Expanded Ninja Box SM8/SM9

[Laurier_Ex]

My current Ninja Box deck in the spoiler below. I will not go into details but people would obviously just search for Ninja Box and have a brief idea of the core of this deck. This archetype uses Ho-oh Ex an a few basic energies to help with energy acceleration.

Spoiler

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 14

* 2 Shaymin-EX ROS 77
* 1 Comfey GRI 93
* 1 Xerneas {*} LOT 144
* 1 Machamp-EX AOR 90
* 1 Ho-Oh-EX DRX 22
* 1 Pheromosa-GX UPR 140
* 1 Jolteon-EX GEN 28
* 1 Zeraora-GX LOT 86
* 1 Magearna-EX STS 110
* 2 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 137
* 2 Unown AOR 30

##Trainer Cards - 31

* 1 Fighting Fury Belt BKP 99
* 1 Thunder Mountain {*} LOT 191
* 2 Mysterious Treasure FLI 113
* 2 Mallow GRI 127
* 1 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130
* 1 Lillie SUM 147
* 1 Scramble Switch PLS 129
* 2 Choice Band GRI 121
* 1 Switch SUM 160
* 3 Ninja Boy STS 103
* 1 Battle Compressor Team Flare Gear PHF 92
* 3 Ultra Ball FCO 113
* 1 Float Stone BKT 137
* 1 Guzma BUS 115
* 4 VS Seeker ROS 110
* 1 Field Blower GRI 163
* 1 N NVI 101
* 1 Lysandre FLF 104
* 3 Pokémon Communication BLW 99

##Energy - 13

* 1 Lightning Energy 4
* 1 Beast Energy {*} FLI 117
* 2 Rainbow Energy SUM 137
* 4 Prism Energy NXD 93
* 3 Double Colorless Energy XY 130
* 1 Metal Energy 8
* 1 Fairy Energy 9

Total Cards - 58

****** Deck List Generated by the Pokémon TCG Online www.pokemon.com/TCGO ******

Tech cards

I saved 2 spots for special techs depending what you want to also tech against. Sometimes i add Lugia-Gx, Oranguru UP (against Wailord and other mill decks), Sigilyph-GX(helps against Garbodor decks and other GX reliant decks), Hoopa SL (another good way to stall) or baby Buzzwole (helps against Zoroark-Gx). Running into Zebstrika/Nightmarch would require adding Karen against it since Jolteon-Ex would not make it by himself. Glaceon-Ex apart from hitting weakness on a few relevant decks does not really counter a lot of decks with Crystal Ray in the current meta so I did not include it.

I decided going back to something i had tried a while ago for acceleration: Ho-oH Ex. The deck does not necessarily need it to work but flipping a coin each turn to have a chance at accelerating energy can be rewarding. It is similar to how Ho-oH is used in Rainbow Xerneas.

The deck review with SM8

Ninja Box still provides a lot of satisfying matchup to be worth playing and testing. While SM8 did not bring to the deck the perfect tool to deal with Zoroark-Gx yet(without massively investing towards it), a few cards caught my attention:

- Xerneas Prism Star

Spoiler

Xerneas Prism Star – Fairy – HP160
Basic Pokemon

You can’t have more than 1 Prism Star card with the same name in your deck. If a Prism Star card would go to the discard pile, put it in the Lost Zone instead.

Ability: Life Road Once during your turn (before your attack), when this Pokemon moves from your bench to become your Active Pokemon, you may move any number of Energy from your other Pokemon to this Pokemon.

[Y][Y][Y] Bright Horns: 160 damage. This Pokemon can’t use Bright Horns during your next turn.

Weakness: Metal (x2)
Resistance: Darkness (-20)
Retreat: 2

The star of SM8 for the deck. As opposed to Tapu Koko-Gx's and Articuno-Gx's abilities, Xerneas can transfer any type (including special energies) of energies onto himself. While one could argue it is pointless to transfer any other types of energies appart from Fairy because Xerneas PS can only attack using Fairy energies don't see the bigger picture. When you combine Xerneas PS with something like Ninja Boy, transfering DCE becomes an option and lets you pull powerful attacks. Xerneas PS pairs very well with free retreat Jolteon-EX and Zeraora-Gx. Do not forget that Xerneas can hit for 160dmg himself (without Choice Band) and the attack effect (preventing it from using Bright Horns again on the following turn) can be bypassed using Ninja Boy on that said turn to use another attacker and without having issues. It also helps to win the prize trade.

- Zeraora-Gx and Thunder Mountain

Spoiler

Zeraora-GX – Lightning – HP190
Basic Pokemon

Ability: Electric Zone Each of your Pokemon that has any [L] Energy attached to it has no Retreat Cost.

[L][L][C] Plasma Fists: 160 damage. This Pokemon can’t attack during your next turn.

[L] Full Voltage GX: Attach 5 basic Energy cards from your discard pile to your Pokemon in any way you like. (You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)

When 1 of your Pokemon-GX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Metal (-20)
Retreat: 2

This pair is really helpful. Thunder Mountain allows Jolteon-Ex to use Flash Ray on the first turn with a DCE and Zeraora-Gx can hit up to 190dmg with 2 attachment and a Choice Band which is a magic number. Zeraora-Gx helps with free retreat also and pairs very well with Xerneas Prism Star. Zeraora-Gx has a restriction related to its attack that can backfire and cannot be bypassed using Ninja Boy. Not suggested to use it without Guzma/Switch or another attacker ready on the bench for next turn.

- Sigilyph-Gx

Spoiler

Sigilyph-GX – Psychic – HP170
Basic Pokemon

Ability: Mirror Counter If this Pokemon is your Active Pokemon and is damaged by an attack from your opponent’s Pokemon-GX or Pokemon-EX (even if this Pokemon is Knocked Out), put damage counters on the Attacking Pokemon equal to the damage done to this Pokemon.

[P][C][C] Sonic Wing: 80 damage. This attack’s damage isn’t affected by Resistance.

[P][C][C] Intercept GX: 60x damage. This attack does 60 damage times the number of Energy attached to your opponent’s Active Pokemon. (You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.) When 1 of your Pokemon-GX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

Not a perfect card but it can be a very good tech against Psychic decks since it hits for psychic weakness but it is weak to lightning. Very useful against Drampa/Garb along with Magearna-Ex for exemple. It can also help countering Gx decks thanks to the ability.

- Lugia-Gx

Spoiler

Lugia-GX – Colorless – HP190
Basic Pokemon [C][C][C]

Psychic: 30+ damage. This attack does 30 more damage times the amount of Energy attached to your opponent’s Active Pokemon.

[C][C][C][C] Wadatsumi’s Spear: 170 damage. This Pokemon can’t use Wadatsumi’s Spear during your next turn. [C][C][C]

Lost Purge GX: Put your opponent Active Pokemon and all cards attached to it into their Lost Zone. (You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)

When your Pokemon-GX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 2"]

A very nice Pokemon to add into the deck for it's second attack. The restriction on it's attack can be bypassed using Ninja Boy on the following turn if needed. I would definitely replace this with a TagTeam pokemon soon to come (see below for details).

What is comming with SM9

While SM8 brought a few more options for the deck (my favorite being Xerneas Prism Star with which I am still experimenting), it's main weakness is still against evolution decks. Going over 190dmg without hitting weakness is not something we can do just yet and has i said before, Glaceon-Ex became less relevant in the last few expansions. With the arrival of SM9 in febuary, i do not know which way the meta will be shaping but we have at least a card out there that seems to finally help the deck enormously, especially against Zoroark-Gx and most Stage 1 decks. This card is Eevee&Snorlax Gx Tagteam.


The first attack is not amazing but it can charge special energy and can come in handy. The second attack can OHKO any evolved pokemon by doing 240dmg without Choice Band. The GX attack is expensive but it is great allowing to hit for 210hp without Choice Band and potentially providing you with 10 cards in your hand. Those 3 attacks fit perfectly with the deck and provide a lot of good options. This Pokemon has the potential to OHKO any Pokemon on turn 2. The deck is also not too reliant on this card so when it comes to face Buzzwole decks other options can be good instead so we do not give up 3 prizes easily.

 

[laorik]

Ninja Boy'ing a Xerneas Prism Star after shifting a bunch of energy is a really good idea.

Any room for a Marshadow GX? Lots of options with that in there. Especially against zoro deck that just starts zorua, you can turn 1 donk with compressed Phermosa copy with Marshadow.

 

[Laurier_Ex]

Ninja Boy'ing a Xerneas Prism Star after shifting a bunch of energy is a really good idea.

Any room for a Marshadow GX? Lots of options with that in there.

The only reason you would include it is for weakness. If you include Marshadow-Gx you will likely need more Battle Compressor and less Ninja Boy cards. The more Pokémon in your discard pile, the less useful Ninja Boy becomes. With Marshadow-Gx you will also want to have Strong Energy in order to boost him and this can only be attached to Fighting type. You will then want to play more Marshadow-Gx copies. And after you are done, you have the Marshadow-Gx box instead of the Ninja Box.

I believed that Marshadow-Gx was a proper answer to Zoroark-Gx but my testings proved me wrong. Zoroark-Gx hits for 150hp with a Choice band and full bench and can usually respond to Marshadow-Gx with ability lock or another attacker. I think that Eeve/Snorlax-Gx Tagteam will be the addition needed for the deck to OHKO Zoroark-Gx if need be.

Especially against zoro deck that just starts zorua, you can turn 1 donk with compressed Phermosa copy with Marshadow.

The deck can donk Zorua on turn 1 with Beast Energy attached instead, you do not need Marshadow-Gx to do it. The deck uses Mallow with Shaymin-Ex to pull it off. Playing Pokemon Communication with Ultra Ball makes this very likely to happen. If you have a very lucky hand and start with Pheromosa in the active you can dream of doing up to 70hp damage with the inclusion of Fighting Fury Belt. This deck can donk Regirock-Ex and Diancie PS.

Honestly, I can't believe that people are still playing the old Latios-Ex donk deck online while they have the opportunity to play this deck instead. At least you have a win condition when your opponent as something benched. I donk often with this deck.

 

[Laurier_Ex]

Tapu Koko PS will be awesome for the deck.

Spoiler

Tapu Koko Prism Star – Lightning – HP130
Basic Pokemon

You can’t have more than 1 Prism Star card with the same name in your deck. If a Prism Star card would go to the discard pile, put it in the Lost Zone instead.

Ability: Ancestor’s Dance
Once during your turn (before your attack), if this Pokemon is on your Bench, you may use this Ability. Choose 2 of your Benched Pokemon and attach 1 [L] Energy from your discard pile to each of them. Then, put this Pokemon in the Lost Zone (discard all cards attached to this Pokemon).

[L][L][C] Mach Bolt: 120 damage.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Metal (-20)
Retreat: 1

This Pokemon will work very well with Ninja Boy/Xerneas Prism/Zeraora-Gx/Jolteon-Ex/Eevee&Snorlax-Gx and will most likely become the primary acceleration form for the deck (replacing Ho-oH Ex and the basic energies version shown in this post) when it is released. It serves a similar purpose that Unknown currently fills in this deck; used as a result of Ninja Boy to get rid of unwanted benched Pokemon and freeing bench space. You also have a good way to remove damage counters on your bench this way and this comes handy against spread decks.

Here let's see with an example how this deck can work out in a perfect scenario.

1st turn

Active: Any Pokemon
Bench: Zeraora-Gx, Tapu Koko PS, Xerneas PS, Comfey, Magearna-Ex

Going first we would gladly want Pheromosa-Gx in the active with maybe a Beast Energy or Prism Energy. Going second we would ideally use Jolteon-Ex with a DCE and Thunder Mountain. If we attach a Prism Energy on any Pokemon or the Beast Energy on Pheromosa, this Pokemon now has free retreat and is immune to any effects of attack and special conditions.

2nd turn

We can use Tapu Koko PS ability to charge 2 Lightning Energy somewhere on the bench. We can then do a free retreat into Xerneas (note that Jolteon-Ex can retreat with a DCE since he has 0 retreat cost). This will suck every energy on the board onto Xerneas PS (4 or 5 energies total). We can then attach our energy for the turn onto Xerneas PS and use Ninja Boy to get out Eevee&Snorlax-Gx Tagteam to OHKO almost everything in the format.

 

[_PokeMaster_]

I like your ninja-creative mind! Overall the deck looks pretty good!I like your use with the 3 ninja boy’s and having powerful Pokémon to switch out for (well less) powerful Pokémon

 

[Laurier_Ex]

I like your ninja-creative mind! Overall the deck looks pretty good!I like your use with the 3 ninja boy’s and having powerful Pokémon to switch out for (well less) powerful Pokémon

The deck feels smooth and there are so many niche techs, flexibility and combos to pull off that it makes it the most enjoyable deck to play ever (sorry about me being biased).

Jolteon-Ex is a win condition by himself, has free retreat which works very nicely with Xerneas PS and can buy you some time when you need to face stage 1-2 decks. He will be MVP against upcoming TagTeam-Gx. The Xerneas PS with Zeraora-Gx combo feels pretty sick and is consistent as long as nothing is being prized.

If Jolteon-Ex does not get OHKO, you can then use either Ninja Boy into Tauros-Gx or Machamp-Ex to return the favor and get the OHKO. You could also retreat into Xerneas to remove Jolteon-Ex from the active and transfer the energies onto Xerneas PS to preserve them. Then you can either attack with Xerneas PS if you have the requirements or use Ninja Boy onto Xerneas and get yourself another attacker. Jolteon-Ex will be sitting on the bench with a lot of counters on him and that is just fine since he will remain a threat with the Ninja Boy into Tauros-Gx or Machamp-Ex trick.

I often swap a card here and there in this deck. Recently i have been running into a lot of stall/mill decks so I find myself using some counters like Oranguru UP, Girafarig LT, Regirock XY Promo. I still like to play Glaceon-Ex sometimes when i encounter a lot of stage1-2 reliant decks. It can also do the trick against Blacephalon-Gx. Being able to OHKO it with a choice band while being imuned against Baby Naganadel can turn the tide of battle. Latias-Ex is also a card that I go back too more often than not. Sometimes it can buy some time. It can also auto-win against decks relying heavily on attackers with abilities like Trevenant Break and Rayquaza-Gx in the event that they do not have some sort of counter.

 

[Zamuron]

Please tell me why Jolteon Ex is’nt enough against night march? I mean they only have basic attackers.
Besides that though, the deck is pretty nice.

 

[Laurier_Ex]

Please tell me why Jolteon Ex is’nt enough against night march? I mean they only have basic attackers.
Besides that though, the deck is pretty nice.

Thank you for posting. My previous post whas an attempt at keeping things more general and giving basic ideas up with some interesting sm8/sm9 cards. I am very happy to go into this specific matchup for you and talk more specifically about NM decks.

Has you said, NM only has basic attackers most of the time. Unless you brick or Jolteon-Ex is prized, the matchup is highly in favor of the Ninja Box deck. But what if they have one of these cards that can counter Jolteon-Ex?

- Pokemon Ranger and/or Escape Rope: some NM players still inevitably include those cards and can use it to mess you up sometimes. You learn to get around those has you learn a deal about Ninja Box but nonetheless the match-up becomes more challenging. You often need to play with Rescue Stretcher in mind and prepare sometimes a backup attacker which makes it vulnerable to Guzma and such.
- Zoroark variant: they have a stage 1 attacker so it can possibly mess you up sometimes and force you into using Rescue Stretcher plays to win which is a bit harder to pull than just using Flash Ray.
- Zebstrika variant: if they rely on the Zebstrika engine and include 1 copy of Zebstrika XY, Jolteon-Ex can be attacked by Joltik and this removes Flash Ray as the winning condition unless you can quickly get rid of that Zebstrika. I have not faced this deck variant yet.

Has you can see, Nightmach have a few options to counter you if you only play Jolteon-Ex. The matchup is winnable without Karen more often thatn not and it is for you to decide if Karen is worth the inclusion or not. I will just point out a few other aspects Karen can help with also that should probably be considered before choosing to add it or not.

- Karen can help against decks like Archies, Vespiquen, Exeggcute and mill decks to some extend.
- It is not a bad card by any means in this deck and not really a liability. The deck plays a lot of single copies and you also have some drawing bonus (Shaymin and Unown) added when you play Karen at the right time and have space and time to do it.
- It can combo with Scramble Switch to do something with end results very similar as playing Rescue Stretcher with Ninja Boy combo in the event that the attacker you need is in the discard pile. Not something I would rely on but it is a possibility.

 

[Zamuron]

Thank you for posting. My previous post whas an attempt at keeping things more general and giving basic ideas up with some interesting sm8/sm9 cards. I am very happy to go into this specific matchup for you and talk more specifically about NM decks.

Has you said, NM only has basic attackers most of the time. Unless you brick or Jolteon-Ex is prized, the matchup is highly in favor of the Ninja Box deck. But what if they have one of these cards that can counter Jolteon-Ex?

- Pokemon Ranger and/or Escape Rope: some NM players still inevitably include those cards and can use it to mess you up sometimes. You learn to get around those has you learn a deal about Ninja Box but nonetheless the match-up becomes more challenging. You often need to play with Rescue Stretcher in mind and prepare sometimes a backup attacker which makes it vulnerable to Guzma and such.
- Zoroark variant: they have a stage 1 attacker so it can possibly mess you up sometimes and force you into using Rescue Stretcher plays to win which is a bit harder to pull than just using Flash Ray.
- Zebstrika variant: if they rely on the Zebstrika engine and include 1 copy of Zebstrika XY, Jolteon-Ex can be attacked by Joltik and this removes Flash Ray as the winning condition unless you can quickly get rid of that Zebstrika. I have not faced this deck variant yet.

Has you can see, Nightmach have a few options to counter you if you only play Jolteon-Ex. The matchup is winnable without Karen more often thatn not and it is for you to decide if Karen is worth the inclusion or not. I will just point out a few other aspects Karen can help with also that should probably be considered before choosing to add it or not.

- Karen can help against decks like Archies, Vespiquen, Exeggcute and mill decks to some extend.
- It is not a bad card by any means in this deck and not really a liability. The deck plays a lot of single copies and you also have some drawing bonus (Shaymin and Unown) added when you play Karen at the right time and have space and time to do it.
- It can combo with Scramble Switch to do something with end results very similar as playing Rescue Stretcher with Ninja Boy combo in the event that the attacker you need is in the discard pile. Not something I would rely on but it is a possibility.

Oh ok, I honestly forgot about all these counters, which is ironic because I play ranger in my own NM deck.

 

[Laurier_Ex]

For those interested in making TagTeam-Gx decks, i definitely recommend using the Ninja Boy/Shaymin/Mallow draw engine. Using Ninja Boy on a TagTeam-Gx can deny your opponent prizes and Jolteon-Ex is MVP against TagTeam-Gx which makes this deck great for the upcoming format. However, not all TagTeam-Gx can be used efficiently with this deck.

The energy cost is the primary limitation to the use of the TTGX in a Ninja Box deck. Ninja Box loves to run special energies to enable multiple attackers and benefit from useful bench supporters (Comfey/Magearna or some others). This often comes at the price of energy acceleration which is needed to activate the most powerful TTGX attacks. Using a Pokemon with a high attack cost, that is not colorless, is hard to run without hurting the deck's consistency, flexibility and/or resilience. The best ways to accelerate energy for Ninja Box are Tapu Koko PS, Ho-Oh-Ex DRX, DCE and Thunder Mountain. These can be paired with some energy accelerating TTGX attacks.

Here is the list of all the TagTeam-Gx released so far and their ranking from my perspective in regards to their use in a NinjaBox engine:

Not recommended for Ninja-Box:

9. Magicarp&Wailord-TTGX: Too expensive and there are better ways to do it. Play Archies engine.

8. Latias&Latios-TTGX: Too expensive for what we can afford. We would need to play something like 4xHo-Oh Ex and 4xBattle Compressors which would hurt the deck in many aspects.

7. Greninja&Zoroark-TTGX: A Turbo-Darkrai deck would work better. Not suited for Ninja Box.

6. Sylveon&Gardevoir-TTGX: I really like the second attack and i can see how useful this could be. On the other hand, the first attack and the GX is not conceivable unless you massively invest into fairy energy which would hurt the deck in many aspects.

5. Gengar&Mimikiu-TTGX: The attacks are cheap so it could be used as a Psychic attacker and the GX can help recovering or transition into something else. The fact that it is weak to Zoroark-Gx is not a good thing. Best played with his Garbodor friends.

4. Celebi&Venusaur-TTGX: I can see this one working as a tech to counter stall/mill decks probably paired with Girafarig, Regirock XYPR and/or Oranguru ULP.

3. Pikachu&Zekrom-TTGX: This TTGX falls into the "cost too much" category but you could make a more heavy lightning focused version of the deck because the typing is good to pair with Jolteon-Ex (the decks main attacker). Dropping most Rainbow/Prism energy for lightning energy could be considered as Jolteon-Ex can also use it. Changing most Pokemon (Magearna, Comfey, Xerneas PS, others) and aiming for lightning type oriented combination (Zeraora-Gx, Tapu-Koko-Gx, Jolteon-Ex, Tapu-Koko PS) instead. Not my favorite approach because I think that Prism/Rainbow with Comfey/Magearna can be handy and is still very useful in expanded. Also hitting for various weaknesses through different attacker typing is more important in my opinion. But I do have to say that the GX attack is definitely appealing.

2. Pheromosa&Buzzwole-TTGX: This could also have been my first choice but the GX attack is not something entirely reliable unless you invest a few more resources towards acceleration for the deck and this could potentially hurt consistency or flexibility. Since the GX attack does not require a specific type of energy (apart from 1 grass) you can get the attack going by turn 2 with some Ho-Oh Rebirth luck. I will try to post a hybrid Lightning/Grass deck list very soon that focuses more heavily on this guy.

1. Eevee&Snorlax-TTGX: Easy to include and to charge up (DCE) and can be very interesting to run as a counter to Zoroark-Gx decks (check my previous post in this thread). This one does not require major deck modifications to work and is probably my favorite since it covers the decks main weaknesses (special energy acceleration, evolution decks and draw power).

 

[Laurier_Ex]

Here is a list I intend to make when Pheromosa&Buzzwole-TTGX is out and I believe should be very good.


****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 16

* 2 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 137
* 1 Shaymin-EX ROS 77
* 1 Dedenne-GX
* 1 Comfey GRI 93
* 1 Xerneas {*} LOT 144
* 1 Unown AOR 30
* 1 Tapu Koko {*}
* 2 Ho-Oh-EX DRX 22
* 1 Pheromosa-GX UPR 140
* 1 Jolteon-EX GEN 28
* 1 Zeraora-GX LOT 86
* 1 Eeeve&Snorlax-TTGX
* 1 Pheromosa&Buzzwole-TTGX

##Trainer Cards - 29

* 1 Thunder Mountain {*} LOT 191
* 1 Life Forest {*} LOT 180
* 3 Ninja Boy STS 103
* 2 Mallow GRI 127
* 1 N NVI 101
* 1 Lillie SUM 147
* 1 Guzma BUS 115
* 3 VS Seeker ROS 110
* 3 Pokémon Communication BLW 99
* 4 Ultra Ball FCO 113
* 2 Choice Band GRI 121
* 1 Fighting Fury Belt BKP 99
* 1 Scramble Switch PLS 129
* 2 Switch SUM 160
* 2 Battle Compressor Team Flare Gear PHF 92
* 1 Field Blower GRI 163
* 1 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130

##Energy - 13

* 3 Lightning Energy 4
* 1 Beast Energy {*} FLI 117
* 2 Prism Energy NXD 93
* 3 Double Colorless Energy XY 130
* 2 Fairy Energy 9
* 2 Grass Energy 1

Total Cards - 58

****** Deck List Generated by the Pokémon TCG Online www.pokemon.com/TCGO ******


This deck uses either Pheromosa-Gx to have the "donk" win condition. Jolteon-Ex is used for the "stall" win condition. Eeeve&Snorlax-TTGX is used against evolution decks. Pheromosa&Buzzwole-TTGX offers some very powerful attacking options. It can be used as a counter to non-Ex/Gx decks like Lost March. The GX helps you win the prize race you have the opportunity to deny a few prizes by using Ninja Boy on it later on. The deck uses Thunder Mountain {*} and Life Forest {*}.

How to use the big moves:

Charge energies on the board using Tapu Koko {*} and Ho-Oh-EX DRX. Retreat into Xerneas {*} to suck up the energy you need on the board followed by Ninja Boy into the attacker you need to charge up very big attacks.

 

[Laurier_Ex]

I pulled some Tag Team cards (2xCelebi-Venusaur TTGX, 1x Pikchu-Zekrom-TTGX, Latias&Latios-TTGX and 1x Eevee&Snorlax-TTGX) so I could start testing out with these cards. Here are my first impressions in regards to TTGX and a brief overview of match results and game play analysis. For the record, I ended testing and tweaking with a 17wins-8loss on TCGO.

First off, let's talk about the inclusion of TTGX for the deck. Including Pikarum-TTGX in the deck is not worth it after testing. It seems like taking too much deck space and removes some resilience, consistency and flexibility. Celebi-Venusaur-TTGX can work but it does not hit the numbers as well as I would've liked and using 3 turn attachment to do 150 or 180dmg feels underwhelming. I definitely prefer Celebi&Venusaur-TTGX in a bulky deck with Venusaur from SL so it does not seem well suited for a Ninja Box engine who would rather stay all basic. EEvee&Snorlax-TTGX on the other hand is the perfect fit for the deck as expected and helps a lot against Zoroark-Gx variants and all other evolved Stage1-2 Ex-Gx decks. It gives an very offensive option (having the possibility to deal 210dmg+ on the 2nd turn) which was something lacking in the deck since the Ninja Box is a reactive deck. I feel like pairing Eevee&Snorlax-TTGX with Regirock-XY is the way to go as it allows you to ensure that you can protect your energy from any Energy removal gimmick while preparing a counter play if needed. Regirock XY promo has a chance to win against mill/stall decks also, so he is always a very nice inclusion. While Eevee&Snorlax-TTGX are weak to Fighting, I found out that it was a very useful card against Groundon since it can OHKO it.

Now, let's talk about going against those TTGX with the Ninja Box deck. First thing to realize is that Jolteon-Ex is immune to TTGX attacks which means that decks only relying upon basic Pokemon might suffer from stall. It could be a good idea to tech 2xJolteon-Ex just in case and this is something I tweaked for that purpose. Unless they have a counter to Jolteon-Ex or can outlast you, you have a very good edge over them. The free retreat is also very useful when used with Guzma. TTGX still have very powerful gimmicks that you need to worry about because they can potentially play around Jolteon-Ex if you are not careful.

- Against Pikachu&Zekrom-TTGX, you can play Magearna-Ex and avoid loosing Jolteon-Ex to some Guzma and Tag Bolt Gx+ gimmick but in the end the important thing to remember is to avoid benching (except for Regirock XY) and deny with Unown/Ninja Boy every Shaymin you used on the bench. Their deck plays Thunder Mountain PS so it will help you attack with Jolteon-Ex for a single DCE attachment. If you play well you should win against this deck most of the time unless they have some special tech. I played a match against it and loss. I went second and decided not to bench anything (I had a Shaymin for 1 that i decided not to play) unfortunately and he could charge up and use 2xElectric Charge on the second turn to OHKO. I believe that the match up favors Ninja Box if you play properly.

- Against Magicarp&Wailord-TTGX, Pheromosa can donk and end the game quickly if they end up having Exegcute in the active and you are first to play. Pheromosa can even donk Keldeo-Ex with Choice Band and Beast Energy (a bit harder to pull off but doable). Pheromosa-Gx also has some options later since it hits Blastoise for weakness and it can become relevant as a second turn move. If they setup Archie's on their first turn, it is really hard to keep the pace for sure and the matchup is most likely in favor of Archie's Blastoise, especially if they can setup 1st turn. If they do, the goal is to go straight at Blastoise and hope you can regain some momentum but this requires to draw into a lot cards and benching too many Shaymin-Ex can backfire if you are not careful. It is hard to play around damage counters with Machamp-Ex and Tauros-Gx because they hit for 180dmg so without a Fighting Fury Belt on you can't hope to survive and retaliate.

- Against Celebi&Venusaur-Gx, you need to play around damage counters and use things like Tauros-Gx or Machamp-Ex with Fury Belt to beat them. Comfey removes the special conditions and counters Venusaur-Gx's first attack. Comfey protects Jolteon-Ex from ever missing Flash Ray by preventing confusion. But trying to stall a Celebi&Venusaur-TTGX deck is not likely to happen so this should only be considered as a temporary measure. Comfey is also paired with Machamp-Ex to prevent confusion after using Steaming Mad. I played one game today against a fully Bulky/denial Celebi&Venusaur-TTGX which had 4 Shaymin benched with Aether Conservation on turn 2. I played around damage counters and got Machamp-Ex out with Ninja Boy (with 150 damage counters on it) and Comfey on the bench. I was able to take succesive OHKO on Celebi-Venusaur-TTGX with Buff Padding for the win. Regirock also helps denying Hammers and helps to setup. I cannot tell for sure whether Ninja Box or Celebi&Venusaur-Gx has the upper hand but both can win.

-Against Mimikiu&Gengar-TTGX, you need to use your trainer cards carefully. Ideally, you would want to setup Jolteon-Ex without wasting any items to give you immunity against Gengar-Gx and maintain Garbodor's damage very low. You can also play around damage counters and use Tauros-Gx and Machamp-Ex to counter strike. I played against one Mimikiu&Gengar-TTGX and won. I cannot tell for sure whether Ninja Box or Mimikiu&Gengar-TTGX has the upper hand but both can win.

So as far as TTGX goes this was a brief summary of interactions you need to be aware while playing the Ninja Box deck and an overview of how match up are played. I will not talk about Latias&Latios-TTXG because I believe he his irrelevant. As for Eevee&Snorlax-TTGX, I believe that it's best place if anywhere is in the Ninja Box.

Here is my current list:

Spoiler

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 19

* 1 Eevee & Snorlax-GX TEU 120
* 3 Shaymin-EX ROS 77
* 1 Tauros-GX SUM 100
* 1 Latias-EX PLF 85
* 1 Comfey GRI 93
* 1 Machamp-EX AOR 90
* 1 Regirock PR-XY XY49
* 1 Sudowoodo GRI 66
* 1 Pheromosa-GX UPR 140
* 2 Jolteon-EX GEN 28
* 1 Magearna-EX STS 110
* 2 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 60
* 2 Unown AOR 30
* 1 Glaceon-EX FCO 20

##Trainer Cards - 29

* 1 Fighting Fury Belt BKP 99
* 1 Thunder Mountain {*} LOT 191
* 2 Mallow GRI 127
* 1 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130
* 1 Scramble Switch PLS 129
* 1 Choice Band GRI 121
* 1 Switch SUM 160
* 1 Karen PR-XY XY177
* 3 Ninja Boy STS 103
* 3 Ultra Ball SUM 135
* 2 Guzma BUS 115
* 3 VS Seeker ROS 110
* 1 Field Blower GRI 163
* 2 Trainers' Mail ROS 92
* 1 Bill's Maintenance CES 162
* 1 N NVI 101
* 3 Pokémon Communication BLW 99
* 1 Life Forest {*} LOT 180

##Energy - 12

* 1 Beast Energy {*} FLI 117
* 3 Rainbow Energy SUM 137
* 4 Double Colorless Energy FCO 114
* 4 Prism Energy NXD 93

Total Cards - 60

****** Deck List Generated by the Pokémon TCG Online www.pokemon.com/TCGO ******

At the moment, I feel like the deck needs something to help with the prize trade against decks like Lost March (i lost more than 1 game against the deck during playtest). And a proper counter is not available yet. Espeon-Gx would be good but it is a stage 1 and consumes more tech space. For now, I can accept to the almost auto-loss against this deck (thanks goes to Pheromosa-Gx for winning some of those). Pheromosa&Buzzwole-TTGX is just around the corner and should provide the assistance we need by then.

Concerning Zoroark-Gx, decks are very diversified so I do not want to comment too much on it. The matchup must be better now with Eevee&Snorlax since we have a way to offensively operate against it. You can beat it with different things included in the deck. In fact, I have beaten 2 Zoroark-Gx/Lycanrock-Gx decks during playtest. Latias-Ex can work sometimes against the Lycanroc-Gx variant if they are not careful or do not have Muk or Garbodor to shut your ability down. Gollisopod-Gx revolves around 2HKO so you play reactive around damage counters with Tauros-Gx and Machamp-Ex and/or take the initiative with Eevee&Snorlax-TTGX. Against Zoroark/Control or Zoroark/Garbodor decks you would need to involve Regirock-XY promo to setup Eevee&Snorlax and resort to Tauros-Gx for the first OHKO. I have not used Hugh yet in the deck but I figure it could be included and be worth the spot.