TCG ONE just recently updated with Dragon Majesty, and after testing a few of the new cards from this mini set, I have fallen in love with Riptide Feraligatr the most. And not just because it was my favourite card back in the year 2001, when I was collecting the Neo Genesis cards.
We may have lost all the cards that made the deck work, like Trash Exchange, Misty's Wrath, and Secret Mission (which actually got reprinted as Psychics third eye a few years back) in the last 18 years, but with Riptide Feraligatr's reprint in Dragon Majesty, can we make this deck work again? Here's how the decklist I've been using with mild success online:
Pokemon: 17
4 Totodile (SLG) 70 HP is better than 60 HP
4 Feraligatr (DRM) Riptide
3 Cutiefly (BUS) Free retreat
3 Ribombee (BUS) Honey Gather
1 Tapu Lele-GX
2 Oranguru (SMP) Instruct
Supporters: 14
4 Cynthia
3 Guzma
1 Apricorn Maker
2 Lady
2 Crasher Wake
2 Lillie
Trainers: 17
4 Rare Candy
4 Ultra Ball
2 Nest Ball
2 Rescue Stretcher
2 Brooklet Hill
2 Choice Band
1 Pal Pad
Energy: 12
12 Water Energy
OK so here's the strategy. Get a whole bunch of water energy into the discard pile so feraligatr can do a whole bunch of damage. Riptide does a measly 10 damage for 2 water energy, but can do an additional 20 damage for every water energy in your discard pile, before shuffling all that water energy back into your deck. How can we do this. Well we have many ways of doing so. First of all we have Feraligatr's amazing Ability Downpour. As often as you like during your turn before your attack, you may discard a basic water energy card from your hand. Simple enough right? Then there are the obvious cards like Ultra Ball to discard them from the hand to search out our pokemon. Crasher Wake is an amazing supporter in this kind of deck too, as not only do you get water energy into the discard pile, but you get to search your deck for any 2 cards! That's basically a guaranteed Rare Candy Gatr on turn 2!!!
But then here comes the tricky part. What happens after you have used the Riptide attack, shuffled away all your discarded water energy, and you have no energy in hand to discard? This is where Honey Gather Ribombee comes into play. Once during your turn, before your attack, you may search your deck for up to 2 basic energy and put them into your hand. That's like a guaranteed 50 base damage right there. With 2 Ribombee in play that's a guaranteed 90 base damage.
Before using downpour to discard your new energy, you can then chain it with cards like Ultra Ball and Crasher Wake to not only discard water energy but thin through your deck at the same time.
We can increase Feraligatr's damage output some more with cards like Lady to instantly grab 4 water energy from the deck to immediately discard that energy. And/or if you've already discarded your entire hand though, Oranguru becomes a god send. you can go from a zero card hand back up to 3, where you can hopefully draw into a draw supporter like Cynthia and Lillie to refresh your hand and draw more cards. Always use Instruct first before honey gather though to draw even more cards from your deck afterwards.
Everything else is pretty standard. Lele for drop support. Brooklet for Totodiles. Choice band for extra 30 on GX's, and stretcher to get your squad back.
I'm actually contemplating dropping 1 lele for an extra oranguru. Having 2 oranguru on the bench gives you even more draw power. Instruct. Downpour energy. Instruct again downpour more energy.
But I want to hear your guys thought on this deck. It currently has a roughly 50% win ratio. It still can't stand up to competitive stuff like buzzgarb, but the 1 prize trade off can help you stay in the game against GX pokemon decks
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