“Dew You Wanna Read About Sableye / Garbodor?” A Deck Analysis

By: Ryan Grant · Posted Nov 21, 2017 at 3:19 PM · 0 Comments

Hello and welcome back PokeBeach fans and subscribers! I’m going to talk about the deck I like the best in Expanded and I’ll briefly talk about my latest Expanded tournament experience. I wish I could say I was going to San Jose Regionals, but I can’t get the time off work that weekend. I want to wish the best of luck and safe travels to anyone attending!

Daytona Regionals

[cardimg name=”Captivating Poké Puff” set=”Steam Siege” no=”99″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Who expected this?!?[/cardimg]

For Daytona Regionals I chose to play [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] because my friends convinced me it was the best play for the tournament and I still agree with that. I didn’t have any time to test it in the days leading up, but my friends explained in detail how it works and how to play each matchup. Luckily, I got a decent amount of games in and playtested a few different matchups in the airport before we left, which helped me feel more confident in my choice. I was still somewhat worried that I wouldn’t play correctly due to lack of testing, but once I started testing against Turbo Dark and [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], I felt confident in how to play the deck.

The Event

Round 1 vs. [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card]: WW — 1-0
Round 2 vs. Gardevoir-GX: WW — 2-0
Round 3 vs. [card name=”Trevenant BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card]: LL — 2-1
Round 4 vs. [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]: LWL — 2-2
Round 5 vs. [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]: WW — 3-2
Round 6 vs. [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card]: WW — 4-2
Round 7 vs. [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card]: LL — 4-3
Round 8 vs. I do not recall what I played against but I won — 5-3
Round 9 vs. [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] / [card name=”Articuno” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Wishiwashi-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card]: WLT — 5-3-1

I won the first two rounds without much trouble; both opponents played a lot of Items and I got lucky with [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]s. The third round is where I got my first loss to [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]. I wasn’t worried because I played a [card name=”Latias-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card], and I was positive I was going to win! However, that was until my opponent played a [card name=”Captivating Poké Puff” set=”Steam Siege” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], something I did not expect! Even with that surprise, I almost won the game with Trashalanche. Ultimately, my opponent used two [card name=”Bursting Balloon” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] in a row to Knock Out my Garbodor and had just enough Energy left to finish me off. In game two I had a rough hand and got benched out.

My next loss was in round four to a Necrozma-GX / Garbodor deck. Game one I had to use Trashalanche early due to an awkward hand and I lost. Game two I won. Game three we set up and had barely any time to play. Unfortunately for me I passed my first turn with a lone Sableye. My opponent got three Tools in play including a [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] on the Active [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”65″ c=”name”][/card] and a [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] to donk me with Tool Drop.

Round seven was the heartbreaker: my third loss, this time to Turbo [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s already a rough matchup because of all the Energy recovery in the deck, but to make matters worse I prized my [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] game one. I probably should have scooped after that, but when my opponent started over benching and powering up Turtonator-GX and Volcanion-EX instead of baby [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], I figured I could still potentially win.

I was almost able to pull it off by emptying their hand to zero and KO’ing all their threats with Trashlanche! It came down to a crucial turn where if they top decked a Fire Energy, they would win. Otherwise, I would eliminate their last attacker with enough Energy to respond. Luckily for them, they drew the Fire Energy. It also hurt that I got two tails on [card name=”Team Rocket’s Handiwork” set=”Fates Collide” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] the turn before they drew the Fire Energy. If I had gotten one or two heads they may have whiffed, but that’s just how it goes.

My last round was against Archie’s Blastosie. This is a great matchup, but it ended up being a tie. It could have been a win if I hadn’t spaced in game two. I thought for some reason that my opponent only had three cards left, so I played a [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] then used both [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] to get both Trick Shovel back, but it turned out they really had four cards left! I should have checked but for some reason I thought I knew, probably from being overly tired. If I had grabbed one Trick Shovel and a Team Rocket’s Handiwork I could have won. So instead they took their last Prize and we didn’t finish game three, resulting in a tie.

Luckily, I squeaked in and still got Top 128 points. Here is the list that I and fellow PokeBeach writer Caleb Gedemer played for the event, which was given to us by our friends Joe and Jando.

[decklist name=”Sableye/Garbodor” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Latias-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”85″][pokemon amt=”13″]4x [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/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=”Noble Victories” no=”48″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Latias-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”85″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”41″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”XY” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Plumeria” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Ghetsis” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Team Rocket’s Handiwork” set=”Fates Collide” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Supreme Victors” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”124″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Target Whistle” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”6″]4x [card name=”Blend Energy GRPD” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist][cardimg name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ align=”right” c=”custom”]The star of our obnoxious deck.[/cardimg]

I liked the list as it was, and I don’t think I would change anything about it if I could redo the event.

How it Works

Now let’s look at the ins and outs of Sableye since it’s quite difficult to pilot compared to your average deck.

The Basics

The goal of the deck is to run your opponent out of most of their resources — primarily Energy — and getting them to a board state that can’t handle [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] abusing Trashalanche.

After you’ve won game one, all you need to do is make sure your second game doesn’t finish by denying your opponent opportunities to draw Prize cards. You can still draw all your Prize cards if you want in game two, but typically game one should have burned enough time that it won’t be necessary.

The hardest thing is when you lose a game and need to be much more aggressive with Trashalanche due to time constraints. This usually requires using [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], and [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] more frequently to make your opponent use more Items sooner. It’s important to hold onto multiple [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] in games that you need to Trashalanche repeatedly. You also want to try to lock your opponent out of playing the game. The best way to do this is get their hand down to zero cards with Delinquent and use Trick Shovel to control their draws.

[premium]

Turn by Turn

You need to be aware of how many resources your opponent has left. Pay attention to the counts of cards they play and have prior knowledge of how decks are typically built so you know the amount of Energy, [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], Supporters, [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], Field Blowers, etc. that they are likely to play. Once you have run your opponent out of enough resources to do anything, start Trashalanching away!

What you choose to Junk Hunt early on is important and depends on what your opponent’s board looks like. Do they have a lot of Energy in play? Grab some Hammers. Are they drawing poorly and not doing much? Get back Trick Shovel to try and give them bad draws. What you Junk Hunt for depends on what your opponent does or what you immediately need like a VS Seeker or [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] to dig for Life Dew.

You need to know when to use [card name=”Team Rocket’s Handiwork” set=”Fates Collide” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card], when to use Hammers, when to use Delinquent, and when to try and trap something Active. Ask yourself “what can my opponent draw that would give me trouble?” This could be Guzma, Energy, Field Blower, etc.; plan for that in case it happens. You want to make sure you have a strategy to deal with whatever could be most problematic the next turn.

Delinquent to Zero

If your opponent has three or less cards in hand, always [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] them if possible. The only exception to that would be if they have [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM13″ c=”name”][/card]/[card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] and you don’t have [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] in play. Combining that with a Trick Shovel lock will ensure that they aren’t doing anything, which gives you more time to remove Energy on board and potentially trap something Active.

Other Attacks

A couple of attacks in this deck that you shouldn’t forget about are Sableye’s Confuse Ray and [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Noble Victories” no=”48″ c=”name”][/card]’s Garbage Collection. Both can come in handy against a couple matchups, primarily Trevenant and Seismitoad-EX. Confuse Ray can break the Item-lock against Toad if they flip tails or can’t get to a new Toad, and it can prevent Trev wrecking you with Silent Fear. Garbage Collection allows you to recycle your [card name=”Plumeria” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”XY” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] to keep getting rid of their Energy. They both play low counts and it can buy you some time.

[cardimg name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Find me ASAP[/cardimg]

Get Life Dew ASAP

Your biggest priority in the early game, aside from getting a couple [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Noble Victories” no=”48″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] out, is to fish for your Life Dew. In some of the opening turns you should Junk Hunt for [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] if you don’t have your Life Dew already.

Although you want to have Life Dew every turn when you are Junk Hunting, you typically don’t want to Junk Hunt for it unless you can be absolutely positive your opponent won’t N or Ghetsis you. Having Life Dew in the deck is much worse than your discard pile; eventually you should be able to use double Puzzle to pick it back up.

Sometimes it may be more important to grab something other than Life Dew if you know you can afford to give up a Prize card the following turn, but that shouldn’t happen too often. Sometimes you need to make sure to get [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] back to ensure you don’t deck out.

Using the Discard Pile to Your Advantage

Early on it can be good to preemptively use or discard a [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] because you can always Junk Hunt for it later if someone uses [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Ghetsis” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] against you. The same thing goes for using a Puzzle early on — so once you draw into another one you can Junk Hunt for one and something else useful.

Shovel Tricks

Remember that when you use [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card], you don’t always need to discard something from your opponent’s deck. Leave the card there if you know it won’t help them at the moment. Don’t forget if you’re drawing dead you can always use Trick Shovel on yourself to see if you’ll draw out of your hand or to discard a dead card and hope the next one is better.

When to Use Garbodor

Something you can do is Trashlanche early on to eliminate a threat, especially if it’s the only one, and then switch back to [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] after to continue running your opponent out of resources. A good example of that would be if someone loaded up a lot of Energy on a [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] (and they have used enough Items), you can KO it and jump back into your disruption strategy.

Managing Time

I would highly suggest do your best to keep track of how long the game is taking while playing this deck. I am in no way advocating or saying that you should slow play! You should always play at a legal pace of play. However, I am saying it is important to pay attention to how long your first game took. It is advisable for your first game to take longer than half of your time so that you can play out game two in a timely manner. It is still possible to win both games by taking Prizes and is necessary sometimes. The majority of matches that I played in Daytona, two games finished and sometimes a third started or even finished. If possible, winning one game and not allowing another to finish is a good way to go since the deck’s best ability is to slow your opponent down and sometimes lock them out of the game.

Teching the Deck

This deck can be teched to better fight against certain matchups if need be, so make sure you know your meta. If you expect a lot of Night March, make sure to include [card name=”Team Skull Grunt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card]. If for whatever reason Greninja got popular again, you want to make sure to have [card name=”Pokémon Center Lady” set=”Flashfire” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] and Skull Grunt as well.

This deck definitely takes a lot of thought to play. You must be aware of everything your opponent is doing and what cards they have played, and what you get back with Junk Hunt and Puzzles is crucial. It can be easy to make the wrong decision sometimes. I’d highly recommend a lot of testing with this deck if you want to take it to a tournament. I know that advice contradicts what I did for Daytona, but I was confident in my friends’ explanations and advice, and I also believed that it was the best play for the event!

The Matchups

Darkrai-GX / Hypnotoxic Lasers

[cardimg name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Problematic[/cardimg]

This matchup can be tough because of [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]s and all their Energy acceleration. Lasers can still get Knock Outs even if you’re denying them from attacking, but the biggest issue is being Asleep. If you can’t wake up and have to pass, that makes for an awful turn. Once you sift through the Lasers though, the matchup should be fine — you just need to have Garbotoxin in play to make sure they don’t get free Retreat from Dark Cloak.

The luckier you are with [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] heads, the better this matchup becomes. It can become rough if they get a board full of Energy. It’s important to keep track of how many Energy they have left, and how many [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]/[card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] they’ve used. Once you’ve gotten them down to a low Energy count, and they are out of other Energy attaching resources, you can start taking KOs. If you can, make sure to KO whatever threat has Energy on it. The newer version of Turbo Dark doesn’t play any [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”from”][/card], so they need to have three Energy to even attack, making it easier to deny an attack. They do play a [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] of their own which can get back some resources, but you can try to OHKO it with [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] to stop it from becoming a nuisance.

Necrozma-GX / Garbodor

Since [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] / Garb plays a lot of Special Energy, this matchup is fairly easy because of [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card]. However, Trashalanche only requires one Energy to use, so they still have an easy way to attack. The best thing to do is to trap something in the Active position that isn’t a [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] to try and run them out of Energy. Furthermore, once you know they’re out of Energy, you can start to attack with your own Garbodor to win the Trashalanche war.

Gardevoir-GX

Garbotoxin, Hammers, and [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]’s naturally clunkiness make this matchup fairly easy. All of these factors can lead to games where you have extra time to mill some resources and get your deck set up. Twilight GX is your biggest hurdle because it can get back Energy, [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Noble Victories” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], and Items in general to slow down Trashalanche. Once they do that, you just have to keep playing the long game by running them out of resources and then using Garbodor to clean up.

Night March / Zoroark-GX

If you expect a lot of Night March, I would consider playing [card name=”Team Skull Grunt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] because they will try to hold their [card name=”Double Colorless” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] in their hand for when they need them. I don’t think [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] changes this matchup much. They can use it to attack instead of [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card], but that also requires them to bench more Pokemon, which may cause something to get trapped Active. Just like any other matchup, you’re going to try to deny Prizes and run them out of their important resources, which are Double Colorless, [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. Once you run them out of those, you can clean up with [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]. It can be tough since they only need one attachment to attack, have ways to recover Energy, and can take a KO every turn.

Golisopod-GX Variants

Whether it’s the Garbodor or [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] version, [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] is going to be a good matchup. Golisopod has a heavy Retreat Cost, needs to switch in all the time to use First Impression, and plays quite a few Special Energy. With Hammers and other disruption cards it will be hard for them to be able to do that enough times to take six Prizes.

Turbo Turtles

Turbo Turtles or any [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] variant is going to be one of your toughest matchups. It has multiple copies of [card name=”Blacksmith” set=”Flashfire” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Kiawe” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card], baby [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Steam Siege” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card]’s Nitro Tank GX to recover and accelerate Energy. Their strategy against you is typically going to be to load up a baby Volcanion with as much Energy as possible while limiting Item use. It can OHKO your Sableye even through the red side of [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card], and it doesn’t require them to discard Energy like Turtonator-GX or wait a turn to attack like Volcanion-EX.

You’re going to be spamming Crushing Hammer like crazy trying to keep them from attacking. Due to the high amount of Energy the deck plays (14-16 typically) and all the recovery it’s incredibly tough to deal with.

You also want to trap something with a heavy retreat Active if possible. This is where having Target Whistle in your list helps because you can discard a Pokemon through Shovel or Delinquent and put it on their Bench. I don’t expect Turbo Turtles to be popular which is why I cut it in the updated list below. If you do expect there to be a bigger showing of the deck, then by all means add it back — it’s a solid card choice in general.

Another key strategy is to try and make them use or discard enough Items that you can OHKO whatever they’re building up with Trashalanche. They can still come back and take KO’s because of Blacksmith, but it’s still a good idea to clear a threat off the board when you can. You have to try and run them out of most-to-all of their Energy, Blacksmith, and VS Seekers so you know they won’t have enough left to deal with your Garb.

Your only sure-fire way to win this matchup is to reduce their hand to zero. They have so many options to keep attacking with Blacksmith that emptying their hand is the only guaranteed way to stop their momentum. Once you’ve done that, you can Trick Shovel lock them and keep them from loading up attackers. Eventually you’ll mill enough and might be able to take enough KO’s to win before they draw something to get going again.

Crimson Invasion and Onward

[cardimg name=”Gladion” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”109″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I truly believe this is the best deck going forward in Expanded. It has the tools to beat any deck due to its positive matchups across the board. The only cards that I think should be added from the new set are [card name=”Gladion” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card].

Gladion

Gladion is the best option to get Life Dew from your Prizes. The deck’s entire strategy usually falters if you cannot deny your opponent Prizes while you run them out of resources. They’ll be able to take a Prize here and there because of [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]/[card name=”Lysandre” set=”Flashfire” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] or Field Blower, but typically you’ll deny them more Prizes than they’re taking unless they draw incredibly well.

Having Gladion means you don’t have to forfeit a game due to bad prizing. Typically you would just concede if you’ve prized your Life Dew since winning games without it isn’t easy. Gladion guarantees you the Life Dew in your hand instead of something like [card name=”Rotom Dex” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] that either shuffles it into your deck or puts it right back in the Prizes.

Counter Catcher

Another great addition to this deck is Counter Catcher. You’re typically down on Prizes, and having a card that lets you trap something Active while still playing a Supporter is fantastic. We don’t play regular [card name=”Pokémon Catcher” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] because a coin flip isn’t worth the risk, but having that guaranteed gust effect (if you’re down on Prizes) is fantastic.

The Updated Deck List

[decklist name=”Sableye/Garbodor” amt=”60″ caption=” ” cname=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″][pokemon amt=”12″]4x [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/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=”Noble Victories” no=”48″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”42″]4x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”XY” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”XY” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Plumeria” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Ghetsis” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Gladion” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”95″ 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=”Team Rocket’s Handiwork” set=”Fates Collide” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”EX FireRed and LeafGreen” no=”100″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”124″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”6″]4x [card name=”Blend Energy GRPD” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Conclusion

I think Sableye / Garb is an incredibly strong deck that can beat pretty much anything. It can be teched for any matchup and has the cards to deal with the Expanded metagame. It’s a deck that takes a lot of thought to play — the micro decisions in the deck mean everything. The deck is fun to play because you get to keep getting your resources back and every decision you make is influential. It puts on an intense amount of pressure that makes the game interesting. If I could go to San Jose, it would be my number one deck choice.

I wish everyone who goes good luck! I’m excited to see what decks do well, if any new strategies emerge from the new sets, and if anyone does well with Sableye. It’s been a great pleasure writing for you all. I hope you learned something and enjoyed the article as well.

See you next time,

Ryan

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