Hey everyone! So I just got back from a League Cup here in Las Vegas and figured I'd share my experience with you all. I placed Top 8 with a slightly different variation of the Drampa GX/Garbodor build that many of you are probably used to seeing. I'll go over my deck list and explain why I ran what I did.
****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******
##Pokémon - 14
* 2 Drampa-GX GRI 142
* 1 Turtonator-GX GRI 131
* 1 Tapu Koko PR-SM SM31
* 1 Espeon-EX BKP 117
* 3 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 137
* 3 Trubbish BKP 56
* 1 Garbodor GRI 51
* 2 Garbodor BKP 57
##Trainer Cards - 34
* 2 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130
* 3 Acerola BUS 112
* 3 Po Town BUS 121
* 4 Choice Band GRI 121
* 4 Professor Sycamore BKP 107
* 3 Guzma BUS 115
* 4 Ultra Ball SUM 135
* 4 Float Stone BKT 137
* 1 Brigette BKT 161
* 2 Field Blower GRI 125
* 4 N NVI 92
##Energy - 12
* 3 Rainbow Energy SUM 137
* 5 Psychic Energy 5
* 4 Double Colorless Energy SUM 136
Total Cards - 60
****** Deck List Generated by the Pokémon TCG Online www.pokemon.com/TCGO ******
This morning before the tournament, I removed a fourth Trubbish and a second Trashalanche Garbodor so I could squeeze in a Tapu Koko and a second Rescue Stretcher. I initially was just trying to squeeze in the Tapu Koko, but couldn't find anything flexible enough to remove besides something from the Garbodor line, so I figured that if I had to cut a Trubbish or Garbodor it made more sense to cut one of both and just add in a second Rescue Stretcher so I could get them back in my hand or deck if needed. The 3 Trubbish, 2 Garbotoxin, and 1 Trashalanche line is the same line that was used in the Golisopod GX/Garbodor list that won the Bremen Regionals recently so I felt that although I preferred the 4-2-2 line, the 3-2-1 line was viable.
Two cards that were the most surprising in my list were the Turtonator GX and the 3 Acerola. Turtonator is an interesting choice. This deck lacks "beefy" Pokémon. While Turtonator isn't the bulkiest, it's 190 HP does allow it to live a Choice Banded Giga Hammer from Metagross and opposing Choice Banded Berserks from mirror matches. It also lives a Choice Banded Crossing Cut from Golisopod GX. I'm sure there are other calculations I could list, but those are some of the most relevant ones. The idea was to use Shell Trap to get chip damage, force my opponent to either attack into it and take the extra 80 damage, or not attack at all which essentially gave me a free turn. If my opponent did attack into it, I would just Acerola it back to my hand, promote Tapu Koko or a Pokémon with Float Stone, and then put the Turtonator back down and use Shell Trap again. Acerola was also awesome for getting resources back into my hand. I used it in just about every game, and not just on Turtonator. I highly recommend at least one Acerola in any Drampa/Garbodor deck.
The rest of the deck is pretty standard when it comes to Drampa/Garbodor lists, but if you have any questions let me know!
As far as my matches went, I ended with a 3-1-1 record which was enough to get me into Top 8. My only loss came from a Rainbow Road Xerneas deck, which I ironically had to play again during the first round of Top 8. I ended up making a huge misplay in the second game that cost me the win. Even if I would've won Game 2 though, there's no telling how Game 3 would've went so all I can do is learn from the experience. As far as my matches, these were the decks I played:
Round 1: Drampa GX/Garbodor (1-0-0)
Round 2: Rainbow Road Xerneas (1-1-0)
Round 3: Solgaleo GX (2-1-0)
Round 4: Metagross GX/Necrozma GX (3-1-0)
Round 5: Volcanion/Turtonator GX (3-1-1)
All in all, I'm very happy. This was only my second League Cup so I'll take Top 8.
****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******
##Pokémon - 14
* 2 Drampa-GX GRI 142
* 1 Turtonator-GX GRI 131
* 1 Tapu Koko PR-SM SM31
* 1 Espeon-EX BKP 117
* 3 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 137
* 3 Trubbish BKP 56
* 1 Garbodor GRI 51
* 2 Garbodor BKP 57
##Trainer Cards - 34
* 2 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130
* 3 Acerola BUS 112
* 3 Po Town BUS 121
* 4 Choice Band GRI 121
* 4 Professor Sycamore BKP 107
* 3 Guzma BUS 115
* 4 Ultra Ball SUM 135
* 4 Float Stone BKT 137
* 1 Brigette BKT 161
* 2 Field Blower GRI 125
* 4 N NVI 92
##Energy - 12
* 3 Rainbow Energy SUM 137
* 5 Psychic Energy 5
* 4 Double Colorless Energy SUM 136
Total Cards - 60
****** Deck List Generated by the Pokémon TCG Online www.pokemon.com/TCGO ******
This morning before the tournament, I removed a fourth Trubbish and a second Trashalanche Garbodor so I could squeeze in a Tapu Koko and a second Rescue Stretcher. I initially was just trying to squeeze in the Tapu Koko, but couldn't find anything flexible enough to remove besides something from the Garbodor line, so I figured that if I had to cut a Trubbish or Garbodor it made more sense to cut one of both and just add in a second Rescue Stretcher so I could get them back in my hand or deck if needed. The 3 Trubbish, 2 Garbotoxin, and 1 Trashalanche line is the same line that was used in the Golisopod GX/Garbodor list that won the Bremen Regionals recently so I felt that although I preferred the 4-2-2 line, the 3-2-1 line was viable.
Two cards that were the most surprising in my list were the Turtonator GX and the 3 Acerola. Turtonator is an interesting choice. This deck lacks "beefy" Pokémon. While Turtonator isn't the bulkiest, it's 190 HP does allow it to live a Choice Banded Giga Hammer from Metagross and opposing Choice Banded Berserks from mirror matches. It also lives a Choice Banded Crossing Cut from Golisopod GX. I'm sure there are other calculations I could list, but those are some of the most relevant ones. The idea was to use Shell Trap to get chip damage, force my opponent to either attack into it and take the extra 80 damage, or not attack at all which essentially gave me a free turn. If my opponent did attack into it, I would just Acerola it back to my hand, promote Tapu Koko or a Pokémon with Float Stone, and then put the Turtonator back down and use Shell Trap again. Acerola was also awesome for getting resources back into my hand. I used it in just about every game, and not just on Turtonator. I highly recommend at least one Acerola in any Drampa/Garbodor deck.
The rest of the deck is pretty standard when it comes to Drampa/Garbodor lists, but if you have any questions let me know!
As far as my matches went, I ended with a 3-1-1 record which was enough to get me into Top 8. My only loss came from a Rainbow Road Xerneas deck, which I ironically had to play again during the first round of Top 8. I ended up making a huge misplay in the second game that cost me the win. Even if I would've won Game 2 though, there's no telling how Game 3 would've went so all I can do is learn from the experience. As far as my matches, these were the decks I played:
Round 1: Drampa GX/Garbodor (1-0-0)
Round 2: Rainbow Road Xerneas (1-1-0)
Round 3: Solgaleo GX (2-1-0)
Round 4: Metagross GX/Necrozma GX (3-1-0)
Round 5: Volcanion/Turtonator GX (3-1-1)
All in all, I'm very happy. This was only my second League Cup so I'll take Top 8.
