The Worst Feraligatr List You’ve Ever Seen

[cardimg name=”Feraligatr ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”41″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]Several weeks ago, the Fukaoka Champions League was broadcast form Japan as the world’s first post-rotation tournament for G-block on. While I was watching, someone mentioned that people were playing [card name=”Feraligatr ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card]. My first thought was “yup, that sounds about right for Japan,” and I internally lumped it into the same category as [card name=”Conkeldurr” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Slowking” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card]. As we know, Feraligatr ended up winning the massive 5000-player tournament. If it’s your first time looking at the card, you would immediately take note of its Ability. You might think “wow, this does a ton of damage,” “[card name=”Maximum Belt ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] lets this one-shot anything,” or “[card name=”Reversal Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] helps Feraligatr attack easily.” Wrong, wrong, and wrong again.  Feraligatr is actually a control deck.

When I looked at the winning list, I actually wasn’t surprised that this deck took first. Feraligatr was perfectly poised to take out the field, utilizing various control strategies mixed with damage when the situation calls for it. These types of decks are extremely strong into the right meta, and they are also incredibly difficult to play against. The surprise factor also matters more in a best-of-one environment, as it is entirely possible for opponents to be caught off guard in every single round. Even intelligent players can struggle to play perfectly against Feraligatr, especially if it’s their first time seeing the deck. I actually had a ladder encounter with Feraligatr right when Prismatic Evolutions dropped. I was playing [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], and I was stunned at how thoroughly I was checkmated by this ragtag board of single-Prize Pokemon. I was careful not to get retreat-locked, and I even tried to utilize my [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”37″ c=”name”][/card] countermeasures efficiently, but none of it mattered.

Since getting my hands on this deck, I’ve made quite a few adjustments to the Japan-winning list. I cut the heavy [card name=”Milotic ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”42″ c=”name”][/card] package for a few reasons. Milotic ex isn’t necessarily bad, but I wanted to free up the deck space. Milotic ex is only useful into a few very specific matchups, namely Dragapult and Tera Box. However, I don’t think you even need Milotic ex to beat those decks. What’s more, Tera Box decks are now including [card name=”Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card], effectively neutralizing Milotic ex. Milotic is also dead weight in most other matchups. That said, one consideration is actually the other [card name=”Milotic” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card], which greatly helps with the retreat-lock game plan that the deck employs in certain matchups. Many decks only have [card name=”Professor Turo’s Scenario” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] as their way around retreat-lock, which Milotic counters. If you do play Milotic, you’re highly incentivized to also play Milotic ex because it now only takes up one slot in exchange for hard countering some decks.

When tinkering with the deck, I noticed that Milotic isn’t just hogging the four slots for its 2-2 line, but there’s some implied space there as well. What I mean is that after removing the two Milotic ex, you’re also free to cut [card name=”Crispin” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] and lower the amount of Energy. This leaves a lot of space to streamline the deck and make it more consistent. The chief complaint among those trying out Feraligatr is that it is inconsistent and clunky, which is the natural result of having no Pokemon-based consistency or draw engine. There’s unfortunately no great answer to this, so I’ve simply increased the amount of Supporters, as that is the only real way to improve the deck’s natural consistency. Playing a Supporter every turn is basically all this deck wants to do, and the game plans organically come to fruition so long as you’re able to do that.

This deck reminds me a lot of [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] Control because of the game plans it uses. First, it can commit to a retreat-lock strategy, which is an easy way to win games if the opponent has something on the Bench that can get trapped and not many switching cards. With most Pokemon relying on [card name=”Latias ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] for mobility (all Basics) or having low retreat costs themselves ([card name=”Noctowl” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]), there’s no real reason for decks to play a bunch of switching cards. At most, one copy Professor Turo’s Scenario is a staple. Because of this, [card name=”Totodile ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”39″ c=”name”][/card] ‘s Big Bite is a very real win condition. Like any good Control deck, this deck can also pivot or mix and match strategies as needed. Thanks to [card name=”Relicanth ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card], Feraligatr can deliver a powerful hit-and-run attack and hide behind a Mimikyu with [card name=”Luxurious Cape” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”166″ c=”name”][/card]. Mimikyu with the Cape is a very sturdy wall that almost nothing can take down in one hit. Even if they can attack into Mimikyu, [card name=”Munkidori” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] can heal it, and Feraligatr can outpace the opponent’s damage thanks to its Ability.

Although Feraligatr will almost never win a fair Prize race, it can utilize bursts of high damage to pressure opponents or remove key threats from their board. This is very reminiscent of Control decks picking strategic spots to attack in order to put a squeeze on opponent’s resources or maintain a stranglehold on its position. It’s also possible to blitz Prize cards in specific spots to close out a game that is nearing its end. With its array of cheeky tricks and Munkidori’s damage manipulation, Feraligatr aims to play a long and drawn-out game. The deck wants to put a strain on the opponent’s resources, forcing them to slow down and giving them many opportunities to make mistakes.

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[decklist name=”gatr” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Relicanth ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”84″][pokemon amt=”16″]3x [card name=”Feraligatr ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Croconaw ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Totodile ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”39″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Munkidori” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”37″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Relicanth ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”37″]4x [card name=”Arven” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Lana’s Aid” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Switch” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”194″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Earthen Vessel” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”144″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Night Stretcher” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Precious Trolley” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Luxurious Cape” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”166″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Technical Machine: Evolution” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]3x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist]I mentioned the various strategies and things this deck can do. What you end up doing largely depends on the matchup and what your opponent decides to do. Your board is almost always going to consist of two Pokemon from the Feraligatr line (not necessarily Feraligatr itself), two Munkidori, one Mimikyu, and one Relicanth. As always with this game, exceptions exist, but this is the default that you’re going for. Aside from cutting Milotic, I want to highlight some of the changes I made from the Japanese list. I added a copy of Mimikyu and Relicanth because these Pokemon are very important for the deck functioning. Playing one copy and prizing it is basically an instant loss, or at least makes you play on extreme hard mode. There was also a Budew in the deck, which is fine. Unfortunately, the spot on the board that Budew occupies is quite hurtful. If the opponent does not oblige you by KO’ing Budew, you are in for a very awkward time managing your board. Budew also has to attack, and at all points in the game, there is another attack that you would prefer to be using instead of Itchy Pollen. Of course, Budew is a good card that can slow opponents down, but again, I’d rather streamline the deck.

I maxed out [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Lana’s Aid” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] because they were proving to be very useful, and I did not feel that two of each was enough. You want to play a useful Supporter every turn, and [card name=”Arven” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”166″ c=”name”][/card]’s utility drops off later. And sometimes you just want to spam Lana’s Aid. I also added a [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] because you need at least two in most games, and sometimes a third. This gives some leeway to prize one or discard one off Research. I added another [card name=”Earthen Vessel” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] because it is extremely important and better than Crispin. I also swapped a [card name=”Technical Machine: Evolution” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] for another [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”196″ c=”name”][/card], but I could see it going back to the other way around. TM: Evolution isn’t so necessary for setting up, as it’s mostly just a way to search out your Evolution Pokemon. Ultra Ball performs a similar function but is a lot more flexible.

[cardimg name=”Switch” set=”151″ no=”206″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg] After several games of [card name=”Artazon” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] doing nothing, I tried out [card name=”Beach Court” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card] instead. That didn’t impress me either, but I did often want ways to maneuver Pokemon around. [card name=”Rescue Board ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”159″ c=”name”][/card] is just bad in the deck, so I settled on [card name=”Switch” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”194″ c=”name”][/card]. Of course there are some benefits to playing Beach Court, but here are the reasons why I prefer Switch:

• Switch can move Feraligatr. This can be important when you’re retreat locking with Totodile or [card name=”Croconaw ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] and still want Feraligatr’s self-damage from Munkidori. You don’t want the damage increase with your attacker because you want your opponent to be locked. This also comes up when you want to spam Feraligatr’s Giant Wave for a million damage. With a Cape, the opponent might not be able to take out the Gatr in one shot.
• Doesn’t bump the opponent’s Stadium. This is relevant when you want to retreat-lock something against decks that have [card name=”Area Zero Underdepths” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] in play.
• Useful when the opponent retreat-locks you. This is very relevant against [card name=”Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card] and other Totodile.

Beach Court, of course, has the potential to stick in play and give you multiple uses of it, which isn’t nothing. However, if you’re spamming Croconaw’s attack for 150 and pivoting into Mimikyu, you only need so many attacks. Switch and hard retreats can hold you over until you start doing something else or the game ends. In games where you use [card name=”Precious Trolley” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card], Artazon is a completely blank card. Of course, when Trolley is prized or otherwise unavailable (such as Budew’s Item lock), Artazon will be missed. Playing the extra Ultra Ball and single copy of [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] can make prized-Trolley games playable, and an opposing Budew alone doesn’t apply much pressure, so it should be fine.

I cut the [card name=”Luminous Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] and added a [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”EX Emerald” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] due to this list’s focus on Lana’s Aid and Earthen Vessel. The flexibility to attack with Mimikyu or Munkidori on occasion is quite nice. With additional recovery, we don’t need to play as many actual Energy cards. This list has already undergone lots of revisions. I think it is good, but I’m not sure if it’s completely optimized yet, so I may end up making some more tweaks in the future.

Matchups

Tera Box – Favorable

The most hyped deck for the new format has to be Tera Box. They can dish out some serious pressure with Wellspring Mask Ogerpon, but putting Mimikyu in the Active helps mitigate this. If they take out both of your crocs at once, don’t panic. They need to put Noctowl into play to pull off combo plays and fast pressure, which is a prime retreat lock target. Try to lock Noctowl in the Active as soon as you can. They will inevitably escape with Turo. If they have another Noctowl in play, simply trap that and you win. You can also trap [card name=”Fan Rotom” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] with Feraligatr, so you’ll need two Feraligatr in play if you are forced to trap Fan Rotom. Fan Rotom three-shots Croconaw and one-shots Totodile, so you need one Gatr to attack and another on the Bench to use its Ability (in case they decide to not attack into you and you still need snipe damage). Retreat-locking a Noctowl or Fan Rotom is your preferred, easiest, and most common way to win. You also need two Munkidori on your Bench when you start locking.

When things go off script is when it gets interesting. I imagine 90%+ of opponents will put Noctowl and Fan Rotom into play, but when they don’t, there are a lot more possibilities to account for. [card name=”Fezandipiti ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] is an attacking threat that does not care about Mimikyu and will snipe down crocs and Relicanth. Cornerstone Ogerpon is another attacking threat that basically does not take damage. Against both, your preferred response is to simply retreat lock something on the Bench, but if that isn’t an option, you’ll have to deal with them directly.

If you’re in the unfortunate situation where you have no choice but to confront a Cornerstone, try to pile damage on it with Munkidori and Croconaw’s attack as aggressively as possible. You can also confuse with Munkidori’s attack, but the better option is usually to attack with Mimikyu with Luxrious Cape. If you’re able to attack with a clean Mimikyu, it can deal 140 total damage to a Cornerstone before Cornerstone threatens its own 2HKO. You’ll want at least 10 chip damage before that so that you can KO with two Munkidori uses and two Mimikyu attacks. If you can KO the Cornerstone while also healing 60, they might not be able to KO the Mimikyu back. In general, do everything you can to avoid letting your opponent take a KO on a Pokemon with Luxurious Cape. Speaking of Cape, that and TM: Evo are potential options that can protect your crocs from getting sniped.

If your opponent is attacking with Fezandipiti and has nothing that you can lock, you need to KO it as soon as possible. You might also have the option to limit the number of things on your board that Fezandipiti can one-shot. At the very least, don’t feed it Prize cards unnecessarily. Sometimes you want to hold off on benching extra Totodile or Relicanth until after the Fez is down, and don’t forget about Cape protection if you need to evolve one up.

Dragapult – Even

With no more [card name=”Rotom V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], they probably won’t put down anything that you can trap. If they have Fezandipiti, that would be worth trapping to at least make them waste two Energy, and then KO it. Trapping Budew could also buy some time, but it will die to the ten damage increments quickly. If they are using Budew to slow down your setup and it is being problematic, start using Big Bite when they are threatening to pivot into Phantom Dive with a big combo play and not a moment before. Delaying Big Bite can potentially buy you an extra turn or two if you need it. If you’re able to set up fine (since we play so many Supporters), you don’t care so much about using Big Bite.

[cardimg name=”Croconaw ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”40″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg] Since we aren’t doing much retreat locking overall, our main game plan in this matchup will be spamming Croconaw into Mimikyu. This does require pivoting Mimikyu out a few times with Switch and manual retreats, but the Mimikyu will also get KO’d somewhat often. You are forcing them to attack with [card name=”Drakloak” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card]. When available, try to target down Drakloak with Energy or [card name=”Dusclops” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”19″ c=”name”][/card]. KO’ing Duskull with Munkidori damage is also a premium option. In the best case scenario, you might even be able to KO two Duskull at once. You want to remove all of their answers to Mimikyu. Since Duskull only has 60 HP, you can spawn trap them after you’ve stabilized.

Putting Luxurious Cape on Mimikyu can be a strong play, but it’s also very risky because they can KO it with [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] plus Drakloak. I would definitely recommend looking for spots to Cape the Mimikyu, but carefully consider if you are still in a winning position if they do blow up Dusknoir to allow Drakloak to KO the Caped Mimikyu. Sometimes it is ok to just let them KO a non-Caped Mimikyu with Drakloak because you can respond by KO’ing the Drakloak. The most annoying part about this matchup is [card name=”Unfair Stamp” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card]. We do play a ton of Supporters, but we have no on-board draw power for guaranteed protection. There isn’t much we can do about the Stamp. I would recommend only taking KO’s on important targets (Drakloak with Energy and the entire Dusknoir line). If your board is set up and you haven’t burned many Supporters, you have a reasonable chance of recovering off an Unfair Stamp.

Other

Most other meta decks are very weak against either Mimikyu or retreat-lock, which are your go-to strategies. This deck is flexible enough to put up a fight against just about anything, so try to identify what your opponent is trying to do and respond accordingly. If you’re going to play Feraligatr, I would also recommend studying as many lists for meta decks as you can find. Knowing what your opponent is likely to have in their deck is very important for control decks. Of course, for brand-new formats like this one, doing so is much more difficult than usual. Current Japan City Leagues are already using their new set, so you’ll have to go back a bit if you’re looking at those. Online tournaments will be using the relevant format now that PTCG Live has implemented the rotation, so those may be good to keep an eye on as well. For example, Tera Box lists mostly play one Turo and no Switch, so you know that you can retreat lock them after their Turo has been used, and you can force the Turo out by retreat locking them.

That’s all I have for today! Thanks for reading!

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