Deck Viability Question:
Greetings.
With the coming rotation, F-cards being removed from Standard Format, I've been trying to centre decks around just G and H cards. I know that does handicap me somewhat, so please refrain from mentioning that lol.
WIth that said, I've built the following deck and would like peoples' thoughts on it:
(Exported from TCG Live, but I have the physical deck for play as well)
2 Terapagos ex SCR
2 Terapagos SSP
1 Pidgeot ex OBF
2 Hoothoot SCR
2 Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex TWM
2 Noctowl SCR
2 Pidgey MEW
2 Ultra Ball
2 Rare Candy
2 Jacq
2 Area Zero Underdepths
2 Buddy-Buddy Poffin
2 Counter Catcher
3 Iono
1 Professor Turo's Scenario
1 Drayton
1 Patrol Cap
1 Sparkling Crystal
3 Nest Ball
2 Bravery Charm
3 Arven
4 Boss's Orders
4 Basic Fighting
4 Basic Water
4 Basic Grass
4 Basic Electric
The core concern I had in mind while building it was Tera Char EX. I do feel like the number of pokemon is a bit low, but I have no idea what I'd switch out from the trainers as I do use all of them and feel they have their place to deal with specific annoying threats like Snorlax Stall or Wugtrio. The '1.0' version initially had T-Pikachu EX SSP but it's nearly impossible to get my hands on right now and removing it didn't affect the deck's flow. I haven't looked at adding PRE cards to it, as I have a PRE-centric deck that does play as well if not better than this Terapagos-centric one.
Thanks
Answers
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I can see where the deck is going; Terapagos to set up Terapagos ex and Cornerstone Ogerpon, with options to negate damage from Basic Pokémon and Pokémon with Abilities respectively.
I kind of feel like there's too much Energy in the deck. Instead of having 4 of each, maybe consider options that can help you search and/or recover them, like Earthen Vessel, Super Rod, or Night Stretcher. That way, you can find the right energy you need for any situation even after the initial setup with Terapagos. Even a Crispin may prove useful, as a one-of, and if you feel confident, you can even use Glass Trumpet for Terapagos ex specifically, especially if you have two on the Bench after discarding Energy with Vessel or Ultra Ball. Either way, the less Energy you have (even if to replace with search/recovery options), the more room for consistency your deck has.
Have you considered Fan Rotom for the deck? Or do you feel it's not versatile enough, since it can only get Hoothoot, Noctowl and Pidgey?
Hope these insights are helpful!
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On the energies: I run 4 of each to take full advantage of SSP Terapagos, and so I can 1-turn setup the core threats. I've tried with fewer and some retrieval options, but it felt too reactive; rather than having the space to predict opponent moves, I was too busy keeping things together. Stretcher and Super Rod are options I like but I think the cases where they'd be critical are already matches that I'm close to losing anyway and may not make a difference. Crispin I'll look into and test, maybe replace Drayton with it. Otherwise though, the deck does play consistently as-is so that is thankfully not a concern. Earthen Vessel is a very good suggestion though, just need to think of how best to fit it in.
Fan Rotom is a good card, and would be great if the deck was built around Unified Beatdown primarily or using support abilities. On the flip-side however, the way I play this is more defensive and bases things largely on how my opponent's first two turns go. It also adds another basic I just don't necessarily want as my first 'mon as SSP Terapagos can't be pulled out using it and I want that to pump energy onto the Tera EX cards I have by turn 3 at the latest. As long as I get
an energy, nest ball, Pidgey or Terapagos SSP, I'm in good condition. Anything else can be a bit sketch depending on turn order.
All in all the insights are helpful; I won't mark as answered just yet so the post gets more eyes on it.0
