Order Up! Two Brand-new Lists for Sun and Moon-on

What’s up ‘Beach goers? I hope you all had a great summer and are getting geared up for the new season. It’s been a while but I’m happy to be back writing again — and what perfect timing! The new rotation is nearly here.

In this article I’m going to help you all break in the new format by revamping some old favorites while offering my predictions on the future of the Standard format. Old staples like [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] are completely gone while everyone’s favorite hand refresher, [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], is banished to Expanded. The removal of these cards will completely change the way we play the Pokemon Trading Card Game and, to the delight of many players, slow the format down considerably.

Sun and Moon-on is a different beast. Many archetypes survive the transition while some (I’m looking at you [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]) are going to have a much more difficult time staying relevant. Two decks that make the transition effortlessly are [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]. I will be detailing each deck and talking about their strengths and weaknesses in the upcoming year!

Buzzwole-GX / Lycanroc-GX

Love him or hate him, Buzzwole-GX is going to have a stable presence in the upcoming Standard format. A slower format without [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Mew-EX” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] means that early pressure with Jet Punch is a potent strategy without much repercussion. Even without [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], both Jet Punch and Sledgehammer can hit for considerable numbers when paired with [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] on the first turn of the game.

Spreading early with Buzzwole-GX is essential in the next format since the deck loses Strong Energy to help hit those Knock Out numbers later in the game. That being said, the deck isn’t completely devoid of OHKOs! With Diancie and [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], Knuckle Impact still hits for 210 damage. If you happen to have your [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] equipped, that’s a 240 damage Knuckle Impact. And, as usual, a well timed Absorption GX or Dangerous Rogue GX can wipe out anything on the opponent’s side of the field.

[decklist name=”Buzzwole GX / Lycanroc GX” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″][pokemon amt=”12″]3x [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”75″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Diancie Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”74″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”37″]4x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x Tate & Liza (CES #148)2x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Judge” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]10x [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”10″][/card]1x [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Losing [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] is a big deal for this deck, but by no means a deal breaker. As we saw last season with Buzzwole GX / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], a [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] focused version of the deck can be explosive and consistent. Without Octillery or Professor Sycamore to help draw into our valuable Beast Rings, the list has compensated by including [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] to not only help with hitting Beast Ring on the right turns, but also early aggression and consistency. Let’s talk about the overall changes in this deck and why certain cards are included.

Three Buzzwole GX and Two Little Buzzwole

[cardimg name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I originally started my list with three copies of [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] and three copies of Buzzwole-GX. The more I played, however, I realized that Buzzwole-GX is your ideal starter. In fact, it could be beneficial to cut the [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] or the second little Buzzwole for a fourth Buzzwole-GX to increase the odds of starting it.

As was the case with Buzzwole-GX / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] this year, you want to allow yourself the most amount of turns to hit Beast Ring as possible. Spreading with Buzzwole-GX allows Buzzwole the most opportunities to take early Prizes and set up KOs while pressuring the opponent to set off your own Beast Ring. Once Beast Ring is activated, a baby Buzz can usually be promoted to take out a damaged attacker with Sledgehammer while you build up Buzzwole-GX on the Bench. If your opponent then KOs the little Buzzwole, they will be at three Prizes, allotting you one more turn to hit Beast Ring to ensure that you have enough Energy in play to clean up the game. Now this is admittedly a pretty linear strategy, but that’s how these Beast Ring decks work. You have a game plan to get your Energy into play and it more or less happens the same way every game.

2-2 Lycanroc GX

Lycanroc-GX is as strong as ever. Without [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] in format, setup decks will be filling their Bench to their hearts content. Also, without a number of strong draw options to choose from, more and more [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] will be making their way onto the Bench, crowding things up.

Unfortunately, without [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card], the days of the surprise Dangerous Rogue are over. I considered playing [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card] in this list to give you the option to pull off that maneuver if you wanted to, but I found that the format is so slow that there is usually plenty of time to slap a single [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] onto a [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] while you Jet Punch with Buzzwole-GX during the opening turns.

Getting an early Fighting Energy onto a Rockruff is important so that Dangerous Rogue can be a live play for the rest of the game. Though Lycanroc’s Dangerous Rogue is amazing, you will be primarily using it for Bloodthirsty Eyes to help pull up damaged targets to be aggressive and finish off games with Buzzwole-GX.

[premium]

Marshadow

Time to Let Loose! I cannot express to you how awesome [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Shining Legends” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card]’s Let Loose has been in my testing. Not only does it allow you to see more cards during a turn before or after you play a Supporter, it also forces your opponent to shuffle in and draw four cards! With [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] and a one-of [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card], it is not uncommon to play Marshadow on the first turn of the game, forcing your opponent into a four-card hand while you lay on the pressure with Jet Punch. Marshadow allows you to do things like [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], draw more cards and limit your opponent to four cards all in the same turn. It allows you to play a Supporter like [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card], see six cards, then see four more. The possibilities don’t end there! Without [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] in format, hand disruption is better than ever. And let’s be honest, [card name=”Judge” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] can be underwhelming.

You could play [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM13″ c=”name”][/card] in this spot, but the results just don’t compare. Without N in the format, you won’t find yourself with a hand size lower than three cards often enough for Instruct to be effective. Oranguru will be superior in some decks, but Marshadow’s one-of Let Loose outclasses Oranguru when paired with Buzzwole-GX.

Simply put, Marshadow allows aggressive Basic decks like this one to be even more aggressive and see more cards. Buzzwole doesn’t usually need all five of its Bench spaces in this format and Marshadow is a welcome addition to the squad.

Supporters

Most of these should be self explanatory. Cynthia and [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] are the new tag-team duo for deck building. A turn-one Lillie is the strongest opening Supporter for many decks, but it becomes more situational as the game progresses, so two is a good count. Cynthia is going to be the backbone of every single archetype next year, so make sure you have plenty of playsets. Shuffle draw six cards is a consistent and dependable draw option for every deck. Vanilla, not terribly exciting, but undoubtedly a staple.

Buzzwole wants to be consistent and aggressive every game. To help with that goal, we’ve included the dependable Tate & Liza, which also doubles as a switch option, which is welcome in a format without [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card].

We have two copies of Judge. Judge is kinda bad. I don’t love playing it, but it makes the cut because the deck needs something to disrupt an opponent’s hand as games come to a close. Unfortunately, there isn’t unlimited Bench space for multiple Let Loose Marshadow, because if there was, you know I would choose Marshadow over Judge every time.

You may have noticed that I play zero copies of [card name=”Copycat” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card]. I tried to like Copycat, but the more I played the card the more it let me down. Consider this: most draw Supporters net a hand of about six in this format. After a draw Supporter is played, a few cards usually get played from the hand, leaving a player with a hand of three-to-four, which is what I usually found myself drawing off of a Copycat. Now, of course, there are situations where Copycat is great. After an opponent takes two Prizes, they may have six-to-seven cards in their hand. Zoroark decks can also boast sizable hands at times, making more opportunities for big Copycats. These situations, unfortunately, are too situational to warrant playing multiple copies of Copycat. And if you only play one Copycat, you probably won’t have it on the one turn that you want it.

Items

[cardimg name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ align=”right” c=”custom”]ORDER UP[/cardimg]

With the [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] engine in full operation here, unique Items are valuable since they are all searchable on a coin flip. [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] is obviously the most important Item for our deck to search out, but [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] is another valuable target that can help snag perfect Knock Out numbers.

I love [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] in this format and think that it will become the switch card of choice in a lot of decks. We have plenty of switch outs in this deck with two Tate & Liza and four Guzma, but Escape Rope can allow [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] opportunities to disrupt the opponent which can buy more valuable turns to soften targets up with Jet Punch. In conjunction with Guzma, Escape Rope also resets Knuckle Impact, enabling aggressive back-to-back plays.

The list includes a one-of [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] and Mysterious Treasure. Field Blower is important in this format to help get rid of cards like [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Sky Pillar” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] and the odd Pokemon Tool like [card name=”Wishful Baton” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card], which has been seeing play with [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. Rescue Stretcher may not end up being necessary in this list since [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] is gone and ugly discards happen far less than they used to. I’ve mentioned before that it can be replaced with a fourth Buzzwole-GX, but I do like the opportunity for some recovery if your Prizes are weird or if you [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] some Pokemon away. Mysterious Treasure is a funny inclusion in the deck, but I like it since it gives a fifth out to [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] and Marshadow that doesn’t require you to discard as many cards as Ultra Ball. Treasure boosts the consistency of the deck by giving us an additional and efficient Order Pad-searchable out to our draw Pokemon, and it has been great at that.

Another option in this deck is a one-of [card name=”Energy Loto” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card]. Our Energy count is a little lower than it was in older lists now that [card name=”Strong Energy” set=”Fates Collide” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] is gone. I don’t think the deck needs 11-13 [card name=”Fighting Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card], but an Energy Loto could be huge to increase our odds of getting an attachment every turn.

Summary

Buzzwole-GX seems perfectly poised for takeover early on in the new and slower format. Buzzwole is consistent, simple, and aggressive. It can attack turn one and ramp to hit huge OHKO numbers later in the game with minimal set up. In my testing, Buzzwole has scored favorably against most things not named [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]. As was the case last year, Buzzwole still has Malamar problems, but can lean heavily on the fact that it is more aggressive and consistent. A turn-one Judge or Marshadow can spell disaster for any setup deck, even Malamar! Try it out and let me know what you think.

Gardevoir-GX

Although [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] doesn’t get a huge bag of new tricks until November’s Lost Thunder set drops, it will still be a force to be reckoned with early on in the Sun and Moon-only format. With a slower field to navigate and no more [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card], Gardevoir has plenty of Bench space and time to set up a game-winning strategy. Gardevoir does take quite a hit with the rotation, though. It loses [card name=”Gallade” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”name”][/card], cards that were all key to its success in earlier formats. There are plenty of ways to make this deck great next format though, and this list is a good place to start until Lost Thunder is released.

[decklist name=”Gardevoir GX” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Deoxys” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”67″][pokemon amt=”16″]4x [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Ralts” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”21″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Deoxys” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”67″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]4x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x Tate & Liza (CES #148)1x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Judge” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pokémon Fan Club” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”158″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]9x [card name=”Fairy Energy” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”9″][/card]4x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist][cardimg name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Similar to the [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] list shown above, this list utilizes the [card name=”Order Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] engine to help piece combos together quickly and efficiently. Gardevoir-GX loves an early Order Pad for [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] to help get those Basics out, and, of course, Ordering for a [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] early on can be game changing.

For those of you that despise coin flips, November’s Lost Thunder set will include a Fairy-type Alolan Ninetales-GX whose Mysterious Guidance Ability allows you to search your deck for two Item cards upon evolution! This Ability jives perfectly with [card name=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”21″ c=”name”][/card] who helps search Pokemon out of the deck. I think Ninetales will be the future of setting up for Gardy for sure! Until then, I present to you Order Pad Gardevoir.

4-3-4 Gardevoir GX

With no aggressive draw cards in format and less comeback potential without N, it’s more important than ever to get multiple Gardevoir-GX into play early. This deck desperately misses the consistency and diversity that Gallade offered, but we get by just fine with an early field full of huge Gardevoir-GX. There is a non-GX Gardevoir in Lost Thunder who could find a home in this deck as a non-GX attacker and [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] counter, but until then we are rocking that straight four Gardevoir life.

Deoxsys from Celestial Storm

Although we are losing [card name=”Mewtwo” set=”Evolutions” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] — a card that helped Gardevoir-GX maintain pace with Buzzwole-GX — we are getting a slightly more nimble successor in [card name=”Deoxys” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”67″ c=”from”][/card]. For a [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card], Deoxys can perform Psychic which does 20 damage plus 20 more for each Energy on the Defending Pokemon. With a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] equipped, Deoxys can KO a fully-loaded Buzzwole-GX. Just having the Deoxys on the Bench can make Buzzwole think twice about diving in with Knuckle Impact! Deoxys will make its way into a lot of setup decks to help keep Buzzwole at bay and Gardevoir is no exception.

Supporters

This deck relies primarily on [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] and Tate & Liza to draw, with both [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Pokémon Fan Club” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] as excellent turn-one options. If you are able to get multiple Basics into play without playing Fan Club, a turn-one Lillie can create explosive starts when combined with the search of [card name=”Alolan Vulpix” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”27″ c=”name”][/card]’s Beacon! It hurts not having [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] in format, but Fan Club works. When combined with Order Pad and Nest Ball, I have had no problems getting multiple Basics into play early.

Although [card name=”Judge” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] is a lackluster draw Supporter for Gardevoir-GX, we concede and play one copy because every deck needs some way to limit the opponent’s hand at the end of the game. I’m not playing any more than one because Gardevoir wants to see more cards per turn than Judge offers.

Tate & Liza is in this list primarily as shuffle draw support, but the best thing about the card is that it doubles as a mobility card, which is something this deck struggles with. There are no switch cards in this deck other than our three [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] and three Tate & Liza, which is satisfactory. Everything in the deck besides Gardevoir has a retreat of one, and that can be easily paid in combination with Secret Spring.

Why no [card name=”Diantha” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] you may ask? Unfortunately, Diantha is too situational for this deck. Diantha is only good on turns where one of your Fairy Pokemon was KO’d and you have two useful cards in the discard pile. Generally speaking, everything in the discard pile except Double Colorless Energy and Rare Candy can be retrieved with Items instead of Supporters, and absolutely everything can be retrieved by Gardevoir’s Twilight GX. Early on there usually won’t be anything worth retrieving in the discard pile, and later on there is no easy way to guarantee that you will have the Diantha in your hand on that one turn that you want it.

Items

Like the Buzzwole-GX list, Order Pad makes unique Items easily accessible here. Obviously our primary target for Order Pad will be Rare Candy to evolve Gardevoir-GX, but [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] and Nest Ball are all crucial targets as well.

[cardimg name=”Max Potion” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”103″ align=”left” c=”custom”]Busted[/cardimg]

The one-of Nest Ball has been clutch in my testing and complements Pokemon Fan Club well for getting Basics into play. Max Potion is necessary to ward off early Jet Punch damage from Buzzwole and generally makes our Gardevoir tankier, which is great. Some players have suggested playing [card name=”Sky Pillar” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] as a way to ward of Buzzwole’s Bench snipe since [card name=”Mr. Mime” set=”Generations” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] has rotated. That isn’t a bad idea on paper, but in practice Sky Pillar will frequently get countered by Buzzwole’s [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card], making it unreliable. Choice Band is fantastic to help fix numbers in clutch situations and boosts [card name=”Deoxys” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] numbers to OHKO territory versus Buzzwole. Both Choice Band and Max Potion are good enough that I could see playing more copies of each.

Other possibilities for one-of Items include my favorite card [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Energy Loto” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card].

Escape Board could be sweet in here since everyone’s retreat is one except for Gardevoir. It would allow you to get your Alolan Vulpix into the Active a bit easier. Ultimately, I don’t think it’s necessary (as much as I would love to throw one of my Secret Rare Escape Boards into a deck).

Stretcher could be good to get your [card name=”Deoxys” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] back, but that’s about the only use I can think of for it. In an absolute emergency, Gardevoir can always Twilight GX to get back cards that it needs. I would rather play more [card name=”Max Potion” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card] to keep Gardevoir going longer than trying to bring them back after they get KO’d.

Loto could be cool to try and reach for more Energy or Double Colorless Energy, but I think that at a certain point playing more Energy is better.

Summary

Overall, [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] is positioned well heading into the upcoming year, especially with additional Fairy support on the way in November’s Lost Thunder set. The deck can struggle with early pressure from faster decks like [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM69″ c=”name”][/card]; however, [card name=”Deoxys” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] helps us to cover that weakness perfectly!

Unfortunately, Gardy’s popularity and strength alongside the non-existence of Fire decks may contribute to a rise in Metal’s popularity, which could be bad for Gardevoir. That being said, the format is still a month away. Only time will tell how the meta will start to shape up!

Conclusion

And that’s all I got for today! Hopefully this article helped you gain an interesting and fresh perspective on the future of the upcoming Sun and Moon-on format. Let me know what you think of the lists in the comments below or on Twitter @enjoifriend!

Thank you all for reading, and I hope to be writing again soon!

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