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The Elite 4 Decks Part 2/4: Gyarados

Written by smacktack | November 8, 2010 | 243 comments | 6,584 views | Rating: +1

Hello SixPrizes community, I am here to deliver my promised 2nd part of my 2nd article and this time it is an in-depth analysis on Gyarados. My next article will be an in-depth Machamp analysis, so be sure to look out for that here on SizPrizes.com! Anyway, I’ll stop with the pre-article talking and get on with the actual article:

Part 2/4 — Gyarados MD-TM

Gyarados, the deck that was invented for the Pokemon World Championships 2009, is still around and it just got a a major boost from HGSS: Triumphant. The deck gained Junk Arm and Rescue Energy, which is why it is on my list as the third best deck in the format. With the ability to discard your Magikarp faster with Junk Arm and easily recovering your Gyarados from KOs with a Rescue Energy, this deck is nearly unstoppable. Well, it isn’t 100% unstoppable because, even though Gyarados beats quite a large portion of the format, it does have some issues with SP decks (most notably LuxChomp). Here is a better look at what I think the metagame for CCs will be:

Here are my top 4 decks in the format at the moment:
1st) DialgaChomp (article 4/4)
2nd) LuxChomp (article 1/4)
3rd) Gyarados (article 2/4)
4th) Machamp (article 3/4)

If you are worried about any decks in the format, odds are they are on my list and, because of their popularity, you WILL see them at your Cities this season. The Gyarados list that I will be providing will have enough deck space to have answers for all of the above.

Base Gyarados List:

Pokemon – 16

4 Magikarp SF
3 Gyarados SF
3 Sableye SF
2 Crobat G PL
1 Regice LA
1 Azelf LA
1 Uxie LA
1 Unown Q MD

T/S/S – 28

4 Broken Time-Space
3 Pokemon Collector
2 Bebe’s Search
4 Poke Turn
3 Junk Arm
3 Super Scoop Up
2 Expert Belt
2 Pokemon Communication
1 VS Seeker
1 Luxury Ball
1 Pokemon Rescue

4 Draw power cards*

Energy – 4

2 Rescue Energy
2 Warp Energy

Total: 48

*I find four draw power Supporters essential in Gyarados, but every player has their opinion, and this is mine. The draw power Supporter that I recommend right now is Professor Oak’s Visit, but Volkner’s Philosophy is another popular choice. The choice is yours to make, but I reccomned Professor Oak’s Visit the most because Volkner’s Philosophy tends to net too few cards compared to the constant three that Prof Oak offers.*

Wow, that is 12 spaces to work with, we should be able to easily bang out an anti-metagame list. I will list off a bunch of techs that can counter the other top decks or that can add constancy, it is YOUR job to build a consistent deck that works for you.

When deciding techs, you need to first know your deck’s goal and the goal of Gyarados is to have three Magikarp in your discard pile, allowing you to swing for 90 damage a turn! In this deck, you have Sableye as a starter, and that allows you to take a few turns to set-up your field. You are able to discard Magikarp easily via Junk Arm or Regice and from there, you are basically done! The deck also plays damage manipulators, Crobat G and Expert Belt, so you can hit an average of 90-130 damage easily, depending on the match. You can also easily recover a Gyarados from either damage or a KO by using a Super Scoop Up or a Rescue Energy/Pokemon Rescue. Overall, this deck should give you some promising success, and you can master it by teching it just right!

LuxChomp Counters

With Gyarados becoming a huge threat again with the release of Junk Arm and Rescue Energy, LuxChomp has also become more of a threat. I am almost positive that a LuxChomp deck in the MD-TM format will play Lucario GL, allowing for Luxray GL to hit Gyarados for twice the amount of damage, and/or a some sort of hand manipulation card, such as a Judge or a Looker’s Investigation. Either way, you still shouldn’t give up because there are a handful of LuxChomp techs that can severely alter the match-up and give you an edge.

1 Mankey SV & 1 Basic Fighting Energy

This little monkey is a Luxray GL LV.X killer…PERIOD! If they decide to attack your Gyarados for a KO, you can match it right back for 60 times 2, an OHKO on a Luxray GL LV.X! However, there is one issue with this card as it will most likely get KOed right back because of its low HP and/or its horrible Psychic weakness. Also, your opponent could play around this card by using Luxray GL instead of Luxray GL LV.X and, in that case, they are totally immune to Mankey. Overall, this card is alright, but I think some other techs might be a tad better; nonetheless, I definitely wouldn’t overlook this card’s power.

1 Toxicroak PR & 1 Basic Psychic Energy

This is one card that every single Luxray GL and Luxray GL LV.X fear and it is one of the best LuxChomp techs that one could easily tech. If they OHKO one of your Gyarados, or any of your other Pokemon, you can do 60 damage + Poison for just a Psychic Energy and another energy of your choice. While this card takes one more energy to power up than a Mankey, it also has more HP, a nice Poke-Power, and a more consistent attack! Also, the base Gyarados list above has more than enough space to add a miniature Cyrus’s Conspiracy engine, allowing you to run SP Radar, Energy Gain for Toxicroak G, and maybe even a Power Spray or two.

1-1 or 2-2 Donphan Prime HS & 1 or 2 Basic Fighting Energy

This is another card that LuxChomp players will fear and they have good reasons for fearing it too. 120 damage? Resistance? Fast attacks? How about a combination of all three? Yeah, Donphan Prime will rip apart an inexperienced LuxChomp player and should hurt a master LuxChomp player enough to give you a chance! Donphan Prime is easy to tech into Gyarados because it takes a single Fighting Energy and you already play enough cards to easily adapt it in (Broken Time-Space, Bebe’s Search, Luxury Ball, Pokemon Communication, etc.). Overall, Donphan Prime is one of the best techs to improve your LuxChomp match-up and should be tested in your list at the very least!

Machamp SF line of some kind (1-1-1, 2-2-2, etc.) & Basic Fighting Energy

Machamp is basically the ultimate Basic Pokemon killer, and guess what! LuxChomp is usually 100% made out of Basic Pokemon! I don’t know how much there is to explain because Machamp is all about the “Take Out” OHKO, and if you run into a LuxChomp, they will definitely feel the heat as soon as you drop that Machop. You can even go as far to add a Machamp LV.X or Machamp Prime to help out some other match-ups, but a 2-2-2 Machamp SF line and 2 or 3 Basic Fighting Energy is more than enough to help you out versus LuxChomp or mostly any other SP deck out there!

Gyarados/Mirror Counters

With the release of Triumphant, this deck was born again and is stronger than ever, which means that if you play this deck yourself or not, it will be out there! Sometimes it isn’t enough to rely on skill alone and you must have some sort of back-up plan, so I will list off a few successful techs!

1 or 2 Ditto LA

This card is usually the first card that most people will think of when they think of a Gyarados tech, and they are usually thinking right! Ditto copies your opponent’s active Pokemon and, if you are battling a Gyarados deck, odds are it will be a Gyarados. If they do have a Gyarados active, you can get a free prize mid-game because, if they just knocked out one of your Gyarados, you will be swinging for 120 (with four Magikarp in the discard pile)!

*Side note: Ditto is also decent versus some other decks in the format because it copies anything, and that means if you tech the necessary energy you can utilise Ditto as a universal tech rather than just a Gyarados counter!*

1-1 Honchkrow SV & extra switch cards (Warp Energy, Switch, or Warp Point)

Honchkrow is a bit of an interesting tech, but if they don’t have any Magikarp in their discard pile, they can’t damage you! There isn’t too much else to say about this card, but it is just a wacky idea that might win you the mirror match-up.

DialgaChomp Counters

DialgaChomp is one of the strongest decks in the format and I consider it the best deck for the MD-TM format. This deck hasn’t really gained anything from Triumphant, but it is just strong versus many decks and can be teched to combat its harder match-ups! With that in mind, you might want to gain an edge against it, so here are some techs that should help this match-up out:

*Side note: You may also want to note that in this match-up, the DialgaChomp player will play a lot differently than a regular match-up and focus on a tanked Dialga G LV.X.*

1-1 or 2-1 Blazekin FB LV.X SV & 1 or 2 Basic Fire Energy

In this match-up, the threat of a Blazekin FB LV.X could seriously alter the DialgaChomp player’s decisions and put them in a rough position. If they are tanking with a Dialga G LV.X, they have to switch their strategy to a Garchomp C LV.X-based strategy, and that is when you start scoring those 110 damage OHKOs with an Expert Belted Gyarados!

*Side note: Blazekin FB can also use “Luring Flame” on a variety of other decks to bring up high retreaters and win in weird ways!

Machamp SF line of some kind (1-1-1, 2-2-2, etc.) & Basic Fighting Energy

Machamp is basically the ultimate Basic Pokemon killer and guess what, LuxChomp is usually 100% made out of Basic Pokemon! I don’t know how much there is to explain because Machamp is all about the “Take Out” OHKO and if you run into a LuxChomp, they will definitely feel the heat as soon as you drop that Machop. You can even go as far to add a Machamp LV.X or Machamp Prime to help out some other match-ups but, a 2-2-2 Machamp SF line and 2 or 3 Basic Fighting Energy is more than enough to help you out vs LuxChomp or mostly any other SP deck out there!

The Machamp SF suggestion might sound a bit repetitive, but it is such a solid counter for both LuxChomp and DialgaChomp, I decided it should be stated for both decks!

Machamp Counters

Machamp has always been around and it usually just wrecks SP decks! Luckily for Gyarados, it isn’t an SP deck and it even has a resistance to Fighting! With that in mind, Gyarados has a very good Machamp match-up and doesn’t really need to tech against it. If anything, with Machamp being popular again, Gyarados is an even better deck because this is its “auto win” as long as the Machamp player doesn’t donk a lone Sableye or other basic.

Overall Good Cards

1-1 Dialga G LV.X PL & some switching cards (Warp Energy, Switch, or Warp Point)

Dialga G LV.X is a great card to play in a metagame where there are pesky Poke-Bodies roaming around, but it isn’t too great otherwise. Pokemon such as Spiritomb and Vileplume could pose some threats to Gyarados, but I think you can handle them after many play sessions versus VileGar or another Trainer lock deck. Either way, Dialga G LV.X is always a great safety net, so try it in testing and determine its worth yourself.

1-1 Luxray GL LV.X RR & 1 or 2 Basic Lightning Energy

This is an interesting card to add into the deck because it gives the ability to gust up any of your opponent’s Pokemon hiding on the bench and OHKO them with “Tail Revenge”! Luxray GL LV.X also gets the benefit of being a secondary attacker if you tech in some Lightning Energy, and it only gets better if you throw in a Cyrus’s Conspiracy engine.

*Side note: if you would rather not devote the space to Luxray GL LV.X, you could throw in a few Pokemon Reversal for a similar effect!

1 Combee SV

You might be saying “LOLz, he is suggesting a Combee without Vespiquen in a Gyarados deck. what a scrub11!!!!1!!1!1!” But this is definitely not a scrub card to play. This Pokemon has some “Honey” with it and that same “Honey” allows you to get back a Basic Pokemon *coughcoughMAGIKARPcoughcough* and play it down on your bench. This tech may not be as solid with Rescue Energy, but it has been proven as a successful way to get Magikarp back (especially against Trainer locking decks)

1-1 Dodrio SV or 1-1 Uxie LV.X LA

Dodrio is interesting because it allows you to draw 1 card per turn, but it is still draw power! I don’t know how much I recommend Dodrio over Uxie LV.X, but it is still a card to consider. If you ever find yourself ‘dead-drawing’ or just not getting enough of the cards you need, I suggest at least trying one of these.

1 or 2 Smeargle UD (possibility of Sableye substitute)

Smeargle is my favorite card from Undaunted, and it might make for an interesting addition to Gyarados. I do know a lot of players have been starting to play Smeargle over Sableye in Sablelock, but I don’t know if that will be the same case for Gyarados. The reason why Smeargle might not fit into Gyarados as nicely as any other deck is the lack of Unown Q (four 30 HP Basics over five), but Gyarados can easily run multiple Warp Energy, Warp Point, Super Scoop Up, Switch, and Seeker, so it might just work. Smeargle can be used to set up more quickly than Sableye, but it also runs the risk of being inconsistent if you don’t hit any good Supporters. With all of that, Smeargle is still a card that you could try out and it might just be that winning card.

Cyrus’s Conspiracy engine with Poke Turn, Energy Gain, SP Radar, and maybe even Power Spray

This is an interesting idea and it should be considered, especially if you have etched any amount of SP Pokemon into your deck. Here is a small example if you teched Luxray GL LV.X and Toxicroak G in your deck:

Pokemon – 5

2 Crobat G PL
1 Luxray GL LV.X RR
1 Luxray GL RR
1 Toxicroak G PR

T/S/S – 8-14

2-4 Cyrus’ Conspiracy
4 TGI Poke Turn
1-2 TGI Energy Gain
1-2 TGI SP Radar
0-2 TGI Power Spray

Energy – 2-3

1-2 Basic Lightning Energy
1 Basic Psychic Energy

Total: 15-22

Now this engine isn’t for every Gyarados deck, but I just wanted to point out an option that some may have overlooked. If you want to try something new, I say try adding this engine (and don’t be afraid to alter the base list as long as you have a valid reason).

1 or 2 Seeker and some ‘reusable’ cards (Luxray GL LV.X, Mesprit, etc.)

Seeker is an interesting card because it doesn’t work too well on it’s own, but it works wonders if you combo it with something else such as a Mesprit, Luxray GL LV.X, or even a Combee! Seeker also has the ability to bench your opponent (because you return one of their benched Pokemon) and that can work extremely well with “Tail Revenge”. Seeker is one card to think about or, at the very least, test out!

3 or 4 Special Dark Energies

This has always been an interesting choice for Gyarados and it is only to give your Sableye the chance to donk. If you think about it, you already play Super Scoop Up, Poke Turn, Crobat G, and Expert Belt, so Sableye plus Special Darkness Energy seem right at home here. It is something to think about, especially if your area plays a lot of random decks and/or VileGar.

Random cards (Pokedex Handy910is, Warp Point, minimal Pokemon lines, etc.)

I usually never recommend anyone to play “random cards”, but I think every deck should have some personal flare of some sort. I personally hate cards like Pokedex Handy910is, but my brother, the 2010 World Champion, loves to play it in his Gyarados deck. Now even though you can throw whatever you want in a deck list, it doesn’t mean your deck should be inconsistent or not make sense, rather it just means that you have a bit of flexibility.

Increased copies (Rescue Energy, Super Scoop Up, etc.)

Sometimes what is needed in a base list isn’t always enough for you and you will have to add more. These are cards you should add at the very end of your deck-building process, after you have added all of your techs. Sometimes different tournaments will warrant different counts of cards and you should always have some sort of “sideboard” of cards that you can easily interchange for other cards in your deck.

Match-Ups

I don’t feel like match-ups are completely necessary because I went through the best techs to add to Gyarados, but I still think they may help out some people. Anyway, here they are:

Gyarados vs. Gyarados (mirror): Even

This is a match-up where carefully planned counter-KOs will win the match-up, but you also need to know how to react to your opponent’s every move! This match-up could easily be decided by a Sableye donk, a perfectly-timed “Bright Look”, a Pokemon Reversal flip, a Super Scoop Up flip, or a Ditto drop, you need to know how to react to these outcomes and when to use them yourself. I can go on and on ‘theorymoning’ this match-up, but any mirror match should be practiced thoroughly and that is how you will learn your own way how to win. Either way, if you have practiced the match-up, have some luck on your side with flips and starts, and if you have a few techs, you should do just fine.

Gyarados vs. LuxChomp: Slightly Unfavorable to Unfavorable

This can be your “UGGGGH” match-up if they play Lucario GL, but it is very winnable if they don’t play it at all. The goal of this match-up is to get a Gyarados out drawing prizes very early and to continuously draw prizes throughout the game; keep a certain prize pace going as long as you can! If they ever leave a Luxray GL vulnerable on the bench, jump on this opportunity to use a Reversal or use “Bright Look” to OHKO it. Also, if you have teched a Toxicroak G/Mankey/Machamp, try to use them as much as possible, whenever possible.

Gyarados vs. DialgaChomp: Slightly Unfavorable to Unfavorable

Well, I am just going to start this out with a little fact that you should consider when you battle a DialgaChomp deck: DialgaChomp players tend to be more skilled. DialgaChomp is essentially the deck that most top players are running and, even if a top player isn’t running it, you can expect some sort of hard match-up! For the actual match-up, just try to score as many freebie prizes as you can via Reversal, Warp Point, Cyclone Energy, “Bright Look”, Regice, etc., and try to avoid a belted Dialga G LV.X with 4 SP Metals. The problem is, the DialgaChomp player can tech a Judge/Looker’s Investigation, among other cards like Roserade GL, which can give you a harsh time. Also, if you have teched a Machamp line in your deck, get it out as a priority over Gyarados as it may just win you the match-up! No matter what, just try to get as many KOs as you can and play according to the situation. Good luck!

Gyarados vs. Machamp: Very Favorable to Extremely Favorable

This is one easy match-up as long as you don’t get donked or they Warp Point/”Bright Look”/Reversal around your Gyarados. If they play a heavy Warp Point count, you can even opt to have two Gyarados on your field to swing for 60 damage, but it should still be an easy match-up. If you are wondering why this is an easy match-up, you have Fighting resistance, high HP, and Machamp does a low amount of damage. If you battle this in a tournament, avoid the donk and then take your easy win. :P

Well, I hope you can now build a superb Gyarados list from this part of the article and I also hope you will read part 3/4 when I complete it. Also, if I missed any killer tech or if you have any suggestions for additional techs, tell me in the comments section below. :)

Any issues/concerns/comments/etc., please let me know in the comments below or Facebook or my email. Also, “like” this article if you enjoyed it and “like” me as an author (top left corner of the page) to show your appreciation. Basically, what I am saying here is, the more likes I get, the bigger ego I have, which means better articles lol.

Email: zlesage@sixprizes.com
MSN: zlesage@hotmail.com
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- Zach Lesage

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Anonymous

Great article, very indepth. I know you were trying to keep to the 4 decks but I’d like to see matchups with other decks such as vilegar, sabelock, etc.
Anonymous

I know you’re probably tired of people asking about VileGar in your articles, but what do you feel the matchup is of it versus Gyarados? I only ask because you mentioned it in techs, and I’m betting that it will see lots of play at Cities this year.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Martin-Garcia/676689170 Martin Garcia

True. The new gyarados lists tend to run a heavier trainer count, specially since they include a lot of junk arms, SSU, reversals, and such. Even with 1 regice, im not sure how the match up would go.

Anonymous

So far in my playtesting it’s about 50/50, though some of those wins were really lucky on VileGar’s part. I’ve only played a handful of matches so far, though.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Bae/583235222 Peter Bae

I think it relaly depends on the build your running. Altho I might up the Super Scoop Ups again to 4, since I run none now, but the only trainers in my list is 3 Pokemon Rescue, 1 Junk Arm, 2 E Belt, 1 Luxury Ball. It’s been very consistent so far and my VileGar match ups is about 60/40 I must say. The fact that I’m doing 90 is greayt because I put Gengar SF just in range of Uxie’s Set up attack. And the fact that I run Dialga G Lv.X gives me an edge, even with a lack of trainer, hence upping my super scoop up as I miss it v ery much
Anonymous

reversals?

Anonymous

60-40 gyarados

flash bites get around feinting spell and regice screws spiritombs and discards trainers.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Gabe-Cyrus/100000296413352 Gabe Cyrus

Do you think Mew Prime would be a good attacker for late in the game? I know the low HP doesn’t mean it will stay in play for more than one turn (unless you are really lucky), but it could pull off 120 damage instead of 90 like a normal Gyarados deck would.

Anonymous

I would only use mew as a tech in case gyarados gets lost zoned but the normal gyarados will have an expert belt attached so it’s always hitting for 110 instead of 90 and that’s before flash bites. 1 mew might be worth a try but NEVER use it to lost zone a gyarados yourself. Only if 1 gets lost zoned by your opponent but either Gengar prime or Absol g lv x.
Anonymous

yes.

Anonymous

Iv been doing 2 smeargle and 2 sableye. The reason I like smeargle more is because you could first turn a collector and have 2 karps discarded first turn. The problem with sableye is that since impersonate is an attack. The karps sit in your hand which leaves them at risk of getting lost zoned by gengar prime which can devistate this deck.

Anonymous

portarit

no collector

SCREW YOU WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous

Impersonate, collector for regice and 2 karp. They go, rare candy into gengar prime, attach 1 energy, plunge into darkness a magikarp. Looks like you’re only hitting for 80 instaed of 110 the rest of the game meaning you cant one shot luxray or garchomp c.

That’s why I do a 2-2 Smearlge isnt as reliable but it is safer. lol
Anonymous

Wait, you are running Gengar prime on SP?????
Anonymous

I actually run Gengar C. Its gengar from SF and garchomp C running the SP engin including Luxchomp counters like promocroak, dragonite FB and ambipom. To be honest it is an amazing deck and very consistent. I v only been playing since right before spring BR and I topped for the first time in Autumn BR using Gengar C.
Anonymous

gengar sf doesn’t have an attack called Plunge Into Darkness, the prime does.
Anonymous

I know. that’s why I run 1 prime and 2 SF. He asked me if I ran gengar prime with SP and i told him that I srun Gengar C. I said the deck is Garchomp C and Gengar SF because they are the two main attackers. The prime is more of a tech than a main attacker.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Martin-Garcia/676689170 Martin Garcia

impersonate for collector-> judge/lookers/impersonate for judge/lookers GG
Im not saying sableye is bad at all, i also think its a must in this deck, but a smeargle or two never is bad, specially since almost every respectable deck plays at least 3 collector. If between your deck, and your opponent´s there is no collector at least 70% of the time, man do you have bad luck.
I have seen way many too gyarados get judged after impersonating a collector, and its not funny you know?
Anonymous

who runs gengar prime in luxchomp? luxchomp in gengar prime anyone?

nope, your theory is very.. how should I say this… WRONG.
Anonymous

Gengar C is not luxchomp MORON! I said Luxray OR Garchomp. Gengar C is Garchomp and Gengar. Gengar prime lost zones a karp and the cant 1 shot garchomp or gengar. They wouldnt wanna do 110 to a gengar anyways because the rescue energy wont work if the flip heads on fainting spell.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Bae/583235222 Peter Bae

agreed, I believ 4 Sableye is the way to go with 1 Smeargle tech

Anonymous

It’s a pity not to extend your quite good analysis to Sablock variants and Vilegar. We can agree (or not) the top 4 decks you focus on but keep in mind your article(s) are read by people form different countries where metegame could be a little bit different than US one !

http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

I live in Canada and based my choices off of the best decks that could be made from the cards we have ATM. If I find that Sablock and VileGar are article worthy in the future, I will consider them.
Anonymous

are u kidding? this is horrid advice.

http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

R u kidding? You are a horrible player.
Anonymous

not as bad as you you didnt even put seeker and call energy in the base list. Or black belt. or 3 expert belt.

i could go on and on like this but i have better things to do
Anonymous

not as bad as you you didnt even put seeker and call energy in the base list. Or black belt. or 3 expert belt.

i could go on and on like this but i have better things to do
Anonymous

Do you understand the concept of a skeleton?

It’s only what the deck REQUIRES.

The deck does not REQUIRE seeker, call energy, or black belt, meaning any decent player (see: not a scrub) isn’t going to include them in the base list. Considering the deck ran just fine without all 3 of those cards before, they aren’t mandatory. 2 Expert Belt is staple, 3 is overkill.

The better things you could have to do should include learning how to play the Pokemon TCG, because your posts here sure show a lack of knowledge in this area.
Anonymous

it actually DOES require those.
Anonymous

I’ll believe you when you have results that include a couple Victory Medals, a CC medal, a States trophy, or Regionals Trophy WITH Gyarados. Until then, your opinion on what Gyarados requires is irrelevant.Scrubs will be scrubs.
Anonymous

you would be included in the last sentence.
Anonymous

Sorry I did not mean to like this ^^^But like Martin said. Try trimming down your amount of dos for some search options. Running search card is A LOT more reliable than just bumping up pokemon count.
Anonymous

trainer lock…

i wish i hadnt listened to hgssprime (by the way, the one you relate to is meganium)
Anonymous

Are you assuming that EVERYONE i running trainer lock? Oh because there’s trainer lock out there then no one should run trainers ever! *Sarcasm*

Also i said “Search options” meaning you could bump bebes up to 4 or even adding a twins.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=900990178 John Kettler

That’s not the smart way to handle criticism to your article, Zach. Even if he IS a horrid player, don’t stoop down to that.
Anonymous

Exaaaaactly.

Anonymous

Matchups are off. LuxChomp NEEDS lucario just to keep up. Rescue energy and Junk Arm make the matchup unfavorable for luxchomp. Gyarados can recover faster, doesn’t require 3 energy (2 in play on lux and 1 in hand) to OHKO, and sets up before you have 3 energy. DialgaChomp can’t continually heal/tank fast enough to keep up all game, and remove lost doesn’t really do anything to gyarados when they can SSU 4-7 times. You can’t deafen all game unless you want to lose, and rescue energy prevents the already near impossible deafen KO. If they warp energy/seeker, GG.Oak’s Visit over Volkner?April Fools isn’t for a while.

Anonymous

The reason Volkner’s beats oak is because it can discard magikarp. you need to have the 3rd karp there, and you cant always draw a junk arm. this is an impersonateable discard engine which is why i prefer it.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Bae/583235222 Peter Bae

I play gyarados and 90% of the time, Volkner’s doesnt even come handy and I run 3 of them. either way i’ll be attacking turn 2, so Regice does the job way better and much more efficiently
Anonymous

Ok, can’t wait until you get judged and don’t have adequate draw power to recover.

Have fun!

4 Volkner or BUST.

At least 1 VS seeker is nearly a must as well.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Bae/583235222 Peter Bae

not to come off rude, I didnt say that Volkner’s is my only draw power.. I run PONT and Cynthias to refresh my hand from judge and such and its been working out great.
Anonymous

you seriously do? weeks of testing say they suck.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Bae/583235222 Peter Bae

not to come off rude, I didnt say that Volkner’s is my only draw power.. I run PONT and Cynthias to refresh my hand from judge and such and its been working out great.
Anonymous

Read more, please. “Oaks Visit over Volkner?” = questioning why the author is stating oaks as a superior card.

Trust me, I KNOW gyarados. Volkners is the most superior draw supporter the deck can utilize simply on the fact that it can discard + draw.
Anonymous

i think this is the one spot we can agree on.

Anonymous

WarpEnergy+ Seeker is a staple in gyarados– or at least it’s too good to ignore. Seeker/SSU takes the place of both a draw power through re-using uxie as well as healing.

Anonymous

Better be careful, though. Playing a game against a friend who had seeker in his hand, two benched and an active Sableye. Used Portrait to return one, played a second from my hand, retreated and used Poltergeist for knockout. He had no other benched. It was epic because it was my first prize to his fourth.
Anonymous

Disagree

Anything that helps my opponent ISN’T staple. I’d rather not base my effects on something that could return my opponent’s Lux X or Garch X or Machamp Prime or Gengar SF back to their hands for something I can merely SSU/junk arm a SSU to heal with.

Seeker is REALLY overrated right now.

Anonymous

Actually seeker is a game ending card. Gyarados takes pokemon out very easy and a lot of times it gets down to where the have 1 benched and 1 active. Seeker+KO active and game over. Iv actually donked with gyarados because of seeker.
Anonymous

Didn’t say it couldn’t end games. Reversal, Blower +, and Plus Power can all be game-ending cards, but that doesn’t make them staples.

Congratulations on getting a win because of seeker. I rode all the way to 2nd place at regionals thanks to Reversals, but there’s no way I’d qualify them as staples. They’re a situational card that can tilt a game in your favor, and that’s about it. Nothing is required of the card to win games. I find seeker to be a card that can benefit my opponent too much a MAJORITY of the time. Every time I’ve been seeker’d, it’s been something I enjoyed (getting to reuse my Uxie or add another damage counter via Crobat G. Hell, I even used it to get azelf back up to get another g’dos out of my prizes, which can win me a game on it’s own, and it’s all thanks to my opponent playing a card.
Anonymous

A lot opf card are like that. Seeker is just the kind of card that should be played at the right time. Like if their bench doesnt consiste of enything useful, or is it’s late game and uxie wouldnt help them as much as earlier in the game. I think seeker is a card that really is most effective if played at the right time.

But if you have a damaged and belted gyarados against luxchomp. belted gyarados 1 shots all SP Lv X’s except dialga. You warp (energy or point) gyarados and seeker putting warp (if that’s what you used) back in your hand and push up crobat, put gyardos back down, retreat crobat and gyarados is healed. They can bright look regice but you’ll have warp energy or warp point in hand and then gyarados will 1 shot luxray or garchomp.
Anonymous

@Austino–I know you’re a gyarapro and I’d never question your logic, but if trainer lock is big in your area the ssus become dead weight. Unless you want to go the luxray route (I’m not a fan), then Seeker is one of your best options against decks like vilegar. I’ve also never found it to help my opponent heal-wise because almost everything you’ve listed is a pokemon that you should be one-shotting or one that shouldn’t be on the bench anyways (except maybe machamp prime). Even if you do give your opponent the benefit of picking up a power that they can reuse, denying your opponent any prizes from the active with gyarados is a big enough plus in my book to warrant its play.

I haven’t been playing my gdos with dark energy like you do though, and I’m definitely going to try that out. absol prime /sableye sounds like a solid counter to me.
Anonymous

Trainer lock is irrelevant for the most part if you’re running DGX and heavy warp energy count, IMO.Gengar and SP are the best decks to rely on you playing seeker. I know you aren’t going to smack my gengar for 110 and hit my fainting spell while rescue energy/belt is on your g’dos. I’ll simply retreat and attack you with something else and you’ll be forced to seeker (general assumption) and I’ll recover my gengar. Same for SP. I typically do not want to belt against luxray unless I have to, meaning if I hit garchomp x for 90 and they retreat to attack with luxray, me seeker-ing benefits them even more than hitting a SSU. (not dealing with trainer lock in the matchup).I can only see Seeker benefiting you in a trainer lock matchup where you can’t/don’t have access to DGX and in the mirror match, however, there are much better techs for the mirror than seeker.

A lot of it comes down to evaluating your matchups and where a card is needed vs being unneeded. I generally see seeker as a card more beneficial to me than my opponent in 1-2 matchups, making it far from a staple.
Anonymous

Isn’t the idea to KO the pokemon that are just short of the knockout with crobats first on the bench? With poketurns and high junk arm counts, dropping 2-3 bats on the bench is usually pretty easy to do.

I will agree that it’s not a staple for everyone though–that was a little extreme to say.
Anonymous

Isn’t the idea to KO the pokemon that are just short of the knockout with crobats first on the bench? With poketurns and high junk arm counts, dropping 2-3 bats on the bench is usually pretty easy to do.

I will agree that it’s not a staple for everyone though–that was a little extreme to say.
Anonymous

you shouldnt be running dgx and you will get level downed
Anonymous

disagreeing with this advice is wrong, especially if given to by the j-wittz. it doesnt help them, it heals you.
Anonymous

how does it help opponent? they get to reuse setup but late game their hand will be clogged with basics they can’t drop.

Anonymous

where is call nrg? 4 rescue energy? at least 2 pokemon rescue? volkners? a 4th sableye? a 4th GYARADOS?

in techs, where’s bliss prime? mew prime? spec dark? cyclone nrg?

ACHOOOOOOOOOOOOO

im allergic to horrible gyarados advice.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Bae/583235222 Peter Bae

4 rescue energy clogs up your hand.. 3 rescue energy 3 pokemon rescue works the best for me right now. I agree with the 4th Sableye and the CAll energy due to increased popularity in Machamp. and FYI, 4th gyarados sucks.. there is no use, especially with 3 rescue energy and 3 pokemon rescue? 3 is more than enough.

Anonymous

gyaradoss hand is supposed to be clogged it makes the deck

have you ever heard of regice?
Anonymous

gyaradoss hand is supposed to be clogged it makes the deck

have you ever heard of regice?

http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Bae/583235222 Peter Bae

4 rescue energy clogs up your hand.. 3 rescue energy 3 pokemon rescue works the best for me right now. I agree with the 4th Sableye and the CAll energy due to increased popularity in Machamp. and FYI, 4th gyarados sucks.. there is no use, especially with 3 rescue energy and 3 pokemon rescue? 3 is more than enough.
Anonymous

4th gyarados is wasted space
4 rescue energy is overkill
Mew prime is a 60 hp liability, absol is a MUCH better option if worried about gengar. OHKO each gengar while you already run sp dark? Ability to Pkmn Rescue/rescue energy the absol for re-use? All game destruction regardless of them LZ’ing a karp? Yes please.

Anonymous

mew and absol arent gengar techs idiot
Anonymous

mew and absol arent gengar techs idiot
Anonymous

Gengar is the only thing that can send a karp to the LZ, idiot.

Absol IS a gengar tech, considering many lists already run sp dark, and fitting in 1 card (absol) to ohko gengars makes it a tech.
Anonymous

it is used to lost zone gyarados for mew prime deusch
Anonymous

Honestly, who lets giratina x ko a magikarp? Absol G? You should be able to get them out of your deck before they have a *chance* at flipping enough heads to get the random chance of hitting one. Get viable here.
Anonymous

while that may be true, there are lots of lucky noobs in my area, and i have had a magikarp lost zoned from both of these cards.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Shining-Yue/1018279749 Shining Yue

Like you, for example.
Anonymous

a noob is someone who is new and has no idea about anything the metagame has to offer, so technichally, that’s your ass(es)
http://www.facebook.com/people/Shining-Yue/1018279749 Shining Yue

No, what you describe is a newbie, a noob is a just someone who doesn’t learn (and they’re usually annoying).
Anonymous

if i havnt learned than i wouldnt be giving advice 10x better than austino the bragger.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Shining-Yue/1018279749 Shining Yue

“The legend of Austino the Bragger”

Ok I’ve had enough fun, Adam’s gif was too much for me.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Martin-Garcia/676689170 Martin Garcia

I bet he´s eating some popcorn while he reads trough this right now.
At least i am.
Anonymous

yep, that’s what he says.
Anonymous

a noob is someone who is new and has no idea about anything the metagame has to offer, so technichally, that’s your ass(es)
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

OMFG, BDIF alert!!!!!11,!!,!,!!!1!

You know every single deck and have hhe best lists, you must have won Worlds every single year, right?!?!??!?!? I bet you haven’t even won a BR lol

Come back with some credibility and some reliable ideas or just leave…bye
Anonymous

you just have to know what cards r out there like me so shut up and come back with better advice for dialgachomp and machamp. it’s up to adam to make this decent.
Anonymous

you just have to know what cards r out there like me so shut up and come back with better advice for dialgachomp and machamp. it’s up to adam to make this decent.

http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

Bliss prime isn’t as great w/ Rescue Energy in the format
4 rescue energy is overkill
Call is dece, but I like impersonate
Rescue could be increased, but this is a base list IMO
Volkners is listed as a draw-card, I prefer POV ATM though
4 Sableye is solid, 3 is the base. I might play 3 Sableye/1 Smeargle
4 G-dos isn’t good anymore, 3 is nice IMO
Mew prime has been tested, but that is a diff variant (which I dislike)
Spec dark was listed, maybe you should learn to look
Cyclone energy is dece, but regice and maybe Luxray do the same things

Achoooooo,

I’m allergic to horrible readers

Next time when you say something, learn what is the “actual” standard of a base list :/

Anonymous

a 4th gyarados is necessary if you want to have a chance against speed decks. You need a t3 gyarados out and can only do that if you topdeck one. a 4th gyarados is much easier to topdeck.

a 4th rescue energy also enables you get one, good luck searching for them when you dont run eeu.

cyclone ups regice in three ways

POWER SPRAY

youre evolved

why dont i have any cards in my hand?
Anonymous

You’re a fool and your word holds no grounds.

What event have you won with gyarados?

I know that I’ve top cut two states (undefeated in swiss at one), 2nd at regionals, and 2 BR’s this season with Gyarados. When top players are telling what isn’t needed in the deck, take their word. I’ve NEVER ran 4 gyarados in my list, and even now, I don’t run more than 2 rescue energy seeing as the deck functioned just fine without it.

l2play, then come back.
Anonymous

what attachment do you waste? gyarados requires none.
Anonymous

What don’t you get about ACTUAL results? There are means of getting a Gyarados OTHER than topdecking it. Communication, Luxury Ball, Bebe’s, Set Up for cards, Volkner’s for cards, Time Walk, etc. Sometimes you do need to attach to a pokemon, if you actually knew what strategy was. I like being able to attach to me benched pokes for when I might need to overconfident, psychic restore, etc to take a prize after a G’dos goes down. I’d rather my energy be beneficial to the deck (sp dark, warp, rescue) as opposed to letting my opponent keep their main attacker by forcing them to send it to the bench. The other 3 energy are far superior and you’re assuming they are KOing sableye T2, which doesn’t happen most games.

If you want to keep up with making it passed the swiss rounds, stop posting and start LEARNING. Results speak louder than your theorymon.
Anonymous

comm. dont run luxball dont run bebes is imprsonated, set up is topdecking, volkners is topdecking, time walk says its prizes.
Anonymous

Top deck = drawing for turn

Draw power = volkner, uxie, cynthia, etc

Every gyarados deck should be running lux ball and communication. Bebe’s doesn’t only work through impersonate, you can actually play it DURING your turn.
Anonymous

my list is too damn tight. 61st, 62nd, and 63rd cards. bebes isn’t there when i need it, so i can only impersonate it.

test 4 gyarados, and see if the deck goes any better. if not you have a damn good argument.
Anonymous

refer to my list up top
Anonymous

that sucks
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

I completely agree with you Austin, this guy is just some horrible scrub troll :P
Anonymous

I’ve never played a G-Dos deck, and even i know 4 is a waste of space, especially with rescue energy. I will argue that a Trainer lock kills this deck, Dialga or not (LEVEL DOWN….)
Anonymous

Wait until they KO g’dos, send up dialga G, lv up, play trainers, go back to using gyarados. This is assuming no rescue energy. If you need to play trainers before g’dos is ko’d, warp to dg, lv up, play ssu, turns, etc. Poketurn dgx, rebench dialga g, attack with g’dos.
Anonymous

it sounds like you should just use gyaradoss regular strategy which is kill kill until they are forced to move up vileplume.
Jonathan

When you say “speed decks”, my first thought is that they are going for speed so they don’t start with spiritomb. If you’re not under a trainer lock, turn 3 is 1-2 turns slower than Gyarados should get out. You have many ways of getting Gyarados. I don’t see how running only 3 is a problem. My problem is usually drawing multiple Gyaradoses and they clutter my hand :p
Anonymous

with 3 karp discarded?

you are worse than austino. we start sably thats about the same.

I NEVER DRAW GYARADOS. when they do clutter your hand you should be glad they are there. Gyarados deck’s hands are meant to be clogged, thy stupid one.
Jonathan

So I was trying to be polite…

I may be worse than Austino, but there’s no way I’m worse than your dumb ass. So get your head out of it and stop insulting everyone who posts here when you clearly have no idea what you’re talking about.

I don’t know how every different person plays Gyarados, but I do know that I generally am swinging for 90 or 110 on turn 2 at the latest. Start with whoever the crap you want.

In case you were misunderstanding my Spiritomb comment, as you seem to be good at misunderstanding, I was only saying the following: If your opponent is playing a speed deck, chances are you’re allowed to play trainers, and you won’t be so slow as to start swinging turn 3.

While I’m sorry you never draw Gyarados, I personally do not share your problem with getting set up. You have Pokemon Communication, Bebe, Gyarados, Luxury Ball, and you’re using Sableye as a starter. You have no excuse for not getting a Gyarados out.
Anonymous

technichally ido not run comm. or lux ball because my list is too damn tight those would be the 61st cards. if my ass is dumb, than your ass’s IQ is a negative number.

You must have God hands if you have 3 magikarps discard (regice + volkner+3 karps) and a gyarados (gyarados, bts) out t 1/2. you must be god’s old roommate from college. he certainly likes you.
Jonathan

I suppose God does grace my hand about 80% of the time then.

I mean, I guess I must devote more space to consistency than some lists. It probably bites me in other ways, but hitting hard and fast seems like a good way to go with Gyarados, at least in most matchups.

Also I don’t run Volkner. In my experience it doesn’t draw enough and I’d rather use the supporter for the turn on a Collector. Junk Arms + Regice do a decent enough job burning all 3 karps.
Anonymous

the + side of volkner is you can impersonate it. junk arm isn’t always possible.

Can you play junk arm if you dont have trainer in your discard? i think not.
Jonathan

Well, you can play Junk Arm, and discard a trainer and then get that trainer back with Junk Arm. It would be silly if you weren’t allowed to do this unless there was _another_ trainer already in your discard to justify using it. Therefore you should be able to play it at any time. And I can see no way that they would put restrictions on what you have to discard, so I am quite sure you should be able to discard two Magikarps and then have the Junk Arm short-circuit and just not get a trainer. I will ask the Gym rules team though.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Tom-Ball/100001505655732 Tom Ball

I believe that the trainer card has one effect and that effect has a cost. In this case the effect is to get a Trainer card from your discard at the cost of discarding 2 cards. Since the discard is known. The effect can not be performed if no trainer is present.

That is just my opinion and I hope I am wrong…lol
Jonathan

If that is true, then I wish they would word these cards as such…

Also, the ruling you linked to is unrelated. That addresses whether you can get Junk Arm with Junk Arm, which is expressly not allowed per the card text. That ruling doesn’t address whether you can retrieve other cards you just discarded or whether you can play Junk Arm when there are no Trainers in the discard pile.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Tom-Ball/100001505655732 Tom Ball

Actually, I think he was answering 2 questions.
[quote]Since Junk Arm says you can’t choose Junk Arm with the effect of this card, i was wondering if you are able to grab a junk arm that it is already in the discard pile since the card is referring to it’s own name. [i] (answer: No, you can’t get any Junk Arm)[/i]

Also, can you use junk arm to discard if you don’t have any trainers in your discard pile? [i] (answer: You can’t play a Trainer when it is known it will have no effect)[/i][/quote]
Jonathan

Ah, you’re exactly right. I failed to pick up on the second half.

However, I’ve noticed that there are about 5 pending Ask the Masters questions pertaining to Junk Arm from the past couple of weeks, none of which have been answered, so I suspect that they’re waiting on Japan to verify this ruling. Hopefully we get some good news…
http://www.facebook.com/people/Martin-Garcia/676689170 Martin Garcia

you dont run communication or luxury cause your list is tight? and then you complain you cant get a gdos quickly enough, so you need a 4th one? Are you serious?
Well, there you have one of the reasons why your list is tight, you are putting cards you dont need, and you cant get the ones you DO need.
Jonathan

So I was trying to be polite…

I may be worse than Austino, but there’s no way I’m worse than your dumb ass. So get your head out of it and stop insulting everyone who posts here when you clearly have no idea what you’re talking about.

I don’t know how every different person plays Gyarados, but I do know that I generally am swinging for 90 or 110 on turn 2 at the latest. Start with whoever the crap you want.

In case you were misunderstanding my Spiritomb comment, as you seem to be good at misunderstanding, I was only saying the following: If your opponent is playing a speed deck, chances are you’re allowed to play trainers, and you won’t be so slow as to start swinging turn 3.

While I’m sorry you never draw Gyarados, I personally do not share your problem with getting set up. You have Pokemon Communication, Bebe, Gyarados, Luxury Ball, and you’re using Sableye as a starter. You have no excuse for not getting a Gyarados out.
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

My base list is to give players an idea of a competitive list, not a freebie ride to a ratings invite (that is for the UG staff, not the regular staff).

If you are such a good player and deck builder, you obviously shouldn’t be reading these articles :/ My only goal was to provide some insight to some players who might use it
Anonymous

my idea is to see how much they suck and put good advice in the comment section
Anonymous

Okay since Im subbed to this article I keep seeing all the different comments and when I saw this one I feel a have to say something. First off he said that this is just an idea for players that are new to gyarados. Key word “idea” as in an example meaning that he is not saying that this is THE list to run. Second I have also seen comments from you like this one saying that you want to see how much the people posting “suck and put good advice in the comment section” but really I haven’t seen you give any advice that isn’t already known. But then I also saw you say that cyclone is better than Regice. The point of regice is to discard karps as fast as possible, not switching. So saying that you want to see how others “suck” but then not get the point of regice then you need to rethink your argument. Another thing is that now with rescue energy and trainer lock growing in popularity gyarados does need an attached rescue energy in case it gets KOed and you cant pokemon rescue it back. You have not really given any good advice but you have continued to insult players for trying to give some advice they may have. You said to Jonathan “you are worse than austino.” and then you called Austino and idiot for mentioning that 4 Gyarados is wasted space which it actually is because when you get the first belted one out with a rescue energy you start picking off multiple prizes at a time and if it gets KOed you get it right back so you then proceed to pick up prizes. Not to mention that it could be warped and seekered up assuming you are being trainer lucked but if not the SSU is an added option. So yes maxing gyarados is a waste of space considering you only need 2, maybe 3 and you’ll be good. So if you’re idea is to give “good” advice then stop insulting others and try to be rational and think before you post.
Anonymous

i hav thought you need a gyarados t3 and cyclone beats regice in the switch matter.
2decktom

I wouldn’t call your advice good. I wouldn’t even call it advice.
Anonymous

a 4th gyarados is necessary if you want to have a chance against speed decks. You need a t3 gyarados out and can only do that if you topdeck one. a 4th gyarados is much easier to topdeck.

a 4th rescue energy also enables you get one, good luck searching for them when you dont run eeu.

cyclone ups regice in three ways

POWER SPRAY

youre evolved

why dont i have any cards in my hand?
Anonymous

also impersonate only works on sableye. call energy u can always use.
Anonymous

also impersonate only works on sableye. call energy u can always use.
Anonymous

Except for call put 2 on your bench as where impersonate enables you to collector for regice and 2 karps and then regimove next turn discarding the 2 karps.
Anonymous

call gets you sableye + unown q to retreat ur start and move up sably.

Anonymous

You mention that you have 4 poketurns in your deck, but their not in the list.

http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

I do play 4 in my list, it must have been an overlook :/ I will talk to Adam to see when he can add them to my list :)

Thanks for finding that :)

Anonymous

now that you fixed that, your total is off, and so is the wording in the paragraph.
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

I thought that was also fixed

Anonymous

“Blaziken”

That is all.
Anonymous

Good article, Combee if SF, not SV btw.

http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

Sorry, that’s my mistake, I thought it was from SV. “DONT PLAY THE SV COMBEE OF IT EXISTS!!!!!”

Anonymous

No 3-4 Special Darks, Yes 1 Special Dark and 1 Unown Dark

Anonymous

yes special darks<consistancy
Anonymous

yes special darks<consistancy

http://www.youtube.com/user/pgmcsskater pgmcsskater

woah? i think 4 seeker is a must… warp energy + seeker= fully healed gyarados

http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

I gave a base list, you make your decisions after that. Seeker isn’t a must

http://www.youtube.com/user/pgmcsskater pgmcsskater

youre right. I just feel seeker isnt dead weight against trainerlock. Its huge in my area
http://www.youtube.com/user/pgmcsskater pgmcsskater

youre right. I just feel seeker isnt dead weight against trainerlock. Its huge in my area
Anonymous

in what universe is seeker not a must? you may as well post the gyarados theme deck list up here instead of what you wrote. MOMS KINDNESS UPGRADE!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=543741636 Jason Windham

the worst gyarados list i have seen all week, even the other gyarados articles posted this week are better than this. lesage, i am disappointed.

http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

It is a base list and I think it is a fair base list. Do you truly think I would give out my list or Jacobs list for free to a community? My base lists are solid enough for the below average – average players to appreciate and for the better players to review.

You have to understand, I am only a staff writer, I am not getting paid like an Underground Staff Writer. That being said, I try my best, and if it isn’t to your liking, you dot have to read my articles anymore.

Anonymous

it’s less fair than weighted coins (or in this scenario, dice)
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

LOL, you are defs the best man on teh internetz
Anonymous

stop being sarcastic. start being consistant. adam says you need 4 gyarados. Adam, back me up here.
2decktom

Seriously?! You want Adam to back you up?! After all you said about this article, how it was bad, even other articles are better, I don’t think anyone is going to back you up.
Anonymous

becase he’s right and you are wrong
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

Adam was going off of his old list.
Anonymous

he gave advice like that for an md on deck.

Anonymous

even pokeclass PROFIT IS SUPERIOR BY FAR

Anonymous

My Personal List: No edits, card-for-card what I am currently playing with the best results after extensive continuous testing. (aka the FRUITS OF MY LABOR)

4-3 gyarados
4 sableye
1-1 dialga g x
2 uxie
2 crobat g
1 azelf
1 regice

4 collector
4 volkner
2 bebe
1 cynthia
4 poketurn
4 ssu
3 junk arm
1 lux ball
2 expert belt
3 rescue
1 pokemon communication
3 bts

3 sp dark
3 warp
2 rescue

http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

Thanks for posting a solid Gyarados list, I am sure coolestdumbass will have something negative to say soon though lol.

Anonymous

I edited in the 60th card. I forgot to include the 1 vs seeker.
Anonymous

the 1 unnecessary vs seeker.
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

VS Seeker is almost a staple (if not one already) in any deck and is hardly ever an unnecessary space.
Anonymous

do you get to reuse a supporter? back when felicity’s was around this was god-like. now all it does is get back a collector for you to get three sableyes with because there is nothing.
Anonymous

oh you are so screwed.
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

Why am I screwed?

http://www.facebook.com/people/Martin-Garcia/676689170 Martin Garcia

even if you wanted to end the argument, it really wasn’t necessary to post your list man, you know how ppl net deck this days.
Still thxs for the trouble, i dont play gyarados, but im sure a lot of new guys will find your advise quite useful.

Anonymous

didnt end the argument that list sucks
Anonymous

And another question…HOW OLD ARE YOU? Because I have a feeling that you’re still in Seniors. Masters say hi.
Anonymous

NOBUDY NET DECK AUSTINOS LIST YOU WILL FAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

Why would anyone ever net deck a list? Testing > freebie list
Anonymous

especially when the freebie list looks like that.

Anonymous

i not big on dgx. i will giuve you my list and it is less tech more consistant. try it and see how it works is all i ask you.4-4 Gyarados4 Sably1 Regice1 Registeel this is for when people start stuff like bronzong g2 crobat1 Azelf1 Uxie1 Unown Q1 Mew Prime1-1 Blissey Prime4 Junk Arm3 poketurn3 SSU2 Pokemon Rescue3 Expert Belt3 Pokemon Collector3 Bebe Search1 Cyrus Conspiracy2 Volkner2 Black Belt3 Broken-Time Space2 Warp Energy4 Rescue Energy1 Cyclone Energy1 Call Energy (would hav more if i had more)1 Psycic Energy

Anonymous

that is 8 spots devoted to tech and 52 to making the deck work.
Anonymous

to your 11
Anonymous

You run 3 collector.

G T F O

Your list is utter sh*t. No wonder you’re having issues with it.

Level Down isn’t a threat, either. You play DGX when you need to play trainers, then turn it when you’re done. L2Play.

Get your scrub ass list and your scrub ass attitude and leave deckbuilding to the big-boys.
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

Austinos list is actually pretty good. If I were you, I would just quit while I was behind.
Anonymous

Agreed.
Anonymous

Well… he obviously meant Regice when he said Registeel.

If not

I quit Pokemon..
Anonymous

No dude look at his list. He posted it on here. He runs BOTH and uses registeel if they bronzong g start! XD

One word: Poketurn.
Anonymous

that includes regice, dragonite fb, etc.
Anonymous

you only need 3 when you impersonate. l2start with sably.
Anonymous

Only 3 collector? Registeel? Mew Prime? 2 Black belt? 3 Expert belt (AND 4 junk arm)? 1 cyclone, psychic, and call?

…and you wonder why your list is inconsistent.

You’ve only proven how LITTLE you actually know. I have nothing more to say to you.
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

Exactly what I was going to say, it just is too inconsistent :/
Anonymous

do you want to give them a free trip out when they start bronzong/regice? do you want to OHKO higher HP stuff? do u want to have them switch wehen they have a vileplume+nothing benched and you want to kill it? My list is consistant, and your list is just plain bad.
Anonymous

Now for the flaws. Registeel first of all is insanely pointless whether or not they start with bronzong. It’s almost like you seem to forget that they can use poketurn. Blissy prime isnt needed either when you are able to use SUU. Neither mew or the cyrus or the psychic are need. You said that you have trouble getting a gyarados so you run 4 yet you dont run luxury ball which is an automatic collector (or even any pokemon you need at the time) at least drop a dos for a luxury ball. Drop mew, blissy, cyrus, psycic and registeel for 1 lux ball, 1 collector, 1 warp, and three seeker or 2 and another bebe’s.
Anonymous

they have to waste a poketurn. I do not believe in advice from schmucks. I posted this to show a decent gdos list, not get advice.
Jonathan

So I hate to say it, but…

Your list is terrible.

You say you have a greater consistency focus, with less space wasted on tech, as compared to Austin’s list and yet I see 6 glaring spaces wasted on Registeel, Blissey, and Black Belt, and Mew Prime, none of which can be called anything but mediocre tech at best, absolutely useless at worst. Meanwhile, you neglect absolute staples to consistency such as Luxury Ball, and you argue for 4 Gyarados, but don’t even run 4 Broken Time Space which unlike Gyarados is not searchable. Truly shameful.

Also, you should really stop flagrantly insulting everyone. Regardless of whether hgssprime’s comment was useful or not, dismissing it through a personal attack is both invalid and hurtful.
I’m not sure you understand how immature and unintelligent you sound, but everyone other than you seems to. I suppose being liked isn’t high on your priority list, but supposing that were to change, exercising some respect and humility goes a long way, and as of now, you’ve exhibited a large amount of neither of those.
Anonymous

It’s not wasting a poketurn. If they bronzong start it wont stay there no matter if you have registeel there or not. Anyone who bronzong starts is ALWAYS going to either poketurn it or warp energy it back to the bench. No matter what it wont stay active so yes registeel is a huge waste of space. it’s not a decent list at all. If you are going to use mew in gdos then its only a back up if a gdos gets lost zoned and since tail revenge is free mew wont need any energy but you run a psychic which makes it clear that you plan to lost zone a gdos yourself which is incredibly stupid. Oh ya Ill use my 60 HP as an attacker instead of my 130 (150 with a belt) tanker. If your lucky then mew will take 1 prize at the most and get Koed so you just wasted a gyardos by lost zoning it.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=543741636 Jason Windham

that “coolestman” person seriously need to be banned.

2decktom

“the worst gyarados list i have seen all week, even the other gyarados articles posted this week are better than this. lesage, i am disappointed.”

Hmm… Let’s see… if ‘coolestman’ needs to be banned, I think you need to banned too. Although he has posted a lot more stuff than you have.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Martin-Garcia/676689170 Martin Garcia

i disagree, sure, he was a bit rough but he never insulted, and was a little bit polite, he even said he was disappointed, meaning he was actually expecting something from zach to begin with.
He was a bit on the rough side, but im sure he meant no offense, IMO.
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

No offense? He kinda called people idiots and bashed this article A LOT! Not like I really care or anything though lol
http://www.facebook.com/people/Martin-Garcia/676689170 Martin Garcia

chill out man, im not trying to cover for him or anything, its just my opinion.
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

I didn’t say you were trying to cover for him, I am just saying that he went straight out bashing.
Walrus

Y3A br0, CHILL OUT. You’re totally out of control. STOP YELLING. oh wait…

2decktom

Okay, after reading all these comments, I have to say, THIS ARTICLE DOES NOT SUCK! As said in the article, That was a BASE LIST (meaning you can make many edits to and add more things), and I truly benefit from your article. With that being said, ‘Jason Windham’, ‘coolestman’, and every body else, lay off him! “Think before you hit that reply button” or in this case, post.

Thank you for another great article, Zach.

http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

Thanks for the kind reply, it’s nice to now that some people appreciate my work lol :)

Anonymous

it’s hard to.
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

Not really, you don’t have to like my article, but you have to see the work I have put into it.
Anonymous

you put lots of work looking at noob’s lists and seeing what the most of them put in.

Anonymous

it left out a lot of necessary cards like seeker and call energy. not to mention some 4ths like sably and gyarados.

http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

Call Energy isn’t necessary, it is a nuke card, but I wouldn’t play it in Gyarados TBH.

Seeker isn’t necessary, but I put it as a card you might like to add. I play 2-3 Seeker in my actual list depending on my techs.
Anonymous

everyone plays call, you just cant afford them.

http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

Coolestman, why are your grapes so sour? Are you like the Jetable of SixPrizes?

Anonymous

my grapes arent sour. I just hate to see my favorite deck look like.. well.. THAT LIST UP TOP!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

I gave everyone the bare structure of a standard Gyarados list, not a hardcore-teched up list that I have chiseled through hundreds of games.
Anonymous

you forgot 63966378564 different things.
http://twitter.com/GTP24 Poteet24

I was unaware that you could fit that many cards in a list

damn, I’m doing it wrong.

http://twitter.com/yoyofsho16 Alex Dickens

To be TOTALLY fair Austin, Cyclone (while I don’t play it) holds some weight in the mirror as it forces them to bring up something with low HP (unless they are using double Gyarados for 60, as Gyarados usually only THKO’s in mirror anyways).
Anonymous

COOLESTMAN – STFU!

http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

Agreed 100%
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

Agreed 100%

http://www.adamcapriola.com/ Adam Capriola

My response to all of this: http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s49/Mr_Muggles/GIFS/ofoy0k.gif

http://www.facebook.com/people/Shining-Yue/1018279749 Shining Yue

You are such an awesome guy Adam.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Shining-Yue/1018279749 Shining Yue

You are such an awesome guy Adam.

http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

I agree 100% XD
2decktom

Count me in!

Anonymous

i just hav 1 ?: whos side r u on?

http://www.adamcapriola.com/ Adam Capriola

I thought I banned you? Please stop spamming the comments and just enjoy reading from the sidelines for a while.
Anonymous

He’s making different accounts.
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

Ugh
Anonymous

Ehh dont worry. He’s still in seniors I bet you lol hes even liking his own comments haha

Anonymous

chill out people, E.L.E
Walrus

Coolest Man; Pleaseeeee rot in poke-hell

Anonymous

i’d say gyarados wants it too be you.

Walrus

I’d* say Gyarados* wants it to* be you. Fixed it for you. :)

You’re cute…now go ask your mom if you can have just a few more minutes on the computer before bed time.
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

I lolled :P
Anonymous

i said it’s not cool
Anonymous

ok dude not cool
Walrus

…sorry dude but not a single person here values your opinion anymore.
Anonymous

I’d expect that from a pneumocephlytic (pronounced new-mow seph-lit-ic.), and just walk off. It is a medical term for “airhead”.
Anonymous

Dude. It’s been two weeks now. Just go your separate ways, jeez. If it’s such a big deal, you two contact each other via email and have a redshark death match or something.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Martin-Garcia/676689170 Martin Garcia

Deathmatch in the highest floor of a skytower, with a thunderstorm in the background, or something like that would be nice.
I mean, who doesnt like final-boss-like deatmatches?
Anonymous

i guess youre right but i just thought of a good one. i would have a redshark deathmatch but my stupid cpu doesnt allow redshark. or apprentice.
Anonymous

Seriously? What, are you running windows 95 or something? Excuse FAIL. You just know either list would cream you.

Anonymous

WHAT DID COOLESTMAN SAY THATS SO BAD, I CAN’T FIND IT.

Anonymous

i said your mom is a stupid asshole.
Anonymous

I wasn’t one thing…:D
Anonymous

I wasn’t one thing…:D
Anonymous

are u backing me up or insulting me?

Anonymous

Wow, a lot of people like using the Ash photo as there profile picture. ( it’s a good picture. ) :D

Anonymous

And, I liked the report…

http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

Thanks, it is always nice to hear a comment like this :D

Anonymous

And, I liked the report…
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

It is the default picture, people aren’t actually choosing it.
Anonymous

that is the new shaded head for disqus.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Bae/583235222 Peter Bae

lol yo zach :D I’ve read the article when it came out but I ever got around to leaving an actual comment xD good article, some of these criticisms aren’t worth your time fighting about lol. Your skeleton list/article is great but the only thing I disagree is SSU being at 3 xD i think it shoudl be 4 or nothing <.< xD and as I sat back and read 175 comments of bickering and arguing of coolest something and austino, it seems like you and jacob is running gyarados?

http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

Thanks for saying it was a good article :) One thing about me, I can hardly ever back down an argument, I usually am stubborn about things so yeah, I’ll try to stop though lol. I have actually played many decks with 3 SSU and it works with Junk Arms if tight for space. Actually, I haven’t really considered Gyarados or anything really, I guess my main deck will come out sooner or later.

The decks that I have been playing around with are Gyarados, Machamp/Umbreon, DialgaChomp, LuxChomp, Absol Prime, among a few other less-notable decks.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Bae/583235222 Peter Bae

same, like the article before I wrote, I’m testing out various absolrpime/mew prime variant for fun to see if i can get it to the competitive level fo decks like DGX etc. Gyarados is my fav eight now, DGX is up there, and sadly, a gengar variant xD
http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

I am heavily testing Gyarados right now, but I really can’t get it to beat Jacob’s list consistently enough. I will have to do some more testing later lol.
Anonymous

learn to love decks before you post bad things about them.

http://www.facebook.com/apenandamuse Evan Baker

hey guys, just stopped by the thread to find out where coolestman’s newsletter is published. this guy is a genius, i could really pick up some pointers from him. also, does anyone know his address? i’d love to meet him in person, maybe even get a magikarp autographed. and while we’re at it, is anyone aware of a religion or cult that worships him? i’d love to join.

thanks in advance for your advice everyone!

http://www.facebook.com/zlesage Zachary Lesage

I lolled

Anonymous

I’m sorry but Adam I think we should close the comments up as I don’t think more hatred and arguements going around will end up improving what anybody thinks about the article because the comments are basically one guy hating on everyone else.

http://twitter.com/cabd55 Zackary Ayello

#include #include int main(){int Chemicalz=1;Chemicalz++;return(Chemicalz);}/* yeah, I’m a C programmer. */

AHAHAHA, 6P’s scripts don’t like the include tags

Anonymous

4-3 gyarados
2 uxie
2 Crobat g
4 sableye
1 azelf
1-1 DGX
1 unown q
1 regice

4 Collector
2 Bebes
2 poke comm.
4 BTS
2 pokemon rescue
3 seeker
3 Expert belt
4 junk arm
3 poke turn
2 volkners
1 luxury ball
1 vs seeker
2 Cynthias feelings

4 warp energy
3 rescue energy