Welcome to the first of my articles in a series I’ll be doing, titled “The Sideboard”! Many websites today have done a phenomenal job of documenting either modern or historical decklists for many different archetypes. With this series, I want to take a little bit of a different approach, and I think an article series is the best way to do it. Many of these archetypes have an unbelievably deep pocket of tech options and deckbuilding decisions that don’t get talked about enough – especially when building a library of old decks. Many of these options fly completely under the radar because they didn’t win Worlds or US Nationals.
In this series I hope to cover some of the archetypes that have a lot of decisions to make, and talk about some of the tech options that might have escaped the notice of people building retro decks. With this article series, I do NOT want to present a list as the “optimal” way to run a deck – I want to show people all the options they have, so they can pick the one that is going to be the most fun for them and their friends.
Without any further delay, here is the first article of “The Sidebaord” featuring one of the most infamous archetypes in PTCG History – LuxChomp
Contents
- Tournament Placements and Notable Decklists
- Skeleton List
- Deckbuilding decisions
- Tech Options
Tournament Placements and Notable Decklists
Supreme Victors was released on August 19, 2009, and became legal for tournament play immediately following the 2009 World Championships. Luxray GL Lv. X was released 1 set earlier, in Rising Rivals, and had already been dominating the tournament scene. It formed the backbone of two of the biggest archetypes in the format (Luxape and DPL) and, took a rogue deck to a 2nd place nats finish (Luxray/Manectric), and was added as a tech card to several other decks (Gyarados, Beedrill, and later Jumpluff).
Around the time of City Championships, Platinum Arceus was released, and LuxChomp contended in tier 1 alongside several other archetypes. Many SP decks from the previous year continued their success at the beginning of this one, but evolution decks (Especialy Gengar) saw newfound success due to the release of Spiritomb – a pokemon that could evolve your bench pokemon while locking up your use of Trainers (items), preventing SP decks from running them over before they could get set up. This really set the stage for LuxChomp to start performing well – between Luxray’s ability to pull pokemon off of the bench, and Garchomp’s ability to snipe 80 damage to any target, it was able to disrupt the setup of evolution decks much more easily than some of the other SP variants could at the time.
Cities at this time was a very balanced metagame – LuxChomp performed well, as well as a multitude of other decks. Tournament results varied across the country depending on each area’s local metagame. When HeartGold & SoulSilver base released in February, the metagame would get turned upside-down. HGSS Base brought with it a reprint of Double Colorless Energy, which turned Garchomp C Lv. X into one of the most consistent and easy to power-up attackers in the format. The stock for LuxChomp went through the roof, and it started to dominate high-level events around the world.
Luxray/Garchomp would go on to take 2nd place at US Nationals, 1st place at UK Nationals, 1st place and Top 4 at the World Championships, as well as 1st/2nd at a plethora of regional championships. Let’s take a look at some of these high-placing lists – players familiar with retro formats may have seen these before, or even have them built.
| Pokemon | Trainers | Energy |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Garchomp C Lv. X 2 Garchomp C 2 Luxray GL Lv. X 2 Luxray GL 1 Dialga G Lv. X 1 Dialga G 1 Lucario GL 1 Bronzong G 1 Crobat G 1 Dragonite FB 1 Uxie 2 Uxie Lv. X 1 Azelf | 4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy 3 Professor Oak’s New Theory 2 Pokémon Collector 2 Roseanne’s Research 2 Bebe’s Search 1 Aaron’s Collection 4 Energy Gain 4 Poké Turn 3 Power Spray 3 SP Radar 1 Pokémon Communication 1 Luxury Ball 1 Night Maintenance | 4 Double Colorless Energy 3 Warp Energy 2 Lightning Energy 2 Metal Energy (Basic) |
This is the version Yuta Komatsuda used to win the World Championships in 2010. Because it was printed as a worlds deck, this is probably the version players are most familiar with. This deck features Dialga Lv. X as an item lock threat in the mirror match, and as a solid resistance to Psychic which would be perfect in a format where the most popular non-SP decks were likely going to be Gengar variations. Komatsuda supports this choice by adding Warp Energy (a common tech for healing in DialgaChomp decks), and also plays Professor Oak’s New Theory (PONT) for a strong shuffle draw supporter, probably to counteract other deck’s reliance on Judge.
| Pokemon | Trainers | Energy |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Garchomp C Lv.X 2 Garchomp C 2 Luxray GL Lv.X 2 Luxray 1 Entei & Raikou LEGEND (Top) 1 Entei & Raikou LEGEND (bottom) 1 Bronzong G PL 41 1 Azelf 1 Ambipom G 1 Rosearde GL 1 Chatot 1 Crobat G 1 Lucario GL 1 Toxicorak G (Promo) DP41 1 Uxie Lv.X 2 Uxie | 4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy 3 Roseanne’s Research 1 Bebe’s Search 1 Aaron’s Collection 4 Poké Turn 3 G-101 Energy Gain 3 G-103 Power Spray 3 SP Radar 3 Pokemon Communication 1 VS Seeker | 4 Double Colorless Energy 4 Call Energy 3 Lightning Energy 1 Fire Energy 1 Psychic Energy |
Miguel Garcia made Top 4 at worlds 2010 with the above list, losing to champion Komatsuda in the semifinals. I didn’t watch the semifinals so anything I have to say is pure speculation – but the heavy reliance on Items in the above list makes me think that Dialga G”s deafen attack aided Komatsuda pretty heavily in the match. Garcia doesn’t play any copies of Prof. Oak’s New Theory, so it would be difficult for Garcia to refresh his hand when under item lock. even if he manages to draw into Uxie, he would likely have a much larger hand size, and also has to worry about power spray.
Garcia’s signature tech here was the Entei-Raikou LEGEND. This pokemon spread 80 damage to all pokemon with poke-powers on the field, allowing him to potentially clean up several prizes at once. Most decks already carried Claydol, Uxie, and Azelf in them, but some decks (ie Gengar) would basically lose their whole deck at once. This should also help against Dialga G. Lv. X in theory, but because Garcia plays mostly Items to search for his LEGEND pieces (3 copies of Pokemon Communication vs only 1 copy of Bebe’s Search) it was probably difficult to get all the pieces together at the right time.
| Pokemon | Trainers | Energy |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Luxray GL Lv.X 3 Luxray GL 2 Garchomp C Lv.X 2 Garchomp C 1 Uxie Lv.X 2 Uxie 2 Crobat G 1 Banette 1 Shuppet 1 Ambipom G 1 Toxicroak G 1 Bronzong G 1 Lucario GL 1 Azelf | 4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy 4 Pokemon Collector 2 Bebe’s Search 1 Roseanne’s Research 1 Aaron’s Collection 4 Poke Turn 4 Power Spray 3 Energy Gain 2 SP Radar 2 Expert Belt 1 Pokemon Communication 1 Night Maintenance | 5 Lightning Energy 4 Double Colorless Energy 2 Psychic Energy |
Erik Nance achieved 2nd place at US Nationals with the above list. Erik’s list doesn’t run attackers with several different energy types like the one above – instead he trades that space for consistency and solid damage output. Erik plays 2 expert belt in his list, which allows Luxray to get the KO on SP pokemon pretty reliably, and it also puts Flash Impact into KO range against Claydol and Uxie. This also turns Luxray into a 130 HP pokemon with the potential to heal the damage off at any given moment through the use of either Garchomp or PokeTurn. The one interesting tech card in here is Banette PL. This was one card many people used as an insurance policy against Mewtwo Lv. X, which can’t be damaged by unevolved pokemon. However it can pretty reliably take KOs against Uxie, Azelf, Toxicroak G, and even Claydol with expert belt/flash bite. Even though Mewtwo was probably what Erik had in mind, Banette was very rarely a dead card.
Skeleton List
| Pokemon | Trainers | Energy |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Luxray GL 1 Luxray GL Lv. X 2 Garchomp C 1 Garchomp C Lv. X 2 Uxie 1 Uxie Lv. X 1 Crobat G 1 Bronzong G 1 Lucario GL 1 Azelf | 4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy 1 Roseanne’s Research 1 Bebe’s Search 1 Aaron’s Collection 4 PokeTurn 4 Power Spray 3 Energy Gain 2 SP Radar | 4 Double Colorless Energy 2 Lightning Energy |
So the “skeleton list” above here is comprised only of cards that appear in all three LuxChomp lists pictured above. The cards listed here also appear in practically every LuxChomp list that you will see. Whatever techs you choose to include, however you decide to build your consistency lines, and whichever basic energy you decide to use past this initial 40 cards is completely up to you. But it is most likely in your best interest to include (or at least come close) to the 40 cards above.
Deckbuilding Decisions
Even though the above decklists performed well at the biggest events of the season, it’s important to realize that for your own personal retro deck collection, you might want to go with some different choices in your own list. For one, it’s important to remember that these players were building their lists to compete at the highest level – their primary motive when considering their tech options was not to make sure everybody they played against had a good time – it was to win. If you and your friend group have a few decks that practically have an autoloss against a certain tech, you might want to consider avoiding this card for the sake of your own enjoyment. Also remember that these decklists were built with the players expecting a specific metagame to appear at their tournaments. In most people’s personal retro deck libraries, there will be 1 copy of everything, rather than several copies of 3 or 4 top decks. it’s usually better to go with a list that’s more balanced and has answers to a lot of decks rather than targeting only a few. This creates lopsided matchups that aren’t always fun to play.
The 3-1 Debate
Most, if not all top-performing LuxChomp lists in 2010 ran a 2-2 split of Garchomp C/Garchomp C Lv. X, as well as Luxray GL/Luxray GL Lv. X. If anybody deviated from this line, they usually deviated by playing a 3-1 Luxray Gl/Luxray GL Lv. X split. However, if you talk to most players today, almost all of them will tell you that a 3-1 Garchomp C Lv. X line is immensely more favorable than a 2-2.
The benefit to running a 3-1 Garchomp is that it’s more resilient to decks that have easy means of picking them off before they level up. Many people enjoy playing LuxChomp mirror matches specifically, as well as other SP decks like DialgaChomp. Somewhat inconveniently, Garchomp Lv. X does exactly enough damage to pick off its own basic form from the bench, so for people who are playing these matchups often, having a more resilient Garchomp line is nice. Having an extra Garchomp is nice against a few other archetypes (like Drag Off Regigigas) as well, so depending on what other decks are in your retro library, this is definitely something you should at least be thinking about.
The Luxray line is a little closer in my eyes – running only 2 is usually fine because your Luxray are less likely to get hard targeted in the Mirror – this would allow a Garchomp C to just respond and take out your opponent’s attacker. That being said, there are very few situations where you would need 2 Luxray out at a time, and you have Azelf to Time Walk it out of prizes if it gets trapped. A lot of players in modern tournaments will just run a 2-1 line, and free up a slot for an extra tech. 3-1 helps significantly against the Gyarados matchup which is worth noting if you’re heading to a 2010 tournament being run at a side event somewhere.
Consistency is key
4 Cyrus’s Conspiracy is an obvious given in any SP list, but the lists above differ in terms of other consistency cards. 2010 is blessed with 3 exceptional methods of searching out your basic pokemon – Roseanne’s Research, Pokemon Collector, and Call Energy. I personally prefer to play a split of Collector and Roseanne’s in my LuxChomp lists – I like the benefit of grabbing 3 pokemon at once that Collector can provide, but I also think there are times where being able to grab a pokemon + an energy is crucial – especially if I’m playing multiple attackers that require different energy types (like the top 4 worlds list, which plays Lightning, Fire, and Psychic energy.)
Call Energy isn’t as popular, but it’s still worth thinking about. The downside of it eating into the consistency of your energy is noticeable if you’re playing a variety of tech attackers. Even in more straightforward lists, you don’t want to be stuck with a hand of Call Energy and Double Colorless Energy when you just need a Lightning to finish something off with Luxray. That being said, the upside of doubling your energy attachment as a consistency card is really nice – opening 1 basic and a Cyrus’s Conspiracy feels bad in a lot of matches because you don’t get to advance your board very much. Playing 3 or 4 extra outs to get the energy attachment AND the pokemon can be worth it.
What the Tech?
Because of how strong the initial skeleton for LuxChomp is by itself, there is a lot of space for tech cards to help with matchups that are unfavorable, or to just strengthen one that is close to even. In this section I’ll take a look at as many different tech cards as I could find, and try to explain which situations there are useful for.
Chatot MD has been played since 2008 as a solid consistency option in quite a few different decks. Copying the opponent’s hand size for 0 energy is solid, and having free retreat means it won’t hinder your ability to transition into your main strategy. In this format, Chatot saw extra play because Chatter had the potential to permanently lock Spiritomb AR in the active spot (ironically, because of its resistance to colorless). Chatot basically singlehandedly forced Gengar to start running Warp Energy, and it can punish other decks like Plox or Abomasnow for not running it.
Banette and Mismagius were a pair of pokemon that were primarily for countering Mewtwo Lv. X, but also found situations to be useful in other matchups as well. the psychic typing allows them to hit Gardevoir, toxicroak G, Uxie, and Azelf for weakness, so they aren’t dead cards in other matchups. Mismagius in particular is really cool in best of 1 play – as your opponent might not know it’s coming, and you can punish them for filling their entire board up with Pokemon Tools. If playing mismagius you can also run 1 or 2 extra pokemon tools yourself (between Energy Gain and expert belt) to ensure you always have some form of damage output.
Roserade GL served a similar purpose to Chatot – locking pokemon in the active spot, but the special condition it inflicted made it strong against Claydol. If you could trap it without an Unown G, you could 2HKO it, and simultaneously shut down Cosmic Power, and cut off your opponent’s best draw source.
Colorless-type tech attackers like Dragonite and Ambipom were exceptionally strong in the mirror match, but they also saw use against other SP Decks. Since they typically didn’t need many energy attached (or just outright discarded them, like Garchomp C Lv. X), it was not difficult for Aimbipom G to catch a pokemon with no energy on it, and then go from 0 to 60 instantly. Tail Code also proved useful against decks that played very few energy – you could bump all of their energy off of their attackers and stick them on support pokemon like Claydol. Bonus points of the support pokemon you bump the energy to has an Unown G attached – because Unown G is “protecting” the pokemon from receiving the energy via Tail code, but it is not protecting the active pokemon from having the energy taken off, the Energy ends up in the discard pile, benefiting nobody.
Dragonite FB is of course, very usefull in all SP decks, as it deals 80 for a DCE and an Energy Gain, which is enough to KO practically any non-leveld up SP pokemon, but it is practically a dead card against non-SP decks like Gardevoir or Gyarados.
A plethora of Fire-type attackers saw success when paired with LuxChomp. Wai Kit Lam of Hong Kong finished in the top 8 of Worlds 2010 using Infernape e4 Lv. X as an alternate attacker – it was probably put in with the idea of countering Dialga G Lv. X, but it ended up coming in handy in his top 32 match, where he was paired against a rogue Steelix Prime deck. Infernape was another card that gave you legitimate OHKO potential against a wider variety of decks – for 100 damage you were already taking down Garchomp C Lv. X, but with Expert Belt you got over the hurdle against Gengar, Gardevoir, and Luxray GL Lv. X. Infernape e4’s Split Bomb attack could also soften up targets later for Garchomp to snipe.
Blaziken FB Lv. X didn’t hit as hard as Infernape, but it still hit hard enough to OHKO Dialga G Lv. X and Abomasnow (which was a decent anti-meta deck at this time). Blaziken FB also had Luring Flame – an attack that could pull stuff off of the bench and burn it, which was very useful for disrupting the opponent’s setup, and shutting off Poke-Powers.
Entei & Raikou LEGEND (ERL) served two purposes. For one, it was another fire-type attacker that could torch Steelix Prime, or Dialga G (assuming you managed to assemble both halves at the same time). More commonly, Thunder Fall was used to spread 80 damage to anything in play that had a poke-power. Against some decks (Gengar, for example) you could often take a TON of prize cards at once, as you threatened not only their support pokemon, but their attackers as well. Against others, it was a cheap way to close a game out by KOing 2 or 3 support pokemon like Uxie, Azelf, Crobat G, or Claydol.
ERL hits your own pokemon as well as your opponents, so if playing this card, be sure you can poke-turn your own pokemon with Poke-powers off the field. Otherwise, you will be in for a sudden death 1 prize match. (But to be fair, if you were going to lose the match anyways, sometimes putting it into sudden death is helpful.)
Tsuguyoshi Yamato rolled into the Last Chance Qualifier with one of the most unorthodox LuxChomp lists of all time – and he was rewarded with a Top 16 finish in the main event. The Gardevoir is pretty easy to understand – against decks that abused Broken Time-Space, you could drop the whole evo line at once, and it was pretty easy to power up because you could use Bronzong G to swap a DCE over and immediately start shutting down their poke-powers. This would allow you to navigate to a more favorable board state, and it could potentially save you from a turn where you didn’t have Power Spray in your hand.
The Purugly is…a little more difficult to understand. Yamato also played an Absol SW in his list, so I’m guessing the Purugly is mostly here for Chip Off (since Absol has a similar effect of ripping cards out of the opponent’s hand). Against decks that relied on item lock, or even in mirror matches where your hand size late in the match is usually pretty large, you could rip some resources out of your opponent’s hand and make it difficult for them to close the game out. The 20 chip damage (40 against Garchomp!) is also not bad if there’s a turn where you can’t take a KO.
Dialga G Lv. X can’t be overlooked either as it literally won the World Championships this year. The basic form locks item cards up, and is very useful against SP decks. The higher HP and resistance comes in handy as well against CurseGar and Plox. Dialga G Lv. X is also another way to get around Mewtwo Lv. X, and it does so by giving all of your pokemon the ability to to attack, not by doing the work itself.
Conclusion
LuxChomp is one of the most diverse, and most skill-intensive decks of the 2010 era. It’s renowned by many players not just for the high skill ceiling, but also for having an even or close-to even matchup agains the majority of the field in this era. It’s decks like this that make retro formats so fun to replay, even now, 11 years after the format has ended. I hope this article showcases just how deep the deckbuilding process goes, and gives players a little more insight to what they might want to choose when building for their own personal collection. Thanks for reading, and I will catch everybody at the next article!
PTCG Retro Library 