Rogue Decks that Demand Respect

You may tire of hearing me say this, but I think we’re in one of the best possible metas we could ever have asked for in the final packs of B Series. The meta is diverse enough that many decks have had room to breathe, including a few unexpected builds. These under-the-radar cooks are few and far in between yet they show promise in an already developed meta, reminding us once again that our competitive scene isn’t fully “solved”. There are indeed many solid lists that have already proven themselves over this TRA season, yet it’s worth giving flowers to those that have stood tall amongst the usual crowd. Let’s take a look at six of these decks in this article!

Luxray

1. ×2Shinx
2. ×1Eevee
3. ×1Furfrou
4. ×1Luxray
5. ×1Luxray
6. ×1Oricorio
7. ×1Sylveon
8. ×2Poké Ball
9. ×2Professor's Research
10. ×2Rare Candy
11. ×2Volkner
12. ×1Copycat
13. ×1Giant Cape
14. ×1Hiking Trail
15. ×1Protective Poncho

See this deck on PocketMads

We’ve seen a few Luxray decks recently, using the new Team Rocket’s Electrode as the starter, however Shedy took a different approach, taking them to top 8 in Umbreon99’s Team Rocket’s Bash.

Shedy runs both the 120 damage snipe Luxray as well as the the newest Lux for closing out games and revenge kills. They also have two stall options with the yellow bird and the coin flip Furfrou. What’s most interesting to me is the single line of Sylveon, using either the poncho or giant cape to enable it.

Leafeon EX / Giratina

1. ×2Eevee
2. ×2Leafeon ex
3. ×1Giratina ex
4. ×1Indeedee ex
5. ×1Teal Mask Ogerpon ex
6. ×2Copycat
7. ×2Giant Cape
8. ×2Poké Ball
9. ×2Professor's Research
10. ×1Bounded Field
11. ×1Cyrus
12. ×1Peculiar Plaza
13. ×1Pokémon Center Lady
14. ×1Sabrina

See this deck on PocketMads

Going 6-1-2 and making it to top 16 in the same Umbreon99’s Team Rocket’s Bash, legendoery’s really cool cook shows us that paying attention to the PocketMads metagame tab matters, as it takes half of the top 8 most popular decks in the past seven days head on.

This deck was made to counter the strong hold that Dark and Fighting has over the top of the competitive scene, and the more I look at it the more I see that I like. Leafeon ex is a self starter that keeps things aggressive while also empowering your anti-condition powerhouse of Teal Mask Ogerpon ex. You only run Psychic energy, powering up Tina with its own ramp and manually attaching to it. Running psychic also gives you the ability to power up Indeedee ex for its underrated attack.

The kicker here is Bounded Field. This stadium can K.O. Mega Lucario with either Indeedee to Giratina, and equally pressures the most played dark pokemon. It can hold its own against other types, however what finally took it out of top cut is a Mega Charizard Entei - a strong counter to your grassy starter.

Fluttermane

1. ×2Flutter Mane ex
2. ×2Swablu
3. ×1Comfey
4. ×1Flutter Mane
5. ×1Mega Altaria ex
6. ×2Copycat
7. ×2Poké Ball
8. ×2Professor Sada
9. ×2Professor's Research
10. ×2Rainbow Cave
11. ×1Ancient Booster Energy Capsule
12. ×1Cyrus
13. ×1Sabrina

See this deck on PocketMads

Moateeez also made it to top cut, being defeated by the same Charizard player, using Flutter Mane ex!

Though there is a single Mega Altaria in this deck, I’d hardly call this an Altaria deck like the many we have currently available. Instead, they use Rainbow Cave and Professor Sada to power up Fluttermane EX (or the non-ex Flutter Mane used against Oricorio) and block the opponent from using the trainer cards necessary to play the game. Most decks in the upper tiers of play slot the fewest pokemon possible, relying on trainer cards to give them the edge they need. Preventing them from doing that for two turns is incredibly strong. Ending the game with Mega Altaria is a consistently strong finish in psychic.

Moateeez’s losses were against the aforementioned Char, but also a Zoroark ex deck with Team Rocket’s Weezing ex that doesn’t rely on trainers to get the job done, as well as a Mega Blaziken with Greninja that also made it to top cut.

Gardevoir

1. ×2Meloetta
2. ×2Ralts
3. ×1Gardevoir
4. ×1Kirlia
5. ×1Mega Diancie ex
6. ×1Mega Gardevoir ex
7. ×2Peculiar Plaza
8. ×2Poké Ball
9. ×2Professor's Research
10. ×1Copycat
11. ×1Cyrus
12. ×1Diantha
13. ×1May
14. ×1Protective Poncho
15. ×1Rare Candy

See this deck on PocketMads

Mega Gardevoir ex fans, rejoice! TheRico01 navigated The PokeBounty Showdown to top cut with the purple mega combo of M Gard and Mega Diancie ex.

This list uses a split of both the Mega and non-ex Gardevoir to make it rain purple energy. Diancee is your finisher, but we can’t underestimate an early M Gard. There are no fancy tricks in this list; we have everything we need to make this deck work and little more.

Pawmot

1. ×2Pawmi
2. ×2Pawmot
3. ×2Team Rocket’s Electrode
4. ×2Team Rocket’s Voltorb
5. ×1Oricorio
6. ×2Nemona
7. ×2Professor's Research
8. ×2Rare Candy
9. ×1Copycat
10. ×1Cyrus
11. ×1Field Blower
12. ×1Lisia
13. ×1Poké Ball

See this deck on PocketMads

Nsanity has been cooking with Pawmot this past week and has landed on a really fun and capable list. This build went 6-3-1 in the 230 player tourney, Umbreon99’s Manic Monday, all the way up to top 32.

I mentioned Monday how much I love Team Rocket’s Electrode and think it’s one of the best cards in the most recent set. Using it alongside the counterattack Pawmot means you have a single-pointer deck that keeps on dishing out damage. Nemona‘s +80 damage makes it even more capable, as it can take out an unaware Hoopa EX in a single shot.

Nsanity has mentioned in our discord how they are testing the Volt Wave Pawmot instead of the one above, however this is the list that took 28th in a major tournament. There’s a lot of promise here, so play with whichever version you’d prefer(or both!).

Mimikyu EX

1. ×2Carbink
2. ×2Mimikyu ex
3. ×1Comfey
4. ×1Flutter Mane
5. ×1Mega Diancie ex
6. ×2Peculiar Plaza
7. ×2Poké Ball
8. ×2Professor's Research
9. ×1Copycat
10. ×1Cyrus
11. ×1Dawn
12. ×1Field Blower
13. ×1Lucky Ice Pop
14. ×1May
15. ×1Protective Poncho

See this deck on PocketMads

This deck is so cool to me. 𝗙𝗚𝗥|| PaolettiJR piloted this build to top 8 in the Sauna’s X itz_Guri POG Tournament #26, which hosted 92 players, and ended with a 5-2-1 record.

PaolettiJR decided to use Carbink as its energy ramp for Mega Diancie and the others as opposed to the Gardevoir strategy above, however the key tech card in this deck is the under appreciated Dawn that can surprise opponents with a live mega on turn 2 or fully enable the two-energy attacks fin this list from scratch.

Mimikyu ex blocks a whole attack once, meaning you can put it in the active when the time is right to block the big hit from Mega Lucario or Mega Charizard, or stall for a turn as you get your own Mega online. The Poncho prevents Hoopa ex from triggering the ability early, while you pivot as necessary with double Plaza. This deck needs skill to run well, but I believe we have a great cook on our hands.

Conclusion

I love how the tournament scene is still continuing to innovate. Let me know on Discord which decks you believe haven’t gotten the attention they deserve, and I’ll see you Friday!