Standard Bulu/Vikavolt Deck that is Winless vs Lapras.

[Seastrome]

I just cannot beat Lapras decks and it accounts for 3 of my 14 losses with this deck out of 42 games. Every time I play vs one, I ALWAYS draw poorly and close to poor and they ALWAYS gets patches, elixers, Manaphy, Choice bands, etc and just put pressure from the get go. It's infuriating to the point where I'm about to go back to the drawing board AGAIN on what deck to play. Seems like no matter what I play, I always lose somehow, whether it be bad luck, bull shit, etc.

Lapras I assume is just unwinnable?

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 15

* 3 Grubbin SUM 13
* 3 Tapu Bulu-GX PR-SM SM32
* 1 Charjabug SUM 51
* 3 Vikavolt SUM 52
* 1 Tapu Koko PR-SM SM31
* 2 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 60
* 1 Remoraid BKT 32
* 1 Octillery BKT 33

##Trainer Cards - 33

* 3 Choice Band GRI 121
* 4 Professor Sycamore BKP 107
* 1 Brigette BKT 134
* 2 Energy Recycler GRI 123
* 3 Skyla BKT 148
* 3 Field Blower GRI 125
* 3 Guzma BUS 115
* 2 Switch ROS 91
* 3 N FAC 105
* 1 Heavy Ball NXD 88
* 4 Ultra Ball FAC 113
* 4 Rare Candy PRC 135

##Energy - 12

* 5 Lightning Energy 4
* 7 Grass Energy 1

Total Cards - 60

****** Deck List Generated by the Pokémon TCG Online www.pokemon.com/TCGO ******

 

[lukas2aces]

Maybe a strange start, but if you lost 14 of 42 games, you won 28 of 42 games. I think a win rate of 2/3 is really great!

That said, I think you're not doing anything wrong, since Lapras has weakness for grass (Bulu) they can only win by luck.

I don't think your deck list is the problem.

 

[Duo]

I'm going to re-emphasize this like I did in your Gardevoir GX thread.

A trading card game is inherently a game about luck. If two people ran the exact same Tapu Bulu GX list, someone is going to win, and someone is going to lose at the end of 3 swiss rounds. The solution isn't for either player to change their deck list. The solution is to play as well as you can with the cards you are dealt. You said it yourself at the very top of the post that they were drawing everything they needed and you were drawing poop. That's just the nature of card games.

If you're winning 2/3 games on average, that means you're winning the necessary 2 out of 3 games of a Swiss round.

The one thing I dislike about playing online is that you usually aren't playing in a Swiss round format. Your win/loss ratio against 40, 50, 500 different individual battles is not as important as your win/loss ratio when considering Swiss. You need to take a deck into a best of 3 scenario, because you're allowed to have that 1 unlucky game that you just scoop to dead draws and still come out "winning" if you win the other 2 games.

Let me just be clear about something.

There should never be a singular deck that wins against every other deck in the game. That's called bad game design. The only reason why you see so much Garbodor running to the top of competitive events is because a TON of people play that deck. To give you arbitrary numbers, if 30% of a group of players at a competitive event are running Garbodor, then it's obscenely likely for at least one of them to make it to the top. Part of that reason is because there's going to be a ton of mirror matches, and in a lot of situations, it's the luckier player who will come out on top.

The only issue Vikavolt/Bulu has is the fact that it caps out at 180 HP. It has no weaknesses, but it gets OHKO'd by literally every good deck in the game right now. If you're absolutely looking for a different deck to play, try Ho-Oh GX/Salazzle GX. Most of its attackers have 190/200 HP and you're not getting OHKO'd by anything that you can't OHKO back (Lapras, Alolan Ninetales, Greninja). That being said, Bulu already hits hard enough to OHKO all 3 of those decks as well, in which case a lot of it comes down to luck. The other aspect of it is the finesse of your play, but i'm not going to get into that.

And let me just close with a statement.

This is a game. Make sure you are enjoying it.

 

[Asmer]

I would have to agree with the above individuals. Your list looks fine and Lapras does have a weakness to Grass, meaning you OHKO it without having to use too many resources. Also, if I may point out... losing to a deck three times does not, in any statistical regard, make it a bad match/auto-loss/etc.. Figured I would throw that out there.

-Asmer

 

[TuxedoBlack]

A few comments for your consideration:

• Some top-notch players think that VikaBulu is currently the BDIF for Standard...
• Also, note that "luck" is just a component in the Pokémon game, as well as other components like deck construction, player's skill and game match-ups. Pokémon is not like chess where there is 0% luck. Have you considered running another disruption card like Delinquent and/or Parallel City to affect your opponent's "luck?"
• Your stated overall win-rate is quite good it seems. You also have a Type advantage too over Lapras GX. So, what might you be doing differently in the matches you win vs. lose?
• If the Lapras GX player is 1HKO'ing your Bulus, have you considered running a few Fighting Fury Belts (e.g., -1 Choice Band, -1 Skyla) to make your Bulus a 2HKO target instead?
• Why no Stadiums, especially Aether Paradise Conservation Area?

I too will be playing my VikaBulu deck at some upcoming tournaments, and I'm not too concerned about Lapras GX decks vs. some others...

Be encouraged; your list is solid, IMO. I think you may just want to tweak a few cards to improve your win rate.

I hope you find these comments helpful.

 

[Seastrome]

Best deck my ass. It's way too inconsistent. It losses to Gardevoir which is a very slow deck to set up and Drampa Garb puts pressure on it to play items feeding into garb. I just suck is what you are all trying to say without saying it. Thanks. No change is going to help the deck. I don't think it's a good deck right now. Any ideas for a good deck? I tried Gardevoir and Bulu but don't like them. Espeon Garb and Ninetales are underwhelming.

 

[Duo]

Best deck my ass. It's way too inconsistent. It losses to Gardevoir which is a very slow deck to set up and Drampa Garb puts pressure on it to play items feeding into garb. I just suck is what you are all trying to say without saying it. Thanks. No change is going to help the deck. I don't think it's a good deck right now. Any ideas for a good deck? I tried Gardevoir and Bulu but don't like them. Espeon Garb and Ninetales are underwhelming.

If you want me to go right out and say it, I would say that your attitude with approaching this game is completely incorrect.

No one is saying you suck. You have a positive win/loss ratio, so you obviously don't suck.

Before you switch your deck, switch your attitude.

And listen to people when they give you advice. Stop pitying yourself dude. We're all playing the same card game and we're all experiencing the same problems.

• Why no Stadiums, especially Aether Paradise Conservation Area?

.

To potentially answer your question in a satisfactory way:

1. In the mirror match you're still getting OHKO'd by Choice Band.

2. Against Ho-Oh GX you're still getting OHKO'd by Choice Band.

3. Even if you play Aether Paradise Conservation Area and Fighting Fury Belt, 1 Field Blower removes both at the same time.

4. General rule of thumb - putting the ball in your opponent's side of the court is a risky move. Allowing the opportunity to field blower or stadium wars reduces the viability of this strategy. This applies to all the defensive tools like above mentioned.

 

[Seastrome]

It just seems there are no consistent decks. Gardevoir is a one hit wonder. 80% win percentage with it and it flops in a 26 person league cup... idk, seems like whatever deck I use, I'm just cursed

 

[Duo]

It just seems there are no consistent decks. Gardevoir is a one hit wonder. 80% win percentage with it and it flops in a 26 person league cup... idk, seems like whatever deck I use, I'm just cursed

There is no deck that is free of inconsistency.

I would also like to try and get you to see the big picture.

Flopping in one League Cup, ONE, League Cup, is not the bottom line of your fate with a deck. People have been playing this TCG since the day it was released.

You have yet to compile a big enough sample size through IRL competitive play to determine what is and isn't working for you.

If you don't like Gardevoir GX as a deck, that's fine. If you think the playstyle doesn't match you, that's fine. But if you're giving up on a deck because you didn't take Top 8 or better at ONE League Cup, then you're not giving anyone enough of a chance, including yourself.

A bit of advice. You become a better player by analyzing your losses, not your victories. As an example, I could not beat Salazzle GX with my Gardevoir GX deck for 5 Swiss round sets in a row. By the 6th set, I changed up my playstyle and approach without touching my decklist at all, and all of a sudden Salazzle GX doesn't stand a chance. Once you understand your deck, you have to learn how to understand your match up. And I don't mean overall match up. I mean turn-by-turn.

I hope you will be able to take some of this to heart and interpret your play more objectively.

 

[Dark Espeon]

My advice would be to stick with a deck and find out how it functions on a turn to turn basis. Find out what would disrupt the deck turn by turn to see its weaknesses and also focus on what the deck can acconmplish on a turn by turn basis. Once you mastered that for a particular deck move on and check out other decks with the same mindset. It does not matter if you win or loose at that point at all. The main aim is to find out how various decks function turn by turn and what resources they need compared to what they accomplish. Switching decks around like your underwear does not seem to be all that productive to solve your problem. Take your time to try to understand the deck you have chosen. Once you understand the deck remeber what your impulse misplays were. They tell you something about your prefered playstyle and help you to determine the deck that suits you best. In addition also watch other people play a particular deck online or irl. Youtube is a perfect source for this since you can see the players hand. Go ahead and think about what you would have done turn after turn and compare it to the video. Both are proactive means to resolve your problem. Your description of your problem unfortunately do not provide enough information to give as a clue what might have went wrong from your point of view.

Hope this provides some initial assistance.

 

[Draskk]

First off, I have to say I second Duo. No deck is always consistent and no deck wins every single game. Even the first tournament Garb was legal and no one was prepared for the deck at all it STILL lost MANY matches even though it was obviously the BDIF. Things happen and 90% of the game is luck based. Don't feel bad about it.

As to your list, I have some suggestions.

-1 Skyla, +1 N. Skyla is a great card and definitely deserves a spot in the deck. But three is unnessescary and you will use N more often.

-2 Switch, -1 Field Blower, -1 Energy Recycler, +1 Super Rod, +2 Float Stone, +1 Lele. With Octillery and Vikavolt Float is important. And I also noticed you don't run Stretcher or Rod and you will always benefit from having one of em. Super Rod can also recover Energy so I think it makes sense to take one Recycler out for it. 3 Lele provides extra consistency and is an improvement to almost every deck in my opinion.

-1 Rare Candy, +1 Heavy Ball. You won't use four Candys and you have two Skyla to search them out as well. Heavy Ball will make the deck more consistent then the fourth Candy will.

Looks good otherwise. Hope this was helpful

 

[CaptZero]

Best deck my ass. It's way too inconsistent. It losses to Gardevoir which is a very slow deck to set up and Drampa Garb puts pressure on it to play items feeding into garb. I just suck is what you are all trying to say without saying it. Thanks. No change is going to help the deck. I don't think it's a good deck right now. Any ideas for a good deck? I tried Gardevoir and Bulu but don't like them. Espeon Garb and Ninetales are underwhelming.

Well that's... not a great attitude to have... I'm assuming you watch google since you called it the "best deck" and considering you've had a winrate of around 66% I think you're simply expecting way too much... I'm not sure I agree that this deck loses to Gardy, in fact I'd say it's a pretty strong MU for this deck, especially since you run Tapu Koko. One Flying Flip sets you up later in the game to one shot Gardy every time, and gardy isn't going to waste an Acerola to pick up a Pokemon with 2 damage counters on it.

 

[Seastrome]

My attitude isn't a problem. It's the decks i'm playing that is. I've used Gardy and it's very slow to set up. Takes 3-4 turns to really get going. Not ideal. Bulu seems too clunky and fails in the late game. I'm just not going to play anything right now. I'll wait until more options for decks appear. doesn't seem to be a wide array of things to choose from right now.

 

[joffreyspikes]

My attitude isn't a problem. It's the decks i'm playing that is. I've used Gardy and it's very slow to set up. Takes 3-4 turns to really get going. Not ideal. Bulu seems too clunky and fails in the late game. I'm just not going to play anything right now. I'll wait until more options for decks appear. doesn't seem to be a wide array of things to choose from right now.

Stick with VikaBulu. In my opinion it is great fun and exactly like Duo, you may just need to alter your playstyle. I do not think that it is the BDIF, Gardevoir probably is, but I don't happen to like Gardy at all. 28/42 is insanely good. The deck will do you more justice over time. That's my advice

 

[Duo]

My attitude isn't a problem. It's the decks i'm playing that is.

Not to be that guy, but this is exactly the definition of a bad attitude.

We can't help you if you're just going to ignore what everyone says and just do things your way all the time.

 

[Draskk]

Lol @Dark Espeon we liked that ^ post at exactly the same time.

Anyways, @Duo is right. 28/42 is a damn good winrate and is nothing to sneeze at. Maybe Stage 2s just aren't your style; you don't seem to like VikaBulu or Gardey. Why don't you give Drampa Garb a shot? I have a list if you want it.