Where the Wild Critters Are — My Fort Wayne Experience and Expanded’s Future

By: Ryan Grant · Posted Posted onSep 16, 2017 at 8:35 PM · 0 Comments

Hello PokeBeach fans and subscribers! I’m glad to be back to tell you about my experience in Fort Wayne, but mostly talk about what decks I expected to see, what decks did well, and what decks surprised me. I’ll also talk about what decks I like moving forward for the next Expanded Regionals or any Expanded League Cups. First, I’ll start off with what decks I expected to see coming into the tournament and why I chose to play Night March.

Expectations and My Deck Choice

[cardimg name=”Trevenant BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”66″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Was glad to see less of you than expected![/cardimg]

Going into Fort Wayne I expected a few decks to be popular, I expected Turbo Dark, [card name=”Trevenant BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] decks to be the most popular. I also thought Night March, [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY173″ c=”name”][/card] would be the next popular decks, but to my surprise Greninja BREAK was not popular at all and Volcanion-EX wasn’t as big as I expected either. Night March was also much more popular than I would have expected and had the biggest target on its back, because just about everybody who wasn’t playing it had either [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”name”][/card] in their deck to try and deal with it. I knew going into the tournament that I would have to deal with Karen and Oricorio quite a bit, but that didn’t deter me from playing Night March because I felt comfortable playing around both countermeasures and Night March is a deck that I truly enjoy playing so I was dead set on it.

My testing with it was going very well also, having positive records against matchups that I thought were tough, ones I knew weren’t too bad, and then against one that I thought would be easier but turned out to be harder than I thought. The overall amount of games I played wasn’t huge, but since I already knew the deck well, I only tested matchups the amount of games that I felt was necessary. Here are the results from my testing.

Darkrai-EX / Darkrai-GX – (2-1)

I knew Turbo Dark would be a positive matchup because of [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card], the only reason I tested it was to see if playing one Marshadow would be enough to make it a great matchup, and I was correct. The one game I lost was due to poor draws so I wasn’t worried about that.

Espeon-GX / Garbodor / Oricorio – (7-5)

I though this matchup would be easier because [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] is able to easily OHKO [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Espeon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] without discarding too many Pokemon to fuel [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card]. However, if they use [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] early on, it forces you into situations that cause you to need to [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] to take a KO, or discard more Marchers to take a Knock Out which fuels Oricorio. [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] can really hurt you as well when you can’t use [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] in the late game.

Gardevoir-GX / Oricicorio – (7-1)

I thought this matchup would be tougher because of high HP and Oricorio, but good resource management, taking easy KOs on low HP Pokemon, and the natural inconsistencies of a Stage 2 deck makes this a very positive matchup.

Greninja BREAK – (5-1)

This matchup is normally tough and requires you to hit [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] consistently in the late game which can be very hard. I decided to play [card name=”Giratina” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY184″ c=”name”][/card] instead of Hex Maniac so I could pretty much just auto win the matchup. The only time it gets hard is if they can Shadow Stitching for a KO after using [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Ace Trainer” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] to lower your hand, but typically you can thin out enough to make sure you can get the KO every turn.

Trevenant BREAK / Necrozma-GX – (4-2)

Now I was sure this would be a bad matchup, but I figured the [card name=”Giratina” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY184″ c=”name”][/card], the [card name=”Tauros-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card], the [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card], and the three gust effects I was playing in the form of two [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] and one [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] would do the trick, and they did. The games I played I got a little lucky in a couple, but even with my opponent going first and getting turn one [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], I was still able to win those games. I only tested this a little and went 2-1 twice, and I said that’s enough, if I can get lucky and play smart, it’s doable.

Volcanion-EX – (1-0)

This was just a game I played online against a friend, I knew it would be a good matchup, even with them having [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”name”][/card]. The deck has many Pokemon-EX and Pokemon-GX. Even with baby [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], they need to bench Pokemon-EX and Pokemon-GX (typically [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] ) and the trade will end up being unfavorable overall.

Overall Record – (26-10)

So, with a Positive record overall, and beating some tough matchups consistently, I was feeling very confident in my deck choice and list. Now I’ll briefly go over my tournament experience and talk about how Night March faired against the decks being played.

The Tournament

  • Round 1: [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] – (0-2)
  • Round 2: [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”name”][/card]  – (2-0)
  • Round 3: [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] / Garbodor / [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”name”][/card]  – (2-0)
  • Round 4: [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Yveltal” set=”Steam Siege” no=”65″ c=”name”][/card] – (2-0)
  • Round 5: [card name=”Espeon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] – (1-1)
  • 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] / [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”name”][/card] – (2-0)
  • Round 7: [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card]  – (2-1)
  • Round 8: [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card]– (0-2)
  • Round 9: Archie’s Blastoise – (1-2)

Final Record: 5-3-1

I played against an array of different decks, and a couple of the I didn’t expect to see like [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] or so much [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card]. Every deck I played against except Turbo Dark had some time of Night March counter whether it be [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], two [card name=”Articuno” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card], or a combination of Toad and Karen. The first round I lost because I drew poorly and couldn’t use [card name=”Tauros-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] very well to my advantage because [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] made it very easy to KO them.

My tie in round five would have been a win if I had drawn a little luckier on my last turn. My opponent had played [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] and put me down to two cards and I was drawing one for turn. All I need to win was a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] and a [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] (because I had two attackers on board) to KO his [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] for my last two prizes. The cards I drew into plus the draw for turn were [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card]. I had [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] on the field as well, so I would be able to draw some extra cards. My deck had these cards left: Lysandre, one Double Colorless Energy, two [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Supreme Victors” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card], a [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card], and two [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. I used Ultra Ball to discard my hand and grab and bench Marshadow-GX, then use Instruct to draw three of the seven remaining cards left. I ended up drawing into [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], Puzzle of Time, and VS Seeker. The only other way I could have done is play the Battle Compressor and get rid of Special Charge, Marshadow, and Lysandre, then use [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] and grab either Puzzle, VS, or the other VS, and Instruct to draw one out of the five remaining cards left, or fail the Trainer’s Mail and draw two out of the five remaining which means I would have had to hit the Double and VS or the two Puzzle. So, I felt gave myself the best chance by being able to draw three new cards instead of having an Ultra Ball stuck in my hand that I knew would not help me in any way. If the game hadn’t gone to time it’s hard to say who would have won. If it hadn’t and since I whiffed game, I would have played N that turn and who knows where it would have gone from there. If they didn’t win on the next turn, I feel I could have easily won the following turn based on what was left in my deck.

[cardimg name=”Giratina” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY184″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Play against zero BREAK decks #wastedspace[/cardimg]

The loss that was most disappointing was round eight. In game two, I made a poor decision of benching a second [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] because I assumed it would be a lot for my opponent to search out [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card], Energy, and a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] to retreat, but they had all those cards in their hand already. I could have just not benched the Joltik because I had a [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] on the bench and they couldn’t do enough to KO both the Joltik and Pumpkaboo with Oricorio because I only had seven Pokemon in the discard. I was worried that I wouldn’t find a [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] if they played [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] and put me down to three cards, but it would have been worth the risk. Instead, they got to take two Prize Cards and establish a lead with two Prizes remaining. The following turn I played N and was lucky enough to get a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]  from the three cards I drew, but they drew out of it and got [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] in play which shut me down from having a chance to win. I know next time to just take the risk and not let them get ahead, and assume they would have what I feared most, which was the Oricorio play. I knew how to play around it and had been doing it the whole tournament and in testing, but for some reason I took an unnecessary big risk based on the fear of whiffing than them hitting what they need. After this particular experience, I know better for any future situations.

Overall, I had a great tournament experience and I don’t regret my deck choice one bit, I only regret playing Giratina since it was useless because I didn’t face any [card name=”Trevenant BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card]  or [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] and could have been something more helpful. Night March had two placements in Top 8 and went on to win the entire event, finally getting a Regional win, so it clearly was a good choice for the tournament, even with all the counters. Here is the list I played for the event which I based off fellow PokeBeach writer Andrew Mahone’s list that he posted online, I just made changes that I thought were necessary for the tournament.

[premium]

[decklist name=”Night March ” amt=”60″ caption=”Tina Promo was useless” cname=”Giratina” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY184″][pokemon amt=”19″]4x [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Lampent” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”42″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tauros-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”100″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Giratina” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY184″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”37″]3x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pokémon Ranger” set=”Steam Siege” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Supreme Victors” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Target Whistle” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”4″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

The Meta and What Surprised Me

[cardimg name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Golisopod, Golisopod everywhere[/cardimg]

The meta was all over the place which I somewhat expected when a new set comes out and this is the first Expanded Regional, but I didn’t expect quite a few things like certain decks, the popularity of some decks, and the lack of others. There was a lot more [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] decks than I expected and it was paired with [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card], and I even saw [card name=”Weavile” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]. I expected a solid amount of Garbodor, mostly with [card name=”Espeon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card], but didn’t quite expect as much [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]/ [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] or straight [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card]/ [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]. I didn’t expect a [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] to do so well, but I also had forgotten that you can play the new [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] in it which is a game changer for the deck and gives it a new win condition and help its problem of finishing in time. I also didn’t expect [card name=”Carbink BREAK” set=”Fates Collide” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]/ [card name=”Zygarde-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY151″ c=”name”][/card]/ [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] to be played but our very own Grant Manley took it to a Top 32 finish. The last deck I expected to see in Expanded or do so well is [card name=”Sylveon-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]. I would assume if someone was playing a deck with that strategy it would be Sableye, but it shows that anything can do well in Expanded because of the strong and vast card pool that’s available. I also didn’t quite expect Night March to be as popular as it was, but I was very glad at how well it did. Now I’ll talk about what decks I like moving forward, how they’re positioned in the current meta, and an updated Night March list for further tournaments.

Moving Forward

I do believe just about any deck with a solid strategy can do well in Expanded right now because of the huge number of cards we have available from Black and White-on. There’s so many different decks that you really can’t predict the meta as well as you could with Standard. You just need to pick a deck that deck has more good matchups than bad ones or one that’s generally even against most of what you expect. Also, always pick something you feel most comfortable with. You want to know the ins and outs of your deck if you’re going to take it through nine long rounds or more if you advance to day two. The following three deck types are the ones I like most and I think are very promising going forward.

Golisopod-GX Variants

[card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] made its breakthrough in competitive play at Worlds by taking second place. It was paired with [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], which made for a very solid strategy. It’s awesome to see that transferred to Expanded, and it’s even better with access to [card name=”Blend Energy GFPD” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] which gives you something besides [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] that can go on either Garbodor or [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] . [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] can really be paired with anything like [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM31″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Weavile” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card]. I feel [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] does very well against other Garbodor variants because it can easily OHKO opposing Garbodor, and they struggle to KO your [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] . [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] makes this matchup even better and if they play something like [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card], you can just remove all that damage and they’ll have used their Black Ray GX attack for nothing.

I think Golisopods’ worst matchup is [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card]  / [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card], but I do think there are some things you can do to help this matchup. You could try to fit in [card name=”Eevee” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Vaporeon” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] so you can easily OHKO everything in the deck, and if you have a secondary attacker like [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] you can use your non-EX/non-GX attacker to do most of the work if Vaporeon stays on field. The other thing you could do is play [card name=”Zoroark BREAK” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] and Blend Energy GFPD so you can copy Turtonator-GX’s Bright Flame and OHKO if you have a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card]. This not only helps for Turtonator-GX but it can work for Volcanion-EX, but it’s harder to do because you need to use [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card] to spread once, then you can copy Volcanic Heat with Choice Band and do 160 to finish it off (assuming they don’t have a [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] which you can always [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] off). Another cool thing about playing Zoroark BREAK is you can copy Junk Hunt if you play against [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card]. So that can help you keep your resources and potentially win the game, especially if they used a lot of resources not realizing you would have that recoverability. It’s good against [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] as well and you can also copy any GX attack which can be useful as well. You can also do the same thing with [card name=”Zoroark” set=”Black and White” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card], but that does require you to use one of your Double Colorless Energy if you want to use it right away, with the BREAK you may have to evolve once more, but you get more HP and potentially more energy to use it with if you played Blend Energy GFPD and Rainbow Energy. Overall, I think Golisopod variants will be strong moving forward and it has the tools to do well against any deck.

Garbodor Variants

[cardimg name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Necrozma and Dimension Valley go great together.[/cardimg]

It’s hard to say which version of [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] is best because they all have their merits. With [card name=”Espeon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card], you can play other Eevee evolutions which can drastically make matchups better. In Expanded, you can play [card name=”Leafeon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] even since you have a generally high count of Pokemon, but it might be better to just play the other [card name=”Flareon” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card] if you want an easier matchup to decks with Fire Weakness. Having those give you a better [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] matchup, Leafeon helps against Turbo Dark, and you have a better [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] matchup, even though that particular one should be good anyway due to the high level of Items they need to get going, and [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] gives you just a solid attacker that can do 180 with Choice Band and can KO most of the attackers you expect to see minus [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]. You also have Energy disruption with Righteous Edge, so that can always help you in a pinch. I’m not sure if this is the best version of the deck, but having [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] is nice to have something that has a consistent and strong attack when your opponent hasn’t used enough Items yet.

[card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] is a version of the deck that at first glance, seems like it really allows your opponent to control the pace of the game if they limit their Item use, but it has some tricks that help with that. [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] is one of them, with the help of [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], for one Psychic Energy you can copy any attack that your opponent used last turn, excluding GX attacks. This Copycat attack can essentially do the same things that [card name=”Zoroark” set=”Black and White” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Zoroark BREAK” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] can, so you’re doing these big attacks for one Energy attachment while also giving up only a single prize. You can also start off by hitting things for some damage with [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], and building up. You also can’t forget that in Expanded, Items are played even heavier in most decks, so your opponent can’t hold back forever. Then you can try to clean up at the end with [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card], or you can even kind of lead of with Necrozma-GX to force them into playing more Items, but typically you want to save Black Ray GX. The reason you want to save it is in case of cards like [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] are played because you don’t want your damage negated. You also can play [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] which pairs well with Necrozma-GX, you can get easy KOs and clog your opponent’s hand with their devolved Pokemon. Whenever the Tapu Lele Promo finally comes out, that will be a great addition to the deck. Being able to move all the damage you’ve build up and spread with Necrozma-GX for a single Psychic (with Dimension Valley out) is insane and can swing games easily! Garbodor variants have a bright future in the Item filled Expanded format and it gets even better with the highly anticipated Tapu Lele Promo.

Sableye / Garbodor

[cardimg name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Helps big time![/cardimg]

[card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] has always been a strong deck since the introduction of [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], but it always has been a tough deck to pilot, requiring a lot of tough decisions when it comes to what you Junk Hunt and which Supporter to play for turn, but it also struggled with time issues. If you didn’t win game one, chances are you lose or maybe tie. Now with the introduction of [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], you can just play Blend Energy and have an attacker that can help solve the time problem,which adds a new win condition to the deck. You already play [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Noble Victories” no=”48″ c=”name”][/card] for Garbotoxin, so it’s a no-brainer that you add the new Garbodor. Sableye forces your opponent to spend many resources because of [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”Generations” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Team Rocket’s Handiwork” set=”Fates Collide” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card], etc. So, you can pretty much run them out of everything and then use Trashalanche to take all your Prizes since they won’t have enough resources to deal with it. This deck can deal with just about anything now, you still may struggle against [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card], but both of those decks are on the lower side of popularity and I would worry too much about it. Going forward I would expect more people to try it out since Sableye is a card many people love and it’s a powerful one as well.

Night March

Even though Night March had the biggest target on its back and never had [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] seen so much play, it still managed to take the win and make Top 8. There were only two Night March decks in Top 32 and they both had great finishes, and that shows the strength of the little night critters. Even with all the hate and all the counters, Night March has shown that it can get through anything because the power of being able to OHKO and your attackers giving up only one Prize (excluding [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Tauros-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card]). The addition of Marshadow-GX is great for the deck, makes your Turbo Dark matchup very easy, and gives you an attacker that can potentially take a hit, and if you took a Pokemon-EX/GX KO with it, it’s worth giving up the two Prizes if you follow up with one Prize attackers. Night March will have an even bigger target on its back in Daytona, but as I’ve said before, you can play the right cards to combat the hate like Tauros-GX, [card name=”Pokémon Ranger” set=”Steam Siege” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Target Whistle” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] to help fight off Karen and [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], and the best approach to dealing with Oricorio is with careful and meticulous play.

I would say test against Oricorio and Karen a lot before you take Night March to any upcoming tournament. It’s likely that you’ll face one or the other in just about every round you play. It’s not the easiest task to do, it’s easy to make small mistakes like discarding more Pokemon than necessary or using more [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] than needed early on, but if you can be smart with your discards, and hold your resources the best you can, it should be fine. Somethings you can do is if you have two [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] in hand and you don’t need anything but are going to [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card], just Ultra Ball for a Night Marcher, then Ultra Ball away that Night Marcher for another Night Marcher, and discard it off your Professor Sycamore or Professor Juniper. Using your other discarding effects besides Battle Compressor to get your Marchers in the discard pile is huge in combating Karen and saving your copies of Battle Compressor for when you need them. I had plenty of games in Fort Wayne where I had used two or less Battle Compressor and had nine to 11 Marchers in the discard, and got to save a lot of my resources for when they finally played [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”name”][/card].

Night March has some good matchups but is generally around even with most of what is played, and its bad matchups you can tech for, but I found that it was not worth it to do so since [card name=”Trevenant BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] aren’t highly played and I can’t see that changing, except when the Tapu Lele Promo comes out people might try to revisit Trevenant BREAK again. I think Night March is a positive against [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] /[card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card], and Turbo Dark. It’s even against [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] , [card name=”Espeon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]. So, moving forward, I think Night March is still a great play and great deck. It faces so many hurdles but it’s something you’ll have to be able to deal with if you want to play it. It’s a deck I love and have a lot of fun playing, so if I don’t play it at Daytona, I’ll have to have found something amazing and fun to play. Here’s an updated list for Daytona or any Expanded League Cups.

[decklist name=”Night March” amt=”60″ caption=”You could always add back in Target Whistle or Giratina promo if you expect more Karen and more BREAK decks but I don’t think BREAK decks will be popular and I don’t think Karen is played as much as Oricorio, but you can also keep the list as is if you think the mirror is more popular as well.” cname=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″][pokemon amt=”19″]4x [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Lampent” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”42″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tauros-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”100″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”37″]3x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pokémon Ranger” set=”Steam Siege” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Supreme Victors” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”4″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

I think three [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] is good, I found myself wanting another sometimes, but I wouldn’t cut [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] for it, Oranguru was an MVP. I still like [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] over [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] because when dealing with things like [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”name”][/card], it just helps to be able to get resources back like [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]. Computer Search’s biggest advantage is being able to grab a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Generations” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] , but I think the trade off is worth it to potentially get a [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] back if you had to discard one early, or any important resource you need. I never once throughout the weekend wished I had Computer Search, but I think either is great in the deck. Consistency is always great, so it really comes down to your preference. I also still like [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] in here, it helped me remove win conditions for my opponents by taking all Pokemon-EX/GX off my field, and it also even helped me take a [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] off the field once so my opponent couldn’t use Divide-GX to KO two Joltik for the win.

Conclusion

My tournament run was almost good, the early tie and the two losses at the end killed the dream, but there’s always next time and I did still manage to get Top 256 and earn 30 Championship Points. There were many decks I didn’t expect to see which made for an exciting and wild tournament. Knowing you could go into your next round and face literally anything makes for a unique experience. I was glad to see Night March take the win, even though I wish I could have gone farther with it myself, it’s still great to see it get two big finishes. I plan to test Night March for Daytona alongside [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] variants, and who knows what else depending on whatever crazy ideas that my friends and I decide to try out. I’m hoping I can get off work for Daytona, I did start a new job recently and I’m not sure if they’ll let me have off for Connecticut and Daytona, but I can only hope! Best of luck to anyone playing any upcoming Expanded League Cups, I hope this article helps give some insight on the current workings of Expanded, and helps you decide what you want to try out. If you decide you want to play Night March, I hope this helps give some insight on what to be prepared for, how to deal with all the Night March hate, and what it does well against. Thanks for reading and subscribing, I appreciate your time!

See you next time,

Ryan

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