Charging Up to Victory ⁠— The Many Uses of Naganadel

By: Stephane Ivanoff · Posted Posted onSep 22, 2019 at 11:30 PM · 0 Comments

[cardimg name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”230″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

On the morning of the finals of the Worlds Championship this year, I joked that [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] had to be the best card in the format, since it was in both of the finalists’ decks. Of course, both players used it for very different reasons. In Henry Brand’s deck, Naganadel-GX provided [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] with the Venom Shot attack, to snipe damaged Tag Teams or [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] on the Bench. In Shintaro Ito’s deck, Naganadel-GX was a draw engine more than anything, capitalizing on the high number of Ultra Beasts in his deck to provide him with more cards thanks to its Ultra Conversion Ability. He also included a Psychic Energy to have the Venom Shot option, though. In addition, Naganadel-GX was also the centerpiece of Xander Pero’s Open-winning deck, proving its incredible versatility. Whether it’s because many Ultra Beasts are among the best cards in the format right now, or because an attacker that doubles as a draw engine is a fundamentally powerful combination (the real answer is both), Naganadel-GX has a lot of potential and I’m sure it will keep seeing play in various decks throughout the season.

One of the designers’ favorite Pokémon must be [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card], because there’s another recent card that offers the same kind of versatility: the non-GX Naganadel itself! For example, in a game I played recently on TCGO, I opened with two [card name=”Poipole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] and my opponent, going first, searched for [card name=”Tapu Fini” set=”Unified Minds” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] as his first action of the game. The joke was on him, though: I wasn’t playing [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card], but [card name=”Quagsire” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card]. Tapu Fini is not terrible in that matchup, but it’s not the win condition he hoped for. And there are even more decks that can make use of Naganadel!

Let’s delve a little into theory: Why is Naganadel strong? One of my main issues with the current Standard format, which I keep mentioning in every other article, and also one I share with many other players, is how it appeals to Basic Pokémon, and especially big, multiple-Prize Basic Pokémon⁠—Tag Teams above all. Although [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] all play fairly differently; what they have in common that their basic gist is to put a bunch of Basic Energy on big HP Pokémon, whether that’s thanks to [card name=”Tapu Koko Prism Star” set=”Team Up” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] (and then Full Blitz), Fairy Song, or [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card]. Other strategies, such as using a draw engine in order to access your techs, locking some aspect of your opponent’s play (such as Items or Abilities), or even using a variety of weaker but more situational attacks from one-Prize attackers, are all either absent or weak. And these are all strategies that we’ve seen fairly recently in Standard (and that are viable in Expanded)!
When the best decks all count on the fact that you want a bunch of Basic Energy in play, then it makes sense that Naganadel, a Pokémon that excels at getting Energy into play, would be effective.

Therefore, in order to try something a little bit different in this article, I’d like to talk about three different decks, all of which use Naganadel as a central point in their strategy. Two of these decks are meta decks, and one is rogue. In each case, I’ll talk about how I would play the deck. Also, when you’re building a deck using Naganadel, it is tempting to include Naganadel-GX (and even the older [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”56″ c=”from”][/card]) in the deck, so we’ll also think about whether they can fit or not!

[premium]

Blacephalon-GX / Naganadel

Since Naganadel was released in Lost Thunder, Blacephalon-GX was always its partner of choice. Together, the duo won countless League Cups and even a few Regionals. Shintaro Ito’s second place at Worlds, and more recently Martin Guilbert’s Top 4 finish at Sheffield Regionals, prove that the deck is enduring. It’s still one of the best decks of the current format, and a strong choice in an unknown metagame. The synergy between Blacephalon-GX and Naganadel is obvious, even without taking into account that, as Ultra Beasts, they benefit from some the same support cards such as [card name=”Ultra Space” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card].

[cardimg name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

There was a lot of talk about Blacephalon-GX before Worlds: we saw players of all calibers try out ideas as varied as [card name=”Ninetales” set=”Team Up” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Persian-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card], and more. However, none of these were very successful in the end. The 2016 World Champion, Shintaro Ito, defined the deck would be played with his second place list, featuring two Naganadel-GX, four Welder, and two [card name=”Heatran-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], among other things.
The evolutionary line of four Poipole, three Naganadel, and two Naganadel-GX is something I thought about and tested quite a bit before Worlds, although many people dismissed it because you couldn’t afford to discard your Ultra Beasts in that deck. That’s why I felt vindicated when I saw Shintaro’s list. To be honest, I was missing the other innovation that made it good: playing four Welder. Blacephalon-GX lists used to play four [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] and four [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] (or maybe a bit less), and three Welder, but Shintaro turned the deck into a full Welder deck. Welder works great combined with Ultra Conversion, because of the general rule that card draw is good combined with card draw. That’s not just me making a joke: Ultra Conversion in a deck where you mainly use Cynthia and Lillie is not amazing, because you’ll either reshuffle your hand with Cynthia, or you’ll be stuck not using a Supporter. However, with Ultra Conversion and Welder, there’s no such conflict. Instead, you can get a high number of cards in hand, which will let you draw even more cards the next turn with Welder and Ultra Conversion, etc.–even [card name=”Heat Factory Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] can also help you achieve this goal! In addition, the more cards you have in your hand, the higher your odds of assembling combinations of cards, such as two [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card]. This is what lets the deck comfortably run Custom Catcher, which as we know is one of the most important cards in the format.
Shintaro Ito’s genius was understanding that in this format, getting this kind of hand was the more important thing. That is why he changed the deck from focusing on [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] to focusing on Welder. Most of the time, you want to draw into your Energy so you can play them with Welder, so Beast Ring, as strong as it is, is not as central to the deck. This is why he made the surprising cut to three Beast Rings.

Not much has changed in the deck since Worlds. Most players added the fourth Beast Ring back to the deck but I’m not sure it is an improvement. At the very least, I think playing one more Energy is probably worth it if you’re going to play four Beast Rings.
Martin Guilbert made Top 4 in Sheffield with a list using [card name=”Bill’s Analysis” set=”Team Up” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card], which in my opinion is a good choice. I’ve explained recently how my testing group and I came to consider Bill’s Analysis as much better than [card name=”Hapu” set=”Unified Minds” no=”200″ c=”name”][/card] in [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card], and I think the same reasoning applies here. Some of the most important cards to find with this deck include Beast Ring and Custom Catcher, cards that Bill’s Analysis is better suited than Hapu at finding.

Martin lost in Top 4 to the eventual champion David Ferreira, piloting a [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] list with two [card name=”Fairy Charm UB” set=”Team Up” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card]. While it is possible to deal with the first Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX with Heatran-GX, the second one is impossible to OHKO. In my opinion, a way to deal with this is to use one copy of [card name=”Turtonator” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card], as a backup attacker. Like [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card], Turtonator gets OHKOs based on how much Energy you have in play, so it fits in the deck’s gameplan. It does require three Energy and isn’t an Ultra Beast, but it can be grabbed by [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]. In addition, it doesn’t get KO’d by [card name=”Tapu Fini” set=”Unified Minds” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card], and isn’t blocked by things like: Fairy Charm UB, [card name=”Fairy Charm Ability” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Bronzong” set=”Team Up” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] cards that are bothersome for the deck’s other attackers. This makes Turtonator a good finisher, as long as you keep Energy and use [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] on it.

With this in mind, here is my current list:

[decklist name=”Blacephalon Naga” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″][pokemon amt=”16″]3x [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Poipole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”55″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Heatran-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Turtonator” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”50″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”195″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”28″]4x [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Bill’s Analysis” set=”Team Up” no=”133″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Ultra Space” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Heat Factory Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”16″]15x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”EX Emerald” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”15″][/card]1x [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

I’ve decided to cut the Psychic Energy to add another Fire Energy. While [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] is great in theory, I found that it was hard to attack with it, with many decks currently running [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card]. Having one more Fire Energy to use with Welder seemed more important, and you can always keep your Beast Energy Prism Star for Naganadel-GX if you believe Venom Shot will decide the game.

The [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”56″ c=”from”][/card] has seen play in the deck last season, mainly as a way to expedite the Stall and Control matchups by using Stinger-GX, which basically takes three Prizes for you, while also activating Beast Ring for the rest of the game. If you’re particularly worried about [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] Control, it’s an option in the deck, but I don’t think it’s worth it, especially since it’s a winnable matchup already. This is as good a time as any to mention that, if you’re facing the [card name=”Poipole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] Stall deck that some people are talking about, you can beat it by dealing 50 damage to Poipole first and then using Bursting Burn to KO it from Burn damage, which means you still take a Prize.

Turtonator / Naganadel

[cardimg name=”Turtonator” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”50″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

If you like the Turtonator tech in the list above, and/or rogue decks in general, you might be interested in this variant. Joël Nguyen, a French player who got his Worlds invite last year by playing basically only Blacephalon-GX, recently made Top 4 at a League Cup using a Turtonator / [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] deck. Since then, I’ve seen a similar deck on TCGO. I don’t have his list, but I an see several advantages to using Turtonator as your main attacker over Blacephalon-GX:

  • It’s a non-Pokemon-GX attacker. You can play the whole game using non-Pokémon-GX, which generally makes your prize trades better. Given that Blacephalon-GX already trades favorably with Tag Team decks, that might not be a good enough reason by itself, but it is worth thinking about.
  • You’re not weak to Tapu Fini. In areas with many Blacephalon-GX players, or following strong performances at a major event, you can generally expect players to tech Tapu Fini in many decks such as [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card]. Tapu Fini gets two easy Prizes against Blacephalon-GX, but it does nothing to the Turtonator / Naganadel deck.
  • You can use [card name=”Latias Prism Star” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card]! Remember that card? We haven’t seen it for basically a year, but as a Basic Pokémon that accelerates Energy to Basic Dragon-type Pokémon, it can be pretty strong here, including in the midgame to recharge your Pokémon.
  • You can use [card name=”Victini Prism Star” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”7″ c=”name”][/card] as well. Blacephalon-GX sends Energy to the Lost Zone, but [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] discards it, which makes it easier to get back with Naganadel or Latias Prism Star, and means that Victini Prism Star can be a powerful finisher in the endgame. And it fits the one-Prize attacker theme!

[decklist name=”Turtonator Naga” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Turtonator” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”50″][pokemon amt=”15″]4x [card name=”Turtonator” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”50″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Poipole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”55″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Latias Prism Star” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Victini Prism Star” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”7″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Heatran-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”25″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”27″]4x [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Black and White” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Heat Factory Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”18″]18x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”EX Emerald” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”18″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

This is my initial list. It’s unrefined and I’m sure there are improvements to be made, but it’s a decent start. I chose to play 18 Fire Energy to help play [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] as much as possible and so that Victini Prism Star can deal some powerful damage in the end. Using [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] is required in my opinion, since it lets you use [card name=”Turtonator” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card]’s attack much more easily. I’ve also added [card name=”Heatran-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] as an alternate finisher. Basically, if you end up with a lot of Energy on multiple Naganadel that you didn’t discard with Turtonator, Infinity won’t deal enough damage. In this situation, Heatran GX can be used instead as a finisher. Unlike Turtonator, you don’t need to charge it up since you can just use its Ability to get all the Energy in play, which makes it easier to use. That said, it’s the worst starter in the deck, so you definitely don’t want to play more than one.

I haven’t tested enough to be sure of the deck’s matchups. In theory and from my limited data, Tag Team matchups tend to be favorable since, even though you need some time to set up, you trade very favorably with them. Utilizing [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] can be an option to deal with Pikachu and Zekrom-GX, but I’m not even sure it’s needed. If you take things slow and spread Energy, you should be able to retaliate with a KO after Pikachu and Zekrom-GX uses Full Blitz, which makes Tag Bolt GX difficult to use. Also, the beautiful thing in this deck is that, unlike in [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] for example, even Tag Bolt GX can’t prevent you from using Beast Ring!
A supposedly problematic card like [card name=”Keldeo-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t an issue for the deck and neither are Stall or Control decks, since the multiple Energy retrieval options (Naganadel and Victini Prism Star) makes things hard for them. However, [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] is unfavorable since they generally trade one for one but have the advantage or not having to search for their attackers past the first [card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], as well as being able to deal additional damage with Distortion Door and [card name=”Spell Tag” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card]. The best way to deal with Malamar would be to include [card name=”Ninetales” set=”Team Up” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] in the deck, since  using Nine Temptations to KO a Malamar every turn is a great way to win the matchup. However, this could only be done by changing up the list quite a bit, adding a 2-2 line at least as well as another [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card].

Neither [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] is worth playing in this list, for the simple reason that this is a non-GX deck. In addition, this list runs too few Ultra Beasts to make Ultra Conversion worth it, and since we don’t run [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] or Ninetales, there is no way to follow a possible Stinger GX play by a KO on a Tag Team Pokémon to win the game. If you add Ninetales to the deck, then I could see running a copy of [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”56″ c=”from”][/card]. But at the same time, I don’t think you need it to beat Tag Teams, so it’s not worth including.

Quagsire / Naganadel

[cardimg name=”Quagsire” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”26″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This is the deck I’m trying the hardest to make work right now. On paper, the idea is solid. Instead of directly discarding or putting the Energy from [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] into the Lost Zone, you use [card name=”Quagsire” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card]’s Ability to move them, allowing you to use various powerful attackers. One of them is Keldeo-GX, which was seen as a natural counter to the GX-focused metagame.
If you want to know more, Caleb wrote a whole article about the deck. I highly recommend you read it, as this section is not meant to replace it. Instead, I want to carry on from where he left.
Basically, things aren’t looking so great for Quagsire / Naganadel for now. Strangely enough, consistency isn’t even a big a deal as it might be—playing 23 Pokémon or more and maxing out on Pokémon Communication and [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] means that you can set up your Pokémon well enough. However, Keldeo-GX isn’t the magical solution to the metagame it might have been thought to be. Current [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] lists are sometimes including [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card], and even those who don’t often play some combination of [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Team Up” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Unified Minds” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card]. Ability [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], which was supposed to be the main deck that Keldeo-GX would counter, is actually an unfavorable matchup, as Victini Prism Star and Turtonator can deal with Keldeo-GX, and then Ninetales can help the deck’s GX attackers take easy Prizes. The recent addition of Blacephalon means that the deck has one more non-GX attacker able to get OHKOs, which doesn’t help at all. Even some [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] lists have started running Giratina, which can be used as an attacker in this matchup.
While Keldeo-GX is still an asset for the deck, in my opinion, it’s wrong to focus entirely the deck on it. It doesn’t autowin Pokemon-GX matchups and it’s a serious liability against Malamar.

Instead, I believe the underrated card in this deck is [card name=”Palkia-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card]. Remember how I said that many decks in this format are all about putting a bunch of Basic Energy in play on big Basic attackers? Well, Zero Vanish GX is pretty good at removing all those Energy from play! It is especially good combined with a [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card]. This lets you come back against Ability Reshiram and Charizard-GX even if they started charging up backup attackers such as Blacephalon, is extremely good against Pikachu and Zekrom-GX after they’ve used Dance of the Ancients, and basically wins you the [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card] matchups (Reshiram and Charizard-GX, and [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card]). Of course, to include Palkia-GX and Reset Stamp, we need to make space in the list. I’ve chosen to cut [card name=”Magikarp and Wailord-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM166″ c=”name”][/card], since it’s only useful to try to beat Malamar, but it’s still hard to do: it requires you to use Custom Catcher on their Mew beforehand, and they can still use Clear Vision GX to prevent it anyway.
I also cut Custom Catcher because, like in Malamar, they’re hard to use reliably. With [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] as your Supporters, you can’t do more than hope to draw into Custom Catcher at the right moment, which means you rely on luck. Custom Catcher was only necessary to remove Mew, and the deck can function properly without them—although I can’t deny they’re sometimes missed.

Here is my current list:

[decklist name=”Quagsire Naga” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Quagsire” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”26″][pokemon amt=”23″]4x [card name=”Quagsire” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”26″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Wooper” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Poipole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”55″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Keldeo-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”47″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Palkia-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Volcanion Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”31″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Unified Minds” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”28″]4x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Erika’s Hospitality” set=”Team Up” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Lure Ball” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”U-Turn Board” set=”Unified Minds” no=”211″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”9″]9x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”EX Emerald” no=”103″ c=”deck2″ amt=”9″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Hoopa is an attempt to improve the [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] matchup. It can also be used effectively in many other matchups like Mewtwo and Mew-GX and Pikachu and Zekrom-GX to weaken the opponent’s Active Pokémon for a later KO. Having a one-Energy attacker in this deck is very good early on, because it lets you stockpile Energy on your other Pokémon in order to use attacks with a heavier Energy requirement later on. I think [card name=”U-Turn Board” set=”Unified Minds” no=”211″ c=”name”][/card] is great in this deck as a one-of. More than one would be redundant, but one can help you save Energy every time one of your Pokémon gets Knocked Out, from the turn you play it until the end of the game. I would compare it to the one-of [card name=”Recycle Energy” set=”Unified Minds” no=”212″ c=”name”][/card] in Malamar. The most cuttable cards in the list are [card name=”Erika’s Hospitality” set=”Team Up” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card], included to improve consistency, and [card name=”Lure Ball” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], which can help you if you had to discard Quagsire and/or Naganadel early on.

Possible additions to this deck include the following:

Second Hoopa

One Hoopa is good but might not enough of an impact in the Malamar matchup. The second Hoopa can be very strong especially if you opponent whiffs a [card name=”Spell Tag” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card], and lets you delay the time when you have to start attacking with [card name=”Quagsire” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card].

Mew

I cut [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] because I think you can win the Pikachu and Zekrom-GX matchup without it, thanks to Palkia-GX and [card name=”Keldeo-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card] (if they don’t run Power Plant), but it’s a decent addition. It prevents Venom Shot snipes on your Bench, for example. My issue with Mew is that it takes one more space on the Bench in a deck that is already cramped.

Stealthy Hood

In the Ability [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] matchup, you often have to attack with Quagsire to Knock Out a [card name=”Heatran-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] or a [card name=”Turtonator” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card]. This means your opponent can easily KO it back, so you need a backup. While that’s often possible early on, after a second Quagsire KO, you may run into an issue. A [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] on a benched Quagsire protects it from Nine Temptations and even means you can stockpile Energy on it without fear while preparing to Zero Vanish GX. In other matchups, Stealthy Hood is mostly useless, although it protects your Pokémon from Distortion Door damage and lets your Volcanion Prism Star and [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] attack and evolve, respectively, even against a [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card].

Kyurem

There are two uses to [card name=”Kyurem” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card]. First, dealing 110 damage lets you deal with Turtonator, something [card name=”Volcanion Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] can’t do. Second, the Paralysis is nice in some situations. I haven’t tested Kyurem enough to know if it’s really worth playing, but I wanted to include it as a possiblity. Note that thanks to its first attack, it’s also a decent starting Pokémon.

My main worry about this deck is finding the right balance between countering Malamar and countering Ability Reshiram and Charizard-GX. Neither can be made an autowin, but you can make either one a favorable matchup, at the expense of the other. I’ll keep working on it, though, and see if I can improve the list!

It’s worth mentioning that including [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] and a Psychic Energy could give the deck more options. Without [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card], it’s hard to deal with threats on the Bench, and even in games where you have the lead, it can be hard closing out games that you should have won, leading to ties in a best of three environment. Naganadel-GX’s Venom Shot solves these issues. I’m wary of adding it for now because a single Mew would completely ruin this plan, but if Mew isn’t popular, then I think it becomes a very strong option.

Conclusion

All three TCG incarnations of [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] have seen a lot of play since their release. While the non-GX is my least favorite of the three, there’s no denying it’s versatility. I haven’t even mentioned all of its uses. For example, [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] is also a possible partner for it. I’ll let you think about this deck by yourselves, though.

In my opinion, if you like the thrill of getting a bunch of Energy in play that Naganadel provides, Blacephalon-GX is your safest bet. It has proven itself time and time again and can always take unprepared opponents by surprise. Whatever you decide, though, best of luck in all your games, as always!

–Stéphane

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