Jimmy’s Georgia Marathon Experience — Recapping Standard and Expanded Cups

By: Jimmy Pendarvis · Posted Posted onJan 6, 2020 at 11:07 AM · 0 Comments

Hello everyone, and welcome to another one of my articles! I am pleased to be home from a long trip to Georgia, where I played in six League Cups in a row. It was a fun week of Pokemon, and I got to learn a lot about both Standard and Expanded formats. I feel I have a much better understanding of the Standard format, as I was previously unsure of a couple things and a huge doubter of [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] Control. As for Expanded, I had not played many games in preparation for Dallas, so I consider those last two Expanded League Cups to be the start of some rigorous testing for the Dallas Regional Championships. That being said, I am going to review my time in Georgia. You’ll get to see every decklist I used, and I will be providing a ton of analysis on said decklists and my tournament experience.

League Cup 1 to 3 — Pidgeotto Control (Standard)

The list below was used for the first two League Cups – for the third League Cup I removed the [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] for a [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card]. From that secondary list, I made a few changes for the fourth League Cup, which is the other Pidgeotto list below.

[premium]

[decklist name=”Pidgeotto” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″][pokemon amt=”19″]4x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Pidgey” set=”Team Up” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Pidgey” set=”Team Up” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Articuno-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”31″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”37″]4x [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/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]2x [card name=”Bellelba and Brycen-Man” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Hapu” set=”Unified Minds” no=”200″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rosa” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”204″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Will” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”208″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pokémon Fan Club” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”133″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tate and Liza” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Misty and Lorelei” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”199″ 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=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Chip-Chip Ice Axe” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”4″]3x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Recycle Energy” set=”Unified Minds” no=”212″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Card Choices

Articuno-GX and Misty and Lorelei

[cardimg name=”Articuno-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”31″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I deem these two cards essential. You would want to use [card name=”Articuno-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card]’s Cold Crush GX twice in a lot of situations. You pretty much always do one early, and then another one late in the game to wrap things up. This is especially true against slower decks, such as [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card]. Having two Articuno-GX removes the 10% chance of one copy in the Prizes. The [card name=”Misty and Lorelei” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”199″ c=”name”][/card] doubles as a way to find your Energy cards, which is very good when you are struggling to find [card name=”Recycle Energy” set=”Unified Minds” no=”212″ c=”name”][/card].

Absol

This card is matchup specific, but [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] is solid overall. This card is in the deck for decks that play [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] as it can force them to burn [card name=”Switch” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] cards, instead of being able to retreat for free via [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card]. While this is a bigger deal in some matchups than others, Switch is a strong resource against the Pidgeotto deck; exhausting the opponent of them is always a good thing. This card is especially strong against baby [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] and Ability [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], where you win by trapping something.

Rosa

This card is incredible, and truly a significant addition to come out of Cosmic Eclipse. It searches out the whole Articuno-GX combo, which is very strong by itself, but [card name=”Rosa” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”204″ c=”name”][/card] is flexible and pretty much ensures you can pull off a big play on the turn you use it. Whenever I wasn’t using it to use Articuno-GX, I often used it to find [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card] or a second [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card].

Pokemon Fan Club

Speaking of finding Articuno-GX, [card name=”Pokémon Fan Club” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] is another great way of doing so. This card finds Absol too, another Pokemon that you can struggle to search for. In the early game, it is a weaker [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card] because you usually have to grab [card name=”Pidgey” set=”Team Up” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card]. However, this card becomes flexible after that. I would say my most common selection was two [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], but Articuno-GX and Absol are both strong situational choices as well.

League Cup 4 — Pidgeotto Control (Standard)

[decklist name=”Pidgeotto Control 2″ amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″][pokemon amt=”21″]4x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Pidgey” set=”Team Up” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Pidgey” set=”Team Up” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Articuno-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”31″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Absol” set=”Team Up” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Magneton” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”69″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”35″]4x [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Lt. Surge’s Strategy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”178″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Bellelba and Brycen-Man” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Mars” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Jessie and James” set=”Hidden Fates” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hapu” set=”Unified Minds” no=”200″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rosa” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”204″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Tate and Liza” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Misty and Lorelei” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”199″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ 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=”Crushing Hammer” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Custom Catcher” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Chip-Chip Ice Axe” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”4″]3x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Recycle Energy” set=”Unified Minds” no=”212″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

New Inclusions

Mew

This card was included for [card name=”Garchomp and Giratina-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card], but it does have many other uses as well. A lot of Pokemon snipe the Bench in the current meta, such as [card name=”Naganadel-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] in [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card]or [card name=”Venusaur and Snivy-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”1″ c=”name”][/card] in [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]. While I think both of those matchups are positive, having the Bench protection at your disposal doesn’t hurt. I think it is very good to protect against Garchomp and Giratina-GX, but you are unfavored in the matchup because of the Psychic type [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card]. It goes through Mew and can spread four or 12 damage counters wherever it wants, so it is more efficient than Garchomp and Giratina-GX to begin with.

Ditto Prism Star and Magneton

This was mostly for the mirror match, as I was right to expect more [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] to pop up at the last Standard League Cup of the marathon. In non mirror matches, [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Magneton” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”69″ c=”name”][/card] can accelerate the game, which is good against decks that try to play around [card name=”Lt. Surge’s Strategy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] or achieve a slower game plan. However, I would say these inclusions are not worth it unless you are trying to beat the mirror match.

Jessie and James

This card wasn’t great for me on the one day I used it, but [card name=”Jessie and James” set=”Hidden Fates” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] does seem like a strong inclusion. It makes locking the opponent’s hand easier when they’re at two Prize cards after a [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card], and gives you a chance to do it when they’re at three Prize cards when used in combination with [card name=”Mars” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card]. This is a card I am not totally convinced with, but it is one that I am excited to test out some more when Standard is the more relevant format again.

Faba

This card was very good for me throughout the day, and [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] will likely be an inclusion in my future Pidgeotto control lists. It is a versatile card, and especially helpful in some of your sketchier matchups. Here are some of the ways that I find it to be most useful:

  • Removing an Escape Board from Jirachi in order to trap it in the Active in combination with Absol, which is especially strong against baby Blacephalon
  • Removing [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] against Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX or Garchomp and Giratina-GX
  • Removing an Escape Board from a Malamar in order to trap it in the Active spot
  • Removing a [card name=”Counter Gain” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] from the Psychic type Blacephalon against Garchomp and Giratina-GX

Chaotic Swell

This card has a few uses, especially in comparison to [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] which I felt was specifically for Mewtwo and Mew-GX. With [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”name”][/card], you have the effect of potentially slowing down an early Cross Divide GX from [card name=”Espeon and Deoxys-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card] because Chaotic Swell can make it difficult for your opponent to find Energy cards using [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card]. That felt like the only thing Power Plant was good for, so I already feel like Chaotic Swell is a fine replacement. Plus, it stops [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] decks from doing their thing consistently, which makes it more likely for them to miss attacks or move a trapped Pokemon. If you don’t like Chaotic Swell, some Bench protection Stadium cards are worth trying as well. Cards like [card name=”Champions Festival” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM231″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Sky Pillar” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] could be a great way to beat [card name=”Mismagius” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] / Garchomp and Giratina-GX, which is the biggest threat to this deck. However, that would mean a rough matchup against Fire-type decks, so it all comes down to the expected meta for a given tournament.

Thoughts on Pidgeotto

[cardimg name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I played [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] for the first League Cup I attended because I expected a lot of [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] and little to no Fire-type decks. I had great success with it on the first day, and I played it on the second day because I didn’t expect people to adapt well. I consider that a fine choice, as Danny got second place with the same 60 cards I played that day. At this point, there were only two Standard League cups remaining. I expected [card name=”Mismagius” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garchomp and Giratina-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] to be much less popular than it was on the second day and I couldn’t decide on another deck, so I ended up playing Pidgeotto again. I made Top 8, but if the bracket had played out differently, I am certain that I would have made it further. With that being said, I was interested in playing Pidgeotto again for the final Standard League Cup. The night before, Grant and I agreed on some changes to the deck that we thought would help against the expected meta of Fire-type decks, and locked it in.

I will say that Pidgeotto is much stronger than I originally thought. The Fire-type decks are not great matchups, but they aren’t flat out losses. You have a pretty poor matchup against the Mismagius / Garchomp and Giratina-GX deck, which is my biggest reason to dislike Pidgeotto currently. Mismagius ensures they’ll never get caught with a dead hand, a huge part to why Pidgeotto is so great against other decks. Additionally, that deck is able to feed you Prize cards, which plays around [card name=”Lt. Surge’s Strategy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card]. The biggest reason why the matchup is so hard is certainly [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card], which is spreading four or 12 damage counters every single turn. [card name=”Counter Gain” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] makes this only cost one Energy card, which is part of the reason why [card name=”Faba” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] was added. On the upside, this deck is great against Malamar, [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card]! That is a big upside, which is something to consider heading into future Standard events.

How the Tournaments Went

Day 1 and Day 3

These were the days where I was able to make Top 8 using this Pidgeotto deck. On the first day, the deck was very overlooked and the meta was pretty much perfect for it. There was no Mismagius / Garchomp and Giratina-GX, which was the only problematic deck throughout the marathon for me. I was able to win this event, and did not play against a hard matchup the entire day. On Day 3, the Mismagius / Garchomp and Giratina-GX decks showed up in low counts but I hit one in Top 8 unfortunately. The rest of Top 8 was Malamar and other decks that have little chance against Pidgeotto Control, so I was a bit disappointed about how things ended up.

Day 2 and Day 4

These were the days where things did not go as planned. On Day 2, I started things off with a round one loss to a Mismagius / Garchomp and Giratina-GX deck. I didn’t know it at the time, but that matchup is rough for my bird friends. I got to the win and in round, where I then prized two of my three Water energy and Recycle Energy against Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX, meaning that I was unable to use [card name=”Articuno-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card]’s Cold Crush GX or [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card]’s Resource Management. I scooped very early on. On Day 4, I started things off with a tie against a [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”custom”]Green’s[/card] [card name=”Reshiram and Charizard-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] player. He was new, which meant he was slow, so I was unable to finish the game up in time. I then beat two baby [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] decks in a row, certainly thanks to the introduction of Faba and [card name=”Chaotic Swell” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”187″ c=”name”][/card]. In the fourth round (which I thought was going to be my win and in round), I got up paired to an Ability Reshiram and Charizard-GX. Even if I lost, I had a chance at making it after winning my last round. After setting up and seeing a hand with four Oranguru and no draw supporter, I offered the ID which Arlo accepted because it guaranteed him Top 8. On my actual win and in round, I was unfortunately booted out of Top 8 by a Mismagius / Garchomp and Giratina-GX deck.

League Cup 5 — Turbo Dark (Expanded)

[decklist name=””Turbo” Dark” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Greninja and Zoroark-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”107″][pokemon amt=”15″]2x [card name=”Greninja and Zoroark-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”63″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Weavile-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Sneasel” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”86″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Fates Collide” no=”29″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzzlord” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”33″]2x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”N” set=”Noble Victories” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Max Elixir” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”94″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Primal Clash” no=”127″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”12″]12x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”12″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Deck Analysis

For starters, I want to say that this list is absolutely not optimal. It is way too slow, and it was designed to be able to handle a control heavy meta that was specific to that day of the Georgia Marathon. I think Turbo Dark is a very good deck, but I do not like this list the way it is. Here are some changes I would make to the list:

Possible Cuts: [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Weavile-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Sneasel” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Guzzlord” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card]

Potential Additions: [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], more [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Black and White” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] and more [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, I want to talk about Turbo Dark as a whole. I think the deck is very good and that is because of its speed and damage output. I think the way that players are building their deck, especially how I built mine, are not taking advantage of that well enough. I will be looking into Turbo Dark in the first steps of my more rigorous Dallas testing. The deck does lose to Night March without adding tech cards for it. While that is something I have to figure out, I like the rest of its matchups otherwise. The deck is very consistent when not teched out and it is extremely fast, which means you won’t be prone to ties like a lot of Expanded decks are.

How the Tournament Went

Honestly, the tournament went smoothly right up until Top 8. I took down a stall deck in swiss thanks to my teched out list, along with a good matchup against [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Dragons Exalted” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card]. My other two rounds were a mirror match and a tie, so nothing too exciting there. In Top 8, I got paired with a mirror which was not the matchup I wanted to face. My teched out list is a bit slower than the average build, and there were four matchups I considered to be very favorable. I was promptly kicked out of Top 8 after bricking in games two and three, but I guess thats what I get for playing an inconsistent list.

League Cup 6 — Mewtwo and Mew-GX (Expanded)

[decklist name=”Mewtwo” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″][pokemon amt=”20″]3x [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Noivern-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”M Gardevoir-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”79″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Venusaur and Snivy-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”1″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Virizion-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”9″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Jirachi-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”79″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Garchomp and Giratina-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mega Lopunny and Jigglypuff-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Absol” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]3x [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Black and White” no=”101″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Fates Collide” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”9″]4x [card name=”Prism Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”93″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Evolutions” no=”90″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Card Choices

Noivern-GX

[cardimg name=”Noivern-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”99″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This card is incredible! Distort was one of my most used attacks, and Sonic Volume is a good attack in certain situations. I would absolutely not remove [card name=”Noivern-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] from the deck, and consider adding a second copy. It is an attacker that is good in pretty every matchup, which can’t be said for most cards in this deck.

Virizion-EX

This should attest to how little time we put into getting this deck ready for the event, as [card name=”Virizion-EX” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”9″ c=”name”][/card] is clearly a worse [card name=”Cobalion-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card]. They have the same abilities, which is what the card was used for, but Cobalion-GX is better for a slew of reasons. Cobalion-GX can be searched via [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] which is probably the biggest reason why it is better than Virizion-EX. Additionally, Iron Rule-GX is far better than Emerald Slash, and Duel Saber is better than Emerald Slash!

Venusaur and Snivy-GX

This card is extremely good in this deck, for a couple reasons. Its GX attack lets you do 50 damage to every opposing Pokemon, so when combined with [card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]’s Distortion Door, [card name=”Venusaur and Snivy-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”1″ c=”name”][/card] makes it so that a majority of evolution decks are getting all of their Pokemon wiped off the board on the first turn of the game. Additionally, the Ability on this card works with [card name=”Prism Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card], which means you have a great gust effect option as well.

Absol

I am not sold on this card, but [card name=”Absol” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] does have good synergy with [card name=”Garchomp and Giratina-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card]. That is the only thing I used it for during the tournament, so I will have to test this card out some more to see how much I like it.

Blacephalon

This is another card I am not super sold on. I did use [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card] once and it was strong, though I didn’t play very many games with it. It does have strong synergy with Absol, Giratina, and [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card]. If your opponent KOs [card name=”Mewtwo and Mew-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] as their first KO, you should respond with [card name=”N” set=”Fates Collide” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] and Fireworks Bomb. This should cripple the opponents board, or set it up to be crippled, and acts as a seventh prize because you can discard all of your weak two prize Pokemon with [card name=”M Gardevoir-EX” set=”Steam Siege” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card]’s Despair Ray.

Guzma and Hala

I don’t think this card needs explaining and its inclusion should not surprise anyone. This card is unbelievably strong in this deck. On turn one, [card name=”Guzma and Hala” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”193″ c=”name”][/card] pretty much guarantees you can pull off any play you want. Throughout the game, it does lose some value but it is a nice safety net that ensures you won’t be stuck with absolutely nothing to do.

How the Tournament Went

I was feeling pretty confident heading into this event despite never thinking about playing this deck before. Danny was building the deck when Grant and I got back from the League Cup the day before, and we agreed to play it with him. It seemed like it would have good matchups against the expected meta, which was enough for me. Unfortunately, I bubbled out of Top 8 after losing to [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] because I prized Garchomp and Giratina-GX, which is the most important card in the matchup. This did let me make my flight with ease, so I was not super torn up about it. Grant went on to win the League Cup after some close games with a Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX deck in the finals.

Conclusion

That wraps up this article! I hope you enjoyed reading about my Georgia marathon experience, along with some of my thoughts for both formats. I used to prefer the Expanded format by a long shot, and while I expect that to be the case, that is up in the air for me. The bans have changed the Expanded format significantly, which could be for the better in the long run. I will be playing a ton of Expanded between now and Dallas, as I feel ill prepared. Additionally, Dallas is a very important event for me due to the stipend for the Europe International Championships in Berlin, Germany largely decided by the Dallas Regional Championship and the Oceania International Championships in Melbourne, Australia. I hope all of you got to enjoy the holidays and any Pokemon tournaments you have played in recently, and I wish you good luck at any events you will be playing! I will be back later in the month with another article. Peace.

–Jimmy

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