Okay so, I figure people have been taking the wrong approach with Lucario. Yes the main attack is called 'Fight Alone', but he still needs a partner in crime and Klefki alone doesn't cut it. I've found a nice little synergy happening with Genesect-EX, who has also been abandoned since rotation and the loss of Metal Links Bronzong. He doesn't accelerate very easily, but with no tool removal in Standard right now, Genesect's ability is all the better - and since you use Exp Share in a Lucario deck anyway.. well that helps with Genesect's energy costs and you can move those tools around. Genesect's ability works with Klefki too for a few neat little tricks - should you need to move a Klefki from bench to hand instead of to discard - well that can happen.
Enough chatter, here's my current list:
And in text format for those that prefer:
2 Klefki STS
4-4 Lucario FAC
2 Genesect-EX FAC
4 N
2 Sycamore
1 Skyla
1 Teammates
1 Delinquent
2 Lysandre
4 VS Seeker
4 Puzzle of Time
3 Max Elixir
1 Super Rod
3 Poké Puff
2 Buddy-Buddy Rescue
2 Exp. Share
1 Assault Vest
1 Floral Crown
2 Float Stone
2 Ultra Ball
2 Level Ball
10 Metal Energy
The general idea is that instead of banking everything on a single Lucario, you can try to have one Lucario, and one Genesect in play at all times. Active & benched or vice versa. You hit for 60 less with a Genesect on the bench of course, but even in a straight Lucario deck you can't just have him up front alone or he will die next go and you'll lose by getting benched out even if you are ahead in the prize exchange. So you have a Genesect on the bench wearing an Exp Share, and when active Lucario dies, you one energy moves to Genesect, you put a new Riolu on the bench and move the Exp Share on to him so if/when Genesect gets KO'd, he'll recycle it again.
If you start with Genesect it's not ideal, but at least most people don't realise it's a Lucario deck, and they fill their bench willy-nilly. Then you bench the Riolu a turn later and it's too late for them to clear their bench then.
What I most want from the list is to find some room. A third Exp Share is needed, a second Super Rod/third Genesect would be great, but it's a jam-packed list as is. The Ball count could certainly be higher.
A second way to build the deck would be to look at utilising Shield Energy and the -10 damage Steel Stadium to build a deck which would effectively force the average to 2hko Lucario or even 3hko Genesect. But room is at a premium.
Some individual thoughts on the cards so far;
4 N / 2 Sycamore - the emphasis on N is to allow for more Poke-Puff shenanigans.
1 Skyla - so many one-of tools and cards that she is pretty critical to find them at the right times
1 Delinquent - a card best used when your opponent has <3 cards. And with you being able to PokePuff your opponents hand size, it can be more powerful in this deck than others. Plus it allows us to get away with no stadia. Oh you're topdecking now? Well now you have to drop that Shaymin on bench..
1 Teammates - a lot of low HP mons in Riolu and Klefki sees this being used often. Teammates and Puzzle of Time together is an amazing combo. If you have one PoT in hand already, you can effectively get three cards of your choosing.
4 Puzzle of Time - It might seem odd to put a high count of these in a deck tight for space, but with a range of approaches depending on your opponent, along with a lot of single count cards, this can retrieve them if we've two, plus line up the deck when we've just a single. With no bench space for Shaymin or Octillery this becomes more important than usual. Thanks to these we can get away with the two count of genesect, the single rod, the low balls, the one-of tool cards etc.
1 Floral Crown - I've finally found a use for this card in Genesect. He gets a lot more bulky with this card, it's better than FFB in this one situation since you can take it off and put it back on as required - trading it out for float stone/exp share/assault vest as needed. Wearing this on the bench for a few turns can be hugely beneficial.
The deck is surprisingly tanky when it needs to be thanks to that & assault vest & Klefki - and part of the reason I'd consider changing over to a tanky Shield/Energy style - but without the high basic energy count, the max elixirs become less useful, and the deck gets very slow altogether attempting to charge up Genesect in the first place.
This began as just a fun build, but I've found it to be pretty decent on PCTGO. And I know, I know, it's hardly a measure of the competitive viability of the deck but it has good match-ups with Fairy decks or decks that fill their benches early or often - and those two styles are a large chunk of the metagame right now. I feel like it's on the verge of being on par with Tier 3 decks, if only it could be a little bit better. Help if you can.
Enough chatter, here's my current list:
And in text format for those that prefer:
2 Klefki STS
4-4 Lucario FAC
2 Genesect-EX FAC
4 N
2 Sycamore
1 Skyla
1 Teammates
1 Delinquent
2 Lysandre
4 VS Seeker
4 Puzzle of Time
3 Max Elixir
1 Super Rod
3 Poké Puff
2 Buddy-Buddy Rescue
2 Exp. Share
1 Assault Vest
1 Floral Crown
2 Float Stone
2 Ultra Ball
2 Level Ball
10 Metal Energy
The general idea is that instead of banking everything on a single Lucario, you can try to have one Lucario, and one Genesect in play at all times. Active & benched or vice versa. You hit for 60 less with a Genesect on the bench of course, but even in a straight Lucario deck you can't just have him up front alone or he will die next go and you'll lose by getting benched out even if you are ahead in the prize exchange. So you have a Genesect on the bench wearing an Exp Share, and when active Lucario dies, you one energy moves to Genesect, you put a new Riolu on the bench and move the Exp Share on to him so if/when Genesect gets KO'd, he'll recycle it again.
If you start with Genesect it's not ideal, but at least most people don't realise it's a Lucario deck, and they fill their bench willy-nilly. Then you bench the Riolu a turn later and it's too late for them to clear their bench then.
What I most want from the list is to find some room. A third Exp Share is needed, a second Super Rod/third Genesect would be great, but it's a jam-packed list as is. The Ball count could certainly be higher.
A second way to build the deck would be to look at utilising Shield Energy and the -10 damage Steel Stadium to build a deck which would effectively force the average to 2hko Lucario or even 3hko Genesect. But room is at a premium.
Some individual thoughts on the cards so far;
4 N / 2 Sycamore - the emphasis on N is to allow for more Poke-Puff shenanigans.
1 Skyla - so many one-of tools and cards that she is pretty critical to find them at the right times
1 Delinquent - a card best used when your opponent has <3 cards. And with you being able to PokePuff your opponents hand size, it can be more powerful in this deck than others. Plus it allows us to get away with no stadia. Oh you're topdecking now? Well now you have to drop that Shaymin on bench..
1 Teammates - a lot of low HP mons in Riolu and Klefki sees this being used often. Teammates and Puzzle of Time together is an amazing combo. If you have one PoT in hand already, you can effectively get three cards of your choosing.
4 Puzzle of Time - It might seem odd to put a high count of these in a deck tight for space, but with a range of approaches depending on your opponent, along with a lot of single count cards, this can retrieve them if we've two, plus line up the deck when we've just a single. With no bench space for Shaymin or Octillery this becomes more important than usual. Thanks to these we can get away with the two count of genesect, the single rod, the low balls, the one-of tool cards etc.
1 Floral Crown - I've finally found a use for this card in Genesect. He gets a lot more bulky with this card, it's better than FFB in this one situation since you can take it off and put it back on as required - trading it out for float stone/exp share/assault vest as needed. Wearing this on the bench for a few turns can be hugely beneficial.
The deck is surprisingly tanky when it needs to be thanks to that & assault vest & Klefki - and part of the reason I'd consider changing over to a tanky Shield/Energy style - but without the high basic energy count, the max elixirs become less useful, and the deck gets very slow altogether attempting to charge up Genesect in the first place.
This began as just a fun build, but I've found it to be pretty decent on PCTGO. And I know, I know, it's hardly a measure of the competitive viability of the deck but it has good match-ups with Fairy decks or decks that fill their benches early or often - and those two styles are a large chunk of the metagame right now. I feel like it's on the verge of being on par with Tier 3 decks, if only it could be a little bit better. Help if you can.
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