Single Prize Party — Blacephalon and Checkmate Updated

Last time, we looked at Stage-2 Pokemon; today, we’ll focus on single-Prize decks! We’re winding down our scheduled Standard format coverage here on PokeBeach-—that is, the current format through Sword and Shield. Soon we’ll have Rebel Clash on our hands and the game will morph accordingly. In my next piece I’ll be introducing you to that upcoming expansion and share some of the draft ideas I have!

Blacephalon has gone through some major changes in recent months, starting as a Green's Exploration deck, then introducing Jirachi, and finally even some two-Prize Pokemon. Now we have a completely Ability-based version of the deck that still preys on Tag Team Pokemon-GX and performs its strategy without fail, barring a brick or bad hand from Marnie or Reset Stamp. While postponed temporarily, Blacephalon was my choice for the first qualifier in the PTCGO tournament series. Stephane did a great job covering the deck for us about a month ago, but I’d like to share my updated list and talk about some of the cards. Then, we’ll take a look at one of the coolest decks in Standard right now — something not yet covered here. Let’s begin with my list for Blacephalon:

Blacephalon Deck List

This concludes the public portion of this article.

If you'd like to continue reading, consider purchasing a PokeBeach premium membership! If you're not completely satisfied with your membership, you can request a full refund within 30 days.

Each week we post high-quality content from some of the game's top players. Our article program isn't a corporate operation, advertising front, or for-profit business. We set our prices so that we can pay the game's top players to write the best content for our subscribers. Each article topic is carefully selected, goes through multiple drafts, and is touched up by our editors. We take great pride in our program!