Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Duos deck

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Morten

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I hope someone can tell me whats wrong when i´m linking images.

Duos Deck
Written by: Morten Gundesen
Format: MD on

Introduction

A new season, a new metagame. Well not much except scizor but I still see some red face paint deck that can beat luxchomp, gyarados and scizor. Duos is a rather interesting deck that does fine against the metagame and should be fine against most red face paint decks. The deck is build with donphan (prime) and dusknoir that can handle earthquake damage and help against gyarados.

The Decklist

Pokemon: 22
3: Phanpy, GS-77
3: Donphan (Prime), GS-107
2: Duskull, SF-59
2: Dusclops, SF-34
2: Dusknoir, SF-1
1: Dusknoir LV.X, SF-96
1: Regirock, LA-38
1: Relicanth, SV-79
2: Uxie, LA-43
4: Spiritomb, AR-32
1: Unown Q, MD-49

Trainers: 25

2: Bebe's Search, RR-89
2: Sage's Training, UD-77
1: Twins, TM-89
2: Underground Expedition, RR-97
4: Pokemon Collector, GS-97
2: Stark Mountain, LA-135

3: Pokemon Communication, GS-98
2: Warp Point, MD-88
4: Poke Healer +, SF-90
1: Luxury Ball, SF-86
2: Expert Belt, AR-87

Energy: 13

4: Rainbow Energy, GS-104
7: Fighting Energy, GS-120
2: Psychic Energy, GS-119

Main Cards



Donphan is a true powerhouse and the only reason it´s not a very big part of the metagame is because of gyarados that can KO it with 180 damage. One fighting energy gives 60 with earthquake and 10 to your bench so it can´t be combined with everything. It combines well with Donphan because it can reduce the damage with its own body. 60 can be good for fast KO and many Donphan deck use this attack the most. The other attack heavy impact needs 3 fighting energy and gives 90. Unlike most Donphan deck this uses these attacks 50/50. 3 energy of one kind is usually hard to get fast but this deck can do it rather well.



This card makes Donphan able to do heavy impact rather fast. Discard 2 cards like some supporter or maybe spiritomb or relicanth and get one fighting energy from your discard pile and attach it to regirock. This energy can be moved with stark mountain to donphan. The only problem with this is to get discarded some fighting energy. Unlike regice it can´t discard for no reason.



This card has a lot of tricks up its sleeve. It can work like draw power with its power. It gives itself 2 damage counters and draws 2 cards then you have to discard until there only are 6 cards in your hand and this is a good way to get a fighting energy discarded. Hurting yourself is often a bad idea but this can with 1 psychic and one colorless give the same amount of damage to one of the opponents pokémon equal to the damage on dusknoir. Dusknoir is like happy to get damaged and this makes it fine with donphans earthquake. Taking damage from the rainbow energy with this pokemon and move them with stark mountain is a good tactic. Dusknoir is also your trump card against gyarados because of the attack night spin. It cost 2 psychic and one colorless energy and gives 50 damage. When used your opponent can´t hit it unless he got 3 or more energy and when gyarados only runs 5-6 energy it can really hurt.



Poke healer + is rather rare to see in our metagame because most deck get more from seeker, poketurn or just get KO in one hit. Donphan is an exception because of its big retreat cost and can´t like gyarados use warp energy. Well it could but not in my deck because the pokemon needs many energy of the same kind. It is used in different ways depending on the matchup so I mention it again in that section.

Other Cards

Spiritomb

You need basic pokemon in a deck and this is a fine choice and can get free retreat cost with an unown q. It can slow the opponent, search for evolutions to duskull or phanpy which can works like draw power with dusknoir. It can also force an uxie power through power spray. All know uxie work like draw power so won´t mention that one more.

Relicanth

Maybe this one shouldn´t be in the deck but it is a fine way to get past the new umbreon and its attack that stops pokemon with body or power.

Sage Training

This is a fine card but many decks can find something better. It works well in this deck because it can discard fighting energy cards and search more cards than underground expedition. Some cards can´t just wait like poke healer +.

Twins

This came in the deck just to test it and it have saved me more than one time. It can be discarded if you are in front but in some matchup it´s fine.

Rainbow energy

This deck needs many energy of the same card and this card can solve this problem and the damage problem is often rarely a problem because dusknoir wants the damage.

Matchups

Luxchomp 70-30

This match is all about killing sp with donphan. A donphan with 3 fighting energy and expert belt kills all the used pokemon in luxchomp deck except drifblim and dragonite. Luxchomp will try to KO the donphan and many would try to use crobats G toxic fang because donphan have a high retreat cost. That attack won´t do much if you have a warp point to remove the poison, or 1 poke healer + that reamoves 1 special condition and 1 damage. Garchomp G also use dragon rush against donphan and 2 poke healer + solves that damage. You can´t heal forever but 4 should be enough to win the match. Dusknoir is still used as draw power in this match and often forces luxchomp to kill it before it gets too much damage and then takes some pressure off donphan.

Gyarados 40-60

This deck was built before the arrival of rescue energy and dusknoir were a lot more effective. You still have a chance with dusknoir because killing one gyarados with energy and attacking with night spin afterwards should do the trick. In this battle belts and poke healers are used for dusknoir. Start the game with taking some free prices (often only one) with donphan and give dusknoir energy meanwhile. You often get behind in this process and twins become handy. Then attack with a belted dusknoir and take a hit then a gyarados with 3 energy comes out. This damage can be healed with the poke healers and now you have to KO the gyarados. Sometimes an attack with donphan is fine but sometimes makes opponent able to seeker the gyarados. Night spin puts pressure on the opponent and he can´t seeker it because you´ll get too many prices meanwhile. Night spin to victory is the best plan and works time to time.

Scizor variants 60-40

Scizor and donphan are both very strong but donphan is better in the start because of its body and higher HP. Later scizor can get enough to hurt a lot and make poke healer unusable. Dusknoir is also a good trump card in this match because it can give 100 damage through metal energy and also body because it is put damage and scizor only stop damage with its body. It would be annoying if all 4 rainbow energy were good for nothing.

GengarPlume 60-40 (not sure about this one)

I have tried this battle and it depends on gengars power. You can get past it with dusknoir but don´t be sure to get the chance. You can´t use warp point and won´t get back and it´s the same deal for uxie. It isn´t good if he flips too many heads in the start because then you´ll be forced to use earthquake and that damage can give cheap prices in this battle. It is often easy to get away with enough trainers so that won´t give a problem.
 
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i applaud your 4 collector.
i would switch out the spiritombs for smeargle, they're way better.
and 4 ssu >>>> 4 pokehealer
also try to fit in some junk arm
 
I would add in some recovery cards such as Pamler's Contribution or Flowershop Lady. Awesome rogue deck btw. As for the hyperlinks idk why they don't want to show I tried one for myself and they appear not to be working as well.
 
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Well the strategy depends on the deck you meet. I gave the strategy against some deck in the matchup part.

1-2 junk arm would really be nice in this deck but recovery cards isn´t necesary. Removed it after I tested my first list.
 
Nice deck morten. have you considered a ditto LA for gengarplume? How about a Palmers? Definitely an interesting idea though.
 
Ditto can work too and with rainbow you are able to copy anything. Havn´t thougt about that one. Palmers isn´t necesary. Both belt will be used anayway and a dusknoir too.
 
Hmh I've tested that for fun some months ago when the season started.
This Idea doesn't really work well in this Fomat.
Your list is not good and doesn't make much sense.
Again against Decks like Gyarados/LuxChomp/VileGar your list will normally fail, because you don't really have something that counters them well.
If you want to play Donphan/Dusknoir you have to play Judge/Looker's/Mesprit/Seeker to be able to lock, because that is what will make the deck strong. And with out these cards you have no chance against LC/GDOS/VG, because they will always find a way to play around everything.

Your MUs you listed are absolutly wrong. With your list they would look like:
Gyarados 70-30 in GDOS favour
LuxChomp 60-40 in LuxChomps favour
VileGar 70-30 in VileGars favour
....

Hope that helped you.
-Filipp.
 
Hmh I've tested that for fun some months ago when the season started.
This Idea doesn't really work well in this Fomat.
Your list is not good and doesn't make much sense.
Again against Decks like Gyarados/LuxChomp/VileGar your list will normally fail, because you don't really have something that counters them well.
If you want to play Donphan/Dusknoir you have to play Judge/Looker's/Mesprit/Seeker to be able to lock, because that is what will make the deck strong. And with out these cards you have no chance against LC/GDOS/VG, because they will always find a way to play around everything.

Your MUs you listed are absolutly wrong. With your list they would look like:
Gyarados 70-30 in GDOS favour
LuxChomp 60-40 in LuxChomps favour
VileGar 70-30 in VileGars favour
....

Hope that helped you.
-Filipp.

I might be on a bunch of pain meds right now, but I dont agree with you. Morten makes a bunch of decks that seems terrible, and will never work, but then look at how he does at worlds with these unconventional decks. Against Gyardos, Dusknoir Wall it pretty easily, and they have to waist half of the energy that they run just to attack you. Once those are gone, they scoop. Against Luxchomp, the only thing that they can easily OHKO is Uxie and Relicanth. Though Im not to sure how the Vilegar match will go, but if he decides on putting in a Ditto or 2, he will win easily.
 
Hmh I've tested that for fun some months ago when the season started.
This Idea doesn't really work well in this Fomat.
Your list is not good and doesn't make much sense.
Again against Decks like Gyarados/LuxChomp/VileGar your list will normally fail, because you don't really have something that counters them well.
COLOR]


The same deck?
I wonder if you used card like poke healer + and regirock(listed them as main cards) because that makes you able to beat luxchomp, gyarados and scizor. Regirock helps alot against vilegar. If you didn´t your matchup chart can´t be used to my deck...

This deck have placed second in a city only loseing to a gyarados deck. I met decks like luxchomp and vilegar so it can beat the metagame.
 
The same deck?
I wonder if you used card like poke healer + and regirock(listed them as main cards) because that makes you able to beat luxchomp, gyarados and scizor. Regirock helps alot against vilegar. If you didn´t your matchup chart can´t be used to my deck...

This deck have placed second in a city only loseing to a gyarados deck. I met decks like luxchomp and vilegar so it can beat the metagame.

I didn't play Poke Healer, but I put in some proxies for Seeker, which I wanted to put in when TR came out. This was my list of this deck:

POKEMON 24
33 Donphan
1 Unown Q
1 Azelf
1 Regirock
1 Ditto
2 Uxie
2221 Dusknoir
1 Mesprit
4 Spiritomb

TRAINER 24
4 Pokemon Collector
3 Bebe's Search
3 Pokemon Communication
1 Luxury Ball
3 Judge
2 Stark Mountain
2 Seeker (played that as a proxy)
3 Warp Point
2 Expert Belt
1 Broken Time-Space

ENERGY 12
6 Fighting
4 Rainbow
2 Psychic


There where many ways to outplay this deck when I playtested it. ;D
-Filipp.
 
looks like a fine list but healer really makes the difference, and sages traning can be really helpfull too against luxchomp. I´m not sure why this list should be 30-70 against vilegar but that is also the matchup i´m least sure about. I think the list should get some drawpower. You won´t be able to keep dusknoir as drawpower against vilegar.

Seeker is the less effective choice beacause donphan often use heavy impact in my deck and I don´t want to pick up 3 energy and be slowed down in that way.
 
looks like a fine list but healer really makes the difference, and sages traning can be really helpfull too against luxchomp. I´m not sure why this list should be 30-70 against vilegar but that is also the matchup i´m least sure about. I think the list should get some drawpower. You won´t be able to keep dusknoir as drawpower against vilegar.

Seeker is the less effective choice beacause donphan often use heavy impact in my deck and I don´t want to pick up 3 energy and be slowed down in that way.

There was one more thing I thought about. To make the Regirock more effecktive you should run Warp Energies (they`ve been in my list too, but tried it with the list I put into this thread) -just 2 or 3-, because then you are able to play it against VileGars with Blaziken/.... and also to attack with Donphan and Ditto VS VileGar, if he does not attack you donphan and you cant get it out of the active position, etc.....
(Then Seeker would be better and) I guess that would also give you more options ;D

Hope that helped you.
 
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