Shifty's Club

I have finally found a deck that has yet to dead draw on me. As you all know, I never pay any attention to limitless or other sites when building decks because I trust my intuition and 24 years of competitive knowledge in the game to build decks.

Gholdengo ex deck:

4 Gholdengo ex (PAR-139)
4 Gimmighoul (PAR-88)
2 Bibarel (BRS-121)
2 Bidoof (CRZ-111)
1 Scizor (OBF-141)
1 Scyther (MEW-123)
1 Manaphy (BRS-41)
1 Radiant Greninja (ASR-46)

4 Battle VIP Pass
4 Superior Energy Retrieval
4 Ultra Ball
2 Earthen Vessel
2 Switch
1 Pal Pad

The deck is Gholdengo ex. The deck feels amazing for 4 reasons. 1) this deck has one of the best built in draw engines that keep it going, and that means 3 different sources of draw as well. 2) the attack cost of both attackers is (M) meaning there is no ramp needed or any special energy... making setting up or replacing the attacker much easier. 3) the deck has no damage cap. This is especially great because you can OHKO any Pokémon in the game with enough energy. 4) the deck can take advantage of one of the most strict supporters in the game... Adaman... which forces you to discard 2 (M) energy in order to search for ANY 2 cards in your deck... giving you the opportunity to grab whatever you need for the situation.

Obviously I play 4 of each Gholdengo ex and Gimmighoul as they are the heart and soul of the deck. Obviously, I think having 4 of each is critical, and I wouldn't play any less. I might consider playing the 50 HP Gimmighoul, but I feel like the 70 HP is just better against Iron Valiant ex decks.

If there's one thing that cripples Gholdengo ex, is the fact that it's a 2-prize attacker. This means that the deck needs a 1-prize attacker to help with prize trades against decks like Chien-Pao/Baxcailbur that focus on dishing out OHKOs every turn. A 1-1 Scizor seems like the best alternative 1-prize attacker for 2 main reasons. 1) the first attack hits for each Pokémon the opponent has in play with an ability... making decks like Chien-Pao/Baxcailbur and even Gardevoir easier with which to deal... given it can help with the prize trading that happens. 2) Scizor has access to a free retreat Scyther from 151... which can give you an early Escape Rope out against decks like Lost Box and Iron Valiant ex variants who abuse it.

The other 2 draw engines are a 2-2 Bibarel line (with the Crown Zenith Bidoof, of course) and a Radiant Greninja as my 1 radiant Pokémon. The Bibarel obviously serves to initially build the hand back up to 5 at the beginning of the turn [with the obvious exception of an Iono or Judge (not 100% sure it'll stay) play]. The Radiant Greninja serves to help draw into the deck early and mid-game... allowing earlier use of Superior Energy Retrieval. I don't really use it more than necessary late game.

Obviously, a deck like Rapid Strike Urshifu can bury this deck with all of the support it has (Octillery, Rapid Strike Energy, etc.). The same can be said about lesser threatening but powerful attackers like Scream Tail (Gardy decks), therefore a card like Manaphy serves as a way to make a match-up almost an auto win (Rapid Strike) or make it much more difficult to pull off trap and snipe strategies that Gardy loves to do as a desperate attempt to get back into games in which they fall behind.

Either way, while Manaphy is a solid answer to a few decks, cards like Minior (auto-wins Snorlax stall), Zacian (can be a great 2nd 1-prize attacking option against decks like Lost Box), and Jirachi (completely shuts down Sableye in Lost Box) can very well be options given changes in popularity among the format over time.

4 Battle VIP Pass is a no-brainer. It's not even arguable... especially if the deck is opting to go 2nd given how easy it is to get set up going 2nd. 4 Superior Energy Retrieval is a static part of the deck and can NEVER be changed... given it fuels the deck with the energy it needs to run efficiently (pun intended). 4 Ultra Ball seem like a necessity because it gives plenty of extra outs to the stage 1 Pokémon that are important to the deck's success.

Now for the smaller quantity cards. 2 Earthen Vessel seems great (could be more, but only testing can generate the results that can help determine what count is better). The real decision that may change is the option between Switch and Escape Rope... as it is a real brain wrecker. For the current moment, Switch is the choice because I have multiple Boss's Orders if need be and plenty of draw support. I decided 2 Switch is a good count for now because it makes it easier to draw into it naturally, but it also makes it much more efficient to search via Adaman. The last of the items is Pal Pad. I feel like it CAN help but I'm not completely confident in it. The reason is in there for now is because there are times when supporters are forced into the discard pile early, and if enough resources are wasted and unable to be accessed... it makes games much harder to win in some cases.

As for the supporters, there is a LOT of debate against the main supporter of choice for this deck... Adaman. Honestly, this card is the ONLY reason I feel as comfortable playing this deck as I do because of how powerful it is. That's why there are 4 of them. I feel that the number of energy in the deck help fuel the card's playability and value.

As for the other supporters, Iono is the best draw supporter option... given how useful it can be late game to attempt to cripple an opponent late game and steal wins. I play 3 for the reason that I don't use it early unless I don't draw into Adaman... giving 7 outs to more cards. 2 Boss's Orders give gust outs that can help turn a game. 2 Judge are still up for debate, but I feel that sometimes you can use an early Judge or Iono to rest an opponent's hand after they use a search for card's for the future turn. Only time and testing will tell whether or not it's a good option.

Now... one of the most crucial parts of the game is either utilizing stadiums that assist in your deck's ability to win games efficiently or cripple opponent's strategies to give you an edge. I choose the latter... as Gholdengo ex has no real need for a stadium, but there are great stadiums you can use to cripple decks who rely on certain resources that are invaluable to its strategy. One of those is Temple of Sinnoh. Being able to limit the effectiveness of a decks viability... like Mew/Genesect and Lugia/Archeops who rely on Special Energy to function optimally. Playing 3 seems like a great quantity for both crippling decks needing special energy as well as countering stadiums like Path to the Peak which slow down Gholdengo ex's draw power... making your only out Bibarel. This could change, but I feel like this is and probably will always be the best option for Gholdengo ex decks for as long as it remains in standard format.

As far as tools go, I don't need much. I put in a TM Evolution because it seems like a great early game option going 2nd... given the access to Adaman. I could definitely see playing multiple copies as well as a few other tools, but as for now... I'll stick to just the Evolution tool.

12 metal energy... is rather... awkward, but needing access to lots of energy makes it a HUGE topic of conversation and a very debatable topic. For the first draft... and initial build of this deck, we'll use a mathematically reasonable number when alongside Earthen Vessel and Superior Energy Retrieval that statistically will get the job done in most situations.

Obviously, this is not the best list and needs plenty of testing in order to to be optimized. I honestly believe the most optimal list has yet to be made, and I hope that plenty of testing and post-game analysis and match-up theory crafting will assist me in coming up with the best possible list for a Gholdengo ex deck.

Hopefully, those of you who are already on Gholdengo... or are considering Gholdengo... or have no idea what to play... those of you may be able to get anything of value from this.