Hello everyone! In this post I'm going to present you with the deck I've been playing with lately. It's a lot of fun to play, but there is definitely room for improvement. A couple things to note, before we get started. I have only recently returned to the Pokemon TCG after getting hit with a bit of nostalgia which rekindled my interest. I only play on PTCGO, and my collection of real cards has long since been given away. When I last played the TCG, it was... base set. The original. I came back to find a lot of things that were new to me, like Pokemon-EX, moves that do over 100 damage, and... well, everything else. So, since I have only recently returned, I will start out by saying... this deck is probably terrible. I'm still relearning the game, and I'm bound to make some newbie mistakes. Furthermore, my virtual card collection is pretty limited as well (but improving daily). If you can live with that and you'll bear with me, I'd like to show you my Gallapede deck!
First, the deck at-a-glance:
GALLAPEDE DECK
Pokemon:
Strategy:
The basic strategy here is to lead with Venipede, taking advantage of its Poison Point ability in conjunction with Virbank City Gym to slow down and put a lot of pressure on my opponent while Gallade gets set up.
Now, onto some of the Pokemon choices: First, I run 3-3-3 Gallade, using the PLS Ralts due to its single energy cost. I run LTR Kirlia because its first attack allows me to draw cards, which can be useful if I'm stuck with a lousy hand or I get N'd. Gallade hits for 20x the amount of energy I have in play, so if I have enough energy and a full bench, he can one-shot many of the heavy hitters my opponent might play, especially when coupled with Muscle Band/Silver Bangle. I run 3-3-2 Scolipede because while Venipede and Whirlipede primarily act as walls (read: sacrifices), Scolipede is not meant to be a main attacker. However, the extra HP is always good for such Pokemon, and they are not completely terrible attackers. I run one of each Scolipede because one has a single-energy attack and an attack that poisons and traps foes, and the other Scolipede has the Poison Point ability and an attack that hits for 120 damage to a poisoned target. Dragalge also helps by preventing poisoned Pokemon from retreating to ensure they get a healthy dose of that Virbank poison. However, Dragalge only ever sits on the bench, so I only run a 1-1 line. Lastly, with the amount of Double Colorless and Psychic Energy, Mewtwo-EX fits nicely into this deck as well as a general counter to a lot of nasty things.
Next, the Trainers. You'll immediately notice there are a lot of different Trainers in this deck, and I am NOT running 4 of some of the standards (like N, for example). Let me attempt to explain. First, since Gallade needs lots of energy spread around my side of the field to hit hard enough to one-shot 180 HP Pokemon-EX, I needed ways to get Energy both out of my deck and discard pile quickly, I therefore run 2 Energy Retrieval and 2 Professor's Letter. Running not one, but TWO Stage 2 lines can be rough, so I included 2 Evosoda and 1 Rare Candy. Level Ball will allow me to grab Venipede, Ralts, Kirlia, and Skrelp with no drawbacks, so I run 2. I also run a Computer Search as my Ace Spec to let me find any card I need. Draw power is very much needed here, but this deck really does not like to discard, so I run 2 Colress, 3 N, and 1 Shauna (because it never hurts to have the option for a guaranteed 5 cards). Virizion-EX completely wrecks my strategy, so I run 1 Lysandre so I can hopefully switch it in for a quick knockout. Skyla can grab me whichever of the many trainers are in here to help my situation. Virbank City Gym is essential to my strategy, so I run 2 of those as well. Hypnotoxic Laser isn't QUITE as essential thanks to Poison Point, but it seems criminal to run Virbank without it, so 2 of those as well.
Lastly, the energy: after playing around with various amounts, I ended up settling on 10 Psychic as a nice, round number that gets the job done without taking up too much space. The 4 Double Colorless are essential, because every since attacker here uses at least 2 colorless energies, plus it allows me to add 40 damage to Gallade's attack in one turn. So, there's the brief explanation.
Lastly, to address a few concerns that I'm sure will pop up. First, I don't have any switching cards (like Escape Rope, Switch, or Float Stone). This is definitely an issue I have identified, given the retreat costs on the Scolipede line. Unfortunately, I just don't know what to cut out for them (hopefully you guys can help). Usually I just sacrifice them, as they are only worth one prize. Also, I'm running not one, but two Stage 2 lines. This can be problematic at times. Lastly, every Pokemon in my deck is weak to Psychic, which can present issues. Luckily, most common Psychics are ALSO weak to Psychic.
EDIT (08/24/2014 @ 6:37 PM CST): Updated deck with a Computer search (finally got my hands on one) instead of an Ultra Ball.
First, the deck at-a-glance:
GALLAPEDE DECK
Pokemon:
1 Mewtwo-EX [PRM]
3 Ralts [PLS]
3 Kirlia [LTR]
3 Gallade [PLS]
1 Skrelp [FLF]
1 Dragalge [FLF]
3 Venipede [BCR]
3 Whirlipede [BCR]
2 Scolipede [1 BCR & 1 XY]
2 Energy Retrieval
2 Evosoda
2 Hypnotoxic Laser
2 Level Ball
2 Professor's Letter
1 Rare Candy
1 Computer Search
2 Colress
1 Lysandre
3 N
2 Professor Juniper
1 Shauna
1 Skyla
2 Virbank City Gym
1 Muscle Band
1 Silver Bangle
4 Double Colorless Energy
10 Psychic Energy
Strategy:
The basic strategy here is to lead with Venipede, taking advantage of its Poison Point ability in conjunction with Virbank City Gym to slow down and put a lot of pressure on my opponent while Gallade gets set up.
Now, onto some of the Pokemon choices: First, I run 3-3-3 Gallade, using the PLS Ralts due to its single energy cost. I run LTR Kirlia because its first attack allows me to draw cards, which can be useful if I'm stuck with a lousy hand or I get N'd. Gallade hits for 20x the amount of energy I have in play, so if I have enough energy and a full bench, he can one-shot many of the heavy hitters my opponent might play, especially when coupled with Muscle Band/Silver Bangle. I run 3-3-2 Scolipede because while Venipede and Whirlipede primarily act as walls (read: sacrifices), Scolipede is not meant to be a main attacker. However, the extra HP is always good for such Pokemon, and they are not completely terrible attackers. I run one of each Scolipede because one has a single-energy attack and an attack that poisons and traps foes, and the other Scolipede has the Poison Point ability and an attack that hits for 120 damage to a poisoned target. Dragalge also helps by preventing poisoned Pokemon from retreating to ensure they get a healthy dose of that Virbank poison. However, Dragalge only ever sits on the bench, so I only run a 1-1 line. Lastly, with the amount of Double Colorless and Psychic Energy, Mewtwo-EX fits nicely into this deck as well as a general counter to a lot of nasty things.
Next, the Trainers. You'll immediately notice there are a lot of different Trainers in this deck, and I am NOT running 4 of some of the standards (like N, for example). Let me attempt to explain. First, since Gallade needs lots of energy spread around my side of the field to hit hard enough to one-shot 180 HP Pokemon-EX, I needed ways to get Energy both out of my deck and discard pile quickly, I therefore run 2 Energy Retrieval and 2 Professor's Letter. Running not one, but TWO Stage 2 lines can be rough, so I included 2 Evosoda and 1 Rare Candy. Level Ball will allow me to grab Venipede, Ralts, Kirlia, and Skrelp with no drawbacks, so I run 2. I also run a Computer Search as my Ace Spec to let me find any card I need. Draw power is very much needed here, but this deck really does not like to discard, so I run 2 Colress, 3 N, and 1 Shauna (because it never hurts to have the option for a guaranteed 5 cards). Virizion-EX completely wrecks my strategy, so I run 1 Lysandre so I can hopefully switch it in for a quick knockout. Skyla can grab me whichever of the many trainers are in here to help my situation. Virbank City Gym is essential to my strategy, so I run 2 of those as well. Hypnotoxic Laser isn't QUITE as essential thanks to Poison Point, but it seems criminal to run Virbank without it, so 2 of those as well.
Lastly, the energy: after playing around with various amounts, I ended up settling on 10 Psychic as a nice, round number that gets the job done without taking up too much space. The 4 Double Colorless are essential, because every since attacker here uses at least 2 colorless energies, plus it allows me to add 40 damage to Gallade's attack in one turn. So, there's the brief explanation.
Lastly, to address a few concerns that I'm sure will pop up. First, I don't have any switching cards (like Escape Rope, Switch, or Float Stone). This is definitely an issue I have identified, given the retreat costs on the Scolipede line. Unfortunately, I just don't know what to cut out for them (hopefully you guys can help). Usually I just sacrifice them, as they are only worth one prize. Also, I'm running not one, but two Stage 2 lines. This can be problematic at times. Lastly, every Pokemon in my deck is weak to Psychic, which can present issues. Luckily, most common Psychics are ALSO weak to Psychic.
EDIT (08/24/2014 @ 6:37 PM CST): Updated deck with a Computer search (finally got my hands on one) instead of an Ultra Ball.