Tale of a Snail — A Look At Magcargo-GX / Magcargo
[cardimg name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
You know the stories where someone is granted a wish, but then that wish backfires? I feel like this is what happened in the metagame this weekend at Roanoke Regionals. [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM84″ c=”name”][/card] Control was the boogieman — I spent a whole article last week talking about how to defeat it, and concluded by saying that I didn’t expect it to keep dominating. Well, I was right: as most players hoped, Zoroark Control was nowhere to be seen. However, its demise was brought upon, in part, by the rise of stall decks* — and now, players must face an even more hated threat. Soon, they’ll wish Zoroark was back in Control.
Alright, alright, I’m being a bit more dramatic than necessary for the sake of the narrative. In reality, there were a number of reasons for Zoroark Control’s decline. As I and many others predicted, players adapted to it by either playing decks with a favorable matchup against it, or teching for it. One need only to look at what made Top 8 in Roanoke: [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Blacephalon-GX ” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card]/ [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] with two [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] with [card name=”Larvitar” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”115″ c=”custom”]Larvitar[/card]… it’s no wonder that Zoroark Control didn’t do well in such a metagame.
In a similar vein, stall decks are the big topic of discussion right now, their success inevitably dredging up the familiar debate about whether [card name=”Lusamine” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] should be banned. However, if you look at the actual results, their success was relative. Of the 55 known decks in Day 2 at the time I’m writing this, only eight were stall decks (all of them had some combination of [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Regigigas” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Shuckle-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”17″ c=”custom”]Shuckle-GX[/card]), and none made Top 16. It’s true that even this modest success is more than what we’re used to, but, objectively, stall decks are not dominating. They’re just on the map now.
In addition, stall decks are not the only new deck to worry about. Gardevoir-GX had potential, as evidenced by Robin Schulz’s top 16 finish at LAIC, but it’s now one of the major threats of the format. Charlie Lockyer’s Day 1 undefeated run leading to a top eight finish with [card name=”Jumpluff” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”14″ c=”custom”]Lost March[/card] brought a lot of attention back to this deck. Blacephalon-GX / Naganadel was the most successful deck overall.
However, in the end, these are all details. Stall decks seem to have passed a point where they’re seen as a legitimate choice rather than the stuff of weirdos — just like [card name=”Wailord-EX” set=”Primal Clash” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] did in Expanded last season.** Since most people don’t like playing against them, this is worrying to a majority of the player base. So, how do we deal with them?
There’s a number of options. I would sound like a broken record if I brought up [card name=”Solgaleo-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] / Alolan Ninetales-GX once again, and, to be fair, this deck doesn’t deal well with Hoopa. [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] has been doing excellently in my tests recently, but I want to talk about something new: [card name=”Magcargo-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Magcargo” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card]. As always, I’ll explain the concept of the deck, give a list and some options, and even offer some variations on the deck. After all, who better than your resident Frenchman to discuss escargots?***
* I’m one of these purists who feel that the name of “mill decks” doesn’t convey what these decks actually do. There’s no actual milling card now that [card name=”Team Rocket’s Handiwork” set=”Fates Collide” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card] rotated; the decks only win by exhausting the opponent’s resources.
** Incidentally, I think this will hurt them in the long run. Players will start taking them seriously and preparing for them instead of just assuming they won’t run into them.
*** Is “French people eat snails” still a stereotype? I don’t know. Please purchase a subscription to come discuss this important matter in the Subscribers’ Hideout.
Magcargo-GX: A Primer
The Basics
[cardimg name=”Magcargo-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”198″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Magcargo-GX / Magcargo is not a new idea. To be honest, the two cards are blatantly designed to be played together: they evolve from the same Basic which saves space in the deck, and their Abilities combine perfectly: you can use Smooth Over to place a basic Energy on top of your deck, then Crushing Charge to attach this Energy to one of your Pokemon. With two Magcargo-GX and two Magcargo in play, you can use this combination twice, which allows you to attach two Energy in addition to your manual attachment. You can therefore power up Magcargo-GX in only one turn!
Some will claim that it’s not realistic to have these four Evolution Pokemon in play. Magcargo’s Smooth Over, combined with a draw Supporter like [card name=”Lillie” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]’s Instruct Ability, helps to set up your board, and you can use [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] as a fifth [card name=”Slugma” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card]. That being said, it’s still a valid criticism — you’ll often face pressure early, especially if you go second, so you can’t expect to have an army of Slugma ready to evolve. Fortunately, you don’t need two Magcargo in play most of the time because there are other ways to control the top card of your deck.
The main alternative to Magcargo is [card name=”Mallow” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card], which acts as a double Smooth Over. You can use Mallow to set up two Crushing Charges. It might seem redundant with the actual Smooth Over Ability, but, in most cases, it’s not. You can use Magcargo in combination with Oranguru to draw a desired card, then Mallow to guarantee hitting Energy with Crushing Charge. There are variations on the use of these two cards. For example, you can actually use Magcargo and Oranguru to get Mallow! This trick is particularly useful in situation where you need to hit two Crushing Charge but only have one Smooth Over at your disposal.
The second way to control the top card of your deck is [card name=”PokeNav” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s not extremely reliable, but you can make some interesting plays with it. For example, you can use Smooth Over to put a Magcargo-GX on top of your deck, then use PokeNav to grab it. If there’s an Energy card in the two other cards, you can put it back on top of the deck and attach it with Crushing Charge; this may seem unlikely, but if your deck has 35 cards, 10 of which are Energy, your odds are basically 50-50.
As you can see by these small examples, Magcargo-GX / Magcargo is more technical than it seems. Your overall goal is still to attach three Energy to Magcargo-GX, then discard enough to KO whatever you need, but playing it perfectly requires some technical skill — and sometimes knowledge of probabilities.
With built-in Energy acceleration and high damage output, Magcargo doesn’t fear stalling strategies like Energy denial or walling with Shuckle-GX. But there’s one card in this deck that pushes this matchup from slightly favorable to a near auto-win: [card name=”Victini Prism Star” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”7″ c=”name”][/card]. The Victory Pokemon’s Infinity attack can bring all your basic Energy back into your deck, guaranteeing that you’ll never run out. A Stall player’s only chance to win would then be to trap high-retreat Pokemon such as Magcargo in the Active spot but, even if you don’t have [card name=”Switch” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], you can still attach Energy to the Active Pokemon and retreat, knowing that Victini Prism Star can recycle them. Finally, Victini Prism Star also OHKOs [card name=”Hoopa” set=”Shining Legends” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], the only Pokemon other than [card name=”Araquanid” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] to wall Magcargo-GX.
Finally, a quick word on Magcargo-GX’s Burning Magma GX: the name is cool, the effect much less so. It doesn’t fit into the deck’s game plan at all, at best acting as a deterrent so that the opponent doesn’t dig too deep into their deck. I tend to use the attack at the beginning of the game if I don’t have enough Energy to use Lava Flow, because there’s no other GX attack to use in the deck anyway. Sometimes, it can discard a key resource, like a Prism Star card; however, most of the time, it doesn’t do much.
Why not Blacephalon-GX?
The comparison between Magcargo-GX and [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] is inevitable. Both want to get a bunch of Fire Energy into play, then use them to fuel big attacks at the rate of 50 damage per Energy. The differences include that Magcargo-GX needs Energy on itself, whereas Blacephalon-GX can Lost Zone any Fire Energy in play; Magcargo-GX can accelerate Energy to itself; and Magcargo-GX deals 50 damage more.
With Blacephalon-GX being a Basic Pokemon, it seems like the winner in this comparison. However, Magcargo-GX has some advantages. For starters, it’s not an Ultra Beast. It’s not reliant on [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] and, most importantly, it’s not weak to Sublimation GX from [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] or Power of Nature from [card name=”Sceptile” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card]. Its additional 30 HP also gives it an edge in some matchups, like Gardevoir-GX.
To be perfectly clear, I don’t claim that Magcargo-GX is a better card, or a better deck, than Blacephalon-GX. However, I believe it has some strong selling points, and is a separate contender, rather than a worse version of Blacephalon-GX. This is especially true in a metagame where Blacephalon-GX / Naganadel will be expected at every turn: Magcargo-GX / Magcargo has much less of a target on its back.
[premium]
Going Full Snail
This is my current list. I’m still refining it, but I’ve tested several other engines, and this is what worked best for me. I’ll discuss some other possible ways to build the deck below.
[decklist name=”Tales of Snails” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Victini Prism Star” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”7″][pokemon amt=”13″]3x [card name=”Magcargo-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”44″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Magcargo” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”24″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Slugma” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”43″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Victini Prism Star” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”7″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”34″]4x [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Apricorn Maker” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”124″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Mallow” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”127″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”PokeNav” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Switch” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Heat Factory Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]13x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”13″][/card][/energy][/decklist][cardimg name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Four Slugma, One Ditto Prism Star, Three Magcargo-GX, Two Magcargo
This is the standard configuration. A fourth Magcargo-GX would be nice, but it’s not exactly needed. Cutting down to one baby Magcargo is also possible if you play more cards to control your draw, but I think Magcargo is too fundamental to the deck to risk it being prized.
You’ll notice that this deck doesn’t play [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] or any other Stage 1: Ditto is strictly a fifth Slugma in this deck, which is pretty useful since there are five Pokemon that evolve from Slugma.
Two Oranguru, Zero Tapu Lele-GX
The combination of Magcargo and Oranguru has already proven itself in decks like [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Granbull” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”138″ c=”custom”]Granbull[/card]. In a deck centered around Magcargo, it’s only natural to include Oranguru. I feel like, thanks to this pairing, the deck doesn’t need [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], apart the occasional bad opening hand. Since our only Pokemon-GX have 210 HP, Tapu Lele-GX could be a liability on the Bench.
That said, it’s perfectly reasonable to change an Oranguru for a Tapu Lele-GX.
Four Lillie, Three Cynthia, Three Apricorn Maker, Four Ultra Ball, Four Nest Ball
I can’t understate how important it is to have a good setup, especially on the first turn. Since there’s no 60-HP Slugma to grab with [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”custom”]Professor Elm’s Lecture[/card], [card name=”Apricorn Maker” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] is the next best thing. Keep in mind that, due to the low number of Basic Pokemon in the deck, we’ll often start with Slugma or Ditto, so that’s one less Pokemon to look for.
Lillie and [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] are backup Supporter options for turn one, and draw power for later turns. I run more Lillie than Cynthia because of its synergy with Smooth Over.
Four PokeNav
I’ve touched upon this card above, but I want to emphasize its uses. Often, when you find an Energy among the top three cards of your deck, you don’t want to draw it. Instead, keep it on top of your deck so you can get it with Crushing Charge. Obviously, if you haven’t played an Energy this turn, it can be better to draw it. Also, don’t use your PokeNav when it will not get you anything. On turn one, you can play it if you’re searching for a Slugma, but, most of the time, it will be better used later in the game.
Two Choice Band, Zero Professor Kukui
Both of these cards allow you to increase your damage output. [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] is necessary for 180-HP Pokemon such as [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], and 230-HP Pokemon such as [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card].
I don’t run [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] because the only math I’d ever use it for is to hit 220 damage to KO [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card], and the deck already has a lot of Supporters so there’s rarely an opportunity to play it. That said, Kukui has some nice synergy with Smooth Over and PokeNav, so it’s not absurd to run it. However, in the current metagame, I’d rather play a third Choice Band to increase my chances against Gardevoir-GX.
One Heat Factory Prism Star
It may seem like a no-brainer to run this Stadium in a deck that plays 13 Fire Energy, but [card name=”Heat Factory Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] doesn’t get as much use as you’d expect. Unlike in Blacephalon-GX / Naganadel, you don’t want to discard Energy. It’s still good to be able to draw three cards without using a Supporter, and having a counter Stadium has uses, but the card doesn’t make or break the deck by a long shot.
13 Fire Energy
I’m pretty sure that the correct number of Energy is either 13 or 14. Playing 13 gives you a spot for some other card, but you reduce your odds of hitting an Energy with PokeNav.
Other Options
Rotom Dex Poke Finder Mode
[cardimg name=”Rotom Dex Poké Finder Mode” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”122″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
This forgotten card works decently in the deck. You can rearrange the top four cards of your deck, which helps to get an Energy on top for Crushing Charge and/or to check if you have a Pokemon for PokeNav. Playing this card would require some cuts, probably to Apricorn Maker. With only Items to draw your Pokemon, though, you can have a harder time setting up. What’s more, [card name=”Rotom Dex Poké Finder Mode” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] is simply not a good card by itself. PokeNav can at least cycle itself most of the time, even if it’s only to grab an Energy; a turn-one Rotom Dex is a dead card. In general, I dislike playing cards that only have a use when used in combination with another card, unless that card’s effect is irreplaceable for a deck’s strategy, such as with [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card].
Energy Recycle System
Since Magcargo-GX discards a lot of Energy, having a card to put some Energy back into the deck can save you in situations where you don’t want to attack with Victini Prism Star yet. [card name=”Energy Recycle System” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] is better than [card name=”Energy Recycler” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] since the option to get back one card in your hand is useful, and you rarely need more than three Energy back in the deck. That said, in a list with PokeNav, I’d consider running a fourteenth Energy instead.
Judge
I omitted [card name=”Judge” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] because of the high number of Supporters already present in the deck, but having a form of disruption is good against many decks. Oranguru + Magcargo can get this card when you need it.
Turtonator-GX
In theory, [card name=”Turtonator-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card] can give the deck a usable GX attack. In the midgame, you can use Nitro Tank GX to get back Energy from the discard pile and power up your attackers. Turtonator-GX can even act as an attacker in a pinch, since it deals 190 damage with a Choice Band.
Stage 1s
Although Ditto Prism Star is here to evolve into Magcargo, it can still evolve into some other Stage 1 Pokemon, so it’s not absurd to run some. The three main options I can see are [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Zebstrika” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”82″ c=”custom”]Zebstrika[/card], and [card name=”Salazzle-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card].
It may seem weird to run Alolan Muk in a deck that plays Oranguru, but you’re not that reliant on Instruct, so it’s alright to sacrifice your ability to use Instruct if it disrupts the opponent’s game plan more — typically against [card name=”Granbull” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”138″ c=”custom”]Granbull[/card].
As for Salazzle-GX, it’s a finisher which only requires two Energy to attack. This is important because in the end game you may find yourself with only one Magcargo-GX left, which means you can only get two Energy in play. Salazzle-GX can use these Energy to end the game. Victini Prism Star can do the same in the right conditions, though.
Matchups
In this section, I’d like to quickly give some advice for playing against some popular (non-stall) decks.
Blacephalon-GX / Naganadel
I’ve found this matchup to be pretty even, or even positive. The player going first has a big advantage (this is a recurring theme with Magcargo). There’s little subtlety: just go for big OHKOs. If you can KO two Blacephalon-GX in a row, you’ve basically won; unless they managed to play a lot of [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card]s in one turn.
Gardevoir-GX
This matchup feels slightly unfavorable because of Gardevoir-GX’s unlimited damage output. That said, there are some tricks to help. As I alluded to earlier, playing a third Choice Band helps a lot to KO the first Gardevoir-GX. If you can do that, you’re in a good spot for the rest of the game.
Consider discarding more Energy than you need to in order to avoid an Infinite Force KO. For example, if you KO a [card name=”Ralts” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] on turn two and there’s another Ralts waiting for a Fairy Energy, you may want to discard two Energy instead of only one. This way, your opponent can’t get the revenge KO with Double Colorless Energy + Choice Band + Secret Spring. They would need a second Gardevoir-GX to use a second Secret Spring — something that can be hard, even with Ninetales.
Zoroark-GX / Decidueye-GX / Alolan Ninetales-GX
This matchup is favorable. Zoroark-GX is not a big threat to you since they have no way to OHKO you outside of a huge number of Feather Arrows, and Ninetales doesn’t do much either. You, however, can [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM37″ c=”name”][/card] for some easy Prizes due to its Fire Weakness. If they don’t play down a Decidueye-GX, the difference in damage outputs should be too much for your opponent to handle.
Granbull
Both decks play the same way once they’re set up, both trying to control their draw in order to reach the conditions that allow them to attack optimally. Granbull can’t OHKO Magcargo-GX but it’s a one-Prize attacker, so it should race faster. However, Victini Prism Star can force the opponent to take an odd number of Prizes. As always, focus on opposing Magcargo if you can in order to deny them control over their draw as well as the use of [card name=”Diantha” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card].
Variants
Throughout this article, we’ve only talked about Magcargo-GX being used with Fire Energy. However, neither Crushing Charge, Lava Flow, or Victini’s Infinity require Fire Energy specifically; the attack costs do, but you can discard non-Fire basic Energy with Crushing Charge as well as get them back with Victini. This means that it’s actually possible to play Magcargo-GX / Magcargo in combination with Pokemon of other types, with the only sacrifice being Heat Factory Prism Star, which doesn’t work as well when we have to split our Energy line.
Playing additional Pokemon requires you to manage Bench space with precision, but, on the plus side, these other Pokemon can give the deck a decent GX attack!
As a disclaimer, I don’t have much experience with these lists — they’re based on decks that won Gym Battles in Japan, so it’s not a total shot in the dark — but I consider them experimental for now.
Thundersnail (Magcargo / Zeraora-GX)
[cardimg name=”Zeraora-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”86″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
I mentioned Turtonator-GX earlier, but it has a better counterpart in [card name=”Zeraora-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] now. Why play Zeraora-GX instead of Turtonator-GX, when the latter would let us play all Fire Energy? Because of its Ability. Thunderclap Zone is a great way to solve switching issues in a deck with many high Retreat Cost Pokemon. Being able to switch out also makes it a better secondary attacker than Turtonator-GX. Finally, with [card name=”Thunder Mountain Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] in play, Zeraora-GX can use Full Voltage GX for free and Plasma Fists for only two Energy. All in all, it’s a pretty efficient card.
To play Zeraora-GX, I would make the following changes to the list above:
- -2 [card name=”Switch” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], -1 [card name=”Heat Factory Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”178″ c=”custom”]Heat Factory Prism Star[/card], -5 Fire Energy
- +2 Zeraora-GX, +1 Thunder Mountain Prism Star, +5 Lightning Energy
Of course, some other options are possible as well. An idea would be to give the deck a more defensive gameplan by adding some [card name=”Max Potion” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Bodybuilding Dumbbells” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]. With Zeraora-GX giving Pokemon free retreat and getting Energy back, you can play Max Potion to heal a Magcargo-GX and discard its Energy, then use Full Voltage GX to attach Energy back to it. With so many Energy back in play, you don’t need Choice Band to reach your desired damage output — that’s why Bodybuilding Dumbbells would work in this version of the deck.
Magcargo / Lycanroc-GX
Obviously, we all know that [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] is a good card. What makes it good in this specific deck is that you can power up Dangerous Rogue GX in one turn. Moreover, it is exactly the type of attack the deck wants: a two-Energy nuclear option for the situations when you can only use one Crushing Charge — for example, in the late game when you only have one Magcargo-GX left.
[card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] can evolve into Lycanroc-GX, but it’s hard to keep Ditto Prism Star unevolved until the time when we need to use Bloodthirsty Eyes. That’s why, in my opinion, a 1-2 line of Lycanroc-GX is the better choice. We don’t need to add too many Fighting Energy — unlike the Zeraora-GX version, where Lightning Energy give free retreat, here the Fighting Energy are only ideal when attached to Lycanroc-GX. Keep in mind that, with Smooth Over and Crushing Charge, we can easily attach a Fighting Energy from the deck to Lycanroc-GX.
To play Lycanroc-GX, my first draft would be to make the following changes:
- -1 [card name=”Apricorn Maker” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card], -1 [card name=”PokéNav” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card], -1 Heat Factory Prism Star, -3 Fire Energy
- +1 [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] (70 HP), +2 Lycanroc-GX, +3 Fighting Energy
This version sacrifices some consistency in exchange for the late game power boost of Dangerous Rogue GX. I would also heavily consider playing the third Choice Band in this version, since it can often be necessary in order to get a OHKO with Lycanroc-GX (again, Gardevoir-GX comes to mind).
Magcargo / White Kyurem
Finally, in the interest of completeness, I would like to mention the possibility of playing Magcargo-GX / Magcargo with [card name=”White Kyurem” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] as an attacker. White Kyurem already benefits from having Fire Energy attached, and Magcargo-GX can be used to attach Water Energy to it. Of course, since White Kyurem needs two of them, it’s harder to manage your Energy. On the other hand, this gives the deck a powerful non-GX attacker. The third Choice Band is a necessary inclusion in this version, since you want to attack with White Kyurem as often as possible, and 190 damage OHKOs many more Pokemon than 160.
To be honest, I’m unsure of how such a list would look exactly. [card name=”Counter Energy” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] is a possible inclusion since it fits well with White Kyurem, but it’s a bit awkward playing Special Energy in this deck.
Conclusion
That’s all from me this week! As you can see, there’s still a lot to explore with Standard. This is something that I love about the current Standard format: there’s a myriad of decks to try out, refine, and perfect in time for the next event.
Speaking of which, my next major event will be Harrogate Regionals on the 15th and 16th of December. However, American readers may be more interested in the Expanded format since Anaheim Regionals is on the same weekend. Hopefully, I can write something for everyone before then!
Until next week, best of luck to everyone — especially any readers attending the Regional Championship in Brisbane, Australia, this weekend!
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