How’s It going everybody? I’m Cody Brown, a player based in the Charlotte, NC area, and I’m here to bring you my first article. As this is my first article I'm having a little trouble getting it published anywhere so I thought this would be a good place to start.
First, I would like to give a little history about myself. Currently I am getting back into playing the Pokemon TCG, but I’m far from a new player. I started playing seriously a long time ago at the beginning of Black & White--way back when Primes were on top, EX’s didn’t exist, and you could still attack while going first. I actually had some pretty good success with my XTC deck using Mewtwo-EX, Tornadus, and Celebi Prime, placing in the Top 16 of States in 2012. I had my own league set up in Salisbury, got to meet a lot of great players, and even kicked off a YouTube channel. However, I had to pass on all that when my beautiful daughter was born to support my family, a decision I do not regret in the slightest.
During my hiatus though, I still kept up with the game, paying attention to each new set and always watching Worlds and other large events. Now I am at a stable point in my life with much more free time, so I am ready to make a comeback. I entered my first event in years this past weekend, a League Cup held at Get Some Game in Charlotte, with my Tapu Koko-GX/Electrode deck. While I would like to try and combine a tournament report and a deck profile into the same article, I’m afraid it would probably take up way too much of your time. So, I proudly present to you all today my analysis of this incredibly underestimated deck.
Tapu Koko-GX was a card that just seemed to call out to me as soon as I saw it. Lightning has always been one of my favorite types to run, and this is the first good card for the type in a really long time. It was available as a tin promo so I didn’t have to invest that much into finding the core of the deck, making it all relatively cheap if for those working on a budget. Most importantly, however, since Tapu Koko was revealed it quickly climbed the ranks, becoming among one of my favorite Pokemon ever. I have always been a believer in playing things that you like over just trying to play what people consider to be the best. On top of all this, it was very nice to see it actually turned out to be an exceptionally strong card.
A lot of Koko lists I have seen seem to go for max damage and try to keep up with the other powerful cards’ damage output. As a result it is considered by many to be weak and unable to stand up to the current meta. However, in my opinion, this is the wrong way to play the deck. No matter the card you always have to look at and accept its weaknesses, which is the first thing I did when deciding on building around it. Tapu Koko-GX, on the surface, has some pretty apparent downsides, only hitting for 130 base, 170 HP, and a GX attack that relies on your opponent’s field. Once you look a little deeper though, you may see the potential I do. With this in mind let’s finally get into the deck list:
2 - Tapu Lele - GX
1 - Jolteon-EX
2 - Voltorb (ROS)
2 - Electrode (EVO)
1 - Tapu Koko (PR)
1 - Oranguru
3 - N
2 - Lysandre
1 - Hex Maniac
1 - Brock’s Grit
1 - Pokémon Fan Club
3 - Aether Paradise Conservation Area
1 - Rough Seas
2 - Fighting Fury Belt
1 - Choice Band
4 VS Seeker
4 - Max Elixir
4 - Ultra Ball
2 - Max Potion
1 - Rescue Stretcher
1 - Escape Rope
1 - Field Blower
This list hopefully looks a bit different than others you’ve probably seen, as my goal was to aim for survivability over high damage. Using cards like Fighting Fury Belt and Aether Paradise Conservation Area to boost my HP makes my seemingly frail Pokemon harder to KO. Koko-GX’s Aero Trail is great to get damaged attackers out of harm's way, while at the same time laying on pressure with a new full HP one. Max Potions remove all that damage and an occasional Rough Seas can also help over multiple turns. With Max Elixers and Electrode you have plenty of potential to lay on pressure from even turn 1 and almost certainly turn 2. It also helps to get you back into the game quick after a KO which took all your energy, allowing Koko to keep up with some of the fastests decks in the game. The deck is also very good at burning out the opponent’s resources, as forcing them to use everything they have to take out my Koko’s makes them struggle in the late game to get those last few cards. In short, my game plan is a mix of survival, prize denial, speed, pressure, and burning out the opponent’s resources. Now I’ll be going over my card choices, trying my best to omit obvious selections.
Now let’s look even further ahead to this pending rotation. I am writing under the suspicion of it being from Breakthrough-on. This means losing cards like Shaymin-EX, Rayquaza-EX, Forest of Giant Plants, and others which will certainly impact, or outright kill, many decks. However, the two most important I would like to talk about are VS Seeker and Hex Maniac.
Well, there you have it: my in depth look at a deck I feel is criminally underestimated and underrepresented. I will be the first to admit this deck has its flaws, and no, I don’t feel it will be a top tier deck in the near future, if ever. To me, that doesn’t matter; this deck is just fun, and I get to use one of my favorite Pokemon in a game I love to play with people that are just a joy to be with. I saved this for the end just so you can read through my thoughts first, but I did end up winning my first returning tournament with this deck, going 4-0 in Swiss and only dropping 1 game in Top 4. The deck is tried and true, plus that performance was a major inspiration for me to write this article. If you would like to read about my experience, I will be submitting a follow up article soon, so please let me and the rest of the site know what you think below.
Before I wrap this up, I would like to make a shoutout to my local Pokemon League at R&B Games in Statesville, especially Caleb and Tyler. You guys accepted me from the start and provided me with not only cards, knowledge, and advice, but also a true sense of belonging. I came in with something different and a desire to perform, and you all supported and pushed me to do my best. I am serious when I say I could not have done it without you. So, to finish things off, I will leave you with this thought: don’t always surf the easy current--find something you like, have courage, and ride a dangerous surge sometimes. It may surprise you.
First, I would like to give a little history about myself. Currently I am getting back into playing the Pokemon TCG, but I’m far from a new player. I started playing seriously a long time ago at the beginning of Black & White--way back when Primes were on top, EX’s didn’t exist, and you could still attack while going first. I actually had some pretty good success with my XTC deck using Mewtwo-EX, Tornadus, and Celebi Prime, placing in the Top 16 of States in 2012. I had my own league set up in Salisbury, got to meet a lot of great players, and even kicked off a YouTube channel. However, I had to pass on all that when my beautiful daughter was born to support my family, a decision I do not regret in the slightest.
During my hiatus though, I still kept up with the game, paying attention to each new set and always watching Worlds and other large events. Now I am at a stable point in my life with much more free time, so I am ready to make a comeback. I entered my first event in years this past weekend, a League Cup held at Get Some Game in Charlotte, with my Tapu Koko-GX/Electrode deck. While I would like to try and combine a tournament report and a deck profile into the same article, I’m afraid it would probably take up way too much of your time. So, I proudly present to you all today my analysis of this incredibly underestimated deck.
Tapu Koko-GX was a card that just seemed to call out to me as soon as I saw it. Lightning has always been one of my favorite types to run, and this is the first good card for the type in a really long time. It was available as a tin promo so I didn’t have to invest that much into finding the core of the deck, making it all relatively cheap if for those working on a budget. Most importantly, however, since Tapu Koko was revealed it quickly climbed the ranks, becoming among one of my favorite Pokemon ever. I have always been a believer in playing things that you like over just trying to play what people consider to be the best. On top of all this, it was very nice to see it actually turned out to be an exceptionally strong card.
A lot of Koko lists I have seen seem to go for max damage and try to keep up with the other powerful cards’ damage output. As a result it is considered by many to be weak and unable to stand up to the current meta. However, in my opinion, this is the wrong way to play the deck. No matter the card you always have to look at and accept its weaknesses, which is the first thing I did when deciding on building around it. Tapu Koko-GX, on the surface, has some pretty apparent downsides, only hitting for 130 base, 170 HP, and a GX attack that relies on your opponent’s field. Once you look a little deeper though, you may see the potential I do. With this in mind let’s finally get into the deck list:
Pokemon - 13
4 - Tapu Koko-GX2 - Tapu Lele - GX
1 - Jolteon-EX
2 - Voltorb (ROS)
2 - Electrode (EVO)
1 - Tapu Koko (PR)
1 - Oranguru
Trainers - 36
4 - Professor Sycamore3 - N
2 - Lysandre
1 - Hex Maniac
1 - Brock’s Grit
1 - Pokémon Fan Club
3 - Aether Paradise Conservation Area
1 - Rough Seas
2 - Fighting Fury Belt
1 - Choice Band
4 VS Seeker
4 - Max Elixir
4 - Ultra Ball
2 - Max Potion
1 - Rescue Stretcher
1 - Escape Rope
1 - Field Blower
Energy - 11
11 - Lightning EnergyThis list hopefully looks a bit different than others you’ve probably seen, as my goal was to aim for survivability over high damage. Using cards like Fighting Fury Belt and Aether Paradise Conservation Area to boost my HP makes my seemingly frail Pokemon harder to KO. Koko-GX’s Aero Trail is great to get damaged attackers out of harm's way, while at the same time laying on pressure with a new full HP one. Max Potions remove all that damage and an occasional Rough Seas can also help over multiple turns. With Max Elixers and Electrode you have plenty of potential to lay on pressure from even turn 1 and almost certainly turn 2. It also helps to get you back into the game quick after a KO which took all your energy, allowing Koko to keep up with some of the fastests decks in the game. The deck is also very good at burning out the opponent’s resources, as forcing them to use everything they have to take out my Koko’s makes them struggle in the late game to get those last few cards. In short, my game plan is a mix of survival, prize denial, speed, pressure, and burning out the opponent’s resources. Now I’ll be going over my card choices, trying my best to omit obvious selections.
- Tapu Koko-GX:
- Jolteon-EX:
- Tapu Koko - Promo:
- Oranguru:
- Aether Paradise Conservation Area & Rough Seas:
- Fighting Fury Belt & Choice Band:
- Looking Ahead:
Let’s start with the additions from Burning Shadows. Keep in mind at the time of writing this, some of these cards have not been officially revealed to be included in the set. Guzma I feel may straight up replace Lysandre, and for good reason. Koko can use this card exceptionally well as you are never afraid of promoting a Pokemon to active with Aero Trail in play, and with your free retreaters you can just immediately return to anything you wish to attack with. Acerola will also be an incredible supporter for Koko as it helps patch up one of the deck’s weaknesses. Probably the biggest issue I currently have is removing the threat of my damaged benched Pokemon being pulled up by a Lysandre for an easy KO. Acerola and the next card is the perfect fix to this problem. Super Scoop Up, while being a flip card and Item, will likely be a near staple for this deck. The benefits of removing an easy target from the field and being able to reuse hand-to-bench abilities is just too good to not abuse. There may be more coming from Burning Shadows that Koko could use, I’m keeping an eye on Marshadow-GX myself, but for now, these 3 cards will be immediate additions to my deck.
Now let’s look even further ahead to this pending rotation. I am writing under the suspicion of it being from Breakthrough-on. This means losing cards like Shaymin-EX, Rayquaza-EX, Forest of Giant Plants, and others which will certainly impact, or outright kill, many decks. However, the two most important I would like to talk about are VS Seeker and Hex Maniac.
First, the bad. Losing VS Seeker is kind of bittersweet, leaning more on the bitter side. This means we will be losing the availability of single copy supporter techs, such as Brock’s Grit and Pokemon Fan Club in my deck’s case. Undoubtedly, this will slow the game down greatly and promote smarter play, resource management, and deck building, all things I approve of. Overall though, I feel Koko will be less affected by this change than most decks since your initial setup is the most important part of the game, and then you rely more on your search cards like Ultra Ball from there.
Now on the other side of that coin we have Hex Maniac, which still may make a return with a full art reprint in Burning Shadows (please Pokemon give us this beautiful card.) Obviously removing Hex from the format will be amazing for Koko since you rely so heavily on abilities to make the deck run at its peak potential, but it doesn’t just stop there. I can’t tell you how many times I wish I could have anything in my hand other than Hex when playing Garbodor. If they have a Garbotoxin on the field, the card is practically useless since you need to use your abilities to set up and shutting theirs off has little to no effect or can even help them. It’s like she’s just sitting in my hand laughing at me, so just for this situation alone I wouldn’t mind seeing the card go. Still love the art and concept of the card though.
Well, there you have it: my in depth look at a deck I feel is criminally underestimated and underrepresented. I will be the first to admit this deck has its flaws, and no, I don’t feel it will be a top tier deck in the near future, if ever. To me, that doesn’t matter; this deck is just fun, and I get to use one of my favorite Pokemon in a game I love to play with people that are just a joy to be with. I saved this for the end just so you can read through my thoughts first, but I did end up winning my first returning tournament with this deck, going 4-0 in Swiss and only dropping 1 game in Top 4. The deck is tried and true, plus that performance was a major inspiration for me to write this article. If you would like to read about my experience, I will be submitting a follow up article soon, so please let me and the rest of the site know what you think below.
Before I wrap this up, I would like to make a shoutout to my local Pokemon League at R&B Games in Statesville, especially Caleb and Tyler. You guys accepted me from the start and provided me with not only cards, knowledge, and advice, but also a true sense of belonging. I came in with something different and a desire to perform, and you all supported and pushed me to do my best. I am serious when I say I could not have done it without you. So, to finish things off, I will leave you with this thought: don’t always surf the easy current--find something you like, have courage, and ride a dangerous surge sometimes. It may surprise you.
