After quite a bit of comparisons with other Sablelock players as well as the addition of a couple of my own techs, here is my Sablelock list going into States on Saturday. This list utilizes the newly popular tech of Luxray in the traditional Sablelock build, making a hybrid between the two decks. That said, here's the list I have so far, please offer up any suggestions/changes to the build as you see fit.
Pokemon: 22
3x Sableye SF
2/1 Luxray GL
3/1 Garchomp C
1 Crobat G
1 Bronzong G
1 Toxicroak G Promo
2/1 Uxie LA
1 Azelf LA
1-1 Honchkrow SV
1 Ambipom G/Dragonite FB (I literally keep going back and forth on these Pokemon daily. I'll likely end up with Draggy simply because of the greater threat VS SPs. I rarely, if ever have a donk scenario with Ambipom.
1 Unown Q
1 Houndoom G (explained below)
T/S/S: 27
3 Pokemon Collector
1 Bebe's Search
4 Cyrus' Conspiracy
2 Cyrus' Initiative
1 Aaron's Collection
1 Judge
3 Poke Turn
3 Power Spray
3 Energy Gain
2 SP Radar
1 Junk Arm
1 VS Seeker
1 Premier Ball
Energy: 12
2 Basic :dark:
3 Special :dark:
4 :colorless::colorless:
2 :lightning:
1
sychic:
First off, basic strategy is simple. If I start with Sableye, either set up or disrupt with Impersonate. If, for whatever reason, I have a donk opportunity with Overconfident, obviously take it. In the event I don't start with Sableye, there are plenty of other good starters for the deck, such as Luxray, Garchomp, Crobat, or even my teched Houndoom G. The reason I took out one Sableye was due to my teching in of Houndoom, so if you decide to up the count to four, please find something else to take out if possible.
Now, the reason for Houndoom G: I love this thing. A Fire-type that uses Dark Energy with a bit of disruption with its first attack, and an incredible amount of potential to threaten bulky metals with its second. 10 extra HP over the standard 80 is also a plus, Psychic resistance is great, and the one retreat cost common amongst SP basics is expected. All that time I spent debating over whether to run this deck as Chenlock or have the Luxray tech was solved once I rediscovered this guy. He can OHKO Dialga G, do HEAVY damage to Steelix, and a little extra help from Crobat in case of Special Metals helps as well. It astounds me that more people don't play this despite Sablelock struggling a little bit against metals in general.
Toxicroak G has been interchanged with Drifblim FB in the past. The reason I'm using Toxicroak is due to the higher amount of dark attackers I expect to see at States in anticipation for Vilegar and Lostgar. Having an answer to these along with the expected Luxray in one card gives it the nod in my eyes.
A Poke-Turn was taken out in favor of a single Junk Arm to effectively give me an extra of every trainer (as well as a small means to dump my Pokemon/Trainers if playing against a Gengar deck) in here, and combined with VS Seeker, TWO extra supporters. One of Sablelock's hardest phases is mid-late game, and all of these options help to nullify that.
Anyway, that's about it, so please comment below with any advice/criticisms you might have to offer. I want this deck to be a well-oiled machine once states comes along.
Pokemon: 22
3x Sableye SF
2/1 Luxray GL
3/1 Garchomp C
1 Crobat G
1 Bronzong G
1 Toxicroak G Promo
2/1 Uxie LA
1 Azelf LA
1-1 Honchkrow SV
1 Ambipom G/Dragonite FB (I literally keep going back and forth on these Pokemon daily. I'll likely end up with Draggy simply because of the greater threat VS SPs. I rarely, if ever have a donk scenario with Ambipom.
1 Unown Q
1 Houndoom G (explained below)
T/S/S: 27
3 Pokemon Collector
1 Bebe's Search
4 Cyrus' Conspiracy
2 Cyrus' Initiative
1 Aaron's Collection
1 Judge
3 Poke Turn
3 Power Spray
3 Energy Gain
2 SP Radar
1 Junk Arm
1 VS Seeker
1 Premier Ball
Energy: 12
2 Basic :dark:
3 Special :dark:
4 :colorless::colorless:
2 :lightning:
1
sychic:First off, basic strategy is simple. If I start with Sableye, either set up or disrupt with Impersonate. If, for whatever reason, I have a donk opportunity with Overconfident, obviously take it. In the event I don't start with Sableye, there are plenty of other good starters for the deck, such as Luxray, Garchomp, Crobat, or even my teched Houndoom G. The reason I took out one Sableye was due to my teching in of Houndoom, so if you decide to up the count to four, please find something else to take out if possible.
Now, the reason for Houndoom G: I love this thing. A Fire-type that uses Dark Energy with a bit of disruption with its first attack, and an incredible amount of potential to threaten bulky metals with its second. 10 extra HP over the standard 80 is also a plus, Psychic resistance is great, and the one retreat cost common amongst SP basics is expected. All that time I spent debating over whether to run this deck as Chenlock or have the Luxray tech was solved once I rediscovered this guy. He can OHKO Dialga G, do HEAVY damage to Steelix, and a little extra help from Crobat in case of Special Metals helps as well. It astounds me that more people don't play this despite Sablelock struggling a little bit against metals in general.
Toxicroak G has been interchanged with Drifblim FB in the past. The reason I'm using Toxicroak is due to the higher amount of dark attackers I expect to see at States in anticipation for Vilegar and Lostgar. Having an answer to these along with the expected Luxray in one card gives it the nod in my eyes.
A Poke-Turn was taken out in favor of a single Junk Arm to effectively give me an extra of every trainer (as well as a small means to dump my Pokemon/Trainers if playing against a Gengar deck) in here, and combined with VS Seeker, TWO extra supporters. One of Sablelock's hardest phases is mid-late game, and all of these options help to nullify that.
Anyway, that's about it, so please comment below with any advice/criticisms you might have to offer. I want this deck to be a well-oiled machine once states comes along.