Expanded Turbo Dark and Initial Thoughts on Sword & Shield

Hello everybody! This is Grant Manley back with another article about Expanded. As I’m writing this, I just got back from the Dallas Regional Championship, so I haven’t gotten the chance to sink much time into Sword and Shield testing. That said, I like the new set and I will be covering it a little bit at the end. First I would like to talk about the Turbo Dark deck that I played at Dallas. I was very close to making Top 8 but ended just a bit short with a Top 16 finish instead. I think Turbo Dark was an excellent play because of the highly optimized list. I wasn’t seriously considering Turbo Dark as a play for the event until I landed in Dallas at 10 PM on Friday and was presented with Azul’s genius idea of [card name=”Guzzlord-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card]. I don’t see why Turbo Dark would be hurt by the new set or the Supporter rule change. It definitely doesn’t need a Supporter on the first turn of the game. Sometimes I wouldn’t even get a Supporter anyway and I was still fine thanks to [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]. I think the new set’s broken Trainer cards only help out Turbo Dark, and I don’t think any new archetypes will be bad for it, or at the very least I don’t think anything else will greatly hurt Turbo Dark’s viability.

In short, Turbo Dark will stick around in Expanded, so it’s still worth talking about. In fact, the next three Regionals in the US will be Expanded, though none of them are particularly close as far as dates go.

Decklist

[decklist name=”turbo dark” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″][pokemon amt=”16″]2x [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/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]2x [card name=”Weavile-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Sneasel” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”86″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Greninja and Zoroark-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”63″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzzlord” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzzlord-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”105″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”33″]1x [card name=”Colress” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Flashfire” no=”99″ 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]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=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/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=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Reverse Valley” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”110″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”11″]11x [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”XY” no=”138″ c=”deck2″ amt=”11″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

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This is the list I played at Dallas. Turbo Dark was the obvious frontrunner that was on the top of everyone’s hit list going into the event, but the deck was just stupidly hard to counter in testing. I didn’t want to play it because I frequently ran into consistency issues and I didn’t want to deal with the mirror match. It wasn’t even in my top 3 leading up to the event. When I landed in Dallas, the rest of my group, including fellow writers Caleb Gedemer and Jimmy Pendarvis, informed me that they had been testing Turbo Dark all day and that it was the play. What got me interested was the [card name=”Guzzlord-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card]. Guzzlord-GX fixed everything. It helped a ton against [card name=”Ultra Necrozma” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] which would otherwise give this deck some trouble. Additionally, Guzzlord was the answer to the mirror alongside the [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card]. The list that everyone else settled on had too few draw cards for my liking, so I was still worried about consistency. This led me to add a couple of draw cards such as [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] instead of [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] over [card name=”Dowsing Machine” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card]. It’s a good thing I did, as I would need both hands to count the amount of times Dowsing Machine’s limitations would have screwed me over if it was in Computer Search’s place. With zero tested games of this exact 60, I went in to the event knowing I was playing something consistent, powerful, and able to deal with just about anything.

This list is slightly different from the average Turbo Dark lists until this point. I ran a second [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] because the card is legitimately broken, and I wanted to improve consistency and draw power as much as possible. As I’ve been saying, Turbo Dark’s main problem was its consistency, as the deck is otherwise broken. The 2-2 [card name=”Weavile-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] is excellent, as it enables [card name=”Guzzlord” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Guzzlord-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card], and Marshadow-GX. If you play the version with only 1-1 Weavile-GX, it doesn’t hit the board that often so you can’t take full advantage of these insane attackers that require a ton of Energy. Only one [card name=”Greninja and Zoroark-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] is needed. Dark Pulse is great, but you still have other options if it’s prized. Marshadow-GX can act as a second Greninja and Zoroark-GX if needed. This doesn’t come up often, but it’s certainly a useful application of Marshadow-GX.

[cardimg name=”Reverse Valley” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”110″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Before Cosmic Eclipse, Turbo Dark had an impossible time dealing with one-Prize attacking decks, but Guzzlord and Guzzlord-GX fix this, leaving Turbo Dark with precious few bad matchups.

As for the Trainer cards, you may find the low count of [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] surprising. To be honest, this deck only needs one Battle Compressor. It’s easy to discard cards via [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Professor Sycamore” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card], and Dedenne-GX, as you are often digging through your deck aggressively. However, Battle Compressor is so strong, and it’s great to have on the first turn, so we wanted to keep two to maintain reasonable odds of finding an early Battle Compressor. It makes [card name=”Darkrai-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card] a live play, helps out with [card name=”Dark Patch” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], and has great synergy with [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card].

[card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] is better than Nest Ball. While the viable targets are different, Cherish Ball doubles as a draw out to improve overall consistency, which is something I was trying to do as much as possible. I gave up one out to search [card name=”Sneasel” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], which is less important when I run two copies of it, in exchange for an extra option to find Weavile-GX and Dedenne-GX in particular, though you can use it for many of the situational attackers as well.

[card name=”Reverse Valley” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”110″ c=”name”][/card] is the most bizarre and questionable inclusion in the list. I forget who it was that originally suggested it. Anyway, this took the place of the third [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card], as three of those is completely unnecessary. However, we wanted another option to bump [card name=”Silent Lab” set=”Primal Clash” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Power Plant” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card]. I was originally going to play a second [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], but when I heard about Reverse Valley, I pushed for that instead. Reverse Valley was the missing piece of the puzzle for the Ultra Necrozma matchup. It not only doubled as a counter-Stadium, but the extra 10 damage allowed Guzzlord-GX’s Glutton GX to OHKO an Ultra Necrozma, which means you no longer need [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] to utilize Glutton GX in that matchup. It’s still not easy to pull off, don’t get me wrong, but it helps a lot. Additionally, Reverse Valley allows Glutton GX to clobber a Shaymin-EX for four Prizes. During the tournament, I never used Reverse Valley for the extra 10 damage, but there were times where I wished it was in my hand and I couldn’t get to it. I did use it to remove Stadiums though. In a meta with few expected Ultra Necrozma, I would recommend swapping it out for a [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card] or possibly another Field Blower.

Matchups

Aside from Turbo Dark’s ridiculous raw speed and power, part of what makes it so dangerous is how difficult it is to counter or otherwise deal with. Cards like [card name=”Mega Lopunny and Jigglypuff-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card] stand out as excellent options against Turbo Dark, but they only amount to a minor hinderance on their own. What I’m saying is that Turbo Dark beats everything. The mirror techs and increased consistency make this list obliterate the mirror match. The deck as a whole slaughters the likes of [card name=”Rowlet and Alolan Exeggutor-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”1″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Gardevoir and Sylveon-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card], Control, and more. The Lasers, Blower, and even [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] give this deck enough options against [card name=”Focus Sash” set=”Furious Fists” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] decks. Guzzlord and Guzzlord-GX handle things like Ultra Necrozma and Night March.

[cardimg name=”Garchomp and Giratina-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”228″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The only deck I knew would be a tough match was Shock Lock, which is never a popular deck. First of all, Stall decks aren’t ever huge, and second, the deck requires four [card name=”Tropical Beach” set=”Black and White Black Star Promos” no=”BW28″ c=”name”][/card]. Surprisingly, Shock Lock was relatively big at this event, but I did not have to face any. One strategy involves taking one or two Prizes while they set up. When you think they can start Paralyzing, attack with Sneasel, as it has a 50% chance of one shotting a [card name=”Stoutland” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] with Beat Up as long as you have Sky Field and a full Bench. If Sneasel gets Paralyzed, evolve into Weavile-GX, retreat, and hit another 50% with the other Sneasel. Once that gets Paralyzed, evolve and retreat it, and take a KO with Marshadow-GX copying Glutton GX for Weakness against Stoutland. If they have [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card], hopefully you can [card name=”Great Catcher” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] a stray [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] and KO it with anything. Sometimes an early Glutton GX is better. Take three Prizes with that, go into Sneasel and take a prize or two by utilizing that strategy, and finish with Great Catcher KO on Tapu Lele-GX. Throughout the game, getting lucky with [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] can also sometimes buy a turn and therefore a Prize. Hypnotoxic Laser also improves Sneasel’s math significantly if they aren’t able to immediately remove the Poison. Four heads with Sneasel’s Beat Up along with Poison damage actually KO’s Stoutland going back into your turn. So the Shock Lock matchup is certainly doable, it’s just unfavorable.

Another sketchy matchup is the [card name=”Garchomp and Giratina-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] deck that ended up winning the event. I was completely unaware of this deck beforehand, so it didn’t factor into the decision to play Turbo Dark. I have not played the matchup once, and I do think I would be able to deal with it. I think the claims of the Garchomp and Giratina-GX players having a free matchup against Turbo Dark are exaggerated. All I need to do is take out one Tag Team Pokemon-GX and I can cheese the other three Prizes with either Guzzlord or [card name=”Guzzlord-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card]. Additionally, people play poorly against Garchomp and Giratina-GX. Staggering your Pokemon, specifically your potential attackers, severely limits the dangerousness of Garchomp and Giratina-GX. I’m not saying Turbo Dark would eviscerate Garchomp and Giratina-GX. I’m sure the matchup is competitive or even difficult for Turbo Dark, but I think I could handle it. If I played against it early in Day 1, going in completely blind to the deck and its strategy, I would probably get destroyed. A few rounds into the event, there were enough people playing it to where I had a general idea of what it did.

I might also want to stagger the [card name=”Weavile-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] due to the [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]. Playing down Sneasel later in the game instead of at the beginning would apply serious pressure by allowing them only a one-turn window to use [card name=”Roxie” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”205″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Weezing” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] or risk me doing an insane play with Weavile-GX. More importantly, on that turn they would have to use either Roxie to shut down Weavile-GX or a Supporter that they actually want to use. However, they still potentially have their [card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] as well as Linear Attack, so that’s something to keep in mind as well. Maybe a [card name=”Stealthy Hood” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] needs to go into the Turbo Dark list. For most decks, a passive Tool such as Stealthy Hood isn’t an effective counter in the face of their two Field Blower, but in Turbo Dark, it can activate Weavile-GX whenever you want.

New Stuff

There are definitely some good Pokemon in Sword & Shield, but what stands out to me is the slew of insane Trainer cards. Quick Ball is probably the best card in the game. Quick Ball may be an instant four-of in everything in Standard and Expanded, and certainly replaces [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] in Turbo dark. With two Weavile-GX, it can be drawn into fairly easily by the time you actually needed, and we still have the [card name=”Cherish Ball” set=”Unified Minds” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Computer Search” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]. While there are interesting Darkness-type Pokemon and other Trainers in the set, Quick Ball is the only card that looks like it would be used in Turbo Dark. The rest of the new cards are likely to see more play in Standard than Expanded. In fact, many Trainers and even some Pokemon are just watered-down versions of cards that already exist in Expanded.

The new set’s most obvious strong Pokemon is Cinccino. It has Zoroark-GX’s Trade, but it is a non-GX in exchange for the excellent Riotous Beating attack. However, its Energy Assist attack isn’t the absolute worst thing in the world if you need to use it. I could see Cinccino being used with all sorts of partners. It’s so much better than [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”Team Up” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], but the huge difference is that Cinccino can’t be found with [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card]. This means it takes more work to set up, but I still think Cinccino will more or less replace Pidgeotto in the likes of [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] and Control decks. Cinccino’s stronger Ability and the new search cards such as Quick Ball and Evolution Incense makes finding them easier. Cinccino also may be used with Tag Team Pokemon-GX, Snorlax VMAX, or just big attackers in general. The only problem with Cinccino is it is a bit slow, so faster decks will still favor multiple [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card]. Unlike Zoroark-GX, it doesn’t come with the easy option of a turn 2 Riotous Beating every time.

As far as the new Pokemon V and VMAX, I’m not too concerned. The VMAX Pokemon have a ridiculous amount of HP, sure, but they don’t seem too overpowered. Lapras VMAX has a great attack but it requires a ton of support and work. You’d have to get it out, as it’s essentially a Stage-1, and you’d likely need Frosmoth, another Stage-1. After assembling those two, you need lots of Water Energy. This archetype can and likely will work, but it doesn’t seem broken or terribly oppressive. Much of the same can be said for Snorlax VMAX. Most of the other Pokemon V seem decent but not insane.

Indeedee V, Stonjourner VMAX, Zamazenta V, Dhelmise V, and Cramorant V look solid. Zacian V is the real winner. Its’ Ability is great, the attack is absurdly powerful (especially with Galarian Perrserker), and it has access to Metal Saucer. Zacian V will likely be partnered with [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card]. Tapu Koko V will certainly see play in [card name=”Pikachu and Zekrom-GX” set=”Team Up” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] decks if that archetype manages to stick around.

The starter Evolutions, such as Cinderace and Rillaboom, look reasonable but I’m not convinced they will be competitive. Drizzile and Inteleon have excellent Abilities. Like Cinccino however, they are a bit slow. Perhaps they will be played alongside Cinccino, or they may just be outclassed by it and [card name=”Rosa” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”204″ c=”name”][/card].

One Pokemon that really stands out to me is Galarian Obstagoon. While many people (myself included) are excited for the Galarian Zigzagoon with its ridiculous Ability, I think that the Galarian Obstagoon has serious potential. While Galarian Obstagoon’s Ability is solid, the attack alone basically auto-wins the entire pre-Sword & Shield format. It’s invincible against Basic Pokemon! Galarian Obstagoon isn’t too hard to set up with Rosa, Jirachi, and / or Cinccino. It would just need a way to deal with Pokemon VMAX, so maybe it could be used with Zamazenta V?

I mentioned earlier how this set has some great Trainer cards. Evolution Incense is no Quick Ball, but it’s still a great option to have in Standard. It’s similar to [card name=”Timer Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card], which saw some play last season. Ordinary Rod is absurdly powerful. It provides a universal recovery card to fill the void left behind by [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] rotating, and it’s way stronger than [card name=”Lana’s Fishing Rod” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”195″ c=”name”][/card]. It will be widely used, especially with Cinccino. Air Balloon is great, it’s close to a [card name=”Float Stone” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] for Standard but can’t be used well with Jirachi. Professor’s Research is going to be insane in Standard. Combined with Dedenne-GX, you can see tons of cards in one turn.

Metal Saucer is also going to be excellent, though probably just with Zacian V and possibly Zamazenta V. Vitality Band is another neat card. Like Air Balloon, Ordinary Rod, and Evolution Incense, it seems to be replicating a common effect that Standard has been lacking since the rotation. Lucky Egg is interesting. Its most obvious application is that it’s extremely strong in [card name=”Green’s Exploration” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”175″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Blacephalon” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card], as it somewhat mitigates the deck’s otherwise huge weakness to [card name=”Reset Stamp” set=”Unified Minds” no=”206″ c=”name”][/card]. Marnie is seeing tons of hype so far, but I don’t think it’s amazing. Marnie is solid and will see a lot of play, it just doesn’t stand out to me like the rest of these Trainers do. Finally, Aurora Energy is just another flavor of Rainbow Energy. It’s not too impactful, but decks now have the option to play up to eight Rainbow Energy, or to choose between the two.

Conclusion

There aren’t any major events for another month or so, but you can bet I’ll be testing Sword and Shield for the upcoming Australia International and I should have something more concrete for you all before then. I hope I was able to give you at least a bit of helpful info as far as what to look out for with the new set. On the Expanded side of things, Turbo Dark will likely stay as strong as ever. This season’s additions of [card name=”Weavile-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Guzzlord-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Guzzlord” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] bring Turbo Dark to a whole new level. It’s less one-dimensional now because of these inclusions. There were multiple games at Dallas where I closed the game out by taking three Prizes on two back-to-back turns. Turbo Dark (along with everything else) is going to love Quick Ball as a new option to replace Ultra Ball. I think Quick Ball will be the best card in Standard and maybe even Expanded too.

Thanks for reading! Turbo Dark may not be the spiciest deck I’ve ever played, but it gets the job done so try it out! It’s not too hard to play either!

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