Ever since Flygon ex came out, it has seen moderate success (albeit as a meme deck) with various partners. I believe the most successful version includes Sylveon ex.
Personally, I've had the most fun running Flygon solo.
Just like many other high-roll decks, the fun is in gambling on the card draw. Flygon is one of the best cards when it gets going - the hard part is getting it going. With the release of Juliana in this set, things just got easier (read: more consistent; is it still high-roll then? 🤔)
Deck List
- 2x Trapinch
- 2x Vibrava
- 2x Flygon ex
- 1x Poke Ball
- 2x Rare Candy
- 2x Lucky Ice Pop
- 2x Rocky Helmet
- 2x Professor's Research
- 1x Cyrus
- 1x Pokemon Center Lady
- 1x May
- 1x Copycat
- 1x Juliana
Card-Inclusion Rationale
The two copies of Trapinch + Flygon are a no-brainer and need no explaining.
The two copies of Vibrava and Rare Candy made it such that it's very unlikely for you to be stuck with no middle evolution.
Only one copy of Poke Ball is needed because there is only one other basic in your deck: the second Trapinch.
The Lucky Ice Pops are there to keep Flygon healthy. The main alternative is Lillie, but if you are going to gamble, you might as well go all in and flip some coins while you are at it. Plus it's an item so you can use it alongside a supporter.
Rocky Helmet helps deal more chip damage to the opponent's active pokemon, or deter them from attacking.
Professor's Research is another no-brainer; can't go wrong with card draw.
Cyrus is a terrific pairing for Flygon. Many Flygon decks run two copies of Cyrus, but in my experience, one copy - well-used - is enough. Also, two copies of Cyrus makes bricking much more likely.
Pokemon Center Lady is a must-have as long as sleep scam is relevant. Maybe it could be replaced with Big Malasada, but I have not test it out.
The one copy of May is very effective in this deck. There are many times when I've got one Rare Candy and one Vibrava in hand, and May turn it into an immediate evolution into Flygon.
Copycat is another must-have. Running two may be effective, but in practice:
- opponents tend to keep their hand size small, and two Copycats can easily become dead weight in hand
- with only one line of Pokemon evolution in this deck, your hand size can get quite big, reducing Copycat's effectiveness
But it's good as an early-game card-draw / hand-refresh engine.
And finally, the new inclusion / MVP: Juliana. With Vibrava and Rare Candy, I noticed that middle evolution is hardly a problem. It's the final evolution - Flygon - that you can run only two copies of, that is the bottleneck. In the previous patch, I was making do with Iono, praying with each hand-refresh. Now, Juliana gives you direct access to Flygon, completely overcoming the problem.
How to play this deck
It's honestly quite a braindead deck. The early game goes just like Mega Venusaur or Mega Steelix, where the goal is just to survive and get set-up..
Once everything has been set up, Flygon's ability and Rocky Helmet make quick work of opposing pokemons.
The main decision I usually have to make is when to use Cyrus. The obvious choice is to save it for an important KO, but sometimes moving an unexpected opposing mon into the active spot can ruin your opponent's plan.
And that's pretty much it for my new favourite high-roll deck. It's simple, but surprisingly effective.
What is your favourite way to high-roll? Share it with us!
Yeah, I guess Serena does it in some circumstances. Quick-grow extract can also do it for grass decks (with the bonus that it's an item).