Yes! I'm doing another top 30 list again even though now I'm 31 years old and no reason to keep doing the gimmick. But it is the 25th Anniversary of the release of Pokemon Red & Blue, and it also being Pokemon Day, I thought why not share my favourite decks I've played in my time playing the Pokemon TCG, be it in real life, online or on PTCGO's ladder.
I mean it's Pokemon Day after all so why not share the love of the game by sharing some of my favourite decks I got to play. And since it's only 30, for obvious reasons some decks won't show up so the honourable mentions:
- Blacephalon-GX (Possibly the best deck I never owned)
- Buzzwole-GX/Lycanroc-GX (Maybe the other best deck I never got to play)
- Zoroark-GX/Dewgong (Won one local league with it but only one of two events I ever played with it)
- Zoroark-GX/Golisopod (There's too many Zoroarks in the list so I had to leave some out)
- Rayquaza-GX/Vikavolt (I don't know, I always prefered Vikabulu)
Results are as of February 26th 2021.
Spoiler alert, the first three decks you'll see are the first three I built, they're in there for memory sake. Some I've had good memories, some not so much, but for the most part I had fun playing them so that's why they are on here and not some other decks. I mean there are some better decks missing on here but I never really played them much or enjoyed them as much as others.
#30 Gengar BKT
Game Records
IRL: ?-?-?
Online Tourney: 0-0-0
PTCGO Ladder: 221-243 (47.62% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: ?
Top 4s: ?
Top 8s: ?
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Achievements:
- None
The very first starter deck I bought once I got back into the game was Night Striker and I got it mainly because I saw it had a Gengar in it, not realising that it also had a very playable Zoroark in the deck. But for the time being I was so into the Creep Show attack that my first attempt at building decks was around that, with stuff like Trevenant BREAK alongside it to get those cheeky KOs. I got 2-2 at my first event ever with it and went to a League Challenge with it as well, finishing 2/3/0.
I mean, at that point, I didn't know about all the top websites people can go to for the good lists or have any idea what the meta decks are or even how to build a good list, I was a complete noob in every sense of the word. I won't show the list but my Pokemon line looked like this. It was bad. But hey I was just getting back into the game having played it with friends back in the day (1999-2003).
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| First ever league challenge (18th Feb 2017) |
#29 Garchomp BKP
Game Records
IRL: ?-?-?
Online Tourney: 0-0-0
PTCGO Ladder: 151-157 (49.03% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: ?
Top 4s: ?
Top 8s: ?
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Achievements:
- None
After trying Gengar out, I wanted to try something else out and I managed to get a few Garchomp from Breakpoint and thought, why not try it out? It was actually pretty good since it could do a lot of damage for just 2 energy on any EX, which was what people played mostly. Too bad it was a Stage 2 deck after all but it was a deck I played on a lot during my first few months playing PTCGO alongside Gengar and the next deck.
Yes, my decks were a mess back in the day. I couldn't afford the staple cards early on, I didn't know what cards were useful and what wasn't. I mean look at this list, one of the last I have recorded for Garchomp. What a mess haha. But I enjoyed playing it. (And yes I snuck in a Hitmonlee because I wanted to).
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| My last known list I had at a local league in May 2017? |
#28 Yveltal-EX/Zoroark BREAK
Game Records
IRL: ?-?-?
Online Tourney: 0-0-0
PTCGO Ladder: 381-241 (61.25% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: ?
Top 4s: ?
Top 8s: ?
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Achievements:
- None
Yveltal-EX was easily the first good deck I had on my hands. I bought the tins for it because I wanted to see what the tins were like and of the options I had, I liked Yveltal more than the others, not realising that it actually was a good card during this time. And I still had my Zoroark BREAK line with me so this felt like a natural partnership to me.
And I played it to a few more events, as well as my first proper Local League event and the 2017 Singapore SPE (I think). But by then, Yveltal was super outdated against the likes of Decidueye-GX, Ninetales-GX and Lurantis-GX. I still have a lot of good memories playing it at least, it got me on my way in the journey and set me up for bigger and better things to come.
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| Last known list I played back in June 2017? |
#27 Ho-oh-GX
Game Records
IRL: 4-5-0
Online Tourney: 0-0-0
PTCGO Ladder: 82-74 (52.56% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 1
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Achievements:
- 7th at Qishan Local League (Feb 18 2018)
Back when Fire decks had to depend on a Turn 1 Kiawe to do good, sure wasn't the best of times, especially after Volcanion EX was gone. Thank god for Welder making things easier. I actually played this deck more on PTCGO than I did on local and every time I did, I didn't do so well but I still enjoyed playing it.
 |
| 7th at Qishan Local League (Feb 18 2018) - BKT to UPR |
#26 Espeon-GX/Garbodor
Game Records
IRL: 2/1/0
Online Tourney: 0-0-0
PTCGO Ladder: 186-149 (55.52% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 1
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Achievements:
- 3rd at EXT Local League with Top Cut (Mar 17 2018)
I probably played Espeon-GX/Garbodor way more than I have on record with me as I started to keep track of my results from the 2017-2018 season but I did play Espeon-GX/Garbodor a lot for a time period only because I had Espeon-GX initially for my Gengar deck before realising that people were using it with Garbodor, which I had bought for Yveltal-GX initially. I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't comfortable playing the list initially as my own Garbotoxin caught me out many times early on.
This might as well be the first deck where I started to take lists from online and play with it since I owned most of the cards for once. I did play the deck for a while in the middle part of 2017 but couldn't remember what list I had been running for it during the PRC-GRI format so I had to share this one instead from a year later when the deck wasn't seeing much play.
 |
| 3rd at EXT Local League - BKT to UPR |
#25 Greninja-GX
Game Records
IRL: 5-4-0
Online Tourney: 0-0-0
PTCGO Ladder: 45-28 (61.64% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 1
Top 4s: 1
Top 8s: 1
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Achievements:
- 1st at Bricks Play Local League (Sep 30 2018)
This was more a fun project at the time during the start of the 2018/19 format. I wanted to make Greninja-GX work as I had enjoyed playing Spread/Snipe decks in the past (Gengar, Malamar, Yveltal to name a few) so I thought why not try it out?
It's one of the first few decks that I built completely on my own that got me a win at a local league so I was pretty happy with that. I always thought the whole Greninja-line's ability to spread damage along with Koko/Latios/Volcanion PS was an idea that could just work out somehow.
 |
| 1st at Bricks Play Local League (Sep 30 2018) - SUM to CES |
#24 Dusk Mane Necrozma-GX/Magnezone
Game Records
IRL: 8-7-0
Online Tourney: 0-0-0
PTCGO Ladder: 66-43 (60.55% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 1
Top 4s: 3
Top 8s: 4
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Achievements:
- 1st Place at EXT Local League (13 Oct 2018)
I never got to play the Blastoise with Rain Dance ability so of course when I saw this Magnezone with a similiar ability, I had to try it out. I didn't play much of it but the few times I did, I managed to win a local league with it. Even then, my favourite version of it was probably when it first came out, having Mew and Octillery to make it more consistent. It's a Stage 2 deck after all.
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2nd at Qishan League (May
4 2018) - BKT to UPR |
#23 Blacephalon UNB
Game Records
IRL: 7-4-1
Online Tourney: 33-36-0
PTCGO Ladder: 136-64 (68.00% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 1
Top 4s: 2
Top 8s: 4
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 1
Achievements:
- 1st at Next Gen Local League (Feb 9 2020)
It's a Welder deck so I must like it right? Especially one that can KO pretty much anything? Strangely enough, I never really enjoyed playing Blacephalon all that much, as evident from my online tourney results with more losses than wins. For some reason this deck just never gelled with me, and to think I nearly brought it to OCIC!
I did win a local league tourney with it just before said OCIC which did get me thinking but I decided against it. I still hope to do well win an online tourney with it soon, it can be fun when everything works well and there's not many Marnie/Stamp being played by your opponent.
 |
| 1st at Next Gen Local League (Feb 9 2020) - UPR to SWSH |
#22 Zoroark-GX/Gardevoir-GX
Game Records
IRL: 5-2-1
Online Tourney: 0-0-0
PTCGO Ladder: 14-17 (45.16% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 1
Top 8s: 2
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Achievements:
- 3rd at Qishan Local League (Dec 1 2017)
- 6th at TOG League Challenge (Nov 24 2017)
·
Strangely enough, when I first got a pair of Zoroark-GX, I had it in mind that it'd be great to splash into some of the meta decks as draw engine and a good back up attacker. I tried a 2-2 line out first in Metagross-GX which actually worked out nicely for a bit and then with Gardevoir-GX just because I liked the interaction of Trade and Gallade's Preminition ability.
I did get one of my first big results with it, a 6th place finish at a League Challenge back in the latter part of 2017, beat one of Singapore's best players, Joey Ho, in a mirror match too in the last round of said Challenge, which was my first real big wins against a well known player who scored a Top 16 finish at Worlds just months prior to this.
 |
| 6th at TOG League Challenge (Nov 24 2017) - BKT to CRI |
#21 Lucario & Melmetal-GX/Zacian V
Game Records
IRL: 4-3-1
Online Tourney: 19-15-3
PTCGO Ladder: 59-39 (60.20% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 1
Top 8s: 2
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 1
Achievements:
- 3rd at Pokebar OCIC Ticket Tourney (Feb 2 2020)
- 6th at Coffee Cup S2 #5 (Feb 7 2021)
I don't usually play "slow" decks but I have dabbled a few times using LMZ, I was putting all of my hopes of getting an OCIC ticket on it, a deck I had never played with before, and could have won the tourney had I not messed up in Top 4. It's an interesting deck for sure, something not really suited to my style but recently I did get a top 8 finish with it at the Coffee Cup beating a few decks I had no rights to beat, which was also the day where the 3 LMZ players all made top cut too with unbeaten records in Swiss.
 |
| 6th at Coffee Cup S2 #5 (Feb 7 2021) - TEU to VIV |
·
#20 Malamar/Psychic Toolbox
Game Records
IRL: 15-15-2
Online Tourney: 4-3-0
PTCGO Ladder: 175-71 (71.74% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 1
Top 4s: 3
Top 8s: 5
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Achievements:
- 1st at Brick's Play Local League (Nov 4 2018)
Ah Malamar. Some hated it, some were loyal to it. I was more of the latter to be fair only because I jumped on the Malamar hype when it was released, mainly for it being in-sync with Ultra Necromza-GX but as it had two different typing, it was difficult to always get it working right. The psychic version on the other hand didn't have that issue.
It started out life and a deck with multiple attackers to deal with whatever the format had to give. I managed to win a local league with the a version that focused on Marshadow-GX copying a few other basics to do big damage with it's Fighting type. And then Lost Thunder happened where the deck became a spread deck with Giratina and Spell Tag making it one of the most feared decks to play against once it's fully set up. I did play both of them but I always preferred the one where Ultra Necrozma-GX was either the attacker of choice or the finisher.
 |
| 1st at Brick's Play Local League (Nov 4 2018) - SUM to CES |
#19 Turbo Zacian V
Game Records
IRL: 0-0-0
Online Tourney: 21-15-2
PTCGO Ladder: 58-41 (58.59% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 2
Top 8s: 2
Achievements:
- 2nd at JGB RCL Mini 32 [Combo Version]
- 4th at Mew Squad Tourney #9 [Sword Version]
Zacian V is one of the best cards ever printed, there's a good reason why I've got three Zacian decks on here. But this one is one where I actually enjoy playing more than the other two. LMZ didn't suit my style and ADPZ is ADPZ, it's a great deck but just not my favourite. Turbo Zacian on the other hand was fun to play.
Be it the Combo version with Mr Mime and Jirachi Prism in the first half of 2020 or the brand new Rusted Sword version that I just managed to get a Top 4 finish at the Mew Squad this past week. Zacian V will always find a way to be good, whether it has a partner or by itself and I'll likely keep trying it out until it rotates.
 |
| 4th at Mew Squad Tourney #9 - TEU to SHF |
#18 Zoroark-GX/Lycanroc-GX
Game Records
IRL: 15-12-0
Online Tourney: 0-0-0
PTCGO Ladder: 85-53 (61.87% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 1
Top 4s: 4
Top 8s: 7
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Achievements:
- 1st at Qishan Local League (Mar 30 2018)
- 6th at SG Local League (Nov 14 2018)
Yes, this deck was amazing, it proved it's worth in so many different formats and can be classified as one of the best decks of the past few years. But it just wasn't a deck I really enjoyed playing. Of the Zoroark-GX decks, there were just a few I enjoyed even more than this. But I will say this, everytime I played the deck, it did get me a top 8 finish at the very least. I do wished I played this deck a bit more and fully understood how it worked. I was just in this period where I was anti-Zoroark, always playing things that should beat it like Zygarde or Vikabulu.
 |
| 6th at SG Local League (Nov 14 2018) - SUM to CES |
#17 Eternatus VMAX
Game Records
IRL: 0-0-0
Online Tourney: 85-58-7
PTCGO Ladder: 150-103 (59.29% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Online:
Wins: 1
Top 4s: 1
Top 8s: 4
Achievements:
- 1st at Atlas DAA Mini 11 [Poison Version]
This deck is good, there's no doubt about it. Eternatus VMAX will be a force to be reckoned with till the day it rotates. It's just not my favourite deck but I cannot deny how good it is. I will say it's a bit silly how easy it is to work since it only needs two energy to hit 270 and you'll easily fill that bench up anyway. Want prove of how easy this deck truly can be? In my first tournament playing the Poison variant, I won the whole thing (Atlas DAA Mini 11). That usually never happens.
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| 1st at Atlas DAA Mini 11 - TEU to DAA |
#16 Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX/Zacian V
Game Records
IRL: 15-9-2
Online Tourney: 114-83-6
PTCGO Ladder: 239-136 (63.73% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 1
Top 8s: 3
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 2
Top 8s: 5
Achievements:
- 2nd at Sunday Open (Feb 7 2021)
- 2nd at PokeX Season 2 Tag Bolt 6 (Aug 15 2020)
- 7th at EXT League Challenge (Feb 28 2020)
- 36th at OCIC League Cup (Feb 22 2020)
You all know this deck. Most of you hate it. And since I do own a few ADP-GX, of course I had to play it. I wouldn't say it's my favourite but it's a fail safe for sure, if I'm not sure what to play, this is it. I only started playing it since Zacian was released and it made that combo broken. The deck was so good I even considered playing it for the Oceania Internationals and I haven't even tested it much! The deck will continue to be stupid good as long as ADP is legal.
But I will say this, this is still one of the best decks I've not gotten a win with yet, be it IRL or Online. I came close to it twice, once in my first event of the new short-lived UPR-DAA format and then the Sunday Open just recently, losing to my good friend Thomas Brophy in the finals as well!
 |
| 2nd at Sunday Open - TEU to VIV |
#15 Mewtwo & Mew-GX/Welder Toolbox
Game Records
IRL: 8-8-1
Online Tourney: 43-39-0
PTCGO Ladder: 165-102 (61.80% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 2
Top 8s: 4
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 3
Achievements:
- 5th at Pokebar League Challenge (Dec 14 2019)
- 7th at Atlas DAA Mini 12
Mewtwo & Mew-GX has always been a good deck and I always preferred the Welder variant but for whatever reasons, the deck just never clicked with me. No matter how many times I tried, I just couldn't make it work or do well with it. I was on the Mew3 train leading up to my very first Regional over in Kuala Lumpur but a few more bad games practising with it just turned me off. I've had some decent result with it but yeah, it's that one deck that I just can't figure out for some reason.
 |
| 5th at Pokebar League Challenge - UPR to CEC |
#14 Pikachu & Zekrom-GX
Game Records
IRL: 20-14-1
Online Tourney: 68-58-2
PTCGO Ladder: 209-92 (69.44% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 1
Top 4s: 5
Top 8s: 8
Online:
Wins: 2
Top 4s: 2
Top 8s: 3
Achievements:
- 1st at Brick's Play Local League (Mar 17 2019)
- 1st at PokeX Season 1 Tag Bolt 5 (May 9 2020)
PikaRom has and will always be a good deck, there's no denying it. We all knew that would be the case when it first came out and even after it loss the likes of Electropower and Thunder Mountain, it still found a way to come back. I did use to enjoy playing the deck, that I can't lie. It used to be really fun. But then again, PikaRom is also partly the reason the game is in the state it is in now so even though my results have been better than other decks, I don't really have that attachment to it as I do for a few others.
That's no longer the case, PikaRom doesn't give that same enjoyment to me anymore. All you want to do is get that PikaRom or in the newer cases, Boltund, up running quickly to start filling your board up with energy. Sounded like a deck for me since I like my energy acceleration style decks! I mean I knew it was good since I played it for the last two Limitless Qualifiers when we first went into Lockdown, and could have made Day 2 both times if things had gone my way.
 |
| 1st at PokeX Season 1 Tag Bolt 5 - UPR to RCL |
#13 Metagross-GX
Game Records
IRL: 16-11-2
Online Tourney: 0-0-0
PTCGO Ladder: 270-201 (57.32% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 1
Top 4s: 4
Top 8s: 5
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Achievements:
- 1st at Qishan Local League (Oct 27 2017)
I will always look back fondly on Metagross-GX. It is probably the first good deck I ever played in a Standard format where it suited that format unlike Yveltal-EX a few months earlier. The deck had everything I liked. Energy acceleration? That's a big win for me. Stage 2? I do like them. A combination that works well and sync with the deck, love those!
I would work with the deck for many months, even adding in interesting techs like Zoroark-GX, Necrozma-GX, Mewtwo-GX and even Ultra Necrozma-GX. My lists may never have been good since I could only play with what I was able to afford at that time but it did give me my first win at a local league. Even though my stats may have it at just 1, I can say it's actually 3 since the previous two were never recorded in my stats stuff.
 |
| 1st at Qishan Local League (Oct 27 2017) - BKT to SHL |
#12 Zapdos TEU
Game Records
IRL: 11-4-0
Online Tourney: 6-1-0
PTCGO Ladder: 44-12 (78.57% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 2
Top 4s: 4
Top 8s: 4
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 1
Achievements:
- 1st at EXT Local League (Feb 19 2019)
- 1st at SG Local League (Apr 24 2019)
- 7th at Pokebeach April Monthly 2019
I don't know why I never played this deck more. For the TEU format, it was extremly good and I enjoyed playing it with the Jolteon-GX version. And for whatever reason I never played the Ultra Beasts version. The deck was great but it's power just went away the more Tag Teams showed and it became unplayable when VMAXes showed up.
In the five events I played it, I managed to get top 4 in four of them and even winning two local leagues and making top cut for the PokeBeach April Monthly tourney. Deck is amazing so it's high up on my rank for a reason. Same can be said for the next deck.
 |
| 7th at Pokebeach April Monthly 2019 & 1st at SG League (Apr 24 2019) - SUM to TEU |
#11 Zoroark-GX/Lucario-GX
Game Records
IRL: 8-1-0
Online Tourney: 0-0-0
PTCGO Ladder: 75-42 (64.10% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 2
Top 4s: 3
Top 8s: 3
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Achievements:
- 1st at Project EXT Local League (Apr 13 2018)
- 1st at Project EXT Local League (Jun 15 2018)
Why did I not play this deck more? I've only played this deck in 3 local leagues and my records were 3-0, 3-0 and 2-1. Yup, only one loss in 3 events with this deck. This might be my favourite version of old the Zoroark-GX decks I played even though I didn't play much of it.
Lucario just worked so well with Zoroark especially with Acerola and Strong Energy to help buff up the damage. The deck was just too good, especially when you could use Kukui, Dianice, Strong Enegy and Choice Band for some big KOs. And even though Lucario's attack is a one time thing, it's not that difficult to do it again. Heck, even the GX is stupid good when your opponents are not playing well.
 |
| 1st at Project EXT Local League (Apr 13 2018) - BKT - UPR |
#10 Gardevoir-GX
Game Records
IRL: 17-15-1
Online Tourney: 0-0-0
PTCGO Ladder: 99-48 (67.35% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 1
Top 4s: 3
Top 8s: 5
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Achievements:
- 1st at SG Local League (Dec 5 2018)
- 3rd at Qishan Local League (Oct 13 2017)
Gardevoir-GX was the big hype deck coming out of Burning Shadows and during this time, I was trying to stay away from playing all these hype decks, I just wanted to learn the game and when I was ready, I would go for it. But I kept pulling Gardevoir-GX in pre-releases so I caved in.
And thank god I did, Gardevoir-GX ended up becoming one of my favourite decks during the time it was legal. Be it with Sylveon-GX, Zoroark-GX or Ninetales-GX, the deck was just so good. One of my favourite Stage 2 GX decks of all time. The other?...
 |
| 3rd at Qishan Local League - BKT to BUS |
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| 1st at SG Local League (Dec 5 2018) - SUM to LOT |
#9 Zoroark-GX/Decidueye-GX
Game Records
IRL: 23-7-1
Online Tourney: 0-4-0
PTCGO Ladder: 59-39 (60.20% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 1
Top 4s: 6
Top 8s: 10
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Achievements:
- 1st at Brick's Play Local League (Dec 16 2018)
- 4th at Singapore Invitational Autumn 2018 (Dec 22 2018)
My other favourite Stage 2 GX deck was Decidueye-GX. I knew right away when I saw the free snipe, I had to give it a try. Sadly it was too expensive so I only got it when Zoroark-GX came out so I could try out with Decidueye-GX with it. It worked alright. And then Alolan Ninetales-GX (Fairy) came out in Lost Thunder and I knew there could be something there and sure enough, Clifton ended up getting Top 4 with the deck at LAIC.
So of course I would take on his list, put my spin on it and ended up doing well with it, winning a local league and finishing Top 4 in the Pro Circuit Invitational. This deck was just so much fun as Decidueye and Ninetales were able to snipe of the little guys but also help Zoroark-GX get some big hits when it was set-up. Easily my favourite version of Zoroark-GX to play and it didn't even use the traditional 4-4 line. This is one of the few decks that has won me some money playing the game too!
 |
| 4th at Singapore Invitational Autumn 2018 (Dec 22 2018) - SUM to LOT |
#8 Vikavolt/Tapu Bulu-GX
Game Records
IRL: 43-33-2
Online Tourney: 0-0-0
PTCGO Ladder: 125-85 (59.52% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 3
Top 4s: 15
Top 8s: 21
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Achievements:
- 1st at EXT Local League (Jan 20 2018)
- 1st at EXT Local League (Mar 4 2018)
- 1st at EXT Local League (Dec 23 2018)
- 7th at EXT League Challenge (Dec 1 2018)
Some loved playing it, others hated playing against it. But as you know by now, I love my energy accelerating decks so when I saw how well VikaBulu was doing, I knew I had to try it out. And it just worked so well for me. It took me a while to get the cards but once I did, I didn't look back.
I never did well in official events but every other event, it worked extremely well. Be it the version with Octillery, lots of ball search and Lillie or classic Bridgette start, once you set the Vikavolt up, you're knocking everything else down with Tapu Bulu-GX. One of my favourite decks for sure during the 2017 and 2018.
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| 1st Place - EXT Local League (Jan 20 2018) - BKT to CRI |
#7 Volcanion-EX
Game Records
IRL: 10-5-0
Online Tourney: 3-4-0
PTCGO Ladder: 287-222 (56.39% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 1
Top 4s: 5
Top 8s: 5
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Achievements:
- 1st at EXT Local League (July 20 2018)
I loved playing this deck. Even though I only have 5 events recorded on my stats, I did play the deck in the 2017 season when I didn't record my results so every result you see on here are all from the end of the 2017-2018 format where Volcanion was just stupidly good, beating the likes of Zoroark-GX, Vikabulu and Buzzwole-GX.
Steam Up was such a good ability, I really wished I could have used this with cards like ReshiZard-GX, Centiskorch VMAX, Blacephalon-GX or Charizard TEU. Also using it gave baby Volcanion some huge damage while setting up your Volcanion-EX. This deck was just awesome. How awesome? I got top 4 results in all 5 events I took part in during the end of the 2017-2018 format.
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| ?? Qishan League (Jun 2017) - PRC to GRI |
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| 1st at EXT Local League (July 20 2018) - BKT to FLI |
#6 Dragapult VMAX
Game Records
IRL: 0-0-0
Online Tourney: 132-83-8
PTCGO Ladder: 205-80 (71.93% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Online:
Wins: 3
Top 4s: 14
Top 8s: 17
Achievements:
- 1st at Hegster S1 Top Deck 26
- 1st at JGB RCL Mini 30
- 1st at Yoshi Cup #13 (Aug 21 2020)
It's sad that I may never get to play this deck in IRL mainly because Eternatus VMAX is now a thing. But before it showed up, this deck became my favourite deck in standard because it made me think twice and thrice about my moves and decisions, I really enjoyed playing it. Too bad Eternatus showed up and now Dragapult has to depend on bad cards to stay relevant.
The spread just gave you so many options on how you'd want to take your prizes. And I had my own spin to Dragapult VMAX by having Nihilego to clean people up if they decide to take early KOs. Dragapult also gave me my first Online win ever since we moved to online tourneys in the middle of 2020.
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| 1st at Hegster S1 Top Deck 26 - UPR to RCL |
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| 1st at Yoshi Cup #13 (Aug 21 2020) - UPR to DAA |
#5 Malamar/Ultra Necrozma-GX
Game Records
IRL: 62-53-3
Online Tourney: 5-2-0
PTCGO Ladder: 205-76 (72.95% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 2
Top 4s: 8
Top 8s: 15
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Achievements:
- 26th at Singapore SPE 2018
- 6th at EXT League Cup (Jan 12 2020)
- 1st at EXT Local League (Jun 3 2018)
- 1st at Metagame Local League (Sep 6 2018)
The moment I saw Ultra Necrozma-GX and Malamar, I knew I had to play. The combo was just too good for me not to try it. Charge the energies up and hit all kinds of damage with Ultra Necrozma-GX? That's a big yes for me. I mean I love energy accelerating decks after all. And this deck got me one of my first big results, finishing 26th at the 2018 Singapore SPE at 4/3/0, which was huge for a newbie like me to be that high up.
But the best part about Ultra Necrozma/Malamar is that it wasn't just a good one-hit KO deck, it was also a good spread deck. So this was the perfect deck for me. Energy acceleration, one hit KOs and even spread damage, my three favourite ways to play the game. Along with the likes of Giratina, Spell Tag, Jynx and Mew, you could find yourself in a position to win the game of Ultra Necrozma's Sky Scorching Light GX, one of my favourite GX moves of all time. My last top cut finish in a League Cup was also the last time I played Malamar in any event.
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| 26th at Singapore SPE 2018 (9th Jun 2018) - BKT to FLI |
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| 6th at EXT League Cup (Jan 12 2020) - UPR to SWSH |
#4 Zygarde-GX/Lycanroc-GX
Game Records
IRL: 45-21-0
Online Tourney: 8-5-1
PTCGO Ladder: 134-60 (69.07% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 3
Top 4s: 9
Top 8s: 17
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 1
Top 8s: 1
Achievements:
- 7th at Metagame League Challenge (Sep 22 2018)
- 2nd at Pokebeach Monthly September 2018
- 1st at EXT Local League (Jul 13 2018)
- 1st at EXT Local League (Aug 4 2018)
- 1st at Bricks Play Local League (Oct 7 2018)
Yes, the famous Zygarde-GX/Lycanroc-GX deck that everyone fell in love with at Worlds 2018. But the thing is, those of us in Singapore already knew about it and knew how good it was. My friend Rauf build the initial list, gave it to 4 of us who played at our local store. I was one of the first victims of Zygarde-GX. And of course, one of our locals ended up doing extremely well with the deck, you might have heard of him before, his name is Klive. I won two of our local leagues with almost the same list Klive used to do well in a few SPEs leading up to Worlds.
Then I went to Japan for a holiday break as the rotation hit and while in Japan, I came up with a list for the new rotation and entered it into the Spetember PokeBeach Monthly. This was gonna be an interesting tourney since everyone had to go in with completely new decks and that all unproven. So it gave me a lot of confidence to make a big run in the tournament to make it into the finals, which hopefully proves that I can make a good deck list.
I had the idea of replacing Strong Energy with Kukui and since I'm drawing cards, I thought I should make full use of Magcargo's Smooth Over ability and it worked out nicely in the end. I used the very same list to get me my first Championship Points at a League Challenge later in the month.
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| 1st at EXT Local League (Jul 13 2018) - BKT to FLI |
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| 2nd at Pokebeach Monthly September 2018 and 7th at Metagame League Challenge (Sep 22 2018) - SUM to CES |
#3 Charizard TEU
Game Records
IRL: 70-43-5
Online Tourney: 11-10-0
PTCGO Ladder: 193-56 (77.51% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 5
Top 4s: 17
Top 8s: 23
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 1
Top 8s: 1
Achievements:
- 1st at EXT Local League (Feb 12 2019)
- 1st at SG Local League (Feb 13 2019)
- 1st at EXT Local League (Mar 29 2019)
- 1st at Next Gen Local League (Nov 9 2019)
- 1st at Next Gen Local League (Nov 30 2019)
- 3rd at Singapore SPE League Challenge (Dec 8 2019)
- 3rd at Singapore Invitational Autumn 2019 (Nov 23 2019)
- 8th at Singapore Invitational Winter 2018 (Apr 5 2019)
- 161st at Kuala Lumpur Regional (Dec 21 2019)
Surprised? The moment I saw this Charizard was released, I was determined to make this Charizard deck work, it was easily the best Charizard card I've ever seen. 5 wins later and I'd like to think I did prove that it was good and it wasn't all in one format, it was in two different formats as well, just to prove how underrated the deck was. And this deck has won me $160 from my Top 8 finishes in the invitational and I also scored some CP with it at a League Challenge during an SPE weekend.
The deck's main strategy was to just smack the big two prizes for all kinds of damage, mainly Zoroark-GX during that time but also the likes of Buzzwole-GX, Zygarde-GX and Blacephalon-GX. Yes it's a Stage 2 deck so of course the main issue was setting the deck up but once it did, it was a monster.
And hey, I finally got to use Charmander in a good deck! I'm just glad that I could make a Stage 2 deck work in a Two Prizer format and also in a Three Prizer format. I'll share two lists, one from the SUM-TEU format and then the UPR-CEC format.
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| 8th at Singapore Invitational Winter 2018 (Apr 5 2019) |
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| 3rd at Singapore Invitational Autumn 2019 (Nov 23 2019) |
#2 Centiskorch VMAX
Game Records
IRL: 0-0-0
Online Tourney: 634-346-34
PTCGO Ladder: 794-416 (65.62% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 0
Top 8s: 0
Online:
Wins: 7
Top 4s: 28
Top 8s: 40
Achievements:
- 1st at Yoshi Cup #12 (Aug 19 2020)
- 1st at Limitless Test Tourney #1 (Sep 14 2020)
- 1st at Sunday Open (Sep 14 2020)
- 1st at Hegster S2 Top Deck 12 (Sep 22 2020)
- 1st at PokeX S3 Online Challenge #4 (Nov 14 2020)
- 1st at Hegster S3 Top Deck 16 (Dec 22 2020)
- 1st at Coffee Cup S2 #1 (Jan 10 2021)
It really does sadden me that I may never get to play this deck in a live official Pokemon event because as my results online have proved, this may be one of the best decks I've ever played. And it's not fluke as well as I've been able to get wins with Centiskorch VMAX in 2 different formats. Just imagine if I was able to bring this deck to an overseas SPE or Regional. Makes me wonder if I could truly prove myself with the deck, having learnt the ins and outs of it since August.
Centiskorch VMAX is a monster that keeps doing more damage and keeps accelerating more energies to itself which I thought made it really appealing to test out when I first saw it. With my ReshiZard Fire Box deck no longer able to keep up with VMAXes, this was the natural replacement and it's worked out well brilliant. Winning the Yoshi Cup just before POG 2020 just calmed my doubts on whether the deck is good or not.
Then winning the Sunday Open in September was vindication, it was my first big online win as there were 140 players in it. Barely 2 weeks later winning Hegster S2 TD12 with 160 players in there, I'd like to think that win put Centiskorch on the map and also put me on the map as potentially a good player. As long as Welder is still legal, I'll keep repping the Skorch Gang. And for this one, I have to share three different lists just to show how the deck has been evolving over the months I've been playing it and working on it with Thomas Brophy and a few others.
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| 1st at Yoshi Cup #12 (Aug 19 2020) - UPR to DAA |
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| 1st at Sunday Open (Sep 14 2020) - TEU to DAA |
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| 2nd at Hegster S3 Top Deck 27 (Feb 8 2021) - TEU to VIV and 1st at E&D's S3 Qualifier 5 (Mar 1 2021) - TEU to SHF |
#1 Reshiram & Charizard-GX
Game Records
IRL: 134-84-19
Online Tourney: 63-38-4
PTCGO Ladder: 240-103 (69.97% Win Rate)
Tournament Results:
IRL:
Wins: 8
Top 4s: 29
Top 8s: 38
Online:
Wins: 0
Top 4s: 2
Top 8s: 7
Achievements:
- 8th at Singapore SPE (May 25 2019)
- 1st at Pokebar League Challenge (Aug 24 2019)
- 1st at Singapore Invitational Summer 2019 (Aug 25 2019)
- 1st at Pokebar Local League (Sep 3 2019)
- 1st at Agora Hobby Local League (Sep 5 2019)
- 1st at SG Local League (Sep 11 2019)
- 1st at Pokebar Local League (Sep 14 2019)
- 1st at SG Local League (Oct 9 2019)
- 1st at SG Local League (Feb 12 2020)
- 2nd at Pokebeach Monthly June 2019
- 3rd at EXT League Cup (Oct 12 2019)
- 3rd at EXT League Challenge (Jul 28 2019)
- 4th at Pokebar League Challenge (Mar 7 2020)
- 9th at OCIC League Challenge (Feb 23 2020)
It had to be this deck in #1 spot. This deck got made me known to a few others. This deck gave me my best result in Pokemon TCG so far (8th in Singapore SPE), my first and likely only League Challenge win, a Singapore Pro Circuit Invitational win +$300, and a Top 4 finish at a League Cup, still my best result in that area. 6 wins in local leagues is also the most for me with any decks. ReshiZard will have a special spot in my heart when it comes to Pokemon TCG. Be it IRL or Online, I managed to do well with the decks in different formats too.
Reshiram & Charizard-GX may be the face of the deck but it's a deck with a lot of moving pieces and lots of helpful support Pokemon that have all done their jobs, be it Arcanine helping to set up ReshiZards in the first iteration of the deck, Miltank making ReshiZard tankier in that version, Ninetales to help gust up, Victini Prism to finish others off and a whole host of back up attackers. I really enjoyed playing the deck in all of it's different versions not named Green's because it gave me so many different options on how I wanted to approach my games and that's when the game gets fun when your opponent can't necessaarily tell what you'll do.
I'll share 4 different lists on here. The first was the 2019 Singapore SPE list I got Top 8 with, Rukan Shao shared with me the initial list and was super helpful letting me know a few stuff I needed to take notes off. The second was the list that got me a 2nd place finish in the last PokeBeach Monthly tournament and also a Top 4 finish at a League Challenge, major props to my friend Luke Morsa for the list as he came up with the Arcanine version and I really enjoyed playing that.
The third is the famous TurboZard list made famous by Tord Reklev which he got 4th at Worlds 2019 that got me two big wins in two days, my first League Challenge win and also winning a Singapore Pro Circuit Invitational. And finally, still the famous TurboZard list but with my own alterations that got me a Top 4 finish at a League Cup, losing to Clifton.
And of course finally, for my first International Championships, I had to bring TurboZard with me, it was the deck I was most comfortable and confident with. Sadly I only finished with a 3/4/2 score but at least most of my losses were all close games, three of which where I didn't win only because I missed either a Fire, a Pokemon I needed or a Welder to win the game. I did at least get 9th in the most stacked League Challenge of all time two days later, just missing points by the smallest of margins, and also getting a round win against the defending World Champion as well which I never expected.
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| 8th at Singapore SPE (May 25 2019) - SUM to UNB |
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| 3rd at EXT League Challenge (Jul 28 2019) - SUM to UNB 2nd at Pokebeach Monthly June 2019 - SUM to UNB |
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| 1st at Pokebar League Challenge (Aug 24 2019) - UPR to UNM 1st at Singapore Invitational Summer 2019 (Aug 25 2019) - UPR to UNM |
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| 3rd at EXT League Cup (Oct 12 2019) 1st at SG Local League (Oct 9 2019) |
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| 1st at SG Local League (Feb 12 2020) - UPR to SWSH 253rd at Oceania International Championships (Feb 21 2020) - UPR to SWSH |
Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed seeing all these older lists and maybe for some, taking a trip down to memory lane when the game was way more fun than it is at the current times. And I'll leave you with some stats since I'm a stats guy after all.
PTCGO Win Rate
- Zapdos TEU - 78.57%
- Charizard TEU - 77.51%
- Malamar/Ultra Necrozma-GX - 72.95%
- Dragapult VMAX - 71.93%
- Malamar/Psychic Toolbox - 71.74%
- Reshiram & Charizard-GX - 69.97%
- Pikachu & Zekrom-GX - 69.44%
- Zygarde-GX/Lycanroc-GX - 69.00%
- Blacephalon UNB - 68%
- Gardevoir-GX - 67.35%
IRL/Online Win Rate
- Zoroark-GX/Lucario-GX - 88.89%
- Zoroark-GX/Decidueye-GX - 74.19%
- Zapdos TEU - 73.33%
- Volcanion-EX - 66.67%
- Zygarde-GX/Lycanroc-GX - 64.86%
- Centiskorch VMAX - 62.52%
- Dragapult VMAX - 59.19%
- Reshiram & Charizard-GX - 58.27%
- Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX/Zacian V - 56.92%
- Eternatus VMAX - 56.67%
IRL/Online Top 8 Finishes
- Reshiram & Charizard-GX - 45 Top 8s
- Centiskorch VMAX - 40 Top 8s
- Charizard TEU - 24 Top 8s
- Vikavolt/Tapu Bulu-GX - 21 Top 8s
- Zygarde-GX/Lycanroc-GX - 18 Top 8s
- Dragapult VMAX - 17 Top 8s
- Malamar/Ultra Necrozma-GX - 15 Top 8s
- Pikachu & Zekrom-GX - 11 Top 8s
- Zoroark-GX/Decidueye-GX - 10 Top 8s
- Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX/Zacian V - 8 Top 8s
IRL/Online Top 4 Finishes
- Reshiram & Charizard-GX - 31 Top 4s
- Centiskorch VMAX - 28 Top 4s
- Charizard TEU - 18 Top 4s
- Vikavolt/Tapu Bulu-GX - 15 Top 4s
- Dragapult VMAX - 14 Top 4s
- Zygarde-GX/Lycanroc-GX - 10 Top 4s
- Malamar/Ultra Necrozma-GX - 8 Top 4s
- Pikachu & Zekrom-GX - 7 Top 4s
- Zoroark-GX/Decidueye-GX - 6 Top 4s
- Volcanion-EX - 5 Top 4s
IRL/Online Tournament Wins
- Reshiram & Charizard-GX - 8 wins
- Centiskorch VMAX - 7 wins
- Charizard TEU - 5 wins
- Vikavolt/Tapu Bulu-GX - 3 wins
- Zygarde-GX/Lycanroc-GX - 3 wins
- Dragapult VMAX - 3 wins
- Pikachu & Zekrom-GX - 3 wins
- Zoroark-GX/Lucario-GX - 2 wins
- Malamar/Ultra Necrozma-GX - 2 wins
- Zapdos TEU - 2 wins
