The Next Big Thing? Ultra Necrozma in Expanded

[cardimg name=”Ultra Necrozma” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”164″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Hello everyone! In case you’re wondering about the sudden attention being given to the Expanded format, it’s because the next American Regional, Dallas, will be using this less-played format. As such, my attention and this article will also be geared towards Expanded. As far as an actual meta, it’s hard to get a clear indication. With Cosmic Eclipse‘s release and the bans of many significant disruption cards, we are heading into uncharted territory for this upcoming format. All we have to go off of are League Cups and the PTCGO ladder, so we are essentially heading in blind. However, one deck that has gained a lot of sudden attention is [card name=”Ultra Necrozma” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. This deck is already considered to be a strong deck in the Expanded format. Across the few Expanded League Cups thus far, Ultra Necrozma has been a consistent performer. Additionally, it’s everywhere on the online ladder and social media. From the looks of it, Ultra Necrozma could be the next big meta deck in Expanded.

Is Ultra Necrozma actually good though? Well, yes. Ultra Necrozma only has one attack, but that attack is ridiculous. For just a [card name=”Double Dragon Energy” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], it can punch for 170 damage while also discarding an Energy off your opponent’s Active for good measure. Of course, Ultra Necrozma is a Basic Pokemon, so it can start hitting immediately. As you are probably aware, Ultra Necrozma’s Ability is an attempt to balance the card from being too broken. Under normal circumstances, Ultra Necrozma cannot start attacking until the opponent is down to two Prizes. To get around this, Ultra Necrozma decks play [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card]. Traditionally, these cards have been powerful enough in their own right because they shut down opponent’s Abilities. In this case, their primary function is to turn off Ultra Necrozma’s self-limiting Ability. Disrupting opponents is just a bonus.

The end result is a ridiculously powerful Basic Pokemon swinging for at least 170 every single turn while your opponent is Ability locked. This is a lot of pressure for just about anything to handle, even by Expanded’s standards.

However, after playing with or against the deck a few times, you may notice that it isn’t extremely consistent and may miss an attack every once in awhile. This is probably for the better, because it does balance the deck a bit and make it beatable. But why is it that such a powerful combination doesn’t always win? What is it lacking in consistency?

Ultra Necrozma plays from the hand. It constantly needs to find a backup attacker and a precious Double Dragon Energy in order to keep attacking with multiple Ultra Necrozma. Additionally, if your opponent ever cancels the Ability lock (probably with [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card]), you’re going to need to replace that as well. Furthermore, Ultra Necrozma has no support Pokemon to replenish its hand, which makes it extremely vulnerable to [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card]. As it takes Prize cards, the opponent will be able to use N to reduce Ultra Necrozma’s hand lower and lower. This makes it less and less likely that Ultra Necrozma continues to find the pieces it needs to attack.

[card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] is another example of a deck that plays from the hand, but it doesn’t have consistency issues because of its constant access to multiple Trade Abilities. Other Expanded decks, such as Turbo Dark or [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”204″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Aromatisse” set=”XY” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], play from the board by accelerating Energy early on, so they are low maintenance in the later stages of the game and are less vulnerable to N. This is a trend in Standard too, as decks have to worry about [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card]. [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card] decks that have to play from the hand in the late-game are forced to run [card name=”Omastar” set=”Team Up” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] so they don’t automatically fold to Reset Stamp. Most other decks have access to [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM161″ c=”name”][/card].

What I’m saying here is that Ultra Necrozma / Garbodor is high maintenance and lacks the support to consistently keep up with it. It’s very vulnerable to N. Don’t get me wrong, Ultra Necrozma / Garbodor is still a strong deck. I’m just trying to make it better.

My fix to this is extremely simple. I cut Garbodor altogether and added [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card]. Octillery is an incredible support Pokemon that doesn’t conflict with Silent Lab. Abyssal Hand a great Ability that improves consistency throughout the entire game. You won’t be missing attacks very often. The trade off for Octillery is Garbodor. I do not think Garbodor is needed at all in Ultra Necrozma. Silent Lab is more that sufficient to enable Ultra Necrozma for the entire game. You lose access to a potential Trashalanche [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] as an attacker, but that’s fine. We can easily streamline consistency without playing Psychic Energy or [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card]. We do not need Trashalanche as an extra attacker because we can simply use as many Ultra Necrozma as we need. The real sacrifice here is losing access to Garbotoxin’s disruptive effects against our opponent, but I believe this is a worthwhile price to pay for the insane boost in consistency that Octillery offers.

List and Explanations

Alright, it’s time to get to the list! I will say that Octillery isn’t a revolutionary idea. Octillery has been heavily discussed as a partner for Ultra Necrozma. It’s just that Garbodor seems to be the more popular partner by far. My list for Ultra Necrozma is my own, and it’s been edited and refined through testing. I think this deck is extremely strong for Expanded, though it’s not without weaknesses.

[decklist name=”Ultra Octo” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”220″][pokemon amt=”9″]4x [card name=”Ultra Necrozma” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Remoraid” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”22″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”220″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”47″]4x [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Next Destinies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Bicycle” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”4″]4x [card name=”Double Dragon Energy” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Techs are for chumps, this list is straight gas. This deck is simple. Constantly attack with Ultra Necrozma while refilling your hand with Octillery. Take six Prizes before your opponent. Easy.

[premium]

Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX

[cardimg name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

[card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”220″ c=”name”][/card] (ADP) is a card I haven’t mentioned yet, though Stéphane Ivanoff recently wrote an entire article about the card. ADP’s GX attack is truly absurd and is activated with just one Double Dragon Energy. It’s a bit unfortunate that the attack gets completely invalidated by [card name=”Pokémon Ranger” set=”Steam Siege” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card], so you’ve got to use it wisely. One [card name=”Tag Call” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] can actually set up a turn 1 Altered Creation GX all on its own, so it’s convenient to use even if you are unsure if your opponent is playing Ranger in their list. Worst case scenario, it pressures your opponent to find Ranger quickly and they have to spend their Supporter for the turn using it. More often than not, they won’t be able to use Ranger immediately, so you’ll likely get some value out of the Altered Creation GX. Of course, if you know your opponent plays Ranger, you don’t always want to go for Altered Creation. It’s definitely a judgement call at that point. If you aren’t sure about Ranger, or if you know they don’t play it, Altered Creation is usually the go-to option.

One Cynthia & Caitlin

While [card name=”Cynthia and Caitlin” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] is one of the weaker Supporters Expanded has to offer, it has a niche use in this deck because it can be grabbed on demand with Tag Call. Since this deck is already committed to four Tag Call, we may as well take advantage of Cynthia & Caitlin. I usually use it as a burst draw option, sometimes on the first turn of the game. I’ve also used it later on, as drawing cards makes combo plays involving [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] possible. The main purpose of this card is allowing Tag Call to be a draw card, but the discard effect is mildly useful for thinning out dead cards, and the Supporter recovery effect is decent too.

One Guzma, Two Great Catcher

[card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] is a bit better than [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] in this deck for a few reasons. Great Catcher is an Item, meaning it can be combo’d with other Supporters (such as [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] to find it), and it thins cards out of the hand while allowing Octillery and [card name=”Bicycle” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] to draw more cards. Guzma is still included because it does have its uses. Guzma acts as a third gust effect which is powerful enough on its own. It also isn’t locked into targeting Pokemon-GX or -EX like Great Catcher, which is especially relevant when Altered Creation GX is live. Guzma’s switch effect is situationally useful, especially because the deck otherwise only has three [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] for switch effects. Guzma can be recovered and reused with Cynthia & Caitlin. Finally, Guzma can be used under Item lock.

Three Teammates

Since this deck already has Octillery and [card name=”Bicycle” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] to draw cards, we can use Supporters like [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] instead of draw Supporters. Since this deck plays from the hand and needs to find combo pieces every turn, Teammates is extremely effective. It’s more reliable than draw Supporters. If you need three different combo pieces in a specific turn, use Items and Octillery to try and find one, and then use Teammates to find the rest. While Teammates can get anything, finding [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] on a specific turn is particularly useful. Teammates is insanely good.

Four Guzma & Hala, Four Tag Call

[card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”name”][/card] seems like it was made for this deck. It finds everything you need to start attacking (besides Ultra Necrozma). Tag Call is mostly here to find Guzma and Hala, but it also searches for ADP or Cynthia and Caitlin. Guzma and Hala is also good throughout the game to continuously find Silent Lab, Double Dragon Energy, and Tools. It also has excellent synergy with Bicycle and Octillery.

Four Nest Ball

This card is a free search for anything that isn’t Octillery, so there’s no reason not to max them out. It’s particularly useful for chaining Ultra Necrozma, as the other Basic Pokemon can also be searched with other cards.

Four Level Ball or Four Dive Ball

You could play [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Dive Ball” set=”Primal Clash” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] here, as they function identically for this list. Level Ball finds Octillery while also doubling the search outs for the Turn 1 Remoraid, which is very important. I used to play [card name=”Marshadow” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] as a counter to [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”name”][/card], which would make Level Ball the definitive better option.

Four Bicycle

Bicycle is similar to Octillery. It works well with Guzma & Hala and is simply a strong draw card. Most decks in Expanded aren’t able to effectively use Bicycle, but in this deck it’s an Item that usually lets you draw two or three cards, which is insane.

Four Trainers’ Mail

[card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] can do just about anything, though you don’t always get to choose what it ends up doing. Mail can search for Energy and Stadiums via Guzma & Hala, it can find Pokemon with Level Ball or Nest Ball, it can become a draw card through Bicycle, etc. Trainers’ Mail is an incredible consistency card in general, and this is amplified even more with this particular deck where the Trainer cards can do everything.

Three Float Stone

You usually need a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] to go into ADP for Altered Creation GX, and another one to go back into Ultra Necrozma. You also need Float Stone if your opponent ever tries to Guzma stall Octillery. Float Stone is part of why Guzma & Hala is so good, as it enables the Tag Team Supporter to fully facilitate a turn 1 attack even if you start with Remoraid.

Two Fighting Fury Belt

[cardimg name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

[card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] is better than [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] for this deck. Choice Band would be an extra 20 damage, but this math isn’t actually that relevant. I can’t think of any common scenarios where I need Ultra Necrozma to be hitting for 190 or 200 exactly without Altered Creation, or for 220 or 230 exactly with Altered Creation. The one potential thing would be for KO’ing a [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] with their own Fighting Fury Belt, but that can be achieved with Field Blower too.

You do want to run Fury Belt though, as Ultra Necrozma hitting for 180 or 210 is relevant against the aforementioned Darkrai cards or against Zoroark-GX. The extra HP can turn ADP into a 320 HP monster, which actually has saved me before. Additionally, boosting Ultra Necrozma’s HP from 110 to 150 can help in many fringe scenarios, again against either Darkrai card, Zoroark, [card name=”Trevenant” set=”XY” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Seismitoad-EX” set=”Furious Fists” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], or some other non-GX attackers like [card name=”Hitmonchan” set=”Team Up” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]. In short, I believe the extra HP is more widely useful than the specific math of Choice Band.

Two Rescue Stretcher, Two Special Charge

The double up on [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Special Charge” set=”Steam Siege” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] makes sense and works well. This deck is only attacking with Ultra Necrozma, so we do need to use up to six of them in some circumstances. If I only ran one Special Charge, it would leave zero room for error on managing the Double Dragon Energy, and the deck would be more vulnerable to bad Prize cards. You want Rescue Stretcher to immediately replace Octillery if it’s ever KO’d, as you won’t always have both copies on your Bench.

Zero Lana’s Fishing Rod and Zero Life Dew

Some Ultra Necrozma builds are running [card name=”Lana’s Fishing Rod” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”195″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card]. While this combo is cute and not all that bad, it’s difficult to pull off, sacrifices a lot of consistency, and gets completely invalidated by Field Blower or [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card]. I’ve never had an instance of using Rescue Stretcher where I can afford to put the Pokemon back into the deck. I always want it in my hand immediately. You’d also be hard pressed to catch me playing an Expanded deck without [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card], as I think it is the best card in the game hands down. I think the core strategy of spamming Ultra Necrozma should be enough to beat everything even without Life Dew, so I’d rather not sacrifice consistency for a potentially strong but unreliable trick.

Two Field Blower

[card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] is getting better and better as the format seems to be filling up with Garbodor variants: namely other Ultra Necrozma decks and Zoroark / Garbodor. Field Blower is great in mirror not only for reactivating Octillery against Garbodor, but also for getting rid of potential Life Dews that I just talked about. Field Blower is an answer to the niche Chaotic Swell Stadium, which would otherwise single-handedly wreck this deck. Blower can also discard opposing Fury Belts, which is an effective +40 damage against anything running them. Teammates ensures that you can find Field Blower when you need it, as it is a bit situation-specific.

Matchups

Since we are heading into a new format, there isn’t a well-defined meta. It’s hard to know which decks to prioritize on the hit list, and which decks it’s okay to lose to. I’m just going to talk about some well-established decks and how [card name=”Ultra Necrozma” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] does against them. One thing to note is that this deck completely stomps just about everything that doesn’t tech a [card name=”Pokémon Ranger” set=”Steam Siege” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] thanks to [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card]’s broken GX attack. If the opponent does play Ranger, it’s not a huge issue, it just changes how things shake out a little bit. How you play each match also depends on if you know if your opponent plays Ranger.

Vs. Zoroark / Garbodor – Favorable

I think [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] is one of the most likely decks to play Ranger, and it’s the deck that can most easily access it. However, Zoroark often has to use [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] followed by a draw Supporter just to set up, so it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to Ranger immediately. In any case, this matchup is still favorable for Ultra Necrozma unless they also play a copy of [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card]. I think it’s unlikely that they play both of these tech Supporters, but if they do, the matchup swings to their favor. Ranger eliminates Altered Creation GX along with Ultra Necrozma’s ability to OHKO Zoroark-GX, and Acerola follows this up by healing Zoroark every time Ultra Necrozma hits it.

As a general strategy, going in with ADP is fine. Ultra Necrozma with a [card name=”Fighting Fury Belt” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] OHKO’s Zoroark after Altered Creation. If you go first, [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] will sometimes cripple their set up, so don’t be afraid to slam one down despite the risk of them having an immediate [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card]. Zoroark players never want to start the game under Silent Lab. Of course, take the easy kills on [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] and / or [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] when you have the chance, because the Zoroark player will discard those liabilities at the earliest opportunity. Even if they play Ranger, you’re still favored in the Prize trade if you have to 2HKO a Zoroark. The discard effect of Ultra Necrozma’s attack is sometimes useful here as well.

They will try to hit you with Garbotoxin + [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], but you should thin your deck throughout the game and will be able to draw out of it more often than not thanks to cards like [card name=”Bicycle” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Teammates” set=”Primal Clash” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card]. Try to avoid going down to one Prize card if possible. If you can set up the game where you can end it by taking two Prizes at once, that is better so you don’t get N’d to one.

Vs. Turbo Dark – Very Favorable

I would be hesitant of using ADP in this matchup. It’s not a problem if it gets immediately KO’d with Dead End GX, but that becomes a problem if the opponent also plays Ranger. If you know they don’t play Ranger, Altered Creation GX is a safe bet. Risking it is unnecessary though, as Ultra Necrozma stomps Turbo Dark by itself anyway. Thanks to Fury Belt, Ultra Necrozma can OHKO [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] easily, though it has to settle for a 2HKO against [card name=”Greninja and Zoroark-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”200″ c=”name”][/card] (which is fine). Turbo Dark won’t ever win the Prize trade against Ultra Necrozma.

I don’t know how the matchup goes if Turbo Dark also runs ADP itself. It seems like Ultra Necrozma wins in a war of ADP (only having to KO two Pokemon-GX), but if Greninja & Zoroark can pull off a OHKO on your ADP, they would likely win. This is difficult to do though, as Greninja & Zoroark needs 10 Energy in play to hit for 330, which is what they need to OHKO your ADP with Fury Belt.

Vs. Rowlet & Alolan Exeggutor / Vileplume – Auto-loss

[cardimg name=”Vileplume” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”6″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Unfortunately, Ultra Necrozma cannot deal with [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”6″ c=”name”][/card]. This may seem like a compelling reason to run the Garbodor version, but the [card name=”Rowlet and Alolan Exeggutor-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”1″ c=”name”][/card] runs four Faba in addition to the Item lock [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card], so it can easily shut down what might otherwise be a viable counter-strategy. Although this deck won the recent Richmond Regional, it completely dropped off at the even more recent Portland Regional. I personally don’t consider this deck to be good or threatening, so I am fine taking a loss to it. Time will tell if Rowlet / Eggs will prove to be a big enough threat in the new format to worry about. I can’t think of a way to beat it, even a [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] combination would still have a rough time against the Vileplume pair plus Faba.

Vs. Ultra Necrozma / Garbodor – Slightly Favorable

Although this looks like it would be a close matchup, the edge goes to [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] version. Aside from being more consistent in every way, we have access to Altered Creation GX and two Field Blower. Field Blower not only reactivates Octillery at any given time, but it also deals with [card name=”Life Dew” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card]. If they don’t play Pokemon Ranger or their own ADP, Altered Creation GX will absolutely obliterate them. Even with Ranger, they would have a hard time finding a spare turn to use it while also chaining attacks without Octillery’s help.

Conclusion

That’s all I have for today! Thank you all for reading. I hope this article was helpful as we head into a somewhat blind Expanded format. I think the Ultra Necrozma hype is warranted. The card is strong, the deck is great, and I do believe that the Octillery version is the way to go. Consistency is king. Ultra Necrozma is strong against everything except Vileplume, [card name=”Honchkrow-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], and Shock Lock, none of which I expect to be terribly popular at this time. I’ve found the deck to be very fun to play as well, so definitely give it a shot if you haven’t already. Playing lots of Items in a turn is fun, and the deck adequately takes advantage of many of the various cards Expanded has to offer.

[/premium]