Is Mill Back? — A Look at Great Tusk Mill

[PMJ]

Hey PokeBeach readers, Ciaran here with another article for you today! Hopefully you’ve been seeing success at your tournaments and you’re ready for rotation. Today, I want to look at a deck that might be flying a bit under the radar right now: Great Tusk. I want to go over what an ideal build might look like, how to play the deck, and its position in our upcoming meta.
Winning by deckout is the least common win condition, and it’s rare that we have a deck in the meta that uses milling as its main focus. We have seen success from Snorlax recently, but that’s more of a control deck. Durant saw some fringe play during the 2022-23 season, peaking with a Top 4 at the 2022 Brisbane...

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[F4nt45m]

I love how Durant was printed twice with the same attack as an influential mill card and everybody's just cool with that.

 

[Dabfamlet]

Man I hope this deck is good
You should play it to euic bro ez dubs

 

[CiaranTCG]

I love how Durant was printed twice with the same attack as an influential mill card and everybody's just cool with that.

That's just Durant's stick now I guess lol

 

[CiaranTCG]

Man I hope this deck is good
You should play it to euic bro ez dubs

If I don't play Cpao then this is high on my list!

 

[Charmaster:)]

@CiaranTCG Would you say this deck will continue to function even once Radiant Greninja rotates in March of 2025? I’ve heard that Ancient Box is dependent upon Radiant Greninja due to just how far you need to dig into your deck, and while Great Tusk doesn’t seem as high-maintenance, I thought I should verify that the deck wouldn’t fall apart after the 2025 rotation.

 

[CiaranTCG]

@CiaranTCG Would you say this deck will continue to function even once Radiant Greninja rotates in March of 2025? I’ve heard that Ancient Box is dependent upon Radiant Greninja due to just how far you need to dig into your deck, and while Great Tusk doesn’t seem as high-maintenance, I thought I should verify that the deck wouldn’t fall apart after the 2025 rotation.

I can't really project out that far since we will have a lot of new sets. Greninja is important, but the deck isn't unplayable without it

 

[Charmaster:)]

I can't really project out that far since we will have a lot of new sets. Greninja is important, but the deck isn't unplayable without it

Thanks for the help.

I have a friend who I may start going to small events with this fall or next winter, and I’ve been trying to figure out which deck would be the best for my value if I’m only using it in a few small tournaments without prior practice, trying to find a good balance between playability and the ability to play it comfortably as a casual player. I consider Charizard ex to be good value, but depending on just how few games I expect to play Great Tusk may be more in my budget range. That’s a long way away, of course, so it’s probably better to let the meta shake out.

(Ancient Box also looks neat, but it looks more stressful to play as games feature a drawn out prize trade with a not unsubstantial chance of bricking on any given turn. I’m not sure I have the emotional energy to try playing Ancient Box casually, while Great Tusk at least has a simpler game plan where I always know what the bare minimum is.)