The Evolution of Ralts in Expanded

Hey PokeBeach readers, I know it’s been a while since I’ve written. The last time I wrote, it was before Dallas Regionals, where I was testing a [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] list in Expanded for that tournament. I made a Top 32 finish in Dallas and have since been confident with [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]. I was incredibly excited to see that my upcoming cups here in Nebraska were going to be in the Expanded format. My list has evolved quite a bit with the lessons I learned in Dallas as well as through some further testing, and I believe that [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] is an incredible play for Salt Lake City. The Expanded format has evolved to something slightly different compared to Dallas, and I believe a revisit on the topic of Gardevoir should happen.

[cardimg name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”140″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

There’s different solid decks in Expanded since the release of Ultra Prism. The set didn’t add too much to Expanded, but the format shifted based on the results in Dallas and in Costa Mesa. As such, my list has changed a bit since Dallas, and there are new decks to tech and develop strategies against. To the dismay of some and joy of others, [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”name”][/card] is still around. Its impact is still felt and can surely even give a powerful deck like Gardevoir a run for its money. I want to go over my current list and also go over strategies that [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”name”][/card] decks use to beat you. But first, I will go over my assessment of the Expanded metagame.

Expanded Post-Costa Mesa

I think that the biggest surprise to everyone was that Zoroark didn’t win. The clear favorite and best deck in format [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”name”][/card] with an [card name=”Exeggutor” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”5″ c=”name”][/card] tech lost to [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] a deck that was made popular by some of the better players in the game in Dallas. The deck has major power against [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] decks but is hard to pilot well and isn’t as consistent as Zoroark decks are. This made it still fairly unpopular for Costa Mesa, however its popularity boomed after it took a Regionals win.

In no particular order, these are what I feel to be the best decks in Expanded.

• Zoroark-GX / Exeggcute
• Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]
• [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]

The format is really diverse. There are other decks that I left off here such as [card name=”Gyarados” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] / Garbodor, and [card name=”Glaceon-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”39″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Barbaracle” set=”Fates Collide” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card]. The Regionals in Stuttgart even had a [card name=”Donphan” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card] deck make it into the Top 16. There are clearly other decks in the format that are powerful, but the five I listed above are going to be by far the most popular decks. This list is so much different and diverse than my list that I made back in January.

• Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX
• Zoroark-GX / Seismitoad-EX / [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]
• Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card]
• Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card]

Zoroark-GX decks are still popular; however, the meta has become a little more diverse as players try to counter Zoroark-GX decks. I foresaw Night March being edged out of the format, even though some players have had some success with it. Zoroark-GX just does what Night March did much better in regards to taking OHKOs, as well as chaining [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”name”][/card] also just doesn’t care that much about [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card].

[cardimg name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Most of the fringe Zoroark-GX variants got edged out by the superior Zoroark-GX / Lycanroc-GX and Zoroark-GX / Exeggcute variants. These two are clearly a step above the other ones that players were testing for Dallas, and recent results in Costa Mesa and Germany prove that. Garbodor’s stock rose as a result of Zoroark-GX’s success. I was surprised to see [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] make an appearance once again in Expanded as well. The disruption of [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card] combined with Garbodor does an excellent job at stymieing Zoroark-GX’s power.

Let’s go over how Gardevoir still beats non-Zoroark-GX decks in the meta, and how it still should be a solid play for Salt Lake City.

Evolution: My Deck Changes Since Dallas

I’ll include my Dallas list to help refresh everyone’s memory. I know that one of our own writers, Ryan Allred is a huge fan of Gardevoir-GX in Expanded, and his style of building the deck is a lot different than mine. My Dallas list was modified recently, but still retains the style that my original list had, based on Connor Lavelle‘s list. So I’m not too original, but these lists were modified heavily from the originals. So here’s my Dallas list.

[decklist name=”Dallas Gardevoir” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″][pokemon amt=”17″]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]3x [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”92″ 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=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”21″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/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][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]3x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/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=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ 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=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ 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=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]8x [card name=”Fairy Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”8″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

This list is still solid. It netted me a 7-2 finish day one with an abysmal 2-3 performance day two. I think I drew worse during my day two games than any of the 150+ games I’ve tested with this list.

Normally I try to play something fairly established, in which case, I would’ve played a [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”name”][/card] variant for this tournament. However, mirror matches are a thing, so I was willing to test a more fringe deck a ton of times. Plus I also had success with the deck before Zoroark-GX came out, winning a League Cup with it.

Most would say that your worst matchup is Night March, but I strongly disagree with that. I went into detail in my last article on how to handle that matchup, so be sure to check that out. Anyway, I’ll bring the conversation back to my list here which changed after some more testing and seeing what other successful players played.

[premium]

Here’s my current list.

[decklist name=”New Gardevoir” amt=”60″ caption=”undefined” cname=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″][pokemon amt=”17″]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=”Plasma Storm” no=”59″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ 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″]3x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/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″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ 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″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/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]3x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/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]1x [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]8x [card name=”Fairy Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”8″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”103″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

The Pokemon

So I stuck to my guns with the single [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card]. This has always been enough for me, but I can see why some can justify having two. Gardevoir-GX has been enough for me to take OHKOs on [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] however, Gardevoir-GX can’t take an easy OHKO if you’re under a [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] lock. Because of this, I can see the inclusion of a second Gallade to improve that matchup.

The three [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] stayed and are incredibly useful for grabbing a one-of Supporter, since we don’t play [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] like other decks do, not to mention its attacking capability. I also stuck with the [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] mostly because it’s really easy to drop your hand down with Secret Spring in play, so you can draw a card or two pretty easily. It’s also an attacker that has saved me in many different situations.

[card name=”Oricorio” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] is the card I think about the most in this list. Night March is almost gone, but this deck has a near autoloss to Night March without Oricorio. However, Oricorio is even more solid now, since it hits [card name=”Lucario-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM100″ c=”name”][/card] for Weakness, and I’ve won some games off of players that weren’t conscious about their discarded Pokemon.

I still haven’t found a need for [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card]. It helps slightly against Zoroark-GX decks, but these decks tend to want to chain Hex Maniac, and need to take two hit Knock Outs against your Gardevoir-GX anyway. These Zoroark-GX decks have a lot of options for dealing with Sudowoodo and can easily use these options to Knock Out your Gallade in one hit anyway. Alolan Muk and four Exeggcute using Propogate, followed by a Hex Maniac are the two strategies I can think of. Another annoying thing that Zoroark-GX decks with [card name=”Exeggutor” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”5″ c=”name”][/card] like to do is to Guzma up your Sudowoodo and start using Blockade. This buys them plenty of precious time.

Two Kirlia

This was one of the bigger changes I made. I was so convinced on three [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], and it is still good; however, I needed some space and two Kirlia seemed to be enough. Two is the baseline, whereas three was to help draw into the Kirlia, and ensure a couple of Kirlia on turn two if we didn’t get a [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] down. Two has been sufficient in my latest testing, and so I’ve been fine with having the extra space from this cut.

One Shaymin-EX

[card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] was something I was really considering for Dallas, since it is always nice to draw more cards when you already used a Supporter and just need that one extra piece of [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] plus [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card]. Night March was one of the biggest concerns I had, so I ultimately made the decision to leave it out of the deck. However, after seeing Ryan Allred include a copy in his deck, as well as there being substantially less Night March now, I felt that it was a good inclusion to the deck now.

Like I said earlier, this was mostly just to get to draw more cards in a turn if I was stretching for a card. I found in my last tournaments, I was able to use [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] more effectively with the extra draw.

[cardimg name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The Trainers

My supporter line stayed relatively the same. I cut an [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] for a [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card]. The Cynthia can easily go back to being an N, but the Cynthia helps my mid game a bit more, especially if I can’t get a [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] going. I’m still fine with the single [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card], as well as single [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], even though that Guzma count cost me a game in Dallas against Andrew Mahone. Usually you can just one shot whatever your opponent sends Active with Gardevoir-GX, so prizing the Guzma isn’t too big of a deal. You normally have a slow start as well, so sniping key Pokemon your opponent has isn’t that much of a priority.

[card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] is still an absolute must-play for me. I can’t tell you how dominant a [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] is in the Active spot with no damage, two or three Energy, and Ability lock up. It makes a response from your opponent incredibly difficult, many times leaving them without doing any meaningful damage to your Gardevoir-GX. Your Gardevoir-GX can easily stack two or three more Energy on the next turn and OHKO most things in the game, as well as buy you time to get other Gardevoir-GX and Gallade powered up. Hex Maniac is also devastating to Zoroark-GX decks to have to deal with.

So there’s a bit of change here in the Item category, but a lot of cards stayed the same too. Two [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] is incredibly important in a deck with Stage 2 Pokemon. When your initial Gardevoir-GX gets Knocked Out, you usually need to respond pretty quickly, and your Rescue Stretcher can get back your single copy of Gallade to respond or grab a Gardevoir-GX. Rescue Stretcher is so important, and I couldn’t ever see going down below two.

I debated going down to one [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], but I can only justify that change with two Gallade in the list, since the Choice Band is so important for your math to take an OHKO on a [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”name”][/card]. I stuck with two and one Gallade because Choice Band makes both [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]  very potent attackers.

[card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] is still an incredible card for hurting Sky Field decks. Not only that, but I manage to get my Shaymin-EX and Tapu Lele-GX off my Bench every game with this card. It’s really nice to have turn one against decks that don’t play Stadiums, since you can possibly screw up their opening with [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card]Getting your own Parallel City down before a [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] player gets theirs down first can keep your Bench at max capacity for most of the game as well.

Three VS Seeker

It was hard to cut back on this, but I just hated having a hand full of [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] early. It happened often, and I felt that four was really redundant, especially with Twilight GX being an option in this deck. I can see cutting somewhere else to going back to four. I know that some Gardevoir-GX lists only play two [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card], so maybe that can be your cut.

One Field Blower

I toyed around with two of these, but found the Drampa-GX / Garbodor matchup to be fine, even without Abilities. If you have a single Gardevoir-GX out and can keep it in the game for a while, you can build up enough regular Fairy Energy on it to take Knock Outs on Drampa-GX. The biggest concern is them removing your [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”XY” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] with Righteous Edge.

With that in mind, I still felt the single [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] would be nice to grab with [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] and get back with Twilight GX.

The Energy

I don’t have much to say here other than that an 8/4 split of Fairy to [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] has been more than enough.

Let’s talk matchups.

Matchups in the New Expanded

Like I mentioned earlier, there are quite a few differences in Expanded since Dallas. I’ve made my changes and have done my testing against the new decks. I’ll explain how I handle each of the matchups against my top five decks in Expanded.

Zoroark / Eggs or Zoroark / Lycanroc and How This Matchup Isn’t a Slam Dunk

Zoroark-GX seems like it has a lot going against it against Gardevoir-GX, but they can very easily steamroll a slow Gardevoir-GX start. Zoroark-GX can dominate Gardevoir-GX just like it does against every other deck with a fast start plus late game [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] chains. Generally speaking, I find that they will beat you if you cannot get a turn two [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]. Zoroark-GX decks are so dang consistent that they’re sure to take a Knock Out by turn two. Being able to respond to it with a Gardevoir-GX swinging is enough to keep yourself in the game.

If you can follow up your first Gardevoir-GX with a Gallade, it will give you some time to build up another Gardevoir-GX. This matchup is fairly dynamic, so I can’t simply go into exchanges, but take my word for it. This matchup hinges on your turn two.

[card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] is key here, but you cannot get a Gallade out on its own. The first Stage 2 that you get out has to almost always be a Gardevoir-GX. The main reason for this is because you need to buy yourself time, and Gardevoir-GX is almost always at least two turns worth of time to set up more attackers. Gallade gets Knocked Out way too easily for you to have that ever be your single attacker out at a time. I would say that this is the biggest mistake most new players to the deck make.

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

A really positive exchange is getting your first Gardevoir-GX out, having it take a hit, then evolving one of your Ralts into a Gallade and OHKOing a Zoroark-GX. This give you time to stack Energy on that damaged Gardevoir-GX and have it take another OHKO later.

[card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] adds another dimension of difficulty to this matchup. Keeping your Bench to three for the whole game to play around Dangerous Rogue GX is really important, but it’s difficult. Thanks to [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card], it’s really easy to get away with having only two Ralts down on your first turn. The first Ralts almost always gets Knocked Out, but the second one almost always becomes a Gardevoir-GX. This doesn’t take much Bench space to pull off; however, it’s still hard to keep yourself confined to three. [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] is so clutch in this matchup too. It drops your Bench down for you.

I’d say in 70% of my games though, I get a turn two Gardevoir-GX and don’t have any issues at all keeping up with Zoroark-GX decks. A common game for me is getting four or five Stage 2’s in a game.

The Mirror

I really hate this mirror. Luckily for us, Gardevoir-GX isn’t very common. This mirror is mostly who draws better, but there’s some degree of strategy to it. It’s hard for a Gardevoir-GX to OHKO an opposing one; however, it is very easy to Knock Out a Gardevoir-GX that OHKOs another Gardevoir-GX due to how much Energy a Gardevoir-GX needs to hit 230 damage. I wouldn’t really recommend stretching for an OHKO on a Gardevoir-GX with one or two Energy on it due to this. But if you can play a [card name=”Hex Maniac” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] as well as get enough Energy down, then go for that Knock Out!

Generally, I would recommend swinging with one or two Energy down on a Gardevoir-GX and bait your opponent into taking an OHKO. Swinging with Gallade is great too, since you can put damage down on a Gardevoir-GX, and put your opponent in a position where they have to commit three Energy to Gardevoir, and it’s liable to get return KO’d.

It’s hard to strategize for this mirror. It’s so dynamic.

Drampa-GX / Garbodor

I find this slightly favorable. One of those reasons is that [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t an easy deck to pilot, and the vast majority of players don’t play it optimally. This is especially true since Gardevoir-GX presents some challenges for it. Gardevoir-GX doesn’t really care too much about the Parallel City, nor does it care too much about Righteous Edge, since it plays basic Energy. Twilight GX can eliminate Trashalanche from the game too.

Garbotoxin is the only real issue for Gardevoir, but that isn’t too bad since you can get away with just chipping away damage with a basic Fairy Energy on a Gardevoir-GX. Gallade can also put in some work if you keep your Items out of your discard pile, which isn’t too difficult to pull off.

I don’t approach this matchup too differently. I get a Gardevoir-GX out turn two or three, and just start attacking. You can attach a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] every so often to get that burst of Energy you need to hit 180 and OHKO a [card name=”Drampa-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card]. But you’re very content with a 230 HP Gardevoir-GX that is very hard for Drampa-GX / Garbodor to Knock Out. The removal of [card name=”Po Town” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] from these decks is very welcome for a Stage 2 deck like ours.

Seismitoad-EX / Garbodor

I hate Item lock decks since they’re so hard to predict against. They can make you brick at any time, and Garbotoxin is way more potent here with [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] boosting [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card]’s damage. This matchup is really tough, since they will be removing your Energy as often as they can, and you cannot play Items or use Secret Spring. So, you will be two shotting the army of Seismitoad while Poison damage racks up on your Gardevoir-GX. You have to keep slowly getting out Gardevoir-GX and find your [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] early to retreat away from Poison damage.

Getting Gallade to Knock Out their Garbotoxin [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]is a really nice strategy since it could potentially restore your Abilities. Having your Abilities back for even a single turn can turn the game around and help you get your Energy down. [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] helps a lot in general since it influences your top decks, which is invaluable under Item lock. You also want to keep the [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] off the board since the Seismitoad-EX player plays three copies of [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card].

[cardimg name=”Garbodor” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”54″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Your biggest hope is that you can stack a few Fairy Energy on a single Gardevoir-GX and take some OHKOs, but this is pretty unlikely. If you attach a single Fairy to your Active and start building up a Benched Gardevoir-GX, the Benched Gardevoir’s Energy will be relatively safe due to [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”XY” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] only being able to hit the Active. If your opponent has to take some time with your first Gardevoir-GX, the second one might have enough Energy on it to take some OHKOs. Attach [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] only if you can take a Knock Out and you need it for that particular turn. Use Twilight GX to get your Energy back too.

Conclusion

[card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] is still a force to be reckoned with in Expanded. I actually feel that its position in the meta has strengthened with the increase of [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] decks and with the decks positive matchups against the other decks that have risen to combat Zoroark-GX’s dominance of the format. But like every deck in the game, you have to practice it and play out of the bad starts you might get with the deck.

The deck rarely fails to give a chance in every game I’ve played with it, and for every bad start I’ve had, I’ve had a lot more explosive starts with two or three Stage 2’s on board by turn three. This deck’s consistency and its ability to blow away other decks with sheer damage as well as high HP makes it a very solid play, regardless of Zoroark-GX being in the Expanded meta.

Salt Lake City is one of the last Expanded events this season, and I absolutely believe that a player that tests Gardevoir-GX well and knows how to approach the matchups can make day two, and maybe even take a Top 8 spot in a US Regional.

I’m super close to my Worlds invite at the time of this writing (364 / 400), so I will probably be taking Madison off and save some cash to make Internationals even less of a stretch for my wallet to handle. So, I will probably be seeing you guys there and will be writing an article before the tournament detailing my thoughts on Standard, which I haven’t wrote about since last year!

See you all around,

Treynor

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