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Standard Kingdra GX deck

Logjam

Aspiring Trainer
Member
I have been wanting to create a deck featuring Kingdra GX for a while now, and I finally created a deck list for it. There are a few problems with it that I would like some input on before I spend money on the cards.

Pokemon:
Kingdra GX 4
Seadra 2
Horsea 4
Quagsire 2
Wooper 1
Naganadel 2
Poipole 1
Tapu Lele 2
Ditto prism star 1

Items:
Wishful baton 2
Aqua patch 4
rescue stretcher 2
field blower 2
ultra ball 2
rare candy 4
Beast ring 2

supporters:
cynthia 4
crasher wake 4

energy:
memory energy 2
water energy 13

total 60

Please note that the horsea in the one with 60HP (burning shadows 29) , but the Seadra is the one with 80 HP instead of 90 (burning shadows 30), but can snipe the bench.

A few problems I can already think of is not having enough bench space. having trouble switching in and out pokemon, and getting enough energy early in the game.

I'd greatly appreciate any input on the deck. Thanks!
 

AntiYouJD

Mill Enthusiast
Member
There are quite a few problems here;
  1. Quagsire and Naganadel are the core of your strategy, only having 1 basic for each is gonna result to problems, even with Ditto <> included.
  2. Wishful Batton is too much here. Naga and Aqua Patch offer enough energy retrieval / retention
  3. Memory Energy doesn't help here, sniping for 30 with Seadra's or 10 with Horsea's attack is nothing. It even gimps the already low chance of using Crasher Wake. It's better to just use Kindra-GX's first or GX attack instead. Also, 12-13 energy is more than enough here.
  4. Only 2 Ultra Balls and no other tutoring cards is a great way to never find your Pokemon. Yes, Crasher Wake tutors any 2 cards, but you want to set up many different 'mons at once, and 2 cards at a time will not be enough.
  5. 4 Cynthia is all the card draw you have, which means you will brick a lot. No, Crasher Wake isn't a good substitute for card draw, see No4.
  6. Beast Ring, despite being a great card, doesn't work that well when you can't draw into it or you haven't set up Naga and Quagsire.
Here's what you could do to fix these problems:
  1. Go 2-2 in both cases, or even 3-3 for Naga, it's just that important.
  2. Remove Wishful Battons.
  3. Remove Memory Energy.
  4. Remove Wake, add Ultra Balls and your choice of Timer Ball, Nest Ball, Poke Comm or A-Vulpix.
  5. Add your choice of Lillie, Erika's or Tate & Liza.
  6. I'd remove Beast Ring to accommodate cards from No4 and No5, but I'm a bit biased against the card in QuagaNadel decks.
To be honest, Kingdra-GX doesn't fit well with the Quagsire/Naganadel engine since it takes up so much space and makes the deck more inconsistent (compared to using basic attackers or just Quagsire). The reason you don't seem to get enough energy in the early game (apart from the deck's late-game focus) is directly related to this deck's lack of consistency; you don't set up Nagas fast enough (and possibly don't discard enough energy due to lack of Ultra Balls). Bench space will always be limited in this kind of deck, since you always need 1 Quagsire and 2 Naganadels for it to function well. If you feel like you need more space for any changes you make, consider removing one Kingdra-GX line.
I hope this helped.
 

Logjam

Aspiring Trainer
Member
There are quite a few problems here;
  1. Quagsire and Naganadel are the core of your strategy, only having 1 basic for each is gonna result to problems, even with Ditto <> included.
  2. Wishful Batton is too much here. Naga and Aqua Patch offer enough energy retrieval / retention
  3. Memory Energy doesn't help here, sniping for 30 with Seadra's or 10 with Horsea's attack is nothing. It even gimps the already low chance of using Crasher Wake. It's better to just use Kindra-GX's first or GX attack instead. Also, 12-13 energy is more than enough here.
  4. Only 2 Ultra Balls and no other tutoring cards is a great way to never find your Pokemon. Yes, Crasher Wake tutors any 2 cards, but you want to set up many different 'mons at once, and 2 cards at a time will not be enough.
  5. 4 Cynthia is all the card draw you have, which means you will brick a lot. No, Crasher Wake isn't a good substitute for card draw, see No4.
  6. Beast Ring, despite being a great card, doesn't work that well when you can't draw into it or you haven't set up Naga and Quagsire.
Here's what you could do to fix these problems:
  1. Go 2-2 in both cases, or even 3-3 for Naga, it's just that important.
  2. Remove Wishful Battons.
  3. Remove Memory Energy.
  4. Remove Wake, add Ultra Balls and your choice of Timer Ball, Nest Ball, Poke Comm or A-Vulpix.
  5. Add your choice of Lillie, Erika's or Tate & Liza.
  6. I'd remove Beast Ring to accommodate cards from No4 and No5, but I'm a bit biased against the card in QuagaNadel decks.
To be honest, Kingdra-GX doesn't fit well with the Quagsire/Naganadel engine since it takes up so much space and makes the deck more inconsistent (compared to using basic attackers or just Quagsire). The reason you don't seem to get enough energy in the early game (apart from the deck's late-game focus) is directly related to this deck's lack of consistency; you don't set up Nagas fast enough (and possibly don't discard enough energy due to lack of Ultra Balls). Bench space will always be limited in this kind of deck, since you always need 1 Quagsire and 2 Naganadels for it to function well. If you feel like you need more space for any changes you make, consider removing one Kingdra-GX line.
I hope this helped.
Thanks for all the great advice. I think i will keep 1-2 crasher wake to find rare candies, but i agree with everything else here. Thank you!
 

TuxedoBlack

Old School Player
Member
I concur with most of @AntiYouJD comments. Solid advice given, IMO.

Further, I'd suggest you consider incorporating 1-2 Max Potion and/or Acerola in order to sustain keeping your Kingdra GX healthy and opponent prize denial.

Why no Stadiums, like Brooklet Hill?

No Guzma???

Another tactic you could use is to incorporate Alolan Vulpix and Alolan Ninetales to help facilitate getting needed resources for evolving your Pokémon.

So, suggested deck for your consideration:

-1 Tapu Lele GX - 1 should be sufficient
-1 Ditto PS - really not needed
-2 Wishful baton - really not needed given the Naganadel and Quagsire combo; plus, this Tool could also be Blower'd away
-4 Aqua Patch - really not needed; the Naganadel and Quagsire combo can provide the necessary energy attachment-acceleration
-2 Rescue Stretcher - new Supporter, Brock's Grit, would be more helpful now
-1 Rare Candy - 3 should be sufficient given 2 Seadra
-2 Beast Ring - really not needed
-4 Crasher Wake - although good for searching for specific cards, you'll still need to replenish your hand at times. The 4 Cynthia are not sufficient and Crasher Wake burns your Supporter use for that turn
-2 Memory energy - really not needed

+1 Naganadel
+2 Poipole
+1 Wooper
+1 Brock's Grit
+2 Broklet Hill
+2 Guzma
+1 Lillie - card-draw support
+1 Max Potion
+1 Pal Pad - recovers and recycles discarded Supporter resources
+3 Sophocles - card-draw support; plus can dump needed W into discard pile
+2 Ultra Ball - more Pokémon search

I hope you find these comments helpful.
 
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