Introduction
Hello, Cut or Tap readers! I’m Michael Davidson, a Master who recently aged up following a Seniors season including a Regional Win, NAIC Top 8, Worlds Top 16, and numerous other Top Cuts, finishing 5th globally in Seniors Championship Point Rankings. In my first Masters Regional, Pittsburgh, I was able to take Gardevoir ex to an 11th place finish – the highest placement with the archetype. Following the conclusion of major events in the Battle Styles to Obsidian Flames format, I wanted to summarize my approach to the only US regional in that metagame, as well as my thoughts on how Gardevoir shapes up in the upcoming 151 format, which will encompass Peoria, Sacramento, and Toronto for North American players. This article is intended for anyone trying to gain additional insight on Gardevoir, including but not limited to why it is a good choice for almost every event, as well as specific techs that may or may not be worth including for specific events.
Gardevoir Deck List: Pittsburgh Masters, 11th Place
Approach Before the Event
In the weeks leading up to the event, I looked at the general metagame and narrowed my selections down to Lost Box, Rapid Strike, or Gardevoir. I had played Lost Box for virtually all of the Battle Styles to Paldea Evolved format, but the meta seemed to be moving in somewhat of an anti-Lost Box direction, with Urshifu becoming steadily more popular, and Lugia seeing massive increases in play.
After putting down Lost Box temporarily, I started playing games with Rapid Strike along with Andrew Hedrick. Although Rapid Strike takes a few very favorable matchups, the unfavored matchups are seemingly unwinnable, with so much having to go right, that Rapid Strike stopped appearing like a great play.
This led back to Gardevoir, which I always viewed as my fallback play, but was also a deck I hadn’t played a ton of games with, due to it not seeming like a great play for my local CP events. After essentially locking in on Gardevoir, Caleb Rogerson (who played the same Gardevoir list and who fully convinced me on the archetype) and I narrowed down on Gardy’s weaknesses, which we viewed as poor setups, aggressive Sableyes, and multiple Paths.
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