Description:
Giratina Garchomp is a deck I've been playing the most since the beginning of testing with Post Rotation for it's versatility and ability to OHKO anything. There's been a lot of tweaks and changes but I believe I finally found that spot that is able to take on everything in the next format.
Deck List:
Pokemon: (18)
4 Malamar
4 Inkay
2 Giratina Garchomp TTGX
1 Espeon & Deoxys TTGX
1 Marshadow Machamp TTGX
2 Giratina LOT
3 Jirachi
1 Dedenne GX
Trainers: (32)
4 Cynthia
2 Lillie
2 Erika's Hospitality
4 Mysterious Treasure
4 Pokemon Communication
2 Cherish Ball
2 Reset Stamp
2 Switch
4 Spell Tag
2 Escape Board
1 Adventure Bag
3 Viridian Forest
Energy: (10)
3 Fighting
7 Psychic
Description:
At first glance it shell is very similar to other Malamar decklist. At it's core it is almost the same but there are some KEY differences in this build. For one you'll notice no Custom Catchers. As I was testing I found I used custom catcher once or never a game. Too much effort to keep in hand and in this deck build I've found I never really need to use custom catcher. Without the custom catchers I've added much better options into the deck that makes it more consistent and improve matchups.
Low Lillie count-higher Erika count. At first I had 4 Lillie in the deck but after examination I found I rarely got a turn 1 Lillie thanks to Lele Rotating. We are also losing cards that allow us to discard our hand to small hand size to get that big turn 1 Lillie hand. After looking at it closer, my turn 1 Lillie hands weren't that big when I was able to have it in hand. And after turn 1 Lillie was a draw 2-3 and a good portion of the time I wished it was an Erika's because in Post rotation a lot of decks are filling up their bench with some minor exceptions (Reshizard, Gardeon) so Erika's becomes the better draw card.
The way to play it is to first identify the matchup to know which weapon you want to use. Here are some quick matchup overviews.
Matchup Overview:
Pikarom: Utilize Marshadow Machamp and get that revenge KO. It's 9-1 matchup your favor. And I don't believe Mewthree TTGX fits well into Pikarom because it can't utilize Pikarom's tools(Electropower,Thunder Mountain) So Marshadow Machamp can turn that make that match up into a nightmare for Pikarom.
Bulky Reshizard: You'll NEED to hit them with the spell tag before you can KO them with Garchomp Giratina. Any attacks that don't KO Reshizard they will immediately heal it all off. So taking advantage of putting three damage counters on a Reshizard will help you get that KO easier with Giratina Garchomp. They HATE reset stamp. So using that when they are at 4 prizes really hurts them.
Malamar Mirror Match: You'll want to utilize giratina with Spell Tag a couple of times to spread some damage around on their malamar and then come in with Espeon Deoxy's GX attack to KO them. Once their Malamar are gone it's smooth sailing from that point on. DO NOT, and I repeat DO NOT bring in any TTGX until their Malamar are gone. U. Necrozma + Custom Catcher can come out of nowhere and swing for big damage. Learned that the hard way from a match. Speaking of Ultra Necrozma, it's actually pretty easy because you can win that prize trade with Giratina+Spell Tag and they have limited amount of switching options to keep recharging Necrozma
Dark Box: Same thing as Bulky Reshizard except you have Marshadow Machamp who can come in and get a KO on a weakened Darkrai Umbreon. Attach another fighting energy, use it's GX attack to survive or just attack with One Hundred Blows impact. Once you force them to attack Marshadow Machamp, they are sometimes left in an ackward position to attack with Naganadel and lose a lot of dark energy.
Blacephelon: This is the trickiest matchup. Because they can bench snipe with Naganadel GX or get their beast ring turn and do big damage with Blacephelon. I usually try to wear them down with Giratina, win the prize trade and avoid benching Dedenne if I can. I haven't played against it since I added Espeon Deoxys but you can probably utilize their GX attack to take some big KOs on the opponents benched Naganadels making them lose a lot of damage output. Need to revisit that match up.
Gardeon: Another tough matchup. Same as Bulky reshizard, except they can one shot you with weakness and heal off all damage done to it. I tend to Spell tag the first one, then Giratina Garchomp KO and use my second Giratina Garchomp's GX attack. Need to explore that more
Mewthree TTGX Box: Giratina is MVP. Just keep attacking and force them to use an attack that is not Altaria's protection. The turn they don't use that they are open for Garchomp Giratina to come in and take it down. Spell tag is also annoying for them because they don't like having their Jirachi in Spread damage range. Also if you KO their Jirachi GX with you're own Espeon Deoxys GX attack after some spread damage, then they are open for Giratina to come and finish off Mewthree. Mewthree does not like Giratina+Spell tag at all.
Final Thoughts:
Out of all of my testing at my league with different versions of the list I've found this one sticking the most due to having so many options against the decks in this metagame. I want to tech in Mewthree GX or Gengar Mimikyu because they would be great inclusions into improving my overall matchups against a lot of decks. Namely Reshizard+Gardeon. Depending on Gardeon's usage will determine if I want to tech them in or not. As of right now, Pikarom is popular so Marshadow Machamp is faster and more dangerous. But he can be switched out to your liking if you aren't feeling him.
Giratina Garchomp is a deck I've been playing the most since the beginning of testing with Post Rotation for it's versatility and ability to OHKO anything. There's been a lot of tweaks and changes but I believe I finally found that spot that is able to take on everything in the next format.
Deck List:
Pokemon: (18)
4 Malamar
4 Inkay
2 Giratina Garchomp TTGX
1 Espeon & Deoxys TTGX
1 Marshadow Machamp TTGX
2 Giratina LOT
3 Jirachi
1 Dedenne GX
Trainers: (32)
4 Cynthia
2 Lillie
2 Erika's Hospitality
4 Mysterious Treasure
4 Pokemon Communication
2 Cherish Ball
2 Reset Stamp
2 Switch
4 Spell Tag
2 Escape Board
1 Adventure Bag
3 Viridian Forest
Energy: (10)
3 Fighting
7 Psychic
Description:
At first glance it shell is very similar to other Malamar decklist. At it's core it is almost the same but there are some KEY differences in this build. For one you'll notice no Custom Catchers. As I was testing I found I used custom catcher once or never a game. Too much effort to keep in hand and in this deck build I've found I never really need to use custom catcher. Without the custom catchers I've added much better options into the deck that makes it more consistent and improve matchups.
Low Lillie count-higher Erika count. At first I had 4 Lillie in the deck but after examination I found I rarely got a turn 1 Lillie thanks to Lele Rotating. We are also losing cards that allow us to discard our hand to small hand size to get that big turn 1 Lillie hand. After looking at it closer, my turn 1 Lillie hands weren't that big when I was able to have it in hand. And after turn 1 Lillie was a draw 2-3 and a good portion of the time I wished it was an Erika's because in Post rotation a lot of decks are filling up their bench with some minor exceptions (Reshizard, Gardeon) so Erika's becomes the better draw card.
The way to play it is to first identify the matchup to know which weapon you want to use. Here are some quick matchup overviews.
Matchup Overview:
Pikarom: Utilize Marshadow Machamp and get that revenge KO. It's 9-1 matchup your favor. And I don't believe Mewthree TTGX fits well into Pikarom because it can't utilize Pikarom's tools(Electropower,Thunder Mountain) So Marshadow Machamp can turn that make that match up into a nightmare for Pikarom.
Bulky Reshizard: You'll NEED to hit them with the spell tag before you can KO them with Garchomp Giratina. Any attacks that don't KO Reshizard they will immediately heal it all off. So taking advantage of putting three damage counters on a Reshizard will help you get that KO easier with Giratina Garchomp. They HATE reset stamp. So using that when they are at 4 prizes really hurts them.
Malamar Mirror Match: You'll want to utilize giratina with Spell Tag a couple of times to spread some damage around on their malamar and then come in with Espeon Deoxy's GX attack to KO them. Once their Malamar are gone it's smooth sailing from that point on. DO NOT, and I repeat DO NOT bring in any TTGX until their Malamar are gone. U. Necrozma + Custom Catcher can come out of nowhere and swing for big damage. Learned that the hard way from a match. Speaking of Ultra Necrozma, it's actually pretty easy because you can win that prize trade with Giratina+Spell Tag and they have limited amount of switching options to keep recharging Necrozma
Dark Box: Same thing as Bulky Reshizard except you have Marshadow Machamp who can come in and get a KO on a weakened Darkrai Umbreon. Attach another fighting energy, use it's GX attack to survive or just attack with One Hundred Blows impact. Once you force them to attack Marshadow Machamp, they are sometimes left in an ackward position to attack with Naganadel and lose a lot of dark energy.
Blacephelon: This is the trickiest matchup. Because they can bench snipe with Naganadel GX or get their beast ring turn and do big damage with Blacephelon. I usually try to wear them down with Giratina, win the prize trade and avoid benching Dedenne if I can. I haven't played against it since I added Espeon Deoxys but you can probably utilize their GX attack to take some big KOs on the opponents benched Naganadels making them lose a lot of damage output. Need to revisit that match up.
Gardeon: Another tough matchup. Same as Bulky reshizard, except they can one shot you with weakness and heal off all damage done to it. I tend to Spell tag the first one, then Giratina Garchomp KO and use my second Giratina Garchomp's GX attack. Need to explore that more
Mewthree TTGX Box: Giratina is MVP. Just keep attacking and force them to use an attack that is not Altaria's protection. The turn they don't use that they are open for Garchomp Giratina to come in and take it down. Spell tag is also annoying for them because they don't like having their Jirachi in Spread damage range. Also if you KO their Jirachi GX with you're own Espeon Deoxys GX attack after some spread damage, then they are open for Giratina to come and finish off Mewthree. Mewthree does not like Giratina+Spell tag at all.
Final Thoughts:
Out of all of my testing at my league with different versions of the list I've found this one sticking the most due to having so many options against the decks in this metagame. I want to tech in Mewthree GX or Gengar Mimikyu because they would be great inclusions into improving my overall matchups against a lot of decks. Namely Reshizard+Gardeon. Depending on Gardeon's usage will determine if I want to tech them in or not. As of right now, Pikarom is popular so Marshadow Machamp is faster and more dangerous. But he can be switched out to your liking if you aren't feeling him.
