Quad Goals

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One of the most brutally effective strategies in the Pokémon TCG within recent memory is to stockpile loads of resources into a single Pokémon card. This strategy surfaces occasionally with a different look and feel, but the idea remains the same: arm a Pokémon card with everything you’ve got Trainer-wise and carry it as far as you can.

While the term “Quad [insert Pokémon name here]” became common first with Terrakion NVI, the idea of tossing a single Pokémon into battle and bolstering it with the effects of powerful Trainer cards has been around for ages. Still, decks that could reasonably run with a Pokémon count of 4–6 became viable shortly after the Black & White generation of cards released, an era that would eventually place Basic Pokémon atop the food chain once again.

Decks like these have always caught my eye. When Quad Entei and Quad Terrakion became competitive options I adored the minimalist approach of trading in Pokémon cards for Trainer cards that did the same thing. Quad Terrakion, for example, relied heavily on Exp. Share to keep Energy on the field, a job that might have been left to a Stage 2 Pokémon just a format or two previous. Quad Snorlax, on the other hand, didn’t even attack. At 4 Pokémon and 56 Trainer cards, this deck offloaded nearly everything to Trainer cards and represents the “quad” phenomenon at its most extreme.

While I recognize there’s no room in today’s format for a deck running only 4 Pokémon, I took the old concept and applied it to the game today to create a few rogue decks I’ve been working on over the past few months.

Quad Goals

Quad decks are technically nonexistent today. Viable cards for this type of deck would still want to take advantage of Shaymin-EX, making the “quad” moniker a misrepresentation. Still, I sought out decks that could continue the quad tradition of having low Pokémon counts alongside Trainer cards aimed at supporting a single attacker. After reviewing the card pool for the Standard format, these were the cards that caught my attention as well as some notes I scribbled down about each:

• Lugia FCO. A card that has so much going for it — a good Ability, a powerful attack (especially against Shaymin-EX), and additional options in the form of Lugia BREAK. At the same time, Intensifying Burn is terribly weak against non-EX decks.
• Entei AOR 15. This card misses Blacksmith pretty bad, but Exp. Share plus Weavile STS might keep the beatdown going alongside access other Pokémon Tools you know you want to play.
• Diancie-EX FCO. High on defense and low on offense, this is a surprisingly tough card when you factor in its Ability, a Fighting Fury Belt, and a Mega Evolution that can wall against Pokémon-EX.
• Darkrai-EX BKP. At one point Darkrai-EX DEX was legal alongside Dark Patch, Ether, Colress Machine, and Plasma Badge, causing a momentary panic that Night Spear would be happening on the first turn of every game. This didn’t happen of course, but it’s all I could think about as I eyed this card and its synergy with Max Elixir.
• Regice AOR. This card could function like Sigilyph LTR — four EX-defying walls that would really only work in a format rife with EXs.
• Team Aqua’s Kyogre-EX. Slap an Aqua Diffuser on this guy and bug the heck out of your opponent. This card would obviously break the structure of a quad deck because of Power Saver, but still.
• Zygarde-EX. With 190 HP and the possibility of doing between 20 and 200+ damage, there are plenty of ways to run this card. At the same time, there has to be a reason it hasn’t shown up at many tournaments.
• M Alakazam-EX. Alright, I’m basically cheating at this point. This card breaks the rules of a quad deck outright, but I’ve wanted to experiment with the idea of a streamlined M Alakazam approach, so I’ll mention it here and see what we end up with.

Starting Out

Mark A. HicksOne of the trickiest parts of creating a rogue deck from scratch occurs at the beginning when determining whether the deck should be put together in the first place. Archetypes enjoy the attention necessary to lead to lists that are only a card or two off; rogue decks, on the other hand, need justification to even exist. While the list for an archetype might be chiseled to perfection through various iterations by hundreds of players, a rogue deck might be seen by only a handful of players before it shows up in competitive play.

Since I don’t want to waste my time on a deck that would fail to meet my expectations, I went through the cards I picked out one by one and quickly built a decklist for them based off their perceived strengths and weakness. Note that it takes an understanding of the format and experience to do this, and even then I could be wrong. The potential in a card can often be overlooked, as there are nuances that appear during practice that won’t be observed otherwise.

Ever see someone win a tournament with a rogue deck and think to yourself, “I knew that card was good”? If so, you’re not alone. After all, any deck that wins a tournament is going to be good on some level (players obviously aren’t trying to win tournament with bad cards). The better way to think about it is that you knew the card was good, just not that good. And it’s during the rough phase of playtesting and practicing with a risky deck that one understands how a card can be that good. Like I said, the creator of the rogue deck has had firsthand experience with those nuances while others just haven’t.

For right now, however, let me chop away some of the cards above and we’ll focus on just a few cards I feel have real potential.

Decks in Check

Lugia FCO

Here’s my first attempt at a Lugia deck:

You can see it uses a pretty standard Supporter structure with a heavy focus on healing and defense. I took the combination of the Pressure Ability and Parallel City and ran with it. Understand that this is a preliminary list that will change drastically throughout this article. Because of this there are obvious mistakes — Max Elixir with 7 basic Energy, for instance, is awful.

After a few games of testing I noticed a couple of things immediately. First, Fairy Drop rarely made much of a difference unless I could play two at the same time. I was right to add in 2 Pokémon Center Lady for this reason, but the whole thing was clunky. In fact, the defensive approach altogether felt lacking, as though a fourth of my deck served no purpose. The second thing I noticed was an unhealthy dependency on Lugia BREAK against non-EX decks as well as a disappointingly low damage output. Finally, I had trouble keeping enough Energy on the board to attack.

I would seek to remedy all of these issues because the deck seemed fairly effective in playtesting.

Entei AOR 15

In constructing this deck initially I knew it would sink or float pretty quickly. It’s arguably just a different version of a Volcanion deck that uses Exp. Share in place of Volcanion’s Power Heater attack. At the same time, Entei’s Ancient Trait can allow for 80 extra HP and 20 extra damage with two Fighting Fury Belts attached to it. Here was my first take on the deck:

The thing about this deck is that there are few ways to play it. Without Blacksmith, Entei has to rely on Exp. Share, which complicates the Ancient Trait. This makes Weavile a requirement, and before you know it you’re dedicating 8 cards to do what Volcanion decks do with a single attack. The crux of the deck’s effectiveness then becomes a question of whether or not the second Fighting Fury Belt and extra 30 damage from Entei’s second attack is worth it, a question we’ll look at later.

Diancie-EX FCO

I approached this card two different ways. One was somewhat true to the quad formula — 4 Diancie-EX, 2 M Diancie-EX, 2 Shaymin-EX, and plenty of healing cards like Fairy Drop to keep Diancie-EX on the field — while the other used Florges BKT to create a Diancie-EX that could do 120 damage for a single Energy. Neither deck worked. The issue was roughly the same one I met with the Lugia deck — a healing formula that didn’t matter that much against cards like M Mewtwo-EX.

Darkrai-EX BKP

Similar to my attempts with the Entei deck, I found initial approaches with a “quad” Darkrai-EX deck to be overshadowed by the popular Darkrai-EX/Giratina-EX deck. My approach here would transform into something completely different by the time all was said and done.

Regice AOR

This is a good example of a deck I almost didn’t build because I had trouble seeing its potential against non-EX decks. While I still couldn’t see a way out against Greninja decks, I still threw together this revolt against EX decks:

A few practice games led me to believe that this deck is more powerful than I thought. Its biggest issue was still non-EX decks, but I figured I could cross that bridge when I got to it if the deck was actually good against everything else.

Team Aqua’s Kyogre-EX

This deck never got past the initial thought of combining Aqua Diffuser and Team Aqua’s Kyogre-EX. As I started to build the deck I had more questions than I did answers. The Power Saver Ability required additional Team Aqua Pokémon and I couldn’t get past the impasse of an opponent with 2 or more Float Stone in play. Besides, Confusion and Poison together might be good in a format with things like Tool Scrapper, Virbank City Gym, or even Dragalge FLF, but in this format they’re just a minor inconvenience.

Zygarde-EX

This card is powerful, there’s no doubting that. As I started to put together a concept for it, though, I couldn’t decide where to stop. What started as 4 Zygarde-EX with some support soon included things like Regirock-EX, Carbink, etc. I gave up on putting together a Zygarde-EX deck because there were too many options for it to reasonably cover in a single article and because I could only see it being more effective with these additional options.

M Alakazam-EX

One of my favorite cards in the game, M Alakazam-EX remains a mystery to the competitive scene. When it was first revealed, players recognized it as having huge potential, but the realization soon afterward of a format that hinged on an unstoppable Garbodor BKP made everyone back off quietly. Still, I think it has some sort of chance, and with it remaining untested it might just have some untapped potential going for it. Here’s where I started with this card:

Offense and Defense of the Furthest Ends: Perfecting Lugia

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I’m a big fan of defense as a strategy. I’ve always liked the idea of tanking a Pokémon and watching the opponent struggle to Knock Out a single Pokémon. Steelix Prime, Regigigas LV.X, even that Cubone from one of the HeartGold/SoulSilver sets … these cards are my favorite. Sometimes, though, you have to give up the dream of making a card tank and invest instead in offensive measures. This is what I ended up doing to my Lugia deck.

Before arriving at my final list for Lugia I toyed around with the Energy issue I had from before. I struggled to keep Energy on board for my attacks with the Fairy version of Lugia, so to solve this problem I inserted a Yanmega line just to play around with:

I thought Yanmega STS would provide a decent answer against M Mewtwo-EX while solving my Energy issue. I apparently thought I could keep my healing cards intact as well. In the end, however, I had created a deck that was split between two mediocre attackers. I felt at all times like I was landing attacks but still doing very little. The healing cards had fallen out of favor for me at this time.

The last option I went with took an offensive measure by way of Bursting Balloon. I gutted the healing cards for this, at which point the deck started to make sense. After gaining traction in testing I took a look at the decks it struggled with the most. M Mewtwo-EX was tough to overcome, so I outfitted my build to address it. I dropped the Yanmega line for Mew FCO and a couple of other goodies and have since been running with this:

This is obviously worlds away from where I started with Lugia, but it’s been working really well. Let me go ahead and address some card choices:

• Mew FCO/Wobbuffet PHF. These cards are here to deal with M Mewtwo-EX as well as provide a way to streamline attacks. I normally throw Exp. Shares on them and keep Intensifying Burn going. The Wobbuffet can also cancel Abilities at the right moment mid to late-game to help you buy a turn or two if needed.
• Eco Arm. When I say I went on the offensive, I mean it. Bursting Balloon plus Eco Arm plus Puzzle of Time leads to an opponent who’s attacking into reactionary damage the whole game through.
• Puzzle of Time/Skyla. There are many cards in this deck I want to double up on, and the benefit of running so few Pokémon is that I get to run a full set of PoT. This ensures that Bursting Balloon stay in play the whole game through and that some of the other tricks of the deck are readily accessible.
• Winona. I included this card at one point with the thought that I’d back away from it after awhile. I never did. Being able to play Winona and get nearly all of my attackers in play in a single go is useful at almost any point during the game.
• Fighting Fury Belt. This card doesn’t work on Lugia BREAK, but I still use it at various times to bulk up a regular Lugia or put Pokémon like Shaymin-EX or Mew out of KO reach against things like Yveltal BKT’s Pitch-Black Spear or Greninja BREAK’s Giant Water Shuriken Ability.
• Parallel City. I started with 3 and ended with 1 of these. Stadiums are popular in the game right now, so it was rare for a Parallel City to actually stick. Having a single copy in the deck is still good for negating Sky Field and activating Delinquent, however, so it stayed. Decreasing damage from Grass, Fire, or Water types is nice, just don’t expect the effect to stick around.

Entertaining Entei

As I said before, the biggest consideration in whether I would move forward with this deck dealt with Entei’s Ancient Trait and its slightly boosted attack compared to Volcanion STS. There were other considerations as well:

• Volcanion’s Power Heater attack is better at allowing cards like Flareon-EX to be used. It’s also more efficient and dependable than Exp. Share for getting/keeping Energy on the field.
• There’s synergy between Volcanion and Volcanion-EX that doesn’t exist with Entei, the result of which is an altered decklist that just doesn’t allow for using Volcanion-EX’s Steam Up Ability as much. The extra 30 damage on Entei’s second attack might as well be forgotten because of this.
• The chance at self-damage from Entei’s Heat Tackle can sabotage one’s plans and put Entei within KO range. The fact that it’s a flip introduces risk that doesn’t exist with Volcanion decks.

After testing the list I shared earlier I saw little reason to continue with Entei. Nothing changed my mind about Entei being a subpar version of Volcanion, so I saved myself some time and put this deck to rest.

An Unlikely Duo: Exploring Other Options with Darkrai-EX

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Darkrai-EX proved to be a tough card to crack. There was already an answer for how to run it in the form of Darkrai-EX/Giratina-EX, but I wanted to take it a step further — I wanted to give Darkrai-EX a complete makeover. I started with the knowledge that Max Elixir was already a good card to use here, so when I searched for other ways to get Energy on the field and boost Darkrai-EX’s attack I came upon an unlikely option: Togekiss ROS 46. I’ve always liked the card but felt wary of the Serene Grace Ability (it always seemed too much a gamble for me). Still, I forged ahead on the whim that the two cards could work together and came up with this list initially:

The funny thing is, this thing actually worked. Sure, there were games where my opponent got Garbodor BKP up and running before Serene Grace hit the field, but I could outfit my deck to deal with that at some point. At the time I was testing this deck I was finding success with the last build of my Lugia deck, so I decided to try Mew FCO out here. Doing so required the exclusion of Giratina-EX, however, but it’s a choice I was happy to make:

Allowing Mew to copy Dark Pulse while not giving up 2 Prize cards is incredible, as is Devolution Spray to allow consecutive Serene Graces. After testing Togekiss I’ve also realized it’s easier to get in play than most might think. Opponents don’t often target the Togekiss line while Togekiss’s Ancient Trait allows it to hit the field a turn earlier than most Stage 2 Pokémon.

Seriously, there have been games where I’ve gotten Dark Pulse to hit for nearly 200 damage as early as the second turn. A late-game Energy Recycler plus Serene Grace can often swing a losing situation into an easy win as well. Let me address the cards I know people might have questions about:

• Pokémon Catcher. This might seem like an odd choice, but it’s really just an answer for Garbodor BKP. While Lysandre can guarantee a switch, I would most often draw into a Lysandre after an N or Sycamore, meaning I would have to wait another turn before using it. With Catcher I can draw into it and have a chance of getting rid of Garbodor right away. Because the deck depends so heavily on Serene Grace, I want to be setting things up at the same time I’m getting rid of Garbodor. Pokémon Catcher gives me a chance to do this, and though it’s still a risk it’s one I’m comfortable taking in this situation.
• Delinquent and no Stadium cards. This deck requires a lot of space on the Bench, so Parallel City is a natural enemy. Delinquent can be used multiple times with VS Seeker, so it became a natural inclusion.
• 13 Dark Energy. In a format where Energy counts are as low as they can go, having 13 basic Energy here seems excessive. With Max Elixir and Serene Grace working in tandem, however, it’s actually as low as I’m willing to go here.

Not only is this a good end for a card that I first thought was stuck as a popular archetype, it’s also really fun to play! There’s nothing like using Serene Grace to get 2 Dark Energy in play, then using Devolution Spray to Serene Grace again for 3 more Dark Energy to exceed what was needed for a knockout. Perhaps Darkrai and Togekiss are worlds apart as Pokémon, but here they work together perfectly.

Regice Freezes Up

Much like Entei, this deck would either succeed or fail quickly because of its simplicity. I’m happy to report that in many cases it’s supremely effective. Plenty of decks just can’t get past the persistence that Resistance Blizzard presents. The ones that can, however, do so pretty easily. For that reason this deck hasn’t really changed and isn’t a top choice for me.

The more elaborate issue this deck faces is that it can still easily fail against a player who knows what they’re doing. Resistance Blizzard doesn’t matter at all if your opponent is bringing up something from the Bench to Knock Out, and trying to sweep a game with a single Regice AOR seems much too risky. At the same time, Enhanced Hammer has found its way into many lists and can stop the deck in its tracks.

Feel free to continue pushing this card if you’d like. If so, I’ll recommend Garbodor BKP as an option to deal with Greninja decks.

Abracadabra, Alakazam!

My experience with this deck has been all over the place. M Alakazam-EX doesn’t have it easy in today’s format, so it naturally has to blaze some unknown trails. While I’d love to have M Alakazam-EX attacking all on its own, my initial list focused more on having Alakazam do its work from the Bench while Wobbuffet did all the attacking. You’ll notice I borrowed heavily from the other decks I covered in this article:

As much as I’ve worked on this deck, I feel it still needs work. Garbodor BKP is an enormous threat, one that can be dealt with somewhat by the inclusion of Hoopa STS (getting 20 damage on a Garbodor allows M Alakazam-EX to KO it on a later turn). Barring Garbodor, M Mewtwo-EX decks are easy to run through because of Weakness. Against many decks Wobbuffet becomes a huge asset by shutting off Abilities.

The full counts of Bursting Balloon and Time Puzzle are here to lay down as much damage as possible. I’ll note that even under Garbodor lock Bursting Balloon can lead the way for knockouts, though a wise opponent would probably opt to pass in those situations. This can buy you the time needed to set up a plan to get rid of Garbodor.

I’m including this deck with the hope that someone can improve upon it. The idea of shutting off Abilities with Wobbuffet while heaping damage on the opponent with M Alakazam-EX is too good to pass up, so see where you can take it!

Conclusion

While the “quad deck” technically isn’t a strategy used in today’s game, I hope I’ve shown how an old concept can be used as a starting point for some creative deck-building. The lists in this article are the ones I’m currently working with and what I would play in a tournament tomorrow. Feel free to offer your own take on these decks and to see where any weak spots remain.

As always, I welcome your questions and feedback, and thanks for reading!

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