Core Cards
The entire purpose
behind single-Prize attackers is their efficiency and favorable Prize trade, so
ensuring steady attacks is key. To that end, I've kept my example deck somewhat
simple and straightforward. The most important cards are maxed out at four copies
each, including Spiritomb, Donphan, Cape of Toughness,
and Aurora Energy. To top it off, there are eight card-drawing
Supporters and nine search cards. All this deck needs to do is attach Energy and
attack every turn—nothing too complex!
The deck uses a
variety of support Pokémon: one copy each of Dedenne-GX,
Crobat V, and Eldegoss V, so each effect is typically available
once per game. The single copy of Crobat V is better than a second Dedenne-GX.
Players will commonly use both in the same turn while digging for the finishing
combo. Eldegoss V is great when you have an attacker ready and all you need is
a Boss's Orders. If a key Supporter is in your discard pile already, Eldegoss V
can also be an effective counter against Reset Stamp.
I've also included Oricorio-GX
to boost consistency. I like to wait until the first Donphan is Knocked Out to put
Oricorio-GX on the Bench, but if you're forced to play
it earlier, that's fine as well. Later in the game, the opponent will have to
choose between removing your attacker or Oricorio-GX, which will be useful
when closing out the game. Jynx accumulates damage on
Spiritomb quicker, and also pushes its damage closer to one-hit Knock Out range
immediately after one of Donphan's Earthquake attacks. Lastly, Mew
protects against any “sniper” decks like Decidueye or Inteleon V that can pick
off Spiritomb before it can attack.
General Strategy
One advantage to
this deck is that your general strategy is the same against any opponent: load
up a Donphan, accumulate damage on Spiritomb, and take Knock Outs when
possible. This'll involve using your search cards to prioritize Phanpy
and Donphan first, then Spiritomb if you have extra. It's extremely important
to use Earthquake for two reasons. First, it does damage. Simply put, missing any
opportunity to attack is a good way to lose games. Second, you miss out on putting
damage on Spiritomb. The additional 20 damage on each Spiritomb—and potentially
extra by moving some with Jynx—is game-changing. The reason I've lost good
matchups is because I failed to use Earthquake on the first few turns of the
game, meaning I fell too far behind and lost the Prize trade.
Your ideal setup
after the first turn is to have one or two Phanpy and at least one Spiritomb in
play. The second Phanpy is worth playing if the first is at risk of being
Knocked Out or you're facing a deck with a Weakness to Fighting types. As
stated previously, Phanpy is more important than Spiritomb initially—you might
miss out on some damage from Building Spite, but you'll be sorry if you miss
the Earthquake. Donphan is a strong attacker regardless, and you shouldn't feel
bad setting up a second one because it can Knock Out a Dedenne-GX
or Crobat V to finish the game.
If you're fortunate
enough to have two Spiritomb and a Jynx in play, you'll want to move damage
from one Spiritomb to the other—use the Building Spite Ability on both
Spiritomb and move damage with Jynx, so you end up with two damage counters on
one Spiritomb and none on the other. This is to maximize your damage output as
soon as possible. With three turns of Spiritomb's Building Spite Ability,
Jynx's Ominous Posture Ability, and an Earthquake from Donphan, you'll be at eight
damage counters—just short of the 280-damage threshold needed to Knock Out most
TAG TEAM Pokémon-GX. This is where the second Jynx comes in, as
you can move that final damage counter over. Note that Cape of Toughness is necessary
to reach this damage threshold, since it gives Spiritomb more HP to lose.
Speaking of Cape of
Toughness, one pesky card that severely hinders this deck's success is Tool Scrapper. If Tool Scrapper knocks off Cape of Toughness, it'll
also Knock Out a Spiritomb with more than five damage counters on it. It's
possible to play around this for most of the game, piling up the damage
counters on a single Spiritomb and keeping the others at five or less. However,
there may come a point where you have to gamble and place as many damage
counters as possible. In that case, just hope your opponent doesn't have Tool
Scrapper handy. To that end, this deck excels in tournaments with open deck
lists, since you'll know the contents of the opponent's deck and can play
around Tool Scrapper if necessary.
Other cards to
watch out for are Galarian Zigzagoon and Mew. Few decks
play these, but if you aren't paying attention, they can destroy your entire
setup in a single turn. With Scoop Up Net, the opponent
can ping for more than 10 damage with Headbutt Tantrum.
Donphan: Pest Control
Right now, nearly all
competitive decks play Dedenne-GX, Crobat V, or a combination of both.
Conveniently, both of them are weak to Fighting-type Pokémon! A single
Earthquake picks up a Knock Out on either Pokémon, which is especially useful
for taking easy Prize cards throughout the game. My usual route to victory is a
Knock Out on one of these Pokémon with Donphan, one on the opponent's main
attacker, and one on another Dedenne-GX or Crobat V with Spiritomb to close out the
game. This works effectively against decks with or without Pokémon VMAX,
because you still win the Prize trade. Barring any unexpected surprises, you'll
win the race if you can win in four to five attacks.
There isn't a rush
to take these easy Prizes, however. Assuming your opponent doesn't load the Bench
with Pokémon that are easy to pick off, you'll have to hit into their Active
attacker anyway. You might as well attack into their Active Pokémon at least one
time before they've prepared another attacker, saving your Boss's Orders
for later. Use your best judgment.
Tough Matchups
The thing to
remember is that if the opponent doesn't play Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX or Tool Scrapper, you
have an easy win on your hands, although that might be a lot to ask given the
popularity of both. If the opponent plays either card, then it'll be a bit
tougher of a match. Lucario & Melmetal-GX /
Zacian V can be tough as well, due to its heavy
defensiveness.
Against Arceus
& Dialga & Palkia-GX, your plan should be to outpace it. Your
usual clock of five attacks is now cut to three, and you lose immediately if
they take the first Knock Out. That's because Ultimate Ray powers up another
attacker, and nothing in your deck can survive an attack. There are two
situations in play: using Earthquake before or after Altered Creation-GX.
If you can use
Earthquake before your opponent uses Altered Creation-GX,
you should be in a comfortable position to win. You can Knock Out Arceus &
Dialga & Palkia-GX with Spiritomb the following turn, then
Knock Out a Dedenne-GX with Earthquake, and finally have a loaded
Spiritomb with enough damage to Knock Out Zacian V. As long as you didn't put two
Pokémon-GX on your Bench (you should avoid Benching any in this matchup), the game is yours. Any order of attacks will work as
long as you take the first Prize cards and don't run out of steam.
Now, if your
opponent uses Altered Creation-GX before you can use Earthquake, then the
game is dicey. You'll have to Knock Out two Benched Pokémon without ever
swinging into Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX. This means that if you
miss Boss's Orders or Great Catcher, the game is pretty much over right there. The
two copies of Great Catcher are nice, as the Item card allows you to use Professor's
Research and still have an out to win. If you're able to pull off the two
Earthquakes on support Pokémon, you should have enough damage on Spiritomb to
Knock Out Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX for your final Prize
cards.
I've already
explained the peskiness of Tool Scrapper, but the main matchup where it really
matters is Lucario & Melmetal-GX
/ Zacian V. Because of Metal
Goggles and Full Metal Wall-GX, Spiritomb needs nine damage counters on it
to Knock Out Zacian V. It isn't possible to go from five to nine in a single
turn, so you'll have to leave yourself vulnerable to Tool Scrapper for a turn—and
going for a Knock Out over two attacks doesn't work because of Mallow &
Lana. The best course of action is to lure your opponent into playing Tool
Scrapper early, or use Marnie if you suspect your
opponent is holding one.
Good Matchups
The good news is
that basically everything else is a great matchup. Tool Scrapper isn't a major
issue in other decks because you can play around it, or even lose a Spiritomb,
and still win the game. For example, against Centiskorch VMAX,
you can win by Knocking Out Volcanion with Donphan, attacking into Centiskorch
VMAX twice (one must be Spiritomb with six or more damage counters), and then
finishing the game with Earthquake on Dedenne-GX. Even if the opponent
has Tool Scrapper, they're only taking five Prize cards. Remember to make sure
only one of your Spiritomb has six or more damage counters.
Your matchups
against Eternatus VMAX and Pikachu & Zekrom-GX are very good because
of Fighting Weakness. Simply power up multiple Donphan and cruise to victory. Be
sure to establish one or two Spiritomb as well! For Pikachu & Zekrom-GX,
take easy Prizes on Boltund V and don't be afraid to hit
Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX for 240 damage. As long
as it doesn't have a Big Charm, you can always finish it off with Mew's
Psypower later.
Galarian Zigzagoon
is the only card to worry about in Eternatus VMAX decks, but you should never
be in danger—you need only three damage counters on Spiritomb to Knock Out an
Earthquake-damaged Eternatus VMAX, or six for Crobat V. The opponent would need
Dangerous Drill and multiple Galarian Zigzagoon to really
disrupt you.
Concluding Thoughts
Donphan/Spiritomb
is a strong combination that can effectively deal with the heavy hitters in the
Standard format. Its energy efficiency and Fighting type make it the perfect
choice. Be sure to try Donphan/Spiritomb at your next online event!
And be sure to check out Pokemon.co.uk/Strategy for more Pokémon Trading Card Game strategy and analysis.
Xander Pero
Xander Pero is a contributing writer for Pokemon.com. He was an avid fan until discovering sanctioned tournaments in 2009. He formerly traveled often for the Top 16 circuit, but now spends his time focusing on university, where he studies industrial engineering. You can find him at various tournaments, as well as on Twitter at @xanderpero.