Standard Halloween Massacre (Gorgeist SM4 / Klefki)

[Dark Espeon]

HALLOWEEN MASSACRE

Pokémon (16):

• 2 Tapu Lele GX (beatdown)
• 2 Frost Rotom (beatdown)
• 2 Heat Rotom (beatdown)
  
• 2 Spin Rotom (beatdown)
  
• 4 Gorgeist (beatdown)
• 4 Pumpkaboo (evolve)

Trainer (40):

• 4 Professor Sycamore (draw)
• 1 Bridgette (search)
• 3 Guzma (control)
• 3 Cynthia (draw)
• 3 N (draw)
• 4 Bursting Balloon (beatdown)
  
• 4 Muscle Dumbbell (enable)
• 4 Choice Band (beatdown)
• 2 Special Charge (retrieve)
• 4 Escape Board (retreat)
  
• 4 Float Stone (retreat)
• 4 Ultra Ball (search)

Energy (04):

• 4 Double Colorless Energy

STRATEGY:

Start with either Pumpkaboo or Oranguru and use Tapu Lele GX set up with Bridgette. Bench another Pumpkaboo and search out two Klefki. Fill the bench with Basic Pokémon and attach tools to them. Discard the tools with Pumpkin Bomb to knock out the defender. The deck contains a total of sixteen tool cards in addition to four Klefki. The latter can be retrieved with Rescue Stretcher and Super Rod to increase the tool count on subsequent turns.

SPOILER:

All spoilers have been taken from Pokébeach.

Gorgeist
Stage 1 Psychic Pokémon - evolves from Pumpkaboo
HP: 120
[P] Confuse Ray
Your opponent's active Pokémon is now confused.
[C][C] Pumpkin Bomb: 10+
Before doing damage , you may discard any of your Pokémon Tool cards in play. This attack does 40 more dmage for each Pokémon Tool card discarded in this way.
Retreat Cost: CCC
Weakness: D
Resistence: F

Pumpkaboo
Basic Psychic Pokémon
HP: 60
[P] Astonish
Choose 1 card from your opponent's hand without looking. Look at the card you chose, then have your opponent shuffle that card into her/his deck.
Retreat Cost: CC
Weakness: D
Resistence: F

 

[Arsiano]

This is the deck I'm the most excited about making hands down! I think you nailed a lot of what I was thinking with this deck. Here are the things I'm curious about:

• Super rod won't be necessary because we don't need to have anything but the 4 DCE. In general, decks of this style (passimian, gyarados, etc.) have never needed it. And if you think about it, if you find a psychic energy, the chance of finding another is worse than finding the DCE in the first place, so you didn't really accomplish anything.
• The heavy ball is interesting since all of the decks with similar style make use of some additional search ball to streamline attackers. So I'm curious if this is the right ball to use, or if it's just better to use something like a nest ball to keep the bench full and thin out to find more stage ones.
• I don't think dash pouch will be useful. Of all the tools I picked for my build, I ended up with 4 Bodybuilding, 4 Bursting Balloon, 4 Choice, and 4 Float. I think the Bursting Balloon offers some good utility. Also, I realized recently that it is better to keep a Choice Band on if you can get 2 attacks off, so that might be a reason for you to have 4 of Choice Band.
• We'll definitely need a special charge in here.
• I think it would be beneficial to have a stronger draw supporter like Octillery in here. I'd personally rather draw up to 5 because I imagine the situation where you need just one more tool to take the OHKO.
• Finally, the translation on Bulbapedia suggests that you discard any tools in play from either side. If that's the case I'm incredibly excited. If not, we will certainly need some field blowers to keep using Wonder Lock and Abyssal Hand.

So with all of that in mind, I attached the list that I will be testing when the set comes out. The Cofagrigus line is a placeholder since they are pretty much the same.

 

[CaptZero]

is there anything left in the format with ancient traits? double in particular.

The biggest issue I see with the archetype is particular is I'm not sure if you can sustain through a 6 prize game with this. If you had a backup attacker like Salazzle maybe? It since you're paying colorless anyway you could just play Fire/ DCE

 

[Dark Espeon]

Hi Arsiano,

Thanks for the review. Will be sure to replace Replacing Dash Pouch with Burst Baloon. Totally forgot about Burst Ballloon.

• Super rod won't be necessary because we don't need to have anything but the 4 DCE. In general, decks of this style (passimian, gyarados, etc.) have never needed it. And if you think about it, if you find a psychic energy, the chance of finding another is worse than finding the DCE in the first place, so you didn't really accomplish anything.
• We'll definitely need a special charge in here.

I feel that the deck need s to recycle Gorgeist and Klefki fast to stream attacks. Super Rod was intended to shuffle three Pokémon back into the deck but I could use additional Rescue stretchers instead and include one Special Charge. In doing so I could cut the four Basic Psychic Energy for two more tools and two Counter Energy.

• I think it would be beneficial to have a stronger draw supporter like Octillery in here. I'd personally rather draw up to 5 because I imagine the situation where you need just one more tool to take the OHKO.
• Finally, the translation on Bulbapedia suggests that you discard any tools in play from either side. If that's the case I'm incredibly excited. If not, we will certainly need some field blowers to keep using Wonder Lock and Abyssal Hand.

Gorgeist can only discard tools on the own side of the battlefield. I am not that sure on Octillery since he needs more bench slots than Oranguru and the deck also runs a thick line of Lillie to ensure a stable card flow. In addition Octillery seems more vulnerable to spread attackers. The deck needs a full bench of Basics that can carry tools to function well. I have difficulties seeing how the deck can accomplish this aim with a draw Pokémon that consumes more deck space.

I will update the deck above with your considerations and advices in mind. Please let me know what you think about the revised version. Thanks for the assistance in advance.

Hi CaptainZero,

Thanks for the review. The deck indeed needs to recycle attackers. This is what Rescue stretcher is for. It is intended to shuffle Klefki and Gorgeist back into the deck to be reused later on. The deck is in fact similar to Night March and Vespiquen. A Basic Pokémon with the double attachment ancient trait would be nice but all ancient traits Pokémon have been rotated out.

 

[Draskk]

Great idea, pairing Gourgeist with Klefki. I do have a few suggestions, though:

-2 Oranguru, -2 Dash Pouch, +2 Remoraid, +2 Octillery. I think this deck requires better draws than Oranguru, like @Arsiano said.

-4 Psychic Energy, -2 Super Rod, +2 Special Charge, +2 Energy Lotto, +2 Rescue Stretcher. You dont need the Psychic Energy for the reasons @Arsiano has said, and with the Basic Energy gone, Stretcher becomes automatically better. With only four DCE, you definitely want to run Special Charge, and Energy Lotto can increase your chances of hitting your DCE.

-1 Dash Pouch, -3 Lillie,+1 N, +1 Wicke, +1 Choice Band, +1 Float Stone. Choice and Float are the best tools ATM, better than Dash Pouch, and with only 2 Lele and Brigette being your optimal T1 supporter, Wicke becomes better than Lillie. N is better than both of them, so it should be maxed out.

Other than that, looks pretty good! Hope this was helpful

(P.S: You could try two Counter Energy in place of the Lottos)

 

[Dark Espeon]

Hi GekkisaiDaiNi,

Thanks for the review. I already replaced the Basic Psychic Energy with Counter Energy and increased the number of Rescue stretchers. still not sure on Octillery since he needs more deck slots than Oranguru and the deck needs to fuill the bench with Basic Pokémon to distribute the tools to be discarded with Pumpkin Bomb. Lillie acts as a supplement to Oranguru since the deck should be able to lower its hand size due to the fact that most cards in this deck are Pokémon Tools that are going to be discarded.

N can be a double edged sword in this deck. It is great early game when you need to maintain tools in the deck while searching for Basic Pokémon to be benched. Later on you should trade a non-GX for a GX with the opponent. If this tactic works N will loose draw power for your side of the field fast while it provides the opponent with a decent hand refresh since you will predominately loose non-GX attackers during the game.

A second Special Charge would be nice but I have troubles to fit it into the deck while maintaining consistency and a sufficiently large pool of Basic Pokémon and Pokémon Tools.

What do you think about the revised variant of the deck above?

 

[Draskk]

Hi GekkisaiDaiNi,

Thanks for the review. I already replaced the Basic Psychic Energy with Counter Energy and increased the number of Rescue stretchers. still not sure on Octillery since he needs more deck slots than Oranguru and the deck needs to fuill the bench with Basic Pokémon to distribute the tools to be discarded with Pumpkin Bomb. Lillie acts as a supplement to Oranguru since the deck should be able to lower its hand size due to the fact that most cards in this deck are Pokémon Tools that are going to be discarded.

N can be a double edged sword in this deck. It is great early game when you need to maintain tools in the deck while searching for Basic Pokémon to be benched. Later on you should trade a non-GX for a GX with the opponent. If this tactic works N will loose draw power for your side of the field fast while it provides the opponent with a decent hand refresh since you will predominately loose non-GX attackers during the game.

A second Special Charge would be nice but I have troubles to fit it into the deck while maintaining consistency and a sufficiently large pool of Basic Pokémon and Pokémon Tools.

What do you think about the revised variant of the deck above?

The revised variant is better, but I still think you need Octillery. You can attach as many tools to Octillery as you can to Oranguru, and if you're looking for a backup attacker, Lele can do as much damage as Oranguru. Makes sense about the N, but I still don't think Lillie outside of T1 is very good. I think you'd be better off with Wicke. Unsure of why there is a need for a large amount of Basic Pokémon, can you explain?

 

[Dark Espeon]

Hi GekkisaiDaiNi,

The deck wants to have a full bench of Basic Pokémon to be able to attach as many Pokémon Tools to them. as possible. With five benched Pokémon and an active Gorgeist Pumpkin Bomb can ohko with ease. since each Pokémon can hold no more than one Pokémon Tool at a time the number of benched Pokémon also dictates your damage output. Ideally you want bench sitters that have some use and are easy to get out. This means you want to fill and restock the bench fast. Being able to restock can be important if one uses Klefki as a tool.

Octillery is better at drawing cards but Oranguru is easier to get out. With two Oranguru on the bench the deck should have decent draw abilities. Oranguru also has more hitpoints, which makes him less vulnerable to sniper decks but the main reason is that Oranguru is easier to use in this deck.

Lillie seems like a logical inclusion in this deck when Octillery is not used. The deck wants to fill the bench fast and attach Pokémon Tools to all of your Pokémon in play. since Basic Pokémon, tools and consistency cards make up the largest portion of this deck it should be able to reduce its hand size fast by playing Pokémon, tools and consistency items. Lillie can refresh the hand in these circumstances even mid- to late-game. The argument behand the inclusion of Lillie is in fact the same argument that can be advanced for Octillery and Oranguru.

 

[Draskk]

Hi GekkisaiDaiNi,

The deck wants to have a full bench of Basic Pokémon to be able to attach as many Pokémon Tools to them. as possible. With five benched Pokémon and an active Gorgeist Pumpkin Bomb can ohko with ease. since each Pokémon can hold no more than one Pokémon Tool at a time the number of benched Pokémon also dictates your damage output. Ideally you want bench sitters that have some use and are easy to get out. This means you want to fill and restock the bench fast. Being able to restock can be important if one uses Klefki as a tool.

Octillery is better at drawing cards but Oranguru is easier to get out. With two Oranguru on the bench the deck should have decent draw abilities. Oranguru also has more hitpoints, which makes him less vulnerable to sniper decks but the main reason is that Oranguru is easier to use in this deck.

Lillie seems like a logical inclusion in this deck when Octillery is not used. The deck wants to fill the bench fast and attach Pokémon Tools to all of your Pokémon in play. since Basic Pokémon, tools and consistency cards make up the largest portion of this deck it should be able to reduce its hand size fast by playing Pokémon, tools and consistency items. Lillie can refresh the hand in these circumstances even mid- to late-game. The argument behand the inclusion of Lillie is in fact the same argument that can be advanced for Octillery and Oranguru.

Lillie uses your supporter, though, which makes it distinctly worse than Octillery or even Oranguru. You can get the draw power of N/Sycamore and then draw off Octillery for massive card draw that Lillie simply can't provide. With Brigette in the deck, Octillery becomes very easy to get out (just Brigette for two Pumpkaboos and a Remoraid, then Ultra Ball for Octillery next turn), and you can always attach tools to Remoraid, just like you would to Oranguru. I don't see the point of playing down both Oranguru at once; it's rare enough that you shrink your hand to two or lower, let alone multiple times in one turn. Here is what I would suggest for the revised list:

-3 Lillie
-2 Oranguru
-1 Heavy Ball

+1 Special Charge
+1 Wicke
+2 Octillery
+2 Remoraid

 

[Connor Ritter]

I'm definitely gonna build this when the set comes out for fun. I recommend playing a Nest Ball or two so you can shuffle multiple Klefki into the deck with Rescue Stretcher and get them back on your bench easily. You'll probably want to bring the Klefki straight to your hand most of the time, but if you have a few discarded you can get more utility out of Stretcher.

 

[Dark Espeon]

Hi GekkisaiDaiNi,

Thanks for the review. Will consider Octillery but the deck has troubles to fit everything into the list. I noticed that I miscounted and need to loose some cards in the current list above to make it a legal deck. That will take me some time to see what works for me.

Hi Connor Ritter,

Thanks for the review. if I also have a draw supporter or can use Oranguru to draw me one I would rather reshuffle Basic Pokémon into the deck. The card that is retrieved directly from the discard most often is Gorgeist himself. Since I miscounted I need to cut some cards in the list above. That will take some time to see what works for me.