Gods and Dolls ⁠— How to Beat the New Stuff

By: Zakary Krekeler · Posted Posted onNov 28, 2019 at 11:29 PM · 0 Comments

After the LAIC, we now have a clear idea of how Cosmic Eclipse has affected our Standard format. This set hasn’t completely changed things around—but it’s been far from a dudl! A brief look at the IC results shows how impactful all of these new cards have been. [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”221″ c=”name”][/card] has quickly become the most popular deck in Standard. [card name=”Florges” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] Stall proved itself with a Top 8 IC finish. [card name=”Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”224″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Charizard and Braixen-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Silvally-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”227″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Mega Lopunny and Jigglypuff-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”261″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Blastoise and Piplup-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”215″ c=”name”][/card] all found their way into Day 2. On top of that, the new Trainer cards from Cosmic Eclipse made a tremendous impact, and found their way into nearly every deck that was played. Many of the decks might seem similar, but Cosmic Eclipse has definitely left its mark! 

The LAIC Metagame

Once again, the Standard meta was flush with deck diversity. There were 13 different decks that made Day 2 at the LAIC, and that’s without accounting for any differences within archetypes (such as [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card]’s vs Ability variants). As for the pre-Cosmic Eclipse archetypes, pretty much none of them fell out of the meta.

[cardimg name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM201″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Like ashes of the Phoenix[/cardimg]

[card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM201″ c=”name”][/card] and Mewtwo and Mew-GX Box, once again, won the day, while [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] (baby and GX), [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”205″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] all stuck around. In a way, the meta was quite similar to that of the Knoxville Regional Championships, but with more decks thrown in. In almost every case, the variants of these decks included plenty of new stuff from Cosmic Eclipse. With the exception of Green’s Exploration decks, most replaced [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] with [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”264″ c=”name”][/card], as it provides the same effect in most scenarios, but with a lower cost, and in a way that takes up fewer spots in the decklist. [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] found a home in Tag Team Pokemon-GX decks, by providing them with even more consistency. This was not only because it could find useful Pokemon, but also, thanks to the effectiveness of the new Tag Team Supporter cards. Of those, [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”231″ c=”name”][/card] was probably the most popular. Thanks to Mallow and Lana, for the first time since the rotation we have a consistent, versatile healing card, which has an added bonus as an emergency Switch—quite useful against stuff like [card name=”Raichu and Alolan Raichu-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”221″ c=”name”][/card]’s Tandem Shock. [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] was also a popular card, especially in decks that either played a wide variety of Supporters, or made heavy use of a specific one (think [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] or Green’s Exploration). [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”name”][/card] saw some niche play in decks which could utilize two or more of its search functions, and [card name=”Bellelba and Brycen-Man” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Misty and Lorelei” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”199″ c=”name”][/card] both saw play as important pieces in the strategies of some of the newer decks. 

As far as decks revolving around the new Pokemon, the most successful were the two that make up the title of this article: ADP and Florges Doll Stall. Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, aka ADP, is a good old-fashioned hard-hitting versatile attacking deck, whereas Florges is our newest noxious Stall variant – you might not be taking any Prizes, but they won’t be either! Both of those decks were able to make the Top 8 – a clear indication of their capability and potential. On top of that, there are a number of other, less talked-about decks, which are still certainly worth taking note of. Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX, Charizard and Braixen-GX, [card name=”Reshiram and Zekrom-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”222″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Raichu” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Pachirisu” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”49″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Roxie” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”205″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Weezing” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], and Blastoise and Piplup-GX are all neat new decks that recently made their debut, and that I wouldn’t be too surprised to run into in future matchups.

New Matchups

Of those new Cosmic Eclipse decks, the four I would be most worried about facing at Daytona Beach Regionals are ADP, Florges, Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX, and Charizard and Braixen-GX, in that order. All four of these decks saw at least a decent amount of play in Sao Paulo, and had Day Two success as well. Now that proven decklists are publicly available for these new concepts, I would expect the meta share of those decks to increase. These may not be the only four decks from Cosmic Eclipse, but I do think that they will be the most popular, and hence the most important to focus on. Here’s how to approach these new matchups:

[premium]

ADP

If there was one deck that lived up to the hype, it was [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card]. In addition to being the most played deck in every age division, ADP was one of the most successful in Sao Paulo, not only of new decks, but of all decks, new and old. Thanks to the deck’s positive results, I would expect to see plenty of it going forward into the Regional Championships in Daytona Beach, San Diego, and Brisbane. Given how popular the deck was even prior to having any official results, I have to imagine it will make up a decent percentage of the meta in Daytona Beach. At the LAIC, roughly one in eight Masters players were playing it, as were one in seven Junior players, and a whopping one in five Senior players. As the meta begins to centralize toward the more popular decks, that meta percentage should only increase. Furthermore, I would expect those ADP lists to become even more refined, as players can take a look at the best lists, and make them even better. If you only have enough time to test against one deck before your next event, make sure it’s against this one!

There are two main variants of ADP: one with [card name=”Keldeo-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card], and one non-Ability variant with [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card]. Both variants saw a solid amount of play at the LAIC, though the Keldeo-GX variant seems to have been more popular. We don’t have the exact breakdown, but we do know that in Day 2, there were 17 Keldeo-GX builds, and seven Green’s Exploration builds; this might lend credence to the idea of the Ability variant being better (or at least more successful), but that’s hard to say without knowing the initial numbers of each variant. 

In both builds of ADP, their main strategy will be to use Altered Creation GX rather quickly, then to take advantage of their extra damage output and extra Prize card per KO to win. Against non-GX decks and non-Tag Team decks, that extra Prize is critical, as it cuts down the number of KOs that the ADP player needs to obtain. Against Pokemon-GX, they’ll only need two KOs instead of three (so one less), whereas against non-GXs, they’ll need only three KOs, down from six—an incredible three less! Against Tag Team Pokemon-GX decks, the extra Prize isn’t quite as helpful, so the ADP player can bypass Altered Creation GX, and decide instead to go with Keldeo-GX’s Resolute Blade, or aggressively push forward with an early Ultimate Ray to set up their board. If you play [card name=”Latios-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], and can use Clear Vision GX before they manage to use Altered Creation GX, you should do so. Similarly, if you can manage to get an OHKO on the turn that they use Altered Creation GX, you can impede them from setting up a second attacker, since you’ll knock their Energy off the board before they can use Ultimate Ray.

One of the best advantages that you’ll have against ADP is that they do have relatively low damage output. Even after using Altered Creation GX, the most damage that they’ll be able to attack for is 180. The only exception to that are if you bench too many Pokemon-GX, in which case, [card name=”Mega Lopunny and Jigglypuff-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”261″ c=”name”][/card]’s Jumping Balloon could hit you hard, or if you over-bench, and they happen to play Misty and Lorelei (so that they can use / reuse Resolute Blade GX). If you are able to maintain a decent amount of healing, you should be able to withstand their attacks, and snag the win by out trading them for Prizes. This strategy doesn’t work if you don’t have any Pokemon with greater than 180 HP, but for Tag Team Pokemon-GX decks, it works pretty well. Most Tag Team Pokemon-GX will be able to take two hits from Ultimate Ray if they use Mallow and Lana.

In this matchup, one of the most important things you’ll need is to have a gameplan for dealing with their other, non-ADP attackers. Ultimate Ray is solid, but their non-Tag Pokemon are what will give them the edge. [card name=”Keldeo-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”219″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Cryogonal” set=”Unified Minds” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Lucario and Melmetal-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Drampa” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Mega Lopunny and Jigglypuff-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] are all common additions that you should expect to run into. If you’re playing a Pokemon-GX deck, you’ll need to have some way around Keldeo-GX’s Pure Heart, either via [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], or a reliable non-Pokemon-GX attacker. [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”name”][/card] is going to be played in all Keldeo-GX decks, so if your solution to Pure Heart is Power Plant, you’ll also want to play a copy of either [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card], so that you can get rid of the Chaotic Swell prior to playing down your Stadium.

Finally, when playing against this deck, you’ll want to make sure you always have a benched Pokemon that can withstand an attack. The reason for this is that [card name=”Phione” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM220″ c=”name”][/card] is rather common in ADP lists, and you can easily lose a game if you’re caught unaware.

Florges / Doll Stall

[card name=”Florges” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] is the newest iteration of the “dominant if it isn’t teched against” deck in the meta. Depending on how well your deck is set up to go against it, this can range from one of the easiest matchups ever, to a nearly guaranteed auto-loss. If you’re a fan of stall decks, then you probably want to check this deck out (and this article out)! Florges made it to a fifth place finish in Sao Paulo, and in doing so, proved that it is indeed more than a fun (and annoying!) concept. Like ADP, there are two main variants of Florges Stall, one with [card name=”Sawsbuck” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card], and one without it. Personally, I’m a bit more fond of the non-Sawsbuck variant, but both variants have their advantages, and I think both will have a place in the meta going forward. The Sawsbuck variant has the advantage of being able to reliably damage their opponent, which can render useless counter-strategies such as [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card]. The non-Sawsbuck variant instead focuses more on securing the [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] loop, making it a bit more vulnerable to counter-strategies, but more robust against decks that don’t have a way around the loop, thanks to its higher consistency.

The deck has a rather straightforward strategy: don’t let your opponent take enough Prizes before they run out of cards. Against pretty much any deck, their gameplan will look something like this:

  • Turn one, find multiple [card name=”Flabébé” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] (and possibly [card name=”Munchlax” set=”Unified Minds” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Deerling” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”15″ c=”name”][/card]) with [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card] 
  • From there, set up multiple Florges, and get either a [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] or Sawsbuck into play
  • Get a [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”267″ c=”name”][/card] into the Active
  • Once the Lillie’s Poke Doll gets Knocked Out, send up another one. Use Florges / Munchlax to put the KOd Lillie’s Poke Doll back on top of the deck. 
  • Repeat step 4, until the game ends

If you don’t have a way to stop the Florges and Lillie’s Poke Doll loop, you won’t ever be able to take Prizes, and most likely won’t be able to win! Once they get to the point where they can flip three coins a turn, it is practically impossible for them to fail to find a Lillie’s Poke Doll to send up into the Active.

[cardimg name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ align=”right” c=”custom”]That’s no mere doll…[/cardimg]

Even if they get unlucky during one turn and flip three tails, which will happen one out of every eight turns on average, they can still play down one of their other ones—they play four for a reason! The odds of them missing two turns in a row is one in 64, three turns in a row, a mere one in 256. And that’s what you’ll need to get a single Prize! Those bad runs of luck are also offset by any good turns, where the Florges player flips multiple heads. You aren’t going to get lucky and have them fail to find a Poke Doll—the math isn’t on your side. If you’re going to beat Florges, then you have to find a way to get around the loop.

So, how do you beat Florges?

The first thing to try and do in this matchup, is to win before they are able to establish the Lillie’s Poke Doll loop. Doll Stall is weakest during its setup phase, before they get multiple Florges into play and can reliably loop the Poke Doll. The main strategy I’ve taken is to use Reset Stamp in combination with early pressure, in an effort to get ahead by enough before they can totally lock me out of the game. [card name=”Steven’s Resolve” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] is a core piece of the Lillie’s Poke Doll Stall strategy, one that you’ll need to disrupt in order to prevent them from stabilizing; if they can keep their cards, then they’ll be able to set up without much problem. This strategy is, admittedly, a rather weak one—their deck is designed around setting up their loop. In most games, you’ll need to have a plan for what to do when they do get the loop established, rather than rely completely on beating them early on.

The real key to beating this deck is to have the proper tech cards already included in your deck. If you don’t, then you’re going to have a rough time, regardless of how well you play against Florges. One of the most noxious things about this deck is how many decks can’t effectively tech for it, at least, not in a way that can actually win them the matchup. There are a number of cards that you can include that will help you get to a draw against Doll Stall, but with only a draw, the expected wins from those tech cards goes down to only a third of what they would be if they could get a win. 

For some decks, teching against Doll Stall is easy. For ADP, [card name=”Cryogonal” set=”Unified Minds” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] is an easy counter, as it stops the opponent from playing down any more Lillie’s Poke Doll, thus halting the loop. In addition, Frozen Lock OHKOs Lillie’s Poke Doll, provided that Altered Creation GX was used. Any ADP list that plays [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] will have similar success, as they can bring up the Florges and get two Prizes a piece on them. Combine the two, like in Green’s Exploration / ADP, and you’ve got a winning strategy. Decks with [card name=”Ninetales” set=”Team Up” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] can tech for Florges with similar ease—you need a way to remove [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lysandre Labs” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] are the two best ways to do so, though you’ll likely need some way to recover them (such as with Cynthia and Caitlin or [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card]) to be absolutely effective. For Green’s Exploration decks, a tech 1-0-1 [card name=”Omastar” set=”Team Up” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] can also be an effective counter, since you’ll almost certainly have a smaller Bench than they will.

For other decks, however, there aren’t any easy ways to counter Florges without dedicating multiple slots to beating it. Oranguru is an excellent tech against the non-Sawsbuck variant, but it isn’t going to do much to save you against the easy KOs from Sawsbuck. [card name=”Girafarig” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] can be a nifty way to eventually eliminate their Lillie’s Poke Doll, but it is only effective when they happen to leave any in the discard pile, and you still run the risk of running out of cards before you have an impact. On top of that, Doll Stall does play a [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] to have a one-time KO against those pesky techs. If you’re truly worried about Doll Stall (say, if there are a couple running around in your local meta), a combination of Oranguru and [card name=”Brock’s Grit” set=”Team Up” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card] can ensure that you won’t lose to the non-Sawsbuck variant—add in some Custom Catcher, and you can all but guarantee a win. The Sawsbuck variant is a bit more tricky, since they can KO passive attackers like Oranguru—against those, you’ll want to use your Custom Catcher to target and KO the Sawsbuck, instead of their Florges. 

For the most part, I don’t think dedicating that many spots to countering Florges is worth it right now, Florges Stall doesn’t make up enough of the meta to justify cutting that many cards. At the LAIC, Florges made up a mere 2.2% of the meta. For us to expect to encounter it even once on average during a Regional Championship, the number of Florges players would have to be five times what they were at the LAIC. I don’t think that’s terribly farfetched, as the deck has been receiving some hype, but even in that scenario, that’s still a large amount of deck space to be dedicated to one potential match. With that said, I can also appreciate the danger of not being prepared to face it—it’s nearly unbeatable in most cases if you don’t have a way around it. The big question then is whether or not it is actually worth trying to play around, or if it is better to use those deck spots to more optimally deal with the rest of the meta. Going forward, Doll Stall’s success will be entirely based on whether or not players are prepared for it. If counter-techs are common, then Doll Stall will struggle. If not, then those who play it will more than likely find success. Likewise, the fewer players that are prepared for it, the more useful any anti-Florges techs will become.

Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX / Mismagius

Without a doubt, this is one of the more interesting decks to come out of the LAIC. Being a rogue deck, it naturally didn’t have a ton of players at the LAIC, but now that the secret is out, I’d expect to see quite a few more people picking it up. Rather than try and explain how this deck works myself, I’ll instead direct you to Grant’s recent article on it—he did play it, after all!

[cardimg name=”Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”224″ align=”right” c=”custom”]Be careful of that GX attack[/cardimg]

Without a doubt, beating this deck is tricky, and once again, depends a lot on what you are able to do to counter their play. Assuming you don’t fall victim to the turn-one [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] to four, you’ll likely have to quickly deal with a massive, somewhat hard-hitting 280-HP beast. The magic number in this matchup is four—that’s the number of Prize cards that you cannot allow them to take. Once they get to that point, then all they need to do is to use Chaotic Order GX to win the game. If they start their turn with two or less Prizes left, then the game is over. Ideally, you’ll  want to avoid using Tag Team Pokemon-GX if possible, as their main strategy revolves around taking four Prizes on one of them, thanks to an additional Prize from [card name=”Beast Bringer” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card]. If you are going to use Tag Team Pokemon-GX, then you either need to have some way to get back-to-back OHKOs on their [card name=”Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”224″ c=”name”][/card], or you’ll need to have adequate healing ready to go. At the least, you’ll want a Mallow and Lana. With that, Tag Teams with 250+ HP can withstand two hits from Jet Pierce—at least, if they don’t have [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] attached.

Where this gets tricky is when you also have to deal with their healing. Thanks to the Violent Appetite Ability and Mallow and Lana, it is rather easy for the Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX player to heal off any attempt at a 2HKO. The result is that a OHKO isn’t necessary only for Tag Team decks, but for pretty much any deck that wants to win this matchup. Whatever your deck, you’ll want to do what you can to try and get the OHKO. If you can’t, then your ideal strategy will be to use Pokemon that give up as few Prizes as possible. The ideal attackers in this matchup are non-GXs that can also obtain OHKOs, which aren’t exactly common! [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Turtonator” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Victini Prism Star” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”7″ c=”name”][/card] are all decent options, though using them in time can be difficult. With [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] Box, you’ll want to use a combo of [card name=”Charizard-GX” set=”Hidden Fates” no=”9″ c=”name”][/card]’s Flare Blitz GX and [card name=”Magcargo-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card]’s Lava Flow to grab two KOs. With [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], the ideal attack combo is [card name=”Heatran-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card]’s Hot Burn GX or Turtonator’s Explosive Jet, followed by Victini Prism Star’s Infinity. [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] can grab OHKOs easily enough, as can [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card]. 

Charizard and Braixen-GX

When it comes to the new archetypes, [card name=”Charizard and Braixen-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] was actually the second most popular deck focused around a Cosmic Eclipse Pokemon at the LAIC. It did not perform particularly well, as only one of the Charizard and Braixen-GX players managed to make Day 2. As a result, I would actually expect this deck to see less play going forward, but I don’t think it is yet to the point where we can safely overlook it. The deck itself is similar to the old Green’s Reshiram and Charizard-GX lists (so much so that it actually includes Reshiram and Charizard-GX), but it focuses more on using Charizard and Braixen-GX’s Brilliant Flare. Once it gets that off, the deck can set up all sorts of wild disruption plays, ranging from setting up Omastar, to hand-ripping Reset Stamp plays, to massive bursts of healing. 

Like against other Green’s Exploration decks, you’ll want to make good use of your Reset Stamp to beat them. Once they get set up, you have to assume that they will always have what they need, given that they are effectively are using Steven’s Resolve every turn in conjunction with their attack! OHKOs are the way to go here, as I would wager that most Charizard and Braixen-GX decks will be using some form of healing, or at least Mallow and Lana. If possible, you’ll also want to limit your Bench against them, so that you won’t be as affected in case they play Omastar. If you aren’t playing Custom Catcher, then you won’t have any way to target and KO the [card name=”Unidentified Fossil” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] and thus no way to stop them from getting Omastar into play if they decide to. With that said, if you can, you’ll want to get some sort of Pokemon with a “draw cards” Ability into play if you have one—think [card name=”Zebstrika” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Silvally-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”227″ c=”name”][/card]. You will almost certainly get hit by a Reset Stamp when playing against Charizard and Braixen-GX, and if you’re unlucky, that Reset Stamp will come along with a [card name=”Jessie and James” set=”Hidden Fates” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card]. If you can get a draw-Ability Pokemon into play, then that will mitigate the Reset Stamp damage somewhat. If you aren’t playing one of those Pokemon (or frankly, even if you are), you’ll want to do what you can to thin your deck and discard miscellaneous or useless cards whenever you can. Think about whether or not you would want to draw into a card after Reset Stamp: if you wouldn’t want to see it, then use it quickly! The best defense you have against a deck like this is to play efficiently, as those little percentages will end up adding up in your favor.

More Useful Tips

These new decks are certainly ones to test against, but their arrival isn’t the only thing that’s changed about the Standard format. Here are some more tips about what to expect from the general field, and important new pitfalls to watch out for.

  • Assume your opponent is running Mallow and Lana

Two-hit KOs may be a much smaller part of the game this year compared to years prior, but that hasn’t stopped Mallow and Lana from becoming a rather common inclusion in most Tag Team Pokemon-GX decks. The card is a great emergency switching option against stuff like Tandem Shock, or when you simply find yourself stuck. It is also searchable with [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card], so it isn’t that tough to find in a pinch. If you aren’t expecting it, the healing from Mallow and Lana can come as quite a surprise. Your opponent will be most likely to have it in the middle part of the game, after they’ve managed to set up their attackers. To get around Mallow and Lana, a late Reset Stamp can typically be effective, as you’ll force your opponent to have to decide between rebuilding their hand and healing their Pokemon – and that’s if they draw into a way to get the Mallow and Lana at all. Alternatively, focus on OHKOs, or on 2HKOs that take the Mallow and Lana healing effect into account.

  • Don’t Over-bench

[card name=”Mega Lopunny and Jigglypuff-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] is one of the most common tech Pokemon-GX in the game nowadays, thanks to a combination of Pokemon-GXs being common, and the relative ease in which you can power it up. [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] makes attacking with Jumping Balloon rather easy, and so Mega Lopunny and Jigglypuff-GX can jump out of nowhere to get an unexpected and punishing KO. Luckily, you can play around it rather easily, by simply not playing down any unnecessary GXs. With Great Catcher in the format, you don’t want to be doing that anyway! Where this can come up is if you’ve already played down [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], and want to set up a second attacker. In this case, make sure not to bench any extra miscellaneous Pokemon, be it a second Dedenne-GX or anything else.

[cardimg name=”Mega Lopunny and Jigglypuff-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”225″ align=”right” c=”custom”]This puff is a fighter[/cardimg]

On a similar note, [card name=”Bellelba and Brycen-Man” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] can wreak havoc on your board if you aren’t expecting it. The card hasn’t seen heavy play yet, but has been gathering some quiet hype as a tech card. Against decks that try and establish multiple support Pokemon—[card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], Florges Stall, or anything with Pidgeotto, for instance; the bench-reducing effect of Bellelba and Brycen-Man can be rather strong. Like [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card], Bellelba and Brycen-Man can also be used by your opponent to reduce their own Bench, and thus clear it of weak Pokemon-GXs such as Dedenne-GX, or anything that was damaged. If your opponent plays Bellelba and Brycen-Man, then make sure to prioritize using your Great Catcher or Custom Catcher to KO those GXs before your opponent has a chance to sweep them off the field. 

  • Watch out for Phione

[card name=”Phione” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM220″ c=”name”][/card] has become a rather common inclusion in ADP, as well as a niche way to avoid deckout. A good habit to get into is to always have a plan on how to switch, in case you’re forced to. Otherwise, you do run the risk of giving up an important Prize, or being stuck for a turn or two behind a non-optimal Active Pokemon that can’t retreat.

  • Be aware of Custom Catcher

As I said above, many players have swapped their Custom Catcher for Great Catcher. However, not all of them have! Most decks that use Green’s Exploration still use Custom Catcher, and not every other player has been fully comfortable swapping them out completely. If Doll Stall is on people’s minds, the prevalence of Custom Catcher will probably increase further. Basically, you should be aware of the possibility of Custom Catcher, until you are confident that your opponent isn’t playing it. If you’re playing a deck that needs to evolve multiple Pokemon, such as [card name=”Quagsire” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] or Dark Box, then you shouldn’t assume that you’ll be safe with, say, only one Sneasel or one Wooper in play, at least, not until you’re certain that they can’t be reached.

Without a doubt, Cosmic Eclipse has given us plenty of new stuff to prepare for! Whether you plan to try out one of these new archetypes, or are sticking with what you know, I’d definitely recommend playing some matches against these new decks, so that you know what to expect! As always, best of luck to everyone competing this weekend! if you’ve got any questions, don’t hesitate to ask here in the comments, to message me, or to ask all of our writers in our PTCG Subscriber’s Hideout!

Thanks for reading!

–Zak

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