Me First and the Gimme Gimmicks

A Study in Gimmickry in the Pokémon TCG

Me First …

giovannis-machoke-gym-challenge-42
Sometimes you’ve got to take a chance.

At the beginning of last August I left my full-time job to pursue an art career, enrolled in college (for a third time), moved to a different city, and basically set fire to any thread of normalcy that existed in my life. Within a couple of months I found myself without heat, Internet, or even running water. I was beyond broke, wavering constantly between paying bills and eating, umm, food. Also, I had a wife and daughter I was responsible for. Sweet!

Of course, I don’t consider myself stupid, just fearless, though I have a feeling those two things cross paths more than I want to admit they do. Nonetheless, things have worked out well for us, and I’ve been made a better person through the experience.

I say this because of what happened to me Pokémon-wise during this challenging time. For starters, I sold off an enormous portion of my card collection. I had been doing this for years to help pay the bills, but this time was different because I had to cut into my playable cards. Every EX card I owned found its way into someone else’s hand, with the exception of a Shaymin-EX I tried to sell twice but never received the money for and a Keldeo-EX I found in a tattered deck box.

In short, I was forced into playing “gimmick” decks because of their price tag. Most of these decks are inexpensive, and so I found myself competing with Donphan, Night March, Tool Drop, and so on. I’m sure there are plenty of players out there in this same boat, and thus “gimmickry” is your go-to for any tournament. This doesn’t mean you have to play a bad deck, however — just one you believe in.

With that said, today I’m looking at gimmick decks — those decks that just seem weird or ineffective on the surface but actually turn out to be pretty good. We will look at different types of gimmick decks as well as what defines this type of deck in the first place. I’ll also be sharing with you what I’ve been working on over the past month or so.

What is a “Gimmick Deck”?

For starters, I think it important to define what a gimmick deck is and what it is not. Interestingly enough, the definition for “gimmick” embodies the idea sufficiently:

Gimmick: a method or trick that is used to get people’s attention or to sell something.

1 a : a mechanical device for secretly and dishonestly controlling gambling apparatus 


1 b : an ingenious or novel mechanical device : gadget 

2 a : an important feature that is not immediately apparent : catch 

2 b : an ingenious and usually new scheme or angle 

2 c : a trick or device used to attract business or attention

Looking at the full definition, there’s an unspoken conflict about the effectiveness of a gimmick. The negative connotation of the word “trick” calls to mind those decks that try desperately to achieve some complicated maneuver that can only be pulled off once every 20 games or so (think of that Unfezant ROS 81/Mew-EX/Spinda PRC deck you might have heard about recently). There’s even reference to a gimmick being “dishonest.” At the same time, part of the definition describes how “ingenious” or “important” a gimmick can be. It’s almost as if a gimmick has no serious value until it actually gets the job done.

This is precisely how most seasoned Pokémon players view gimmick decks: There is almost always a period of skepticism that occurs before a gimmick deck is accepted as an archetype. Players who describe the effectiveness of these decks are initially thought of as dishonest, trying to garner attention with wily schemes. There are quite a few stories out there of players who had tournament-worthy decks that were completely ignored by others until they landed a big win. Miska Saari, the 11–14 World Champion in 2006, could be found playtesting his Lunatone/Solrock deck with people just before the tournament.

At its core, gimmick decks use a “novel” device or scheme to achieve something. The effectiveness isn’t apparent at first, quite unlike many of the “instant archetypes” that come out of each set. Consider the differences here between Seismitoad-EX and Exeggutor PLF, where one card was instantly deemed playable and the other subpar until a handful of players performed well with it. Of course, Exeggutor became good with the release of cards in later sets, but there are still many reasons people would never pick Exeggutor up.

And what are these reasons? In today’s EX-heavy format, having high HP and attacks that do massive damage are often equated with greatness. So when a card like Shedinja ROS gets released with its measly 30 HP (seriously, this guy loses HP when it evolves), there’s an understandable lack of hype that follows. It simply isn’t easy to put one’s trust in a Pokémon that has less than 100 HP. Of course, it goes without saying that both Night March and Medicham started out this way.

Then on the Trainer side of things we play a game known almost exclusively for its adherence to consistency, which is why a card like Archie’s Ace in the Hole gets overlooked — why bother with something so fragile and difficult to play when standards like Professor Sycamore and N exist? Shaymin-EX ROS by comparison has no secrets; it’s an easy inclusion in most decks.

“CHAM”: My Current Go-To Gimmick

medicham gangsterwillfosho.tumblr.com
“Cham-dawg ain’t no gimmick. #respect”

Numbers cannot lie, and neither can performance. In the days leading up to the South Carolina State Championship, I found myself winning game after game on the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online (PTCGO) with my Medicham PRC deck. Naturally there were a lot of wins against beginners, but there were also many victories against decks I previously thought I didn’t have a shot against. Yveltal-EX seemed to be the scariest of these with its quick damage output and Fighting Resistance. Yet I figured out how to win that matchup and hardly lost against it.

I discussed Medicham in my last article and indeed got Top 8 with it at the SC State Championship the following weekend. My reason for playing it was simple: It worked. Never mind the 90 HP or the 30 base damage, Medicham seemed to rip through most of the metagame, and that’s something I wasn’t willing to argue with. Here’s the list I got Top 8 with at the SC State Championship:

Pokémon – 14

4 Meditite PRC
4 Medicham PRC 81
2 Hawlucha FFI
1 Landorus FFI
1 Landorus-EX
1 Celebi-EX
1 Jirachi-EX

Trainers – 36

4 Professor Sycamore
3 Korrina
3 N
2 Teammates
2 Iris
1 Lysandre
1 Lysandre’s Trump Card

 

3 VS Seeker
3 Silver Bangle
2 Muscle Band
2 Repeat Ball
2 Ultra Ball
1 Escape Rope
1 Switch

1 Professor’s Letter
1 Computer Search

 

4 Fighting Stadium

Energy – 10

6 F
4 Strong

First off, I’d like to note a few things. I initially put Iris in the deck to help deal with Seismitoad-EX decks and to cause havoc mid- to late-game, but this card did nothing for me during the tournament. I think in testing the times Iris worked stuck out too much in my head and caused me to overvalue it. Lysandre’s Trump Card also falls in this category of being a complete dud throughout the tournament. That’s surprisingly three cards that were useless to me — something I’m not happy with. I don’t see Iris as being that bad — as it tested fairly well against Seismitoad — but since I didn’t play against Toad at all during States it seemed like a waste.

While those card inclusions were disappointments to me, I feel the rest of the list to be incredibly solid. When Medicham first came out, many weren’t sold on the gimmick — that is, stringing together five or so cards to pull off a 1HKO on an Pokémon-EX for a single Energy. With Korrina, Teammates, and maxed out counts of Fighting Stadium, Strong Energy, and the Medicham line (not to mention five damage-increasing Tool cards), this really isn’t all that difficult. And with the inclusion of Shaymin-EX this becomes even easier.

Since the tournament (and with the arrival of Roaring Skies) my list has changed. Here’s what it currently looks like:

Pokémon – 16

4 Meditite PRC
4 Medicham PRC 81
2 Hawlucha FFI
1 Landorus FFI
1 Mr. Mime PLF
2 Shaymin-EX ROS
1 Landorus-EX
1 Celebi-EX

Trainers – 34

4 Professor Sycamore
4 Korrina
2 N
2 Teammates
1 Lysandre

 

3 VS Seeker
3 Silver Bangle
2 Muscle Band

2 Pokémon Catcher
2 Repeat Ball
1 Ultra Ball
1 Escape Rope
1 Switch

1 Professor’s Letter
1 Computer Search

 

4 Fighting Stadium

Energy – 10

6 F
4 Strong

Most of this deck is self-explanatory, but I’ll go over a few of the nuances below:

1 Mr. Mime PLF

mr mime barrierpokemonscreenshots.tumblr.com
“Hey, Landorus: Nanny nanny boo-boo!”

The deck I lost to in the Top 8 of SC States was a Landorus-EX/Crobat PHF deck. It’s a common play to include Mr. Mime to counter the Bench damage from Hammerhead, but I failed to do so and paid the price accordingly. I’m not sure how popular Landorus-EX will continue to be with Rayquaza-EX and Shaymin-EX being everywhere, but I’d still keep in a single Mime as a failsafe.

2 Shaymin-EX ROS

Naturally, Jirachi-EX takes a backseat to this card, which I’ve included two of. This card is insane with Korrina — which I’ve maxed out — because it effectively allows you to grab a Fighting Pokémon and Shaymin-EX via Ultra Ball or Computer Search (or Repeat Ball if you already have a Shaymin-EX in play). In other words, Korrina is now a draw Supporter because of Shaymin-EX.

1 Landorus-EX, 1 Celebi-EX

I’ve seen lists that play more than singles of these two cards, but I truly feel one of each does the trick. If one is prized when you need it, then tough luck, but I’m not wanting to open up two more spots for cards that just don’t carry much weight in many matchups. If you’re still feeling squeamish about this, then drop a Landorus FFI for one more space.

2 Pokémon Catcher

I could have written an entire article on how I feel about Pokémon Catcher now. In as condensed a version as possible, I feel Catcher to be a strong play now because of the near guarantee that when you use it there will be a Shaymin-EX on the Bench. Lysandre pre-Roaring Skies was the play because a Jirachi-EX (or other Bench-sitter) might find its way on the Bench and be an easy 2 Prize cards. With the release of Shaymin-EX, however, you will be glad to glide through your deck while flipping every now and then for an easy 2 Prize cards.


The biggest question I would expect anyone to ask at this point is whether or not Medicham is even a consideration after the release of Roaring Skies. My answer? Yes, Medicham is still good! In fact, there’s an argument for why Medicham gets even better with the latest set release. Here’s how it works …

This set’s main archetype is Rayquaza-EX/Shaymin-EX, right? Shaymin-EX is an integral part to this deck’s strategy, which means that it will find its way on the Bench probably after the first turn. Hawlucha FFI can take out Shaymin-EX with a low amount of resources, as can Medicham. Moreover, Raichu XY is getting some traction in these types of decks as well, which Medicham is strong against. Rayquaza-EX might seem like a big scare, but by picking things off the Bench I think it’s a very winnable matchup.

What matters the most here, however, is the manner in which almost every deck adopts Shaymin-EX into its strategy. This coupled with the hope that Seismitoad-EX sees less play leads me to think that Medicham might continue to be a great play after Roaring Skies. The counterargument to that? Well, I think Shaymin-EX coupled with Wally makes Evolutions viable again, which means you won’t be snagging 2 Prize cards after you KO that Shaymin-EX on the Bench. Medicham has a difficult time against non-EX decks, which can be quite a bother.

The Rube Goldberg

self-operating napkin rube goldbergexploratorium.tumblr.com
The self-operating napkin.

When I think of a gimmick deck as one employing a trick, this is what I think of. For those of you who don’t know, a Rube Goldberg machine is an elaborate set of processes and working parts pieced together to achieve a simple end. In this same way, some decks have a set of various pieces working together to achieve something. Some of these ideas are more feasible than others. Consider this quick list:

  • Night March (very feasible!). This deck functions perfectly well, using Battle Compressor and other cards to get Pokémon into the discard to boost attacks. It strings a lot of things together, but it does its objective very well.
  • Shedinja ROS/Mew-EX (more feasible). This is a newer deck on the scene, one that feels all too much like Night March with its low HP Pokémon, inclusion of Mew-EX, and all-around fragility. While Shedinja’s my favorite card from this new set, I’m not looking for it to create a stir in the game just yet.
  • Milotic FLF/Ditto BCR/Primal Groudon-EX (less feasible). The aim? A fully-charged Primal Groudon-EX swinging away on the second turn. The truth? That never happens. While this idea wasn’t awful initially, the pieces hardly ever came together in such a way to produce a second-turn Primal Groudon. Moreover, the idea is now completely obsolete because of the existence of Mega Turbo.
  • Unfezant ROS 81/Mew-EX (unfeasible). As cool as this idea sounds (you use Mew’s Versatile to copy Unfezant’s first attack, then copy an attack that spreads damage to do incredible amounts of damage to all of your opponent’s Pokémon), it’s far too much a stretch. A trick it truly is, one you might be able to pull off once a game if you’re lucky and your opponent doesn’t play Mr. Mime.

The trick to making a “Rube Goldberg” type deck work is engineering it in such a way that your ultimate aim is both within reach and within reason. The Accelgor DEX/Gothitelle LTR deck that did so well in the past followed this rule. It could go down many Prizes and still pull off a win by getting in its “ultimate combo.” When a deck’s ultimate aim is either not within reach or unreasonable to begin with, those negative connotations of the word “gimmick” bubble up to the top.

Historically, there has always been room for even the strangest “Rube Goldbergs” to rise to the top. The aforementioned Accelgor/Gothitelle deck probably stands out the most to readers, but just a few years ago one of the top decks featured Vileplume UD/Yanmega Prime/Sunflora HS/Mew Prime/Muk UD (some variants of this deck even ran Darkrai & Cresselia LEGEND). That’s about as complex as you can get!

Except. It’s not. Because when I first started playing, “Mynx” was a thing. Here’s a decklist (thanks to Henry Prior for this):

Pokémon – 29

4 Mew ex LM
3 Wynaut LM
3 Wobbuffet LM
2 Minun DX
2 Jynx UF
1 Unown UF I
1 Unown UF E
1 Roselia LM
1 Girafarig LM
4 Holon’s Castform
4 Holon’s Voltorb
3 Holon’s Magnemite

Trainers – 30

4 Holon Mentor
4 Rocket’s Admin.
1 Holon Scientist

 

4 Holon Transceiver
4 Swoop! Teleporter
4 Pow! Hand Extension
4 Pokémon Retriever
1 Warp Point

 

4 Battle Frontier

Energy – 1

1 Warp

At the core of this deck was Mew ex and its ability to copy any attack in play (basically Mew-EX with only 90 HP). With the Retreat Cost-increasing Wobbuffet LM and a bunch of tricky cards, the deck would get a Pokémon Active, strip it of all Energy, and start spreading damage to the Bench to completely eradicate the opponent’s strategy.


Okay, I’ve talked a lot about some of these decks, but let’s take a look at a couple and see why building gimmick decks in the first place is actually a productive endeavor.

“Hopeless Scream”…

shedinja roaring skies 16-9
“Ahhhhhhh…”

This is the name I hope sticks with this deck, as it’s just about the best attack name I’ve ever heard (which, by the way, seems to be the true highlight of Roaring Skies … Hopeless Scream, Homing Pidove, Shake It Off??? — these are awesome attack names). Also, it’s the way we refer to Night March, right? So no “Mewdinja” or “Shedew,” blegh. Anyway, here’s my current list:

Pokémon – 14

4 Nincada ROS
4 Shedinja ROS
3 Mew-EX
2 Shaymin-EX ROS
1 Mr. Mime PLF

Trainers – 38

4 Professor Sycamore
3 N
2 Teammates
1 Lysandre
1 Colress
1 Lysandre’s Trump Card

 

4 Ultra Ball

3 Repeat Ball

3 VS Seeker
3 Trainers’ Mail
3 Muscle Band
2 Pokémon Catcher
1 Switch
1 Escape Rope
1 Computer Search

 

4 Frozen City
1 Team Magma’s Secret Base

Energy – 8

4 Double Colorless
4 Rainbow

There’s a lot I like about this deck. Primarily, it can hit Seismitoad-EXs for tons of damage on a regular basis. Ahh, the joy of destroying Seismitoad because of a 30 HP bug. Aside from that, it can deal out loads of damage for a single Energy. With three damage counters (two from either Frozen City or Team Magma’s Secret Base and one from Rainbow Energy) and a Muscle Band, Mew-EX can hit the magical 170 damage to KO many Pokémon-EX in the game.

You’ll see some interesting things going on with this list. First of all, there’s a 4/3 split on Ultra Ball and Repeat Ball. For decks that run Stage 1 lines (with the exception of Fighting decks) this feels like the sweet spot. Also, with two Shaymin-EX in the list this gives you plenty of outs to draw power.

Once more, I’ve included 2 Pokémon Catcher. I would prefer a third, but the list is pretty tight. I’m still going off the hope that Shaymin-EX will find its way to the opponent’s Bench, so picking them off sometime during the game is an easy 2 Prize cards.

The other thing I’ve included here is 2 Teammates. After running it in Medicham I’m convinved of its ability to sync up just the right cards for victory. When playing Medicham I would often find myself opting to play a Teammates instead of a Professor Sycamore since I could grab the cards needed for a guaranteed KO. Much in the same way Medicham needed to grab “pieces of the puzzle,” this deck requires those various cards to create a powerful combo — Frozen City, Double Colorless Energy, Muscle Band, Shedinja, Escape Rope, Pokémon Catcher … these are all single cards that Teammates can effectively seek out.

It’s Turbo Time!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZekyzsvaTiE

Let’s start first with my pitiful attempt at a second-turn Primal Groudon-EX:

Pokémon – 17

3 Groudon-EX PRC
3 Primal Groudon-EX
3 Feebas FLF
2 Milotic FLF
1 Milotic PRC
3 Ditto BCR
1 Mr. Mime PLF
1 Jirachi-EX

Trainers – 33

4 Professor Sycamore

4 Korrina

3 N
1 Lysandre
1 Lysandre’s Trump Card

 

4 Battle Compressor
3 VS Seeker
3 Dive Ball
3 Groudon Spirit Link

1 Ultra Ball
1 Switch
1 Scramble Switch

 

2 Fighting Stadium
2 Scorched Earth

Energy – 10

6 F
4 Strong

So yeah, I didn’t like this deck at all. I pieced it together and quickly abandoned it the moment I tested it. That’s not the point though, because what at first started out as a pretty lousy deck gained something in Roaring Skies that turns it into a beast. That something is Mega Turbo! (Yes, I feel like every instance of the words “Mega Turbo” requires an exclamation point after it.)

Okay, so let’s take out the junk:

-3 Feebas FLF
-2 Milotic FLF
-1 Milotic PRC
-3 Ditto BCR
-1 Mr. Mime PLF
-1 Jirachi-EX
-3 Dive Ball

That’s 14 cards we’ve freed up — nearly a fourth of the deck! The options here are endless, but I like this fix personally:

+2 Shaymin-EX ROS
+2 Landorus FFI
+2 Hawlucha FFI
+2 Focus Sash
+1 Escape Rope
+1 Ultra Ball
+4 Mega Turbo!!!

Sometimes your gimmick deck can provide you with a good foundation for another deck that will perform really well. And sometimes it won’t. Sometimes your deck will in and of itself be powerful enough to take to a tournament. Remember, building decks like these have more than just one function.

The Ace in the Hole

archies-ace-in-the-hole-primal-clash-prc-157
“Archie STRONG.”

As if there was any surprise at all, in this section I’m talking specifically about those cards that require a narrow set of circumstances in order to function — those cards that can only work when, say, it’s the only card in your hand — those cards that … okay, I’m talking pretty much about Archie’s Ace in the Hole.

Why only Archie’s and not Maxie’s? Aside from the fact that “Ace in the Hole” is much preferred over “Hidden Ball Trick,” Archie’s just has more effective targets than Maxie’s does. Blastoise PLB, Greninja XY, Empoleon PLF, even M Blastoise-EX … these are all really good Pokémon to get on the Bench. By comparison, Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick can nab you Machamp FFI, and that’s about it.

Okay, back to why I’m talking about Archie’s Ace in the Hole to begin with. When it was first revealed, I don’t remember a single person jumping on the “hype train” for this card. Instead, I heard a steady stream of doubt and skepticism. This card seemed to be nothing more than a gimmick (with all negative connotations applied). It wasn’t until Orion Craig won Florida Regionals this past winter that everyone (myself included) woke up to the fact that this card could indeed work.

In many cases, this is exactly why “gimmick” cards like these fail to reach uniform approval — they have to succeed overwhelmingly in the hands of someone who worked and worked to make the card actually function. I overheard one of my opponents at the SC State Championship explain to his friend that he could tell I put a lot of work into my Medicham deck; he cited that as the reason it functioned so well. Had I (or countless others) not succeeded, there’s a good chance those gimmicky decks would have continued to be viewed with mistrust.

With this in mind, I want to share with you a couple of uses of Archie’s Ace in the Hole that have impressed me a lot. I still need to test these with Exeggcute PLF and a few other cards, but I thought I’d share nonetheless. Here’s the first deck:

Pokémon – 9

2 Keldeo-EX
2 Suicune PLB
2 Blastoise BCR
1 Black Kyurem-EX PLS
1 Articuno ROS 17
1 Jirachi-EX

Trainers – 41

4 Professor Sycamore
2 Archie’s Ace in the Hole
1 N
1 Lysandre
1 Lysandre’s Trump Card

 

4 VS Seeker

4 Ultra Ball

4 Battle Compressor

4 Trainers’ Mail

4 Acro Bike

3 Maintenance
3 Superior Energy Retrieval
2 Professor’s Letter
2 Max Potion
1 Muscle Band
1 Computer Search

Energy – 10

8 W
2 L

I absolutely love this deck. It’s so fun to pull off a Turn 1 Blastoise, and it happens quite a bit. Trainers’ Mail really makes this deck, and I’m still not sold on Maintenance — this is what I was referring to when I said I needed to test out a few “other cards.” I’ve tried this deck with Roller Skates but didn’t like it too much, so I’m sure there’s something else out there that makes more sense.

In my testing I threw an Articuno in for fun, but immediately found it to be terribly effective. Nabbing 3 Prize cards off an Pokémon-EX or trading Prize cards well with non-EX decks proved very useful. I don’t like the coin flips required with Articuno’s second attack, so I would often bank on landing at least one heads (after attacking with a Keldeo-EX).

I liked Articuno so much, in fact, that I built a separate deck around it. This is what it looks like:

Pokémon – 10

2 Kyurem PLF
2 Articuno ROS 17
2 Blastoise BCR
1 Kyurem LTR
1 Victini LTR
1 M Blastoise-EX
1 Jirachi-EX

Trainers – 41

4 Professor Sycamore
2 Archie’s Ace in the Hole
1 N
1 Lysandre
1 Lysandre’s Trump Card

 

4 VS Seeker
4 Ultra Ball
4 Battle Compressor
4 Trainers’ Mail
3 Acro Bike
2 Maintenance
3 Superior Energy Retrieval
3 Muscle Band
3 Switch
1 Professor’s Letter
1 Computer Search

Energy – 9

9 W

This is still a work in progress, but it’s surprisingly effective at landing big hits and taking lots of Prize cards. Delta Plus is crazy good at times, securing a game after Knocking Out just two Pokémon-EX. The math works fairly well here too: After using Kyurem (either one) to put an Pokémon-EX at 60 damage, you need two heads with an Articuno and Muscle Band to do 120 damage — enough to KO most Pokémon-EX. This deck is effective against non-EX decks as well since you trade Prize cards much better than the opponent.

Of course, there’s an argument for just attacking with something like Black Kyurem-EX instead of spreading damage around. With so many decks aiming to do massive amounts of damage, however, I like the idea of being able to undercut the Prize card race with non-Pokémon-EX throughout the game.

Mr. Mime might seem like an issue, but it’s not that big of a threat since KOing it with an Articuno is both easy and nets 2 Prize cards. Once again, I want to rethink my inclusion of Maintenance in here, but other than that the deck is pretty solid and incredibly efficient at getting Blastoise on the field.

Perhaps the biggest threat at the moment for both of these decks (and anything that runs a lot of Items cards) is the combination of Trevenant XY and Wally, with its ability to create a first-turn Item lock. I’m not looking forward to this possibility, and I’ve already seen a lot of buzz about this kind of deck (used with Shaymin-EX as a main attacker). Time will tell how viable this threat is.

The Commoner

trubbish pls 65 16-9
“Please, sir, I want some more.” — Oliver Trubbish

The last type of gimmick deck I want to bring to the table is the one that is overlooked because of that little black shape in the bottom right-hand corner of the deck’s main attacker. That’s right — the card’s rarity! I have a theory that many players overlook good plays because of the rarity of the main attacker in those decks. The Lunatone/Solrock deck I mentioned earlier in my article featured primarily uncommon attackers. Donphan PLS is an uncommon and was not a consideration at all until a handful of people started burning through tournaments with it. Tool Drop Trubbish was seen as garbage until a Japanese video revealed its true power.

Is there something in that little symbol? Something that speaks to us on a subconscious level, with the star begging to be played and the diamond accepting its fate to the binder? Does the holo treatment of a card signal its plausibility, the gleam of the card catching our attention as we slide uncommons and commons away into their plastic prison?

I believe so. I think we tend to overlook cards because they don’t have a higher rarity. Only when an uncommon sees massive potential do we start to consider it (think Donphan PLS or Wobbuffet PHF). The deck that this rule makes me think of most is Tool Drop since its main attacker is a common. Here’s my current list for that deck:

Pokémon – 9

4 Trubbish PLS 65
3 Sigilyph PLB
2 Shaymin-EX ROS

Trainers – 44

4 Professor Sycamore
2 N
2 Colress
1 Lysandre
1 Lysandre’s Trump Card

 

3 VS Seeker

3 Trainers’ Mail
3 Repeat Ball
3 Silver Bangle
3 Float Stone
3 Hard Charm
3 Head Ringer
2 Exp. Share
2 Muscle Band
2 Ultra Ball
2 Pokémon Catcher
1 Computer Search

 

4 Dimension Valley

Energy – 7

5 P
2 Mystery

The draw power in this deck is massive. Where Bicycle once did a pretty nifty trick, Shaymin-EX makes this deck explosive. It’s not uncommon to get knockouts on the first turn of attacking with this build — it’s lightning fast and downright scary. Shaymin-EX also helps you navigate the Seismitoad-EX matchup. Even with a single turn you can set up quite a threat, and Shaymin can attack and return to the hand if need be, erasing any damage from Seismitoad.


The last example of the “Commoner” is an unusual one, primarily because it’s an ultra-rare card. That might go against my rule here, but it’s a rare exception: Latios-EX PLF. While it’s an ultra-rare, many players may have overlooked it because of the Roaring Skies Latios-EX. Newer isn’t always better, however, and I think Latios-EX PLF might just prove that.

I don’t have a decklist yet for this card, but it would include Mega Turbo, Shrine of Memories, Tool Retriever, Double Dragon Energy, Shaymin-EX, M Latios-EX, and Muscle Band to dish out a consistent 170 damage (or 120 damage anywhere). I realize the discarding of Energy would be tough, which is primarily why I haven’t pieced the deck together yet, but in theory it sounds decent. Just one last gimmick to think about.

Conclusion

spinda primal clash 16-9
Sometimes they’ll hit the mark.

Gimmick decks are what many players in this game resort to for various reasons. Some like the novelty while others like the price tag, but these decks almost always carry with them an air of suspicion. Players often want to see it to believe it.

What’s also true about these decks is they can be effective. They can win tournaments and perform with even the most expensive decks on the market. Hopefully this article gave you some insight into what these decks look like and how they must work. Let me know what you think in the comments section — I’d love to hear about your own “gimmicky” deck! Also, give me a Like if indeed you liked this article, and as always, thanks for reading.


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