Gengar Gang

Four more rules sit under the table:

• Search before the Candy. Play Dawn, Hilda, and Petrel first, then pick the Candy's target. The Zygarde loss spent its Candy on a Gengar ex one card before Hilda brought the Mega.
• One Mega on the board, never two. Concealment doesn't stack, so a second one is two more Prizes in the open for nothing.
• Grimsley's can't reach the hand. It only looks at the deck. Once both Megas are in hand, the only route left is a Gastly that has sat a turn plus a Rare Candy, so think twice before Hilda pulls a Mega that Grimsley's could have benched.
• Haunter is the safe step. When a Gastly is exposed and the Candy has no good target yet, Haunter takes it to 100 HP, stays one Prize, and becomes Gengar ex next turn without a Candy.

Rule

Why

Musculature takes both Energy, every time.

It reads "up to 2". Against Crushing Hammer, the spare is what keeps Chain-Crazed live after a heads.

Surge the next attacker, and prefer a body that shrugs off 20.

A benched dog (250) or the parked Mega (350) takes Surge's counters without changing a breakpoint. A benched Haunter is the classic target, because it evolves into a Gengar ex already holding .

Against Fighting and Metal, feed the dogs and never the ghosts.

Surge's 20 turns a 280 Gengar ex into a 260 one, and a bare Aura Jab into Fighting Weakness is exactly 260. So is a Corkscrew Dive with one Roserade or Premium Power Pro. Against Mega Excadrill, a Surged Mega Gengar is exactly 330.

With nothing to feed, Surge a benched Toxtricity onto itself.

Opponents drag Toxtricity up to strand it. Energy it banked on the Bench pays its own Retreat Cost of 2. Once it is Active, it can't Surge itself; Live used to allow that, and a September 2026 update fixed it.

Against Bench damage and counter-multipliers, Surge only what attacks this turn.

Jetting Blow's 50 plus Surge's 20 is a dead Gastly. Spiritual End quadruples counters already on the board, and Matcha Spin adds four to everything.

Janine's is how an Active Gengar gets its second Energy.

Surge never reaches the Active Spot. Janine's reaches any two Darkness Pokémon, Active or Benched, and Poisons the Active only if it took an Energy.

Retreat is Energy.

Retreat Costs are paid in Energy, 3 for a dog and 2 for either Gengar or Toxtricity. One Live game burned 7 Energy on retreats. Count every retreat as a self-inflicted Crushing Hammer, and use Switch or AZ's.

• Read the Ability before picking a target. One Live loss came from a turn-2 Chaotic Pain into a Poltchageist, which ignores it. The Eevee beside it was a free Prize, and the game ended one Prize short.
• It can't touch Poltchageist, Sinistcha, or Banette, any Fighting Pokémon holding Rocky Fighting Energy (a Garchomp that just used Draconic Buster has discarded its own), anything holding Mist Energy, Misty's Magikarp on their Bench, or anything on their Bench while Battle Cage is in play.
• It can't one-shot Mew ex (160), Dhelmise (140), Fezandipiti ex (210), a healthy Stage 2 ex, or any Cynthia's Pokémon wearing Cynthia's Power Weight (+70). Alakazam (140) dies to it only after a Risky Ruins chip on the Abra. Crustle (150, or 170 with Growing Grass Energy) needs a chip too, and Haunter's Spooky Shot for 40 covers either.
• Counters ignore Weakness. Against a Darkness-weak target, a dog or Void Gale doubles and Chaotic Pain doesn't.

When

Do this

Setup

Lead Okidogi when the hand has one. Bench every Gastly and Toxel in hand.

First turn

Poke Pad and Poffin take Gastly first. Rare Candy needs it to have sat a turn, and Toxtricity and Haunter have no such clock. Grimsley's can't be played.

First turn, going second

With a dog, attach, use Poisonous Musculature, and take both. With a Toxel, Call for Family for two Gastly or a dog. Play Lillie's for 8 only when the hand doesn't already hold its line.

First turn, going first

Items only. The Cape goes on the Gastly slated for the Candy if their first Basic is Fighting or Metal.

Second turn

Grimsley's comes online. Search first, then Candy.

Every turn

Check for lethal before digging. Lillie's shuffles away the whole hand.

Against Judge, Special Red Card, or Unfair Stamp

Bench Pokémon as they're drawn. The Bench can't be shuffled away.

That is the chance the top seven holds at least one target. Playing it later helps only because the deck is smaller, and pulling targets out first hurts it. If Dawn or Hilda already put two Stage 2s in hand, a turn-2 Grimsley's drops from about 59% to about 41%.

• Count before playing it. A hit is Mega Gengar, Gengar ex, Toxtricity, or an Okidogi or Haunter when that is what the board is missing. With four or fewer left early, play a different Supporter.
• Play it before the Items that pull its targets out. Grimsley's first, then Poke Pad for whatever it missed.
• A miss buries six cards on the bottom of the deck. The next Surge, Poffin, Poke Pad, or Petrel shuffles them back in.
• For one exact card, use Petrel, Dawn, or Hilda. Grimsley's is a roughly 60% card, built for the turns when any of several Pokémon will do.

Cost of letting a Gengar ex die, with the Mega on the Bench

1 Prize

Chance Fainting Spell Knocks Out the attacker

50%

What that attacker is usually worth

2 or 3 Prizes

That is about one Prize of expected value per death, in the deck's favor. On Live the coin took a Mega Zygarde, a Mega Floette, and a Dhelmise. Retreating throws away both halves and costs Energy on top.

Their number

The answer

Phantom Dive: 200 to the Active, and 6 counters across the Bench

Gengar ex at 280 survives the 200. The 6 counters kill a 70 HP Basic that already carries a Surge.

Dreepy 70, Drakloak 90, Munkidori 110, Budew 30

one Chaotic Pain each

Dragapult ex, 320 HP

two dog swings, or Void Gale plus a Pain

Steve plays this most weeks at CardCrate, and dragons.md is modeled on his list.

• The Tera rule doesn't stop counters. Their Bench immunity is worded as damage, so Chaotic Pain reaches Dreepy and Drakloak wherever they sit.
• Munkidori first, Budew second. Itchy Pollen locks the deck's Items for a turn, and AZ's is the rotation that still works under it.
• Mega first. Every attacker they have is a Pokémon ex, so Concealment and Fainting Spell both work.
• Bench small Basics only when they evolve next turn. Phantom Dive's counters are aimed at them, and counters placed that way skip Concealment.
• Crushing Hammer is in most lists. Take both from Musculature, and hold a Recycler.

Their number

The answer

Aura Jab: 130 for one Energy, 260 into Fighting Weakness, 320 with Premium Power Pro

the Cape'd Gengar ex at 380 survives it

Mega Brave: 270 for two Energy, 540 into Fighting Weakness, never two turns running

nothing survives it; stand and die for the coin

Riolu 80, Lunatone 110, Solrock 110

one Chaotic Pain each

• Kill every Riolu, and the Mega never arrives.
• This is the one ex room where the Mega waits. They run three Boss's Orders and a 540 attack, so a parked Mega is 2 Prizes they can drag up and take. Build the Cape'd Gengar ex first, and take the Mega only when Haunter hands it over.
• Don't Boss while a Lucario that just used Mega Brave is Active. Sending it to the Bench wipes the lockout, and Air Balloon brings it back fresh.
• Gravity Mountain takes 30 off every Stage 2. Replace it the turn before the Jab, not the turn it lands.
• Judge is common here. Bench Pokémon as they're drawn.

Their number

The answer

Gaia Wave: 200 for three Energy, 400 into Fighting Weakness, and 30 less damage to it next turn

everything dies to it except a Cape'd Mega Gengar at 450

Rocky Fighting Energy

Chaotic Pain can't touch the Zygarde holding it

Mega Zygarde ex, a 310 HP Basic

Chain-Crazed for 260 plus anything, or Fainting Spell

Lunatone 110, Solrock 110, Binacle into Barbaracle, which attaches from hand every turn

Chaotic Pain on the draw and the Energy

• Mega first, and the Cape goes on it. Every Knock Out they took in the Live loss would have cost one Prize less, and their 6 would have been 2. A Cape'd Gengar ex at 380 still dies to 400.
• Search before the Candy. That game's Candy went on a Gengar ex one card before Hilda brought the Mega.
• Fainting Spell is live. It took a 3-Prize Zygarde in that game.
• Nullifying Zero costs five Energy and flips a coin for each Pokémon on the deck's side, 150 on every heads. It is their late-game Bench wipe, and a small Bench limits it.

Their number

The answer

Corkscrew Dive: 100 for one Energy, and they draw to 6

200 into Fighting Weakness, and every Roserade or Premium Power Pro adds 60 more

Draconic Buster: 260 for two Energy, then every Energy on it is discarded

520 or more into Fighting Weakness, so nothing survives it. He runs no Neo Upper, so a Garchomp that Busters can only Corkscrew next turn.

Garchomp ex: 330 HP, 400 under Cynthia's Power Weight, Retreat 0

nothing one-shots it

One Rocky Fighting Energy, and one Battle Cage

Chaotic Pain can't touch the line holding the Rocky, or anything on his Bench while the Cage stands

Cynthia's Power Weight, four copies: +70 HP on any Cynthia's Pokémon

Chaotic Pain kills only what's bare. A Weighted Roserade is 200, a Gabite 170, and a Gible or Roselia 140.

Cynthia's Spiritomb: Raging Curse does 10 for every counter on their Benched Cynthia's Pokémon, for , ignoring Weakness

every counter left on their Bench comes back at the deck, from a single-Prize attacker that skips Concealment

Roserade 130, Gabite 100, and Gible, Roselia, and Spiritomb at 70, with no Weight and no Rocky

one Chaotic Pain each

This is Elliott's deck, the one he brings to Wednesday league every week, and cynthia-garchomp.md models his own list card for card. It is the hardest room this deck plays. Every Pokémon in the list is weak to Fighting, his attack costs one Energy and refills his hand while it hits, and nothing here one-shots a Garchomp. The full plan against it, written for the Blissey build, is in Lucky Haunt; most of it holds here.

Where Corkscrew Dive lands. Roserade and Premium Power Pro each add 30 before Weakness, so each one is 60 more on this deck.

Two-turn Knock Outs on a Garchomp. Nothing kills one in a single hit, so every Garchomp costs the deck two attacks, and the pair gets picked before the first swing.

Chaotic Pain only lands once a Buster has thrown away the Rocky. A Risky Ruins chip on the Gible it grew from adds 20, which turns the 390 into a Knock Out on a Weighted Garchomp.

• Read the Tool before picking a Chaotic Pain target. A Weighted Roserade survives it with 70 to spare, and a Weighted Gabite with 40. A Weight on a Roserade means Elliott has read the snipe.
• Chaotic Pain order: Spiritomb once counters sit on their Bench, then a bare Roserade, then a bare Gabite. Spiritomb is Darkness, so Rocky can't protect it, and it is the one card in their list that turns the deck's damage against it. With both Roserades gone, Corkscrew is 200, and a Gengar ex survives it even with Pro. Gabite comes next, because Champion's Call fetches their next Garchomp.
• Finish every Garchomp. It retreats for free. One left at 70, or 140 under a Weight, steps back to the Bench, and its counters become Raging Curse damage. One Chain-Crazed leaves 26 counters, which is 260, or 320 with two Roserades, and 320 kills a Gengar ex with no Concealment discount. Swing at a Garchomp when the second hit is ready or Spiritomb is gone, and Boss's Orders brings a retreated one back up.
• Lead with Risky Ruins, and kill the Spiritomb. Ruins puts 2 counters on every Gible and Roselia they bench during their turn, and the counters ride the evolution. A Weighted Gible or Roselia under Ruins dies to one Pain, and a Garchomp grown from a chipped Gible falls to Chain-Crazed plus a Pain. Every one of those counters also adds 10 to Raging Curse, so Ruins and a live Spiritomb don't mix. His one Battle Cage replaces the Ruins; hold the second for it, and once the Cage is gone it can't come back.
• Make them use Draconic Buster. Corkscrew is cheap and draws them cards; Buster throws away every Energy, Rocky included, and Chaotic Pain can reach that Garchomp until they attach another Rocky.
• The Mega is a Boss's Orders magnet, and that's fine. He runs three Boss's Orders, and Meowth ex, Petrel, and Larry's Skill each find one, so expect the Mega dragged up for a Buster the first turn they can afford it. That costs them a Boss and both Energy, Rocky included, for 2 Prizes, the same 2 a Gengar ex costs with no Mega down, and every Knock Out before it was a Prize cheaper. Spiritomb's Knock Outs never get the discount.
• The Cape goes on the ex in front, usually the dog. Going second with a dog in front, turn-1 Petrel takes the Cape. A bare Okidogi dies to a one-boost Corkscrew and takes three Energy with it. A Cape'd one lives through two boosts and hits back for 260, which leaves a bare Garchomp at 70 and a Weighted one at 140. Never Cape the Mega here, since Buster kills it either way.
• Stand and die with Gengar ex. Fainting Spell is an Ability, so Rocky doesn't stop it. Heads takes a Garchomp for 2 Prizes.
• Surge the dog or the Mega, never a Gengar. Surge's 20 turns a one-boost Corkscrew into a Knock Out on a Gengar ex.
• Hold Boss's Orders for a Knock Out. Everything they run retreats for one or nothing, so dragging a body up to strand it does nothing. Boss a bare Roserade into a dog, or bring back a retreated Garchomp the deck can finish.
• Put Energy only on something that will attack. Six Energy died on bodies that never swung in the Live loss. If the Mega holds one Energy when the Active falls, promote it and Janine's it to two. Void Gale leaves a bare Garchomp at 100 and a Weighted one at 170, and a Poisoned Mega at 340 survives a two-Roserade Corkscrew.
• Meowth ex is 2 Prizes on a plate. It is 170, Colorless, and takes no Weight or Rocky. Boss's Orders brings it up into Void Gale or a Poisoned dog.
• Special Red Card is live once you're at 3 Prizes or fewer. Bench Pokémon as they're drawn.

Their number

The answer

Maximum Drilling: 200 with three Energy, 330 with five

the Mega at 350 and a Cape'd Gengar ex at 380 both survive 330

Metang 100: Metal Maker attaches Energy off the top of their deck, once per Metang

Chaotic Pain the Metang before the Drilbur

Genesect ex 220: Metallic Signal searches two Metang or Megas a turn

Boss's Orders and a dog; 260 kills it even through Full Metal Lab

Full Metal Lab: their Metal Pokémon take 30 less damage

counters ignore it, and Risky Ruins replaces it

Precious Trolley benches four Basics on turn 1

too many cradles for one Pain a turn; this is a tax room

This is Matt's deck, the one he plays at Wednesday league every week, and it is the older build: Metang's Metal Maker is the Energy engine and Genesect ex is the search. A model of it is metal-excadrill.md. It feels fast because Trolley and Metallic Signal put two or three Metang up by his second turn, so Drilling can hit 200 that turn and 330 the next. Online, the newer Steven's build is the one that mostly shows up, and online lists add Kieran (360) or Maximum Belt (380). Matt's copy runs neither, so his ceiling is 330.

• His order is Trolley, Genesect, then Metal Maker. Trolley benches two Drilbur, a Genesect ex, and Beldum. Metallic Signal fetches the Stage 1s early, and Metal Maker loads each Excadrill to five. Metagross is situational, his last resort.
• Metal, not Fighting, so Weakness never applies. Every number above lands at face value.
• Three bodies in this deck stand above 330: Mega Gengar at 350, a Cape'd Gengar ex at 380, and a Cape'd Okidogi at 350. Each one costs him two attacks.
• Mega first, with no Cape and no counters on it. It already clears 330, so the Cape goes on the first Gengar ex. One Surge on the Mega leaves it at exactly 330.
• At three Energy, Drilling is 200, and every ex in the deck survives it. Killing Metang keeps it there.
• A dog plus Chaotic Pain kills the Excadrill. 260 plus 130 clears 340 even under the Lab, where the dog does 230. Void Gale plus a Pain only gets there once the Lab is gone.
• Metagross is his last resort, and it pays nothing to Concealment. It is single-Prize and hits 330 with a Brave Bangle. A dog or Void Gale kills it through the Lab.
• Online Gengar ex decks went 1-5 here. The Cape is why this list should do better.

Their number

The answer

Powerful Hand: 2 counters on the Active per card in their hand, from a 140 HP Stage 2 with no Rule Box

a race; neither Concealment nor Fainting Spell ever applies

Alakazam 140, Kadabra 80, Abra 50, all weak to Darkness

an un-Poisoned Chain-Crazed doubles to 260; Chaotic Pain kills Abra and Kadabra, and Alakazam after a Ruins chip

Dunsparce into Dudunsparce, their draw

Chaotic Pain the Dunsparce

• No Mega. It is 3 Prizes against an attacker Concealment never touches.
• The dogs are the attackers here. Darkness Weakness makes every swing a Knock Out.
• Their damage is their hand size. Unfair Stamp answers it directly, and it sits in Alternatives for when this room keeps winning.
• Online Gengar ex decks went 2-8 here. The dogs are the difference.

Their number

The answer

Night Joker copies a Benched N's Pokémon's attack for two Energy; N's Zekrom's Rampaging Thunder is 250

Gengar ex at 280 survives 250

Binding Mochi adds 40 while the Zoroark is Poisoned, and Pecharunt ex's Subjugating Chains supplies the Poison

290, which kills a Gengar ex or a dog

Black Belt's Training adds 40 more

330; a Mega Gengar at 350 survived it on Live

Target order, from the Live win:

1. Zorua, before it evolves.
2. N's Zekrom, the 250 that Night Joker copies. They'll bring it back with Night Stretcher; kill it again.
3. Pecharunt ex, 190 HP and 2 Prizes. Without its Poison, Mochi does nothing, and Gengar ex lives through every hit.

A turn-2 Mega won that game. Concealment held them to 5 Prizes. Special Red Card comes out the moment the deck has 3 Prizes left, so the hand needs to be spent before then.

Their number

The answer

Punk Up attaches up to five Energy when it evolves; Shadow Bullet is 180, plus 30 to the Bench

Gengar ex and the dog both survive one; neither survives two

Munkidori, up to three, each moving 3 counters a turn

9 counters a turn that skip Concealment and Fainting Spell

Froslass puts 1 counter on every Pokémon with an Ability, every Checkup

Toxtricity, Gengar ex, and Mega Gengar all have one

• Kill order: Munkidori, then Froslass, then Grimmsnarl. Damage on Grimmsnarl doesn't stick while a Munkidori lives, because they move it back onto the deck's Pokémon. In the Live loss, 90 of the dog's 260 came back that way.
• Munkidori is weak to Darkness. Boss's Orders plus any real attack kills it, so answering it doesn't need a Gengar in play.
• Gengar ex gets the Candy, not the Mega. Concealment does nothing against moved counters.
• Risky Ruins replaces Spikemuth Gym and puts 20 on every Munkidori they bench.

Their number

The answer

Poltchageist 30, Sinistcha 60, Banette 80, all with Hide 'n' Sneak

Chaotic Pain can't touch them, and attack damage can

Vengeful Anchor: 30, plus 140 with four Hide 'n' Sneak Pokémon in their discard

170 from a 140 HP Basic; Gengar ex survives one

Matcha Spin (six in the discard) puts 4 counters on each of the deck's Pokémon; Spiritual End (thirteen) quadruples the counters on two of them

keep counters off the board

Eevee into Espeon, whose Miraculous Shine devolves every evolved Pokémon the deck has in play

kill the Eevee first

• Everything they attack with is single-Prize, so no Mega. The Live loss handed them its last 3 Prizes on a dragged-up Mega.
• Chaotic Pain targets are Dhelmise (140, after a Ruins chip), Spiritomb (60), and Eevee or Espeon. Read the Ability first; that loss also spent its first Pain on a Poltchageist.
• The dogs are the attackers. Dhelmise and Spiritomb are Psychic and weak to Darkness. Chain-Crazed hit for 520 and took three Knock Outs.
• Surge only what attacks this turn. Spiritual End turned the Surge counters on the Mega into 18.
• Fainting Spell still works. It took a Dhelmise.

Their number

The answer

Mysterious Rock Inn: Crustle takes no damage from the deck's Pokémon ex

counters aren't damage, and the non-ex Pokémon still hit it

Crustle 150, or 170 with Growing Grass Energy; Dwebble 70

a Pain plus Haunter's Spooky Shot (40) kills either

Mist Energy: no effects of attacks on the Pokémon holding it

Chaotic Pain can't touch it; Toxtricity's Gentle Slap (100) still can

Mega Kangaskhan ex, a 300 HP Basic: Rapid-Fire Combo is 200, plus 50 per heads

a dog plus Gentle Slap or Void Gale

Superb Scissors: 120

Gengar ex survives two

Crustle is one of the most common decks at CardCrate. Online, nearly every list pairs three Crustle with four Mega Kangaskhan ex. The rest is Mist Energy, Spiky Energy, Jumbo Ice Cream to heal, and Eri and Xerosic's Machinations to pick apart the hand.

• Shoot Crustle before the Mist lands. Superb Scissors costs , so an attacking Crustle usually holds a Mist Energy, and then Chaotic Pain can't touch it. Dwebble and a Crustle still waiting on Energy are the targets. Read the Energy before picking.
• The non-ex Pokémon are the attackers. Rock Inn only stops Pokémon ex. Gentle Slap does 100, Haunter's Spooky Shot does 40 for one Energy, and Toxel's Playful Kick adds 20.
• Spiky Energy hits back. Damage their Active while it holds one and the attacker takes 2 counters. One Slap leaves Toxtricity at exactly 120, which Superb Scissors kills.
• Fainting Spell works on Crustle. It is an Ability, so neither Rock Inn nor Mist stops the coin.
• No Mega until Kangaskhan is attacking. Crustle is single-Prize, so Concealment pays only when Kangaskhan takes the Knock Out.
• Finish a Crustle in one turn. Jumbo Ice Cream heals 80 from an Active holding three Energy, so the chip comes back off.
• Festival Grounds stops Poison, and Chain-Crazed drops to 130. Replace it with Risky Ruins.

Their number

The answer

Rumbling Bees: 110 for each Beedrill in play, for one Grass Energy

330 at three and 440 at four; the Mega survives three

Forest of Vitality: Weedle to Beedrill ex on the turn it is played

no cradle ever sits on their Bench for a Pain

Beedrill ex 310, Weedle 50, Kakuna 80

a Pain plus a dog swing or Void Gale for each Beedrill

Dunsparce into Dudunsparce, drawing three a turn

Dunsparce has to sit a turn, and Forest doesn't help it

• Shoot the draw, not the bees. Every dead Dunsparce is three cards they don't draw next turn.
• Stranded Weedle and Kakuna are free. When they bench a Weedle without the evolutions in hand, it sits a turn. Kakuna's Exoskeleton only reduces attack damage, so counters go straight through.
• Every Beedrill Knocked Out takes 110 off their attack.
• Risky Ruins is a tax, not a lock. They run four Forests, and Celebi searches for more.
• The dogs are weak to Fighting, not Grass, so two bees (220) don't kill one.

Their number

The answer

Mega Starmie ex: a Stage 1 from Staryu (70), 330 HP, online on their second turn

going second, the deck can't reach the Staryu in time

Jetting Blow: 120, plus 50 to one Benched Pokémon, for one Energy

two hits kill a Gastly or Toxel

Nebula Beam: 210, ignoring every effect

Okidogi at 250 and Gengar ex at 280 both survive it

• Race it with the dog. Musculature on turn 1 and Chain-Crazed for 260 on turn 2 leave Starmie at 70, and one Chaotic Pain takes their Mega for 3 Prizes.
• Don't Surge a Gastly in this room. Jetting Blow's 50 plus Surge's 20 is exactly 70.
• Mega first, since they attack with a Pokémon ex.

Their number

The answer

Mega Floette ex: a 250 HP Basic, 400 with Ange Floette in play

Risky Ruins replaces Ange Floette, and it drops back to 250

Eternity Bloom: 200, plus four Energy onto their Bench

Gengar ex survives one hit

Weakness is Metal, not Darkness

nothing doubles

• At 400, only two things kill it in one go. Fainting Spell did it on Live. The other is replacing Ange Floette and then swinging Chain-Crazed for 260.
• Latias ex gives their Basics free retreat, and Munkidori shows up here too. Munkidori stays priority one.
• Mega first, since their attacker is a Pokémon ex.

Their number

The answer

Crushing Hammer, four copies

take both from Musculature, and keep a Recycler

Fezandipiti ex: Cruel Arrow does 100 to any one of the deck's Pokémon

the Bench isn't safe, so a doomed dog swings first

Mew ex (30th Celebration 152): a 160 HP Basic ex that uses its Bench's attacks

it is weak to Darkness, and Chain-Crazed hit it for 520

Munkidori, Unfair Stamp, Special Red Card

Chaotic Pain the Munkidori; bench Pokémon as they're drawn

• Retreat was the leak in the Live win. Seven Energy went to Retreat Costs, and a turn-6 dog retreat skipped a free 260 into a 120 HP Scrafty.
• Use their Team Rocket's Factory. Petrel is a Team Rocket's Supporter, so their Stadium draws two for this deck too.
• Mew ex needs damage, not counters. Chaotic Pain's 130 falls short of 160; a dog or Void Gale one-shots it.

Their number

The answer

Hungry Jaws: 120 for two Energy, 270 once Sharpedo has any damage counters

Gengar ex at 280 and the Mega at 350 survive it

Binding Mochi: +40 while Sharpedo is Poisoned, and Pecharunt ex's Subjugating Chains Poisons it on purpose

310, which kills a Gengar ex without the Cape

Mega Sharpedo ex: 330 HP, Retreat 0, Stage 1 from Carvanha (70)

a dog plus a Pain, and every counter they put on it counts toward the deck's

Their own Toxtricity, and Munkidori moving 3 counters a turn onto the deck's Pokémon

Chaotic Pain the Munkidori, then their Toxel

Steve played this at CardCrate last week. He usually plays Dragapult, and he plays fast. Online it is called Sharpedo Toxtricity, and 26 of 28 online lists aim Toxel and Toxtricity's Sinister Surge at their own Sharpedo, because Hungry Jaws needs just one damage counter to jump from 120 to 270. Steve's support line was a different Darkness evolution line, from an older set, and it is still unidentified. Whatever it is, the job is the same: put counters or Energy on the Sharpedo. Lists also run Judge and Unfair Stamp, so Pokémon go to the Bench as they're drawn.

• Kill order: Munkidori, then their Toxel. Moved counters skip Concealment and Fainting Spell, and 3 a turn put the Mega in range of 310. Once their Toxel evolves, Toxtricity (140) takes a dog.
• Gengar ex first, per the Munkidori rule. Then the Mega, since Sharpedo and Pecharunt ex are both Pokémon ex.
• The Cape goes on Gengar ex. At 380 it clears the Poisoned 310; the Mega at 350 already does.
• Their counters are the deck's damage. Surge's 20, Carvanha's recoil, and Poison all stay on the Sharpedo. One carrying 70 dies to a single dog swing.
• Boss's Orders never strands anything here. Sharpedo retreats for free and Pecharunt swaps it out. Boss only for a Knock Out: Munkidori, Pecharunt ex (190, one dog swing), or a damaged Sharpedo.
• Going second, the Carvanha is out of reach, the same as Starmie. Race with the dog.
• Risky Ruins barely matters. Everything but Munkidori, Tatsugiri, and Fezandipiti ex is Darkness.

Their number

The answer

Energized Slap: 40 for every Energy on Cinccino, for one Energy

7 Energy kills a Gengar ex, 9 the Mega, 10 a Cape'd Gengar ex

Smooth Coat: a coin on every attack's damage, and heads prevents it

counters aren't damage, so Chaotic Pain never flips

Cinccino ex 240, Minccino 70

two Pains, or one on the Minccino

Online lists load it with Metang's Metal Maker

Chaotic Pain the Metang, the same as against Excadrill

This one shows up at CardCrate. Last week a Cinccino ex won a game at the shop with 15 Energy on it and no other Pokémon in play, which is 600 damage. Online lists feed it with the same Metang engine Matt's Excadrill uses, plus Genesect ex and Metagross.

• Chaotic Pain is the attack. Every dog swing is a coin flip against Smooth Coat, and two Pains kill Cinccino ex with no flip at all.
• Kill it early. Its damage grows every turn it lives, and its 240 HP doesn't. Two Pains kill it at two Energy or at fifteen.
• If it is their only Pokémon, a Knock Out wins the game. A player with nothing left in play loses on the spot, whatever the Prizes say.
• Mega first. Cinccino ex is a Pokémon ex, so Concealment works, and Fainting Spell is an Ability that Smooth Coat can't flip away.
• Metang before Cinccino when both are up. Every Metang is roughly one more Energy a turn.

Their number

The answer

Battle Cage: no counters on their Benched Pokémon

Risky Ruins replaces it, and Petrel finds the Ruins

Charmander 80

Chaotic Pain, once the Cage is gone

Mega Charizard X ex and Mega Charizard Y ex, both Pokémon ex

Mega first; the tax and Fainting Spell both work

• They replay the Cage. In the Live win, Petrel for Ruins removed it, and the second Ruins removed it again.
• Close with Void Gale. Boss's Orders on a benched Pokémon ex, Switch in the Mega, attach, and swing.

Their number

The answer

Bouncy Circle: free, 30 for each Benched Pokémon with 30 max HP, so 150 off a full Bench

one hit kills Gastly, Toxel, Haunter, or Toxtricity; every ex here takes two

Brave Bangle (+30) and Black Belt's Training (+40), against an Active Pokémon ex only

two Bangle hits are 360, which a Cape'd Gengar ex (380) survives and a bare one (280) doesn't

Igglybuff: 30 HP, Retreat 0, and their only attacker

one Chaotic Pain, or Haunter's Spooky Shot for 40

Poltchageist, Misty's Magikarp on the Bench, Battle Cage, Mist Energy

Chaotic Pain can't touch them, and it doesn't need to

Every Pokémon in it has 30 HP and gives up one Prize. Plenty of players run it online as a troll deck, and the Live ladder has sent two, both wins. One matched AzulGG's list from September 26: 4 Igglybuff, 4 Poltchageist, 2 Misty's Magikarp, Tyrogue, Budew, 4 Brave Bangle, 4 Boss's Orders, 4 Night Stretcher, 4 Battle Cage, 3 Mist Energy, and a Legacy Energy. The other ran Teal Mask Ogerpon ex and Area Zero Underdepths.

• Go second when you win the flip. The player going first can't attack, and Bouncy Circle costs nothing, so their turn 1 is the one to take away.
• Pain the Active Igglybuff every turn. It's their only attacker, and Battle Cage guards only their Bench. They run four Igglybuffs and four Night Stretchers, so this is a race, not a lockout. After the fifth Knock Out in the Live win, they had no Igglybuff in play and conceded.
• Legacy Energy and Mist Energy pick the attack. Legacy takes a Prize off a Knock Out by damage, and counters aren't damage, so Pain that one. Mist stops Pain, so hit that one with damage: Spooky Shot or a dog.
• Make their attacks miss. Every body here gives up about one Prize per Bouncy Circle, so the race turns on the attacks that take nothing. AZ's a Gengar ex after its first hit, per the pull table, and a Haunter swings in its place. The Live win let one stand at 170, and it gave them 2 Prizes and put them one from winning.
• The Cape goes on Gengar ex. At 380 it survives any two hits short of Black Belt's.
• No Mega. It's 3 Prizes, Concealment never applies, and two Bangle hits kill it. The Ogerpon build is the exception.
• Bench small Basics only when they evolve next turn. They run four Boss's Orders, and a Gastly or Toxel is a Prize to a three-baby Bench. Morty's Conviction also draws them a card for every Pokémon on the deck's Bench.
• Keep Surge counters off the next Gengar ex. At 280 it lives through 150 plus 120. The Live win's carried a Surge and died at 290. Surge the dog or a Haunter.
• Budew's Itchy Pollen turns off Switch and Rare Candy for a turn, and AZ's still moves. Special Red Card lands when the deck reaches 3 Prizes left, so spend the hand before then.
• The Ogerpon build adds Teal Mask Ogerpon ex and Area Zero Underdepths, which opens their Bench to 8 and Bouncy Circle to 210. Risky Ruins bumps Area Zero, and knocking out their only Tera does the same job: their Bench drops back to 5. Void Gale's 230 one-shots Ogerpon ex (210), and against that ex attacker Concealment works. In the Live win the Mega took two.