Any help and suggestions are very much welcome, but please state your reasoning behind added or subtracted cards. It just helps me weigh the pros & cons and I'm always asking "why" before committing to deck changes blindly. Hopefully this post isn't too much of a bore but I feel that Gyarados has ALOT of depth to it and that's the stuff I love to discuss in decks. Thanks in advance! (btw my friends & I play "unlimited" it's more like Hidden Legends-On)
Pokemon: 22
Strategy:
The focus of this deck is to quickly get 3 Magikarps in the discard & hit for 90 for 0 energy with Gyarados' "Tail Revenge." I run 3 Gyarados instead of 4 because Rescue Energy makes it easy to keep them rolling and I've only had to use 2 in a game before. I use Luxray GL Lv. X to "catcher up" key support bench sitters, low HP Pokemon, potential threats, stall, etc... It's a Catcher/Reversal without the flip and it's easily searchable. Leveling Up usually isn't a problem because I can warp Gyarados to the bench, scoop him up, or just level up after a KO and retreat back for free. Crobat G is used for it's ability to get that extra 10 damage when needed & has free retreat so it's not a horrible starter. Azelf is mandatory to fish those Magikarps out of the prizes (no pun intended), Uxie is used for early game draw but is useless afterwards because my hand gets huge & Mesprit can win games by power-locking a few turns. Combee is used as an emergency Pokemon Rescue that is easily searchable, Unown Q gives almost every one of my Pokemon free retreat and the Exeggcute are there to make discarding with Felicity's & Junk Arm painless after those initial Magikarp. Now on to the Supporters! 4 Collector is a must to maximum chances of it being in my starting hand, Felicity's is needed early game but becomes less useful after I'm set with a strong hand to sustain me and Skyla adds alot of consistency to my techy list by getting me what I need when it's needed. Mr. Briney's Compassion is a better version of Seeker that can let me reuse all those coming into play powers or scoop up a damage Gyarados, Cynthia's Feelings (on paper) helps recover after a KO but I've never even used it as I have what I need in my hand and Bebe's is another little-used card that was added in case of Trainer lock. Junk Arm, in my opinion, really sets this deck over the top by allowing me more room for variety without sacrificing consistency. Poke Turn is an SSU without the flips for Luxray & Crobat to really let me control the board & get crucial KO's. Pokemon Rescue is backup if I have no Rescue Energy and Expert Belt is only used if I can delay a prize or get a big KO without suffering too much from giving up 2 prizes. For my 1-ofs, Scoop Up Cyclone is Mr. Briney in Trainer form but reusable with Junk Arm (duh), Pokemon Communication is there because I may have useless techs that I can switch for a useful one & VS Seeker in a way allows Junk Arm to reuse Supporters! BTS is pretty important for instantly evolving Gyarados and Giant Stump has proven more useful than I anticipated because I oftentimes have useless bench sitters that I don't mind discarding & it forces my opponent to make tough decisions late game. Rescue Energy, pretty self explanatory, & Warp Energy can get a bad starter out of the active spot, make way for a Luxray Lv. X or get rid of status conditions. Overall I feel this deck is crazy flexible, I love the options you always have & I'm still figuring out cool new combos.
Possible Additions
Edited to coincide with the rules!
~Kecleon
Pokemon: 22
3x Gyarados (SF)
4x Magikarp (SF)
4x Sableye (SF)
1x Luxray GL Lv. X
1x Luxray GL
2x Crobat G
1x Azelf (LA)
1x Uxie (LA)
1x Mesprit (LA)
1x Combee (SF)
1x Unown Q
2x Exeggcute (PLF)
4x Pokemon Collector
3x Felicity's Drawing
3x Skyla
2x Mr. Briney's Compassion
1x Cynthia's Feelings
1x Bebe's Search
4x Junk Arm
3x Poke Turn
2x Pokemon Rescue
2x Expert Belt
1x Scoop Up Cyclone
1x Pokemon Communication
1x VS Seeker
3x Broken Time-Space
1x Giant Stump
3x Rescue Energy
3x Warp Energy
Strategy:
The focus of this deck is to quickly get 3 Magikarps in the discard & hit for 90 for 0 energy with Gyarados' "Tail Revenge." I run 3 Gyarados instead of 4 because Rescue Energy makes it easy to keep them rolling and I've only had to use 2 in a game before. I use Luxray GL Lv. X to "catcher up" key support bench sitters, low HP Pokemon, potential threats, stall, etc... It's a Catcher/Reversal without the flip and it's easily searchable. Leveling Up usually isn't a problem because I can warp Gyarados to the bench, scoop him up, or just level up after a KO and retreat back for free. Crobat G is used for it's ability to get that extra 10 damage when needed & has free retreat so it's not a horrible starter. Azelf is mandatory to fish those Magikarps out of the prizes (no pun intended), Uxie is used for early game draw but is useless afterwards because my hand gets huge & Mesprit can win games by power-locking a few turns. Combee is used as an emergency Pokemon Rescue that is easily searchable, Unown Q gives almost every one of my Pokemon free retreat and the Exeggcute are there to make discarding with Felicity's & Junk Arm painless after those initial Magikarp. Now on to the Supporters! 4 Collector is a must to maximum chances of it being in my starting hand, Felicity's is needed early game but becomes less useful after I'm set with a strong hand to sustain me and Skyla adds alot of consistency to my techy list by getting me what I need when it's needed. Mr. Briney's Compassion is a better version of Seeker that can let me reuse all those coming into play powers or scoop up a damage Gyarados, Cynthia's Feelings (on paper) helps recover after a KO but I've never even used it as I have what I need in my hand and Bebe's is another little-used card that was added in case of Trainer lock. Junk Arm, in my opinion, really sets this deck over the top by allowing me more room for variety without sacrificing consistency. Poke Turn is an SSU without the flips for Luxray & Crobat to really let me control the board & get crucial KO's. Pokemon Rescue is backup if I have no Rescue Energy and Expert Belt is only used if I can delay a prize or get a big KO without suffering too much from giving up 2 prizes. For my 1-ofs, Scoop Up Cyclone is Mr. Briney in Trainer form but reusable with Junk Arm (duh), Pokemon Communication is there because I may have useless techs that I can switch for a useful one & VS Seeker in a way allows Junk Arm to reuse Supporters! BTS is pretty important for instantly evolving Gyarados and Giant Stump has proven more useful than I anticipated because I oftentimes have useless bench sitters that I don't mind discarding & it forces my opponent to make tough decisions late game. Rescue Energy, pretty self explanatory, & Warp Energy can get a bad starter out of the active spot, make way for a Luxray Lv. X or get rid of status conditions. Overall I feel this deck is crazy flexible, I love the options you always have & I'm still figuring out cool new combos.
Possible Additions
Regice (LA)- Some lists run it, not totally sold on why...
Black Belt- Might help take down some of those big EXs if I'm falling behind?
Cyclone Energy- Dunno if it would help much since I have Luxray
Smeargle- During Gyarados' Modified days some preferred this over Sableye
Unown Dark & Special Darkness Energy- Could let me donk with Sableye but that always seemed a little douchy
Max Potion- I would have to discard my Rescue Energy if attached :/
Edited to coincide with the rules!
~Kecleon