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Standard Garchomp (UPR)/Lucario (UPR) Budget PTCGO Deck

Otaku

Otaku

The wise fool?
Member
Hello!

An adult friend of mine recently decided to give the Pokémon TCG another go thanks to the PTCGO. He asked me for help with his deck but, beyond the fundamentals, I haven't been able to figure out a decent Garchomp/Lucario deck myself. At least for now, my friend has a very limited card pool, but I have taught him the basics of grinding on the PTCGO and yes, I had him originally focus on the Theme Format. This is him trying to finally break into the PTCGO Standard Format with something half decent and - again - on a budget. Here is what he is currently running:

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

##Pokémon - 20

* 4 Gible UPR 96
* 4 Gabite UPR 98
* 4 Garchomp UPR 99
* 3 Riolu UPR 66
* 1 Zygarde-GX FLI 73
* 2 Lucario UPR 67
* 2 Alolan Vulpix GRI 21

##Trainer Cards - 26

* 2 Pokémon Fan Club FCO 107
* 2 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130
* 3 Ultra Ball DEX 102
* 4 N DEX 96
* 2 Pal Pad UPR 132
* 2 Nest Ball SUM 123
* 1 Brigette BKT 134
* 2 Evosoda XY 116
* 1 Escape Rope PRC 127
* 4 Cynthia UPR 119
* 1 Escape Board UPR 122
* 2 Guzma BUS 115

##Energy - 14

* 10 Fighting Energy Energy 6
* 4 Double Colorless Energy NXD 92

Total Cards - 60

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

There are some changes I'm tempted to suggest to him but for now, I'll see what anyone here has to say on the matter. The core strategy is to set up Garchomp as quickly as possible and swing for OHKO's, with Lucario providing strategic search. As Pokémon-EX/GX are pretty rare for him to encounter and I don't think he has any yet, he's going without Choice Band. The Zygarde-GX is his first worthwhile Pokémon-GX, so if he shouldn't be using it, I'll have a hard time talking him out of it. XD
 
Brooklet Hill? Random Receiver would go great since you don't have the Lele's to search for the Cynthia's. If you can convince him to scrap the Zygarde, replace it with Lucario GX.
 
Thanks, @ForeverRanger91

Since posting, he got another Brigette, so the list is already

-1 Pokémon Fan Club
+1 Brigette

Not sure about the Random Receiver, as - for the purpose of attacking - he'll have Lucario. He doesn't have any Lucario-GX, but if he gets one I'll suggest he run it instead of Zygarde-GX. I felt stupid for leaving out Brooklet Hill... but then I remembered he's running the [N] line for Garchomp. I told him he needs to get at least some of the [F] versions, so I'll add that as soon as he gets at least [F] Gible (he probably has some already) he'll want to make room for Brooklet Hill.

Thanks again!
 
I guess it goes without saying that the Fighting variant of Garchomp is much better than Dragon, since it can take advantage of Brooklet Hill, Strong Energy, Diancie Prism, etc., but considering some of those Fighting buffs aren't very budget-friendly... we'll work with this for now

First, I don't think running Fan Club or Brigette is very reliable in a deck without Lele - I would suggest gutting most/all of those search supporters for a more Item-centric engine (max Ultra Ball, Nest Ball / 1-2 Timer Ball). Essentially if you can get an out to A-Vulpix on T1, you have a pretty good chance of establishing a strong board. Also, not playing Rare Candy in a Stage-2 deck seems like a major mistake - one that your friend should learn not to make if he wants to continue playing those kinds of decks in the future! :p

Finally, if your friend can get a copy of the BREAKpoint Garchomp, it's really useful for setting up Benched attackers, and its second attack can sometimes come in handy

I think it's really cool that you're helping a friend get back into the game, so I hope these suggestions will be useful. Good luck ;)
 
If you play with the Gibgabgars from Forbidden Light you might benefit from them being fighting types. It's been working for me in my deck so far when paired with Diancie Prism and Choice Band. Your results may vary.
 
Here is the current list, where I'll explain changes that have been made and changes we'd like to make.

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

##Pokémon - 20

* 1 Garchomp UPR 99
* 4 Gible FLI 60
* 3 Riolu UPR 66
* 4 Gabite FLI 61
* 2 Lucario UPR 67
* 1 Lucario-GX PR-SM SM100
* 3 Garchomp FLI 62
* 2 Alolan Vulpix GRI 21

##Trainer Cards - 26

* 1 Brooklet Hill GRI 120
* 2 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130
* 3 Ultra Ball DEX 102
* 4 N DEX 96
* 2 Pal Pad UPR 132
* 2 Nest Ball SUM 123
* 2 Brigette BKT 134
* 2 Evosoda XY 116
* 1 Escape Rope PRC 127
* 4 Cynthia UPR 119
* 1 Escape Board UPR 122
* 2 Guzma BUS 115

##Energy - 14

* 10 Fighting Energy Energy 6
* 4 Double Colorless Energy NXD 92

Total Cards - 60

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

Fortunately, my friend has been diligently grinding, including the occaissional tournament, so while he doesn't have the boosters to build one of the current top decks, he was able to get the Lucario-GX and switch over almost all of his Garchomp line. He got another Brigette, and had a Brooklet Hill, so he replaced the copies of Pokémon Fan Club with them.

Timmony_tcg said:
First, I don't think running Fan Club or Brigette is very reliable in a deck without Lele - I would suggest gutting most/all of those search supporters for a more Item-centric engine (max Ultra Ball, Nest Ball / 1-2 Timer Ball). Essentially if you can get an out to A-Vulpix on T1, you have a pretty good chance of establishing a strong board. Also, not playing Rare Candy in a Stage-2 deck seems like a major mistake - one that your friend should learn not to make if he wants to continue playing those kinds of decks in the future! :p
Click to expand...

I'll encourage my friend to try upping the Brooklet Hill/Nest Ball count instead of Brigette. I mean, I've linked him to this thread, but I'm not sure if he'll sign up or just lurk. The lack of Rare Candy is a complete oversight on my part... and possibly his. XP

Timmony_tcg said:
Finally, if your friend can get a copy of the BREAKpoint Garchomp, it's really useful for setting up Benched attackers, and its second attack can sometimes come in handy
Click to expand...

He's got one; I'll have him try it out in the deck.

PokeMedic said:
If you play with the Gibgabgars from Forbidden Light you might benefit from them being fighting types. It's been working for me in my deck so far when paired with Diancie Prism and Choice Band. Your results may vary.
Click to expand...

The autocorrect fail is priceless. I've encouraged him to obtain Diancie [Prism Star] and some Choice Band.

So... what to cut for Rare Candy? I mean, it is just the most pressing option, and I'd like him not to change too much at once (I just realized that, FYI). It is hard enough as an experienced player sorting out what changes did what with a deck, so better to only change a few things at a time. ;)
 
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