Flower Power — Florges Control Decks in Standard

[cardimg name=”Florges” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”86″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Three [card name=”Florges” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] Control, aka “Doll Stall”, decks made Day 2 at the Latin American International Championship. These decks use Florges to Wondrous Gift and its fifty-fifty shot to recover an Item from the discard pile to the top of your deck. With this you can stream [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] and feed your opponent an infinite supply of zero-Prize Pokemon. Eventually, with help from [card name=”Bellelba and Brycen-Man” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card], you will run your opponent out of cards and win the game. Currently there are two solid ways to play this deck and both have merit. First, there’s the straightforward version without any frills. The second plays [card name=”Sawsbuck” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] to Bounce to the Bench, deal 60 damage, and the Stage 1 Pokemon adds a crafty Ability to the mix to draw you an additional card each turn. Let’s take a look at both of these lists and talk about the cards…

Straight Florges

[decklist name=”.” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Latios-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”78″][pokemon amt=”18″]4x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Florges” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”86″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Flabébé” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Munchlax” set=”Unified Minds” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Latios-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”41″]4x [card name=”Steven’s Resolve” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Bellelba and Brycen-Man” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Tate and Liza” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”142″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Sky Pillar” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”144″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”1″]1x [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Four Jirachi

Any of these decks wants to be playing four [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], you want to start with it and you use it early to serve as a meat shield while you find cards to set up. An early [card name=”Steven’s Resolve” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] really speeds things along and the extra Stellar Wish reach to find it can do a lot to increase your odds of finding that very Supporter. Almost every Stellar Wish will hit something decent, it’s just a bonus card that helps you get going faster. You can afford to give up at least three Prizes each game, sometimes five if you’re against something that either doesn’t target the Bench or play [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card], so sacrificing Jirachi and the Prizes they award is well worth it.

Four Flabebe and Four Florges

Obviously Florges is a Stage 2 which is unfortunate because it’s more difficult than other things to set up, but the one plus side is that you have ample space to play as thick of a line as you want so you can reliably get it going. Against decks that have Custom Catcher you might want to set up as many as three so that you can still use Wondrous Gift whenever you want. You want to have a full line if possible so you can have a piece in reserve if one gets Knocked Out. Also, with limited Item-based Pokemon search in [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card] you will want to have the maximum copies of both so you can draw into them and save a card off Steven’s Resolve if possible.

Two Munchlax [cardimg name=”Munchlax” set=”Unified Minds” no=”173″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Since this deck doesn’t attack you might as well do something with your turn and that’s where [card name=”Munchlax” set=”Unified Minds” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] comes in. Another flip, very similar to Florges itself, you can put any card from your discard pile onto the top of your deck. So if you want to recover a Florges, for example, now’s your chance. Keep in mind that this will go on top of your Wondrous Gift card, so you should be ready to Stellar Wish for the latter of the two so you can get both of your recovered cards into your hand on your following turn if it works out that way. This is a nice inclusion for a deck that would otherwise just pass the turn when it’s over, so you might as well play it — and of course, with a heads it’s quite good, too!

Two Mew

Venom Shot is the biggest threat when it comes to snipe damage. That said, these are mainly a tech for [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] decks. [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] has fallen off a great deal but a boosted Tag Bolt GX is nice to be protected against as well. A Mewtwo and Mew-GX player will push for [card name=”Espeon and Deoxys-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card]’s Cross Division GX to Knock Out your first [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card], so that’s why there’s two. With the nature of this deck being to avoid giving up Prizes, you’ll want to have as many ways to deny them as possible and having two Mew does just that — it’s extra insurance against a rough situation otherwise. You could opt for [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] in place of [card name=”Sky Pillar” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] and then [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM99″ c=”name”][/card] in place of Mew to stop potential snipe attacks with Perfection but that’s less effective as you have to find both pieces at once instead of just one Mew.

One Spiritomb

Here’s your one-trick pony to Knock Out a [card name=”Cryogonal” set=”Unified Minds” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card]. Frozen Lock can stop you from playing the game temporarily and you can put an end to that by taking it out with [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card]’s Anguish Cry. You can do up to 160 damage, so this has some other application too if there’s a different Pokemon you’re having trouble with and just want to get it out of the way for good (unless your opponent has some way of recovering it.)

One Latios-GX

Clear Vision GX is to stop Cross Division GX or any other detrimental GX attack. You won’t always use it every game, but the option is very good in case you must. That’s about it, you can’t Tag Purge with this list, it’s just a way to stop some nasty attacks.

Four Steven’s Resolve and Four Professor Elm’s Lecture

[card name=”Flabébé” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] you need to get started and then the [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card] and Florges to complete the job after that. Steven’s Resolve speeds up your finding of Lillie’s Poke Doll as well, it’s just a nice fit for a deck that doesn’t have much going on until you’re set up — where and when you’ll start using Snack Search to lap up some useful cards at the end of your turn on a flip.

One Faba

[card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] shouldn’t be in the deck, to be frank. I feel like it was a way to “have a chance” against a [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] Control deck, but it won’t be much of a chance. Sure, you can get rid of their [card name=”Recycle Energy” set=”Unified Minds” no=”212″ c=”name”][/card] but then what? They still just get back cards via Resource Management and win the game, not much to it. I would take this out for a second [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card].

Four Stealthy Hood

These are for [card name=”Ninetales” set=”Team Up” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] and its Nine Temptations. You have no way of beating any Fire-type deck playing it without them, you need to limit your Bench accordingly (nothing that awards Prizes should be on the Bench that doesn’t have a [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] attached) to something like three Florges, all with Stealthy Hood, and then always have a Lillie’s Poke Doll in reserve on the Bench to have another to promote after your Active one is Knocked Out. This should work perfectly unless you start flipping a bunch of tails.

Two Sky Pillar

These are defense against a random Mew and [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] and/or Mewtwo and Mew-GX utilizing Espeon and Deoxys-GX. While it probably won’t do much against the latter because they will save their counter Stadium for when they choose to use Cross Division GX, it saves you from certain failure against a Mew. Thirty damage is manageable and you can eventually win the Stadium war by using [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] to recover an “infinite” number of Sky Pillar until you’ve got it locked.

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Florges / Sawsbuck

[decklist name=”.” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Girafarig” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”94″][pokemon amt=”17″]4x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Florges” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”86″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Flabébé” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Sawsbuck” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”16″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Deerling” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”15″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Girafarig” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”38″]4x [card name=”Steven’s Resolve” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Professor Oak’s Setup” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”201″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Bellelba and Brycen-Man” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Channeler” set=”Unified Minds” no=”190″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Brock’s Grit” set=”Hidden Fates” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”142″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Switch” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”147″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Sky Pillar” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”144″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”5″]4x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Recycle Energy” set=”Unified Minds” no=”212″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Two Deerling and Two Sawsbuck [cardimg name=”Sawsbuck” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”16″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

You’re really only going to use one a game so this does the job. It’s both draw and attacking power, but there’s actually another option that might just be better: [card name=”Hitmonchan” set=”Team Up” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]. This can do a similar job, albeit it doesn’t draw you cards and does less damage. The time it takes to set up Sawsbuck might not be worth it when there’s a Basic attacking option that does a similar job. [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] could also be run for more power, but I’m not sold on that since it’s an awkward Bench space to fill and only adds another 20 damage.

One Girafarig

Get Lost is great in any control deck; it can get rid of random recoverable threats like the [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] itself in the case of Mewtwo and Mew-GX or Psychic Energy to prevent Cross Division GX against a Malamar deck. The options are endless and [card name=”Girafarig” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] is never a bad inclusion, but I’m not so convinced for this list as it’s already straying very heavily into the techs category with less of a focus on consistency.

Three Professor Oak’s Setup

[card name=”Professor Oak’s Setup” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”201″ c=”name”][/card] works a lot better in this deck and can find Jirachi to bolster your board even further. You can snag a [card name=”Deerling” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”15″ c=”name”][/card], Flabebe, and the Jirachi all just like that and it’s another “two copies” of [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card] to boot. You’ll be running six two Basic-searching cards in this list, but skipping out on [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] and Pokemon Communication, a strong downside and something definitely worth mentioning.

One Channeler

This is an alternative to Spiritomb, but I think Spiritomb is better overall and you might not even need either in this deck since you already have Sawsbuck that can attack. With only 90 HP, Crygonal is easy to KO, either two-shotting with Sawsbuck or charge up Spiritomb for the OHKO (but with 30 more damage afterward). This card isn’t amazing because you can only use it every other two turns, meaning you’ll have to Lusamine for it back a few times to get the value you seek. The thought was likely, “I only have to use it once to win against Item lock,” but I don’t particularly like the inclusion in general — I’m fairly confident you can do without it. You can try to get as many Lillie’s Poke Doll down before Item lock hits against anything with Cryogonal and you shouldn’t be under much pressure to begin with.

One Brock’s Grit

A nice recovery card in a list that’s playing more techs than others, but again not really something you need; I will be taking this out of my own list.

One Switch

Yet another tech, perhaps better than [card name=”Tate and Liza” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card], not sure. They both have their merits, but Tate and Liza requiring your Supporter for the turn is a notable downside. You need one or the other though, so don’t skip a switching card altogether. Getting your two-Retreat Cost Florges out of the Active is a real pain.

One Reset Stamp

Another unnecessary card, fancy at that even, something that definitely doesn’t need to be here. Sure, you can put valuable cards of your opponent’s back into their deck and then potentially discard them, but that’s just “win-harder” in a game where you probably already had the deck out achieved. I dislike that this list chose to run oodles of techs and skip out on consistency, the techs aren’t exactly things that save you in a game you miss your setup either, they’re cards that lock down winnable games even harder.

One Pal Pad

Similar to the above (this sure is a theme), you don’t need this card. Lusamine does the job and while in the end game it’s a bit easier to stream your Bellelba and Brycen-Man, you don’t need it once again! Lusamine will give you all the Supporters you want as always and as long as you’re not breaking the lock of single-Prize Lillie’s Poke Doll, you’re fine. I’d skip this card too!

Four Grass Energy and One Recycle Energy

Too many Grass Energy for my taste, I think you can get by with three or maybe even two if you keep the [card name=”Brock’s Grit” set=”Hidden Fates” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] in the deck. I suppose it’s a matter of finding them early to get Bounce set up quickly, but again you really don’t need it. Recycle Energy is a must since you have a Colorless Energy in your Bounce attack cost and you can use it with Get Lost as well. These Energy cards take up a lot of space and it makes me question if the inclusion of Sawsbuck is worth the hit that your consistency takes.

Considerations for Either

[cardimg name=”Latios-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”78″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

First and foremost it should be clear that setting up with this deck should be your top priority; there’s no shot you win games with an anemic setup. For this reason I prefer the straightforward version, but there’s just one change I’d make from the one above: drop the [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] for a second [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card]. Boom, there ya go, good deck! Clearly there are many routes you can take with this archetype, but truly what can beat a deck that doesn’t give up Prizes and has a way to deal some decent damage in [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card]?

Hold that thought, there is something that can beat this deck: [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] Control. [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] absolutely trounces your strategy and will run you over. It will just Resource Management back its Energy over and over until you deck out before they do. Faba their Recycle Energy and hope you [card name=”Bellelba and Brycen-Man” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] away their remaining Energy is a terrible strategy, I would not recommend that (it will almost never work). [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] is the second problem for this deck, but less so. Cross Division GX is clearly a bit of a problem, but it’s that plus Venom Shot that’s tricky. Your opponent will take out your [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card], after which you’ll want another to stop Venom Shot immediately. Remember, you can circumvent this entirely by using Latios-GX, a fine idea indeed.

I’m going to tinker around with the [card name=”Hitmonchan” set=”Team Up” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] idea some in the future, it’s more to speed the game up and hopefully not lose to the timer. That can be a small issue for this deck if you don’t deck your opponent out very quickly, you can end up with a lot of ties. This deck has been proven to be able to take it nearly the whole distance though, so I believe that’s not a big enough problem to warrant any potential dismissal. You could always add to the deck’s consistency, but there’s a point where you can’t really budge any more. It would be lovely if you could drop [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] from the deck, but [card name=”Ninetales” set=”Team Up” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] is far too big a problem to ever let you do that and free up a bunch of space, space that would be very nice to have. Acro Bike could also become Professor Oak’s Setup, something to consider, but I like that Acro Bike can thin your deck and find the [card name=”Florges” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card] without having to use [card name=”Steven’s Resolve” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] to get them. A fourth [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card] is the thing I want the most right now but I don’t think there’s a great cut other than perhaps the fourth Stealthy Hood — a risky change that could compromise you against the Fire Toolbox decks with Ninetales.

Playing the Deck

This isn’t quite a combo deck but it’s similar: you’re looking for a similar sequence of events in the early game, each game, and then you’re going to repeat that process over and over until you win via deck out.

1. Find two or three Flabebe, basically as many as you can get
   • Naturally drawing them, playing Pokemon Communciation and/or [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card]
2. Find the means to get Florges out
   • Naturally drawing the pieces, using [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]’s Stellar Wish to assist, or playing Steven’s Resolve and hoping you don’t get hit with Reset Stamp)
3. It’s important to have something that you can sacrifice more or less after each Knock Out, this can be another Jirachi, a Mew, or even [card name=”Munchlax” set=”Unified Minds” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card]; it just depends, if not any of those, Latios-GX makes a lovely pivot to send up after each Knock Out
   • Remember that this deck operates on the basis that most decks aren’t playing a way to send Florges up, Custom Catcher is a rarity these days
4. Start feeding [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] at the end of your turn, use your Stellar Wish for the turn, with an [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] you can always send Jirachi up after a Knock Out, even better, and then use Wondrous Gift followed by Snack Search to end your turn and hopefully recover one or two Lillie’s Poke Doll — or something else useful
   • Keep in mind that a Florges could go down, this said you might want to Snack Search back a piece of the Pokemon line, maybe a Rare Candy, or something else; have a means of building another Florges if one does get Knocked Out
5. Finally, literally do this over and over and start playing Bellelba and Brycen-Man to speed up the process, you can use Lusamine to recover important pieces and keep the chain of discards going
   • Don’t put yourself in a spot where you could deck out yourself, remember you don’t have to use Bellelba and Brycen-Man each turn, you can wait for a bunch of Wondrous Gift heads to build up until you have some useless fodder to discard

That’s it! Try it a few times and see if you can get the hang of it, it’s pretty self-explanatory once you have an idea of what’s going on and study the matchups where you might use some of your techs like Latios-GX and/or Spiritomb. Throw those guys in once and a while and the same chain of events will run its course most games. Mew for Bench damage and Stealthy Hood for Ninetales — git ‘er done!

Conclusion

I like this deck a lot right now, it has a couple bad matchups but that’s it. It’s a powerful control/lock deck with few counters other than Oranguru, one of which you can handle with Spiritomb by taking a Knock Out if an opponent puts it in a random deck. As always don’t hesitate to hit me up in the Subscribers’ Hideout with any questions. Take care, thanks for reading!

Peace,

Caleb

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