Garbage on the Beach — Daytona Regionals and Looking Forward in Expanded

By: Treynor Wolfe · Posted Posted onOct 29, 2017 at 7:08 PM · 0 Comments

Hey PokeBeach, I just spent some time on the actual beach this past weekend. I had a wonderful time with friends in Daytona, and got to play a bunch of Pokemon while I was there. It was one of the best weekends I’ve had as far as Pokemon goes and I hope to make it back to Daytona Beach next year.

I did pretty well in the actual Regional, posting a 6-3 record and finishing 69th. I earned some points, which put me closer to my invite. Of course, I didn’t achieve the Day 2 result I was hoping for, but points for Top 128 were pretty solid nonetheless. The metagame in Daytona was mostly the same as the metagame I saw in Ft. Wayne. There were some meta shifts, which I will be sure to get into later in this article.

I will also go over the thought process behind my eventual deck choice: [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]. I hope you all have read my last article on the trash bag in the Standard format and have heard my thoughts on the card. Trashalanche becomes all the more deadly in Expanded, with [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”EX FireRed and LeafGreen” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] still being played alongside Ace Specs and many other Items.

Another topic to discuss is where to go from here with Expanded. I have a League Cup this coming weekend, which is in the Expanded format, so I can’t shift gears back to Standard just yet. There were some solid decks I saw this weekend that I’m looking forward to playing and testing out before my Cup.

So I will take some time here to discuss my weekend at Daytona Beach, the state of Expanded, and what decks I’m eyeing now.

Preparing for Daytona

I found out I was able to go to Daytona about a month before the event, so I had plenty of time for testing and making sure my deck choice was well selected. However, I didn’t settle on a deck until the day before my flight, which shows just how much deck choices can change in a month. I knew early on what was going to be popular — [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card], Night March, and some Golisopod-GX variants. GX decks have taken over Expanded — gone are the days of [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY08″ c=”name”][/card] abusing the format. One of my concerns last season was that Expanded would never change, but with the [card name=”Archeops” set=”Noble Victories” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] ban, and the sheer power of Pokemon-GX, it changed dramatically, almost mirroring Standard.

Early on, I was testing Turtonator-GX quite a bit, and was destroying players on PTCGO with it. I was leaning towards that deck early on, yet I knew it was probably going to be the most popular deck in Daytona. Its ease of play, accessibility of cards, and explosive potential was there, and I knew the vast majority of players would want a deck like that. So I knew that if I played Turtonator-GX, I had to prepare myself for mirrors all day.

Turtonator-GX was cool and all, but it wasn’t my kind of deck. I like aggressive decks that have some control elements as well. Night March is the deck that comes to mind here, but I felt at the time that Night March had a huge target on its back, and I didn’t want to try to outplay [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM19″ c=”name”][/card] all weekend.

My next choice was Garbodor…

Back to Garbodor

I considered three partners for Garbodor: [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card], Golisopod-GX, and [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card]. Necrozma-GX ended up winning the event, and was piloted by a lot of great players. The deck was also hyped up quite a bit shortly before the tournament. I knew it would be most popular Garbodor variant.

Necrozma-GX

At first, I was testing the Necrozma-GX version extensively, and was playtesting a ton with the deck on PTCGO. This deck uses the [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”65″ c=”name”][/card] with Tool Drop to hit for some damage that would be supplemented by a Black Ray GX later by a Necrozma-GX. The deck also has other solid Psychic type attackers that abuse [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]. This version was solid against the majority of the perceived meta. Being able to out-trade Night March was a great perk, as well as taking advantage of decks such as Turtonator-GX and [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] that use a large amount of EXs and GXs with Necrozma-GX.

Here was the original list I was toying with for this deck:

[decklist name=”Necrozma” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″][pokemon amt=”16″]2x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”65″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”142″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”33″]3x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/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=”Plasma Blast” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Noble Victories” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]4x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”XY” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist][cardimg name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I’m sure you’ve seen this deck a million times by now, but there are subtle differences in this list when it comes to the Pokemon count. I didn’t think that Turtonator-GX was necessary against [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card], since [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card]’s Righteous Edge could stop a Crossing Cut GX from coming out. I also felt that Turtonator-GX decks were going to be way more popular, so I instead played a [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC11″ c=”name”][/card] was an incredible finisher Pokemon in testing. It was so effective as a follow up to Black Ray GX, since it Ability locked the opponent even if a [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] wasn’t set up. [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] was also another card that proved to be solid in that Fire matchup, but it was probably the most cuttable Pokemon card out of them all.

The idea to include [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card] didn’t occur to me until I was on the plane ride to Daytona. I know a lot of players teched the card in their decks, because you can copy Drampa-GX’s Berserk for only one [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Generations” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] with a Dimension Valley in play. The free retreater being on your Bench and using Black Ray GX with a single-Prize attacker was clutch. This was cool, but I already had my list and wasn’t set on changing it. If I were to play this list in the future, I would probably cut the Seismitoad-EX or Mimikyu for it.

This list tested exceptionally, but I prefer having a straightforward attacker. This list has a lot of amazing attackers that you apply for each different situation, and it can only reach its true potential when the person playing it has mastered it. I also didn’t think I could pull out a win in the mirror match against players of a higher skill level, so I eventually decided against playing it.

This deck has incredibly good matchups against most of the decks in the format. The only matchup that was kinda iffy was [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], but with Trevenant on the down low following its abysmal performance in Ft. Wayne, it wasn’t much to worry about. This deck punished decks that benched a lot of EXs and GXs, and also punished decks that relied heavily on Abilities. This describes most of the Expanded format.

Drampa-GX

The other deck I was considering was [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]. Just like the Standard format late last year. I played this deck at Fort Wayne Regionals, and ended with a 5-4 record overall. I didn’t believe it was a knock so much on the deck, but more on my own misplays and some bad draws that shouldn’t normally happen. The big draw behind Drampa-GX was [card name=”Po Town” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], and how easily you can hit for OHKOs starting on turn two. This was something that the [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] deck could never really do, unless you got a great start with [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card], Drampa-GX and [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card]. So all in all, this Garbodor variant gave me what I wanted in a straightforward attacker that hit for big damage early, while still having all the great control elements that Garbodor provides.

My friend Brandon Nguyen played this in Daytona, and he was a big fan of the deck when we were all testing for the event. Here’s the list I was testing early:

[decklist name=”Drampa/Garb” amt=”60″ caption=”undefined” cname=”Jirachi” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY67″][pokemon amt=”14″]2x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”65″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Trubbish” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”142″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY67″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”34″]3x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/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″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Supreme Victors” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Po Town” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]6x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”6″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”XY” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist][premium]

One of my favorite parts of this deck is how many four-ofs it plays. Playing the four [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] was a huge selling point for me, and ensured you were almost always punishing GXs and having Garbotoxin up at all times. The [card name=”Jirachi” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY67″ c=”name”][/card] was a cute tech, allowing you to punish most attackers in this format. Almost all decks are playing Special Energy of some sort, and Jirachi gave you a turn to set up Drampa-GX on the Bench. [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] makes another appearance in this deck, since it punishes Fire, and gives you time to set up other Pokemon.

A [card name=”Ninja Boy” set=”Steam Siege” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card] and Necrozma-GX were originally in this deck too, but were cut for other attackers and more consistency. The [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”65″ c=”name”][/card] count may look odd, but Tool Drop is important against other [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] decks that play [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] and it’s great at trading prizes against Night March decks. The one Acid Spray was okay, I normally used [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] and got both Trubbish out and evolved the one I wasn’t going to use.

Drampa-GX had a lot of the things going for it that Necrozma-GX did, with a slightly better matchup against [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]. Righteous Edge does so well against it due to the amount of Special Energy being played in that deck. Also, Big Wheel GX is huge under Item lock. I believe that this deck has a positive Necrozma-GX matchup, since it can trade with the deck with Trubbish, and Black Ray GX isn’t a useful attack. Gardevoir-GX was picking up steam before the tournament too, and even though this deck plays Po Town, it got absolutely steamrolled by Gardevoir-GX in my testing.

The day before I left for Daytona, I was okay with the other two decks I mentioned above. I wanted to be able to take one-hit knockouts, but Drampa-GX / Garbodor left a sour taste in my mouth after Fort Wayne, and I hated having to attach twice to one attacker. So naturally, I looked at [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card]. My playtesting team and I got to work on a list, the one that myself, 2016 National Champion Nick Robinson, and Jordan Nelle played in Daytona.

Golisopod-GX

Golisopod-GX was everything I wanted. A one-Energy attack for huge damage, tons of HP, synergy with Garbodor, and OHKO potential with the GX attack. My only issue: it had an abysmal matchup against the perceived most popular deck of the format: [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Blacksmith” set=”Flashfire” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card]. So to rectify that, I played two copies of Seismitoad-EX.

[decklist name=”Golisopod” amt=”60″ caption=”undefined” cname=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”129″][pokemon amt=”17″]3x [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Wimpod” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”16″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”65″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”32″]3x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”116″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Heavy Ball” set=”Next Destinies” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Blend Energy GRPD” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”EX Legend Maker” no=”81″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist][cardimg name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”129″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The deck was pretty solid going in to the tournament. The only card I was waffling on the night before was cutting [card name=”Heavy Ball” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] for a fourth [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. However, I rarely dead drew during the day, so I don’t regret including the Heavy Ball. It synergized so well with the deck, since it was able to grab [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Wimpod” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card]. This synergy made it hard to cut and it stayed in the list overall.

Another note I want to make here, [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”name”][/card] got the nod over [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] strictly because of the Seismitoad-EX. The Quaking Punch plus Karen combo is usually enough to do Night March in. This play also saved me a spot on a second [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card]. I also want to stress just how important [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] is in Garbodor decks. Since you need so many parts to stream Garbodor, Teammates ensures you get another Trashalanche, provided you had a Trubbish on the Bench before.

Upon working on this list, I thought it was perfect for me, as long as I could avoid [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] all day. It had great matchups against other Garbodor decks because Golisopod-GX’s First Impression hits a perfect 120. This deck also has a great [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] matchup, since Golisopod-GX only attacks for one Energy, and Garbotoxin makes it harder for them to get a big Gardevoir-GX. Against Turbo [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card], Golisopod-GX trades incredibly well against [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card]. If Darkrai gets off to a crazy start, it’s easy to punish them with big Trashalanches early.

The only issue was Turtonator-GX, but Seismitoad-EX combined with Garbodor with Garbotoxin made this almost a non issue. The matchup still isn’t too favorable, since the Fire deck is still doing damage through the disruption you’re throwing at it. I felt that if I played against a Turbo Turtles deck, I would at least have a fighting chance with two Seismitoad-EX.

The Tournament

I made it to Daytona around 5 PM which gave me plenty of time to relax and test a little. I was staying with my friend Nick Robinson in his family’s condo on the beach. My playtesting buddies from Nebraska came along, as did my wife and a couple of Nick’s friends from Iowa.

I was pretty sold on the deck, and my testing against Turbo Darkrai-GX the night before solidified my thoughts on the deck. I convinced Nick to play the deck as well, since he was having success with [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] at his local League Cups. He fell in love with the same qualities of the deck that I did. After some testing, we did some night swimming on the beach and went to bed.

By the time I arrived, I spent time prowling around and seeing what everyone was playing. I was noticing some high amounts of Gardevoir-GX amongst the experienced players and was feeling pretty good about my play for the tournament.

Here were the decks I played against at the tournament, and how I fared against them.

  • Round 1: [card name=”Greninja” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] — WW — 1-0
  • Round 2: Gardevoir-GX –WW — 2-0
  • Round 3: [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] — WW — 3-0
  • Round 4: Golisopod-GX / Garbodor — (60-card mirror against Nick) LL — 3-1
  • Round 5: Turbo Dark — WLW — 4-1
  • Round 6: [card name=”Umbreon-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] (Fellow writer John Kettler) — LL — 4-2
  • Round 7: Turbo Dark — LL — 4-3
  • Round 8: Turbo Dark — WW — 5-3
  • Round 9: Gardevoir-GX — WW — 6-3

I can’t remember exact breakdowns of each game, and I don’t think that it’s too beneficial to discuss each game’s outcome individually.

As you can see, I avoided Fire all day (unless you count the [card name=”Flareon” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”13″ c=”name”][/card] that John played, which burned me pretty bad), and I still ended up 6-3. Slow starts aren’t a stranger to this deck; however, there are so many outs to doing damage that you don’t always have to hit exactly what you need to continue applying pressure. There were many times where I needed to hit a [card name=”Blend Energy GRPD” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card] to attack with Golisopod-GX, but I whiffed and attacked with [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] instead.

I smoked that Greninja deck, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. One of those games, I even prized my [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. Against Gardevoir-GX, the two times I played it, I found that it wasn’t so much the Garbotoxin, or the one-Energy attack that mattered, but the speed of Golisopod-GX. [card name=”Diancie” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] didn’t last long in the active spot, and neither did [card name=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card]. If they didn’t get a turn two Gardevoir-GX, they were on your back foot. That being said, I didn’t have a problem against Gardevoir-GX all day.

I played against quite a few Turbo Darkrai, which I much appreciated. In round five, I played against former team member and good friend Jay Young. He played the matchup so well, limiting his item drops and settling for two hit knockouts with solid [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] drops. Jay started lone [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] in game three with a hand full of energy and passed for three turns while I hit a Crossing Cut for the game.

I was shocked to play against a M Rayquaza-EX to be honest, but it was a solid play with everyone cutting [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card]. I was even more shocked to have beaten it. I was crafty with my [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card] and hit his M Rayquaza-EX with a Flying Flip for 100 with a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] attached. This made it so I could use First Impression on a M Rayquaza-EX for a solid two-hit knockout.

The mirror was tough, and I was disappointed that I had to play a friend I was staying with. Playing the same 60 cards made variance in Prize cards the determining factor in these games.

Overall, the deck did pretty well for me! Nick went 7-2-0 day one and made day two, posting a final record of 10-4-0 and finishing 10th. He even blew away a [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] deck on day one. My friend Jordan didn’t do so hot, going 3-4-0 drop.

In hindsight, the deck was a solid choice and I wouldn’t have played anything else, but I might have changed up some cards. Here are some things I would change:

Changing Things Up and the State of Expanded

After the the tournament, I felt that the two [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] was redundant against Turtonator-GX, and they were dead when I didn’t play against Fire at all. I didn’t really scope the meta out well which, to be fair, is hard to do in Expanded! There wasn’t as much Fire as I thought there was. [card name=”Wimpod” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] is this deck’s best starter, and it would’ve been nice to play a fourth one, or a fourth [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. This deck clears away a lot of the format, provided it can draw what it needs when it needs to. The fourth VS Seeker would have helped throughout the tournament.

Expanded shifted even further away from playing techs against [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]. I think this was the out that gave Bob Zhang such an opportunity to kill it with Trevenant in the tournament. He just had to avoid the Turbo Darkrais, which were rampant. Looking around and playing, I couldn’t quite put my finger on what decks were the most popular.

[cardimg name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Turbo [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t going anywhere at all. This deck ended up being what I thought Turtonator-GX was going to be. There was quite a bit more of the Darkrai-GX variant that Israel Sosa played at Fort Wayne around too. My friend Daniel Altavilla and fellow PokeBeach editor and writer Zachary Lesage had great results with the deck. That variant of the deck utilized [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] along with Choice Band to take knockouts with Dark Cleave. You can read about that deck here.

[card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] was also more popular than ever. I’m unsure what made it so popular other than its popularity in standard. I saw why the more skilled players were piloting it, but I was not expecting the numbers it showed up with.

[card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] might be the new [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card]. It killed it day two, and was played by many players on day one, and it ultimately won the event. Right now you have to either play something that can hang with this deck (like [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card]) or master the mirror match.

So, like usual, Expanded is a conglomerate of many different decks. It’s one of the hardest metagames to predict. My only correct prediction was the move away from Trevenant decks. I didn’t see anyone playing Trevenant during the day, and only heard how Zhang was doing with the deck.

I also noticed not a lot of Night March was being played, even though it had won Fort Wayne. The deck had a huge target on it, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only player to have noticed that.

Going Forward

I’m really digging how Expanded is shaping up. Newer players can easily slip into it (provided they can get their hands on a [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]) since the newest cards are the most powerful ones in the format.

The next big Expanded tournament is San Jose, and we will have some new cards from the Shining Legends set legal by then. I don’t see too much from that set changing Expanded, granted, I’ve only skimmed through the set. The new [card name=”Shining Jirachi” set=”Shining Legends” no=”42″ c=”name”][/card] will probably be used in some way, but the only deck I see being truly hurt by it is Gardevoir-GX in Expanded.

So overall, not much changes. We may see a resurgence in Trevenant, but based on my experience, a deck dying once will kill it in the meta for quite a while. One [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] made day two, but I would still save some space for a possible [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] inclusion. M Rayquaza-EX is always a popular archetype, and although it seems like a strong play right now, it still has some problems with its potential fumbling in the early game.

I think the best overall deck in Expanded has to be Gardevoir-GX. It has a positive matchup against Necrozma-GX, [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card], and Darkrai-GX. Provided that it sets up, it shouldn’t have trouble mowing down the opposition like it does in Standard. In Japan, it has stayed very popular and very strong regardless of [card name=”Blacksmith” set=”Flashfire” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] being legal over there. We also have some solid lists from Connor LaVelle and from fellow PokeBeach writer Ahmed Ali.

Here is the Gardevoir-GX list I will probably be taking to my League Cup this weekend. This isn’t to suggest Golisopod-GX isn’t good, but I feel like trying something different, and I’m unsure how much Fire I’m going to be facing. Golisopod-GX is still viable, and should dominate League Cups with no Fire players.

[decklist name=”Gardevoir” amt=”60″ caption=”undefined” cname=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″][pokemon amt=”16″]3x [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Ralts” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM13″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”21″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]4x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ 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=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Primal Clash” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]7x [card name=”Fairy Energy” set=”XY” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Wonder Energy” set=”Primal Clash” no=”144″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist][cardimg name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This list was heavily inspired by Connor LaVelle’s list that he used to finish in the Top 16 in Daytona. The only difference is that he plays a Sudowoodo over the [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card]. Hex Maniac is a solid card against the majority of the format, and I foresee the mirror match being a more common thing now with Gardevoir-GX having such a strong day two presence at Daytona. Hex Maniac is also solid against Night March, as they usually rely on [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] to preserve their Night Marchers while still OHKO’ing your Gardevoir-GX. The last thing that Hex Maniac is good against is Turtonator-GX. There’s no way that deck can hit for 230 while they’re under a Hex Maniac lock.

[card name=”Comfey” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] is a cute tech that Ahmed used to counter all the [card name=”Raichu” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] hype that was going around, and he used it to great effect against Grant Manley.

There are some choices made for this deck that made it much worse against Trevenant with the exception of Hex Maniac. The lack of [card name=”Diancie” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] hurts its chances against the deck, but with less Trevenant going around, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue to make that matchup a little worse in the name of sheer consistency.

Again, much kudos to Connor for sharing the list and also giving me some of his thoughts on the deck and his chances at the tournament. I think this is one of the best lists I’ve ever played.

Fairies and Trashbags — In Conclusion

Expanded is a fun format, and is certainly worth continuing to test, even though there aren’t any Regionals coming up soon for it. Gardevoir-GX is my current favorite deck for Expanded, but that doesn’t mean that [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t a worthy play right now with Items being played all over the format. The biggest advantage that these decks have over the format has to be their positive matchup against Necrozma-GX / Garbodor, which is bound to take over the Expanded format when players see the results from Daytona.

I probably won’t be making it to San Jose, but I do enjoy Expanded and would rather play Expanded over Standard currently. After this Cup this weekend, it will be all Standard for me going forward. Expect some content from me in the near future covering the Standard format when I prepare for my next Regional in Memphis, Tennessee and my attempt to win some local League Cups, which will all be in the Standard format.

Until next time,

Treynor

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