Heyo, heyo! For those who don't recognize me, I am Asmer and today, I have a fun deck for all of you Beach-y Beachbums to try out! This deck involves a fun little combo I thought of that involves one of my favorite cards from Breakthrough and a special card I haven't really seen play from Breakpoint! Let's dive right in to the list!
The Deck:
Pokemon: 19
4 Gastly BKT
2 Haunter BKT
4 Gengar BKT
3 Sigilyph BKP
2 Zorua BKT
2 Zoroark BKT
2 Shaymin-EX
Supporter/Trainer/Stadium: 32
3 N
3 Professor Sycamore
2 Lysandre
1 Teammates
1 Ace Trainer
1 Brock's Grit
4 VS Seeker
4 Ultra Ball
3 Exp. Share
2 Float Stone
2 Level Ball
2 Rare Candy
4 Silent Lab
Energy: 9
7 Psychic Energy
2 Double Colorless Energy
The strategy requires a combination of forcing your opponent to attack in to Sigilyph BKT and/or using Status Effects to apply small amounts of damage until Gengar is able to use Creep Show for some tasty knock outs! Below, I will explain my choices for some of the more important cards in the deck, then go through some basic plays and strategies to get you all started!
Gengar BKT: This is the star of the show and the reason this deck can obtain wins. Creep Show is a simple attack that allows Gengar to knock out ANY Pokemon as long as it has 3 Damage Counters on it. This means anything from Yveltal-EX to M Gardevoir-EX to small things like Volcanion STS will immediately receive a Knock Out from Creep Show once the conditions are met. On top of that, Gengar has a very good attack in Sinister Fog. This attack requires a Psychic Energy and not only Poisons the Opponent's Active Pokemon, but places 1 Damage Counter on each of their Benched Pokemon as well! This Attack is able to avoid abilities from Pokemon like Mr. Mime BKT because it does not directly do damage. This attack is also very good for setting up Creep Shows later on in the game.
Sigilyph BKP: This is an interesting card as it has two attacks that set can set up Creep Show for Gengar. The first attack is what I found most interesting, called Reflective Shield. If Sigilyph were to be attacked during your Opponent's next turn, it places 5 Damage Counters on that Pokemon. This is like a Pseudo-Bursting Balloon (more later as to why this deck does not run Bursting Balloon), and more importantly, allows for important set-ups for Creep Show and Zoroark BKT later in the game. Its second attack, Psy Report, does less damage, but is still useful. It allows you to look at your Opponent's Hand, which is always useful for information, and guarantees 3 Damage Counters on the Opponent's Pokemon, which is precisely enough for Creep Show's requirement! Overall, Sigilyph is a very good Starting Pokemon for this deck.
Haunter BKT: I feel that Haunter should be mentioned because of his ability to Confuse your Opponent's Pokemon (as well as your own, but that becomes a non-factor) on Evolution. This is a great ability that can actually set up Creep Show's requirement all on its own if your Opponent decides to play "risky", since Confusion will damage them with 3 Damage Counters if they decide to attack and flip Tails.
Zoroark BKT: Zoroark plays two important roles in this deck. The first is that it acts as a Secondary Attacker in case things go out of control. After all, Zoroark can use Mind Jack to do large amounts of Damage to Opponents who fill up their Bench. The second reason is to play as a "Pseudo-Keldeo-EX" of sorts, allowing for Free Retreat with the combination of Stand In and a Float Stone attachment. This is more important to this deck than others because while Gengar has Free Retreat, Sigilyph does not and maintaining Energy in Play is important (as explained later). Therefore, having the ability to not only attack, but set up Free Retreats is too good to pass up in a slower deck like this.
3 N, 3 Professor Sycamore, 1 Ace Trainer: I personally like this line-up in decks that utilize a lot of Pokemon as well as Stage 2 set-ups. I feel that, at times, running 4 Professor Sycamore can be risky, and so I opt to drop one for an Ace Trainer. Ace Trainer is also very good in slower, lower HP decks like this because you will often find yourself behind at the early points of the game. This allows you to slow your Opponent down and thus, allows you to set up your Gengar Combos much easier.
1 Teammates: For the same reason as Ace Trainer, this card is easier to utilize in decks like this. Teammates is also very special in the fact that it can grab any two cards you desire, meaning you have the ability to respond to essentially any situation. This is important for combo decks like this because of inconsistency issues and unfortunate failed strategies and plays throughout the game.
3 Exp. Share: This card feels important to the deck, simply because Gengar's Creep Show costs 2 Energy (1 Psychic, 1 Colorless). Because of this, Exp. Share allows me to attach less energy to Gengar and more to other things, like Zoroark and Sigilyph, while allowing me to freely sacrifice them for Late Game Sweeps. Unfortunately, this takes up a lot of space, meaning I cannot run Bursting Balloon, but I feel that the combination of Bursting Balloon and Sigilyph is unnecessary and that Bursting Balloon on Gengar itself isn't as crucial as Exp. Share. After all, Bursting Balloon is fine, but it does you no good if Gengar is Knocked Out before it can obtain 2 Energy for its attack.
2 Rare Candy: I feel that 2 Rare Candy is a good number, but the number can be increased if one feels that it should. That said, I would advise not running more than 3 in this deck specifically. First and foremost, utilizing Haunter is a pretty important tool that this deck provides, meaning a 4th Rare Candy would typically become a dead draw. Second, one typically only needs 2 or 3 Gengar a game, meaning having a 4th Rare Candy is only for drawing consistency, and for that, you should consider another N or perhaps a Professor Birch's Observations.
4 Silent Lab: This card is incredibly good at stopping Aggressive Decks, which is almost mandatory for this deck to remotely function. This card stops Shaymin-Ex. This card stops Volcanion-EX. This card stops things like Ratata and Hawlucha. You can opt to run 3 as well, but I prefer 4 personally for consistency reasons.
Strategies:
The easiest way to start a game would be to attempt to start with Sigilyph BKP. Its first attack allows you to put your opponent in a tough situation, even forcing Turn Passes at times if they utilize lower HP Basic Pokemon! Also, applying 5 Damage Counters allows you to Knock Out Pokemon in different Brackets with Zoroark. For example, Zoroark can only attack for up to 160 if your Opponent has a Full Bench. With Sigilyph's Reflective Shield, however, Zoroark can hit for 210, which allows it to Knock Out Mega Pokemon like M Mewtwo Y. It is also important to note that it is perfectly fine to allow Sigilyph to be Knocked Out. It will happen often and that is perfectly fine as long as you are able to react appropriately, which this deck has the tools to.
Remember that everything is revolved around setting up Gengar for easy Knock Outs. That should be your main priority. However, that does not mean that this deck is ONLY meant to use Gengar to obtain Knock Outs. Keep that in mind while playing this deck and you should have a good time as a whole.
Weaknesses:
Unfortunately, no deck is without its weaknesses and this deck is no exception. I will go over what I find weak about this deck below.
Aggressive Decks: I feel that fast decks (M Gardevoir, Volcanion, Greninja to an extent) can outpace and outrace you. This is unfortunately a major problem when it comes to this deck. If you cannot set up your combo, you have a much, MUCH harder time winning than normal decks. Because of that, you can opt to play other utility cards, like Hex Maniac, Pokemon Center Lady, etc. to try to slow down their damage and aggression. However, keep in mind that the match-up is not impossible to win. It is just very difficult in comparison.
"Bad" Draws: Like any "Combo" deck, this deck can have some unfortunate draws that may frustrate you. Keep this in mind when you play this deck because it will happen at some point. Unfortunately, this is simply the way card games work. That said, this deck can produce some powerful plays when the engine is working, so keep that in mind as well.
Lack of Aggression (aka Patient Play): This only applies to certain decks (Yveltal-EX comes to mind) that can afford to be less aggressive in order to kill what is most important: Your Gengar. Not being able to do enough damage to a Front Pokemon can be quite a hassle, especially when they refuse to attack in to your Sigilyph and have Resistance to Psychic. Unfortunately, this is also a problem, but it can be solved with Zoroark in certain situations. The good news, however, is that if they do not kill your Gastly, you can use their patience to set up a Gengar, which only helps you.
Ending:
Thank you for taking the time to read through all of this! I know it's a bit long for a deck that is meant for fun, but I always enjoy sporadically posting deck ideas I come up with. If you would like to test this deck and/or post any ideas you may find work better, by all means. I post for YOUR enjoyment and entertainment, so don't feel obligated to help me, but ALWAYS feel obligated to help yourselves!
Thank you all and enjoy this wonderful deck! Peace, ya'll!
-Asmer
The Deck:
Pokemon: 19
4 Gastly BKT
2 Haunter BKT
4 Gengar BKT
3 Sigilyph BKP
2 Zorua BKT
2 Zoroark BKT
2 Shaymin-EX
Supporter/Trainer/Stadium: 32
3 N
3 Professor Sycamore
2 Lysandre
1 Teammates
1 Ace Trainer
1 Brock's Grit
4 VS Seeker
4 Ultra Ball
3 Exp. Share
2 Float Stone
2 Level Ball
2 Rare Candy
4 Silent Lab
Energy: 9
7 Psychic Energy
2 Double Colorless Energy
The strategy requires a combination of forcing your opponent to attack in to Sigilyph BKT and/or using Status Effects to apply small amounts of damage until Gengar is able to use Creep Show for some tasty knock outs! Below, I will explain my choices for some of the more important cards in the deck, then go through some basic plays and strategies to get you all started!
Gengar BKT: This is the star of the show and the reason this deck can obtain wins. Creep Show is a simple attack that allows Gengar to knock out ANY Pokemon as long as it has 3 Damage Counters on it. This means anything from Yveltal-EX to M Gardevoir-EX to small things like Volcanion STS will immediately receive a Knock Out from Creep Show once the conditions are met. On top of that, Gengar has a very good attack in Sinister Fog. This attack requires a Psychic Energy and not only Poisons the Opponent's Active Pokemon, but places 1 Damage Counter on each of their Benched Pokemon as well! This Attack is able to avoid abilities from Pokemon like Mr. Mime BKT because it does not directly do damage. This attack is also very good for setting up Creep Shows later on in the game.
Sigilyph BKP: This is an interesting card as it has two attacks that set can set up Creep Show for Gengar. The first attack is what I found most interesting, called Reflective Shield. If Sigilyph were to be attacked during your Opponent's next turn, it places 5 Damage Counters on that Pokemon. This is like a Pseudo-Bursting Balloon (more later as to why this deck does not run Bursting Balloon), and more importantly, allows for important set-ups for Creep Show and Zoroark BKT later in the game. Its second attack, Psy Report, does less damage, but is still useful. It allows you to look at your Opponent's Hand, which is always useful for information, and guarantees 3 Damage Counters on the Opponent's Pokemon, which is precisely enough for Creep Show's requirement! Overall, Sigilyph is a very good Starting Pokemon for this deck.
Haunter BKT: I feel that Haunter should be mentioned because of his ability to Confuse your Opponent's Pokemon (as well as your own, but that becomes a non-factor) on Evolution. This is a great ability that can actually set up Creep Show's requirement all on its own if your Opponent decides to play "risky", since Confusion will damage them with 3 Damage Counters if they decide to attack and flip Tails.
Zoroark BKT: Zoroark plays two important roles in this deck. The first is that it acts as a Secondary Attacker in case things go out of control. After all, Zoroark can use Mind Jack to do large amounts of Damage to Opponents who fill up their Bench. The second reason is to play as a "Pseudo-Keldeo-EX" of sorts, allowing for Free Retreat with the combination of Stand In and a Float Stone attachment. This is more important to this deck than others because while Gengar has Free Retreat, Sigilyph does not and maintaining Energy in Play is important (as explained later). Therefore, having the ability to not only attack, but set up Free Retreats is too good to pass up in a slower deck like this.
3 N, 3 Professor Sycamore, 1 Ace Trainer: I personally like this line-up in decks that utilize a lot of Pokemon as well as Stage 2 set-ups. I feel that, at times, running 4 Professor Sycamore can be risky, and so I opt to drop one for an Ace Trainer. Ace Trainer is also very good in slower, lower HP decks like this because you will often find yourself behind at the early points of the game. This allows you to slow your Opponent down and thus, allows you to set up your Gengar Combos much easier.
1 Teammates: For the same reason as Ace Trainer, this card is easier to utilize in decks like this. Teammates is also very special in the fact that it can grab any two cards you desire, meaning you have the ability to respond to essentially any situation. This is important for combo decks like this because of inconsistency issues and unfortunate failed strategies and plays throughout the game.
3 Exp. Share: This card feels important to the deck, simply because Gengar's Creep Show costs 2 Energy (1 Psychic, 1 Colorless). Because of this, Exp. Share allows me to attach less energy to Gengar and more to other things, like Zoroark and Sigilyph, while allowing me to freely sacrifice them for Late Game Sweeps. Unfortunately, this takes up a lot of space, meaning I cannot run Bursting Balloon, but I feel that the combination of Bursting Balloon and Sigilyph is unnecessary and that Bursting Balloon on Gengar itself isn't as crucial as Exp. Share. After all, Bursting Balloon is fine, but it does you no good if Gengar is Knocked Out before it can obtain 2 Energy for its attack.
2 Rare Candy: I feel that 2 Rare Candy is a good number, but the number can be increased if one feels that it should. That said, I would advise not running more than 3 in this deck specifically. First and foremost, utilizing Haunter is a pretty important tool that this deck provides, meaning a 4th Rare Candy would typically become a dead draw. Second, one typically only needs 2 or 3 Gengar a game, meaning having a 4th Rare Candy is only for drawing consistency, and for that, you should consider another N or perhaps a Professor Birch's Observations.
4 Silent Lab: This card is incredibly good at stopping Aggressive Decks, which is almost mandatory for this deck to remotely function. This card stops Shaymin-Ex. This card stops Volcanion-EX. This card stops things like Ratata and Hawlucha. You can opt to run 3 as well, but I prefer 4 personally for consistency reasons.
Strategies:
The easiest way to start a game would be to attempt to start with Sigilyph BKP. Its first attack allows you to put your opponent in a tough situation, even forcing Turn Passes at times if they utilize lower HP Basic Pokemon! Also, applying 5 Damage Counters allows you to Knock Out Pokemon in different Brackets with Zoroark. For example, Zoroark can only attack for up to 160 if your Opponent has a Full Bench. With Sigilyph's Reflective Shield, however, Zoroark can hit for 210, which allows it to Knock Out Mega Pokemon like M Mewtwo Y. It is also important to note that it is perfectly fine to allow Sigilyph to be Knocked Out. It will happen often and that is perfectly fine as long as you are able to react appropriately, which this deck has the tools to.
Remember that everything is revolved around setting up Gengar for easy Knock Outs. That should be your main priority. However, that does not mean that this deck is ONLY meant to use Gengar to obtain Knock Outs. Keep that in mind while playing this deck and you should have a good time as a whole.
Weaknesses:
Unfortunately, no deck is without its weaknesses and this deck is no exception. I will go over what I find weak about this deck below.
Aggressive Decks: I feel that fast decks (M Gardevoir, Volcanion, Greninja to an extent) can outpace and outrace you. This is unfortunately a major problem when it comes to this deck. If you cannot set up your combo, you have a much, MUCH harder time winning than normal decks. Because of that, you can opt to play other utility cards, like Hex Maniac, Pokemon Center Lady, etc. to try to slow down their damage and aggression. However, keep in mind that the match-up is not impossible to win. It is just very difficult in comparison.
"Bad" Draws: Like any "Combo" deck, this deck can have some unfortunate draws that may frustrate you. Keep this in mind when you play this deck because it will happen at some point. Unfortunately, this is simply the way card games work. That said, this deck can produce some powerful plays when the engine is working, so keep that in mind as well.
Lack of Aggression (aka Patient Play): This only applies to certain decks (Yveltal-EX comes to mind) that can afford to be less aggressive in order to kill what is most important: Your Gengar. Not being able to do enough damage to a Front Pokemon can be quite a hassle, especially when they refuse to attack in to your Sigilyph and have Resistance to Psychic. Unfortunately, this is also a problem, but it can be solved with Zoroark in certain situations. The good news, however, is that if they do not kill your Gastly, you can use their patience to set up a Gengar, which only helps you.
Ending:
Thank you for taking the time to read through all of this! I know it's a bit long for a deck that is meant for fun, but I always enjoy sporadically posting deck ideas I come up with. If you would like to test this deck and/or post any ideas you may find work better, by all means. I post for YOUR enjoyment and entertainment, so don't feel obligated to help me, but ALWAYS feel obligated to help yourselves!
Thank you all and enjoy this wonderful deck! Peace, ya'll!
-Asmer
