nnaann
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[size=+5] Luxray/Garchomp [/size]
Written By: Nathan M (nnaann)
Date: 5th August, 2010
Format: MD-on
Please note that this article is targeted for after the Majestic Dawn – on rotation takes place.
[size=+2] Introduction: [/size]
Luxchomp is one of the most strongest decks in the metagame and has achieved a huge amount of wins throughout the year since first appearing in the Autumn Battle Roads in 2009. As the name suggests, the deck focuses more or less equally on Luxray and Garchomp lines – both SP. With speed, the ability to attack any Pokemon on your opponents field and cards such as Power Spray to slow down your opponent’s set up – it’s easy to see why it’s been so successful.
Strengths –
Luxchomp’s main strength is that the cards are SP Pokemon. Not only does this mean they’re all Basic Pokemon and easier to set up/ search out, but they can abuse a variety of different SP cards. SP Radar and Energy Gain help for the deck to get quickly set up and attacking, key Power Sprays can slow down your opponent’s set up and block vital plays and Poketurn can help to use those broken powers again. Cyrus’s Conspriacy serves as a great engine and despite some builds currently running Claydol, this card means that Luxchomp won’t as heavily be affected by the rotation. With Crobat G’s, Poketurns to reuse Flash Bite and cheap Turn 1 attacks such as Bite, Claw Swipe or Earthquake, this deck has a great donking ability. With Fightning, Colourless, Lightning and Psychic attacking Pokemon, it covers a lot of weaknesses and combined with Lucario GL can 1HKO a lot of Pokemon.
Weaknesses –
The trouble with a deck that wins a lot of tournaments is that counters start to appear. Cards like Machamp from Stormfront can one hit ko any Basic Pokemon with Take Out, or cards like Mewtwo Lv X can reduce a Luxchomp deck to not being able to do anything if they don’t run a counter. For big tournaments it’s unlikely that good players will run a deck aside from Luxchomp that has a bad matchup to it because of it’s popularity. Without the ability to hit for weakness, the deck lacks a big damage output to take down a Pokemon with high HP. Although not linked to the deck’s ability, it’s an expensive deck to put together with just 2 Luxray GL Lv Xs and an Uxie Lv X costing about $200.
Luxchomp lists often chose to use spare slots for Entei Raikou Legend, a Mewtwo Counter or just to give extra speed and consistency. I’ve kept 2 slots spare for any of these options, and I’ll explain their strengths and weaknesses below. Each are all viable options so I suggest testing with each idea before settling on one of them.
[size=+2] MD-on List: [/size]
Pokemon: 19
2 Luxray GL Lv. X - Rising Rivals
2 Luxray GL - Rising Rivals
2 Garchomp C Lv X - Supreme Victors
2 Garchomp C - Supreme Victors
1 Uxie Lv.X - Legends Awakened
2 Uxie - Legends Awakened
1 Azelf - Legends Awakened
1 Crobat G - Platinum
1 Bronzong G - Platinum
1 Lucario GL - Rising Rivals
1 Unown Q - Majestic Dawn
1 Ambipom G - Rising Rivals
1 Toxicroak G - DP41 Promo
1 Chatot - Majestic Dawn
Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums: 27
3 Pokemon Collector - Heart Gold Soul Silver
4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy - Platinum
1 Bebes Search - Rising Rivals
2 Aaron’s Collection - Rising Rivals
2 Premier Ball - Stromfront
4 Poketurn - Platinum
4 Energy Gain - Platinum
3 SP Radar - Rising Rivals
4 Power Spray - Platinum
Energy: 12
4 Call Energy - Majestic Dawn
4 Double Colourless Energy - Heart Gold Soul Silver
3 Lightning Energy
1 Psychic Energy
Spare Slots: 2
Luxray GL Lv X
This card is currently selling for around $80 and has become a staple even in a lot of Stage 2 decks due to it’s Pokepower Bright Look. 110HP is OK, and it’s attack Flash Impact is good fast damage but late game may not make much of an impact. This card’s best quality is it’s Poke Power Bright Look. Being able to bring up any of your opponent’s benched Pokemon means you can take cheap 1HKO’s, knockout any vulnerable Pokemon before they can Level Up or evolve or just take out their draw engine with cards like Uxie Lv X or Bronzong Stormfront. With 4 copies of Poketurn, 2 Luxray GL Lv X as well as 2 Premier Ball and 2 Aarons Collection to recover this card back once KO’d and Level up again, it’s possible to use this power multiple times in a game.
Luxray GL
Luxray GL’s main aim is to Level Up into Luxray GL Lv X. However in the first couple of turns before it may be possible to do this, it’s a solid starting Pokemon. Bite is easily achievable with Energy Gain and energy or a Double Colourless energy and can provided quick damage or maybe a Knockout when combined with Crobat G and Poketurns. Trash Bolt is a good option to KO high HP Water Pokemon without the need for Crobat G, or when you don’t want to do any damage to any of your Pokemon with Flash Impact from Luxray GL Lv X. 80HP isn’t bad either for a basic Pokemon, and should prevent any potential donks.
Garchomp C Lv X
Luxray GL Lv X’s partner in crime is Garchomp C Lv X. Healing Breath has great synergy with attacks like Flash Impact which damage your own Pokemon and Bronzong G’s Galactic Switch, healing all their damage off. It’s attack is a great way to keep up with the decks strategy. With a Double Colourless Energy and Energy Gain, it can easily take lots of cheap KO’s from the opponent’s bench. 80 damage is enough to KO most SP Pokemon before they’ve been Leveled Up, or with a Flash Bite possible needed, most Basic/Stage 1 Pokemon in Stage 2 decks can be sniped off. Although Dragon Rush can’t be used two turns in a row, it’s easy to do this regardless. Retreating it to the bench will get rid of this effect and the new Active Pokemon can be Poketurn’d back to promote Garchomp C Lv X active again. Or you can just Poketurn the Level X to your hand, then Level Up another Garchomp C which has been on your bench since last turn. Finally, you can just rotate between 2 Garchomp C Lv Xs.
Garchomp C
For a Basic Pokemon, this is usually a great starter. It again has a great donk ability, especially with Earthquake which needs just an Energy Gain and Double Colourless energy to hit 50 from Turn 1 and put your opponent on the back foot. 80HP means unless they’re hitting your weakness, most decks won’t be able to donk this.
Uxie Lv X
Uxie Lv X continues the the draw engine with it’s Poke Power Trade Off. With Unown Q and Poketurn, it’s easy to get opportunities to get this card onto the bench and abuse it’s Power for the rest of the game. Zen Blade is a really nice attack, hitting 60 for just one energy attachment if you have a Double Colourless energy ready. Psychic type means it hits for a lot of weaknesses, and with a Lucario GL and a Crobat G it can 1HKO a Machamp.
Uxie
One of the main components of the deck’s draw engine is Uxie. It’s Poke Power Set up allows you to refill your hand, and with lots of trainers, the hand can often be reduced to a small number. Psychic Restore allows Uxie to be put to the bottom of the deck for it’s power to be reused or just to give a spare slot on the bench.
Azelf
It’s Poke Power Time Walk allows you to look through your prizes and get out any vital Pokemon that are prized. Lock Up can be used to good use in the right situation with 1 Psychic energy in the deck, but it does take up a valuble bench slot for the rest of the game so be wary playing it down.
Crobat G
Crobat G’s Flash Bite along with Poketurns can provide that vital 10-20 damage when you’re short of a KO and helps the decks donk ability. It’s not a bad starter with free retreat and any energy attached can later be moved off with Bronzong G. Toxic Fang can be a great strategy against tank decks such as Dialga Garchomp or Donphan Prime, getting through any damage reduction abilities.
Bronzong G
Galactic Switch helps to move any type of energy around between Pokemon or keep them in play before a Pokemon is Poketurned. Bench this in the first few turns, it’s well worth a bench slot and comes in use a lot during games. It’s got a heavy retreat cost, but Poketurn allows you to get it out that active slot if it’s there.
Lucario GL
A lot of decks have been dropping this card recently, but I feel with 4 different types in this deck, hitting weaknesses is a great way to go with this deck. It’s a dead card in some matchups, but in others can really make a difference with it’s Pokebody. It also provides a nice Machamp counter, allowing Uxie Lv X’s Zen Blade to hit 120 damage.
Unown Q
The main downside is it’s HP. With 30 HP, start with a lone Unown Q and you’ll probably end up being donked. However the odds of this happening are pretty low, and it’s a really useful card. It allows cards like Uxie and Azelfs which are bad starters and can’t be Poketurned to get to the bench without wasting an energy attachment. Attaching to an Uxie Lv X means it can get to the bench for no retreat cost and makes it a lot easier to get into play.
Ambipom G
This one of the 2 main techs played for Mirror Matches. Snap Attack usually 1HKO’s a Garchomp C Lv X after a Dragon Rush leaves it with no energy attached in a revenge attack. It’s also a great donk attack and provided you have a Double Colourless Energy, can even win the game before your opponent can draw a card. Tail Code can be a great last ditch attempt to win the game when you have little options available. I was in a bad position against a Gengar Machamp deck in a Battle Road Top Cut with a Machamp running through my Pokemon and no way to get my Uxie Lv X. I decided to take a risk and used Tail Code to move the Fighting energy over to an Azelf. Without Claydol he was unable to draw into another and I was able to KO the Machamp and win the match.
Toxicroak G Promo
This is our other tech for the mirror, and the reason we run Psychic energy. Poison Revenge hits for a mediocre 60+ poison, but thanks to it’s type this 1HKO’s a Luxray GL Lv X after one of your Pokemon has been KO’d. Other cards like Tyrannitar Prime also take 130 damage from it’s attack. Thanks to its ability as a basic Pokemon and it’s one energy/ one energy gain cost attack, it can be dropped from nowhere to surprise the opponent. The retreat cost can be a pain, but with Leap Away and Poketurn you should have enough outs to put it back into the hand.
Chatot
This little guy is a really underated card in the current format and should see play in a lot more lists. It’s free retreat and attack cost for Mimic means it can get you out of a bad hand really easily. Uxie can be Power Sprayed/ Power locked, it can’t be called for because Set Up won’t take effect. None of this affects Chatot. Consistency is especially important in large tournaments, because even one bad start out of 10 can cost you the tournament. Chatter can lock Pokemon in the active position like Spiritomb and is useful in the right situation. Pooka and Steven Silvestro both ran this card in their US Nationals/World Championship winning decks from last year.
Pokemon Collector
Well in a deck full of basic Pokemon, the ability to search out 3 of them is great and it’s a no-brainer why 3 of these should be played.
Cyrus’s Conspiracy
Aside from Uxie and possibly Chatot, this is the final part of the draw engine. It allows any SP Tools to be searched out from the deck, grabs an energy and allows you to do it all again next turn by getting another Cyrus’s Conspiracy. The ability to search out anything from your deck is really good, and this card means nearly all your deck is accessible through a Pokemon Collector or Cyrus’s Conspiracy.
Bebe’s Search
Bebes Search allows you to search out any Pokemon in the deck, which doesn’t seem that brilliant considering all the search cards it already runs. However cards like Spiritomb can really slow down Luxchomp so the Bebes searchable from a Cyrus’s Conspiracy can get a Luxray GL Lv X to Bright Look something else out and break the lock. Its also a searchable option from a Cyrus’s Conspiracy to get an Uxie Lv X.
Aaron’s Collection
Another reason why SP decks are so successful. The ability to get any 2 Pokemon or energy from your discard and put them into your hand is not only a great recovery card, but also like a search card late game. Letting Pokemon be Knocked Out then getting them back allows you to use their Powers again and is a nice option if you can’t draw into/have run out of Poketurns.
Premier Ball
Your Basics are easily searchable from Pokemon Collector and Call Energy. Premier Ball helps keep up that speed by getting the Level Xs from the deck to quickly disrupt the opponent. It can search from the discard pile or deck which is really nice, and also gives an option to search out Uxie Lv X.
Poketurn
With so many great coming into play Poke Powers, Poketurn lets you use them all again. It’s a flexible card with lots of different uses during games such as helping to donk, getting cards like Bronzong G out of the active position or scooping up damaged Pokemon.
Energy Gain
All the potential attacking SP Pokemon have at least one Colourless Energy requirement in their attacks, so this means those Pokemon need one less energy to attack and means the deck gains a lot of speed.
SP Radar
This is searchable by Cyrus’s Conspriacy and searches out any SP Pokemon which is useful when you can’t draw into non searchable trainers like Premier Ball.
Power Spray
This card helps Luxchomp hugely in disrupting the opponent. The loss of Claydol means most decks will turn to an Uxie engine. With Set Up only used once when the Uxie is laid down, well timed Power Sprays can cripple the opponent’s set up. When playing a speed deck, a way to get set up even faster is to slow down the opponent. Against other SP decks, crucial Bright Looks, Healing Breaths, Flash Bites etc can be blocked and stop the opponent from carrying out their strategy.
Call Energy
One of the best cards in the game, Call Energy makes going first a good thing. It allows benched Pokemon to be searched out ready to be Leveled Up on your next turn. With Power Spray requiring 3 SP Pokemon on the field, using Call Energy from an SP Pokemon to get 2 more means you can play them down during your opponent’s turn. It’s also a great card to help prevent being donked.
Double Colourless Energy
With lots of cards in the deck having 2-3 Colourless energy requirements like Garchomp C Lv X, Uxie Lv X and Amibom G, it makes sense to run this.
Lightning Energy
Needed to attack with Luxray GL and it’s Level X.
Psychic Energy
It’s main inclusion was so Toxicroak G Promo can attack, but it also allows the option of attacking with Crobat G and Azelf.
[size=+2]What to dedicate the 2 spare slots to – [/size]
Entei Raikou Legend - Unleashed
If you chose to dedicate the 2 spots to this, then it’s a good idea to try and fit in some Pokemon Communication to search out. With an energy attachment and Galactic Switch to move an energy over, it can attack usually the turn you play it. Because of it’s 2 weaknesses and the 2 prizes it gives up, it’s a good idea to try and end the game with it. 1HKO’ing any Pokemon with Powers and 80HP left or less, on both fields ( be careful playing down cards like Uxies and Crobat G’s ) can change the game state in one attack. It’s highly situational and often the opponent may guess it’s coming and play around it, however when it works it can really win a game from nowhere.
Mewtwo Counter
If you refuse to take an autoloss to Mewtwo Lv X, or if it’s popular in your metagame then you might want to take this route. 4 different popular counters are –
Dialga G Lv X - Platinum
Despite a lot of people not running this as their counter, it’s my favourite from the 4. It shuts off any Pokebodies and can be useful in a lot of different matchups. It’s easier to get on the field with the use of Unown Q. The main problem with using this card is that a lot of Stage 1 Psychic type counters also double as Machamp counters which this doesn’t.
Mismagius - Stormfront
A free attack cost means it’s easier to get out and use. You’ll need to discard 3 tools to 1HKO the Mewtwo, Unown Q gives you one and dependant on whats on your opponent’s field, you may have to sacrifice some energy gains. In other SP matches when the opponent has laid down lots of energy gains, this can change the game state.
Bannette - Platinum
This card is the only option out of the 3 different counters that guarantees a 1HKO on Mewtwo provided you use it’s Power to rid your hand of any Pokemon. However it’s less useful in other matches and needs 2 energy to attack.
Honchkrow - Supreme Victors
This card has become more mainstream as a Mewtwo Counter since the Sabelock list that won US Nationals ran it, but it’s been in a lot of high quality Luxchomp lists since States. It requires a Darkness Energy to attack which would require a 3rd slot from the deck as well. Riot is usally capable of KO’ing Mewtwo within 1-2 turns depending on the number of basics on the field, meaning more Uxie engines played by opponents should make this card more viable. It also serves as a Gyarados counter, with Unown Q attached it can be sent out after a KO to use it’s Poke Power before retreating to the bench. If you’re not playing against Gyarados, you can still put low HP basics back on the bench to take cheap prizes with Luxray GL Lv X or Garchomp C Lv X. Resistence to Fighting is nice, making it more viable against Machamp decks.
More speed and consistency
If neither of these 2 options appeal to you, then you can just concentrate on what it does best and add more speed/consistency cards such as Pokemon Communications, a 2nd Crobat G, another Uxie, a 3rd SP Radar, more Premier Balls etc.
[size=+2]Matchups – [/size]
Mirror – Evens ( worse if you run a Mewtwo counter )
Garchomp C Lv X is the best way to go in SP on SP games. Dragon Rush 1HKO any benched Luxray GLs or Garchomp C’s. Along with Power Sprays, this lets you to take quick board control and draw cheap prizes. Any prizes taken by the opponent with Luxray GL Lv X or Garchomp C Lv X means you can counter KO them with Amibom or Toxicroak G. Try to keep an extra energy on Garchomp C Lv X after a Dragon Rush to prevent the Amibom revenge Knock Out. Despite requiring a lot of skill, Luxchomp mirrors can often be decided within the first 3 turns with who gets the first Garchomp C KO, opening hands and who can gain superior board control.
Sabelock – Slightly favourable
Provided you can get set up, you should have the advantage in this one. You’re less likely to be donked because of high HP basics and once you Dragon Rush their benched Garchomp C/ Revenge KO them you should put them in a difficult position. Of course getting set up against Sabelock isn’t always an easy thing, so the best route to go is keep as many consistency boosting cards in your deck to get better odds of drawing into them and don’t burn out your deck’s draw engine. Uxies may be Power Sprayed, but Sabelock can’t stop a Chatot which helps a lot in this matchup. Often a Cyrus’s Initivite to take a sole Cyrus’s Conspiracy from the hand can really slow down Luxchomp so make sure you get Uxie Lv X set up quickly.
Dialgachomp – Slightly Favourable
Dialgachomp is less fast/ as consistent as Luxchomp so use this to your advantage. The best way to stop a tanked Dialga G Lv X is making sure they never get it set up in the first place. Although Deafen is a pain, Luxray GL and it’s Level X both are resistnent to metal preventing any damage it does. Try to just take cheap prizes from the bench and Dragon Rushing any benched Garchomp Cs. If they do set the tank up, you have two options. You can either attempt to knock it out with attacks like Dragon Rush and Toxic Fang, or you can use Amibom G to move the Special Metals to a benched non SP Pokemon so they can’t be Galactic Switched back.
Machamp – Very Unfavourable
Suprisingly, one of the best and most frequent ways for Luxchomp to beat Machamp is to donk. Machamp decks often run a low basic count, no Call energy and thus leave one Basic on the field. Aside from this, you can’t keep up the prize trade off – the only way to 1HKO Machamp is with Uxie Lv X which is usually only available 2 times per game. Instead provided you can’t donk, try to slow down their set up by Power Spraying any Uxies and sniping any benched Machops or Machokes.
Gyarados – Slightly Favourable
Once this beast gets swinging, it should be taking a prize every turn and have enough recovery to keep it up. Luxchomp is usually capable of taking a couple of cheap prizes before the Gyarados can be set up so make sure you can keep the Luxray GL Lv Xs coming. Along with a Crobat G drop and a Lucario GL on your bench, you should be able to 1HKO them. Trash Bolt is a nice more damage option if you can’t get that crucial Flash Bite or just need the extra 20 damage after weakness to compensate for the Expert Belt attached to the Gyarados. Make sure to keep Luxray GLs on the bench ready, with lots of recovery cards such as Aaron’s Collection or Premier Balls in hand. Garchomp is usually capable of taking several cheap prizes with Dragon Rushes to the bench if you need longer to get another Luxray set up and is a nice option if they Gyarados has falled 10-20 damage short of KO’ing the Luxray GL Lv X because you can heal it off.
Donphan – Unfavourable
Aside from Machamp, Donphan is probably the other main anti SP deck you’ll come across. 1HKOing any Luxray GL Lv X for one energy, tanking ability to limit Luxchomp’s low damage output as well as a resistence to Lightning can create some problems for Luxchomp. Donphan usually doesn’t hurt Luxchomp badly unless it has 3 energy and a belt, at which point it’s 1HKOing any Pokemon sent out. However it’s first attack is easier to play around with Healing Breaths, Poketurns and Crobat G’s resistence.It’s usually a good idea to rotate between Crobat G using Toxic Fang and then a freshly leveled up Garchomp C Lv X to heal off the damage and KO the Donphan with Dragon Rush. It’s important to use this quickly to prevent any Donphans getting energy stacked on them to ensure you can deny them prizes. Uxies and other benched Pokemon are all free prizes if you decide to go down that route as opposed to attacking the active Donphan.
Written By: Nathan M (nnaann)
Date: 5th August, 2010
Format: MD-on
Please note that this article is targeted for after the Majestic Dawn – on rotation takes place.
[size=+2] Introduction: [/size]
Luxchomp is one of the most strongest decks in the metagame and has achieved a huge amount of wins throughout the year since first appearing in the Autumn Battle Roads in 2009. As the name suggests, the deck focuses more or less equally on Luxray and Garchomp lines – both SP. With speed, the ability to attack any Pokemon on your opponents field and cards such as Power Spray to slow down your opponent’s set up – it’s easy to see why it’s been so successful.
Strengths –
Luxchomp’s main strength is that the cards are SP Pokemon. Not only does this mean they’re all Basic Pokemon and easier to set up/ search out, but they can abuse a variety of different SP cards. SP Radar and Energy Gain help for the deck to get quickly set up and attacking, key Power Sprays can slow down your opponent’s set up and block vital plays and Poketurn can help to use those broken powers again. Cyrus’s Conspriacy serves as a great engine and despite some builds currently running Claydol, this card means that Luxchomp won’t as heavily be affected by the rotation. With Crobat G’s, Poketurns to reuse Flash Bite and cheap Turn 1 attacks such as Bite, Claw Swipe or Earthquake, this deck has a great donking ability. With Fightning, Colourless, Lightning and Psychic attacking Pokemon, it covers a lot of weaknesses and combined with Lucario GL can 1HKO a lot of Pokemon.
Weaknesses –
The trouble with a deck that wins a lot of tournaments is that counters start to appear. Cards like Machamp from Stormfront can one hit ko any Basic Pokemon with Take Out, or cards like Mewtwo Lv X can reduce a Luxchomp deck to not being able to do anything if they don’t run a counter. For big tournaments it’s unlikely that good players will run a deck aside from Luxchomp that has a bad matchup to it because of it’s popularity. Without the ability to hit for weakness, the deck lacks a big damage output to take down a Pokemon with high HP. Although not linked to the deck’s ability, it’s an expensive deck to put together with just 2 Luxray GL Lv Xs and an Uxie Lv X costing about $200.
Luxchomp lists often chose to use spare slots for Entei Raikou Legend, a Mewtwo Counter or just to give extra speed and consistency. I’ve kept 2 slots spare for any of these options, and I’ll explain their strengths and weaknesses below. Each are all viable options so I suggest testing with each idea before settling on one of them.
[size=+2] MD-on List: [/size]
Pokemon: 19
2 Luxray GL Lv. X - Rising Rivals
2 Luxray GL - Rising Rivals
2 Garchomp C Lv X - Supreme Victors
2 Garchomp C - Supreme Victors
1 Uxie Lv.X - Legends Awakened
2 Uxie - Legends Awakened
1 Azelf - Legends Awakened
1 Crobat G - Platinum
1 Bronzong G - Platinum
1 Lucario GL - Rising Rivals
1 Unown Q - Majestic Dawn
1 Ambipom G - Rising Rivals
1 Toxicroak G - DP41 Promo
1 Chatot - Majestic Dawn
Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums: 27
3 Pokemon Collector - Heart Gold Soul Silver
4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy - Platinum
1 Bebes Search - Rising Rivals
2 Aaron’s Collection - Rising Rivals
2 Premier Ball - Stromfront
4 Poketurn - Platinum
4 Energy Gain - Platinum
3 SP Radar - Rising Rivals
4 Power Spray - Platinum
Energy: 12
4 Call Energy - Majestic Dawn
4 Double Colourless Energy - Heart Gold Soul Silver
3 Lightning Energy
1 Psychic Energy
Spare Slots: 2
Luxray GL Lv X
This card is currently selling for around $80 and has become a staple even in a lot of Stage 2 decks due to it’s Pokepower Bright Look. 110HP is OK, and it’s attack Flash Impact is good fast damage but late game may not make much of an impact. This card’s best quality is it’s Poke Power Bright Look. Being able to bring up any of your opponent’s benched Pokemon means you can take cheap 1HKO’s, knockout any vulnerable Pokemon before they can Level Up or evolve or just take out their draw engine with cards like Uxie Lv X or Bronzong Stormfront. With 4 copies of Poketurn, 2 Luxray GL Lv X as well as 2 Premier Ball and 2 Aarons Collection to recover this card back once KO’d and Level up again, it’s possible to use this power multiple times in a game.
Luxray GL
Luxray GL’s main aim is to Level Up into Luxray GL Lv X. However in the first couple of turns before it may be possible to do this, it’s a solid starting Pokemon. Bite is easily achievable with Energy Gain and energy or a Double Colourless energy and can provided quick damage or maybe a Knockout when combined with Crobat G and Poketurns. Trash Bolt is a good option to KO high HP Water Pokemon without the need for Crobat G, or when you don’t want to do any damage to any of your Pokemon with Flash Impact from Luxray GL Lv X. 80HP isn’t bad either for a basic Pokemon, and should prevent any potential donks.
Garchomp C Lv X
Luxray GL Lv X’s partner in crime is Garchomp C Lv X. Healing Breath has great synergy with attacks like Flash Impact which damage your own Pokemon and Bronzong G’s Galactic Switch, healing all their damage off. It’s attack is a great way to keep up with the decks strategy. With a Double Colourless Energy and Energy Gain, it can easily take lots of cheap KO’s from the opponent’s bench. 80 damage is enough to KO most SP Pokemon before they’ve been Leveled Up, or with a Flash Bite possible needed, most Basic/Stage 1 Pokemon in Stage 2 decks can be sniped off. Although Dragon Rush can’t be used two turns in a row, it’s easy to do this regardless. Retreating it to the bench will get rid of this effect and the new Active Pokemon can be Poketurn’d back to promote Garchomp C Lv X active again. Or you can just Poketurn the Level X to your hand, then Level Up another Garchomp C which has been on your bench since last turn. Finally, you can just rotate between 2 Garchomp C Lv Xs.
Garchomp C
For a Basic Pokemon, this is usually a great starter. It again has a great donk ability, especially with Earthquake which needs just an Energy Gain and Double Colourless energy to hit 50 from Turn 1 and put your opponent on the back foot. 80HP means unless they’re hitting your weakness, most decks won’t be able to donk this.
Uxie Lv X
Uxie Lv X continues the the draw engine with it’s Poke Power Trade Off. With Unown Q and Poketurn, it’s easy to get opportunities to get this card onto the bench and abuse it’s Power for the rest of the game. Zen Blade is a really nice attack, hitting 60 for just one energy attachment if you have a Double Colourless energy ready. Psychic type means it hits for a lot of weaknesses, and with a Lucario GL and a Crobat G it can 1HKO a Machamp.
Uxie
One of the main components of the deck’s draw engine is Uxie. It’s Poke Power Set up allows you to refill your hand, and with lots of trainers, the hand can often be reduced to a small number. Psychic Restore allows Uxie to be put to the bottom of the deck for it’s power to be reused or just to give a spare slot on the bench.
Azelf
It’s Poke Power Time Walk allows you to look through your prizes and get out any vital Pokemon that are prized. Lock Up can be used to good use in the right situation with 1 Psychic energy in the deck, but it does take up a valuble bench slot for the rest of the game so be wary playing it down.
Crobat G
Crobat G’s Flash Bite along with Poketurns can provide that vital 10-20 damage when you’re short of a KO and helps the decks donk ability. It’s not a bad starter with free retreat and any energy attached can later be moved off with Bronzong G. Toxic Fang can be a great strategy against tank decks such as Dialga Garchomp or Donphan Prime, getting through any damage reduction abilities.
Bronzong G
Galactic Switch helps to move any type of energy around between Pokemon or keep them in play before a Pokemon is Poketurned. Bench this in the first few turns, it’s well worth a bench slot and comes in use a lot during games. It’s got a heavy retreat cost, but Poketurn allows you to get it out that active slot if it’s there.
Lucario GL
A lot of decks have been dropping this card recently, but I feel with 4 different types in this deck, hitting weaknesses is a great way to go with this deck. It’s a dead card in some matchups, but in others can really make a difference with it’s Pokebody. It also provides a nice Machamp counter, allowing Uxie Lv X’s Zen Blade to hit 120 damage.
Unown Q
The main downside is it’s HP. With 30 HP, start with a lone Unown Q and you’ll probably end up being donked. However the odds of this happening are pretty low, and it’s a really useful card. It allows cards like Uxie and Azelfs which are bad starters and can’t be Poketurned to get to the bench without wasting an energy attachment. Attaching to an Uxie Lv X means it can get to the bench for no retreat cost and makes it a lot easier to get into play.
Ambipom G
This one of the 2 main techs played for Mirror Matches. Snap Attack usually 1HKO’s a Garchomp C Lv X after a Dragon Rush leaves it with no energy attached in a revenge attack. It’s also a great donk attack and provided you have a Double Colourless Energy, can even win the game before your opponent can draw a card. Tail Code can be a great last ditch attempt to win the game when you have little options available. I was in a bad position against a Gengar Machamp deck in a Battle Road Top Cut with a Machamp running through my Pokemon and no way to get my Uxie Lv X. I decided to take a risk and used Tail Code to move the Fighting energy over to an Azelf. Without Claydol he was unable to draw into another and I was able to KO the Machamp and win the match.
Toxicroak G Promo
This is our other tech for the mirror, and the reason we run Psychic energy. Poison Revenge hits for a mediocre 60+ poison, but thanks to it’s type this 1HKO’s a Luxray GL Lv X after one of your Pokemon has been KO’d. Other cards like Tyrannitar Prime also take 130 damage from it’s attack. Thanks to its ability as a basic Pokemon and it’s one energy/ one energy gain cost attack, it can be dropped from nowhere to surprise the opponent. The retreat cost can be a pain, but with Leap Away and Poketurn you should have enough outs to put it back into the hand.
Chatot
This little guy is a really underated card in the current format and should see play in a lot more lists. It’s free retreat and attack cost for Mimic means it can get you out of a bad hand really easily. Uxie can be Power Sprayed/ Power locked, it can’t be called for because Set Up won’t take effect. None of this affects Chatot. Consistency is especially important in large tournaments, because even one bad start out of 10 can cost you the tournament. Chatter can lock Pokemon in the active position like Spiritomb and is useful in the right situation. Pooka and Steven Silvestro both ran this card in their US Nationals/World Championship winning decks from last year.
Pokemon Collector
Well in a deck full of basic Pokemon, the ability to search out 3 of them is great and it’s a no-brainer why 3 of these should be played.
Cyrus’s Conspiracy
Aside from Uxie and possibly Chatot, this is the final part of the draw engine. It allows any SP Tools to be searched out from the deck, grabs an energy and allows you to do it all again next turn by getting another Cyrus’s Conspiracy. The ability to search out anything from your deck is really good, and this card means nearly all your deck is accessible through a Pokemon Collector or Cyrus’s Conspiracy.
Bebe’s Search
Bebes Search allows you to search out any Pokemon in the deck, which doesn’t seem that brilliant considering all the search cards it already runs. However cards like Spiritomb can really slow down Luxchomp so the Bebes searchable from a Cyrus’s Conspiracy can get a Luxray GL Lv X to Bright Look something else out and break the lock. Its also a searchable option from a Cyrus’s Conspiracy to get an Uxie Lv X.
Aaron’s Collection
Another reason why SP decks are so successful. The ability to get any 2 Pokemon or energy from your discard and put them into your hand is not only a great recovery card, but also like a search card late game. Letting Pokemon be Knocked Out then getting them back allows you to use their Powers again and is a nice option if you can’t draw into/have run out of Poketurns.
Premier Ball
Your Basics are easily searchable from Pokemon Collector and Call Energy. Premier Ball helps keep up that speed by getting the Level Xs from the deck to quickly disrupt the opponent. It can search from the discard pile or deck which is really nice, and also gives an option to search out Uxie Lv X.
Poketurn
With so many great coming into play Poke Powers, Poketurn lets you use them all again. It’s a flexible card with lots of different uses during games such as helping to donk, getting cards like Bronzong G out of the active position or scooping up damaged Pokemon.
Energy Gain
All the potential attacking SP Pokemon have at least one Colourless Energy requirement in their attacks, so this means those Pokemon need one less energy to attack and means the deck gains a lot of speed.
SP Radar
This is searchable by Cyrus’s Conspriacy and searches out any SP Pokemon which is useful when you can’t draw into non searchable trainers like Premier Ball.
Power Spray
This card helps Luxchomp hugely in disrupting the opponent. The loss of Claydol means most decks will turn to an Uxie engine. With Set Up only used once when the Uxie is laid down, well timed Power Sprays can cripple the opponent’s set up. When playing a speed deck, a way to get set up even faster is to slow down the opponent. Against other SP decks, crucial Bright Looks, Healing Breaths, Flash Bites etc can be blocked and stop the opponent from carrying out their strategy.
Call Energy
One of the best cards in the game, Call Energy makes going first a good thing. It allows benched Pokemon to be searched out ready to be Leveled Up on your next turn. With Power Spray requiring 3 SP Pokemon on the field, using Call Energy from an SP Pokemon to get 2 more means you can play them down during your opponent’s turn. It’s also a great card to help prevent being donked.
Double Colourless Energy
With lots of cards in the deck having 2-3 Colourless energy requirements like Garchomp C Lv X, Uxie Lv X and Amibom G, it makes sense to run this.
Lightning Energy
Needed to attack with Luxray GL and it’s Level X.
Psychic Energy
It’s main inclusion was so Toxicroak G Promo can attack, but it also allows the option of attacking with Crobat G and Azelf.
[size=+2]What to dedicate the 2 spare slots to – [/size]
Entei Raikou Legend - Unleashed
If you chose to dedicate the 2 spots to this, then it’s a good idea to try and fit in some Pokemon Communication to search out. With an energy attachment and Galactic Switch to move an energy over, it can attack usually the turn you play it. Because of it’s 2 weaknesses and the 2 prizes it gives up, it’s a good idea to try and end the game with it. 1HKO’ing any Pokemon with Powers and 80HP left or less, on both fields ( be careful playing down cards like Uxies and Crobat G’s ) can change the game state in one attack. It’s highly situational and often the opponent may guess it’s coming and play around it, however when it works it can really win a game from nowhere.
Mewtwo Counter
If you refuse to take an autoloss to Mewtwo Lv X, or if it’s popular in your metagame then you might want to take this route. 4 different popular counters are –
Dialga G Lv X - Platinum
Despite a lot of people not running this as their counter, it’s my favourite from the 4. It shuts off any Pokebodies and can be useful in a lot of different matchups. It’s easier to get on the field with the use of Unown Q. The main problem with using this card is that a lot of Stage 1 Psychic type counters also double as Machamp counters which this doesn’t.
Mismagius - Stormfront
A free attack cost means it’s easier to get out and use. You’ll need to discard 3 tools to 1HKO the Mewtwo, Unown Q gives you one and dependant on whats on your opponent’s field, you may have to sacrifice some energy gains. In other SP matches when the opponent has laid down lots of energy gains, this can change the game state.
Bannette - Platinum
This card is the only option out of the 3 different counters that guarantees a 1HKO on Mewtwo provided you use it’s Power to rid your hand of any Pokemon. However it’s less useful in other matches and needs 2 energy to attack.
Honchkrow - Supreme Victors
This card has become more mainstream as a Mewtwo Counter since the Sabelock list that won US Nationals ran it, but it’s been in a lot of high quality Luxchomp lists since States. It requires a Darkness Energy to attack which would require a 3rd slot from the deck as well. Riot is usally capable of KO’ing Mewtwo within 1-2 turns depending on the number of basics on the field, meaning more Uxie engines played by opponents should make this card more viable. It also serves as a Gyarados counter, with Unown Q attached it can be sent out after a KO to use it’s Poke Power before retreating to the bench. If you’re not playing against Gyarados, you can still put low HP basics back on the bench to take cheap prizes with Luxray GL Lv X or Garchomp C Lv X. Resistence to Fighting is nice, making it more viable against Machamp decks.
More speed and consistency
If neither of these 2 options appeal to you, then you can just concentrate on what it does best and add more speed/consistency cards such as Pokemon Communications, a 2nd Crobat G, another Uxie, a 3rd SP Radar, more Premier Balls etc.
[size=+2]Matchups – [/size]
Mirror – Evens ( worse if you run a Mewtwo counter )
Garchomp C Lv X is the best way to go in SP on SP games. Dragon Rush 1HKO any benched Luxray GLs or Garchomp C’s. Along with Power Sprays, this lets you to take quick board control and draw cheap prizes. Any prizes taken by the opponent with Luxray GL Lv X or Garchomp C Lv X means you can counter KO them with Amibom or Toxicroak G. Try to keep an extra energy on Garchomp C Lv X after a Dragon Rush to prevent the Amibom revenge Knock Out. Despite requiring a lot of skill, Luxchomp mirrors can often be decided within the first 3 turns with who gets the first Garchomp C KO, opening hands and who can gain superior board control.
Sabelock – Slightly favourable
Provided you can get set up, you should have the advantage in this one. You’re less likely to be donked because of high HP basics and once you Dragon Rush their benched Garchomp C/ Revenge KO them you should put them in a difficult position. Of course getting set up against Sabelock isn’t always an easy thing, so the best route to go is keep as many consistency boosting cards in your deck to get better odds of drawing into them and don’t burn out your deck’s draw engine. Uxies may be Power Sprayed, but Sabelock can’t stop a Chatot which helps a lot in this matchup. Often a Cyrus’s Initivite to take a sole Cyrus’s Conspiracy from the hand can really slow down Luxchomp so make sure you get Uxie Lv X set up quickly.
Dialgachomp – Slightly Favourable
Dialgachomp is less fast/ as consistent as Luxchomp so use this to your advantage. The best way to stop a tanked Dialga G Lv X is making sure they never get it set up in the first place. Although Deafen is a pain, Luxray GL and it’s Level X both are resistnent to metal preventing any damage it does. Try to just take cheap prizes from the bench and Dragon Rushing any benched Garchomp Cs. If they do set the tank up, you have two options. You can either attempt to knock it out with attacks like Dragon Rush and Toxic Fang, or you can use Amibom G to move the Special Metals to a benched non SP Pokemon so they can’t be Galactic Switched back.
Machamp – Very Unfavourable
Suprisingly, one of the best and most frequent ways for Luxchomp to beat Machamp is to donk. Machamp decks often run a low basic count, no Call energy and thus leave one Basic on the field. Aside from this, you can’t keep up the prize trade off – the only way to 1HKO Machamp is with Uxie Lv X which is usually only available 2 times per game. Instead provided you can’t donk, try to slow down their set up by Power Spraying any Uxies and sniping any benched Machops or Machokes.
Gyarados – Slightly Favourable
Once this beast gets swinging, it should be taking a prize every turn and have enough recovery to keep it up. Luxchomp is usually capable of taking a couple of cheap prizes before the Gyarados can be set up so make sure you can keep the Luxray GL Lv Xs coming. Along with a Crobat G drop and a Lucario GL on your bench, you should be able to 1HKO them. Trash Bolt is a nice more damage option if you can’t get that crucial Flash Bite or just need the extra 20 damage after weakness to compensate for the Expert Belt attached to the Gyarados. Make sure to keep Luxray GLs on the bench ready, with lots of recovery cards such as Aaron’s Collection or Premier Balls in hand. Garchomp is usually capable of taking several cheap prizes with Dragon Rushes to the bench if you need longer to get another Luxray set up and is a nice option if they Gyarados has falled 10-20 damage short of KO’ing the Luxray GL Lv X because you can heal it off.
Donphan – Unfavourable
Aside from Machamp, Donphan is probably the other main anti SP deck you’ll come across. 1HKOing any Luxray GL Lv X for one energy, tanking ability to limit Luxchomp’s low damage output as well as a resistence to Lightning can create some problems for Luxchomp. Donphan usually doesn’t hurt Luxchomp badly unless it has 3 energy and a belt, at which point it’s 1HKOing any Pokemon sent out. However it’s first attack is easier to play around with Healing Breaths, Poketurns and Crobat G’s resistence.It’s usually a good idea to rotate between Crobat G using Toxic Fang and then a freshly leveled up Garchomp C Lv X to heal off the damage and KO the Donphan with Dragon Rush. It’s important to use this quickly to prevent any Donphans getting energy stacked on them to ensure you can deny them prizes. Uxies and other benched Pokemon are all free prizes if you decide to go down that route as opposed to attacking the active Donphan.
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