX deck (DWN makes sure that Z can attack every turn for 160+). But, literally last night, I swapped, out of my love of Goomy, to Shrine of Goomy (see list in the Garage). I’m gonna go with Goomy from here on out, but I always come up with crazy deck ideas that need a try. Blaziken/Blaziken GX? Torterra/Venusaur? Goomy GRI/Gengar CIN? The possibilities are endless.
(Also, this should be moved to the Competitive Play section, but don’t do it yourself.)
Well, I really am at a turning point here. I have no definitive deck at the moment.
Until literally last night I was playing an extremely slow Zerarora GX/Dawn Wings Necrozma GX deck (DWN makes sure that Z can attack every turn for 160+). But, literally last night, I swapped, out of my love of Goomy, to Shrine of Goomy (see list in the Garage). I’m gonna go with Goomy from here on out, but I always come up with crazy deck ideas that need a try. Blaziken/Blaziken GX? Torterra/Venusaur? Goomy GRI/Gengar CIN? The possibilities are endless.
I've dabbled in a handful of decks so far but have settled on Rayquaza GX/Zeraora GX as my main deck of choice for the time being. A lot of people are excited about Blacephalon GX/Naganadel releasing with Lost Thunder due to tournament results in Japan, but I have yet to get aboard that train since I don't like the concept of sending my energy to Lost Zone and having no way of getting it back - it's a deck that, IMO, will have a hard time against non-GX decks and high HP GX decks due to being tight on energy.
Other decks I've experimented with so far include the following:
Naganadel GX/Stakataka GX - Wasn't a terrible deck but is incredibly one dimensional making it unable to adapt to many decks. Weakness to Psychic on Naganadel is pretty rough, and with Blacephalon GX becoming a thing, this deck is basically unuseable now with Stakataka's weakness to fire.
Double Solgaleo GX/Alolan Ninetales GX (Fairy Rise) - Playing the old SuMo Solgaleo GX with the new Solgaleo GX (as a proxy for now) is actually pretty strong. Hitting for 230 on SuMo Solgaleo GX before Choice Band while having 250 HP yourself is incredibly potent. New Solgaleo GX can swing for 120 while charging energy back onto SuMo Solgaleo GX, and taking 2 hit KOs is completely acceptable when you're rocking 250 HP on New Solgaleo GX as well. Due to the passive on the new Solgaleo GX, it can even dance with Blacephalon GX since it makes all of your metal Pokemon have no weakness to fire and means that Blacephalon GX has to send 5 energy to the lost zone in total for a single KO on your main attackers. The deck operates by playing Alolan Vulpix to Beacon for Pokemon, then Alolan Ninetales GX (Fairy Rise) to search for Rare Candy/Ultra Ball, get your double Solgaleos in play, GX attack on SuMo Solgaleo GX to pull energy out of the deck to start, and utilizing Ultra Road to constantly switch between the right actives. I personally ran Olivia in the deck to search for 2 GXs (1 of each Solgaleo GX, or 1 Solgaleo GX and 1 Alolan Ninetales GX so I can search for items) which allows you to set up 1 turn faster than using Beacon. In this particular deck, playing Olivia to search Alolan Ninetales GX (fairy), which leads to searching 2 item cards, and Solgaleo GX, which leads to searching 5 energy cards, means that Olivia played during set up searches you nine cards. That's more than any draw support will ever grab you. Professor Elm's Lecture makes this deck a whole lot more viable when everything else comes out, but I personally feel that it's still a little too slow and too clumsy as a stage 2 deck to really take hold. I do want to give this deck another chance though.
Gardevoir GX variants - Frankly I think these decks are just too slow nowadays to really keep up, and I don't just mean because it's a Stage 2 deck. Gardevoir GX's secret spring ability has, in my opinion, been power crept (never thought I'd say that) by energy acceleration from Malamar, Naganadel, and Zeraora GX. Playing energy out of the discard pile and doing it on Stage 1s/Basics is just more consistent in general. I still like the deck, but frankly I've never been able to beat Ray GX/Zeraora GX with any Gardevoir variant in a Best of 3 since Ray is just almost always faster at reaching a point where it can OHKO Gardy before Gardy can even come into play. This deck also doesn't stand a chance against the Solgaleo deck above due to metal weakness.
Other decks I've experimented with so far include the following:
Naganadel GX/Stakataka GX - Wasn't a terrible deck but is incredibly one dimensional making it unable to adapt to many decks. Weakness to Psychic on Naganadel is pretty rough, and with Blacephalon GX becoming a thing, this deck is basically unuseable now with Stakataka's weakness to fire.
Double Solgaleo GX/Alolan Ninetales GX (Fairy Rise) - Playing the old SuMo Solgaleo GX with the new Solgaleo GX (as a proxy for now) is actually pretty strong. Hitting for 230 on SuMo Solgaleo GX before Choice Band while having 250 HP yourself is incredibly potent. New Solgaleo GX can swing for 120 while charging energy back onto SuMo Solgaleo GX, and taking 2 hit KOs is completely acceptable when you're rocking 250 HP on New Solgaleo GX as well. Due to the passive on the new Solgaleo GX, it can even dance with Blacephalon GX since it makes all of your metal Pokemon have no weakness to fire and means that Blacephalon GX has to send 5 energy to the lost zone in total for a single KO on your main attackers. The deck operates by playing Alolan Vulpix to Beacon for Pokemon, then Alolan Ninetales GX (Fairy Rise) to search for Rare Candy/Ultra Ball, get your double Solgaleos in play, GX attack on SuMo Solgaleo GX to pull energy out of the deck to start, and utilizing Ultra Road to constantly switch between the right actives. I personally ran Olivia in the deck to search for 2 GXs (1 of each Solgaleo GX, or 1 Solgaleo GX and 1 Alolan Ninetales GX so I can search for items) which allows you to set up 1 turn faster than using Beacon. In this particular deck, playing Olivia to search Alolan Ninetales GX (fairy), which leads to searching 2 item cards, and Solgaleo GX, which leads to searching 5 energy cards, means that Olivia played during set up searches you nine cards. That's more than any draw support will ever grab you. Professor Elm's Lecture makes this deck a whole lot more viable when everything else comes out, but I personally feel that it's still a little too slow and too clumsy as a stage 2 deck to really take hold. I do want to give this deck another chance though.
Gardevoir GX variants - Frankly I think these decks are just too slow nowadays to really keep up, and I don't just mean because it's a Stage 2 deck. Gardevoir GX's secret spring ability has, in my opinion, been power crept (never thought I'd say that) by energy acceleration from Malamar, Naganadel, and Zeraora GX. Playing energy out of the discard pile and doing it on Stage 1s/Basics is just more consistent in general. I still like the deck, but frankly I've never been able to beat Ray GX/Zeraora GX with any Gardevoir variant in a Best of 3 since Ray is just almost always faster at reaching a point where it can OHKO Gardy before Gardy can even come into play. This deck also doesn't stand a chance against the Solgaleo deck above due to metal weakness.
Gardevoir is built to hit massive damage numbers quickly. Shrine makes that impossible. The decks don’t have any HP, so your 200 damage potential is ruined. That being said, I seem to be the only one to think that if Rare Candy is in format, Stage 2 decks are possible. Especially with the new Alolan Ninetales GX and a T1 Steven’s Resolve can create some awesome Rare Candy/Gardevoir plays. You have to be aware of Judge and Marshadow, though, but it still can get set up pretty fast given the right formula. Is it worth it right now? Who knows? In Pokémon, anything is possible. Heck, Shining Genesect/Venusaur came outta nowhere. Any deck can be good, but you just have to find out how to do it. Some, granted, are easier than others.
That’s what I think. See ya!
That’s what I think. See ya!
Alolan Ninetales GX is a great helper to any Stage 2 deck, agreed, but I feel that it doesn't change the fundamental problem of Stage 2s needing to run more mandatory cards than Basics or Stage 1s.
Compared to a primarily basic only deck like Ray/Zeraora GX and Buzzwole, you have to run 3-5 Stage 2s (I say 3-5 because Gardevoir decks should play top end heavy with 3 Gardevoir GX and 2 non-GX Gardevoir) on top of 4 rare candies, and basically as soon as Alolan Ninetales GX comes out, you're running a compulsory 2/2 line in any Stage 2 deck. Some people will also run 1-2 of the Stage 1 in between, but I've personally slashed those completely to save deck space, especially with Alolan Ninetales GX guaranteeing candy. But at the end of the day we're looking at an average of 12 card slots that are just absolutely fixed for Stage 2 decks, and Rare Candy & Stage 2 Pokemon are turn 1 brick cards that make playing supporters like Lillie even harder, which puts Stage 2s even futher behind in comparison.
Compared to Stage 1 decks like Malamar variants, Zoroark GX, and Blacephalon GX/Naganadel, you're still up 8 cards running 4 Rare Candy and a 2/2 Alolan Ninetales GX line. Stage 2s like Gardevoir GX used to be a lot better because the "hassle" was worth it, but nowadays we have basics that can hit Gardevoir's numbers with lower/easier energy counts and with more consistent set ups, with or without Bridgette/Elm.
But at the end of the day, the problem with Stage 2s isn't really Rare Candy or any of that other stuff - it's that basic GXs have just gotten too strong, in my opinion (Buzzwole GX, Ray GX, Blacephalon GX, Ultra Necrozma GX, to name a few that already have/currently are/will soon be really strong in the format)
As someone who used to main Gardevoir GX, I don't think Stage 2s are "dead" per sei, but I don't think this is the right time to bring it back. The only Stage 2 I believe in at the moment is the double Solgaleo GX deck (yes I have playtested it against other "good" decks), but even then that still depends on what decks look like by the time we even get those cards.
At the same time, I also do believe that certain decks operate better for certain people. Decks play pretty differently than one another, and people tend to also have different playstyle preferences as well, so playing the "best deck in format" isn't always the right choice anyway. I'm just trying to share my opinion on potential deck options based on my perspective & playtesting results, so hopefully it doesn't seem like I'm judging anyone for whatever deck they want to play.
Compared to a primarily basic only deck like Ray/Zeraora GX and Buzzwole, you have to run 3-5 Stage 2s (I say 3-5 because Gardevoir decks should play top end heavy with 3 Gardevoir GX and 2 non-GX Gardevoir) on top of 4 rare candies, and basically as soon as Alolan Ninetales GX comes out, you're running a compulsory 2/2 line in any Stage 2 deck. Some people will also run 1-2 of the Stage 1 in between, but I've personally slashed those completely to save deck space, especially with Alolan Ninetales GX guaranteeing candy. But at the end of the day we're looking at an average of 12 card slots that are just absolutely fixed for Stage 2 decks, and Rare Candy & Stage 2 Pokemon are turn 1 brick cards that make playing supporters like Lillie even harder, which puts Stage 2s even futher behind in comparison.
Compared to Stage 1 decks like Malamar variants, Zoroark GX, and Blacephalon GX/Naganadel, you're still up 8 cards running 4 Rare Candy and a 2/2 Alolan Ninetales GX line. Stage 2s like Gardevoir GX used to be a lot better because the "hassle" was worth it, but nowadays we have basics that can hit Gardevoir's numbers with lower/easier energy counts and with more consistent set ups, with or without Bridgette/Elm.
But at the end of the day, the problem with Stage 2s isn't really Rare Candy or any of that other stuff - it's that basic GXs have just gotten too strong, in my opinion (Buzzwole GX, Ray GX, Blacephalon GX, Ultra Necrozma GX, to name a few that already have/currently are/will soon be really strong in the format)
As someone who used to main Gardevoir GX, I don't think Stage 2s are "dead" per sei, but I don't think this is the right time to bring it back. The only Stage 2 I believe in at the moment is the double Solgaleo GX deck (yes I have playtested it against other "good" decks), but even then that still depends on what decks look like by the time we even get those cards.
At the same time, I also do believe that certain decks operate better for certain people. Decks play pretty differently than one another, and people tend to also have different playstyle preferences as well, so playing the "best deck in format" isn't always the right choice anyway. I'm just trying to share my opinion on potential deck options based on my perspective & playtesting results, so hopefully it doesn't seem like I'm judging anyone for whatever deck they want to play.
Three decks:
Imakuni? theme deck - This is the deck I'm using to teach and play against kids and new players--really anyone, at Pokemon Leagues. It's all around wacky and doesn't win, but I'm trying to shoot for max rarity and I'm shooting for about 12 cards, but next on the list is a 4th Misty's Wish and a FA Ilima.
Pikachu theme deck - I use this for other kids and new players to use at Pokemon Leagues. Lost Thunder gives it some new and exciting tools and I can actually throw in a Prism Star in the deck (Thunder Mountain Railroad) which'll give it a bit more pinache.
Dallas *spice* deck - Working on an Expanded build for the Dallas regional. Can't say what it is exactly, but I took it to a League Challenge recently and got 2nd place with it. So "proof of concept" is there. I need to work on assessing board state and making decisions better and slowing down (not slow play, but not playing so quickly and forgetting stuff). Lost Thunder gives it some incredible tools to work with andeven provides some cards that, if the meta is going where I think it's going, will be able to add a frightningly small amount of cards that will turn an auto-loss into a very favorable matchup.
Imakuni? theme deck - This is the deck I'm using to teach and play against kids and new players--really anyone, at Pokemon Leagues. It's all around wacky and doesn't win, but I'm trying to shoot for max rarity and I'm shooting for about 12 cards, but next on the list is a 4th Misty's Wish and a FA Ilima.
Pikachu theme deck - I use this for other kids and new players to use at Pokemon Leagues. Lost Thunder gives it some new and exciting tools and I can actually throw in a Prism Star in the deck (Thunder Mountain Railroad) which'll give it a bit more pinache.
Dallas *spice* deck - Working on an Expanded build for the Dallas regional. Can't say what it is exactly, but I took it to a League Challenge recently and got 2nd place with it. So "proof of concept" is there. I need to work on assessing board state and making decisions better and slowing down (not slow play, but not playing so quickly and forgetting stuff). Lost Thunder gives it some incredible tools to work with andeven provides some cards that, if the meta is going where I think it's going, will be able to add a frightningly small amount of cards that will turn an auto-loss into a very favorable matchup.
