Discussion Decks That Don't Need Shaymin-EX

RedGyarados

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Hey Guys. Can you suggest any competitive deck that doesn't rely on Shaymin EX?
I'm considering Greninja, but will it still be good even with a Mega heavy meta and garbdor?

Thank you in advance :)
 
Greninja is still something in the format with Bursting Balloon and low-cost attack . Besides of that , Wobbuffet-Carbink-Groudon may be a choice .
 
Any Talonflame + Stage 2 deck is pretty decent. Talonflame Garchomp is my personal favorite, although I want to try using Talonflame to make certain Mega decks more consistent. Talonflame Garchomp works a lot like Talonflame Greninja, except instead of spamming out Greninjas you focus on abusing 1-2 Garchomps, while still trying to play the 6 prize game. This makes Talonflame Greninja a much better contender for the best Talonflame deck because it can easier force your opponent to take all 6 prizes. That being said Garchomp is a lot stronger based off of pure damage output, and it has more well rounded matchups. Here is the "general list"

4 Talonflame
3 Gible
2 Gabite
4 Garchomp
Total Pokemon: 13

You want to have the max chance of starting off with Talonflame, and this makes sure you start Talonflame a majority of the time. The 2 Gabites are for when you have to slow evolve which should be done in a standard 6 prize game.

2 Level Ball
4 Rare Candy
2 Super Rod
4 Trainers' Mail
4 Ultra Ball
4 VS Seeker
1 Lysandre
2 N
4 Sycamore
2 Stadiums of your choice, Silent Lab, Parallel City, and Faded Town are good choices
3 Bursting Balloons
Total Trainers: 32

The Bursting Balloons are completely necessary, they are the only tool that this deck can use that not only gives you time to evolve, but can be used as a way to apply pressure. Super Rod is a necessary card for your 4-5th Garchomp which is something you should try to go into a lot. Stadiums are necessary for making sure your opponent doesn't have Skyfield/Shrine of Memories to abuse. The rest is relatively standard stuff. You can change your N and Sycamore ratios so you will not discard key cards so much.

5 Fighting Energy
4 Strong Energy
Total Energy: 9

Left over cards: 6
These should be consistency cards/extra techs. For me, I would add 2 N (Not using Shaymin, so I want to make sure I can hit supporters), 1 Lysandre, 1 Bursting Balloon, 1 Silent Lab (Want to hit Mew, Shaymin, Yveltal BKT), and 1 Level Ball. Other options are Eco Arm, Gible, and maybe a tech supporter like Deliquent. Out of all of these, I like Eco Arm the most because you generally want to put one down almost every single turn after turn 3.

How you should generally play is like Greninja, spam out your Stage 2 as quickly as you can, and take cheap prizes. If you start Talonflame, you basically win the game, because you should be able to get out 2 turn 2 Garchomps with a Talonflame start.
 
Garchomp also works with an Octillery alternative, that was a popular option with the deck as well. I just competed against an Yveltal deck in the October Cup that didn't utilize any Shaymin and it functioned pretty well. Of course, you're going to want to compensate with four Trainers' Mail, Sycamore, and a high number of N to make sure you're still getting enough draw in.
 
Greninja BREAK, FA Lucario, Garchomp, (I think) Yanmega BREAK, and sometimes Volcanion EX(usually the variants that run Dive Balls + Octillery.
 
Thank you for all your feedback guys :)
I have question, do you have a list of that Volcanion EX with octillery?
 
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