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Torkoal
(Sun & Moon, 23/149) burns its way into the meta
from the Sun & Moon expansion set last February.
I bet many of you had forgotten that he came from
SUM.
I bet you simply passed by him and said, “Meh.”
I don’t think I’ve ever played a match against
Torkoal, and many of us have overlooked him.
Overlook him no longer.
With the addition of
Victini (Guardians Rising, 10/145),
Torkoal is for real.
I went 13-7 with this deck:
##Pokémon - 9
* 4 Torkoal SUM 23
* 2 Victini GRI 10
* 3 Volcanion-EX STS 115
##Trainer Cards - 36
* 3 Professor Sycamore STS 114
* 2 Lysandre FLF 104
* 4 Lillie SUM 147
* 2 Escape Rope PRC 127
* 1 Super Rod BKT 149
* 2 Olympia GEN 66
* 1 Professor Sycamore BKP 107
* 1 Switch SUM 160
* 2 Fisherman BKT 136
* 4 Random Receiver FAC 109
* 4 Nest Ball SUM 158
* 4 Max Elixir BKP 102
* 4 VS Seeker ROS 110
* 2 Field Blower GRI 125
##Energy - 15
* 15 Fire Energy EVO 92
Lillie
pulled 57 cards in 12 plays for an average of almost 5
cards a play.
My biggest complaints in my notes: I lacked draw
support twice and wished I had another Leaf Blower
twice. The
most impressive decks I beat:
Decidueye GX (Sun
& Moon, 12/149)
Tauros GX (Sun & Moon, 144/149),
Solgaleo GX (Sun & Moon, 143/149)
Tauros GX,
Garbodor (Guardians Rising, 51/145)
Toxapex GX (Guardians Rising, 136/145),
and Volcanion
EX Turtonator GX (Guardians Rising, 131/145).
The deck’s success does depend
on coin flips, and sometimes you get unlucky.
Also, if a paralyzed card evolves, it removes the
paralysis from Body Slam. And, if your
opponent techs in a number of switching cards other than
Float Stone (Breakthrough, 137/162), that will make it
difficult for you as well.
I did not attack frequently with
Volcanion EX,
but I used Steam
Up quite liberally.
Body Slam hits pretty hard when you
Steam Up a couple of times
and leave your opponent paralyzed.
I used my
VS Seekers for
Fisherman A LOT, more than I used them for
Lysandre.
Rating
Standard: 3.5 out of 5
Conclusion
If you get enough heads,
Torkoal Victini
Volcanion EX can beat ANY deck.
I enjoyed playing this deck, and it surprised me
that I did so well with it.
I didn’t think this deck would do as well as it
did, but that paralysis can devastate your opponent.
They can’t beat you if they can’t attack.
It will troll your opponents, though, so it
shouldn’t surprise you if they give you the angry red
face on PTCGO.
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