Fun in the Sun with Solgaleo- GX

What's up FlipSide?

Today we will look at another deck that is outside of almost everyone's top ten decks, but should be a serious consideration: Solgaleo GX. 

Solgaleo is a powerful deck that can one-shot anything in the game.  It can also be successful, despite perceived clunkiness. With four Rare Candy, four Ultra Ball, three Solgaleo GX, and two Heavy Ball, finding a turn two Sol Burst GX is the norm for the deck.  After that (and a turn one Brigette) your deck had been thinned nicely and you can easily find what you need to win the game.  Try the deck and unlock its power in the standard format. 

Solgaleo GX has a few inherent bad matchups in the meta, but you can tech for any matchup to make it 50-50 if not better.  With the Sol Burst GX ability to attach special energy, three to four Rainbow Energy can be added to your deck to power up any attacker in a single turn!  If you are someone who tends to know the local meta, you can maximize that advantage with this deck. 

Here is the list I used to Top 8 at a 50-person League Cup:

Before getting into my choices, I want to point out a fundamental difference between the way I believe this deck should be played and the way most others play it: You should not Sol Burst GX to power up an active and benched Solgaleo GX. Most decks can be KO’ed by the baby Solgaleo, Lele, Kyurem, Oranguru, or Magearna. In many matchups, it is better to use them as attackers, since they can hit more than once and losing them doesn't mean you lose your ability to switch. Also, it is best to spread out your energy by getting two energy on three different pokemon (your active already has one) so that a Guzma and a KO doesn't devastate your board state.

Card Choices  

First, I only play 2 Cosmoem. You need to hit Rare Candy and Solgaleo GX turn two. Once you do, a Sol Burst will thin your deck and you shouldn't have trouble finding pieces for the other lines. I have considered dropping to one. 

Magearna EX is in there for a few reasons. The Gardevoir matchup isn't as one sided as you may think, especially with the Parallel City/ Plea GX combo. Magearna not only solidifies that matchup, it also helps against Espeon EX and Greninja by stopping devolution or shadow stitching (if you have a metal on both Solgaleo GX and Magearna, you will still be able to use Ultra Road). 

Most people are playing two Rayquaza. One is enough. In most matchups, I only use Sun Steel Strike once. For the few matchups where you do use it more than once (Golisipod and Metagross), you don't need - or want - a Ray in play in the early to mid game. It is not worth playing a second for the possibility of it being one of your last few prizes. 

White Kyurem is in the deck to beat fire decks. Against a Ho-Oh Salazzle deck, an ideal board state for you (after a turn two Sol Burst GX) would include an active Solgaleo GX (one metal), a benched Lele (two DCE), a benched white Kyurem (two Rainbow), and a benched baby Solgaleo (one metal, one rainbow or two metal). This gives you three attackers within an attachment (and/or a choice band) of knocking out their attackers. Lele and Baby Solgaleo can one shot Ho-Oh GX. Baby Solgaleo and White Kyurem can OHKO everything else. From there, they can't keep up with you on energies and prizes.White Kyurem could be replaced with a number of things, depending on what you are expecting. This includes Giratina Promo for Greninja, Reshiram from Shining Legends for mirror or Metagross, or Mr. Mime for spread decks (if you do this, you should drop Rainbow Energy for Metal).  The only really scary matchup of those, besides fire, is Greninja. 

2 Hala are nice, since you almost always use Sol Burst GX turn two. 

2 Skyla ended up being more than I needed. It was convenient a few times, but the one change I made immediately after the tournament was to drop a second Skyla for a third Field Blower (I lost to Garbotoxin in top eight).

4 Rare Candy is necessary, because getting a turn two Sol Burst GX is paramount.

2 Heavy Ball is super nice because it finds either Solgaleo, Cosmoem, or White Kyurem. 

2 Field Blower is not enough if you are going to be playing against Garbodor. I suggest three. 

2 Choice Band is plenty. You only need it for Solgaleo GX (to KO Decidueye GX, Metagross GX, or another Solgaleo GX) or for Lele or baby Solgaleo to hit 180-200. 

3 Rainbow Energy feels a bit tight. A fourth would be nice, but putting ten damage on your pokemon can actually really help out some decks with their math.  For instance, if you attach a rainbow and then Sol Burst two energy onto your active Solgaleo GX, Gardevoir can KO you for a DCE, two fairy, and a choice band. 

Common Matchups  

Volcanion:  I will start with the fire matchups, but will keep it short since I have already explained how to play those matchups in the section on White Kyurem.When you Sol Burst, you want to prep a Lele, a White Kyurem, and a baby Sol Galeo.  Remember to spread out your energy.  If they are focusing on Turtonator GX, Lele will be less effective than the other two, since Turtonator GX discards energy with its main attack.

Ho-oh Salazzle: Same as above, except Lele is way better here since Ho-Oh GX needs four energy.

Golisipod:  This is one matchup you want to play in the manner I criticized ealier.  Sol Burst should go primarily for Solgaleo GX and a baby Solgaleo.   You can only KO a Golisopod with the baby in one shot if they attach a rainbow energy and you have a Choice Band.  Otherwise, use Solgaleo GX to take out the first two Golisipod GX, then either use your baby Rayquaza to power one of them back up or take out a Lele with your baby Solgaleo.

Gardevoir: This matchup is usually pretty easy for you since you can prevent a plea with Magearna EX.  You want to take your prizes with a Magearna, a baby Solgaleo, and a Solgaleo GX.  Remember Magearna can one shot a Gardevoir since it is weak to metal.

Greninja:  Greninja BREAK can be a hard deck to beat.  I have recently been trying a Giratina promo in order to shut off Greninja BREAK’s Giant Water Shuriken.  I wouldn’t do this unless you expect a lot of Greninja (although Giratina can be useful against Espeon Garbodor as well).  If you aren’t playing the Giratina promo, you have to count on Magearna to prevent shadow stitching and the baby Solgaleo and White Kyurem to keep up the pressure.  

Ninetales:  Ninetales is pretty simple since most of your deck one-shots it.  A good player can give you trouble, but being careful with your energy placements will help you achieve victory.

Metagross:  This plays out very similarly to Golisopod, except you use your choice bands on your Solgaleo GX for the one shot.

Vikavolt Bulu:  If they get off a few flying flips early, you are going to have a bad time.  Keep in mind that you can knockout a Vikavolt to stop their energy acceleration (assuming they can’t get another one that turn).  Both types of Solgaleo are your attackers for this matchup.

Garbodor:  These decks become pretty easy for you to win once you add the third Field Blower.  Just don’t go too heavy on the items and you will be fine (They need twelve items and a choice band to KO a Solgaleo GX, or nine items to KO a regular Solgaleo).  The Giratina promo can also be used since it hits for weakness but is itself weak to dark.  Magearna EX also one-shots Garbodor while having resistance to psychic types.

Overall, your matchups are pretty good if you tech properly (without sacrificing consistency).  I know that is easier said than done, but the list above is a good starting point for whatever the meta in your local area is like.  Try the deck out and see how strong it is for yourself.  Just remember to spread out your energy!