Hi there. In this Pokemon TCG Pocket post, I highlight this Donphan ex deck with Lucario as a Support Pokemon.
Phanpy
Phanpy is a 70 HP Basic Fighting Pokemon with 2 retreat cost, Grass weakness and a strong attack for 1 Fighting Energy. The Reckless Charge attack requires 1 Fighting Energy to deal 30 damage and 10 damage to itself. Ten damage to itself is not too bad as you are dealing 30 damage.
In the early game, 30 damage is very powerful. If you get lucky you can knockout a 30 HP Basic Pokemon in the first turn going second. If you are even luckier, you can win the game on turn 1 if you get the knockout with no backup Benched Pokemon on the opponent's side.
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Donphan ex
Donphan ex is the Stage 1 evolution of Phanpy. This has a whopping 160 HP, 3 retreat cost and Grass weakness.
For one Fighting Energy the Gigantic Press attack has a base damage of 50. If this Pokemon has at least 3 Fighting Energy on it, this attack does 110 damage instead.
Other Key Cards
Riolu + Lucario
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I choose the 60 HP Riolu as you can attack with it in the early game for 20 damage. Lucario is a good Support Pokemon with Donphan ex for damage boosting on Fighting Pokemon.
Tyrogue
At first I had Sudowoodo as a third attacker but I went with Tyrogue. A zero energy attack that does 20 damage is good if you go first and have this Tyrogue in the Active Spot. Lucario also boosts this guy's attack from 20 to 40 damage.
The downside of Tyrogue is that it has 30 HP. There are some instances where you don't play this at all.
Sample Decklist
Here is my version of Donphan ex + Lucario. There is a Donphan ex with Rampardos version. I do like Rampardos as a single prize attacker but I think it takes time to get the Rampardos in play. I prefer Donphan with Lucario.
Pokémon: 9
2 Phanpy A4 99
2 Donphan ex A4 100
2 Riolu A2 91
2 Lucario A2 92
1 Tyrogue A4 101
Trainer: 11
2 Poké Ball P-A 5
2 Professor's Research P-A 7
1 X Speed P-A 2
1 Red Card P-A 6
1 Giant Cape A2 147
1 Rocky Helmet A2 148
1 Sabrina A1 225
1 Cyrus A2 150
1 Lyra A4 157
I put in one copy of Lyra for a just in case Switch card. At first I thought Lyra was kind of bad but having Lyra is good for the times you need to switch into an attacker.
I do have a Red Card in there as hand disruption. Mars could be okay here too but it is a Supporter card. Hand disruption in my opinion is needed to counter Sylveon ex draw engines.
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Advantages
- Fighting is good against Colourless (Eevee, Eevee ex), Lightning and some Dark type Pokemon
- Lucario ability boosts damage.
- Tyrogue & Phanpy in the early game does good damage, puts pressure on slower setup decks.
- Deck is fairly easy to use, setup and attack.
Disadvantages
- Donphan ex weak to Grass, Lucario weak to Psychic.
- High retreat costs on Phanpy and Donphan ex.
- Lack of one hit power on Donphan ex, most likely need to 2 hit a strong Pokemon ex.
- Need 3 Fighting energy on Donphan ex for the 110 damage.
Conclusion
I think this Donphan ex deck is a solid deck. Fighting is a good offensive type that hits for weakness against Colourless types, Electric types and some Dark types. The Donphan attack requires one Fighting Energy to start and it can do more damage if you have 3 Fighting Energy on it.
Phanpy is a good attacker in the start, Lucario is good for damage boosting and Donphan ex has a good amount of HP for a Stage 1 Pokemon. Donphan ex may not have major knockout power but the high HP makes the Donphan a tanky beatstick attacker.
In theory, the bad matchups for the Donphan ex deck are Oricorio walls and Grass decks. Maybe Charizard ex is a bad matchup too. I have found that Oricorio walls not too bad to deal with. Use Phanpy with 1 Lucario to one hit knockout an Oricorio. In the one game against Celebi ex + Dhelmise, I did get a lucky win where the Celebi attacker did not get many Heads. Red Card helped with hand disruption to prevent Serperior being in play.
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