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Standard M Alakazam / Gengar

DaziePants

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Originally this deck came from here, however since rotation I have made my own improvements, to make it viable for standard. The deck currently looks like this:

-=-=- Creatures (17) -=-=-
3x Alakazam EX FSC
3x M Alakazam EX FSC
3x Gastly GEN
3x Haunter GEN
3x Gengar GEN
1x Hoopa EX ACO
1x Shaymin EX RRS

-=-=- Energy (10) -=-=-
10x Basic Psychic

-=-=- Trainers (33) -=-=-
3x Chaos Tower
3x Alakazam Spirit Link
4x Trainer’s Mail
2x Ultra Ball
2x Evosoda
2x Wally
4x Max Elixir
4x Professor Sycamore
2x N
3x VS Seeker
1x Skyla
1x Lysandre
1x Delinquent
1x Fisherman

The idea behind the deck is basically the same as the old deck, deal out damage with Alakazam, use Gengar to finish the job. I thought Chaos Tower would be a nice addition to Haunters Gothic Fear ability. I also ditched the 3 Deoxys and replaced them with a Hoopa EX and Shaymin EX, to try and speed up the deck a bit more.

Anyway what are your thoughts, and are there any improvements you would make?
 

TuxedoBlack

Old School Player
Member
I play an Alakazam EX deck too, but a different, more effective build, IMO. You will find in play-testing this particular variation that:
  • It is a bit "slow" to setup since Gengar is a Stage 2;
  • In addition, your opponents will see the potential Gengar threat easily as soon as you bench Gastly which in many cases, can just be Lysandred and 1HKOd; and
  • Alakazam EX is not an ideal starter, but it could receive early game damage when you do start with it - this is not idea, nor is starting with other current basic Pokémon.
Note that M Alakazam EX has the potential of KOing any Pokémon in the game when there are an adequate number of damage counters on the Defending Pokémon. So, I'd suggest you consider running the new STS Hoopa as a replacement for the entire Gengar line. IMO, this variation is much faster and efficient.
 

Phototoxin

I herd u leik mudkipz?
Member
If you really wanted Gengar, rare candy might be a speedier option but is less consistent.
 

LBelleBird

Aspiring Trainer
Member
I also play Alakazam. Gengar is extremely clunky - with your current build, 2 Ultra Balls and 3 VS Seeker, isn't going to cut it. the 10+ spaces devoted to Gengar and related Trainers isn't worth it in my opinion. It also seems odd to me that with 6 damage counters you can knock out just about anything, that we would devote a solid chunk of a deck to working with only 3 damage counters. It makes more sense to devote that space to just getting that extra 3 counters on and taking the knock out, rather than slowing the whole deck down to a snail crawl to accommodate Gengar (or vice versa, tbh I think that they each need to be in their own decks, not paired together).

I had an awesome 2016 Standard build, and it's suffered a little since rotation. However, I'm playing around with different options, and in 2017 Standard, you don't really want to start with Alakazam if you can help it. It isn't the end of the world as you can still use Suppression to try to spread some damage around. My suggestion is to run a different style of deck. I know you posted the Gengar variant, so I'll put it in spoiler tags in case you're dead-set on Gengar.

Open Spots: 12

Pokemon (14)
4x Alakazam EX FSC
4x M Alakazam EX FSC
1x Hoopa EX ACO
1x Shaymin EX RRS (I personally prefer 2)
4x [Ideal Starting Pokemon]

Trainers (27)
4x Alakazam Spirit Link
4x Trainer’s Mail
4x Ultra Ball
1x Super Rod

4x Professor Sycamore
3x N
4x VS Seeker
1x Skyla
2x Lysandre - you do a lot of bench spread damage, 2 is a must to get those critical KO's.

Energy (9)
9x Basic Psychic

Starting Pokemon to try testing with...
Latios EX (40 Damage on first turn, regardless of going 1st or 2nd; 2 prize liability)
Hoopa STS (20 Damage on 2 benched Pokemon; 1 prize = better trade to start the game)

For the prize trade and ability to spread damage a little further than the active, I like Hoopa better, but Latios is good if you're more aggressive with knocking out their active Pokemon sooner, since evolving once in M-Zam will put almost all Pokemon into a OHKO range. That being said, with Hoopa, evolving once can also put one benched Pokemon into OHKO territory. It just depends on your playstyle.

Sycamore/N Splits...
4/4 - Most consistency, but at the cost of other cards
4/3 - Plenty of Sycamore draw, but enough N for early game draw to avoid discarding Spirit Links and other important cards for mid game
3/3 - Space conservative, you're as likely to Sycamore as to N for a new hand

In my original decklist, with 2 Shaymin, I liked 4/3 best. Without any Shaymin, 4/4 did the trick.

Other Cards to Consider...
Mega Turbo (instead of Max Elixir, and you could cut an energy out to make room for another card)
Escape Rope and/or Switch (Escape Rope can create awkward situations if you placed your damage around the board wisely)
Parallel City
Devolution Spray
Town Map (a favorite in my deck; prized Spirit Links, Alakazams, key supporters, ect., will be much less of a problem)
Hex Maniac (a one-of, played at correct times will not interfere with your abilities)

These aren't the only cards that are a good fit for this deck, but those are some of the first that come to my mind. Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck with your building!
 

Higliphics

Competitive TCG Player
Member
I tried to run this deck pre rotation and I had the hardest time making it viable. The concept is beautiful, but it is just hard to do - especially with Garbodor. I went against a M Alakazam deck with Garbodor (they ran it with Ampharos from SS which I thought was interesting, and I had a hard time beating it with an old deck), and they didn't have a chance to do anything.
 

LBelleBird

Aspiring Trainer
Member
I tried to run this deck pre rotation and I had the hardest time making it viable. The concept is beautiful, but it is just hard to do - especially with Garbodor. I went against a M Alakazam deck with Garbodor (they ran it with Ampharos from SS which I thought was interesting, and I had a hard time beating it with an old deck), and they didn't have a chance to do anything.

I never really had trouble with Garb, you just have to take out Trubbish/set up for the KO on a Lysandre or carefully plan your next couple of turns to work around it. Wobbuffet helps in a pinch.
 
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