Expanded Deck Tech: Lapras VMax

Today, we bring a powerful Lapras VMax, which had its debut in the Sword/Shield block, where in the past the combo with Frosmoth SHF 30 was used at Standard, but Frostmoth's ability is only limited to your bench, which can limit your plais.

The purpose of our Lapras deck is to optimize in the Expanded format the idea using the same principles as the Keldeo-EX BCR 49 deck, with Blastoise BCR 31 ; now, with Lapras VMax having a greater raw power than "its predecessor Pokémon".

Decklist

Lapras VMax: the main attacker

The idea is to clog up as many energies as you can to do as much damage as possible with Lapras. And for that, the strategy is to use Blastoise PLS 137 with its Deluge ability to move as many basic water energy from your hand to Lapras VMax - and as the deck has 10 basic energy cards, you have an increase of 300 damage (30 x 10) on top of the base 90 damage, you have the possibility to deal 390 damage!

Keldeo-GX: Inhibitor against Pokémon EX and GX

The first attack goes through the opponent's effects, for example: let's say you face an Eiscue EVS 47 with the attack Blockface that during the next turn, it doesn't take damage from Basic Pokémon. In this, Keldeo-GX can bypass this effect and deal damage.

But its reason to be in the deck is precisely because of its ability, which serves as a "shield" against attacks from Pokémon GX and EX present in the Expanded.

Recursive Pokémon

- Lumineon V BRS 156 has its ability Luminous Sign, which if you play it from your hand to the Bench, you search the deck for a Supporter card, reveal it and put it into your hand. (It's the same principle as Tapu Lele-GX GRI 60 and Jirachi-EX PLB 60).

In addition to the advantage of the ability, it as an attacking Pokémon is a good temporary option, as Aqua Return does 120 damage and can still return to the deck, being reused if you want to draw it again and redo its effect in other turns or preserve it from an opponent's knockout, taking it out of the game so that it does not become an easy target.

- Exeggcute PLB 102 has its ability Propagation: You may rescue this Pokémon from the discard pile to your hand.

This is very efficient for making costs and tributes for discarding cards, such as Ultra Ball BRS 186, which requires a discard requirement of two cards from the hand to search any Pokémon in the deck; or with the Superior Energy Retrieval sv2 189, which also discards two cards from the hand to recover 4 basic energies from the discard pile - in this case, the ideal would be to use two Exeggcute to do the tributes and take advantage of its ability.

- Blastoise PLS 137 has Deluge, which makes you move Water Energies between your Pokémon.

This Blastoise is vital to the game, as it will define the game's setup acceleration path; and as you may notice, there is no Blastoise evolutionary line in this deck, only counting Archie's Ace in the Hole PRC 157 as part of the combo, because it counts with its effect that if you play that single card from your hand, you rescue any Water Pokémon from the discard pile to your game bench and then draw 5 cards.

That is, Archie's Ace in the Hole brings any water Pokémon, even though it is a stage 2 evolution, without having to use the entire evolutionary line to be able to do the process, and saving space on the decklist.

Then, with Blastoise, you can create the combo with the cards Capacious Bucket RCL 156 that searches for two water energies.

Suggestions

Another Pokémon that has the same effect as Blastoise's ability is Baxcalibur from Paldea Evolved. Its advantage in game is its high HP, with 160, having more durability in game.

Here, we would have to start second. With that, put Lapras V SHF SV110 as active, and then we start to filter your hand, until only Archie's Ace in the Hole PRC 157 remains to effect the card.

The process starts with using the Battle Compressor Team Flare Gear PHF 92 to filter the deck and discard if possible both Blastoise PLS 137 and choose one Exeggcute PLB 102, thus closing the three cards requests with effect; and then you proceed with Trainers' Mail AOR 100 and hope Ultra Ball BRS 186 comes along, to get rid of the Max Potion GRI 164 and the VS Seeker ROS 110 that are at hand.

With only Lumineon V BRS 156 left, you'll put it on the Bench, without taking the Supporter card from the effect of its ability, just to leave your hand free to use the Archie's Ace in the Hole PRC 157 and then, yes, you can play the card, already summoning Blastoise PLS 137 from the discard pile to the bench, speeding up your game and drawing 5 cards, having developed this in turn 2!

- Professor's Research (Professor Oak) CEL 24 has the function of discarding your hand and drawing 7 new cards.

- Archie's Ace in the Hole PRC 157 has the function that it can only be played if it is the only card in your hand. If you do, you take any Water-type Pokémon from the discard pile and put it onto your Bench directly, and then draw 5 cards.

This card can take up to water evolutions, either stage 1 or 2 if you want, being ideal for combining the action with Blastoise PLS 137.

As there is only one copy of this card in the deck, fear not, as VS Seeker ROS 110 gives you the possibility to use a Supporter again, so technically you have "five chances" to use it.

Roxanne serves in opportune situations - in case, from the moment the opponent drops a Lapras VMax of yours, which provides 3 prize cards as a reward for the knockout, activates the effect of the card, where players, shuffle their hands back to the deck. With that, your opponent only draws 2 new cards, while you draw 6 new cards.

- Energy Pouch FCO 97 has a beneficial effect if any of your Lapras are knocked out, so you don't lose the accumulated water energy and can combo with Blastoise, using Deluge in another Lapras.

- Float Stone BKT 137 has the effect of givingfree retreat cost to the Pokémon it is attached to.

This helps to give mobility to some recursive Pokémon, in case the opponent gives a "Boss's Orders" on it to knock it down quickly and take away its power up advantage.

- Computer Search BCR 137 is an ACE SPEC that serves so that, with tribute from discards of two cards from the hand, you can search for any card in the deck and put it in your hand.

And remember the Exeggcute PLB 102 with your ability's effect back to hand if they're in the discard pile and can be used as “trade coins” as a tribute from discard effects.

- Trainers' Mail AOR 100 is used to look at the top 4 cards of the deck and choose a Trainer card you find there (except Trainer's Mail itself) and take any card of that type, and place it in your hand.

It's one of the best Trainer search filters, whether tools, items or supporters out there.

- VS Seeker PHF 109 serves as a Supporter cycler, being useful in recycling the card Archie's Ace in the Hole PRC 157 mostly, but it can also cycle cards that need to be used to speed up the game like Professor's Research (Professor Oak) CEL 24 or even Boss's Orders RCL 189 to do a targeted knockout against the opponent.

- Max Potion GRI 128 is one of the main cards in the deck, as it heals all damage from the Pokémon at the cost of losing all energy attached to it.

And since we have ways to recover those lost energies with the Superior Energy Retrieval sv2 189 card, that won't be a problem.

- Capacious Bucket RCL 156 is one of the deck's filter for taking water energies from the deck and putting them in your hand - taking two basic water energies, so that then you can combo with Blastoise and Lapras VMax.

Advantages

- Fire-type decks obviously take double damage due to the deck's archetype.

- As an aggressive deck using Blastoise's energy acceleration skill, on early turns, Lapras VMAX SHF SV111 can comfortably hit high amounts of damage for 6 water energies (30 x 6 = 180) added to the base damage of 90, reaching 270 damage - having the possibility to knock out manh Pokémons in the format.

Disadvantages

- Electric archetype decks.

- Mewtwo & Mew-GX UNM 71 decks that use Jolteon-EX GEN 28 and Glaceon-EX FCO 20; even more so if they use Unown VSTAR SIT 66's VStar to add the Psychic-type weakness to all their Pokémon - in this case, abusing the use of the effect of Glaceon-EX FCO 20 which does 70 damage and with immunity to damage from evolved Pokémon, as stated in this article.

It's a raw deck, stacking energy to deal as much damage as possible, with that amount of 10 water energy (30 x 10 = 300) and the base 90 damage, knocking out Pokémon with 340 HP like Eternatus VMAX LOR TG22, Copperajah VMAX RCL 137, Snorlax VMAX SSH 142 as examples of VMax, and against Pokémon ex from the new crop of Scarlet & Violet as the final evolutions of Paldea's starters, and even defeating the trio of Kanto ex that will come in the special sub set Pokémon Card 151 such as Charizard ex and Blastoise ex with 330 HP and Venusaur ex with 340.

In addition, we have the healing strategy with the Max Potion, which even if you lose energy, the Superior Energy Retrieval can collect them in your hand, maintaining the constancy and durability of Lapras VMax.