Standard “Nuclear” Deck (On a Budget)

[Dugtrio FTW!]

I call this nuclear for the great energy-related abilities, and its capability of lots of damage. I updated the list here. and added some more details about the strategy.

Pokémon (16)
2-1-2 Solgaleo GX
2-1-2 Metagross GX
1 Solgaleo Prism Star
1 Oranguru (SUM)
1 Dhelmise
1-1 Garbodor (Trashalanche)
1 Hoopa

Items (15)
4 Ultra Ball
3 Rare Candy
1 Rescue Stretcher
2 Max Potion
2 Field Blower
1 Choice Band
1 Energy Retrieval
1 Professor’s Letter

Supporters (18)
4 Hala
3 Cynthia
2 Sycamore
2 Guzma
2 Skyla
2 Pokémon Fan Club
2 Olivia
1 Professor Kukui

Energy (11)
8 Metal
2 Rainbow
1 Super Boost

Potential Changes
Post Rotation:
-2 Sycamore
-2 Skyla
-1 Professor’s Letter
+2 Volkner
+1 Order Pad
+1 Dhelmise
+1 Mimikyu

Strategy:
I try to get an early GX attack with either Sol Burst or Algorithm, which makes Hala a better draw engine for me. Kukui and Choice Band can help add damage to make Metagross a OHKO card. I wanted to avoid Brigette, Max Elixir, Float Stone and Lele for cost, and wanted something pretty close to post-rotation ready.

Any ideas on what to cut or what to add? I don’t have a third Solgaleo or Metagross. FYI: I don’t have Sudowoodoo, either of the Mews or Mewtwo to add.

 

[DragonFang101]

What is your budget? I have some ideas

 

[Dugtrio FTW!]

I’m trying not to spend any more money than I have so far, at least for a little while, but I’m always open to hearing new ideas!

 

[Acetrainer_Samwise]

Maybe some dawn wings necrozma.... Cool deck!

 

[Kietharr]

Solgaleo/Metagross decks have been around since Guardians Rising and have always had the consistency issue due to running dual stage 2s, by the time you have enough stage 2s on the field to get to work, if you ever get there, you tend to be too far behind in prizes to recover. Adding Lunala and these psychic energy counts is going to further impact your consistency which will mean more losses due to not having the right cards when you need them. I'm always an advocate of making lists as simple and streamlined as possible, the more moving parts you have, the more things that will break under stress. That said, here's some advice for the list:

Past consistency, the next biggest issue this deck has is ability lock. With just one field blower and no way to get it out of prizes, you will automatically lose to Garbodor decks, which all carry at least 6 tools, usually more, so you definitely need to up that count. Glaceon has issues due to weakness and low damage output, but its ability also severely hurts your ability to chain attacks in this deck. Max potions are always huge in 250hp stage 2 lists because they greatly increase the longevity of your high investment attackers, running just one feels like an underinvestment. Your lines are pretty thin, you need to run at least 3-1-3 Metagross line, with 2 if you have 1 prized your ability to attack consistently with sunsteel strike is badly impaired.

For supporters, Acerola is pretty weak in stage 2 decks, I'd remove her. I think without Lele, you need to run extra thick lines of draw/shuffle support so a few N would be good here. Since you don't have Lele in the list I assume you're not buying them. If and when you do, Brigette is better than PFC, but until then I don't disagree with running PFC/Olivia though I might cut Olivia to 1. I think you should run 4 Cynthia 4 N and 2 Sycamore in this list, as much as I like Hala in concept, this list will have the biggest problems getting the cards it needs in the first 3-4 turns which is when Hala is the weakest unless you already got the cards you need for the rare candy/stage 2 gx move, in which case you're usually doing well anyways. It's definitely a 'get more ahead' style of card. The extra 1 card you get over Cynthia/N is a lot less valuable than the extra 2 you lose out on before you get the GX move off. I'd boost your Guzma count to 3, and I always advocate for one Skyla in Metagross and Solgaleo lists just for the ability to find a clutch ultra ball, rare candy or max potion, it's less powerful without a Lele though.

Lunala-GX is kind of a junk card right now due to darkness weakness and the attack not being particularly good considering its high cost. I would ditch it for another Solgaleo, remove Wobbs and drop to 1 Dhelmise for dealing with the 190hp basics with Metagross. Cut psychic energy from the deck entirely and go to 9 metal energy. There's a lot of potential for a Solgaleo/Lunala deck in October when we get the new variants which help deal with the weakness issue, a Lunala with a better attack and Malamar/turbo strike solg for recycling psychic energy but as it stands, the card will mostly be a source of consistency reducing frustration in an already inconsistent style of deck.

Don't worry at all about Hoopa or Ninetales. Oranguru beats either of them and Metang deals with Ninetales easily. Or Solgaleo Prism Star if you want to get new cards, which isn't really that expensive of a card considering it's by design never more than a one-of. It's also a great way to recycle energy under ability lock which is as I previously stated a big inherent problem for this deck.

 

[Dugtrio FTW!]

Maybe some dawn wings necrozma.... Cool deck!

Thanks! I love the ability. I don’t know that it’s a good fit for this deck though, just because I’d be adding yet another dark-weak two-prize card. However, I may try that at some point in the future, depending on what other options emerge and what my budget is along the way.

 

[Dugtrio FTW!]

Solgaleo/Metagross decks have been around since Guardians Rising and have always had the consistency issue due to running dual stage 2s, by the time you have enough stage 2s on the field to get to work, if you ever get there, you tend to be too far behind in prizes to recover. Adding Lunala and these psychic energy counts is going to further impact your consistency which will mean more losses due to not having the right cards when you need them. I'm always an advocate of making lists as simple and streamlined as possible, the more moving parts you have, the more things that will break under stress. That said, here's some advice for the list:

Past consistency, the next biggest issue this deck has is ability lock. With just one field blower and no way to get it out of prizes, you will automatically lose to Garbodor decks, which all carry at least 6 tools, usually more, so you definitely need to up that count. Glaceon has issues due to weakness and low damage output, but its ability also severely hurts your ability to chain attacks in this deck. Max potions are always huge in 250hp stage 2 lists because they greatly increase the longevity of your high investment attackers, running just one feels like an underinvestment. Your lines are pretty thin, you need to run at least 3-1-3 Metagross line, with 2 if you have 1 prized your ability to attack consistently with sunsteel strike is badly impaired.

For supporters, Acerola is pretty weak in stage 2 decks, I'd remove her. I think without Lele, you need to run extra thick lines of draw/shuffle support so a few N would be good here. Since you don't have Lele in the list I assume you're not buying them. If and when you do, Brigette is better than PFC, but until then I don't disagree with running PFC/Olivia though I might cut Olivia to 1. I think you should run 4 Cynthia 4 N and 2 Sycamore in this list, as much as I like Hala in concept, this list will have the biggest problems getting the cards it needs in the first 3-4 turns which is when Hala is the weakest unless you already got the cards you need for the rare candy/stage 2 gx move, in which case you're usually doing well anyways. It's definitely a 'get more ahead' style of card. The extra 1 card you get over Cynthia/N is a lot less valuable than the extra 2 you lose out on before you get the GX move off. I'd boost your Guzma count to 3, and I always advocate for one Skyla in Metagross and Solgaleo lists just for the ability to find a clutch ultra ball, rare candy or max potion, it's less powerful without a Lele though.

Lunala-GX is kind of a junk card right now due to darkness weakness and the attack not being particularly good considering its high cost. I would ditch it for another Solgaleo, remove Wobbs and drop to 1 Dhelmise for dealing with the 190hp basics with Metagross. Cut psychic energy from the deck entirely and go to 9 metal energy. There's a lot of potential for a Solgaleo/Lunala deck in October when we get the new variants which help deal with the weakness issue, a Lunala with a better attack and Malamar/turbo strike solg for recycling psychic energy but as it stands, the card will mostly be a source of consistency reducing frustration in an already inconsistent style of deck.

Don't worry at all about Hoopa or Ninetales. Oranguru beats either of them and Metang deals with Ninetales easily. Or Solgaleo Prism Star if you want to get new cards, which isn't really that expensive of a card considering it's by design never more than a one-of. It's also a great way to recycle energy under ability lock which is as I previously stated a big inherent problem for this deck.

Thanks for such a thorough response! There are definitely a lot of points of yours that I want to incorporate.

In the meantime, I’m wondering this out loud. I don’t need every part of my deck to be working to be competitive, so is it a problem that I don’t have three of any GX card? I haven’t found too many matches where I can’t jerryrig a solution to stay in the game.

I can easily double my field blower count and ax Acerola. I do have a couple of Skylas I can toss in, and I can cut the Halas, although I don’t currently have any Sycamores or Ns to spare. I guess that’s what happens when you have two decks you want to put against each other and you don’t buy 8 of a card! I will definitely add a max potion or two also.

I don’t have a third Solgaleo or Metagross, but I may buy one in the future. Dropping Wobbufffett is something I’ll end up doing too, because I don’t think enough of the commonly used GX Pokémon have 3 retreat cost unless they’re stage 1 or 2 anyway, so I would almost never be OHKO-ing. I have to say though, I love having the energy in him one turn, then dishing to Necrozma the next for a big KO if I need to change the prize trade order.

I might also buy a super boost and put some counter energy into this deck so I can more easily Sunsteel Strike. I don’t really want to get rid of the psychic stuff entirely, because I want something that isn’t too slow to set up that can counter a BuzzGarb deck in case I can’t charge up a Metagross or Solgaleo. Maybe a unit energy would suffice there.

 

[PlatinumDude]

Thanks for such a thorough response! There are definitely a lot of points of yours that I want to incorporate.

In the meantime, I’m wondering this out loud. I don’t need every part of my deck to be working to be competitive, so is it a problem that I don’t have three of any GX card? I haven’t found too many matches where I can’t jerryrig a solution to stay in the game.

I can easily double my field blower count and ax Acerola. I do have a couple of Skylas I can toss in, and I can cut the Halas, although I don’t currently have any Sycamores or Ns to spare. I guess that’s what happens when you have two decks you want to put against each other and you don’t buy 8 of a card! I will definitely add a max potion or two also.

I don’t have a third Solgaleo or Metagross, but I may buy one in the future. Dropping Wobbufffett is something I’ll end up doing too, because I don’t think enough of the commonly used GX Pokémon have 3 retreat cost unless they’re stage 1 or 2 anyway, so I would almost never be OHKO-ing. I have to say though, I love having the energy in him one turn, then dishing to Necrozma the next for a big KO if I need to change the prize trade order.

I might also buy a super boost and put some counter energy into this deck so I can more easily Sunsteel Strike. I don’t really want to get rid of the psychic stuff entirely, because I want something that isn’t too slow to set up that can counter a BuzzGarb deck in case I can’t charge up a Metagross or Solgaleo. Maybe a unit energy would suffice there.

Counter Energy's effects only work on non-EXs/GXs; it gives EX/GXs a colorless energy regardless of prize count.

 

[Dugtrio FTW!]

Here’s an updated list I’m running now. Any suggestions?

Pokémon (14)
3 Cosmog
2 Solgaleo GX
1 Solgaleo Prism Star
1 Lunala GX
1 Lunala Prism Star
2 Beldum
2 Metagross GX
1 Necrozma GX
1 Oranguru

Items (16)
4 Rare Candy
4 Ultra Ball
2 Max Potion
2 Field Blower
1 Choice Band
1 Energy Retrieval
1 Rescue Stretcher
1 Professor’s Letter

Supporters (16)
3 Cynthia
2 Sycamore
2 Hala
2 Skyla
2 Pokémon Fan Club
2 Olivia
2 Guzma
1 Professor Kukui

Energy (14)
8 Metal
5 Psychic
1 Super Boost

 

[PlatinumDude]

3 stage 2 lines are way too much in the current meta because of the higher likelihood of bricking than normal in your attempts of getting set up. I'd stick to Solgaleo or Metagross as individual decks rather than trying to make them work at the same time. Lunala is the weakest link of the three since its main attack is too expensive.

 

[Dugtrio FTW!]

Thanks for the input. I intentionally never sett up two Solgaleo GX in a game unless I have to, and the Lunala is really only to dump energy onto Necrozma late game or Oranguru if it’s a Hoopa matchup. It can also help fuel Solgaleo if I don’t have energy in hand since I have a max of two Metagross in play.

I don’t need the Metagross and the Solgaleo or Lunala Prisms at the same stage of the game (or even in the same game most times). If I had to cut, I’d probably get rid of the Solgaleo & Lunala line, but I love the free retreat, the energy setup and the ability to move a lot of my energy around.

I suppose it would be really clunky if I relied on all of it each game, but I usually just have to set up 1 or 2 evolutions, and I end up with some more options, even if that costs me consistency.

Do you have any suggestions for what to add to the deck? Whether or not I cut the Solgaleo/Lunala cards, are there others (like supporters or items) you think I should drop?

 

[Dugtrio FTW!]

Bump. I took out the psychic Pokémon and energy, and I showed the changes at the top. Let me know what you think!