Standard Tier 2 - Mega Gardevoir EX

[TCG_Destory]

Warning: This deck contains Shaymin-EX. You have been warned, this is not a budget deck.

This is a list with which I've been a lot more successful than not and that, unless the rare bricking happens, will grant a turn two Despair Ray about 80% of the time, or it will be possible on turn three. This list only has a couple of Pokémon retrieval cards, but the strategy that goes with it is: hitting an extreme Despair Ray for up to 170/180 damage on turn two (ideally), then hitting for 110 to 130 on the subsequent turns, healing up with Fairy Drop while two-shotting the opposition. Then, after using Brock's Grit, a 170/180 damage Despair Ray can be done for game, and those Pokémon can help with the opponent's N plays as well, until the moment comes. I have to say though, I still am looking for things I could cut, without hurting my consistency too hard, to add it a Super Rod and another Dragonite-EX (so far considered removals include one Professor Sycamore, one Trainers' Mail and one Shaymin-EX, but they all play some major role in consistency). My current list is made in a way that makes bricking as rare as it should be and focuses on two shots in general.

Here it is:

Pokémon - 14
2 Hoopa EX AOR
4 Gardevoir EX STS
3 M Gardevoir EX STS
1 Dragonite EX EVO
4 Shaymin EX ROS

Trainer - 38
3 Sky Field ROS

1 Brock's Grit EVO
1 Hex Maniac AOR
2 Lysandre AOR
3 N-supporter FCO
4 Professor Sycamore BKP

3 Escape Rope PCL
3 Fairy Drop FCO
4 Gardevoir Spirit Link PCL
2 Mega Turbo ROS
4 Trainers' Mail ROS
4 Ultra Ball ROS
4 VS Seeker ROS

Energy - 8
8 Fairy Energy GEN

I will briefly explain the use of every card in this list:
Hoopa EX: It is vital for this deck to get Pokémon out as quickly as possible. This also fills up the Bench for a massive Despair Ray when a one-hit Knock Out can be performed, and it refills it once Brock's Grit has been used. It also can be reused thanks to Dragonite EX. Three could be run in this deck, but I have been testing this amount in the past; it is in no way necessary, two is more than enough, as it allows using it even after having played or started with one.
Gardevoir EX: It is the Pokémon that Mega Evolves into my main attacker. I chose the Steam Siege version, although I previously ran the one from Primal Clash, because Link Blast handles DCE attackers very well (think Vespiquen and Raichu) and Luminous Blade two shots, deals with Giratina and gets rid of the unnecessary third Energy to set Yveltal-EX back if needed. I run four to grant that I start with it over half of the time, with actual odds of 51%.
M Gardevoir EX: It is my main attacker. The deck does not need more than three copies as they are worth two Prizes and can get recycled. On top of having a powerful two-Energy attack, it discards unwanted Benched Pokémon, which include easy Prizes and heavily damaged attackers/Lysandre'd support Pokémon.
Dragonite EX: It gets two Basic Pokémon back onto my hand right out of my discard pile, to allow me to reuse them and have them serve as damage boosters afterward.
Shaymin EX: It is not there for the sole purpose of making this deck very unaccessible and expensive. This is a four-of in this deck because I can afford to Bench a lot of support Pokémon and this deck uses speed to pressure a not-yet-ready opponent and get ahead of the game quickly. They end up in the discard pile, this means no easy Prizes for the opponent and a possibility to reuse them. Their main purpose remains drawing through my deck faster than not running it would ever allow me to.

Sky Field: This allows my Bench to expand to eight slots, rather than five. This allows me to discard more Pokémon at once to hit clean Pokémon-EX numbers, at 170/180 through 6 or 7 discarded Pokémon, as well as use more setup Pokémon's Abilities before the first Despair Ray and between them. This is a three-of because the two-shot phase of a game almost never requires Sky Field, but it is very useful in the first two turns, late game and to counter opposing Stadia throughout the game.
Brock's Grit: This brings six Pokémon and/or Basic Energy back into my deck. It is used to prepare for the late-game assault and to retrieve lost Energy and Mega Gardevoir-EX, but also makes the opposing N plays less scary as it fills my deck with drawing support in the form of Shaymin-EX and Hoopa-EX that lets me search for it.
Hex Maniac: This is used to deal with Carbink, slow down Volcanion and Greninja BREAK. It also slows the opponent down if used on the first turn or at any moment where Abilities would allow them to draw.
Lysandre: This brings up a Benched Pokémon, for either getting the first hit on a threatening Pokémon, taking down a Pokémon for easy Prizes or simply to buy time in case of bricking or whiffing. Remember that due to base damage, Mega Gardevoir devours opposing Shaymin-EX and that due to Weakness, it does the same to opposing Hoopa-EX. For that reason, I run two rather than just one.
N: This allows me to draw a good amount of cards without wasting resources in the early game, as well as to disrupt the opponent in the later game, which can be less harmful for me thanks to the possibility to reshuffle support Pokémon back into my deck. It is a three-of because with my deck running four Shaymin-EX, a four-four N/Syc line is far from necessary, four-three already possibly being overkilling it.
Professor Sycamore: The best draw supporter in the game, it draws me seven new cards in exchange for my current hand. It might result in a loss of resources but will be worth it almost every time. This card allows me to go through my deck at a fast pace, along with support Pokémon, and also saves me from the handicap-inducing Ability lock. I cannot see why this deck would go without having four of this card
Escape Rope: This used to be three Switch. However, forcing my opponent to switch out makes Escape Rope better than Switch in most situations. This card is used to get out of my bad starts, which is every non-Gardevoir Basic Pokémon, but also makes it so that I can get out of nasty effects, Status Conditions, as well as get around the Fright Night Ability (when my opponent has to switch it out) or Bursting Balloons. Even acts like a Lysandre when played at the right time.
Fairy Drop: This allows me to, very feasibly, win matchups like Yveltal/Garbodor or the upcoming Lurantis-GX. We are in a format where many good attacks commonly do 110-120 damage. This is normally enough to take out Mega Gardevoir-EX in two hits but when healing 50 damage off of it, things can get much more difficult for you opponent. Also, if it allows Mega Gardevoir-EX to survive with some hit points, all that has to be done afterward is retreating and discarding it, potentially putting you far ahead on the Prize trade.
Gardevoir Spirit Link: This allows Gardevoir-EX to Mega Evolve without ending your turn. Hard evolving is to avoid when possible, so a four-of is the best way to go.
Mega Turbo: This puts a discarded Energy right back onto a Mega Gardevoir-EX, allowing for an attack out of nowhere, or simply putting more that one Energy on your Pokémon during the same turn, to get ahead in this aspect of the board state. Also enables to retrieve Energy after retreating from a Mega Gardevoir-EX you are going to discard.
Trainers' Mail: It allows me to look at the top four cards of my deck and pick any one of the Trainer cards (that aren't Trainers' Mail) I find there. It can get me cards I need but currently haven't to allow for a play on a certain turn. Using it after a top deck will get me a near-guaranteed Trainer card out of my deck's top five.
Ultra Ball: Hands down my deck's core card, it would be a five-of if I could run five of them. It is often used so that I can get out a Hoopa-EX, use its Ability and take three more Pokémon-EX out of my deck this way. On top of that, having to discard two cards from my hand means that I am reducing my hand's size for a Set Up, as well as possibly getting Supporters down here for later use.
VS Seeker: It is the way I have to get Supporters back. Due to this card, my Ultra Ball targets will mostly be Supporters, and I can re-use cards like Hex Maniac, Lysandre and Brock's Grit, or use them at any point after they have been discarded, as long as I have this card and have not used a Supporter this turn. Not only that, it allows me to reuse Professor Sycamore and N to get myself out of bad hands and to get my opponent out of too good ones. This is a four-of in most decks, this list is not an exception.

Fairy Energy: This is the only type of Energy Mega Gardevoir-EX needs to use its attack, and this type of Energy lets me make use of Fairy Drop. Mega Gardevoir-EX being my main attacker, as well as Gardevoir-EX, my backup attacker needing Fairy Energy to attack means that there is absolutely no reason for me to run a different type of Energy. No Special Energy is needed neither, as the attack cost for Despair Ray is essentially two Fairy Energy (being one Fairy and one Colorless). With that low Energy cost, combined with the deck's sheer speed, this appearently very low Energy count of eight works, better than seven, than ten or more and slightly better or as well as nine in my experience.

This was my take on the competitive Steam Siege Mega Gardevoir-EX deck. Would you suggest that I change something, that I take out and/or add cards to the list? Any suggestions are appreciated, I also hope that you can try out a Mega Gardevoir deck if you have the budget for it; I would recommend this deck for players who enjoy fast-setup decks and have been playing competitive decks.

I will answer as many replies to this thread as I can, considering each constructive one as advice.

 

[Fayld]

I think you need 4 Sky Field and 2 Dragonite EX to make this deck function correctly as often as possible. Without going too far into the weeds and theory crafting the deck list to death, I would probably do this:

-1 Escape Rope
-2 Fairy Drop
+1 Sky Field
+1 Dragonite
+1 Pokemon Center Lady / Olympia (I lean toward Olympia).

 

[TCG_Destory]

I get where you are going with this, for a while now I have been looking for a way to add in a second Dragonite-EX, but due to that I want to maintain the 51% odds of starting Gardevoir EX, it has to be a Pokémon. Based on my experience with this deck, the fourth Shaymin is often excess fluff and the second Dragonite would allow me to reuse them once more, without having to use Brock's Grit. I was also thinking of adding in one Super Rod, which would take the place of the fourth Professor Sycamore, appearently not too useful neither. However, I will have to do some testing, so i can make sure that cutting a Shaymin-EX and a Professor Sycamore from the deck does not harm its consistency too much.

As for the Olympia, I already have more than enough Supporters for this type of deck, and I think I am fine with the three Escape Rope, especially when I have nothing but Gardevoir in play.

I also do not want to cut any Fairy Drop, as this is the card that allows my Mega Gardevoir-EX to live two hits, pretty often in my experience, so it is very important for Prize denial, to get ahead of the trade.

Finally, I get the utility of four Sky Field, but I do not consider it necessary because after the early game and until the late game, I rarely need any extra Bench space, I would only drop them to counter an opposing Stadium. Besides, I do not like running four Stadium, as they seem to clog up my hands later game.

Thanks for these suggestions. I will think of a way to put more Pokémon retrieval cards, as I've been projecting to.

 

[Fayld]

Well, here is Xander Pero's list. Figure that is about as good a list as you will get for a comparison

Note, it doesn't look like Xander agrees with me either

 

[TCG_Destory]

While I know that this list won Dallas' regionals, I have to admit that, as good as I find this Mega Gardevoir deck list to be, there are a few things I do not like about it. They are not things that make it less good: I'm certain Xander has tested them, and that they have proven to be working well for his list.

The first thing is that he only runs three Gardevoir-EX, which means that he, considering his Basic Pokémon total of thirteen, will start with a Gardevoir-EX around 36% of the time. I know a switching card gets you out of bad starts but it also means losing the first use of a tech.

Secondly, with all the Ability lock in the format, I find the 3-2 Sycamore/N lineup to be a little bit too tight, although with four Shaymin-EX being in his list as well, it mostly gets to be enough of them, that is outside of going against Greninja and Garbodor-infused decks.

The third thing has to do with the Energy count. It is already hard for me to see a deck working well on just seven Energy cards, unless you can attack for a single Energy. His deck being a turbo deck (that draws extremely quickly) should allow him to find the two required Energy over the first two turns. However, I have tested seven myself, and I find the whiffing rates to be way too high, as well as how much I can have to dig through to find more Energy to get my next Gardevoir ready. Mega Turbo, at the count of three, could make up for that, at times, but this implies finding 2/7 Energy in one turn. I personally run eight, and find nine to be another good, in fact probably as good as eight, amount of them to run in this deck.

As much as I find his list to be good at both getting things going, drawing through it quickly, and that I like his idea that was to include a Hawlucha, this is not the kind of Mega Gardevoir list I would personally play, without hating it in any way. To point this out, if you draw bad, the Supporters will help you more that the Shaymin-EX, and under Ability lock as well, this is a reason I like at least a 3-3 Sycamore/N line.

 

[Fayld]

I probably should have added more explanation lol. I grabbed that list as a baseline example. I don't think any list is ever perfect and I am guessing it was very streamlined toward the meta choices he expected at Dallas.

Basically, there were a couple extra switching cards using a couple different approaches. Honestly, given the minor difference between your lists, I think the biggest true need is another dragonite. It is just that much more reliable than relying on Brock's grit plus ultra balls.

Personally, I prefer the approach I listed on my first response. Tech in a supporter that both switches and heals. Make sure you always win the stadium war. And make sure Dragonite is available to go. Those are my three goals with my changes.

I am not attacking your list. I simply think the focus is too heavy on healing and switching and not enough on raw damage output and the speed needed to ramp it back up. Prior to the GX additions, I think the above list is good. With Tauros GX out there waiting for you to not one shot it, you have to expect to have to reestablish your board with this deck while maintaining the space necessary to do so. My approach is intended to provide as many opportunities as possible to maximize the damage output and board space as long as possible.

 

[TCG_Destory]

I do suspect that GX cards will cause some trouble to Mega Gardevoir. Lurantis/Vileplume will slow the deck down significantly when it goes first, and still harm it going second, Tauros GX with a Fighting Fury Belt can mess with the trade due to being able to take two instant prizes (although if needed, Link Blast can come right back at it, but only after the two Prizes have been taken), Solgaleo GX with be an almost obliged three shot due to Resistance, while one shotting Mega Gardevoir (Weakness does not even matter) and Umbreon GX/Pyukumuku possibly make the trade unfair (then again, Resistance will help) The 15% (as I estimate it to be) power creep from XY sets going into the Sun and Moon sets does give the new cards the damage advantage too. Then again, the Stage 2 GX decks can be teched against with an Espeon-EX which, for one Colorless Energy, will devolve 240-250 HP tanks into 80-90 HP weaklings, quite often Knocking them Out in this way... Still, I think Pokémon-GX, especially Tauros-GX, are one more reason I should include a second Dragonite-EX, probably taking the spot of the fourth Shaymin-EX, as two Dragonite-EX allows to reuse them more efficiently, and four Set Up Abilities are rarely used (even three) before the first Despair Ray, as I will normally have used about two by that time.

Sun and Moon cards are now legal, so I will have to make sure I am well equipped against those cards, as well as maybe include a few myself (Professor Kukui could replace a draw Supporter if it proves to work well in testing).