Pokémon TCG Pocket - Frights of Fancy (ver. 5.0.0)

Описание: I have not made much progress in getting the cards I wanted out of the Fantastical Parade set, though to be fair, it hasn’t really been that long since the last Pokémon TCG Pocket video of mine. So here is something I’m using this Ranked season, one that doesn’t use any cards above 3 Diamond rarity, but they go together satisfyingly anyway.

It is a bit funny to me that they’re introducing Stadium cards into Pocket now though—the timing makes me think it’s due to demand. No doubt there will be more varied Stadium cards later to fulfill other strategies and archetypes, but for now, Psychic gets the first dibs on a Stadium for its type. (All types in the regular TCG has had at least one Stadium card specifically for it, including Colorless.)

POKÉMON (8)
2x Litwick (Fantastical Parade)
1x Lampent (Fantastical Parade)
2x Chandelure (Fantastical Parade)
1x Sableye (Mega Rising)
2x Meloetta (Fantastical Parade)

TRAINERS (12)
1x Copycat
1x Giovanni
2x Iono
2x May
2x Peculiar Plaza
2x Professor’s Research
2x Rare Candy

The set suggests you should pair Chandelure with Gourgeist, who has a similar attack requiring you to discard a card from your hand. But I went with Mega Rising Sableye instead, as it’s a Basic Pokémon and, while requiring more Energy than Gourgeist, takes up less deck space, allowing me more room for Supporters. I opted for just one Sableye (previous versions had 2) because Meloetta is your ideal starting Pokémon: her Ability, “Strange Singing,” lets you get a random Psychic Pokémon from your deck into your hand at the beginning of each turn; combined with May, it is likely you’ll find the Pokémon you want, even if it’s a one-of in the deck.

The reason why I wanted more room for Supporters is because of Chandelure’s attack, Past Friends, which deals a base 60 damage but goes up by 20 for each Supporter card in the discard pile. There are 8 Supporters in this deck for a total of a possible 220 damage, higher than most Mega Evolution Pokémon ex can reach, though you’ll rarely neither reach nor need that much damage in one hit.

Hence, the ideal plan here is to begin with Meloetta with Sableye and Litwick on the Bench. Once Sableye has enough Energy, use its Dirty Throw attack to deal nice damage and discard unneeded Supporter cards. Then, Chandelure can come in as the finisher, using Past Friends to score the remaining points. At 140 HP, it can withstand a hit from Mega Venusaur ex’s Critical Bloom, Mega Absol ex’s Darkness Claw (and increases damage from Past Friends), Mega Altaria ex’s Mega Harmony with a full Bench, Mega Gardevoir ex’s Fantasia Force, and Mega Kangaskhan ex’s Double-Punching Family. It does struggle against Hydreigon and its Hyper Ray attack, though, because of Weakness to Darkness.

You may notice this deck does not use Poké Ball or any gust cards (Cyrus, Sabrina, or Repel). Poké Ball is not needed because Meloetta and May get out the Basic Pokémon I need most of the time, and Chandelure would eventually deal so much damage to knock out anything in front of it, so they're unnecessary. Hence, except for Giovanni for a boost of extra damage (handy against opponents with 80 HP when Sableye is out or opponents whose HP is a multiple of 10 but not 20 when Chandelure is out), the Trainer scheme for this deck is based wholly around getting your board state the way you need it.

My opponent is using one of the top decks in the format right now, the aforementioned Mega Altaria ex. They use a variety of low HP Pokémon who can be drawn out through Lisia and fill up the Bench, powering up Mega Harmony to 130 damage. Sableye is able to apply pressure early on though, reducing its HP just enough to be knocked out through Past Friends. This variant was an unusual one though, mashed up with Gardevoir-Mewtwo, a deck from the app’s earliest days. This did promote me a stage though. (I don’t really care to advance further than Ultra Ball 1. I just do this for the Pack Hourglass rewards. I should've waited a little longer and recorded the one to get me to Ultra Ball 1, as that WAS a standard Mega Altaria ex deck, culminating in a Past Friends attack worth exactly 190 damage to knock out Mega Altaria ex in one hit.)

Of special note is that there is a variant seeing tournament use involving Fantastical Parade Meowth as Chandelure’s partner. Its Ability, “Carefree Steps,” prompts a coin flip upon taking damage, and if heads, the damage is prevented. While an interesting card, I do not trust relying on coin flips to prevent damage in a way that makes or breaks a match, and having tested Meowth, I have had a terrible track record of getting its Ability to actually work. I prefer Meloetta’s “Strange Singing” over Meowth’s “Carefree Steps.”