It’s Already Over? – A History of Donk Decks and Pheromosa-GX Donk

Hey readers, it’s Charlie, and I’m super excited to be back with another article! With the beginning of the Pokemon Players Cup this month, official events are (kinda) back, but I am not playing in these events because I don’t have any tickets. Instead, I chose to cover the history of a deck concept that is currently dominating the PTCGO Expanded Ladder: Donk decks!

The term “donk” refers to when a player wins the game on their first turn by removing all of the opponent’s Pokemon from play. While this sometimes happens due to bad luck, there are some decks that build an entire strategy around the concept of pulling off the donk. However, since Donk decks often make the game incredibly luck-based and unfun, many cards have been banned, rules have been changed, and entire formats have even been rotated to prevent this strategy from becoming mainstream. Without further adieu, here is a little history on Donk decks of the past!

History of the Donk

Wizards of the Coast Era: Unlikely, but Possible

In this era, there were no restrictions on the player who went first, which often makes Donk decks incredibly common in a format. However, when Pokemon did so little damage, getting a turn 1 donk often came down to the opposing Pokemon’s Weakness. The only “donk-exclusive” deck I know of from this format involves Erika’s Jigglypuff and Lt. Surge’s Treaty, which aims to draw all of your Prize Cards and take a KO with Erika’s Jigglypuff as early as turn 1. However, this deck has many fatal flaws and never saw much success. Overall, donks were much more a part of the game than an exclusive deck in this format.

EX Era: Nothing Special

In this format, players going first could not draw a card or play a Supporter, but they were still allowed to use an attack. However, the Basic Pokemon in this format were not often dishing out enough damage to pull off donks and the support Pokemon were relatively lacking. This format had very little donks, so I won’t be covering any decks from it.

DP Era: Getting Warmer

With the release of Diamond and Pearl, players were no longer allowed to play any Trainers, Supporters, or Stadiums on the first turn. While this rule helped to lower the number of donks, the release of powerful turn 1 attackers like [card name=”Shuppet” set=”Platinum” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] and incredible support Pokemon like [card name=”Uxie” set=”Legends Awakened” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] made pulling off donks all the more possible. Decks focused exclusively on using Uxie’s Psychic Restore in combination with powerful cards like [card name=”Expert Belt” set=”Arceus” no=”87″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Pluspower” set=”Platinum” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Crobat G” set=”Platinum” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card] allowed players to easily put enough damage counters on the board to Knock Out all opposing Pokemon on the first turn. Donks also inadvertently happened due to mainstream attackers like [card name=”Garchomp C” set=”Supreme Victors” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] having cheap and powerful attacks that could be used going first. Overall, this era had incredible cards that made Donk decks insanely powerful, but the first turn rules kept things from getting out of hand. However, the release of Black and White blew the top off of this powerful strategy.

BW Era: Donk is Dominant

Immediately upon release of the Black and White expansion, donk was primed for ridiculous levels of success. The new generation brought about a return of the no-restrictions turn 1 and immediately created an incredibly powerful Donk deck that ended up forcing the rotation of seven sets: ‘Sabledonk’. This powerful strategy centred around starting with [card name=”Sableye” set=”Stormfront” no=”48″ c=”name”][/card], abusing cards like Crobat G, Uxie, Expert Belt, [card name=”Poké Blower +” set=”Stormfront” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Seeker” set=”Triumphant” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Darkness Energy” set=”Rising Rivals” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] in order to nearly guarantee a first turn victory. A video was made back in 2011 that showed how this powerful strategy was able to take down multiple benched Pokemon and the opponent’s Active Pokemon on the first turn.

As a response, TPCi chose to rotate all sets from Majestic Dawn to Arceus before the Canadian and US National Championships that year. However, this did not entirely kill donking, as Baby Pokemon like [card name=”Tyrogue” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card] were able to donk other popular Baby Pokemon like [card name=”Cleffa” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] on the first turn.

As more sets were released, the popular meta decks in the format were almost all equipped to pull off a donk of some sort through 2012. Powerful and fast decks like [card name=”Zekrom” set=”Black and White” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Pachirisu” set=”Call of Legends” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Shaymin” set=”Unleashed” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card] and Big Basic decks relying on [card name=”Mewtwo-EX” set=”Legendary Treasures” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card] could often take out opposing low-HP Pokemon on the first turn as well. This continued, albeit to a lesser extent, throughout the entire time when attacks were legal on the first turn. We even saw decks like [card name=”Shiftry” set=”Next Destinies” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card] banned due to toxic donk combinations. Overall, this format had way too many combinations and a first turn rule set that was incredibly conducive to donks.

XY Era: Cooling Off

[cardimg name=”Latios-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”58″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Right before the release of XY, Pokemon announced that players would no longer be able to attack on the first turn. This was a destructive hit to donk strategies, and pretty much removed the concept from the game for a while unless one player drew exceedingly poor. However, in Roaring Skies, the infamous [card name=”Latios-EX” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY72″ c=”name”][/card] was released (fittingly alongside [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]), officially making donk a semi-viable strategy again.

While many players tried to make decks with the new Latios-EX, nobody found success outside of future World Champion Shintaro Ito, who won a Rayquaza Mega Battle in Japan. Incredibly broken cards like [card name=”Lysandre’s Trump Card” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] were also legal at this time, so strategies like this could draw through the entire deck twice on the first turn of the game and abuse PlusPower up to eight times in one turn.

In combination with a few other damage modifiers, like [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], Latios-EX could hit up to 180 damage and OHKO Pokemon-EX going first!

Overall, this era was pretty much donk-free outside of Latios-EX. Stuff didn’t begin to heat up again until now.

Sun and Moon/Sword and Shield: Expanding on Donk

In the modern era, exclusive Donk decks are almost entirely limited to the Expanded format, but at this moment, they are incredibly powerful. While the release of a few key cards over the years may have gone unnoticed, like [card name=”Pheromosa-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM66″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] increasing the damage cap of a first-turn attack, the recent release of [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] has made the strategy better than ever in a Pokemon-sanctioned format.

Since PTCGO’s Expanded Format is now slightly relevant, my friend, Isaiah Cheville, and I have been working on optimizing a 2020 Donk deck to dominate PTCGO Expanded tournaments. This current list pretty much needs to go first in order to win, its success rate of scoring Knock Outs on Pokemon over 200 HP going first is approaching 90%. Here’s the list for the deck:

[premium]

The Deck List

[decklist name=”Donk 2020″ amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″][pokemon amt=”15″]4x [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Unown” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”30″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Pheromosa-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM66″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”43″]4x [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Black and White” no=”103″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Bicycle” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Primal Clash” no=”122″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Roller Skates” set=”XY” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”PlusPower” set=”Black and White” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Recycle” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”96″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Float Stone” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”99″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Scoop Up Cyclone” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”95″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”2″]1x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

As you can see, this deck is 100% focused on drawing as many cards as possible on the first turn and using every Item possible to boost the damage output of [card name=”Pheromosa-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM66″ c=”name”][/card].

Potential Turn One Damage Output

[cardimg name=”PlusPower” set=”Black and White” no=”96″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Here’s a basic calculation of damage that you can do with an average to above-average turn one:

• Fast Raid: 30 damage + [card name=”Beast Energy Prism Star” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card] + [card name=”Muscle Band” set=”XY” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] + four [card name=”PlusPower” set=”Black and White” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] = 120
• [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card]: three Normal Drops, three [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card], two [card name=”Super Scoop Up” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] (I’m assuming one Scoop Up Net and the [card name=”Scoop Up Cyclone” set=”Plasma Blast” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] go to [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]) = 80
• one to two [card name=”Recycle” set=”Emerging Powers” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card] heads + [card name=”Hypnotoxic Laser” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] = 20-30 extra damage

All of that results in 220-230 damage done going first with an above-average start. This is insane! While it is obvious that Scoop Up Net was never intended to exist with Shaymin-EX and will likely be banned in Expanded starting in the fall, we can take advantage of this insane deck while we have the chance.

Playing The Deck

Playing it is pretty straightforward; always focus on drawing cards and making sure you maximize the number of cards you see before the amount of damage you do. To do well with this deck, you have to draw through most of your deck to make sure you can get one of your two Energy (assuming you need it and haven’t won with Headbutt Tantrum spam), so moving through your deck is critical to success.

Make sure you aren’t playing a Scoop Up Net for 10 extra damage when you have no playable draw cards, you should be using Shaymin-EX’s Set Up Ability instead. Furthermore, sequencing is incredibly important with this deck due to the amount of coin flip-based cards you play. Always play your flippy cards first in order to gain information on the result of those flips; if you already know your [card name=”Roller Skates” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card] drew you an extra Shaymin-EX, you’ll be able to use an extra Scoop Up Net for more damage instead of banking on that flip before you flip. Recycle adds complexity as well; since the card goes on top of your deck, you need to make sure you have your draw options lined up if you’re banking on using that card you are using Recycle on. The same goes for Super Scoop Up: always play this before your Scoop Up Net! You never want to rely on a coin flip going your way, think about these cards as “nice to haves” rather than necessities.

Here are a few other quick tips on the deck from my friend Isaiah (he has more hours on this deck than anyone else right now):

• Sometimes using Set Up for five cards and leaving a [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] in hand is optimal, but this depends on what you need to hit. If you only need to hit one card, saving Scoop Up Net is best, but if you need everything anyway–take risks.

Matchups

When it comes to matchups, they are as straightforward as ever. Your strategy against every deck is as follows:

• Go first (This is easier than you might think!)
• Hope they start one Pokemon only (likely in Expanded)
• KO it and win the game!

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

In a real-life tournament, I would never, ever play a deck that relies on these principles to succeed. However, in an online environment, things are a bit different. I’ll explain my answer to each point above here:

• Many decks in Expanded are currently choosing to go second. [card name=”Arceus and Dialga and Palkia-GX” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Ultra Necrozma” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] decks, usual suspects on the PTCGO ladder and in Ticket Tournaments, tend to choose second if they do not know what their opponent is playing. You can take advantage of this fact and thus go first well over 50% of the time (since you will always select first when you win the flip).
• Expanded decks are notoriously more Trainer-heavy than Standard decks, thus you will rarely see many multi-Pokemon starts. In the large sample size of games, you will likely play with this deck, the vast majority will involve your opponent starting with one Pokemon.
• Many decks also play low-HP Basic Pokemon, like [card name=”Honchkrow-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] and decks that play multiple [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card]. You can Knock Out more than one of these on the first turn with [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card], allowing you to not only overcome large Basic Pokemon, but small groups of low-HP Basic Pokemon.

Overall, this combines to create an incredibly effective strategy for grinding out your daily eleven wins, scoring quick Tournament Rep in Ticket Tournaments, or going on a ladder win streak. Since games are always fast, you can probably finish twenty games in the time it would take another deck to finish five.

Countering Donk

For players that despise donk decks and want to hard counter them, I have at least one strong option for you: [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC11″ c=”name”][/card] decks. While a few decks can easily tech a single Wobbuffet (this only helps if you get lucky enough to start it), decks like [card name=”Hitmonchan” set=”Team Up” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] are able to utilize a full playset and increase their odds of starting it to ~40%.  However, this isn’t a fool-proof strategy: if the donk player techs a [card name=”Latios-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] in order to hit Psychic Weakness, it is not impossible to still be donked. Overall, in a sea of donk decks, playing decks that heavily utilize Wobbuffet is by far the best overall solution to beating mill consistently.

Conclusion

With PTCGO being so important right now, this incredibly degenerate strategy is finally coming to light as a viable way to grind out points during this time. I hope you enjoyed my quick article on the history of Donk decks in Pokemon and how you can take advantage of that strategy on PTCGO right now. I’ll be back writing later in June, but until then feel free to follow me on Twitter (@C4_TCG) and hit me up with any questions at all! It’s been a pleasure.

–Charlie

[/premium]