After battling at some locals and having a chance to feel out the deck, I've updated my deck list to the following.
Note: Cards with ** next to them mean I have not yet tried them out but consider them worth a shot.
Pokemon: 18
Alolan Ninetales GX x3
Alolan Ninetales x1
Alolan Vulpix x4
**Glaceon EX x1
Octillery x2
Remoraid x2
Tapu Lele GX x3
Tapu Koko Promo x1
**Tapu Fini GX x1
Supporter x14
Sycamore x3
N x4
Guzma x3
**Kukui x2
Mallow x1
Brigette x1
Items x16
Aqua Patch x4
Ultra Ball x4
Float Stone x3
Choice Band x3
Field Blower x2
Energy x12
DCE x4
Water Energy x8
In the Pokemon line up, I kicked out 1 BUS Alolan Ninetales to make room for Glaceon EX. I also had a place holder Jirachi that got kicked out for Tapu Fini GX. I found that I never wanted 2 GX/2 BUS on my field. I always wanted 2 GX/1 BUS or 3 GX/1 BUS. The one word reason is Guzma. As long as you have any killable 2 prize Pokemon on your bench, BUS Alolan Ninetales only buys you the time you need to set up until Guzma comes rolling in or you want to start getting off some damage yourself (the sooner the better). Committing energy to BUS Alolan Ninetales is generally a waste - you want the energy commitment on your GX's for the big Blizzard Edges and only drop in energy if you have excess. If you're not doing the full 4/4 BUS line up, I don't see the value in commiting 2 of 4 of your Vulpix to it. I might bump her back up to 2 if I start to not see it often enough, but that will have to come with more testing of Glaceon EX and Tapu Fini GX.
In theory, Glaceon EX has great 2 hit KO follow up damage with Second Bite, and better yet, it can follow up with Crystal Ray after a Blizzard Edge to prevent an immediate counter KO from hard hitting evolution decks like Gardevoir GX and Metagross GX. That being said, BUS Alolan Ninetales can do the same thing for the same energy with only 1 retreat cost instead of 2 with the added risk of getting Metang'd.
Tapu Fini GX can steal games by combining the 50 Ice Blade with 120 Hydro Shot to KO benched Leles without needing Guzma to switch in for the Blizzard Edge KO, and the GX attack can be useful in a bad match up.
In the Supporter line up, I dropped out Acerola and 1 Mallow for +2 Kukui. Acerola is just redundant in this deck with Ice Path GX and 1 energy retreats that can be repositioned with Aqua Patch. I also found that I was drawing into dead Mallows way too often. Either I had her when Octillery wasn't set up or I had her when there was no way for me to play my hand below 4 or 5. Dropping your hand to 1,2,3 cards isn't really the problem with Mallow. The problem with Mallow is that you must have her, 3 or less cards in hand after playing her, and Octillery on the bench in order for her to be worth playing. That's 3 conditions to satisfy for playing her, and no matter how much I wanted it, it was impossible to expect it to happen 2 times a game consistently, and not only that, but 2 times a game consistently that got you more plays than Sycamoring away your dead hand for 7 cards or Ning for a fresh 6. I found myself simply not needing her at all late game because with a thin deck, I can get more simply through favorable probability. I'm considering dropping her completely for a 3rd Kukui or a 4th Sycamore, but I still need to do more testing.
Sycamore is at 3 because I found myself always playing N to fix my hands in the early game, and then later in the game when I'm at 2,3,4 prizes, my board is established, and I have a very clear vision of what resources I need and have available to close out the game, that's when I go for Sycamore. Perhaps when I play even more games and gain more experience, I won't be as conflicted to Sycamore a bit earlier and will want him back at 4.
Generally speaking, my dead early hands don't have terrible cards in them - they just have good cards that are currently unplayable in the state of the game or missing 1 thing to accelerate. This is also why I'm adding Kukui for the chance to draw 2 cards to fix my hand into something really good. The unconditional 2 draw seems great - you can drop your hand below 5, Abyssal Hand, then Kukui for a 7 card hand. The +20 damage bonus also stacks really nicely with Alolan Ninetales GX's numbers, like OHKO Blizzard Edge in the mirror match with Choice Band, and being able to Ice Blade + Blizzard Edge 2 hit KO a Gardevoir GX out of nowhere without even having Choice Band. It also allows you to 2 hit KO Metagross GX with 1 Ice Blade to bench + Blizzard Edge with Choice Band. That gives you a fighting chance against your worst match up.
I'm still leaving Brooklet Hill out of my builds. With 4 ultra ball, 3 Lele, and 1 Brigette, I really don't see the need for even more Basic Pokemon set up cards. Adding Brooklet Hill would literally only be for stadium wars at this point and a very small security policy if you prize Brigette.
Feedback is always welcome, but this is what I have for now.
Note: Cards with ** next to them mean I have not yet tried them out but consider them worth a shot.
Pokemon: 18
Alolan Ninetales GX x3
Alolan Ninetales x1
Alolan Vulpix x4
**Glaceon EX x1
Octillery x2
Remoraid x2
Tapu Lele GX x3
Tapu Koko Promo x1
**Tapu Fini GX x1
Supporter x14
Sycamore x3
N x4
Guzma x3
**Kukui x2
Mallow x1
Brigette x1
Items x16
Aqua Patch x4
Ultra Ball x4
Float Stone x3
Choice Band x3
Field Blower x2
Energy x12
DCE x4
Water Energy x8
In the Pokemon line up, I kicked out 1 BUS Alolan Ninetales to make room for Glaceon EX. I also had a place holder Jirachi that got kicked out for Tapu Fini GX. I found that I never wanted 2 GX/2 BUS on my field. I always wanted 2 GX/1 BUS or 3 GX/1 BUS. The one word reason is Guzma. As long as you have any killable 2 prize Pokemon on your bench, BUS Alolan Ninetales only buys you the time you need to set up until Guzma comes rolling in or you want to start getting off some damage yourself (the sooner the better). Committing energy to BUS Alolan Ninetales is generally a waste - you want the energy commitment on your GX's for the big Blizzard Edges and only drop in energy if you have excess. If you're not doing the full 4/4 BUS line up, I don't see the value in commiting 2 of 4 of your Vulpix to it. I might bump her back up to 2 if I start to not see it often enough, but that will have to come with more testing of Glaceon EX and Tapu Fini GX.
In theory, Glaceon EX has great 2 hit KO follow up damage with Second Bite, and better yet, it can follow up with Crystal Ray after a Blizzard Edge to prevent an immediate counter KO from hard hitting evolution decks like Gardevoir GX and Metagross GX. That being said, BUS Alolan Ninetales can do the same thing for the same energy with only 1 retreat cost instead of 2 with the added risk of getting Metang'd.
Tapu Fini GX can steal games by combining the 50 Ice Blade with 120 Hydro Shot to KO benched Leles without needing Guzma to switch in for the Blizzard Edge KO, and the GX attack can be useful in a bad match up.
In the Supporter line up, I dropped out Acerola and 1 Mallow for +2 Kukui. Acerola is just redundant in this deck with Ice Path GX and 1 energy retreats that can be repositioned with Aqua Patch. I also found that I was drawing into dead Mallows way too often. Either I had her when Octillery wasn't set up or I had her when there was no way for me to play my hand below 4 or 5. Dropping your hand to 1,2,3 cards isn't really the problem with Mallow. The problem with Mallow is that you must have her, 3 or less cards in hand after playing her, and Octillery on the bench in order for her to be worth playing. That's 3 conditions to satisfy for playing her, and no matter how much I wanted it, it was impossible to expect it to happen 2 times a game consistently, and not only that, but 2 times a game consistently that got you more plays than Sycamoring away your dead hand for 7 cards or Ning for a fresh 6. I found myself simply not needing her at all late game because with a thin deck, I can get more simply through favorable probability. I'm considering dropping her completely for a 3rd Kukui or a 4th Sycamore, but I still need to do more testing.
Sycamore is at 3 because I found myself always playing N to fix my hands in the early game, and then later in the game when I'm at 2,3,4 prizes, my board is established, and I have a very clear vision of what resources I need and have available to close out the game, that's when I go for Sycamore. Perhaps when I play even more games and gain more experience, I won't be as conflicted to Sycamore a bit earlier and will want him back at 4.
Generally speaking, my dead early hands don't have terrible cards in them - they just have good cards that are currently unplayable in the state of the game or missing 1 thing to accelerate. This is also why I'm adding Kukui for the chance to draw 2 cards to fix my hand into something really good. The unconditional 2 draw seems great - you can drop your hand below 5, Abyssal Hand, then Kukui for a 7 card hand. The +20 damage bonus also stacks really nicely with Alolan Ninetales GX's numbers, like OHKO Blizzard Edge in the mirror match with Choice Band, and being able to Ice Blade + Blizzard Edge 2 hit KO a Gardevoir GX out of nowhere without even having Choice Band. It also allows you to 2 hit KO Metagross GX with 1 Ice Blade to bench + Blizzard Edge with Choice Band. That gives you a fighting chance against your worst match up.
I'm still leaving Brooklet Hill out of my builds. With 4 ultra ball, 3 Lele, and 1 Brigette, I really don't see the need for even more Basic Pokemon set up cards. Adding Brooklet Hill would literally only be for stadium wars at this point and a very small security policy if you prize Brigette.
Feedback is always welcome, but this is what I have for now.