Discussion Bootleg Shock Lock (Expanded)

[Merovingian]

Better late than never. Took this to Dallas with a 5-3-1 finish.

POKEMON: 16
- 4 - Pikachu (promo, 70 HP version)
- 4 - Raichu (BUS)
- 3 - Sableye (DEX)
- 2 - Jirachi-EX
- 2 - Girafarig (LOT)
- 1 - Mr. Mime (Bench Barrier)

TRAINERS: 36
- 4 - Professor Sycamore
- 3 - N
- 3 - Faba
- 2 - Skyla
- 2 - Team Rocket's Handiwork
- 1 - Gladion
- 1 - Brigette

- 4 - Ultra Ball
- 4 - Level Ball
- 4 - VS Seeker
- 3 - Field Blower
- 2 - Rescue Stretcher
- 1 - Devolution Spray
- 1 - Super Rod
- 1 - Scoop Up Cyclone

ENERGY: 8
- 8 - Darkness Energy

It's like Stoutland Shock Lock, but it costs $45 at all lowest rarity. The goal is to get Sableye up, Evolve into Raichu, use Devolution Spray/Scoop Up Cyclone, Use VS Seeker for Team Rocket's Handiwork, use Junk Hunt for Scoop Up Cyclone/Devolution Spray and VS Seeker. Repeat ad nauseum. Deck was built to bust Let Loose Marshadow plays, tackle most Zoroark-GX variants, Vespiquen, aggressive decks, and "Exodia". Strangely, I only faced one Zoroark-GX matchup (and it was a bad matchup. Zoroark-GX / Golisopod-GX) and managed to dodge the litany of Archies Blastoise decks that littered the field.

R1: Rayquaza-GX - WW
R2: Primal Groudon-EX - LL (both games were pretty close)
R3: Zoroark-GX / Golisopod-GX - LL (he had me dead to rights)
R4: Garchomp - WW
R5: Blacephalon-GX - WLT (Handiwork flips did not cooperate G3, otherwise, it would have been a win)
R6: Rayquaza-GX - LWW
R7: Rayquaza-GX - LWW
R8: Buzzwole-GX - LWL (Game 3 I kept using N to keep him at a 1 card hand, and he would continuously snag Sycamore, to which I'd have to N him again and again. The idea was to N him to a bad hand until I could Handiwork his last Guzma and hit it with Girafarig's Get Lost. He ended up drawing the Guzma off the N).
R9: Durant Mill - W (G1 finished in 15 minutes, G2 was a 35 minute slog where I flipped. And I'm not kidding, over 20 double tails on Handiwork. He still had a little over 1/3 of his deck by the time the match was done).

Fun regional. I hope Dallas is Expanded again in 2020. I would recommend this deck to anyone who is looking to play Expanded and doesn't want to break the bank, deck is easy to build. Made some improvements. Deck becomes heinously good when Unbroken Bonds becomes legal.

 

[Javi Blizz]

This deck indeed looks good. I may give it a try, since I have been playing Sableye in expanded for a long time. But I have a few questions:
- 1. How do you know when it’s the right time to use Girafarig?
- 2. Which cards should I prioritize to send to the lost zone?
- 3. Does it make a great difference to use a 60 HP pikachu? And changing Jirachi EX for Tapu Lele GX?
- 4. Regarding the paralysis, how does evolution decks affect to this deck?
- 5. Is it autolose against Trevenant?

 

[Merovingian]

First off. I have an article coming out any day now regarding Knock Off Shock Lock.

Questions!

1. This is a good question. If you're playing any control deck, you need to be SUPER familiar with the meta and how many counts of Guzma and VS Seeker everyone runs. Girafarig works best when you are against an opponent where you know they play 1-2 Guzma. If they run something like, for example, old Rayquaza-GX decks where they used 3-4 Guzma and 3-4 VS Seekers, Girafarig isn't nearly as effective and your efforts are best spent milling their deck UNLESS you can catch them with two Guzma in their discard pile, and tha's dependent on how many VS Seekers they have Expended. If you know they use Dowsing Machine, that makes the matchup a little harder, but shoot to mill their deck aggressively if you can. IF you're against something like Zoroark-GZ / Golisopod-GX, a deck that uses 2 Guzma, 1 AZ, 3-4 VS Seeker, and 1 Dowsing Machine; EIGHT TOTAL OUTS, Girafarig isn't going to work too well and your efforts are best spent milling their deck UNLESS you can catch them with 2 Guzma/1 Guzma and 1 AZ in their discard pile. I have doubts as to how much ZoroPod will get played in the next Regional, but if it's numbers are down, you will have a much better time as that's one of the bigger mainstream matchups you don't have a good time against. But again, get familiar with top decks in the meta and how many outs they use.

2. You should be targetting down Guzma and N. That said, if you happen to start with Girafarif and you have a chance to use Get Lost and the two aforementioned Supporters aren't in the discard pile, hit their Supporters and make it so their VS Seeker plays are dead. With Delinquent and Lusamine gone, you're mostly going to be targeting anything that helps them draw, if you can force a "draw-go" situation, you're doing it right.

3. In the future, the 60 HP Nuzzle Pikachu will be essential. For now, I have an unhealthy fear that Buzzwole-GX decks still use Wide Lens--or COULD use Wide Lens. Eating a double KO from Jet Punch REALLY kills. However, in the next set, the new Marshadow is almost guaranteed to keep Buzzwole decks down considerably.

4. Evolution decks can get an easy Prize by being able to evolve their active and attack getting out of Paralysis. Beyond that, it's not an issue. But that's only a factor if they start with something can can evolve in the first place, and Expanded, outside of Zoroark-GX, LOOOOOVES it's powerful Basic Pokemon.

5. It does autolose to Trevenant, but Trevenant has really been on the outs competitively for a bit now, Zoroark-GX has been keeping it's numbers down and now Team Up decks like Pikachu & Zekrom-GX threaten it even further between Trevenant not being able to capitalize on spread damage against Tag Teams and that Pikachu & Zekrom-GX can KO an active Trevenant Break and a benched Trevenant Break in one go thanks to its GX attack. Honestly, if you take it to a Cup or a Regional, beyond the first 2-3 rounds, if you do good, you shouldn't see Trevenant in any capacity.

 

[Javi Blizz]

Thanks a lot for the explanations

I have only one more question (because if you’re going to do a Premium Article, I think I shouldn’t ask so much), how do you play against Malamar? I think that deck used to play 2 Dawn Wings Necrozma GX

 

[Merovingian]

Thanks a lot for the explanations

I have only one more question (because if you’re going to do a Premium Article, I think I shouldn’t ask so much), how do you play against Malamar? I think that deck used to play 2 Dawn Wings Necrozma GX

The article is up, but it’s FREE!

As for malamar, Dawn Wings-GX is a death knell. Similar I how traditional Archie’s decks used Keldeo-EX. Unless you have a super heavy Expanded malamar meta in your area, Malamar is a near non-issue. Otherwise, it’s an autoloss unless you can wedge in some Silent Lab

 

[Javi Blizz]

Oh, nice to see a free article!

Thanks a lot for answering my question! I’ll give it a try as soon as I get the raichus and one of the girafarigs

 

[Merovingian]

Oh! I forgot to answer your question regarding Jirachi-EX and Tapu Lele-GX.

I have tried Tapu Lele-GX in the past, and I found myself in too many situations where the only form of search in my hand was Level Ball. That will not get a Tapu Lele-GX.

As much of a liability Jirachi-EX is, you absolutely need the consistency and the ability to set up ASAP.

When the next set (Unbroken Bonds) is released, the deck can go Jirachi-EX-less. If you streamline it (4 Sycamore, 4 N, 4 Pokegear 3.0, 1 Computer Search), you will take a 1% consistency drop (assuming you only Prize 1 out, it boosts up if you don't Prize any). But it's mid-late game is much much better and it can mill the opponent faster, as well as have a better Zoro Garb/psychic toolbox matchup

 

[Nyora]

Have you ever considered Ninja Boy/AZ in this? It could possibly go in place of a Faba, maybe. Ninja Boy allows something like Jirachi to not only be removed from the board, but also bring in something useful like Pikachu or Sableye. AZ, on the other hand, returns it to hand. You can also use AZ to return a Raichu to hand as a small hit against Item lock, or just in general. Speaking of Ninja Boy, too, if your worried at all for about Sableyes dying, then you can play Nanu to discard Jirachi EX as well. Not sure if this makes it better of a use than Ninja Boy, but hey it exists. I also have a form of “lock” that uses Sableye as well that I’ve been playing and it uses Ninja Boys to remove Tapu Lele-GX’s (I don’t play Level Balls) and Shaymin-EX from the field. I’ll probably be posting it later today. I was going to post it way later in the future, but Ill probably do it today since your deck is “Knock Off” Shock Lock and mine is “”Knock Off” Knock Off” Lock lol.

 

[Merovingian]

Have you ever considered Ninja Boy/AZ in this? It could possibly go in place of a Faba, maybe. Ninja Boy allows something like Jirachi to not only be removed from the board, but also bring in something useful like Pikachu or Sableye. AZ, on the other hand, returns it to hand. You can also use AZ to return a Raichu to hand as a small hit against Item lock, or just in general. Speaking of Ninja Boy, too, if your worried at all for about Sableyes dying, then you can play Nanu to discard Jirachi EX as well. Not sure if this makes it better of a use than Ninja Boy, but hey it exists. I also have a form of “lock” that uses Sableye as well that I’ve been playing and it uses Ninja Boys to remove Tapu Lele-GX’s (I don’t play Level Balls) and Shaymin-EX from the field. I’ll probably be posting it later today. I was going to post it way later in the future, but Ill probably do it today since your deck is “Knock Off” Shock Lock and mine is “”Knock Off” Knock Off” Lock lol.

I did consider Ninja Boy at one point, the only reason I didn't like it was that it could only help Jirachi-EX, whereas AZ could also scoop up a Raichu if you couldn't get Cyclone or Devolution Spray in time, but still needed to establish lock somehow. It's uses were too narrow.

Nanu could also work, but your Sableyes are safe from danger against most decks. Stretcher and Super Rod + Ultra Ball/Level Ball can pick up that slack. Doesn't happen often, but its there.

I gotta see your build!