A Whole New World — An Introduction to the Expanded Format

By: Ryan Grant · Posted Posted onJan 13, 2018 at 8:25 PM · 0 Comments

Welcome back PokeBeach fans and subscribers! I hope everyone had a fun and happy holiday season.

This article is going to be different from my usual deck breakdown. Today, I wanted to give insight on the Expanded format for newer players or players who don’t play Expanded often. Since the upcoming Dallas Regionals will use Expanded, I figured I’d try to help anyone looking to play in their first Expanded tournament or get better acquainted with it. I will go over which cards I think are necessary if you want to play Expanded, how some strategies or cards become stronger, a simple tier list, and provide a checklist of every card you’ll need to build yourself a winning deck.

The Necessities

Ace Specs

Ace Specs are cards that you can only play one copy of in your deck — not one of each, one total. This makes the one you choose for your deck critical.

There are quite a few more Ace Spec cards than I have listed here, but these are the most powerful and more diverse ones that can fit in most decks, or have a place in the meta. Also, I would suggest always having an Ace Spec in your deck, as there is no reason to not at least have [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] in your deck.

Since you can only have one, there’s no need to own more than one of each.

Computer Search

[cardimg name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Computer Search is the strongest and most vanilla Ace Spec. I say this because (unless you have zero cards in deck, don’t have two cards to discard, or are under Item lock) it’s always useful. It’s always good to be able to search your deck for any card you need, and even if there’s a better Ace Spec choice, it’s never a bad card.

Dowsing Machine

Dowsing Machine is the second strongest Ace Spec and can be fit into nearly any deck as well. The reasons it’s not quite as strong as Computer Search is you can’t use it if you haven’t used any Trainer cards, it is limited to getting Trainer cards, and it doesn’t help you turn one if you have a dead hand. However, Dowsing Machine is preferred when your deck is already consistent enough, and getting resources from your discard pile is more important than getting them out of your deck.

Night March is the deck you’ll typically see Dowsing Machine in; getting back a [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] or a [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] that you had to discard too early is exceptionally strong. Having Computer Search to grab [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card] is nice, but with multiple [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card], it’s not too hard to hit.

Life Dew

[card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] is a great card, but because of [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Startling Megaphone” set=”Flashfire” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Tool Scrapper” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card], it’s typically not played. There was a time when it was played in Night March and [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] decks, but that was because Tool discarding effects weren’t as popular. Currently, at least one Field Blower is standard in most lists, so the only deck that can truly make the best use out of it is [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] because Sableye can infinitely recycle it with Junk Hunt. Just grab two [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] and keep denying Prizes. You can use it more times than your opponent can use a Tool removal effect.

Scoop Up Cyclone

[card name=”Scoop Up Cyclone” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] was never highly played, but you would see it here or there in decks. It was primarily played in decks that play [card name=”Golbat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Crobat” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] to easily reuse them or heal off your attacker. It’s effect is undeniably strong, it’s just a more situational card. Most players opt to play [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] instead, which can be reused more reliably with [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card].

Scramble Switch

[card name=”Scramble Switch” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] was mostly played in [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] decks to switch all your Energy to a fresh Primal Groudon and heal the old one. Primal Groudon currently isn’t viable, so you shouldn’t expect to see Scramble Switch, but its effect is still powerful.

Special Energy

I would recommend having four of each of these, same goes for any useful Special Energy.

Blend Energy GRPD

[cardimg name=”Blend Energy GRPD” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”117″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

[card name=”Blend Energy GRPD” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] is the more popular of the two Blend Energy because the types are played more. This Energy has seen play in [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] variants and played in Sableye / Garbodor.

Blend Energy WLFM

[card name=”Blend Energy WLFM” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] was only ever played in [card name=”Garchomp” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] decks, which were never too good or popular. I can’t think of a deck it belongs in for the current Expanded format, but nevertheless, you never know when it will become useful.

Mystery Energy

[card name=”Mystery Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] is mostly played in [card name=”Trevenant BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] decks, but has also been used in [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC11″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Accelgor” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] decks.

Prism Energy

[card name=”Prism Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] hasn’t been used since [card name=”Aromatisse” set=”XY” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Klinklang” set=”Black and White” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] decks were popular, but it’s still an incredible card that can enable more flexible strategies.

Wonder Energy

[card name=”Wonder Energy” set=”Primal Clash” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] has primarily been used in Gardevoir decks, whether that be [card name=”M Gardevoir-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] in the past, or [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] now. It’s crucial against things like [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card], Accelgor, [card name=”Trevenant BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card], and more.

Items

I would suggest having four of each of these Items. Their importance in their respective decks cannot be overstated.

Battle Compressor

[card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] is an insanely powerful card that allows discard-pile-based strategies like Night March and Vespiquen / Flareon to exist. It also adds a great deal of consistency to decks like those, especially when you can discard Supporters and put them back into your hand with VS Seeker. It’s primarily used in Night March, Dark decks, and some Sableye / Garbodor lists.

Level Ball

[card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] is great for any set up decks that don’t play [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s been phased out of most decks because Brigette is a more consistent effect, but some decks still opt to play it because they need to play a different Supporter turn one, like [card name=”Wally” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] in Trevenant decks.

Muscle Band

[card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] has been pretty much phased out by [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], but it still finds its way into some Fire decks, [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card], or any deck that wants to do extra damage to all Pokemon instead of only Pokemon-EX or Pokemon-GX.

Pokemon Communication

[card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Black and White” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] is a great card for decks that run many different Pokemon and it helps you get the ones you want, when you need it. It can also turn a dead hand with an evolution Pokemon into a live one by swapping that Pokemon out for a Shaymin-EX or a [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card].

Trainers’ Mail

[card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] used to be huge in many Expanded, and Standard decks when it was still in format. Now it finds its way into just a few, notably Night March, Sableye / Garbodor, and [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s an incredible consistency card that lets you dig for anything you may need.

VS Seeker

[cardimg name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

[card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] allows you to run lower counts of certain Supporters, allows for consistent use of one-of Supporters, and serves as added consistency after you use a draw Supporter. From then on out, you have extra cards that can become any Supporter you’ve used. This card is played in every Expanded deck I can think of. It’s the most important Item in the format.

Stadiums

I would suggest getting four of each Stadium — they are all quite powerful in their own regard.

Sky Field

[card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] has found its way into a few different decks, the most known being [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Raichu” set=”Generations” no=”27″ c=”name”][/card] variants, and [card name=”Xerneas” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”107″ c=”custom”]Rainbow Road[/card]. Recently it has been incorporated into [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] decks because Riotous Beating does more damage when you have more Pokemon out.

Dimension Valley

[card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] has been playable since it came out. It finds its way into three decks currently: Night March, [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card], and Trevenant BREAK.

Rough Seas

[card name=”Rough Seas” set=”Primal Clash” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t as popular anymore because of the decline of Trevenant, but in the past it has been used in Greninja, Water Box, [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Eelektrik” set=”Noble Victories” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] variants. Healing damage every turn can make your opponent need an extra attack to get a KO and sometimes you can even heal something back to full health.

Shrine of Memories

[card name=”Shrine of Memories” set=”Primal Clash” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] saw its biggest play in [card name=”M Mewtwo-EX” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card] decks, but you never know when it’ll be handy to have that effect. [card name=”Shining Celebi” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM79″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Celebi-EX” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] have the same effect, but can’t be used if [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”custom”]Garbotoxin[/card] or [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] are in effect; so that would be your biggest reason to play this over those two if it was crucial to your strategy.

Silent Lab

[card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] is fantastic for decks that don’t rely as much on Basic Pokemon’s Abilities. This is usually seen as a one-of tech in Trevenant decks to help deal with [card name=”Latias-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] or to stop Tapu Lele-GX or [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], but it also makes sense in any deck that needs the effect and doesn’t want to dedicate Bench space to [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card], which has the same effect.

Team Magma’s Secret Base

[card name=”Team Magma’s Secret Base” set=”Double Crisis” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] saw almost no play for the longest time until [card name=”Gyarados” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] came out. Gyarados is a strong deck that is easily countered, but typically works out when it is a surprise play.

Supporters

Colress

[cardimg name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”135″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This is one of the best Supporters ever made in my opinion. It adds incredible consistency to decks that fill their Bench, and it helps you save resources. It’s even stronger in decks that have Sky Field because you have the potential to draw 16 cards.

I would suggest having three of these — I don’t think you’ll ever need four in a deck because of VS Seeker.

Ghetsis

[card name=”Ghetsis” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] thrives in a format such as Expanded that has a slew of excellent Item cards, but it can be hit or miss. You can either wreck someone by eliminating their whole hand, or most of it; or you can only hit a couple cards, or even help them out if you put cards back in that they didn’t want to discard with [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s also excellent against [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card]. Since they rely on having [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] every turn, it can help you slow them down or even leave them with an empty hand.

You only need one copy of Ghetsis.

Hex Maniac

[card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] is an amazing card that allows decks that don’t run Garbotoxin to shut off their opponent’s Abilities. It’s especially great with VS Seeker because you only need to play one copy and you can use it more than once.

I would recommend you try to get two copies of Hex at least, most decks only play one and don’t need three and definitely not four.

Lysandre

[card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] has been kind of phased out by [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], but it is still a great option in most lists. It doesn’t force you to switch and sometimes you need to keep your Active Pokemon right where it is. With VS seeker, you can easily play both Lysandre and Guzma and pick which one you need, when you need it.

This is currently a card you probably only need one of.

Teammates

Being able to grab two of anything you want is incredible. [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] is typically played in Night March but also sometimes in [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] as well.

You only need one copy of Teammates due to its situational nature.

Xerosic

[card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t played as much as it used to be since it’s kind of slow, but it’s still a nice card that gives you two powerful effects. Right now, it’s probably only played in Sableye decks, but it’s still worth having one copy.

Pokemon

[cardimg name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

For Pokemon, I only have two that I would call necessary, and that’s because one is used in many decks, and the other is currently used in a good portion of decks, but the rest are typically deck-specific cards.

Exeggcute

The reason [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”name”][/card] is on this list is because [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] is so popular. Propagation pairs perfectly with Trade; you can keep using Exeggcute to pay for Trade and not discard useful resources.

I would say owning two of these should be enough; it’s not a bad idea to pick up four, however, because some strategies in the future might require it.

Shaymin-EX

Not every deck still plays [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], but some of the top decks do right now, such as Night March and many Zoroark-GX variants. Set Up is an incredible Ability that helps you push for the cards you need; it’s absolutely worth picking up.

I would suggest owning three since I don’t think any deck currently plays more than that.

Standard Staples that Carry Over

For those of you who don’t even own Standard cards yet but are looking to get into Expanded, here’s a quick list of Standard-legal cards you need to pick up:

Items

• [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Puzzle of Time” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card]

Pokemon

• [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card]
• Zoroark-GX

Special Energy

• [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Shining Legends” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Splash Energy” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]

Stadiums

• [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card]

Supporters

• [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Plumeria” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Pokémon Ranger” set=”Steam Siege” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”Generations” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card]

Cards and Strategies Made Better with Old Sets

[cardimg name=”Zorua” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”70″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

When looking to build an Expanded deck with newer cards like Zoroark-GX or Gardevoir-GX, you should look back at the older sets and see if there are better versions of the pre-evolutions. For Zoroark, people tend to play the [card name=”Zorua” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”70″ c=”custom”]Zorua with Paralyzing Gaze[/card] because having the chance to Paralyze your opponent can save you in a pinch and is typically more useful than the doing a small amount of damage. There’s also [card name=”Zubat” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”53″ c=”custom”]Zubat with Free Flight[/card], [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”65″ c=”custom”]Tool Drop Trubbish[/card], and [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Noble Victories” no=”48″ c=”custom”]Garbage Collection Trubbish[/card]. There are plenty of other examples of better versions, so I won’t go through them all, just make sure to do the research when playing an Expanded deck. Previous versions of the final evolution can fit right into decks as well, such as Zoroark with Foul Play.

Cards, or sometimes entire strategies, can be made immensely stronger with Expanded cards. Take Lycanroc-GX / Zoroark-GX, which just won Memphis Regionals. That strategy becomes so much stronger with the help of Sky Field, Exeggcute, and [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card]. Having Ace Specs make your decks stronger as well, of course. Another example is [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card], which has a powerful GX attack but doesn’t see much use in Standard because it requires three Energy. In Expanded, however, you can pair it with [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] and power it up with only a Double Colorless Energy. With the help of Expanded cards like [card name=”Terrakion” set=”Noble Victories” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Entei” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”14″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Counter Energy” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] decks are more viable because they now have a wider range of attackers. Greninja even gets a boost from [card name=”Dive Ball” set=”Primal Clash” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] and other consistency cards.

There are plenty more examples like this, just remember to look at the vast variety of cards Expanded has to offer when building a deck. There are almost 30 sets in the Expanded format, so there are probably strategies that haven’t even been thought of yet!

When it comes to getting these cards, it’s worth noting that some Expanded cards are expensive because the sets are no longer printed, so try to get cards you think have potential or are good before they get hype and skyrocket in price, such as Paralyzing Gaze Zorua. You also don’t need to buy every card I’ve mentioned, just get the cards for the specific decks that you want to play.

Tier List

This is a general Tier list of the decks played in Expanded. Some of these are decks you will see little to none of at tournaments, but Expanded has such a diverse card pool and some people love to play old cards they loved from the past, so you can’t rule anything out when metagaming for this format.

Tier 1

• Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] / Alolan Muk
• [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] / Zoroark-GX
• Lycanroc-GX / Zoroark-GX
• Night March / Zoroark-GX

Tier 2

• [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Gyarados” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]
• Seismitoad-EX / Zoroark-GX
• [card name=”Trevenant BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card]

Tier 3

• [card name=”Accelgor” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card]
• Archie’s [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Stoutland” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Raichu” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Goodra” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Greninja BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card]
• Seismitoad-EX / Garbodor
• [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] / Techs

Tier 4

• [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Volcanion-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Yveltal-EX” set=”XY” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] Variants

Meta Checklist

These are the decks in Expanded that I think will be most popular and I’ve seen the most talk about. I’ve made a handy checklist for anyone looking to acquire the cards to play each deck. Many of the Expanded cards required for them overlap with several other decks, making it even easier to build a deck.

Zoroark-GX / Seismitoad-EX / Alolan Muk

• Trainers: Colress, [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card]
• Pokemon: [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”name”][/card], Seismitoad-EX, Shaymin-EX
• Optional: [card name=”Ghetsis” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card], Paralyzing Gaze Zorua

Gardevoir-GX

• Trainers: Colress, Computer Search
• Optional: [card name=”Wonder Energy” set=”Primal Clash” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card], Hex Maniac, different Ralts or Kirlia

Golisopod-GX / Zoroark-GX

• Trainers: Colress, Computer Search
• Pokemon: Exeggcute
• Optional: Ghetsis, Hex Maniac, Paralyzing Gaze Zorua, [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]

Gyarados

• Trainers: Colress, Computer Search, [card name=”Dive Ball” set=”Primal Clash” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Team Magma’s Secret Base” set=”Double Crisis” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]
• Optional: Ghetsis, [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card]

Night March

• Trainers: [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card], Hex Maniac, [card name=”Lysandre” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card]
• Pokemon: [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Lampent” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”42″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card], Shaymin-EX
• Optional: Ghetsis

Lycanroc-GX / Zoroark-GX

• Trainers: Colress, Computer Search, Sky Field
• Pokemon: Exeggcute, Shaymin-EX
• Optional: Ghetsis, Hex Maniac, Paralyzing Gaze Zorua

Sableye / Garbodor

• Trainers: [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card], Trainers’ Mail, [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card]
• Pokemon: [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Noble Victories” no=”48″ c=”custom”]Garbage Collection Trubbish[/card], Shaymin-EX
• Energy: [card name=”Blend Energy GRPD” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card]
• Optional: Ghetsis, [card name=”Latias-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card]

Seismitoad-EX / Zoroark-GX

• Trainers: Colress, [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Virbank City Gym” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card]
• Pokemon: Seismitoad-EX, Shaymin-EX
• Optional: Exeggcute, [card name=”Xerosic” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card]

Trevenant BREAK

• Trainers: Computer Search, Dimension Valley, [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card]
• Pokemon: [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Phantump” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Trevenant BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card]
• Optional: [card name=”Mystery Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Rescue Scarf” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]

Conclusion

Dallas Regionals is coming up, and I’m excited, but not fully prepared yet. Luckily, I still have some time to test. I think Expanded is a fun format that brings a nice change from playing Standard all the time.

I sincerely hope this article helped anyone looking to get into the fun world that is the Expanded format. I want to wish best of luck and safe travels to anyone going to Dallas, and I hope to see you there! It’s been a pleasure writing for you.

See you next time,

-Ryan