In the Future of Darkness – Dusknoir Variants in Expanded
[cardimg name=”Dusknoir” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”63″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Hey guys, it’s Charlie and I’m happy to be back with another article. In my last article, I mentioned that I had been working on many variants that centered around Dusknoir; a Pokemon with multiple incredible prints that work together to create extremely powerful strategies in the Expanded format. I love complex cards with complex interactions that open up many lines of play, so the various prints of Dusknoir caught my eye immediately.
Interestingly, every single Dusknoir ever printed has either a Poke-Power, Poke-Body, or an Ability (except the two Basics: [card name=”Dusknoir FB” set=”Supreme Victors” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card], but those don’t count). Pokemon with Abilities/Powers have always been significantly more interesting than vanilla attackers in my mind; they can do way more because they work during your turn and allow good players to make unique moves in order to maximize their chances of winning. Before diving into the lists, let’s do a quick overview of the multiple “playable” Dusknoir in the Expanded format:
Dusknoir BCR: Sinister by Nature
Our first [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] is likely the most powerful Dusknoir ever printed based on strict power level ([card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Diamond and Pearl” no=”2″ c=”name”][/card] DP comes close) due to its ability to move damage literally anywhere on your opponent’s board. This is one of the most powerful effects ever printed; you not only can focus damage from spread attackers like [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Trevenant BREAK” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] onto specific Pokemon, but you can also move damage from any attack around in order to take a KO on a lower HP Pokemon or purposely keep one of your opponent’s Pokemon from being KO’d ([card name=”Accelgor” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] decks come to mind). Throughout its rich history, this Dusknoir has seen significant play in many different decks and was printed in Trent Orndorff’s 2014 World Championship Deck. In Expanded toady, this Dusknoir has the potential to do even more for specific decks, as spread attackers are more powerful than ever and [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] is on pretty much everybody’s Bench.
Dusknoir FLF: Send Damage to the Void
While not nearly as powerful as the last Dusknoir, the [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Flashfire” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] from Flashfire has many use cases in which it can be viable. Its Ability, Shadow Void, allows you to move as many damage counters as you want from your Pokemon to Dusknoir. You can use this to “heal” your Pokemon and then remove the damage altogether with something like [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card], keeping some of your Pokemon out of OHKO/2HKO range. In combination with Dusknoir BCR, you can have soft control over your own damage and complete control over your opponent’s — a powerful prospect indeed. I don’t know if I’ll put this Dusknoir in any decks in the near future (it has been power crept out of relevancy because 120 damage is no longer much), but it’s an option to keep in mind when building around other Dusknoir.
Dusknoir BUS: Inviting More Pokemon
This [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] has an Ability that acts similar to [card name=”Mawile-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card], except you only get to take one Pokemon but also get to place 3 damage counters on it. Not only is this powerful in an Expanded format with [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”name”][/card] running rampant, but it’s also powerful in combination with Dusknoir BCR as you can get more damage onto the board and also bring down more targets to put your damage onto. With both Dusknoir BCR and BUS on the field, you have incredible control over your opponent’s Pokemon and can almost draw Prize cards at will. Plus, you get a free peek at your opponent’s hand once a turn; an often overlooked but very strong power in a format with [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]. I play this in one of my lists as an easy way to pick off Prize cards and get down more targets to take damage, but its use cases are much broader and I encourage you to explore using this card in your lists.
Dusknoir CEC: Outlook is Grim
This is likely the weakest Dusknoir on the list. [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] from Cosmic Eclipse is a solid attacker with a built-in [card name=”Spell Tag” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card], but it doesn’t have any game-changing impact like the other Dusknoir. I won’t be playing this in any lists, but it’s a great attacker in formats that are closer to Prerelease-style.
Dusknoir VIV: Crystal Beach 2.0
Of all the Dusknoir, this one might be my favorite. The new [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] from Vivid Voltage brings back an effect the game hasn’t seen in years – invalidating the effects of Special Energy. In both Standard and Expanded, Special Energy are extremely powerful, but their dominance in Expanded cannot be understated. Shutting off Special energy literally stops some of Expanded’s best decks from operating entirely, winning your deck matchups even if you wouldn’t have otherwise. I love having this effect back in the game, and the only downside is that it stops your own Special Energy from working as well. If you design your deck to handle this, you should be fine, but it does even the playing field to the point where the effect is balanced. If anyone from the card design team is reading this, PLEASE print more cards like this!
Now that I’ve gone over the various Dusknoir legal in Expanded, here are a few of the decks I’ve recently tested that take advantage of them. Please explore all of their possibilities in your own testing as well, these cards are so much fun and have even more untapped potential that I didn’t explore here.
Student Loans – Spread in 2021
[decklist name=”Student Loans” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″][pokemon amt=”20″]2x [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”63″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”53″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Dusclops” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Duskull” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”83″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”33″]3x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Black and White” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Ace Trainer” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”69″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pokémon Ranger” set=”Steam Siege” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Telescopic Sight” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Twin Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”174″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
This is a deck my friend and fellow PokeBeach writer Isaiah Cheville came up with in 2018, but it hasn’t gotten much outside of a few Regional placements and League Cup wins since. This is mostly because Expanded was evolving faster than the deck could, with broken new strategies coming every set release. Now that we’ve seen a slew of bans, including the ever-popular [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], Expanded is once again a prime candidate to be dominated by this super fun strategy. I’ll go into some of the card inclusions below:
4-3-2/1 Dusknoir
I chose to play 4 [card name=”Duskull” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card] in order to maximize my chance of getting it down on my first turn so I can immediately use Spiritborne Evolution and get Dusclops out. Since you only need one copy of [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] BCR on the board at once, I felt that two was enough due to the inclusion of [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] as well. I also included one copy of [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] BUS in order to get extra damage on the board and more Pokemon to target with Tapu Koko’s attack. Overall, I feel that this split gets the job done, however I could be convinced to cut down on Duskull or add an extra Dusknoir BCR. Note: Dusknoir VIV does not fit in this deck because it shuts off all your own Energy!
3 Tapu Koko
[cardimg name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
This [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card] has one of the best spread attacks ever printed; it can place 20 damage on all of your opponent’s Pokemon for only two Colorless Energy. That requirement is easily fulfilled by either [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Twin Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”174″ c=”name”][/card], giving you seven total outs for a one Energy attack! Tapu Koko also has free Retreat, allowing you to use it as a pivot every single turn. Overall, this card is very strong and got even stronger with some new inclusions I’ll mention later.
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2 Seismitoad-EX
This deck can easily include [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] as a wildly powerful secondary attacker. Not only does Sesimitoad gain Twin Energy, but it can dish out incredibly solid damage that you can spread around later. In combination with stalling strategies like locking a heavy Retreat Pokemon in the Active, Seismitoad plus Dusknoir BCR can stick it in the Active Spot pretty much indefinitely if your opponent is unable to retreat it, allowing you to stack up damage and move it anywhere on the board. Also, you can set up a strong board behind a Seismitoad early game and use it as a piece of a comeback in combination with [card name=”Ace Trainer” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]. Overall, Seismitoad is a wildly powerful inclusion in this deck and pulls much more than its weight.
1 Jirachi-EX, 1 Tapu Lele GX
I chose to split [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] because both of them are useful in different situations. Tapu Lele is searchable by [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card], has higher HP, and a usable attack, but [card name=”Jirachi-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] can be picked up and reused with [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card]. Both serve the same purpose, however, in getting you set up and drawing cards as quickly and consistently as possible. Both of them are really useful and I’m really liking the 1-1 split thus far.
1 Espeon-EX
I thought about not including [card name=”Espeon-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] because Expanded has less decks that evolve than ever, but I settled on putting one in because its utility in those matchups is ridiculous. Wiping out a bunched of Evolution Pokemon in one turn with Espeon is a wildly powerful effect and it can be used to take down powerhouse decks like [card name=”Rowlet and Alolan Exeggutor-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”1″ c=”name”][/card] variants. Also, it serves the nice bonus of being a solid out to getting an opponent’s [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] VIV off the board!
1 Galarian Zigzagoon
I just chose to include one [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] because of the Scoop Up Nets; it adds an extra one damage counter when you need it. This can come out if you need space for something, but for now it gets the job done.
1 Exeggcute
I only put in an [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”name”][/card] because of Spiritbone Evolution’s heavy three card cost, but it can also help pay for [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] as well. I may actually add a second (and I’m considering a copy of [card name=”Exeggutor” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”5″ c=”name”][/card] but this will likely prove to be bad), but for now the single copy works well.
3 Scoop Up Net
This card should not be legal in Expanded. Period. It allows you to do way too much, like heal EXs (in our case, Seismitoad), reuse stuff like Jirachi’s Stellar Guidance, and move around pretty much any Pokemon you want. The only target in the deck that it can’t pick up is our single copy of Tapu Lele. As an Item, Scoop Up Net’s utility is absurd and this deck is happy to abuse it while it’s legal.
2 Counter Catcher
For a deck that falls behind often, [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] is usually a strong inclusion. For a deck that falls behind often, can lock Items, and can manipulate all damage on the board, Counter Catcher is a no-brainer. A free gust in an Item that can bring up something heavy while I spread damage all over the place? Yes please! I want to play more than two, but I feel this is enough to make room for other cards and still make a major impact. Counter Catcher is wild.
2 Telescopic Sight
A new card from Vivid Voltage, [card name=”Telescopic Sight” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] takes damage spread decks to the next level. With this attached, Tapu Koko now does 2.5x damage to all of your opponent’s Benched GXs and Vs. That’s 50 damage to each for two Colorless! This can easily push your Koko’s per-turn damage output above 200 depending on what your opponent is playing and it gives you so much more damage to work with in the early game. Two turns of spreading with this is going to be catastrophic for pretty much every GX and V deck. I thought about a third, but with the amount of time this deck spends hitting with Seismitoad instead of Koko, two gets the job done. You don’t need many attacks to make a game-changing impact with this card.
2 Chaotic Swell
I chose to throw in these two [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”name”][/card] because of cards like [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] messing with our strategy. I thought about both [card name=”Tropical Beach” set=”Black and White Black Star Promos” no=”BW28″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] as well, but neither of them created nearly the impact I hoped they would so I took them out. This deck really doesn’t need to rely on a Stadium to be successful, so I just cut them and went with Swell. These are cuttable if you need space, but if you expect to see a good amount of Silent Lab, keep them in so you don’t get yourself locked out of a game.
4 Double Colorless Energy, 3 Twin Energy
I thought about going 4-4, but with one [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] already in the list, the 4-3 split got the job done perfectly well. The release of [card name=”Twin Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”174″ c=”name”][/card] is honestly crazy when it comes to older cards being able to take advantage of it. This card will see play alongside DCE in Expanded more than it will as a replacement for DCE in Standard.
Now that I’ve gone over the card inclusions, I’ll add a few notes for specific matchups.
When playing Student Loans, the strategy is generally the same for every matchup: get up Dusknoir, spread lots of damage, get your opponent into a bad board position with hand disruption/Seismitoad, and draw most/all of your Prize cards at once with Sinister Hand. You can use Espeon to take down Evolution decks as well. Against decks that play hard counters like [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card], your best bet is to Item lock early and often. If they get a Tool down, use your one [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] to get rid of it, use Counter Catcher or [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] to bring it Active, and spam Quaking Punch. Manipulate damage in order to keep the Garbodor alive until it is about to Retreat, then you can KO it/their other Trubbish with Sinister Hand. Also, decks that play 2 or more [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”name”][/card] are especially vulnerable to Dusknoir FLF. If you can catch it in their hand, it’s a free Prize card! This also goes for other decks with 50-70 HP Basics since it will cost you very little damage to score a KO on them.
Overall, this deck is pretty easy to play strategically, but sometimes hard to play in practice. Exactly where your damage should go takes a lot of practice, so I recommend you go on PTCGO and test this out before taking it to an online tournament.
Now, I’ll go ahead and share the other deck I’ve been experimenting with; this one’s an absolute blast to play and a nightmare to play against.
Dusknoir/Vileplume/EggRow
[decklist name=”EggRow/Dusknoir” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Vileplume” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”6″][pokemon amt=”21″]2x [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”71″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”63″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Dusclops” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Duskull” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”83″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Rowlet and Alolan Exeggutor-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”1″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Oddish” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”5″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Gloom” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”7″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”6″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”29″]4x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Steven’s Resolve” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”AZ” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Galar Mine” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Life Forest Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”180″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”10″]6x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”6″][/card]4x [card name=”Capture Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Once again, I found myself building a very similar deck to the one Blaine Hill wrote about in one of his recent articles. While I don’t play [card name=”Orbeetle VMAX” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] in this list, I think that variant is extremely strong and may even be better than this one. I wanted to instead share a variant that focuses almost entierly on attacking with [card name=”Rowlet and Alolan Exeggutor-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”1″ c=”name”][/card] and setting up game-breaking win conditions like Disgusting Pollen and Spectral Breach. Let’s get into a few inclusions; I won’t go too deep into the Trainer engine because Blaine covered that in his article (great read by the way!).
3-2-2/1 Dusknoir
I chose to only play three copies of Duskull this time because it’s not nearly as important to get Dusknoir up every single game in the early game. Dusknoir is much more powerful in the later stages of the game, or when it locks the opponent out of the game entirely. Notably, I chose to go with only one Dusknoir BCR and two Dusknoir VIV for this list. This is because the ability to move damage around is only really important when you’re attacking, which this deck takes a lot of time to ramp up towards. The Orbeetle variant relies much more heavily on Dusknoir’s spreading capability than this one. However, I wanted to include Dusknoir still, and this deck is pretty good about not needing Special Energy, so I turned to Dusknoir VIV as a hard counter to every Special Energy deck. The fact it shuts off Capture Energy is basically irrelevant, and it wins entire matchups on its own so the card was valuable enough for me to include two of. I am going to continue to play with this count, but for now it is working very well.
3-3-2/2 Vileplume
[cardimg name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
This Vileplume line is relatively standard for EggRow decks; it gives you two copies that shut off Items and two copies that beat Basic decks. Both Abilities are wildly powerful and can change the game the second they hit the board. I like this split, and the new(ish, 2019 was a while ago now!) [card name=”Gloom” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”7″ c=”name”][/card] also offers the ability to put more Basics on the board to dump damage on. Vileplume is so powerful in every matchup that including this many was a no-brainer.
Items/Supporters
From Blaine’s list, I made a few changes, like adding an extra [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] instead of a [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”name”][/card] in order to reuse more Supporters and draw more cards mid-game. Otherwise, the [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card]-powered engine is remarkably strong in a deck like this where reliance on Items would get you nowhere. I also put in two [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] to add a little bit of extra search, but these haven’t made a major difference in testing yet.
2 Galar Mine, 1 Life Forest Prism Star
[card name=”Galar Mine” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] in combination with Guzma and damage spread is very strong. [card name=”Life Forest Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”180″ c=”name”][/card] also allows you to get free healing on your Grass Pokemon, setting up your EggRows to tank even more damage and keep you in the game longer. I like both of these inclusions over Tropical Beach, which has really not done nearly as good a job as it used to do before EggRow came around.
Overall, I don’t think this deck is the strongest in its current form, but it has so much untapped potential with techs like Orbeetle now in the format. I recommend you test this deck with your own ideas and see if you can come up with something amazing. The potential is really there!
Conclusion
I had a blast testing and writing about these decks; I think Dusknoir cards are so strong and fun at the same time and would love to take them to a tournament in the near future. As always, feel free to ask me any questions in the comments, in the Subscriber’s Hideout, or on my Twitter (@C4_TCG). Thanks for reading and I’ll be back soon with some more fun decks!
Charlie
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