Tang-Gar Potential?

Giant Growth (Tang-Gar):

Hello and thank you SixPrizes for being there to help/entertain/teach me everything needed to play the Pokémon TCG with confidence and a little know how. Being a relatively new player I have to admit I knew virtually nothing about the complex strategies being used in decks until I stumbled upon this site. You have all helped me immensely and I owe allot of my success in playing to the helpful suggestions and tips you all gave me, not to mention all of the extremely helpful articles submitted by the active members here at SixPrizes.

That being said I could use your help yet again. I have been experimenting with a deck idea for some time now and I have had allot of success with it thus far, but it just feels like it’s missing something. I took the advice that some of the members gave me about adding in a 2-2 Claydol line and I have to admit that it helped me stay consistent much more then I had ever hoped. This is why I’m calling upon the powers that be to help me once again to spruce up my rag-tag deck and turn it into something that will be a more serious competitor (even if it means completely changing my list around).

So without further ado, I bring to you, my idea of running Tangrowth SF with Gengar SF

Gengar Stormfront SF 18 Pokemon CardIn a format where speed and quick set-ups dominate, playing any type of deck where your heavy hitter takes four energy to attack is a complete risk at best (at least until the much anticipated “Double Colorless Energy” gets here anyway). In today’s deck builds SP’s and Donk’s are all the rage. Without running one yourself you can almost certainly find yourself loosing matches before they ever really start. So why do you ask, am I not willing to settle for a SP/Donk list myself? Well let’s just say I remain hopeful that ordinary “build up” decks featuring often times “overlooked” Pokémon will still have a fighting chance.

Now that’s not to say that SP’s or similar techs aren’t warranted, I myself cannot seem to take control of the game with a lonely Tangrowth. But instead I pair Tangrowth with the quick set-up of Gengar. While this may seem like an odd mix at first, when you get right down to it, the two work flawlessly together. How does this work, well let me explain. Gengar brings a quick set-up and the ability to take an opponent down at the point of knockout potentially swinging things in your favor, while disrupting your opponents set up all at the same time (pitch-dark). After Gengar has established a nice prize accumulation, (if the deck has been running like it should) Tangrowth should be powered up and readily awaiting his turn to deal damage and spread to the bench. Not to mention the endless healing support this jolly green giant can bring your damaged Gengars.

Tangrowth Stormfront SF 29 Pokemon CardIf and when your Gengar’s have fallen (hopefully taking a large sum of your opponents with them) the Pokémon to be called upon to wrap everything up nicely should be Tangrowth. Late game you should have established enough damage/disruption with Gengar SF to have no problem hitting there active for 60 and two of their benched Pokémon for 20. It really is a beautiful thing when you see it happen in play.

On many occasions I have taken 4 Prizes (five if they have belted anything within Tangrowth’s grasp) in one single turn. Crobats to snipe the terribly weak and Tangrowth to take out the active AND to finish off two of the damaged benched Pokémon all in the same turn. That’s 4 Prizes, count them FOUR! Now granted this will not happen every time you play this deck but it does happen often enough to keep you greedily awaiting the next opportunity to present itself.

PROS:

Resistance to Kingdra, Palkia, Gyrados, and pretty much any other uber water type. A great Tank to stall with as you build up your bench. The ability to heal not just your active Tangrowth but anything else as well(although it is flippy). Doing a total of 100 damage, spread beautifully (60 to the active and 20 to two different benched). The chance to see complete and utter bewilderment on your opponent’s face as they try to understand the logic behind a Tangrowth hiding in a Gengar deck. And last but certainly not least, the all too common Claydol just so happens to be weak to grass!

CONS:

Now let’s take a moment to talk about all the many drawbacks. I will be the first to tell you this is not and probably will never be a Tier 1 deck but to me it is my little piece of Pokémon TCG heaven. This being said there are several matchups that can devastate this build. Anybody having ever played against a Nidoqueen tech knows exactly what I’m talking about. I mean rolling off 20 damage that you just laid on the bench every turn is a real stinker and makes Tangrowth’s ability to spread as useless as a fainting spell against a Crobat drop.

Tangrowth LV.X Arceus AR 99And let’s not forget to mention how susceptible Tangrowth is to Blaziken FB or Infernape 4, especially if you happen to have a LV.X Tangrowth out. But what deck doesn’t have a bad matchup or two? Another very common downside to running Tangrowth outside of his weakness to fire and his high energy cost is his ridiculous Retreat Cost. Although this is easily fixed by pulling a warp point or switch, you’re not always going to have one handy. So you have to make sure when Tangrowth hits the Active Spot he is ready to attack.

Ok so this is basically the deck I run the most often. I have experimented with Donks (Shuppet, Machamp, Starmie, ect) SP decks (LuxApe, GaGa, ect) and just about every Flygon or Speedrill variant you can think of. These decks are a lot of fun and usually hit fast and have minimal problems setting up. The only downside is there is no surprise factor involved at all, experienced players can tell exactly what you’re going for the second you flip over your active. Except that’s not true with my TanGar build. When I flip over a Gastly SF they assume I’m running a standard Gengar build or when I flip over a Tangela they either think one of two things, I’m running Tangrowth/Sceptile/Leafeon or that I’m a complete novice (which isn’t too far from the truth seeing as how I have only been playing for about 3 months now) either way they usually misplay because of a faulty assumption on their part. But what they never expect to see is a combination of the two. I play at least 10-12 games a week and I average about a 75%-80% win to loss ratio.

Here is the list I run feel free to suggest any changes as all help is greatly appreciated:

Pokémon:
3 Tangela
2 Tangrowth SF
1 Tangrowth LV.X
4 Gastly SF
2 Haunter SF
2 Gengar SF
1 Gengar LV.X
1 Unown G
1 Uxie LA
2 Baltoy SV
2 Claydol
2 Crobat G
1 Spiritomb AR
T/S/S:
2 TGI Poké Turn
2 Bebe’s Search
2 Roseanne’s Research
1 Volkner’s Philosophy
2 Lookers Investigation
1 Broken Time-Space
1 Miasma Valley
4 Poké Drawer +
2 Poké Radar
1 Luxury Ball
2 Warp Point
2 Rare Candy
1 Expert Belt
1 Pokémon Rescue
Energy:
6 G
4 P
1 Cyclone
1 Multi

Reader Interactions

61 replies

  1. quaziko

    Novel ideas can be fun, but rarely they’re successful. As long as you can live with that, (first-hand experience with rogue ideas, hard to swallow too many frustrating losses), here are some changes I’d make to your list:

    – 1 Tangela
    + 1 Haunter
    – 1 Miasma Stad
    + 1 Broken Stad
    – 1 Volkner’s, -2 Pokerader, -1 Pokemon Rescue
    + 2 Rosanne’s, +1 Bebe, +1 Premier Ball

    I would also consider axeing the Looker’s, as you should have a general idea of how many trainers your opponent is holding. I also am not sure how much a lone Spritomb helps, and a 3rd Poketurn, 2nd Expert Belt, or a Night Maintenance or two may work well. Oh, and 3 Warp Points would be nice. For these techy parts, I guess you have to pick your poison while you playtest.

  2. Joshua Hall

    Novel ideas can be fun, but rarely they’re successful. As long as you can live with that, (first-hand experience with rogue ideas, hard to swallow too many frustrating losses), here are some changes I’d make to your list:

    – 1 Tangela
    + 1 Haunter
    – 1 Miasma Stad
    + 1 Broken Stad
    – 1 Volkner’s, -2 Pokerader, -1 Pokemon Rescue
    + 2 Rosanne’s, +1 Bebe, +1 Premier Ball

    I would also consider axeing the Looker’s, as you should have a general idea of how many trainers your opponent is holding. I also am not sure how much a lone Spritomb helps, and a 3rd Poketurn, 2nd Expert Belt, or a Night Maintenance or two may work well. Oh, and 3 Warp Points would be nice. For these techy parts, I guess you have to pick your poison while you playtest.

  3. Adam Capriola

    Thanks for the article Michael, I really enjoy reading your articles because it reminds me of when I first started playing. :)

    I think the flaw with your deck is that Tangrowth just takes way too many energy to be able to attack with any success. When you play it with Sceptile GE, then it has a better chance to pull off a few Reaching Vines, but without any Energy manipulation I don’t see it being too effective.

    When you play against tougher competition, you’ll see that you deck is too slow. Not sure if Gengar with Tangrowth is really salvageable; I’d focus on one or the other.

    As for some tips, I’d almost always max out on Roseanne’s Research and Bebe’s Search. I’d only use Poke Radar if I was playing a deck with Unown R, and Night Maintenance is better than Pokemon Rescue.

    •  → Adam

      Thanks Adam, i appreciate your advice, and while Tangrowth is truely slow to power up at times it usually merits it’s worth in the long run. Thanks for all the suggestions. I love sixprizes!

  4. Use Warp energy instead of cyclone because Tangrowth X has 3 retreat cose.

    Nice article and deck!

    •  → Gengar

      Nifty idea, thanks for the great tip! I used cyclone energy because it would always seem like my opponent would send something up into the active position that only had like 20 health left and so i would either have to allow that pokemon to take the blunt of my attack (60) and then spread 20 to two of the bench or i could attach a cyclone and make them send that pokemon to the bench and bring something else up that i could potentially knock out for 60 and still take out the pokemon on the bench that only had 20 HP left. Warp energy sounds pretty nifty as well though, i will give it a shot and see how it works out. thanks again!

  5. My friend used a Tangrowth/Sceptile energy accel. deck for quite some time. It is a good deck. The addition of Gengar makes it muddy. Like Adam said, if you want to play a healing Gengar deck, stick with Mother Gengar (Gengar + Nidoqueen), if you want to play an accelerated Tangrowth deck, play Tangrowth/Sceptile. But once you start combining the two, it gets, well, muddy. Not to say that these rogue ideas are bad, in fact, it is always good to add an element of surprise to the format. Someone seeing a Ghastly on your bench might strategize against Gengar, but then crumble if they aren’t prepared for Tangrowth. I must say though, I prefer the Tangrowth with “Swell Up”, especially in the energy accel. version of this deck. Good luck!

    •  → cpeterik

      I used to combine both Tangrowth’s (SF and AR) but im not as big of a fan of the AR Tang because he almost always seems to take damage and then i cant do anything but 50 damage, i much rather do 60 and 20 to two of the benched. It seems to work out more for me, especially with all the decks that can hit my bench and damage Tangrowth AR before i can use swallow up, which is a waste when i spent four turns powering him up only to do 50. Thanks for the tips though, i appreciate all of the help you guys offer me. Your advice is appreciated!

  6. Adam Capriola

    Thanks for the article Michael, I really enjoy reading your articles because it reminds me of when I first started playing. :)

    I think the flaw with your deck is that Tangrowth just takes way too many energy to be able to attack with any success. When you play it with Sceptile GE, then it has a better chance to pull off a few Reaching Vines, but without any Energy manipulation I don’t see it being too effective.

    When you play against tougher competition, you’ll see that you deck is too slow. Not sure if Gengar with Tangrowth is really salvageable; I’d focus on one or the other.

    As for some tips, I’d almost always max out on Roseanne’s Research and Bebe’s Search. I’d only use Poke Radar if I was playing a deck with Unown R, and Night Maintenance is better than Pokemon Rescue.

    • Michael Randolph  → Adam

      Thanks Adam, i appreciate your advice, and while Tangrowth is truely slow to power up at times it usually merits it’s worth in the long run. Thanks for all the suggestions. I love sixprizes!

  7. Gregory Minklei

    Use Warp energy instead of cyclone because Tangrowth X has 3 retreat cose.

    Nice article and deck!

    • Michael Randolph  → Gregory

      Nifty idea, thanks for the great tip! I used cyclone energy because it would always seem like my opponent would send something up into the active position that only had like 20 health left and so i would either have to allow that pokemon to take the blunt of my attack (60) and then spread 20 to two of the bench or i could attach a cyclone and make them send that pokemon to the bench and bring something else up that i could potentially knock out for 60 and still take out the pokemon on the bench that only had 20 HP left. Warp energy sounds pretty nifty as well though, i will give it a shot and see how it works out. thanks again!

  8. Colin Peterik

    My friend used a Tangrowth/Sceptile energy accel. deck for quite some time. It is a good deck. The addition of Gengar makes it muddy. Like Adam said, if you want to play a healing Gengar deck, stick with Mother Gengar (Gengar + Nidoqueen), if you want to play an accelerated Tangrowth deck, play Tangrowth/Sceptile. But once you start combining the two, it gets, well, muddy. Not to say that these rogue ideas are bad, in fact, it is always good to add an element of surprise to the format. Someone seeing a Ghastly on your bench might strategize against Gengar, but then crumble if they aren’t prepared for Tangrowth. I must say though, I prefer the Tangrowth with “Swell Up”, especially in the energy accel. version of this deck. Good luck!

    • Michael Randolph  → Colin

      I used to combine both Tangrowth’s (SF and AR) but im not as big of a fan of the AR Tang because he almost always seems to take damage and then i cant do anything but 50 damage, i much rather do 60 and 20 to two of the benched. It seems to work out more for me, especially with all the decks that can hit my bench and damage Tangrowth AR before i can use swallow up, which is a waste when i spent four turns powering him up only to do 50. Thanks for the tips though, i appreciate all of the help you guys offer me. Your advice is appreciated!

  9. kwisdumb

    I honestly think that this deck is going to be a waste of time to try and use competitively. As Adam said, it’s too slow. In a world where I can attach a DCE and an Energy Gain to a Garchomp C, level up and heal all damage, and then snipe anything for 80, and then Poketurn it the next turn, etc., etc. stuff like this just can’t keep up.

    Good article though. Hope 6P can be there to help you throughout the rest of your Pokemon career.

    • Michael Randolph  → kwisdumb

      Thanks for the sound advice, what do you guys think about maybe playing Tangrowth with some SP’s and maybe “Galactic Switching” some energy from the SP’s to Tangrowth and then PokeTurning the SP’s afterward? Or maybe instead running Genger with Sp’s? I’m thinking something like Infernape 4 because i used him in my last CC and he worked really well for me especially the “Intemidating Roar”

  10. kwisdumb

    I honestly think that this deck is going to be a waste of time to try and use competitively. As Adam said, it’s too slow. In a world where I can attach a DCE and an Energy Gain to a Garchomp C, level up and heal all damage, and then snipe anything for 80, and then Poketurn it the next turn, etc., etc. stuff like this just can’t keep up.

    Good article though. Hope 6P can be there to help you throughout the rest of your Pokemon career.

    •  → kwisdumb

      Thanks for the sound advice, what do you guys think about maybe playing Tangrowth with some SP’s and maybe “Galactic Switching” some energy from the SP’s to Tangrowth and then PokeTurning the SP’s afterward? Or maybe instead running Genger with Sp’s? I’m thinking something like Infernape 4 because i used him in my last CC and he worked really well for me especially the “Intemidating Roar”

  11. CoMiT

    I think we could see a new anti-meta deck once DCE is released. it will revolve around dustox platinum. It is really good against pokemon with poke-power, poke-bodies. It is really good against psychic types. it is easy to set up (cascoon platinum) I don’t think tangroth will see any play.

    •  → CoMiT

      Well IDK about that, i agree with the Dustox idea but i will make sure Tangrowth see’s some play, even if i may be the only one.

  12. great deck idea!
    ilike the addition of gengar but it doesnt suit the deck!
    you neeed to include sceptile from GE or AR to get the energy needed on them or your screwed! or use double colourless when it comes out in 3 weeks!!!
    love the idea m8!
    keep on making topics as you make really good ones

  13. CoMiT

    I think we could see a new anti-meta deck once DCE is released. it will revolve around dustox platinum. It is really good against pokemon with poke-power, poke-bodies. It is really good against psychic types. it is easy to set up (cascoon platinum) I don’t think tangroth will see any play.

    • Michael Randolph  → CoMiT

      Well IDK about that, i agree with the Dustox idea but i will make sure Tangrowth see’s some play, even if i may be the only one.

  14. Clayton H

    great deck idea!
    ilike the addition of gengar but it doesnt suit the deck!
    you neeed to include sceptile from GE or AR to get the energy needed on them or your screwed! or use double colourless when it comes out in 3 weeks!!!
    love the idea m8!
    keep on making topics as you make really good ones

  15. When HeartGold and SoulSilver come out, I suggest you tech in at least a 1-1 line of Caterpie-Metapod, for Metapod’s body that gets rid of your Tangrowth’s weakness.

  16. Willy Goebel

    When HeartGold and SoulSilver come out, I suggest you tech in at least a 1-1 line of Caterpie-Metapod, for Metapod’s body that gets rid of your Tangrowth’s weakness.

  17. John Rea

    Looks like a very cool deck list I think it could turn out to be a great deck.

  18. John Rea

    Looks like a very cool deck list I think it could turn out to be a great deck.

  19. Caroline Rea

    I have a deck of tangrowth PA it,s agood card i love tangrowths.
    so i lo your deck.

  20. Thanks Azelf 911, this was a very awesome deck and it won me allot of matches. I have since moved on to a Tangrowth/Nidoqueen/Sceptile build and it works so much better. I have alsways loved Tangrowth as well and it is still my favorite card!

  21. Caroline Rea

    I have a deck of tangrowth PA it,s agood card i love tangrowths.
    so i lo your deck.

  22. Michael Randolph

    Thanks Azelf 911, this was a very awesome deck and it won me allot of matches. I have since moved on to a Tangrowth/Nidoqueen/Sceptile build and it works so much better. I have alsways loved Tangrowth as well and it is still my favorite card!

    • Michael Randolph  → bear

      Absolutely Bear, just write an article and submit it and I’m sure Adam will see to it that it gets published on here!

    •  → bear

      Absolutely Bear, just write an article and submit it and I’m sure Adam will see to it that it gets published on here!

  23. jake spyres

    hey how do I put my deck on this site to get it commented on

  24. mewuk85

    This deck looks very interesting i think ill test it out.

  25. mewuk85

    Yeah the line up seems pretty fair, in pulling good odds and seeking out your pokemon.

  26. Daniela

    This wordpress theme you’re running, is it custom or did you download it form one of the free theme sites?

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