DAMAGE Control — How to Win a Game in Two Turns

Happy new year! I’ve been absent for a little while, as I took some time away from Pokemon during the holidays. Well, not totally, of course; I’ve been playing some TCGO, and I always keep an eye on League Cup results, even though I’m not playing in them. Still, it’s good to be back, and I have a very special deck to share, to start the new year.

Of the three Unown from Lost Thunder that reintroduced alternative win conditions to the game, [card name=”Unown” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] HAND has been by far the most successful, giving stall decks like [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]  / [card name=”Regigigas” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card]  / [card name=”Shuckle-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] in Standard a way to win without waiting for the opponent to deck out. [card name=”Unown” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] MISSING is terrible since there’s no guarantee, in either format, that an opponent even plays as many as 12 Supporters. However, [card name=”Unown” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] DAMAGE is the one with untapped potential, especially in Expanded. This is the deck I want to talk about today, and my pitch for it will be simple:

This deck wins, consistently, on turn two.

The previous sentence would be shocking to many TCG players. In a game where a player can’t act during their opponent’s turn, this means that if Unown’s opponent goes second, they only have one turn to play before they lose. I can’t stress enough how insane this is. It should make Unown DAMAGE the default deck for Expanded, the benchmark that determines whether a deck can compete in the format. Fortunately for the health of the game, though, there are ways to beat it, even when you only have one turn to do so. To explain how this is possible, I should first present the concept of the deck.

I’ve argued before that the traditional notions of aggro, control, and combo decks, useful in other TCGs, don’t really apply to Pokemon. That being said, Unown DAMAGE is unequivocally a combo deck. Your goal is to assemble the following pieces: [card name=”Team Magma’s Secret Base” set=”Double Crisis” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Weavile” set=”Steam Siege” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Reuniclus” set=”Black and White” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Klefki” set=”Steam Siege” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card], two beefy Pokemon to hold many damage counters (Magikarp & Wailord-GX, legal at Dallas Regionals, is ideal thanks to its huge 300 HP), and of course Unown DAMAGE in the Active. When this is done, you win the game.

The combo works this way: you bench Klefki from your hand. Because of Team Magma’s Secret Base, it receives two damage counters. Using Reuniclus’s Damage Swap, you move these counters to another Pokemon. You then attach Klefki to one of your Pokemon using its own Wonder Lock ability, then use Weavile’s Tear Away to take Klefki back into your hand. You’re back to the beginning, except there are two damage counters in play. Repeat this loop until there are enough damage in play, then use DAMAGE to win the game! (Actually manually repeating the loop is tedious, but your opponent should understand what’s happening.)

It may seem like that’s a lot to get together, but it’s actually easier than it looks — although you’ll need to practice to make sure you play every hand in the optimal way. In this article, we’re going to take a look at the list to understand how the deck works, then I’ll list the cards and strategies that give this deck issues, and whether they can be overcome. This will give us a better understanding of the deck’s matchups and place in the metagame.

1. The List

Players have theorized about Unown DAMAGE as soon as the card was revealed, but to give credit where credit’s due, the following list is heavily based on one that was sent to me by Belgian player and cool guy Lennert de Clercq. He played the deck at a League Challenge (as I keep repeating, Expanded is not exactly well supported in Europe) and was nice enough to provide me with his list.

[decklist name=”Unown DAMAGE” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″][pokemon amt=”23″]2x [card name=”Reuniclus” set=”Black and White” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Solosis” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”42″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Weavile” set=”Steam Siege” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Sneasel” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”73″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”21″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Unown” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Klefki” set=”Steam Siege” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Magikarp & Wailord-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM166 ” c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Ditto” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”37″]3x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Random Receiver” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Unleashed” no=”82″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”98″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Scoop Up Cyclone” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Team Magma’s Secret Base” set=”Double Crisis” no=”32″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”0″][/energy][/decklist] 

It’s not surprising that we only play two copies of every Pokemon in the deck (except [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] of course). It’s a combo deck, so we only need to assemble one of every piece of the puzzle. All the Pokemon can be searched out thanks to all the Items; the only piece of the puzzle that we need to play a full playset of is [card name=”Team Magma’s Secret Base” set=”Double Crisis” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card], because there’s no way to access it apart from drawing and [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card].

I want to discuss some choices in the list.

2-2 Alolan Ninetales-GX

[cardimg name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”132″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

[card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] is a great card when you’re looking for some specific cards, which is exactly what this deck is about. It is especially useful to look for [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card], but it will basically always find a purpose. Its other benefit is its HP. With Ninetales, Magikarp & Wailord GX, Reuniclus and Weavile in play, your Bench can hold 64 damage counters. If you have [card name=”Unown” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] in the Active spot, you just need to bench your Klefki one last time after your last loop in order to reach the required 66 counters. Since all these Pokemon are ones we need to play anyway, we don’t sacrifice anything by using Ninetales rather than another big Pokemon to receive damage counters.

One Ditto Prism Star

This Pokemon acts as both Alolan Vulpix and Sneasel, which makes it a useful part of the deck and generally the first Pokemon to search for if you have a [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] in your opening hand.

Two Ditto BCR

I like how this card only finds its way in the weirdest decks. The point of [card name=”Ditto” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] is to act as any Pokemon. Once you have a Solosis, Vulpix and Sneasel (Ditto Prism Star can substitute for either of the latter), and you fear that your opponent will KO one of them, then Ditto is the perfect backup. For example, even if your opponent brings Solosis into the Active to get an easy KO on it with Sky Return, you can always search for your other Solosis, put in onto Ditto, then [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] to evolve it on the same turn. If you’re not used to this, it works because your Pokemon has been in play for one turn (as a Ditto). Even if your opponent doesn’t take any KO and all your other Pokemon evolve, you can always play Magikarp & Wailord-GX onto Ditto, so it’s not wasted. It’s also worth noting that Ditto’s HP allows it to tank the 30 damage from Jet Punch when it’s on the Bench, unlike Solosis. However, if you only have one Ditto and no Solosis benched, your opponent can still deal the 30 damage to Ditto and prevent you from playing Solosis on top of it, so don’t only rely on it.

Three Lillie, Three Random Receiver

If you plan on ending the game within two turns, you don’t need a lot of Supporters. [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] helps a lot in setting up on your first turn, and [card name=”Random Receiver” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] acts as additional copies that also thin out your deck. Plus, you get to enjoy your opponent’s face as you reveal a bunch of never-played cards from your deck! More importantly, as an Item, Random Receiver can be found by Mysterious Guidance and [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card].

Four Order Pad, Four Trainers’ Mail

These cards help you find other Trainers and therefore set up your combo. I don’t like to rely on the coin flip of [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card], but just like in Archie’s Blastoise where a turn one heads generally all but guarantees a turn one Archie’s, a single heads on Order Pad, giving you the card you need at the right time, can be enough to win the game. [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] was a consideration, but it wasn’t effective enough, and with so many combo pieces, there’s a significant risk that Acro Bike would force you to discard one, which complicates matters.

One Scoop Up Cyclone

This is probably the biggest surprise in the list. [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] is the obvious safe option for a deck looking to assemble some cards, but [card name=”Scoop Up Cyclone” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] does three things for the deck. First, it can retrieve [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], to draw cards. Second, it can get Pokemon back in your hand to free some Bench space. As I’ll discuss later, Bench space can be an issue for this deck. Finally, you can use it to reuse Mysterious Guidance, if you have a Ditto or Ditto Prism Star on the Bench. For example, I discussed earlier how Ditto was a good backup Pokemon. If no Pokemon gets KO’d, you can still make use of it this way: evolve Vulpix into Ninetales and use Mysterious Guidance to search for Scoop Up Cyclone and another item. Then Scoop Up Cyclone Ninetales, Transform Ditto into Vulpix and evolve it again. You can get two more Items with Mysterious Guidance this way.

[premium]

2. Gameplay

[card name=”Unown” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] DAMAGE is a very linear deck. You only have one way to play, there’s absolutely no hope of winning by doing anything else than assembling your combo. You also don’t interact with your opponent’s cards in any way. This means you can easily practice the deck by yourself, even when you’re away from other players and from TCGO. It’s a good thing too, because this is not a deck you want to practice online, ever. TCGO’s animations are painfully slow: even completing one loop of [card name=”Klefki” set=”Steam Siege” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] – Damage Swap – Wonder Lock – Tear Away takes 25 seconds. Actually winning by repeating this loop enough times is agonizing (and literally impossible in Tournament mode because of the tighter time limit).

With that in mind, here’s a few things to keep in mind when you actually play the deck.

Bench Management

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

The limited space on your Bench is the reason why we can’t play too many [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]. Remember, you need a spot on the Bench to play down Klefki in order to initiate the combo. Weavile, Reuniclus and Ninetales are the most important to play down. Magikarp & Wailord GX can come later, as does Unown itself. If you have Klefki, don’t hesitate to play it down on turn one. You can use Wonder Lock on turn two to stow it away while you get the rest of your combo pieces, and then use Tear Away to put it back in your hand to initiate the game-winning sequence.

Once you have [card name=”Reuniclus” set=”Black and White” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], Klefki, [card name=”Weavile” set=”Steam Siege” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Team Magma’s Secret Base” set=”Double Crisis” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] in play, you can start using the combo to KO your own Pokemon in order to free up space on your Bench. Your opponent will take Prizes, but it doesn’t matter if you’re winning on the same turn anyway! This trick is mainly used to discard Shaymin-EX from your Bench, but you can also get rid of a spare Ditto or even Unown itself in some situations.

Sequencing

The order in which you play cards can change your odds of assembling the combo. [card name=”Random Receiver” set=”Fates Collide” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] can be played at any time in order to exchange it for a [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card]. This is useful in order to thin out your deck, but I wouldn’t do it on turn one (except if you haven’t played Lillie yet, of course), because you want to keep Random Receivers in your deck for turn two if you get hit by [card name=”Red Card” set=”XY” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card], Let Loose or [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card].

[card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] should be played after cards that find non-Trainers from your deck, like [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]; however, you should play it before [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card], so you can choose the card found by Order Pad depending on what Trainers’ Mail gets you.

If you have [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] and Shaymin-EX in hand, you should play Lillie first. It’s a bit counter-intuitive, because we are used to using draw Abilities first, to keep the option of playing a non-draw supporter like [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]. However, in this deck, Lillie is your only Supporter, and it does the same thing or better than Shaymin-EX, so it’s better to use it first, since it doesn’t take a spot on the Bench.

Assembling the Combo

For the most part, you can get Reuniclus, Weavile and Klefki in any order. However, Reuniclus needs Rare Candy, so it should be your priority if you can. For example, if you have [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] in hand, you should get Rare Candy and Level Ball with Mysterious Guidance. In Expanded as well, Alolan Ninetales-GX turns out to be a practical way to set up Stage 2 Pokemon!

If you keep this advice in mind, and practice, you should get a turn two win a majority of the time — I’m going to say that the odds are around 80%, although it’s only an estimate.

3. Counters

Obviously, in a real game of Pokemon, you’re not actually playing by yourself. Even if you don’t interact with your opponent’s cards or game plan, they can interact with yours, typically by Knocking Out your Pokemon. If you can win the game on turn two, then your opponent needs to make their first (and second, if they go first) turn count. They won’t actually win the game, of course, but depending on what they play, they can just prevent you from winning, making their victory inevitable. Here are the things that beat Unown. I’ve separated them between hard counters, which outright beat Unown, and soft counters, which decreases its odds of assembling the combo, but don’t prevent it outright.

3.1. Hard Counters

• [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card]: If your opponent starts Wobbuffet, you lose, plain and simple, since you can’t use Wonder Lock or Tear Away. Even if your opponent can’t attack with Wobbuffet (even if they can, Sneasel has Psychic Resistance, so they can’t win the game this way), they can still wait and eventually deck you out, assuming they have any way to put cards back in their deck. [card name=”Primal Groudon-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] has Cynthia, and hit-and-run decks like [card name=”Donphan” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Hitmontop” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] can just use their other attackers to win anyway.
• [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]: If you go first, Trevenant can be in play on turn one thanks to [card name=”Phantump” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card]’s Ascension, so you will almost always be Item locked before your turn two. This makes winning impossible, even with a perfect hand, because you need to play Rare Candy on turn two.
• [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card]: Similarly to Trevenant, Seismitoad-EX will have the opportunity to Quaking Punch before you can get your winning turn. They do need a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], which can elude them, but if they find it, you lose.
• [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card]: Alolan Muk prevents Unown from using its DAMAGE ability (as well as Klefki, both Ditto, and Shaymin-EX), so you can’t win the game if it is in play. That makes it a hard counter, but only if the Alolan Muk player goes first. If they go second, Unown can win the game before Muk gets into play.
• [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]: Same thing as Muk, except Garbotoxin also needs a Tool. That’s rarely an issue for a Garbodor deck, though.

3.2. Soft Counters

• [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card]: Silent Lab shuts down the deck for the same reason than Alolan Muk does, and Parallel City removes the space you need on your Bench. The reason these cards are only soft counters is that if you have Team Magma’s Secret Base in hand, you can just remove them. However, if you don’t, both Silent Lab and Parallel City make it harder to find it. Silent Lab prevents you from using Shaymin-EX’s ability, while Parallel City prevents you from benching it at all.
• [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card]: This is an interesting inclusion to the list. Sudowoodo is an issue in two ways. The first is that it makes it harder to maneuver when you’re setting up your combo pieces. For example, you can only afford to use Shaymin-EX if you have Reuniclus, Klefki and Weavile in play (including the Bench spot for Klefki) in order to KO your own Shaymin afterwards, or Scoop Up Cyclone to take it back afterwards. Otherwise, you will fill out your Bench and won’t have enough space for your key Pokemon. The other issue with Sudowoodo is that even if you can set up your usual board of Ninetales, Magikarp & Wailord GX, Reuniclus, and Weavile, and then play down Unown and bring it to the Active, your benched Pokemon can only hold 64 damage counters between the four of them. You can solve this issue by knocking out Ninetales and playing the second Magikarp & Wailord GX instead, but it’s one more card to find.
• Hand disruption: [card name=”Red Card” set=”XY” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card]’s Let Loose can complicate matters for Unown. It’s not a reliable counter, but it’s better than nothing. Stronger forms of hand disruption, like the Exodia variant’s Red Card plus [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] plus [card name=”Peeking Red Card” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] combo, stray into hard counter territory.

Unlike hard counters, soft counters can be beaten. If you want to play this deck, I advise you to practice under constraints even when playing solitaire with the deck. For example, play your first turn normally, then shuffle your deck and draw four new cards, as if your opponent just used Let Loose; or play as if Sudowoodo was in play. Your win rate will not be as good, but it’s useful practice.

3.3. Modifying the List

The above list is huge – Unown is really committed to this “66 counters” thing! Fortunately, you can make some changes in the list above to fit some techs that can help you deal better with some of these counters.

[cardimg name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The first card I want to mention is [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card]. Even as a one-of, it can be good to counter Garbotoxin, should you go second against a Garbodor deck. [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] can find it if necessary. Some possible cuts for it are the third [card name=”Random Receiver” set=”Fates Collide” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], the third [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], or even a Sneasel. ([card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] acts as a second Sneasel.)

Against Sudowoodo, which is a pretty common card in Expanded, and easy to find on turn one, an interesting inclusion is a [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]. With it, the usual four-Pokemon Bench can now hold the 66 counters required by Unown’s Ability. Note that you still have to be careful with your Bench even with Fighting Fury Belt. Unown can only hit the Bench at the end, when all the damage counters are in place and you don’t need a spot for Klefki anymore. Therefore, if you already have Unown into play, for example if you started with it, you’ll have to KO it yourself and play it again later.

If you run Fighting Fury Belt, you should also play [card name=”Adventure Bag” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card] instead of a Float Stone, as it can grab Float Stone and Fighting Fury Belt, and makes a better target for Mysterious Guidance, Trainer’s Mail and Order Pad. [card name=”Bodybuilding Dumbbells” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] are also an option instead of Fighting Fury Belt, but Fighting Fury Belt is better since it can protect your Basic Pokemon on the first turn, especially Solosis.

Finally, other Supporters are an option in order to beat some decks. Quaking Punch can be negated by [card name=”Pokémon Ranger” set=”Steam Siege” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card], for instance, and [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] could bypass Wobbuffet if there’s another Pokemon on the Bench (which should only happen if the opponent didn’t start with Wobbuffet Active; if they did, they shouldn’t bench anything else). The issue with this inclusion is that it ruins the Lillie / Random Receiver engine. Plus, having to play a non-draw Supporter and then only rely on your items and Shaymin-EX to draw your combo is unsafe. However, it might be possible to play such supporters if you completely change the draw engine. I imagine such a version of the deck would run [card name=”Bicycle” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card], and it would also be an opportunity to run [card name=”Gladion” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] to avoid issues with Prizes.

4. Matchups and Recap

Unown’s game plan is the same whatever it’s up against, so there’s no point in giving a detailed explanation of how to play every matchup. I just want to summarize how it does against the field.

Decks that play fair and win just by taking Prizes quickly and more efficiently than their opponents are no match for Unown. Such decks include [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card]’s [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card]  / [card name=”Flareon” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], as well as many less-played decks (Night March, Lost March, etc.) They cannot efficiently disrupt Unown’s game plan, and their only hope is to rely on Sudowoodo and sometimes Marshadow. [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]  / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] is an interesting case, as its aggression can be powerful enough if Unown doesn’t get a great start. It’s not unrealistic for Buzzwole-GX to get a double KO with Jet Punch on the first turn (Knocking Out a Solosis on the Bench) and keep going from there, attacking the weak spots in Unown’s set up every turn.

Stall decks like [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] and Shock Lock are also basically free since they can’t do much, especially with two turns at most. These decks play on a much slower scale, and they don’t have the means to slow Unown down.

[card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] variants can go either way, depending on how much disruption they run. The Exodia variant and Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] are basically impossible to beat, but more traditional variants like Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] are much easier. Variants that use Garbodor and Alolan Muk tend to win if they go first, but can’t remove Abilites quickly enough if they go second. Field Blower also makes Garbodor beatable even if they go first.

Trevenant and any deck running Wobbuffet (see Caleb’s latest article) are autolosses, and there’s nothing to do about that.

So, should you play Unown DAMAGE? Although I initially considered the deck for Dallas regionals, I can’t recommend it in the current metagame. Disruptive Zoroark-GX decks, especially the Exodia variant, are rising in popularity, and that’s not a matchup you want to face, ever. Wobbuffet seems to be on the rise as well in order to counter these decks, and there’s always a risk, in a big event, to lose some games because of your own bad luck. Prizes, especially, can be an issue, since Unown plays so many two-ofs that are needed to win.

[cardimg name=”Unown” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”90″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

That said, I’m not trying to waste your time with this guide. Depending on your local metagame, Unown DAMAGE could be a very solid metacall for a smaller event. I also believe that if the metagame shifts, whether as a response to Zoroark’s dominance, or as a result of hypothetical bans, then Unown could be in a strong position. It’s a deck that literally wins on turn two if an opponent doesn’t run one of the right counters, don’t take it lightly!

Decks that win before the opponent can play have played a role in Pokemon for a long time. Long-time players may remember decks like Shuppet Donk that just tried to win before the opponent could do anything. [card name=”Latios-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY72″ c=”name”][/card] briefly resurrected this trend even after the rules changed (in 2013) to prevent the player going first from attacking on turn one, and actually was a force in Japan before [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] got banned. [card name=”Shiftry” set=”Next Destinies” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card] got emergency banned when [card name=”Forest of Giant Plants” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] was released to prevent a combo that could win on turn one. For more examples, just look at the Unlimited format, which is unplayable because every deck wins on turn one.

As a deck that only wins on turn two, Unown DAMAGE is unique. It’s healthier than something like Shiftry, for sure, but it’s not exactly the kind of deck that should exist in the game. Even though the opponent gets at least one turn to act, it only makes Unown’s matchups very polarized: a deck can either have no way to interact with the combo, in which case it loses, or it has a way to do so, in which case it generally wins. (It depends on what the actual interaction is, of course.)

There will come a time when the decks that Unown beats overwhelm those that Unown loses to. At this turning point, some smart players will play Unown and do well with it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if players call for a ban. The hard part is to figure out when that turning point will come – it may take a long time. Still, even if Unown is sitting under the radar for now, it’s a threat to the format in the long run. At least we have time to prepare!

That’s all from me today! Good luck to all of you playing in League Cups or other events, wherever you are. I hope 2019 brings you success!

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