The Secret Spring — Gardevoir-GX in Expanded

By: Treynor Wolfe · Posted Jan 26, 2018 at 6:04 PM · 0 Comments

I’ve had a hard time keeping myself from secretly playing games of Expanded here or there, even when I was testing for Standard events, such as League Cups and Regionals such as Memphis. I just love the format that much. Maybe it’s the familiarity I have with the cards, spanning back to when I first started my Pokemon career in the tail end of the Luxchomp era, and the dawn of the new era of Black and White. But maybe it’s because of the strength of just about every deck, as well as the skill of every player that shines in the format.

[cardimg name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I’ve been looking forward to the next expanded event, ever since the last one that I went to – Daytona Regionals. Standard is fun and I’ve been having a blast playing [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card], but expanded is my real true love in Pokemon. Sure, it has it’s problems and some not fun interactions. But its large card pool and large amount of options have always kept it exciting to me.

Also, the next event, Dallas Regionals is being played in the Expanded format. I’ve been testing a lot of decks, mostly [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] variants, just like everyone else. It’s hard not to gravitate towards it. It’s got a powerful attack with one-shot and two-shot potential. It’s a Stage 1 with possibly the best ability in the game right now. It’s weakness isn’t really being exploited either.

But I’ve also been revisiting and testing an old friend that I have had some success with earlier this season. [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] is one of the few cards that really punishes [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card]. Its Resistance to Dark, as well as its ability to annihilate anything every turn just makes it incredibly powerful. Its only issues are its consistency, just like in Standard. But in Expanded, we have so many more options to make it consistent. It takes advantage of [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] as well, which is one of the best attackers in the format. The strengths of [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] are very easy to see, since it’s dominated standard for so long. But I find that it is just as potent in Expanded, with its ability to take on just about any deck as well as it taking advantage of the weaknesses of [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card], as well as the rest of the expanded meta.

I’ll offer a short take on my view of the Expanded metagame. Chances are, you’ve been studying it yourself as well, and I don’t find it too hard to see what is going to be popular. I’ll also go over how Gardevoir exploits these decks, as well as ways to make your Gardevoir deck consistent. Of course, I will also be going over my current list, and options to tech into it with what you believe the metagame is going to look like in Dallas.

The State of the Format

If I were to make this similar to a Star Wars-esque opening crawl, I would just start out with this: [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] reigns supreme. [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] decks will be the most popular deck in Dallas, largely due to how consistent the decks are. [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] headlines four of the most popular decks that will be in Dallas. In no order in particular:

[card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card]
[card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]
[card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card]
[card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card]

The first and third decks take advantage of Zoroark’s one-shot potential, as well as its consistency. The second deck is far more disruptive, using [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] primarily with Zoroark either being a finisher, or collecting easy one-shots with [card name=”Virbank City Gym” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] augmenting Zoroark’s Riotous Beating.

The other big deck of course will be what won the last major American Regional in Expanded. Of course, I’m talking about Night March. This deck never seems to go away, and with the big consistency boost from [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card], this deck just got some more resistance against [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card], which was really the only card stopping it. [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card]’s Quaking Punch and a [card name=”Karen” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY177″ c=”name”][/card] combo is still pretty limiting, but now the Night March player can attack with Riotous Beating while they slowly discard their Night Marchers again.

[cardimg name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

These five decks are going to be the top dogs in the Expanded format, and they all play [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]. So what makes [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] exploitable? The most obvious weakness is its Weakness alone. Fighting Weakness is much easier to take advantage of in Expanded, since decks are far more consistent and there are just more Fighting Pokemon that can be played.

[card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] is an ideal counter to Zoroark. It takes easy one hit Knock Outs against it, has Resistance to Dark, and has 230 HP, so cannot be Knocked Out in one hit. In fact, without a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], Zoroark has to hit Gardevoir three times thanks to that Resistance. Gardevoir shares the same evolution Pokemon as [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] too. [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] presents a serious problem for Zoroark decks with its high HP, and with it being a single Prize attacker. Without a Sky Field or [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], Zoroark decks cannot take an easy Knock Out on Gallade either.

So this is the format now, and how Gardevoir exploits Zoroark. Well, the format in general, since it appears that Zoroark is the format. There are other decks, such as [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] making a return. [card name=”Buzzwole-GX ” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] is being used in many decks as well. Players may even stick to old favorites, such as turbo [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], as well as [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] decks. [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] can roll with all of these decks. It may suffer a bit against [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], but we will discuss that matchup and my strategies against it later. First I will go over strategies to make Gardevoir consistent, as well as my own deck list.

The Anatomy of a Gardevoir Decklist

So to actually make use of [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] we need to create a decklist that consistently gets it out. Consistency is the key with my Gardevoir lists, since the use of techs aren’t really necessary in a format that Gardevoir should be dominant in. You might have read an article I wrote in the past where I went over a Gardevoir decklist that I used to win a League Cup in Independence, Missouri. My current list is much more consistent than that one, with the greater amount of rounds forcing me to have to make my list that much more consistent.

[decklist name=”Gardevoir” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”21″][pokemon amt=”17″]3x [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Ralts” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”59″ 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” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”21″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”30″]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]2x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ 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=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”85″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]9x [card name=”Fairy Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”9″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

The list is quite a bit different than when I last played Expanded. This list is incredibly consistent. I’ve played over one hundred games on PTCGO with it and can only count on one hand games where I did not get a [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] out and swinging. You can have bad starts sometimes, where I will say that I need two hands to count the number of times that might have happened, but I still won some of those games by playing out of them. Gardevoir is a very straightforward deck and isn’t too difficult to play, but it takes real skill to play out of a bad start and to not give up. I’ll go over this later.

One Gallade

[cardimg name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This could easily be two [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] as well. This list is highly mutable, and I can easily see cutting something else in the list for a second [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card]. Currently I’m waffling on adding the second one, but one has served me just fine with two [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] in the list. Not to mention, [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] punishes [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] as well. I’ve actually taken more Knock Outs against [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] with my Gardevoir than my Gallade. Gardevoir needs a little bit of help to take the Knock Out, whereas with Gallade its almost a sure thing. So prizing it isn’t the end of the world, and Zoroark can’t OHKO a Gardevoir anyway. But where the two shines is the Night March matchup. You want to exchange single Prize attackers during this matchup, and if Night March is swinging for 230 or more, then [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] is the preferred attacker to Knock Out their [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] with the help of a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card].

Three Kirlia

I want to draw into [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] early and often. Many games I don’t get a turn two [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] into a [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], but I do get to evolve two Ralts into Kirlia pretty often, which is pretty powerful as well. Having this thick of an evolution line boosts the consistency of this deck, as well as helping it take advantage of [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card] better. [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] is making the rounds as well, and that deck plays [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card], so Kirlia is a much better alternative than to try to get off a Rare Candy play under Item-lock.

One Oranguru

I like this card much more than [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card]. It doubles as a solid attacker, which can be activated fairly easily thanks to Secret Spring, but it also is great for helping you avoid bad [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] draws late game. It doesn’t need to be evolved, so it’s a bit easier to get mileage out of early. There’s plenty of ways for this deck to get its hand down with Secret Spring helping us get Energy out of our hand, so drawing the one or two cards from Instruct is much easier than you might think.

One Oricorio

Night March. That’s really all I feel that I should say about this card. [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] has won me a game or two outside of the Night March matchup as well with its attack being able to put a few damage counters on the board to finish something off, but normally [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] Knocks Out everything in one hit.

[premium]

One Teammates

The ultimate consistency card and probably my new favorite card in Expanded. The woes of Standard Gardevoir decks would be solved if this card was still legal. I find myself using [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] for this card early on very often to get the [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Unleashed” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card] combo off to get [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] up turn two almost every game. This card is the difference maker between the clunky Gardevoir variants of Standard and Expanded. Often, getting one Gardevoir going buys you time to evolve your Kirlia and Ralts into Gallade and Gardevoir a couple turns later. Gardevoir’s high HP keeps it alive and attacking often while letting you set up still.

One Guzma

One [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] may seem odd, but remember that [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] exists in this format. Also, [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] munches through just about anything that is put up against it, so it’s very easy to just Knock Out the active if we have to. I haven’t been wanting a second [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] at all in testing.

Two Brigette

I’m taking a cue from Standard decks here. I got away with one [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] in the past, but two is crucial for the setup of this deck. Also, using [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] to fetch one of these is not always a good idea against Night March decks, since it leaves Tapu Lele on your Bench as a free two Prizes for the Night March player later. So starting with one of these in your opening hand is really important in that matchup.

[cardimg name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

One Hex Maniac

This card has served me well in most of the games I’ve played. Most decks need Abilities to help them possibly take a one shot Knock Out on Gardevoir. This has mainly applied to [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] decks of the past, but it still helps quite a bit against Night March by blocking their [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]’s from Trading and [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] from attacking. It’s a very strong play to attack with Gardevoir before they have 10 Night Marchers in the discard pile and play a [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] on them. It’s really hard for them to pull off the stuff they need to do without their abilities.

One Acerola

Gardevoir’s high HP makes it very hard to one shot, so being able to recycle it after it takes damage is really good. [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] has helped me get Energy off of a Gardevoir that is damaged with a ton of Energy on it before, and that has enabled me to switch gears to another attacker in testing. With three [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] in the deck, I’m wanting to fit another copy of Acerola to take advantage of the thick evolution lines.

Two Rescue Stretcher

Night March is a problem, and recycling [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] is a must. As well as recovering Ralts that might have bit the dust in the early game. These are invaluable and I cannot see myself cutting down to one. If you consider a situation where you have a [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] in the discard pile, a [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] functions as an Ultra Ball to complete that [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] combo that is so important to maintain tempo with this deck. Even with two [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] in the list, I would play two [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card].

Nine Fairy Energy

Consistency, consistency, consistency. Fairy Energy needs to be drawn early and often. It’s how we retreat in this deck, and it’s also the way that we attack. We really need to draw these and not run out of them throughout the game. I’ve tested eight and drawn pretty well with that too, so you can test both variants, but I’m most likely sticking with nine of these for Dallas.

Let’s go over some matchups. I do want to take some extra time to go over the Night March matchup, since I feel that is this deck’s worst matchup.

Matchups

Zoroark-GX / Sky Field Variants – Favorable

I lump the [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] variants together here since they both have very similar strategies. The Lycanroc variant is a bit more challeging since they can prey on your [card name=”Ralts” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] early, and they can use their GX attack to OHKO your [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]. This is a moot point if you can keep your Bench size down, which is another thing you should absolutely try to attain. But you can normally see the GX attack coming, and you can respond with another Gardevoir pretty easily, which they will not be able to OHKO. [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] is the best attacker to lead with if they start taking Prizes with Zoroark, since it might be risky to lead with a Gardevoir if they have an Energy on a Lycanroc. But regardless of this, you can use [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] after a Knock Out to stop most of their plays. [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t too helpful against Zoroark decks.

If you can maintain your tempo and keep using [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] to get Gardevoirs going, this matchup shouldn’t be difficult. Zoroark cannot KO you in one hit, and its very easy for you to Knock Out the Zoroark with Gardevoir or Gallade. As well as that, Lycanroc’s single GX attack is the only means for them to take a OHKO on a Gardevoir. It is very hard for them to even take an OHKO on [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] since you can easily follow it up with another Gallade if they attacked with Zoroark to Knock Out your first one. This creates an uneven Prize-trade all around for them.

Zoroark-GX / Seismitoad-EX – Favorable

[cardimg name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

If you can draw out of the Item lock, which shouldn’t be too difficult, you can easily take Knock Outs on [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] helps here as well as in the Trevenant matchup, since you can take your time setting up a pair of Gardevoir and easily take OHKOs on [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card]. If they strip your resources too thin, you always have Twilight GX to recycle everything. If they let up the Item lock and attack with Zoroark, it’s even better for you since you can use that opportunity to set up more, as well as take a cheap Knock Out on their Zoroark. Neither one of their attackers are great against Gardevoir, so this matchup should be pretty favorable.

Zoroark-GX / Golisopod-GX – Favorable

This [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] variant is the most tricky of the three. [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] is a little more frustrating to play against, since it only has a one Energy attacking requirement, making Infinite Force less potent. But without [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card], this deck has a much harder time against [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card]. The only option they have to one shot [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] is with Golisopod’s GX attack hitting it for 150. Getting out another Gallade is pretty simple though with two [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], so it should be pretty easy to keep Gallade going. You don’t want to avoid Gardevoir in this matchup, but you do want to emphasize Gallade. Gardevoir can still get enough Energy on it to OHKO a Golisopod, but it won’t be easy.

Night March – Slightly Unfavorable

This is the matchup I have been testing quite a bit. I have done a lot of focused play testing against my good friend and fellow PokeBeach editor Brandon Nguyen. We’ve spent a lot of time at my place testing this matchup. I also defeated two Night March decks at the League Cup I won. This isn’t to say that this matchup is favorable, because I cannot argue that the speed of Night March, the ability for it to one shot a Gardevoir, and the early game pressure Night March puts down are things that can be ignored when considering this matchup when we look a the fundamental strategy of both decks. Night March is largely unfazed by the high damage output of [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card].

When the game starts, the goal is to keep [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] off the Bench. So do everything you can to Brigette without Tapu Lele. Even if you have to [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] for it. You want your Bench to be really simple early on. The ideal Bench is three Ralts and an [card name=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] Active. If you’re going second, Alolan Vulpix is even better since it can take a hit for you, while helping you set up. This limits the Prizes that Night March can take early.

You almost always want to lead with a [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]. You want them to burn resources and throw Pokemon in the discard pile to take the knockout. This powers up [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] for later, and it presents a considerable challenge for them. If you played it correctly, [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] shouldn’t really be an option for them if they have only Ralts, Kirlia, and Oranguru to Knock Out on the Bench. They want to take Prizes quickly and make every attack be worth two Prizes. Once they have 10 Night Marchers in the discard pile, this enables Oricorio and Gallade to finish the game for you.

[cardimg name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This matchup is mainly a Prize race. You want to take Knock Outs on [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] if possible, while playing cards like [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] to prevent them from getting a Night March off the next turn. Some unskilled Night March players will have a [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Pumpkaboo” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] on their fields, or multiple [card name=”Joltik” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card]. These are ideal situations for [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card]. Generally, you want to clear the field of Night Marchers so they have to retreat to attack again next turn. Most Night March decks only play one copy of [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]. Combining [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] with [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] can be devastating for Night March players, since they need their Trades and [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] sometimes to attack again, especially if you cleared their field of Night Marchers. If you get to attack twice with [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] while making them miss an attack on a turn, you pretty much have won the game.

Sometimes they will attack with [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] to Knock Out your [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card], this is almost free Prizes for Gallade to just snatch. Play a Teammates and get a Gallade going, or have one sitting on your Bench for after Oricorio’s Supernatural Dance. Don’t hesitate to attack with Oranguru sometime too. Oranguru gets powered up very easily with Secret Spring and a [card name=”Double Colorless” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card]. He serves as a simple solution to Knock Out a Night Marcher while only yielding one Prize.

This matchup scares me a little, but there’s plenty of options against it. Like most decks in Expanded, your own practice and skill goes a long way in beating unfavorable matchups.

The Bad Starts

Sometimes you have no option but to just [card name=”N” set=”Black and White Black Star Promos” no=”BW100″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] away your opening hand. No Brigette in sight, or other Basics in your opening hand. This happens sometimes, but you have to do everything you can to just get another Ralts down. Two Ralts in play on turn one isn’t good, but it is manageable. This sour of a start gets negated if you can pull off a [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] play and get a Gardevoir out regardless. The goal is always to get a Gardevoir out. Gardevoir is so dominant that sometimes you can be down three Prizes or more before you get one out and can still win the game. One advantage is that if your opponent is Knocking Out Ralts left and right, they aren’t taking two Prizes at any time. This gives you a chance to slowly set up a [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card]. Gallade and Oranguru can help you out of bad starts as well. So if you start slow, play Rescue Stretcher to get your Ralts back and stay in the game. Resilience is very important with this deck, because once you get a Gardevoir going, you’ve got yourself a game.

This shouldn’t be an excuse to not scoop game one for the sake of time. If they get down to two Prizes and it doesn’t appear you’ve got a Gardevoir coming out anytime soon, just scoop to game two. Chances are, if you don’t have much going on, game one didn’t take too long anyway.

To Conclude

Gardevoir has become more powerful with the rise of [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card]. It has options against just about everything out there, with only a very few amount of bad matchups. Consistency is the main argument against Gardevoir, but with how much I prioritized consistency in my list, it should be very easy to get [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] going. Night March is a challenging matchup, but is possible to beat with certain strategies. Bad starts are inevitable with Stage 2 decks, but if your main attacker has 230 HP, it’s worth not scooping within the first few turns. I would’ve lost a lot more winnable games in testing and not learned a lot of valuable lessons if I had felt these challenging starts were a waste of time!

I’ll see you all in Dallas!

~Treynor

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