Only 3 videos on the channel, but I can tell this is going to be SUCH a great resource for players! I think the community has been missing a lot of these deep dives that cover the overarching strategies that you don’t see in normal gameplay showcases/videos. It’s also amazing that you’re getting relevant, experienced guests for each overview! They add a lot of credibility and knowledge to the videos. Please keep up these awesome deep dives!
Thank you so much! I really think having guests adds a lot of value. We can push each other on opinions and ask questions both ways. I plan to keep making more of these guides!
Thank you so much! I am definitely committed to pumping out high quality content so I am hoping it resonates well with the community! Any suggestions for type of videos you would like to see?
Amazing! I can't wait til those come out. Lost zone sequencing and decision making is really tough. Are you planning on covering all lost zone variants in the same video? Turbo Lost Box and Sablezard (radiant charizard) would be my picks. Kyogre seems like the skill ceiling is too high for most people so Turbo or Sablezard seem more accessible @@CiaranTCG
I am going to combine turbo, sablezard, and kyogre into one video. I'm actually going to have Andrew Estrada (Pittsburgh Regional Champion) as my guest for that one so i am hoping he can go really in depth into the sequencing and resource management of the decks!
@@CiaranTCG OMG that’s going to be epic. Watching him play during that tournament was masterful. That’s so cool you’re able to get the top players on. I liked the format of the video as well, PPT with the discussion.
Hopefully it lives up to the hype! I've been playing for 12 years so I've built up quite the network, so I am hoping I can continue to have high quality guests on!
I really enjoyed this video. I’ve been playing gardevoir for a while, and this helps with matchups I haven’t tested much. I’m playing mew ex in my list, but I agree with what you guys said-it might not be needed. Great content!
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! I think Mew is a card that will make its way in and out of decks as formats evolve, might not be the right meta for it right now.
You just got an instant subscriber. My buddy plays Chein Pao and watches all your videos and he sent me this because I like Garney. This is an awesome video! Would you be able to do this format with the colorless Lugia build?
Thanks for the guide, really appreciate it! Garde has got me all of my CP so far this year and I will be taking it to Gdansk as long as nothing drastic happens (yes... I know about Iron Hands) I'm surprised you think the Chien Pao match up is so bad? Maybe the people I play against at locals are just not good players but I feel pretty comfortable in the match up and have a better than 50% win rate, albeit from a small sample size of around 10-12 matches
Glad you enjoyed! The problem with the Chien-Pao matchup is greninja completely destroys your draw engine. They also get to control the prize trade. You always have a 2 prize liability in play and they don't
@40:01, I would have to disagree about not putting down Manaphy. RS players typically would not play down Urshifu until they are ready to Yoga Loop because they would be able to evolve and Rapid Flow the next turn after they Yoga Loop. If there are 2 Inteleon VMAXs, they can Yoga Loop that turn and therefore put the Urshifu down that turn. If you did not have Manaphy down, they would just Yoga Loop KO a Kirlia instead and then still Rapid Flow. At least with Manaphy on the bench, you could potentially lose one less Kirlia. I think the only thing that a Gardy player can do would be to try to KO a Inteleon VMAX or rush to take 3 prizes somehow to discourage a Rapid Flow. After Rapid Flow, the Urshifu is essentially 3 free prizes because Gardy ex can KO it without a threat from the RS player to KO the Gardy ex. Otherwise, this matchup is pretty bad for Gardy.
I think benching manaphy is nuanced. There are obviously scenarios where it makes sense, but a lot of times it's just an extra prize on the board. Like you said, if you can get a gardevoir ex attacking it pretty much nullifies the urshifu play since its a free three prizes. Id say if there's no urshifu on board you probably don't need manaphy down, but if it saves one ralts/kirlia maybe it's worth it
Great video and discussion. This is wonderful. One thing I was curious about, is not prescribing keeping Frigibax off the board in Chein-Pao, and instead focusing on the Bidoof. I typically go after whichever 'mon they only have one out to start (similar to Pidgey and Charmander in the Zard matchup). If they've got two Bidoof, but only one Frigi, I'm targeting it Frigi and every turn they bench another to make sure they can never even get off the Ninja play (or a big KO with CP). If they're smart (or able) enough to get multiple Frigi down, then I target their support like Bidoof. Often times I take the first two KOs with Cress, then shift to targeting the CP for the next two turns, as I can usually get 4 prizes before they can. Am I just playing bad CP players, or is that not what you've found as well?
Thank you! In regards to targeting Frig, yes if they have only one always target it. Sorry if I wasn't clear in the video, but I am assuming they always have a backup. I agree with you that you will take 4 prizes before Chien-Pao, actually almost every game you take the lead. What normally happens is they take a KO with Chien so it is 6-5, then you ko with Arcana Gardevoir so it is 4-5. Then the game devolves into single prize KOs back and forth until the prizes are 1-2 in your favour. At that point though the chien pao player probably has bibarel set up so it is quite simple for them to just cross switcher ko gardevoir ex, or cross switcher cologne manaphy to finish the game with ninja. The Chien-Pao player also can do the cologne play earlier in the game which cripples your draw as Gardevoir.
One more question for you, though@@CiaranTCG, you guys mention Collapsing your own GardyEX off the field several times, where there's still obviously Psychic Embraces needed on following turns. I guess I haven't been in such a position to defensively do that before, but you're mentioning it a lot quite casually :). Is this just assuming that you also have a Super Rod and Ultra Ball already in hand so you can Collapse it away, and be assured that you're not going to get Iono'd and not be able to put it back on the board the next turn? I guess I've never been so confident in doing that. Thx!
Ideally late in the game you still have a ralts or preferably a Kirlia. Like you mentioned I still keep super rod or make sure another Gardevoir ex is in the deck. As long as you keep a way to evolve the following turn you are safe. If they boss your 1 kirlia/ralts your active arcana gardevoir gets to keep all the energy. Otherwise you usually just evolve the following turn to gardevoir ex and use zacian to close the game.
Got it. Just seems dangerous if you're hit with an Iono or something and they KO your SA Gardy (so no way to get the next KO), but understand the idea.@@CiaranTCG
Can we have one more with Rowan with Mew Vmax + Grabber + Fang Snipe? I know a lot people hate mew and we have seen it many times on stream, but maybe a short session? Maybe more about sequencing than the matchup guides
Could you help out someone new to Gardy on when to go first and when to go second in a format with iron hands? Is it always correct to choose second to stop a turn 2 iron hands play?
Charizard matchup I would say never put down gardy ex until your taking a KO with baby gardy. Ideally you take out their first and second zard with a reversal baby gardy then boss KO a two prizer with zacian when they have 1 prize remaining or takeout third zard with zacian. If you can takeout Entei v with baby gardy for the 1st two prize the game is easy to win.
Taking any KO with cressalia is super risky if they are able to set up zard the next turn and boss KO your gardy ex. You always lose from that position
I don't understand the reason why playing mirage step against RS inteleon. I tried it after I watched this video and they just took four prizes with yoga-loop and double gunner.
The idea with Mirage step is it lets you get to a board where all your Pokemon are evolved and hard to KO for RS. If they take 4 prizes with yoga loop after you mirage step that sounds like they were drawing the nuts. Ideally you can just rare candy multiple gardevoir ex, but it is hard to draw so Mirage step is plan B
“One of the best Canadian players, one of the best young players in the game, just one of the best players in the game” dude calm down, you’ll hurt your neck
Only 3 videos on the channel, but I can tell this is going to be SUCH a great resource for players! I think the community has been missing a lot of these deep dives that cover the overarching strategies that you don’t see in normal gameplay showcases/videos.
It’s also amazing that you’re getting relevant, experienced guests for each overview! They add a lot of credibility and knowledge to the videos. Please keep up these awesome deep dives!
Thank you so much! I really think having guests adds a lot of value. We can push each other on opinions and ask questions both ways. I plan to keep making more of these guides!
Great guide! You & Rowan did a good job analyzing Gardevoir & how to navigate each matchup! 🔥
Thanks Matt, glad you enjoyed it!
Cool deck! Will need to try it out
Please do, just be careful with the Chien-Pao matchups ;)
Hoping your channel takes off! Love your content and huge fan!
Thank you so much! I am definitely committed to pumping out high quality content so I am hoping it resonates well with the community! Any suggestions for type of videos you would like to see?
@@CiaranTCG More Chien-Pao videos!
great detailed and very in depth video bro keep it up!!
Thanks Hamza
I am your 500th sub, glad i saw your post on X/Twitter 🙏🏼
Let's go! Thanks for being 500!
Life changing fr keep up the amazing content 😆
This is literally the best best gardevoir guide I'v even watch, thanks Brent's recommendation, really looking forward to another episode!!
Thanks Aaron, and thank you Brent for the shoutout!
Bro very nice video. This was the content that i needed to deep into becoming better with garde. Amazing!!
Awesome to hear, glad it is helpful!
This is great content! I’d love to see more of this for other decks
Thanks Richard! My goal is to do this type of video for every meta deck. I have Lost Zone and Lugia coming next.
Amazing! I can't wait til those come out. Lost zone sequencing and decision making is really tough. Are you planning on covering all lost zone variants in the same video? Turbo Lost Box and Sablezard (radiant charizard) would be my picks. Kyogre seems like the skill ceiling is too high for most people so Turbo or Sablezard seem more accessible @@CiaranTCG
I am going to combine turbo, sablezard, and kyogre into one video. I'm actually going to have Andrew Estrada (Pittsburgh Regional Champion) as my guest for that one so i am hoping he can go really in depth into the sequencing and resource management of the decks!
@@CiaranTCG OMG that’s going to be epic. Watching him play during that tournament was masterful. That’s so cool you’re able to get the top players on. I liked the format of the video as well, PPT with the discussion.
Hopefully it lives up to the hype! I've been playing for 12 years so I've built up quite the network, so I am hoping I can continue to have high quality guests on!
I love all three videos, I learned a lot
Thank you for your good contents😊
Thank you so much for the kind words!
This video was truly amazing! Please, do the same with the rest of the meta decks (Charizard, Giratina, Lost Box, etc...)
Thank you! My goal is to make an in depth guide for every deck in the format. Which do you think I should do next?
ALWAYS Turbo LZB@@CiaranTCG
Giratina would be my vote for next selfishly. Watched the Chien Pao guide and matches yesterday and learnt tons
@@CiaranTCGI think Miraidon could be interesting now that Zapdos EX is in the meta (even if I don't think it is very good)
Hey Ciaran, I wouldn't mind doing a Giratina lost box guide like this with you. :)
These videos are the best!!! Sucked me in with the Chein Pao video and this one is just as good 😊 more videosssssss 🎉
Thanks man, glad to hear you are enjoying them!
This and the chien pao guide are the two best pieces of Pokemon content I've watched. Keep it up!
Thanks Will, that's the plan!
great content!
Such a deep dive video in plying garde deck. Nice video! I would like to see more gameplay commentator or analysis on each play or decision making
Thank you! I will try and upload more gameplay going forward!
Hey, I'm pretty new to TCG and this is the kind of content I was looking for.
Thank a lot and PLEASE keep doing them :)
Thank you! I plan to keep making them :)
I really enjoyed this video. I’ve been playing gardevoir for a while, and this helps with matchups I haven’t tested much. I’m playing mew ex in my list, but I agree with what you guys said-it might not be needed. Great content!
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! I think Mew is a card that will make its way in and out of decks as formats evolve, might not be the right meta for it right now.
Please bring charizard ex guide (it can be lost zard, zard with arceus and pidgeot), im loving these videos. Keep it up man!
Thank you! I'm going to try and make a video like this for every deck. I'm sure I will get to charizard eventually!
Good job Ciaran great content :)
Thanks James, I appreciate it! I love watching your content as well :)
LOVE IT!!!
You just got an instant subscriber. My buddy plays Chein Pao and watches all your videos and he sent me this because I like Garney. This is an awesome video! Would you be able to do this format with the colorless Lugia build?
I’m replying to this because I just checked and saw your Lugia video!
Thank you Hunter, hopefully you enjoyed the Lugia video 😊
Thanks for the guide, really appreciate it! Garde has got me all of my CP so far this year and I will be taking it to Gdansk as long as nothing drastic happens (yes... I know about Iron Hands)
I'm surprised you think the Chien Pao match up is so bad? Maybe the people I play against at locals are just not good players but I feel pretty comfortable in the match up and have a better than 50% win rate, albeit from a small sample size of around 10-12 matches
Glad you enjoyed! The problem with the Chien-Pao matchup is greninja completely destroys your draw engine. They also get to control the prize trade. You always have a 2 prize liability in play and they don't
Need this for gardy ,I got my first top 8 at a league cup with it definitely a strong deck.Great video
That's awesome, congrats on top 8!
@40:01, I would have to disagree about not putting down Manaphy. RS players typically would not play down Urshifu until they are ready to Yoga Loop because they would be able to evolve and Rapid Flow the next turn after they Yoga Loop. If there are 2 Inteleon VMAXs, they can Yoga Loop that turn and therefore put the Urshifu down that turn. If you did not have Manaphy down, they would just Yoga Loop KO a Kirlia instead and then still Rapid Flow. At least with Manaphy on the bench, you could potentially lose one less Kirlia.
I think the only thing that a Gardy player can do would be to try to KO a Inteleon VMAX or rush to take 3 prizes somehow to discourage a Rapid Flow. After Rapid Flow, the Urshifu is essentially 3 free prizes because Gardy ex can KO it without a threat from the RS player to KO the Gardy ex. Otherwise, this matchup is pretty bad for Gardy.
I think benching manaphy is nuanced. There are obviously scenarios where it makes sense, but a lot of times it's just an extra prize on the board. Like you said, if you can get a gardevoir ex attacking it pretty much nullifies the urshifu play since its a free three prizes. Id say if there's no urshifu on board you probably don't need manaphy down, but if it saves one ralts/kirlia maybe it's worth it
Great video and discussion. This is wonderful.
One thing I was curious about, is not prescribing keeping Frigibax off the board in Chein-Pao, and instead focusing on the Bidoof.
I typically go after whichever 'mon they only have one out to start (similar to Pidgey and Charmander in the Zard matchup). If they've got two Bidoof, but only one Frigi, I'm targeting it Frigi and every turn they bench another to make sure they can never even get off the Ninja play (or a big KO with CP). If they're smart (or able) enough to get multiple Frigi down, then I target their support like Bidoof. Often times I take the first two KOs with Cress, then shift to targeting the CP for the next two turns, as I can usually get 4 prizes before they can.
Am I just playing bad CP players, or is that not what you've found as well?
Thank you! In regards to targeting Frig, yes if they have only one always target it. Sorry if I wasn't clear in the video, but I am assuming they always have a backup.
I agree with you that you will take 4 prizes before Chien-Pao, actually almost every game you take the lead. What normally happens is they take a KO with Chien so it is 6-5, then you ko with Arcana Gardevoir so it is 4-5. Then the game devolves into single prize KOs back and forth until the prizes are 1-2 in your favour.
At that point though the chien pao player probably has bibarel set up so it is quite simple for them to just cross switcher ko gardevoir ex, or cross switcher cologne manaphy to finish the game with ninja. The Chien-Pao player also can do the cologne play earlier in the game which cripples your draw as Gardevoir.
Got it. That makes more sense, glad I'm not going crazy :)
@@CiaranTCG
One more question for you, though@@CiaranTCG, you guys mention Collapsing your own GardyEX off the field several times, where there's still obviously Psychic Embraces needed on following turns. I guess I haven't been in such a position to defensively do that before, but you're mentioning it a lot quite casually :). Is this just assuming that you also have a Super Rod and Ultra Ball already in hand so you can Collapse it away, and be assured that you're not going to get Iono'd and not be able to put it back on the board the next turn? I guess I've never been so confident in doing that. Thx!
Ideally late in the game you still have a ralts or preferably a Kirlia. Like you mentioned I still keep super rod or make sure another Gardevoir ex is in the deck. As long as you keep a way to evolve the following turn you are safe. If they boss your 1 kirlia/ralts your active arcana gardevoir gets to keep all the energy. Otherwise you usually just evolve the following turn to gardevoir ex and use zacian to close the game.
Got it. Just seems dangerous if you're hit with an Iono or something and they KO your SA Gardy (so no way to get the next KO), but understand the idea.@@CiaranTCG
This is amazing. Van Goh of PTCG content.
Thank you :)
Can we have one more with Rowan with Mew Vmax + Grabber + Fang Snipe? I know a lot people hate mew and we have seen it many times on stream, but maybe a short session? Maybe more about sequencing than the matchup guides
I can ask him if he'd be down to come back!
@@CiaranTCG thanks! Fingers crossed 🤞
Could you help out someone new to Gardy on when to go first and when to go second in a format with iron hands? Is it always correct to choose second to stop a turn 2 iron hands play?
Always go first with Gardy. If you go second vs an iron hands deck your giving them an extra attachment
Lost vacuum can also be searched with Mew
thoughts on baby g. articuno for a lil better chien pao matchup? you can combine iono with 120 snipe instead of going after bibarel with boss
Sounds interesting, but they will just bench Manaphy game two. Might be enough to steal a game in a set though
Gardevoir still the best deck
Charizard matchup I would say never put down gardy ex until your taking a KO with baby gardy. Ideally you take out their first and second zard with a reversal baby gardy then boss KO a two prizer with zacian when they have 1 prize remaining or takeout third zard with zacian. If you can takeout Entei v with baby gardy for the 1st two prize the game is easy to win.
Taking any KO with cressalia is super risky if they are able to set up zard the next turn and boss KO your gardy ex. You always lose from that position
I agree, that's a good prize map to take!
How do you attack with shining arcana over and over? It dies the next turn 100 percent of the time and there are only 2 in deck....
2 Super Rod
Can you have lugia with grant shen or regan next?
Or benny billinger
I can ask Grant if he'd be down
@@CiaranTCG That'd be sick thanks bro
LZB next before Peoria?!?!
I have Lost Zone planned, not sure if it will be out before Peoria, but for sure before Sacramento and Toronto
@@CiaranTCG well I have 1 question hawlucha or no hawlucha in LZB at Peoria
Depends how much mirror you expect to face
@@CiaranTCG 1-2 probably
probably worth it then. Its not completely dead in other matchups. Can use it to ko 70 hp charmander and manaphy together as one example
Is there anything you can tech for the pao?
Second manaphy maybe? Avery also seems like it would be annoying for Chien-Pao to deal with
@@CiaranTCG Thanks!
I don't understand the reason why playing mirage step against RS inteleon. I tried it after I watched this video and they just took four prizes with yoga-loop and double gunner.
The idea with Mirage step is it lets you get to a board where all your Pokemon are evolved and hard to KO for RS. If they take 4 prizes with yoga loop after you mirage step that sounds like they were drawing the nuts. Ideally you can just rare candy multiple gardevoir ex, but it is hard to draw so Mirage step is plan B
Wit the chien pao, mayb I’m playin against bad players but I always easily beat them wit gardy
I think the matchup has changed since this video. Avery and scream tail make the matchup better now
@@CiaranTCG gotcha thank u ☺️
Pokemon goat
Bdif
“One of the best Canadian players, one of the best young players in the game, just one of the best players in the game” dude calm down, you’ll hurt your neck
Gotta hype up my guests haha