LuxChomp
Oh what a surprise.
Another LuxChomp article.
Those will probably be your first sentences when you see this article. Well, they are definitely more than right.
(Note, this deck loses to KGL)
Writer: Blitzer
Format: MD-CL
Deck: Luxray GL/Garchomp C
As aforementioned, I have already predicted your first thoughts. Will this be an article entirely based on beholding LuxChomp as the greatest deck in the format? (I do think so if you are wondering) Wrong, this article will be an analysis on LuxChomp in the format of MD-CL.
The Interesting History of LuxChomp:
LuxChomp was formed during Cities 2009-2010, right before I joined the game. In January 2010 when I began, all I heard about was how amazing LuxChomp was with the release of Double Colorless Energy for HeartGold & SoulSilver. I ignored the deck, as I believed that Meta was incredulous. It of course won NW regs in all three divisions and probably won many other Regionals as well. Afterwards, it won US Nationals in the Senior Divison by Michael D. Then soon, it won Worlds 2010 in the Seniors and Masters division by Jacob L, Seniors, and Yuta Komatsuda, Masters. As I began to grow more competitive over the months, I realized the power in LuxChomp and that it wasn't actually a simple deck to play. No, it was incredibly difficult, which intrigued me. This December, I tested out LuxChomp for the first time. I had a really horrible BLG list that couldn't even beat an MD- On Jumpluff build. I was so furious, but decided to continue on with working with the list. Eventually, I began to win some games. In fact I had began working like crazy on forming a list strong enough to win states with, (which I have no idea I have really) and eventually felt good with a consistent build. I took it to some places, and did very well with undefeated records every time. Then, I lost to VileGar twice in a row, and felt really dumb. As I began to question the list, I realized all LuxChomp needed to do was use a tech that could turn the matchup. And so now we come to the present, where I am writing an article on Luxray GL/Garchomp C.
Now, what makes this article different than any other LuxChomp article? Let me list a couple of reasons:
With that, I feel it is time to share the sampling list:
Pokemon:
2 Luxray GL Lv. X ~ Rising Rivals
2 Luxray GL ~ Rising Rivals
2 Garchomp C Lv X ~ Supreme Victors
2 Garchomp C ~ Supreme Victors
2 Uxie ~ Legends Awakened
1 Uxie LV.X ~ Legends Awakened
1 Azelf ~ Legends Awakened
1 Crobat G ~ Platinum
1 Bronzong G ~ Platinum
1 Chatot ~ Majestic Dawn
1 Unown Q ~ Majestic Dawn
1 Ambipom G ~ Rising Rivals
1 Toxicroak G ~ Promo
1 Smeargle ~ Undaunted
1 Lucario GL ~ Rising Rivals
Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums:
4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy ~ Platinum
4 Pokemon Collector ~ HeartGold & SoulSilver
2 Bebes Search ~ Rising Rivals
1 Aaron’s Collection ~ Rising Rivals
4 Team Galactic's Invention Power Spray ~ Platinum
4 Team Galactic's Invention Poketurn ~ Platinum
3 Team Galactic's Invention Energy Gain ~ Platinum
3 Team Galactic's Invention SP Radar ~ Rising Rivals
2 Pokemon Communication ~ HeartGold & SoulSilver
1 Looker's Investigation - Platinum
Energy:
4 Call Energy ~ Majestic Dawn
4 Double Colourless Energy ~ Heart Gold Soul Silver
3 Lightning Energy
1 Psychic Energy
So this is the list. Not my exact list but under article guidelines I am to submit a tried and true list that contains a standard taste. Some of my choices may be questionable, but let me elaborate on all of the cards in the next section before you spam up the article. Contrary to popular belief, a good LuxChomp list is not an easy list to build. It requires a lot of testing and patience as bad starts are not uncommon for SP lists. That is partially why you see 4 Collector, 2 Pokemon Communication, and 2 Bebe's Search in the list. They are the product of many games of testing and inconsistent starts,, But now, with all the adjustments, this list has become consistent.
Pokemon
Luxray GL Lv. X ~ Rising Rivals:
This card is plain and simple one of the greatest cards in the format. It's ability to gust up benched pokemon earned its spots in many decks such as Gyarados, Donphan, and Jumpluff. Luxray has one power and one attack. Its power, Bright Look, is aforementioned the reason it finds its way into many decks. Its attack, Flash Impact, is a cheap attack that is great for knocking out weak gusted up pokemon. I suppose I should explain a 2-2 line. I run 2-2 soley for the reason of having a favorable matchup versus VileGar.
Luxray GL ~ Rising Rivals:
One of the only reasons Luxray GL is in the deck is so Luxray GL Lv. X can hit the table. Although the Lv. X is what makes this card shine, Luxray GL has some powerful tricks up its fur. Its first attack, Bite, for a Double Colorless Energy, can deal out 30 damage. Not the greatest attack, but the reason it can be deadly is that it can donk the pokemon of popular decks i.e Hoppip, Unown Q, and Magikarp. The second attack, Trash Bolt, is amazing. For a Lightning and Double Colorless Energy, Luxray GL can deal 70 damage. Normally, this wouldn't be amazing, but when paired with Lucario GL, this attack can One Hit KO Gyarados SF, one of the stronger pokemon in the format.
Garchomp C Lv. X ~ Supreme Victors:
One of the key cards in any SP deck, Garchomp C Lv. X is easily one of the Best Cards in the format. Garchomp C Lv. X has the ability to hit anything on the field for 80 damage for 1 Double Colorless energy and Energy Gain thanks to Dragon Rush. Another amazing thing about Garchomp is that he has an amazing power, Healing Breath. Healing Breath fully heals all SP's on your side of the field rendering spread practically useless. Do to his colorless weakness, sadly he is an easy target for Dragonite FB and Ambipom G but alas, even they do not hinder Garchomp C Lv. X's unbelievable power. I run a 2-2 Garchomp C because I feel dual wielding Garchomp C Lv. X's is safer than relying on one.
Garchomp C ~ Supreme Victors:
This explanation would be exactly like Luxray GL's explanation, as Garchomp C as well has 2 attacks, Claw Swipe can donk, and Earthquake can deal some quick strong damage similar to Trash Bolt.
Uxie Lv. X ~ Legends Awakened:
A staple in almost SP deck, Uxie Lv. X has time and time again proved to be one of the most essential cards in LuxChomp. Uxie Lv. X has a great power called Trade Off, that although comes nowhere near the usefulness of Cosmic Power, is insanely useful when needed. It is like a Pokedex every turn! Another huge thing about Uxie Lv. X is it's a great Machamp SF counter when you have Lucario GL on the board. This is because of Uxie Lv. X's attack, Zen Blade. Dealing 60 damage regularly, with Lucario GL in play, plus a Flash Bite, Zen Blade One Hit KO's Machamp.
Uxie ~ Legends Awakened:
This card has taken a big roll in all decks ever since Claydol passed on, but he has been more than ready for it. Uxie has two amazing abilities. The first, and most essential, is Set Up. upon dropping this card, the user is allowed to draw until they have 7 cards in their hand. The second is an attack, Psychic Restore. This allows Uxie to deal 20 damage, and optionally go to the bottom of the deck, a great way to avoid the annoying and ridiculous Fainting Spell.
Azelf ~ Legends Awakened:
Ahhh, we get to Azelf. Azelf, Azelf, Azelf, why would one play Azelf? Well to start, Azelf has an amazing power called Time Walk. Time Walk allows the user to search through one's prizes and rearrange them in whatever way they see fit. If needed, the user may also retrieve a Pokemon from their prizes and place a card from their hand to replace it. Moving on to Azelf's attack we don't see much special. Lock Up can be used in desperate situations to, say, Lock Up a Spiritomb or Chatot in order to stall for resources. If you haven't realized it yet, Lock Up does 20 and prevents the opposition from retreating.
Crobat G ~ Platinum:
Crobat G has earned it spot in many decks for a couple reasons: Free Retreat, always good for starting with and faling back to. Flash Bite, Crobat G's Poke-Power that allows the user to inflict 10 damage to any other pokemon on the opposition's field. And finally, and not necessarily in most decks, Toxic Fang. LuxChomp is one of the few decks that make good use of Toxic Fang. It is usually used as the occasional Donphan counter and in some cases, a decent way to inflict some damage to a tanked Dialga G Lv. X.
Bronzong G ~ Platinum:
Bromzong G is another card that came out in Platinum that strengthened Sp even more. Bronzong G's power, Galactic Switch, give SP the ability to move energy around on your side of the field for a minor side-effect of 20 damage to Bronzong G. Bronzong's attack is never used in this deck, so please don't let it trouble you.
Chatot ~ Majestic Dawn:
This guy is my buddy. He has brought me out of so many terrible situations that it is not even funny. He is an amazing card for both of his attacks the first being Mimic. Mimic allows the user to shuffle one's hand into the deck and draw a new hand consisting of the amount of cards in the opponent's hand. This constant ability to refresh one's hand is a lifesaver against disruption decks like Sablelock. Chatot's second attack is Chatter. This attacks explanation would be IDENTICAL to Azelf's Lock Up explanation.
Unown Q ~ Majestic Dawn:
A staple in every deck, Unown Q is used to help most starter pokemon with one retreat have retreat through its power, Quick. His major setback though, is his horrid attack and ridiculously low 30 HP that is easily donkable by pokemon like Sableye SF, Uxie LA, and even fellow Unown Q's. Although, I feel that the ends justify the means, and if you don't have the time to wast energies on retreating starters, Unown Q is for you.
Ambipom G ~ Rising Rivals:
Ambipom has been a staple in LuxChomp ever since Garchomp C Lv.X hit the game and the mirror became a legit possibility. This is because of Ambipom G's attack, Snap Attack. This attack allows Ambipom, given the defending pokemon has no energies on it, to deal out 60 damage. Against Garchomp C, this 60 turns into 120 which is a One Hit KO! Snap Attack also has a LOT of donking potential. Another reason Ambipom is a staple is its first attack, Tail Code. Although not the spot light attack, Tail Code can be useful versus decks that run low energy counts by moving energies around your opponents field to useless cards such as Azelf.
Toxicroak G ~ Promo:
This card is LuxChomp's built in Luxray GL, Tyranitar, Ambipom, Regigigas... you name it counter. His type is key in all of this because some of the most popular cards in the format have a fighting weakness. Let's go over him shall we? To start, Toxicroak G has a built in Poke Turn in the form of its power, Leap Away. Leap Away, if you hit heads, allows one to bring Toxicroak back to the users hand. Very handy. Moving onto why Toxicroak G is in the deck, we have his attack Poison Revenge. Poison Revenge, if a Pokemon of yours was Koed by damage from attack does 60 damage PLUS poisons the foe. The amazing thing about Poison Revenge is like Ambipom G's Snap Attack, as it does 120 damage to a foe weak to it Koing most.
Smeargle ~ Undaunted:
I would like to say Smeargle isn't needed... but he really is. With Smeargle, you have the ability to feed off of your opponents good start, given you have a terrible or supercalafragulistic amazing start. This is because of his power Portrait. Portrait allows the user to view the opponents hand, and use a supporter in it. Could this get any better, well, yeah, it could, but it definitely could be worse. As for his second attack, well:
Lucario GL ~ Rising Rivals:
And now we get to our final pokemon on the list, Lucario GL. Lucario GL is here for one and only reason, and that reason is not because he is my favorite pokemon haha. No, the reason is his body, Boundary Aura. Boundary Aura makes all weaknesses (both yours and your opponents) x2. It doesn't faze you, since all your pokemon are SP and have x2 anyway, but it does faze Gyarados players as you can now one hit them with a Flash Impact and a Flash Bite, or a single Trash Bolt. As for Lucario's attack, once again, pay it no heed.
That just about covers all of the pokemon, now, lets move onto the cards that make decks function properly:
Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums
The SP Engine:
So we get to the fame of all SP decks. The cards that make SP the most prominent and powerful cards in the meta. Here we have, Cyrus's Conspiracy, Power Spray, Energy Gain, Poke Turn, and SP Radar. Without these cards SP would not have the strength it has today and would definitely not be able to set up nearly as well. Let's break down the functions of each card shall we?
Cyrus's Conspiracy, Platinum:
This card is THE card that permits SP to function off of all of the other SP engine cards. Using this card, you are allowed to grab a Supporter, A TEAM GALACTIC'S INVENTION, and an Energy Card. I cannot even stress how useful grabbing another Cyrus's Conspiracy with this card can be. The objective of the supporter grab is to ideally grab another Cyrus's Conspiracy to help continue the set up. This is called Cyrus Chaining. While in a Cyrus Chain, the LuxChomp player is generally in a position where subsequent Bright Look's and Dragon Rushing is not uncommon. This ultimately allows the LuxChomp player to remain on top throughout the entire game. Secondly, this supporter allows you to grab a Team Galactic's Invention, other cards that are instrumental in the set up of this deck. This is what helps the subsequent attacks and disruption happen. Finally, the last effect of the card, grabbing an Energy Card. Though not quite as good as Roseanne's Research, grabbing 1 energy is like grabbing 2 energies in a clunky Stage 2 deck. This is what helps LuxChomp's speed IMMENSELY!
Team Galactic's Invention Power Spray, Platinum:
Ahh, we move on to the Trap Card of Pokemon TCG. With this card, and having 3 SP pokemon in play, during your opponent's turn you are allowed to play this card to stop the opponent in the act of using a Power. THis is extremely useful against Power Reliant decks such as Speed Decks, Gyarados (in some cases), and really any deck tht abuses Uxie. An interesting argument could be made against my decision to play 4 Power Spray, but I feel that it should be a staple as some SP players to not know how crucial spraying a HUGE Uxie drop can be. A turn 1 call for having 3 SP in play and a Spray in hand could be potentially devastating to decks that rely on Turn 1-2 set ups.
Team Galactic's Invention Energy Gain, Platinum:
Energy Gain is such an amazing card. Without this Pokemon Tool, all SP would not have the speedy attacks they have today. With help from this card, and attaching it to your SP pokemon, there attacks become 1 :colorless: less. This is amazing with Luxray GL, Garchomp C and tons of other SP cards.
Team Galactic's Invention SP Radar, Rising Rivals:
With the release of Platinum, SP looked brilliant to everyone who played it. But then, word grew of the new set, Rising Rivals was arriving, containing another part of the SP engine. That card is SP Radar. Technically, it is a Bebe's Search, only meant solely for SP. With the release of this card, SP gained far more consistency and the effect of the consistency was shown in the performance of the Senior World Champion, Jacob L, who played 4 SP Radars in his list.
Team Galactic's Invention Poke Turn, Platinum:
This ard is another card that supports the SP engine like no other! The amazingness of this card is shown in almost every list that plays Crobat G or Luxray GL. The reason? Poke Turn is a Super Scoop Up that doesn't require a flip. A potentially game saving card, Poke Turn is used as the easy way to pick up a damaged attacker of your that, say, has taken 90 damage from a Gyarados, so you only have 20 HP left. With Poke Turn, you can scoop the attacker back to your hand, attack again, rinse and repeat.
Now that we have finished the SP engine, let's move onto the OTHER cards in the deck.
Pokemon Collector ~ HeartGold & SoulSilver:
An amazing card when you get right down to it. With Pokemon Collector, you have the ability to search your deck for 3 basic pokemon. This card is a HUGE consistency booster in the means of how starting with one could turn a terrible start into a great start. Generally, when you start with a Pokemon Collector, you will want to use it for these things:
Bebe's Search ~ Rising Rivals:
I don't think much need be said. This card gets pokemon, any pokemon, what deck wouldn't want this?
Aaron's Collection ~ Rising Rivals:
My recovery of choice for all SP decks. With it, you are allowed to grab any combination of SP and energy cards. I could include this as part of the SP engine, but I have seen many decks that are non SP use it as a way to get energy back as recovery for all kinds of decks. Really a staple in all SP, since recovery is key to any deck, and now SP has a way meant specifically for it.
Pokemon Communication ~ HeartGold & SoulSilver:
To me, this card is meant as a consistency booster for the deck. Pokemon Communication is a Bebe's Search in Trainer form, but the difference is you don't just shuffle any card in, you have to shuffle a Pokemon into the deck to grab any card you choose. Only disadvantage is that it is useless in a trainer lock and is often a dead draw against VileGar.
Looker's Investigation ~ Platinum:
More of a tech card than an actual staple in the list. I listed this card for the sometimes needed hand disruption on many decks that rely on having certain things in their hand to do things. Examples:
And now we finally move onto the last section of the deck, the Energies.
Energies
Call Energy ~ Majestic Dawn:
I love this card so much. It gives every pokemon the ability to use the Call for Family attack. Honestly, Call energy can turn a bad start into good start with a simple Call for either Chatot or Smeargle. Not much else to say.
Double Colorless Energy ~ HeartGold & SoulSilver:
This is the card that put LuxChomp in the game. With its help, LuxChomp is far faster than it was. Now, Garchomp C can strike for only 1 Energy and 1 Energy Gain. Not to shabby. It also gives LuxChomp donking potential, as 1 Double Colorless Energy on either Garchomp C or Luxray GL can lead to donking 30 HP basics. Definitely a staple in all decks that run Garchomp C in them.
Lightning Energy ~ Basic:
Needed for Luxray GL to attack and is also Dragon Rush fodder. Not much else to say.
Psychic Energy ~ Basic:
Needed for Toxicroak G Promo to attack and is Dragon Rush fodder. Again, not much else to say.
And that finishes all the elaboration on all the cards and I now believe we can move onto the strategy of our resident dominating deck.
LuxChomp's strategy is not so unique. It is simple, and yet it is not simple. The basic idea is to take six fast prizes without losing all your resources. Most newer players would say, "Oh man, that's SOOO easy," Well, that would be incorrect. The choices one makes when playing LuxChomp are extremely difficult to make and when you make the wrong decision, you are open for a counter attack that LuxChomp just does not have the fire power to hold back. This deck is a lot about not letting your opponents finish building up attackers, and a good LuxChomp player will make sure there opponent hopefully never gets a fully powered beast on the field. An example would be Machamp. If Machamp gets going, Uxie LV.X and Lucario GL will not be enought to hold back a swarm of Machamps. Sure you could tech in a counter, but that brings me to my next point. Consistency. LuxChomp NEEDS to be consistent if it wants to get anywhere. With a consistent build and the right idea of when to Dragon Rush and when to Bright Look, LuxChomp becomes an incredibly hard deck to beat. Now, moving on in more depth on the startegy, I feel it would be bright to cover the turn structure of the deck.
Turn Structure:
Starting from the first turn, you'll want to get the resources to counter the deck you are playing against. Whether that is through Call Energy, Pokemon Collector, Cyrus's Conspiracy is entirely up to what you open with.
Next, once you have grabbed all of the necessary means of your attackers, you begin attackING. You generally start with a Bright Look against every matchup except for the mirror. Once you have Bright Looked, you build up Garchomp C and begin a couple turns of Dragon Rushing. In a perfect world, your opponents pokemon you dragged up would just sit there and you could snipe at will for six straight prizes. Unfortunately, that isn't how it works. You need to constantly have Luxray ready to bring something up again, and it is entirely up to you with whether you want to KO it with Luxray, or if you want to snipe once more with Garchomp C. With that, you simply rinse and repeat the cycle of sniping and gusting and killing.
Now we come to your basic supporters for turn. Throughout the game you want to be in a Cyrus Chain, which I explained in the SP engine section of the article, and you want to grab the necessary Team Galactic's Invention's and energy cards that aid the situation. Examples would be Power Sprays for crucial Uxies, Energy Gains for huge Flash Impacts or Dragon Rushes, or Poke Turns to save an SP or Flash Bite a couple more times. The amazing part about SP is the versatility, LuxChomp can easily adapt to different gameplay options throughout the match based on your opponents play style.
That is pretty much the basis n LuxChomp's strategy. Follow the general idea and you should be playing the deck correctly. I think that now would be a good time to add some things that could fancy up your LuxChomp list. I'm talking of course about Techs.
LuxChomp by itself is strong and consistent. But, LuxChomp cannot win them all without certain techs to help it out. Here are the techs that could possibly turn matchups:
Ditto ~ Legends Awakened:
The reason this card is listed is it is brilliant in the VileGar matchup. With Ditto you are allowed to Mimic the foe's HP and attack. So, with a Psychic Energy attached, Ditto can copy Gengar's Shadow Room, thus 2 Hit KOing Gengar and dodging Fainting Spell. Good Stuff.
Dragonite FB ~ Supreme Victors:
This card could easily replace Ambipom as not only a Garchomp C counter, but also as a SP counter in general. Mach Blow deals 80 damage to SP pokemon 1Hit KOing most of them. I prefer Ambipom because the disadvantage of Dragonite FB is starting with it against trainer lock could possibly cost a matchup you do NOT want to give up.
1-1 Absol G LV.X ~ Supreme Victors:
Meant solely as a LostGar counter, which, already I don't believe is a threat but I still decided to list this in the Tech section because it really does make the matchup extremely favorable. Toy with it if you want, but I personally wouldn't use it.
Mewtwo and Machamp Counters:
Now we come to the point of trading consistency for other things. Mewtwo and Machamp counters are these "other things". While using Mewtwo and Machamp counters, or M&M counters as I will now call it, you are cutting consistency. The decision to cut consistency must be based off of your meta. If your meta contains an abundance M&M, then I would strongly advice the use of M&M counter, if it does not, then please do not trade consistency for it as it will only waste space. I will list a couple M&M counters to choose from now:
It is completely up to you with which counter to use, but I would recommend Drifblim if you were to choose any.
Blaziken FB Lv.X ~ Supreme Victors:
Blaziken is a really good tech idea if you are paying in a meta infested with Dialga, Steelix, and Scizor. I don't necessarily like it as I believe it hurts consistency. But, I'm sure that if played correctly this card could definitely help in other matchups.
Weavile G ~ Platinum:
This tech is supposed to be in here for countering LostGar. Once again, I don't really like it as while it does increase consistency with its attack Call for Family, and takes out LostGar Team Attack, I don't feel it is necessary as you have a favorable matchup anyway.
Now we move onto the final and probably most awaited section of the article, the Matchups.
LuxChomp has great matchups all around the board. This is simply because of LuxChomp's ability to adapt to fight any deck it is playing against. I will be rating these matchups through the words of Favorable, Slightly Favorable, Even, Slightly Unfavorable, Unfavorable.
LuxChomp VS. LuxChomp, Even:
Like most mirror matches, the LuxChomp mirror is very luck based. During the LuxChomp mirror game, the objective is to set up your Garchomp C's before your opponent does. Failing to do this will result in your attackers being sniped off before you can do anything. You want to be the first to snipe off your opponents attackers and the first snipe will generally set the opponent back greatly which means a ton in the LuxChomp mirror. Some things to remember:
LuxChomp VS DialgaChomp, Slightly Favorable:
Yep. LuxChomp can usually get set up before DiagaChomp can and in this matchup that means a ton. Your basic strategy will be that of your strategy versus most SP decks, and that would be to prepare your Garchomp C's first and snipe off your foe's attackers. The smart Dialga player will set up Garchomp C's just like you, so sniping them off before your opponent does is crucial. The reason why this differs from the LuxChomp matchups is simply because DialgaChomp is not meant to be a speed deck, and LuxChomp is made to defeat decks that do not use speed. Some things to remember:
LuxChomp VS Sablelock, Even:
Sablelock is a very difficult deck for any deck to play against, but, Sablelock is quite luck reliant. If Sablelock does manage to lock you, you will not have a fun time and will have a low chance of winning. Ways to avoid this are taking out Sableye early, and once again, sniping off their Garchomp C's before they can snipe off yours. The lock is not something to be trifled with, but their is a 50% chance of it not working. Some things to remember:
LuxChomp VS VileGar, Slightly Favorable:
This matchup is not to be taken lightly and is not fun to play but is very winnable. A 2-2 Luxray GL is the cause of this. With Luxrays, you can hopefully stay out of the trainer lock by Bright Looking around Spiritombs. You will obviously want to go for Vileplume in this matchup and take it out quickly, as it is not uncommon for VileGar to win the game through trainer locking all game long. Luxray GL is very good at this, so Luxray will easily be your main player. Once you have take down Vileplume, the matchup should change to an ordinary Gengar matchup where you snipe and gust around Gengar and hopefully avoid Fainting Spell. Some things to remember:
LuxChomp VS Gyarados, Slightly Favorable:
During this matchup you will want to grab Luxray GL and Lucario GL. This combo is known as "Lux/Luc" and is meant to hit Gyarados for its weakness and with the Lucario GL you can put Gyarados's weakness to x2. Although, a minor setback, Gyarados will almost always have a Rescue Energy attached, and so the thing to do then is put Gyarados at ten away from KO, and then nail it with a Flash Bite thus not activating Rescue Energy. This is incredibly helpful as without the speedy recovery, Gyarados is nothing. Warp Energy and Seeker can only get Gyarados so far. Another problem is if Gyarados gets rolling before you have Lux/Luc, the match becomes very difficult. Im still sure it is a favorable matchup as if Luxray can clean up all the Gyarados early Garchomp C can sweep the game without much trouble afterwards. Also, you shouldn't expect to see way to much Gyarados as LostGar is about to explode into the meta and I don't believe Gyarados has a favorable matchup VS it. Some things to remember:
LuxChomp VS Tyranitar, Slightly Favorable:
This matchup is generally a textbook matchup for LuxChomp. Disruption should always come first as early Bright Looks and Dragon Rushes on benched Pupitars and Larvitars can severely cut Tyranitar's options. Without Claydol, this deck really lost its recoevery thus making LuxChomp's job far easier. Also, keep Toxicroak G Promo in hand with Psychic and Energy Gain. Once you have nailed 2 Tyranitars with it, they generally don't have the fuel to continue. Some things to remember:
LuxChomp VS LostGar, Slightly Favorable:
This matchup is not as horrible as some players make it out to be. I will state now that Luxray GL and Garchomp C both contribute a ton to this matchup. To begin, you will hopefully want to grab to two Luxray GLs and 1 Garchomp C. Immediately build up the Garchomp C and hopefully get the first snipe on LostGar's benched Gastlys and Haunters. This can really win you the game as destroying LostGar's setup will prevent it from the general "Lost Zone 6 pokemon in 6 turns". If they do build up a LostGar, empty your hand of pokemon and pick off their bench with your dual Luxray GL and single Garchomp C. Once this has been done, and you finally get it down to the dreaded lone LostGar, attack it full on with Luxray GL. It doesn't have much of a response, as 4 damage counters are nothing. If they do run Gengar SF or Gengar LV.X, Ditto really shines and can take control of this matchup. the issue with this matchup is, if they do get the turbo double LostGar T2 then you can expect a tough time if they manage to get 2-3 Seekers in their hand T2-T3. Some things to remember:
LuxChomp VS Machamp, Unfavorable:
About time eh. Yes, even LuxChomp has at least one Unfavorable matchup, and Machamp is one. This is obviously because of Machamp's first attack, Take Out, which 1 Hit KO's any basic pokemon. This is one of the matchups where running a M&M counter could potentially save you the game. If they do set up a Machamp, stay calm and here is what to do. Get an Uxie LV.X and Lucario GL out, Flash Bite Machamp, and use Zen Blade for 120+10 for the One Hit KO. This does not always work however, as Machamp will usually have more than one guy out, so Uxie LV.X will probably get return KOed, so it is crucial to make sure they don't set up in the first place through Dragon Rushes, Sprays, and Bright Looks. Some things to remember:
Well that just about finishes the article. I hope that you will give LuxChomp some thought for states as it really does have far more winning potential then any deck in the format. I hope you enjoyed the article and found it informative.
Oh what a surprise.
Another LuxChomp article.
Those will probably be your first sentences when you see this article. Well, they are definitely more than right.
(Note, this deck loses to KGL)
Writer: Blitzer
Format: MD-CL
Deck: Luxray GL/Garchomp C
As aforementioned, I have already predicted your first thoughts. Will this be an article entirely based on beholding LuxChomp as the greatest deck in the format? (I do think so if you are wondering) Wrong, this article will be an analysis on LuxChomp in the format of MD-CL.
The Interesting History of LuxChomp:
LuxChomp was formed during Cities 2009-2010, right before I joined the game. In January 2010 when I began, all I heard about was how amazing LuxChomp was with the release of Double Colorless Energy for HeartGold & SoulSilver. I ignored the deck, as I believed that Meta was incredulous. It of course won NW regs in all three divisions and probably won many other Regionals as well. Afterwards, it won US Nationals in the Senior Divison by Michael D. Then soon, it won Worlds 2010 in the Seniors and Masters division by Jacob L, Seniors, and Yuta Komatsuda, Masters. As I began to grow more competitive over the months, I realized the power in LuxChomp and that it wasn't actually a simple deck to play. No, it was incredibly difficult, which intrigued me. This December, I tested out LuxChomp for the first time. I had a really horrible BLG list that couldn't even beat an MD- On Jumpluff build. I was so furious, but decided to continue on with working with the list. Eventually, I began to win some games. In fact I had began working like crazy on forming a list strong enough to win states with, (which I have no idea I have really) and eventually felt good with a consistent build. I took it to some places, and did very well with undefeated records every time. Then, I lost to VileGar twice in a row, and felt really dumb. As I began to question the list, I realized all LuxChomp needed to do was use a tech that could turn the matchup. And so now we come to the present, where I am writing an article on Luxray GL/Garchomp C.
Now, what makes this article different than any other LuxChomp article? Let me list a couple of reasons:
- Written with analysis on LostGar matchup
- Written with techs from the new sets of UD-CL
- Written with analysis on Gyarados (after LostGar hits) analysis
With that, I feel it is time to share the sampling list:
The List:
Pokemon:
2 Luxray GL Lv. X ~ Rising Rivals
2 Luxray GL ~ Rising Rivals
2 Garchomp C Lv X ~ Supreme Victors
2 Garchomp C ~ Supreme Victors
2 Uxie ~ Legends Awakened
1 Uxie LV.X ~ Legends Awakened
1 Azelf ~ Legends Awakened
1 Crobat G ~ Platinum
1 Bronzong G ~ Platinum
1 Chatot ~ Majestic Dawn
1 Unown Q ~ Majestic Dawn
1 Ambipom G ~ Rising Rivals
1 Toxicroak G ~ Promo
1 Smeargle ~ Undaunted
1 Lucario GL ~ Rising Rivals
Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums:
4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy ~ Platinum
4 Pokemon Collector ~ HeartGold & SoulSilver
2 Bebes Search ~ Rising Rivals
1 Aaron’s Collection ~ Rising Rivals
4 Team Galactic's Invention Power Spray ~ Platinum
4 Team Galactic's Invention Poketurn ~ Platinum
3 Team Galactic's Invention Energy Gain ~ Platinum
3 Team Galactic's Invention SP Radar ~ Rising Rivals
2 Pokemon Communication ~ HeartGold & SoulSilver
1 Looker's Investigation - Platinum
Energy:
4 Call Energy ~ Majestic Dawn
4 Double Colourless Energy ~ Heart Gold Soul Silver
3 Lightning Energy
1 Psychic Energy
So this is the list. Not my exact list but under article guidelines I am to submit a tried and true list that contains a standard taste. Some of my choices may be questionable, but let me elaborate on all of the cards in the next section before you spam up the article. Contrary to popular belief, a good LuxChomp list is not an easy list to build. It requires a lot of testing and patience as bad starts are not uncommon for SP lists. That is partially why you see 4 Collector, 2 Pokemon Communication, and 2 Bebe's Search in the list. They are the product of many games of testing and inconsistent starts,, But now, with all the adjustments, this list has become consistent.
The Cards that make the Deck work:
Pokemon
Luxray GL Lv. X ~ Rising Rivals:
This card is plain and simple one of the greatest cards in the format. It's ability to gust up benched pokemon earned its spots in many decks such as Gyarados, Donphan, and Jumpluff. Luxray has one power and one attack. Its power, Bright Look, is aforementioned the reason it finds its way into many decks. Its attack, Flash Impact, is a cheap attack that is great for knocking out weak gusted up pokemon. I suppose I should explain a 2-2 line. I run 2-2 soley for the reason of having a favorable matchup versus VileGar.
Luxray GL ~ Rising Rivals:
One of the only reasons Luxray GL is in the deck is so Luxray GL Lv. X can hit the table. Although the Lv. X is what makes this card shine, Luxray GL has some powerful tricks up its fur. Its first attack, Bite, for a Double Colorless Energy, can deal out 30 damage. Not the greatest attack, but the reason it can be deadly is that it can donk the pokemon of popular decks i.e Hoppip, Unown Q, and Magikarp. The second attack, Trash Bolt, is amazing. For a Lightning and Double Colorless Energy, Luxray GL can deal 70 damage. Normally, this wouldn't be amazing, but when paired with Lucario GL, this attack can One Hit KO Gyarados SF, one of the stronger pokemon in the format.
Garchomp C Lv. X ~ Supreme Victors:
One of the key cards in any SP deck, Garchomp C Lv. X is easily one of the Best Cards in the format. Garchomp C Lv. X has the ability to hit anything on the field for 80 damage for 1 Double Colorless energy and Energy Gain thanks to Dragon Rush. Another amazing thing about Garchomp is that he has an amazing power, Healing Breath. Healing Breath fully heals all SP's on your side of the field rendering spread practically useless. Do to his colorless weakness, sadly he is an easy target for Dragonite FB and Ambipom G but alas, even they do not hinder Garchomp C Lv. X's unbelievable power. I run a 2-2 Garchomp C because I feel dual wielding Garchomp C Lv. X's is safer than relying on one.
Garchomp C ~ Supreme Victors:
This explanation would be exactly like Luxray GL's explanation, as Garchomp C as well has 2 attacks, Claw Swipe can donk, and Earthquake can deal some quick strong damage similar to Trash Bolt.
Uxie Lv. X ~ Legends Awakened:
A staple in almost SP deck, Uxie Lv. X has time and time again proved to be one of the most essential cards in LuxChomp. Uxie Lv. X has a great power called Trade Off, that although comes nowhere near the usefulness of Cosmic Power, is insanely useful when needed. It is like a Pokedex every turn! Another huge thing about Uxie Lv. X is it's a great Machamp SF counter when you have Lucario GL on the board. This is because of Uxie Lv. X's attack, Zen Blade. Dealing 60 damage regularly, with Lucario GL in play, plus a Flash Bite, Zen Blade One Hit KO's Machamp.
Uxie ~ Legends Awakened:
This card has taken a big roll in all decks ever since Claydol passed on, but he has been more than ready for it. Uxie has two amazing abilities. The first, and most essential, is Set Up. upon dropping this card, the user is allowed to draw until they have 7 cards in their hand. The second is an attack, Psychic Restore. This allows Uxie to deal 20 damage, and optionally go to the bottom of the deck, a great way to avoid the annoying and ridiculous Fainting Spell.
Yes, I did use this quote in my previous article but I really felt it was essential for all players to see how much of a staple Uxie really is.
Azelf ~ Legends Awakened:
Ahhh, we get to Azelf. Azelf, Azelf, Azelf, why would one play Azelf? Well to start, Azelf has an amazing power called Time Walk. Time Walk allows the user to search through one's prizes and rearrange them in whatever way they see fit. If needed, the user may also retrieve a Pokemon from their prizes and place a card from their hand to replace it. Moving on to Azelf's attack we don't see much special. Lock Up can be used in desperate situations to, say, Lock Up a Spiritomb or Chatot in order to stall for resources. If you haven't realized it yet, Lock Up does 20 and prevents the opposition from retreating.
Crobat G ~ Platinum:
Crobat G has earned it spot in many decks for a couple reasons: Free Retreat, always good for starting with and faling back to. Flash Bite, Crobat G's Poke-Power that allows the user to inflict 10 damage to any other pokemon on the opposition's field. And finally, and not necessarily in most decks, Toxic Fang. LuxChomp is one of the few decks that make good use of Toxic Fang. It is usually used as the occasional Donphan counter and in some cases, a decent way to inflict some damage to a tanked Dialga G Lv. X.
Bronzong G ~ Platinum:
Bromzong G is another card that came out in Platinum that strengthened Sp even more. Bronzong G's power, Galactic Switch, give SP the ability to move energy around on your side of the field for a minor side-effect of 20 damage to Bronzong G. Bronzong's attack is never used in this deck, so please don't let it trouble you.
Chatot ~ Majestic Dawn:
This guy is my buddy. He has brought me out of so many terrible situations that it is not even funny. He is an amazing card for both of his attacks the first being Mimic. Mimic allows the user to shuffle one's hand into the deck and draw a new hand consisting of the amount of cards in the opponent's hand. This constant ability to refresh one's hand is a lifesaver against disruption decks like Sablelock. Chatot's second attack is Chatter. This attacks explanation would be IDENTICAL to Azelf's Lock Up explanation.
Unown Q ~ Majestic Dawn:
A staple in every deck, Unown Q is used to help most starter pokemon with one retreat have retreat through its power, Quick. His major setback though, is his horrid attack and ridiculously low 30 HP that is easily donkable by pokemon like Sableye SF, Uxie LA, and even fellow Unown Q's. Although, I feel that the ends justify the means, and if you don't have the time to wast energies on retreating starters, Unown Q is for you.
Ambipom G ~ Rising Rivals:
Ambipom has been a staple in LuxChomp ever since Garchomp C Lv.X hit the game and the mirror became a legit possibility. This is because of Ambipom G's attack, Snap Attack. This attack allows Ambipom, given the defending pokemon has no energies on it, to deal out 60 damage. Against Garchomp C, this 60 turns into 120 which is a One Hit KO! Snap Attack also has a LOT of donking potential. Another reason Ambipom is a staple is its first attack, Tail Code. Although not the spot light attack, Tail Code can be useful versus decks that run low energy counts by moving energies around your opponents field to useless cards such as Azelf.
Toxicroak G ~ Promo:
This card is LuxChomp's built in Luxray GL, Tyranitar, Ambipom, Regigigas... you name it counter. His type is key in all of this because some of the most popular cards in the format have a fighting weakness. Let's go over him shall we? To start, Toxicroak G has a built in Poke Turn in the form of its power, Leap Away. Leap Away, if you hit heads, allows one to bring Toxicroak back to the users hand. Very handy. Moving onto why Toxicroak G is in the deck, we have his attack Poison Revenge. Poison Revenge, if a Pokemon of yours was Koed by damage from attack does 60 damage PLUS poisons the foe. The amazing thing about Poison Revenge is like Ambipom G's Snap Attack, as it does 120 damage to a foe weak to it Koing most.
Smeargle ~ Undaunted:
I would like to say Smeargle isn't needed... but he really is. With Smeargle, you have the ability to feed off of your opponents good start, given you have a terrible or supercalafragulistic amazing start. This is because of his power Portrait. Portrait allows the user to view the opponents hand, and use a supporter in it. Could this get any better, well, yeah, it could, but it definitely could be worse. As for his second attack, well:
Uhh, Yeah.
Lucario GL ~ Rising Rivals:
And now we get to our final pokemon on the list, Lucario GL. Lucario GL is here for one and only reason, and that reason is not because he is my favorite pokemon haha. No, the reason is his body, Boundary Aura. Boundary Aura makes all weaknesses (both yours and your opponents) x2. It doesn't faze you, since all your pokemon are SP and have x2 anyway, but it does faze Gyarados players as you can now one hit them with a Flash Impact and a Flash Bite, or a single Trash Bolt. As for Lucario's attack, once again, pay it no heed.
That just about covers all of the pokemon, now, lets move onto the cards that make decks function properly:
Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums
The SP Engine:
So we get to the fame of all SP decks. The cards that make SP the most prominent and powerful cards in the meta. Here we have, Cyrus's Conspiracy, Power Spray, Energy Gain, Poke Turn, and SP Radar. Without these cards SP would not have the strength it has today and would definitely not be able to set up nearly as well. Let's break down the functions of each card shall we?
Cyrus's Conspiracy, Platinum:
This card is THE card that permits SP to function off of all of the other SP engine cards. Using this card, you are allowed to grab a Supporter, A TEAM GALACTIC'S INVENTION, and an Energy Card. I cannot even stress how useful grabbing another Cyrus's Conspiracy with this card can be. The objective of the supporter grab is to ideally grab another Cyrus's Conspiracy to help continue the set up. This is called Cyrus Chaining. While in a Cyrus Chain, the LuxChomp player is generally in a position where subsequent Bright Look's and Dragon Rushing is not uncommon. This ultimately allows the LuxChomp player to remain on top throughout the entire game. Secondly, this supporter allows you to grab a Team Galactic's Invention, other cards that are instrumental in the set up of this deck. This is what helps the subsequent attacks and disruption happen. Finally, the last effect of the card, grabbing an Energy Card. Though not quite as good as Roseanne's Research, grabbing 1 energy is like grabbing 2 energies in a clunky Stage 2 deck. This is what helps LuxChomp's speed IMMENSELY!
Team Galactic's Invention Power Spray, Platinum:
Ahh, we move on to the Trap Card of Pokemon TCG. With this card, and having 3 SP pokemon in play, during your opponent's turn you are allowed to play this card to stop the opponent in the act of using a Power. THis is extremely useful against Power Reliant decks such as Speed Decks, Gyarados (in some cases), and really any deck tht abuses Uxie. An interesting argument could be made against my decision to play 4 Power Spray, but I feel that it should be a staple as some SP players to not know how crucial spraying a HUGE Uxie drop can be. A turn 1 call for having 3 SP in play and a Spray in hand could be potentially devastating to decks that rely on Turn 1-2 set ups.
Team Galactic's Invention Energy Gain, Platinum:
Energy Gain is such an amazing card. Without this Pokemon Tool, all SP would not have the speedy attacks they have today. With help from this card, and attaching it to your SP pokemon, there attacks become 1 :colorless: less. This is amazing with Luxray GL, Garchomp C and tons of other SP cards.
Team Galactic's Invention SP Radar, Rising Rivals:
With the release of Platinum, SP looked brilliant to everyone who played it. But then, word grew of the new set, Rising Rivals was arriving, containing another part of the SP engine. That card is SP Radar. Technically, it is a Bebe's Search, only meant solely for SP. With the release of this card, SP gained far more consistency and the effect of the consistency was shown in the performance of the Senior World Champion, Jacob L, who played 4 SP Radars in his list.
Team Galactic's Invention Poke Turn, Platinum:
This ard is another card that supports the SP engine like no other! The amazingness of this card is shown in almost every list that plays Crobat G or Luxray GL. The reason? Poke Turn is a Super Scoop Up that doesn't require a flip. A potentially game saving card, Poke Turn is used as the easy way to pick up a damaged attacker of your that, say, has taken 90 damage from a Gyarados, so you only have 20 HP left. With Poke Turn, you can scoop the attacker back to your hand, attack again, rinse and repeat.
Now that we have finished the SP engine, let's move onto the OTHER cards in the deck.
Pokemon Collector ~ HeartGold & SoulSilver:
An amazing card when you get right down to it. With Pokemon Collector, you have the ability to search your deck for 3 basic pokemon. This card is a HUGE consistency booster in the means of how starting with one could turn a terrible start into a great start. Generally, when you start with a Pokemon Collector, you will want to use it for these things:
- Any Combination of Luxray GL and Garchomp C depending on the matchup
- A counter tech
- Uxie
Bebe's Search ~ Rising Rivals:
I don't think much need be said. This card gets pokemon, any pokemon, what deck wouldn't want this?
Aaron's Collection ~ Rising Rivals:
My recovery of choice for all SP decks. With it, you are allowed to grab any combination of SP and energy cards. I could include this as part of the SP engine, but I have seen many decks that are non SP use it as a way to get energy back as recovery for all kinds of decks. Really a staple in all SP, since recovery is key to any deck, and now SP has a way meant specifically for it.
Pokemon Communication ~ HeartGold & SoulSilver:
To me, this card is meant as a consistency booster for the deck. Pokemon Communication is a Bebe's Search in Trainer form, but the difference is you don't just shuffle any card in, you have to shuffle a Pokemon into the deck to grab any card you choose. Only disadvantage is that it is useless in a trainer lock and is often a dead draw against VileGar.
Looker's Investigation ~ Platinum:
More of a tech card than an actual staple in the list. I listed this card for the sometimes needed hand disruption on many decks that rely on having certain things in their hand to do things. Examples:
- Gyarados: They could have many cards to bring back Gyarados from the grave, so using Looker's would stop the plan.
- SP in General: Interrupting a Cyrus Chain SEVERLY hurts the foe and definitely increases the odds of you setting up first.
- Donk Decks: They could most certainly have a bajillion trainers and killing materials in their hand, why wouldn't you want to send those away?
And now we finally move onto the last section of the deck, the Energies.
Energies
Call Energy ~ Majestic Dawn:
I love this card so much. It gives every pokemon the ability to use the Call for Family attack. Honestly, Call energy can turn a bad start into good start with a simple Call for either Chatot or Smeargle. Not much else to say.
Double Colorless Energy ~ HeartGold & SoulSilver:
This is the card that put LuxChomp in the game. With its help, LuxChomp is far faster than it was. Now, Garchomp C can strike for only 1 Energy and 1 Energy Gain. Not to shabby. It also gives LuxChomp donking potential, as 1 Double Colorless Energy on either Garchomp C or Luxray GL can lead to donking 30 HP basics. Definitely a staple in all decks that run Garchomp C in them.
Lightning Energy ~ Basic:
Needed for Luxray GL to attack and is also Dragon Rush fodder. Not much else to say.
Psychic Energy ~ Basic:
Needed for Toxicroak G Promo to attack and is Dragon Rush fodder. Again, not much else to say.
And that finishes all the elaboration on all the cards and I now believe we can move onto the strategy of our resident dominating deck.
The Strategy:
LuxChomp's strategy is not so unique. It is simple, and yet it is not simple. The basic idea is to take six fast prizes without losing all your resources. Most newer players would say, "Oh man, that's SOOO easy," Well, that would be incorrect. The choices one makes when playing LuxChomp are extremely difficult to make and when you make the wrong decision, you are open for a counter attack that LuxChomp just does not have the fire power to hold back. This deck is a lot about not letting your opponents finish building up attackers, and a good LuxChomp player will make sure there opponent hopefully never gets a fully powered beast on the field. An example would be Machamp. If Machamp gets going, Uxie LV.X and Lucario GL will not be enought to hold back a swarm of Machamps. Sure you could tech in a counter, but that brings me to my next point. Consistency. LuxChomp NEEDS to be consistent if it wants to get anywhere. With a consistent build and the right idea of when to Dragon Rush and when to Bright Look, LuxChomp becomes an incredibly hard deck to beat. Now, moving on in more depth on the startegy, I feel it would be bright to cover the turn structure of the deck.
Turn Structure:
Starting from the first turn, you'll want to get the resources to counter the deck you are playing against. Whether that is through Call Energy, Pokemon Collector, Cyrus's Conspiracy is entirely up to what you open with.
Next, once you have grabbed all of the necessary means of your attackers, you begin attackING. You generally start with a Bright Look against every matchup except for the mirror. Once you have Bright Looked, you build up Garchomp C and begin a couple turns of Dragon Rushing. In a perfect world, your opponents pokemon you dragged up would just sit there and you could snipe at will for six straight prizes. Unfortunately, that isn't how it works. You need to constantly have Luxray ready to bring something up again, and it is entirely up to you with whether you want to KO it with Luxray, or if you want to snipe once more with Garchomp C. With that, you simply rinse and repeat the cycle of sniping and gusting and killing.
Now we come to your basic supporters for turn. Throughout the game you want to be in a Cyrus Chain, which I explained in the SP engine section of the article, and you want to grab the necessary Team Galactic's Invention's and energy cards that aid the situation. Examples would be Power Sprays for crucial Uxies, Energy Gains for huge Flash Impacts or Dragon Rushes, or Poke Turns to save an SP or Flash Bite a couple more times. The amazing part about SP is the versatility, LuxChomp can easily adapt to different gameplay options throughout the match based on your opponents play style.
That is pretty much the basis n LuxChomp's strategy. Follow the general idea and you should be playing the deck correctly. I think that now would be a good time to add some things that could fancy up your LuxChomp list. I'm talking of course about Techs.
Possible Techs:
LuxChomp by itself is strong and consistent. But, LuxChomp cannot win them all without certain techs to help it out. Here are the techs that could possibly turn matchups:
Ditto ~ Legends Awakened:
The reason this card is listed is it is brilliant in the VileGar matchup. With Ditto you are allowed to Mimic the foe's HP and attack. So, with a Psychic Energy attached, Ditto can copy Gengar's Shadow Room, thus 2 Hit KOing Gengar and dodging Fainting Spell. Good Stuff.
Dragonite FB ~ Supreme Victors:
This card could easily replace Ambipom as not only a Garchomp C counter, but also as a SP counter in general. Mach Blow deals 80 damage to SP pokemon 1Hit KOing most of them. I prefer Ambipom because the disadvantage of Dragonite FB is starting with it against trainer lock could possibly cost a matchup you do NOT want to give up.
1-1 Absol G LV.X ~ Supreme Victors:
Meant solely as a LostGar counter, which, already I don't believe is a threat but I still decided to list this in the Tech section because it really does make the matchup extremely favorable. Toy with it if you want, but I personally wouldn't use it.
Mewtwo and Machamp Counters:
Now we come to the point of trading consistency for other things. Mewtwo and Machamp counters are these "other things". While using Mewtwo and Machamp counters, or M&M counters as I will now call it, you are cutting consistency. The decision to cut consistency must be based off of your meta. If your meta contains an abundance M&M, then I would strongly advice the use of M&M counter, if it does not, then please do not trade consistency for it as it will only waste space. I will list a couple M&M counters to choose from now:
- Bannete ~ Platinum
- Honchkrow ~ Supreme Victors
- Mismagius ~ Stormfront
- Xatu ~ Unleashed
- Drifblim ~ Undaunted
- Dialga G Lv.X ~ Platinum
It is completely up to you with which counter to use, but I would recommend Drifblim if you were to choose any.
Blaziken FB Lv.X ~ Supreme Victors:
Blaziken is a really good tech idea if you are paying in a meta infested with Dialga, Steelix, and Scizor. I don't necessarily like it as I believe it hurts consistency. But, I'm sure that if played correctly this card could definitely help in other matchups.
Weavile G ~ Platinum:
This tech is supposed to be in here for countering LostGar. Once again, I don't really like it as while it does increase consistency with its attack Call for Family, and takes out LostGar Team Attack, I don't feel it is necessary as you have a favorable matchup anyway.
Now we move onto the final and probably most awaited section of the article, the Matchups.
The Matchups:
LuxChomp has great matchups all around the board. This is simply because of LuxChomp's ability to adapt to fight any deck it is playing against. I will be rating these matchups through the words of Favorable, Slightly Favorable, Even, Slightly Unfavorable, Unfavorable.
LuxChomp VS. LuxChomp, Even:
Like most mirror matches, the LuxChomp mirror is very luck based. During the LuxChomp mirror game, the objective is to set up your Garchomp C's before your opponent does. Failing to do this will result in your attackers being sniped off before you can do anything. You want to be the first to snipe off your opponents attackers and the first snipe will generally set the opponent back greatly which means a ton in the LuxChomp mirror. Some things to remember:
- Keep Promocroak and Ambipom in hand at all time.
- Always keep a Garchomp C on the field.
- Use Luxray only to disrupt and take 1-2 cheap prizes.
- Don't wait and let your opponent set up.
LuxChomp VS DialgaChomp, Slightly Favorable:
Yep. LuxChomp can usually get set up before DiagaChomp can and in this matchup that means a ton. Your basic strategy will be that of your strategy versus most SP decks, and that would be to prepare your Garchomp C's first and snipe off your foe's attackers. The smart Dialga player will set up Garchomp C's just like you, so sniping them off before your opponent does is crucial. The reason why this differs from the LuxChomp matchups is simply because DialgaChomp is not meant to be a speed deck, and LuxChomp is made to defeat decks that do not use speed. Some things to remember:
- Watch out for the Turn 1 Defean, this can be crippling.
- Set Up your Garchomp C's wisely.
- Have Ambipom on hand.
- Use Luxray as much as you can to take cheap prizes while avoiding the tanked Dialga. (This is after you have sniped the Garchomp C's off.
- Keep Power Sprays handy.
LuxChomp VS Sablelock, Even:
Sablelock is a very difficult deck for any deck to play against, but, Sablelock is quite luck reliant. If Sablelock does manage to lock you, you will not have a fun time and will have a low chance of winning. Ways to avoid this are taking out Sableye early, and once again, sniping off their Garchomp C's before they can snipe off yours. The lock is not something to be trifled with, but their is a 50% chance of it not working. Some things to remember:
- Keep Chatot MD handy in the Lock so you can constantly refresh your hand.
- Set Up Garchomp C's and get the first snipe.
- Take out the Sableye fast.
- Have Ambipom handy.
- Make a early game rush with Garchomp C, and finish the sweep qith some consecutive Bright Looks.
LuxChomp VS VileGar, Slightly Favorable:
This matchup is not to be taken lightly and is not fun to play but is very winnable. A 2-2 Luxray GL is the cause of this. With Luxrays, you can hopefully stay out of the trainer lock by Bright Looking around Spiritombs. You will obviously want to go for Vileplume in this matchup and take it out quickly, as it is not uncommon for VileGar to win the game through trainer locking all game long. Luxray GL is very good at this, so Luxray will easily be your main player. Once you have take down Vileplume, the matchup should change to an ordinary Gengar matchup where you snipe and gust around Gengar and hopefully avoid Fainting Spell. Some things to remember:
- Ditto is nice if you play it for defeating Gengar.
- Luxray is your main player. Use it to Bright Look Vileplume or just Bright Look around Spiritomb to stay out of the Trainer lock.
- Garchomp C is a last resort after the Trainer Lock has been taken care of.
- Bebe's Search is a very key card for grabbing Luxray GL Lv. X because of its ability to work through Trainer Lock.
LuxChomp VS Gyarados, Slightly Favorable:
During this matchup you will want to grab Luxray GL and Lucario GL. This combo is known as "Lux/Luc" and is meant to hit Gyarados for its weakness and with the Lucario GL you can put Gyarados's weakness to x2. Although, a minor setback, Gyarados will almost always have a Rescue Energy attached, and so the thing to do then is put Gyarados at ten away from KO, and then nail it with a Flash Bite thus not activating Rescue Energy. This is incredibly helpful as without the speedy recovery, Gyarados is nothing. Warp Energy and Seeker can only get Gyarados so far. Another problem is if Gyarados gets rolling before you have Lux/Luc, the match becomes very difficult. Im still sure it is a favorable matchup as if Luxray can clean up all the Gyarados early Garchomp C can sweep the game without much trouble afterwards. Also, you shouldn't expect to see way to much Gyarados as LostGar is about to explode into the meta and I don't believe Gyarados has a favorable matchup VS it. Some things to remember:
- Luxray GL and Garchomp C go hand and hand in this matchup, but Luxray must come first to take care of Gyarados.
- A Bright Look on Regice could be game changing and sniping with Garchomp C after you have dragged up Regice makes it even more hard for your opponent.
- Power Spray is your friend in stopping early Regimoves and Uxie drops.
- Ditto can also be useful in Mimicing Impersonate so you can have an early Cyrus Chain.
LuxChomp VS Tyranitar, Slightly Favorable:
This matchup is generally a textbook matchup for LuxChomp. Disruption should always come first as early Bright Looks and Dragon Rushes on benched Pupitars and Larvitars can severely cut Tyranitar's options. Without Claydol, this deck really lost its recoevery thus making LuxChomp's job far easier. Also, keep Toxicroak G Promo in hand with Psychic and Energy Gain. Once you have nailed 2 Tyranitars with it, they generally don't have the fuel to continue. Some things to remember:
- PromoCroak is HUGE in this matchup as it hits Tyranitar for weakness.
- Disruption is key and if they play Spiritomb, then Bright Look around it, play some trainers, and then get rid of the Larvitars and Pupitars with a Dragon Rush.
- Power Sprays on Uxie will damage this deck as losing Claydol will make them farrr more reliant on Uxie.
LuxChomp VS LostGar, Slightly Favorable:
This matchup is not as horrible as some players make it out to be. I will state now that Luxray GL and Garchomp C both contribute a ton to this matchup. To begin, you will hopefully want to grab to two Luxray GLs and 1 Garchomp C. Immediately build up the Garchomp C and hopefully get the first snipe on LostGar's benched Gastlys and Haunters. This can really win you the game as destroying LostGar's setup will prevent it from the general "Lost Zone 6 pokemon in 6 turns". If they do build up a LostGar, empty your hand of pokemon and pick off their bench with your dual Luxray GL and single Garchomp C. Once this has been done, and you finally get it down to the dreaded lone LostGar, attack it full on with Luxray GL. It doesn't have much of a response, as 4 damage counters are nothing. If they do run Gengar SF or Gengar LV.X, Ditto really shines and can take control of this matchup. the issue with this matchup is, if they do get the turbo double LostGar T2 then you can expect a tough time if they manage to get 2-3 Seekers in their hand T2-T3. Some things to remember:
- Luxray GL is once again more important than Garchomp C in this matchup as LostGar has resistance to Garchomp C and Luxray GL can hit it for some solid damage. Hopefully you will avoid a LostGar.
- Power Spray is huge as a T1-T2 spray on a Uxie will devastate their setup.
- LostGar has 130 HP, but benched Gastlys and Haunters don't. Try to target them before aiming at the main LostGar.
LuxChomp VS Machamp, Unfavorable:
About time eh. Yes, even LuxChomp has at least one Unfavorable matchup, and Machamp is one. This is obviously because of Machamp's first attack, Take Out, which 1 Hit KO's any basic pokemon. This is one of the matchups where running a M&M counter could potentially save you the game. If they do set up a Machamp, stay calm and here is what to do. Get an Uxie LV.X and Lucario GL out, Flash Bite Machamp, and use Zen Blade for 120+10 for the One Hit KO. This does not always work however, as Machamp will usually have more than one guy out, so Uxie LV.X will probably get return KOed, so it is crucial to make sure they don't set up in the first place through Dragon Rushes, Sprays, and Bright Looks. Some things to remember:
- Power Spray is HUGE! Stop the T1-T2 setup and they don't stand much of a chance as you will Dragon Rush and Flash Impact all of their hope away.
- Uxie LV.X and Lucario GL should be sought after in the beginning.
- M&M counters are very useful as they are not One Hit KOed by Machamp and often hit Machamp for weakness.
- Luxray GL and Garchomp C will be needed to snipe off benched Machops and Machokes.
Conclusion:
Well that just about finishes the article. I hope that you will give LuxChomp some thought for states as it really does have far more winning potential then any deck in the format. I hope you enjoyed the article and found it informative.
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