Sleight of Hand — Garchomp & Giratina-GX in Standard

Hello! Let’s talk about the Standard format!

[cardimg name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”221″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

If you’re American, maybe that’s not the most interesting for you. The only major event left in North America before the release of Sword and Shield (I can’t wait to talk about that set, by the way) is in Expanded, so there’s no huge need to test Standard. Plus, let’s be honest, many people believe that the format is getting a bit stale. [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], and, strangely enough, [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], are getting the most results in League Cups worldwide, and all these decks can have consistency issues. As much as I hate that Sword and Shield’s new TCG mechanics boil down to nothing more than “Pokémon-EX again, but bigger”, at least with cards like Quick Ball and Evolution Incense, we can expect decks to get more consistent.

That said, there are still several upcoming major events in the current Standard format, including Bochum Regionals, in January, so I can’t really stop playing the format. In addition, the format is not so solved that we see no innovation. Indeed, the last NA regionals were won by an unexpected deck: [card name=”Garchomp and Giratina-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Mismagius” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], which brings me to today’s article.

By now, this deck is not unknown, but it’s still not being explored as much as other archetypes. I think there are reasons for that: there was no known decklist for the deck for a while, and even when one surfaced, it was weird and not easily approachable. After San Diego, when many top players started talking about the deck, many players decided it wasn’t worth learning the deck if they had only a few local events to play it in. These reasons, as you can see, have nothing to do with the deck’s power level. Indeed, Garchomp and Giratina-GX / Mismagius is a strong deck and should be considered if you’re attending the Regionals in, say, Bochum or Sao Paulo. If that’s your case (or even if you’re just searching for a new deck to play at a League Challenge!), I hope that this article makes a good introduction to the deck. I’ll also briefly touch on updates to Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX at the end of the article.

A Little Bit of History

The idea of Garchomp and Giratina-GX being combined with Mismagius is not new. Marc Lutz was, to my knowledge, the first player to use this combination, back at Cologne regionals, where he made Day 2. The idea is simple: sacrifice a Mismagius (which gives your opponent a Prize and improves your consistency), then attach a [card name=”Counter Gain” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Karate Belt” set=”Unified Minds” no=”201″ c=”name”][/card] to Garchomp and Giratina-GX so you can use Calamitous Slash on turn 2.

Why Garchomp and Giratina-GX specifically? Other Pokémon could be used in its place, or in addition to it, but Garchomp and Giratina-GX is the most dangerous of them. Linear Attack followed by Calamitous Slash is 280 damage, enough to KO any Tag Team Pokémon-GX by turn 2.

This same combination wrecked havoc in Expanded in Japan. The release of [card name=”Island Challenge Amulet” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”194″ c=”name”][/card] allowed the deck to push this strategy to completely degenerate extremes, where you could sacrifice five Prizes on your first turn by putting Island Challenge Amulet on a [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], use [card name=”Lt. Surge’s Strategy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card], use [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] to put your opponent to one card in hand, use [card name=”Mars” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] to discard that card, then control their topdeck with [card name=”Chip-Chip Ice Axe” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card]. Plus, this being Expanded, you could use either Calamitous Slash or GG End GX with [card name=”Double Dragon Energy” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] and Karate Belt, as soon as turn 1.

That deck dominated the Expanded Champions League in Tokyo, which led to a huge wave of bans that were also applied to our own Expanded format as soon as Cosmic Eclipse was released: Chip Chip Ice Axe, Lt. Surge’s Strategy, Mismagius, Island Challenge Amulet, etc. It was clear that designers of the game didn’t want such a broken strategy to exist.

Back in Standard, Cosmic Eclipse’s release also saw a new incarnation of this deck emerge. Gustavo Wada played it to a Top 8 finish at LAIC, although as usual, he didn’t publish his list, so we had to wait for a long time to get it. When we finally did, it looked very weird. Some unusual choices were the two copies of [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] and the very varied Energy line, although I was most surprised by the strange count of three [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”name”][/card].

Then, three weeks later, many players decided to give the deck a try, and built an updated list, featuring [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”104″ c=”from”][/card] but no [card name=”Omastar” set=”Team Up” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card]. World Champion, Henry Brand, made Top 8 with it at Brisbane Regionals in Australia, then American and Brazilian players used a slightly modified version of the deck in San Diego, ending with Justin Bokhari taking the win. The deck also made Top 8 at the Singapore SPE, although that was unrelated.

I don’t have exhaustive data to compare it to more popular archetypes, but that’s a lot of success in a short time for an archetype which sees very little play overall. That’s a sign that the archetype is strong and not played as much as it should be.

[premium]

Okay, so How Does that Deck Work?

First, let’s take a look at my list, which is a slight adaptation of the lists that found success at Regionals recently. I can’t really take credit for any of it, because even the changes made (such as adding a fourth Mismagius) were suggested by the group of players who worked on the deck.

[decklist name=”TinaChomp” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Blacephalon” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM221″][pokemon amt=”13″]3 x [card name=”Garchomp and Giratina-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM193″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3 “][/card]4x [card name=”Mismagius” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Misdreavus” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM221″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”37″]4x [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lt. Surge’s Strategy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Dusk Stone” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Energy Spinner” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Counter Gain” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Karate Belt” set=”Unified Minds” no=”201″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Wait and See Hammer” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”192″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”10″]4x [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Weakness Guard Energy” set=”Unified Minds” no=”213″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

This is a [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card] deck, which means there will be a part of reactivity: you can access everything in your deck (Trainers directly via Green’s Exploration, Energy through [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Energy Spinner” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card], Pokémon through [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]) and you’ll have to adapt to what your opponent is playing or what they’re trying to do. This is something we saw a lot in [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] when they played an assortment of Fairy Charms.

Another characteristic of Green’s Exploration decks is that they tend to have few Pokémon in play at a time and therefore can use a Prize manipulation strategy. I’m sure you remember how Green’s Exploraton / [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] would play down exactly two [card name=”Volcanion” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], thus forcing the opponent to KO two Reshiram and Charizard-GX after they’re done with them, or how Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX can do the same thing thanks to [card name=”Xerneas-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card].

[card name=”Garchomp and Giratina-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] has both of these characteristics, but to a higher degree.

The Three Modes of Play

The deck has three possible plans, corresponding to various Prize manipulations, and will choose one depending mostly on what the opponent is playing. If the opponent is using an unfamiliar deck, your first course of action should be to determine which game plan to use. That said, even after committing to a plan, you must be ready to adapt to circumstances.

First Plan

[cardimg name=”Mismagius” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”78″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Sacrifice one [card name=”Mismagius” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], then use Garchomp and Giratina-GX; sacrifice a second Mismagius, then use a second Garchomp and Giratina-GX.

This is the deck’s main mode of play. You should play that way against most decks, especially those that use Pokemon-GX or Tag Team Pokemon-GX.

Note that unlike in Guzzlord and Naganadel-GX, you don’t need to sacrifice Mismagius on turn 1, even though you can do that with [card name=”Dusk Stone” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card]. There’s no real benefit to doing so, since you’re only going to attack on turn 2 anyway–except if you’re going to use Guzzlord and Naganadel-GX and [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card], but that’s another story — I’ll mention its role a bit later. You can get Misdreavus in play, and evolve it afterwards.

By giving up one Prize, you can use [card name=”Karate Belt” set=”Unified Minds” no=”201″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Counter Gain” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Lt. Surge’s Strategy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card], which allows you to set up a huge swing turn. Often, you can use Linear Attack on the first turn and Calamitous Slash on the second, with nothing else being required.

After the first Garchomp and Giratina-GX is Knocked Out, you should have another one ready (or close to it) to carry on.

You can use a second Mismagius’s Mysterious Message at any point in the game, in order to refill your hand or sometimes activate one of your play-when-behind-in-Prizes cards. When you’ve used two Mismagius and your opponent has Knocked Out a Garchomp and Giratina-GX, you can use [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] to bring them down to one card, which is usually devastating, especially combined with [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card]. You can also hit them with Reset Stamp before you reach that point, but keep in mind that giving up Prizes in order to use Reset Stamp is an important part of the deck (just like it was, or could be, in Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX).

Don’t Bench any more Misdreavus than you need. Having an extra Misdreavus on the board means that your opponent can KO it instead of Garchomp and Giratina-GX if they play Custom Catcher, or a sniping attack, or [card name=”Phione” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], etc. In the same vein, if you’re playing against [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card], only use one Mysterious Message until your opponent uses a GX attack, in order not to lose the game to a Burst GX. Finally, don’t Bench [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card], as you shouldn’t use it in this plan. If you happen to start with it, it means you can only afford one Mysterious Message this game.

Second Plan

Sacrifice three Mismagius, then use Blacephalon. Garchomp and Giratina-GX can finish the game later.

This is the strategy to use against [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] Control, [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] Stall, and any other deck that’s not trying to win by taking KOs. Usually, sacrificing three Mismagius would be very dangerous, but here, it’s beneficial: it doesn’t help your opponent (except by letting them draw useful cards from their Prizes), it lets you use Blacephalon’s Fireworks Bomb for its full effect all game long (until they manage to deal with it, which isn’t easy for a Control deck), and even use Lt. Surge’s Strategy, Counter Gain, and Reset Stamp. It also means Beast Ring is always live, so even if your opponent removes both your Energy (or your Energy and Counter Gain), you can still power up your attacker again.

Against Pidgeotto Control, you should target [card name=”Pidgey” set=”Team Up” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] and Pidgeotto with Fireworks Bomb. Against Doll Stall, remove [card name=”Florges” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] and its pre-Evolution Pokemon from play (but if you can KO, say, [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Munchlax” set=”Unified Minds” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] in one attack, that’s also good). In both cases, but especially the latter, use Reset Stamp when you start attacking with Blacephalon. Doll Stall usually plays [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card], which can OHKO Blacephalon because of Weakness: fortunately, with only one copy and, generally, only one Energy to attack with, they’ll need to use [card name=”Steven’s Resolve” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] for them. As long as you can use Reset Stamp against them, they shouldn’t be able to retaliate.

Third Plan

Don’t use Mismagius, start attacking with Garchomp and Giratina-GX, then use Blacephalon after it’s KO’d.

This last mode is unusual, but it’s the best course of action against attacking decks with low-HP Pokémon, the perfect example being Baby [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”from”][/card] / Pidgeotto. [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] also falls in this category if they’re attacking with [card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]; if they’re using a Tag Team Pokemon-GX attacker, the first plan should be better. The idea is to start spreading damage on their key Pokémon with Linear Attack. Without using Mismagius, you can’t use Calamitous Slash on turn 2, but that’s not important since the Pokémon you want to KO are on the Bench anyway.

When your opponent gets a KO on your [card name=”Garchomp and Giratina-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card], you should be ready to unleash a powerful sequence of actions. For example, against Baby Blacephalon / Pidgeotto, you should be able to send up Blacephalon, power it up, Reset Stamp, and KO two Pidgeotto. By attacking their draw engine while using Reset Stamp, you get into a strong position. The late game is all about using another Tag Team Pokemon-GX to clean up. You can use one Mysterious Message and use Reset Stamp to bring your opponent’s hand to one, but be careful in case they play Blacephalon-GX (which some Blacephalon decks do)!

On Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX and GX attacks

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

This deck uses two GX Pokémon: Garchomp and Giratina-GX and Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX. Generally, Garchomp and Giratina-GX is the preferred attacker, and the fact that it doesn’t have an Ability means you don’t need Power Plant in play to use [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card] (an important fact). So what is Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX doing here?

It has three advantages over Garchomp and Giratina-GX. First, its 180 damage is lower than Garchomp and Giratina-GX’s 240 damage ceiling, but it’s inconditional. If you’re facing a Pokémon with 180 HP—for example Blacephalon-GX or [card name=”Keldeo-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card]—it’s a good thing to be able to OHKO it without having to first use Linear Attack. It’s also an Ultra Beast, so it can be powered up by Beast Ring (that can also be a downside in some situations, for example if your opponent plays [card name=”Silvally-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”184″ c=”name”][/card]). Finally, its GX attack is better. There are situations where GG End GX can be very strong, for example against [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card], but it’s very situational. On the other hand, Chaotic Order GX can win games on the spot, especially against non-GX decks. This is why removing Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX from the deck is most likely a bad idea, even though I’ve toyed with it.

In the three plans above, I mentioned Garchomp and Giratina-GX as an attacker but, in many situations, you can substitute it for Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX. Here’s how I think Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX is best used:

First Plan

Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX can be used instead of the second Garchomp and Giratina-GX (in which case you can use [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] to power it up) if you can OHKO your opponent’s Pokémon with Jet Pierce. You could also use it instead of the first Garchomp and Giratina-GX if you’re going first, since you can use Jet Pierce on turn 2. If you’re going second, Garchomp and Giratina-GX is much better since you can use Linear Attack on turn 1.

Second Plan

Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX is nice since it can end the game when you have two Prizes left. Don’t use Beast Ring too soon, though, because its priority is to power up.[card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card]

Third Plan

Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX is best used here to end the game. Typically, you can spread damage with Garchomp and Giratina-GX (maybe taking one Prize at some point), take two more with Blacephalon, then use one Jet Pierce to take your fourth Prize and Chaotic Order GX to finish the game. Again, if you Bench Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX after your opponent takes their first three Prizes, during your big swing turn, you can use Beast Ring at the same time. Remember that you should only use Beast Ring on Naganadel and Guzzlord-GX if you’re already certain you don’t need it for Blacephalon.

Some Comments on the List

[cardimg name=”Wait and See Hammer” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”236″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

A big difference between this list and other Green’s Exploration decks is that there are no [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”name”][/card]. The idea behind this decision is that thanks to [card name=”Mismagius” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card]’ draw support, you have a way to draw cards (including Green’s Exploration) that replaces Pokégear 3.0. Keep in mind that you’ll want to play [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”name”][/card] on one of your first two turns anyway!

I chose to include [card name=”Wait and See Hammer” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] because it’s a great tech card against [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] which slows it down by one turn, and Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX is particularly popular in my area. That said, it has uses against other decks. If Mewtwo and Mew-GX doesn’t play [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] on turn 1, removing their Energy ensures that they can’t use Flare Blitz GX (and therefore can’t KO Garchomp and Giratina-GX) on turn 2.

Another possibility would be to include Custom Catcher. I can see playing two but I think you can find space for four in the list if you don’t play Pokégear 3.0. The first cards I’d cut would be the second [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card], the Wait and See Hammer, the Beast Ring and, I think, one [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card].

There are many uses for Custom Catcher, but one particularly useful is to KO [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] so that the [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] combo works best. Note that if you’re playing against Mewtwo and Mew-GX and using a Reset Stamp to one, depending on the situation, if you don’t have Custom Catcher, the best play might be to use GG End GX to remove Marshadow from play to ensure that Power Plant sticks!

An Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX Update

In a recent article, I gave an Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX decklist which I believed was a strong play. I’m happy to report that I’ve heard from several people who used that exact list and had good results with it, including Carlos Huenchual who made Top 8 with it at the Iquique SPE in Chile.

In that article, I made the hypothesis that a split of three [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] and one [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] might be better than playing either four Lillie or four Cynthia. After playing more games with this modified list, and winning a League Cup with it, I believe that this split is indeed stronger, and I recommend it to any Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX player.

I think the list may have to change a little more. Recently, [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] players have adapted by adding [card name=”Garchomp and Giratina-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] and Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX, both of which can improve the matchup: the first by getting a 2HKO on Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, and the second by removing their Energy with its GX attack. There are several ways to improve the Malamar matchup from Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX’s perspective, but I think the one that has the most applications in other matchups is playing two [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card], something that Joao Pedro Medeiros recommended even before LAIC and that several Latin American players found success with. Absol is a nightmare for [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]-based decks, which include almost everything that’s played right now, and can strongly slow down a deck like Malamar. By playing two Absol, we increase the odds of getting one on the first turn, and we can also set up two so that it’s impossible to simply attach an Energy to a Jirachi with [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] to retreat every turn.

The other reason why Absol gets better in multiples is that it makes its attack better. With two Absol in play, and Altered Creation GX active, Shadow Seeker OHKO’s a [card name=”Keldeo-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card], which makes Absol a good attacker in the mirror match. In order to achieve this play, we need to run more [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card], so here’s my current list:

[decklist name=”ADP 2 Absol” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Girafarig” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”94″][pokemon amt=”13″]4x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Keldeo-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”47″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cryogonal” set=”Unified Minds” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Girafarig” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”34″]3x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Rosa” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”204″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Counter Gain” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”170″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]6x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”EX Holon Phantoms” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”6″][/card]4x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”Call of Legends” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

The third Rainbow Energy also makes [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”name”][/card] relevant over a longer portion of the game. A fourth copy might make sense as well but I want enough basic Energy in the deck since it’s needed for both Ultimate Ray and [card name=”Rosa” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”204″ c=”name”][/card] (and opponents’ [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], occasionally.)

Even though it can be targeted, I think [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] is still a very strong deck right now.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading! I’ll be taking a short break for the holidays, and I’ll return at the beginning of 2020, possibly with a cool new Expanded deck! In the meantime, I wish you a great end to the year and, as always, best of luck in all your games.

–Stéphane

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