Challenge - Build the best Gyarados (ancient trait) deck

[Pika36521]

Hello fellow addicted friends to this game



Today i'm gonna propose a challenge to see where we're at in deck building skills!! And where i'm at, as i spent the last 8 hours in a row trying to figure the best way of putting together a deck centered in this so overpowered pokémon, and i have reached nothing! So, i challenge you to build an expanded deck around Ancient Trait Gyarados, and those of you who think it's viable please join!



The most of you must know the card. We're gonna focus on the first attack, and the objective of the challenge is to build a consistent deck that allows Gyarados to hit hard early game, game after game. This Full Retaliation attack can easily hit for 150 / 210, and it can hit for 430 tops without considering weakness, so i guess it's a card worth the shot to have a good deck around it, don't you think? Plus, it's a stage 1 (meaning that affects all pokémon), attacks with few energy, and only gives away one prize! The biggest liability will be Magikarp, 30hp, easy target even benched.



Enough talk now, lets see the card stats:



Expansion: Ancient Origins
Type: Water
Pokémon: stage 1
Name: Gyarados
HP: 130
Ancient Trait ability: Double, "this pokémon may have up to 2 pokémon tool cards attached to it"
1st attack: Full Retaliation / 2 colorless energy cost / 30+ (this attack does 30 more damage for each damage counter on each of your benched Magikarp)
2nd attack: Thrash, 2 water / 2 colorless energy cost / 100+ (flip a coin, if heads this attack does 30 more damage, if tails, this pokémon does 30 damage to itself)
Weakness: Lightning
Resistance: None
Retreat cost: 3 energy



You see the beauty of it?? For each damage counter on each Magikarp, Gyarados attack does 30 more damage! Assuming the benched Magikarps have, let's say, 4 damage counters spread all around them (easy with Frozen City), Gyarados attack does 150 damage, with only 2 energies attached! Plus, it can have 2 tools attached, which can mean 2 muscle band, and in this case easily hits 40 more damage! How awesome is that, huh?!



For me the concept is simple, but you may have other ideas, and some that work better than others, and that's the objective of this challenge, the search for the best build all together! I'll tell you how i started off, although a lot of these options changed along long hours of testing:



Frozen City to put 2 damage counters each time i attach an energy to Magikarp.
Giant Cape, so i could attach 2 energies to each Magikarp and therefor 4 damage counters on each, if needed be. Plus it's useful once they turn into Gyarados and get an extra 20hp, or maybe 40.
Muscle Band, so i could hit 20 more damage, or 40 more sometimes. It's useful if the difference is between knocking out a 180hp Ex or not.
Rainbow Energy, in case i didn't had Frozen City out, but i quit the idea.
Mr.Mime Bench Barrier, cause people always have bats on the loose!
Potion for when the benched damaged Magikarp become an active Gyarados, but i droped it.
Super Rod to guarantee always at least 2 benched Magikarp, even after KOs.
Dive Ball are the best thing to fetch the Magikarps and Gyarados.

Level Ball for any under 90hp
Energy Switch to attach an energy to a Magikarp with Frozen City in play, and switch it to Gyarados without the damage input.
Float Stone as Gyarados retreat cost is high but i droped it.



As Gyarados attacks with colorless energies it can use any type, so i tried Flareon AO + Blacksmith for energy acceleration without the damage input on the attacking Gyarados, then Metal Links Bronzong, then Xerneas with Geomancy, and i ended up with Sableye Junk Hunt / Darkrai Ex + Dark Patches. None of these solutions is consistent enough, some with too much pokémon and setup, others too fast, although Dark Patches may be the closest solution i tried, or maybe Xerneas. Aromatisse may be a good option, allowing to attach from hand to magikarp in 2 turns dealing damage, and in the 2nd cleanly transfer the energies to active Gyarados.



There's more to it, but i don't wanna ruin the surprises.



I hope many of you accept the challenge and disagree with my card choices and come up with something new or unexpected



If you accept the challenge, confirm and I'll add you to the list, and start working and updating your ideas, so we can discuss the best strategies and combos



CHALLENGERS:
Cuqk

[Pika36521]

I made a grafic for the dealt damage ratio between damage counters on Magikarps and Muscle Bands on Gyarados, to know the best option while playing, and i posted it here but the formatting doesn't allow it.

[Hagat]

The best Gyarados deck I saw at standard - Team Magma's Secret Base stadium + lvl\dive ball + sacred ash + DE +shaymin Ex and so on. But I don't like it (as main deck), cuz it contains too much details for serious attack. This is fun deck imho.

[Pika36521]

Sure it's a fun deck, it's not my main as well, but can also be competitive against some not-so-top-tiers. And Gyarados has the advantage to be able to attack giratina, pyroar, suicune, sigilyph, regice, and every other pokémon. I think i finally got a build that seems regularly consistent. Aromatisse. In 2 turns attach 2 energy to magikarp and transfer to active gyarados (i dont mean necessarily the first 2 turn of course, but rather). Plus no special energies, not dependent on the tools, energy manipulation, max potion, mr mime.

[00dragonite00]

Are there any cards that let you transfer damage counters from the active to your bench? Because then you could put up the Stadium that does not allow bench damage, attack normally with Gyarados, and whenever he takes damage, transfer it to your Magikarps. I really just don't think that it's worth the risk of having so many Magikarp on the field. 

[PKMNRocker11]

Yes, the reuniclus from Black&White/Dragons Exalted.

 

Only problem is it's are Stage 2s and they've been decreasing a lot in popularity but is still very viable, however it would be more so a fun deck then it already is.

[Pika36521]

Are there any cards that let you transfer damage counters from the active to your bench? Because then you could put up the Stadium that does not allow bench damage, attack normally with Gyarados, and whenever he takes damage, transfer it to your Magikarps. I really just don't think that it's worth the risk of having so many Magikarp on the field. 

 

I hadn't thought of the possibility of reuniclus, but then again, i would have to wait to be damaged so i could transfer it to magikarp, and in the meanwhile i'd deal 30 / 70 damage. Plus, i use mr.mime which is the same as that stadium, but gengar ex / chandelure ex / celebi promo attacks aren't affected by that effect.

 

Awesome_guy proposed plasma umbreon and badge, but then magikarp would become team plasma and could only get damage from the 1st energy before attaching the badge. Not enough.

 

For now i found that attaching 2 energies to benched  magikarps and transfer them to an active gyarados via aromatisse is considerably consistent, given the odds. It's still not close from being competitive, mostly due to relatively low hp. And i cant get the draws right.

 

EDIT: By the way, i found that frozen city and plasma badge work well along gengar breakthrough and celebi. And the same goes for giratina deck, instead of using fairy garden.

[00dragonite00]

what if you start out with the Gyrados that damages your bench (the one that's in XY Basic Blue now), then switch to your AT Gyrados?

[DonbranFL]

Team Magma's Secret Base is the most significant way to turn on Gyarados. Similarly, it also turns on Shedinja, so you'll often find them running together.

But no, I'm not going to make a list of a deck that loses to 1 Golbat if you don't get a Mr Mime down.

[Pika36521]

Team Magma's Secret Base is the most significant way to turn on Gyarados. Similarly, it also turns on Shedinja, so you'll often find them running together.

But no, I'm not going to make a list of a deck that loses to 1 Golbat if you don't get a Mr Mime down.

 

Thing with Magma's Base is that damages all pokémon when you put them into the bench from your hand, and that's it. Frozen City, on the other hand, is more reliable to damage the opponent, and you only put the damage counters you want on your Magikarp.

 

Shedinja is more effective and fast as a deck, more efficient, but mew doesn't affect some pokémon, and you don't wanna put your only shedinja active.

 

The idea of including a Mime is precisely avoid golbats and such. But still there are attacks unaffected by mime's ability. That, along with magikarp's hp is what makes this a fun deck.

 

[Content removed - please keep discussion respectful and constructive. -Mod. Poplar]

[Pika36521]

New build: Gyarados+Mew+Aromatisse+Mr.Mime+Fairy Energy+Rainbow Energy+Frozen City+Fighting Fury Belt. This way there's only the need to evolve 1 Gyarados and keep 3 Magikarp. Revive for dead Magikarps. Plus, the addition of the new Fighting Fury Belt is an awesome boost to Magikarps. Maye with the FFB is possible to play this deck standard.

[olafviking]

frozen city would work but idk if the deck is consistant enough but 2 muscle bands on the active garydose would hit for a lot. if the max amnt of magicarp are on the bench and they are the ones with 60 hp, in theory you could have the mr mime so you dont lose to bats but that would be 50 damage on each magi carp which is 520 damage with the bands and 480 without them so thats enough to knock out anything realy. but considering that will never happen consistantly and the best you can hope for is probably 2 counters on 2 magicarp on the bench that would be 150 without tool cards and with 2 mucle bands thats *** so still an option. im curious why this idea never got experimented with i guess mantrike ex was popular.

[Metleon8]

You definitely want Mr. Mime in both standard and expanded. Trevenant break can knock out all of your bended magikarp at once and Landorus and darkrai can each knock one out in expanded.