3-1 or 2-2 Garchomp

[King of Japan]

Which do you think is better and why?

[Deoxys Cool Form]

3-1 mainly because you need it against other SP players.

It's all in the Garchomp's at the end of the day.

[King of Japan]

Is 3-1 still the better play in DialgaChomp or would 2-2 be better because of the healing?

[Regis_Neo]

I've seen 2-2 for the most part actually in Luxchomp; 3-1 was the old style, but 2-2 seems to be the play these days. Which makes a bit of sense, more consistency and saves some bench space if you don't have to play an Azelf, bench space can get tight sometimes.

[genosect]

2-2 for my dialgachomp.
Bench is always tight and 3-1 dialga has already taken that role

[Raen]

I always play 2-2 Garchomp in almost EVERY SP deck I play. The exception was a 1-1 line I had in my DialgaChomp, although a 2-2 is more consistent, but I was having trouble finding space.

[Deoxys Cool Form]

Originally Posted by King of Japan

Is 3-1 still the better play in DialgaChomp or would 2-2 be better because of the healing?

You can still heal with Premier Ball's & Aaron's etc

[Dennis Hawk]

I could see 3-1 Garchomp being played in Garchomp toolboxes, etc. decks, in which SP vs. SP matchup matters the most. After all, SP matchups are a lot about Garchomp C Lv.X sniping Garchomp Cs.

Though efficient use for 3-1 lineup would most probably require Premier Ball or a few. 3-1 extends the lineup most here, giving you the possibility to get the upper hand even if your opponent has got the Garchomp advantage due to faster start, etc.

Though 2-2 seems like the most usable lineup in tight lists.

[dialga master]

2-2 is better imo.
If you get 2 Garchomp C Lv.X's out, then you can't get sniped while on the bench.

If you play 3-1, then 2-3 premier ball would be needed to get them from the discard. (Assuming you don't play 2 aarons)
Like Mr. Hawk said, 2-2 would be better in a tight, and teching situation.

[David's Confused Pokedad]

For the record I have been beatin by more 2-2 Garchomp decks than any 3-1 . Just ask my opponents.

[Colts8729]

I agree with 2-2 in dialga but 3-1 in everything else

[Barkjon]

I'd play 2-2 for consistency and less chance of an X being prized, as well as more healing.

[Sir Bidoof]

A 2-2 line also allows you to burn less Poke-Turns to use multiple Healing Breaths and Dragon Rushes. However, it hurts more when a Garchomp C is sniped off the bench. I think it's down to personal preference, but I like 2-2 better.

[Politoed666]

Am I the only one that's going to mention the possibility of a 2-1 line? Starting with it is okay... you can donk an Unown Q. :/ But really, the Lv.X is easy enough to search out with just about anything, and I simply don't see the need to run more than two of the Basic. Or more than one of the Lv.X for that matter, if you're running Azelf.

A 2-2 is absolutely superior to a 3-1, but I'm in favor of the 2-1.

[Phazon Elite]

I ran 2-1 last season, mainly because I REALLY wanted to get that one last tech in. Worked pretty well, as having the extra one let me bait people into a mistimed KO on it.

[Cardkeeper]

I play 2-1 Dialga and 2-2 Garchomp with no Premiere Ball and only 1 Aarons and I have never hit a consistancy problem.

[Porii Sames]

2-2

No reason not to, in Dchomp that is.

[kwisdumb]

They both have their merits and their downfalls. In the end it comes down to the list, the metagame, and your playstyle. Overall, I prefer 2-2.

[nnaann]

Originally Posted by Politoed666

A 2-2 is absolutely superior to a 3-1, but I'm in favor of the 2-1.

This is so wrong. Run into any good player with SP who is running a 3-1 Chomp and the matchup is heavily out of your favour. You just can't afford to give them that advantage when SP is as big as it is - it's almost like not running Toxicroak G Promo or a Garchomp counter in the mirror, it gives you a huge disadvantage.

I don't even consider 2-2 that much because of that fact and I've seen top tier SP lists which all run 3-1.

[The_Envoy_of_Chaos]

Are we factoring in Garchomp counters here? If a list is running two counters to chomp (say 1 Ambipom G and 1 Dragonite FB), 2-2 is fine.

I like the idea of 3-1, but having the Lv.X prized really hurts you for bench space (being forced to play Azelf). Also if it is prized, what if another key card is prized? It just ends up in a headache in my opinion.

[Rogue Archetype]

2-2 is good now because you don't really have much recovery nowadays.

All of the recover cards are SUPPORTERS and the trainer locks limit Premier ball and pokemon rescue.

2-2 gives you a better opportunity to draw into the Aarons/Palmers

[nnaann]

Believe me, I would love to run 2-2 - it's superior in some many ways. But ever since Luxchomp got big, people have tried more things to beat the Mirror. What happens then is that everyone copies them to get it to 50/50, and the cycle happens again. At States I can remember running Toxicroak G Promo and Ambipom G to get an edge on the mirror - looks pretty funny looking back on it now. I'm now running 3-1 Chomp, Smeargle, Ambipom G and Dragonite FB to get the same advantage.

Currently running both Ambipom G and Dragonite is very popular, as well as 3-1 Garchomp. I think you really need at least the amount of basic Garchomp Cs and your Garchomp counters to be at 4, because that's what most lists seem to be playing. In a Luxchomp mirror match especially, one of the worst things you can do is bench a single Garchomp C and leave it there. You have around double the chance of having one of your two Garchomp Cs prized then of having a single Garchomp C Lv X prized. Considering you should be able to get about 3 prizes while staying in the game with Luxray GL Lv Xs and your Garchomp counters, that brings the odds of the Level X still being prized to about 1/20 - this is also considering that the Azelf is sprayed. You can't stop all bad luck in Pokemon, you might as well concentrate on just what happens in most games.

I've been running 3-1 Chomp, 2 Aaron and a single Premier Ball and have no problems with recovery. I know some lists are running 1 Aaron, but you really need the second to run 3-1.