Expanded Deck Tech: Dragons + Lugia VStar - Champ. League Aichi (Japan)

In the Champions League that took placeFebruary in Japan, in Aichi, we also had an Expanded tournament.

Taking advantage of Lugia VSTAR SIT 211's card as a great support for summoning Archeops PR-SW SWSH272 to energize special energies of any type, we have a deck with dragon-type attackers, rescuing the Tag Team-GX such as Garchomp & Giratina-GX PR-SM SM193 and Naganadel & Guzzlord-GX CEC 224 as main attackers.

So let's analyze this very complex structure with little use of supporters, but which is an aggressive and raw deck.

Decklist

Garchomp & Giratina Tag Team-GX

There are no mysteries here: dealing a lot of damage on the board so that you can use the second attack and inflate more damage to the opponents with the increase in counters that the opponent receives.

The highlight of this is its GX attack, which can discard any of the opponent's Pokémon and everything attached to it, sabotaging for example a "Mirror Match" with a Lugia VStar that relies on Archeops and sending them to the discard. Or even a well-structured Pokémon, with lots of energy and all kinds of benefits with tools.

If applied at the right time, on the right Pokémon, it ends the opponent's game, and they won't have much to do afterward.

Naganadel & Guzzlord Tag Team-GX

This is another attacker option that, in addition to performing the role of "tanker healer", being a Pokémon with high HP (280), it can heal itself by discarding Pokémon from your hand, and even use its GX attack to draw prize cards and view them.

Garchomp V and Drapion V

Another perfect attacker, and still "sniper": relatively high HP, no weakness and zero retreat!

In addition to dealing consistent damage, it can target the opponent's Pokémon like the usual recursive (Jirachi-EX PLB 60, Tapu Lele-GX GRI 60, Dedenne-GX UNB 57) at the primary focus; or even other Pokémon with up to 220 HP to speed up the prizes - but its use must be well planned, due to the energy disposal.

The presence of Drapion V LOR 118 is due to the constant presence of Mew VMAX FST 114, and with its ability that it exempts the taxation of Colorless Energy (C) for each Single-type, Rapid, and Fusion Strike Pokémon in play, it is well known that Mew VMAX FST 114 will fill the bench with 5 Fusion Strike Pokémon.

Soon, Drapion will hit for no energy, for free, against Mew, easily taking 3 prizes, due to its weakness to dark type.

Lugia V & Lugia VStar

The main question is just as quickly as possible to use its VStar ability, as it brings back from the discard pile any colorless Pokémon from there to your Bench, including Pokémon with stage 1 or 2 evolutions*.

This is where Archeops PR-SW SWSH272 (two at least) comes in, due to its ability to attach two Special Energy from your deck to one of your Pokémon in any way you want.

It also enters to energize the Double Dragon Energy ROS 97 for the dragon Pokémon in your deck, the Double Colorless Energy GRI 166 for Lugia itself, and V Guard Energy SIT 215 to take 30 less damage from the opponent's Pokémon V.

- Archeops PR-SW SWSH272 comes in with its ability Primal Turbo, fetching up to two Special Energy from the deck, and can attach it to one of your Pokémon in play.

- Girafarig LOT 94 has Get Lost (C), where you pick two cards from your opponent's discard pile and send them to the Lost Zone, sabotaging your opponent's resources.

- Dedenne-GX UNB 195 has Dedecharge, where if you play it from your hand to the bench, you discard your current hand and draw 6 cards.

- Tapu Lele-GX sma SV94 has Wonder Tag where it searches for a Supporter-type Trainer card, puts it in your hand, and then shuffles your deck.

- N PR-BLW BW100 serves to shuffle the opponent's hands and yours into the deck, and you draw new cards based on the amount of prize cards left by each one.

Assuming you are losing the game, where the opponent has one prize card left to win, and you have 5 prize cards left, you play that card and then, the opponent will shuffle and be left with only one card, and you shuffle yours and buy 5.

However, it is also a double-edged sword because if you have a prize card left to win the game, and you play the card, you both have only one card left in your hand.

- Marnie PR-SW SWSH120 is another way to sabotage your opponent's hand if they have too many cards in their hand.

- Wally GEN RC27 serves to look for an evolution of your deck (except Pokémon-EX) and from that, to be able to place it on the Pokémon in which it will evolve, and after that, shuffle your deck. You can apply this card even if you set that Pokémon to be evolved that same turn.

Here is a curious case because in the past, this card was banned in the Expanded format, but the Pokémon Company revoked it and brought it back to the format, and so it became an essential tool for Lugia V SIT 186.

- Faba LOT 173 is used to discard an opponent's special energy or tool and send it to the Lost Zone.

- Guzma BUS 115a serves to force an opponent's Benched Pokémon to be promoted to Active Position, and then you do the same switch with your Benched Pokémon to Active Position.

- Battle Compressor Team Flare Gear PHF 92 is to speed up the deck's filter and discard Archeops PR-SW SWSH272 at first, so you can finally do the VStar skill of Lugia VSTAR SIT 211 and speed up your game.

- Field Blower GRI 163 is a resource where you can choose a combination of two Tools and/or Stadium cards that you can discard in play.

- VS Seeker ROS 110 is an item that allows you to take a Supporter-type Trainer card in your hand from the discard pile.

- Special Charge STS 105 is a resource that cycles up to 2 special energies from the discard pile back to your deck.

- Rescue Stretcher BUS 165 is a recursive item that you have two options to use:

1) You may take a Pokémon from the discard pile and put it in your hand.

2) You may take up to 3 Pokémon from the discard pile and put them back into your deck.

- Computer Search BCR 137 is an ACE SPEC, where you discard two cards from your hand to search for any card you want in your deck and put it in your hand.

If that stadium is on the field, all basic Pokémon (both yours and your opponent's) have no abilities.

- Double Dragon Energy ROS 97) is only for Dragon-type Pokémon. It provides two energies of any kind to them.

- Double Colorless Energy GRI 166) serves as two colorless energies (C).

- V Guard Energy SIT 215) serves as a colorless Energy, but it grants 30 damage reduction against your opponent's Pokémon V attacks to your Pokémon that has this energy attached.

It is one of the most aggressive decks for the Expanded format, along with the ADP deck, hyperlink (which you can check out here).

We were able to do sniper damage, eliminate Pokémon by simple disposal with Garchomp & Giratina's GX. We can draw extra prizes, not counting for KO with Naganadel & Guzzlord's GX.

Also, we have an advantage against Mew VMax decks; and even being able to sabotage resources through Girafarig, also attributing with the use of Trainers, such as Faba and Field Blower.

- Strategies with Honchkrow GX, as mentioned at this link.; because the deck is based on special energies, so your deck loses its function.

- Aggressive decks that can hit fast with low-energy, like Radiant Heatran ASR 27.

- Charizard VIV 25 with Battle Compressor Team Flare Gear PHF 92, or of Ultra Necrozma + Garbordor.

- “Hit Kill” or “Instant Kill” like Beedrill TEU 5, Beedrill CRE 3, Hisuian Zoroark LOR 76, Absol GRI 81, Yveltal SHF 46, duo of Raticate BCR 105 and Raticate BREAK BKP 89, Alolan Raticate PGO 42, Gengar GEN 35.

- Opponents who have damage immunity from special energies like Duraludon VMAX SIT TG21 or Alolan Persian-GX CEC 219 itself.

- Togekiss VMAX VIV 141 deck can be a bit annoying to deal with because it hits fast, heals with Max Potion GRI 128 or Cheryl BST 123 and manages to recover it with Double Colorless Energy SUM 136 to deal damage, even if it's low, he manages to search the deck for cards.

- Lists that have cards like Avery CRE 130 that can destroy your bench.

- Decks that have the Path to the Peak CRE 148 stadiums that lock Pokémon abilities with Rule Box; Power Plant UNB 183 that locks Pokémon GX and EX abilities; and Temple of Sinnoh ASR 155 that it disables the effects of special energies, becoming just mere colorless energies.

Until the next time!