How to Beat Snorlax Stall with Tier One Decks!

By: Grant Manley · Posted Posted onNov 29, 2023 at 8:03 PM · 25 Comments

Hello everyone! Recently, [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] stall has seen a spike in popularity online and at major tournaments alike. This archetype received a major buff with the reintroduction of [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card], and now it is terrorizing casual and competitive players equally.

[cardimg name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

After making Top 8 at LAIC, Snorlax has just won the Gdansk Regional in Poland. The deck is interesting as it operates vastly differently than every other deck in the format — this causes difficulty for other players when trying to figure out how to deal with it, and it will greatly punish you for any misplays.

Snorlax stall has a dirty little secret, however; it is actually a bad deck. If every player knew how to play against it, it would rarely make Day 2, and it would never make Top 8. In this article, I will go in-depth on understanding the Snorlax stall deck. This will greatly help you learn how to beat it, and I will also discuss its matchups, and how you should play against it as some of the more popular decks in the meta.

Most decks have a decent chance of beating Snorlax, and there are many that will have a positive win rate once you learn the matchup. Many of the Tier 1 decks have a contentious matchup against Snorlax and rely heavily on playing correctly against it.

The LAIC List

For reference, here is the Snorlax list that made Top 8 at LAIC.

[decklist name=”big daddy lax” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Pidgeot V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”137″][pokemon amt=”7″]4x [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rotom V” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”45″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pidgeot V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”53″]4x [card name=”Arven” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Penny” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Miss Fortune Sisters” set=”Lost Origin” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Erika’s Invitation” set=”151″ no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Avery” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Peonia” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Sidney” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”241″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Giacomo” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cyllene” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Team Yell’s Cheer” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”196″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Echoing Horn” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Bravery Charm” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”173″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Luxurious Cape” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”166″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Temple of Sinnoh” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”0″][/energy][/decklist][cardimg name=”Crabominable V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”248″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This is fairly standard as far as stall decks go. If your opponent is playing [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] stall, you should expect all of these cards.

Some lists also play [card name=”Crabominable V” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card], so be wary of that. Crabominable V gives this deck a way to beat an opposing [card name=”Pidgeot V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], as well as a high-HP tank that can apply pressure and mill important resources. I would personally play Crabominable V in the deck, but many lists do not include it. The winning list from Gdansk plays Crabominable V, which helps massively in the mirror and against any deck with a means of infinitely recovering resources. Other than that, and a slightly different Supporter lineup, the lists are practically identical, besides one copy of  [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] — another tech for the mirror, among other things.

Playing Against the Deck

Similar decks have seen play in the past, but it has been a while. Even this deck has been considered unplayable until recently; [card name=”Erika’s Invitation” set=”151″ no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] are the cards it needed to start seeing success. This deck aims to trap something that isn’t threatening in the Active position and whittle away its opponent’s resources; of course, Snorlax cannot attack without Energy, so it applies pressure with [card name=”Miss Fortune Sisters” set=”Lost Origin” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Sidney” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”241″ c=”name”][/card], and sometimes [card name=”Giacomo” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”182″ c=”name”][/card]. In comparison to other decks, this pressure is rather tame as they aren’t attacks, and have a chance of failing. All of its ways to apply pressure involve using its Supporter for the turn, so it is rather limited by that as well. In the early-game, Snorlax will need to use Supporters like [card name=”Arven” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”166″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Avery” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] to set up and stabilize, however, those disruptive Supporters can permanently get rid of crucial resources, so they are powerful and dangerous.

[premium]

If you are in a position where you do not care about Miss Fortune Sisters, Sidney, or Giacomo, you don’t necessarily have to do anything. Of course, if you do nothing the whole game, you will eventually deck out. It is also generally good to apply pressure with fast attacks of your own, but don’t feel pressured if you aren’t currently weak to those Supporter cards. Of course, this changes if they play Crabominable V and start attacking with it, but that is extremely rare. The stall deck does not want to attack with Crabominable V unless it is going to win them the game — it is too big of a liability, as it gives up two Prize cards when KO’d. It is also resource intensive, as it requires two precious switch cards; one to get it in the Active, and a [card name=”Penny” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] to retrieve it. If they don’t play Crabominable V and you have Pidgeot V, [card name=”Skwovet” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card], or a similar effect, you cannot lose.

It is important to understand that Snorlax is a slow deck, and it can’t do many things each turn. It is extremely reliant on [card name=”Rotom V” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] as well. If your deck can KO Rotom V early, you should almost always go for it. An early [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] would be similarly effective — Spiritomb’s attack is also convenient, as it prevents itself from becoming a liability. If you use Path to the Peak, they may be able to use Arven for [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] for a Stadium, but that uses up their VSTAR power, and more importantly, means there is no [card name=”Bravery Charm” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] on that Rotom V. It is significantly easier for most decks to KO a Rotom V without Bravery Charm than one with it. Sometimes they will have the Stadium in hand already, which is unfortunate, but there’s nothing you can do about that.

One of the most important aspects of this matchup is the [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]. This is annoying and disruptive to most decks, as it requires them to build up an extra attacker to deal with it, so you want to make sure that you always have access to something that can KO Mimikyu. You don’t have to one-shot it, but at least something that does decent damage. If your attacker is too weak, such as [card name=”Flaaffy” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], it will get trapped by Snorlax and you will always lose. Cards like Flaaffy and [card name=”Charmander” set=”151″ no=”4″ c=”name”][/card] may be able to deal with Mimikyu on their own, but you still have the rest of the deck to deal with, so don’t rely on them. You want to build up your preferred Mimikyu counter fairly quickly so that it does not buy them too many turns.

Remember that [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] is sometimes a switch card — if they have anything that isn’t Snorlax in play, you can use Boss’s Orders so that you can retreat. If they do not have Rotom V in play, you can punish them with Iono and they won’t have Rotom V to draw out of it, however, if they don’t get Rotom V at the very start, their hand definitely sucks, and you shouldn’t Iono them right away.

Remember that they have one [card name=”Echoing Horn” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card], and rarely are able to reuse it. If you can get them to use the Echoing Horn on something that doesn’t instantly lose you the game, that would be ideal. Once the Echoing Horn is down, you can somewhat freely discard liabilities, which further protects you from Erika’s Invitation. The only way for them to reuse Echoing Horn is to use their one copy of [card name=”Cyllene” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], hit at least one heads, then wait a turn to draw it. If they use their Cyllene at some point during the game, they are probably prioritizing something else — if they get the Echoing Horn back, you can at least see it coming and react to it, however, if they have enough time, they can pull this off eventually.

Decks with many switch cards should be more aggressive with early pressure and try to run them off the board. Do not use your switch cards when you don’t have to. For decks such as [card name=”Entei V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Iron Valiant ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”225″ c=”name”][/card] and Lost Zone box variants, your switch cards outnumber their gust cards; you will always win if you are able to attack. You can also draw aggressively to try to draw your switch cards — once your switch cards are in your hand, they are fairly safe, as Snorlax’s goal is to use Miss Fortune Sisters to mill as many switch cards as possible from your deck. [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] should also be aggressive, even though it does not have that many switch cards. Using switches to get the extra Flower Selecting or Tachyon Bits may seem tempting, but don’t do it! In games against Snorlax, resources are usually more important than tempo! Decks like [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] sometimes benefit from being more passive. Decks with auto-loss conditions such as Gardevoir ex do not want to draw many cards because they do not want to lose to Erika’s Invitation.

How to Navigate Matchups

Miraidon ex Matchup

[cardimg name=”Zapdos” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”29″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

If you are Miraidon ex, you want to avoid [card name=”Mareep” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card] (and [card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card]) coming into play at all costs. If that happens too early, it’s game over — Pokemon that don’t do much damage are your loss conditions. You want as few Pokemon in play as possible because all of your Pokemon need enough Energy on them to attack. Cards like [card name=”Raichu V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] (discards too much Energy), [card name=”Raikou V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”48″ c=”name”][/card] (not enough damage), and [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] (high Retreat Cost) are quite inconvenient as well. Build up [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card] as soon as possible to deal with Mimikyu. If Zapdos is prized, [card name=”Mew ex” set=”151″ no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] will suffice. Zapdos is better than Mew because it works with Tandem Unit and [card name=”Electric Generator” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card], and it does more damage. Mew ex is an ineffective attacker into Rotom V, and it puts itself to sleep against [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]. Your ideal board is lone Zapdos, but you won’t often be lucky enough to start with it, and Miraidon ex will usually be in play, which is fine. Your board depends on what you start with, but it should be Zapdos and other viable attackers — nothing else.

If you start with Mareep or Squawkabilly ex, you almost certainly lose. Go as fast as possible and try to run them off the board, you are forced to play aggressively and differently than normal if you find yourself in that situation. Make use of [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] to retreat, and try to draw into switch cards immediately after they use [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card].

Most starts involve passive play, for example, if I start with Miraidon ex or Iron Hands ex, I am attach-passing twice and then attacking with it. Zapdos can come down to get some Energy from Electric Generator as well. Starting with Iron Hands ex is terrible though, as it cannot easily retreat to something that KO’s Mimikyu. I am avoiding starting with Iron Hands ex unless I have no choice, or if the alternative is Mareep. If I start with Mew ex, Zapdos is never coming into play. If I start Raikou V or Raichu V, I have to use Miraidon ex too, unfortunately. Starting with Zapdos is golden, and nothing else is getting benched.

If you can KO the [card name=”Rotom V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] early with Miraidon ex, go for it. Unfortunately, that is difficult due to [card name=”Bravery Charm” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card]. Using Boss’s Orders to punch for 220 is an exercise in futility, as there is a high chance of an instant [card name=”Penny” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card]. If they do not have a Bravery Charm, or if you have the [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card], you can smell the blood in the water and go for an aggressive line.

Conserve switch cards. Using [card name=”Arven” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”166″ c=”name”][/card] to fetch a switch card is great because you protect it from [card name=”Miss Fortune Sisters” set=”Lost Origin” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card]. If you are reaching the point where you have only a few Prize cards left, you may be able to switch to an aggressive line by using [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] and chaining switch cards to win the game.

Playing around [card name=”Erika’s Invitation” set=”151″ no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] is tricky because you cannot always do it. Your ways to play around Erika’s Invitation are [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Judge” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”176″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”196″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] plus [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card]. Note that Super Rod isn’t always needed if their [card name=”Echoing Horn” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] has been used. Since you have limited ways to play around Erika’s Invitation, I would only do so when several conditions are met:

  • An incoming Erika’s Invitation is somewhat likely. This requires a good feel and sense of the board state.
  • You have an instant-loss condition in hand, such as Mareep, Squawkabilly ex, etc.
  • You have too many Prizes left that you can’t recover from a big liability being sniped. Obviously, an Erika’s Invitation doesn’t matter if you are going to win the game with two switches + attacks. Also worth noting that they cannot use Penny and Erika’s Invitation in the same turn, meaning that you will always have a chance to Boss’s Orders Rotom V and retreat if Rotom V is in play on their potential Erika’s Invitation turns.

These conditions apply to some other matchups as well. Overall, I think [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] is slightly favored in this matchup.

Gardevoir ex Matchup

[cardimg name=”Professor Turo’s Scenario” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”240″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This matchup varies slightly based on whether [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] has [card name=”Professor Turo’s Scenario” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] included, but I will discuss the matchup as if Professor Turo’s Scenario is not included. Consider the card as a bonus panic button against [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] — you should play similarly with and without Professor Turo’s Scenario, but it allows for some more aggression at some spots.

Your ideal board against Snorlax is one [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] and literally nothing else, of course, some more Pokemon will inevitably hit the board, and that’s fine. If you start [card name=”Ralts” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card], go attach three times and start swinging without putting anything else down. Drawing cards is unnecessary unless you have an instant-loss condition in hand, in which case you need to get rid of it as soon as possible before an Erika’s Invitation happens.

Digging for Iono in the early-game is sometimes good as well. An early Erika’s Invitation is less likely, and you will need Iono for when you draw a loss-condition card. If you draw a loss condition card without Iono in hand and only have Shining Arcana to draw, you might be in trouble. If you have Iono in hand, you are pretty much safe. Otherwise, don’t draw cards at all, especially if you have Iono in hand — you don’t want to draw into any of your Water-types. Snorlax has no way to pressure Gardevoir ex deck, as all of their Supporters are non-threatening. Miss Fortune Sisters can hit [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card], which is unfortunate and annoying, but that’s not likely. Baby Gardevoir applies a lot of pressure, but don’t attach more than three Energy to it; dealing more than 150 damage is unnecessary, and you may get punished for it. If you start with [card name=”Cresselia” set=”Lost Origin” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], that replaces baby Gardevoir entirely. If you start with [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Celebrations” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card], power it up along with one baby Gardevoir, and don’t put anything else down.

When you inevitably draw a Water-type, search out another one if possible and use Iono to put them safely on the bottom of your deck. If you prize a Water-type and have few Prizes left, consider using Iono to prevent an instant Erika’s Invitation. Ultra Ball + Super Rod is an equally effective way to protect those Pokemon instead of Iono.

[card name=”Scream Tail” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] is bad to have in play — if it finds itself Active, get some Energy in the discard and set up a Gardevoir ex so that you can attack with it, but don’t commit more than three Energy to it. It’s not the end of the world if Scream Tail is in play, but you definitely would rather it not be. I do not know how aggressively you should play around Scream Tail getting forced into play with Erika’s Invitation. Ralts getting forcibly benched is fine because it can protect itself with Teleportation Burst and only one Energy commitment.

If you find yourself with a Water-type Active, or foresee it coming, it’s time to draw tons of cards. You don’t want them to get the chance to [card name=”Penny” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] up their [card name=”Rotom V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card], so try to get the [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] + retreat + [card name=”Collapsed Stadium” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] + Super Rod combo — that’s your only way out. If you have a Water-type up and they don’t have anything but Snorlax in play, you lose, so the entire matchup revolves around avoiding that scenario. If you start with one, you lose and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Collapsed Stadium is a ‘break glass in case of emergency’-type play, as you don’t want Pokemon down, however, if you can fill your Bench with three Teleportation Burst Ralts and something like Cresselia or Zacian V, you can potentially remove a game-losing liability. The Memory Skip [card name=”Ralts” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] are no longer a consideration in Gardevoir decks due to the prevalence of Snorlax.

Overall, Gardevoir ex is definitely favored in this matchup.

Chien-Pao ex matchup

[cardimg name=”Cross Switcher” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”230″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Try to start with [card name=”Frigibax” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] and go with a lone [card name=”Baxcalibur” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] and nothing else. [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] is not a game-losing liability, but it can’t take all of your Prizes, and hopefully, it will only hit the board when you only have a few Prizes left. Your most important resources are [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”196″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Superior Energy Retrieval” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Cross Switcher” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”230″ c=”name”][/card]; each pair of Cross Switcher is basically a get-out-of-jail-free card worth one KO. They aren’t reliable, but they can help you close out games against a late-game Erika’s Invitation. Keep liabilities out of play as you topdeck them by using Ultra Ball and Super Rod. Once you are attacking with Baxcalibur, always use [card name=”Irida” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] to fetch Super Rod and protect it from [card name=”Miss Fortune Sisters” set=”Lost Origin” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card]. Using Irida for [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Earthen Vessel” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] to start attacking quickly is also fine.

When you topdeck a liability, use Ultra Ball to discard it and an Energy, and then use Super Rod on only the Pokemon. Now you can also use Superior Energy Retrieval to discard liabilities. It’s okay if a second Frigibax hits the board as it can evolve into Baxcalibur, in fact, if you are attacking with Baxcalibur and you have a Rare Candy, Baxcalibur, and three Energy, try discarding Frigibax to bait out the [card name=”Echoing Horn” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] and if they take the bait, start attacking with that Baxcalibur. Now you can safely discard all liabilities without much fear of Echoing Horn! At the very least, Erika’s Invitation is much more likely than Echoing Horn at that point.

Overall, this matchup is pretty bad for Chien-Pao ex. You have to start with Frigibax and you need a lot of things to go right. If you start with Chien-Pao ex or [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card], be as aggressive as possible. Starting with [card name=”Bidoof” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] is basically a guaranteed loss — avoid having those two in play at all costs.

Other Decks

[card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] wants to be as aggressive as possible and kill the [card name=”Rotom V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] early, but the matchup is not good overall for Mew VMAX. [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] wants to only have [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Radiant Charizard” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] in play, as Pidgeot ex finds Energy and keeps liabilities out of harm’s way, however, that matchup is pretty bad overall because there aren’t many switch cards or easy ways to deal with [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Entei V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] want to start attacking with Radiant Charizard and [card name=”Giratina V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] respectively and conserve switch cards — those decks eat Snorlax alive with little effort. If Radiant Charizard is prized for Entei V, attack with Entei V and slowly KO Mimikyu with Tachyon Bits — you get 40 free damage per turn as long as you have two [card name=”Future Booster Energy Capsule” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] in play, so you don’t have to burn switch cards.

Summing Up

Thanks for reading! I hope this article better helped you understand how to combat [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] stall. In the current metagame, this is becoming an increasingly important skill, and few people know how to do it.

Or you can ignore this article and play [card name=”Minior” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] in any deck (or [card name=”Enamorus V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card] in [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]).

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View thread (25 replies)
"If Radiant Charizard is prized for Entei V, attack with Entei V and slowly KO Mimikyu with Tachyon Bits — you get 40 free damage per turn as long as you have two Future Booster Energy Capsule in play, so you don’t have to burn switch cards."


How? You can only retreat once.
 
ShinyNoivern said:
How is this even good? Can't I just use switch or escape rope and KO Snorlax?
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Cool, you used your one switch and took a single prize (Your rope has been milled away or used). Now try to do it five more times, kill a mimikyu and try not to deck out. Also, your hand is now known to your opponent and that Manaphy you were holding is now your active thanks to Erika and it can't retreat. Chip away with it for 10 turns? They use a Penny. You look over at the clock, barely 20 minutes left...
 
RHowford said:
Cool, you used your one switch and took a single prize (Your rope has been milled away or used). Now try to do it five more times, kill a mimikyu and try not to deck out. Also, your hand is now known to your opponent and that Manaphy you were holding is now your active thanks to Erika and it can't retreat. Chip away with it for 10 turns? They use a Penny. You look over at the clock, barely 20 minutes left...
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Chill. I just wasn't sure how the deck is successful. I've never played against one.
 
Hevz said:
"If Radiant Charizard is prized for Entei V, attack with Entei V and slowly KO Mimikyu with Tachyon Bits — you get 40 free damage per turn as long as you have two Future Booster Energy Capsule in play, so you don’t have to burn switch cards."


How? You can only retreat once.
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it's supposed to be 20 a turn, but with 40 on the initial switch out of your attacking entei. and when the mimikyu gets within 40 or 60 of being KO'd, you can go for a switch or two and continue attacking with entei. I should have explained this part better
 
grantm1999 said:
it's supposed to be 20 a turn, but with 40 on the initial switch out of your attacking entei. and when the mimikyu gets within 40 or 60 of being KO'd, you can go for a switch or two and continue attacking with entei. I should have explained this part better
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When I saw Hevz comment, I thought “hang on, but if you already have an Iron Valiant in the active as well as one on your bench, you can’t use the first one’s ability.” I completely blanked on the fact that it can still use its ability that turn once it has moved to the bench.

And people wonder why the best players still win consistently.
 
and the opponent probably do have energy's and will keep on attacking you and KOing you, so then you'll lose because of lack of pokemon. right?
 
blitzle said:
and the opponent probably do have energy's and will keep on attacking you and KOing you, so then you'll lose because of lack of pokemon. right?
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Ideally Snorlax Stall would avoid this situation by trapping something like Manaphy or Klefki in the active using Erika’s Invitation, something that cannot do very much damage. While doing 20 damage with Manaphy would eventually Knock Out the Snorlax that isn’t damaging the Manaphy, the Snorlax player can just use Penny after several turns to pick up the damaged Snorlax and send up a fresh benched one to take its place. All the time, the Snorlax Stall player hopes to discard your Switch, Warp Point, Switching Cart, and similar cards with Miss Fortune Sisters (or possibly discard Jet Energy with Sidney, but with only one Sidney this would be much harder, so it’s easier to try and negate Jet Energy’s effect with Temple of Sinnoh). Fortunately for the Snorlax Stall player, these decks run 2-3 each of Erika’s Invitation, Penny, and Miss Fortune Sisters, as well as 4 Pokegear to find them and 2-3 Pal Pad, 1 Team Yell’s Cheer, and Cyllene (the latter two of which are Pokegear searchable, even if they aren’t items) to recycle them.

It does mean having to pick your supporter cards very carefully, though, and your supporters can sometimes backfire, which can eventually add up to a game loss. It would be one of the more difficult decks in the format to play, and if the top players read Grant Manley’s article and start playing against Snorlax Stall accordingly, it’s success rate might go down. Might. Manley did say if every player knew how to play against it, not if the top players knew how to play against it. But even if these decks make day 2, they still have to make top 8 to have a chance at winning, which means having to battle through the more experienced players who made day 2 and have invested in their future by paying for the subscription or playtesting the Snorlax matchup until they discover what Manley did.
 
Charmaster:) said:
Ideally Snorlax Stall would avoid this situation by trapping something like Manaphy or Klefki in the active using Erika’s Invitation, something that cannot do very much damage. While doing 20 damage with Manaphy would eventually Knock Out the Snorlax that isn’t damaging the Manaphy, the Snorlax player can just use Penny after several turns to pick up the damaged Snorlax and send up a fresh benched one to take its place. All the time, the Snorlax Stall player hopes to discard your Switch, Warp Point, Switching Cart, and similar cards with Miss Fortune Sisters (or possibly discard Jet Energy with Sidney, but with only one Sidney this would be much harder, so it’s easier to try and negate Jet Energy’s effect with Temple of Sinnoh). Fortunately for the Snorlax Stall player, these decks run 2-3 each of Erika’s Invitation, Penny, and Miss Fortune Sisters, as well as 4 Pokegear to find them and 2-3 Pal Pad, 1 Team Yell’s Cheer, and Cyllene (the latter two of which are Pokegear searchable, even if they aren’t items) to recycle them.

It does mean having to pick your supporter cards very carefully, though, and your supporters can sometimes backfire, which can eventually add up to a game loss. It would be one of the more difficult decks in the format to play, and if the top players read Grant Manley’s article and start playing against Snorlax Stall accordingly, it’s success rate might go down. Might. Manley did say if every player knew how to play against it, not if the top players knew how to play against it. But even if these decks make day 2, they still have to make top 8 to have a chance at winning, which means having to battle through the more experienced players who made day 2 and have invested in their future by paying for the subscription or playtesting the Snorlax matchup until they discover what Manley did.
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ok thanks
 
Charmaster:) said:
Ideally Snorlax Stall would avoid this situation by trapping something like Manaphy or Klefki in the active using Erika’s Invitation, something that cannot do very much damage. While doing 20 damage with Manaphy would eventually Knock Out the Snorlax that isn’t damaging the Manaphy, the Snorlax player can just use Penny after several turns to pick up the damaged Snorlax and send up a fresh benched one to take its place. All the time, the Snorlax Stall player hopes to discard your Switch, Warp Point, Switching Cart, and similar cards with Miss Fortune Sisters (or possibly discard Jet Energy with Sidney, but with only one Sidney this would be much harder, so it’s easier to try and negate Jet Energy’s effect with Temple of Sinnoh). Fortunately for the Snorlax Stall player, these decks run 2-3 each of Erika’s Invitation, Penny, and Miss Fortune Sisters, as well as 4 Pokegear to find them and 2-3 Pal Pad, 1 Team Yell’s Cheer, and Cyllene (the latter two of which are Pokegear searchable, even if they aren’t items) to recycle them.

It does mean having to pick your supporter cards very carefully, though, and your supporters can sometimes backfire, which can eventually add up to a game loss. It would be one of the more difficult decks in the format to play, and if the top players read Grant Manley’s article and start playing against Snorlax Stall accordingly, it’s success rate might go down. Might. Manley did say if every player knew how to play against it, not if the top players knew how to play against it. But even if these decks make day 2, they still have to make top 8 to have a chance at winning, which means having to battle through the more experienced players who made day 2 and have invested in their future by paying for the subscription or playtesting the Snorlax matchup until they discover what Manley did.
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Klefki cannot be bench locked
 
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