So I just brought 4 Max Potion Gardy to Charlotte regionals and got 3-3-2 (Senior Devision). I feel like I could have done better if I played a more “meta” deck. What’s your opinion on 4 max potion Gardy viability in standard?
Discussion 4 Max Potion Gardy Viability
- Thread starter AJuicyOrange
- Start date
First of all, congrats on your placement in Charlotte!
I didn't attend that Regionals nor would I have been in Seniors so I'm not entirely sure how much I can say about what the tournament's meta for the division would've looked like.
As someone who's been playing Gardy since it first came out, I think the idea of having 4 Max Potion is always reliant on your current match-up. Kinda goes without saying that it'll be a dead card if Dusk Mane Necrozma-GX will be hitting you for 440 damage. However I find that this current meta (or at least what I've been recently playing against, our local meta might be different) there's a large basis on knocking things out in 2 attacks rather than one. I think that Gardevoir is one of, if not the only current meta deck that can benefit from Max Potion in a big enough way to consider playing it, so switching its engine from attaching 7 energy to swing for 210 into a variant with Max Potion relying on taking counter-kills on cards like Golisopod-GX, or especially Zoroark-GX with Gardevoir-GX definitely has its place.
However, that isn't to say it's not possible to be knocked out in one attack, Buzzwole-GX can still hit those numbers and the already mentioned Dusk Mane Necrozma-GX can both make that engine switch either partially or completely awful.
Getting to the point, I think the viability depends on the current match-ups and meta for the tournament you're attending. If you expect a lot of cards like Golisopod-GX or Zoroark-GX, which you know can't one-shot you, but can certainly two-shot you, I think the Max Potion variance can work out well for you.
I believe part of it could also be playstyle and how you want to build your deck, and what you want to accomplish. Do you want to devote to an aggressive Gardevoir list to attach high counts of energy and take one-shots, or do you keep your energy attachments lower and play a safer defensive approach with Max Potion? I feel it can be a personal thing and the answer of your playstyle can determine the answer.
If you want a tl;dr, it's match-up based and playstyle based. Good against things that can't one-shot you. Either play aggressive Gardy or defensive Gardy with Max Potions.
Hope this helps! @AJuicyOrange
A side note, in response to @CrownAxe:
I agree, Gardevoir is still viable but certainly doesn't hold the spot of BDIF.
However, I believe it's still more than capable of keeping its own in a tournament setting. Consistency is something you know you're going to lose by playing a Stage 2 deck and it's already a given that Zoroark-GX is amazing with a Stage 1 using Trade. However, that isn't to say you can't make a decently consistent Gardevoir list, which also allows for its own inclusion of Zoroark-GX if you see fit.