Back from Bremen — How Standard is Shaping Up

By: Ryan Moorhouse · Posted Posted onSep 30, 2017 at 2:38 PM · 0 Comments

Hey there PokeBeach! The season has truly kicked off over the globe with Regionals in the U.S. and EU. The rotation has taken full effect. Interestingly enough, the majority of decks that had success at Anaheim are still alive and well. I’ll be talking about Standard today. The majority of large tournaments in Europe use the Standard format and after Bremen Regionals, a couple of weeks ago, there’s a good idea of what is strong right now.

First, I’ll take you through my testing process, the list, and my run that got me to a Top 32 finish for that weekend. Then, we’ll have a look at what did the best on the day — specifically the decks that got the most placements and the finalist builds. Online testing was crucial to my tournament preparation, because there were no Standard tournament results for this season prior to Bremen.

[cardimg name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”129″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Finding the Best Play for Bremen

Although the online meta-game of TCGO differs to that of a Regionals, the plethora of decks online gives you a basis for what is or is not good. As I talked about in my last article, it seemed that  the [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] archetypes would keep their power post-rotation. Playing with and against these two archetypes online proved that point: these decks were by far the strongest to pilot and the hardest to consistently beat. Both decks’ power and presence at the World Championships made it seem obvious that these two would be top picks at Bremen.

With that, I moved onto potential counters that would also see play at Bremen to beat these two popular decks. The main option would likely be [card name=”Metagross-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card]. Its powerful Giga Hammer attack OHKOs Gardevoir-GX and can be easily re-used by retreating and attaching Energy onto a fresh Metagross-GX with Geotech System. Golisopod-GX cannot OHKO a fresh Metagross-GX, this means that it’s crucial to include [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] to heal retreated Metagross-GX, resetting the 120 or 150 damage that Golisopod can chain. The deck sounds like the perfect counter, right?

The biggest problems with Metagross-GX are [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], which can shut off Geotech System with Garbotoxin, and Fire-type decks such as [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY173″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Ho-Oh-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Salazzle-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card]. Most Golisopod-GX decks include Garbodor to slow down powerful Abilities like those on Metagross-GX and Gardevoir-GX. This Ability-lock makes it possible for a Golisopod-GX to survive an Infinite Force from Gardevoir-GX, as extra Energy cannot be attached via Secret Spring. If Golisopod-GX survives, it can be picked up by [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] and recycled to attack the very next turn, now with full HP. Luckily, [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] is a card, so with three or even four copies Metagross-GX can still use Geotech System most of the time.

Fire types are the bane of Metagross-GX. The deck relies on these bulky 250 HP monsters surviving a hit or two, but Fire type Pokemon like Volcanion-EX and Ho-oh-GX instantly take OHKOs due to Weakness. Playing a counter to the counter seems risky though, since the field should have a good amount of Gardevoir-GX, a particularly hard matchup due to the amount of Energy Fire types need to attack. However, the metagame does also include Golisopod-GX, which sports its own Fire-type Weakness. Having a strong matchup versus both of these decks could be worth the risk of taking the harder match-up versus Gardevoir.

It made the most sense that Metagross-GX and some type of Fire-type deck would be played in good amounts on the day as counters. Going back to testing on PTCGO, it was hard to tell which was the best variant of Fire-type deck. Ho-Oh-GX / Salazzle-GX had the speed factor with high counts of [card name=”Kiawe” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] to power up Ho-Oh-GX or [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card] on the first turn. This speed is paired with the finisher in Salazzle-GX, to deal 200 damage once four Prizes were taken. The main issue with this build is that if you miss Kiawe early on, you lose the speed factor and your opponent can set-up properly. On the other hand, there’s just a simple Volcanion-EX build, which goes for straight consistency throughout the game. A turn one Kiawe is still possible, but much less likely. However, [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] can be used early on to get some quick 2HKO or chip damage, along with powering up whichever Fire-type attacker you need for the matchup. It was noticeable that these Fire-type decks were being played a lot online, which backed up my thoughts to include it in the list of decks that would see play at Bremen.

My beginning thoughts were to start by testing Gardevoir-GX, and as I hadn’t tested much with Burning Shadows in the format, the power level of this Stage 2 was amazing. The deck still worked fine without [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] and the consistency of [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] meant there was potential for Infinite Force to OHKO every single turn. I was smitten — even to the point of splashing out the $60 or so dollars for a play-set within a day or two of testing. Fast forward two weeks and the list had gone through multiple changes and techs to become the list below.

[decklist name=”Gardevoir Bremen” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″][pokemon amt=”20″]4x [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Ralts” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Remoraid” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”32″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”21″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”27″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]9x [card name=”Fairy Energy” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”9″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

The list isn’t too far off from my previous article, but hones in on the consistency by boosting the [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] counts to  the max. These counts make it much more likely to see that elusive turn two Gardevoir-GX in your hand each game. The same logic can be applied for the inclusion of the ninth Fairy Energy as well, to ensure Energy is in the hand as soon as possible for Secret Spring.

[cardimg name=”Metagross-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”85″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Scary stuff for Gardevoir.[/cardimg]

Now had it not been for a specific counter, I’m certain this was the deck to play for Bremen. However, decks that have high-percentage losses scare me. The decks that I’ve taken to tournaments are nearly always those that have 50 / 50 matchups like [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY150″ c=”name”][/card] builds in 2015/2016, or [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] from Liverpool Regionals. [card name=”Metagross-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card], in testing, was almost always a straight loss, be it with clever techs or straight consistency. Gardevoir-GX was the deck to beat and taking that risk just didn’t feel correct for me.

The main goal I’m aiming for, at the moment, is to stick in the Top 16 for Championship Points in the EU. With the Top 4 Regionals points from Liverpool, just getting another top cut would have guaranteed me the desired Top 16 ranking until London Internationals rolls around. It’s important to work out how you want to place in a tournament, especially when you’re trying to stay on a leader-board or obtain an invite. Playing something risky that, if you hit good matchups, would propel you straight to Top 8 and higher is great if your main goal is to win the entire tournament. On the other hand, if you want to steadily obtain Championship Points at each tournament, choosing a more rounded deck with closer matchups would suit better. This gives you a better chance of winning against the entire field, so that a mediocre run still gives you a good enough record to hit some points by the end of the day.

After trying multiple decks that I wasn’t happy with either due to consistency ([card name=”Ho-Oh-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Salazzle-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card]) or similar matchup-based issues like Gardevoir-GX, it was time to turn to [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] again. [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] had lost some crucial cards in rotation: [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”EX FireRed and LeafGreen” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card]. The deck already included four counts of [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card], N and [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], so consistency would see a drop. Even Trashalanche on Garbodor was less powerful, since discarded VS Seeker boosted the overall damage up by 80! Pokemon HP had increased dramatically since Liverpool, such that Drampa-GX’s Berserk would still be short of a KO on Golisopod-GX’s 210 HP and Gardevoir-GX’s 230 HP.

So then, the deck needs something to make it viable: [card name=”Po Town” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card].

Back on the Drampa-GX / Garbodor Train

In an Evolution-based format, Po Town is perfect for Drampa-GX to stay relevant. The extra 30 damage each time the opponent evolves knocks down numbers that were much too high to obtaining single hit Knock Outs with Berserk. Golisopod-GX goes down to 180 HP, and Gardevoir-GX down to 170 HP, as long as your opponent manually evolves without [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card]. Opponents evolving their Pokemon through Rare Candy is a problem that I’ll get back to later. Po Town provides one more utility in the damage needed for Drampa-GX’s Berserk to deal 150 damage, by placing 30 damage onto a evolving Garbodor.

After a week or so of testing it was easy to see the deck was still powerful, but as I thought, consistency had dropped with the onset of rotation. Alleviating this lack of consistency wasn’t easy. [card name=”Hala” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] were all possible considerations, but in the end didn’t make the cut due to their conditional nature. Here is the list I played at Bremen.

[premium]

[decklist name=”Drampa-GX / Garbodor Bremen” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″][pokemon amt=”16″]2x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Trubbish” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”32″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Po Town” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]8x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”Generations” no=”79″ c=”deck2″ amt=”8″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”166″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

The Pokemon Line

Straight away we have a difference from the pre-rotation list with an equal split of [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], compared to the 3-1 emphasis on Trashalanche. With [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] entering the format, the need for Ability-lock is even more defined than before. Secret Spring, Geotech System, and Steam Up all need to be halted to increase chances of winning a game. Prizing the single copy pre-rotation was a problem, but Trashalanche was so strong that you wanted three copies to get one up as soon as possible. The mirror match was much more prevalent as well, where the winner usually had to go through a Garbodor war and come out victorious. As I said earlier, Trashalanche isn’t as strong as it used to be without [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] in format, either.

Four [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] still feels correct to increase the chance of hitting it turn one for that all-important [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card]. Two [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] is on the lower side, but when I tested with three, the third copy was only useful when one was prized. With Garbodor and Tapu Lele-GX as attackers plus [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] as a backup once a Drampa-GX is KO’d, only playing two wasn’t a problem. Let’s move on to the more interesting techs, and talk a bit about the Gardevoir-GX matchup.

Now, evolving Gardevoir-GX through [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”EX Sandstorm” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] is a problem, as its’ HP is reduced to only 200, not enough for Berserk to take a OHKO. [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] is another issue, as your opponent can just remove the Stadium and then evolve without worry. As a side note, Drampa-GX can be used to do some neat plays, even without the damage, by first using Righteous Edge. Combined with a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] to boost the damage to 50, a [card name=”Double Colorless” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] Energy is removed from the Active Gardevoir-GX, and the HP is lowered to the perfect 180. The most common Energy lineup on a Gardevoir-GX is Fairy and Double Colorless; this leaves only two Energy between the two Pokemon after Righteous Edge, requiring another four to take a KO. Not an easy feat without Secret Spring or [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card]’s Abyssal Hand under Garbotoxin lock.

That’s all well and good, but sometimes it’s just not viable to make such a play if your opponent has multiple Fairy Energy on the field or Garbotoxin is not online. The best way to deal with an unstoppable Gardevoir-GX is to not deal with it at all — just deal with the [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] underneath by using [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card]’s Miraculous Shine. This way you remove two-thirds (150) of the Gardevoir’s HP, meaning any 2HKO damage or mediocre chip damage ends up taking a KO. The attack devolves every Pokemon on your opponents field, which means multiple threats can be wiped out by a single attack! With Espeon-EX in the deck, a Gardevoir-GX evolved through Rare Candy is fantastic to see. Miraculous Shine devolves it down to a [card name=”Ralts” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card], which would need another Rare Candy to become Gardevoir-GX again, if it isn’t already KO’d from previous damage due to the low 60 HP. I won multiple games at Bremen against Gardevoir-GX builds because of this Espeon-EX.

That’s not to say Espeon-EX isn’t helpful against other evolution decks. [card name=”Metagross-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM28″ c=”name”][/card] also evolve through Rare Candy. Using Miraculous Shine is a viable option to gain a KO or stop the opponent for a couple of turns while they find ways to get the Pokemon back into play. Even against [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card], Espeon-EX can lower its HP down to 70. The only issue is taking one less Prize, but most of the time removing a threat is much more important than two prizes compared to one.

One final reason this card is so good in Drampa-GX builds is the surprise factor. “Once you have two or three Gardevoir-GX set up and in play, it seems like you’re set for the game. What’s the point in keeping Rare Candy anymore?” That was the mindset quite a few opponents had in my matches. Once you see three or even four Rare Candy hit the discard, devolving your opponents field to just Ralts leaves them with a massive problem. Miraculous Shine combined with [card name=”Po Town” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] means that, without Rare Candy, there isn’t a way to get the Stage 2 back into play without them being KO’d by the 30 damage Po Town forces every time they Evolve.

The final Pokemon in the deck is [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card]. The first justification for its inclusion is the free Retreat, which makes it a perfect opener. Coinciding with the Espeon-EX, Flying Flip adds damage up around the board to hit numbers.  Getting OHKOs with Drampa-GX is important, so making the 30 damage on a Gardevoir-GX to 50 damage or to put a [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card] down to the manageable 170 HP is huge. Two Flying Flips paired with Po Town makes 70 with a Rare Candy evolution, or 100 through manual evolution — perfect for devolving into a KO with Miraculous Shine.

The Supporter Line

To start off we have the usual four counts on [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card], for maximum draw support in those areas. I opted to go with three [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]. Consistent ways of being able to switch both your and your opponent’s Pokemon is needed at the moment, and three copies felt like a good balance in testing. Without VS Seeker, two copies is too little and four copies is consuming on space for other techs. A single [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card] for the most part worked well, as there are always other options if Brigette is prized. If you’re still able to get out a Drampa-GX and Energy, there’s not too much to worry about. Finally, we have [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card]. Being able to pick up a damaged Drampa-GX, Tapu Lele-GX, and even Garbodor can be game-changing at times. For example, Golisopod-GX can’t take a OHKO on any of our Pokemon-GX (barring Crossing Cut GX with a Choice Band), so taking a hit then using Wonder Tag for [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] was a common play to make. This move both conserves Energy and allows you to deal more damage throughout the game.

The Item Line

[card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] are all maxed out at four counts. The former two are standard, but Choice Band can be included with only three copies instead of the full four. For post-rotation Standard, getting a fast Tool on [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] is more important this time round due to Abilities like Octillery’s Abyssal Hand and Tapu Lele-GX’s Wonder Tag. If you can stop your opponent from drawing extra cards or searching for the perfect Supporter early on, their game slows down tremendously. Also, having a Choice Band on Garbodor is less of an issue now due to Guzma or Acerola. Before, it was possible to bring up a Choice Banded Garbodor and stall for multiple turns due to its hefty three Retreat and lack of Float Stone. Now Garbodor can be easily swapped out by one of your three Guzma or picked up by Acerola due to Po Town damage. Finally, a greater access to that additional 30 damage is huge against the majority of decks, turning 2HKOs into OHKOs and letting small chip damage like Acid Spray from a [card name=”Trubbish” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] add up to something meaningful.

Two [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] is still crucial to add Items to the opponent’s discard to hit numbers with Trashalanche. A single [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] gives you the option to either shuffle in two Garbodor and a Trubbish that might’ve been discarded or Knocked Out earlier to use later, grab a Drampa-GX to attack with now, or finally get a Tapu Lele-GX from the discard to search for a Supporter with Wonder Tag.

Finally, the deck includes a maximum count of Po Town. At first, I tried with just three copies and for the most part the deck still functioned properly. The issue is that you want to see a Po Town in your opening two turns to get the all-important damage on Garbodor. Po Town is even more crucial in the early turns against Evolution decks, to make sure they’re either taking important damage early on, or wasting Field Blowers to remove the Stadium. Having a higher count also makes it more likely that you’ll have a replacement in hand once Po Town is removed from play.

The Energy Line

Quite different from previous iterations which included [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], there just isn’t a huge need for the damage placement as Po Town already solves that problem. The negative here is that there isn’t a possibility for any crazy [card name=”Zygarde-EX” set=”Fates Collide” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card] techs that use different Energy types than Basic Psychic Energy, which is upsetting (the mirror is nothing like it used to be). We do however have eight [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card]-resistant Psychic Energy ready to go for Garbodor, along with the usual four copies of Double Colourless Energy to power Drampa-GXs Berserk and Tapu Lele-GX’s Energy Drive.

The Tournament Itself

The Run

The metagame was pretty much exactly as predicted. This triangle of [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Metagross-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card], and Fire-types with one favourable matchup and one negative made up a good chunk of the room. [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] was the other big player riding off its success at the World Championships and consistent power post-rotation. Finally we had some mirror matches, [card name=”Tapu Bulu-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM32″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM28″ c=”name”][/card] and even a couple of bold players that went for [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] builds. Without [card name=”Forest of Giant Plants” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], these decks seemed all but doomed but the power of constant damage through Feather Arrow was still strong enough for decks to work. Here was how my day went:

  • Round 1: [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] WW
  • Round 2: [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] LWW
  • Round 3: [card name=”Tapu Bulu-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM32″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] WLW
  • Round 4: [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] LWT
  • Round 6: [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] LWT
  • Round 7: [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] WLW
  • Round 8: [card name=”Ho-Oh-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Salazzle-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] WW
  • Round 9: [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] WW
  • Round 10: [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] WLT
  • Round 11: [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] LL
  • Round 12: [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] LWT
  • Round 13: [card name=”Xerneas BREAK” set=”Steam Siege” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card] WLL
  • Round 14: [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] WW

Day one: 6-0-3 3rd seed

Day two: 7-2-5 overall: 20th

[cardimg name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Came in clutch.[/cardimg]

My run was definitely interesting. Due to the nature of [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], 50 / 50 matchups ties are a common place, which is what happened after I got through my first three games — the next three were all ties! Sometimes closing out that third game in a best-of-three match just isn’t possible with 50 minutes. In day one, both my round four and six matches had game two finish with less than five minutes left. The other tie was the exact opposite, where I ended the game with a profound lead but not enough turns to take the final Prize. Luckily though, I was able to win the next three to finish on 21 points. One of the closest matches of the day was against [card name=”Ho-Oh-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Salazzle-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card]. If they’re able to get the turn one [card name=”Kiawe” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card] off, it’s one of the biggest uphill battles that Drampa-GX / Garbodor has to climb. [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card] comes in clutch however because of its Lightning-typing, which Ho-Oh-GX is weak to. I won that match by using Flying Flip combined with Choice Band to deal 100 to a damaged Ho-Oh in the Active and use the 20 spread to take a Benched Ho-Oh from 180 up to 200 — KO’ing both in the process for the final four Prize cards!

Moving onto day two, my day didn’t go as well as the first. These 50 / 50 matchups became much more likely to tie playing against higher seeded players, where each of us can take a game but not in enough time for a third. This is what happened against [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] — one game I was able to effectively use [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] in the late game to wipe their field, but smart techs like [card name=”Sylveon-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] to search for specific cards or [card name=”Max Potion” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card] to heal [card name=”Po Town” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] damage made it so they could take a game as well.

I had a spout of bad draws in my 11th round meaning I couldn’t finish out game one, where a Big Wheel GX yielded me no Energy and only [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card]. In game two, his own Drampa-GX was too much to handle early on — this clever tech means that a Po Town would let him access the extra 70 from Berserk by evolving a Benched Golisopod-GX, which was too much to handle at the time. Finally, [card name=”Xerneas BREAK” set=”Steam Siege” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card] is a deck I have some experience against and the way to beat it is to stream fast and consistent Berserk off against their army of Xerneas BREAK. Game one, I had two Drampa-GX set up and ready. Game two was close but it took too long for me to get a Berserk off. Game three was decided by missing a [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] to take his Item count to six with Xerneas BREAK damaged from Po Town, this would’ve let Trashalanche take a KO and give me a huge lead.

Overall, I was happy with getting a Top 32 placement, nabbing 60 crucial Championship points to put me at 220 CP total. The deck worked as I hoped and although ties were an issue, my main aim was to earn points, which I was able to do.

Top Trends and the Top 8 from Bremen

That’s enough about my run, though. Let’s have a look at how the Standard format is shaping up by analyzing the Top 32 decks from Bremen. [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] took almost 30% of day two Swiss, with nine getting through. [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] came in as a close second with six placements, almost 20% of day two. These numbers make sense, considering these were the most played decks on the weekend and had already had proven results at Anaheim. Gardevoir-GX’s Infinite Force and Golisopod-GX’s First Impression are definitely the crème de la crème of attacks at the moment. After that we have three decks that each make up about 10% of the top cut meta-game; [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY173″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Xerneas BREAK” set=”Steam Siege” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]. Crazily enough all three Drampa-GX / Garbodor players, including me, had made Top 8 at Liverpool, although only me and Told Reklev played the same archetype at both tournaments.

Xerneas BREAK decks have similar 50 / 50 matchups against the metagame, and the players that piloted these had high experience with the deck from previous tournaments.  A couple Volcanion-EX making it into the cut seems correct, as these will of hit multiple [card name=”Metagross-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] which bolsters the Volcanion-EX players win rate and almost guaranteeing advancement into day two. Speaking of Metagross-GX, it did take two spots in the cut. It seems like many Metagross-GX missed out on the Gardevoir matchup they wanted to see, but nine still made it to the second day of swiss. Two different types of [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] actually made cut as well, one with [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] and one with Golisopod-GX. It seems like Decidueye-GX really can cut it in this format, even when evolving through slow manual evolution or [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”EX Sandstorm” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card] is the main focal point in these decks still, due to Decidueye-GX’s huge 240 HP when paired with Golisopod-GX hitting big numbers with First Impression seems much easier with extra 20 damage snipes from Feather Arrow, plus Acerola is also useful to pick up Golisopod-GX when needed.

Only a single [card name=”Ho-Oh-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Salazzle-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] made it into the Top 32, which suggests that the well-rounded Volcanion-EX build has a higher chance of success. The final point to say is that [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM28″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Tapu Bulu-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM32″ c=”name”][/card] took two spots in day two. It seems Strong Charge is still strong, while lists ditched [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] in favor of [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] to hit better numbers against Gardevoir-GX. Combined with 20 from Flying Flip from a [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card], Nature’s Judgment plus Choice Band hits for the perfect 230 to KO Gardevoir-GX. The main issues with the deck are that it heavily relies on getting turn two [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] to really get going and how devastating a late game [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] in tandem with Garbotoxin.

Moving onto the Top 8, we have the deck lists available here. Only a single Gardevoir-GX made it into the Top 8, which is intriguing considering 30% of the cut consisted of it. On the flip side, both of the other Drampa-GX / Garbodor made it into the Top 8. The single Ho-Oh-GX / Salazzle ended up making it into the Top 8 as well, so it’s possible that this Fire-type build is better, but needs the best list to go far.

Jumping straight to the finals we see Tord Reklev with Drampa-GX / Garbodor losing to Marc Lutz’s Golisopod-GX / Garbodor. I want to take a look at Tord’s list first. He opted to have a similar Pokemon line to my list, but included a 1-1 line of [card name=”Espeon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] over a Tapu Koko and the fourth [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card]. I really like this idea, as it provides the deck with a high-HP Pokemon with attacks not reliant on Bench damage. Psybeam adds another neat disruption tactic that can be used early or late game to cause problems for the opponent. Psychic is fantastic with a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], which can take a OHKO on any Drampa-GX with three Energy attached and more importantly Ho-Oh-GX with four Energy attached, which is harder to OHKO using my build. Divide GX is another option to place important damage on higher-HP Pokemon so that Berserk can hit for a KO or just a strong GX attack to remove Basic Pokemon or Stage 1 Pokemon early in the game. The only issue with the 1-1 tech line is the roughly 20% chance of prizing it, but in the long run this tech seriously gave Tord an advantage in most matchups.

Tord has a similar Trainer line, but does opt to include a fourth [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] over [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card], something which I talked about earlier as an option to increase the chances of being able to bring out an opponents Pokemon at the right time. Finally, Tord opted to include three [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] in his list and one less copy of [card name=”Po Town” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card]. This gave him six outs to boosting his Berserk attack, compared to my four. Although I’m not sure I would go down this route as I never had too many issues with getting damage onto my field by turn three, I can see the advantages of the extra two outs.

Looking at the winning list from Marc, the main card that stands out to me is [card name=”Tapu Fini-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”39″ c=”name”][/card]. This card has one use and that is to shuffle in a bulky Pokemon with lots of Energy straight back into the deck using Tapu Storm GX. Six Energy Gardevoir-GX or three Energy Metagross-GX? Not anymore! With the entire Pokemon line and Energy back in the opponent’s deck, they’ll need to start all over again. This unique tech will have taken players by surprise leading Marc to take some games he wouldn’t have won without Tapu Fini-GX.

All in all, Standard is interesting because all of the decks have the potential to do well. One trend that I am noticing in a plethora of decks is the inclusion of Special Energy. I’m wondering whether or not if [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] might start to pop up in more decks (i.e. the semifinalist Golisopod-GX list played two copies). This tech option could become the norm as more decks begin playing Special Energy cards like [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Generations” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]. For me, the next big tournament is London Internationals. The tournament has both Shining Legends and Crimson Invasion in the format, adding over 200 cards to the mix! I think it might be time to get testing already!

Until next time,

~Ryan

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