Standard Unlikely Pairing - Unit Energy Deck - Salazzle-GX/Lurantis-GX

[Skater_J]

I've had a few favorite cards in my binder that I felt could be competitive but always seemed to be missing something. Those cards were Lurantis-GX, Lurantis Promo, and Salazzle-GX. Once unit energy arrived I knew their day had finally come! I combined all these cards together into an unholy matrimony to become a new style of cross-typing deck.

The allure of this deck is the low energy requirement and speed. Lurantis-GX's one energy flower supply can do decent damage while fully powering up a Salazzle-GX, itself, or both! Flower supply is an underrated attack because players often associate it with grass energy, the fact is it can accelerate ANY basic energy, you just need a single grass energy to activate it. This is where GRW Unit energy comes in. The idea is to use unit energy on Lurantis-GX and accelerate Basic Fire energy onto Salazzle-GX. The Unit energy can also be used by Salazzle-GX and Alolan Ninetales-GX.

Using 2x Lurantis promos on the bench can allow Lurantis-GX and Salazzle-GX to hit the numbers to take care of most basic pokemon; GX or otherwise. Tapu-lele GX is a great target.

A unlikely strategy that I commonly use with this deck is purposefully retreating Salazzle-GX (remove 2 fire energy) for Lurantis-GX and then hitting some decent damage numbers while fully powering Salazzle-GX back up.

Once you hit the 3 prize mark this deck is unstoppable!

Salazzle's Diabolical claws attack + Lurantis Promos + Choice band can clean up the rest of the game for you.


The List-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

##Pokémon - 19

* 3 Salandit UPR 25_____________(Backup Attacker)
* 3 Salazzle-GX BUS 132_________(Main Attacker/Energy disruption GX attack)
* 4 Fomantis SUM 14____________(Energy acceleration)
* 3 Lurantis PR-SM SM25________(Damage support/Backup Attacker)
* 2 Lurantis-GX SUM 138_________(Attacker/Energy acceleration/GX attack)
* 2 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 60__________(Backup Attacker/Draw support)
* 1 Alolan Vulpix GRI 21__________(Evolution support)
* 1 Alolan Ninetales-GX GRI 22___(Snipe damage/GX attack)

##Trainer Cards - 28

* 1 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130_____(Pokemon Setup)
* 4 Professor Sycamore BKP 107__(Main draw support)
* 2 Scorched Earth PRC 138_______(Draw support/energy discard)
* 1 Evosoda XY 116_______________(Pokemon Setup)
* 3 Cynthia UPR 119_____________(Draw Support)
* 1 Field Blower GRI 125_________(Disruption)
* 4 Guzma BUS 115______________(Disruption)
* 2 Brigette BKT 161_____________(Pokemon Setup)
* 4 Ultra Ball SUM 135___________(Pokemon setup/energy discard)
* 2 N FCO 105___________________(Draw Support)
* 3 Choice Band GRI 121_________(Damage Support)
* 1 Enhanced Hammer PHF 94___(Disruption)

##Energy - 13

* 3 Grass Energy 1
* 7 Fire Energy 2
* 3 Unit Energy {G}{R}{W} UPR 170

*EDIT: Please check out the optimized list later on in this thread

Strategies-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Basic Pokemon setup: 2 x Brigette, 2 x Tapu Lele-GX, 4 x Ultraball, 1 x Rescue Stretcher

Stage 1 evoltuion: 1 x Alolan Vulpix, 1 x Evosoda, 1 x Rescue Stretcher, 4 x Ultraball, 4 x Professor Sycamore

Draw Support: 2 x Scorched Earth, 4 x Professor Sycamore, 3 x Cynthia, 2 x N, 2 x Tapu Lele-GX

Energy discard: 2 x Scorched Earth, 4 x Ultraball, 4 x Professor Sycamore

Energy acceleration: Use Lurantis-GX's flower supply attack or Fomantis's Synthesis attack

Main Attackers: 3 x Salazzle-GX, 2 x Lurantis-GX

Backup Attackers: 1 x Alolan Nintales-GX, 3 x Lurantis Promo, 3 x Salandit (Ultra Prism)

Damage Support (aka Hit the numbers): 3 x Lurantis promo, 3 x Choice Band

Disruption: 1 x Enhanced Hammer, 4 x Guzma, 1 x Field Blower


Potential Techs----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Volcanion - Non-EX (Hoopa Counter/Energy acceleration)
Mew-EX - (Psychic weak counter)
Mewtwo - Evolutions (Psychic weak/Hoopa counter)
Salazzle - Non-GX - Guardians Rising (Hoopa counter/Damage acceleration - Hot poison)
Tapu-Koko promo - (Snipe and Guzma synergy for free retreat)
Oranguru - Ultraprism (Anti-mill/Hoopa Counter)
Oranguru - Sun & Moon (Draw support/Hoopa Counter)
Turtonator-GX - (Anti-Mill/Energy Acceleration/Backup attacker)
Alolan Ninetales - Non-GX - (GX/Hoopa counter)

Matchups-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Favorable Matchups:
BuzzRoc, ZoroRoc, Zoropod, Duskvally, DuskZone, Greninja, Xerneas Break, LucarioRoc, Solgaleo, Metagross, Golisigarb, ZoroDecidueye, LeafeonDecidueye

50/50 (Setup dependent):
Garde, Ho-oh-Kiawe, ZoroGarde, EspeonGarb, Vikabulu, ZoroLucario, BuzzGarb

Unfavorable Matchups:
Quad Hoopa, Sylveon Mill, Mill decks in general, Volcanion, Empoleon, ZoroGlaceon

Weaknesses--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Fire Types
- Water Types
- Hoopa - Shining Legends
- Mill Decks
- Acerola
- Early Game knock-outs

Input Needed------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I feel like this deck's energy count, draw support, evolution, damage support, and energy acceleration strategies are all on point but the tech selection isn't perfect.

Volcanion-EX decks are an autoloss for this deck due to the Dual-typing hitting for weakness on both our main attackers, what strategy could we use to defeat Volcanion? Energy denial sometimes works (Salazzle's GX attack and leave scorched earth in play).

This deck struggles with Hoopa what would be the best strategy/tech to counter Hoopa? Volcanion (non-EX), Lurantis Promo, or Oranguru maybe?

Since this deck runs hot and fast with a lot of discarding what strategy could be used to keep from decking out against Mill decks? The only thing I can think of is Oranguru's Resource Management attack or more Cynthia and less Sycamore.

P.S. Stole this post's format from @FrostBiter12 since it looked so clean

 

[AFEX]

Wouldn't say this is quite my boi @FrostBiter12 's format, but similar, granted.
I think in general this is a neat rouge for NEXT season, with Mew EX rampant now, this deck is absolutely going to get thrown around like a rag doll with it around.

I realised you did not test against ZoroGarde? That will be a very popular deck.

 

[FlashRayquaza]

This deck struggles with Hoopa what would be the best strategy/tech to counter Hoopa? Volcanion (non-EX), Lurantis Promo, or Oranguru maybe?

Lurantis Promo should actually work, you can also use one GRI Salazzle to help OHKO the Hoopa. I don't think you should tech a card only for that matchup.

 

[Skater_J]

Wouldn't say this is quite my boi @FrostBiter12 's format, but similar, granted.
I think in general this is a neat rouge for NEXT season, with Mew EX rampant now, this deck is absolutely going to get thrown around like a rag doll with it around.

I realised you did not test against ZoroGarde? That will be a very popular deck.

Yeah I know @FrostBiter12 does have some pretty wicked posts, just trying to learn from the Master

Funny enough, I have only faced off against 1 or 2 decks playing Mew-EX these days in like 50-75 matches, maybe it's a local area thing. Mew-EX can not OHKO the main attackers in this deck and it gets OHKO back so it's not much of a threat anyway. Actually come to think of it, I would love to see more Mew-EX an easy 2 prizes!

Oh, you may have missed it in the 50/50 category of matchups but yes I was sure to include ZoroGarde as I know it's getting pretty popular in the meta. I faced off against one last night and it's all about setup, my opponent struggled to get setup and I finished them off quickly. My finisher was Chlorosythe-GX (2 unit, 2 grass energy) + choice band to OHKO a Zoroark.

 

[Skater_J]

Lurantis Promo should actually work, you can also use one GRI Salazzle to help OHKO the Hoopa. I don't think you should tech a card only for that matchup.

Thanks for the advice, I guess I just run into Hoopa too often and it makes me nervous. I'll make the change to add Salazzle GRI. It will help me hit the numbers as well with the Hot Poison ability.

I'm thinking about taking out one Cynthia, that will give me room for the extra Salazzle. I rarely use Cynthia, it's usually Guzma or Sycamore.

 

[FrostBiter12]

I've had a few favorite cards in my binder that I felt could be competitive but always seemed to be missing something. Those cards were Lurantis-GX, Lurantis Promo, and Salazzle-GX. Once unit energy arrived I knew their day had finally come! I combined all these cards together into an unholy matrimony to become a new style of cross-typing deck.

The allure of this deck is the low energy requirement and speed. Lurantis-GX's one energy flower supply can do decent damage while fully powering up a Salazzle-GX, itself, or both! Flower supply is an underrated attack because players often associate it with grass energy, the fact is it can accelerate ANY basic energy, you just need a single grass energy to activate it. This is where GRW Unit energy comes in. The idea is to use unit energy on Lurantis-GX and accelerate Basic Fire energy onto Salazzle-GX. The Unit energy can also be used by Salazzle-GX and Alolan Ninetales-GX.

Using 2x Lurantis promos on the bench can allow Lurantis-GX and Salazzle-GX to hit the numbers to take care of most basic pokemon; GX or otherwise. Tapu-lele GX is a great target.

A unlikely strategy that I commonly use with this deck is purposefully retreating Salazzle-GX (remove 2 fire energy) for Lurantis-GX and then hitting some decent damage numbers while fully powering Salazzle-GX back up.

Once you hit the 3 prize mark this deck is unstoppable!

Salazzle's Diabolical claws attack + Lurantis Promos + Choice band can clean up the rest of the game for you.


The List-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

##Pokémon - 19

* 3 Salandit UPR 25_____________(Backup Attacker)
* 3 Salazzle-GX BUS 132_________(Main Attacker/Energy disruption GX attack)
* 4 Fomantis SUM 14____________(Energy acceleration)
* 3 Lurantis PR-SM SM25________(Damage support/Backup Attacker)
* 2 Lurantis-GX SUM 138_________(Attacker/Energy acceleration/GX attack)
* 2 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 60__________(Backup Attacker/Draw support)
* 1 Alolan Vulpix GRI 21__________(Evolution support)
* 1 Alolan Ninetales-GX GRI 22___(Snipe damage/GX attack)

##Trainer Cards - 28

* 1 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130_____(Pokemon Setup)
* 4 Professor Sycamore BKP 107__(Main draw support)
* 2 Scorched Earth PRC 138_______(Draw support/energy discard)
* 1 Evosoda XY 116_______________(Pokemon Setup)
* 3 Cynthia UPR 119_____________(Draw Support)
* 1 Field Blower GRI 125_________(Disruption)
* 4 Guzma BUS 115______________(Disruption)
* 2 Brigette BKT 161_____________(Pokemon Setup)
* 4 Ultra Ball SUM 135___________(Pokemon setup/energy discard)
* 2 N FCO 105___________________(Draw Support)
* 3 Choice Band GRI 121_________(Damage Support)
* 1 Enhanced Hammer PHF 94___(Disruption)

##Energy - 13

* 3 Grass Energy 1
* 7 Fire Energy 2
* 3 Unit Energy {G}{R}{W} UPR 170


Strategies-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Basic Pokemon setup: 2 x Brigette, 2 x Tapu Lele-GX, 4 x Ultraball, 1 x Rescue Stretcher

Stage 1 evoltuion: 1 x Alolan Vulpix, 1 x Evosoda, 1 x Rescue Stretcher, 4 x Ultraball, 4 x Professor Sycamore

Draw Support: 2 x Scorched Earth, 4 x Professor Sycamore, 3 x Cynthia, 2 x N, 2 x Tapu Lele-GX

Energy discard: 2 x Scorched Earth, 4 x Ultraball, 4 x Professor Sycamore

Energy acceleration: Use Lurantis-GX's flower supply attack or Fomantis's Synthesis attack

Main Attackers: 3 x Salazzle-GX, 2 x Lurantis-GX

Backup Attackers: 1 x Alolan Nintales-GX, 3 x Lurantis Promo, 3 x Salandit (Ultra Prism)

Damage Support (aka Hit the numbers): 3 x Lurantis promo, 3 x Choice Band

Disruption: 1 x Enhanced Hammer, 4 x Guzma, 1 x Field Blower


Potential Techs----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Volcanion - Non-EX (Hoopa Counter/Energy acceleration)
Mew-EX - (Psychic weak counter)
Mewtwo - Evolutions (Psychic weak/Hoopa counter)
Salazzle - Non-GX - Guardians Rising (Hoopa counter/Damage acceleration - Hot poison)
Tapu-Koko promo - (Snipe and Guzma synergy for free retreat)
Oranguru - Ultraprism (Anti-mill/Hoopa Counter)
Oranguru - Sun & Moon (Draw support/Hoopa Counter)
Turtonator-GX - (Anti-Mill/Energy Acceleration/Backup attacker)
Alolan Ninetales - Non-GX - (GX/Hoopa counter)

Matchups-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Favorable Matchups:
BuzzRoc, ZoroRoc, Zoropod, Duskvally, DuskZone, Greninja, Xerneas Break, LucarioRoc, Solgaleo, Metagross, Golisigarb, ZoroDecidueye, LeafeonDecidueye

50/50 (Setup dependent):
Garde, Ho-oh-Kiawe, ZoroGarde, EspeonGarb, Vikabulu, ZoroLucario, BuzzGarb

Unfavorable Matchups:
Quad Hoopa, Sylveon Mill, Mill decks in general, Volcanion, Empoleon, ZoroGlaceon

Weaknesses--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Fire Types
- Water Types
- Hoopa - Shining Legends
- Mill Decks
- Acerola
- Early Game knock-outs

Input Needed------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I feel like this deck's energy count, draw support, evolution, damage support, and energy acceleration strategies are all on point but the tech selection isn't perfect.

Volcanion-EX decks are an autoloss for this deck due to the Dual-typing hitting for weakness on both our main attackers, what strategy could we use to defeat Volcanion? Energy denial sometimes works (Salazzle's GX attack and leave scorched earth in play).

This deck struggles with Hoopa what would be the best strategy/tech to counter Hoopa? Volcanion (non-EX), Lurantis Promo, or Oranguru maybe?

Since this deck runs hot and fast with a lot of discarding what strategy could be used to keep from decking out against Mill decks? The only thing I can think of is Oranguru's Resource Management attack or more Cynthia and less Sycamore.

P.S. Stole this post's format from @FrostBiter12 since it looked so clean

Hey @Skater_J, thanks for the compliment (you too @AFEX), I'm glad that you like the formatting! Anyways, this is actually a cool concept that I might just try out. I've been searching for ways to use the Unit Energies, but I've been focusing on the [P],[L],[M] more then the [G],[W],[F] version. Overall, I like the list, there are just a few things I would suggest that I think would improve this decks performance. Here is a version that I would use:

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 18

* 1 Oranguru SUM 113
* 2 Salandit GRI 15
* 2 Salazzle-GX BUS 25
* 4 Fomantis SUM 14
* 1 Tapu Bulu-GX PR-SM SM32
* 2 Lurantis PR-SM SM25
* 3 Lurantis-GX SUM 15
* 2 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 60
* 1 Frost Rotom UPR 41

##Trainer Cards - 28

* 2 Brigette BKT 134
* 3 Choice Band GRI 121
* 2 Cynthia UPR 119
* 2 Evosoda XY 116
* 1 Field Blower GRI 125
* 1 Float Stone BKT 137
* 3 Guzma BUS 115
* 2 N FCO 105
* 4 Professor Sycamore BKP 107
* 1 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130
* 3 Scorched Earth FCO 110
* 4 Ultra Ball SUM 135

##Energy - 14

* 3 Unit Energy {G}{R}{W} UPR 170
* 3 Grass Energy 1
* 8 Fire Energy 2

Total Cards - 60

****** Deck List Generated by the Pokémon TCG Online www.pokemon.com/TCGO ******

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, some of the changes I made included dropping some of the Salazzle GX line and Guzma count to increase other aspects of the deck (mainly for consistency). I added a Float Stone as well, but you can drop that for another Guzma if you prefer that. Overall, here are the explanations for the changes.

-1 Salandit+Salazzle GX: Since this is mainly your late-game attacker, I think that a 2-2 line should be able to get the job done without clogging up your hand early-game. This also reduces the chances of you starting with it as well.

-1 Lurantis PR: Usually, you would have to evolve into Lurantis GX since that is your main attacker; reducing the chances of you being able to use Lurantis PR. I still think that Lurantis PR is a great part of the deck, but 2 is probably the maximum amount you would ever get into play (that is if you are ahead of your opponent and you don't have to evolve into Lurantis GX).

-1 Alolan Vulpix+Alolan Ninetales GX: As a 1-1 line that is used only in certain scenarios, I think that this may be pushing your chances of getting it out just a bit. Using the Alolan Vulpix makes sense, but that is usually just for Stage 2 decks since they need a boost to help them get their evolutions out. If you wanted to keep this though, I would instead suggest Alolan Ninetales (BUS) instead of the GX since it solves your Hoopa (SHL) problem and counters Fire decks at the same time.

-1 Enhanced Hammer: I would like to make sure this deck is as consistent as possible, so I think that removing this doesn't hurt the deck (since it isn't necessary). It also leaves room for other more valuable cards in the deck.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(I switched a bunch of the Trainer counts around to increase consistency, so I won't go over them in detail)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

+1 Tapu Bulu GX (PR): Since you may need a backup attacker for any occasion, I thought that one Tapu Bulu GX could serve you well (especially since it doesn't have any weakness). The one downside with it is that you have to discard all of the energy to deal any major damage, but you could always recover it with Lurantis GX.

+1 Frost Rotom (UPR): This is probably as techy as I would dare get with the deck. Frost Rotom is definitely not necessary, but if you have been troubled by Volcanion EX, this should give you a fighting chance (you don't use the ability, but you can attach one Unit Energy and another energy to power it up quickly).

+1 Oranguru (SUM): I noticed that you didn't have any late-game draw support, so I think that the deck can afford to have it. It also helps against Hoopa (SHL) if your worried about that.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some of these changes aren't necessary, but I would highly suggest that you keep consistency in mind (like maybe don't play both Frost Rotom and Tapu Bulu GX, one or the other would do). You aren't really hurt by ability lock, so the one Field Blower should be fine (though two would definitely not hurt either). One thing that I'm worried about is that this deck lacks a way to get rid of cards you don't need so you don't draw into them late game (like Frost Rotom). Prof. Sycamore and Ultra Ball should be able to remove a good amount of them, but I'm not totally sure. If your looking for other potential inclusions, I think that Pal Pad, Max Potion (only as a one-of, but it works since you can just Flower Supply the energy back), and maybe Revitalizer could work, so definitely keep those in mind.

Anyways, I hope that these suggestions help, let me know what you think and if you have any other ideas. Good luck!

~FrostBiter12

 

[Skater_J]

Wow @FrostBiter12 Thank you very much for the detailed and constructive response!

Tapu Bulu-GX, Oranguru and Frost Rotom are great suggestions! Although I would hate to see Alolan Vulpix go, there is definitely room for experimentation. I think I'm going to try the deck first with Alolan Ninetales (non-GX) and then try these 3 after that. As you likely remember, I am definitely a fan of Bulu Actually, I will likely add Oranguru right away.

I liked that you added one more scorched earth, I feel like that alone would likely up the consistency.

I'm unsure about dropping a Salazzle line because I like to use Salazzle in the early and mid game as well to put on the pressure and take knock-outs on low HP pokemon, and sometimes Tapu Lele-GX. Maybe I could drop one of each and add another rescue stretcher and free up one card slot. Definitely worth trying.

I probably won't mess with the Lurantis line up because it's working for me, I only ever need one Lurantis-GX in play per game (unless going against Greninja) and you are correct that the most Lurantis promo I use is 2 on the bench. One Lurantis promo always seems to be prized or gets discarded by Sycamore so having 3 definitely helps.

I don't think the additional fire energy is needed as I haven't found myself ever short of fire energy with this deck. 13 energy is already a lot, 14 seems too high.

Lowering the Guzma count is a hard decision because I often find myself wanting a Guzma in this deck to KO low HP basic pokemon with Lurantis-GX while accelerating energy. I can see the value of float stone, especially when a Lurantis promo (or in the future Bulu) gets dragged up to the active position but it would be hard to rely on a single float stone in the deck. Guzma is also a card that gets discarded by Sycamore a bunch so it's nice to have a few left in the late game. You're right, Pal Pad might be a good inclusion.

I hadn't thought of max potion, that's actually a very clever idea, since 90% of the time Lurantis-GX is just left in the active to take one for the team while it does damage and accelerates energy. Healing Lurantis-GX (the tankiest pokemon in the deck) would often save 2 prizes. I may include it instead of the Enhanced Hammer. I would actually prefer more enhanced hammer to improve the Zoroark match ups but improving consistency outweighs disruption the majority of the time.

Alright, I'm going to try out some of these changes and I'll be back with an update as soon as I can .

 

[FrostBiter12]

Wow @FrostBiter12 Thank you very much for the detailed and constructive response!

Tapu Bulu-GX, Oranguru and Frost Rotom are great suggestions! Although I would hate to see Alolan Vulpix go, there is definitely room for experimentation. I think I'm going to try the deck first with Alolan Ninetales (non-GX) and then try these 3 after that. As you likely remember, I am definitely a fan of Bulu Actually, I will likely add Oranguru right away.

I liked that you added one more scorched earth, I feel like that alone would likely up the consistency.

I'm unsure about dropping a Salazzle line because I like to use Salazzle in the early and mid game as well to put on the pressure and take knock-outs on low HP pokemon, and sometimes Tapu Lele-GX. Maybe I could drop one of each and add another rescue stretcher and free up one card slot. Definitely worth trying.

I probably won't mess with the Lurantis line up because it's working for me, I only ever need one Lurantis-GX in play per game (unless going against Greninja) and you are correct that the most Lurantis promo I use is 2 on the bench. One Lurantis promo always seems to be prized or gets discarded by Sycamore so having 3 definitely helps.

I don't think the additional fire energy is needed as I haven't found myself ever short of fire energy with this deck. 13 energy is already a lot, 14 seems too high.

Lowering the Guzma count is a hard decision because I often find myself wanting a Guzma in this deck to KO low HP basic pokemon with Lurantis-GX while accelerating energy. I can see the value of float stone, especially when a Lurantis promo (or in the future Bulu) gets dragged up to the active position but it would be hard to rely on a single float stone in the deck. Guzma is also a card that gets discarded by Sycamore a bunch so it's nice to have a few left in the late game. You're right, Pal Pad might be a good inclusion.

I hadn't thought of max potion, that's actually a very clever idea, since 90% of the time Lurantis-GX is just left in the active to take one for the team while it does damage and accelerates energy. Healing Lurantis-GX (the tankiest pokemon in the deck) would often save 2 prizes. I may include it instead of the Enhanced Hammer. I would actually prefer more enhanced hammer to improve the Zoroark match ups but improving consistency outweighs disruption the majority of the time.

Alright, I'm going to try out some of these changes and I'll be back with an update as soon as I can .

Thanks, glad that I could help, I'm sorry that I couldn't get to this sooner (I was busy over the weekend)! Anyways, most of the techs I suggested can't be played with each other just because it decreases the consistency so much (unless you were playing Zoroark GX). Any of them work though, so try them out and see which one works best for you!

Since you don't have Trade for draw support, I thought that Scorched Earth could fill in for a somewhat similar effect. I increased the Fire Energy count because of this, but if you feel that 7 is enough then you should stick with that.

I thought that the 2-2 Salazzle GX line was for late game and Lurantis GX was to setup early game/mid game (which also explains why I switched up that line as well). Either way, 2-2 or a 3-3 line should get the job done, it is really just a matter of what your comfortable with.

On the topic of Guzma, I would suggest that if you run just three, you should play a single Pal Pad as well. If you go for the four Guzma, then the Pal Pad shouldn't be necessary. I would suggest one Float Stone to get you out of those particular situations, but it isn't necessary I suppose.

If you're trying to disrupt Zoroark GX, I would actually suggest Max Potion over E. Hammer since Zoroark GX can't OHKO Lurantis GX and the energy on Lurantis GX can be easily reattached. Anyways, Zoroark GX players usually have the means to get another DCE with Trade and a potential Mallow, so removing the chance of them K.O.ing you with Max Potion seems to be the better option in my opinion.

Anyways, I wish you luck with Lurantis GX/Salazzle GX, let me know how your tests go and if the techs/suggestions are making an impact. Thanks!

 

[Skater_J]

Thanks again for your input @FrostBiter12

Over the weekend I played this deck with a few different variants: Oranguru, Alolan Ninetales, Tapu Bulu, and Max Potion. I've now accepted Max Potion and Oranguru as permanent additions to the deck!

Alolan Ninetales was able to help me win a Volcanion match up and Bulu almost got me the win against another Volc matchup but both were difficult to power up. The Fighting Hoopa matchup is still pretty bad with Alolan Ninetales. It's also difficult to power up Lurantis Promos to take the knockouts, so I have decided to include non-EX Volcanion as an attacker/Support pokemon for the Hoopa matchup (as well as Oranguru). As for the Volc matchups I'm going to try using Ho-oh GX. Ho-oh and Salazzle are natural partners but it is difficult getting Ho-oh powered up without Kiawe, but in comes Lurantis GX for the win! Ho-oh GX will be my new tech, the lightning weakness is a good one to have

I've been also testing with a 2-2 Salazzle line but it's not going well, I think I'll have to go back to 3-3. I always like to have at least 1 Salandit on my bench.

Enhanced Hammer definitely helps the Garchomp, Lucario and Buzzwole matchups, I think I'll keep it in the deck for now. I had a few people on HeyFonte mention that they think the BuzzRoc matchup is unfavorable but from my testing I've been able to beat it the majority of the time on PTCGO. Might be different if veterans are piloting it though.

I'll do some more testing tonight, I think I'll add in Palpad for 1 Guzma and see how that goes too.

 

[Skater_J]

Wait a sec, Alolan Muk can help both the Hoopa and Volcanion matchups! Time to test...

 

[FrostBiter12]

Wait a sec, Alolan Muk can help both the Hoopa and Volcanion matchups! Time to test...

Don't forget that it shuts down Oranguru+Tapu Lele GX on your side of the field as well. I would be interested in hearing how it goes though! If you need anything else, just let me know and I'll post if I have any more ideas for the deck. Good luck!

 

[Skater_J]

I finally had some matchups against Volc and Fighting Hoopa, and Alolan Muk definitely put in work!

Muk completely shut off Hoopa's ability and I was easily able to power up a Salazzle, take knockouts and win the match.

Muk also completely shutdown steam ups on Volc-EX and Oranguru's drawing ability. It basically shutdown the deck and my opponent didn't top deck into any supporters. Won that match as well.

Using Muk lead me to take Oranguru out of the deck as I no longer needed a counter to Hoopa and while I do like the added draw support, I further value the bench space.

I would like to try out Frost Rotom as a tech but it's banned at the moment so I'll have to wait. In the mean time I'll likely use Keldeo from Shining Legends or possibly Mew-EX to improve the Lucario/Buzzwole/Espeon matchups.

The 2-2 Salazzle line is going ok, there have been a few times where I really needed a Salandit but couldn't get one. I'm also testing Super Rod instead of Rescue Stretcher and it seems to be helping. Super Rod also allows me to get the grass energy back when I'm close to being out of it.

I've also been trying out Non-EX Volcanion. It's nice to have a non-GX attacker who can also accelerate energy and make use of Sunny Day as well. I'm thinking that Volcanion will stay.

Ho-Oh GX was a bust, I just couldn't get it powered up and when it starts in your active it really slows you down.

Palpad is working well, great suggestion @FrostBiter12

I feel like the list is getting better refined now, I'll have to update the list soon.

 

[Skater_J]

Alright! After a bunch of testing and some great results in the PTCGO Event arena (5 top spots this weekend out of 8). I finally have an optimized list (for the current meta):

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 20

* 3 Salandit UPR 25
* 3 Salazzle-GX BUS 132
* 4 Fomantis SUM 14
* 3 Lurantis PR-SM SM25
* 2 Lurantis-GX SUM 138
* 1 Alolan Grimer SUM 57
* 1 Mewtwo EVO 51
* 2 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 60
* 1 Alolan Muk SUM 58

##Trainer Cards - 27

* 1 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130
* 1 N DEX 96
* 1 Pal Pad UPR 132
* 1 Evosoda GEN 62
* 4 Professor Sycamore BKP 107
* 2 Scorched Earth PRC 138
* 2 Cynthia UPR 119
* 1 Field Blower GRI 125
* 3 Guzma BUS 115
* 2 Brigette BKT 161
* 3 Choice Band GRI 121
* 4 Ultra Ball FCO 113
* 1 Enhanced Hammer PHF 94
* 1 Max Potion BKP 103

##Energy - 13

* 3 Grass Energy 1
* 7 Fire Energy 2
* 3 Unit Energy {G}{R}{W} UPR 170

Total Cards - 60

****** Deck List Generated by the Pokémon TCG Online www.pokemon.com/TCGO ******

Changes from original list:

Alolan Muk (& Alolan Grimer)

This pokemon is huge for this deck! Muk isn't played in all circumstances but it gives this deck a much better chance against three of it's toughest matchups: Fighting Hoopa, Volcanion, and Glaceon-GX. It nullifies Hoopa's ability, prevents Steam ups from Volcanion-EX and also stops Eevee from evolving into Glaceon-GX right away. Alolan Muk also has the added benefit of shutting down other cards like Tapu-Lele, Oranguru, Mew-EX, Tapu Koko-GX and baby Mew. Ho-oh-GX decks also suffer when this card comes out because the Lele + Kiawe combo is denied.

Evolutions Mewtwo

This becomes a target for Buzzwole and takes the heat off your other Attacking pokemon like Salazzle-GX and Lurantis-GX. With Buzzwole decks being labelled as bdif in the current meta (and future), it's important to have many answers to Buzzwole in a deck. Mewtwo is easy to power up with Lurantis-GX and its a great one prize attacker against other energy heavy or psychic weak decks (here's looking at you Espeon-GX). While not a great answer to Lucario-GX, it does help.

Enhanced Hammer

Not really a change but I wanted to mention that I did test the deck without this card but I found it to be too valuable to go without. This card helps out huge in the Glaceon, Zoroark, Counter Energy and Buzzwole matchups. Take a knockout on the Active pokemon while disabling the backup Pokemon at the same time. It's great at setting your opponent back a turn, and forcing your opponent have to search for special energy again or try to recycle it.

Pal Pad

As suggested by @FrostBiter12 Pal Pad was a great inclusion because it keeps the deck from stalling out due to lack of draw supporters and keeps it going in the late game with more Guzmas or N's. It's a great addition to the deck.

Max Potion

Also suggested by @FrostBiter12 this inclusion became a staple! There are may times where I could fully heal a Lurantis-GX in the active and reattach a grass/unit energy to keep the energy acceleration going or I could retreat a wounded Salazzle, then fully heal it and power it right back up with Lurantis-GX. I've also used it on basic pokemon to survive a turn 2 knockout. I wish there was room to add more but the addition of 1 Max potion has been highly beneficial!


Thank you to all who replied and contributed to this thread, I really appreciate the feedback and suggestions! I think I have reached my limits of working on this deck but I definitely encourage anyone interested in this deck to carry on the torch!

Special shout out to @FrostBiter12 who pushed me to take this deck to the next level.

 

[Trendy67]

Huge fan of this deck. Played a couple matches with a slightly different version: I only have one Lele. Also I goofed when I went to the store and got 3 Lurantis GX and only 2 Promos -- I swapped the numbers!! Still, I love just how consistent and straightforward it is. Liking the techs, too since you kind of get a one-sided ability lock still being able to use your most important stage 1 ability. I went against a Lucario/Lycanroc and a Waterbox deck -- to my delight Grass type was a great success!

Commenting here for a few reasons. First, the rotation was just announced today (early, I know) and this deck seems well-built enough to survive it and I wanted to ask what you would change up. You lose Brigette, N, Sycamore, Evosoda, Scorched Earth, and EVO Mewtwo. Would you swap Brigette for Lillie (or Fan Club)? N for Judge? Sycamore for Sophocles? Evosoda for... Timer Ball? And Scorched Earth for .... hm, losing this one sucks. Maybe more Max Potion?? Not sure what would take over for EVO Mewtwo.

Second- how in your experience does this stand up to higher tier decks, like Buzzwole or UNecrozma? How would you play the matchup?

Third- speaking of UNecrozma- are there any cards from Forbidden Light you would consider in here?

 

[Skater_J]

Hi @Trendy67 I'm glad you like the deck! Yes the rotation will certain change things up for this deck.

While I'm no expert in predicting how the post rotation Meta will look in terms of deck staples, I can certainly offer some hunches:

Champion Road will bring a new draw supporter called Copycat which will definitely be a staple in most decks but we will still have Cynthia, Sun & Moon Oranguru, Hala, & Lillie to keep the cards coming.

For searching for Pokemon we can use Mysterious treasure, Ultraball, Nestball, Pokemon fan club and Olivia. Olivia seems strong in this deck. Timerball is always an option but timerball continues to let me down, I don't think I've ever had a clutch moment with timerball, mostly "doh!" moments

Scorched Earth is a terrible loss for this deck. Perhaps Zoroark-GX could be added to help draw support and be the energy discard engine. Zoroark also counters Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX quite well. Flint is a new Champion Road item card that can get you 4 fire energy and then you could use other items to discard some.

To tell you the truth I haven't tried this deck against the new Buzzwole or Ultra Necrozma. The strategy would likely be to increase the Mewtwo count and pick on Buzzwole and Malamar for psychic weakness until Mewtwo rotates. After that let's hope for a new psychic tech card. As I started with in the beginning, Alolan Ninetales (non-GX) can also be an effective counter to both Buzzwole and Ultra Necrozma and it also can use the Unit energy to attack. Plumeria + enhanced hammers + Queens Haze GX could also be effective against both decks. If Ultra Necrozma has no beast or metal energy it can't do anything. Buzzwole is hard to charge all the way up so if you slow it down you can out speed it until the Beast rings come out.

Come to think of it, if Unit energy was swapped out for Rainbow energy a whole slew of new techs could be used, but that extra 10 damage certainly hurts.

 

[Trendy67]

So there are a few other differences in my Lurazzle (Salantis?) deck from yours that I noticed while playing. Running a single copy of Float Stone really changes things. If you ever get Muk or something you can't reatreat stuck in the active, it kind of sucks. It's not hard to find it when you need it when you run 4x Sycamore though! And for some reason Unit Energy GFW has been really hard for me to find, so I just have one Unit and 2x Rainbow Energy, and boy those turned out to be helpful. The whole 10 damage thing is *almost* negligible when you think about the format here- if something is going to hit you it will either be for 120-150 (think like Zoroark with a Choice Band), which both Lurantis and Salazzle will survive even with the 10 damage from Rainbow, or 180+ (Buzzwole, UNecrozma), and at that point the damage is most likely going to one-shot you anyway. Lucario + Choice + Strong + Diancie is 190, and Lurantis will survive even that with 10hp remaining after a Rainbow

Played against a UNecrozma yesterday and I beat it! Pretty badly too. It's because Alolan Muk is GOD TIER OMG GET REKT. Opponent kept trying to Invasion w/ Dawn Wings and just... couldn't. Also tried to Lele Wonder Tag for Guzma- nope! What about drawing with Instruct Oranguru? NOPE!

UNecrozma got stuck in the active and while he was able to deal damage with it, it wasn't enough. I had a few turns to set up and everything worked out after that. At one point during the game I actually used Lele's Tapu Cure GX (Wait, Lele has a GX move??) and it ended up being an even bigger swing in my favor. Since I cured Lurantis to full, came back in and just applied more pressure. Ended up having him only taking 2 prizes after KO-ing Lele since I essentially just sent it up to sacrifice itself and cure Lurantis.

I also have one random Hot Poison Salazzle. It hasn't been the all-star that Alolan Muk is (seriously how is this 1-1 line so consistent?? I call shenanigans on myself) but sometimes just that kind of instant 30 damage (reminds me of Hypnotoxic laser playing it down) has been really useful.

My list for reference:
Pokemon (19):
3x Salandit
1x Salazzle (Hot Poison)
2x Salazzle GX
4x Fomantis
2x Lurantis (Sunny Day)
2x Lurantis GX
1x Alolan Grimer (psychic)
1x Alolan Muk
1x Mewtwo (Evolutions)
1x Tapu Lele GX

Supporters (12):
4x Professor Sycamore
3x Cynthia
1x N
1x Brigette
3x Guzma

Stadiums (2):
2x Scorched Earth

Items (14):
4x Ultra Ball
3x Choice Band
1x Float Stone
1x Evosoda
1x Field Blower
1x Rescue Stretcher
1x Pal Pad
1x Enhanced Hammer
1x Max Potion

Energy (13):
1x Unit Energy GFW
2x Rainbow Energy
3x Grass
7x Fire

----

I feel like adding Zoroark could be more of a risk/liability than a benefit. Not a numbers expert, but how many Pokemon spaces are required to be occupied for a fighting-weak, ability-centered, evolution, bench space, discard-and-draw engine?

Honestly it runs pretty smooth as-is. Obviously more playtesting is always needed with any deck, but sometimes simplicity is the best engine. As I saw against Ultra Necrozma, it really needs to find a way back to the bench to maximize Psychic Recharge. Ultra Necrozma can NOT perform without its partner Pokemon.

Also one more shout out to how amazing Alolan Muk is when played against attacking Hoopa. Usually when you go up against it you're just like "Oh f*** I can't do anything." Once I laid down Muk my opponent was the one saying that. Probably felt pretty terrible to have your GX-Immune deck get annihilated by GX Pokemon. For me it felt pretty great though

 

[Skater_J]

@Trendy67 I'm really glad you're having fun with this deck!

I definitely agree that locking out Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX with Alolan Muk is awesome Oh yes and those attacking Hoopa players never saw it coming!

I did put in quite a few matches in with "Hot poison" Salazzle as well, while it did come in clutch for a couple matches I always found that it became a dead card after it's intended purpose. In the end I opted for the third Salazzle-GX because it provided an unstoppable game state in the later plays of the match. Actually, the pressure that 2 powered up Salazzle-GX provides at anytime during the match is quite helpful as it is a bit intimidating for your opponent. I have seen players opt to guzma up a sunny day lurantis/Alolan Muk for a stall play rather than bring up a powered up Salazzle-GX, and we all know how stall plays work out in this format.....yeah...they never end well

I do like the idea of Rainbow energy for a Tapu Cure play, I may have to try that.

I do agree with your Zoroark comment because Buzzwole is going top tier for a while but I think it's worth testing a 2-2 Zorua/Zoroark line in favor of Scorched Earth just to see how it goes. This deck always fills up the bench so Zoroark would also be a decent back up attacker and with Dawn Wings being so popular in both Ultra Necrozma and Ho-Oh decks the darkness type hitting for weakness is definitely relevant. I would only reserve 1 bench spot for Zoroark but the 2-2 line would provide the consistency to get it out.

 

[Trendy67]

I did put in quite a few matches in with "Hot poison" Salazzle as well, while it did come in clutch for a couple matches I always found that it became a dead card after it's intended purpose.

I totally agree. The benefit of Hypnotoxic Laser was that it was an item card. This deck doesn't center around the ability so once you play it you now have a useless lizard on the bench. In the long run those clutch moments are going to be less frequent, and you're better off using something that is effective at any point in the game. Gotta to find another Salazzle GX and Promo Lurantis.

Still a really fun deck as is. The best version might even be yet to come, just requires dedicated playtesting

I'm really wanting to test this online but I have NO cards online, so I just hit up my LGS every so often and find people to play. Work schedule permitting, hoping to enter it in some kind of tournament soon. I think it's just crazy that I have an easier time building a deck IRL than online. How is buying singles on PCTGO not a thing yet? Any advice for how to acquire cards?

 

[Skater_J]

How is buying singles on PCTGO not a thing yet? Any advice for how to acquire cards?

Packs are the currency of PTCGO. Use the code code cards you find in packs to trade for the singles you need in PTCGO. Lurantis-GX and Salazzle-GX will be easy to trade for, promo Lurantis may be a little trickier. Buy bulk codes from your LGS. Tapu Lele-GX is difficult to trade for but if you buy a ton of Guardians Rising codes you can either trade for them or open up the code packs yourself. You can find IRL friends who frequent PTCGO and trade with them. Add me as a friend on PTCGO and I'll trade with you (my user name is the same as my forum name). Otherwise, you can earn packs the old fashion way, go through the tutorials on PTCGO, battle all the NPC characters, and enter events. One other way to get some free packs is to signup for the Pokemon Newsletter which seems to include a free code about every quarter.

Oh I wanted to mention that I tried Zoroark in the deck and you were right, it became a target, it did not go well

 

[Trendy67]

I tried Zoroark in the deck and it became a target, it did not go well

Yeah I always see that happen with Zoroark, just because fighting is so strong all it takes is a Guzma and bam! your opponent takes 2 free prizes and there goes your discard and draw engine. It won't be as vulnerable after rotation with the loss of Strong Energy, but it's still gonna get donked by Lucario, Lycanroc, and now Zygarde. Buzzwole will either need 3 energies attached, but with Choice Band + Diancie Prism + Beast Energy that's all it takes for a Jet Punch to 1HKO it. Getting beast energy with the new supporters coming out might not be too much of an issue either - Lisia could get you both Diancie {*} and Beast Energy, or Steven could get you 3 of anything you want on your first turn where you can't really attack anyway.

I think because fighting is still going to be hella good even after rotation, Zoroark (for now) is just an unfortunate risk. We want to be ahead on prizes, not behind!

Also -- I haven't had much time for PTCG lately but I will def add you. My username here is same as on PCTGO as well