Mill 'em out with Regigigas

What’s up Flipside?

This quarter has put me in a strange spot.  I took Decidueye Zoroark to two league cups and the Memphis Regional Championship.  I finished first and third at the league cups, but bombed at Memphis.  In the four weeks between writing the article on Decidueye Zoroark and the Memphis Regional I changed eight cards, but many of the changes were between similar cards, like Float Stone for Escape Rope and Rescue Stretcher for Super Rod.  

In any case, I am effectively done with tournaments until the end of February.  Memphis was my only regional, and I don’t really need another League Cup finish.  While I may be going to a few League Cups for fun or to judge, I am now in a place where I have time to grow my game.  In this down time, I am focusing on improving my game and branching out to a new type of deck: mill.

Generally, mill decks have not been interesting to me.  I prefer to use OHKO decks because they tend to be more linear and straightforward.  I would rather focus on my strategy than adapt to counter my opponent’s plans, but I figured this was the perfect time to grow my game.

I saw Drew Kennet’s Wailord EX deck in Expanded and decided I wanted to make my own version of it in standard.  Obviously, Wailord EX is not available in standard, so I decided to look at other bulky Pokemon.  The first two Pokemon I considered were Xurkitree GX and Wishiwashi GX (coincidentally, Yehoshua Tate ended up pairing the two together for an eleventh place finish at the Memphis Regional Championship).  

Wishiwawshi I dismissed because I decided there was a better option that only gave up one prize.  I am still undecided on Xurkitree GX.  Its ability to not take damage from Pokemon equipped with special energy is something we have seen before, and we know how strong it is.  On top of that, the GX attack adds a prize for your opponent.  However, it gives up two prizes, and finding the lightning energy and the Pokémon at the same time isn’t easy.  For this iteration of the deck I am not including a Xurkitree GX, but I may change that once I can test Volkner.  Currently, I am playing four Enhanced Hammers in addition to lots of general energy removal and Puzzle of Time, so I am not sure Xurkitree GX is worth it.

I quickly realized which Pokemon I wanted to use as the base of the deck: Regigigas CRI.  With 180 hp on a non-GX Pokemon, opponents often have to commit a lot of resources for a single prize.  Wishiwashi only has 30 more hp, which is completely negated with a Choice Band.  Next I added two Hoopa SLG.  Hoopa only has 120 hp, but its ability prevents damage from EX and GX Pokemon, which comprise most of the format.  

I found myself having games, from time to time, where I had close to zero cards in hand.  To remedy this I added a single copy of Oranguru SUM.  At this point, I realized all of my Pokemon were weak to fighting, which was growing in popularity.  To round out the lineup I added one copy each of Giratina Promo and Zygarde BUS.  Zygarde has 150 hp and a fairy weakness and the Giratina Promo has 130 hp with fighting resistance and makes the Greninja matchup no longer an autoloss.

With the Pokemon choices explained, let’s look at the full list.

Since I already spent some time on the Pokemon, I am going to skip the counts except for this:  I was originally playing two Oranguru, but 120 is a very bad number.  I dropped one for the Zygarde to diversify my weakness.

3 Lusamine

 Lusamine is huge in the deck.  After your first Lusamine (most of the time you use it), grab the other Lusamine to continue the loop.  Other than itself, the most common targets for the supporter are Team Flare’s Grunt and Team Rocket’s Handiwork, but you will get just about everything back depending on the matchup and the situation.

1 Team Skull Grunt

 While the card is powerful, I have found that I would rather use a guaranteed removal.  With Shaymin EX out of the format, the only deck you really know will have an energy in hand is Greninja, but they will usually get out a Starmie.

1 N

 To be honest, I am not quite sold on the N, but sometimes you just need a new hand, and sometimes you can make your opponent draw cards late in the game.

2 Gladion

 This is just for when you need a certain card out of your prizes.  I often use it when I need access to a certain Pokemon or a Puzzle.

4 Acerola

 This card is really strong, and it can frustrate your opponent greatly.  I would rather play more max potions if I could since Acerola is your supporter for turn, but it is still worth it in many situations.

3 Team Flare Grunt

I could add a fourth, but I am already playing eight hammers and two Plumeria.

2 Skyla

 Many people think more Skyla are needed.  My issue with the card is it never feels good to use it as my supporter for turn in place of Team Rocket’s Handiwork or Team Flare Grunt, etc.  My most common targets are Enhanced Hammer, Nest Ball, a second Puzzle of Time, or a Max Potion.

3 Guzma

This is primarily to stall.  The last game I played was against VikaBulu.  I assumed I would lose, but I kept healing the chip damage and using energy removals.  Eventually, my opponent had used both Energy Recycler and had all energy accounted for between their discard and bench.  Because they had already played three Guzma, I was confident I would win with a Gumza on Vikavolt.  I was correct.

4 Team Rocket’s Handiwork

 This is the bread and butter of the deck.  As much as I hate flip cards, If I don’t have to use my supporter to disrupt their board, heal my own, or find another Pokemon, I want to be using this card.  Not only does it mill your opponent, but getting rid of an energy or a recovery card from their deck can be what turns the game.

2 Delinquent

 I am considering dropping these and the parallel city, but it is super nice to drop a guaranteed three cards from their card pool, even if they do get to decide what they are.  If they only have three cards in hand, it can give you a chance to use some more Team Rocket’s Handiworks, which makes the card worth it.

2 Plumeria

 Sniping energy is really good.  Some players will power up something on the bench to avoid Team Flare Grunts, but they can’t hide.

4 Puzzle of Time

 This allows you to reuse Max Potions, Enhanced Hammers, and the like.  They are definitely worth the space.

2 Fighting Fury Belt

 I had four when I started building the deck.  I found them dead cards relatively regularly, but one at the right time has won me a lot of games.  Two seems to be working very well.

4 Enhanced Hammer

 This card is so good against the current meta.  It makes the Zoroark Lycanroc matchup highly favorable where it would normally be very tough because of fighting weakness, even with Hoopa.

4 Crushing Hammer

 As much as I hate flipping coins, the energy removal is too good.  It helps a lot against Golisipod decks.

2 Parallel City

This card is primarily for Plumeria, but you can knock off damaged Pokemon or reduce your opponent’s damage from things like Golisipod GX or Zoroark GX.

1 Field Blower

 This can be useful for weird tools, but mainly it is used to drop off your opponent’s Float Stones or Fighting Fury Belts (if the damage is relevant).  I originally had two, and I could even see myself dropping to zero.  However, I am currently happy with one.

4 Max Potion

You don’t play energy and you want to heal a lot.  This isn’t even a supporter, so it is definitely a four of, no questions asked.

2 Nest Ball

 One of the worst ways to lose with this deck is to get donked, and it can happen regularly.  That is why I went up to nine Pokemon and play the Nest Balls.  This card finds every card in your deck without discarding, which is strong.

1 Ultra Ball

 I play this for all the same reasons I play nest ball, but sometimes it is nice to thin your own deck or to drop your hand down so that you can draw with Oranguru.  Plumeria is also used for this.

The deck actually has pretty solid matchups across the board, and I am definitely considering it trying it out at a League Cup since I already have my finishes.  Because of my lack of experience with general mill decks, I am not completely confident in it just yet.  The two decks that you simply can’t beat are Metagross and Volcanion.  They don’t use special energy and they have too much access to their discarded energy.

If you are looking to surprise and annoy your opponents while still having a serious chance at top cut, I would highly recommend trying out this deck.  I definitely think there are tweaks to be made, but the list is a great starting point, and I believe it could perform as is.