Better Together – A Guide for Regigigas / Pikachu ex
What’s up readers! It’s Charlie and I’m happy to be back with another article. At the Sacramento Regional Championships a few weeks ago, I went 7-1-4 with one of my favorite new archetypes; [card name=”Regigigas” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] with [card name=”Pikachu ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]!
[cardimg name=”Area Zero Underdepths” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”174″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
While the “Regis” were originally designed to work together as your only six Pokemon in play, [card name=”Area Zero Underdepths” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] now enables you to have more than just the Regis in play, enabling Ancient Wisdom as a tool to power up more than just other Regis.
Attaching three Energy cards from your discard pile to one of your Pokemon is a ridiculous Ability, which is why pairing it with two of the game’s most ridiculous attackers — Pikachu ex and [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] — is such a strong combo.
With access to a 300 damage attack on a Pokemon with a built-in [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] and the power to snipe 90 damage twice with Moonlight Shuriken, taking two Prize cards on the first turn of the game isn’t merely possible, it’s reasonably likely.
My List from Sacramento
Let’s get right into the list I played in Sacramento:
[decklist name=”Regis!” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Regigigas” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”130″][pokemon amt=”17″]2x [card name=”Regigigas” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Regirock” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Regice” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”37″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Registeel” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Regieleki” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”51″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Regidrago” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Pikachu ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Iron Bundle” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”56″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”33″]3x [card name=”Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”145″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”147″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Night Stretcher” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Earthen Vessel” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Trekking Shoes” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Precious Trolley” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Area Zero Underdepths” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”10″]2x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Luminous Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mist Energy ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
As you might notice, this engine is far from what you might expect. [card name=”Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] is rarely featured as the highest-count Supporter in a deck, with that title usually going to the likes of [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Arven” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”166″ c=”name”][/card], however, it plays a huge role in helping this deck hit the turn-one combo more often than not.
Turn One Attacking Combo: The Holy Trinity
What I liked to call “the Holy Trinity” in my testing are the trio of cards required to set up a full Bench with maximum efficiency; [card name=”Pikachu ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Area Zero Underdepths” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Precious Trolley” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card].
More specifically, the first two need to be in play before you play Precious Trolley to fill your Bench to the max. When building this deck, I bounced back and forth between playing Precious Trolley or [card name=”Legacy Energy” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card] as my ACE SPEC. Legacy Energy is extremely powerful and offers you so much (even when utilized as nothing more than a Rainbow-type Energy), but I knew from the start that Precious Trolley would be better if you could use it to its full potential.
[cardimg name=”Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”198″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Maximizing its value then became the goal of the deck, but I struggled to do this with early lists based on Professor’s Research and [card name=”Carmine” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card]. That led me to instead trying Arven and [card name=”Irida” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card]-based lists, but I was still feeling unsatisfied as there’s no Bench space for anything besides your Regis, Pikachu ex, [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card]. Since Arven and Irida both demanded [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] to be viable, I had to rule those options out — that eventually led me to Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking. Since you play lots of ways to find Pikachu ex and four Area Zero Underdepths, having one of those two cards in your hand is a somewhat reasonable expectation, however, finding the other two is the big challenge. Arven and Irida can only guarantee you one each without [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], so I needed something that could find you both. Luckily, Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking checked that box perfectly, and the deck has many built-in ways to draw the cards, including Radiant Greninja, [card name=”Regidrago” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Trekking Shoes” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], and Squawkabilly ex. Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking was the missing piece that turned the turn-one combo from a pipe dream into a relatively normal occurrence.
Deck List Breakdown
With that said, let’s take a more specific look at each of my card choices:
Two Regigigas
As the most powerful Regi, [card name=”Regigigas” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] is the heart and soul of this deck. Ancient Wisdom can attach any three Energy cards from your discard pile to one of your Pokemon, provided you have one of each remaining Regi in play. This used to be limited to attaching to other Regis before Area Zero Underdepths, but now you can load up some of the game’s best attackers with this Ability. I chose to include two of each Regi, but Regigigas is the only one where I considered a third copy — with two in play, Ancient Wisdom can be used twice in the same turn!
This is a game-changing effect that can let you attach a whopping six Energy cards to a [card name=”Pikachu ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] in the same turn. Since Pikachu ex doesn’t discard all Energy attached when it uses Topaz Bolt, and instead discards three, you can attack with Topaz Bolt, leave your Pikachu ex fully powered up, and likely survive an opponent’s attack with Resolute Heart. Ancient Wisdom is such an awesome Ability; it has one of the most powerful effects ever, but a huge qualification by requiring five specific Pokemon in play to use it. This deck takes full advantage of its unique power to load up two of the best attackers we’ve ever seen.
[premium]
Two Regirock
[card name=”Regirock” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] is the only Regi in the deck where we can’t use the second attack as we don’t play Basic Fighting Energy. Some people have complained to me and said I should play it, but I don’t think it has enough value. Topaz Bolt does more damage than Regirock does even when boosted with Weakness, and is better in almost every other situation. The Fighting Energy is a dead card in so many matchups that it’s not worth it to include, however, Regi Gate is still usable, and Regirock is your first Regi to sacrifice more often than not. While I know some people have tried playing only one of a specific Regi, I think that that’s risky and can leave you in a precarious position.
Play two of all of them and thank me later.
Two Regice
[cardimg name=”Regice” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”37″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Another one of our strong attackers is [card name=”Regice” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”37″ c=”name”][/card]. Blizzard Bind can prevent an opposing Pokemon V from attacking the next turn, which is extremely good against [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card]. One of the few things you can’t OHKO with [card name=”Pikachu ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] is a Regidrago VSTAR after using [card name=”Hisuian Goodra VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card]’s Rolling Iron, and Regice offers you some solid counterplay by forcing them to find a [card name=”Switch” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”194″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Prime Catcher ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card] to move it.
While it’s not your first choice in the matchup, it’s a strong option to have access to depending on the situation. Regice highlights one of the awesome things about this deck, which is the incredible variety of attackers you have access to.
Two Registeel
[card name=”Registeel” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] is one you might not expect to play a big role but it’s one of the best Regi attackers right now, all because of [card name=”Latias ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card]. Since Latias ex gives every Basic Pokemon in play no Retreat Cost, Registeel is guaranteed to do 220 damage with Heavy Slam, scoring a KO on Pokemon such as [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card]. While it’s still not your first-choice attacker, having access to something like this is an awesome free bonus since it’s something you’re required to play anyway.
Two Regieleki
[card name=”Regieleki” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] is the Regi that will use an attack in the most different matchups, mostly due to the fact Electromagnetic Sonar is broken. Recovering any Trainer card from your discard is insane, and it’s an incredible luxury to have built into your deck. In games where I whiff the turn-one attack, I sometimes use [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] to move into Regieleki and attack with Electromagnetic Sonar to recover whatever Trainer I need. It’s also a huge part of giving you an auto-tie into the [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] matchup, as you can recover [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] and Switch Cart constantly until time is called. This turns into an auto-win in top cut since you can do this for 75 minutes and take a Prize card once you’re into the tiebreaker portion. Regieleki is a powerful card and I’m happy that such a good attacker is a free inclusion.
Two Regidrago
[card name=”Regidrago” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] is the last Regi we have, and it’s one of the best. The Dragon’s Hoard Ability drawing you up to four cards is strong, and it combos extremely well with [card name=”Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] to get you whatever you need. Also, [card name=”Luminous Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] can count as the Fire Energy in your attack cost, and you can use Giant Fangs to hit for 160 into things like [card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card]. Regidrago gives you lots of utility and helps you find the turn-one combo more consistently, making me happy it’s another free inclusion here.
Two Pikachu ex
[card name=”Pikachu ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] is of course the true star of the deck. While this strategy was possible before Surging Sparks, Pikachu ex is far and away the best Tera Pokemon to abuse the Energy acceleration from the Regis. Its Ability, Resolute Heart, is effectively the ACE SPEC [card name=”Survival Brace” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] on an Ability, which is honestly broken. To cap it off, Topaz Bolt hits for a whopping 300 damage for three Energy, which is perfect to fuel with Ancient Wisdom. With this insane Ability and attack, Pikachu ex’s biggest drawback is the difficulty of streaming attacks consistently, which the Regis immediately fix. Two copies are plenty; at one point I considered three, but with two [card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] and four [card name=”Night Stretcher” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] you have more than enough ways to find and recover it.
One Radiant Greninja
[cardimg name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
[card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] is a huge piece of this deck’s core. The way most decks use Radiant Greninja is for Concealed Cards, giving you some amazing draw power on a single-Prize Pokemon. In this deck, Concealed Cards also helps you out by getting your Energy in the discard for Ancient Wisdom, which is otherwise somewhat annoying to do. It also combos perfectly with Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking to help set up your early-game combo or find you any two cards you need later in the game. Most importantly, however, is the ultimate icing on the cake; the ability to utilize Moonlight Shuriken as early as the first turn of the game! In the same way we set up [card name=”Pikachu ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], we can set up Radiant Greninja and deal 90 damage to two of our opponent’s Pokemon, which is good into [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] decks and any other deck that plans on evolving. You can also use Radiant Greninja to set up KOs on other Pokemon for later since you can easily use Moonlight Shuriken multiple times. I think this may be the deck that squeezes the most possible value out of Radiant Greninja of any deck so far, which is amazing when talking about one of the best cards of this generation.
One Squawkabilly ex
[card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] is seeing play in many decks, but it’s a key piece to this one’s engine. Not only is it another way to grab your Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking cards, but oftentimes you’re able to use it as your “draw Supporter” after setting up your full turn-one Bench! Since you need to see as many cards as possible on the first turn of the game, including Squawkabilly ex is a no-brainer and it’s got enough value to occupy one of your two valuable “extraneous” Bench spaces, the other of which is occupied by Radiant Greninja. If your opponent ever discards [card name=”Area Zero Underdepths” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card], you’ll likely get a chance to discard Squawkabilly ex as well, which opens up that Bench space for whatever you want in the future. All in all, Squawkabilly ex is important, but you don’t need to play two copies because of your double Hisuian Heavy Ball.
One Iron Bundle
[card name=”Iron Bundle” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card] may seem like an interesting choice for the last Pokemon, but it serves a few different purposes. First of all, while we do play [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card], it’s not that easy to use, so Hyper Blower provides a nice substitute in situations like when [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] decks leave [card name=”Cleffa” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] Active. You can also use it to get around Rolling Iron, sometimes in combination with Boss’s Orders to KO a Regidrago VSTAR. Second of all, Refrigerated Stream is a useful attack! Stopping all Evolution Pokemon from attacking is oftentimes a better version of Blizzard Bind, allowing us to stop the likes of [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], which we otherwise can’t OHKO. Forcing them to find a pivot to attack can oftentimes foil their other plans for their turn, which might include [card name=”Canceling Cologne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] or something similar, and placing 100 damage is more than enough for Pikachu ex to clean up later. Overall, Iron Bundle pulls its weight as the only Pokemon in the deck that isn’t part of the core engine.
Four Nest Ball, Two Ultra Ball
Even with [card name=”Precious Trolley” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] are both needed to set up. Finding Basic Pokemon is almost always good with this deck, so Nest Ball was an easy count to max out, and the benefit of discarding cards with Ultra Ball can sometimes come in handy when trying to draw with Regidrago too. The Ultra Ball count isn’t as high as in other variants that include [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], because there are no coming-into-play Abilities like Luminous Sign in my list. This ball count is certainly sufficient and helps supplement your Precious Trolley well.
Four Night Stretcher
[cardimg name=”Night Stretcher” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”251″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
The only decks that we currently see playing four [card name=”Night Stretcher” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] are the [card name=”PokéStop” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] decks based around [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] and some other Pokemon, which use PokeStop to discard Dusknoir, find [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] and Night Stretcher, and then recover Dusknoir with Night Stretcher. While we don’t play PokeStop, Night Stretcher is such an insane card here that we have to max the count to four. Old [card name=”Regigigas” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] decks had four [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] in them, but if they had access to Night Stretcher, they’d surely have traded them out for Night Stretcher quickly. Putting a missing Regi right back into your hand to complete the combo is huge, re-establishing your Radiant Greninja or Pikachu ex after a KO is huge, and at worst, playing Night Stretcher is often equivalent to a “draw two” effect because its synergy with Concealed Cards. Night Stretcher is a catch-all card in this list and patches multiple different holes so nicely that I had to include four.
Three Earthen Vessel
Right before the card came out, I remember talking with some friends about how I was almost certain that [card name=”Earthen Vessel” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] is an objectively better card than [card name=”Professor’s Letter” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card], regardless of context. While many of them agreed, I’m happy that this deck (and many others) prove that theory is correct. While grabbing any two Energy is broken, discarding a card, oftentimes another Energy, is even better. There was a version of this deck that I built that played only four Basic Energy but also had four Earthen Vessel. I was getting “value” out of only 50% of my Vessel? The answer was that I wanted to get all four of them in the discard as fast as possible, and Earthen Vessel helped me find them and discard them. The fact this card can do both is what makes it so strong here and if I had any issues discarding Energy (it’s been ok so far), I’d surely look into adding a fourth.
Three Trekking Shoes
[card name=”Trekking Shoes” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] is common in many turbo decks, but it’s even better here with [card name=”Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card]. A fun thing you can do with Trekking Shoes is that if you have to use it in combination with Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking; you can put a card like [card name=”Mist Energy ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Luminous Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] on top, and the card you want next, and then discard the Energy with the Trekking Shoes effect! Also, one card is often enough to still get you what you want; if you have Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking and Trekking Shoes, you can put [card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] on top, then use the respective Ability to draw the second card. This gives you yet another way to access your Ciphermanic’s Codebreaking cards, which is why Trekking Shoes feels like a staple here.
Three Switch Cart
Three [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] probably appears like a pretty high count at first, but it’s honestly necessary. Pivoting your Pokemon around in the early game isn’t easy, and oftentimes you also need it in the mid-game to help recover from a KO or Stadium bump. Also, having this many is strong against [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] control, guaranteeing you at least a tie with [card name=”Regieleki” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] on your side.
Two Hisuian Heavy Ball
[card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] is usually a one-of, but here it’s an automatic two-of for me because we play a whopping SEVENTEEN Basic Pokemon! Even if you don’t get value out of both (you usually will), you will find it earlier, which is oftentimes huge in helping your setup.
One Precious Trolley
[cardimg name=”Precious Trolley” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”185″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Ah, [card name=”Precious Trolley” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card]… The enabler of this diabolical combo.
When I built this deck, the goal was to get as much value out of this card as possible. It’s still good when searching for three or four Basic Pokemon, but for each extra Pokemon I could get it to find, it’s even better. In the games where you find six or seven Basic Pokemon with Precious Trolley, I truly believe there is no more powerful effect you could play in your deck over this card. Yes, [card name=”Legacy Energy” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card] is still strong and better in slower versions of this deck, but in my build, the combo is everything.
Build the entire deck around optimizing Precious Trolley’s efficiency, and wins will follow.
Three Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking
After racking my brain on the way home for LAIC for a way to find two of the three combo pieces with one card, [card name=”Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] came to mind as a potential choice. It didn’t require extra Pokemon like [card name=”Arven” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”166″ c=”name”][/card] nor did it require Pokemon Tools — it required me to find a way to draw two cards after I played it. Since this was a turbo deck, I already knew I could find plenty of ways to draw cards, so Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking felt like a perfect fit. Almost instantly, I felt like this deck went from a meme to a legit contender. I would consider playing a fourth copy, but a third [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] might be better first since it’s still a great Supporter and oftentimes better post-combo. Any time I open with Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking and a way to draw the two cards, however, I can’t help but crack a smile as I know my opponent is in for a rough day.
Two Professor’s Research
Professor’s Research is strong in almost every deck, but it’s pretty amazing here. Discarding cards is usually good, and drawing seven cards is great! There’s not much else to say about it — I would add more if I had space for it, but I like the [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] I’m gonna talk about next more than the third Professor’s Research.
One Iono
[card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] was originally added so I could guarantee a tie against Snorlax control, which it does well, but I think I’d keep it here anyway because having a way to disrupt your opponent is needed in some games. Also, in the early game when the cards you draw matter a lot, six is only one less than seven, so it’s not a huge difference. You almost never take Prize cards before pulling off the combo, so it’s not a major disadvantage like [card name=”Judge” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] might be. If you really wanna go all-in on the turbo build, play an extra Professor’s Research, but careful players will keep Iono here.
One Boss’s Orders
[card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] is honestly difficult to use, and for a long time, I wanted to play zero. I decided to add it because having a way to gust in your deck is an important dimension to games, and if your opponents play knowing you don’t have the Boss’s Orders, they can take advantage of you in so many different ways. It’s also nice to escape [card name=”Klefki” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card], and you can stack it on top with Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking against [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] so they don’t have an eternity to set up behind Klefki. I ended up liking the inclusion and I think it’s worth it.
Four Area Zero Underdepths
[card name=”Area Zero Underdepths” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] is the Stadium that enables all these shenanigans, and playing any less than four is a crime. Aside from [card name=”Night Stretcher” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card], these are your most precious resource. You need it to be in play if you want to win unless you’re going with an all-Regi board. Just play four.
Two Water Energy, Two Grass Energy, Two Lightning Energy, Two Metal Energy, One Luminous Energy
[cardimg name=”Luminous Energy” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”226″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
For a while, I only had two Water Energy, and one of each of the others, alongside two [card name=”Luminous Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card]. I decided to change this to combat both prizing the Energy and to take more advantage of [card name=”Earthen Vessel” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card], and I think I like the change. With these counts, you rarely have issues with Prized Energy, and if you do, it usually has to do with the Water.
For Luminous Energy, I had two for a while, but once I added enough of all the Basic Energy, I cut down to one. With Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking, you’re still able to find it if you truly need it, which is a nice perk of the Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking engine.
You could get away with cutting lower on one of the types of Energy, but I think this count is pretty stable.
One Mist Energy
[card name=”Mist Energy ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card] is mostly a tech for [card name=”Raging Bolt ex ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] to help get around [card name=”Slither Wing” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card], which will KO [card name=”Pikachu ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] because of burn. If you stick the Mist Energy at any point throughout the game, you probably win on the spot, which is nice. It’s also useful against [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] to protect from Phantom Dive and random stuff like [card name=”Roaring Moon ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] if you happen to hit that. If you don’t expect Raging Bolt ex, feel free to cut this, but otherwise, it’s a solid extra Energy to have.
Conclusion
That’s all for my deck profile on [card name=”Regigigas” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card]! I genuinely believe this deck is good and extremely underplayed right now. It may not be Tier 1 because it can be fragile, but it’s surely Tier 2 and has an insane matchup spread. It’s also tricky to play, but once you get the hang of it, it’s an absolute blast!
As always, thank you for reading! Feel free to reach out with any questions on X (@C4_TCG) or down in the comments below and I’ll try my best to respond. Until next time!
– Charlie
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