A New Deck Appeared! — Everything You Need for Naganadel & Guzzlord-GX

Hello everyone! This is Grant Manley. I just got back from a crazy few weeks of travel concluding with the Brazil International, and I am here to share with you the deck that a few of us Americans ended up playing. [card name=”Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Mismagius” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] was featured on the official Pokemon stream at least four times so it’s possible you’ve already seen the deck in action. Before the tournament, this was a deck unheard of outside of a select few online channels, which is where the original idea stems from. After grabbing the deck idea from a streamed game, I came up with my own list and brought it to Brazil. I tested it a lot with some of the fellow American players, including Pokebeach writer, Caleb Gedemer, and we decided that this deck was strong enough to play at the tournament. Here’s the list I used.

Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX deck

[decklist name=”guzznag” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Misdreavus” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”77″][pokemon amt=”11″]3x [card name=”Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Misdreavus” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Mismagius” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”41″]3x [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Bill’s Analysis” set=”Team Up” no=”133″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lt. Surge’s Strategy” set=”Hidden Fates” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Ultra Forest Kartenvoy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Dusk Stone” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Beast Bringer” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Energy Recycler” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”8″]4x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”Black and White” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”Black and White” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

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Explanation

I will note that the other players who used this deck ran a copy of [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] over the fourth Darkness Energy. I did not because I felt that eight basic Energy was required. In hindsight, both the Beast Energy and the eighth Basic Energy should have been played.

In case you don’t know, Mismagius’s Ability knocks itself out and lets you draw up to seven cards in hand. This can be accelerated with [card name=”Dusk Stone” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card]. Not only does Mismagius draw cards and dig through your deck, but it activates [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] faster than your opponent would like. The idea is to start swinging for 180 damage as early as possible with Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX, and this can start from turn 1. Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX has 280 HP and an Ability that heals itself for 60 damage. Combined with [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”name”][/card], it’s difficult for an opponent to bring one of these beasts down.

Ideally, you will use two Mismagius and two Beast Ring by turn 2 (or turn 1) and have a fully established board. Thanks to the Tag Team Pokemon-GX heavy meta, Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX can 2HKO a Tag Team Pokeon-GX and take four Prizes with [card name=”Beast Bringer” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card]. After that, the next two Prizes are easy to grab with its Chaotic Order GX attack. Don’t forget that Beast Bringer only works if you’re at six Prizes, so you usually want to save Chaotic Order GX for the end.

The tournament itself didn’t go too great for five of the seven of us who used the deck. I only managed to scrounge up a 5-3-1 record. Caleb unfortunately faced four [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] decks, which is a bad matchup. However, Igor Costa and Jimmy Pendarvis were one win away from making Top 8, which shows that the deck is a contender at the very least.

I do want to go over the card counts, as this is a rather new deck. I think I got most of the list right the first time around, but [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] was underwhelming in practice. The two copies of Acro Bike were a last-minute addition because they seemed good in theory, but I didn’t like them in the tournament. Going forward, I would add a [card name=”Lt. Surge’s Strategy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] and a [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] in their place.

Three Naganadel & Guzzlord-GX

[cardimg name=”Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”158″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

You need two of these every game. Use Mismagius twice and force your opponent to fight through two Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX. The third copy is insurance against if one happens to be in your Prizes, and you can use the extra copy to heal your Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX on the field with its Violent Appetite Ability later on. Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX is a great attacker because it’s a tank, hits for decent damage, and gets the perks of being an Ultra Beast and a Tag Team Pokemon-GX. It has synergy with [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card], Beast Ring, and Beast Bringer.

Four Mismagius

While you only need to use two per game, you need the extra copies for consistency. You need to have multiple Mismagius in deck thanks to Dusk Stone’s requirement, and opening with [card name=”Misdreavus” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] is great too. Like Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX, you can use the extra copies to heal your attackers. You need a third copy against [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] Control too, which I’ll explain later.

One Ultra Forest Kartenvoy

An incredible tech card, [card name=”Ultra Forest Kartenvoy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card] allows Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX to shred through [card name=”Keldeo-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Latios-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], and Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX’s array of Fairy Charms. It’s not important enough to play two of, so you have to get a bit lucky to find it when you need it.

Two Lt. Surge’s Strategy

This deck plays from behind for most of the game because of Mismagius’ Ability, so we want to use Lt. Surge’s Strategy as much as possible. Lt. Surge’s Strategy allows you to play two Supporter cards in one turn, which helps find combo pieces to prepare your Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX. Being able to play two Supporter cards is useful on the turns you need to use [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”name”][/card] or Ultra Forest Kartenvoy.

Two Mallow and Lana

Aside from being good because Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX is a tank, Mallow and Lana is useful in a variety of matchups. It’s particularly great against [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] and needed against other Tag Team Pokemon-GX decks that can heal with their own Mallow and Lana. Since Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX doesn’t OHKO Tag Team Pokemon-GX, the best you can do is match their healing. The fact that Mallow and Lana requires a Pokemon on the Bench to switch into is annoying. In the late-game, sometimes you have to play down a Misdreavus to switch into, and then manually retreat the Misdreavus.

Three Bill’s Analysis

This deck heavily relies on finding particular Items at specific times. Dusk Stone, Beast Ring, [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card], Beast Bringer, and [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] are all situation-specific Items, which makes [card name=”Bill’s Analysis” set=”Hidden Fates” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] a natural pick. It works great with Lt. Surge’s Strategy, and the draw-power that Bill’s Analysis lacks is already provided by Mismagius.

Three Cynthia and Caitlin

A well-rounded Supporter, [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] works with Tag Call, it draws three cards, and it gets a Supporter back from the discard pile. Sometimes I end up wanting a fourth copy, so try not to discard them if you don’t have to because you’ll probably end up wanting it later in the game. The [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card]-like effect is strong as it helps with mid-game consistency and chaining Lt. Surge’s Strategy.

Four-of Items

Many of the Items in this deck are four-ofs purely for consistency. Despite being somewhat unreliable, [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] is great when you flip heads. Like Bill’s Analysis, it helps find specific Items at the times where they are needed. Tag Call is insane early-game. You will usually use it to grab Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX and Cynthia and Caitlin to draw more cards. It helps to find Mallow and Lana when you need to heal too. There aren’t many selections for Tag Call, but that’s ok because the available options are good enough. You need to find two Beast Ring, one to power up each Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX.

Three Great Catcher

This card is useful in so many situations that it’s impossible to go over them all. Against Tag Team Pokemon-GX, the strategy is to KO one with Beast Bringer and win the game with Chaotic Order GX. Your opponent won’t let this happen, so Great Catcher is required to drag up damaged Tag Team Pokemon-GX. It has utility in other matchups as well. At first, I only had two copies, but testing revealed that a third is powerful and sometimes required.

Two Reset Stamp

This is a too strong a card and I wish was never printed. It’s so easy to cheese people out of games with it. It happens to be insane in this deck because your opponent will usually go down to one Prize. After two Mismagius, you can use Reset Stamp to leave your opponent with only one card in hand if they take out a Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX. If they draw out of it, you can use Reset Stamp again. Additionally, with the possibility of going first and using two Mismagius, you can use Reset Stamp to drop your opponent’s hand cards to four before they get a turn! This is basically the new Let Loose [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card], though it’s rarely your go-to strategy.

One Energy Recycler

Getting Energy cards back is useful, especially if you need to hard retreat a Misdreavus for a Mallow and Lana play or if you have to discard Energy during the early-game. [card name=”Energy Recycler” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] was chosen over [card name=”Energy Recycle System” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] for the Pidgeotto Control matchup. Shuffling five basic Energy cards back into the deck is too much for them to handle.

One Beast Energy Prism Star

I didn’t have Beast Energy Prism Star in my Brazil list, but it is in the list going forward instead of an Acro Bike. Beast Energy Prism Star is a bit unreliable because you can’t find it on-demand, but it is too powerful not to play. It makes incredible math against Tag Team Pokemon-GX, because it allows Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX to 2HKO most of them after a Mallow and Lana. It allows for an OHKO against the likes of [card name=”Silvally-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”184″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Heatran-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], or a Keldeo-GX with a [card name=”Choice Helmet” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card].

Matchups

I chose to play this [card name=”Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] deck because I believed its matchups were very good. This deck is favored against a lot of popular decks, is close to even against a few (such as [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] decks), and is only bad against a few decks.

Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX – Very Favorable

[cardimg name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

One of the most popular decks now is [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] and it’s one of Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX’s deck’s best matchups. KO a Tag Team with [card name=”Beast Bringer” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] attached, and finish up with Chaotic Order GX. This matchup is laughably easy if they play any Tag Team Pokemon-GX down, so they are forced to go with multiple [card name=”Keldeo-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Ultra Forest Kartenvoy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card] lets Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX shred through Keldeo-GX and [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] gets Ultra Forest Kartenvoy back. After two Keldeo-GX go down, Chaotic Order GX wins the game. Keldeo-GX only does 110 damage, so it’s practically impossible for it to bring down a Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX when you factor in [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”name”][/card] and the healing Ability. If Ultra Forest Kartenvoy is prized, you can actually use Chaotic Order GX to find and retrieve it immediately.

Ability Reshiram and Charizard-GX – Unsure

This deck deserves a mention because it won the Latin America International Championship. Ability [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] is certain to see another rise in popularity, but I haven’t gotten the chance to play against this matchup yet. If they end up using a Tag Team Pokemon-GX early on, I’m sure that Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX will easily win with its anti-Tag Team Pokemon-GX strategy. I do not know how the match plays out if Ability Reshiram and Charizard-GX sticks to non-Tag Team Pokemon-GX attackers, but I imagine it’s difficult for them to keep up with Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX. I don’t think this matchup is bad or great for Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX.

Mewtwo and Mew-GX – Slightly Favorable to Even

If both decks draw well, Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX wins almost every time. [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] can only win if Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX misses a beat or a combo piece once, which can happen. With Mewtwo and Mew-GX being able to copy [card name=”Charizard-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM211″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Magcargo-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card], it puts a lot of pressure on this deck to draw into everything quickly, which is why this matchup can go either way. On the other hand, it isn’t hard for Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX to pull off its basic strategy of taking a KO on one Tag Team Pokemon-GX and then winning with Chaotic Order GX. If they try to use Mallow and Lana, that’s a turn they aren’t using Welder. Plus, [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] can essentially negate Mallow and Lana if you manage to draw into it. This matchup is very luck-based, but I think it is slightly in Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX’s favor overall. In this matchup, Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX relies on drawing well to keep up with Mewtwo and Mew-GX’s pressure. If Mewtwo and Mew-GX doesn’t have a hot start, things get significantly easier.

Pidgeotto Control – Very Favorable

One of the main reasons I played this deck for Brazil is because it is extremely strong not only against Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, but [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] too, which I believed were going to be the two biggest decks. If you’re thinking about playing this deck at best-of-one events, part of this appeal goes away because there generally isn’t any Pidgeotto Control at smaller events.

Against Pidgeotto Control, use two [card name=”Mismagius” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] as early as possible to activate [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card]. If you go first and have the opportunity to use [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] to drop your opponent’s hand to four cards, do that to cripple them. Otherwise, save the Reset Stamp to potentially limit your opponent’s [card name=”Misty and Lorelei” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”199″ c=”name”][/card] usage. Only put one Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX into play, and don’t put too much Energy onto it because of [card name=”Articuno-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card]’s Cold Crush GX. If any important cards are prized, use Chaotic Order GX immediately to find them. Early Chaotic Order GX is usually good, but sometimes it’s better to apply pressure via multiple KOs.

Quickly get a third Mismagius out to make yourself immune to the hand lock and Cold Crush GX combo. Avoid using this third Mismagius until you absolutely have to. Try to get the [card name=”Energy Recycler” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] into your hand so it doesn’t get discarded with [card name=”Bellelba and Brycen-Man” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] and use it at the first opportunity to shuffle Energy cards back in your deck. The longer you sit on it, the more likely it gets hit with [card name=”Mars” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card]. Overall, this matchup is very favorable thanks to Beast Ring and Mismagius. It’s nearly impossible for Pidgeotto Control to use their full-lock strategy.

Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX – Unfavorable

The [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] matchup is not good. You have to get lucky to win. Choose to go second, hope your opponent doesn’t get a [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Fairy Charm UB” set=”Team Up” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card], and try to get the turn 1 attack. If all of that goes as planned, the game essentially ends because you can take four Prizes with your first KO and clean up with Chaotic Order GX. If your opponent gets a Fairy Charm UB, you could get lucky and find Ultra Forest Kartenvoy. If that happens, you would have to use Lt. Surge’s Strategy, Cynthia and Caitlin to get it back, and reuse it on the next turn to take out the Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX.

Blacephalon-GX / Naganadel – Slightly Favorable to Slightly Unfavorable

I played this matchup once in the tournament and managed to win both games, though I’m not sure how it’s supposed to go. It’s very possible to blitz them with pure speed and sometimes they can’t keep up. However, if the [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] player draws well, they can actually checkmate Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX. Since this deck requires two Mismagius to be used early on, they will eventually go down to one Prize. All they have to do is draw a couple of Beast Ring and take a return KO on the Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX when it starts attacking. On that turn, they can checkmate Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX if one Energy is attached on the Active Blacephalon-GX and Blacephalon-GX on the Bench each. If you return KO the Blacephalon, they win with Burst GX.

In the second game, my opponent attempted to set up this checkmate scenario. I was able to use [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] on his [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] on the Bench, use Reset Stamp to drop his hand to one card, and use Chaotic Order GX. This leaves a one-turn window for the opponent to draw out of his one card in hand, but it doesn’t work if they have [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Ultra Space” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] in play. My overall impression is that this matchup is the Mewtwo and Mew-GX matchup, but in reverse. Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX puts a ton of pressure on Blacephalon-GX, but they will win if they draw well. The result is that the match can go either way. Against Mewtwo and Mew-GX, the onus is on Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX to draw well. Here, it’s on the Blacephalon-GX deck to draw everything it needs.

Florges / Lillie’s Poke Doll Stall – Auto-Loss

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

This [card name=”Florges” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] deck is near-impossible to beat. If they don’t start [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], you can immediately use Reset Stamp to drop your opponent’s hand to four cards. Best to use Reset Stamp after they use [card name=”Steven’s Resolve” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card]. If you can take four Prizes before they set up, you can win with Chaotic Order GX, but that’s hard to do.

Baby Blacephalon / Pidgeotto – Auto-Loss

This is Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX’s worst matchup. There’s nothing Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX can do to win, especially against the version with [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”267″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] easily obliterates two Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX and the game is over. Fortunately, Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX’s auto-losses are among the less-popular decks, but they are auto-losses nonetheless.

Green’s Reshiram and Charizard-GX – Very Favorable

This deck didn’t see a lot of success in Brazil, but it gained [card name=”Charizard and Braixen-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card], which is a strong card that will probably see some play in the future. I played against one of these and beat it easily. There isn’t much that Green’s Reshiram and Charizard-GX can do against Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX. It’s easy to pull off the anti-Tag Team Pokemon-GX strategy with Beast Bringer and there isn’t much they can do about it.

Conclusion

As you can see, this deck’s matchups aren’t terribly broken. [card name=”Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] is fast, powerful, somewhat consistent, and has a chance against most decks. Most people who play the deck think it’s very fun as well, though it’s extremely simple and easy to play. Most games with Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX involve a lot of luck, as the winner is generally determined by how well Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX draws (not to mention the [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] flips). Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX has two semi-relevant auto-losses, so you have hope to avoid those. [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] is a bad matchup as well, but taking one bad matchup to a relevant deck is fine when you’re favored or at least even against every other major deck.

This deck is solid overall. If you play it for League Cups and League Challenges, you likely won’t play against one good matchup ([card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]) and one bad matchup ([card name=”Florges” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card]). For Daytona Regionals and any other upcoming major Standard events, Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX is a decent pick. I don’t think I’ll be playing it for Daytona because it felt like a deck that needs to “run hot,” and games were out of my control, but it works. The deck drew much better for me in testing than the actual International, but it apparently drew very well for Jimmy and Igor.

Thanks for reading! If you haven’t tried out this deck yet, give it a shot. It may not be the most skillful, but it’s fun and effective!

–Grant

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