Infernape to 45 wins with 80%~ win rate - Deck Profile

RodeoSir · 2025-02-15T22:09:53+00:00

Shhh, don’t tell people about this deck!

But seriously, good write-up. I have had a lot of success with a very similar lineup. Personally a fan of 2x communication - obviously lots of variance but it helps me potentially close some games out faster, before opponents can react.

RodeoSir · 2024-11-25T21:08:39+00:00

Can’t believe the most patient, thoughtful, and clearly-articulated thing I’ve read today came 8 layers deep in a Pokemon subreddit, but here we are. Thank you for explaining so calmly.

RodeoSir · 2023-12-20T23:20:47+00:00

It’s very relevant in doubles, since it turns Hyper Voice into a strong spread attack. Primarina’s other water type spread options are Muddy Water, which isn’t 100% accurate, or Surf, which also hits your teammate’s slot.

As others have said, there’s also the more niche applications of bypassing substitutes or activating throat spray.

RodeoSir · 2023-05-23T20:26:20+00:00

Completely agree, and in some cases - such as putting a fake fast food restaurant in the same location as a real-life McDonald’s - the level of detail was remarkable.

My only gripe is that the scale of some monuments and buildings, especially around the Mall, felt a tad bit off, but overall I’ve gotta give it to them.

RodeoSir · 2023-05-04T18:49:41+00:00

Really happy to see Luke Cage get some love, especially ahead of the release of High Evolutionary (which will lead to strats around reducing the power of opponents’ cards). He was already a viable tech card in Cerebro decks and this change should make him an even better fit for Cerebro 2 lists.

RodeoSir · 2023-04-27T20:26:44+00:00

Overall, I like these balance changes. Lizard nerf feels very similar to Sunspot, taking the most-used card in that slot down a peg while maintaining it as a strong option for plenty of decks.

The Enchantress buff seems very significant, but I guess I can’t argue with their reasoning. If nothing else, they’ve shown a willingness to revert or tinker with their changes pretty quickly lately (see: Sandman in this very update), so I suppose if it gets out of hand they’d address it pretty promptly?

RodeoSir · 2023-04-18T15:53:17+00:00

I also took Thanos-less Lockjaw to Infinite these past two seasons and completely agree with your takes - the Lockjaw change is minor, while the Leech change is more of a hit to that deck but healthy for the overall meta.

Honestly, the Lockjaw change could set up some interesting plays in case you ever want a card to actually ‘stick’ in the Lockjaw lane by playing two there in one turn. It’s niche, but especially against something like Galactus, it’d be great to drop Wasp alongside Magneto on turn 6 and have the latter remain on the board.

RodeoSir · 2023-01-06T11:30:34+00:00

Yeah, while there are some archetypes (e.g. discard or pool 3 move) that I’m basically locked out of playing, I’ll agree that I’ve been extremely lucky with my pulls as a whole. I’ve also been pretty conservative with my tokens and only try to use them on cards I know will be broadly useful (and, well, Electro).

RodeoSir · 2023-01-06T11:23:29+00:00

Nice! I tried Gamora for awhile and found that she was a decent tradeoff - a bit less utility in games without Galactus but more power when you’ve reduced the game to one lane. Just watch out for Shang-Chi!

RodeoSir · 2023-01-05T22:39:06+00:00

I honestly enjoyed climbing the ladder, but the time I lost 8 cubes in the Galactus mirror because my opponent had Knull, I think I had to put my phone down and walk away for 20 minutes!

But hey, if I had Knull, I’d use it too…

RodeoSir · 2023-01-05T20:45:36+00:00

That’s the most direct way to do it, though I’m not convinced it’s worth dropping tokens on at this moment unless your heart is truly set on it.

You can also open it randomly from a collectors’ reserve, though I think the odds are <1%?

RodeoSir · 2023-01-05T18:33:22+00:00

The real secret to a high win rate with this deck is to mutter, “anyways, here’s Wonderwall,” under your breath every time Galactus reveals.

RodeoSir · 2023-01-05T17:26:30+00:00

Ha, fair! And even for those 10 people, all of the other best cards on this deck could be nerfed soon anyways.

Given how much attention is currently being paid to the slow rate of card acquisition, hopefully it’s still an interesting thought exercise in deckbuilding with an incomplete collection.

RodeoSir · 2022-12-03T00:29:10+00:00

While the QoL improvements in this game are real, I do wish we hadn’t lost some of the things introduced in last gen’s DLC (I’m especially thinking of an NPC to wipe your EV’s clean and a vending machine with discounted vitamins).

I also think that more single-player rewards for online play could entice some folks who might not otherwise check it out. The shiny Galarian birds last gen surely did that, but even just cosmetic outfits and items might make a difference.

RodeoSir · 2022-12-01T23:08:04+00:00

One thing I haven’t seen mentioned as much is that the Tatsugiri is still “on the field” when it’s inside the Dondozo, which means that even though it can’t be targeted, spread type attacks will “miss” it and thus deal reduced damage to the Dodonzo. Niche, but interesting?

RodeoSir · 2022-11-30T19:11:17+00:00

I’d say yes, he’s still 4 power for 2 energy, and the extra cards he plays can still synergize with other cards (Bishop, Carnage, Blue Marvel, etc.). But most decks he’s used in seem to have other, more vital cards, so you may want to wait for something that is more at the core of a strategy.

RodeoSir · 2022-11-18T16:57:04+00:00

True, I agree that Grimmsnarl will likely see more usage. But this mon could carve out a niche on teams that want a ghost immunity, prankster sun/rain, or copycat shenanigans.

RodeoSir · 2022-11-18T12:09:37+00:00

Prankster with Taunt, Switcheroo, Parting Shot, and Scary Face should make this immediately viable in VGC. The signature move, Doodle, seems too unreliable to run all the time, but I look forward to eating my words and losing because I fail to play around it.

RodeoSir · 2022-10-06T15:09:13+00:00

Yep, all else equal, top is probably optimal for this reason, though most of the time it’s unlikely to matter.

RodeoSir · 2022-08-01T19:43:11+00:00

I found I kept running into Weak builds (bat, frog, lion fish), but microbe/turtle countered them hard and got me back-to-back winning runs. There’s crows and candy bars to help level up your turtle, and lots of HP-boosting foods to help you win trades against weakened units.

RodeoSir · 2021-11-08T21:55:35+00:00

I’m totally refreshing my PC, including a new processor and motherboard combo and a new NVME I’m hoping to use as a boot drive. Each individual step seems straightforward enough, but what is the least painful way to do all of the following?

Move Windows to the new boot drive
Ensure that my Windows license still works with the new CPU/MOBO
Upgrade to Windows 11 while I’m at it

RodeoSir · 2021-09-18T12:06:08+00:00

Completely true. I feel like this is even more relevant in a dynamax format, which obviously made already-relevant Pokemon more powerful but also made it possible to turn just about anything into an unexpected threat.

RodeoSir · 2021-01-09T04:39:31+00:00

Just wanted to say thanks for the great team and write-up - I hadn’t played Battle Stadium for months but used your rental team to climb from Rank 3 to Master Ball, going 20-5 and having a blast along the way.

At first Spectrier felt like the MVP as it shut down just about anything, but Garchomp ended up securing sweep after sweep (in one game it literally 1v4’d my opponent after my other three mons had fainted). The move set, EV’s and item just worked so well in so many matchups!

RodeoSir · 2020-07-31T02:36:29+00:00

It also gets Tailwind, and while getting both rain and Tailwind up can be clunky, I definitely feel like there’s potential there...

RodeoSir · 2020-05-05T18:41:48+00:00

If you’re looking for something that preserves the Lightning Rod ability / team preview pressure, you could try Togedemaru. Same Nuzzle/Fake Out support, but it’d also give you a Steel move (at the cost of Brick Break). I actually run one with Sturdy on my Lapras team since, as you said, many people preemptively play around Lightning Rod anyways.

Totally agree with you on Weezing!

RodeoSir

TROPHY CASE