Jewel Seekers and Cursed Blasts — Terapagos ex Is Actually Broken

Hello everyone! After playing a bit with the new set, I’ve been working mostly on my list for [card name=”Terapagos ex” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card]. Many results from online tournaments have started to narrow down the right way to play Terapagos, with many lists featuring [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], or both. Terapagos is clearly a good card. Even though it cannot attack on turn one, its first attack is extremely efficient. As long as you have a full Bench with [card name=”Area Zero Underdepths” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card], Terapagos deals 220 damage for just one [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card]! This would be a bit of an ask if your Benched Pokemon were only there for Terapagos, but this format is chock-full of support Pokemon that do a lot on their own. Terapagos just rewards you for playing Pokemon that are already good, such as Pidgeot ex, [card name=”Noctowl” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Fezandipiti ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card].

[cardimg name=”Area Zero Underdepths” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”174″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The main question Terapagos poses is whether you should bother with its second attack. Crown Opal is no joke. It deals 180 and makes Terapagos invincible to all Basic Pokemon (aside from Colorless Pokemon like other Terapagos). This is definitely a solid attack. Although its Energy cost is egregious, new cards like [card name=”Glass Trumpet” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Crispin” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] make it very reasonable to attain. If you wanted to build a deck that could consistently power up Crown Opal, it would be doable. With such a good first attack, though, it might not even be necessary to bother with that second attack. The Terapagos variant I’ll be discussing today ignores Crown Opal entirely.

Terapagos utilizes Noctowl and [card name=”Fan Rotom” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] to accelerate the early game and make ridiculous combos appear out of thin air. Noctowl does everything you could ever want. Not only is it easy to fill up all eight Bench spaces with cards like Fan Rotom and [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card], but Noctowl keeps your Bench full throughout the game, sets up various Stage 2 Pokemon, grabs gust cards at the right time, and more. I can’t think of a better use for your board than filling it with Noctowl. The final piece that completes the deck is [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card] . Dusknoir’s Ability is just obscene, and setting it up at the right time is trivially easy for this deck.

Dusknoir does a few things. As Terapagos caps out at 220 damage, Dusknoir’s 130 on top lets you one-shot anything. In the early game, Dusknoir enables double-KO turns, crippling the setup from decks like [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card] if you KO two Charmander or two Pidgey at once. In the late game, Dusknoir closes things out, and enables comebacks by forcibly activating [card name=”Briar” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card]. If your opponent tries to play around Briar by going to three Prize cards instead of two, Dusknoir forces them to two. Double Dusknoir can outright KO most two-Prize Pokemon even without an attack. If you need a three- or even four-Prize turn to close out the game, Dusknoir and Briar make it happen. Finally, if you don’t have Area Zero or enough Pokemon, Dusknoir can also come in clutch then.

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Here is my current list:

[decklist name=”terapagos” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Terapagos ex” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”128″][pokemon amt=”25″]4x [card name=”Terapagos ex” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”128″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Noctowl” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”115″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Hoothoot ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”126″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Pidgey” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Duskull” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”18″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]3x [card name=”Fan Rotom” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”118″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Fezandipiti ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”32″]2x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Colress’s Tenacity” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Boss’s Orders (Ghetsis)” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Briar” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”144″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Night Stretcher” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Feather Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Switch” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Prime Catcher ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Area Zero Underdepths” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”3″]3x [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Card Choices

After some testing and refining, this is where I’m at. This list is definitely a little quirky, but I’m quite happy with it. I think the deck can do way too much too easily, and it can blow other decks completely out of the water. Even if your opponent gets off to a hot start, Briar enables crazy comebacks that wouldn’t otherwise be possible in many Prize trades. The main thing that jumped out at me when testing the deck is that you absolutely need two things every single game: an out to Fan Rotom and an out to Terapagos. Fan Rotom sets everything up, and Terapagos unlocks Noctowl. If you have those two cards, the deck pops off to the moon and you can do whatever you want.

The deckbuilding decisions reflect this. I am maximizing consistency aiming for those two things. I want to open with Fan Rotom and Terapagos. I do not care about anything else, because everything naturally comes on its own after that. This is why there’s a ton of search cards alongside beefy counts of Fan Rotom and Terapagos themselves. Playing this deck is actually rather straightforward. You KO everything with Terapagos and use Noctowl to do whatever you want. Depending on the matchup, you may be going for a straightforward Prize race, or you may be focusing more on Dusknoir to control the game and disrupt your opponent. At minimum, you want to end your first turn with at least two [card name=”Hoothoot ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] and a [card name=”Pidgey” set=”151″ no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] on the board, hopefully with one or two Noctowl in hand. I am frequently using Fan Rotom to find one or two Noctowl on turn one, even though I can’t use them until turn two.

[cardimg name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”217″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This deck plays Pidgeot, because why not? This deck can easily set up Pidgeot, and it greatly helps in the long term. Noctowl alone isn’t always enough, and Pidgeot is a broken card. Pidgeot often grabs Noctowl, effectively turning one Quick Search into two. You’ll also rely on Quick Search to find Double Turbo Energy, as [card name=”Colress’s Tenacity” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] won’t always be available for Noctowl. It’s also an efficient way to search out Dusknoir, and you’ll need to do so if you don’t have [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] in hand or enough cards that you can afford to discard. The discard effect from Ultra Ball is somewhat painful in this deck, so you can’t always spam it. That said, Ultra Ball does too much. It’s several additional outs to Fan Rotom and Terapagos to open up the game, and it’s your main way of searching out Evolutions like Noctowl and Dusknoir. Ultra Ball is also a great card to find after your opponent disrupts your hand, as it can get Fezandipiti or Noctowl to help you recover.

Fezandipiti is very helpful, as this deck doesn’t actually draw a lot of cards. Since most of the cards in the deck help in one way or another, drawing three will usually get you something you can use, and then Noctowl and Pidgeot can search for whatever you’re missing. Fezandipiti also helps a lot against hand disruption, as you’ll usually want to make some sort of combo while Pidgeot only grabs one card.

I found that [card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] was never getting used, so I cut it. If I can search for Squawkabilly, I’d rather just get Fan Rotom or Terapagos. Squawkabilly’s discard effect can also be quite bad for this deck.

You don’t necessarily need Terapagos on turn one, but if you aren’t against a deck that can punish it, you may as well put it down. If your Terapagos is in danger of getting KO’d, maybe hold off and play it down on turn two. Regardless, you always need Terapagos by turn two at the latest.

[card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] protects us from [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Kyurem” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card]. If a deck like [card name=”Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] gets to go first against us, they can pose a serious threat with their snipe attackers. Manaphy prevents us from getting shut out of the game.

[card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] is primarily for the second [card name=”Duskull” set=”Crown Zenith GG” no=”GG28″ c=”name”][/card] or the fourth Hoothoot if they are prized. And, yes, you’ll be using all four Noctowl in most games. If a Noctowl is prized, you can still use the fourth one via [card name=”Night Stretcher” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card]. If your opponent doesn’t bump Area Zero Underdepths to discard your Pokemon, you can use a nifty trick if you’re short on Noctowl but have Night Stretcher. Usually you want to keep a backup Terapagos so you don’t discard Benched Pokemon when your attacking Terapagos goes down. However, if you don’t put down a second Terapagos, you can use the discard to your advantage by discarding Noctowl and getting it back with Night Stretcher. This doesn’t come up often, but it’s cool when it does. You have enough Basic Pokemon along with Buddy-Buddy Poffin to always refill your board when you’re forced to discard three Benched Pokemon. Night Stretcher is also useful to ensure that you have two Duskull when you need to set up a Dusknoir play, as well as directly retrieving Dusknoir itself. It would be nice to have another Stretcher or even a [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card], but I have surprisingly found myself not needing much recovery.

The Supporters are a little sparse, but this deck doesn’t really need many of them. I’m not completely sure what the correct split is. I’m sure another Colress’s Tenacity or [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] would be nice. [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] is the preferred hand refresh option because this deck doesn’t like discarding stuff. Iono draws plenty of cards if used on turn one or turn two. However, I do find myself sometimes drawing it later, so [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] might be better. Professor’s Research would also be a nice Noctowl option after hand disruption, but by contrast, Iono is useful when it’s your opponent amassing a huge hand. Colress’s Tenacity is a perfect two-for-one option with Noctowl, and it has great synergy with this deck. Briar is a win condition in some games, but I don’t use it as often as I had expected. Either way, it’s always worth playing one copy of.

The gust lineup is also a little low, but it’s enough, though I would consider adding a second Boss’s Orders. Usually you only need two gusts in a game, but sometimes you’ll use all three. Since [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t always live, Boss’s Orders might be better, and this deck can usually afford to play Boss as its Supporter for turn. However, in the situations where you need Counter Catcher, it’s too important to pass up. For example, if the opponent gets a fast and aggressive start, especially if they KO Pidgey, you might need Noctowl for Colress’s Tenacity and Counter Catcher. Without Pidgeot in play, you have to use your Supporter to find an Energy and therefore can’t use Boss that turn.

[card name=”Switch” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card], of course, is needed to consistently get the turn-two attack. You don’t usually need any more than one. If something gets stalled in the Active Spot, that means Terapagos didn’t just get KO’d. And if Terapagos wasn’t KO’d, you have a Double Turbo Energy to spare on a retreat. You could also use [card name=”Prime Catcher ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card] to switch. A second Switch could be nice, but I would always rather have a fourth Double Turbo.

That brings me to one of the most controversial decisions: only three Area Zero Underdepths and three Double Turbo Energy. Most games only require two of each, so you have one to spare and will be okay if one is prized. Sometimes you’ll need all three Double Turbo Energy, but even if one is prized, you can take plenty of Prize cards to try and find it. If a Double Turbo is buried in the Prize cards, you can set up a big Dusknoir play — remember, two Dusknoir is basically the equivalent of an attacking Terapagos. If they’re KOing your Terapagos to pressure the Energy, they aren’t KOing one of your two Duskull, and vice versa. Similarly, you often only need two Area Zero Underdepths in a game. If you need a third, the same logic applies as with Double Turbo Energy. If you’re short a Stadium, Dusknoir as a damage modifier can make up the difference. As far as drawing into them goes, they are a lower priority than the Pokemon pieces. It’s nice to draw into them, but they don’t help you set up. I want my Pokemon first and foremost, and these cards make my opening hand worse. A single Noctowl can grab both pieces via Colress’s Tenacity. The only real downside to playing three copies of these cards instead of four is that you can never discard them. As a result, some opening hands with Ultra Ball become a little awkward, but it’s a fairly small percentage.

[card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] is primarily a damage modifier when you’re up against the various defensive Tool cards in the format. It’s easy to search out at the right time. It can also be somewhat useful against the likes of [card name=”Sparkling Crystal” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card], disrupting a chain of attacks from [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Greninja ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card], as well as punish a [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] getting left unused by an opponent trying to play around Iono. [card name=”Feather Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] is often used to find Pidgeot after the initial Noctowl.

As weird as it is, you don’t even have Bench space for [card name=”Bouffalant” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card]. Bouffalant’s Ability is certainly good, but it’s not what this deck needs. We are the aggressor in most games, and Bouffalant’s damage reduction isn’t enough to make or break most games. Our Bench is usually filled anyway: three to four Noctowl lines, Pidgeot, Fan Rotom, backup Terapagos, and one or two Duskull. And that’s not to mention the Fezandipiti and Manaphy that squeeze in there from time to time. There are several times where we actually forgo the backup Terapagos, especially if we’re trying to set up double Duskull, and if we’re trying to take advantage of the discard effect to refill the Bench.

[card name=”Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] could be occasionally useful to close out the game in some scenarios, but it’s often a liability and rarely better than Terapagos. It only attacks for free if your opponent is at one Prize remaining. Even with the Dusknoir option to engineer this situation, it’s quite rare. There’s also the persisting issue of Bench space. Overall, I just don’t think Ursaluna is worth it. I want to be as consistent as possible and pop off with Noctowl and Dusknoir. Terapagos plays the part of the attacker well enough on its own.

Matchups

I think Terapagos is a superior specimen compared to every attacking deck we’ve seen so far. You want to go first against everything, and as long as you open with a way to get Fan Rotom turn one and Terapagos by turn two, you will pretty much win every time when you go first. Even going second isn’t that bad. Decks like Charizard and Dragapult can’t set up as well going first, so it’s not that big of a difference when you go second. Against these decks, an early Dusknoir can punish them. Whether it’s denying Pidgeot from coming into play or KOing both Charmander or Dreepy alongside your attack, you want to aim for a turn-two Dusknoir. If that isn’t available, taking a two-Prize KO on their [card name=”Rotom V” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] and trying to win a Prize trade outright is perfectly fine. Dusknoir allows you to one-shot a Charizard ex or Dragapult ex if need be, and it can also set up Briar plays.

[cardimg name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”217″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Dragapult is a little annoying because, if they set it up quickly, it can snipe-KO your Pidgey or Duskull. However, at least it does not one-shot Terapagos. Lost Vacuum can also disrupt them. If they attack with Sparkling Crystal, you can Vacuum it away, if you aren’t KOing them. This forces them to attach another Energy, so they won’t be able to load up a backup Dragapult when the first one goes down. Vacuum could also work against [card name=”Defiance Band” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] in some situations. If they attach an Energy to Dreepy on turn one, you may want to immediately KO it to pressure their resources even more.

[card name=”Raging Bolt ex ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] can be a close matchup. If you’re going first, you may not want to play down Terapagos because they could KO it if they draw hot. If you’re going second, you definitely do not want to play it down because it will likely get KO’d. This forces Raging Bolt to take a single-Prize KO. Therefore, you’ll win a 2-2-2 Prize trade. However, Terapagos cannot one-shot Raging Bolt, so it relies heavily on the gust cards. Noctowl makes this a non-issue, though. You can use Dusknoir with Terapagos to one-shot Raging Bolt, but I wouldn’t be eager to do that and put them back onto even Prizes. That said, it’s not a terrible option to have. For the most part, though, you’ll be gust-KOing Pokemon like Fezandipiti ex or [card name=”Teal Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card]. If you need to take a four-Prize turn, it’s possible to do so. Dusknoir can KO Radiant Greninja, and with Briar, Terapagos can take a three-Prize KO. If they play the baby [card name=”Raging Bolt” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card], they can potentially snipe Pidgey with it, so if they start with it, perhaps it would be worth getting a second Pidgey or Manaphy.

Overall, I think Terapagos is favored or slightly favored against all of these decks. The biggest weak spot for Terapagos is [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] Stall. There is no reasonable way to win this matchup. You have to hope they draw bad and blitz them with Dusknoir and Terapagos. You will almost always lose, though. [card name=”Skwovet” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] would give you a guaranteed tie against lists without [card name=”Chi-Yu ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card], but that probably isn’t worth it. Luckily for Terapagos, stall decks are never a high percentage of the meta, even though Snorlax is doing well in current online tournaments.

That’s all I have for now! I think this deck is broken, and this list is definitely more optimized than the lists going around online. That said, there is still potentially some room for improvement. I am excited to continue exploring the new format. Thanks for reading!

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