Shedinja for Worlds — How to Beat the Counters
What’s up everyone! This is Grant Manley here, talking about the one deck that few people want to talk about, and even fewer want to actually play: [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Shedinja” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card]. The great thing about this Shedinja deck is that it is broken. The downsides are that it’s brutal to play for extended periods of time, requires lots of patience and skill, and relies on not prizing important cards. This already complicated deck gets more convoluted when your opponent brings counter cards into the mix, which makes for interesting situations and long matches. That said, I don’t expect many players to bother countering Shedinja. Against any deck without counters, Shedinja picks up a free win. When considering Shedinja as a play, you must consider what counters you might need to be wary of, as well as potential options to counter the counters. I have a Shedinja list to share today that I believe might be optimal. If not, then it’s close to optimal. There are ways to win against most techs that are supposed to work against Shedinja. In this article, I’ll be going over my current Shedinja list and sharing strategies to win against everything.
[premium]
[decklist name=”shed guy” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Solrock” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”62″][pokemon amt=”26″]3x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Shedinja” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nincada” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”29″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Zebstrika” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”82″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Blitzle” set=”Team Up” no=”44″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Girafarig” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Latios-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”78″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lunatone” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Solrock” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]4x [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ingo and Emmet” set=”Team Up” no=”144″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Brock’s Grit” set=”Team Up” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lt. Surge’s Strategy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Mars” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Tate and Liza” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Sky Pillar” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”144″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”3″]3x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”XY” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Strategy
[cardimg name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
In case you’re unfamiliar with the deck, the idea is to endlessly use Oranguru’s Resource Management to put back some combination of cards that allows you to use Resource Management every single turn with a Shedinja attached to your Active Oranguru. Your opponent can potentially Knock Out Oranguru every turn, but that will not matter thanks to an infinite supply of Shedinja preventing them from taking any Prize cards. Inevitably, the opponent will deck out because they lack a win condition. The entire deck is built around this tedious strategy, and there are some tech inclusions to minimize the number of ways opponents can get around Shedinja.
This deck is undeniably one of the most difficult to play in Standard, so it requires lots of practice before taking to a tournament. I don’t even think I can play the deck perfectly yet. The payoff is huge, though. You take a free win against any deck without a counter, which I expect to be most of them, and the techs combined with perfect play allows you to overcome most of the counters too. This deck is surprisingly consistent as well. Before testing it, I was skeptical due to the lack of cards like [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], but the current list works fine.
One thing to note is that this deck is poorly suited for a best-of-one tournament. Its games frequently last for more than 30 minutes if your opponent tries to drag it out. Sometimes games last for more than 50 minutes. In a best-of-three setting, you are essentially playing a best-of-one match because this deck will never finish three games, and will rarely finish two. If you lose game one due to dead drawing, the best you can hope for is a tie. If you win a full game one and lose a fast game two due to dead drawing, the best you can hope for is a tie. If you ever dead draw in one game, you cannot win the set. This is an unfortunate aspect of the deck, but it rarely dead draws bad enough that it loses, so this is not a huge issue.
The high counts of the main Pokemon are correct due to consistency and requiring multiples of them. Let’s briefly go over some of the cards that may not be as obvious.
Card Choices
One Dedenne-GX
Using [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] may seem questionable because it can often be a liability. Not only does it take up a valuable Bench spot, but it also gives the opponent a two-for-one deal on Prize cards off of [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card]. However, Dedenne-GX will only cost you the game if your opponent already plays other counters to this deck. Don’t use Dedenne-GX unless you absolutely have to in order to avoid dead drawing. Never put [card name=”Shedinja” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] on Dedenne-GX because your opponent will use Custom Catcher to target something useful and get a Prize instead of clearing off the Dedenne-GX for you. If you end up having to use Dedenne-GX against a deck that is using [card name=”Thunder Mountain Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card], consider using Tingly Return GX based on the situation.
Here’s why Dedenne-GX is required in the deck: Having Dedenne-GX adds five outs to dead drawing because it turns every copy of [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Team Up” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card] into a potential draw card. I explained how dead drawing is more catastrophic for this deck than it is for normal decks because of time limits. Having to use Dedenne-GX to set up is fine, as it can ensure a win against an auto-win matchup instead of settling for a tie. Thanks to the high counts of Basic Pokemon in the list, the odds of forcibly starting with Dedenne-GX are low.
In short, Dedenne-GX improves overall consistency and can only cost you the game in matchups that are already troublesome. Never play it down unless absolutely necessary.
One Girafarig
One [card name=”Girafarig” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] is necessary to beat decks that run [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM99″ c=”name”][/card]. Its Get Lost attack sends valuable resources to the Lost Zone and nullifies many counters to this deck. I will elaborate on this card and its uses in the matchups section.
One Mew
One [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] is necessary against some [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] variants, [card name=”Garchomp and Giratina-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card], and any other random Pokemon that can snipe the Bench like [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card]. Mew can also take out some threats like opposing Mew or Mimikyu without activating [card name=”Spell Tag” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card], so that’s something to keep in mind.
One Latios-GX
This is used in this deck for its GX attack, which nullifies all other GX attacks. This makes it so that you don’t lose to threatening GX attacks like those from [card name=”Mega Sableye and Tyranitar-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”226″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Espeon and Deoxys-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Gengar and Mimikyu-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card]. Using [card name=”Latios-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] is a fantastic tech that fixes relevant matchups against the aforementioned Pokemon-GX.
One Solrock, One Lunatone
[cardimg name=”Lunatone” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”61″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
The [card name=”Lunatone” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Solrock” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] here are the most optional techs in this deck. Lunatone’s Ability shuts off opposing [card name=”Ninetales” set=”Team Up” no=”16″ c=”name”][/card], which this deck otherwise loses to. Solrock is only useful as it fulfills the requirement of Lunatone’s Ability. These two beat Ninetales and are useless against everything else. If you want to cut them for more deck space and take the loss to Ninetales, I don’t blame you. I think they are worth the spots because most [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] lists will likely play Ninetales, so taking a free win against that seems good. I don’t think there’s a desperate need for any other cards besides possibly [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card], so we can get away with playing some situational cards like Lunatone and Solrock.
One Tate & Liza
This is often used as a draw Supporter, but [card name=”Tate and Liza” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] is included in the list for situations when you need to pivot into an alternate attacker such as [card name=”Girafarig” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card]. Oranguru needs two Energy to retreat, which usually isn’t feasible. Against opposing decks that demand alternate attackers, Tate & Liza as a switch option is incredible.
Two Lt. Surge’s Strategy, Two Mars, Two Pal Pad
The two [card name=”Lt. Surge’s Strategy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] is useful because you are almost always behind in Prize cards. It can allow you to use multiple Supporters to help set up, but more importantly allows you to loop [card name=”Mars” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card]. Once the optimal board state is established, you can use Lt. Surge’s Strategy, [card name=”Brock’s Grit” set=”Team Up” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], and Mars every single turn while chaining Resource Management with Shedinja. With Oranguru, you put back [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] and whatever other two pieces you need every turn. With the draw power of [card name=”Zebstrika” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card]’s Sprint and Mars combined, you will always draw into everything needed for the loop while perfectly setting up the next turn. Don’t worry, this setup will never leave you vulnerable to [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card].
Not only does Mars allow you to smoothly continue the loop, but it thins the opponent’s hand size by one every turn. If they are drawing and Knocking Out Oranguru every turn so they deck out as slowly as possible, Mars negates their card advantage of drawing for turn. Mars also comes with the added bonus of potentially discarding useful resources. This is important to finish games on time. If opponents could draw most of their deck while attacking every turn, they could use [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] once their deck reached zero, and repeat the process over again. Since the Shedinja loop requires a lot of actions and a lot of time every single turn, an opponent could easily dry up the clock by using multiple Cynthia to their advantage and decking out as slowly as possible. Mars eliminates this problem because it is an active mill card.
Four Professor Elm’s Lecture
Four [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card] is a necessary part of this deck’s engine because there is a lot of Pokemon you have to set up, and not a lot of methods in the format to set up said Pokemon. I run four [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”182″ c=”name”][/card] and four [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] not only to maximize overall consistency, but also to maximize the odds of a turn 1 or turn 2 Professor Elm’s Lecture. While I also pack a full set of Pokemon Communication, those alone are not enough to set up multiple Zebstrika and [card name=”Shedinja” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card]. An early Professor Elm’s Lecture lets you set up the best way possible. Weak draw Supporters such as Cynthia and [card name=”Ingo and Emmet” set=”Team Up” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] are not strong enough to set everything up on their own because this format lacks cards like [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Shining Legends” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card]. Professor Elm’s Lecture usually grabs multiple [card name=”Blitzle” set=”Team Up” no=”44″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Nincada” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], don’t forget about targets such as Mew and [card name=”Shedinja” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card].
One Sky Pillar
This deck demands at least two counter Stadiums or Faba to deal with [card name=”Lysandre Labs” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card]. Using [card name=”Sky Pillar” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] is the stadium of choice because it also has the added benefit of countering opposing Mew, which is otherwise a bit of a pain.
One Shrine of Punishment
This one [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] is a tech to beat Pikachu and Zekrom-GX decks that play [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], as it is your only way of finishing that matchup on time. It is also the second counter Stadium to Lysandre Labs.
Three Psychic Energy
Psychic Energy is the basic Energy of choice as it fulfills the requirement for Latios GX’s Clear Vision GX, but you may be wondering why this deck does not run [card name=”Recycle Energy” set=”Unified Minds” no=”212″ c=”name”][/card]. The problem is that Recycle Energy cannot be used as a target for Brock’s Grit or opposing [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card]. This is relevant because lots of decks will play Viridian Forest, and that card helps with early game consistency for this deck. Second, Recycle Energy is worse for the loop. Oftentimes, you will end up discarding it with Sprint because a backup Oranguru will not be immediately available, and then you have to put it back with Resource Management instead of another potentially useful card. It sounds good in theory, but running only basic Energy is actually better. It makes the loop run smoothly and increases overall consistency.
Matchups
Shedinja’s matchups are very boring and easy if your opponent doesn’t play counters. However, you need to take a very specific, and sometimes complicated, approach to the match if there’s a chance your opponent does have counter cards. You won’t know your opponent’s exact list, but you do need to be cautious until you do. Use the following strategies when there’s a chance that your opponent has troublesome techs in their list.
Pikachu & Zekrom-GX
Beating an opposing [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] deck that doesn’t use counters is easy to beat. As far as options to get around Shedinja, the standard Pikachu and Zekrom-GX list will likely run four [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] in addition to their Tag Bolt GX. Their GX attack is easy enough to deal with, just use Mew. Their use of Custom Catcher can get a Prize card per pair, and they will probably get one Prize off early pressure. As long as the Shedinja deck functions as intended, your opponent will be unable to take more than three Prize cards. They will deck out in under 50 minutes no matter how many Cynthia they play due to the Mars loop. However, Pikachu and Zekrom-GX lists are also likely to run counter cards, so here’s where things get interesting.
Pikachu & Zekrom with Oranguru UPR
[cardimg name=”Latios-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”78″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Key Cards: [card name=”Girafarig” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Latios-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], Shrine of Punishment
While Oranguru is supposed to be a counter to Shedinja due to its ability to recover infinite Custom Catcher, this matchup is actually extremely favorable if none of the key cards are prized. If Girafarig is prized, Shedinja cannot win. If Latios-GX is prized, Shedinja can win in theory, but it’s extremely difficult. If Shrine of Punishment is prized, Shedinja will usually be in a position to win, but will most likely not win within 50 minutes.
The strategy for this matchup is to use Girafarig’s Get Lost to send multiple Custom Catcher to the Lost Zone immediately after the Pikachu and Zekrom-GX player uses them to take a Prize card. If you miss this chance, they can use Oranguru to put multiple Custom Catcher back in their deck and will take an extra Prize card because of it. In practice, this is a bit complicated. Your usual set up will involve two or three Zebstrika with a Shedinja-equipped Oranguru as your Active. You must have two Nincada or Shedinja on the Bench so that you can be ready for a Girafarig play at a moments notice. If you only have one Nincada, Pikachu and Zekrom-GX can KO it with Custom Catcher and you won’t have a backup to use on Girafarig.
Since you need this extra Bench spot, Mew is not good in this matchup. You also cannot let them use Tag Bolt GX, because then they KO both Nincada in this scenario. Therefore, your best course of action is to use Clear Vision GX as early as possible. Then they take the KO on Latios-GX, but they only get one Prize card for it because Shedinja should always be on the Latios-GX.
This is how the matchup usually plays out. All of the following happens at some point over the course of many turns. The opponent may get one Prize card in the beginning turns due to early pressure. They get one off the Latios-GX. Then use two Custom Catcher to grab a third. Girafarig with an attached Shedinja sends two Custom Catcher to the Lost Zone. They KO Girafarig and you resume the normal Oranguru loop. They get a fourth Prize off another Custom Catcher use. Girafarig with Shedinja sends the third Custom Catcher and something else to the Lost Zone. They KO Girafarig and have no more ways to take any Prize cards. They usually take four Prize cards, which leaves you with an extra Prize card to lose. Shrine of Punishment speeds up this matchup by taking KOs. I timed this in testing and Shrine of Punishment is necessary for this matchup, and it’s a useful Stadium counter anyway.
If they attempt to go in with lone Oranguru, you can eventually KO it with any attacker. You could also Lost Zone their entire deck with Girafarig and Mars, but that takes a long time.
Pikachu & Zekrom with Lysandre Labs
Key Cards: Mew, Shrine of Punishment, Sky Pillar
If the opponent only runs one [card name=”Lysandre Labs” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card], this matchup is easy because you only need one of your Stadiums to not be prized. The way to beat Pikachu and Zekrom-GX with Lysandre Labs is to make sure you can immediately bump Lysandre Labs after it comes into play. Ideally, your opponent will only be able to take one Prize card for each Lysandre Labs they run. You never want to play down the first Stadium. Discard your Stadiums and put them back with Resource Management so that you always have a Stadium ready to bump Lysandre Labs. Against Pikachu and Zekrom-GX with two Lysandre Labs, there is no room for error. You can only win if you did not prize any of your Stadiums or the [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card]. However, if the deck works correctly, it will always beat Pikachu and Zekrom-GX with Lysandre Labs. If they run three or four, which is unheard of, then they will win.
Pikachu & Zekrom-GX with Oranguru (UPR) and Lysandre Labs
If for some reason an opposing Pikachu and Zekrom-GX player is running [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], Lysandre Labs, and Custom Catcher, they will almost always win. This matchup is extremely difficult. You need to try and use strategies from both of the previous sections and you need to use Get Lost on Lysandre Labs on the turn that you bump it from play. Otherwise, Oranguru will put it back into the deck.
Reshiram & Charizard-GX
Against [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM201″ c=”name”][/card], they generally don’t pack counters for [card name=”Shedinja” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card], which makes it an easy matchup. Just like with Pikachu and Zekrom-GX, they usually take two Prizes off each pair of Custom Catcher and sometimes one Prize with early pressure. They cannot take more than three Prize cards and Shedinja will always win. If they play counters such as Lysandre Labs or Oranguru, your counter strategy will be the exact same as it is against Pikachu and Zekrom-GX.
Malamar
There are a few different versions of [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] and there’s lots of techs they can play that affect how this matchup goes. Some Malamar decks play multiple of these techs, so combine the strategies as needed.
Malamar with Ultra Necrozma-GX
Key Cards: Latios-GX
Against a [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] variant, you want to use Clear Vision GX at some point to take away their Sky Scorching Light GX play. From there, you can win with the deck’s normal Shedinja loop strategy.
Straight Psychic Malamar
Key Cards: [card name=”Latios-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], Mew, [card name=”Sky Pillar” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card]
Straight Psychic versions of Malamar almost always run [card name=”Espeon and Deoxys-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card], and they might run [card name=”Gengar and Mimikyu-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card]. To cover both of those, use Clear Vision GX as early as you can. You also want Mew on your bench to disable [card name=”Espurr” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] plays. Try to keep Sky Pillar in play as well, as it helps against Espurr too, and it’s your best defense against Mew. This applies against some Ultra Necrozma-GX lists too.
Malamar with Garchomp & Giratina-GX
Key Cards: Mew, Sky Pillar
Keep Mew on the bench to block Linear Attack and Espurr. This version usually plays Mew as well, so you want to keep Sky Pillar around in this matchup. Latios-GX probably won’t be necessary. And GG End GX is not a huge threat, even with its bonus effect.
Malamar with Nihilego
Key Cards: [card name=”Girafarig” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card]
If your opponent is running [card name=”Nihilego” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card], they will probably try to KO their own [card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] four times in order to activate Nightcap. This is an issue because it allows them to copy Resource Management and Get Lost at will. To combat this, have Shedinja and Girafarig ready every time a Giratina KOs itself with the Shadow Impact recoil. Sending Giratina to the Lost Zone severely limits their options.
Malamar with Mimikyu
[cardimg name=”Mimikyu” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM99″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Key Cards: Girafarig, anything that can attack
An opposing [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM99″ c=”name”][/card] is by far the most annoying card for Shedinja to deal with. The strategy for dealing with it is to KO it as soon as possible without activating [card name=”Spell Tag” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card]. If all three Energy are not prized, you can hit it for 60 with Oranguru’s Profound Knowledge and finish it off with Shedinja’s Haunt or Mew’s Psypower, neither of which activate Spell Tag. If an Energy is prized, you’ll have to claw away at Mimikyu with those two attacks, and even [card name=”Nincada” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card]’s Fury Swipes if needed.
You also want to send cards like [card name=”Viridian Forest” set=”Team Up” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] and Giratina to the Lost Zone with Girafarig, but you have to be careful when doing so. When using Get Lost against a Malamar deck packing Mimikyu, keep in mind that they can use Get Lost on the following turn. Don’t leave anything too important in your discard pile. When you finally take out the Mimikyu, the normal Shedinja strategy should be able to win. However, this matchup can last a long time, so it may end up in a tie.
Umbreon & Darkrai-GX / Weavile-GX
Key Cards: Latios-GX
You need to use Latios-GX’s Clear Vision GX to disable [card name=”Mega Sableye and Tyranitar-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”226″ c=”name”][/card]’s Gigafall GX. You also need Shedinja on Latios-GX so that Greedy Crush only takes two Prizes. If they get a Prize with early pressure and another two off [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card], that leaves them with one Prize remaining. They have no way to take that last Prize against the [card name=”Shedinja” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] loop strategy. Therefore, this matchup is favorable. Shedinja always wins this matchup when it sets up, though there is no room for error.
Conclusion
If you read this far on the ins-and-outs of Shedinja, you are a real champ! This deck is grindy, difficult, and boring to play, but the payoff is enormous. Shedinja has a handful of free matchups against anything that doesn’t try to counter it. Even against most of the counters, Shedinja has outs to win. Overall, Shedinja is broken now that [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] are both are out of the format. If the tedious nature of the deck doesn’t bother you, give Shedinja a go! Play quickly, practice the motions, and Shedinja can go far in any tournament.
–Grant
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