After slipping down to Great Ball due to inactivity, I grinded my way back to Master Ball with a standard meta deck. Now, with my rank secured, it's that time again: time to test my dragon "cooks" in the arena where the elite trainers gather. When I saw the release of Mantyke in the new expansion, my attention immediately went to one of my all-time favorite Dragon Pokémon.
So, I present to you: The Regular Garchomp deck!
...which, in the end, doesn't use Mantyke at all. Lol.
The Rocky Start
My initial build was an attempt to be clever. It ran only Fighting Energy, relying on Mantyke to ramp the necessary Water Energy, and paired this with a Sylveon ex as the drawing engine. While it could still scrape some wins, the deck was plagued by inconsistency. Sometimes you wouldn't find the evolution pieces or Rare Candy in time. More often, Mantyke would be a no-show during the crucial setup phase. Or worse, you'd have Mantyke but no Gible to start with.
The reliance on a single Pokémon for Water Energy was also a fatal flaw against decks like Guzzlord ex. If your few Mantykes were knocked out and Guzzlord's attack discarded your only Water Energy, the game was over. You were cooked.
In general, these early builds were prone to bad opening hands, with too many "wrong" Pokémon to have in the Active spot. This inconsistency led to more lost Rank Points than gains, and my 60%+ win rate quickly vanished.
(I even tried a version with two baby Pokémon—Mantyke for energy and Cleffa to find Pokémon. I don't have to explain why that was a bad idea, right?)
Ultimately, I realized that Regular Garchomp has to solve a stack of difficult problems:
- The Stage 2 Problem: Consistently getting a Garchomp and a Rare Candy in your hand on the same turn, especially when your opponent can disrupt your hand at any moment.
- The Energy Problem: Consistently generating both Fighting and Water energy as early as possible to enable Garchomp's attack.
- The Support Problem: Finding support Pokémon that don't become easy prize cards for your opponent.
It is really a stack of problem after problem. My first attempts tried to solve all these problems at once and, in doing so, created an even bigger mess of inconsistency lol.
Final Build
⟪The 'Light of Hope'⟫
So there I was, back in my Dragon-brewing cave, when a thought struck me "If trying to solve every problem at once creates more practical issues, why not focus on mastering just one and simply 'hope' the others resolve themselves?"
And so, from the ashes of those failed attempts, came this more consistent (I hope) version of Garchomp.
This build is designed to master the consistency of finding your key pieces, while hoping the energy generation solves itself along the way.
The Blueprint:
- A Leaner Pokémon Line: By running fewer Pokémon, our odds of drawing the cards we need are much higher. We use the "Find a Friend" Eevee to search for our key Pokémon early on. Evolving it into Sylveon ex lets us dig for crucial combo pieces, and Garchomp's own ability adds another layer of draw power. Soon enough, you're drawing like nobody's business.
- Choices of Offense and Defense: A smaller Pokémon count opens up deck space for powerful Supporters. In the offense department, Cynthia's is still a no-brainer, of course. While Garchomp's base 100 attack is decent, it mostly won't KO major threats easily.
- That's where Cyrus comes in, creating surprise checkmate scenarios for your opponent. For sustain, the deck includes two Giant Capes and one Lillie. The Cape is perfect in this 120-130 damage meta, pushing Garchomp inch a way out of KO range. Paired with Lillie, you can deny a point while healing 60 damage. This offers a small but often critical swing.
- Rich with Options: It feels overwhelming with options, but that's where its strength lies. Garchomp's ability is the heart of this deck. Most turns, you want to find Cynthia. With "Reckless Shearing," you can discard pieces you no longer need to dig for a better card. A second Eevee or Sylveon ex? Often not needed, into the discard it goes. Don't need Cyrus this turn? Trash him. After using this ability a few times, you'll fear hand disruption far less, as it also helps thin your deck for the late game.
- As for the Energy... I have nothing strategic to say here. We pray. We hope that the Fighting Energy appears right after the Water Energy. Luckily, Garchomp only needs one of each. So, once you've hoped hard enough, its attack becomes a relentless force.
⟪Piloting the Deck⟫
The strategy is straightforward in theory but demanding in practice. Your ideal board is one Sylveon ex and two Garchomps. A second Sylveon ex is highly situational (e.g., to protect from Sabrina or require more draw power), so the second copies of Eevee and Sylveon ex are prime fodder for "Reckless Shearing."
Ideally, you lead with Eevee. Then, take a look at the next generated energy. If it is the same type, in the early phase you can afford to attack with Eevee’s "Find a Friend" to help with your setup. Evolve into Sylveon ex to grab more pieces while you build your Gibles on the bench. Most games, you will have to sacrifice Sylveon ex to protect your Garchomps. With its solid HP, cheap retreat cost, and the deck's sustain options, you can often cling to life with 1 point remaining and turn the tide.
If you're forced to lead with Gible and don't see an immediate path to a Garchomp + Rare Candy combo and enable its attack, your priority should be retreating into Eevee to make it as fodder or do as above. You can afford to sacrifice one Gible, as a single Garchomp powered by Cynthia can catch many opponents off guard. However, this deck truly shines with two Garchomps on the board. You’ll find a harder fight using 1 Garchomp as it is your primary and only attacker.
This deck requires a high level of piloting; knowing when to switch when you don’t see the piece/energy needed, what can be a fodder, what card to discard, and how to manage your limited energy. But even the best trainers can fall victim to a bad energy brick.
Overall Deck Statistics:
- Power: ★★★★☆
The swing between 100 and 150 ATK is quite a scary threat to 140-150 Base HP meta.
- Consistency: ★★★☆☆
Can feel amazing, but is more prone to energy bricking than meta decks.
- Durability: ★★★☆☆
It's no tank, but the sustain options can create awkward situations for the opponent.
- Agility: ★★★★☆
A one-energy retreat cost is great, but you must be mindful of which energy you discard.
- Surprise MF-er: ★★★★★
Works surprisingly well against the new player base, who's oftenly unfamiliar with the Cynthia combo. Still, Cynthia being Cynthia really provides the shock value. It’s so satisfying. To catch someone off guard.
- Fun: ★★★★☆
Less fun when you're bricking, but landing a huge Cynthia combo and seeing the bottom of your deck faster than your opponent is quite a remedy.
- Edginess: ★★★★★
Of course.
The Verdict
In 30 Ranked Matches in Master Ball, I managed an 18-12 record (60% WR), climbing over 100+ Rank Points from a 1450 start to around 1550. It's a respectable achievement, but I think the deck isn't consistent enough to be a top-tier ladder climber. This one is for those who, like me, just want to have some fun with our favorite land-shark dragon.
Keep on cooking, Rogue lovers.
