Time to Revert Back to Primal Groudon!

Hey guys! Mustafa here, and I am happy to be writing for PokeBeach again. First off I want to thank you guys for liking my first article, it really means a lot to me. Today, I am going to be writing a deck analysis. When I first saw the scans for Roaring Skies on PokeBeach, Mega Turbo was the card that caught my eye. I could easily see how this one card was going to make Mega Pokemon good. It is like a Dark Patch for Mega Pokemon, but better because it could be used on the Active. The first combo I thought of after seeing this card was pairing it with Primal Groudon-EX from Primal Clash. Primal Groudon was already fairly decent before Mega Turbo, but its problem was that it was too slow, as it had little Energy acceleration. Now with Mega Turbo, the Pokemon is much faster and can run through your opponent fairly quickly. Once you get a Primal Groudon up it is very difficult to Knock it Out in one hit, so it can usually take three to four Prizes by itself, which is huge! So today I am going to go over a few variants of Primal Groudon and go through some cards that could be good for the deck.

Primal Groudon / Landorus

This is a variant that I believe is very good. The strategy is to use Landorus to apply early pressure and accelerate Energy to your Primal Groudon-EX. You then set up a Primal Groudon and tank with it to take all your Prizes. Here is a list I have been working with:

What I like about this variant is that it has a fairly good early game, and it can have a stable late game. This is thanks to Landorus, as it provides some sort of Energy acceleration that can be accessible in the late game when you are low on Mega Turbo. You can usually afford to lose three non-EX’s because the deck will only attack with two Primal Groudon-EX, so by losing three non-EX’s you still force your opponent to Knock Out two Primal Groudons. This makes it is okay to give up a Landorus in order to set up a second Primal Groudon. Now I will go into a few of my card choices and some other options that you could run instead.

Strategy

With this deck you want to attack with your Landorus in the early game to try and set up your Primal Groudon-EX as fast as possible. The deck has a fairly linear strategy and most of the time you will be doing the same thing in most of your games. That strategy is attacking with Landorus and setting up one to two Primal Groudon-EX, then swinging with them for the rest of the game.

Card Choices

3-3 Primal Groudon EX

I went with a 3-3 Primal Groudon-EX line because I felt that this was the perfect amount to keep consistency up. Running four is just too many, as you will usually only need to set up two in a game. Running two is too little, because if one is Prized, it could cause trouble for you later in the game. Also with a 3-3 line I usually never have trouble drawing into them early in the game to set it up. It is possible to cut it down to a 2-2 line, but that is a little riskier and less consistent.

3 Landorus, 0 Hawlucha

This may seem like an odd choice as Hawlucha is an amazing attacker and should usually be included most Fighting decks, but I do not like it in this deck that much. You are usually going to be getting OHKOs with Primal Groudon-EX, so I feel there is no point in putting Energy and attacking with a Hawlucha if that damage is just going to to be wasted. Now, the Hawlucha could be used to put some early pressure and set you up for easier KOs, but that is what Landorus is for, and that accelerates Energy at the same time. I feel that the Landorus are all you need to put on some early pressure and speed up the process of setting up Primal Groudon-EX.

4 Mega Turbo, 3 Groudon Spirit Link, 2 Battle Compressor, 0 Focus Sash

It may seem overkill to run so many Groudon Spirit Link and Mega Turbo, but I built this deck to try and set up a Primal Groudon-EX as quickly as possible. With these card choices, I have been able to set up a turn three Primal Groudon many times, and that is very difficult for any deck to deal with. Also, even if you are unable to set up an early Primal Groudon through the use of these cards, they will still be available later in the game, which could allow for explosive turns when you set up a Primal Groudon in one turn. By maxing out on Mega Turbo and putting in Battle Compressor, it allows for Primal Groudons to be set up out of nowhere. The reason I do not play Focus Sash is because I wanted this deck to be very fast and I feel that Focus Sash is a card more suited for a slower version. You could take out a Spirit link and put a Focus Sash in instead, but I prefer adding in more cards to make the deck as fast a possible.

4 Fighting Stadium

The reason I do not run other Stadiums is because of opposing Mega Pokemon. Fighting Stadium allows me to hit those numbers above 200 without having to stack a bunch of Strong Energy on a Primal Groudon-EX. I do not like the other Stadiums as much because, I never want to be in a situation where I am unable to Knock Out a M Rayquaza-EX, because it will just OHKO me if I cannot do the same to it. You could run one or two Silent Lab to shut off your opponent’s Shaymin-EX or other important Abilities, but I feel that making sure you have the KO is much more important.

1 Scramble Switch, 0 Computer Search

This may seem odd, as I am not running Focus Sash to prevent a OHKO before I Scramble Switch the Primal Groudon-EX, but there are a couple of reasons I like Scramble Switch here. First off, it can still be used to save a Primal Groudon from getting KO’d. If your opponent puts a lot of damage on your Groudon, you can still just Scramble Switch to get it out of the way, and your opponent cannot bring it back up to finish the job. Secondly, it adds to the explosive nature of the deck. If you have an Energy sitting on Landorus you can pull it off and put it on Primal Groudon for a faster Gaia Volcano. This allows you to, again, power up a Primal Groudon out of nowhere, which can be very scary for your opponent. This is especially nice because since you do not run Focus Sash, they will not expect Scramble Switch.

1 Jirachi-EX, 0 Shaymin-EX

At first, Shaymin-EX might always look like the go-to card instead of Jirachi-EX, but I do not like Shaymin-EX as much in this deck, because it does not play its hand down very easily. Most of the time you want to devote many cards in your hand to set up your Primal Groudon-EX, so Shaymin will not be able to draw a lot of cards without burning too many resources. Jirachi-EX allows you to get a Supporter, which I like, because it is very stable consistency. If you have an Ultra Ball, you know you will be able to get a Supporter without having to play your hand down.

Matchups

Seismitoad-EX / Crobat

This is a pretty good matchup for this deck, as you are able to easily OHKO their Seismitoad-EX once you power up a Primal Groudon-EX. The goal in this matchup is to evolve Primal Groudon-EX quickly so that they cannot Lysandre and Hypnotoxic Laser it. Then you can slowly build up Energy on it until you start running through Toads. You have to be careful of the Bats, as they will try to use as many as possible to bring your Groudon’s HP down, but if you can set up two Primal Groudon, you will pretty much win. It is very difficult for Toad to deal with OHKO’s, and since they cannot Laser lock you, it makes it even more difficult for them. Lastly, the Item lock can hurt, but if you just search for Energy and watch how many you discard, it can still be pretty easy to set up a Groudon, and you should not be afraid of losing a turn to Mega Evolve if it means keeping your Groudon safe on the Bench.

M Manectric-EX / Water

This matchup has to be played differently based on whether they play Suicune or not. If they play Suicune, you have to save your Landorus, as it is the only way you can get past them. You have to watch out for how quickly they can power up their Suicune and protect your Landorus. To do this, you want to use your Primal Groudon-EX and tank with it as much as possible and power up a Landorus to get through the Suicune. A tech Silent Lab would be really helpful in this matchup,so I would recommend putting one in if you plan on seeing Suicune. If they do not play Suicune, the matchup is much easier and probably in your favor. Against that version of Manectric, you want to use a Landorus to run through your opponent’s Manectrics, then use Groudon to KO any Keldeo-EX your opponent powers up.

M Rayquaza-EX / Bronzong

This is a very tough matchup because M Rayquaza-EX can OHKO your Primal Groudon-EX, and it is very difficult to power up multiple Groudons quickly. Even if you can trade with them, they can power up a Rayquaza easier than you can power up a Groudon. What you want to do in this matchup is really try to keep your Groudons safe and try not to attack with them until you have multiple powered up. Also, try to time your Stadiums with N to keep your opponent from getting their Bench full with Sky Field. This match up is definitely one of your worst.

Night March

This can be a very close matchup. The Night March player is forced to discard almost all of their Night Marchers in order to OHKO your Primal Groudon-EX. In this matchup, like most others, it is important to get your Primal Groudon out quickly to prevent it from being brought Active and KO’d. It is also important to watch for any Silver Bangle or Muscle Band your opponent plays, because that is what will help them OHKO your Primal Groudon. Also, if the Night March player has any of their Night Marchers prized, it makes it even harder for them. What you have to do is keep up in the Prize trade and not allow your opponent to come out ahead. You need to constantly take Prizes once you start attacking in order to stay ahead. Make sure to watch out for Revive from your opponent. This card is key for them, as almost all of their Night Marchers will be in the discard, and Revive will be the only way for them to keep attacking.

Landorus-EX / Crobat

This is the last matchup I am going to talk about. This matchup is similar to the Seismitoad-EX / Crobat one, but a little bit worse. This is because they can hit heavier and bring down the HP of your Primal Groudon-EX much quicker. Even so, you still have the advantage, as you can OHKO them, while they have to two-shot you, or sometimes even more. Like the Seismitoad matchup, it is very important to set up two Primal Groudon-EX because they can dump all of their Bat damage on one Groudon and KO that one, but if you can set up another, they will have already used up most of their damage output. You do have to watch out, as they do not need as much Bat damage as the Toad player because they hit a lot heavier and have the snipe damage from Landorus-EX. A tech Mr. Mime could be useful to block the Bench damage if you expect to see a lot of Landorus-EX.

Primal Groudon / Wobbuffet

This variant, in my opinion, is the best version of Primal Groudon-EX. This one aims to wall with Wobbuffet to block your opponent’s Abilities while you set up a Primal Groudon. Once you evolve into Primal Groudon, it is impossible for your opponent to bring it up because of its Ancient Trait and Wobbuffet blocking Abilities. This allows you to really control the pace of the game, as you decide when to bring out the Groudon and start attacking. One of the issues with this deck is that it is the slowest version, as it does not have any early game aggression. This could cause some issues with time, because it will take you longer to set up than most other decks, but once it sets up it will just run through your opponent. Here is the list I have been working with:

Strategy

With this deck, all you want to do is keep a Wobbuffet Active and set up a Primal Groudon-EX. It is fairly easy to play, as you just want to stall long enough until you can get one Groudon fully set up and another one about half way set up. Obviously you might only get one Groudon up and be forced to attack with it, but that is alright, as long as you have the resources to get another one up quickly. Most of the time you will only need/be able to get two Groudons powered up, so you will only want to let your opponent KO three Wobbuffets. This way, it still forces them to KO two Groudons to win the game. You want to avoid benching the fourth Wobbuffet as much as possible to make your opponent play the “seven prize” game.

Card Choices

4 Wobbuffet

This is pretty obvious, as this is your main wall and what you want to start with. You will usually sacrifice a few Wobbuffet while you set up a Groudon, so maxing out on these is a no brainer.

2 Focus Sash, 1 Groudon Spirit Link

This version of Primal Groudon-EX is much slower than other versions, so you do not mind giving up your turn to Mega Evolve. Because of this, you are better off attaching a different Tool to your Groudons, and Focus Sash is a perfect choice. This forces your opponent to two-shot your Groudon, and when Groudon lives another turn, it will usually take another Knock Out. I still run one Groudon Spirit Link, because sometimes it is important to Mega Evolve and attack on the same turn, especially when your opponent is putting a lot of pressure on you.

2 Switch, 1 Float Stone

Float Stone is very nice, as it allows you to get free retreat with your Wobbuffet, so you can promote one with no fear of not being able to retreat. The reason I am running more Switch is that it allows you to get your Groudons out of the Active spot, as you will usually not be able to put a Float Stone on your Groudon. Switch also allows you to get out of Special Conditions, so if they Hypnotoxic Laser your Wobbuffet and puts it Asleep, you will still be able to get it out of the Active spot.

1 Scramble Switch

Scramble Switch is the best Ace Spec for this deck in my opinion, and should always be played. Your main Tool attachment is Focus Sash, which means that your Groudon at some point is going to have damage on it, so if you can Scramble Switch into another clean Groudon, that takes away one of your opponent’s KOs, which against this deck is very hard to deal with. And since this deck is much slower than other variants, you do not really need Computer Search to help the early game, so you can afford to use a more powerful late-game Ace Spec.

1 Silent Lab

This Stadium is useful in this variant as another way to shut off your opponent’s Abilities for a turn if they cannot replace it. Silent Lab is also your only way around Safeguard Pokemon, as you do not run another attacker besides Groudon. If you plan on facing decks with a lot of Safeguard Pokemon I would recommend adding in more Silent Labs to make sure you can get around them without having to rely on using Lysandre to KO other things.

3 Acro Bike, 0 Battle Compressor

Since this deck is a lost slower than the other versions, it is important to amass a lot of cards in your hand, rather than thin the deck out, so Acro Bike allows you to do this. Battle Compressor is better used in more speedy versions, as it is really good at thinning your deck out. Acro Bike allows you to see a couple more cards, allowing you to maintain the pace of the game, which is very important for this type of deck.

Matchups

Seismitoad-EX / Crobat

This matchup essentially plays out the same way as with the other version of Primal Groudon-EX. The only difference is that your Wobbuffet could shut off their Shaymin-EX, which could give them some consistency issues. Otherwise, you want to do the same thing as I mentioned earlier. Set up a Primal Groudon and OHKO all of their Toads. One issue is that you do not have any Energy acceleration options other than Mega Turbo, which is shut off by Seismitoad-EX. This makes every Energy attachment important for this variant, and you should be going for them from turn one onward.

M Manectric-EX / Water

This matchup is probably a little worse for this variant, as you do not have an alternate attacker to put pressure on any Manectrics and Knock Out Suicunes. Also your Wobbuffets only have 110 HP, exactly how much damage M Manectric-EX does. Once they power one up one M Manectric-EX, your Wobbuffets will drop like flies. Your focus is going to be to drop your Silent Lab at the perfect moments and try to take Prizes on Pokemon besides Suicune as much as possible. Even though you have the type advantage, this matchup can still be tough for you.

M Rayquaza-EX / Bronzong

This variant does much better against this deck than the Landorus variant. Wobbuffet is very good against this deck as you shut off their Shaymin-EXs and Bronzongs which are very important to their set up. Focus Sash is very important, as it allows for your Groudon to take a hit and survive, letting it get another attack off, and that usually means you will take at least another Prize. Focus Sash and Wobbuffet help tip this matchup in your favor, as long as you can get the Focus Sash onto your Groudon.

Night March

Focus Sash is what will save you in this matchup. It is a little better for this variant because you can shut off their Shaymin-EXs with Wobbuffet. What you want to do is evolve your Groudon quickly and get a Focus Sash on it. That way they cannot OHKO your Groudon and you will get two attacks off. You have to play patiently and control the pace of the match by keeping your Groudons on the Bench until you power up multiple so you can stay ahead on the Prize trade. This is still a tough matchup, as the Night March deck has is lower maintenance and can come out ahead on the Prize trade much easier. Also watch for how many stadiums they discard and try to get a well-timed Silent Lab to shut off their Mew-EX and maybe even lock one Active.

Landorus-EX / Crobat

Wobbuffet does not really do anything against this deck, so it is pretty much dead weight. You have to focus on getting your Mega Turbos and powering up your Groudons quickly. If you can get a Groudon powered up fast enough, you should be able to win the match pretty handily, as they will not really have an answer to it. Otherwise, you will play the matchup the same way I stated before. Watch out for Golbat and Crobat damage and do not let them attack too much with them either.

Post Rotation

The good thing about this deck is it does not really lose anything after the rotation. You still keep all of your Stadiums, the Landorus, almost all of your Item cards, and Korrina. You do lose Scramble Switch and Float Stone, but those can be replaced with more Switch and more consistency cards to power up Primal Groudon-EXs more easily. Also, decks might get slower with the loss of N and Colress, so Groudon will be able to keep up better, as it does not really lose any speed itself. The best card to replace N with is probably Shauna, as it gives you similar draw. One option to include could be the new Ace Trainer. Groudon is already very slow and gives up Prizes early, so when you sacrifice one of your starting Pokemon, you can punish your opponent. The biggest problem with Groudon after the rotation is the power that Grass decks will have in the next format. This means your Groudons will be OHKO’d much more easily, which gives it a lot of trouble. Groudon may not seem very good because of this, but the deck could still work. You would probably need to change it from a main attacker to more of a cleanup attacker, changing the focus of the deck to attacking with other Fighting Pokemon and save the Groudon for the last couple Prizes. The deck can still be good, but I do not think it should be used as a main attacker if all of the new Grass decks become very popular, which it looks like they will be.

Conclusion

I do not recommend using these deck lists card by card, as they might not fit your play style. I have given my reasoning behind why I chose the cards, but you might want to change the counts around, which is perfectly fine. Just take my advice as a kind of base point and build yourself off of what I said. Overall, Primal Groudon-EX is very powerful and can overwhelm a lot of other decks. It hits very heavy and is hard to KO, making it a very tanky deck. Groudon will likely do well at Worlds, so be sure you are either prepared to play it or prepared to beat it. Thank you very much for reading my article and I look forward to write again in the future. Please let me know if you have any questions or how the article was in the comments.

-Mustafa Tobah