Expanded Deck Tech: Snorlax VMax

Today, we decided to bring a deck with a strategy of increasing the number of Pokémon on the Bench to deal more damage (similar to Mega Rayquaza-EX from X/Y: Roaring Skies), healing and “tanking” - that is, taking damage as much as you can and not get KO'd with one of the well-forgotten cards of the VMax format, with one of the first Pokémon with this mechanic in Sword & Shield: Snorlax.

Decklist

About Snorlax VMAX

It's a simple strategy, considering our bench is limited to a maximum of 5 slots, giving Snorlax VMax a total of 150 additional damage to be added to the base damage of 60 - adding up to 210 damage.

However, if you use the stadium Sky Field ROS 89, it increases the players' bench to 8 spaces instead of 5, and we can benefit from an additional 240 damage (30 x 8 = 240 ).

With the base damage of 60 Snorlax VMax already has, you easily reach 300 damage with just three colorless energies, which you can pay using Triple Acceleration Energy UNB 190!

Recursive Pokémon

- Snorlax VIV 131 has Gormandize: if this Pokémon is active, you can draw until you have 7 cards in your hand.

Basically, it's the same effect as the Tropical Beach PR-BLW BW28 built into the Pokémon.

- Bidoof CRZ 111 has Concealed Cards, which makes it not receive damage on the bench by attacks, which is very useful to be able to gain time to evolve it into Bibarel, which is the that interests us.

- Bibarel BRS 121 has Industrious Incisors: you can draw up to five cards per turn.

- Skwovet sv1 151 has Nest Stash: if it is in play, it can activate its ability at any time. If you declare the ability, you shuffle your hand and place all the cards on the bottom of the deck, then draw the top card.

And reinforcing the Skwovet draw combo, you reduce your hand to just one card and then combine the effect of the Bibarel's ability, being able to always draw five cards, making a cycle of constant resources.

- Dunsparce FST 207 has Mysterious Nest: if it's in play, all colorless Pokémon in play (both yours and your opponent's) no longer have a weakness.

This takes the worry out of the deck: the fighter archetype.

- Munchlax UNM 173 has Snack Search: if it is in play, it can flip a coin. If heads, you can take a card from the discard pile and place it on top of your deck, and your turn ends.

Good hand to start the game

Here, you'll start by putting Snorlax VIV 131 as an active Pokémon so that when your turn ends, you'll use its ability to draw cards. Then, proceeding to field setup, you will place Lillie's Poké Doll CEC 197 to hold the game and delay the opponent until you can build your Snorlax-V and Snorlax-VMax and find the necessary resources, before activating the Sky Field ROS 89.

Afterward, you will use the Quick Ball FST 237 tribute another Quick Ball FST 237 to bring the Snorlax V SSH 141 from the deck and end the turn using the ability of Snorlax VIV 131 to draw cards.

The second way is to use Quick Ball FST 237 to drop Triple Acceleration Energy UNB 190 to search for Bidoof CRZ 111 and play Munchlax UNM 173 to use its skill at a specific opportunity and regain Triple Acceleration Energy UNB 190. Then save the second Quick Ball FST 237 for the next turn and end the turn using Snorlax VIV 131's ability to draw cards.

Trainer Cards

Supporters: Deck Searches, Draws, and Shuffles

- Guzma & Hala CEC 193 has two options, and you can choose one of them.

The tool we're going to get is Buff Padding TEU 136, which grants +50 HP to the Pokémon which retreat costs 4 energies, and obviously, Snorlax-V and Snorlax-VMax being heavy, they will virtually have 270 HP and 390 HP.

For stadiums, we will take Sky Field ROS 89 to increase our bench and increase Snorlax-VMax's damage.

And of special energy, Triple Acceleration Energy UNB 190 to pay for Snorlax-VMax's attack.

- Tate & Liza CES 148 has two options:

1) You can shuffle your hand and draw up to 5 new cards.

2) You can switch a Pokémon from your bench to active position.

- Colress PLS 118 has the purpose of drawing cards proportionally by the amount of Pokémon in play (both yours and the opponent's).

So, it can combine very well with Sky Field ROS 89, making a total of sixteen possible cards.

Supporter: Pokémon catcher

Supporter: Healing

- Cheren's Care BRS 134 only works for colorless Pokémon. You pick that Pokémon up if it has any damage counters on it, including cards attached to it, which in this case also includes tool cards like Buff Padding TEU 136.

So, leaving the question of Triple Acceleration Energy UNB 190, which is an expendable energy that lasts only one turn, will always need to be recycled with Special Charge STS 105, so there is no harm in losing it, compared to tools equipped with Snorlax-V and VMax, which are more serious to lose.

- Cheryl BST 123 only works for evolved Pokémon, at the cost of discarding the Energy attached to this Pokémon.

Items

- Float Stone BKT 137 serves to exempt the retreat cost of your Pokémon that has it attached.

- Buff Padding TEU 136 serves to add 50 HP to the Pokémon that have a retreat cost with 4 energies as tribute, in this case, the Snorlax V SSH 141 and Snorlax VMAX SSH 142.

- Scoop Up Cyclone PLB 95 is an ACE SPEC, and its job is to scoop a Pokémon and all cards attached to it back into your hand.

- Heavy Ball BKT 140 can search for a Pokémon that has a Retreat Cost of 3 energy or more, reveal it and put it into your hand.

It's a way to get Snorlax-V and VMax from your deck, and works better than Ultra Ball.

- Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146 can search your prize cards for a basic Pokémon. If you find it, you will catch that Pokémon and use Hisuian Heavy Ball as a trade card in place of that Pokémon; but if the card fails, you simply discard it.

Since the deck only has the 2-2 line, this card is essential to filter the search for Snorlax-V and VMax.

- Evolution Incense SSH 163 is used to search for an evolution Pokémon, that is, to search for Snorlax VMAX SSH 142.

- Special Charge STS 105 is used to recycle up to two special energies from the discard pile to your deck, in this case, the Triple Acceleration Energy UNB 190.

- VS Seeker PHF 109 serves as a Supporter cycler, being able to pick up key cards for certain games and situations.

- Rescue Stretcher GRI 130 serves as a Pokémon recycler that can do either or both:

1) Take a Pokémon from the discard pile and put it into your hand.

2) Catch up to three Pokémon from the discard pile and recycle them into your deck.

- 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.

As you use the Triple Acceleration Energy UNB 190, they are disposable in one turn anyway, however if you have a Snorlax VMAX SSH 142 equipped with Buff Padding TEU 136, you will have a Pokémon with 390 HP resisting everything and hardly being knocked out by a single blow.

Stadium

- Sky Field ROS 89 has a simple objective: grant 8 bench slots for each player.

With this, Snorlax VMAX SSH 142 has the benefit of an additional 240 damage (30 x 8 = 240), and with the base damage of 60, it goes up to 300 damage, which is the main attack objective from the deck.

Special energy

This energy is only for Pokémon that are evolutions, providing the effect of three colorless energies and, at the end of the turn, after being attached to the Pokémon, it must be discarded.

Advantages

- Its only premises are: withstand damage, heal and always hit 300 damage. As long as the opponent cannot deliver a fatal and single blow that can destroy your Snorlax VMax, it will be fulfilling its role, so there is no way to point out that we have advantages against certain decks.

This is because the Colorless type is very underrated in the TCG, where there aren't many Pokémon with this weakness.

Disadvantages

- Deck that has the Sudowoodo GRI 66 that makes our bench limited to 4 spaces.

- Deck that has the Temple of Sinnoh ASR 155 stadium that inhibits the effects of special energies, leaving them with only an effect of a colorless energy.

- Deck that has the stadium Collapsed Stadium BRS 137, which reduces the bench of both players.

- Deck that has the stadium Chaotic Swell CEC 187, which sabotages the placement of the Sky Field ROS 89.

- Deck that has the Wondrous Labyrinth ◇ TEU 158 stadium, which sabotages the energy cost of Snorlax-VMax's attack, despite it being a Prism Star copy in the deck and you being at the advantage with 3 cards of Sky Field ROS 89 is a bit annoying to deal with.

- Deck that has the Dusknoir VIV 71, which, with its ability, inhibits the effects of special energies and leaves them at the cost of only one colorless energy.

- Fighter-type deck that uses Focus Sash FFI 91 to last longer in play; damage amps like Strong Energy FFI 104, Diancie ◇ FLI 74 and Regirock-EX FCO 43, with more use of the stadium Martial Arts Dojo UNB 179.

- Duraludon VMAX CRZ 104.

- Mewtwo & Mew-GX UNM 71 decks that use Jolteon-EX GEN 28 and Glaceon-EX FCO 20; and even play the VStar from Unown VSTAR SIT 66 to add the weakness of Snorlax-VMax to psychic and still use the effect of Glaceon-EX, like in that article.

- Deck that deals damage against the opponent based on the retreat cost of Snorlax-VMax as a counterattack, such as Leafeon VMAX EVS 8 with Spidops ex sv1 19 and recursive Pokémon with Absol TEU 88 with the use of the stadium Galar Mine RCL 160 as a complement.

- Gengar & Mimikyu-GX TEU 53 and Banette ex sv1 88 that beat by amount of Trainer cards in the opponent's hand, since this deck is composed of 2/ 3 of Trainers.

- Radiant Heatran ASR 27 because it can reach 400 damage easily.

- Decks that use damage based on the amount of energy in play and that can be duplicated, like these examples:

Centiskorch VMAX DAA 34 with support from Charizard PGO 10.

2) Venusaur VMAX PR-SW SWSH102 with support from Venusaur SLG 3.

3) Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX CRE 75 with support from Gardevoir NXD 57.

- Deck that performs “Instant K.O” like Yveltal SHF 46, Hisuian Zoroark LOR 76, Absol GRI 81, Gengar GEN 35, Raticate BCR 105, Alolan Raticate PGO 42.

- Charizard VMAX PR-SW SWSH261 deck that uses Defiance Band sv1 169 or Choice Belt BRS 135 as a booster with complementary help from Incineroar UNB 29 to gain more damage ; as well as Rapidash SIT 22 or Volcanion-EX STS 26 as alternatives -- that too if the deck has any cards that remove tools from Snorlax-VMax, like Lost Vacuum LOR 162 or Field Blower GRI 125.

It's a deck to test the opponent's patience and frustrate them and like a good tanker, take as much damage as possible and heal, being a little complex by the line of only 2-2, which is delicate to manage. It's a deck that requires control and a good mix of resources at the right time.