The Hero’s Spirit — Palafin ex for Baltimore

Hello PokeBeach readers! Isaiah here, and I am happy to be writing another article for you all! Last time, I wrote a comprehensive recap on my experiences at the World Championships, including the [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] deck list played by myself, fellow writer Charlie Lockyer, Ian Robb, and a few others. In that article, I also discussed what decks I felt would be the best going forward and how the format is going to adapt for the Baltimore Regional Championships before Stellar Crown flips the format on its head. I also made a point to highlight that Regidrago VSTAR will continue to be the best deck in the format, but noted that I felt that [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Roaring Moon ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Raging Bolt ex ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card](also known as the “2-2-2 decks”) were bound to see an explosion in play rate following their success at the World Championships and their favored matchup into Regidrago VSTAR.

While the format has a lot of other decks, I do expect the combined meta share of the 2-2-2 decks and Regidrago VSTAR to be over 50% of the meta at the Baltimore Regional Championships. Historically, metagames that feel this centralized are the easiest to break open, so I have spent most of the last few weeks trying to do just that, and while some of my ideas have not been as successful as I had hoped, one deck that I think has a legitimate chance is [card name=”Palafin ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card].

When the card was revealed, I, like most others, realized that the deck probably was not good yet, but any card that can do 250 damage for one Energy could easily become good eventually given the right circumstances. A few months later, and I think that Palafin ex is finally bound to have its moment in the spotlight as a counter to the 2-2-2 decks and as a deck with a remarkably strong Regidrago VSTAR matchup. First, though, how about we take a look at what goes into a good Palafin ex deck list.

How Do We Build Palafin ex?

[cardimg name=”Palafin” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”60″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Palafin ex, despite just being a Stage 1 Pokemon, is pretty convoluted to setup because of its Hero’s Spirit Ability, which states that you cannot put it into play without the effect of [card name=”Palafin” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card]’s somewhat convoluted Zero to Hero Ability, which only allows you to put Palafin ex in play by swapping it with Palafin after Palafin moves to the Bench. After doing this, you will then have to get Palafin ex back into the Active Spot again to actually be able to attack with it, and its attack also makes it so you cannot attack with Palafin ex during your next turn.

With the amount of switching needed for this deck to work, building the deck becomes a bit more complicated. When the deck came out, the best option was to shove a bunch of [card name=”Switch” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”194″ c=”name”][/card] into the deck and maybe a few [card name=”Kieran” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] as some backup options with some extra utility, but it was not great. Then, [card name=”Pecharunt ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”39″ c=”name”][/card] came out in Shrouded Fable and changed everything. Now, instead of needing at least one if not two copies of Switch, it is easy to use Pecharunt ex to switch in [card name=”Morpeko” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], which then has free Retreat Cost and can allow you to promote Palafin ex again so you can attack with it. Then, you can also use this same combo to reset Giga Impact to attack on successive turns.

[premium]

In the earliest stages of me trying Palafin ex, I was blown away by how good this combo was for the deck, from missing the turn 2 attack into reliably hitting for 250 damage on the second turn, which turned most of the 2-2-2 decks into auto-win matchups. However, one issue that I did swiftly notice was that the deck still needed copies of Switch in order to reliably hit these attacks. If you start with anything but [card name=”Finizen” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”59″ c=”name”][/card], you need to use Switch twice or you need to get Finizen into the Active Spot on turn 1 by Retreating, as you can only Retreat once per turn, which you need to commit to moving Morpeko most of the time.

With the core of how the deck gets Palafin ex into play established, the next logical point of discussion is, of course, the consistency engine.

When the card came out, most of the deck lists that I saw for Palafin ex focused on using an [card name=”Irida” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] engine to establish Palafin and also find a Switch, but after I played this build for a few games, I started to realize that this just almost certainly was not going to be enough. On many turns, you need several cards to both string together an attack and also keep a good board presence with more Finizen and Palafin in play. Not just that, but I also felt that [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”176″ c=”name”][/card] was going to be integral to overcome the Regidrago VSTAR matchup, but Irida does not help me find Choice Belt, so I wanted more.

That is when I remembered an old discussion I had with Andrew Hedrick about [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] shortly before he won the Indianapolis Regional Championships earlier this year. While we were separately working on our own Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR deck lists for that event, I had been focusing on a more traditional [card name=”Arven” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] build while he suggested a build focused around just playing [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Celebrations” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card] and making sure you find the cards you need in order to setup and pull together the big plays you need to win a game.

I decided I would try transposing this same logic onto my Palafin ex deck list, and it has been remarkably successful, dramatically spiking my win rate with the deck and making me feel actually comfortable with its ability to win the game. Currently, I have a high count of Professor’s Research, [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”237″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card], and these three are the only Supporter cards that I even play. I feel like these cards being the only Supporters in the deck allows me to reliably accomplish what I want to do on any given turn, but I will admit that sometimes I feel like I would like to have more access to Choice Belt, so perhaps a copy of Arven or something could get added going forward. On top of this, I also decided to play high counts of [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card]and [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] while also maxing out [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] to make sure that I am able to consistently setup and find the combo pieces that I need to keep attacking after the first attack of the game.

From this point, it really is just about tech cards for reliable gameplans to beat matchups that you value. In general, the decks that I value beating the most for the Baltimore Regional Championships are any decks that appeared in Top 8 of the World Championships, so [card name=”Iron Thorns ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Roaring Moon ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Raging Bolt ex ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]. Fortunately, Palafin ex naturally has a really good matchup into all of these decks, so the process of making the deck beat all of these decks is surprisingly easy.

Going down the list in order, Iron Thorns ex is by far the easiest of these to beat, as it is basically just a checkmark on if you ever setup a Palafin ex. Iron Thorns ex has no way to threaten your Palafin ex, as their damage cap is 320, so you can easily take two Knock Outs on Iron Thorns ex, and depending on how many Energy they were able to get into play before you started attacking, they may just be unable to Knock you Out, so you will just win the game outright. If for some reason the solo Palafin ex is not enough, it also should buy you enough time that you can get out another one, which you can use to close out the game with ease.

Next on the list is Roaring Moon ex, which I am going to bundle with Raging Bolt ex because, for all intents and purposes, the matchups are identical. You can easily establish a board of single-Prize Pokemon on the first turn, and then on the second turn all you need to do is put together a Knock Out on something worth two Prize cards, which is remarkably easy to do. Just a way to switch in and out as well as a Palafin should be enough to do it, and you maybe need to play a Boss’s Orders to get something in the Active Spot if the opponent is smart and uses Vengeance Fletching instead.

[cardimg name=”Fezandipiti ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”92″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

In order to make this turn 2 a bit more reliable, we need to add some extra non-Trainer draw support into the deck. [card name=”Bibarel” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] has always been a staple of the Palafin ex archetype, so including it is only natural. On top of this, the newly released [card name=”Fezandipiti ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] maintains its status as an automatic addition into pretty much any deck in the game. This Pokemon’s role in my Palafin ex deck is a way to dig for the big combo on this turn that you need to find so much. Finally, [card name=”Cleffa” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] finds itself a place in this deck as a way to fill up the hand to get ready for a turn where you will have to put so many cards together. Between the draw to seven cards in hand, three more from Fezandipiti ex, possibly a few from Bibarel, and also a Supporter, it should be pretty easy to put together a turn 2 Giga Impact.

Losing out on the Supporter if you need to play a Boss’s Orders is a bit annoying, but that is where our final tech card comes in, [card name=”Iron Bundle” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card]. Now, you can use Iron Bundle to push the Vengeance Fletching [card name=”Roaring Moon ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] (or [card name=”Sandy Shocks ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card]in Raging Bolt) to the Bench so that you can attack into a Pokemon ex instead. This does not work as well if the opponent puts down [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] as well, so hopefully you are able to find your Boss’s Orders or [card name=”Prime Catcher ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card]to take two Prize cards that turn. Iron Bundle is a bit more reliable against both Miraidon ex and Regidrago VSTAR, as their single-Prize Pokemon are not super useful in games against Palafin ex, so it is a bit easier to catch them in situations where you can get a couple of free Prize cards.

Speaking of, Regidrago VSTAR is the next deck that requires a lot of commitment to beat. On top of pretty much needing all of the previously mentioned cards, you also desperately need [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”176″ c=”name”][/card] to reach the most important number, 280 damage. As Palafin ex is able to take a one-hit Knock Out on Regidrago VSTAR while they cannot do the same to you, Palafin ex becomes much more menacing than one would expect. Sometimes, it is actually doable for you to come back from a two Prize card deficit and still win the game depending on your exact board state, but this is only possible with Choice Belt. I have wondered if it is a good idea to add [card name=”Town Store” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”196″ c=”name”][/card] to the deck list because of [card name=”Artazon” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card], which is in the deck now, is not super useful and having more outs to Choice Belt seems appealing, but I think I would only do that if I had another good Pokemon Tool to add, which currently I do not.

The final Pokemon among your big matchups is Miraidon ex, which is a bit of a doozy. If they fail to take the first two Prize cards, it is free in a way very similar to the Roaring Moon ex and Raging Bolt matchups, but unlike these matchups, Miraidon ex has access to [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card], which makes them taking the first two Prize cards pretty much uncontrollable. This being the case has made me heavily consider the addition of [card name=”Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card], but I am not certain that I value it enough to add it as of right now, but it is worth keeping in mind.

Now that we have looked at the process I went through to build my deck list, how about we take a look at the deck list in full.

My Palafin ex Deck List

[decklist name=”palafin” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Palafin ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”61″][pokemon amt=”18″]3x [card name=”Palafin ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Palafin” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Finizen” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”59″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Pecharunt ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”39″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Morpeko” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Bibarel” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Bidoof” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”111″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cleffa” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Fezandipiti ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”38″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Iron Bundle” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”35″]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”194″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”144″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Prime Catcher ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”176″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Artazon” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]7x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”Call of Legends” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card][/energy][/decklist]As a whole, my deck list is currently built pretty low to the ground with very few techs. Even cards like Fezandipiti ex or Choice Belt fall less into the tech category and more into the category of absolute necessity. As such, there is not really much to talk about that I have not already talked about, but there are a couple omissions that I felt were worth addressing.

No Single-Prize Palafin

[cardimg name=”Palafin ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”49″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Surprisingly, there are not one but two good single-Prize Palafin. The first [card name=”Palafin” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] from Obsidian Flames has Jet Punch and Justice Kick, both of which can be useful, but I did not feel like I was reliably getting value out of either. Powering up a two Energy attack to do 210 damage when I could just use my one Energy attack for 250 damage feels pointless at times, and Jet Punch is just a bit too slow in the current format. As for the other [card name=”Palafin ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”49″ c=”name”][/card]from Temporal Forces, I think there is much more merit. While its second attack is useless most of the time, having an attack that does 130 damage for just one Energy is incredible. It Knocks Out almost every relevant single-Prize Pokemon, only missing the big Knock Out on [card name=”Roaring Moon ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], which is frustrating. This card comes up for me a lot in the games that I do play it, but as I am going to address shortly, I do not really value beating the matchups where this card shines the most right now, so I decided to exclude it.

Healing Cards (Professor Turo’s Scenario, Mainly)

While building my deck list for Palafin ex, I thought a lot about whether or not I wanted to play any forms of healing in this deck, which is pretty much just [card name=”Professor Turo’s Scenario” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] right now, but I ultimately decided not to. This card is really only good against Ancient Box and [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], but if you value beating these decks, you probably should not play Palafin ex, as those matchups are pretty awful, all things considered. On top of that, the card is just annoying to use in this deck in general, forcing you through the awkward resetting process of getting a Palafin ex back in play when it is usually much easier to just let the one currently in play get Knocked Out eventually or the opponent just never hits into it.

Palafin’s Biggest Problem: Matchups

One of the biggest issues that I have found while testing this deck is that it is really poor into Ancient Box, [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”234″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”233″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”211″ c=”name”][/card]. While it does have a number of good matchups too, these decks all see a fair amount of play, and losing to all of them is a bit of a difficult pill to swallow. As of right now, I also do not think there is a great solution to any of these problems aside from maybe a few cards that swing disastrous matchups to being like very slightly unfavored, which is barely worth it in the long run. Unfortunately, this also may make this deck unviable for the upcoming Regional Championships, but if you feel like running the roulette of matchups and trying to ruin some Regidrago VSTAR’s day, I highly recommend giving this deck a try.

Conclusion

Following the conclusion of the World Championships this year, I felt annoyed with the format. None of the decks felt truly fun to play, many of the top decks have really dumb rock-paper-scissors matchups with each other, and the game as a whole felt a bit stale.

As such, I tried to find any decks that I could that felt good while also feeling fun, and Palafin ex swiftly rose to the top. Of course, Palafin ex as a card just seems so fun to play with, and of course it is, but seeing that the deck also has a decent matchup spread blew my mind, and I had high hopes for it for the Baltimore Regional Championships. While I am not entirely certain of if it has what it takes to win the event, I think it is very possible that the deck is at least good enough to get some wins and maybe put up an okay finish if you feel bold enough to give it a try. Worst case scenario, I can assure you that you will have a ton of fun doing so!

With that, this article draws to a close. As always, I hope you enjoyed giving this article a read, and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out in the comments or on social media.

Until next time!

– Isaiah

[/premium]