Is Gardevoir-GX a Good Play for Memphis?

Some of you may know that I love Gardevoir-GX. I started testing it the moment the full Burning Shadows set list was dropped and I played it almost exclusively at tournaments until rotation. In fact, all but one of my tournament finishes last season were with Gardevoir-GX. I was very disappointed going into this format that without Brigette and Professor Sycamore, the deck simply is not consistent enough to keep up with other decks in the format and without N and Gallade it has little to no comeback potential. However, after Frankfurt Regionals this past weekend the meta is looking very good for the deck. Buzzwole/Shrine of Punishment is a favorable matchup for the deck, Rayquaza-GX/Vikavolt the runner up of the event is another favorable matchup, and Gardevoir-GX has a near auto win against against the Sylveon-GX and Steelix decks that took the event by surprise. So, is it enough to make up for the deck's problems? I think so.

The List

For this list I started with the Gardevoir-GX/Sylveon-GX/Swampert deck from Philadelphia and swapped out some cards, most notably the Swampert line for Acro Bikes and the addition of Sudowoodo.

Sudowoodo

Sudowoodo forces a Zoroark player to hit full benches, Choice Bands, and Professor Kukui to take two hit knockout on your Gardevoir-GX with Zoroark-GX. It also takes away a very valuable bench spot for Malamar decks. They need multiple Malamar and attackers in play to consistently take knockouts on your Gardevoir-GX and Sylveon-GX. Sudowoodo is also strong against Buzzwole/Shrine of Punishment because it limits the number of attackers/support Pokemon they can have out.

+4 Acro Bike -2/0/2 Swampert

I think Acro Bike is just a much better consistency card than trying to set up another stage 2 over the course of the game. In my testing I was getting out Swampert about half of the games I played; Whereas Acro Bike sees use in almost every game.

2 Escape Rope

Escape Rope is mainly to get Sylveon-GX in the active, its better than Escape Board because you can use it on Sudowoodo, it also forces up whatever your chose to keep safe on the bench. After Magical Ribbon it also allows you to switch out of Sylveon-GX without discarding the energy, which sets you up for a mid game Magical Ribbon if you're ahead or even a Plea-GX.

2 Acerola 1 Max Potion

Healing is very strong in this format. Both cards are great against Zoroark-GX and Buzzwole/Shrine of Punishment. I like this split because having a Max Potion as an item heal is a great option; however, Acerola is still a better card because it does not add an item for Trashalance and it conserves the energy so you ramp up the damage to one shot Zoroark-GX and Lycanroc-GX turn after turn.

2 Sylveon-GX

Sylveon-GX is what makes the deck capable of setting up. Unlike other stage 2 decks that rely on cards like Steven's Resolve or attacks like Tempest-GX, if your opponent, particularly against Zoroark, tries to Judge away the cards you want, they are not likely to hit the cards they need to two shot your Sylveon-GX. You can take advantage of this by using Magical Ribbon again. Other stage 2 decks use cards and effects that can not be used again but Sylveon-GX can use Magical Ribbon until one sticks.

0 Super Boost Energy

Super Boost Energy is a very fun card and was played in the list from Philadelphia. The reason it was played in that list was because Swampert counts as one of your stage 2 lines for the Energy's requirement. Without Swampert in the deck, you need all three of your Gardevoir-GX in play to activate Super Boost energy. If you have all three in play, you shouldn't need Super Boost Energy to win the game.

The Matchups

Zoroark-GX/Lycanroc-GX

I've reference the Zoroark matchup a lot in this article already, and the deck does play a lot of cards that are very strong against it; however, the raw consistency of the deck still makes it your worst top tier matchup. You have the be very careful of your bench to avoid Dangerous Rogue and avoid evolving into Gardevoir-GX if there is a threat of a Dangerous Rogue knock out on it. Sylveon-GX is your key to this matchup, set up everything you need with Sylveon before you start doing damage. Always have two to three Ralts/Kirlia in play to avoid getting disrupted by Guzma or Bloodthirsty Eyes knockouts. Lastly, Although healing can often seem like a strong play, if you have an out to a follow up attack if your opponent knocks out your active, and your active might miss the knockout after a Max Potion or Acerola, just commit to the knockout otherwise you are going to spend so much resources denying prizes from your opponent that you'll never take any yourself.

Rayquaza-GX/Vikavolt

Anyone that tells you this is an even matchup, has not tested it enough. In this matchup you want to focus your resources on a Magical Ribbon for Double Colorless Energy on your first attacking turn. You Fairy Wind for your first four prizes, then take the last two with Gardevoir-GX. Obviously things can go wrong in this plan but you still have the edge if you can set up a Gardevoir-GX within the first four turns of the game.

Buzzwole/Shrine of Punishment

This is a good matchup for the deck but it isn't as dominant as I expected it to be before I started testing it. Your game plan is to set up as much as you can without bench Tapu Lele-GX. You want to take your first three prizes with a Gardevoir-GX to avoid your opponent taking too strong of a lead with Sledgehammer. Then heal off any damage on the active Gardevoir-GX and Twilight-GX to put Garbodor out of range of any relevant damage. Weavile can be threatening so don't get overzealous on setting up multiple attackers. Well timed healing cards and knowing when you do and do not need to use resources or play down Pokemon is the key to winning the matchup.

Spo