A Whole New World — Shifting From Standard to the New Expanded

[cardimg name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Hello PokeBeach readers and welcome back to another one of my articles! My first article back on the site was put out last week just in time for San Diego Regionals, where I shared all of my thoughts on the Standard format and gave my predictions for the event. Outside of my expectations for Malamar, I was pretty spot on, but unfortunately that did not convert to a strong tournament finish for me. In fact, I was unable to get points after struggling to set up all day, and playing against [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] too much. That being said, I did like the changes I made to the deck between Daytona Beach and San Diego, as I felt like I removed some lesser used cards from the deck for more answers to counters. To start off the article, you’ll get a quick update on [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”custom”]Doll[/card] Stall! Then I’ll take a pretty extensive look at the Expanded format, including a review of the bans and how Cosmic Eclipse might effect things. Without further delay, let’s kick things off!

San Diego Regionals – Doll Stall

I want the focus of this article to be the Expanded format, but I wanted to share my updated Doll Stall list and talk about the changes before diving into the main purpose of the article. That being said, let’s take a look at the updated list I used in San Diego.

[decklist name=”Doll Stall” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Florges” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”86″][pokemon amt=”19″]3x [card name=”Florges” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”86″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Flabébé” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Munchlax” set=”Unified Minds” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Girafarig” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Latios-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mimikyu-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”40″]4x [card name=”Steven’s Resolve” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Professor Oak’s Setup” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”201″ 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=”Channeler” set=”Unified Minds” no=”190″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Unleashed” no=”82″ 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=”Evolutions” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Sky Pillar” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”144″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”1″]1x [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

New Additions

In order to make room for these cards, I had to make some cuts. I ended up removing one [card name=”Flabébé” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card], one [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card], and one [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card]. These cards do help setup in theory, but they are not real consistency, and I did not miss them during the event.

Mimikyu-GX

[card name=”Mimikyu-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card] was included to counter [card name=”Omastar” set=”Team Up” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card], which was starting to see play in [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], which won the last Standard Regional Championship. Since they only have one way to get the Omastar out, they have no way of setting it back up once you shuffle it in with Dream Fear GX. This card ended up being a nice tool against ADP as well, since I was able to shuffle their only big attacker back into the deck once they started using [card name=”Cryogonal” set=”Unified Minds” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] to mess with my game plan. This bought me a ton of time, and while I didn’t use it in every game, it was nice when I did choose to use it.

Switch

This card was included to deal with [card name=”Druddigon” set=”Unified Minds” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Oricorio” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”30″ c=”name”][/card], which were previously both huge issues for the deck due to the lack of a [card name=”Switch” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] card. However, with a Switch and a second copy of Sky Pillar being added in, Druddigon and Oricorio are no longer a problem.

Second Sky Pillar

This card has value in a few matchups and situations, but its purpose was to beat [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] decks that would [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] your only [card name=”Sky Pillar” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] and then spread damage all over your Bench with baby [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card]. With two copies, that strategy no longer works as long as you don’t prize one of them. You are able to chain Sky Pillar with [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card], and you will win the war as long as you have access to one of them for the whole game.

Why I Played Doll Stall

Heading into the event, I was not super sold on anything. I tried a couple of other defensive decks on Friday, including [card name=”Poipole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] stall and [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] Control, but nothing felt especially strong. I wanted to avoid playing an attacking deck because I wasn’t a huge fan of any of them, and it often felt like I was only trying to draw better than my opponent. These factors lead me to deciding between Pidgeotto Control and Doll Stall the night before the event, and while I knew Doll Stall was a risk, I ended up choosing it. It took a bad matchup to Pidgeotto Control and wasn’t great vs ADP, but I was very confident against the rest of the field. Most matchups were autowins as long as I setup, and the deck is a ton of fun to play, so I don’t regret my choice.

Dallas Expanded Talk

The Bans

For starters, I would like to say that while I appreciate Pokemon trying to stay on top of things and keep the game balanced, I think they went a little overboard on these bans. That being said, you are about to get my full opinion on all of the cards on this lengthy list of recent bans!

Chip-Chip Ice Axe

This is a card that was featured in the [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] Control and Pidgeotto Control decks that performed well at Richmond and Portland Regionals. Once you have your opponent with either no hand or a worthless one, you can pretty much guarantee that they won’t change that by using this card, [card name=”Trick Shovel” set=”Flashfire” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] to repeatedly feed the opponent useless cards. While I don’t think those decks were overpowered, banning this card is a reasonable step towards stopping those decks from existing. That being said, this card’s removal from Expanded hurts control decks that aimed to hand lock the opponent.

Flabebe #83 from Forbidden Light

[cardimg name=”Flabébé” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”83″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This is one that doesn’t really make sense to me, simply because I don’t consider it or any of its evolutions to be a huge threat. It is clear that Pokemon was very worried about decks that would take away the opponent’s hand on the first turn, and this card is one that could help do that. This [card name=”Flabébé” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card]’s ability allows it to evolve immediately, and [card name=”Floette” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”151″ c=”from”][/card] allows you to shuffle a random card from your opponent’s hand into their deck. While I don’t think this card is very strong, it won’t be missed by any competitive players, meaning we would only notice a difference if it stuck around and was overpowered. Therefore, while I think this ban was insignificant, I think it was a smart one.

Island Challenge Amulet

[card name=”Island Challenge Amulet” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”194″ c=”name”][/card] was used in Japan on [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], which allowed players to use [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] and leave their opponent with little to no hand. While Reset Stamp was banned, [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] was another way of achieving this goal. You couldn’t leave your opponent with absolutely no hand if the other bans took place, but you could N them to two cards before they even get to do anything. This ban was in line with the rest of the cards that were banned, and while it had potential to be played in decks that are not degenerate, it was a safe choice.

Lt. Surge’s Strategy

While I am a huge fan of control decks, I think this card needed to go with how the format was shaping up. However, after looking at the rest of the bans, I think leaving [card name=”Lt. Surge’s Strategy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] behind would have been fine. It had too many options at its fingertips due to being such a big part of being able to discard your opponent’s entire hand. There is no way to abuse it to the point of it being broken now, so I think this ban was another example of going a little overboard. That being said, control decks hate to see this and aggressive decks love to see it, but I can’t really think of a deck that is made by this card nor one that is destroyed by its absence.

Marshadow SLG, Red Card

I lumped these together because they do the same thing and my thoughts on them are the same. I am so happy these cards are no longer legal! They were huge problems for the game, especially in combination with other disruption cards, and often created games where the winner was chosen before the game really got started. Turn one [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Red Card” set=”XY” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] followed by a [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] makes a large portion of hands completely unplayable, meaning the player who uses this combination gets an easy win with no thought involved. To me, these are the best bans on the list and it is not even close. The removal of these cards from Expanded hurts aggressive decks that aim to take all of their Prize cards as quickly as possible via high damage output or cheap knockouts.

Mismagius UNB

This card was another way of leaving the opponent with only a couple Prize cards early in the game, thus allowing you to use Reset Stamp or N to leave them with a small set of options to choose between. This was similar to Let Loose, which absolutely deserved a ban. While [card name=”Mismagius” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] was not abused during the small window in which it was legal, it had yet to receive all of the tools that players in Japan were using to make degenerate decks that removed the opponent’s hand immediately. Cards like Island Challenge Amulet, which also was banned, are ones that it would have been used with. Removing this card from the game seems like a good choice.

Reset Stamp

I have touched on this card a few times already, but it deserves a better review in its own section. Reset Stamp is one of the bans I like the least because it was actually a good card that was very usable outside of hand lock decks or degenerate strategies. Aggressive decks were punished very well by Reset Stamp, which was something that I enjoyed having around. It was also a good tool for dealing with the massive hands that decks can compile in Expanded due to cards like Zoroark-GX or [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card]. Once you eliminate cards like Mismagius and Island Challenge Amulet, Reset Stamp has no ability to destroy an opponent’s hand early in the game. This leaves the threat of a late game hand lock, which some people believe is an issue, but I’d argue wouldn’t be a big problem due to the other cards on the banlist. Once you eliminate Lt. Surge’s Strategy, you don’t have a great way of leaving your opponent with no hand until they are at one Prize. This makes the lock a lot more fragile because you have less room for error, and your opponent has more time to prepare for what is coming. Speaking of fragile, the hand lock decks also lost [card name=”Chip-Chip Ice Axe” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card], which was a huge part of why the lock was so secure once it was established. Sure, Trick Shovel can be used as a way of controlling the topdeck, but it isn’t as strong and requires multiple copies to truly be effective. The loss of Reset Stamp is a win for aggressive decks and a huge loss for control decks.

Unown (Hand)

I am not entirely sure why this ban happened, as I never thought this win condition was overpowered. It is a very slow, grindy strategy and I don’t really see much of a way for it to ever be achieved in a quick manner. Maybe a card that has yet to be released will change that, or maybe it was banned as a precautionary measure. I won’t miss this card, so I don’t really mind the ban, I just wish I knew why.

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Cosmic Eclipse in Expanded

There hasn’t been a large Expanded tournament since the release of Cosmic Eclipse, and there are some cards in the set that I think have the potential to see play. The cards below are the ones I consider to have the highest potential, and you’ll get to read my reasoning for these cards as well.

Oricorio-GX

[cardimg name=”Oricorio-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”95″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This card might be used in single-Prize attacker decks as it provides a ton of value and operates differently from [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]. I do think decks will end up having to choose between the two because they are both Bench sitters that draw cards in a specific manner. For some decks, this will be an easy choice. Anything that amasses a huge hand size will likely choose to go with our bird friend, while anything that plays Power Plant will stick with the original monkey. Otherwise, some testing will have to be done to determine which one provides more value in an average game.

Mimikyu

In combination with [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] turns off every Pokemon-GX in play. This seems quite strong against Zoroark-GX decks, as it will force them to play something like [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] to be able to Trade. While Zoroark-GX is certainly the most prominent deck that comes to mind, I could see this combination being strong against other decks as well.

Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX

This card is quite the hot topic currently, so I wanted to include it in this article. This card can be used as its own deck, or to setup disruptive attackers like [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Exeggutor” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”5″ c=”from”][/card] to deal extra damage. I have yet to try any of these concepts of course, but they seem strong in theory. The biggest issue with these concepts is [card name=”Pokémon Ranger” set=”Steam Siege” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card], which completely shuts off [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card]’s GX attack. Obviously, that is a huge deal! My thought is that everyone always says they’re going to play Ranger in their deck when a legitimate threat is hurt by it, but as a veteran Quaking Puncher, I can tell you that is generally not the case. This is a card that I would be scared to use at the first Expanded Regional Championships after its release because you don’t know how people are going to build their decks. However, on the other side of the coin, it is a high risk situation that could pay off with high reward. Additionally, once it is successful, Pokemon Ranger will likely see a huge increase in popularity.

Ultra Necrozma

This seems to be the deck I have seen the most hype around heading into the early stages of everyone’s Dallas testing. It does seem like a powerful single-Prize attacker deck that is fast and consistent, so it will have to be something that I try. Players have been playing it with [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”name”][/card], Silent Lab, and [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. This allows them to attack with it early for big damage, and use both Garbodor as a backbone as the game progresses. Even if the deck ends up not being something I like, I expect it to be a reasonable deck that will see play in Dallas. The event is quite far away though, so we will see how things shape up.

Bellelba & Brycen-Man

[card name=”Bellelba and Brycen-Man” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] is a very strong mill card and there is no doubt about that! Being able to mill three every turn is very powerful, especially in comparison to the other mill cards we have seen in the past. However, this card will probably have to wait some time before it is able to see much play. The issue with it is that it doesn’t really have a great deck to go in due to the bans that negatively impacted control decks in a big way.

Guzma & Hala

This card is incredible and has a ton of uses. Shock Lock players have to be stoked on this, as it finds pretty much everything they could possibly dream of. Back to the real world, Zoroark and Garbodor are probably high-fiving over the release of this card as well. Being able to search out [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Shining Legends” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card], a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], and a [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] is absolutely incredible. This is especially insane because you will still get to draw six cards that turn with Trade, and the discards for the Trades and Guzma & Hala are all free thanks to [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”name”][/card]. While I did just name a couple strong uses for this card, the wild part is that their are so many more! Expanded has a huge card pool, which means a lot of Special Energy, Tools, and Stadiums to choose from. I would be very surprised if this card was not played in a top Expanded deck, and this is the card I am most excited about.

Review of Previously Played Decks

For this section, I am going to go through the decks that performed well at recent Expanded Regional Championships and share my thoughts on them moving forward.

Zoroark-GX / Garbodor

[cardimg name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This deck seems to be one that is always played, and just varies in strength depending on the meta for any given event. It is consistent and has great comeback potential, which is why it sees play so consistently. It only really lost Reset Stamp and Red Card, which are not that sad of losses for the deck to be honest. The deck gained Guzma & Hala, which seems like it is going to be an incredible addition to it, the three cards that Guzma & Hala can grab are often the three cards that this deck is looking for the most. I think Zoroark-GX / Garbodor will continue to see play and remain a threat when the meta is right for it.

Pidgeotto Control, Zoroark Control

This is a sad section, please pay respects for what these two great decks once were. Unfortunately, these decks lost a ton of stuff. The loss of Chip-Chip Ice Axe, Reset Stamp and Lt. Surge’s Strategy are all huge blows to the strategies of these decks. Out of Cosmic Eclipse, they only gained Bellelba & Brycen-Man, which unfortunately does not cut it as that card is not even essential to the main strategy. I expect these decks to be pretty dead, but someone might find a cheesy combination of cards that allows the deck to remain a skeleton of its former self.

Gardevoir & Sylveon-GX

Alright, any [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] fans are about to be pumped, because I finally have some good news! This deck lost pretty much nothing, and gained a couple cards. It now has the option to use the [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] engine, which might be something it does because of how much consistency that brings to the table. It is a little slow though, so we will have to see how this deck ends up being built. Hold on though, because we have not even gotten to the good part! The reason why this deck is going to be in a much better position is due to the death of control decks. Previously, it struggled against decks like [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] control and Pidgeotto control because they were too good at removing Energy and controlling the opposing deck’s field and hand. This was not great news for Gardeon decks, and I think the removal of that threat is great news for anyone who wants to sleeve this deck up in Expanded.

Turbo Dark

This is probably the deck that was least affected by the bans and new set released, as I don’t think it gained a single card and it only lost [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card]. Due to the removal of control decks, the loss of Marshadow really only means that Turbo Dark lost the ability to cheese wins by leaving the opponent with an unplayable hand, so it isn’t a huge loss to take. The strategy of the deck is not affected, so I expect it to keep doing its thing.

Rowlet & Alolan Exeggutor-GX / Vileplume

I do think this deck got a big better due to the bans, but I don’t think the new set helped it out that much. Opponents having way fewer options to mess with your [card name=”Steven’s Resolve” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] is pretty nice, and other than that this deck did not play any of the cards that other decks are going to miss greatly. I think that definitely helps it out, but I still think that anyone who plays this deck at a future tournament is in the hands of how other decks are built. This deck saw little play at Portland and performed very poorly in the small numbers that did show up because everyone was prepared for it. However, when JW won with it, pretty much no one was prepared for it. As you can see, the difference in the two metagames was huge, and so was the deck’s results. I expect this deck to remain a deck that people keep in their back pocket as a meta call, but it should be interesting to see if it becomes more of a force to be reckoned with.

Conclusion

That review of decks that have performed well recently will be how I wrap up this article! I hope you enjoyed getting to read all of my thoughts on Pokemon at the moment, especially the Expanded part which is the format most players are focusing on at the moment. Not only is Expanded more important to me now due to the Dallas Regional Championships being my next major event, I also prefer that format quite a bit. It always feels like decks are more consistent and games are more interesting, plus the format provides players with a lot more options. I plan to test a ton for the event, which will be easier than normal due to the large break from traveling I am currently enjoying. I plan to start by building a bunch of decks and simply determining which ones deserve more attention, and from there I will give the remaining decks more attention. I always think this is a solid way of preparing when you have the time, but simply picking a reliable deck that you are comfortable with and grinding out games is also a solid option. Anyways, that is all for this time! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to share them down below and I will get back to you. Otherwise, good luck at any events you might be attending and I will be back next month! Peace.

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