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Standard First Deck; Tapu Koko GX

Graven

Graven

Eminem TTGX
Member
I decided to make my first deck, this one focusing on Tapu Koko GX. From what I have researched, the most vital part of a deck being successful is consistency. I expect comments giving advice on how to improve my deck, to which I will gladly take since it will help me understand what I may need to do to make it more consistent.

Have Some Tapu Cocoa

~13 Pokemon~
  • 4 Tapu Koko GX
  • 3 Shaymin EX
  • 3 Ampharos EX
  • 2 Rayquaza
  • 1 Tapu Lele GX
~12 Supporters~
  • 3 Professor Sycamore
  • 3 Olympia
  • 2 N
  • 2 Professor Kukui
  • 2 Lysandre
~21 Items~
  • 4 Nest Balls
  • 4 Fighting Fury Belt
  • 3 Trainer's Mail
  • 3 Vs Seekers
  • 3 Revives
  • 2 Rescue Stretcher
  • 1 Field Blower
  • 1 Enhanced Hammer
~2 Stadums~
  • 2 Aether Paradise Conservation Area
~12 Energy Cards~
  • 10 Lightning Energy
  • 2 DCE
~General Strategy~
This deck focuses on getting Tapu Koko GX on the board as quickly as possible, while also making sure he is kept on the board. Aero Trail is an amazing Ability, being able to switch Lightning energy from your Pokemon to Tapu Koko, then immediately putting Tapu Koko on Active with said Lightning energy just begs for an energy acceleration deck. Ampharos EX is happy to oblige, with Thunder Rod being a better Max Elixir/Exp. Share-in one attack-costing only one Colorless energy no less, for Tapu Koko GX to rotate out and abuse. Tapu Koko GX's Sky Claw's (2L, 1C) with the FF Belt can effectively take out Garbador and just about any other non-EX Pokemon-save for a select few. Shaymin EX is a staple in most-if not all decks that involve energy acceleration, and this deck is no exception. Rayquaza's Turbo Storm (DCE) fill the niche of returning lost Energy from the discard pile; essential to keep the battle going to the bitter end. Tapu Lele is a new staple in the current metagame, and I couldn't ignore not having one in. In total, 10 Lightning energy and 2 DCE are good enough for this deck to function.

In terms of Supporters and Items, it's the usual bit with some modifications to help the deck in both efficiency and organization. As I said before, Max Elixirs/Exp. Shares are redundant in this deck, so more space could be allowed to benefit. To get this out of the way, staple cards include: Professor Sycamore, N, Professor Kukui, Lysandre, FF Belt, Trainer's Mail, VS Seeker, Field Blower, and Enhanced Hammer. For the cards tailored to this deck, Olympia has the grace to rotate out cards and give them some extra health as well-a much needed thing considering a good portion of my Pokemon just hover below 200HP. The Nest Ball becomes more beneficial than the Ultra Ball, considering I have only Basic Pokemon. The Rescue Stretcher combos well with the Nest Ball, allowing discarded Basic Pokemon to be drawn from the deck with a higher rate of success. Revives are a must as well, moving discarded Basic Pokemon to the bench-a more direct card than the Rescue Stretcher. Aether Paradise Conservation Area bodes well for both Tapu Koko GX and Ampharos EX, allowing -30 from all opponents attacks, effectively adding hidden bulk.

Overall, for my first deck it doesn't seem to bad, and I am confident enough to say it can stand on it's own. My issue is what could hard counter it, and what I could do to improve this deck in general. Other than that, time for me to find the latest gossip on the beach.

EDIT: Made necessary changes to take out Dragonite EX. Tapu Koko has a better chance for 130 DMG (140 w/ FF Belt) than Dragonite EX, and both Revive and Rescue Stretcher are better tools to use in general than his Ability Pull Up. Other than that, no major changes.
 
Last edited:
men there are some mistakes first nest ball and revive put the pokemon directly on the bench, and that doesnt active the ability of tapu koko, you have just a few of support to draw and maybe you stay freeze i put just 1 olympia and you get alot of basic pokemon, maybe you stay with the full bench before to can play any of that pokemon, that all, then can i said u sorry my english, good lucky
 
Hello!

Anyways, your list looks good for a first try, but there are some flaws with your list. The most glaring flaws are that Nest Ball and Revive don't activate Koko's ability, if you read the wording closer:

Ability Aero Trail
When you play this Pokemon from your hand onto your Bench, you may move any number of [L]-type Energy attatched to your Pokemon to this Pokemon. If you do, switch this Pokemon with your Active Pokemon.

Trainer Item Revive
Put a basic Pokemon from your discard pile onto your bench.

Trainer Item Nest Ball
Search your deck for a Basic Pokemon and put it onto your Bench.

See, to activate Koko's ability, the Koko would have to go to your hand so you could then play it. Also, three Revive is completely unnecessary for any deck, the space would be much better spent on more draw support and more Aether Paradise. Since you run Basic Energy cards, I would recommend cutting a Rescue Stretcher for one Super Rod, although Super Rod is back into your deck and not back into your hand. Rayquaza seems redundant to Ampharos, I would recommend losing Rayquaza and the DCE. Three Olympia is not nessescary at all, especially with Lele and VS Seeker. Here's the list I'd use:

Pokemon (13):

4x Tapu Koko-GX
3x Shaymin-EX
1x Tapu Lele-GX
3x Ampharos-EX
1x Carbink (Ability: Energy Keeper: Basic Energy attatched to your Basic Pokemon can't be discarded by the effects of your opponent's Attacks, Abilities, and Trainer cards. This card absolutely kills anything that focuses on energy denial, like the ever popular Sylveon GX, until they can Lysandre it.)
1x Jolteon-EX (Free retreat, and Flash Ray has the potential to autowin games.)

Trainers (38):

4x Professor Sycamore
3x N
2x Lysandre
1x Hex Maniac (This also shuts down Sylveon if you go first because they can't use Eevee's Ability. Is also good in matchups like Greninja and is easily searchable by Lele.)
4x VS Seeker
3x Trainer's Mail
4x Ultra Ball
2x Max Elixir
1x Super Rod
2x Max Potion
2x Field Blower
2x Float Stone
4x Fighting Fury Belt
4x Aether Paradise

Energy (9):

9x Basic Lightning Energy

Hopefully this is helpful, and good luck getting into the TCG! :)
 
I did not realize the wording on Tapu Koko's card. Huh, I thought it worked on bench, but upon closer inspection, that does make sense. Though just imagine if it's ability could work from the bench and not from the hand, that would be insane. Overall, lesson learned to pay more attention to the card text. :p

Most of the points you make are great, and I actually realized to not put in Rayquaza (redundancy, as you said) just before I got the notification that you replied. Also, the Carbink is something I did not think about, and I'm glad that you pointed that out. The Jolteon EX, even with the free retreat, still seems a bit situational to me especially when Flash Ray only applies to basic Pokemon (unless I'm missing something vital or I'm still too green to the meta-basically, how exactly does it autowin games?), along with it being another GX card-I would have 5 cards that dish out 2 Prize cards when beaten, which doesn't sit with me well. I agree that Olympia isn't necessary now that I look at it, but I'm still thinking it could have some potential considering that Tapu Koko only has 170HP, and by extension Carbink and Shaymin. Everything else seems pretty on the spot from what I can see.

Here's my revised deck, with some things changed, and others kept, albeit with some added knowledge of what to do with deck space.

Have Some Tapu Cocoa

~12 Pokemon~
  • 4 Tapu Koko GX
  • 3 Shaymin EX
  • 3 Ampharos EX
  • 1 Tapu Lele GX
  • 1 Carbink
~11 Supporters~
  • 3 Professor Sycamore
  • 3 N
  • 2 Professor Kukui
  • 2 Lysandre
  • 1 Hex Maniac
~24 Items~
  • 4 Ultra Balls
  • 3 Fighting Fury Belt
  • 3 VS Seekers
  • 3 Trainer's Mail
  • 2 Max Elixirs
  • 2 Max Potions
  • 2 Float Stone (Makes sense now that I think about it)
  • 2 Field Blower
  • 1 Rescue Stretcher
  • 1 Enhanced Hammer (DCE Coverage? Yes please)
  • 1 Super Rod
~4 Stadums~
  • 4 Aether Paradise Conservation Area
~9 Energy Cards~
  • 9 Lightning Energy
Still good, bad, errors?
 
Graven said:
I did not realize the wording on Tapu Koko's card. Huh, I thought it worked on bench, but upon closer inspection, that does make sense. Though just imagine if it's ability could work from the bench and not from the hand, that would be insane. Overall, lesson learned to pay more attention to the card text. :p

Most of the points you make are great, and I actually realized to not put in Rayquaza (redundancy, as you said) just before I got the notification that you replied. Also, the Carbink is something I did not think about, and I'm glad that you pointed that out. The Jolteon EX, even with the free retreat, still seems a bit situational to me especially when Flash Ray only applies to basic Pokemon (unless I'm missing something vital or I'm still too green to the meta-basically, how exactly does it autowin games?), along with it being another GX card-I would have 5 cards that dish out 2 Prize cards when beaten, which doesn't sit with me well. I agree that Olympia isn't necessary now that I look at it, but I'm still thinking it could have some potential considering that Tapu Koko only has 170HP, and by extension Carbink and Shaymin. Everything else seems pretty on the spot from what I can see.

Here's my revised deck, with some things changed, and others kept, albeit with some added knowledge of what to do with deck space.

Have Some Tapu Cocoa

~12 Pokemon~
  • 4 Tapu Koko GX
  • 3 Shaymin EX
  • 3 Ampharos EX
  • 1 Tapu Lele GX
  • 1 Carbink
~11 Supporters~
  • 3 Professor Sycamore
  • 3 N
  • 2 Professor Kukui
  • 2 Lysandre
  • 1 Hex Maniac
~24 Items~
  • 4 Ultra Balls
  • 3 Fighting Fury Belt
  • 3 VS Seekers
  • 3 Trainer's Mail
  • 2 Max Elixirs
  • 2 Max Potions
  • 2 Float Stone (Makes sense now that I think about it)
  • 2 Field Blower
  • 1 Rescue Stretcher
  • 1 Enhanced Hammer (DCE Coverage? Yes please)
  • 1 Super Rod
~4 Stadums~
  • 4 Aether Paradise Conservation Area
~9 Energy Cards~
  • 9 Lightning Energy
Still good, bad, errors?
Click to expand...
What I mean about Jolteon is that some decks run only Basics. For those decks, if they don't run a Pokemon Ranger (Most don't) they simply lose. They won't be able to attack Jolteon and Jolteon will slowly chip away at them. For instance, take Turbo Darkrai. Anyways, the list looks better :) . There are a few things that need fixing however. Kukui doesn't help you hit any big numbers without Choice Band. I personally would drop both Kukuis in favor of a fourth Sycamore and a fourth Fighting Fury Belt. Then, I would lose one Shaymin for a tenth Lightning Energy in order for Ampharos to hit it more often. I would suggest running 12 Energy; if Ampharos doesn't hit any of them it would be bad. I would also try without Ampharos and adding in two Max Elixirs and Jolteon in its place. Then, I would drop one Shaymin for a fourth VS Seeker. Also, I'm not sure what I was thinking about Hex Maniac since it would shut down Koko as well. Anyways, here's another list:

Pokemon (9):

4x Tapu Koko-GX
1x Tapu Lele-GX
2x Shaymin-EX
1x Jolteon-EX
1x Carbink

Trainers (41):

4x Sycamore
4x N
2x Lysandre
1x Pokemon Fan Club (Lets you grab Kokos for the next two turns)
4x VS Seeker
3x Trainer's Mail
4x Ultra Ball
4x Max Elixir
1x Field Blower
1x Super Rod
2x Max Potion
4x Fighting Fury Belt
1x Float Stone (Koko basically gives everything free retreat as you can just drop it and switch in.)
4x Aether Paradise Conservation Area

Energy (12):

12x Basic Lightning Energy

If you want to stick with Ampharos, take out two Max Elixirs and add two Ampharoses. Hope this was helpful :)
 
GekkisaiDaiNi said:
What I mean about Jolteon is that some decks run only Basics. For those decks, if they don't run a Pokemon Ranger (Most don't) they simply lose. They won't be able to attack Jolteon and Jolteon will slowly chip away at them. For instance, take Turbo Darkrai. Anyways, the list looks better :) . There are a few things that need fixing however. Kukui doesn't help you hit any big numbers without Choice Band. I personally would drop both Kukuis in favor of a fourth Sycamore and a fourth Fighting Fury Belt. Then, I would lose one Shaymin for a tenth Lightning Energy in order for Ampharos to hit it more often. I would suggest running 12 Energy; if Ampharos doesn't hit any of them it would be bad. I would also try without Ampharos and adding in two Max Elixirs and Jolteon in its place. Then, I would drop one Shaymin for a fourth VS Seeker. Also, I'm not sure what I was thinking about Hex Maniac since it would shut down Koko as well. Anyways, here's another list:

Pokemon (9):

4x Tapu Koko-GX
1x Tapu Lele-GX
2x Shaymin-EX
1x Jolteon-EX
1x Carbink

Trainers (41):

4x Sycamore
4x N
2x Lysandre
1x Pokemon Fan Club (Lets you grab Kokos for the next two turns)
4x VS Seeker
3x Trainer's Mail
4x Ultra Ball
4x Max Elixir
1x Field Blower
1x Super Rod
2x Max Potion
4x Fighting Fury Belt
1x Float Stone (Koko basically gives everything free retreat as you can just drop it and switch in.)
4x Aether Paradise Conservation Area

Energy (12):

12x Basic Lightning Energy

If you want to stick with Ampharos, take out two Max Elixirs and add two Ampharoses. Hope this was helpful :)
Click to expand...

I like this a whole lot better. I will be sticking with two Ampharoses; as much as I wouldn't mind the elixirs, Ampharoses hold a special place as one of the first Pokemon that got me into the series. Thank you btw, will try this out when I can!
 
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