Expanded Trevenant & Dusknoir-GX — Playing It, Beating It, and What’s Next

By: Caleb Gedemer · Posted Posted onApr 2, 2020 at 11:15 PM · 0 Comments

[cardimg name=”Milotic” set=”Flashfire” no=”23″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Expanded is fun to play as a change-up from Standard. While we won’t be seeing anymore sanctioned Expanded events in the format this season, it’s a good idea to tinker around in this diverse format from time to time.

Next season’s festivities should resume the format in full force and barring any bans, there’s one deck that should be on everyone’s mind: [card name=”Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM217″ c=”name”][/card]. This deck is very good and certifiably toxic with [card name=”Milotic” set=”Flashfire” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Ace Trainer” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card]. It happens to be linear to play too, a plus if you’re great at sequencing. Today I’ll be talking about the deck itself and any potential changes, along with any new cards to be released that help it out — playing it as well as beating it with other decks and strategies.

Ever since the siphoning in of Item-based draw cards in the Pokemon TCG such as [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], these sequencing-heavy lock type decks have been made viable. These decks are able to achieve a lock as early as the first or second turn. For past examples, see [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card], Vileplume / [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Peeking Red Card” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], among others. This deck is the most recent iteration of the archetype using the now-limited control-style card pool of the Expanded format. You’ll be using Milotic, going down on Prizes, then use Ace Trainer, followed by Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX’s Night Watch attack to shuffle away two of your opponent’s three cards at random. Other gimmicks like Horror House GX with [card name=”Gengar and Mimikyu-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] are played for the potential to put your opponent down to zero cards, forcing them into top deck mode.

Let’s start with the most recent iteration of this deck, an updated version of Alex Garcia and Pablo Meza’s creation in the hands of Justin Bokhari, Will Jenkins and Isaiah Bradner at the Illinois Regional Championship (1st, 5th and 18th respectively). This list is closely related to Meza’s own Top 8 list from Texas Regionals about a month prior. The most notable omission is Trainers’ Mail, something that the group removed in favor of techs and the newly introduced [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card].

Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX Expanded Deck

[premium]

[decklist name=”.” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM217″][pokemon amt=”20″]4x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM217″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Gengar and Mimikyu-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Feebas” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”28″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Milotic” set=”Flashfire” no=”23″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC11″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Alolan Grimer” set=”Unified Minds” no=”127″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”34″]2x [card name=”Ace Trainer” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”69″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Weakness Policy” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”126″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”6″]6x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”6″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Explanations

One Wobbuffet and One Garbodor

The mirror match is where [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] shines. You want to play first, then retreat to your Wobbuffet for its Bide Barricade Ability to stop your opponent from pushing out a big turn. From there, you’ll be free to retreat into Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX, pop your Milotic, then begin the lock with Ace Trainer into Night Watch. Wobbuffet has merit against virtually anything, it’s a nice turn one buffer to stop the deck thinning that most opponents will try to execute. [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] is for after, while [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] takes care of almost every deck. Garbotoxin is for [card name=”Rowlet and Alolan Exeggutor-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”1″ c=”name”][/card] / Vileplume decks, stopping Vileplume and allowing you to play Items as well as getting you the option to attack the Disgusting Pollen [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”6″ c=”name”][/card]. You can send Wobbuffet up, attach a Tool and get to work. Garbodor is your out to an [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], a [card name=”Silvally-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”184″ c=”name”][/card] or other Evolution-based draw power to get out of the lock. It can be evolved from [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], making it a needed inclusion.

One Exeggcute

Propagation lets you get more value out of your opening turns. Without Quick Ball, an argument could be made to exclude [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”name”][/card]. Now, with eight discarding effects with your “Ball” cards, you’re going to want to be able to save a few extra cards to extend your turn. All it takes is one Battle Compressor to get Exeggcute running and while it won’t last you the whole game as far as value goes (Ability lock is coming), it’s worth it for your first and second turns alone. This deck ramrods your 60 cards and you will have very few left after a couple turns. Exeggcute pushes you further and extends your turn while saving yourself important resources — play it.

Two Weakness Policy

These were needed in the past for the Turbo Dark matchup; now, I’m not so sure! While you will lose to Turbo Dark without [card name=”Weakness Policy” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card], the deck is so much worse in the current Expanded format and you shouldn’t expect to face very many at events or in random testing. These are two slots you could use for further tech inclusions or more consistency cards. They’re safe but perhaps not needed. [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] was a menace, now not so much. Weakness Policy can probably leave this list on good terms to no love lost.

Options

Garbodor

[cardimg name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Trashalanche [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] would make for an interesting inclusion in this deck. You could potentially close out games in a couple attacks if your opponent drops a ton of Item cards, a play that most decks will try to make before the [card name=”Ace Trainer” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] lock hits. By playing as many Item cards as possible, they intend to thin out the deck and protect against the hand lock. However, this would backfire if you had Trashalanche. I think this is mostly a gimmick, you’d likely want a [card name=”Trubbish” set=”Noble Victories” no=”48″ c=”name”][/card] for it and you ought to win before Trashalanche would become a viable option. [card name=”Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM217″ c=”name”][/card]’s Night Watch deals a formidable 150 damage and can close out games quickly on its own.

Marnie

This seems like a gimmick, but maybe it’s better than [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]? If you can’t use Ace Trainer for some reason, [card name=”Marnie” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] is two cards more without as much potential to punish yourself like [card name=”Judge” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] might (five versus four cards). I think I’d skip this, but it’s something to think about if you run into situations where you’re ahead on Prizes and need more disruption. With this deck being as committed to the lock I wouldn’t go ahead on Prizes if it were to backfire so I don’t see Marnie being extremely valuable.

Trainers’ Mail

You don’t need these with [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card] in the format but they do dig for more of the Trainer cards you desperately need to to avoid running out of steam. If you find yourself wanting more consistency (I feel this list is completely content where it is) then adding [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] is the best place to start.

Field Blower

This is a counterplay inclusion to stop [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card]. Formerly a way around your Ability-stopping Abilities, you can use [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] to disrupt now. For example, you can use Field Blower to take care of Stealthy Hood on a [card name=”Dhelmise” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”59″ c=”name”][/card] or a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] on a [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] — the combination of both cards allows Zacian V to deal 270 damage to KO Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX. With Field Blower, you can get around this problem and attack more times.

Escape Rope

Mirror match tech anyone? You can push an opposing Wobbuffet back, continue to set up and potentially use Horror House GX turn 2 if you’re playing second. [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] can offset any advantage that your opponent gained by playing first and securing Bide Barricade. This is another switching card, a hot commodity for a deck that needs to get its combo as soon as possible.

Counter Catcher

Falling behind by using [card name=”Milotic” set=”Flashfire” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card]’s Energy Grace is inevitable, so why not get some extra power out of it? [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] can situationally eliminate a potential threat before it can attack or use its Ability. You’re only going to have space for one, maybe two; as many of your early turns involve playing your hand down to criminally small sizes to draw back up with [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]’s Set Up, I don’t like Counter Catcher because it often gets discarded without being used. Sometimes, you won’t want to gust something up anyway. I like Escape Rope more in this slot if you were to play either.

Mystery Energy

This is an interesting inclusion, but I’m not sold on its merit. The idea with [card name=”Mystery Energy” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] is that you get to play “another switching card” that can move your [card name=”Gengar and Mimikyu-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] around or retreat Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX for the one Energy. This is sketchy and [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] is better. The question becomes more of, if a single Mystery Energy would be better than one Psychic Energy or maybe some form of a split with Float Stone to be able to play more Energy. I think I’d skip this but it’s worth tinkering with; I could be missing something.

New Options?

Remember these are worked from the compilation of “Rebellious Clash” and “VMAX Rising”. Eldegoss V, like with any deck, could be thrown in here as another support Pokemon. [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] sets up Happy March to pull out a Supporter of your choosing and a searchable [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] is nice.

This is terrible but Hatterene could be used to put an opponent’s hand to zero after Night Watch. However, it’s a Stage-2 that will never see the field, especially in a speed deck like this. I wanted to point out that a complete hand lock is possible again!

Everyone’s thinking Scoop Up Net will be banned in Expanded, but if it’s not, this deck would love to have it. [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] can be played more times than it can. You’d be able to clean up your field after a nutty first turn. I would see Scoop Up Net as a four-of in a deck like this with a turbo engine if it’s legal for play in Expanded. Oleana has potential in here as well, you could screw up a hand that had a Trainer to draw out of the lock. Horror Psychic Energy probably becomes a one or two-of in this deck to clean up numbers and apply more offensive pressure.

Finally, Dubwool V is a cute inclusion, usable with Milotic (you’d need to use two Milotic). You could close the game out with its Revenge Burst. Assuming your opponent has taken down one Tag Team Pokemon-GX and taken two Prizes from Energy Grace, you’ll swing for 270 damage to one-shot pretty much everything.

How to Play the Deck

This deck can beat anything if its combo hits. This deck works best when it goes first, you can use Horror House GX turn 2 or do it if you’re forced to play second. I’ve done this in the past with sequencing-heavy decks and I think it’s the best way to teach it; here’s an example of an opening hand being played through to the second turn — I’m going to start by going first, then switch to second in another example. These hands are the product of a few test simulations and what’s presented is an “on-average or better” game / hand that I would feel good about opening with. These walkthroughs are all with Justin Bokhari’s Regional-winning deck list. No degenerate stoppage will be theorized, like [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] and the like for the purposes of this being a bearable tutorial.

Playing First:

  • [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]
  • Shaymin-EX
  • Shaymin-EX
  • [card name=”Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM217″ c=”name”][/card]
  • [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]
  • [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]
  • [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card]

I start with Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX here. My draw for turn is another Battle Compressor — nice. Before doing anything else I want to use Battle Compressor to check my deck out, thin out some junk and get moving. One might hone in on Psychic Energy immediately, but Supporter cards are better to start with since we can play Energy for turn. The first Battle Compressor goes for: [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card]. We have all four [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] in deck in this game so we’ll be able to recover these cards later for draw and disruption. Note that I did not use Battle Compressor for my [card name=”Ace Trainer” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] in deck (the other is in the Prizes); this is because I want to use [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card]’s Wonder Tag for it if possible; I have more “Ball” outs to it than I have VS Seeker. I now play my second Battle Compressor, this time going for: [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”name”][/card], Psychic Energy, and Psychic Energy. Discarding Psychic Energy is inevitable and important, so putting them in the discard pile now because we have a second Battle Compressor is optimal. Now my Quick Ball in hand can discard either the Guzma or the Exeggcute in the discard pile; I’m going to opt for the Guzma since I haven’t played a VS Seeker yet, so I can draw some more with Shaymin-EX. Quick Ball is going to get [card name=”Feebas” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card] here. Normally I would get [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], but it’s in the Prizes. [card name=”Alolan Grimer” set=”Unified Minds” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] is of course an option (there is only one to two Feebas), but the thing is if you’re not using [card name=”Milotic” set=”Flashfire” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] on the second turn you’re at a clear disadvantage. Prioritizing Milotic over [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] is optimal. Feebas is played on the Bench, the first of the three Shaymin-EX is played. I now have:

  • Feebas
  • Shaymin-EX
  • Shaymin-EX
  • Quick Ball
  • VS Seeker
  • Psychic Energy

All we have to do here is set ourselves up for a strong second turn. We already have two Feebas, so losing one and not being able to use Milotic’s Energy Grace shouldn’t be a worry. We got an Energy for turn and have a VS Seeker for Ace Trainer next turn (hopefully). I want to find Alolan Grimer, so I’m going to use Quick Ball with Exeggcute’s Propagation. This will fill the Bench following the second Shaymin-EX’s Set Up, but that’s fine with a VS Seeker in hand and high probability to find a [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card]. The Psychic Energy is attached to the Active and the Basic Pokemon are played. I will use Shaymin-EX’s Set Up for four cards!

  • Gengar and Mimikyu-GX
  • Shaymin-EX
  • [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card]
  • VS Seeker
  • VS Seeker
  • Psychic Energy

Our draw for turn is another Psychic Energy. Time to play the Ultra Ball, discarding the Exeggcute again as well as a Psychic Energy. Milotic comes into play, uses Energy Grace (loading up Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX) and Ace Trainer is played. Now it’s on the opponent to draw out of Night Watch and they’re stuck with a hand of one plus a top deck!

Playing Second:

[cardimg name=”Gengar and Mimikyu-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”53″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

  • Feebas
  • [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]
  • [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]
  • Quick Ball
  • Ultra Ball
  • [card name=”Weakness Policy” set=”Primal Clash” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card]
  • Sky Field

Playing second, our goal is either going to be putting [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] into the Active or going for Horror House GX. I’m going to opt for the latter here. Clearly, this hand is broken with the Computer Search. The draw for turn was another Quick Ball, sweet. This can be a confusing hand to play; I suggest using Quick Ball first to snag the Exeggcute (hopefully it’s not Prized) and then get moving. We’ll discard the Weakness Policy to go get it. Now, it’s time to build the hand back up to size; Quick Ball for Shaymin-EX, discarding the Exeggcute. Play Float Stone on Feebas, drop Sky Field, then use Shaymin-EX’s Set Up for four cards. We now have:

  • Gengar and Mimikyu-GX
  • Battle Compressor
  • Computer Search
  • Ultra Ball
  • VS Seeker
  • Weakness Policy

This is going to work perfectly, we practically have the Horror House GX. The reason we’re doing this at all is to stave off any big plays, then next turn we can go for the Night Watch to one card after Ace Trainer. As a reminder, don’t be caught choosing to go second with this deck; it’s non-optimal.

Battle Compressor is played next, here. Let’s ditch one Ace Trainer (both are in deck), Mallow and Lana, and N (Guzma and Professor’s Research are Prized). We don’t want to discard any Psychic Energy yet because we need to draw one for the Horror House GX attack. Now time to draw the hand back up again with Shaymin-EX. Let’s do Propagation and then Ultra Ball the Exeggcute and Weakness Policy to snag another Shaymin-EX. To get the most cards, Gengar and Mimikyu-GX needs to be played. After Set Up for four cards, we’ve got:

  • [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]
  • [card name=”Milotic” set=”Flashfire” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card]
  • Milotic
  • [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]
  • [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”EX FireRed and LeafGreen” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card]
  • [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card]

This is a bit of a wonky hand, it might be challenging to play. Since we already have a Sky Field down, we can part with the one in our hand using Computer Search. Now to decide on the Computer Search. You might jump for [card name=”Alolan Grimer” set=”Unified Minds” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] or a second [card name=”Feebas” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card] — don’t. Here I think a Psychic Energy is best.

In the case of the second Feebas, we’re going to Horror House GX anyway, so the one we have in play is not at risk of being taken out under normal [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] circumstances. Second, Alolan Grimer is secondary to achieving our normal strategy — we must use Night Watch down to one on the second turn (if able). Use Computer Search, discarding the [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”name”][/card] again and the Sky Field for Psychic Energy. Now we do want to keep digging, but not discard this hand with Dedenne-GX’s Dedechange. Let’s VS Seeker for [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] after attaching the Psychic Energy. Our immediate goals are finding Alolan Grimer and a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] to retreat the [card name=”Gengar and Mimikyu-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] into [card name=”Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM217″ c=”name”][/card] next turn. We do need an out to [card name=”Ace Trainer” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] and Psychic Energy in the discard pile for Energy Grace. We got:

  • [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card]
  • [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]
  • Ace Trainer
  • Float Stone
  • [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card]
  • Quick Ball

This looks good, let’s use a Quick Ball (discarding Exeggcute again) for [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] (we have Garbodor in hand as an option if we want to go that route instead of [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card]). Now this hand could be played further, but since our opponent can’t play any cards as a result of Horror House GX, I’m going to hold the rest and use the GX attack itself.

Now, back to us. We drew a [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] for turn. We need to find the Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX, get some Energy in the discard pile and use Milotic. Let’s discard Garbodor with Quick Ball (we can use Rescue Stretcher if we need it later). This Quick Ball is going to get the Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX. Now, Float Stone needs to go on Gengar and Mimikyu. Should we Rescue Stretcher and put Garbodor onto Ditto Prism Star? This is a hard question — sometimes I would not, since we might want to value the Alolan Muk instant Basic Pokemon Ability lock higher, but for the purposes of getting the lock in general, let’s do it to get an extra card from Shaymin-EX’s Set Up. Set Up for five cards!

  • Milotic
  • [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]
  • [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card]
  • Ace Trainer
  • Psychic Energy
  • Psychic Energy

This went perfectly. I want to use Battle Compressor first. Let’s discard two Psychic Energy and a Battle Compressor from the deck. Now Ultra Ball away Exeggcute after using Propagation and one of the two Psychic Energy in hand. This will get us another Shaymin-EX to dig for a Float Stone for Garbodor! Attach the Psychic Energy to Gengar and Mimikyu-GX to have Poltergeist as an attacking option. Use Shaymin-EX’s Set Up for five cards!

  • Alolan Muk
  • Gengar and Mimikyu-GX
  • Float Stone
  • Ultra Ball
  • Ace Trainer
  • Sky Field

This is the perfect hand. We can use Milotic’s Energy Grace to attach three Psychic Energy to Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX, attach Float Stone to Garbodor, and use Ace Trainer! Night Watch puts them down to one card once again after retreating Gengar and Mimikyu-GX for free because of its Float Stone.

How to Beat the Deck

[cardimg name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I hope those breakdowns were helpful! Playing this deck requires a lot of sequencing, remember to see more cards before making decisions. For example, play Battle Compressor before attaching an Energy card — get more information, make better decisions! Now how can we slow this deck down, if not beat it?

  • [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] and its Roadblock slows down [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] and can sometimes brick a [card name=”Trevenant and Dusknoir-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM217″ c=”name”][/card] player
  • [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] acts similarly with Bide Barricade, if you get it Active you might be able to brick them that way — if not, you might delay Energy Grace and set up before the lock

That’s all for Pokemon techs. There are Stage-1 Pokemon that draw hands back up to size, but those aren’t very effective since you need to find them after the lock hits. [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] with Instruct is only a soft counter, since [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] and / or [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] will stop it in its tracks unless you can get a [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] on it beforehand. As for other strategies, prioritize the set up of your attackers before actually attacking. They don’t have the flexibility of most decks because they are “forced” to use [card name=”Ace Trainer” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] early. This means you shouldn’t expect a turn 2 [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], maybe not until turn 3. [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] can “solve” this flaw, but it’s not in all lists and they might not find it at the right time. Regardless, set up your attackers before doing anything. Don’t try to get the turn 1 attack, prioritize getting multiple attackers so you can last the duration of the game. Thin things out and shoot for finding your Bide Barricade and / or Roadblock to slow them down if you can.

Conclusion

Welp that’s it folks. The Expanded format is a fun change now and again, if you can handle its toxicity. I hope you all are being safe, socially-distancing if you can and washing your hands often! We’re all in this together and some day soon we’ll be playing the Pokemon TCG again. Let me know if you have any questions in the Subscribers’ Hideout and if you have an article suggestions I’d love to hear it. Take care and thanks for reading.

Peace,

–Caleb

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